File spoon-archives/marxism-general.archive/marxism-general_1998/marxism-general.9801, message 102


Date: Tue, 13 Jan 1998 11:48:18 -0800
From: DSU <jwalker-AT-fs1.li.man.ac.uk>
To: marxism-thaxis-AT-jefferson.village.virginia.edu
Subject: Re: M-TH: Manifesto destiny


James Heartfield wrote:
  
> I tend to agree that the idea of a vanguard party doesn't make a lot of
> sense right now. 

There is some strong argument in this, and knowing now that the RCP is no 
longer makes much of your previous mailing more coherent. The present 
conditions for a Communist movement do not look very healthy, even though 
evens in the far East and central America may improve thing in the near 
future, we have to work in the here and now. I think that our first 
consideration should be to preserve the Communist tradition through this 
political down turn and make all efforts to encourage and support any new 
movement which is could lead in the desired direction. At first these 
will be small and limited and perhaps often not very successful but we 
have to start somewhere.

But I do think that the aim should be to work within this movement in 
order to bring about the condition for the proper existence of a Party 
which could offer leadership. I fear that the timescale will be longer 
than we may hope depending on international events beyond our influence. 

>Marx and Engels' party,
> like Lenin's party was an intervention into mass democratic politics as
> they were emerging. As such it was and was not a political party.

Correct me if I'm mistaken but in similar circumstances in the 1880s the 
Socialist League which was the main party Engel's supported in Britain 
was far from entering mass democratic parliamentary politics. It was a 
small largely propagandist group more concerned with shortening the 
working week and other agitational politics than with challenging the 
other political parties.

Also the Chartist movement which M & E supported when first coming to 
Britain and which had such profound effect upon them was far more than 
parliamentary movement even though suferage was one of its demands that 
was far more a matter of challenging the political power rather than any 
direct interest in partaking in it. Moch like Sylvia Pankhurst Women's 
sufferage movement which was all for the vote but not for using it.
 

I could go on (but I won't)

Regards

John Walker

Anti-parliamentarian Marxist Leninist


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