Workers Power

From the Left Faction of IS to the LRCI: the paper, journals, pamphlets and documents of the Workers Power group, 1972–1995. A searchable archive of the scans

Platform of the Left Faction of IS

IS Left Faction and internal documents · c. 1972–73 · 20 pages

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Before we outline our criticism of the group's development, it is necessery briefly to stste the common ground from which we stert, We egree with the cherecterisstion of Russis as "state cspitslist", and with the position which flows from it: "neither Weshington nor Moscow, but Internetionsl Socislism"., We consider thst theories of "“workers' stetes" end "trensitionel societies" divorced from the proletarisn revolution end dictstorship lesd to the displsecement of the working class ss the agent of its own emancipsetion. Consequent upon this sbandonment of the centrelity of the working cless, "orthodox" Trotskysim hes developed 6 whole series of errors in its theory end prectice, These, we believe, the leading theoreticiens of IS hseve outlined in 8 number of works vitel to the further development of Merxism, We believe thet fron this work flows IS's precticsl orientetion towerés the working clsss end IS's potentisl in the struggle to build 9» revolutionsry party.

Our besic dissegreement derives from the incompleteness of this develosment. Our view is that IS's present conception of the building of the perty renders it incepsble of fulfilling this vitsl tesk which is s reel possibility in the coming period ~ one of enormous opportunities for the revolutionsry left, |

We see messive struggles of the cless st s time of shserpening cepitslist crisis. Incressingly these struggles pose problems to which the If group is best pnlsced to offer s politicel senswer end e precticel isad, In 8 period when the neture snd role of the trede-union lesdershin, the reformist end the Stelinist orgenisstions, is ecslled into question ir growing struggies of wider end wider sections of the cless, IS is faced With enormous responsibilities,

We consider thet the orgsnisstion has developed no sense of direction in the fsce of these possibilities. This has immediste symptoms but more profound roots. Where then do we point to this crisis of direction in the group? :

Let us look first et our industriel work - which wili be deslt with more fully leter. This yesr hes seen no fundsmentsel strengthening of the work of our TU frections. it hes seen the scrapping of our snnusl industriel conference. Instesd, our industrisl self-estimsetion hes depended on the behind-the-scenes credibility geined from our work for the Fine Tubes conference, on our sbility promptly to print leeflets for the docks dispute (witness cde Higgins' Interim Politicel Report), end on news, conveyed through the full-time grspevine, of a successful fectory group thet is opersting up the roed or over the hill. These elLegetions are serious and the ressons for the leadership's incressingly unsystemetic sapproech to the problems of building the perty will be out~ lined in our pistform, : | |

The quietly decessed Autum/fPvinter campsign, e creation which produced more efforts in redefinition end justification then it did mesningful growth for the orgenisstion, needs to be seen in the seme light. If the cempeign wes born with verious definitions, renging from the grendiose (remember the Cempeign Committees in the localities, linking up for 9 Netionsl Relly) to the spologetic (NG members were later to explein thet the campaign wes just e meeting in eech area) — it lived its Lis with no more coherence or self-purpose, The lesdership provided no c:- rection, with en sssortment of jumbled siogens snd. isrge numbers of leaflets, of little or no politicsl content, distributed widely enncyn:- ing IS membership to be the cure for such social ills es unemployment end low pay. The meeting having been held, the posters heving been stuck up, the csmpaign slid gently into the past. its results and lessons heve never been discussed or presented by the leedership. For

ae

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s the csempsign stands es « monument to the feilure of the leadership seriously to develop end ergue for e® politicel stretlegy Lor the orgonis6tion in the present period, :

But the campeien end our industriel work ere not elone in their rendaon epproech, The guestion of the Ugsenden Asiens end the subsequent r

ree urbishing of the ersenel of British rscism were responded to edmireblyv by our orgeniseaticn, The two Leicester demonstretions stend witness to

this. However, to meny cdes such sudden mobilisstion served to under- ‘Line I8S's previously inconsistent attitude towerds the Pight egainst recism When it reered its heed in the levour movement we moved, but wes hed developed no consistent work in combetting this ever-present obstecle to revolutionery idees in the cless, uikewise, cur stbtitude to trish work, Cde Harmen hes errectively sounded the deéeeth knell of o5 work within the enti-internment leebue, end the lest yeer hes seen * CeGlining involvement on the part of IS in ALL demonstretions, This deliberately unsystemstic spproech is now (et the time of writins: to

be edded to by se messive IS turn-out on en ATL demconstretion et the @... of JTenuary, 1if73. By such shows of strength 15 sometimvus impresses it7.4

self es to its own seriousness. but Peiis to develon in @ responsi pis menner this crucial eres of work,

How then is the group held together in its present crisis of direction ineressingly by the network of niestionel orgenisers - whet we woulda col! er. organiseticnel seclution to é& besaicelly politicel probiem, im Teee ev the crisis we describe, the leadership's response is to strengthen tis eontset between the centre itself end particuler sreses of ilocel sna nationel ectivity., The idee of fectory brenches is e« perfect exemple of this method,

“le consider the enswer to lie in a different cirection - not in the per-

fection of administrative comamicaticon, but in the buildings of @ selr-

conscious democrstic-centrelist orsenisetion. There ere no administretFa

ive short cuts to this goel end cup pletiorm ergues Tor the chenges » =

needed in the group's prectice if the goel is to be schieved,

This document ettempts to pinpoint the politics end the practice or the group which lead to its fseiiure to respond edeguetely to the demends o1 the situetion. Prectice, moreover, which the leedership hopes to en-~ shrine with secevtence of its Breft Programme. We seek to snow how oir politics heve been evendoned for more short-cut methocs of building en orgenisetion. The group mey grow if its present direction is meinteinec, but this growth will not be revolutionery, We stend in denger of scuendering the reel possibility of developing © revolutionery lescer-

ship in the working cless,

It is with the express &im of combetting these tendencies thet we heve come fovwerd to build a Left Feetion in Ib. |

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fo facd fa PY) I § ae nf g§ AOI SNAP A » \

f—™~ es 4 ra f he A a / YN RN 4 ; The revolutionery perty is distinguished from ell other werking-cless orgenisetions by its commitment to bringing to the fore in and through: every partiel strugaie the question of the emencipetion of tne workings

class, end by its insterretionslism, While this meens that 8 revolutic.-~ ery perbty represents the working cless in the most complete feshion politically, it is simultencously true thet this is precisely whet

mekes it e venguerd, e selected minority of the cless. Beceuse it hes

to be the mest edcvenced end resolute in ection, kecause it hes to wurncer:- stend theoretivally the line of merch, the conditions end the methods

of struggle, 1% requires the meximum of understanding end discipline in its members, The perty hes thus to be & vanguerd, its members have to

be cadres,

But this must be eccomne y the recognition of the importance of A

mom ago mS a Oy =

the spontenesus mess & rsles oF the worsxing class end of other oporessed sociel proups, netvionslities, etc, Active perticipetion it these struggles is whet Gistinguishes 6 reel venguerd party from sect The perty end its members partici

a ipste in every struggle in orcer to help reise the "spontenecus" partiel cr sectionél milivency into # ist consciousness is develoned by the party, end to this extent enters the cless “from outside",

uch e perty cennot be built in ell circumstences - during 4 licng

eriod of cepitslist boom, with 6s desultery economic struggle rather then cless actions of eny megnitude, © smell group calling itself tne vyenguerd perty will become e sect, incrersingly living in & world of illusions.

