First Published: Vanguard, Vol. 2, No. 5, August-September 1965.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba and Sam Richards
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THE Committee to Defeat Revisionism for Communist Unity (CDRCU) was founded in November 1963 under the leadership of Comrade M. McCreery. The need to take an open, public stand against the British type of revisionism as expounded by the C.P.G.B. leadership had become of crucial importance. A public slander against the Chinese Party had been made by Gollan in which he slyly accused the Chinese leaders as being racialists and adventurers. The Party press had been closed for some time to all views which ran counter to the leadership’s revisionist statements and policies. The CDRCU came into being to answer the slanders, expose the bureaucratic centralism operating within the Party, expose the revisionist sell-out by the C.P.G.B. leaders– the contemptible “British Road to Socialism” of 1951-1957–and to rally all Marxist-Leninists and honest activists inside and outside the Party in the struggle to defeat revisionism and reconstitute in due course a Marxist-Leninist vanguard Workers’ Party. To this end the CDRCU’s organ Vanguard was published, the first edition coming out in February 1964. This enabled a correct Marxist-Leninist line to be put forward against the revisionism of the C.P.G.B.’s leadership and the publications which they control. Moreover the correct Marxist-Leninist stand of the true revolutionary Parties in the International Communist Movement was reported and supported; the false stand of the revisionist-controlled Parties was exposed and condemned. Furthermore the first analysis, polemics and discussions have been inaugurated in the pages of Vanguard in preparation for the drafting of a Marxist-Leninist programme for England, Scotland and Wales.
Initially certain comrades expected overnight fireworks and a dramatic buildup of Marxist-Leninist forces–such over optimism led to impatience and disillusion when progress was gradual. These comrades had underestimated the strength of social-democracy in the working class in this country and the strength of revisionist ideas in the ranks of the C.P.GJ3. Certainly great and growing numbers of the rank and file of the C.P.G.B. are critical of the revisionist leadership, feel hostile to the recent sell-out by the Party leaders to the Labour Government–but this sort of disaffection is not the expression of a developed Marxist-Leninist consciousness but rather an empirical awareness that revolutionary policies have been deserted. This disaffection is however the basis for the growth of a Marxist-Leninist consciousness. Revisionism has been firmly in control for over 20 years in the British Party and there have been strong revisionist currents, stemming from social-democratic contamination, within the Party since its foundation. With no Marxist-Leninist education for over 20 years; no serious cadre-training; with mass membership open to all and sundry–no wonder that petty-bourgeois ideas are deeply entrenched even in the activists of the C.P.G.B. No wonder even that those who try to take an anti-revisionist line, such as ourselves have to fight continually to overcome our own opportunist tendencies: sometimes so-called anti-revisionists succumb to these tendencies and either drop from activity or else try to disrupt the work of those who continue the struggle. This is to be expected and must not cause dismay. In overcoming such difficulties we gain strength. The growth of the CDRCU has therefore been gradual though steady.
This past 18 months has been taken up with rallying a Marxist-Leninist nucleus around which further growth can occur. This process of consolidating a qualitatively sound nucleus will predominate for some time yet. In this process there has been a certain degree of turnover in the nucleus–some of those who rallied with enthusiasm to the CDRCU in the early days have already fallen by the wayside either through leftist or rightist opportunist limitation or from a failure of confidence and nerve. There are still some weaknesses in the nucleus and mistakes will be made and new problems will arise. But the way ahead, the way of growth is through such problems–and we will learn from our mistakes as long as we are honest enough to admit them and do our utmost to overcome them. There is no room for arrogance and complacency in the proletarian movement– at all times we must be aware that we are students of Marxism-Leninism and that we are serving the cause of the working class and the oppressed peoples of the world. We must be vigilant against overestimating our own individual importance.
There has been a consistent growth in our ranks and sympathisers all over the country and last August the Central Committee was elected as the highest authority of the CDRCU and to co-ordinate our work nationally.
