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Home , Albert Glotzer, Dwight Macdonald, Harvey Swados, Max Shachtman, Michael Harrington, Phyllis Jacobson

Bridgewater Review

Volume 3 | Issue 2 Article 12

Jul-1985 Cultural Commentary: The orW kers' Party Revisited Betty Reid Mandell Bridgewater State College

Recommended Citation Mandell, Betty Reid (1985). Cultural Commentary: The orkW ers' Party Revisited. Bridgewater Review, 3(2), 23-25. Available at: http://vc.bridgew.edu/br_rev/vol3/iss2/12

This item is available as part of Virtual Commons, the open-access institutional repository of Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, Massachusetts. CULTURAL COMMENTARY The Workers' Party Revisited by Betty Reid Mandell Associate Professor of Social Work

your houses." In 1948 this small group of ers' Party, another on ' 1970 Though conservative politicians tend to radicals, called the Worker's Party, was novel Standing Fast as a portrayal of the portray as a unified, monolithic placed on Attorney General Tom Clark's list Workers' Party, and the third on three force, its history as an American political of subversive organizations. In 1958 they journals which had their roots in the Work­ and ideological movement is, as Betty Man­ were removed from the list. Then they ers' Party: Politics, Dissent, and New Po­ dell reports. anything but unified. To under­ disbanded. litics. Invitations were sent to former Work­ standsomething ofthe issues with which the Twenty-six years later, on May 6-7, 1983, ers' Party activists, some friends, and some movement has struggled, a bit of back­ some of that small group and a few friends contributors to early issues of the journals. ground may be useful. reassembled at University'S Tam­ The invitation list was a story in itself, In 1929 the Communist League ofAmer­ iment Library for a Workers' Party/ Stand­ combining those who had stood fast in their ica (later to change its name to the Socialist ing Fast conference to reminisce about old radicalism and those who had turned to the Workers Party - SWP) was founded on times and to celebrate the acquisition by right. As , editor of New principles articulated by the Russian revolu­ N.Y.U. of the papers of the man who had Politics, put it, "In this small gathering there tionary . By 1940 the S WP was been the leading theoretician of the Work­ sits both the Old Left and the New Right." split over this issue of whether to defend or ers' Party, . I attended that Julie Jacobson, head of the Socialist Youth oppose Russia in the coming war. Some in conference, and felt like I was stepping back League, the youth division ofthe ISL, noted the S WP who saw Russia as a "degenerated into a little known, but important, page of that those who turned to the right had worker's state" continued to defend Russia history. Small as the group was, it was rejected all Workers' Party principles but against all Capitalist foes. Others, including influential in the development of their anti- and said that some form­ Max Shachtman (one ofthefounders ofthe the left. Some members of the group are er Workers' Party members (for example, Communist League in 1929), argued that famous today, including Michael Harring­ Saul Bellow and Seymour Martin Lipset) Russia was merely a "bureaucratic collec­ ton, whose book fired had switched their commitment from Lenin tive"in which a new bureaucratic class ruled the first shot in the War on Poverty; Irving and to Henry Jackson and Ronald ,in contradiction of workers' interests. Howe, literary critic, renowned author Reagan! The invitation list also contained a sprinkling of radicals turned social demo­ Shachtman and others split from the (World of Our Fathers). and editor of the crats, such as and Irving SWP andformed the Workers Party (WP) journal Dissent; , liter­ Howe. (Neither attended.) Perhaps the larg­ which remainedaformalpoliticalparty only ary critic and essayist; novelist Harvey Swa­ est irony of the Standing Fast conference is until 1948 at which time, having been labeled dos; and labor activist . that the central figure, present only in the subversive by the Federal Department of The conference consisted ofthree separate consciousness of the participants and in the Justice, it became an educational organiza­ panel discussions. One focused on the Work- papers on display, Max Shachtman, had not tion called the Independent Socialist League. stood fast, having ended a brilliant radical (ISL). career by ignobly supporting the American involvement in Vietnam. This split between those who had turned toward the Right and Choose. Choose between Russia and the those who had remained true to the original United States. Choose between Cuba and principles ofthe Workers' Party set the stage the United States. Choose Between for some tense conference debates. Some and Russia. Choose between starvation and people had even refused to participate be­ . Choose between cause of their rage at those who had turned rhetoric and communist infiltration. But to the Right. why? Are there no other possibilities? Can a There was pride, there were regrets, and socialist be independent of popular defini­ there were ambivalences that seemed never tions of socialism which force such awful to have been resolved. Everyone was proud choices? Can she or he proclaim that Russia, that the Workers' Party had presented a China, Cuba are not socialist, and at the political choice that was independent of same time try to move the United States both the capitalist countries and the coun­ toward genuine ? tries calling themselves socialist but run, in There were some radicals in the 1940s and fact, by a privileged bureaucracy. The Work­ 1950s who did just that. In the words of the ers' Party had kept alive an independent anarchist Max Nomad, they felt like "a bone political perspective through the 1940s and that two dogs are fighting over and someone 1950s, and as individuals, even through the asks the bone whose side it is on." To the 1960s and to the present. As some Leftists cold war fight, they said, "A plague on both were chanting "Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh,"

