Originally posted by
[email protected] 12 2006, 12:59 PM
Both are reformist piles of pseudo-capitalist shit.
Hey, that's not nice! Just because we refused your application! We still love ya though :lol: :P
But yeah, the two that stand out the most are The Socialist Worker's Party (Tony Cliff) and the Socialist Party (First RCP, then Militant, Taaffe). I can't speak for SWP, but the SP are pretty serious on their platform. Teh link: Socialist Party (http://www.socialistparty.org.uk)
Since the SP is being plugged here, I can't help but also list Socialist Appeal.
In brief, the split between the two occured when Peter Taaffe (a comrade strong in organisation and weak in theory) pulled a classic takeover of Millitant, kicking out it's theoretical leaders such as Ted Grant, Alan Woods, Rob Sewell, and others. Roughly 80 or so of the best cadres of Millitant joined them upon their expulsion and formed Socialist Appeal (http://www.socialist.net/). Since then the SP has fallen greatly in membership, while Socialist Appeal has grown considerably from the modest number who founded it. It's also worth mentioning that the wide majority of the international surrounding Millitant sided with Socialist Appeal.
Although my sympathies clearly lie with Socialist Appeal, who I consider to be vastly superior in their understanding of Marxism, I'm going to refrain from sparking off a sectarian debate on the subject. Of course, the two groups have very different stories about the events which took place surrounding the split. In fairness, here are the two versions of the story. If you're interested in the history of British socialism, please read both and decide for yourself.
Socialist Party's Version (http://www.marxist.net/grantreply/index.html)
Socialist Appeal's Version (http://www.marxist.com/militant-built-destroyed101004.htm)