Weekly Worker March 13), Which of How I Understand the “From of Polemic

A paper of Marxist polemic and Marxist unity weekly Italian left unites around n People’s Assembly workern Revolutionary Strategy ‘Another Europe with Tsipras’. n Crimean referendum Tobe Abse assesses its chances n Open borders No 1002 Thursday March 20 2014 Towards a Communist Party of the European Union www.cpgb.org.uk £1/€1.10 The moderate extremist 2 weekly March 20 2014 1002 worker LETTERS Letters may have been in the elemental fight over wages definitively assert what he would What nonsense. Let us leave such shortened because of and conditions that would occur in Xenophobic have said then!” True enough (and window dressing to the Trots! space. Some names class society even if there was no I cannot escape the conclusion that fortunately for him nor was there Those on the left should ensure may have been changed such thing as Marxism. The fact that there exists a nasty xenophobic any asylum-seekers legislation for that those they employ are paid today “the works of Marx, Lenin undertone to Dave Vincent’s reply political refugees), but Eleanor, his transparently, in line with the Not astounding and others [are] freely available (Letters, March 13). daughter, was particularly active in market rate, and ensure best value In spite of all the evidence that I have on the internet” changes nothing in First, has Dave never heard of the distributing the statement, “The voice for money for their members. Crow put forward from Lars T Lih’s study, this regard, except for the fact that Irish immigration to Scotland and of the aliens’, which I recommended fulfilled all those requirements, Lenin rediscovered, in particular, uploading material onto a website in particular to the Lanarkshire coal as a read. along with many others who are Carl Simmons doggedly insists on makes it much easier for us “social pits? So the Lithuanians were indeed I will end with a quote from it: “To proud that their efforts better the asserting that Karl Kautsky, VI Lenin, democrats” to bring the revolutionary not the only immigrant population punish the alien worker for the sin of terms and conditions that ensure Lars Lih and I hold the working class Marxist message to the struggles of used as cheaper labour by the bosses. the native capitalist is like the man workers get more than the ‘average’. “in disdain” by arguing that “the the workers’ movement than it was Indeed many encouraged the division who struck the boy because he was John Praven working class is ‘only capable of for previous revolutionaries, using and the bitter consequences are still not strong enough to strike his father.” Portsmouth trade union consciousness’ without hand-operated printing presses or felt today every time an Orange Walk Alan Johnstone the intervention of the intelligentsia other such equipment. Unfortunately, takes place locally. Socialist Party of Great Britain No scab from without” (Letters, March 13). Web 2.0 does not obviate the need But, that aside, he writes: While the politics and analysis of The problem for him, however, is for revolutionary political parties, “[Lithuanians] joined unions in their FI and Ukraine The Leninist stand up rather well that none of us actually argue this, programmes, theory and so on. own defence” (my emphasis). How’s In relation to the comments by Mike some 30 years later, I suppose whether in What is to be done?, Two other points on Lenin and that for a jaundiced interpretation? The Martin and Lawrence Humphries it’s inevitable factual accuracies Lenin rediscovered, the letters pages comrade Simmons. There is a local union sought them out to join (Letters, March 13), I wish to make sometimes occurred. Such is the of this paper or the passage from the difference between an unsuccessful or for everybody’s mutual defence, Dave. it abundantly clear that “Fourth case with the article, ‘Three cardinal CPGB’s Draft programme I pointed clumsy formulation of a valid point, He then goes on to claim that “many International” in my letter the sins of opportunism’ (republished him to by way of an explanation and making an invalid point in the heat foreign workers coming here readily previous week was intended to be a in Weekly Worker March 13), which of how I understand the “from of polemic. Lenin, as we have seen in line up with the employers and Tories reference to what used to be known misrepresents the stance of the without” passage (and which he has the exchange with comrade Simmons by denigrating the British unemployed as the United Secretariat and not to National Union of Mineworkers’ revealingly ignored). thus far, admitted to the former, but as lazy and workshy”. Perhaps some their own organisations. Nottinghamshire area president, Ray Like so many - too many - on the never to the latter. In the quotes I have do, but I hazard to guess that they are I admit I assumed that the