First Published: Vanguard, Vol. 2, No. 6, October 1965.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba and Sam Richards
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SPEAKING of the Committee to Defeat Revisionism for Communist Unity in The Way Forward, Cde. M. McCreery said, “This Committee is now organising a public campaign to expose revisionism and win the militant industrial workers and intellectuals to understand that a genuine Communist Party must be established before advance can be made against monopoly capitalism in Britain. We shall before long achieve this goal,”
Thus our prime task is, at the moment, to win militant workers and intellectuals ideologically for Marxism-Leninism. This is primarily a political struggle which involves exposing modern revisionism and opposing reformist strategies in the working class movement. However the mere exposing of modern revisionism, nationally and internationally, is not enough and we must seek always to carry a positive Marxist-Leninist line in the British context – in industry, the peace and youth movements etc. – Nor is it enough merely to support foreign Marxist-Leninist Parties and groups – one cannot be a genuine Marxist-Leninist by abstractly accepting Marxist-Leninist principles in the realm of ideas without trying to apply them to the everyday struggle. Nor can a person be a genuine Marxist-Leninist if he or she accepts the validity of Marxism-Leninism for the National Liberation movements and socialist states but condones revisionist theory and practice at home!
How do we go about giving this Marxist-Leninist lead? Firstly, by careful analysis of our system of society, its economic base, its neo- colonial ramifications throughout the world; its classes: the present outlook of these classes and of the various strata within these classes; its trade union movement; its various other institutions such as the Labour Party which go into ensuring the smooth running of bourgeois democracy.
Secondly, our organ Vanguard (and our other publications) is the means by which we can reach the vanguard workers and intellectuals. In Vanguard we can analyse the whole British and international situation and advance a Marxist-Leninist outlook. We must report on the triumphs of the Marxist-Leninists over the revisionists in the world communist dispute; we must report on the successes being achieved in the anti- imperialist struggle throughout the world (a job which the C.P.G.B.’s publications have reneged on for years. Where apart from Peking Review, among easily obtained literature, can the advanced workers and intellectuals read of the successes of the anti-imperialist struggles in Latin America, Asia and Africa? The CP.G.B.’s publications always accent the (clay-footed) might of the imperialists and the reverses of the liberation struggle: always they accent the suffering of the people in a pacifist way).
Not only must Vanguard inform and educate the advancing sections of the workers but it must also become the means of organising them. Vanguard is the means of contacting and rallying our supporters and sympathisers at work, privately, at meetings, demonstrations and so on. It also acts as the basis of discussion groups which in time become fully fledged affiliated groups of the C.D.R.C.U. carrying out a full programme of Marxist-Leninist study and political work.
These groups of sympathisers and supporters must be transformed by study and practical work into groups of Marxist-Leninist cadres–disciplined and organised on the basis of collectivism, on the basis of democratic centralism in C.D.R.C.U.
1. The theoretical study must be thorough and systematic covering the Marxist-Leninist classics of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, Mao Tse Tung, Liu Shao Chi and others– incorporating a thorough objective study of the theories and practice of right and left opportunists, revisionists and dogmatists.
2. The chief content of the practical work is the waging of an unrelenting though tactically flexible struggle at our place of work, in our trade union branch, in our locality with all who might be won to the Marxist-Leninist standpoint or at least to a progressive anti-imperialist position.
The political struggle which we wage to win the minds of the advanced workers must cover all aspects of the ideological struggle in order to give a complete picture of the realities of the world we live in. We must deal with the real, avaricious, brutal nature of imperialism; with the pro-imperialist and anti-working class nature of social democracy; the modern revisionist sell- out; peaceful co-existence and imperialist aggression; the relationship of the colonial and neocolonial liberation struggle; and the imperialist facts and ruling class divide and rule tactics behind the immigration and racialism issues. We must not confine ourselves to purely economist and bread and butter issues. indeed, the day to day issues– housing, rents, pay increases, working conditions, health, speed-up, etc., etc., must be related to the overall Marxist-Leninist political analysis of Britain and the world and the consequent need for the working class to build their own organizations to overthrow capitalism and smash the capitalist state power. We must seek to build up the worker’s confidence in their own powers, once correctly organised and led. to liberate and rule themselves. Catchwords like radical reforms and structural reforms must be exposed as class collaboration in disguise There is no easy, compromise road to socialism.
