journals claiming that 'classical Marxism' by Lenin, Luxemburg and Trotsky today's conditions. of those forces which reject it.
The ten years since the General Strike o1 May 1968 in France have seen the definitive end of the post-war period of relative class peace in Europe. Major events and shifts in the class struggle have taken place.
As always, such developments have brought about significant changes not only in the reformist Communist and Socialist parties but also among the Torces to Encir IcT In the years after May 1968, the sections or the errene the TUTTERS RESULT OU CUE SELEC hands of mass working class struggles - May 1968 had been followed by the "hot autumn' of 1969 in Italy, the big strikes against the Tories in Britain, the death agony of Francoism in Spain, the class struggles in Portugal, etc.
New movements of immigrant workers, in the communities - had developed. The mass reformist parties had frequently been by-passed by such struggles.
This also made the question of revolutionary strategy seem very simple to many organisations of the left. Forward from strikes and autonomous movements, to much bigger strikes and autonomous movements, bigger strikes and mo cmcots, and soonto me TO DIaLE - that was a widely held model, development of the cat strucele wes definite advanced bere. The reformist organisations would decline. The extreme left would E1139 No major political problems anc boices would be faced in the ongoin advance. Revolutionaries plistically link up with the masses who were rapidly, and semi-spontaneously, moving towards revolutionary positious.
Periodic modifications of particular aspects of this stracey were made. For cxample, much more emphasis would oc pacco on toç womens moreasil coday ten yeurs Nevertheless the busic framework wa relained intact.
I guided the theory and practice of organisations such as Lotta Continua and Avanguardia Operala in through the vacuum ou concepts of the current which became tbe Socialist Workers Party in Britain, Socialet Challenge 24 August 1978 puge 6 A NUMBER of articles have recently appeared in left-wing starting point for developing a revolutionary strategy adequate to JOHN ROSS points out that this does not correspond to the real changes which have been taking place to the left of the Communist and Socialist parties. What the last years have in fact seen in Europe is a big strengthening of those forces which base themselves on classical Marxism, and a marked crisis and decline biccups and "disturbances' large left'. The to come.
representing bases of women, liberation.
1976 in Spain biggest working history.
there will even autonomous single extreme reformism.
of the warther traditional line cannot he condition of the become oppressed alone, cold simof all classes and masses operating' Those who simply ALYSTICE agp.
merely much colonial conniry, bat also formidable than the left • as developed notably - should be abandoned as the to similar organisations in France, Portugal, and muny osher countrie Now this "strategy" was based on one and one that has to be constantly pointed out and defended against those in the Communist and Socialist parties who attempt to deny it.
This fact is that the class struggles in Europe following 1968 were not mere sormal functioning of capitalism. They were authentic mass upsurges which are the hurbingers of even bigger struggies against oppression mushroomed on a scale really important bourgeois power and furthering the struggle for human Ten million strikers in France in May 196R, 15 million in Italy in the summer of 1969, the class struggles of 1975 in Portugal, the huge strike wave of early these were some of the class struggles in The present scate of capitalism means be no long term return to Dormal following these events. Every left organisation was correct to emphasise this fact against But to grasp one fact of the situation is not enough in politics, It is a basic principle of Marxism that a political derived the NOCKIMA CUSS OL but only from the inter-relation of all classes in capitalist socis Lenin put it, Marxist politics 'demands chat acoount must be taken the faroes, groups, parties, working also failed to grasp a second key fact Ibis is that the ruling cluss in the imperialist countries possesses colossal reserves, resources, and deficaces of lis power. These are not greater than in any smore those faced by the revilation of October 1917 In Russia.
Chief among these defences are the Dueaucratic lendershios of the mas reformist parties of the working class and the mechanims of bourgeois Lenin, in fact, had already pointed this out when he stated that it would be far more difficult to conquer power in Western Europe than in Russia. Lenin's time the experience Stalinism, and ib effect On consciousness of the working class, has multiplied many of the probiems.
The level of development of politics Which could conquer power in Russia, let alone China or Vietnam, is too low for the tasks of France, Italy, Spain, Portugal or Britain. Against primitives of the extreme left who fall far below even the political devclopment had been achieved by the Bolsbeviks in 1907, the ruling class and reformists have few serious problems.
Against even the biegest purely spontaneous upsurge of the working class and oppressed, the huge politica resources of rulin class power in Western Europe will win every time DEFEATS From 1975 onwards the working class and 'extreme left' throughout Its most dramatic expression came in Portugal where & boweru working class movement, facing a weakened state apparatus, was defeated by Socialist Party which was certainly prepared to use the army but which had essentially utilised the weapon bourgeois democracy to isolate the extreme left and militant workers The 25 November 1975 coup was merely the mopping up operation of an already achieved political victory.