23 those with a Workers' Party analysis criti­ One participant characterized the usual tone unified in their aims would surely have been cized the totalitarian politics and tactics of ofdiscussion as follows: "Not only must you enlightened to witness the differences expres­ the Vietnam Communists while opposing defeat your opponent in debate, but cut him sed by old colleagues in New York. American involvement in Vietnam. One in several pieces and stomp on him." Part of the debate focused on whether the speakercommented that when neo-conserva­ In the discussions about the Workers' Party original Workers' Party had been truly Len­ tive points to so-called socia­ position on World War II, old doubts inist. One side s,aid it had not been Leninist list countries andjeers, "Look what happened resurfaced. While the Workers' Party sup­ since the Workers' Party had promoted to socialism," a Workers' Party analysis ported resistance movements in Europe, democratic ideas while Leninism was asso­ would point out, "But that's not true social­ they had advocated resisting the war by the ciated with an anti-democratic, one-party ism - ifit's not democratic it's not socialism." continued prosecution of the class struggle, state. The opposite view was that the Work­ There were regrets, however, about the e.g. through strikes, and they could not ers' Party had been Leninist in its commit­ route Max Shachtman had finally taken, support capitalist powers, even though they ment to the success of the Russian revolu­ and these regrets mingled with the regrets were not conscientious objectors and most tion, and to the idea that the suppression of about the failure of the Workers' Party to did serve in the Armed Forces. In view of opposing parties after the revolution was provide a bridge between the Old and the their predominantly Jewish membership, it due to the treachery of , . It was pointed out that even Dis­ was difficult not to support AJlied capitalist not to the ' Left-wing principles sent) one of the most important Leftist opposition to Hitler. of party organization. Others, preferring journals in America, had been more critical for its "theoretical rigor," of the New Left than of the . criticized the Bolshevism of the Workers' Participants recalled that at the time of the Party for its "sterile and narrow-minded , the founding credo Party members orthodoxy, hierarchy, cliches and resistance of Students for a Democratic Society, the to change." SDS had gone to and Michael believed that The theme ofdifferences within the move­ Harrington for guidance and been rebuffed. ment was addressed most directly when the Harrington and Howe had moved so far to capitalism was in its sociologist Lewis Coser, a co-editor of Dis­ the Right that they were no longer opponents sent, discussed the rich cultural tradition of American , and had opposed death agony and that many Workers' Party members had an American unilateral withdrawal from brought with them from Europe. Many of Vietnam. that revolution was their children, like the radicals depicted in Another painful split within the move­ Standing Fast, had discarded those ethnic ment,that between the Old Left and femin­ just around the and religious traditions in their eagerness to ists, was glaringly revealed when one of the be citizens of the world. One participant, panelists, , told of how the corner. who was once in the Catholic Left but is now journal Labor Action had an entirely female a religious Jew, thought the Workers' Party editorial board during World War II (since had ignored cultural