amount TO total of about 250,000 people. The working class numbers TOOT million. No coup could be successful if these milions WCTO mobilised to use industrial aition. nuge tions, and if necessary force to stop it.
But none of these forms of resistance could or would occur if the working class is roid by its leadership that such things are unlikely or impossible.
They can and will occur if growing pubiic suppori fo:
eft-wing government translated organisation and Without it. most massive public support sunk. Ihe answer is to use nass working class support mobilise ior DOWCI and employ workers' power LArOW back the capital.
Import controis it is a usetu ster thai Benn rejects trade proteition as a strategy lor solving ine crisis. But there is an ambiguity in what he says.
He argues that trade planning should be used to proteci nationalised this means a state monopoly of trade under government decisive sectors of industry are nationalised control.
If he rejects import controls self- under capitalism, fine. mass should make this plain to the trade union leaders, who quite definitely rely an with the CBI and the bosses to win import controls. Otherwise to the sliding over from one conception of another is opportunist. believe that the alternative import work-sharing and week now.
inan nis position weapons and NATO.
Britain the American brella witn the system' ifwe NATO, nucical weapons or hol stake here.
NATO joint socialist alhance socialist If anything, crush a socialist Britain.
Union.
We support Alicacd bases perialism.
DONCV
Positive action and abortion against it in parliament.
This view of the as forward issues for is a class Issue, damenta which stand for workers' movement wing reaction. a socialist which the movement disastrous workers' Abortion But ne regular attack.
the acalls alliance abortion bill.
labour and fight import controls to genuinely, right to choose. 80 350hs 1S 35-hour tions that on nucicar against. a 'nonnuclear' member of NATO, we would still be effectively under nuclear um- women just as Canada is. It would be impossible to break 'American power were stil in had waelnel There's a major issue at The status for is an imperialist alliance. There's no question of alliance between Britain and US imperialism's international police Torce even or one онелі were desirable to have an Soviet struggle, as alls Union, which it isn't, it would be impossible to have it with a are force which is anti-socialist and anti-working class in its whole The A socialist Britain could onpolicy. which would have to include in- 1ha creased trade and a completely relationship Soviet Union and East Europe.
NATO forces
would be used to threaten and Irish Al here can be no socialism in alliance There can be no socialism which plots with with its imperialism against the Soviet the opposition auspices. o ruse ano noent doo lae demand for the withdrawal of But we oppose root and branch any idea of a 'non-nuclear defence policy' if leadership, Tas means du dance wilb Bsocialist defence would be aimed against We strong v disagree with Tony Benn over positive action He says that although he supports party policy for free abortion on demand, he is not of taking any action against MPs who on an 'important issue of conscience vote While contrast to the Campaign for Party Democracy, which put forward the voie on the re-selection. stand for the view that abortion one ol democratic rights all Labour MPs must In Italy the recent reterenbest dum on abortion became a vital strength and rightIn In Britain, any the labour can only lead to divisions through shoulder which the united strength of the movement can be dispersed beyond Last time the TUC led a huge demonstration . The policy of the movement should be to defend and extend the '67 Act the necessary of mass resources and facilities that do, revolution.
mean woman's Benn hedges his support for positive action with qualificaafter all, there are.
Their coming to the fore in the Labour Party will express the radicalisation of More blacks and won't mean more party, but a more radical party.
question ot political the hunger strikers concentrates all the issues pos Crade rur tony Ben does Benn does not back their demands.
Support for the hunger strikers has demonstated to the world the political nature of the and that the Republican inmates of Long Kesh prisoners an army fighting for national liberation.
six-county Northern Ireland state. created by Krish rejected by a who want a united much IS evident Sands' election and the voting in the recent counch eiections The future of Ireland is thus a question to be decided by the people themselves. The British state has no right to ımprison Irish freedom fighters, to occupy any part of Ireland troops, or to send in troops from anywhere else, including under United Nations The silence of the British Labour left on the hunger is a major scandal and disgrace good that Benn has taken issue with the bi-partisan policy of his party leadership His record is better inan many But he still fudges the vital issue of suppori for the kev aspect of the struggle going on in the damental question of the right of the irish people to decide their own future March separately.
Challenge some individual points in Benn's programme, i is clear from what we have said wrong. Yet Benn's campaign to deputy leader of the Party has the inestimable merit of taking on the right wing, and of organising a fight by the left to democratise the Labour Party ano ine trade unions This campaign creates the conditions socialist policies and winning ine whole movemen to inem.
hartle right wing, against the agents of capitatism in the movement, shoulder with supporters of Tony Benn. But if we are to go defeating the right towards socialism. need a very different strategy to isself, hisis note tales which defeat the Tories or put socialism on the agenda.
We'll need the programme action socialist That's Socialist Challenge will strike together against the right wing with Tony Benn, but march separately under our own banner and programme. MANY of Socialist Challenge's readers are strongly committed to the politics that the paper stands for.
At the moment, we sell around 6,000 papers a As production costs continue to soar, we can expect this subsidy to mount unless sales expand ing the paper has to be spent on simply keeping the paper going at the present time where we can do away with the need for a subsidy altogether? We think the answer is Yes!
that there exists a much wider audience for Socialist on the unemployment marches in Liverpool and of extra copies have been sold.
and the sales week organised earlier this year produced new buyers.
over 200 copies at the POEU's lobby of parliament.
70 copies in one evening in local Irish pubs.
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While sales of the paper remain at this level, we have to subsidise it through fundraising and donations Supporters' money that could go towards improvIs it possible to keep sales expanding to the point On numerous occasions, sellers have demonstrated Challenge than we are presently able to reach regularly On the national CND demonstration last October;
Glasgow, as well as on the People's March, hundreds It was the same story during the national sales day Special features in Socialist Challenge have always The 4-page Post Office workers' supplement sold Recent coverage of the hunger strikers' campaign has brought support to the paper from the Irish community in this country - Brent sellers have sold as many as We have to try and find ways of reaching this way to reach more readers is to have more people selling Socialist Challenge - in workplaces, the unions, If you want to make sure that Socialist Challenge reaches its 300th edition, start selling the paper now!
Contact Yvonne at Socialist Challenge on 01-359 8189, or by post, to piace a sale-or-return order, or for For new readers we are offering TEN ISSUES of Socialist Challenge for the incredibly iow price of E2 With 12 month subscriptions we are giving away a FREE COPY of The British Economic Disaster by Harrison, published by Box 50, London N1 2XP 'Socialist Challenge' SPECIAL OFFER Overseas: 12 months — Surface mail & Europe air mail For multi-reader institutions double the above rates.
Socialist Challenge 4 June 1981
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