[page 1]
INTERNATIONAL MARXIST GROUP > CONTENTS PRE-CONFERENCE DISCUSSION DOCUMENT THE CRISIS OF BRITISH CAPITALIS# AND TTS CURRENT INTERVATIONAL CONTEST eeeoeve esp oanseeneeeseeoeoeaseenreoenweseeeonseeegatgeneerne ALAY JONES Voting at National Committee Sth October 19732 FORs Ball, Hampton, Jennings, Clynes, Caldwell, Jotmstone, Fergus, .
Monzano, Pope, Jones, Sykes, Smith, Donochue, Tettacioro, Burns, boyd, Windsor, Russell.
AGAINST s Rothchild, Howarc, Klein, Harney, MacGovern, Feterson, Scott, Williams, Lessner, Marshall.
ABSTENTIONS 3 Jackman, Marston.
HO VOTE: .
LURE.
STATELENT s Cde. King wishes to state that he was unavoidably absent when the vote was taken on this document, and that he woulc have cast his vote in favour.
ALTERNATES FOR:
Maccabi, Jotmson, Doran.
ALTZRNATES AGAINST:
Watts, Thomas, Morel.
ALTERNATES APRSTATHINGS Nolan.
ALTERNATE HO VOTE:
Blair.
NEW SERIES VOL? NO? PRICE®* =
[page 2]
4). . The working class offensive of 1968-72 came to the end of its ‘first wind’ not because it was defeated by the ruling class, there was no credible barrier, social layer cf massive state apparatus, which the bourceoisie could place in front of the working class onslaught, but because of an internal crisis of poltiical perspective. To have continued the working _ class ensive would have been to have provoked econcmic Gislocation, flouted the law, provcked politifal crisis and in all probability destroved the goverment, Faced with such a prospect, which would have ushered in a pericd of struggle appraoching pre-revolutionary cimensions, the bureaucracy, utilising the concessicnf the rulinc class was able to give on the wages front to a few sections of workers, bert its full resources to Gefusing the struggle of the masses. In the absence of a stronc alternaitve political pole within the working class it tearorerily succecded in doing this. The Jecisive sections of the working class however remain undefeated.
Furthermore, during the spring ans sumer, the underlying temper and come bativity of the masses has been steadily rising.. The efforts of the ruling class to cpaitalise on its victory of the spring have in general heen defeated while at the union conference the representaitves of the masses have, a with the eception of the NUT and the partial exception of the TGWU, in LO almost every case imposed minor, or in the case of the AUR manor, defeates om the bureaucracy. Even those sections defeated in the spring are recovering rapidly. Under the conditions of the deteriorating economic situation of the masses the tempo is gathering for a nav offensive of the working class of even greater dimensions than that cf 1963-72, 5) The situation which is developing in Eritain in the comine months must be regarded as kui the wot explosive for decades. The ruling class is caught between the two mill stenes of the deteriorating intemetional econcmic Situation and the undefeated, and rapidly rising, combativity of the masses.
A head on collision between the two offensives, of the ruling class and o£ the working class, is inevitable in the coming pericd. ‘The outcome of this Struggle, because of its very acubteness, has strong tendencies which lead. towards extreme soluticns - either the victory of the bourgeoisie and the impositicn of a strong state or the rout of the bourceoisie, an intensifica= tion of its political crisis to the point where it cannot find a government or even credible party of the ruling class, and the crening up of a struggle of pretrevolutionary dimensions by the messes. Britain is about te join Italy, France and Sapin as one of the key countries in Europe in which even temorary restorations of nolitical equilibrium are unlikely. 6) The developments toward this head of confrontation between the classes — promotes an intensification of crisis within the wee ruling class. , The bourceoisic, unable to cvercome its economic problems and impose its solution cn the working class, finds it-elf tom between factions based on finance and foreion operations and those based on industry and comestic investment. The petit-kourceoisie and intermediate strata, strickec by the searing inflation and kts attendant features of astrancmical interest rates, increasingly looses confidence in the ability of big camital to fing a way out of the situation. This development in turn throws the major parties of the ruling class into crisis with large sections of the petit-bourgecisie deserting the traditional marty of big capital, the Tories, for the Likeral party, waile another, srall,er section, iselted within the Tory party by 12 domination of big capital, looks to increase: co-overation with the National Front anc! other neo-fascist forces. Unless a sreedy cefeat can be inflicted on the working class the collepse, at least of the bourgeois side, of the traditional two party system, with all that this implies for the functioning cf the Ekitish bourgeois state, appears likely.
[page 3]
3 7) ‘This political crisis reaches its furthest development in relation to Ireland. After four years of Struggle the British amy-has.still not. succedded in crushing the Republican masses or their armed vanguard, All the tolitical efforts by the British bourgeoisie internment, formation of the Alliaricé Party, direct-rule:-- have been thwarted. Now their final effort, the Assaiiily, appears doomed to. fialure. At lest, the first major signs of opposition to the British policy in. Ireland are begining to appear amongst the Eritish masses.. the bourgeoisie, fearing the consequences of being — opening forced to leave Ireland under the pall of a military and political éefeat, is forced to resort to gambits of a wild and frantic nature, for example, threatening and. then withdrawing the thréat of total intecration into Eritain, whose main effect is to threaten to disrumt the bipartisan policy carefully worked .out with the Social. Democratic betrayers of the Irish struggle in Westminster. ‘the star choice of total integration into britain, nich almost certainly would never be accepted by the British masses let alone the Republican population of Iveland, or cf withcraftal, faces the British ruling class in the face and, more importantly, is seen to he the only choice by increasing layers of the British population. Tf the struggle. continues. throughout. the autumn, and the Assembley cammet work, Treland.. will rapicly become the most central of all aspects of the political crisis of the bourceoisie. &) ‘The most dangerous of all excrescences from this internal crisis of, . _ the bourgecisie is a rapid develomment of the cultivation of overt racism, kk ‘ALL factors conspire to make this a cutting edoe of the Lourgecisie's: political attack on the working class and of moves towaras a strong state.
It serves two essential functions for the ruling class in the present ° “period. .(i).In relation to the need to regain the political suprort of . sections of the petit-bourgeoisie big capital finds itself unable to make vany major concessions on most of the cruchal clenents which in particular oppress this layer’= the EEC, the hich interest rates etc. All these elements are at present too integrally tied tc big capitals essential policy for dealing with its econanic crisis. The essential area on which concessions can ke mace however is to the racist pre-cccupations of the petit bourgeoisie and lower middle classes (ii). Racism is the most powerfui petential tool for splitting the working class. ‘this applies not sinply at the level of the trade union strucele but at the whole level of the political superstructure. If the bourasoisie suffered crushing defeats at. the chands cf the proletariat its final fling towards a strang state would almost inevitably be to attempt to put together a nationalist racist front, headad by a,demagogue such as Powell, which could attempt to tic together frenzied sections of the petit-bourceoisie and alienatec sections of finance capital with an attempt to regroup working class support on 4 racist basis and in so doing uicertiine the Labour and-other parties of the working class. ‘The success of the Mational Front in lecal & bye elections, and the previous example of Smethwick, shows the essential rower of such a thrust against the ineffectual liberalistt of social cemocracy and.
Stalinsim. Furthermore the bourgeoise must be well. aware that it was cn ‘the issue of-racism alone that it wade sidmificant steps forward curing the summer period. It is alsc on this axis thet the first, if even at present tentative, organised links between the. sate apparatus and fascist and neo-fascist organisations are being forged.
[page 4]
4G The : crisis Sof working class leadership and the. nature “of the up Lecce 9): Faced with this unprecedentedly favourable orportumity for socialist ‘advance and at the same time definite developrents towards a 'strong’ solution by the bourgeoisie, the traditional leaderships of the working calss. reveal their bankruptcy with remarkable clarity. At all costs the bureaucracy of the working class movement wishes to head a tumultuous upsurge Of extra~parliamentary, in particular strike, struggle against : the ruling class. It knows that if such a struggle cevelops it will .. develop a dynamic which can rapid; ly teke it out of the control of any of the traditional leaderships and provoke an extreme poltitical exkkek ‘nd econcitic crisis, The fundamental efforts of both the trade union bureaucracy and the Labour leadership is to divert the attention of the _ masses from the field of extra-parliamentary struggle to the prospects of future labour government. In pursuance of this the trace union bureaucracy has moved systematically to the right in the past period both = > restraining the struggle of the masses even up to the point of strike brea king (Jones and Scanlon in Chrysler) and disorientating the masses- { by continued negotiations with the government about an incomes policy, concemign which they know the pressure from their members will never let them accert, while the Lakour party burea ucracy, seeking renewed working class support to propel itself back to office, has carried out an important shift to the left. ‘the probabilities of these wanouvers succeeding in defusing the upsurge of the masses is small and indeed the most far reaching of these, ‘the turn to the left by the social democracy, will have the exact opposite effect to that which its authors intend. While the bureaucracy may wish to counterpo: se a 'left' programme of Labour to the industraal and extra=Parliamenta ry struggle this is not-at all the effect this will have on the consciousness of the masses. For them, on the contrary, a new more © radical governmental programme appears as an obvicus complement to a renewed upsurge. ‘The most importanteffect of the new turn by Labour therefore will be to rapidly speed up the process of politicisation of the masses and the | vanguard. This has already been seen in the past pericd. The renewed | debate on workers control, the working class involvement in the protests against the visit of Catano, the upsurge of important sections of the proletarian vanguard on the issue of Chile, indicate merely the first sions of the rapid process of voliticisation which will be created in the coming period by the effects of social democracies new forme . 10) ‘The nature. of the coming working class upsurge therefore takes on a ; character which is significantly different to either the key working class” issues, of the 1950s and early 1960s or to the upsurge of 1968-72. The... period of the 1950s and earls y 1960s were dominated by struggles primarily ; based on the rhythm of Cavelopments within the Labour sarty (German rearmament,. unilateral nuclear disarmament; etc.) ‘The upsurge of 1968, staring against.a Lebour government and dominated. by mass strikes, was’on the contrary dominated by the rhythm of the direct struggle of the masses.