But in 8 situetion where the bettlies of the cless ere increasing in mapnitude, when the ruling cless poses @ snerp politicel challenge, en orgenisation which simply "interprets" workers’ sponteneous responses to this stteck in politicel terms is feiling in its prime duty. is tends more end more to give e& politicel, cless gloss to the presendv level of consciousness. To describe the dockers' ections es "direct noliticeal enti-government ection striking right 6b the shem of perlismentery rule" (Interim Politicel Report) is to pess from en objective description of the neture of the struggle to e wildly innecurete ceseription of the understending of meny of the most edvenced militents, tnd optimism ebout this sponteneous politicel development leeds to & feilure to teke up the very work that only revolutionrries cen perform, It is up to us to explein "the shem of perlisementery ruie', As e metter of fect, even the shem of the Jones-4ldington report wes not exposec, Such statements es "the 1972 exemple of the miners will not be Lost on the nower workers" (TPR) show the denger of over-estimsting the sponteneity with which workers drew lessons, and of under-estimeting the tesk Fecing us, :

Receuse militency eslone does not lead to the ebendonment of reformist consciousness, oerticulerly when this is es historicelly dedp-rootea «xs thet of the working cless in Britein, we cennot telk of simply incorpereting into the renks of the perty ell ective perticipents in these struges les,

Such ea perty would imegine itself to heve penetrated different secticii. cf the cless, But, unless it hed won their politiacel allegiance, uUpleus it head connletely overcome their sectional consciousness, their orior

Page 5

loyalty to their unicn or their industry, such groups of wo represent interest gprouvns within the perty. Our industries. would not be revolutioneries working in, sey, the AUB’, bur Lobby within the party. The verty would become = confused tengie cv u.. fering interests, end would be forced into compromises between trom, = creesingly immobile in its industriel policy. This would obscure tus vperty's representsetion of the interests of the cless es & whole AG om the cless iritermetionelly. For exemole, the inmediete economic inter~ ests of e group of workers might coincide with those of imperielis™

(the Ieelendic eod-wer), end, udaless the perty's members in such ?r: industry were politicel cedres first end foremost, this might ieea to *

serious distorticn of the politics of tne orgenisstion,

Only e group With e clear understernding of its own politics, its Gy orogremme, cen cLleerly estimete tne ectivity cf broed leyers of the cLless es s whole, The importenes of the mess orgenisetions of ths clens (tredes unions now - soviets in * revolutionery “situstion), end tue

necessity of working within them, to win them to revolutionery pol.

nen be meeningful only if the pverty is Seen as a Dore toee venguerd, | “his, of course, does not meen thet the verty is € y sect, Jo lesa the working class to power in en yenced country, the party woulda, =n veality, need hundreds of theusancs of members, But 3% would not be « mess percy - the perty would nos be Lden biried Wicn vie Cclesas 6s P whole,

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fn tell-inclusive” view cf membership leeds to a feilure to appres: the importance of non-perty rank-erid~file orgenissticone, tneir sepers tan ness end autonomy, At the seme time, it leeds tc e Teilure to see tnes eg en erene of struggle for socislist politics, end rests content Wii tying them to the perty orgenisationelly.

“y

These ere in meny ways prcblems of the future, but, if we sre seriouaiy "building the periy", then there sre slreedy in IS the seeds of the wrong epproach on ell these points, We believe thet this 15 the time za recruit, but IS hes recruited in » wey that discoureges the noliticel development of the ‘recruits', The tesk, one of extreme urgency, is to create e lerge end highly developed cacre in the working cless,.

we do not believe thet we or emyone else hes e blueprint for the OErty > or that e tradition holds the key to this mest Lon. Leninism, like #lerxism, is not « collection of dGogmes, but, ©€S en interaction of theory

end prectice, = method which revolutioneries hevye to leern to use

efpesh in new circumstences. IS believes thet the builcing of e revolutionery party is cn the order of the dey, yet the leedership hes vot reslly feced up to the politicel problems > this poses, Obviously Duncen Helles thinks they sre solved by deciering our saherence to the communist tredition® end by educeting the menbership in whet hes hsppened

from 1847 to a present dey, But to creete * party from en egitetionrit

group such es iS is e tremendous guelLitetive tesk - pre-eminently & ooliticel one, This tesk cennot be uncerteken simply by educseting caes in a tredition, but only by developing them in the use of the Leninist atncod, Tos the leedesship, however, the chenge is firstly gquentitetive, creenisebionel. Numbers sve, cf course, fer from unimportent, oenet rau: ton of ell sections of sdvenced workers is ebsolutely vitel, but sim.

voneous to this growth must occur e tremendcus chenge in the coneelous-

ness end cepebilities of the members ~ all members, The group must &- velop a coherent politicel strategy, © progremme, snd must chenge its orgenisation into e reslly democret ic centrealist one.

The Leeaershin hes not es yet teken the yuestion of the perty ser Tt seems to present no theorsticel ovotilems to them end thas e whol series of practicel issues ere in tne utmost conFusios within the gece. Cdes Cliff end Helles ere quite heppy witht the formuletion thet "we

Page 6

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Page 7

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Page 8

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ship of the proleterisat end in the cless goel of e Norkers' Republic.

- "Wwe heve, therefore, correctly emphesised the need to build an independc~ ent revolutionery socielist party. To introduce these principles, how-- ever, aS tactical elternestives to & suanosedly oenkrunt end reactionary "Detty—bourgeoia republicanism", to counterpose the socielist end netionesl strugeles, is to adopt e thorcugniy false end dengerous positLon.

