Chou En-Lai and Mao Tse-tung. In the 1960s, Chinese leadership advanced theory of 'countryside surrounding the cities IN Socialist Action 78 John Ross outlined that the present period of world politics saw ment of revolutionary situations In a number of countries — most notably in Central America. In the imperialist countries however the greater strength of the imperialist ruling classes meant that we were not confronted with tionary struggles for power of the type which existed in a number of semi-colonial countries.
PHIL HEARSE PENNINGTON present an alternative view. I LIN PIAO is alive and well, and writing in the pages of Socialist Action. Or at least so it would appear from the centre-spread 'How Reagan will be defeated' (SA 78) by John Ross. In this he expounds the typically Maoist view that the key struggles in the world will be, for the forseeable future, fought out in the semi-colonial countries.
Ross grants that the working class in the advanced capitalist countries 'will strike the final blow' against imperialism, but that is put off to the indefinite future. The slaves in the city, it appears, will eventually cut their masters' throats. but the kev thing in the forseeable future is that the city itself is besieged the masses from the countryside.
Anyone who thinks otherwise is 'fixated by Europe' and obsessed by the 'white working class' John Ross justifies his perspective by saying that it conforms with the 'entire logic of development' capitalism 20th century. him. the contradictions in the imperialist system have lain at its centre, but the struggles have broken out at the periphery of the imperialist system because of the weakness of the ruling class at the periphery, the strength of the ruling class at the centre.
Historically, Ross's schema is incorrect. In the 20th century the Euro. pean working class has played a most revolutionary role. revolutionary crises have developed; several fully fledged revolutionary much revoluBOB insurgent red. has not conquered of For imperialist bourgeoisie, betrayals of tion, of the Spanish revolution, compared with of the revolutioanry The strength Numerous pre- perialist countries crises and insurrections have occurEuropean revolution any victories, other than those achieved by the Red Army and by the CP in Yugoslavia, WaN a function not of the 'strength' of the of the the reformist Stalinist working class bureaucracy.
The defeat of the German revolu- simply wave in Italy, France and Greece after 1945 were due primarily to the role of Stalinist of the counterrevolutionary bureaucracy in the imIs not Simply function of the strength of the im- the penast bourgeoisic, neitner were le defeats of the European revolution simply inevitable consequences of the strength of the ruling class. On the the victory of revolution cult aly objectively possible, revolutionary leadership.
John Ross reduces the question of working class leadership purely and to the actions bourgeoisie, rather than seeing it also as a consequence of the outcome of political struggle inside the working He merely collapses the subjective factor into the objective situation. No wonder he reaches the most foundly pessimistic conclusions about class struggle 1n the advanced capitalist countries.
FLNKS union federation are a minority. If this is true it is only the case because of the settlement policy stepped up at the beginning of une sevente It is a formal agreement presented as a screen to hide their real reason for opposing the Kanaks right to their land. The Caldoche population wants to keep control of what it has stolen the raw materials such as nickel as well as the advantages of the island's position in the Pacific for trade.
The authorities claim that Kanaks' demand for a referendum on self-determination, in which only the Kanaks participate, is racist. This is a The founding Congress of the John Ross asserts that his schema does not mean that the working class imperialist relegated to a secondary role. Its role, given apparently, will be as it was during the Vietnam war — i.e. a subsidary supporting factor while the masses in the colonial world slog it out with US imperialism. This is a misreading of the the imperialist austerity and militarisa tion offensive.
The imperialist offensive is not just aimed against the peoples of the semi-colonial countries. ere will be the most gigantic sor ruggles in Europe and the other pro- vanced countries in the next period as the imperialist bourgeoisie attempts crush their economic and political gains.
Front clearly stated that 'the country will remain open to all those who accept Kanak sovereignty'.
Pierre Declerq himself was white.
What the colonial administration opposes is anything that undermines the legal status of the French presence in the colonies.
traditionally induce the respect their rule. It aims to break ur the the unity of this new independence movement WIL neocolonial independence that would leave French interests untouched. An operation similar to perialism, Wing class struggle. the unity perialism, the nonetheless.
Countrie countries struggle Inevitably, That most basic social, French tion parties administration has used religion and local Kanaks to scene the the way ahead the German struggle over the 35-hour week and the Italian fight to keep the sliding scale of wages will be vital for the outcome of imperialism's offensive. So will be the struggle against US imperialisms' attempt to foist deepening militarisation on Europe.
The whole organised strength, th basic social gains, of the Europear working class are under attack. If the attack is successful, , it will be a col ossal defeat for all the enemies of imincluding the semi-colonial countries It is excluded that the imperialist offensive against the European workcan be successful without gigantic class battles, up to and including struggles of general strike which begin to pose the question of power. To say otherwise, is to say the European working class will go down to defeat without a While lecturing his readers about of world economics world politics in the epoch of imJohn Ross fact establishing a hierarchy of tasks for the world revolution, giving priority to the struggle in the semi colonial countries.
In fact, the logical conclusion of his position would be to make the task work with the colonial revolution the decisive Naturally, it is difficult for John Ross to actualls ay such a preposterous thing in t riddle of the miners' strike, but th logic of his position John Ross concludes that US imperialism will be defeated 'by a whole range of class struggle.. interna ionally'. For that particular piece ( trategic insight, I'm sure welre a very grateful. Indeed, the success of mperialism's offensive against th working class wil only be defeated by a succession of struggle:
both in the advanced capitalist countries and in the semi-colonial Moreover (let us not forget it), the the deformed workers' states will also have a vital bearing on the outcome the viewpoint economics, world politics, the permanent revolution and Trotskyism. John Ross's viewpoint, on the contrary, is a lifeless and abstract schema which can only disorientate revolutionaries.
imperialists carried out in Africa in the 1950s.
The Lemoine government has a fine line to tread. On the one hand there is the pressure in France of the colonists and the bourgeois opposiWiLD want a hard: line defence of colonial interests.
On the other side there is the program of the FLKNS which is adamant that only the Kanaks should decide the future of the territorv.
When it sends a former director of national police negotiate with the FLNKS you can see that the government is not sure of the
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USTl PAS SPEND PAS SOCIALE