Tne present upsurge is precisely characterised by a combination of the direct elemental struggle of the masses together with the ceveloprents set up by the left turn of social democracy, the particular nature of this combination being one in which the Gominant element is the direct struggle of the masses but which is rerdodically, and increasingly, intersected by the dceveboprents based on the rhythms of the develoyments within sccial Cemocracy. 11) ‘This new political conjuncture opens up unprecddented opportunities for the IMG. The previous wave of working class upsurge was dominated by the initial elementa 1 reaction against the inteorationist line of the Labour leadership and helped to cive it, in the absence of any credible
[page 5]
5 revolutionary political pole, the nature of 'elemental’; ‘syndicalist’ outhurst in which the masses and their vanguard frequently outflanked the bureaucraciss at the level of the organisation and tactics of the strugele, at the level of pure militancy, but in which consicousness of. the total nature cf the class struogle, i.e. a political consciousness developed far-more slowly. The craated an ufavourable cbjective situation for revolutionaries, and notably the IMG which at the begining of this period Was a very. smell organisation cf less than a hundred people faced with a syndicalist current IS with over, S00 menbers, to raise their total | poltical programe in an aqitational way within the working clase and meant that only ‘céemands at the level of economic: strugele succeeded in penetrating to any real extent into the workers vanguard. This created a political climate which , as throughout Eurove, tnedec, where the Fourth International was not already the dominant pole of the revolutionary left, to rapidly strencthén the 'syndicalist/new centrist’ currert,. for example IS and Avancuar dia Cperia, while forcing into a sharp decline the olc ‘Social Democratic Trotskyist’ entryist current (SLL-OCI), but alse preventing the sections of the Fourth Intemational, while they ceveloped rapidly, from heccning the openly dominant role of the revolutionary left. In a certain sense the IMG has been fighting against the tide within the working class -— vanguard while an organisation like the IS has been riding the tide. Now however the particular nature of the combined upsurye of the working class, with its much more rapid tempo of politicisetion, creates the conditions for a far Gréater rasonance for a struggle on all pelitical issues within —eee “ ceveloprent of the IMG within the vanguard, which in Rritain, is. overwrelmingly a prolétarian one while at the sam time posing severe problers for the syndicalist current. The whcle experience of the Chile rcbilisaticns, and to a lesser extent the Caetano one, where wevere able to. decisively outflank all otker revolutionary tendencies on sn isaue which held the attention and activated several thousands, at least, of the proletarian _ Vanguard, indicates ‘the scale of the possibilities which are opening up. 12) %he particular nature of this combined upsurge exposes dramatically the inacegucay of the two traditional problematics of the British left entryism and syndicalism for taking forward the struggle of the masses ‘ahd constructing the revolutionary marty... In a werio? when the sca Situation’ is’ Still dominated by the rhythm of the Cirect struggle of the masses the entryist problematic of basing activity on the rhythm of | cevelopment Of the Labour party leads to isolation frem the key struggles and consequent inability to challence the line of the bureaucracy in practice. The problematic of syndicalism, by concentrating purely on a narrow range of economic issues and not taking up the total. fied of; the Class struggle, results, in a pericd of labour's new tum, in. the organisation oracticing this problematic being outflanked. by left, and scmetines even right, social democracy (IS ‘on Caetano, Chile, etc.).. The task of the IMG within this combined upsurge is to break with both of these groblematics and instead, basing itself on the rhythm of the direct class struggle and the needs of the objective situation, to challence, hoth at the level of programme &« pratically throuch the dialectic of unity and outfianking gk the global line developed by social cemocracy.
[page 6]
The key axes of intervention 13} The decisive axis along vinich this contes station with social conderacy tnust be develope is of course in the prevaretion and carrying throuch o£ the corning offesnive of the working class and in particular alonc our stra= tegic line of working for the creation cf organs of cual power during the upsurge of the masses. This line must be pushed forward both within each “individual strucsle and by centralised campaigns, both propoganca anc . agitational, of the whole organisation. The decisive initiatives which have to be taken on this front in the coming period are_ i. Pushing forward the dceannd fox. the General Strike to bring down the Tory ii. Developing a unified axis of struggle of ail the organisations of the working class and its potentiel allies against the Tory covernment. iii. Pushing forward the ceannds for the rost effective preparation and earrying throu gh Of the industrial upsurge of the masses iv. Pushing forward all deamds and strugcles on the axes of nationalisation anc. workers control. ve Taking up Iréland both as our main anti~inperialist task anc as the -highest expression of the politica crisis of the ruling class. vi Possing the need for a united response oF the working class against all V4 ” eveloprents of the hourgecsie towards a strong state and, in particular, Ceveloping the strucsle acainst ra cishh whi ch is the spea thesd o£ this bourgeois: assault. ae moe vil: - Pushing forward and populerising the Gerand is fox the mnification of the ‘working class across racial an: sex lines. ee “wili. Posar: a united response-of all sections of the “oppressed against the ~~ effects of the growing social crisis of capitalism (housing, ecucation, etc.) ix. Counterposing a general sense of our global conception of socialism, and the road to it, te the models of social cemocracy anc svalini SM. QL Such axes must be “@xaum together through the: drawing up, by the coonference if possible anc if not ask the first task of the incoming national. committee of a programme of action to be presented un the form of a countersmanifesto to the programme of the labour party. pes 14) To become a , reall élerent in -the class strucgle these. general theres rust be enbodied in definite concrete campaigns and initiatives whose focus is the preperation of the vanquard for the caring offensive of the work- a ing class and its consequences. ‘these chief carpaigns in the coming period . ‘ are a) fo amrry out a. consistent propoganda. cali peign on the slogan. Of the General Strike but also to. atterpt to cevelog this. ag ‘itatdonally on the axes of calling for the generalisation “of every ma jor. struggle against the pay laws into a general strike, = bo call for union strucjles {é€.¢. miners and engineers) to he “ orordinated. and launched simulta neously, , by calling for the hichest bodes of the working class movement, «.g. a recall TUC, adopt this slogan etc. b) To consistently camaicn for a unified axis of struggle against the Tory government by all forces of the workine class moverent and its allies and to push forward this united action both throuch local initiatives (confere neces, Cebates, action committses etc) and throuch continually posing this in the level of our intervetmion at the level cf naticnal pebitics (open letters arxl articles to all sections of the workinc class political moverent, demand for a dational conference of all tendencies within the working class rovement to discuss the way forward against the Tory goverment etc.) °
[page 7]
c} Showing through our intervention in the preparation and carrying through of the key working class struagles cof the coring period both the most effective means of waging these strugcles anc of preparing the emergence of organs Of dual power in a general strike or similar situaticn. the tools for doing this are both interventions in local struggies and running central carpaigns, to which the forces of the leafexshir are allocated, on struggles which because of their chjective importaace for the relation of forces between the classes (e.c. AEN) or hecause of their particularly acvancec nature (e.g. Briants) are particularly suitable for educating the vanguard in the needs of the coming pericd, as well as waging a consistent camaicn for trade union democracy. a) . Consistently explaining the impertance of workers control not simply as a weapon of strucgle for individual factories, although of course pointinc this out as well, but as the essential way of preparing for the expropriation o£ the hourgeocisic, pointing out continually that the hourcoisie could and would sabotage even the 25 companics nationalisation, and for confronting the crucial social crises which confront the working class. ‘This means in particular propoganda, and where povsible agitation, on the questicn of | individual exameles of workers control or management struggles (e.c. Exiants), i . in relation to prices (arcwing for strike action, in particular im rent and transport where there is some possibility of this, and for the formation of supervision committees), and in relation to workers veto on state and press Cecisions ¢.g. newspapers, civil service and enforcement of immigrant memoranpr ‘Gams, local goverrinent workers refusals or evictions) The central axes of nost of these campaigns, for example expropriation of the kourgeoisie, - Krecundancy, prices, will ke for the abolition of commercial secrecy -and this Tust be a continual slogan we «e@ucate the vanquar® in in the coming period.
The cumulation of our propoganda for this is the concept of expropriation coriiaxtees which, while it cannct in general he raised agitationally in the inmediate pericd, can form one of our main promoganca thrusts against the programme of social democracy. e) Developing agitation and interventions (mational and local demonstrations, pickets etc) on the question of withcrawal of British troops from Ireland.