As © result, the leadership of IS hes no option but grossly to mis-educete the membership end our periphery - for exemple, on the so-celled Nindividuel terrorism" of the Ika, Bourgeois notions of “lew end order" go unchellengsed. Bombings snd essessinetions ere seen es elternetives to mess ection, they are not évelusted in Marxist terms of their reletion or non-relation to such ection, Then, when ede Halles refers to Trotsky's criticisms of terrorism, he mist deny that there is e& war Leing fought in Irelend, For Trotsky steted, in the seme pesseage, thet these criticisms did not hold in conditions of civil wer, Likewise, the ellegedly “hanErupt" reoablicen forces posed a problem in bringing ebout the ebolition of Stormont. SY ned demanded this, tut 6& reessessment of our attitude to the republicen movement was evoided with a breeth-taking evout~-turn. The overthrow of Stormont became e “defert" which simply "retioneLised"” imperielist rule,

But this state of effeirs hes not been reached Simply es e& result of the pressure of British cheuvinism. The division of the working cles in the North hes for IS obscured the netionel mmestion, and tiaras the need to eritete sround the slogen - “Suppors the IRA épeinst British

Taperielism", This emohasis on worxing-cless division is en edepteticn to e purely 'trede-union" ovtlook - iegsding to the illusion that milit~

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ri

t “

ency in the economic struggle could unite Protestant end Cetholic first,

wilt

end thst only then could the struggle PECANS imperialism go Torwerd.

The only reel besis for unity is oF course whe development of conscicus-— ness of imperielist exnloitetion by Probestent end Catholic slike, The socialist end netionel struggles ere not in reality opposed

fhe €ommMon MOorke?

The key tesk of the orgenisetion et the time of the Common Msrket debete wes to oppose the development of.the weve of enti-Huropeen cheuvinism within ell sections of the lebour movement, But IS did not edopt en egitetionsel position to combet this weve, True, the orgenisetion edopted the formelly correct slogens: .

1, Aageinst the Common Merket

2 egeinst Deily Exvress chreuvinism

4. For the Socislist United Stetes of Rurope, But this position, one of revolutionery internetionelism, was, in precatice, Giluted down to whst was thought possible to argue within the working cless. Qur ovposition to the Common Merket did not go hand-in-hend with opposition to Britisn cheuvinism. In our votes in TU brenches, eta, our opposition to the Common Merket wes allowed to exist separate from cur other two slogens. We insist tnet our vote could heve been given egeinst the Common Merket only on the besis of opposition elso to British cheuvinism The leecership of IS meinteined thet e stend on ell three points would spiit the "left" end thus ccrncede victory to the pPight, But we should heve ergued thet the responsibility for eny vote lost to the right ley precisely with the CP and Lebour "Lefts" in theisc refusel to breek with British cheuvinism We should heve been ebstentionist on the elternetives cf Little-£ Eng esnidism end the Europe of the

Monopolies,

Ne eee ee

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The problem of recism is that of the dominence of imperielist ideas in the working cless, IS hes correstly end relatively ecnsistently exposed the lies of the recists, eg by steting the. facts thet more people lLeeve the country then enter it, end that the sociel system, not immigrents, is to bleme for appslling housing conditions end unemployment, These fects sre brought to the fore by the orgenisetion whenever fescicm reers its ugly heed, This is not, however, gresping the recist bull by its horns, but by its tail, Nor is the tesk of fighting recism mereiy ane of uniting black end white in fectory struggle. The problem of tie Ugenden Asiens wes © real divide between bleck snd white involved shoulder-to-shoulder in the militent strursle of the building workers’ strike, IS 15 quite right to see the 5 in which to tackie racism, But this c to exnoss and combat the fundcamenter the working cless, and by exiteting Tf ars for ell forms of immigrant seli-aers nloitetion, Oniy co the besis of this coi

enti-~recist presence within the lseeding

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y tlcor es the besic serene adsie only by consistent werk - |

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ive support from white woruseinst heressment end existenmt work cen be forged ev ments of the working cless,

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We consider thes IS hes not teken this work seriously in the past, 1% response to perviculer ev s hes beer © committed one (eg the Leicester demonstretions), but its work hes been dominated by these partic. uler events which seemed to threeten e rapid growth of fascism, rether then by # commitment to the fundemental tesk ef comoet sing. en ever-vrEesent recism in the British working class, . |

CONCLUSION

In its feilure to edovt end fight for en internetionelist progreme, end its unwillingness to confront the obstacle of British cheuvinisn, IS is not buil@ing en internetionelist cadre within the working cless. In e period of sociel crisis, of which Aldershot geve us the feintest whiff, this presents en msupereble berrier to the building of the revolutionery perty.

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DFVi

& centrel obstecle to the building of e revolutionery -perty in the next period is the hold which reformist idees heve not only upon the mess of the cless but elso upon the vaenguerd. The “long boom" after the wer,

end the ensuing experience of e politicslly impoverished economic struggle, heave nurtured this consciousness in the working cless, Even

to begin to win the whole of the cless to revolutionery socielist polities, we heve first to concerntrete ell our energies on tne venguerd,

This crucial stratum cen be won only through e fighting Merxist progremne, Such e perspective requires thet we iocate the key sreas wnere we cen contect the venguerd snd demonstrete, in practice, the superice - ity of revolutionsry politics end the benkruptcy of reformist -ideasas,.

IS hes correctly cheracterised-the TU bureeucrecy es e ceste belencins between the bourgeoisie end the proleterict. The problem of the bureecc-- crecy is, thus; not simply its higher weges, its inebility to be recelled, or its whisky-chets with Heeth, The besic problem is the refornist world-view which flows frem its baelencing positico, AS 6 result cr this, it will slweys betrey in time of crisis, Cur propsgende must, therefore, enalyse the reformism of the TU buresucracy = end of its

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reletion with the Lebour Perty. Our exsitetionsl demends for renk-endfile control of the unions must be seen to flow from this enelysis,

‘t times of mess ection, the TU leeders cen be pushed forwerd (though in the lest enelysis they Will elweys vecillete), But this pressure from the cless is filtered through the burceucrecy into the Lebour Perty - note the role of the Scenlon-Jones biock-vote in the "Left shift" of the lest Lebour conference, And this reletionship between the eLess end the LP is further mediseted by the Parliementery LP, with the result thet the LP never simply reflects e movement in the cless, While the LP pleys e key ideologicel role in the meintenencs of cepitrlism, its hold breaks #% times of the self-ectivity of the working cless. So it is at these points trot we eg revolutioneries must seek to arew ou? the politicel lessons of reformisin, Strugsiles like the docks dispute end the rents bettle, where lerge edvenced sections of the cless do not Took to the LP for es leed, ere exemples or this.

Our criticism of 15 is thet it does not teckle this vroblem edequetely. Cur tesks must be to: | | | | |

1. Put forwerd concrete programmes of action which cen Lead the Glass to perticuler victories withovt recourses to the LP, “ve mest clearly disegree with those critics of IS who ergue thet we should drew the reformists into the centre cf the struggle in order to discredit them. This sows unnecessery illusions in the LP, .

