the NPC on 2 September.
The conference was discuss how the left could be rebuilt in the unions, to provide a political of the trade union leaders. The past three years have seen the right win major successes, but with no effective response emerging from the left.
The conference attracted more than unions. Although only 30 per cent showed thai Socialist Challenge is reachine a militants who are secking an answer to the problems of organising against the bureaucracy I WONDER if Bob Rowthorn would have written such a uncritical delence munism had he realised that his article would foliow immediately upon Mike Prior's totally accurate picture of the complete political benkrupicy of the British Communist PartyHow can a policy that bases itself on a wide extension of democratic neuss De taken senously organisation that issues it is subjected to cynical manipulation by the small group that constitutes its leadership. and the membership are denied the most fundamental rights compatibie with a Marxist political party?
Eurocommunists make no allempt to answer fundamental criticisms of their strategy and instead reply with fururistic hypotheses of the possible No one would deny the strength of the right and their grip on sections of the working class, The trouble is that the Euroconsmunists never take the right seriously, they the possbility that by choosing to fight within the ruling class's own may lead the working class to disaster.
How can the problemis 00s0d Ds Mike Prior be solved? in the internal context of the CP I do not think that they can. The self leadership of King Street would rather see the membership decimated than pive up control.
My personal January this year, was to leave the CP THE FIRST Socialist Challenge Trade Union Conference took the conference, here outlines an initial balance-sheet which will discussed along with other contributions at the next meeting of called to union recognition The discussion audience pi bland and your case Eurocommuniss!.
Even outside when thé and Claudin, have not answered.
dialogue.
wall from our side.
B.A. FRENCH (Sogthwater)
never consider perpetuating solution, woukt It antracted militants with recent (Sandersons), Office Union), and the cuts (Emergency Bed Service branch of the Confederation of Health Service Employees). It L clear that a solid basis exists for building a wider audienice in the unions for the paper and its policies.
showed wide measure of agreement on the need to build a broad-based opposition in the unions to the policies of the trade union leaders. Speakers pointed to the Tailure of the Broad Left to wage a senious light against the burcaucracy.
From the Eurocommunists I would ask: re-examine the evidence on which support you base your conclusions; 1 think you have been unduly selective, you have reached judgement in advance of the facts; evidence that has net suited DE.l unexamined (a fruit not peculiar to the Trotskyist tradition, Marxists such as Miliband among others, have made many telling points that you From the left? E think Tarig All is the genuine Eurocommuniste wish 1o get out of the ghette it will be foolish to rebuild the tureaucrati to lady tragett The policy La struggle clearly inadequate. These leaders will move only when independent activity from the base threatens their position.
void the errors of Rank and Fi which ses only the nood to present an organisational alternative, and falls to adopt the policies needed to break workers from their lhasions in the A number of speakers explained the successes which had been achieved in building such oppositions in the Civ ind Publi POEU, and National Union ol Teichers. A centrai noint made was that these oppositions were built by allowing full participation of all those prepared to struggle, and by allowing tendences full democratic nichts.
Such appositions endless However, does this mean tha evolutionary Marxiss should, eithe explicitly, Bukharin of responsibility for his of Stalin's policies and regime, both before and after the defeat of the Right Opposition in 1928-297 1 think not. Bukharin bore a heavy responsibility, from the mid-Twenties on, in helping to create the monster that eventually devoured him. In this respoot the final jugement upon Bukharin has yet to be made:
This brings me to another aspect, lo not think it is a coincidence that campaign & being run in the West to Tehabilitate Bukbarin, and not all the victims of Stalin's Frame-ups Who, above all were Infamous Moscow trials aimed at? None other than Leon Trotsky, who continually figured prominent defendant, even if only in ahrentin.
Trotsky almost alone of the cadens of the October revolution maintained actual struggle against Stalinism. Bukharin, on the other hand, has left no living consciences" to support a demand Tor Bukharin's rehabilitation, since this can be done without either acknowledgement of, ar association an existing revolutionary movement (with all its faules If such bodies as the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation concerned for justice, I would suggest widen their campaign to include all were Stalin'y frame-up bickering some of the left. On the contrary, democracy helped the struggle b creating action. This was one cicar message from the conference which supporters must carry back to their unions and workplaces.
However the conference did not take up the problems of how to fight for such oppositions clearly enough.
today is to unify the vanguard in a fight for united action with the base of the social-democracy, on class strugele policies.
The tactics and strategy of this task were not dealt with. How do we fight in Rank and File and Broad Left groups for united campaigas on, for example, the 35-hour woek? How de internal wc organise to support such struggles clearly understood that when onc demands the rebabilitation of ull the absolve delendants, and those imprisoned or CALLULLU without essentially demanding the acknowledgement of depeneration of the Soviet regime, or wluch the Mosoow trials were only (1) the "finishing touches".
For the rebabilitation of Bekharin?
Emphatically yes, but as a part of the general rehabilitation of all the leaders these ET trecail prices are shown in tracketal 1378 THIND QUARTER political RICHTE AT WORK, br Jeramy MoMulien. 1E2.25).
an are so sowhencer T3 nor PUS two histor ces reprivs, co out of pont John Whealley ? 19k Henre MIDLANDS CHALLENGE For details eod ices of jumble tora as e saon. v 9838 He 1 and huip build the all, Mont morand 31 SOUTH EAST Dacussion on in argument used b a solid basis for united the and lett unions. led bureaucratic Including Sampson E1.2b)
Samkange. 121.20 LIST E WOMEN 112:30-1.45)
Cha eng Stree PORTSMOUTH Socialist (as thie Fise Brigades Union strike" How do we give left oppositions a permanent structure?
is clear that we must build another conference laler in tho Vear to give a clear orientation to our work. It will be necessary also lo sel clear project, for comirades and to discuss the tacties of such projocis To pave the way for this we should prepare a trade union bulletin for Socialist Challenge supporters which will contain some of the features from conference and comrades" assessment of it and how the nest one should be orpanised.
In the meantime we have three priorities. We must fight first to build the lobby of the TUC on 4 September by setting deepations secon National Campalen trade union conference in November: and third, to build ANL croups in the workplace and the This will provide us with common experience lo discuss al the next Trotsky, and of the revolution thes KENTARBUCK (Hove] Our temporary reduction to 12 pages means that there may be a delay of several weeks before some letters appear. Please note that the length of letters printed will normally be kept down ta 400 words in order to encourage as wide a range of contribulions as possible. All letters may be cut at the Editor's discretion. THE MOURNED ONE. by Stanim BRIGHTON Sociallet Challenge mAim on Saturines al the Ope SCOTLAND Gay: Fray and Salute sie on Oper a sultans er Four DUNDEE i-formecion shoul Socialis Challenge activilies Irom 84 Oueen S Glasgow. Join:
Boots comer Reform Sti east WALES CARE einli allen Forum Socialist Challenge 3 August 1978 Page i
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place in Birmingham on 1 July. PAT HICKEY, a member of the paper's National Policy Commitfee and one of the organisers of
Ines 2e fain the Bochmark Cle and Send me list