This to be directed in particular towerds the organisations of the working class and organised: bodies of other layers ¢.g. stucents unions. f) Developing the campaign against racialism along essentially the following axes (a) Winning the orgenisations of the working class and its allies to the Gemand for the aholition of the Immigration Act, of the Aliens Act and of the Pakistan Act. (b} Posing the essential need-for self organisation of the black communityand attempting te promote this through slogans such as for the boyeott of the organisations of the Race Relations Act and for the defence of iliegal immigrants. {(c) Organisation of united fronts of black, working class and other organisations for the defénce of blacks against fascist and state attacks. (dG) Developing 2 cammaiqn arcund the slogan of "No platform for Racists’ and organising united fronts for the prevention of racist and fascist activities. ({e) Leveloping a pexmanent consciousness anc activity in the trade unions on the question of racism and fascism throuch work in and promoting the anti-fascist bulletin. (f) Highlighting and campaigning awound all major black incustrial and other strugeles. (g) Pushing forward the Slogan cf formation of black caucuses in unions and factories and publisising all examples of this. (e.g, STC) G) Reorganising an” increasing our initiatives on the question of women’s oppr=ssicn with the twin sims of (a) hegeronising the cebate in the socialist current within the WLM G) organising action against the oppression of women which will not be srimarily be undertaken through the NLM, in particular on
[page 8]
ae CN i i equal pay, the operation of the social security anc tax system, anc the oppression of wowen in education, together with other initiatives on such axes as prices. h) Ceveloping a unified resconse of. the working class to all moves towards the strong state. this means in particular an axis towards (i) Defence of i black and Irish militants (ii) Strucgle acains the conspiracy laws arc for . the release of all those convicted under them (iii) Efonce of the revolutionary left - Ceveloped both via cur campaicn on the Licue Commmiste anc via a consistent struccle for the reeningful implementation of the IMG, If, SLL i) Reveleping united actions and unitec. fronts around the general effects of the social crisis, in particular threcun the axis of uified action of workers in the state apraratus and those oppressed by the state system. © Bichlighting the moves of th: civil service unions on the Immigration Act, of certain WALCO branches on evictions etc, developing a vnified response of teachers against the attacks on ecucetion, developing hte struggles of — students against the ‘rationalisation! of hicher education etc. Particularly ‘important on this front is the strugcle acainst the implementation of the next phase of the Housing Finence Act. }) Counterposing our conception of socialism and the road to it in contrast to that of social democracy and Stalinims: both throuch the production and carpaicom around a couterswrarifesto to the programme of the Labour party and in conjunction with our campaicon of solidarity with the workers and peasants of Chile. a k) Continuing to maintain consistent propecanda and rrepare for conjunctural initiatives ard share uoturns cn the raincurrent snti-inperialist struggles, notably Indochina and Southarn Africa. eS f+ Aes Net Sh tad Pronk anc the Construction of the P The Probleratic o Gnd LE) The ability of the IMG to carry through these tasks will depend not simply on, or even mainly on, the correctness of its programmatic slogans and comands, althcuch this is of course a necessary condition for any revolutionary intervention, but primarily through its ability to take initiatives in acticn which cen demonstrate in practice te the masses and their vancward the veracity and relevance cf cir line. This means in perticular developing the united present eericd of Geveloprent no revolutionary tendency is in a position to hegenonise and lead in action by itself even the vanguard and the whole question of initiatives in action becomas inextricably linked with the qvestion of the United Front. oo 18) the exact conditions and fom of the united Rebion and united front is not an ehistorical one, but a question which is sosec in different form at - each stage of the developrent of the mss struggle and of the evoluticn of the vanguard. In the pericé of the early 1920's to early 1960's the vanguard was | almost entirely, with the limited exception of the war years, within the mass parties of the working class. Under those conditions the only wey im which united action could be posed was at the level of the united action of these mass parties. As Trotsky put it in 1934, to. find a place in the united front it wes” necessary to be within one of the parties of which it was composed. The conerete form the united action of the revelutionaries and the general vanquareé tock in this sitvation was througn work of the revolutionaries insice the — mass working class parties. ‘his meant however that the rythm of the united action was dictated not primarily by the Cirect rvthm of the class struggle
[page 9]
o— but by the internal rythm of the mass working class parties (GErman re~armament, the Unilateral nuclear disarmament debates etc) which reflected developments within the class struggle cnly in an indirect way. ‘This was part: of the essential problematic of entryism., The development of the general social and ecommic crisis of capitalism, coupled with a rapid and share ricdht wing evolution cf the main working class parties in the mid 1960's, led to the formation of a vanguaré, particularly amongst the youth, which, while it had not broken in totc with reformism in all its aspects neverhteless acted independently. of the tracitional working class parties and whose rythm of activity, in consequesce, was not Cictated by the rythm of the traditional working clas s parties, but by the rythm of antiimperialist strucyles, by the struggle within the education system and, increasingly, by the rythm of the direct working class struggle. To have, . attempted to tie this vanguard to the. rythm.of the traditional. organisations Of the working cless would have been to fragment it and broken | “its potential | inclucing,its relations with the organised workers mover mt. The task of revolutionaries on the contrary was to Cevelep organisational forms, | autonorous, of the rythms of the traditional mass organisations, through which this vanguard! could « develop to the furthest point its own intemal Wy anc influence and organise elemets of the working class. This was the tactic of the ‘outflanking united front’ i.e. of going round or bypassing the traditicnal working class organisationa and organising cadres. Tt was object tively possible because of the very low specific weight of the organising cadres of the working .Class and its parties, compared. to. Within the core of the working class, . within the student and youth layers. from which the vanquard of the mic and late ens was mainly craw. The highest develomment of this tactic of the utilanking united front in Britain + Tas the Vietnam Solidarity Campaicn.
The terms in which the wuuited action of ‘the MASSES at and the vanguard wasposeci was again changed by the increasing racicalisation of the working class after 1968. By the present cay the vanguard in Brita in, although not yet in -Tany European countries, is of predominantly, even overwhelmingly, - proletarian composition not simply on the trade union struggle but increasingly as the reaction to the Caetano visit and the Chile cous have Gewonstrated again, on anti~inperialist issues as well. Within this working class milieu the weight of the traditional organisations and organising cadres of the working class and its parties is inmensely, gualitatively, greater than in the youth and student milieux. Even the vanguard layers of the working class are. not organised primarily around the organisations of the revolutionary left and their’ ~ <t offshoots, as was the case in the youth vanguard, but by the organising cadres _ of the v rorking class, What is the case however is that this vanguard is prepared to act on ¢ definite issues in a way. which takes it beyond the intentions of teh still predominantly politically unradicalised organising cadres of the working class.
Faced with this development there are two false and one correct problenatics which are put forward within the revoluticnary left for taking forward the struggle and building the party. The first false problematic, which is woak in Britain, owing to the precominantly proletarian composition of the general mass vancuard, and the strong traditions of orgenisation within the working class, but which is influential in European courrtries where the radicalisation is still préominantly a student and youth one or where, as in Italy, the, working class consists very largely cf first ceneration workers with no strong tracitiona of organisation, and is represented within: the IMG by the "New Course'*tendency, is that.of the continuation of the ‘tactic’ of the 'outflanking united front.’ This problematic in the presen period in fact leads to an ebancontrent: of the struggle for r hege nony over the mass vanguard, which.
[page 10]
- 10cannot because of the relations of forces between us and the organising cadres of the class be structured by outflanking wited front types of initiative and instead constructs organisations which, at hest and.generally not even / that,. consist purely of the revolutionary organisations and their immediate periphery. This error. which the IMG in the past has committed in such organisations as the Irish Solidarity Campaicn and the Anti-Internrent League, in relation to 'rank and file' organisations etc. leads to a problematic of constructing the party which is not that of the struggle for hegemony over the mass vanguard but that of carrying out propaganda among the periphery and members of other left groups, and may even pose the main task of building the party as that of regroupment within the already existing vanguard organisations.
The second deviation, that of entryism, consists. of basing the activity of the crganisation of the rhythm of cevelopments within the organising cadres of the working class organisations and making all activity in practice dependent on the actions of these organisations. As these organisations and organi~ sing cadres at present are not in general politically-radicalised to the point where they take up many of the key issues of the class struggle, this in fact leads tc a tailendist practice in which the refusal to take up crucial. questions is justified. in relation to problematics of ‘placing demands on" 7, the bureaucrats, the 'stratecy cf the mited front,’ ‘avoiding isolation from the leadership of the working class’ etc. oo) 7 7 Against both of these essentially opportunity problematics we have to advance the practice of the dialectic of unity and outflenking. That is on the basis of the néeds and rhythms of the class struggle we take our own initiatives which however are not projected as bypassing the organising cadres but on one contrary are axed towards them. The essential aim is on the basis of thes initiatives to establish coniimctural united fronts with sections of tho. erganising cadres which create a relation o¢zforces which can draw in the forces of the mass vanguard, this mass vanguard in turn.allowing us to go beyond the initiatives and limitations of the traditional organisations. ue conjunctural nature of these united fronts is dictated by the fact, that the existing relation of forces between the revolutionars: 3s. and the orcanisation of the working class, any determination to maintain the pexmanent nature of ‘the united front would inevitably lead to activity being dominated not ky the rhythm of the class. struggle or by the initiatives of the revolutionaries but ( by the rhythm of the traditional organisations. This problematic of wmity and _ outflanking differs sharply Front the outflanking united. front in that its ( orfentation is towards and not ‘going rounc’ the organisincg cadres of the working class in that its primary aim is not the recruitment cf individual organising cadres, the securing on delegateships to union conferences etc., While of course we welcome and attempt to bring about all such developments, but the. pulling into the wmnited front, and thereby the mobilisation of the forces of the mass vanguard, 16) The problematic of the dialectic of umity and outflanking acquires a. particular emphasis and relevance in the present period in the context of the left turn of social democracy. In the period of the ‘outflanking united front’ thé- question of the united front with the social democracy was not. posed, in the first period of ‘elemental’ working class upsurge acainst the integrationist. line of the social democracy neither wes this united front : posed in a najor way, instead. cf the major axis of umited action inside the working class was with the CP against the policies of Labour. With the left tur c£ social democracy this situation is sharply changed. Throughout Europe in the pegsent veriod not sinply dces the Social Democracy shift to the left, but a whole range of issues it adopts positions which are clearly more radical than those of the CP. While in Britain, where the CP is an opposing party to the hegemonic sccial demceracy, this is less true than for example e country like France. Nevertheless even in this country this becomes increasingly true in particular in the trade union struggle where
[page 11]
the CP is constantly hamstrung by its strategic alliance with the left bureaucracy and more and more finds itself outflanked on the left by a combination of the revolutionaries and the left wing of social democracy.
While this is less true as vet on the wider range of political issues where the CP has no chance because of the relation of forces of forming an organised united front with social democracy;;nevertheless increasingly even here we find ourselves not simply in alliance with certain sections of the social democracy but even these aré outflanking the CP - the response to the events in Chile being the most obvious example. This kegins to define our most central axis of alliance in the coming pericd. For us the decisive layer of intervention is increasingly not that in the periphery of the CP or around the other revolutionary grouns but that current which lies between us and the left wing of social democracy. This determines in a stratecic sense, although not necessarily in a conjunctural one cur attitude to. such organisations as the LCDfU and the IS industrial conference. We intervene in these but they do not constitute our primary area of intervention and they are not the channel along which we conceive of the radicalisation of the working class passing. The decisive actions for us are those which involve elements which, while they are in general not organisationally part of the Labour party, they are nevertheless -in a broad sense part of. the current influenced by the left of social denocracy.