differences, seeking to so many men were in the armed forces) then More than one speaker claimed to have build a movement that reflected America as added, "But we managed." become "older and wiser." Articles in the a melting pot rather than a pluralistic society. It was easy to discover sexism in the work New International or Labor Action had He argued the need to pass on traditions, of group members. It was obvious in Swa­ often been prefaced by the phrase, "In this disliking the enormous rancor between the dos' novel Standing Fast, for example, but period of the death agony ofcapitalism .... " Old and the New Left. In Standing Fast no one mentioned this -- if indeed, they were Although Workers' Party members had a Harvey Swados dealt with the tragic gap in aware of it when they read the book. Swados sense of history, their thinking was often understanding between radical generations. himself may have been unaware of it when reductionist. During the war, they assumed He wanted to prevent this breakdown be­ he wrote it. The "important" characters in that revolution was just around the corner. tween generations by describing what they the book are all male, and even when Perhaps, it was suggested, this sense of had in common. For this effort, Swados was children of party members are portrayed, "being right," of "knowing the way" had described at the conference as "one of the only the male children are fleshed out. faded with age, with tiredness, and with the great heroes of our time." Women play supporting roles in every sense real threat of the atom bomb. They had been of the word, and even their lovemaking is naive about some of Trotsky's theses, for In the final analysis, what effect did the shaped by male promptings that sometimes example the colonial belief that India couldn't Workers' Party have on history? The govern­ seem to suggest a "raging hormone" theory be free of English rule without a socialist ment considered the Workers' Party dan­ of male sexuality. At the conference sexism revolution. Even when events disproved gerous and the Workers' Party responded to seemed to be just one aspect of the generally certain of Trotsky's theses, some Workers' that evaluation by taking assumed names strident tone of the discussions, in which Party members still clung to his outdated and going underground. Party members men dominated. theories. For those people who saw the believed that capitalism was in its death world as "infinitely more complicated than More than one person commented on the agony and that revolution was just around we thought it was," the old sureties were sharp and often acerbic polemics that had the corner. Many deferred college education gone. prevailed in the old days, and in fact occa­ and other pursuits, committing themselves sionally bubbled up again at the conference. Tile conference also saw the resurfacing of to building a mass base among the workers (Like mothers anxious to keep the family an okl, many-sided debate over political in preparation for the impending revolution. peace, a couple of women urged people to be orthodoxy. People within the movement The revolution was not in fact "around the kind.) From all accounts, Max Shachtman, disagreed strongly as to what variety of corner,"and the majority of American work­ while a brilliant polemicist, debater, and the Workers' Party had repre­ ers did not develop revolutionary conscious­ theoretician, was often caustic and sarcastic. sented. Thosc who imagine that Leftists are ness. In time a sizeable number of Workers' 24 Cultural Commentary Continued

