the fourth consequences for the revolutionary movement and the tasks that confronts us in building a world party of socialist revolution.
Since 1938, the year in which Leon Trotsky founded the FI, this confronted with many difficulties, hot the least of which Is the heritage of Stalinism and its organisational norms. confusion In the constitutes the basis for splits and fusions has its origins in the dissemination of the Stalinist myth of the "monolithic" expression of • 'sect' mentality.
This mentality has Its material roots in the isolation OI those groups from masses and their consequent remoteness from the immediate problems of constructing a mass party. Although the revolutionary movement has long ago passed through the of retrenchment; during the 1940s, 'bUs, the dead still weigh heavily on the living.
It is a tragedy that many currents. today and in the past, have justified their separation from the Fourth International by invoking Lenin's name and what they assume to be Trotsky's organisational conception they hold of Lenin and Trotsky as inveterate 'splitters' cannot be upheld in any serious study of the fight by these leaders of the Russian revolution to establish a revolutionary party in Russia itself and internationally.
In the Trotskyist movement these wrong conceptions been peddled by the 'Workers Revolutionary Party' in Britain, led by Gerry Lambert's OCI Organisation) in France; and Moreno's PST (Socialist Workers Party) in Argentina. Tendencies These tendencies have tradition of splitting on the basis of internal organisational sectarianism questons. drawn by Lenin and Trotsky between parties, factions and tendencies. the unprincipled activities of these currents has been serious revolutionary movement and a weakening of the FI.
For its part, the International Marxist Group the SCELLULI of waged a struggle for an programmatic basis of the principled fusion of all revolutionaries (that is, those who defend the historic interests of the working practice) international democratic centralist organisation, no matter what positions are held on secondary questions or on tactics.
We are only in favour of parting company, if necessary splitting, definitively overturn tenets, and who fail to defend the historic interests of the working class. This is not the nature of the differences Nicaragua; therefore we characterise the split as unprincipled.
A failure to defend these Leninist principles of organisation both undermines the basis of unity of the party, and inevitably leads to a Socialist Challenge 15 November 1979 Page 10 has serious objective has been The widespread Marxist left over party, and is an the broad '50s, and tendency Fourth his and But most systematically Healy; by Pierre Communist fact established and tactical They confuse all the distinctions The consequence of fragmentation the the has understanding of the party; for the that is.
that the single challenge. with those who hese programmatic in the FI over Fourth political current?
movement, unprincipled.
degeneration of internal democracy.
and factions are the basis for separation into different parties, then the result will be monolithic sects.
It is no accident that these organisations; which customarily react with and factional struggles misunderstand struggles within an organisation which has a living relationship to the world revolution, and habitually construct tin-pot monolithic regimes in their own (tiny) organisations.
As Trotsky once put it: 'Whoever prohibits factions thereby liquidates party democracy and takes the first step towards a totalitarian regime" ('Leon Trotsky on France').
Lenin himself was absolutely clear on the necessity of preserving party unity even where there were major disagreements of a tactical or example, to the popular misunderstanding that Lenin split with the Mensheviks in 1903, he in insisted Bolshevik maintaining unity in the same party with the Mensheviks until 1912. Mensheviks calleds for a vote for a bour this despite party (the Cadets) in Bolsheviks did accept the split Mensheviks in 1912, this was Mensheviks announced that the Russian Social Democratic party disrupted it.
Re-unification Politically, Lenin held the door open for re-unification with the Mensheviks until 1914;
until it had been shown in through their support for the imperialist war, Mensheviks betrayed interests of the working class.
