From the coming conference, the IMG has to radically re-orient its work, break out of the confines of small circle sectarian politics and begin to lay the basis for the construction of a genuine mass revoludonary party. The type of party that we must build has to be internationalist in word and deed. The crisis Afghanistan, the role of the British ruling fess in Zimbabwe and Ireland show in the dramatic may that the working class ãe to be able to deel with the central ques tions of world politics and economics as well as national questions and trade union Because the IMO is the British Section of thè Fourth International it-has a great advantage in this task over the otherleft groups, and building the revolutionary party in Britain has to be seen a bart or the task of building the Fourth International as a mass workers' international.
In our view the IMG has to combine two processes: the struggle for a workers'. front against this government to defend every ingol or we working class trom attack; and specific party-building tasks aimed at raising the political level of our organisation, rooting it more firmly in the working class, and assisting Revolation to build an organisation which can organise revolutionary socialist youth.
Driven by the international economic crisis, the Tory government has declared war on the working class. Because the capitalist class has to attempt to increase the rate of profit, Toçreasing the average productivity of labour, it tries to cut unproductive labour this means launching a full scale attack on the post-war Welfare State.
The Labour Party and the trade union leaders maintain their base in the working class because of these and other reforms, which workers have struggled for, using the mass organisations as their instruments. Atlacks on these therefore also pose a threat to the leaderships of the working class organisations. In maintain their base in the working class these leaders are being forced to fight this government. This will involve the bureaucracy, both left and right. Wesee that both the engineering strike and Ine steel strike have been bureaucrats.
These leaders do not want to fight, any more than do the 'lefts' choice. these revolutionaries must advance the policy of the united front. In Britain this means the battle to over build a fighting alliance between the Labour Party and the trade unions.
Labour While we fight for the unconditional return of a Labour government within struggles, we also fight for specific demands that can take forward the interests of the class. Thus for example we fight within the abortion campaign to win the mass organisations to support for 'Free Abortion on Demand.' In doing so slogan put forward by other sections of the IMG of 'A Fight for Socialist Policies' which fails to clarify the distinction between revolutionaries and reformists.
We seek to work with and to structure the united activities of all militants prepared to defend the interests working working in specific formations within the trade unions, but also being aware of the importance of forces at present outside any such groupings. 1 nus we would break witn alcil caucus ill a unon if its orientation were to prevent us reaching out to the masses.
At the same time it is necessary to seriously overhaul the internal life of our organisation. It is crucial to begin to draft a 'Programme for through Britain' which can update the Programme in the light of the last 42 years and and less which can make it specific to Britain. process would educate our own membership and chabic us Lo fight more clearly against other tendencies. This also links together with the need to professionalise the life of the organisation, organise intervention organisations, turn its press to the concerns of the whole of the working class and make it a place rights where working class militants can survive.
The IMG will pursue a vigorous fight for the order to unification of all revolutionaries within a single organisation. unification of all Trotskyist organisations. addition continue LO relations with the Socialist Workers Party, for despite its inadequate programme we think it is possible to win this organisation, including its leadership, to the construction organisation of revolutionaries. draw the lessons of the three year 're-groupment' orientation of the IMG.
Failure The failure of this project unwillingness of the leaderships of any of these grouns to move in the direction of unification. However, it is clear we have broken with some of the past isolationism on the left and it is now easier to continue debates and attempt to get common work in the class struggle.
However, it would badly IMG and others on the left if we projected any short-term prospects of re-groupment. In this we have to be guided by three principles: rty vine are building as being based onl building programmatic agreement, maintaining principled and fraternal relations with the Trotskyist 3. vigorously building the recruiting radicalising workers.
The best way to win other forces individuals and whole groups to the IMG and the Fourth International is an unrelenting struggle to fight politics organisations of the class programme and tactics as we learn from this. (This article is based on a resolution for the IMG Conference submitted by a caucus of PLACE Socialist Challenge 24 January
IREAD with horror your Arguments for Socialism' (Socialist Challenge 13 Dec "79) which supplied the idea that socialism = automation + workers' councils. But once there is full automation there will not be any workers so how can there be a workers' council?
The 'workers' would be a tiny minority of the population. If there were one supervisor controlling a would we allow that person to rule every aspect of our lives as they are the only 'worker' among us?
Exploitation does exist and that one worker would be producing tremendous surplus value which the rest of us would be expropriating! There will always be surplus value (see Marx's Critique of the Gotha Programme].
