January) raises two major questions regardinE clections and the atritude of the Labour lefts to li torm ol eleclion in Aritain.
He correctly stater 'the European parliament could be used on a European scale as a forum for socialist propaganda. have an obligation to maximise this potential.
The EEC clections when they occur will be held in every member country at the same time. A united revolutionary slate throughout Europe would for the first time publicly pose the alternative of socialism and the need for an international on a continental scale.
The Fourth International leadership in Europe is uniquely placed to call a conference of all revolutionary organisations throughout Europe to draff a common programme for such a slate. A revolutionary poll would clarity relations between left groups by sharply posing the question of socialist unity, Undoubsedly it would have a greater sectarianism than purely national elections.
The programme cannot yet be determined but it should include demands against the EEC and against protectionism and import controls at a national or international level, as well as a very wide range of other demands. In such a campaign we would ask for seats to be allocated on our aggregale votes, as we are candidates of no particular country.
Phil Hearse notes that Labour lefts are antidemocratic in relation to proportional representation. However, the objective reasons for this are not explained. At present, Labour look Revolutionaries votes). impact on fossilised versa intensilied.
SCOTLAND Forinformation on Socialist ChaBenge coniact Scottish Socialist/Socialist Challenge bookshop, 64 Westminster, it is mainly left minorities that are exchided. Liberals are the present case among the main parties. We can he sure that Dennis Skinner MP recognises these faules But why then does he oppose PR? Clearly this relates to the "project' of Party in case there is PR "when they hope to take over the Party, If successful the right wing Jeave, Liberals. In the absence of PR, the lefis see this as risky and tantamount lo entering the wilderthey expect the social weight of the Labour Party to remain unchanged Furthermor a left Labour Parly would sents as opposed to 50 per cent under PR. seems the 'better bet TOE outside the Pari I, one lets are to be id the real fight and However, they shouldn't attack the government too hard, asthe only alternative under the status quo is the Tories. irrelevant as it has no MPs (even with I million Under PR all the above arguments would fall. If the Labour Party remained undemocratic or didn't adopt socialist policies, lefts is a soft HUOUS DETERICTIS clectoral advantage has obviated the need to obtain grass roots support. It is unlikely it could regenerate such support as would he necessary to retain hegemony under PR. It has no auto matic union allegiance unlike other countries, having grown from the unions and not vice With its removal as sole governmental party. union affiliations would decline and Senocacics in the about movement REOWA boost would be given to labour movement democracy in general, and a clearer political would tesult. blindfolds would be removed, and although the en would appear much smaller in parlimentary terms, the true alignment of forces would be and the class struggle G.MORGAN, Glasgow Speakers: Geoff Paxon, FBU Divisiona Secretary (in personal capacityl. Bab George Hotel, Stafford St.
Wolverampton.
QUeer basis for with the - This strengie"
Finally, the NF i would the class strugele socialist democratic Is built-in assessed, catch-all formulas majority other One of reformism's such diliciences -ING The doesn't details from PO Box 50 EEC.
debated struggle "The project Prince 1D1 Street, London VI.
Centre.
Road loff West HOW DO WE map out the necessary political revolutionary unity?
International Communist League agrees, generally, with what the introduction to your Prall Statement said Neither to the historie tradition Bolshevik-Leninism, nor disagreement on a few short-term tactical Questons. can be decive: the crucial enteror is where cach tendency stands in relation to the "greatest tests of the international class But your Draft Statement seems not lo correspand to this method, Thought on some points it gives rather detailed lists of slogans, it is almost entirely devoid of concrete references 1o the actual tests of class struggle. On issue formulations which are not made sufficiently precise to be a guide to action in any real test of here can be unis doble dea greements: bui for that unity to be honest and scrious, the disaureements must b covered over with vacuous In the unification which created the I-CL, the of one (Workers Power') had an important and potentially far-reaching difference with the theoretical tradition of the I-CL. majonty, in that they considered the Stalinist states to be "state capitalist'. In the fusion statement we stated clearly what the majority position of the was, and explicity noted the existence of a minority position.
That approach seems to us better than trying to lind some "compromise' formula to bridge you have tried to do in your Draft Statement I the discussiop on wilVatise fran a suddeinflux of new, young miltants into revolu tionary politics, then stating positions clearly woeld still be necessary — bur positive, fruitful revolutionary unity might be possible even on a relatively amorphous hasis, to the extent that it rellected the immaturity of the new vanguard. Manusts would have to learn to argue and criticise more patiently, less polemically:
That is not today's- situation. discussion is unity between groupings and and political divisions. Attempting to unify them just by finding "compromise formulas, 1s substituting diplomacy for polities; it can only discredil the idea of units The Draft Statement does not define its attitude to the Stalinist stales closely enough to indicate whether or not it is for a working. class political revolution against the bureatic racy in Viernam. Cuba, or even China.
social-democracy clear cnough to rule our the sort of supporting through faint criticismi often found in Socialist Challenge. It does not come out openly for the victory of the struggle for national Iberation in Ireland, against British imperialism. It makes no mention of struggle" in relation to internationalism: the women's movement, not saying that this should he a communist, working-class based waren's movesent, and not drawing any line between Marxism and feminism. It does nor Jnclude 'No Platform for Fascists"
Clear positions have to be defined and on these questions for solidly-based revolutionary unity lo be possible. For it is such questions which decide whether revoletionary aspirations and general principles are translated into adequate revolutionary action in the tests of the class This is an abridged version of a letter sent by the International Commenist League to the Socialist Challenge Editorial Board. The fult text can be ablained from the I-CL, 98 Gifford socialists The Socialist abstract though obviously Df descend to the Marxism of Socialist Worker.
ILLS TALIE
united revolutionary organisation. by bringing in a few hitherto independen Revolutionary unity will be built out of united action in rank and file struggles — in elections in the united fronts representing the oppressed and via debate and discusion, It may. com sooner rather than later, but it will not appear like a rab hit out of a hat in a matter of months, Socialist Challenge - unlike attempting to be a "mass paper'. IE is primarily.
not exclusieels, aimed a rank and file militants in the workplace, ar other activist: fighting against particular form of oppression, at left wine militants in othe Stomping to build the reyolutie Whilst 1— for one — would agroe with the criticisms on the letters pages recently that Soctalist Challenge is sometimes too intelico tual", I cannel accept comrade Heal's suggestion in 5 January 1978 issue that it should ecosonism and Jackanory Granted, Socialist Challenge should not be sumed at the vanguard, and the tiro are by no down serious political analysis for the sake of getting onto the shelves of WH Smith (sic), or substifuring Socialist Challenge for the Sun, is not going to take us an inch nearer a socialist opposition or a
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programme for the Common Market PE HERES eide made Challenne,
Socialist Challenge