While each particular united action must be examined individually tc determine its dynamic, nevertheless in a strategic sense the decisive actions, local conferences, demonstrations or whatever are those which bring us into united action with the currents which are being radicalised by the direct class struggle but which are influenced by the left timm of cada ‘Gemocracy and who are prepared, on specific actions, not simply to outflank the bureaucracy but also to act with us against the effects of the CP’s line of a strategic alliance with the. left bureaucracy » 17) The main forces contending for the hegemony of this current, which is becoming the most important one within the mass vanguard, are, apart from the Labour Party left itself, and the various entryist currents, which stand little ~ chance in the coming period of organising this vanguard into the organisation -.0£-the Labour Party, the Commmist Party anc the IMG.. (The IS, bec ause of its essentially syndicalist problematic finds itself pursuing a tailist but _ organisationally sectarian line with regard to the CP). This allows us to give the organisational comterpart of our general political formula for the coming period. Our political formula was ‘basing ourselves on the rhythm of the diréct class struggle and tha needs of the objective situation to challenge the glcbal: line developed by social democracy.' The organisational formula which corresponds to this ‘the struggle with the CP for hegemony over the ‘currents politicised by and/or influenced by, but not organised by the left turn of social democracy.’ This will inevitably involve both united action with and a struggle against the CP as the cther main pole of attraction tc this vanguard. (A classic case again is Chile. Us for the armed road, the CP for the parliamentary road, the left social democracy vacillating in the middle).
All other united fronts, including that with the other xevolutionary tendencies, are strategically, though not necessarily conjuncturally, subordinated to this central axis. The conquest of hegemony over that decisive laver of the mass vanguard which lies between us and the social Gemocracy is the decisive task if the whole potential of the present. working class vanguard is not to be wasted ~ split, at least that secticn which does not. join the CP, between -entryist currents which are isblated from the key. struggles and syndicalist organisations which are incapable of challenging the political hegemony of _ the bureaucrats.
[page 12]
THE CENTRAL TASKS FOR ORGANISING THE VANGUARD 4) etn a permanent axis of unite’ action against the Tory government its policies 18. Corresponcdnc to the chief axis for political activity. in the coming period, the main organisational line we have to preject for organising the vanguard is on the hasis of united action in opposition to the Tory covernrent and its nolicies. The activities which we uncertook in the ssring around such an axis (local conferences, action committees) will hecome recoubled in inrortance in the coming yerioc. Purthermore it wih he able to assunednome and more agitational character fo or the question of the Tory government is precisely the point of intersection between on the one hand the incustrial anc other upsurces of the masses ancl on the other hand the perspect ves," aitinately govern= mental, offered by Labour" $ Left tum. In putting forwar] this axis we are / faced with the followis no chief probleiss a) Grascing clearly the concitions under which organs with an axis towards organs of cual power, im particular achion conmittees &c are crecta. Such new organisations are not creeted by the masses lichtly but cnly in relation to the inability of the existing organisations to solve the concrete problems “confronting the struggle. Such situations are for examele because the forcas involved in a strugcle are too wic ce to ke covered by the existing organisations (e. g. all forces orcenisa versus the Tory sovernmoant, inclucing tenants, st udents, etc.) because a particular strug le. fal is under no vartiqular organisation and. therefore new ones have to be created (action committee or conference for defence of B picketing) or hecause the bureaucratic leadershin of existing organ anisations naralyses thems in the face of key strucles (s trike committees in tmany situations, the ‘Shrewsbury defence cormittees in the early rerioc Of the canpaicn etc.), etc. However precisely at cefinite periods of time, with : intense cCevelopment of the struct cle, the existing organisations may re smadart to »--Re-absorb tt the strucgle only to see a rupture at a future roint in time. For exanple in many occasicns the CP will hamstring, for example, a trades council and the strucgle in an area on e particular issue will co forward throuch an action committee until a point where, fearing it will be completely outflanked, the CP will radical vy reorient this body to simultaneously give & new impetus to the struggle and reassorbh it vithin the traciticnal structures only later, if the s strugdle reaches a further point of aivance, to see it once wore erupt thru inderendent ordenisations. We must clearly orasp this process of the Cialectic between traditional organisations and new orcanisations of struccle and uncerstand that the rovement towards organs of dual rower will not involve a simple linear, cnce-for-all break with traditional crgenisations but a dialectic of rupture and recuperetion which will involve a multiple series of breaks at very many cifferent coints, anc many different heichts of the class strugcle.
[page 13]
136 We see this over ané over again in relation to, for example, the relation of action committees and trades councils. If we do not understand this inevitable process and instead, for example, cling fast to some organisational form because it hears the magical title of ‘action committee,’ we will inevitably fall into the trap of either defending organisational forms without recard to their concrete content at any point in time, or, altematively, through fetishising a particular form, fail to grasp the opportunities for decisive breakthroughs on the field caf new organisation of the struagle. There is nothing inherently superior in, for example, the vanguard being organised in a body called an action committee rather than through, for example, a trades council. What is important is not its name but the role an organisation plays in the struggle ? its relation to the masses, etc. b} The second key problem is grasping concretely at each point in time, .and in a general sense, the relation between the rhythm of the antisTory struggle based on the direct struagle of the masses and the rhythm of the struggle against the Tories based on the developments within social democracy. In the coming period, as already noted, we will increasingly find ourselves in united action with sections of the social dernocracy. Furthermore the development of such united action is one of the chief tasks of the coming nericd. However, precisely hecause the rhythm of the Labour Party is still sharply different to that cf the class struggle, and only periodically intersects it, we are faced with a general danger of adapting our own rhythm o£ activity to social derocracy and, in consequence, isolating ourselves from the key strucgles on many fronts in precisely a pericd wnen we need to maximise the allccation of our resources to intervention in the coming upsurge of the wasses. 19) ‘the problems which confront building an axis of unified action against the Tory covernment demand, in essence, & particular developirent of the dialectic of unity and out£lanking in the context of long term axes of work (a similar problem is posed on the question of Ireland). The traditional way of carrying out such work is throuch the construction of long term structures around one or two slogans (the anti-Tory solidarity campaion'?). This is even more obviously unworkable on an issue such as the Tory government than it is on other fields of work. In opposition to this concept of the ‘long term campaign’ the essential model we have to use is that of ‘conjunctural actions within an axis’ i.e. not one single organisational form but projecting a series of initiatives Which in their totality and coherence educate the vanguard. Thus for example our comrades in Sheffield-Rotherham through first proposing and holding a conference through the Trades Council on the question of the Tory govt., utilising this to launch an intervention in the May Ist strike at which the call for a Council of Action was put, calling for recall of the conference to discuss the struggle in the autumn, etc., each of which initiatives is able to pull in sections of the mass vanguard, carry out a far more wide and systematic
[page 14]
Lge education of the vanguard on the question of the Tory goverment than could be achieved through launching some ‘campaign’ structure. The essential roint is that the coherence and correctness of this type of axis lies in the interrelation of ali the incivicual initiat ives not in the particular nature of any one of them. Ne more than we can permanently organise the vanguard through some campaign structure om Ireland, Vietnam or a similar issue should we ex rect to be able 4 > permenently it on the issue of the Tory governmen , The general formula we have to use for creating such an axis and teh organisations which go. with it, is therefore precisely essentially the sate as the formula os the dialectic cf unity and outflanking as amlied to other issues. ‘that is to say we will in ceneral find ourselves posing united action with seme section of the organising ‘cadre (for e xanple in a Treades Council) for organisaticnal forms (lecal LS ‘ conference, , action committe , cefence committee) which can draw in forces of the mass vanguard, but which will tenc, after the conjuncture they ; were createc around has passed, to cecline or be recuperated. by the 7 ‘existing organisations, but will verappear, frecuently under different : nanes, in teh new conjuncture. The only essential cifference between this and initiatives on conjunctural issues, is that in the case of a long term issue of work there will be a continual xeposing of united fronts of a conjunctural, nature on the sare political hasis i.e. of the Tory covernment. 20) Within this general problematic clearly the key elements who we attempt to organise in united organisation and activity on the axis of the To governmentare the leaciing ¢lements in teh direct strucgles of teh class {~. (shop stewards committees , trade unicn branches etc) in. particular Traces Councils, witch already cut across industr ciak anc union Civisions, in many “areas constitute an excellent sp inch arc: through which, using the general problematic of the dialectic of. unity and outflankinc, it is possible ts po pose the question of the creetion of action committees anc: sim ide ar orcanisations. 21) On the general axis against the Tory government it is also necessary to take initiatives not simply within the working class but also to create a united front with the potential allies of the working class. ‘This is particulart, y possible in the student field - where the relation of forces “is much more favourable between us and the trad ition al organisatcons than | in the working class. The whole issue of the Tory government allows us to pose the question « of worker-stucen, solidarity not simply ‘in abstract" or | singly in physical terms in strikes ete but as uri ited actions ona éefinite ; political axis. Individual in itiatives will clearly vary from area to area
[page 15]
Nw but amongst the initiatives which can be taken (a) establishment of action committees set up by student unions on the campuses to carry forward the struggle against the Tory government and its policies, (b) helding of teach ’ i.s and debates on all campuses, sponsored by the stucents union and if possible working class bocies in the area, devoted to the struggle acainst the Tory government and, in particular, the new Labour programme. Local workers leaders, Labour figures CP, immigrants anc women’s croups should be invited to take part. (c) we should take continual initiatives to dehate the LPYS branches etc on the Labour party programme, call for all socialist: » tendencies tc participate in forums etc. 22) While initiatives axed towarcs trace union cacres, students tnicns etc constitute the main initiatives in the coming pericd nevertheless, as already outlinec in the secticn on the united front, we must alsc take definite organised initiatives with recar to the social demccracy. ‘This is inceec necessitated by the present conjunctures precisely to cain the maximum leverage from the combined nat ..e of the upsurvs.. These essential axes Of this in the coming period are:i. To make continual propoganda for united action dgainst the Tory government anc to make this the central thrust cf initiatives with regard . te social cemocracy both throuch newspaner articlus (inclucing open letters ‘comments on cebates in left social democratic journals etc) propoganda in " united fronts involving sccial cemocratic elements on a more limited political basis etc. ii, To continually point out the central contradictich in the Labour lefts position on the Tory government - that they continually Genounce it as barbaric, Geclave te rerove-it is the main task etc, but refuse to unite “in. practice with all other forces who wish to bring dow this government and renounce the wost effective wearon, extra=~parliamentary struggle in . general and the General Strike in serticular, for removing it. iii. To pose the continual need for an crganised axis of all those prepared to struggle against the Tory doverniment.