Those who deride the Fourth International's conception of freedom for factions within a single party or international, also frequently conception of democratic centra ism. Organisations Lutte Ouvriere in France and the International Communist League in Britain argue that in a real international the leadership would have authority over every aspect of the political life cOl all the national sections We disagree. The World Congress of the decides political framework within which the sections work out their tactics, In what circumstances is it correct for revolutionaries to split from or to expel a DAVE PACKER and PHIL HEARSE examine the positions of Lenin and Trotsky, together with the historical experience of the world revolutionary to argue that the recent split in the Fourth International was If Democratic mirth at the inside the such revolutionary untying acuons Monolithic Contrary, for faction When the because the conception and actively monolithic national How do practice, disputes in the historic revolutionaries, carried out. like For example provisional was the general but the tactical line decided in each country cannot be overturned by the international leadership.
centralism in • a revolutionary party derives from the take power. It poses the need for a party to be able to act against the capitalist state with the utmost unity and effectiveness, while basing its internal debates and election of leadership on the experience of struggle of all sections of the working class and oppressed people.
The task of a revolutionary international involves the elaboration of the programme of Marxism, co-ordinating on an international building new sections, and seeing interests of the movement as a whole prevail over national peculiarities.
Since it is impossible to take political power in every country simultaneously, the task of an international leadership is different from that of a national leadership; and it is inevitable that democratic centralism function in a far less immediate and rigorous way than democratic centralism on a national scalence again, those who challenge the FT's centralism in reality want a homogeneous and monolithic international, just as parties. conception perhaps an international sect like the Sparticist League is possible. towards a mass revolutionary international are impossible with such sect-like conceptions.
these positions relate to the Hourth nternationa In Nicaragua a revolution is in the process of development. In such situations extremely complicated analytical questions are posed for and it is not at all unusual to have disputes about the precise tasks to in Russia between February and 'August 1917, Lenin held the position that the call for the immediate overthrow of the government was ultra-left. argued this despite the fact that the government bourgeois government; that Bolsheviks were opposed to it; and that the government would ultimately be forced into repressive counter-revolutionary acts.
Lenin took the view that it was not yet wanted to give government positions had been taken.
Tactical
government, include . DOW SCUIS particular powerful political force based on local committees. imposes massive tactical problems.
pre-World Congress and scale, that the bourgeois government.
Nicaraguan revolution.
the Nicaraguan for splitting an international.
will practice betrayed the politics on an international scale. democratic Dead they want such signify Any steps the revolution in the rapidly to intervening Despite these grave that matter be over to alien class forces.
He shall continue the power in the form of soviets. He fought a dual battle against both the ultra-lefts in the working class base of the Bolsheviks who wanted the immediate overthrow of the government, and against the conciliators in his own party who critical support to the Indeed, before Lenin arrived in Petrograd in April 1917 the Bolsheviks did in fact adopt a conciliatory attitude to the governient. But at no time did Lenin urge a split because wrong In Nicaragua at the present time there is a the GRNN, which does indeed but the most which makes its own laws and gives its own directives, is the FSLN, Such a situation However, there is no doubt that before the split of the Bolshevik Faction and the Leninist Trotskyist Tendency, a clear majority of the membership of the Fourth International — expressed through the recent voting at the conterences the national sections of the FI — was in favour of characterising the Nicaraguan government as a There was no possibility of "betraying' the These differences of assessment, even differences on the nature of government, do not at all amount to anything like the massive betrayal of the revolution in practice which is the only basis Lenin split from the Second International only after its historic betrayal of the world Trotsky split from Third International only when it had clearly in German revolution in 1933, a decisive event determining the future of viewpoint revolutionary struggle it is a dead organisation. No such position can be sustained in relation to the Fl's role over Nicaragua — on the contrary it is one of the forces which recognises a real and responded within it. Thus the splitters are lightminded and irresponsible.
errors, we refuse : to characterise either the BF or the LTT — or for factional plotters in the Organising Committee for the Reconstruction of the Fourth International - as having gone The overwhelming majority of the forces of the Fourth International have stayed loyal. We fight for the Leninist position on the programmatic basis for unity. To all those forces who stand for the historic interests of the working class, and who are willing to participate in the framework of a democratic centralist international, the doors I of the Fourth International remain open.