2, Pight with the cless for verticuler reforms, eg Tor higher pensions or egzeinst welfrre cuts,

3. Plece centrel to our epgitetioarl end propegendist work those ds-- mends which serve as bridges between the dey-to-dey struggle erd socgielist ideses. Demends which both noliticelly end ormenisetionslly carry the cless forwrrd to revolutionrry idees, These cemends must flow from our progremme, eg work or Tull pey, no incomes policy under cepitelism, full independence of the TUs from the state, councils of ection to Fight the Industriel ReLletions Act,

4. Consistent propevyende work on the experience of the lest Lebour government, with ea view to exposing the politicel essumptions af reformism -— the mixed economy, the neutrelity of the stete, etc.

"Me egree with cde Heiles thet we figkt for both reformist end trensitionel demends, But we do not do so in. the form of the six demends - which IS puts rorwerd es conditions to be pleced by the TUS on the next Lebour government: : oe

1. Unconditionel repeel of enti-union lews. | : | Restoretion of ell welfere cuts - no cherges, no selectivity. An end to unemoloyment ~ work or full pey. Se No incomes volicy under crpitalism. Repeel of ell recist legisirtion. , | Renationelissation, without compensstion, of ell sectors of industry returned to privete hends, : |

Ch Or HB CA DO

(IS Journel 48)

This jumble of reformist (eg 6) end trensitionel (eg 3) demends, directed et the LP, will do no more then serve to reise end sustein illusions in the LP. Only e lerge workers’ revolutionery perty, committed to revolutionery politics, cen hold the LP to eccount for a progremme of Ge~- -mends in the eyes of the cless. The tesk of building such ™ orgenisetion necessitetes e clerr progremme of demends which bridges the ep between the dey-to-dey struggle end conscious socielist ideas, These eve the demends which must ect es the centre of our esitetion to expose the politicel rottenness of reformism, end these ere demends to which we @o not seek to commit the LP, |

Is's ides of using reformist demends to expose rerormism is besed on

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LO .

the notion thet since systemetic reforms are no longer possible under geapitelism, then "the struggle for reforms is trensformed into « revolutionery struggle" (ISJ 52), But. firstly, though we eccept the impossibility of systemetic reforms et the present time, this does not rule out teinporrry concessions on the pert of capitelism es an elternetive

to revolutionsery crisis, Secondly, such e crisis depends on the ideas which predominate within the working cless, For instence, the Germen working Cless of the 59s Cid not b-rees with reformism even though tepitelism wes incepeble of retorms, it Seiled beceuse no revolutionary

perty existed to develop e® stretepy tc overcome reformism, British workers will ffeil Jikewise unless revolutioneries live up to this histecric tesk,

Tita COMMUNIST PARTY

The socisl--democretic theory end practice of the CP derives from the politicel imperetives of "socialism in one country", The victory of Stelinism in Russie Cistorted ths politics of the young CP into « de-~ fence of the hussien "netionel interest", both in words end in - polit~ ical practice which subcrdineved the literest of the working cless to e suse or its revolutionery

policy of “not rocking the boat", But, becsu rhetoric, Sceliniom represeva the bigrest b utionery perty both Imternetionsaliy end in B for I8 is to wit the membership of the OP to

vpier to building © revolLtein, Hence e key tesx revolutionery socielisn,

S rae t

IS must ettack the socisi-damocrstic illusions end their Stelinist base, in propasende and debate, Such work must reise not only the TU struggiec, put elso the internetionzel end historical record of Stelinism, At the seme time, IS should, et ell levels, issue cells for united-Yront work on specific guestious, Such cslls must be issued et ell levels when the struggie is surficiently serious thet the renk end file of the Cr will see the folly or split renks. If theiv leedership rejects our cell, we cen thus demornstrete their 'hmsericusness" - if they eecept, then our edes through contect with their renk end file can denionstrete the superjority of cur politics in prectice, Such epproeches must, however, be besed upon e cleer politicel understending of whet we ere doing, where the weekness of the CP lies, end must be vigorously principled,

CONCLUS ION

Reformism hes deep and historic roots in the British working class, “We ecsnnot hope to fight it by relying on the impending crisis to chenge reformist ideas into revolutionery. Nor do we need merely to point to its noticeable orgenisationel decey, Only the consistent fight egeinst reformist politics wherever they ere posed, end se clear struggle for demends which consciously chsallenyve the lews of cepitalism end reformisnm, only this cen eqiip us in the fight. We do not consider thet our present tectics offer us # real stretegy to fight reformism, |

———., re,

JE Sf [> PS py CF} 4 f hy,

Ine need for ea centrelised perty should not be posed, os it is by IS, Simply in terms of the need to reply in kind to thse centrselised forces of the cepitelist stete, The revolutionery prrty embodies the highest CLasE-Cons2 lousness, it attemets to recoruis advenced irilitents in order to become the reel leadership of the WOPKIN: Clase, It formulates the

aa ite a a he: SeUaS Ete ie os, Yr a : "Oo ; a re Sc ad ors as Le Yssis Oe wrt wo Paes NEES vnaermtel- « hsip

Ne

SS

Page 12

ectivity - end its inner life end orsgenisetion exist to these ends, The politics ere centrelised - from the experience and debete of the members through the brenches end other structures to the netionel conference

end NC - from tne dsbete end decisions of the conference end NO through the verious structures to ths members, The centrelism, the subordinetjon of the lower orgens to the higher, serves ea polities] purpose, Tecisions seriously errived-et mist he Sterictiy implemented to vrove in prectice their correctness or error, Cuch discipline needs e seriousnesa ebout polliticel decisions, enc, Lo be efYective, needs elso the promotion of adcbete emons the membershin,

3 is Ccevelooings e Cfes .Geture of cemoe ret ie centrelism, “he higher rgens sre increesing!y "olosed tO tne lower, The menx6sis ct the NC seen reasingly bound by a cobinet- -type re Spensiniiity with their disegred~

Sob O ) re) ®

ments not teken to the mewbershit, For exenple, et the Lest corference, the

Wo members were not ellowead to speek against policy stetements or

NC eS e@ whole, OF course, this unheerd-of procedure merely evegraveted the situetion where aay Gribscicm OF group volicy is seen as e thircet

mhe members end .ocel. uctures come to stend es isoletsd units - rs egeinst the "centre, e “Morouithis loa of chs edininistretion end the

rroup's leading committees

Obviously, no orsenisstion could long hold together in these circumnstprices. The necessity of Increasing mumbers of Pulile-timers - genuine in en expending orgenication - is exsssereted sind distorted by the need

for 6 commend structure, ard the conversion of the ingustriel confer-. ence into e rally one SEED, With its evendonment the nex 1G coutributes further to the stcmisstion of the momberahip - es wouid the proposed in-

stitution of fPectory brenches,

SV Likewise dses not act ses the peper of ct

eis rad etion, It should reflect end itsel’ encou) - ol itient debate wishin ra.