As regard this latter point we have clearly to understand the differences between cur problematic of intervention in or towards the Labour party and that of an entryist current.: 2~n antrvist bases himself on the rythm of the Lakour party anc, to the extent he intervenes outside it, carries out intervention in the direct class strugcle on the basis of the rythm of Labour.
We on the contrary base ourselves ‘on the rythm of teh direct class struggle anc intervene in the Labour party on that rythm mot that of the Labour
[page 16]
Te party itseld . For example at a Labour party conference an antryist would produce a. ‘daily bulletin, concentrate on teh key reaolutions discuss the relations of parliamentary party andi conference etc. We would intervene and should have cone this year, Om Shrewsbury, the ban on the Licue, Chile, etc. Similarly with a local Labour Party. For an entryist work would be determined by the rythr: of the local ancl national: parts (elections, ” resolutions etc) Interventions in strikes , Celonstrations ete would, : if “undertaken at all, be a subordinate activity to this, anc in all cese ability to intervene in these would be sacrificed if incompatible with the strategic aim of ramaining within the Labour party. We however intervene ‘in’ the life of the Labour party branch on precisély the rvthm of these . "extemal" events, in reletio to strikes, demonstrations, etc, and break the united front the moment it comes into conflict with the neecs and rythrs of this Gixect stragile. Indeed in the present vericc the difference between the rythm © of teh direct class struggle anc the rythm of the Labour party will'cnly intersect conjuncturaly ané@ nct* permanently, and we must resist an\. deviation which suborCinates intervention in. the former with ‘the need to maintain unite’ action with the latter. ‘hos however cces not exclude, but in fact necessitates, continual prorccanda for an organised, and permanently organised, unification of strugcle. This will at most precisly achieve the best conditinns for showing the conflict hetween the rythis ‘Of thé Labour party and the needs cf the class struggle and provides the concept we have to mre ryect in our efforts to invelve ‘social < democracy ‘in common action at points of near intersection of Labour's rythm and that of the class etrugel. », the ckvious focus for such a united front is the call, which in general is promoganca but can hecome acitational under certain circumstances of:lv. A national conference, as well as local organisations sponsored by all the tendencies of teh working class rvcement, including TRibune, CP and the revoluticnary left, to discuss the way forward in the struggle against the - Tory government.” We in particular raise this point in relation to all “initiatives to social democrats and centrists. 23) This ceneral axis of uiited action with the Labour Party also raises guestions which under certain circumstances become of the first importance and even now are of propoganda significance. In rarticular:is the abolition of bans and proscriptions. ai. ‘The basis of factory branches of the Lebour party. ~
[page 17]
the latter in particular must ke closely watched, As we have noted the fact that the rythm of our work must be absed on the direct rythm of thle class struggle excludes entry. However the situation with fatery branches; c£ teh Labour party is something different. Of ccurse in initial stages any such org janisations would be dominated by the rythms of Labour itself. 7 and it is as projections of the central Labour agparatus that they are conceived cf by the party and trace union apparatus. However the very — organisat tional wey in which Labour civides up ‘politics ané'trade umionism' treans thc it is incapable of defining a clear line of interventicn within the. factory. 2 the extent therefore that such branches come to ke cominatedc not by the internal. rythms of the Labour party but by the direct rythms of the class struggle anc such a development is even likely in 2 period of impetus end upsurce on the industrial and cther frents (e.g. struggle over the Housing Financ e Act) Of teb class strucgle, thev will tend to escare teh hegemony of the Labour bureaucracy. Under these conditions, revolution aries, who of course Go not divide up trace umicn and other questions from politics, will finc a ready auciience. Under these conditions we must watch extremely carefully all cevelorments of Labour marty factory branches.
Wherever such branches exist cur o'des must seek to join themand, if circumstances ere suitable, we should even take initiatives, in union with left social camocratic elements, to form such branches. Such orcanisaticns are a Sefinite possibility along which the united front of the class . against the Tery governvent may pass. Ve must consciously seek to push forward this axis by extending such organisations to the widest possible layers. We in particular call for:vie Factory branches of the Lakour party to he established on the basis of all wor] ers who pay the political levy.
Within any factory branches we pf course must appear openly as the IMG in line with the ceneral point that at present it is cur onen work, not entryist work, which must constitute our main axis. h. Organisation of Intervention in the Trace Unions. 24) The second axis on which the IMG has to Gevelcp the organisation of the vanguard in the ccming period is within the trade wions - and in particularly in relation to the coming workinc class upsurce. ou this front there are two clearly opnosed proklesatics held in the revolutionary left. The first tactic, as cevelored in their different ways by the IS end teh SLL, is that. of building a 'rank and fi ile organisation’ /trace
[page 18]
~ 19 = union "tendency" supposedly on the model of the RILU and the Minority Movement, We are of course ‘in principle’ in favour of constructing . revolutionary tendencies in the trade unions, in the same sense of “oh nek : ‘organisation o£ revolutionary opp sition to the bureaucracy organised - ; on a permanent basis.’ However, the precise problem is how this is to be achieved, starting from a situation in which the mass of workers , and even of the vanguard, do not accept a revoluticnary line on a a total range of issues even within the trade unions and where consequently, even the forces of the vanguard are structured around the organising cadres of the class and not around the revolutionary left. The first ‘formula, that of the . Is and to some extent the SLL is to establish the organisational form but devoid ‘of the political content , i.e. to organise "rank and File! _GOUpS but not on a revolutionary programme even with recard te the union but on “am e economist basis vinich in general are an eclectic combination of all the spontaneous currents throw up in the milieux in which they operate (rank and file teacher is the classic case). This is net only wrong at the level of polities but also concretely will not work. Given the existing relation “OF forcas with the organising cadres of the class such organisations are ‘not at all ‘rank and file'organisations but really organisations of the periphery of the political group. Furthermore, again given the relation of forces, such’ organisations become dominated not by the rhythm of the | class: struggle but by the internal rhythm of the union. In consequence, » none of the supposed ‘rank and file’ organisations ~ DTUA, NALCO Action, Rank and File Teacher, ete. ~ has shown any ability to actually intervene in the class strucyle and their actual function is to organise the periphery of, in particular, IS, on an ectnomist, and not a political basis. | 25) In counterposition to this ‘rank and file' conception the IMG precisely applies the concept of the dialectic of unity and ocutflanking. ‘Concretely this starts £ from the fact that while the vanquard, and even more the masses, will not organise themselves in terms of a revolutionary programme even with regard to the unicn, which follows from the fact that they are net ideologically hegemonised ky revolutionary concepts, but will follow the initiatives cf revolutionaries on ind ividual anc conjuncture al points. On conjunctural questicns therefore it is x ssible to project in practice what a revolutionary line within the unions would consist of and thus both take forward the struggle and aducate the vanguard. In other words for the IS/SLL problematic they start from the suoposed correct organisational form’and then, in order to attempt to give that form some substance, in which they fail, they abandon thé political starting coint. Cur formula is to start with the revolutionary political basis enc use this for conjunctural initiativos i.es we-at present s=oriftes the *oorrmet} oteanisational forms.
[page 19]
-[o— 26) ‘These two lines are in practice very different and already we have sufficient experience to make the balance sheet that ours is the correct line not simply from the point of view of ‘theory! and the future developrent of the st5ugele. Ne may take a few cases where we have rost experionce of the type of line we have to project to illustrate the difference. toes - * The first and most chvious exarple is the intervention in practically . every strike struggle. The IS problematic in general means having no line whatever for the actual ccnduct of this struggle, altn tough there are hcnourable exceptions such as the first Chrysler strike, but instead trying to find cne or two individuals who can be recruiteé to IS or to a . rank and file organisaticn arc who will provide the basis for propoganda — “work after the strucgle is finishec. Our activity is geared to the developments of those ccncrete initiatives and actions which unite bread layers of the vanguard ang thereby transform the strucgle. ‘The classic case of this concerns the é:. hers strucc fle anc the work of the IMG and IS in ‘Rank and File’. . "Rank anc File’ is a group built, initially by Is, for work in ‘the MUT. As such it is built on an anti-bureaucratic basis. As IS conceive of building this as a ‘tendency’ in strucgles it attempts to concentrate leadership in its hands etc. Thus, for example, in the strike over the | Londen teachers' allowance carly this year If intervened on the axis of | build rank and file’. he however projected the deme nd of an All London.