Our aim is to raise the political consciousness of the masses of working people but first (and this is our present task) we must raise our own political consciousness and that of the advanced sections of the workers and intellectuals –the activists and militants.
We must also work in the Broad Movements where we are able and have the manpower–in M.C.F., the Peace Movement, the T.U.C., etc. but our task here is to put the correct Marxist-Leninist political line in broad movement language and advance the correct slogans. Thus, for example, in the Peace Movement we must seek to put forward anti-imperialist slogans–pointing out always that imperialism, capitalism and all economic exploitation of man by man, of nations by nations, of class by class are the source of war in the modern world, Thus again in the anti-racist campaign we must seek to unify all workers against the common enemy, imperialism, including British monopoly capitalist imperialism–exposing the economic exploitation of the colonies and neo-colonies, exposing the imperialist stooges in the neo-colonies and at home, and relating all this to the continuing and increasing domestic exploitation of workers of all origins in this country.
At no time must we capitulate to bourgeois and petty-bourgeois humanitarian notions–abstract love of mankind and pacifism–hoping in this way to “catch” mass support for the broad be movements.
One of the chief dangers facing us at present is the possibility that we might get lost in feverish activity within the broad movements (as they are at present) without a clear idea of what we are supposed to be doing. Nor must we go rushing to this or that particular economic struggle to get a cheap identification with the economic struggle as a whole. This is left opportunist spontaneity.
The economic struggle goes on spontaneously in capitalist society but it is not necessarily Marxist-Leninist struggle, Marxist-Leninist consciousness can be grafted on to the economic struggle (and indeed must be) and this gives the latter advanced political content. The time will come when a reconstituted Marxist-Leninist Party in this country will play its full role in initiating and leading such struggles with great political success.
But at present to run after the spontaneous economic struggle in our present state of strength and organisation (or lack of it) is tail-ism. However where our cadres, at work, do get involved in the spontaneous struggle then they must seek to inject political content (of a Marxist-Leninist nature of course) into that struggle in order to raise the political consciousness of their fellow workers. Such practical experiences are invaluable for both the workers and cadres involved.
We must save our manpower to concentrate on those struggles which do contain overt political content and in these situations we must try and show our solidarity with the workers involved. A clear example of this kind of struggle was the strike recently at Courtaulds in Preston in which the attempt was made (with some success) to divide the working class against itself. Here, in this kind of economic struggle, where political issues are to the fore, here is where we must seek contacts and solidarity with the workers involved. And our intervention will be to put clearly to the workers involved and the workers everywhere (by leaflet, personal contact and Vanguard articles, etc.) the Marxist-Leninist analysis of the situation and the relevant lessons which militant workers must learn.
Again we must, where we can, seek to initiate industrial action but once more we must put political considerations first and not purely economic ones. Any industrial action which we undertake must be to give a Marxist political lead to the workers. (E.g. if we were able we should initiate a transport workers boycott of war material for the use of the Imperialists against the Vietnamese people, etc., etc. If such action were undertaken spontaneously then again we must afford it every possible aid.)
But as yet with our limited forces we must seek to concentrate on political issues of key importance. The fundamental struggle we must undertake at the present time is the public stand against revisionism: to win the militant workers. This is a political struggle.
Some “militant” ex-C.P.G.Bers and anti-revisionists accuse us of sectarianism, of failing to act, to pull our weight in the broad movement (what they confuse with the “mass line”). They say that we insist on making a sectarian, “ideologically pure” stand (a handsome insult!).
Why are these comrades so concerned with getting active in the broad organisations? Why are they so keen on C.N.D.? On S.A.C.U.? On M.C.F.? On C.A.R.D.? etc., etc. Like moles they tunnel blindly away in the broad movements by-passing the most vital task facing Marxist-Leninists and anti-revisionists, the reconstitution of the genuine Communist Party in these islands. They shelve this main issue and try futilely to make up for the deficiencies of the revisionists: they try and undo the harm the revisionists are doing in these broad movements. Without a firm footing in a Marxist-Leninist organisation they are adrift in the broad movement invariably tailing behind the petty bourgeois left-social democratic leaders of these movements. Let us be clear–there is no harm and some good in working in the broad movements for the purpose of rallying the militants to the need for reconstituting a Marxist-Leninist Party. But to put the broad movement above all else, as an end in itself is bowing to spontaneity, is submitting to left social democratic leadership.
