A paper of Marxist polemic and Marxist unity Without a comprehensive n Letters and debate n Abbott & Ribeiro-Addy programme there is no road n STWC ceasefire map to socialism and beyond n Michael Roberts No 1298 May 7 2020 Towards a mass Communist Party £1/€1.10 Lars T Lih: 150 years after his birth, how to evaluate Lenin and his ideas weekly 2 May 7 2020 1298 worker LETTERS Letters may have been image - though it was sometimes used incidents should themselves be war around the globe. “So,” Lazare struggles. The strike waves of the shortened because of by his critics. What Cliff did argue suspended from membership.” The concludes of Biden, “while he’d be 1930s, for example, forced the space. Some names was that a central task of the party was lack of “anti-Semitic incidents” is not better in Wisconsin, he’d be worse judiciary to establish the precedent may have been changed to learn from the class. As he wrote in their concern, but anyone talking to when it comes to the rest of the world, that “freedom of contract” is not Portugal at the crossroads, “In short these criminals should be shot - sorry, where US power predominates.” inviolable and that the government they [the party] have to learn from I mean expelled. We do not doubt Biden’s record and courts can intervene to protect Compliment their fellow workers as much as - or We know that accepting the of racism and capitalist austerity workers’ union rights and enforce No sport, nothing on television; what more than - they have to teach ... The commandments was a stupid, anti- policies, nor his bloody imperialist the minimum wage, workplace safety else to do on a Sunday afternoon in job of party leadership is to generalise democratic act: even a bridge warmongering, though we take issue and environmental protections. The self-isolation but write a letter to the the experience of the party militants club wouldn’t accept this level with Lazare’s illusions that Trump current Republican Supreme Court Weekly Worker? and to lead them as they lead their of interference in its disciplinary is to be preferred from a global justices are determined to overturn In his supercilious review of the fellow workers … [The party] has procedures. But Sir Keir has done it perspective. But, first, questions of those precedents, and socialists left press’s response to the Lenin to be the most apt learner, the most and so, presumably, because he was method. should be in the forefront of struggles anniversary - in which he argues sensitive ear and the firmest will.” elected leader we all have to accept it. What Lazare mistakes for an to defend them. By defending everyone’s out of step but us - Mike And it is this central element of You can only talk to people approved “unduly national perspective” is democratic rights, we can help the Macnair dismisses Tony Cliff’s four- Leninism that is studiously neglected by the BoD. We can only wonder at actually the Marxist approach of working class learn to use them to volume Lenin: building the party with by the Weekly Worker and its erudite the lack of this power given to Jeremy deciding which position to take in organise and win struggles. Otherwise a joke from John Sullivan - Cliff’s mentor, Lars T Lih. The Weekly Worker Corbyn on his election. an election, based on what will best the working class will never achieve work was “like a biography of John spends its time lecturing the rest of the All of this nonsense is done, of advance the potential for working the revolutionary overthrow of the the Baptist, written by Jesus Christ” left on its failings - it never imagines course, without any input (sorry, class organisation and struggle. We capitalist state. (‘Lenin avatars’, April 30). True, it has anything to learn. And when I interference) from the membership. and Lazare agree that the Republicans It’s a sad state of affairs when there are no jokes like the old jokes, asked Lih at a Historical Materialism Just like the International Holocaust threaten a sweeping overturn someone like Lazare, who has and Sullivan was often funny and conference about learning from the Remembrance Alliance lack of of democratic rights in the US, established a reputation as a Marxist occasionally perceptive, but I assume class he failed to reply. definition, the expulsion and/or including further attacks on voting scholar of the US constitution, fails Macnair uses this approach because he Who invented soviets? Russian suspension of (for instance) Tony rights and the right to join a union, to see why socialists take sides hasn’t actually bothered to read Cliff’s workers, who had probably never Greenstein, Jackie Walker, Marc so the question should be simple to concerning legal precedents that book. heard of Lenin, let alone read Wadsworth, Ken