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"The Labour Government has now been in office nine monthse ee that short space of time it has won the virtually universal contempt a e Left, both in this country and - even more So = abroade pe have so immediately lost all credit or respecte" With character s ne of sentimentality, this is how the introduction to New Left Revien, ne 7 32, opens upe But in the established vein of NIR, the editors con a call that we must seek to"“understand the logic" of development since. October, rather than simply indulge in recriminations.
As a contribution to such understanding, the review offers an important article by Tom Nairn, on "Labour Imperialism." This documents in detail how Labour's subjection to all the taboos of imperial policy has involved the Government in capitulation on issue after issue, until even the pillars of the Conservative establishment, such as the Daily Telegraph or the Times, "clearly feel that the Government's policies are too candidly reactionary." The article offers an important contribution to the discussion which is now opening up, as the left begins to draw up its balance sheete Tom Nairn's conclusions, however, strike this reviewer as inadequate, He rightly insists that "a maximalist programme can scarcely be opposed to a minimal programme in the classic fashion any longereseeesthe ruins of the Labour Party's minimalist positions lie scattered all about us," But to draw the conclusion that "There can only be a maximalist programme” is to accept a defeat which has not yet been inflicted: since purely maximal demands must be associated with the acceptance of a simple propaganda roles While it is perfectly true that the left must rediscover and redefine its overall socialist objectives, and that with some urgency, it is also true that this will not be possible until a practical strategy can be elaborated which can connect immediate political struggles with the socialist goal. This implies the elaboration of a programme neither minimal nor maximal, . but intermediary and transitional. The left must, as it refines its understanding, translate that understanding into slogans which are capable of creating a veritable explosion of socialist consciousness, Given the accept-= ance of this formidable chalknge there is no doubt that Tom Nairn is quite right that “the longrun chances of the left remain substantial,"
The Review also contains a number of other very important articles, including a vital text of Gramsci and a most useful introductory piece on education by Quintin Hoare. New Left Review is available, price 4/6 (or 27/* subscription) from 7, Carlisle St., London Wel.