Of course the C.P.G.B. leadership is to blame here, for it has fallen down on the broad mass issues of peace, of solidarity with the national liberation movements, etc. The C.P.G.B.. has failed to initiate mass struggle on the broad issues, to form mass movements under Communist leadership. Instead it has been guilty of tail-ism and spontaneity, of tagging behind the leadership of left social democratic humanists–Brockway, Collins etc. excusing their tail-ism as “left unity” and excusing their lack of real leadership as “united front tactics.” But always the Leninist concept of a united front or broad movement has hinged on the Marxist-Leninists retaining their independent ideological position and taking the leadership, as far as possible in given circumstances and the (objective) revolutionary initiative at all times.
Certainly we can unite with petty bourgeois left social democrats and other secondary enemies at certain times in the struggle against the main enemy. But we must unite on our terms for the advance of the political struggle of the working class and oppressed people.
The C.P.G.B. leadership has been consistent in only one thing and that is in consistently failing to give leadership to mass struggles and broad movements along correct, popular Marxist-Leninist line.
All around we see the results of this defaulting, of the surrender to left social democracy. There is a general downturn in the tempo of militancy out of keeping with the significance of events.
So ex-C.P.G.Bers and militants see how the Party leadership defaults on the Peace Movement, the Youth Movement, the Racial Issue, the Colonial Freedom Movements, on the Vietnamese People’s armed smuggle and frustrated with this blatant capitulation they rush into each new broad movement as it is thrown up, into each petition and demonstration which has a whiff of militancy about it and try and ginger things up. They applaud these spontaneous manifestations of discontent–not realising that they are strengthening left social democracy which leads these broad movements in this present phase. They condemn us for not rushing with them : they condemn us for patiently putting a “purist” Marxist-Leninist analysis and propaganda to the militants, for wanting to reconstitute a Marxist-Leninist cadre party as a prime task and for only indulging in broad movement work at this stage for this very purpose (to rally and organise militants engaged in practical political activity for this end–the reconstitution of a Marxist-Leninist Party). These critics are guilty of tail-ism too: in their united front with left social democracy they get a comfortable feeling of organised working class strength which is illusory. Moreover the broad movements at present do not by and large appeal and attract support from the masses of the working class– as broad movements organised and led by a Marxist-Leninist Party would. And we must have a Marxist-Leninist Party organised and disciplined in all leading urban centres of England, Scotland and Wales before such Marxist-Leninist led broad movements could be formed and take action successfully.
Have no illusions, we shall not steal C.N.D. or CA.R.D.). from their petty bourgeois leaders–nor do we want to I In time we will organise our own broad movements for Peace, for colonial freedom, for fighting racism, etc. to appeal to the masses of the working people and to organise them for effective action.
Our main aim at present is to rally militants and raise their political level so that we can reconstitute the Marxist-Leninist Party we need so badly in England, Scotland and Wales. In all our work, theoretical and practical in all fields we must bear this fact in mind.
At present this is the chief objective need of the working class in these islands. Moreover economic and political conditions (with the collapse of British imperialism; the successes of the colonial liberation movements; the self-exposure of social democracy as the handmaiden of the ruling class to the working people), both locally and internationally are ripe for such a development.
What sort of a Party is it that we must reconstitute? How will it differ from the revisionist dominated C.P.G.B.? Comrade McCreery gave us the main features in a succinct and correct form in “The Way Forward.”
1. The Party will be based on proletarian internationalism with the working class and oppressed peoples of all countries. Our relationship will be based on genuine equality and mutual respect.
2. The Party will fight to establish the Dictatorship of the Proletariat which involves smashing the capitalist state machine in a socialist revolution.
3. Struggles on all immediate issues (wages, rents, etc.) will be related to the above strategy. We must use the immediate struggles to raise the class-political consciousness of the workers.
4. The Party will carry a mass line to mobilise the mass of the working people which means that the Party will have to be organised at the places of work of the people.
5. The Party will fight inside the trade union movement, co-ops, parliament, etc. for progressive policies and even positions but in order to expose legalism and reformism in all their guises.
6. Democratic (and not bureaucratic) centralism will be the basis of the organisation of the Party.
With such a Party the Marxist-Leninist cause will go from strength to strength in these islands. Powerful support will be given to our brothers in the front line of the struggle against imperialism in the colonies and neo-colonies. Speed the day of the reconstitution of the Marxist-Leninist Party in England, Scotland and Wales!
Long live Marxism-Leninism!