(The following statecent on the situntion confriuting the British Labour novesent was issued by the Unite’ Gecretnrict of the Fourth Intjrnatisnnl Decenber 4th, 1966.)
The situation in Groct Britcin is now approaching a Jecisive turning point. It ia not the erisie of British c-pitrlien, fronkly almitte! by all polities] forees in the country, thet ie new but the role ployed by the lentership of the Lebour Party. Thie new role ciffera frou the previous role af so¢inl Cecooracy in which it defended enpitelisn by granting sacll reforus to the working class, Tocsy the Labour Party leccoréhip, while continuing to pose os the representative of the British working clros, syetecctically endeavours ti apply - glan of modernisation and conejlication 2f British enpitaliau ct the esst of the working clase itecif. This is the bacis of the growing conflict between the ocas sf workere = above all thase in the trace unions = and Harold Wileson's Labour ¢povarnient. The reflectisns of thet conflict inside the British Lebaur Perty and the working clase ¢suld decide the possibilities af «a brackthrough towerts socislien in Great Britain for « lang period to cane. :
The roots of the chronic crisis of Britain's ecpitoliat econeny are well known and neec only brief uention. Britain's erpitclist class is paying the price tadny of having been the pioneer beneficiorica of the first indusatrinl revolution. Its present distress steas fran this histerie distinction, ven befare the first world war it wos clenr that it had lost ita prest sidvanrtage as world lesder in industrial provuctivity. Theat it ssuld still retain for a period of thirty yeors the fentures of a unjor inpericliat power wos Cue to its enoroous foreign enpital investnents, saceuiminted in the course of 2 century cnd-nore. This enabled ond ensure? substantial profite vernitting it ta live with ¢ chronicolly negative trate belence without a renl thrent ta tho stability af the pound.
The second world wer serisusly Cepleted theasa foreign holwings in an absolute sense but even uscre sa in « relative sense. Brit-in's invisible" exports prover loss ont lesa «ble in theiselves to anintoin a positive bAlonce of poyuents, The reletive backwardness of British inéustry ond industriel praduetivity developed with inerensing speed particul-rly Juring the Joecles of the fifties and sixties in eatgrrigon with ite prineiprl csupetitore in Europe Olest Germeny) and ‘ein (Jrpan). The Irtterts rote of crowth and mods ernigntion outstripped Britain's peorticulrrly since they errric! no grent military and navel burden. This in turn brought the chrinis belcnee pf poye nents crisis and the periodie ctteipt to stop this crisis throweh fovernzent engineered recessions which coul? only neeantunte the gap between the rete of growth of both productivity cnc production between Britain ond its sain competitors,
For many yeors now the leading spokesmen and indealorues of British | enpitelien have slvoccted a clear prosravie for rationalizing anc streailining the capitelist econuny. Inplicit in this programme is a callous stop to nominal wore inerenses in order ta raise the rote af profit and eoapital acc= uluintion., leo, «2 vest cisplecenent af Lobour fron the go<onlled backward nnd etegnating industrial branches tower the expanding ones, particularly those tie: to exports. By endine the condition of full eaploynent which the British working clase hos bmowi far nearly 25 yerre (excent curing the Tory engineered recessisan af 1963-64) they could indeed go a long wor toward 1 "Eationclising” copitolist industries, The adi wee the erusjing of working elnes resistonce ta capitalist super exploitation by the ereation of an industrinl reserve oray, thet would bor down upon wayré inerenses oni even * Present wage stonderie, and thus overesce the unin obstoele whieh orises fro the workers! stubborn defence of their living standards and accial services, which they heve won through lon¢ and suceessful struzgle. This euployers' strategy ia «lso cesimned to prepore Rrit-in's entry into the Connon Harket on the most aivantasteous basie.
ta
. direct attack by the eopitalist clase through o Tory governsent would heave provakecd a gpenoralise] resistance 2f the warking class which eould have vory well led towrris « victorigua generol strike onc 5 consequent sccinl anc politiccl crisis for British capitalie:. In the face of thie the Tory party was restreinad by various sectore of British enpital froo uncertaking such an offensive, With refined politiesl instinct they fevourel a Lobour cavernuent's undertaking of this dirty job, particularly since it would ‘ct first enjoy the @o.l will ond loyalty of the averwhelning wcjority.of the working clase, They ealculeted carrectly that a Labour governcent esuld anyly the cuployers' Progrmuie oore directly than cay Tory covernhent since 1951 «ni. thet this would crente divisions, confusion, and denorslisstian inside the working closes sufficiently to reduce to a tininu the "sotial overhead esate" of the stresn= Lining operation. The past yerr's experience shove thet. they (ic not miscalculate.