From certain quarters there has been the criticism that we are neglecting the inner party struggle–but this is a misrepresentation, often stemming from an overestimation of the importance of the inner party struggle. The CDRCU has at all times clearly stated that the chief task at present is to publicly challenge revisionism in his country and by doing so to rally Party members and Marxist-Leninists and sympathisers generally to the understanding that the CP.G.B. cannot be transformed from within as bureaucratic centralism on the part of Gollan and Co. makes transformation from within impossibility. The revisionist leaders have a rigid control over the Party apparatus and will never allow it to be wrested from their grasp by internal maneuvering and criticism.
On the other hand the inner party struggle is of importance in contacting and rallying the rank and file of the party on a Marxist-Leninist basis and giving direction to the growing, general feeling of day to day dissatisfaction with the conduct and policies of the revisionist leadership. The CDRCU has played and will continue to play an important role directly and indirectly (through its public stand) in developing the inner party struggle.
There has been a ceaseless gush of slander and invective against the CDRCU and against its leading members, especially the late Comrade McCreery: even his untimely and tragic death has not stopped the foul efflux of calumny. This was to be expected–from both the Party leaders and the erstwhile “friends” and “comrades” who could not accept the need for a public stand against revisionism. It could and can be expected too from those who from time to time fall or break away from the CDRCU and challenge its Marxist-Leninist stand.
Instead of conducting a principled political argument these deviationists and hesitators have to resort to slander to bolster up their politically erroneous positions. The CDRCU has always welcomed principled and amicable discussions with all honest comrades who differ on this or that point but who in essence agree with our position. Such discussions take place on the basis of mutual respect. On the other hand the CDRCU has never gone in for and will never undertake slander and calumny: we only answer political charges never personal attacks. We seek unity with all honest anti-revisionists–a principled unity–on the basis of mutual respect and the recognition of the necessity to reconstitute a Marxist-Leninist party of England, Scotland and Wales.
The aim of CDRCU is to carry on the struggle against revisionism, social democracy, capitalism and imperialism; to build links of proletarian internationalism on the basis of genuine equality and mutual respect with the organisations of Marxist-Leninists and anti-imperialist national liberation fighters throughout the world.
The CDRCU will fight where and when it can at home to rally the workers on the sites, in the mines, foundries, factories and offices to wage mass struggle not only for immediate benefits but also to raise the political consciousness of the workers through the medium of these struggles to an understanding of the need for a revolutionary overthrow of capitalism and the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat in England, Scotland and Wales. There will be no fetishism about capturing positions within the framework of the Trade Union bureaucracy and parliament. Such positions will be used to expose these institutions as bastions of capitalist rule and rally the mass struggle to higher levels of political awareness.
The CDRCU will strive to rally workers and progressive sections of the wavering petty bourgeoisie against U.S. imperialism. Solidarity with the international workers and oppressed peoples’ struggle against world imperialism led by U.S. imperialism and its minions is an essential component of the Marxist-Leninist line of advance and the CDRCU will continue to strive to its utmost to uphold this line. In keeping with this, the CDRCU will forever fight resolutely against racialism and the divisive tactics of the ruling class; we will struggle always for the unity of the whole working class and all who can be united with it, against imperialism and capitalism.
The CDRCU will continue to expose unmercifully the revisionists be they in Moscow or King Street–these false friends of the oppressed people of the world; these deceivers of the vanguard sections of the working class in England, Scotland and Wales. However they maneuver and twist we will unmask them!
After our 18 months of existence, the CDRCU is gaining day by day in strength and experience. The future holds problems and difficulties but we will master them. We must forever remember the beginning that Comrade McCreery made for us and forever hold high the revolutionary banner of Marxism-Leninism in England, Scotland and Wales which he bequeathed to us. Let us be worthy of his trust.
LONG LIVE MARXISM-LENINISM!