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TIM WOHLFORTH in the Reclii1 Pcdod We Ban Mparatlsal

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TIM WOHLFORTH in the Reclii1 Pcdod We Ban Mparatlsal BV TIM WOHLFORTH IN THE reClII1 pcdod we ban Mparatlsal. DOW 'left alaaJlar mcled ,_ .IM __ WIly. ... _ outbunt of • \'try ..!ratlos fa Briltaay. Eada putlcalar u .......... ",callar kind 01 ••tJouJlsm willi· FlaaJly. 10 SwlrurJud, wkiclI 11111'to. la .... I_ ....du fr_ 10 ...y of tbe advund capl­ has ubteod for «olurin .. • Itt latuaat&oul .I.nt ud at taliit CQuntfkt of til. world. multJ-Ilo,w bour,eoIl Itli. wltb tIN same tt .... Wall" ~ pUtlcululy tnoqull relaUoIli OD lite rip' of ..110.. to ..... Btlal". w bee. lora I ... r, amonl Its IllIa.I,lic lto"PI. lhe determJDltlOll la I...... II .a for .ver.1 "eI" DOW by • FROU ape_tla, popwatloa of Ibltnet ,d.. _tlc:: -IonIu" ud Itru"le betwHD Fl.DlI.h-..k­ tbe Jura ,eaJoli la II GerllUlD UNd ... UCUM to adar to IIIIe IIlI lad Fnnd.... peaklq peoples speaklD' C.afoa hal beea Ialllt­ partlcul.r _tJoea! trn • ",1.11 dem.Ddt for lederaUIm aad la, for .plrldlm. Iotparatl." belli' f.lsed. H.re w. 1Ia ......tItodO&Oalc::aUy 111 Scotland and Wales, 100, The ,fowf" of black aatioul­ I c::omblutloa of .........ttaa ,,"'ted with Eoll-nd u Grlllt Ina amool Amerlcua NepMI ud mempllyllcaJ formaUam wllkll Brital.. "paratlll ."ratlo. 'I mUif be SHn u part 01 thl' Inda i ...lubly to o,portuolpn If'Owl.q. In Irdlnd, co.-Iell be­ ..... lateNltloaal tread• of tH c::rudm IOrt. tWHD Prola tul lod Catholic lritll l.III UI.ler, II feud which Aa uodentaad.Ul, of tile alUMS Wlt.at I Marxia. ..,..... to 10ft back to tile 111" c.llCury. for .od the Dlture of tllla ..w .IM _tJoul q1Mltloa reqa1rea I. .... luddeDly lod .-Jointly fona of utioullam IlIleraatioa· quit. the oppo&it.: to beala It erupted. .111' la lIKflapeuible to aa .adu­ .U tlmn from 0. polilt o( ."w ' taDdla, of black Dltioaallua III of tIM latlraltlooaJ of 1a Cauda, FreltC.lt C. ...diu tile UDlled Smtes. Itt..... sepantfam .... becolM II Cfttral tIM world... eI... utd It 1M political ,.... 1111 lbe eoWltry W1Iotrenr tllne treads ..... 111M tilDe to uadentud ralfty la Itt c::oac::nte:~ plIc::e t1arat.au.1 to t •• r apart tIM: yay elBHJed tile feYl"CMllatt of tile an SodIlIl. Workers' Parcy (SWP). tM pudc::.Jar aadoeaJJtt ..... Caudiu ..tloaaJ .bte. Ens de whlll_ lu proper IIlsCorical Gaulle, WH ..... oPpol1ualnJc:aIly It:e IMeraadooal c::o-tIllaken., tIM _.t e.-naed Freadl cu.adI•• Maolau ud tile StaJlelthi ..... .voludoa. VERSUS A STUDY of the writinas of Socialist Revolution and the; tbe oppreued Dationalities IS lenin on lbe national questioo Riaht of Nations to Self·Deter· well IS th.,.. whole formal wUI make clear thai it II with mination (TheICS)' and 'The Dis­ schematic denial of the ques· thi, latter method that Lenin. cussion . of Self·Determination tion of Klf-detenn.lnltlon ob­ buln, himself on Mux, .p. Summed Up', jectively boUler. the natioaalilm pr'OKhed tbe quution. This material, written between of In OpprU80t nation. We look to L.nln. therefore, to 1914 and 1916, represents a Lenin saw the demand of deepen our undentandlna of the mature development of his views, national aeIf·determination u a met:hodolOlical approach to this the result of a lonl strulJ,le since bouraeoi. democratic demand, 1& question Ind certainly not to 190], and is the basis for tbe part of the boW-leois revolution. find some simple schematic for­ policies of the Bolshevik hrty mula to define 'nations' or to durl.ni and after the October declare our attitude towards Revolution. National stat. ·n.tionalism' .. some IOn of ab­ These writlnp take the form The demand it to be aupported stncdon. of an lnte&ral!y related polemic, by the workinJ clall under COG· Even a very cursory Itudy of fil'lt qainat Otto Bauer's theory dltions where it will mean the Lenin will rC't'eai that Lenin was of 'cuItun1-national autonomy' dev~opment of a utionai ttate at no time and under no con· and tbe.n apinst Luxembu,.', within which the wO!tiD, clau ditlonl a 'partisan of nationalism' opposition co the rilhc of aeIf· can Idvance Itl Itruule qalut II the January II 'Militant' de. determination of oppnued na· capitalilm, removu national Kribe,bim. tiona and finally a aummary of blckerinJ and unites tile wort.