Comments on: Communist Platform Bulletin 1

By: David Ellis

David Ellis — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 11:16:20 +0000

Here is Engels on the wretched fanatics of Unity:

`One must not allow oneself to be misled by the cry for “unity.” Those who have this word most often on their lips are those who sow the most dissension, who have provoked all the splits, scream for nothing so much as for unity. Those unity fanatics are either the people of limited intelligence who want to stir everything up together into one nondescript brew, which, the moment it is left to settle, throws up the differences again in much more acute opposition because they are now all together in one pot or else they are people who consciously or unconsciously want to adulterate the movement. For this reason the greatest sectarians and the biggest brawlers and rogues are at certain moments the loudest shouters for unity. Nobody in our lifetime has given us more trouble and been more treacherous than the unity shouters.’

The Communist Platform is a bit of hard left propaganda and platitudes followed by a disconnected list of reformist resolutions that will be perfect for horse trading in the Left Unity Policy Conference in March and that is indeed what it is designed for.

As for chucking out our bibles. That is of course the rallying cry of every philistine. The Transitional Programme outlines the principles of a transitional programme. An actual transitional programme for use in the UK today needs to be developed by the revolutionary vanguard.

By: Rawlins

Rawlins — Sun, 09 Feb 2014 22:12:34 +0000

Is the end object here worthy,? Is the achievement of a generic platform to the advantage of the working class as a whole? It would seem that various political formations if they have a mature leadership and engaged membership can block and work together on common goals without having to agree for example on the social character of the Stalinist Bureaucracy, for example, or requiring fine words as to the distant future of communism.
The name “Left Unity” itself seems to indicate the level of political sacrifice being made in the name of unity. The inclusion of “debate” in the front slogan Unity Debate Action. Without possessing a crystal ball I foresee Debate as promising to trump the other two. That both the word Workers or Labor, and Socialist or Communist are left out foretells the end direction. A clear militant class struggle orientation will find itself subordinate to the vague politics of the middle class left, in the manner that the Seattle campaign of Socialist Alternative has absorbed uncritically the Occupy slogan “We represent the 99%” effectively ignoring the class differentiation of American Society . It is not enough to define ourselves as outside of the twin parties, Labor/Tory in England Democrat/Republican in the US, or to announce an affiliation to the distant utopian vision of communism. Unity will grow from the organic experience of a vanguard in struggle.
As for the Transitional Program. or any one document from which all truth emanates, the time has come to burn our bibles.
Of general interest to your process and the disunity convention of the US ISO i posted a link to James Cannon’s Speech at the Founding Convention of the Worker’s Party in 1922. This was the unity convention which effectively formed the Communist Party in the US and linked the American workers Movement directly to the Communist International a speech given during Lenin’s lifetime.

http://rawlinsview.com/2014/02/09/speech-at-the-first-workers-party-convention-james-p-cannon-1922/

By: Adam Jensen

Adam Jensen — Fri, 07 Feb 2014 17:32:35 +0000

“is not a transitional programme and is therefore”

Ok will take your word for it Dave

“It attempts, though not really”

O RLY?

“You will fit right in with the `broad’ party centrists.”

You didn’t read the platform, did you Dave?

By: David Ellis

David Ellis — Thu, 06 Feb 2014 11:00:45 +0000

The Communist Platform (either version) is not a transitional programme and is therefore the type of approach that gets the sects their regular 1% in elections and cannot therefore be built on. It will only ever get 1%. It attempts, though not really, to win the broad masses purely through propaganda and not via the mobilisation of the masses either for elections or for the fight.

This stalinist min-max approach allows you to sound super left wing whilst adapting to the Left Unity right in day to day reality. You will fit right in with the `broad’ party centrists.