Strike Comittee which would obviously include supporters of rank and, file but was a conjunctural initiative aired at drawing in far wicer layers. This demand ret 2 ‘ready response among the vanguard anc. while the strike Was Over kefore the Cemand could be realised it began to grcup around far wider layers than organised in rank ard file, this in cum laid the basis for the next stage of the strug Gle - defence of militants victimised folicwing the end of the strike. te intervened to establish the Wandsworth 3 defence conmittee which again ¢ drew in much wider layers than Rank and File and laid the base for an important reconstitution of the vanguard in this field. (as well as so corny sletely outflanking IS, that they have since keen forced to put in two merbers if their National Committee to this field of work to try and stabilise it against us.} Similarly on the question of the pay claim we will take a conjunctural initiative to establish a ce facto unitec front and not confine ourselves to Rank and File. (By these CYT eS of initiates incidentally we have also transformed our position within rank and file). * Brong lodal government workers in London we have also seen several cases -O£ the application of the dialectic of unity and outflanking end itp implications as opposed to, for example, the ‘building rank and file noverents' line. (i) In Islineton an example of increasing tendency of development, the
[page 20]
the political victimisation of a social worker took place. the line of IS was ail emphasis on the ficht in the TU branch. We cf course were in favour of this, but, as in.the Wanusworth 3 example, cur main errhasis was tc create a comjunctural united front drawing in the widest possible forces. this coneretely took the fox of pushing towards an ackion committee on this . question and, as a first step along this axis, calling a cerenstretion which involved not only. akout 1CO social workers, in working hours, but also . the beginnings of representatives from tenarts end squetters. (In the event: this axis.ofresponsewas.so succesful that the victimisation was defeated before _ the actual organisat’ cnal establishrent of the action ccrmmittee cculd take place but the line of cevelcrment was clear - a conjunctural united front drawing in the widest nossible foross versus the sirple ficht as a trace unicn tendency and therefore work crimarily through the NALCO branch, line of IS,. (ii) In Waltham Forest we were facec with the attempt ky the council to, evict caravans, arc resistance by NALCO sccial workers to it. Again we projected ce facto the line of a conjunctural united front which tock the form of an alliance of Social Workers organised: in NALGO, trachor drivers, who would be called upon to tow away the caravans, in NUPE, and chvicusly the inhabitants of the caravans. f@gain the clear axis towards the action committee on the specific issue as opposed to the line of IS of raising it primarily as en issue for building a ‘tendency’ in the uiion. In cach case cur problematic. was the same.
Rot ignoring or going round the traditi ne wrdanisations buc ‘creatin ga ‘united front’ with them which could be usec as the springbearé for bringinc wider forces ‘inte the struggle. A clagsic case of wiity and cutflanking (An initiative for re) a ‘revolutionary left’ united front would of course have been just as much “= disaster as was the IS subordination to the rythm of the organising cadre). . file’ organisaticns cf the IS-SLL tyre. We project conjunctural united fronts around certain specific issues and our work within trank and file' organisations is conditioned on this basis , 1G. we cm not “builéd’ these organisations as a strategic way forward but seek to inclue these orgenisaticis, to ‘transcend! them in united fronts which also include far wicer forces of the venguerd. This from grasping the real nature of an organisation by the label, or otherwise, of @ "rank and file" organisaticn. fake fr examl. the LCINU. his acneers -ar exellence a 'rank and filo? crcaniseticn, ‘Closer axaminetion reveais however two precesses., On the one hen’ it has at throm merbois(ccfenecs cE sh stewarce pa ed ayainst the Wiles n attacks, scainst In Plect «£ Strife in the early vhase, soninst Reig cla i
[page 21]
~21= the TRAct) of genuine united fronts of the vangquarc cn a specific issue (inciucing important + actions ~ Feb 27th 1969, May lst 1969, Dec 8th 1970) On the other hand outside these conjunctural united frcents it is simmly an orcanisation of the perirhery of the CP Whether we raise a slogan of "build LODTU branches’ cerencis entirely o on Which cf these two processes is Cominant at a particular point in tire and not cn a cefiniticn of the LCDTU as a 'rank-and file! orcanisaticn (although in this case, as alreacy noted, the cange in the political conjumcture makes the “axis of the united front with the CP on the trace tion cuestion less strategically likely) Similarly with Builcing Workers Charter, Formally this was | . establishec cna whole progremme of Gemancs in teh form of a classis rank anc file organisation. Concretely however the situation in teh building trade is so cominated by one issue, the strucgle against the luro, that the actual nature of Building Workers Charter has been as a unitec front against the lum. “On that ‘kasis, as we precisely do think that conjunctural united fronts ate the way forward for organising the vanguard, one of the forms ry which we have actually 4 atterpted to create a united front on the issue of the lump is by calling for the building cf Charter Grouns. (this again, in a different way, shows the clear cifference with IS They counterpose their trace union tencency in building to the de facto united front cm the lump. They again remain irrelevant) similarly in the case of Engineering Voice. We in tech coming pericd want to project a united front on questicns of how to fight, and what to fight for, in the Engineers Pay Claim. We attempt to co this both by calling for conferences of shop stewards: etc but also de facto through our intervention in Enginee ering jolee conference.
Under certain circumstances it is quite possible that the way y forward to a unitec front on the question of the Engineers Pay Claim is through the developrent of Engineering Voice. In all these situations hcwever cur conception of, and orientation towards, such organisations is not as ‘rank and file’ organisaticns but as de facto united fronts on specific conjunctural questicns. ‘These unitec fronts are develored not simply locally on specific issues and struggles, but also throuch central carpaidns of the organisation on questions such as Shrewsbury, teh Engineers, teachers etc. 28) Our general attitude to the construction of a permanent. organisation o ME sections of a revolutionary programme relating to the trade unicns i.e. toa trade unicn tencency, is that we are unequivocable in favour of this but that such an organisation can only ke created ones the revolutionary organisations have created a definite layer within the union which agrees with their programme en the unicns and wil ch therefore creates a certain relaticn of forces with the bureaucracy and reformist policical currents. This cannot he cone, as beth . theory antl experience show, by setting up the organisaticnal form of a tendency oi anc then trying to Give it a base by abanconing the revolutionary politics, ‘the
[page 22]
a be Cd real way forwarc consists of creating united fronts on a series ‘OE cenjunctural issues through which the vanquard is educated and through a serics of such actions and teh cevlepment of the class struc cle precisely a layer wrich will accept the’ revolutionsries programe on teh unions will be oreated Which, in tum, can form teh’ basis for a real revolutimary tencency. For the present we refuse to pretend or act as though suppesec. rank anc file orge isaticnswere anything other than What they are i.e. organisations of the perirhery of other political ; GYCIDS . 29) This obviously applies equally to our ow peri iphery. In a nunber of unions (e.g. NUT, NALCO possible: TASS in teh coming pericd) we are moving to a situation of having a cefinite nerirhery for our line in the unions. ‘his must be orcaniseci precisely as the periphery cf cch IMG throust: meetings, conferences, caucuses etc. For this we need to procuce ¢ concrete programmes fer the particular unions and industries. He sharply distinguish these however from the organisations which we project for the masses; - 30) With’ regard to a trace union tencency of the future our } probleratic is therefore cn teh one hand the s yetematic orconisation of our periphery specifically through organisations tiec to teh IMG, on the other hend conjunctural united fronts and finally propoganda for the general progrenme of” such a revolutionary txece unicn “REAR: and in a few excertional unions {é -J. NUP) ‘possibly in teh coming period actual organisational moves for a ec. Ireland. 31) The third major orcanisational axis wo have to project in tch coming” period is the canpaign for the withdrawal of British troops from Irelané.” In the past, as analysed in c'de Sykes document, we have made a whole series of errors on this issue through working on the concertion of the ‘outflanking united rent’. this concept, shown in VSC/ATL/ISC leas to a struccle to conduct pom: anent miter front organisations around one or tKo S? ogans. For all the reasons gis Py eralier in teh analysis of the rass vyancuard what is actually produced by” such organisations in teh prsent pexioc is exmty shells of the periphery of cone or two small ow uns. As im the case of the Tory covernment, and in fact all lonc term areas of work, we have to replace the idea of "leng “' term campaign structures’ with that of ccnjunctural initiatives within an axis. 32) Keorientation of cur work on the questicn of Irelancl along the lasis of
[page 23]
~23of the dialectic of unity and. outflanking entails the development of a whole series of ccnjunctural united fronts and action and it is precisely through these that the campaign is built. In cther words actions on questions such as the arrest of Mc Sticfain, political mriscners status in the North, Farrell's arrest, the Felfast 10, ete are not *o be regarded as 'diversicns' from building a solidarity movement but cn the contrary, as precisely the punctual type 3 of initiatives which are essential ways of building it. This-also is -tied to the organisational forms es clearly any crganisaticn established will ke to take these conjunctural initiatives. The relative sucesses we have had in S. Shields, Coventry Lefence, early period cf the Belfast 10 defence ete: show the correct way forwarc. These lessons rust be fully integratec into work cn the question of the withdrawal cf the trcops i.e. we will not set out > by attempting to establish a long term united front orcanisation but a series of ad noc bedies for particular < actions, 2 Cenp rc to apply the dialectic of unity and outflanking through united acticn with Trades Councils, LPYS branches .etc.. the particular axis ‘of unity anc outflank ing related to the Labour party appears in this work as raking a central plank of propoganda and agitation the call for Lebour to break the bipartisan policy anc call for British disengagement from Ireland. 33) ‘This. naw stage of our work in Ireland will to some extent mean a change in cur relations with the forces of the Rerublican noverent. the primary Orientation, for a campaign for the withdrawal of trocps is clearly towards + the organisation of the Brisish working class. However within this axis an absolutely essential feature of the work on teh questicn of Ireland is our relations with the renublican movement, particularly Sinn Fein. throuch our work in the last period we have established relatively <ood rela ticns with SF and the joint activities which have cceurreé in Coventry and London lay the basis for similar organised co-chetation in other areas.