What you are talking about is a recipe to dissolve the working class through the process of automation whereas the real precondition for the dissolution of the proletariat is the destruction of the bourgeoisie. Your socialism - the level of productive forces (automation) and the relations of production (workers' councils) — is a contradiction. What you are really posing is the creation of a new bourgeoisie, a socialist bourgeoisie, consisting of us all.
You pose the solution of automation without any consideration of the masses of the underdeveloped countries where automation has only destroyed the possibility of strong proletarian movements and theretore the preconditions of socialism.
Instead of spending the huge amounts on productive forces which would be needed for us to be fully automated it would be our duty to help develop the productive forces of the underdeveloped countries.
Then we could start talking about automation and so on, but then we'd have to have the problems of a new form of alienation — a world where relations of production seem to have International Confederation of Transport Unions, has asked that body to boycott steel destined for Britain, and pickets are reportedly being placed at ports to stop import of 'scab' steel.
We have the right to expect a paper that claims to be internationalist to give full prominence to such moves and investigate their weaknesses and limitations. We also have the right to expect a paper that supports the Fourth International to give us news of the struggle of other sections against redundancies in their steel industries and what they are doing in support of the present strike.
A strike such as this is a golden opportunity to show the doubters and the national chauvinists how important internationalism is in MARTIN EADY, London W7 I SHOULD point out that Chris Young in his letter (Socialist Challenge No 128) underestimates the size of the OCI in France. According to Fl estimates this organisation has between 35000 and 4000 militants. So it is one of the largest revolutionary marxist organisations in the world. of the 'world revolution'?
You could on the other hand choose between a cleft stick and a petard. Hoist yourselves on the metaphor of your choice.
GERRY KELLY, London WC1 support in our efforts to reinstate Maggy Jones who was banned from taking part in disabled sport for the recent Stoke Mandeville Games. Scotland and Britain for many years, was expelled from the European Paraplegic Table Tennis Championships at Stoke Mandeville fellow competitors at the games leaflets about health care in South Africa.
Jones was summoned before a tribunal consisting of Sir Ludwig Guttman, Chairman of the British Paraplegic Joan Scruton, Secretary General BPSS and five other individuals.
Maggy Jones was told that she had banned from further participation in The THIS WEEK'S total of over £300 is sport.
as she left.
WE ARE writing to you to appeal for London W1. handing out anti-apartheid leaflets at Mrs Jones, who has represented Jones c/o our address in October last year for distributing to After distributing the leaflets Mrs Sports Society, Miss There, shortly before she was to play, Belize or national and international disabled Mrs Jones was then ordered off the premises accompanied by two escorts to ensure she spoke to no-one We would appeal to you to inform your readers about the ban. We would be happy to supply you with further information should you require it. JONATHAN FLUXMAN, for Anti-Apartheid Health Committee, 89 Charlotte Street, * Send messages of support to Maggy * Write to your MP informing him/her of the ban and urging that he/she take up the matter with BPSS and the Minister of Sport.
Write to the Minister for Sport, Hector Monro, Department of the Environment, Marsham Street, London SW1, protesting about the ban and calling for Maggy Jones to be Write to the Chairman of the Sports Council, 70 Brompton Road, London SW3 1EX, also protesting about the ban and calling for the witholding of the Sports Council grant to BPSS until the ban is reversed and Maggy Jones reinstated. is unaware that the Pacific is also sea?
British imperialism grabbed' Belize from the Spaniards, he says. Well how does he think they got it in the first place? By politely asking the native people for it?
Weare told that in 1977 'the Guatemalans' threatened to take back 'their territory'. Which Guatemalans did this, and whose territory would it be? Has the CIA-backed dictatorship abolished class struggle in Guatemala, or are we supposed to believe that the mass of the people would benefit from such a conquest?
I have little contact with Belizeans, however, I have heard ol no evidence that on the whole they would prefer to be ruled by Guatemalan fascists, and if I were in their positions I think I would rather stick with the devu I knew. However, I suppose the people who actually live in the area are the last whose views should be considered Not a shred of evidence is produced that the British troops are being used to suppress revolutionary developments. Pęrhaps Mr Kerevan does not know that the USA has much vaster resources in the area which have time and time again been used to do exactly that - in Guatemala and elsewhere. The forces in Belize are unlikely to be needed for that purpose. When they are we should expose them with facts, not vague
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Workers' councils without workers?
Never mind the quantity...
Anti-apartheid appeal