Developments other countries since 1975 look place which had different forms but essentially the same coltient.
In Italy the working class fought a seven-year struggle from 1969 on a level Vet after the elections of June 1976 the Teformist Communist Party was able to use the historic compromise to throw the working class on the defensive and impose sethacks on it In France the split berween the SP and the CP led to a victory by th parties of the bourgeoisie in the Marc 10 SOAD. too, the ruling class таларса 10 coptain the situation following the r death of Franco. parties won the Erst elections, and the delenin free tree wit Why the signing Moncloa Pact austerity In Brilain the Labour Government inflicted significant defeats on the of its incomes policies from 1975-78.
Although the Europs succeeded pushing back the working class to the situation before 1968, nevertheless setbacks have been suffered by the masses.
The fact that possesses powerful political defences and apents - in the Since movement has of giving a major insight into the problems the CONCEIL development of the class struggle in Europe The effect of these events on an extreme len which had completely failed to understand the extent of the defences possessed by the ruling ciass and its agents defeats were brought shout not by surprised the through the utilisation of the political strength of the ruling class, and particular its reformist agents in the workers movement.
What caused the crisis of so many of the organisations which had emerged out of 1968 was not that defears were only too often occur but the fact that I was Blatanty 0090u sections of the of the bourgeoisie and reformists.
*In Portugal ompanisanons such a the PRP and MES confront the offensive of the Socialist Party, waged under the banner of "democracy, "Soviets without parties", of Sacredited see tally deed. discredited, influence, and were reduced to shells of their former selves •In Italy, the probably the largest in Europe -tens of thousands of members, three daily papers, and even its own radio stations. But is main organisations had no answer to the policy of the historic compromise because distinguish between the class hase of the Communist Parry and Socialst Party on the one hand and the Christian MONS OR TOC BELI So they either became lett critics of the C.P. TENS EL 'Government of the Left avoided ruling out a compromise with the Christian Democracy on principle or they doclared that the question of who formed the government irrelevant Either way they were totally unable to deal with torn apart. Two major organisations, Asanguardia Operaia Manilesto, DOLL SPHI Continua disintegrated as an orpanised force.
The large publicity drawn b politically 'autonomists" and the advantage of the ruling class by ise Fand the Communisi Party In Franee, the fact that the chief oryanisations to the left of the Socialst and Communist parties are Trotskyist the ruling class disastrous errors. But working class been clearly shown EAC • TELLIE dramatIC Europe, was traumatic. These left but Socialists completely Large 'extreme left' had no attempled with slogans such as Down with Social democracy BOSE their extreme left' was of which 1968 the T5 was amEl politics reality and were literally and PDUP/ those Lotta PRP etc the policies -the the terrorist SWP embraced.
easily be turned to The allowed them to take up the problem of the Union of the Left without making the larpest non-Trotskyis organisation, the OCT, lost 40 per peni of its membership in a split, because i had note the pole and and counter-offensave of the ruling class In Britain, the change was not so Ane CASTRIC GRACEL reached the same level as in Southern extreme let organisation, the IS/SWP, maintained far greater elements of the traditional Marxism' of Lenin and Trotsky in its almost completely dominant to the left of the Eabour and Communist parties. The IS cantained not only by far the largest number of individual Marxist political cadres, but also a modest but increasing number of militants with influence and a hase in industry. In particular it was almost unchallenged Milan students resist police occupatio significant force to the left of the CommunIst ran 1 oc trans onions Four years later the situarion has THE HICC was developing towards Leninist and Trotskyist positions and away from those it had held in the 1950 1960% But SOUL CHI elements of syndscalism remained in its Hy 1974/75 these were lending it to n line with considerable similarities of organisations such Avanguardia Operaia, the OCT, INTED it developed organisational links. These provided an alternative lo the positions of classical Marxism, and one which the result was prosound the swe -translociabon or anable to draw the lessons of the event:
senses of purges and splits which altered ibs composition in a profound way. A
very large part of the accumular political cadre was lost.
Its base of militants with influence in the trade unions actually contracted despite its numerical growth. Alternative currents, both political and in new social movements, began to devclop outside the SWP.
