tion of the 1984-85 strike. On the contrary for an entire year systematically mobilised the miners their supporters against the government in the greatest working class struggle outside war since the general I cerica ine courts, based itself on working class mentary law agallisi parliamentary created caround the NUM the greatest alliance of the working since World War II Inaction The emergence of the Scargill leadership NUM was a qualitative moment working politics - a rupture in the politics of the labour move. ment equivalent to that in ling ilass politics which been created by the lecline of support for the Conservative Party emergence of the SDP.
The working adicalisation which had egun in the late 1960s had ow given rise to something ualitatively different to the Broad Leftist politics leveloped the nions in the 1960s 1970s the 'Broad Lefism' earlier symbolised by Hugh JaCK ones and carried on today д а different form by JimScargill current of the NUM saw the emergence of first struggle cadership of the working Hass for sixty years.
The force of the miners inke in turn split, ecomposed, the old rather morphous Bennite ICL. one part of that left, inHuding Tony Benn, Dennis and the Campaign roup of MPs, defended the miners' strike right through to the end. They finished up tar the left of their previous positions took with them one section of the left of the LOVENCHL With the miners' strike a radicalisation of the left set in whose cutting edge was the NUM QUI extended far beyond that.
A second section of the old Bennite left peeled off to now symbolised by Michael Meacher, David Blunkett, and Tom Sawyer. Ken Livingstone tries to occupy Interneolate position between left' which developed around the miners Benn.
The wheel had in fact full circle. The Stalinisation of the Communist Parti the had pushed its left wing Marxist very fringes of the labour movement - and confined them to tiny groups of pec ple. The long upturn of in struggle from the 1940s onwards and above all that after 1956 began to reintroduce these in serious and permanent way into British politics.
Tony Chater, editor of the Morning Star Finally, with the rise of working class struggle after 1968 the development of the Benne • lett. 1970s, and culminating in the 1984 Marxist ideas could once more seriously strike roots in the labour movement. At the very same time they were doing so the Communist Party was splitlilig.
IF THE development of the left wing of the labour movement, and in particular the aftermath of the miners' opens up the door for serious Marxist ideas to gain roots in the labour movement which they have not had for sixty years then there is a con dition for success in this task. This is that the Marxists in Britain have to break with both their primitive conceptions of Marxism and iheir 'infantile' ultra-left past.
The Communist Party, precise because of its link Class movement based on the Soviet bureaucracy, had. and has, a coherent strategy albeit completely disasterous one. Its 'broad democratic alliance', a simple updating of the popular front strategy of the 1930s gives a clear coherence to its policy at every level.
that strategy of the CP much of what has passed for Marxism in the labour movement britain 1s in fact little more than primitive, systematised ultra leftism -although its origins general lie in an adaptation to British imperialism.
Ideas of currents such as the or Workers Revolutionar that socialist revolution in Briyears away, that the British bourgeoisie is at the end of its tether and held up merely by a thin layer of traitors have been, and are, presented as the authentic varxist alternative to the CPGB despite the fact that such views have nothing to do with the *classical Marxism' of Lenin, Trotsky, Rosa Lux emburg, Gramsci others.
to see the debate over ine future of the Labour left as polarised between itself on one side and ultra-leftism on the other. This is exactly the terrain on which, despite the GPGB's decline, it has the greatest credibility. Furthermore uitra-left posturing is something the left can no longer afford when MarxIsin now ias real DIStorIC Op portunities to participate il he Labour left, and profi from the split in the Com munist Party, roots in the Labour move.
ment.
The real challenge to Marxism In balal to break with such ultraleftism and lay down the foundations of a serious socialist strategy this country. This will necessarily take up and answer from a different angle virtually every key issue the CPGB itself deals with for at least the Communist Party has the merit of addressing itself to the most important questions British world politics.
The key elements of such a shaltsy are cital • Internationally, not peaceful co-existence and detente, but the international extension of the class struggle. Support Ior the Nicaraguan revolution, for anti-missiles movement, for those such Solidarnose fighting Stalinism in eastern Ейгоре al t decisive examples of this. • Within the British state not a 'broad democratic alliance' but an alliance for socialism — an alliance of working class and the whole the oppressed gainst the bourgeoisie an TOT socialism core of socialist strategy in Britain. It is from this that all the decisive politics of Socialist Action flow • Fighting for a real 'party of nowhere near a situation where socialist revolution is on the agenda. The fight today, and for a prolonged period, is precisely to create 'popular socialism' or, to use Leninist language, what is on the agenda today is not a struggle to conquer powel but a struggle to conquer the masses. That fight, today above all passes through a struggle to transform aboul into more adequate instrument tol struggle Bea Campbell From this fight flows the absolute centrality demands such as the defence the levy. the creation of black sections. securing the demands of the Women's Action Committee and similar measures.
This type of perspective corpractice to the line of a call for a refoun ding CUTLETENC the of Tony Benn, and others.
The creation of a class struggle left wing, as oppos ed to the politics of Broad Leftism', is the key strategic goal in the trade unions, Labour Party, and other mass organisations This today, of course means participating in and organisationally the Broad Letts. In some cases existing Broad Lefts may actually, through strug gle, become transformed in real class struggle left winbut there is a qualitative difference between the politics of an Arthur Scargill and that of Jimmy Knapp Scargill systematically oriented the NUM to struggle, and based strategy on the social alliances which developed through that struggle. That is qualitative ly different to the politics of i Knap! - as the failure of the NUR to respond effe tively, for example, to the depot during the miners Broad leftism Even although they may be in the same left wing formations in the unions, there qualitative difference between struggle forces, forces of the Scargil type. the politics Broad Leftism'.
Inese ciass struggle forces that the real future of the "wing the movement • a left wing that stands and fights depends Finally the fulcrum for this entire debate and strugLabour Party and labour Loday within movement It is this, therefore, that is the real alternative to the Communist Party. Join the an ance there fight for an for socialism, a real party La class struggle lef wing. That is the road which should be followed by all those locked into the twin dead ends of Marxism • Тоday and the Morning Star.
It is, in fact, the line that should be pursued by every activist in the labour move. ment. The which Socialist Action has hesitation in presenting.
Socialist Action NATIONAL UNIOM OF VICTIMISED MEMBERS STAND BY OUR MINEWORKERS stand against authorities. number services.
the local community.
road with council vehicles. THE FIGHT against the Tories rate capping proposals is reaching the crunch. Some hard choices are having to be made and the need to take a clear setting a rate has divided Labour have capitulated abandoned the fight against cuts in jobs and Others, such as Hackney and Lambeth, continue to fight. The key to that fight must be united action of counciliors, local authority trade unionists and In Hackney, council workers occupied the Town Hall to prevent any possible rate setting meeting taking place and in Islington thousands of council workers demonstrated their support by blocking the Those councils still fighting deserve the support of all those in the Labour movement committed to a campaign against the Tory attacks. Surcharge and HACKNEY JSSC
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An alliance for socialism
Socialist Action 24 May 1985 DOWN BUT NOT OUT