The Wditors of 3ocialist Review issued a statement on July 18th as \ follows:
During its twelve years of existence, Socialist Review has managed to clarify and promote some of the central themes of revolutionary socialism — workers! control, full nationalisation, independence of both Washington and Moscow. It has done so to such effect that these ideas have been embraced by other journals, such as International Socialism, the Industrial Worker.
Most active supporters of Socialist Review have found work on, and for, these journals more fruitful in terms of spreading within the labour movement the ideas upheld by Socialist Review. iflost have come to believe that the movement is too fragmented at present for a single journal however well supported, to flourish. ind, since they have found little time and energy to spare for work on SR in addition to their work on these other papers, it was decided at a readers! meeting held in London on 8th July to suspend publication until further notice.
COMMEINT; we have asked comrade T. of Birmingham to express his opinion in view of the fact that he was one of the active founders of the socialist Review, but in addition it is necessary to say that the step represents (1) a move away fron the Labour Party, and (2) a move away from any kind of organised activity.
Neither of the two journals International Socialism or Industrial Worker is specifically a journal of Labour Party supporters, The former is a discussion journal, which while it comes down, generally speaking against pulling out of the Labour Party (see the latest issue on I.N.D..3.U.) contains on its editorial board at least one person, Harry McShane, who is diametically opposed to marxists working in the Labour Party. Industrial Worker aims to embrace shop stewards and active trade unionists from all parties, and indeed, there has been discussion with the I.L.P. for the paper to be an industrial supplement of the Socialist Leader,
As regards organised work, clearly neither a discussion journal nor a sectional paper (covering various political opinions) can be an organising paper, Lastly, the haste with which publication was suspended gives food for thought, especially in view of the fact that there sharp divisions of opinion on the question. No hint of the coming demise of the paper appeared in the last issue of Socialist Roview a strange 6f taking what is essentialy a political decision. The comrades who have worked around the paper have, no doubt, very sincere reasons for taking this course of action and will continue to do valuable work for progressive policies but we must ask them to examine the evolution of the Shachtman tendency in the United States, To those who reject this, a comrade T. puts it, liquidationist policy we would request them to think out their political ideas and consider whether these steps are an inevitable outcome of the conclusions one draws from the theory of 'state capitalism.' We also offer active collaboration in joint activity and the use of these columns for reports, etc.
id. Notesmore material on this question will be issued. The end of the Road - "Socialist Review" cease publication by T. (Birmingham)
After nearly twelve years of regular publication Socialist Review has finished. Its demise cannot go unnoticed, especially in view of the long article on the Labour Party, by Tony Cliff, in the current issue of "International Jocial-— ism. He, as many will know, was one of the leading contributors to 3.R. and much more, he was one of the founders of that paper. Indeed it can be said that he was the main theoretical inspirer of the birth of 3S.R.
Its first issue appeared in November, 1950, an unpretentious duplicated paper giving its reasons for publication as "....presenting useful factual material and objective, analytical articles on current political affairs...."' but the reasons went much deeper than this. The Korean war was at its height, and Socialist . Outloak, the paper around which the supporters of the Fourth International in this country worked, was more and more taking a pro-stalinist position on that question and many others. Thus Socialist Review was born out of the dilemma of many revolutionaries who neither wished to support imperialism or condone the crimes of Stalinism. However, because of the conditions that prevailed at that time, many of these comrades lost their way, politically speaking, and rejected the concept of the Soviet Union as being a degenerated workers! state and embraced state capi- : talist theories. It is my firm belief thot it was from this that many of the mistakes and conolutions of the Socialist Review stem. The full flowering of this is seen first, in the suspension of publication, and secondly, in Tony Cliff's article referred to above. Implicit in the firstand explicit in the second is the rojection of the revolutionary party.
There can be no mincing of words on this, this is liquidationism which will pave the way, despite all protests to an acceptance of left reformisn. -4dG- Notes An extract from Cliff's articlo is reproduced elsewhere in the Bulletin. fi