The last period has witnessed a significant crisis of the revolutionary left in Britain. The fact that some organisations still fail to see this is, in itself, an indication of the extent of the crisis. While the far left has clearly grown in size over the past ten years, it would be extremely foolish to deny that it has faced severe problems.
The largest and most significant organisation on the left of the Communist Party is the Sociales Workers Party (SWP), It has been increasingly characterised by a sectarian political line and extremely undemocratic internal structores. The latter has even been presented by the SWP leadership as a "virtue' in its appeal to the TELESTE TOrOSLESCOS The Workers Revolutionary Party and its daily paper apportunism with a systematic and deliberate falsification of the positions of its opponents on a scale rarcly seen outside the most extreme Stalinist The waront curreor in ine Labour Party has adapted more and more to the social democratic mileu and has, in the TELEONEUL RIS CoUlD HAPPEN LACE US TO COMENDER THAT, HIEN HE MF roces, dispensed with a whole bumber of Marxist positions.
Outside of these changes in political organisations there has also been a whole series of developments in the women's movement, the trade unions, and various teorerical currents Finally, and directly affecting this paper, there is the International Marxis Group which, too, was not immune from serious political errors and went through a period of lengthy internal debate in 1900-76, The conclusion of this debate culminated in the launching of a whole series of initiatives, Challenge but also involved Socialist Unity, the Stodents Alliance, It ls obvious that sumposition of the extense left wing of the workers' movement is taking place al che mo to what lessons various forces have drawn from the past ycars of the class strugele.
All this raises the obvious question: what specific features of the class strugale in the last ATTHETALP Tisr Sou ne PROH WHAT CHiLE!
CLICK ABAJO LA DICTADURA TRIA LEET TRESTES tional politics.
class Issue whatever is legendary:
NARROW ECONOMISM This attitude, The LAbcolonial SEARS TO THE people led to the Conservativereaction in Britain than BOT THIS WOR? HAPPEN, MILI AY, BECHOSA ME YE LEMRNT PAN TRABAUC UTILL period have tested the revolutionary left, found large sections of it wanting, and produced the present turmoil? In our opinion the answer to this question relates to the whole traditions of the Labour movement in Britajo as a whole The dominant tradition of the Marxist lent in Britain is one which was best summed we the SWP's "Rank and File Movement', The steakar concetned declared, to loud appluse: If you look after the little things the ing times The statement could he virtually caken the motto for how all the dominant sections of the lendership of the working class hav historicully attempled to wage the class struggle. Ignore such big questions as Empire, the oppression of women, Ireland, na concente sacad on te "bread and butter questions'. This has been the movement, les indifference to theory Dobles. internations cuestons or any bu Vol course, was nol a racial characteristicof the British". H had its material base in the very real strengh of British capitalism. And such a position, even at the best of sections of society, but also let to severe sed nations and the oppressed backs for the working class movement itself. The politics of militant syndicalism collapsed when confronted with the First World War. The failure to support women's suffrag helped in handing the bulk of the women' votes to the Liberals and the Tories, The refusa to solidarise with the struggle of the trisi establishment of the Orange statelet in the North, backed by But in spite of these setbacks the attitude embodied in look after the little chings and the big things will look after themselves seemed in Scope, general - "to work". After all the trade union movement grew, retorms were won, and de feats were reversed. The few people who raved elorm or lution", 'the character of the State' were all out ol louch wilh redir and could satels be in nored. The realities of the British workers movernent were considered more prolomid all this boring "German aod Russian' stuff. The fact that these realities' reflected a century and a half of bourgeois domination was FUTILE SECTARIANISM arianism. The little things tirse"' fortula is an ideal recipe for the construction of socts In Marx's famous words: "The sect sece the justifi cation for its existence and its poist of bobour not in what it has in common with the class moverest but in the particular shibboleth which distinguishes it from the movement. The refusal to confront the "big problems" mcant elevating lactics and sale above prog ramme and politaes. The failure to unite on futdamentals was explained by the necessily te have complete agreement on tactical and seo ondary questions. The whole Marxist concept of an organisation which is indesd founded on a programme on the big questions, bur within which it is absolutely inevatble and nutural that there will be many disagreements on strategies and tactics, was almosi completely absent on