JOHN MACLEAN has been recognised as one of Britain's foremost revolutionary leaders. He was a Marxist teacher educated the growing political movement along Clydeside in the first quarter of this century.
He opposed the First World War, and was involved in the industrial disputes that created Clydeside'. His principles was to guide him turbulent years of the Russian Revolution and the Easter Rising in described as the 'rapids of revolution'. Debates When Maclean lived in Glasgow, it was the second city of the British Empire and one of the most industrialised regions on earth. In the East End of the city was Glasgow Green, every Sunday, thousands of workers turned out to listen to debates.
Not all the speakers spoke about politics. Many spoke about religion, between Catholic and Protestant, and atheist. active and flourishing. were of a high academic level.
Maclean. It had a radical tradition as a result of the influx of Highlanders and immigrant Irish and a socialist and trade union movement that was growing and becoming more political.
1910, Maclean debated who was later to become a Cabinet Minister, on the political nature of the Labour Party. Unlike other revolutionaries welcomed the Labour Party, since it increased the political independence of the working class. Marxism In the weekly claimed that the Labour Party was the 'heir' to the Marxian tradition'. Maclean hotly disputed this:
'Marxism stands transformation of society. In fact Socialism established surely capitalism, and that workers party that is any use in my estimate is one that recognises that the workers are robbed by the canitalsts. and understands now that robbery takes place; and one that is organised to prosecute the class struggle politicatly until Socialism is attained. Such a party would be a Socialist Party based on Marxian principles.' Maclean analysed how developed into a world economic system. He explained how competition that would lead to war.
Maclean's politics were hased on understanding the international nature of capitalism and the need to defend the class independence of the workers throughout the world. This is why Maclean was to become Britain's most important internationalist leader and achieved recognon as suen rom tae bolsnevik Icaders Prior to the war, Maclean was a member of the British Socialist Party (BSP). He was active in the Co-operative movement, and started his famous educational classes in Glasgow. main textbook was stewards who attended his classes were later to become the leaders of 'Red Clydeside'.
Major test The First World War was to become a major test for the world movement, splitting the BSP and destroying Ine Maclean's response to the war appeared in 1914 in "Justice', , the BSP paper.
'It is our first business to hate the British capitalist system... it is DONA LI refusing to murder one another for a sordid world capitalism.' There could be no reconciliation with the ruling class, either in Glasgow, Maclean established The Vanguard, a paper Wals movement, and that supported the growing nonstanted me acrones The mass movement was growing around three issues: opposition to the Munitions Act, the raising of and conscription. The year 1915 started with the engineering strikes for a two pence an hour increase. These gave rise to the Clyde Workers Committee (CWC).
who organised and grasp of Marxist through those La period he the differences Christian The temperance movement was Most of the speeches of city that stimulated time, Maclean paper 'Forward', Johnson revolutionary revolution. The capitalism had had increased His "Capital'. The shop factories.
25,000 Second International. Noeler "class-patriotism"s our business • John peace or in war.
lead the anti-war of t the Prominent the leadership of the Committee was Willie Gallacher, and Maclean, although a teacher, was welcomed at all the meetings.
All that summer anti-war propaganda was circulating throughout the But it was the rents threatened the 'war effort'. Rents had risen through the increase in workers flowing into Glasgow to work in the engineering shops.
Opposition grew. and by October 1915 people the landlords tried to convict one were family for non-payment of arrears. The Clyde exploded. The CWC called the factories out, and they marched on the court.
Gallacher recalls the scenes at the Sheriff Court where the trial was due to take place.
Maclean was on addressing the crowd... It was obvious to the Sherift that the situstion was too dancerous to Pondon. " The workers have left the factoriest He telephoned Lloyd George in What am I to do? They are threatening to tear down Glasgow!" "Stop the case," he was told. «We'll introduce a Rents Restriction Act. " The mass movement had won its first great victory.' This was the beginning of real mass actions against the government's attacks on workers' rights. Over the Munitions Act, many of the yards and factories struck.
Unfortunately the separate agreement.
revolutionary working restrictions.
issue that had enough Clyde strike.