Throwth a skilful use of the tracitionnl oschine of Transport House and a no lease akilful appecl to the basic loynlty of the British working class ts the Labour Party, Wilaon has been eble t+ corry through step by step supoort toa 0.3. inpericlian's tirty wor in Vietn=u, with o de facto recognition of the white settlers" opartheic regine in Rhotesins «a tacit abandonnent of ony F extension cf the social services including the promiged return to 4 ooupletely free henlth service; all this esobine: with the hypocriey of an "inecores : policy" = = thinly diaguised farn of wage freeze, ‘hen oll these censures a proved insufficient to rehabilitate Britcsin's sick canitrlisk ecsnony he has with the enthusiastic aprrovel of the British bourgeoisie an! the internetional bankers = gone to the point of stopping free weafe bargrinirns betwoon unians anf @iployers; suepending already signed cantraetea that calle! for. were: ine= reases, liapdeing 2 total ware freeze and threcsteniur punitive nenegure:s Tor trace unionists who yesist these Genasures with industrinl action. As the cost af living continies to rise partially aleo ae a result of some of the neasuras teken by the Wilson governnent and os the Iatter specifically pernits the inerensed indirect taxea to be passed on to the conausers, thie poli¢y neans in fact a downward Slide of reel wires. The stringent credit restricticna Linked with this decline of real wares enn only lesd to - real recession, Lads masa unecployaent which ia alrandy visible in the present wide layofis.
Not wuch tine need be spent on the cynician of these gentlenen who were returned to power by promising the working class t2 @lininatea ie threat 2F periocic wnenplaycent inherent in the Taries' "stop <9" policy eel who ‘mow revive this very sciie policy on o still grester gccle, * Her should snaysne who hee atulie? the lessons of history be attenished thet these “Lobour Lisutencnts 2f éapitci" who crow their strength by eleining ts represent the interests of the worlting class cynically betrcy these interests for the sslq benefit of "ration-Licing" Britein's ecpitcliat econsuy., Thies is the Sale role playec by the Jocinl Denserntic leacership of (estern Europe, wha hawing integr-tec theuselves totally into the bourgeais stnte, fin theiselves obliga to seve thet state om! boursesis society whenever the soeinl contratictioas impose cecisione which the working class would never aecept if they cate fray the firect represantctives of the eopitcliat cinas.
This trecchersue behnviour of the Labour Lenvers hee mrauset witeapresd opposition an¢ in“ignantion stong cilitent workers, But it kas clready crented Widespre-? confusion on! Cisillusionnent suong the great os6e of Labour aucnorters. For then 1+ ataill fPetaine unthini-ble thet their polifttienl prrty which they built through generantione of struggle ant innwiernble sacrifices, so ae to defen’ their interests ogninst ecpitaliai, shoulc now turn, at feast in its top layers, into en instrument for the defence of capltnl ogninat Labour Thera is 4 very reol Jenger thet walle opposition to ‘Glsen will slowly ond constantly erow inedi:io the Leabour ond inside the TUC, snd while these lerze bodies will slowly swing to the left, actucsl “ilitant renetions to Wilson's entieworking clres policies will reacin epieodic, frogaentec and icrgely isolated fran the grent nase of the workers. ‘hile able to cchleve sone parte inl resulte as the Socrien's strike did, they woul’ be ‘uncble to prevent the nin gonls of theeaployers' policy - = cut in recl wrges for the ose of workore ond the renppenrance of a peruanent body of unendlieyet = tras being achiever
The post ooysanced militants of the Eritieh working close nust be very conscious of this canzer, It is true that the Tritish workers today hare. a tradendous eonfidence in their orennise?! strenzvth. It ig clso true that they hove never experienced an inportont defect in open boattia for an entire gene erntion. They have experiancs.t 25 yeors of uninterrupte! full acplayient. Jil this expl-ins the anter an? violence of the workers!’ rerotisne t> ‘ilson's betreynl, It exoleins why o new onss left wing will certainly arise in the Labour Party. This tine, in contrast ta the experience of Bevanien of the 1950's it 46 based nrinly on the unionieed industriel workers, Al] theses consideratiins are fundacentel in sssesesing the increcsing tifficultics with which Wilson's coverntent will be fscad, and in expressing confltence that the Britiah working choses will not persit ite stencerd of living to be cut down without putting up o viforsus structele accinet the etiployers! offensives
But for cll this it neverthless resciue true that the offensive hes overnll gonlis, in every sector of the econcny, which cannot ba prevented by frepnented reaetione of laclated aectors of the working cleae. Only a gener= alise! struggle by all the main sections of thet closes, for eenerel objectives anc with «an clternotive solution ant altern:tive len“ership clearly oppesring before the ozss of the working closes, could reclly cnd Jecisively tefart the euployers!’ plen and ‘Slson's measures, In the absence of such a penerslised etruggle the tisst probable varinnt ia thet these plane cond ensures will succeed with anly partisl cuncessions won froi the governuent by the uset aili= tant factions of the working oloes,
Obviously the need of the hour is the preparation of a feneral coun= ter offensive of the working class, te defend ite post concueste snd present stenderd of living, snd to inpose cn olternative, truly socirlist, solution to the crisis of the British econaiy ond society. Ta be able te prepare and netunlly reslise such o genercl netion it is necesasry to fornulite a elecr prograaie 3f cetion and to achieve the wilest poasible unity of action insite the trace unions anc the Labour Party for the nobilisstion of the workers aroun] this progracvie.