Ten years after 1968 the SWP is still very much the largest organisation of longer completely dominant as it once WRES The net result of the shift in the forces to the left of the Communist and Socialist parties has therefore been to bring about a major recomposition of the 'extreme left' on a European scale.
and immediately afteron classical Marxism (and that does not include degenerale offspring kuch as Healyism) a tiny countries such as Spain they didn't even Those who announced their rejection of the state university. of the "dogmas of traditional Marxism were overwhelmingly dominant. Ideas current, 815001 represented by the link Portuguese PRP-Italian Avanguardia Operaia-French OCT-British Today the Maoist and 'movementist" forces have undergone massive decline.
Those forces starting off from classical rejecting it far weaker.
Only in one country, Italy, where forces basing themseives on Lenin and Trotsky are very weak, has that change heen brought about solely decline of self-defined "new currents'. It has not boen classical Marxisin but those rejecting it in favour of new thinking' who have already Increasingly hy-passed.
The reason why this shift in the relation of forces in the extreme left in lafour of classical Marxist currents "dogmas', magic words Bunreus or manons of people.
the working redundant encapsulate no longer exist.
assassinated the minonity and new taken place within them.
those rejecting difference between bourgeoisie, irrelevant whether The very relevant indeed such positions but in avoiding reality New Left Review 100:
Lukacs. STATELIN 'non-Stalinist TICES up of the SWP.
bigger, and those beent sook place is in fact very dear, Marsist ideas and categories are not arbitrary on pieces of encapsalations and debates forces Involving The classical Marxist analyses of the state. imperialism. Staunism, narties of class, only become mere dogma in the real when the social forces they Naturally it is not the case that nothing has changed since 1924 when Lenin died, or 1940 when Trotsky was organi historical dustbin along with the other have yet most fundamental questions, the central forces analysed by the classical Marxism of Lenin and Trotsky are still very much with us. This is true even though these forces are now frequently combined in new developments have Lenin?
Contrary to what was anticipated by traditional Marxist dogmas', questions such as the united front of workers organisations, the Socialist and Communist parties and parties of the the fact that it is under bourgeois democracy or fascism, CARTO by-passed but must be worked within, THICS bourgeoisie are a deadly threat to the 'dogma Those who turned their backs on mine succeeded not in escaping "traditional Marxist dogma"
Perry Anderson, although he draws the wrong political conclusions, put it Per wen In an are on canese to The international disputes which united and divided Luxemburg, Lenin, trotsky... represent the last great strategic GEORTE European movement... The classical the most advanced limit of reference we the strateRm confrontations occurred four or five decades ago. To reappropriate them, on the contrary, l a step towards a Marxist discussion that has the necessarily modest — hope of assuming an "Initial shape correct theory today 'Kegis Debray. las spoken, in mous paragraph, of the consta difficulty of being Have set to be surice ty come at least, we 10 bc porary with our past.
Does this mean, however, that thos forces basing themseives on classica Marxism believe that we may now sit back because all significant problems have been solved? Do we need now merely to read more carefully the 45 volumes of the collected works Not at all. First, no matter how right they were on general Issues, axiomatic that Lenin and Trotsky were wrong on particular questions. Wher this is the case, revolutionaries must not DC SITE 0 S SO USE OSCI Trotsky were prepared to say considered that Marx or Engels had been incorrect.
CREATIVE But generalised innuendoes against , designed merely to previous positions without putting anything positive and coherent in their place, merely replace thought demagogy. certain specific positions with clearly defined alternatives is one of the ways Marxism has always made progress.
Secondly, the Marxist. principle that reality is in constant change means that major shifts have necessarily taken place since the deaths of Lenin and Trotsky. These require new analysis and new work.
It is imponible for revolutionarie today to pesitions of Lenin or Trotsky raore than the lutier could confine themselves to merel Lenin, Trotsky and others achieved was not a mere repetition but a gigantic development of Marxist theory Any new wave of revolutionary struggle will have to go beyond what they solve a whole series of new probiems to which they did not provide any full awers but, at best, outlined someo the contours and particular issues. However, the very example of Lenin and Trotsky's development of Marxism shows the relation political and theoretical problems anc classical' analysis. Precisely becaus Marxist concepts aren't just arbitrary ideas floating around in mid-air, but are the expressions of real social forces, of the previous positions of Marxism insofar as they express forces which continue to exist, are not redundant but I IS are built on.
Revolution. for example, Sar able id Lenin, writine base himself on Mark and Engels not because he wiis unaware of the many concrete changes since Engels" death, but because those changes had taken place within the fundamental forces analysed.
The stale had changed in many respects, but "bureaucrate military apparatus hated its basic in the last analysis on 'armed bodies of men. has not qualitatively altered Lenin understood perfectly well the need not to content himself repeating old truths. understand new developments such as sovices, the importance of new tasks in fighting the bourgoossie, right through State and Revolution But showed developments Daseu in, lou tundament forces DAILY MIRROR HAS REVEALED STREN TO BOUR PARTY !!
