Retreat Into Extremism
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April 1985 Marxism Today 7 The Left is faced with a new and dangerous enemy... or perhaps it isn't. The Left has to seek the broadest alliances. or perhaps it doesn't. The issues are crucial to the Left's future. THE Retreat into Extremism FOR SOME YEARS Marxism Today has Eric Hobsbawm Two distinguished and rather ancient been associated with a particular immedi members of the Communist Party have ate political strategy for the Left in Britain: cited, as 'typical of the incessant counter- a united labour movement in broad claimed that the situation of the labour propaganda of Marxism Today' against alliance with all who can be mobilised movement isn't really as bad as all that. what they regard as communist principles, against Thatcherite Toryism, which can be The movement hasn't really had serious the thesis that 'Thatcherism is committed seen as, for the moment, the main enemy, setbacks, mainly because the unions are in to a radical and revolutionary change in and isolated as such. This does not repre excellent shape.1 This is baloney. Any British capitalism' (Rothstein and Page sent a single coherent ideological doctrine body who actually believes this in April Arnot in Morning Star 4 Jan 1985).3 or 'school' of 'Marxism-Today-ism' or 'the 1985 - anybody who believed it even at the Are comrades Rothstein and Arnot, Newer Left', as is sometimes argued. peak of the miners' strike - is living in a Fine, Harris, Mayo, Weir, Wilson and the Many of those who have put forward such time-warp. Britain has a uniquely strong, rest who appear to believe this, living in views in this journal are Marxists in the militant, and an extraordinarily heroic the same country - even on the same planet Communist Party, but that does not mean trade union movement. I don't think it is - as most of us? Of course in one sense that they agree among themselves on all national chauvinism to say that the miners' capitalism is always capitalism, and we are important points. In any case, to suppose strike of 1984-85 would have been incon opposed to it whether it sails under the flag that the articles in Marxism Today repre ceivable today in any other country in the of Butskellism or Thatcher or the late sent some sort of concerted factional doc world. The British working class and its William Ewart Gladstone. The Tories are trine is to misunderstand what 'a theoretic always the Tories, and the Left is against al and discussion journal' is. It discusses. class politics is not them, whether their leaders are Thatcher, Basically, the 'broad anti-Thatcherite' Heath, Macmillan, Baldwin, or the late strategy represents the practical consensus necessarily good class politics Benjamin Disraeli. And of course it is of a lot of people on the Left, that this sort always possible to find an even more of line can set Labour back on its forward movement are the rock which will be the radical and reactionary change which capi march, whereas the strategies pursued on foundation of any broader movement or talism could go in for, and which Thatch the hard and sectarian Left have led to far alliance. But it is an insult to the intelli erism does not represent. For instance, she more defeats and retreats than victories gence as well as to the devotion, loyalty and is not Adolf Hitler. In fact, a familiar over the past few years. Such a view is heroism of British union militants to pre conjuring trick in the arguments against compatible with a variety of ideological tend that they haven't taken a good few Marxism Today is to suggest that we say and theoretical positions. One does not beatings over the past six years. By now that Thatcherism is like fascism, and be have to agree on all points with Ken even the Socialist Workers Party has got cause it obviously isn't, this means that Livingstone to hold that the campaign in around to noticing that the unions on the there is no qualitative difference between defence of the Greater London Council is a whole aren't exactly on the offensive. We 1 'We recognise a considerable strengthening, model of exactly the sort of broad anti- need not bother further with this argu unity and militancy in the workforce as orga Thatcherite mobilisation that we have in ment. nised in trade unions at the point of production. mind. And one certainly doesn't have to be This has not been reflected electorally in the a communist to see that the strategy put fortunes of the Labour Party, with the renewal Is it really different? of die Tory government and the rise of the SDP. forward in Marxism Today makes sense, The second argument is equally surpris It has revealed the extent to which the Labour and that there is a shortage of other ing. It denies that there is any special Party is out of touch with and has failed to strategies on the Left which take much reason to regard Thatcherism as a particu respond to developments in the trade union account of political realities. That is why larly acute danger to the working class. movement.' Fine, Harris, Mayo, Weir, Wilson. the Marxism Today articles have been so Class Politics: an answer to its critics pp62-3. That the Thatcher government is just a 2 ibid p63. widely discussed and influential on the bourgeois government like all the others, 3 The emphasis is Rothstein and Arnot's. The Left, far beyond the usual range of Com except that 'the weakness of the British quotation from my article 'Labour's Lost Mil munist Party literature today. economy limits the potential manoeuvres lions' {MT Oct 1983) is wrong. What I wrote available to bourgeois social democracy'. It was that 'Thatcherism is committed to a radical Four major lines of argument have been and reactionary change in British capitalism, put forward against this strategy. (I leave is certainly not 'the focus of an unambi 2 and indeed in the British political system.' (My aside simple name-calling.) First, it is guous shift to the right in British society'. emphasis). 8 April 1985 Marxism Today Mrs T and Harold Macmillan (sorry, Lord businessmen whom Mrs Thatcher claims In the third place, Thatcherite policies Stockton), who is now so hostile to her that as her inspiration, eg the telephone sys clearly represent a style of politics, of he is calling for the defeat of this Conserva ideology, and right-wing demagogy, tive government.4 Actually, I cannot think tem? What other government this century which is new in British governments, of any M T article which says that Thatch has been as persistent an enemy of the though it has long been found in some erism is fascism or the preparation of welfare state and health service, of public press lords. It represents, with unpre cedented frankness, the will to wage the fascism, and several, such as Dave Pris- education at all levels, of scientific re- cott's and my own,5 which have quite class struggle against the workers ('the specifically said it wasn't. Actually, the Ken Livingstone and the enemy within'), and a contempt for those broad alliance strategy in Britain in the House of Lords have clearly who need help, for human and social 1930s was not directed against British not committed themselves to considerations in policy, combined with fascism, but against the National govern flag-waving: one might call it 'I'm all right, ment, which was a great deal less reaction a lifelong alliance Union Jack'. It represents the feelings of ary than Thatcher. And those who formed social climbers and hardfaced people who the popular front certainly didn't abandon search, of any public service (other than have done, or hope to do, well out of free the traditional objects of socialism. police and military) and independent local enterprise ('get on your brike'). Insincere However, the point is not to decide government? As a government of the though Tory breastbeating about the un whether Thatcherism is or isn't like some Right, Thatcher has no parallel, at least in employed may sometimes have been in the thing in the 1930s, but whether it is twentieth-century Britain. Every historian 1930s, it would have been inconceivable committed to radical changes qualitatively will confirm this. for a government of that era to have gone different, more dangerous and disastrous - on for five years of mass unemployment within the limits of a continuing monopo before even beginning to wonder whe ly-capitalism - than other bourgeois and ther four millions out of work may conservative regimes in Britain in this not be a worse problem than century. whether inflation was 5% or 6%. Not this lot. No room for doubt It seems amazing that after six years of Thatcherite government, there can even be serious argument about such a proposi tion. In the first place, the Thatcherites have loudly, clearly and persistently de clared their intention to change British capitalism radically, that is to say, among other things, to break with the traditional British ruling class policy of avoiding open class confrontation. Of course, we do not have to believe that politicians mean what they say, but the difference between all other Tory governments and this one is that the others all claimed that they were against any radical change, or any change except what was unavoidable, and this one wants a radical break with the past. In the second place, Thatcherism clearly has done a lot of transforming of Britain since 1979, incidentally leaving much of the British economy, the social infrastruc ture and welfare state, and the traditional system by which the British ruling class ruled, in ruins as a result.