Ge anti-R racist. Work 34) ‘This in the comine pericd will develop primarily on two axese> (a) Anti Racism = Anti Racist work. Permanent cropoganda for creation of black coucuses in unions anc factories, propoganda for ending of Inmigration Aliens and Pakistan Act, solidarity with particular } black struggles, etc. _* At present the existing relaticn of force S ind ticates this will be of an ac hoc nature but we should attempt to set , more permenent structures, which obviously will only come to life in a bic way pericdically, through Trades Councils, TRaies Unions ete. (b) ‘Anti fascist- anti racist work.’ ‘This is obviously interconnected with seneral anti racist work but has an
[page 24]
important Cegree of autonomy. There is grwoing consciousness on this question within teh working class on what is clearly a vital issue of future strucgle. he have to develop work primarily throuch i. unitec front robilisations against fascist actions ii continual mronoganca on fascist activities iii. collaborating with forces to procuce and promote the anti fascist bulletin. @. Work on the issue of Chile. 35) This has a dual siqnificance for the IMG. In the first place it isa solidarity campaign around cne of the most immortant developments in teh world today. In the second place it bears a direct relation to the central Ciscussion of the stratecy for socialism, For hoth reasons it is rosed as an inportent campaign for the organisation. We have to develor it precisely, as we have already begun to tio so, not via an ‘outflanking united front! tyne campaicn but through the dialectic of unity and outflanking. Hothing could prove the i) corrrectness of this problematic more then the initiatives we have 2 reacy been able to take in Sheffield=Rotherham, Newcastle, Glasgow etc in every case of “which we precisely operatec via the Gialectic of unity and outflanking. £. Defence work. 36) In teh present moves of the bourceoisie towards a strone state this will clearly be a continuing axis of work. In the immediate period the main « campaigns on this front are for defence of Irish rilitants and in defence of the Ligue Cormumiste.
Ge Indochina mo, ~~ 37) This is of course still the key strugcle on a worle scale. At present the state of the struggle is not such as to allow important initiatives on our part.
We must clearly continue te maintain the Indochina commission, constant propoganda ete in premaretion for future turns in the situaticn - which are almost inevitable before the war ends. h. Southern Africa. 38) ‘This is the second key anti -imperialist struggle on a worl€ scale an¢é one Which is reaching a critical turning point. Again to prevare for future turns in the situation, we must develop the Africa Commission and carry out consistent oropoganca.
[page 25]
=25— ~~ Organisatico of cur work among students. 39) Vhile teh primary work of the IMG is now primarily within the working class and our work in the student milieu foes not have the same central role as_ it cid in the mid 1960s, nevertheless the maintainance of a strengthened implantation in the strudent ndlieu is inportant for two cifferent reasons (apart from the obvious one of recruitment) (i) In a strategic sense. A_ revolutionary crganisation intervenes in non-proletarian layers in particular were a layer, or a significant rart of it, can be won to the sice of the working class in a revolution i.e. where it constutes a rotential aliy of the working class in a strategic sense (e.;. classic example of poor peasnatry, conscripts in armies etc) (This reason does not exist for those such: as 1S who have a problematic that a revoluticn is working class against everyone else in society instead of the working class leading all the cyepressed layers, of society) (ii) Ina cenjunctural sense i.e by our implantation in such a ‘layer we are able to take intilatives which affect the course of tch class struggle, influence the consciousness of the proletariat etc. In the case of _ students this means we aim to gain an implantation among stucents both as a key task for conjunctural initiatives and, because of teh proletarianisation of intellectual labour, the general social crisis etc the students constitute one of the main layers which in siomificant numbers can be won to the side of the proletariat or neutralised. Furthermore, precisely because they are an intermediate layer, if this is not achieved they will bea mm to the side of the class enemy thus, as in the past, wroviding couter revolution with one of its ‘chief strike forces. We therefore have two tasks in the student field, which become interlinked in practice. the first is as a stratecic aim to maintain a permanent implanaticn in this ndliesu and as far as ressible conquer hegemony over it. ‘the second is to use this force for conjunctural initiatives in the total class struggle. The reasons why thesé two tasks are linked in pactice is because without a permane mt axis of intervention on the actual oppressicns which confront students i.e. taking wi the effects if the ir structural rosition which defines them as potential allies of teh proletariat, it is not possible to maintain a permanent and crowing implantation in teh milieu while at the sare time without a clear axis of conjunctural initiatives on the total class struggle we will not attract around us those vanguard elements who also hecoré leaders in the mass strucgles of students. 40) Our ability to carry throwh either of these tasks rests, as of course in every cther field, on an analysis of the issues of the day, the state of the milieu, the concrete relations anc alicnrent of forces etc. In regard to the latter we may note that while we must beware of machanical analcies with the ao:
[page 26]
working class, the general problematic throuch which we have to orient our work in the student field is roughly analysacle in the sare terms as our problematic for work elsewherei.e. the dialectic of organising caine, political vancuaré and mass strucgle as expressed in teh tactic of unity anc outflanking. fhe reason for this is that in Sritain, unlike for example France, ‘the student milieu is still structured by organisational forms of some weight (NUS notably) anc by Ce€inite orcanising cadres. ‘The weicht cf these orcenisaticna and catires is cf course far less then in the working class but the difference is, at least as yet, a quantitative one anc nota qualitative onw involving an entirely éifferent problematic. (which is the case in tehHLM) Thus for example in the struc jle over student ‘grants it was very clear that this was led by Cefinite organising cadres, in general orcanised in relation tc NUS, and only | conjincturally was it possible to outflenk these elements. Even this was precisely achieved throuch a form of the dialectic of unity and out£lanking “ a unity in action offensive directed towards CPANUS but going in practice beyond their perspectives. this determines our essentaii problematic as regards work and'rank ané file! organisation. thus for aexarple LCDSU had a viability as a united front on the question of student autcncmy but collapsed afterwards.
Socialist Altemative hac a similar though less fruitful owing to the politics of IS, dynamic given it by the oxants issue. Outside seach a conjunctural issue hosever, to pose these ‘rank and file organisations’ | is really to buileé an . organisation of the teriphery cf a political group e.g. Soc Alt and IS. We thus ‘dd not nose ‘the concept of "building a rank and file organisation of students’ a. la Soc Alt ete. Be devel 2 Our work through conjunctural united fronts. This will involve work both in Soc Alt and Broac Left, and in particular with regard. rm to the latter, we operate the dialectic of unity and outflanking. | | 41) as regards the organisation of our periphery in tch student field this is posed in different ways in relations tc the two aims of our work already outlined i.e. to win decisive sections of students as a layer to the side of the working class, which necessitates continuous work on the key issees which affect students (e.g. grants) and to utilise students for conjuctural initiatives within the general class strusgle (which necessitates political campaicns cn all the issues of the clas struggle) In the form of organisation this is generally posed as the cifference between orcanisaticn of our periphery on the basis of > cur Line on students and organisation of our reri,ehry on the basis of our general political line. “hich of these two is dominant depends on the conjuncture.
When the milieu is Cominated by strugcles on student issues and this forms the main content of our work (autonomy, grants) then clearly orcanisation is primarily | posed on the basis of cur line for this strucgle. In periods of Comination by wv the more general class struccle our mun instrument for organising our perighery
[page 27]
Lo is our general political line. In teh present pericd, whilethe mass strugele will still be on the questions such as crants, the whole political situation will be increasingly dominated by teh upsurce of the working class. The relation of forces on this front is primarily between us anc the other revolutionary pclitical tendencies the CP having a predominantly pessive line on this, and with a more favourable relationshiy of forces the possibility of crcanising our periphery, on the basis of our general political line, increases. The ceneral formula of organisation of our periphery cn cur general political line (F.1. Sccieties) the political basis not the name is important, is the correct formual for organisation in teh coming pericd. ( A seperate decument will be produced on this.) Organisation of our intervention among women. 42) this has alreacy been Gealt with in various documents already produced in the organisation. Tow clearly different views have enerced. The first (Lee Wayne Surgit) poses work on teh cuesticon of women's oppression as proceeding primarily anc permanently throuch the “LM, sees teh absence of proletarian women in teh WLM as primarily conjunctural etc. The seconc line (in teh Jones Cccument) stresses the structural limitations on thedevelopment of the WLM anc. therefore coes not see it as develoni S to include large numbers of croletarian woren, and in conseque:"e, sees teh primary areas of work on many questions of women's oppression as lying . outside the WLM while ate the sare time using forces within the WLM, in united fronts with otehr organisations and forces, to push forward such questions as equal pay, prices, tax system, opmression of woren in ecucation etc. While a seperate resoluticn cn this will be produced for the conference the PP adopts the. second of these lines. Our chief tasks in this area are:i. to attenpt to hesemonise the socialist current within the WLM by (a) intervention in the continual cebate on the autonomy of the women’s movement, the role of the party in relation to women, tha role of women in the revolutionary process, the famiiy etc. (b) conjunctural interventions which are primarily organised outside the WLM but into which the forces of the WLM can ke Grawn (prices, equal pay). ii to cevelop work, primarily outside the WLM, and particularly criented to proletarian wormen on. the whole range of issues of women's oppression ~ as priority: in teh coming perioc! to take up equal pay and the oppression of women within the education syster:
Organisation of our intervention in the black commit 43) This is at present at a very embryonic stage of recruitment of a tiny handful o£ a black cacre.. Exnerience indicates rather strongly however that in reny .
[page 28]
immigrant conmunities the primary axis of the political vanguard is not at all dictated by covelooments in Eritain but those of tae cricins of these communities (Barbadan naticnalisism, CPI-CrI(Mj-CEI ML) splits etc) The: immicrant vanguard in that sense is far more hetrogenous than say the bhack vanguard, in teh United States. A much less generalised approach is needed and, in. of definite publications, ultimately newspapers or magazines, alired at these _ groups is necesssary. This can however clearly only be undertaken cnoe® ar. initial black cadre is recruited. although once such a toehold is established. publicaticns’ for expanding its influence sust he developed as rapidly as rossible.
RElations with other orcanisations of the revolutionary left. 44) OUr general problematic of relaticns with other organisations ct the ae So revolutionary left flows diractly from our analysis of the dialectic of unity, | and cutflanking and cf our gric of alliances alreacy mentiionec. The central axis of our united front is towards the organisinc cadres of the working class into whidi we attempt to pull the rass vanguard. to cutflank the bureaucracy and « overflow the Limitations cf the rolitical concemts of the orcanising cadres.