Oye ob the groun (eg with NC end BC stetements, end dissenting views), SY should, with the culletin end the Jjournel, helio nrenears for the ne bhone

" elL end industriel conferences, They anourd report axa Fully as secerity cermits, on the Cdeostes enc decisions, end should help to implement these decisions,

But democratic centrelism demends orimerily e cedre orgenisetion., Cur first fim must be tO Pignt fap OUT nolitics in and through every strurgle -~ snd this is not "commentat ing from the sidelines The mcrs

direct our vole, the better must our members be able to arme politicelly, Recruitment must, therefore, be on a political pesis - en understending of our progremme, end the abiiity to pley en ective pert in fighting for it, Contects must work regulerly, end be involved in polite jesl discussion, with vee group, before membership. “ie oppose the "sisn them up and educete them leter" epproech which hes cheractsrised the vrellies of the "Sicht the “Tories” cemoeisn end its precursor,

To creete end meintsin s cedre membershin reguires, however, a good aQse]. more then e clerrer idee of recruitment. Lt Fiso requires more then en eleborete educetionei scheme, more then csare end advenced cedre schools, Democratic cenirolissz orgenis etion itself brines tcsether politicel treinins end precticel activity. But to do this it is necessery to give pricrity to the building oF e Bregionel, end where possible a district, structure, There should be reymler exgregetes where the sroup's politics end both local snd nationel decisions shouid be discus sed, md these Bayregetes must be eble to submit resolutions to the netional confsrence end NO, The “egions ena districts should heve elected comnittees resnonsible to conrerence end the NO for the work of their brenches, end rull- em mC members snould be supject to the discipline of these committees, uniess they heve insvpuctions to the ecntrery from the netionel orgenisetion,

Tne 3

Page 13

Le

Finelly, our industricl end TU frections must be consciously strensthered. They should hold resuler es:sresetes, end en ennusl industriel corference, not € relly, must be eble to debate motions from our TU cGes, eg well as from the TIndustrisl sub-committee. This cotmference end the rection evirecetes, Jixe the eree agrvre: eteS, must be eble to submit resolutions to the nationel corterence end NC - end es much of this jinternel Lifes es security permits must be visible to our periphery, to

the militants grouped seround the renk-snd-file pepers, end to the reerd-

qa 1 ietd

ers of SN,

“= ff

7 a, o

Sn 0 C > PT, Sy ; i “ é, ws,

St. et

~ *

NY Te, 16 ; f

yt FE / { di ie

funeen Holles hes seid thst “the Pundementel bosis of the perty is reyolutionery theory , the revolutionery prosrammne, the Living credit icon of the communist movement" (Pratt Progremme), We esgree, Lundementells, With this position, it is precieslys nowever, beceuse we consider tne prectics of Ih with reverd to building the perty not to be based on this principle thet we find ourselves in ADD tion, It 1s becsura oe this that we consider neither ede halles nor e Jeffreys hes prepere e dreft for en intervening revolutionsery pro [ vt

+ |

'3

emne Lo el ibed ag

The building cf a revolutionary perty is the ective strusysle by revol--

uticne eres to build thenselves 58 the leecéershipn of the cless on the besis of their political pregremme, In the pest, IS has deveioped meny

of the. elements oF 8 revosutionery proxremme: the eecognition in onc theory cr steus € eliem ex one inter-innesieliat piveiry betwee Russie end the USA, “the stepilis effect of the Permenent Arms

mconomy oL post-wer cepit ft 8

© thes

lism, the key veformist role of the TU buresucrecy in this perioc. But TS hes been unesbie so Vor to use tnese invelueble theoreticel geins, end che prestice which hes flowed from thein, to produce e€ progremme, In fact, iS hes never previously taxen seriously the tesk of producing ® pray wremme,

4 t £

Whet then does & programme seek to do? It is not es some cdes consicer

e statement of IS policy decisicns, en enlerged "Yhere we stend", Nor

is it en ebstrect series of re-written formuletions Rhended down to ua

by the gre rt Tisures of scientific socielism, « "Meening of Merxism" merk 2, ‘sé consider Duncen Helles’ @reft in the November '72 Internel Pulletin to present en unessy ellirsnce of these two fundementslly ineor.- recy conceotions of the neture of 4 progremme,

é revolutionery progsremme sets out first to understend the present world, its dynemics, contredictions, end instebilities, -t does this, not from the point of view of radicel commentery or scholestic interest, put from the sterting-point of the beserriers presented to the ames ot a revolutionery leedership in the interne ‘Cionel working cless, Th. demends reised by tne progremme ere not “issues of the dey" (cae Halles synopsis) ¢s genereted by the sponteneous struggle. They flow from the Iocebtion within world cepitelism of the abatecies nresented to e° worla revolutionary leedership in the cless, end proceed to pose demends which ocen the wey Yor the trenscending of these obstsecles by the vensuerd of the class,

As Trotsky seid, "the proleterien venguerd needs not © cetalogue of truisms but e menusl of option "A menurl of ection" which Locetes the

orincipel strengths end weelticeses of the Clesu Sid pits bopwerd the ae~ mends to overcome theses wesknesses, A propzromne's demends in the current

Page 14

ay

l epoch must flow from the contredictions of the world ecoriomy to the de~ . mends to overcome the berriers before the cless,

“net does this mesn in practice, end how does cde Helles! dreft prove totelly inedequete? It is our intention to. produce en slternetive. prosrenme.. Here we will illustretse the short~comings of cde Helles’ dreft end sugizest the bones of the elternstive,

Let us teke first the section by Helias on cenitelism to prove the incorrectness of his method, Qepitel: 6m is not analysed Prem the soint of view of its present contredicticis end crisis on e world scele, The contredictions cl the pre-wer world economy were the sterting-point of Trotsky's trensitionel progranme ~ without this enelysis, the cemands reised were meeningiess, Contrery to current “Trotskyist" fashion, the enelysis end demends were not e collection to Pit ell oceesions, The ce velopment of cepitelism hes superseded the position of Trotsky. Our tesk is to developo © new progremnetic analysis for ea revolutionery perty in our ere, But, insteed, cede Helles treats us to his version of the besic Lews of cepitelism, surplus VALUE » competitive eccumule tions inherent instebility, The kev proolems Fecing the internationsi Works cless - for instence, the increesingiy incernetionel neture of capi itote competition, end the development of Jeane mese end Common Merket cepitel in competition with Us enc Russian caepitel - these ere ignored by his

it na

Greft.

