17.02.2011

The phoney war has ended

Alex John describes the opening round in the CPGB discussion on perspectives

Perspectives for communist work during the coming period of crisis was the discussion theme of the CPGB’s membership aggregate on February 13. Describing the perspectives document which the Provisional Central Committee put before the membership as “rough notes”, comrade John Bridge expanded on each section, emphasising that it was not limited to 2011. Rather it took stock of the ongoing crisis of capitalism which will colour, drive and shape world politics for many years to come.

The financial crisis has moved from subprime mortgages to sovereign debt, and is conjoined with the decline of capitalism as a system, and of the US hegemon state and the species-threatening ecological crisis, showing what seem to be the “absolute limits” of capitalism.

US decline is displayed in its repeated failures at G8 and G20 meetings, in the nationalist, radical and reformist political developments in South America, formerly regarded as the US back yard - and most recently in the beginnings of the Arab revolution. While the US is still dominant, it can no longer automatically impose its will. But “there is no viable replacement” hegemon in waiting - a view rejected by comrade Chris Strafford, arguing that “all current indicators point towards China becoming the new hegemon”.

However, the dollar remains the reserve world currency, backed up by unrivalled military power and “an elaborate system of military and political alliances” encompassing most of its rivals. Consequently the US is able to use Keynesian money printing to offload its crisis onto Japan, the EU, India, China, Brazil - and Britain - a remedy which these subordinates cannot use. “Decoupling” of developing economies from the crisis-ridden world economy is “a myth”, said comrade Bridge.

Japan, with 125 million people, is smaller and stagnant for two decades. The EU, with 500 million, compared to the 300 million in the US, has a bigger economy than America, but is economically uneven and deeply divided politically. It cannot act in unity, as a state. India and China are prone to “spontaneous regionalist and class revolts” and their current rapid growth should not be extrapolated. Communists must strive to ensure that the world’s working class organises itself into the viable alternative hegemon, argued comrade Bridge.

Unable to grant substantial concessions, sections of the ruling class elite promote irrational chauvinism and xenophobia. Sadly this is echoed in left nationalist demands for withdrawal from the EU and ‘non-racist’ immigration controls - expressed in the ‘No to the European Union’ 2009 electoral coalition uniting the Morning Star’s Communist Party of Britain and the Socialist Party in England and Wales.

The coming period promises acute instability. While the US has no need for a major war against developing powers like India, China or Brazil, “proxy wars” against disobedient states like North Korea, Iran or Venezuela are a very real possibility. If there is revolution in Arab countries, then revolutionary wars and counterrevolutionary wars should be expected.

Iran has “an outstanding revolutionary tradition”, continued comrade Bridge, and our work in the principled solidarity campaign, Hands Off the People of Iran, has been “a qualified success”. Although Hopi gained the affiliation of the Public and Commercial Services union (among others), SPEW, which leads it, has not come on board. And although leading members of Permanent Revolution and the Commune have formally joined the steering committee, they have played little or no part so far.

After the collapse of both ‘official communism’ and social democracy, the left is “ideologically at sea”, trying to reinvent them, or dreaming nostalgically of the defeat of 1968 and managed capitalism. But Keynesianism is an ideology of capitalism, not communism. The limited perspective of strikes and demos can produce concessions, but not victory. And without the vision of overcoming capitalism through working class-led socialism, reactionary projects will flourish.

Quoting the document, comrade Bridge pointed to other tasks. We must expose reactionary forms of anti-capitalism and Keynesian illusions, and spread the ideas of Marxism in its broad sense. We must seek new contacts to extend our politically principled international coverage in the Weekly Worker. We must continue to promote the idea of a pan-Arab revolution led by the working class, and a Communist Party of the EU. The EU can become the world revolutionary centre, where the class struggle is most advanced.

British politics

The ‘phoney war’ on cuts was ended by student movement, which must be widened and deepened, with a student assembly on every campus, so that the vanguard, which has been active so far, mobilises the mass of students, as the cuts bite deeper.

As the working class enters the fray with the March 26 demo, said comrade Bridge, we must argue against “stuntism” (as opposed to stunts); and against “general strikism” (as opposed to general strikes). In other words, there is no substitute for mass communist consciousness - the working class cannot be tricked into revolution and socialism.

A combination of being in opposition and the rising class struggle “will push the Labour Party to the left”, he went on. But “the class character of Labour still exhibits considerable instability”. The perspectives document notes the “outside possibility” that the Blairite wing may bail out and join the Con Dem coalition government. However, comrade Yassamine Mather thought a rightwing split unlikely, and pointed out that the SDP ‘Gang of Four’ are thinking about leaving the Lib Dems and rejoining Labour.

“Speculation aside,” the document states, “Labour remains a bourgeois workers’ party, and therefore a vital site of struggle for Marxists. Those who dismiss Labour make an elementary mistake. Ditto those who counterpose fighting the coalition’s cuts and fighting inside the Labour Party.

“Marxists in the Labour Party need to be organised on the basis of Marxism. That means a perspective of winning Labour - and the trade unions - to Marxism. Bans and proscriptions must be removed and the party transformed into a permanent united front of the working class. Towards that end the pro-capitalist right must be driven out and the trade unions thoroughly democratised …

“Fighting to transform the Labour Party in no way contradicts the fight to organise the Marxist left into a single Communist Party and over time building that organisation into a mass party. Communists support the organisation of the working class at every conceivable level: ie, co-ops, trade unions, trades councils, workers’ militias, sports clubs, temporary and permanent united fronts (eg, soviets).”

Some comrades expressed disagreements with this and aspects of the CPGB’s recently adopted theses on the Labour Party (see Weekly Worker October 21 2010). Comrade Strafford challenged the aim of transforming Labour into a permanent united front which can coexist with a reforged Communist Party. United fronts are temporary, he argued: “If we win the Labour Party, why keep it alive? The purpose of the united front tactic is to break the base from Labour to the Communist Party.” These and other differences had been aired during the run-up to the meeting, and may give rise to amendments or alternative perspectives proposals before the March 27 aggregate, when it is planned to bring the perspectives discussion to a vote.

March 26

A motion urging the PCC to produce a “popular” anti-cuts pamphlet for sale at the March 26 mass demo was amended after discussion, and the amended motion was carried overwhelmingly, with one abstention. Comrade Tina Becker moved the motion “to equip our comrades in anti-cuts meetings and campaigns”. Comrade Andy Hannah said this would help our student activists deal with rehashed Keynesianism and comrade Strafford, who claimed we had not been focussing sufficiently on the anti-cuts movement, said the pamphlet should be “accessible”.

However, PCC members argued successfully against producing a “popular” pamphlet. “True, we need to recruit intelligent activists and advanced workers,” said comrade Peter Manson, “but our priority remains winning the existing left to Marxist unity, not the transformation of the CPGB into the party through the recruitment of raw activists”. Comrade Mike Macnair said we cannot compete with larger organisations such as the Socialist Workers Party in recruiting newly radicalising people. Until the trade unions move, he said, there will be no “seething mass” which we must engage with.

Likewise, comrade Bridge argued that we cannot outcompete all the left groups, but “we have strategy; they don’t”. Comrade Dave Isaacson, accepting the point, suggested that we produce a Weekly Worker anti-cuts special issue, to be given away on March 26. The adopted motion agreed to this, as well as commissioning the PCC to produce “a production plan for an anti-cuts pamphlet” to be printed by May Day.