Those wanted because orthodory.
creative completely one? Few Criticism"
observations limit themsehes to Many in What & to ILis successful accomplished and Marxium' developments problems between new reached and developments countries most radical Marx had therefore The necessity to TACI SLE etc. seem an how were related to, and the future. analysed by Marx and Engels. Previo "classical" analysis wasn't an obstach but an aid in analysing new realities like Kaursky and Mensheviks, who urged new critical thinking" towards the state, in reality Ibew developments to extend, develop and instend to use all the new features of the MARIALUE TAE TERANCIA nature of the state as it had bee correctle analysed by Mars Mark and Engels were relevant no they represented holy but because the basic concepts they had developed expressed the real fundamental social relations The fact that State and Revolution is at one and the same time a tremendous guide to action in and unparalleled situation of the Russian Revolution und an extended orthodox literal quotations from Marx and Marxism itself really develops Whar appliesto State and Revolution applies to every single major work Lenin and Trotsky. Take What is to B works of Marsism have seen more radically innovative and creative. The starting point of an entire development of the Marxist part: and Marxist politics is concained in its Yet what is the starting point of Wh is to Be Done? It is a savage defence of ported the lost of treble ho raised the slogan of Freedom Its theory of the party develops ou of fundamental observations of Enge on the questions of Marxist theary.. Passed on conclusian of the even cartie which themselves Communist Munilesto.
It B impossible LO ERY ortbodoxy cods and innovation begins Be Done?, precisely because in real Marxism, as opposed to dogma, there is no counterposition between the two. On thecontrary, strict orthodoxy is precisely the condition fo radical innovation.
the basis of tha understanding that we can developments since 1968, or since 1940 which require new analyser and ae SAVE RUDE CHES by Marxism? Abso lutely. Are the answers to all these contained previous Marxist positions? Definitely no Wecan go further. We can point out as Lenin and Trotsky did, that thi whole development of Bolshevism, not to speak of Mars and Engels, only point too crude inadequate for the revolution in th advanced capitalist countries But where can the tools be found to build a Marxism which is adequate to this task? Precisely in Lenin and Trotsky, just as they found theirs in the even 'cruder" Marx and Engels!
The politics which will lead the revolution in the advanced capitalis.
will be simultancously the and innovative, and the most and classical, which has ever been seen.
What the ten years since 1968 have shown is that it is those who rejec 'traditional dogmas" who have become the most old-fashioned and out contact with new realities. Those whe base themselves on classical Marxisin are actually the most up to date and in touch with the real changes which have To those who think in termis o "dogma" versus objectivity" that will Impossible paradox.
Marxism it is merely the most natural thing in the world and the foretaste of Socialist Challenge 24 August 1978 Page 7
= Wiping out discrimination stamps out components make up the windscreen-wiper blades and the other wiper parts Trico turns My job is to set up the tools that form the pressing, and then feed the materials through.
I've worked in the same shop for eight years. It's a really boring job, It's not as boring as some jobs because there's a bit of Rexibility, Once you've set the job up you can sit down for a bit, and you have to fiddle around on the machine. It's a bit of a skilled job.
There are no women setters in the press shops There's only one woman setler in the whole factory, and she's a Jrainee who just got the job. The only other woman in a skilled job is an inspector, who is also just now being trained up ARGUMENT Management's usual argument is if women want these jobs let them apply and we'll treat them like anyone else. strike. on the shop floor OKELMEASDAE TRADES CU PA 'One of the most important things to come out of the strike was a feeling you could take on the management.' The speaker is B, a worker at Trico, the West London factory where two years ago workers won a historic equal pay SOLIDARITY WOMEN SUPPORT EQUAL PAY NO CUTS For anyone cise.
There are five Asians.
them.
FORS LABOL GOV 05. Unhke the West Indians, the they've come to England and they It's a problem that if they lind something wrong in the factory they complain among themselves, but ches won't take it to a white shop steward West Indians are more forceful West Indian shop stewards out of 25 in all, but no There are various reasons for this. Black people are nor all that active in unions unless there is an issue which directly affects them and aso if they see the union is doing something for LaIS fighting for at the moment The workforce al Trice is 25 to 30 per ceot black, predominantly women and almost entirely unskilled. Most of the black men are labourers.
'BLACK BASTARD The women operate machines and the skilled areas, such as the toolroom which has over a hundred workeis in I1 — there are just two black workers
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than was