The enelysis of State Cenitelism must be viewed es inedeqiete from the seme engile, The developing contredictions of Stete Ce piteLisms its .ivnebility to solve its mest besic problems, ere not discussed, The drefs

veils to reise the problem of @ifferences within the buresucrecy of eech society; end vetween the verious regimes, end of the enti-bureceucretic biocs end forces which heve emerged in periods of sociel end economic crisis, Therefore, the kev questions posed to the revolutionery movement by the Polish workers in 1971 the Bungserien workers in 1956, end the ecute crisis within the sh inese buresucretic stete —-

these ere not discussed, But only on the besis of en enelysis of these forces could be ceveloped the programme Tor e revolutionery poerty inde-

pendent of ell shedes of St elinisin on en internetionel scele,

From such en #nelysis would emerge the principle berriers to the building of revolutionery Leadership. This is of cruciel importence when we come to the question of IS‘s role in the building of a new internetion-- cl. The berriers ere most principslly: netionsl divisions end cheuvinism, the unresolved netionel guestions; reformism, end Stelinism.

The demands aS progrsmne seeks to reise ere not a cetalogue of the perty's fighting interests, Rether, heving loceted the principal obstsecles to the building of 6 revolut ionex ry perty in our period, the demends it reises ere those which would leed, in the consciousness end orgenisetion of the cless, to the overcoming of these berriers, They epe not ‘the policy decisions on verious questions thet we heve edonted over the lest period” (Duncen Hellas), They hold the key to tne perty "Ss jJeedership wit sin the class, In their sbility to trenscend the obstacles to © revolutionery lesdershio within the clesse, these demends nold the key to the transition to es rounded socielist consciousness on the pert of working- Giass militents, : |

It is because Duncen Hsllas mistekes both ‘the tesks of anelysis end tne neture of progremmatic demends thet we heve e two-tier model of e progremme presented by him, Tier one retells the Merxist method end its besic prenLsec, Tier two raises the jssues eroaund which we ere fishtins most immedietely, Sais the method we heve ous. dn red offers us the wey forwerd out of tnis split. Hellas’ first part does nat enelyse the world system with regerd to its dynemics ¢:d “contre dictions ~ it is

EO

Page 15

LA

cherecterised rather, ©«s Lenin seid of Plekhenov's extreme absirectness of meny of the formulations, seem intended for s series of lectures rether than The second pert of the dreft Peils to connect with peéting our mest-used eriteticnel demands, hybrid of en educetional document end e volutionery prosremme.

4 ren. ye A Se yo ae, / # — “ : i if Fd > oa *& j

The IS posiezoen con build lig Une wveroy ieeas va ine throusneuts the oractice of our oOsgeanicetion, Tht

our propesgenie auc. eghtetcion. Becsuse the wo not seen es e clear volivticel becsuse the ere supposed eurcady to exist in the workings clea tends to adapt tc teil +t rether tn

| . 37 be eyes ” end teil the strugrie

VE OF

t8 #}3 Sg .

ee) ee

1S sees evitetion as a call io aGtion now, end which will relate On y ae rucure strussles, In end egitetion inve.y ells to ection, The dis scele of ideas presente =a end the neters cf the et, AS Plekhancy seid, egltvetion is meny, end oronveganda is the direction of jel thins here js thet the dees iInvo ved fect, our agitational demenads 6! 2a LPilcw is pes

; md o2 he which, in turn, is sed on objective, et$ion.

ind c bets

Ties} VV

: ere rho

A a:

oy

wy

prepegende Feot, vot t inet 20on Ls ence they

oy = Ta a a4.

vase direction of e few idees to fs dizgierent " LOeicelly From our proper sont Merxist onelysis of the situ-

Simller dreft, by

so thet they might . for a militent perty", the first, merely re-

ne resultent product is 6 list of demands,

Jt is not © re-

68 sometaniz propargendse between the ere aimed

idess ta tew, Boe crucones,

Pa

One result of this is thet in SW the demends we present tend to cop

end chenge from week to week, Instead of e Gorisist

every time a new phase of the struxgle Pleres up, ein degree, should be fought for consistently. For example, building of counsils Glass offensives, is 4 brought forward, But on The slogen, "Build Councils of Action",

paper in a bewilderings erretic wey - not

TOS =}

vitel step if the Glsss

ony In

Sint working cless et the present time, we get a new collection of OF courses,

this is ineviteble - but certein pregremmetic demands S$ corsiders of ection, to Tight a whole renge or struggie is wourd herdly think this wes so by reading wy,

eopeers end diseppeers from our the months

“4

programme Lor 510. to &

Giles . <i Pasves

CGP t= that the

Oncol workin {fom to be

betweu™

key struggles, but even Prom week to week during such struggles,

tne

Another result is tnoat, vecause Q iG Pails

the only basis of its agitetion, nevure of egitetionel work, This flects the nresent level of militency, which cen leed to e socialist consciousness,

Ve wish to use the exemple of the recent dockers our csse. IS hes prided itself on the role that S'vV apreeding the strike, end jn putting the dookers' wey oppose the work thet IS ic fi tr.s Giscectlon. this wes not enough, Of course,

fra pea tot BS oEL

tb was correct to 6x

cells to ecticr es

to recognise the politicel means thet ell too often IS merely rerether then reising the politics

sorike to illuster:. snecieis played in Gease ecrvess, We adn no xpose the corruption

Page 16

Va cy

- ~-rinepiseticn, Of course we mist fliverys work to ¢uuino the clrss

wD olny 2ipuivc.is it feces, ore we mest reco.nige the Treet tret SY i,mor- . - a as re == a al 7 we ~ = owe we. + Y. i Ten aa + > aT ST Ie clliaticel i1sSsues OB6EG DY Cle STPAns Tia 2M Untu wey Lelin

- 7) flcnt Sie sur vlerxist iders in the veniucra if uns 78s, Tos stints crised tre question of the cless meture AP the steve end tre Te). It met ¢ terrace of bourgeois provece.it cincermins tne ruie of Lin, Lf 25 * encership hes cleimed thet the S21ekers'’ fipine represented = jirect, conscious and politicsl Ghelisnavs” tt tne sivermmeny

latemim Soliticel Report), end thet cince the itesers were in fect creckinge the Lew then our Merxist explenrctiins if tne ststs were irreTevent, For this reeson, it is cleimed, SY Sivctsi iiselr First end Donemast to the tesk of spreecing the strinc, Vnet tnis Deis to uncterstonad is thet the docks militents, imclucins tliss intervieves cy Si, -"e convinced thet they were not sgeinst the Lew’ = ctir “ced lew" sens [IS missed en onvortunity to reise the rilitics wnien retions of s<ctions of the cless hed presenteca: thet is the tires neture oF serlisriongery rule, the stete end the lew, Ye msinvsin thei such noziticel Higes were just es necessary to workers £2 2tlls ts supvort the fire im- ~paisoned dockers, Inceed, in strusziles t2 eine, the tresence or ebsence of such politicel ewereness will be Gouisive,

rhe cks dispute is © clessic exemple of the Teilure of 15 to reise the nolitics posed by the dey—to~dey strusevies of workers, Insteed our <

i Cu o

L 5S orsenisetion so often teils behind them, 1S feiled to reise the €Llor-e, Nienerel Strike to Smesh the 4éct" - instead we pot the cell for "oonerslised industriel ection" to "free the Pive", This synprosch conteined duel error, Firstly, it did not reiss, es ¢ centrel question, the gsenerelisetion of the struxsle to one exeinst the Incustriel Reletions det Tt stuck et the issue of the jeilinyes, Secondly, it told militents to. do whet they were slrerdy doing - ie "“csenerelised industriel section”, This slogen, unlike thet of generel strike, wes not one sround which the centrel polibicel issues could be realised,

