The Cheshire Cat
27th October 2012, 10:23
Hello everyone,
Does anyone know the current state of the Fifth International? I know there is a League for the Fifth International (http://www.fifthinternational.org/), but they have not yet formed the actual Fifth International.
A little bit of history about the Fifth International for the ones that never heard of it (from Wikipedia):
In November 1938, just two months after the founding congress of the Fourth International, seven members of the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM) on trial in Barcelona declared their support for a "fighting Fifth International". The Argentine Trotskyist Liborio Justo, better known as "Quebracho", called for a Fifth International when he broke from Trotsykism in 1941. Another call for a Fifth International was made by Lyndon LaRouche after leaving the Spartacist League in 1965. Later, a 'Fifth International of Communists' was founded in 1994 by several very small former Trotskyist groups around the Movement for a Socialist Future
In 2003, the League for a Revolutionary Communist International called for the formation of the Fifth International "as soon as possible - not in the distant future but in the months and years ahead". The LRCI changed its name at this time to League for the Fifth International. They became the League for the Fifth International (L5I), which has since grown significantly and as of 2010 has sections in Austria, Britain, Czech Republic, Germany, Pakistan, Sweden, Sri Lanka (the Socialist Party of Sri Lanka) and the United States. The League for the Fifth International campaigns in the European Social Forum and the international labour movement for the formation of a new International. A split from them before they were known as the L5I, the Communist Workers' Group in New Zealand, also argues for a Fifth International.
Hugo Chávez announced in 2007 that he would seek to create a new international, which because of the size of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela could become an actual fifth international: "2008 could be a good time to convoke a meeting of left parties in Latin America to organise a new international, an organisation of parties and movements of the left in Latin America and the Caribbean". On November 21, 2009, in Caracas, Venezuela, during the First International Encounter of Left-wing Parties, Chavez called for the convoking of the Fifth Socialist International in April 2010 in Venezuela.
It was reported that the Bolivian Movement for Socialism, International Marxist Tendency, the Salvadoran FMLN, the Nicaraguan FSLN, the Ecuadorian PAIS Alliance, the Chilean Proposal for an Alternative Society, the Guatemalan New Nation Alliance, and the Australian Socialist Alliance are likely to join the new International. Representatives of the Portuguese Left Bloc, the German Left Party, and the French Left Party expressed interest but said they would need to consult. The Communist Party of Cuba seemed to favour the proposal, but many other Communist Parties were strongly opposed. The League for the Fifth International critically supports the proposal. As of April 2010, the declaration awaits Chávez's signature.
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So, since 1938 there have been multiple calls for a fifth International. One has actually been formed in 1994 by some Trotskyists but apparently is irrelative and I think we can not see this as the actual Fifth International.
Now, there was a decleration made for a Fifth International 4 and a half years ago, but Chavez won't sign it?... Why not? And how do you think this is going to end?
Personally, I think it does not look very promising. If you would take a quick look at the parties that want to be part of the Fifth International, you would see they describe themselves as social-democrats, socialists of the 21th century, ecosocialists, etc. It does not look like it will be a communist Fifth International. That does not mean it will necessarily be negative for us, since I am sure the Fifth International hosted by Chavez will do some things that will be positive for us, but it is not what we expect from a Fifth International, not what we (most of us) want from Fifth International, and it is not like the previous Internationals. So I doubt it should be called the Fifth International if it is really to be formed, but anyway.
Not that the previous Internationals were all very succesfull...
The League for a Fifth International link on the top of this message shows they are still active, altough not very active. I just subscribed to their news letter so if I know more I will post it here.
Does anyone know the current state of the Fifth International? I know there is a League for the Fifth International (http://www.fifthinternational.org/), but they have not yet formed the actual Fifth International.
A little bit of history about the Fifth International for the ones that never heard of it (from Wikipedia):
In November 1938, just two months after the founding congress of the Fourth International, seven members of the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM) on trial in Barcelona declared their support for a "fighting Fifth International". The Argentine Trotskyist Liborio Justo, better known as "Quebracho", called for a Fifth International when he broke from Trotsykism in 1941. Another call for a Fifth International was made by Lyndon LaRouche after leaving the Spartacist League in 1965. Later, a 'Fifth International of Communists' was founded in 1994 by several very small former Trotskyist groups around the Movement for a Socialist Future
In 2003, the League for a Revolutionary Communist International called for the formation of the Fifth International "as soon as possible - not in the distant future but in the months and years ahead". The LRCI changed its name at this time to League for the Fifth International. They became the League for the Fifth International (L5I), which has since grown significantly and as of 2010 has sections in Austria, Britain, Czech Republic, Germany, Pakistan, Sweden, Sri Lanka (the Socialist Party of Sri Lanka) and the United States. The League for the Fifth International campaigns in the European Social Forum and the international labour movement for the formation of a new International. A split from them before they were known as the L5I, the Communist Workers' Group in New Zealand, also argues for a Fifth International.
Hugo Chávez announced in 2007 that he would seek to create a new international, which because of the size of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela could become an actual fifth international: "2008 could be a good time to convoke a meeting of left parties in Latin America to organise a new international, an organisation of parties and movements of the left in Latin America and the Caribbean". On November 21, 2009, in Caracas, Venezuela, during the First International Encounter of Left-wing Parties, Chavez called for the convoking of the Fifth Socialist International in April 2010 in Venezuela.
It was reported that the Bolivian Movement for Socialism, International Marxist Tendency, the Salvadoran FMLN, the Nicaraguan FSLN, the Ecuadorian PAIS Alliance, the Chilean Proposal for an Alternative Society, the Guatemalan New Nation Alliance, and the Australian Socialist Alliance are likely to join the new International. Representatives of the Portuguese Left Bloc, the German Left Party, and the French Left Party expressed interest but said they would need to consult. The Communist Party of Cuba seemed to favour the proposal, but many other Communist Parties were strongly opposed. The League for the Fifth International critically supports the proposal. As of April 2010, the declaration awaits Chávez's signature.
-----------------------------
So, since 1938 there have been multiple calls for a fifth International. One has actually been formed in 1994 by some Trotskyists but apparently is irrelative and I think we can not see this as the actual Fifth International.
Now, there was a decleration made for a Fifth International 4 and a half years ago, but Chavez won't sign it?... Why not? And how do you think this is going to end?
Personally, I think it does not look very promising. If you would take a quick look at the parties that want to be part of the Fifth International, you would see they describe themselves as social-democrats, socialists of the 21th century, ecosocialists, etc. It does not look like it will be a communist Fifth International. That does not mean it will necessarily be negative for us, since I am sure the Fifth International hosted by Chavez will do some things that will be positive for us, but it is not what we expect from a Fifth International, not what we (most of us) want from Fifth International, and it is not like the previous Internationals. So I doubt it should be called the Fifth International if it is really to be formed, but anyway.
Not that the previous Internationals were all very succesfull...
The League for a Fifth International link on the top of this message shows they are still active, altough not very active. I just subscribed to their news letter so if I know more I will post it here.