During the early seventies, many left groups size and influence. Profiting from the 'youth radicalisation', groups such as the IS (International Socialists) and the IMG (International Marxist Group) attracted large numbers of students seeking a clear alternative to the reformist policies of both the Labour & the Communist The dramatic growth of these groups makes the present fragmentation of the left all the more ironic. Groups such as IS - still labouring under the heady illusion of launching a new 'partyl and openly 'competing' with the Labour Party - have been rent with inner disputes leading to splits & expulsions.
There can be no doubt that this fragmentation is demoralising both to those who have 'left' groups and to the wider layer of radicals - inside and outside the labour movement - who are looking for a clear alternative to the reformist parties. It is doubly demoralising that this should have taken place at a time when such an alternative was never more needed to help combat the attacks on the living standards and rights of working people their allies.
Weakness It is not enough, however, to remain demoralised. It is necessary to uncover the reasons for this set-back to ensure it is not repeated. present fragmentation can, in one sense, be positive if it leads to further regroupments based on a clear understanding of past errors.
For many, of course, the present situation can be simply explained away as the result of a temporary decline in the radicalisation of the broader labour movement as it has acquiesced - over the years - in the government's savage attacks on its living standards and democratic rights. There is clearly some truth in this. The left obviously. reflects, to a greater or lesser extent, the shifts in mood and consciousness of working people and It is by no means, however, the full answer. The class struggle knows not only flows but also ebbs which have not thrown the left into the state of disintegration it is in at present. If anything, the present 'down-turn' has merely acted as a catalyst in bringing to light the lack of political clarity that accompanied the growth of these groups.
This lack of clarity was manifested, above all, in the constant tendency of groups such as the IMG or IS to 'adapt' to the milieux in which they were working - a fact which explains their often abrupt shifts in position. Such adaptation meant that the composition of these groups was never based on a common understanding of the way forward. the momentum of the class struggle was on the increase, the internal differences were held together but - the moment it slowed up - they burst forth with dramatic impact.
The recent splits and divisions are the price the left is having to pay for this earlier lack of clarity. The 'positivel aspect of it is that, at least, growing numbers have begun to probe the inability of the IMG or IS to relate to the real dynamic of the class struggle as it has unfolded over the past period.
Confusion This inability has been shown, firstly, in their 'economism' and refusal to come to grips with the complex - and often new - forms of struggle nave been thrown up over the past decade, such as thai by women or Blacks for their liberation. using to support (and pioneer) these struggles has alienated wide layers from socialism but nas afforded the 'right! the opportunity to launch offensives to divide and weaken the labour movement. Through the neglect of these issues over the years, the left has been quite unable to respond to the recent anti-abortion moves against women or anti-Black offensive whipped up in the press which are attempts to turn layers of workLEAGUE for SOCIALIST ACTION