Schisms on the Left He Surprise Election of the Left- As an Increasingly Ineffectual Prime Winger Jeremy Corbyn As Leader Minister Until 1935
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VOLUME 15 NO.12 DECEMBER 2015 journal The Association of Jewish Refugees Schisms on the left he surprise election of the left- as an increasingly ineffectual Prime winger Jeremy Corbyn as leader Minister until 1935. He was expelled from of the Labour Party threatens to the Labour Party. Texacerbate the disputes over ideology and But, for all these splits and controversies, political strategy that have long bedevilled the Labour Party in Britain has largely relations between the right and left wings held together, while the Communist of the party. These disagreements burst Party of Great Britain remained very into open conflict in the early 1980s, with small. That was not the case in European the foundation of the Social Democratic countries like Germany, where the split Party and the secession to it of 28 Labour between moderate and radical socialists MPs. Most commentators had assumed led to the creation of two large and that the reforming measures implemented bitterly hostile rival parties, the moderate since the disastrous general election defeat Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the of 1983 by successive leaders of the Labour Communist Party (KPD). This split was Party – Neil Kinnock, John Smith and deeply ideological and its roots lay back in Tony Blair – had so weakened the Labour the 1890s, when the political theorist and left that it could no longer mount a SPD politician Eduard Bernstein (1850- credible challenge to the dominance of 1932) began to publish work critical the right wing. of the orthodox Marxist doctrine that The Labour Party has been divided Eduard Bernstein, 1850-1932 underpinned German Social Democracy, into rival factions for much of its post- which then still saw itself as the party war history. In the 1950s, the bitter Heseltine – to achieve the feat of bringing of revolutionary socialism. Bernstein internal disputes between the Bevanites, the Ministry of Defence under effective had been closely associated with the followers of the firebrand left-wing orator and efficient control. Healey, who died in founding fathers of Marxism, Karl Marx Aneurin ‘Nye’ Bevan, and the moderate October 2015, had a dimension that most and Friedrich Engels, so his critique of supporters of party leader Hugh Gaitskell other politicians lack; his autobiography revolutionary Marxism from within the convulsed the party; the debate on nuclear The Time of My Life (1989) – probably party became known as ‘revisionism’ – disarmament, in particular, divided the the best British political memoir I have Bernstein was the original revisionist. He left, hostile to Britain’s foreign and defence ever read – demonstrates the breadth and argued that the aims of Marxism could be policy, from the pro-American stance depth of his musical and cultural interests, achieved by peaceful means, by political adopted after 1945 by Prime Minster as well as the organisational abilities that and legislative reform within the existing Clement Attlee and Foreign Secretary saw him act, aged 26, as Military Landing political system. Ernest Bevin. The ‘Bevanite wars’ were Officer (beach-master) for the British Bernstein disagreed with his orthodox only temporarily halted by the adroit assault brigade at the landings at Anzio in Marxist opponents’ belief in the necessity tactical manoeuvring of Prime Minister January 1944. of violent revolution; as a political theorist, Harold Wilson, whose principal concern Internal party conflicts have troubled he was the father of what came to be called after Labour returned to power in 1964 the Labour Party since its early days. Like reformist socialism. He also questioned often appeared to be to hold his schismatic most socialist parties, it was divided in Marx’s theory of immiseration, which party together. By the 1970s, with the 1914, with leading figures on the left, held that the workers must inevitably rise of the Bennite left, led by Anthony like the pacifist Ramsay MacDonald, become poorer under capitalism, as Wedgwood Benn – or Tony Benn as opposing the war. In 1931, at the time the capitalists grabbed an ever greater he liked to be known in his proletarian of the political crisis triggered by the share of wealth. In the latter argument, incarnation – the internal party divisions Great Depression, MacDonald, by then Bernstein was at one with the powerful became well-nigh unmanageable. Prime Minister, found himself on the German trade unions, who worked for the Today, it may seem incomprehensible other side of the left/right divide, when improvement of the pay and conditions that after its fateful electoral defeat in 1979 his policies for coping with the economic of their members on a day-to-day basis. Labour elected the left-winger Michael disaster that had struck the country split Bernstein’s reformist socialism