A oejor void that inpedes a wide working class ngbilissation is the abeonce of an clternative leadership recognizes by the tase of warkers thene selves, ig revolutionary Merxiste we ore fully conscisus of the need to build in Britain = revolutionery sacinlist orgsnisotion which, eubotying all the lessons of past on? present experiences of the British cud internotional working class, cowl) becune an effective instrucent for lenting the British workers toword overthrowing enpiteliso. But we also are fully aware sf the fact that the overwheloing urjority of the British working oless is not yet reody to follow such on organisation on! thet it will not readily cbandon ites histories1 allegicnee: towords the Labour Party.
For that reason to restrict sneself to declanetory enIls far the bullding of s revolutionary party instead 2f proposing concrete atepsa for cormon aetion to a1] those unisnista and workers, pearticulerly within the Labour Party onc in the lorge fectories who sare aroused aver Vileon's betreyal, neons in renlity to cbendon the perspectives af «2 renal struggle in the intedgicte future for the pipe ¢resns of sectarian self-indulgence, In reslity, a revolutionary organization with a real gase following will be built preciaely through constant and patient efforts by the vangucrd to perticipate in a constructive way in caution activity with the brand unss of the class sonscisua workers.
Up to now, no rep] alternctive lestership to the Wilaon-drown team has appesroed on the scene inside the Labour Party, ono no initintive fron the oute side can substitute for such a lentership. But all elvenesd working clsas Bilitsnte onc gonscisnus socialists coul’ and should undertskea an inmeciate effort to regroup ll those sections af the working close willing to fight the enployers! policy 2nd Wilgon's tencures around «a corcrtion prosraine. juch a unity in action expressed in grent jinss neetings and -cetonetratians nnd , widespread intustrinl action could becoue in iteelf « powerful lever for organising ond strengthening the Lert forces ineive the Labour Party sud put atrong preseure behind those union lenders who are prepored ta challenge the. enployers onc Vileson. This slone will pose the imwdisey of an slternative aseielist programe.
The United Secretariat of the Fourth Internationel ia of the spinion that such a progrotie constituting an anewer not only to the euployers! offeneive anc to the neasures of ‘ilgon but also to the overnll crisis of British econony anc society shoulc be built aroun? the following central Lines:
4. The i-tevtesse ion ofthe wid. frodse on roectorctica = Full frooct21 of ner tacti afer cbibe er sie nd dite
2. Inoedinte repeal of all eanti-union legislation and withdrswel of all threste of lersl pennities against unionists Jefencing the material interests of union cesbers.
3. Introduction of + universel elicing serle of weges (ae, for exouple attained in ony ioerienn inlustries ond in Belgiun) cutonotically insuring camensurate wage increrses after ench rise in the cost of living cond thereby at least acferuar’ing the purchnsing power of waves agninst the worst erosicn resulting fron peracnent inflation, Innecinte introduction of the 4Oehour week without refuction of weekly wages, in orJer to estrblish full eiploynent
4, Ratiesl reduction of nilitery expencitures, on en to the “enst af Suez" expénse anZ an en to the expense :f the nuclenr Jetorrents.
5, Metionelis-tion without esegponsstionr of "the bic five banke™, the big insurznce cuimrnios, the autvisbile, sireroft oni chemienl intuetries as well aa steel, cll unter workers! control. Stete control over daporta coc expurts and oversens investoenta a5 a trrnsiticn-l stege to the estaslisivient af o state nonepoly of foreign trnde. Syatecatic exponaion of trate reiotions with the workers! atates -n3 the countries newly eat-blished in the weke of the coloniol revolution.