Party members wearied of the struggle or stopped believing in it, turning to their consumer comforts, and often actively sup­ by Vahe Marganian porting the capitalist government they had ProCessor oC Chemistry struggled against in their youth. Did they achieve no more importance than to become Muscle Biochemistry quaint objects ofstudy for Ph. D. candidates holed up in the carrels ofthe N. Y. U. Library? from ~~~~"",,--, In the novel Standing Fast one of the Oxford University characters, Paul, was murdered. His agon­ ized father, trying to make sense of Paul's Oxford. The name evokes images of an rest stops during day-long visits. Enter the murder and his own life, cries, "You know old English university town full of medieval friendly pubs where a family can enjoy a what all of us are? Not even a footnote ... buildings, well-tended gardens, black-robed simple meal and warm beer and witness Roosevelt and the war that you were against, students on bicycles and idyllic scenes represent­ exchanges of opinion between robed stu­ Truman and the war that you were against, ing high English culture. Many academics in dents on topics ranging from the nuclear Eisenhower and the McCarthyism that you the English-speaking world are also aware of arms race to sports events between Oxford were against. ... Who cared what you the numerous scholarly contributions this and the Other Place (Cambridge). The hete­ thought? obody but a handful of cranks great university has made throughout twelve rogeneity of languages, attire, and manner­ and psychopaths. Nuts, freaks, unhappy like centuries of its existence and would like to ism exhibited by thousands of visitors in me ...." His friend replies, "One way or taste a portion of its rich cultural life. Such Oxford adds a definite international flavor another, we tried to keep an idea alive. There an opportunity was extended to me and my to this very English city. For long-term vis­ weren't enough of us, there never are. We family through a sabbatical granted by B.S.C. itors, the city offers numerous cultural attrac­ ridiculously wrong about a lot of things but during 1983 to join the Inorganic Chemistry tions in the form of societies for music, wasn't? And what idea did they keep alive, Laboratory (I.C.L.) and investigate some architecture, literature. To my great delight I others?" aspects of the chemistry of muscle contrac­ was admitted by the Oxford Bach Society to I feel that those who kept the faith have so tion. Here I wish to summarize my Oxford sing to knowledgable audiences in ancient brilliantly. After the official demise of the experiences on two fronts: town and gown cathedrals -- a cherished audiovisual expe­ Phyllis and Julie Jacobson published New as and research related to muscle action. rience indeed. a platform for socialists who maintained a radical perspective that was both anti-Stalin­ The University: At the onset I must state ist and anti-capitalist. They published articles that Oxford lacks the typical centralized by the imprisoned Polish radicals Jacek I was totally unprepared administration which governs a university. Kuron and Karol Modzelewski, later to be for a visit to the Oxford shares with Cambridge the distinc­ founders of KOR and eventually the tion of having preserved the medieval colle­ Solidarity movement. Although New Politics slaughterhouse at five giate system where a collection of autonom­ discontinued publication in 1978, the Jacob­ ous colleges offer education and lodging to sons are laying the groundwork for rein­ a.m. to collect fresh cow undergraduates through dons (teachers rank­ stating it. C. L. R. James had an important brains... ing from lowly assistants to revered profes­ influence on both African and Caribbean sors) on a one-to-one basis. For Oxford radical movements. has con­ University consists of thirty-five such Col­ tinued the Workers' Party tradition of theor­ leges, each with its own physical plant etical rigor in his recently published multi­ The City: Oxford (110,000) is the seat of (dorms, library, chapel, dining room, gar­ volume analysis of Marx and Engels. He and Oxfordshire, a county on England's South dens, and extensive real estate holdings) and his late wife Anne provided an outstanding Midlands ("Home Country"), and is located a governing body consisting of a Head and example of leadership to the youth in the some fifty-five miles northwest of London. elected Fellows. Most Fellows hold teaching International Socialists, the successor to the The natural beauty of Oxford nestled in the and research positions at the University. The independent Socialist League. Others have valley of the Isis River (soon to be known as Colleges vary in size, wealth and prestige. worked with the New Left and continue to the Thames as it approaches London) is The largest and best known is Christ's be active in many struggles, including the greatly enhanced by the dominant College Church (1525) with its renowned choir, anti-nuclear, anti-imperialist, ecological, and Spires visible to visitors approaching the city extensive gardens and a rich history of feminist movement. And it was apparent at from any direction. Soon the visitor dis­ prominent alumni in music, theology and this conference that some of the old Work­ covers the intimate proximity of town and government. The majestic Magdalen College ers' Party members had kept their lively gown: for the university buildings are dis­ Tower by University Botanical Gardens, young minds, despite their wrinkles and persed throughout central Oxford, easily greets visitors at the southern entrance to the greying hair. They not only had not turned mingling the dons and undergraduates with "campus"and is the site of much merry mak­ against youth, but they had allied themselves merchants and curious tourists. This concen­ ing during May Morning (May I) celebra­ with the best thinking of youth to stand fast tration of ancient college buildings sur­ tions, a tradition vaguely linked to Viking in the tradition of democratic radicalism. It rounded by manicured gardens, libraries, mythology. ew College was founded in is perhaps not in spite of debates with the bookstores, churches, museums, all located 1379 and boasts an excellent choir which Leftist movement that it persists, but because in a well-defined circular pattern, makes Ox­ regularly performs in the chapel containing of them. ford an easy adventure to experience by the famous stone statues of medieval rere­ foot. Naturally, tired feet need convenient dos. In contrast, Wolfson College was estab-

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