THE GUTTER PRESS is revelling in the campaign of slander and invective between two warring camps of the Workers' HARRIS, who joined Healy's organisation in 1953 and was expelled in 1960, has been a Trotskyist for 44 years. She looks back at the disastrous sectarian degeneration which led the WRP to its present state, and asks: why did it happen?
AS, ever, more interested SCA than politics, the media is trying to use the WRP split to discredit the Marxist whole. However we need study the WRP's history, that COT 11S the Socialist SO CLUL Labour League (SLL) in a more serious way to learn the lessons of their degeneration. Press The press portrays Healy as the 'patron saint' of British Trotskyism. But the record of his break with Trotskyism has been well-documented in many including Marxism versus Ultraleftism, How Healy and Pablo blocked re-unification, and Healy's Big Lie.
These publications are an invaluable source of Marxist education, SOWing how a once-promising Marxist nucleus degenerate into a barren sect unable to relate to the real world of the struggle unable tolerate any criticism of its sectarian course.
Many readers. will know from their own exerience that it is impossi ble to draw the WRP into united action engage their members in genuine discussion. Thousands of Revolutionary Party. CONNÍE young militants have passthrough ment, wrongly believing unev were one arcyulutionary organisation and preparing a future socialist society, only to be disillusioned by its method of driving out minded individuals, its use of bureaucratic methods, physical violence, frameups, slanders and lies of the vilest kind as SUDSLIHILC debate and united action.
These methods, , which nothing do with Marxism or revolutionary sible, a bage been Healers along with Healy's ultraleft politics, decline and isolation of the Joseph Hansen, in his introduction Marxism versus Ultraleftism, points of the differences recorded in the SLL can be traced back to divisions that appeared in the Fourth international in the early '5os and led to a split in its ranks.
The issues involved conflicting estimates of the probable evolution of the soviet bureaucracy, conflicting tactics towards stalinist and socia sharp divergences on internai practices. The Fourth International split into two groupings as ine Secretariat the Committee. The International Committee was led by James P Cannon, the founder of US Trotskyism. Healy took part in it.
By 1956 the main disputes had receded. Both sides reached similar judgements aust chev's revelations that year, and stood lugene. l. defending the revolution in Poland and especially Hungary, against the Kremlin.
Leaders of US SWP felt these political agreements on SuCH decisive questions made possible principled reunification. They took initiatives bring this about in 1957.
McCarthyite howevel legislation prevented them leaving the country. Healy became isolated from his collaborators ana rightly feared his increasingly undemocratic albitrary organisational practices would be demned in a reunified International.
Facts The facts show he tried DIOCK steps Lowarus reunification Lacking weignly reasons rooted the struggle, he resorted to misrepresentation and downright lying.
Disregard for facts and doctoring the became his hallmarks. The SLL's press became one of the most unreliable in left circles. In consequence he parted company with the EDUCATION POR SOCIALS ..
Hansen shows that the victory of the •Cuban 1959 Wan decisive in showing further resistance to reuniticatior was unprincipled and irrational. By 1961 both sides agreed workers' state and had had been created. to be defended. But for Healy there was no substantial difference between the Fidelista government regime it overthrew! Lines