Livingstone, Chris answer: it will be far more difficult entrench democratic rights. But such A pity. Cliff is certainly open to Kautsky. Lenin - albeit a bit belatedly Williamson - just to mention some for the working class to organise and are the consequences of abandoning criticism on a number of points, but - understood their importance and of the higher-profile victims - all of struggle if its most basic rights to do a perspective based on working class there are many valuable insights in his incorporated them into his strategy. this stuff has been done behind the so are eviscerated by Trump and the struggle. Lazare further demonstrates work. For example, of the many who After all, unless the role of the backs of the members, though not of Republicans’ authoritarianism. those consequences in his views on have written on Lenin, Cliff was one of party is to learn and generalise from the press, and Sir Keir is, it seems, Lazare expresses with remarkable imperialism and global struggles. the few who actually had experience the activity of workers, what becomes determined to keep it that way. clarity his abandonment of a Lazare should recognise that of working in illegal conditions (in of “the emancipation of the working If Sir Keir dares to give them the perspective based on working class American militarists would have a Palestine). classes must be conquered by the heads of these two black, female party and oppressed peoples’ struggles, far freer hand to wage imperialist Macnair commends Nick Chaffey working classes themselves”? - and members, then there will be even when he responds to our warning that wars around the world if the masses of the Socialist Party for understanding that really is the “soul of Marxism”. more outrage than there is already in their authoritarian drive the current at home were deprived of the right that “programme is fundamentally Macnair sneers that Cliff - and there is already quite a lot. I Republicans aim to overturn long- to protest and to vote them out of important”, which makes him believed, “if it moves, salute it”. think that most members, trade union held legal precedents: “Since when office. Instead, he relieves himself of “massively more advanced” than The International Marxist Group in affiliates and so on, if told that they do socialists line up behind judicial the burden of facing that reality by those influenced by Cliff. Now Cliff the 1980s had a neater formulation - could not talk to Tony Greenstein or precedent?” he asks. The answer, of nurturing illusions that Trump is some is often accused of being obsessed they accused the SWP of saying, “If Jackie Walker (or anyone else for that course, is that we do so whenever they kind of dove. with numbers, but from his own bitter it moves recruit it. If it doesn’t move, matter), would say, ‘Fuck off!’ and I establish democratic rights that need Biden, Lazare reminds us, is “an experience in the 1930s and 1940s he stick a poster on it.” I always took it as note at the time of writing (May 3) to be defended against reactionary arch-imperialist who’s been neck- understood one simple fact - the best a compliment. that quite a lot online already have. attempts to overturn them. deep in every major US crime of the programme in the world is useless if Ian Birchall In the face of great difficulty, party We understand that the Supreme last 30 years, from the invasion of Iraq there is nobody to fight for it and put London members are going to have to find Court - with justices appointed to and Afghanistan to the destruction it into practice. Of course, Cliff was ways to express this outrage within unlimited terms and confirmed by of Libya, Syria and Yemen, covert interested in real numbers of recruits, Patriotism the party - maybe some demands to a grossly undemocratic Senate - is assistance to al Qa’eda, and support unlike the present-day Socialist Most comrades will be aware of the suspend Sir Keir? not a neutral umpire over class and for the neo-Nazi-spearheaded coup Workers Party, which thinks claims of bad news that came in last week In compensation for the loss democratic issues. Nevertheless, it is in the Ukraine. If his first major numbers are enough to fight its battles. that the Jewish News and the Jewish of socialism in the party Sir Keir worth noting that many established campaign ad was an attack on Trump But an organisation which in 30 years Chronicle have both been saved from wants to give us patriotism! “Labour legal precedents were won by mass for not being tougher on the Chinese, has not managed to recruit more than terminal collapse: not surprising, should be patriotic and proud of it, 30 members might feel some self- given their role in helping to rid the says Starmer,” reads The Guardian criticism is in order.