use by Chadburn, during the strike. left today, comrade Simmons takes provided, Lenin is simply stating that heavily outnumbered by native-born the international tendency of which In my recently published book on Lenin’s “from without” passage to in taking on the economists he was who are just as ready to point the Socialist Resistance is the British the strike in Nottinghamshire, Look mean “the workers have to receive making a point that needs to be seen finger at those on the so-called ‘Benefit section of the self-description, back in anger: the miners’ strike in the message from intellectuals”, in context. Nor did Lenin think that Streets’ as shirkers. “International Committee of the Fourth Nottinghamshire 30 years on, I look because without these intellectuals his readers were confused at the time, Many years ago I would hear International”, in their statement on closely at the role played by all four the best they can achieve is trade because everybody was stressing the seasoned trade unionists justify pay Ukraine meant that no other group of the Notts full-time officials and it’s union consciousness. But take a “other side” of the argument - not differentials between women and male now used the title that was once clear you’ve done Chadburn a bit of look at the offending Karl Kautsky least Martov and Plekhanov. Comrade workers by claiming they worked only associated with the international a disservice. While he was certainly passage quoted by Lenin. Kautsky Simmons and I actually agree on this for pin-money and stole jobs from tendency represented in Britain by not part of the NUM’s Broad Left and maintains that “modern socialism” latter point. those who had families to raise. Dave’s first the Socialist Labour League and was perceived by many, with no little - ie, not socialism in general, Doubtless with the aim of argument proves to be little different then the Workers Revolutionary Party. justification, to be a rightwinger, the but Marxism specifically - was discrediting my argument by appealing from those against these earlier I apologise if I perpetuated a confusion fact is he was 100% behind the strike, invented by individual members to the lazier reader, comrade Simmons ‘interlopers’ into the labour market. generated, whether accidentally or which led to the Union of Democratic of the intelligentsia (ie, Marx and then rolls out the bugbear of Joseph The plea that immigration controls deliberately, by the former USFI. Miners locking him out of his office, Engels), who then communicate it to Stalin. I would point readers to Lars should be imposed and certain Lawrence knows me personally sacking him and then trying to evict proletarians “who stand out due to Lih’s discussion (pp657-58 of Lenin foreigners excluded should have no and also knows that I am well aware of him and his family from their NUM- their mental development” and who rediscovered) of what Stalin actually place in a workers’ movement that is Socialist Fight’s position on Ukraine, owned home. then “bring it into the class struggle” said about WITBD in 1905. Lih calling upon the exploited of all the which is based on an intransigently Chadburn also staunchly and (that already exists “spontaneously” convincingly shows that Stalin did not world to unite for their emancipation. anti-fascist stance which I consistently defended his colleague, as a natural feature of class society), think that intellectuals were needed to Any policy for the exclusion of wholeheartedly share. However, I Henry Richardson, the pro-strike “where conditions allow”. How carry the revolutionary message and other suffering wage-slaves is more am not sure if to describe the former area general secretary, against the could Kautsky, and thus Lenin, be also that Lenin explicitly approved of consistent with the attitudes of the USFI as “Mandelites” is fair to the sustained campaign of victimisation any more clear that “bringing into the young Georgian activist’s defence callous capitalist class rather than of late Ernest Mandel, whose record in orchestrated by scab-herders and later the class struggle from elsewhere” of WITBD. Trotsky had to explain this the movement whose proud boast it is the resistance during World War II UDM architects Roy Lynk and David - ie, merging socialism and the away by saying that Lenin actually that it stands uncompromisingly for the cannot be faulted - it is very hard for Prendergast. There is a great deal of workers’ movement - does not mean did not mean what he was saying here, oppressed and downtrodden of all the me to imagine that a revolutionary Chadburn’s record that bears criticism, “workers have to get the message but was merely seeking to encourage world. Immigrants have just as good Jewish fighter against Nazism would but where the strike was concerned - from intellectuals”? a keen young supporter.

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