thus had Foot as party leader in preference to Denis his party; MacDonald and the right-wing weighty support from within the labour Healey, one of the ablest politicians Britain minority who supported him joined with movement. It also had the facts on its side: has seen since 1945. Healey was one of only the Conservatives to form the National the improvement in the condition of the two ministers – the other being Michael Government, with MacDonald remaining continued on page 2 journal DECEMBER 2015 (USPD), which also contained Luxemburg, Schisms on the left continued Liebknecht and others on the far left who had formed the Spartacus League German working class in the second half of KINDERTRANSPORT in late 1914. With Germany’s defeat CHANUKAH LUNCH the nineteenth century was huge, and plain in November 1918 and the revolution to see. After Bismarck’s anti-Socialist laws, that overthrew the imperial regime, the WEDNESDAY 9 DECEMBER 2015 outlawing the SPD, were allowed to lapse USPD joined the SPD in the coalition 12.30 PM AT ALYTH GARDENS in 1890, the party took to participating that governed the country, but resigned SYNAGOGUE in the political and electoral processes in in December 1918, in protest against the Please join us for our last meeting of Wilhelmine Germany, while maintaining 2015 to celebrate Chanukah with a government’s increasing reliance on the old delicious Chanukah-style Lunch and its revolutionary rhetoric and its belief in imperial bureaucracy and the armed forces. lighting of the Chanukah Candles class war. It achieved its greatest success This triggered the Spartacist Uprising of Booking essential in the Reichstag elections of 1912, when January 1919, an attempt by the far left, For details and booking, it won no less than 34.8 per cent of the now reconstituted as the Communist please contact Susan Harrod vote, over twice as many votes as any other Party, to launch a second change of regime, at AJR on 020 8385 3070 or at party, and 110 seats (of 397) in parliament. as the Bolsheviks had swept away the [email protected] The goal of a peaceful accession to power Kerensky government that had replaced We look forward to seeing you appeared ever closer. the Tsarist government in Russia. But the The SPD’s move towards moderate, government, led by Ebert of the SPD, reformist socialism aroused bitter called in right-wing forces, which bloodily opposition among its radical left-wingers, suppressed the uprising; Luxemburg and AJR GROUPS ANNUAL like the brilliant and charismatic Rosa Liebknecht were murdered. Luxemburg, who pressed for a strategy These events cemented the divide CHANUKAH PARTY Thursday 10 December 2015 based on the party’s traditional faith in between moderate and revolutionary class conflict, militancy and the proletarian at socialism in Germany. In 1920, the North West Reform Synagogue revolution. Between the two wings, majority of the USPD voted to affiliate to Alyth Gardens, Temple Fortune balancing skilfully between reformist and the Communist International, and thereby London NW11 7EN revolutionary strategies, stood those at to join the KPD, which thus became the £8.00 per person payable on the door (places must be booked in advance) the head of the party hierarchy, its leader major rival to the SPD for the allegiance of and founding father August Bebel and its Starts at 11.30 am the German working class; the remainder Ends at 3.00 pm chief theoretician, Karl Kautsky. When of the USPD rejoined the SPD in July A welcome by AJR Chief Executive Bebel died in 1913, the leadership passed 1922, in the wake of the political crisis Michael Newman to an outright moderate, Friedrich Ebert, triggered by the assassination of Foreign Morning entertainment by Brian Goldrich but with a left-winger, Hugo Haase, as Minister Walther Rathenau. As Germany – Continental songs and poetry. This will be his co-chairman. In August 1914, the entered the Great Depression in the followed by a delicious lunch. party resolved, against the opposition After lunch we will have further crisis-torn early 1930s, the KPD, under entertainment by Bronwen Stephens, who of a left-wing minority, to support the instructions from Stalin, directed its will perform a selection of well-known opera war effort, by voting in favour of the war fire against the SPD, the principal party and songs from the theatre. credits in the Reichstag, in breach of the supporting the parliamentary democracy It is essential that we know exact numbers for SPD’s traditional opposition to militarism of the Weimar Republic against the Nazi catering. and war. Please call Susan Harrod on 020 8385 3070 threat. or email [email protected] However, the left-wingers did not Moscow’s imposition of the policy that remain bound by party discipline for designated the Social Democrats, termed long; in December 1914, Karl Liebknecht ‘Social Fascists’, as the principal enemy of was the first to vote against further war the revolutionary working class proved to credits in the Reichstag.