This means that, as the revolutionary crcanisaticns and their rericherics precisely constitute wart of the mass vanguard, althouch not the most cevisive “part, our primary axis of unitec front is-not towards them but tcwards them but tcwards the organising cadres kut we precisely atterpt to pull teh revoluticnary left into the wiitedc! fromt, in seneral once or as it is being established, in order to create a force to .outflenk the bureaueracy and the | Limits of the orcanising catlres. “6 can see this clearly for examole on Chile where ‘the key axis of our united frent was with the CP and LP but we are. able tc use the revolutionary forces as one way of inposing a Cifferent set of slogans ‘and actions within the united front than sirply those projected hy.the cP. This is also what we atterpted to do on Shrewsbury with the initiatives in. relation to the IS an. the SLL. While our chicf axis to ersate the framework of the united front was with the organising calres (Shrewsbury Cefence committees, . _, trades councils etc) within that we attermtec to craate an alliance with the IS-SLL which would-have helsed to outflank the CP. (In this case. we were thwarted by the tailist line of IS with regard to the CP. ¥hile-evor scheratism mest of courss be avoicec, this gencral problematic means that our initial approaches for unite! fronts will not be cirecte at all to other revolutionary.
Groups but to the orcanisinge cadres of the class and we must rigorously combat the propogancist Ceviation which seos our rain axis of intervention as to the otehr revolutionary groups. Once this united’ front is establishe’ however we should atberrt to Craw in the other revolutionery groums. If one wants a oo -
[page 29]
formula we may say that our problematic is to use an axis to the organising cadres of the class to cr eate the framework of the united front but to" utilise teh alliance with the revolutionary grows within that framework to outflank the trac litional organisations. he structure of the IMG ané the oreanisation of our periy ea 45) the starting point for the organisation of the IMG in ‘tech coming period must be the understancing that the vanguard in Brifain is now precominantly proletarian in compositien. This is not simply tr true Of the strike struggles but even, as teh Caetano and Chile mobilisaticns show, of the vanguard on the anti imperialist questions. The organisation of the IMG must be radically adjusted to the fact, that the cohesion and organisation of the working class is not pred corminantly centred in geogray. chical areas but in the factories anc workplaces. . _Organisaticn:by. geographical branches reflects predominantly a propogandist, atomised, non=prole etarian milieu. The core of a proletarian party is not the geographical unity but the. Factory and workrilace cell which may frequently act as the core for organising in an area. Our arguement with IS.is not at ali about their atterpt to organise by factory but about the rolitics on which they organise. Of course only in a few areas, about half a dozen, do we have sufficient concentration of forces even to “consider implementing this struture in a strict form'in the inrediate period but we must clearly understand the lime of advance and take the first steps to proceed along it. As soon as practical , taking into account opportunities of work, political experience etc. organisations based on ceograrhical units should be broken down into units based on definite structures in which we interevne (structures based on issues on which we 2 intervene of course must not be implemented). These may differ fror. area to area but the key foums at present will be. (a) where we have the forces cells ‘organised for intervention in a ‘definite place of work (b) college cells (c) grouping (fraction) intervening in a definite structured rilieu but wh ere for various reasons we do not have the forces to organise by workplace - organisation 2 cecupation (teachers, building workers, hospital, loca government etc). sore ceils these latter structures will be merely, and must be in general seen as, transitional forms . towards workplace organisation: . the possibilitiés of moving to these forms of organisation and away from our present geograrhical based. units will be increas~ ed as we begin to recruit people increasingly through definite initiatives we’ take and less through generalised propoganda. | 46) At our present stage of Geve lorment it is not possible to give any one form for the organisation of. our perirhery - neither the stage of the class
[page 30]
we oe AS struggle. nor the develorment-of. the IMC has yet reached a point.where. orcanisation in all mileus can ke carried out on the same prinary axis and through the same orgenisationc] form. Certain general cuidelines can however be laid Gown, (i) At all times we must clearly distincuish orcanisetions of our poriihery from oryaniations we jxoteet for th: rasees and for the vencuard.
Failure to do this ie. to repeat the Socialist “ormn/ISC mistake, will only lead to on the one hand soctarienism towsrds th- strugcle, anc on the other hand watering down cf our politics. In all cases organisations of our periphery must be explicitly known as such: - in no case allowing anbicguity to exist on this as with Socialist Yiorwan. In ceneral the best way to de this is ky tying therm to the newspaper. (11) Such cr¢anisations, to be of use, must involve some definite althouch of course net creat, committment in solidarity with the IMC, In general this reans they shoule include at least some small money committment towards financing I-cal activity and the national orcenisation (in particular th: Ped Neckly). We should in that sense attempt to build ur supporters groups for the paner. Bearing in mind those cencral points we will also have in General two types of periphery; that which exists because of general support for the politics cf the organisation, and that which comes from ag¢reerent with our line on a definite issue (eg. cn students, on a union struggle, on key factory questions ctc). The two types will need different types of organisation. Propocandist Red Circles/Red Forums will do for the first; it will clearly not do for the second. Organisation of our periphery must understand that these two thincs can chance 6.9. at present cur student periphery is largely one based on goneral rolitical sympathy, in a period of mass unsurce it may well become based on our line on a particular issue. The organisational form must shift accordingly. At present the followine guides should be used. (a) In the student field at prescnt we should craanise our periphery . Specifically on the basis of solidarity with the politics.of the F.I.
The general formula is 'F.I. Societies’, Forces in this can b3 used. specifically for preduction of bulletins cn key issues, venersl interventions etc. a (b) In trade unions we are in sore situations passing to the stace of attractin; and organising our perichery primarily because of its agreement with our line on definite questions. Our organisation must reflect this.
The General forrula is that used by our commades in NALCO ars? NUT establishment of regular fraction or caucus meetings with periphery discussing both the marticular intervention and cur ceneral wolitics. ...
Where we begin to gain some hase we must rove to setting these up on a 47) ‘The intemal organisation of the leadership in Britain is far more com plicated than in a country like France where soveral hundred years of absolute ~ ronarchy plus the whole evolution of the country have conspired to rake Paris the overwhelming factor in the rolitical rhythm and life of the country. Under these circumstances the task is clearly the centralisation of the leadership in the capital. In Britain it is quite different. The predominant rhythm of the class struggle is not dominated by London, but hy the industrial regions of the North and the Midlands, while London dominates ablrost all intemational questions, The same sort of centralisation of leadership as in France would in Pritain totally isolate the leadership from the class strug¢le, This means that the question of regional organisers end so on will always occupy a more predcrinant place in tho structure of a revolutionary organisction than in, for example, France. However this strategic facter of organisation must boa distinguished from conjunctural reasons for stressing area organisers in th. past period.
This reflected (a) The period of propoganda anc primitive qeocraphical expansion which the getting the organisation off the ground hac to nass through three towns (b) The necessity of reknittine tocebher the organisation after the effects of a year in which the leadership was deadiccked. Now these clenents are net quite so pressing anc clearly the orcanisation has to move towards a rore centralised organisaticn by carmaings and structuring fields of work. 3 +
[page 31]
= 3- Our ceneral formula in that sense has to be from the periphery to the centre to the periphery i.e. in the past ceriod the stress hac to he on area orcanisers, now however we need to begin to centralise the leacership but with the thrust of csoing back in the next phase to the building of stronger area organisation through cevelopermnt of the middle cadre of the orcenisation. However it must be stressed that this is @ very uneven process aii in some areas, notably the tiiclands, the phase we still nesd to nass throuch is that of area organisation, Scotland in addition will always pose certain srecific questions necessitating full tire organisation in the area. Tosether with this task of centralising the leadership must also co the strensthenine, in particular providing with finances, of the conmissions. 45) A particular form whivin in the last rericd the IMG has hac to use to overcone its 'lag' in the revolutionary left is the syteratic roverent of comrades.
This has been used both to attempt to establish branches in strategic areas (eg Newcastle) and to increase the prcoletarianisation of the organisation. it is a measure of the hich degree of dedication of the orcanisation that so many comrades have been preparea to do this. This method will still be needed.in the future, However in particular with reqard. to comrddes tryingto gain jobs in factories this must be seen as a reans of caining a real proletarian implantation not as a substitute for it. ‘thus for example where we have four or five contacts in an imporatnt factory comvaces taking a job there nay be a correct way of catalysing the process of recruitwent. In ceneral however comrades taking jobs ‘plind' where we have no contacts or real knowledce of political conditions insice is mlikely to be of value. 49) As regards our puslications the role of Intemational in the buitcing of the FIT and in our atterpts to regroup the revolutionary left has already been dealt with. The other key task however is to develon Red Weekly. At present we cannot, ever if we wanted to, which we Gon’:, connete in the Socialist Worker rarket. Khile the line of acwance is towards far rore agitation, shorter articles etc at present the paper will primarily make any impact in the vancquard through much propoganca waterial it needs to carry - being the only paper it is possible to cet serious analysis of developments in the Labour Party, of key anti~inperialist struegles, of the economic crisis etc. The backbone of thés has already been indicated when we state our key task in this period is a global contestation with the programme of left social denocracy. This means all cuestions of the labour party progranme, of the TUT rositions on workers 2. control, of response to anti-inperialist struceles etc wust be built inte the sackbone of the paper. To cover all this plus the necessary development of 7" agitational and short material ursently requires an expansion of the paper.
As a political préority this cannot he judeed simly by ‘internal’ financing of the paper but resources of the organisation must be put into it. At present the paper wakes a considerable loss. The increase to twelve pages, the obvious next step, can only increase this as raising the price is ruled out. To achieve this ster forward we need two things. i. An increase in sales by at least a thousand, rer week. ii. A stabilisation of a Fund Prive of £500 a month, When these are achieved we must t the initiative for a move to a twelve pecer.
The urgency of expansion indicates we must set e tentative target of the new year for this.
BS 50) A central organisational task in the coming period is strengthening the integxation of the IMG into the FI and contributiing to the building of the latter.
A start was made on this this year with the empointment of comrade Howard to work full tire on international work.vHowever the nature of his work in the Intemation means he has to spend long periods of time out of the country and; therefore is not abhe to comletely fill the role of linking the centre of the Intemational with the IMG. To achieve this a comrade from the leadership rust ke assioned to work at the international centre in the coming nericd.