12.07.2006
Fringe success
Tina Becker reports on 'The Marxism Fringe'
The Marxism Fringe, hosted by the CPGB, is becoming quite a tradition. In this, its fifth year, just under 100 participants attended the five sessions we put on each afternoon - the best turnout so far. The theme of the fringe quickly turned out to be the need for openness and democracy in the workers' movement - in clear contrast to the sect mentality and bureaucracy that reigns in the SWP.
However, our fringe events suffered somewhat from the fact that Marxism only really took off on Friday and fizzled out on Sunday night. A 'victim' of this late start was radical anthropologist Chris Knight, who opened proceedings on Thursday with an engaging talk on 'Primitive communism and the SWP'. A real shame that only a dozen or so people were able to make it to this session, as Chris and his comrade Camilla Power touched on one of the most crucial subjects for revolutionaries: what makes us human. It is a subject that the SWP refuses to debate seriously.
On Friday, Hillel Ticktin, editor of Critique, gave his view on why the SWP still insists on describing the USSR as "state capitalist". Judging by the poorly attended talk at Marxism on the subject, this is currently not a theoretical question of major importance to the organisation - but in the 1980s it was one of the defining characteristics of this sect and dissent with this 'theory' would probably still be considered grounds for expulsion.
Comrade Ticktin said that SWP adherence to this concept shows "theoretical laziness", as clearly in the USSR there was neither competition nor money in any real sense. He was joined by CPGB members in his call for a ruthless examination of how the system worked, how it imploded and what we could learn from the experience in our fight to build a communist future.
The best attended meeting with over 40 participants was a discussion on 'Bureaucratic centralism and the SWP' on Saturday afternoon, in which Mike Macnair (CPGB) was joined on the platform by Simon Wells, a recently expelled SWP member. Comrade Wells explained how he was thrown out of the party for a number of spurious reasons (see Weekly Worker July 6), including "bringing the party into disrepute" after publishing a factual report of a Respect meeting on his internet blog.
Comrade Macnair outlined in his contribution the reasons why the SWP and other sects suffer from this bureaucratic centralism and stressed the need for a party that allows for real debate and factions to be formed. He was challenged by comrade Ticktin, who warned that the existence of factions might tend to produce splits. Other comrades disputed Mike's theory that the leaders of political parties, sects or unions inevitably become members of the "petty bourgeoisie", because the information and power they hold are a "form of private property in the means of production".
On Sunday, Yassamine Mather (Critique editorial board) explained the need for genuine working class internationalism, in particular when it comes to the question of Iran. She criticised the SWP and its front, Action Iran, for being one-sided and promoting a view of 'my enemy's enemy is my friend'.
A similar theme was explored by gay rights activist Peter Tatchell in our final fringe meeting on Monday. He criticised the SWP for dropping the fight for the rights of gays and lesbians so as not to offend its muslim allies - the SWP gave in to George Galloway's demand to omit gay rights from its general election manifesto in 2005.
As opposed to the main event, the fringe has become established as the place where open debate and controversy amongst the left is not seen as something embarrassing, but a vital tool in the fight for working class rule. If you missed it, be sure to come to Communist University (August 12-19, south London), where there will be a lot more of the same.