6. Lweciete elaborctisn by the trace wnisns of = general plan of cevel= oprient of the British econany toder eoitisan ownership ond workers! control, ferred ta a steep rise of sacicl expenses in favour of the uost Jisinherited purts of the British people, to incrensing collnborctison with the countries having a socdsliaed sconocsy and with the countries giing through oolonial rev- Jlutions., Such a plan should be designe: ts free the Dritieh econony ana the hart won socisl erine frou tha lietrtes sf the City ond af the interncotionsl bonkers, ond to no&lernize the British econony without inpsaing the burden on the worloing close,
he Opening of the bosks of cll eaployers cond suppression of the oogniereicl en! benking secrete in orter to onpoee before the whole csunery the recl truth about the relatians between the tatrl:snsunt of wages, the totcl anount of enpitelist prafit rnc the rise in productivity. Introtuetion of cantrol by elected shop stevarde over 211 productive operations in cll foctories private of well os public, Control of prites in retcil trace by bouspewires" oninittees.
8. Itmelicte return to - completely free henlth service, Irdnelod GCleuses to itplenant lows oseanest recinl ¢iserisninetison; perticulerly in eaploy= ment-and were scoles, Dnediste intraiuctison of #5 215 netisnal Hints weakly wore for workers, opplicable expecially to weoon. -Lonedinte aateleration ofa low cost housine progrrofa with a netisnsl terpret of 750,000 hotees a wear, Dreatic secsures to dnplenent conprehensive eduertion.
9. Isrediate brenk with “Wilson's sheneful support to 0.4, duperislian's acéression in Vietnan. Support to the revolutionary frealton fighters of the South Viet Ken Netionnl Liberation Fronts Sthderw recarnitian af the rotten BERLEOn puppet regiues stop naterdial-osstetenca to oferedaion in tinloaveia and Loss, Recognise the Deoseratic ‘epublic of Vietnan,
Lo. 4 call to all trade unions and orgeniszntions Bpeakine in the nane of the working Glissa in Western Europe, to convene £ Europe on Congress of Labour which would work out conerete Plains for a Sosialist United States of Europe in place of the capitalist Conon Market.
_ . Around these and similar proposnls, all left groups ond tendeneics should ss quickly ns possible nehieve a large degree of consensua enabling than to’ prepore cocmon actiimn. They should set in common to have syétenatically electod trade union delegotes who pledge thensclyen to a relentless : struggle for the inplenantation of that progrmuio, They shanlcd nobilise thenselvua to support and extend oll industrial notion af the working olssa in defence of their standard jf living and of their dlenenteary righte. They- Showld undertcke the wttost efforts to co-ordinate their =ctisne an a Fregisnol and antional basis in order to prepare the erent fenerdl wave of the working class ¢cuunteroffensive which will Jefert the enployern! policies nd erisis, HIGH COURT REFUSES DC UEVIEW MITCHELL 'NUREMBERG’ CASE
The Supreme Court has ducked the legal questions raised by tha Vietnam war
by declining to hear the appeal of David Mitchell, who has refured to report for
induction on the grounde that the war is illemsl, Siitehel]l hae been sentenced to
& Fiveeyear pripon «© . He beses hia defence on the precedent get at -the
Nuremberg trials of Paxil war criminals, which held that individual soldiers are
responsible if they commit war crimes, even 1f they do se under orders, Mitehell
charges that the Vietnam war is a wer of aggression, snd for hit te participate
in it would make him a war criminal, In a diasenting opinion, Justice Silliam
©, Douglas declered that “there is.a considerable body of opinion thet sur
actions in Vietnam constitute the waring of an aggressive war’, Accerding ta
the "New Fork Times!, Douglas agreed with Mitehell's eontension that he should
have been allowed in his trial for draft evasion to offer proof that the United
Otates wae violating the Nuremberg Cherter., Tougleas esid that since troeties
are a part of U.S. Law, an accused “draft evader" ahould be permitted to raiae
in his defence questions of the war's legality, whether it violates. the
Nuremberg Charter, whether the Wuremberg Charter is part of 7.9. lay, whether the
war le aggressive, etc.
At Mitchell's trial, Judge T. Hemet Clarie barred from evidense eny testimony
as to the legality of the war or teatimony on 7,8. atrocities in Tietnam,