The feilure to enswer bourssois propevende ebout "the rule of lew" begen here. The slogens, "Generel Strike to Smesh the Act" end "Build Councils of Action", were the key to sdvencing the struzrle politicelly end orgenisetionslly. These slogens enswered e concrete problem of the vorking class, They could te taken up end ergued Por by militents throushout industry. Furthermore, they steered the strugsle onto e treck which would heve led to ® sherpening of con?lict between workers end the state. At the seme time, pees slosens could ect es vehicles on which our politicel ideas could enter the venguerd ond hence the mess of workers, They logicelly bridge the «ep between our senersel theory end the struggles of the cless, The ebstrect notion of the class strte could heve been mede conerste end relevent. The superiority of our nolitics in theory nd prretice could heve been mede epperent to thousends of militents,

Insteed, IS kent its politics out of the exitetionsl slogens wnich were simply veflections of whet wes heppeninyg, Our basic voLiticel thrsory found no role es e “suide to ection" in the formuletion of cur sloygrus, Such e disestrous anprorch is ineviteble, given the incorrect end economistic notions of propesende end egitetion with which the lercershin operetes.

Page 17

(> FS fF f ax off pe fe :

The Lelse distinction between the ur politice “1 Ncelis to ection" concept of egitetion end the ebstrect notion of propevende es directed to the future Yundsementelly effects the cheracter of SY, As a result, the "noliticel section" of the pener end the industriel reporting remein unconnected, Politics snd economic strussle ere seen to occupy two very Seperate comeins - no bridsve between the two is built. For exemple, in Leurie Flynn's erticle on the “cod wer" (SV 296), there was e #lerine eosence of the cemenas to he reised cy trede unionists - demends which should heve flowed from our politicel position,

Beceuse or tnis sep, politics in SY teke on en ehstrect quelity. The

ideas presented, for instence, in "Out of your nind", seem to find

Little retlection in tne wey the living surusgles of the cless ere pre-

sented, cr in the slogens we reise in reletion to them, At other times, 3

OLLb1ICs find their wey into SY «

D senseticnel exoosures, or dispuised es erticles on Lebour History, The key tesk of Linking our socirplist iden to the cdeay-toedey sbragsle in en ettempt to leed workers forwerd - this is ducked,

at

Day, ©8 @ result, is Peiling to give © lesd to militents in struggle, feiling to ive cleer guide-Linées which will both edvence the strugvle, end reise tne politicel consciousness of the venguere, Let us Look, Lop exemple, et the pener's recent coversere of the Incomes Policy end in-

rs

fletion. SW hes either ducked the politics or celled Yor simple incustp-

iel militency (eg the clessic "Use your musele for more ney"), In SY £97, the week efter tne wege Preege wes ennournced, the Gemend wes reise ec: "Recell nue to demend ell-out ection to smesh the freeze", The peper Leiled t o specity fs senersl] strike es the only “sli-out ection to smesh the Freeze it fPseiled to raise the cell for counciis of ecticn $90 mobilise the renk end file, |

het hes, however, cherscterised SW is mi ess "Tory-beshing’ - potentielly disestrous at time of increrssing militenecy te which the LP is seen es irrelevent, The statc is reduced to little more then | pert of the Conservetive Party mechine, end the trend reeches its most esbsurd in the pever's coverege cf Irelend, The problem of combetting British

heuvinism hes been overccems with the invention of the concept of "British 1 Toryism' (‘mindless" thet Wilson sent the troops in},

“a

And enother disturbins tendency is the increasing ettention which the pener gives to exposures of corruption - lerding, in the ebsence of e Merxist eneslysis, only to reformist conclusions, #4 clepr denser of the crowing stress on greed end corruption is to mis-educete the members end sympethisers of iS, by deeling not with the ceuses but with the ef~- fects of the system, A Merxist perer should uncerstend. end should leed others to understend, thet even were Meudling e men of integrity the system he upholds would, nevertheless, be rotten to tne core, We have no objection in principle to exposures of corruption es long es they ere cleerly end consistently pleced within tne context of capitelist society. Ye do object, however, to their use es 6 sudstitute for reel politicel journelismn - the Link# ing of socislist idees to the sponteneous struuycles of the cless, with the eim of influencing end winnins toa our position the venguerd of those struggles.

Page 18

4 ry fe S

The neture of SW in turn cripples the vomit-enactite ¢ pepers, In fact, . tne sulr between economic secitetion end politicel propesgende is strength-- ened in this field, Renk-end-file pepers must not be ieft merely to

pess wage-rates between militents, We ere not trying to creete revol-~ utionsries in sdmiretion of our ebility to do the work for which the TU bureeucracy is incevable, These pepers ere tne major weepons with which we cen develop eround us 6 resl renk-end-file movement,

For this reseson, renk-end-fise peners must genuinely be controlled oy their reeders - they must not be flimsy fronts for IS (this distinction between their roie end thet of SW hes never been cleerly wrasped), They mist hold resuier conterences end Locel meetings open to ell trece unionists in toe siven industry who ectively support the progremme of the psbver, it is within there movements that IS edes mist Fiant Tor our politics, ‘Ye must be ettemoting to buila the renk-enc-fiie groups -°s erenas for our meinbers, There ere no short cuts in this direction,

If taese pepers sre to cr ing, they must do so by r

0 ©

ete ae renk-end--fTilte movement on & solid factasing the politicsl issues posed in local end

netionesel struggles, ét the momen s the renk-end-file pepers heve not consistenvly cone this, Nowher S the question of the TU buresucracy more ecutely posed then in the struvele Ss covered py these pepers, ut 28 not enoush merely to cail for DU democx acy in their vrogremmes, nor is it sufficient to document verticulsr sell-outs. Instead, the pepers must repestedly raise tne neture of the TU burereucrsecy, es well es of

the crisis in sarticuler industries,

Only if this is done, end if iS cdes teke sericusly their tesx of ersuing politics within the erenes of the renk-enc-file pepers, cen we build the polis icel kernel without which no réenk-end-Lfile movement will survive, | :

fi eroup with little more then the beginnings of e working-class bess

cen justify its competition with other working-cless parties only by demonstreting in prectice the superiority of its industriel stretegy, For e revolutionery, the success of this stretegy is judged not only oy the meteriel advences mede but also to the extent thet renkx-end-Pile perticipetion is incressed end politicel understending wicened during th course of the struggle. To echieve this, our industriel stretegy cennot be divorced from, but: must be Linked org eenicelly to, e politicel pro eremme.,