· Particularly Important amona the centni lcuona of" both pole· ina dill of different natioaalitiel Lenin'. many writlnp on this mics in me form of tbuea. into • common stl"Upk QaU.t question are his article 'Critical lenin's views were developed ·taIiam, Remarb , on the National in I polemic qainst thOle like Uke .U boutJeois democ:ratic Question'} 'The RiJht of Natien. Bauer and the Bundista wbo demands, it it subordinate to the to' Sdf-Determlnatlon', 'The adapted to the nationalism of international llruule of the 1 workin, dna. but al the same lext 50 as to obscure exactly we are the siaunchest and most time is necessary to achieve this what Lenin was statIO,. con~i5tC' n l enemies of opprei6ion. international unity, He was not clliIJmlQl 10 , up· But insofar as the bourleoisie of Nationalism is therefore bour. pori nationalism as ·pro.... es· the oppressed nation stands for' &eois nationalism and cln be sive·. but rather the ',eneral ItS own bourgeois nationalism. we nolhin, else. bUI bourteols democratic content that IS direc· stand against. We fiaht apinsl nationalism. ted apinst oppression.' pnvile,"es and Violence of the Lenin nc\'c' claimed nation .. '­ opprebOr nation. and do nOI in iJ1il'1l to be anythi"1 else and :rtlis content; II Lenin stated. anr wsy condone stnvmgs lor Dever supported nationalism of can be summed up In one de· priv.leltts on the pan of the op· an oppressed or oppressor nation. mand 'Support to the rilht of pre.sse-d nation.' Thus the recen! attack! by self·determillo1tion' , lenin found no difficulty io He fou,bt any tendency to Ii,htlng absolutely and all tM Tony Thomas and Gus Horowuz support national move.menll In in the 'Militant' .~inst Pralres­ way for the riRbI 01 self-deter· sive Labour for daring to call any wa y or any asptct of nation· mination of oppresu<i nations nationalism 'bour,eois' have ab­ alism aside from this rlabt. He without making the sHlbt«t solutely Dnlhinl to do with stated on several occasions that conceSl.ion to the bourgeois Marxism. the Bolshevik position on this nauonahsm of the oppressed As Lenin put it : riabt was 'neptive' in the RMt nation. 'Worltina' c1us democracy tut we do not fiaht for the Particularly important In this 5eCes5lon 01 a nation but upbold countupo5eS to the nationalist respect 15 lenin'. lonl slru,de wran&llna of. the various bour· lhe riahl to secede. on the Jewish question aplnst gtois parties over question, of GUJ Horowitz: then comes for­ the BUild and hi s bOItde alainst Ilnllll,e. etc.. the demand for ward with an even more unbe· the tbeories of cultural and the unconditional unily and com· lievable Itatement, 50 m.ucb so national autonomy 01 Otto plete amalgamation of workers that he must paraphrase Lenin Bauer and the Austrian cntrutJ, of all nationalities in all workin,. since a quote even to be distorted It iI PIIn1cularly important that class orpnlutions - trade cannot be found. 'Lenin ex­ this whole struule is completely unions. co-operatives, consumeu' plained', Horowitz: Informs UI, ianored by Thomas and Horo­ eduCitional and all others-in 'tbat the nationalism of tbe op­ Witz:. connadistinction to any kind of pressors is reactionary but the Lenin', position was Of1e of nationalism of the oppressed IS complete opposition 10 autonomy "bourp!ois nalionaUsm.' protress,ve'. For instance TOllY Thomas in 'cultural' INIUers, control of .tata about Lenin's view. : the schools, etc. which he held 'The nationalism of any op­ Consistent enemy meant support for the bour,eoi, pressed Dation: he explains, 'baa aspirations 01 the oppreutd a leoerai deDlOli:ratic contetlt Lenin said nothin, 01 tbe kind. nalionalities and led to tbe dlvi· tbat is directed apinst 0JI1)t'tS­ What be did say was : sions not unity of the wortinl sion and it is that content we ' Insofar as the bourgeoisie of class. uDcondltiOMlly support.' the oppressed nation liabu tbe He repeated over and over Let us take this quote from oppressor, we are alwaYI. in that the only proaressive aspect lenin, &lve it in its entirety every case. and more stronaJy of the national Question was the and In ill proper cOQteJ:t and than anyone else, in favour, for riaht of nations to. sel(·dccenni· then we can see that Lenin brid in mind the tDct O1'po&ite of what Thomas attributes to rum. Thl. is what Lenin really said: 'The bouraeois nationalism of any opprHRd nation bas a 'leneraJ democratic content that i. directed apinst oppreuion, and it is 1M content tbat we unconditionally support. 'At the same time we strictly distinluish it from the tendency towards nation&! tJ:clusivencu: we 6sht apinu the tendency 01 t.be PcW.isb bourteois to oppres5 the Jew., etc.' On the nut PIlle be point lenin blank atatu: 'We combl;t all nationalism took up and uphold the equality of the struggle variow nation.: So what Tbomaa does is 5111t against remove the section of tbe quote Otto wbich relers. not to nationalism .. a ~U$ ItDerality, but Bauer 'bouraeois natioaaJsm' (for Lenin (left) could Dot conSider nationalism U anything btU bourgeoi.) and and the then rips the quote out of con- Rundists 2 nation and that this riun me.lnl national ID.Inority.
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