On 11 April, servitude. platform around this appear.
American industrial front.
workers unity was brokenat Parkhead Forge, wherethey reached a Nevertheless, SCULOUS over war This break in the unity was to be used to the full when the introduction On S January 1916, the Conscription Bill wa placed before Parliament. The ruling class had of Clydeside'. understood that they would have to break the workers if they had any hope conscription being introduced throughout the country. All the socialist press was banned. Maclean and the other leaders were arrested.
Maclean received the heaviest sentence of all those arrested, three years penal Maclean was to spend the next 14 months in prison, while on the Clyde a massive campaign was launched to secure his release. It was time that differences Gallacher and the CWC were beginning to Gallacher, although a member of the BSP with Maclean, was heavily influenced by the 'Wobblies', and their brand syndicalism. He favoured concentrating on the Maclean argued that it was necessary to develop an anti-war movement and the type of actions seen around the rents struggles, in order to develop the independent political capacities Maclean was in Ireland and the revolution in Kussia He was events in meland and Kussia.
Peace Crusade on the march once more.
Revolution, In began to look to the previously occupied.
appointed Russian Soviets.
socialist movements. For was to make sure they kept it. Maclean supported Soviets. and his Revolution had started the 100,000 workers years imprisonment.
Through the summer movement once again of Maclean GN re-selected the engin- prison, Gallacher government before the December 1918 election the defence of the isolation of the resulted in their defeat. They of liefs. He founded Scottish Communist Party CPGB fighting until John naturally."
of in the General Election.
The inscription the Maclean Society says:
Chain of World Socialism.' of the working class. As soon as Gallacher was released, he re-activated the CWC, and the main campaign was 'Free John Maclean'.
prison when two major events occurred that would shape the futur course of his politics: the Easter Rising in All over the Clyde anti-war activity went hand in hand with the demand to free Maclean Lloyd George visited Glasgow in June 1917.
advised that unless Maclean was released 'the workers were in a mood to tear up Glasgow'. He was released the next day.
The anti-war movement was boosted by the Demonstration. were organised, and on 8 July, the Women's organised two huge demon strations. With Maclean free, the movement was Maclean could see that the war would not last, especially with the victory of the October continued troubles in November 1917 he wrote pamphlet called the "War After the War'. He miners to take the vanguard role that the Clyde engineers had But it was Russia and Ireland that were to consume him for the rest of his life. In 1918, he was appointed Russian Consul in Glasgow, and along with Karl Liebknecht from Germany was president of the All The October Revolution reshaped the entire the first time the workershad seized power. For Maclean the task He campaigned everywhere for 'Hands off Russia', but always stressing that the most effective defence was the overthrow of capital in Britain. From the Bolsheviks he learned the importance of Soviet type democracy, and came to view Lenin as a close political comrade.
the formation Communist International, and was imprisoned once more for his propaganda in favour of defence Russian In 1918 he made his famous 'Speech from the Dock', where he outlined how capitalism war for profit. He nevel cowered before the judge, instead he attacked the whole system, and urged the workers to follow the example of revolutionary Russia. His speech coincided with May Day, when downed tools march through Glasgow. He was sentenced to five of 1918, the mass demanded the release Barnes was the sitting Labour MP for Gorbals. He had supported the war, so his constituency had kicked him out and Maclean. Maclean in stood and the was once forced to release him Over the next five years he threw himself into Irish revolution. The Clyde workers eventually But the example of the political struggles or the Clyde and the national struggles in Ireland and India led him to evolve his republican be the Scottish Workers Republican Party, after he failed to start a affiliated to the Comintern. The dominance of the Russians in the Comintern and his distrust of the dubious polițical backgrounds of the early Communisi Party leaders meant that he never joined the He was arrested twice more before his death, being sentenced to three and twelve months respectively. He had written that I'll continue | Bull kills me, I die died in November 1923 on the memorial cairn erected by the Glasgow labour movement and 'He forged the Scottish link in the Golden Socialist Challenge 30 August 1979, Page 13
the Front