Most Black organisations and personalities have come out in tavour ol the boycott of South Africa. They have generally argued negative consequences it might have for the workers, it would be a 'short-term pain for the sake of a long-term gain.
Bishop Tutu himself has supported the idea of disinvestment it certain conditions are not met in the next 18 to 24 months. up behind the boycott position. Finally, a number of the independent nonracial unions that today organise hundreds of thousands of workers are in favour of Photo: GM COOKSON this policy. The biggest federation, the CUSA, has, however, declared through its chair that it is in favour of "selective disengagement"
The second lärgest federation, the FOSATU, has given a thoroughgoing explanation. ole!'s bovcott. In a resolution adopted in that despite The ANC has also long lined support the with sp tho Anti-Apart movement to offer concrete solidarity to the South African mass movement.
AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS FRIDAY 9 AUGUST 7pm ISLINGTON TOWN HALL UPPER STREET LONDON NI Tors from SWAP od movamont and the Al marched on Pee mal
CERTAIN professional ultraleft phrasemongers are attempting at all cost to "correct' the theses of the secretariat of the Fourth International on war in accordance with their own ossified judices.
The theses state: "The proletariat of a capitalist country that finds itself in an alliance with the USSR must retain tuily and completely its irreconcilable hostility to the imperialist government of its own country. this sense its policy will not differ from that of the proletariat in a country fighting against the USSR. But in the nature of the practical actions considerable differences tion.' consider postulate, has been oy the point of the that should the of the answer with the Italian rebellious time, would be unionists not proletarian revolutionists.
At the faced would be compelled to exert every effort to block the shipment of ammunition intended for use against the rebels. Only such a policy on the part of the italan and Hrench constitutes the policy of revolutionary mtertanonalisin.
Does this not signify, however, that the Italian workers moderate their struggle in this event against the fascist regime? Not in the slightest.
Rules Fascism renders Algerians only in order to weaken its enemy, and to rapacious hand on her colonies. revolutionary Italian workers do not forget this for a single moment. They upon the Algerians not to trust HieT treacherous ally' same time continue their own irreconSocialist Action 2 August 1985 problems.
Innuence the Wilal lucy are dews.
may arise class struggle this entire Since country. rebellion What the in the affirwould spurn wretched wins nut whatsoever, workers 'aid' to the its 'national' army.
The at the ONE OF the major problems faced by the Marxist left in Britain is its sectarian 'oppositionist' stance and way of approaching political This characteristic has its base in the long isolation of Marxism as a current in Britain from any ability to mass working struggle. Marxism in Britain has so long been forced to be an opposition it thinks like one. It is a method of the thought which leads Marxists not to starting with what they stand for but way, In periods of stagnation of the this made little difference. In the overwhelming bulk of cases the working class movement is opposed to the actions taken by the bourgeoisie. In virtually every major struggle in the last sixty years in BriLain lat working class was sold oul Di to An irreconcilable attitude again:. bourgeois militarism does not signify at all that the proletariat in all cases enters into a struggle against its own . At least the workers would not interfere with soldiers who are extinguishing a fire or rescuing drowning people during a flood; on the contrary, they would help side by side with the soldiers and fraternise its leadership. In that situation starting off by opposition did not actually lead to vast errors.
But where such a way of thinking becomes disastrous is when there are positive developments in the class important situations. Then, starting off by 'opposition' leads to disastrous sectarian errors.
We have seen this recently with tremendously sectarian responses to develoment of the FSLN Nicaragua. It was seen, in a different responses Scargill leadership of the NUM during the Scargill wing of the NUM to the If Marxism is to emerge serious force in the workers' ment the left has to learn to think for itself and what it positively stands for for without that it cannot hope to which is expressed their mistrust of the bourgeoisie. The policy of the proteianat is not at or automaticall derived the policy of the bourgeoisie, bearing only the posite sign (this would make sectarian a master strategist). No, the revolutionary orient itself independently in the internal as well as in the external situalead the working class.
In Trotsky's words, in the article below, "The policy of the proletariat not at all automatically trom the poicy bearing only the opposite sign.' Marx. ists 'must each (themselves) independently in the internal as well as in the external situation. arrivine at those decisions whici correspond best to the interests of the proletariat.' In This article, Think was written by Trotsky in 1938. But its words are profoundly relevant wing's to the Marxist left in Britain: a left that finally must hegemonic leading force in and not just as a corporate 'opposilead the labour movement for ever.
The article was written on the eve of World War II and that determines its subject matter.
out of fear of the greatest military danger and only in later crushing the proletarian revolution with their own weapons. To the op French workers, on the contrary, pro.
letarian Belgium is the greatest sup.
port in the struggle against their own bourgeoisie.
derived •or me bourgeolsie Ill peacetime"
time orient this entitled Learn success. assured emerge as letarian 'patriotic sufficient. tionary TEOUL LU expectation of solved only through the revolutionary mobilisation of the masses, that is, by widening, deepening, and sharpening those revolutionary methods constitute lne content or class struggic The proletarian party does not resort to artificial methods, such as burning warehouses, setting off bombs, wrecking trains, etc. in order to bring about the defeat of its own government. Even if it were successful Broad, the military defeat would not at all lead to revolutionary success which can be only by the independent movement of the proletariat.
Revolutionary defeatism signifies only that in its class struggle the proparty does not stop at any considerations, since defeat of its own imperialist government, brought about or hastened by the revolutionary movement of the masses, is an imcomparably lesser evil tal victory galled ar te price Ol la tional unity, that is, the political prostration of the proletariat. Therein les the complete meaning of defeatism and this meaning is entirely of course, when the struggle enters the openly revolutionary phase. Civil war is a war, and in this aspect has its parti other forms of military. 'sabotage' are decided by purely military considerations - civil war continues revoluHowever, during the imperialist war there may be revolutionary party will be forced to do not as yet follow direct v trom the revolutionary move ment in their own country. Thus, if it is a question of sending arms or troops against a workers' government or a rebellious colony, not only such methods as boycott and strike, but direct miltiary sabotage may become measures will be a matter of practical ing power in wartime, have their own military agents or would be the duty of these agents not order to stop Hitler's troops. It is ab. solutely clear that the revolutionary German workers are also duty bound (if they are able) to perform this task in the interests of the Belgian revolution, irrespective of the general course Defeatist policy, that is, the policy of irreconcilable class struggle in warcallul same' in all countries, policy of the proletariat cannot be the intern of the epigones has established a regime in which the parties of all
----- pull-quotes -----
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SOLDAY WITH THE