“he extreme reluct Snce | or inebility of the group's leadership to derive vee eppropriete slogens from its own politicsl enelysis is well illustrted by the arguments savenced egeinst the slogen, “Generel Strike to Sineeh the Act", Both in the esse of the Pentonville jeilings end in the

Jemes Goad seffeir et CféV, Sudbury, the guestion or” the act end of the cless nature of the lew should heve been raised to effect a development from militent trede unionism to socielist. con: ecousne SS.

The Goad effeir Pollowed hot on the heels of the docks dispute - it presented once egein the crucial oe Litiecel tasues oF working-cless orgenisetions under attack by the cepitelist stat , In the montns between the two struggles, SW should have cerried propegeande erticies which

Page 19

L3 . 7” expleined the need to smesh the ect end put forwerd the necessery e stretesy, To prevent the dissipetion of working-cless energy in . sporedic skirmishes, it wes essentiel te stete that the éct cen be defeeted only by © generel strike, OCQutside mess working-cless ecticn, "

such explenetion couid only teke the form of propesence.

{iJ

: if

-xitetionel slogen of general strixe, SW should heve carried it es centre-piece, our edesa should have been instructed to reise it in ths fectories end fectory bulletins, Stress should heve been Laid upen txr5 messive denger of the Act to the crszenised working cless, end upon Une necessity of smeshing it omce end Tor eil, OF course it wes necess:ry to telk sbout "“detending the 4UMV", but our centrel tesk wes to generel-- ise the strussle from a single union to the whole of tine cless, InsereIs chose to tezg elong behind, rether then to relLets to end eavence tne strusgle,

fut, when the Goed struggle blew up, it became necesssry to reise th 2 =

‘gein, our politics have been toned-down with regerd to the AUB’ 16é3adership - when this "leedersnin"” hos pursued e disestrous course from i feilure of the netionsl cleim 16 seqvestreations vis the re-electicn of Conway. ALL these defeac ling the Limitecions of reformis: sono - frontetion with cless legis as well as buresucretic Leer of ule Leeshing renk-end-file power, ars ea massive cornfirmetion of cur propecends, From our enelysis of the IU ouresucrecy to the nesc Por demo~. cretic fighting unions, But esein © preference Vor Tollowing the struggle prevented us from meking political cenital -- by cur Inebilicy to translete e superior but ebstrect understending into immeciete Goncpete demends, |

Pressure from the Stelinists end Tribunites produced unwerrented illusions in Scenilon (OW editoriel 293) - e penic sinking togethsr of the theftt in fece of the growing strensth of the right, but nothing will essist the right wing of the AUEV so much es the ebsence of e principled elterneative. Without such en elternetive, the renk and Pile must be further demorslised - snd demorelisetion is the food of reaction. Yet no elterneative, if it is to heve eny hope of success, cen be anything but sevage to the policies of Sesnlon, For it is his cleim to fight the government thet hes led to the growth of the right, To declere opposition to the Act was to invite e government etteck which wes certeinly provided, But to pretend to. fight while teking ebsolutely no meesures to secure victory, es Scenlon did not, was *« suicidel policy from which the right is now reening e rich hervest. Of course we defend, egeinst the cepituleting right, the policy of totel opposition to the Act, but to meke thet defence synonymous with the defence of Scenion is to ellow the right to equete us with him, . |

This stete of politicel diserray mekes it entirely uncerstendsable thes our industriel cdes ere not left unmoved by the penic pressure of the Stelinists end Tribunites. Which is why the disorganised stete of the frections cen no longer be tolereted, end why it is absolutely essentipl for cdes to overcome the resistence of the I8 leedership to the nolding of ennuel industriel conferences, | |

S-conisetionel freomentetion is the reflection of the absence of e aeationel Line, understood end fought for by the renk--end-file membershin, For cdes to be able to ergue for our politics, there must be freetionel vrogremmes hemmered out et netionel eggregstes, sna incussr4e1 conferences bringing the freotions together with the perspective of building e netionel renk-end-file movement, However necessrry such rellies es that held for Fine Tubes. they cennot suostitute for the group's industriel membership messing vo débete end derelop cur gtretegy end tectics, The freeiions at e Locel end regionel level should prepere resolutions for these conferences regulerly convened,

eee SSS...

Page 20

Prid the conferences should submit resolutions to the Netionel Conference, “nd, beceuse trede-union sectionslism is em obstecle to the usvelopment of revolutionery consciousness, no distinction should be teas in the impoxrtence or white- end blue-coller union work,

fmother matter of dispute within IS hes been the seeking of TU positjons. Here, if we ersue thet the renk wna file Musi control their

unions to meke them fichting orgenisetions, then we heve to be seen by the cless to ect eccordingly - to seek election on our politics end not

on en opportunistic basis cr by behind-thse-scenes menipuletion,

But our key tesk et present is the building of SW rerders' groups in the offices end factories, sethering edvenced militents eround us, on these groups to heve meening and life. they must be controlled ror within, &nd it is ebsolutely essentiel thet they be seen es component perts of the geogrephicel brenches, The cevelopment of the gecgrephices brench, the regionsl end the fractionel structures, mist commend Ou? present energies, Featory brenches in direct relationship with the ‘sentre" mist be opposed es a premeture diversion which covid both dangerously distort the eli-round cevelopment of the revolutionary cedre, and undermins the gsosrephicel beench deprived of its inductvir. bess.

We, the umieraigned eomvpades, helisve that the ideas outlines platform mist be tekan up and embodied daz the pracbic ey for I.S. to mest the challenge end seine the cpport

by the presenit rericd,

a. AMI

Derex Cattell (Btham N.Z. Have pact es (Behan South) Stuart King (u%ham South) Dick Prate (Bihem S<uth) Raédie MacWillians (Bradt ard )} Phik Mileran (Gair Gite } nelLeaste

Teenarct Mach-em Paul Wimstene

Bill. Coppock Ptanchestes)

Farry Cowan (353 Pomd.) ; Dave Stocking (Sole }

Mike Covell Wailey»

Godfrey Webster Prank Puiilips

: (Warley Jee Quigley (Warley) ( Ch