File spoon-archives/marxism-international.archive/marxism-international_1996/96-11-09.204, message 75


From: HISSGB-AT-lure.Latrobe.edu.au
Date: Sat, 09 Nov 1996 00:58:10 +1000
Subject: Re: M-I: "class consciousness in US"


Jason argued that the main reason that the social democrats drifted to the
right is that they don't have "a majority constituency". The history of the
Australian Labor party both recently and throughout many periods of government
this century I believe clearly shows this is not the case. Labor was in office
here for 13 years and lost precisely because its right wing policies
disillusioned its working class supporters.

It was not the workers that dragged Labor further and further to the right.
Workers didn't vote for Labor to cut their wages, force up unemployment etc.
Actually on all the main issues: defence of the health system, privatisation,
university fees etc etc opinion polls constantly show that the majority of
workers are well to the left of both the Liberals and the Labor Party. Yet
Labor consistently ignored this "majority constituency" in order to serve their
real constituency -- big business. Labor presided over the greatest
transference of wealth from poor to rich that ever occurred in Australia this
century.

Earlier Labor governments have a similar track record. At the start of the
Great Depression Labor was elected here with a massive majority. It then
proceeded to break strikes, slash government spending, drive down wages and put
most government employees on part time work. Again not to serve the "majority
constituency" that voted it into office but the capitalist class.

It is both factually wrong and elitist to blame the workers for the betrayals
of the reformist parties. True most workers today in Australia don't want
socialism but they do have much more left wing attitudes than what the ALP in
practice stands for. This shift to the right by Labor is not simply the product
of sell outs by a few leaders it reflects the inability of reformism as a
political current to deliver to its working class supporters when it takes
office in a period of deepening capitalist crisis. More left wing reformist
parties when they come to office behave little better than Labor type parties.
If the Alliance in New Zealand ends up being in government as part of a
coalition it will go down the same road as the thoroughly discredited NZ
Labor Party. That's why the difference between Bolshevism and Menshevism
matters why try to build slightly more left wing reformist parties which in
government will turn their backs on their working class supporters. Unless
someone seriously wants to make the argument that a new period of capitalist
prosperity is in sight and reformism will be able to deliver again.

Mick Armstrong
Socialist Alternative  



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