United Front?

[Matty_UK]

I've fallen into inactivity the last few months, and today decided that the financial crisis made it important to get active again; however, it's pretty difficult to know which organisation will be the most effective in propagandising socialist ideas and organising the working class. In the UK alone, I can choose between:

Alliance for Green Socialism
Alliance for Workers Liberty
Communist Party of Britain
Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist)
Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist-Leninist)
Communist Party of Great Britain (Provisional Central Committee)
Democratic Labour Party
Democratic Socialist Alliance
Independant Working Class Association
International Socialist Group
Left Alternative
New Communist Party of Britain
Peace and Progress Party
People's Party
Red Party
Revolutionary Communist Group
Social Justice Party
Socialist Appeal
Socialist Equality Party
Socialist Labour Party
Socialist Party
Socialist Party of Great Britain
Socialist Workers Party
Spartacist League
Workers Power
Workers' Revolutionary Party

In addition to that, there's the IWW, Anarchist Federation, Solidarity Federation and Class War and a few other non-marxist but working class leftist groups like Cheshire's Community Action Group.

Now, more and more people are becoming disillusioned with capitalism and with all the main parties; so what do they do? Who do they turn to? Many of these parties are a complete waste of comrades' energies as alone they don't have the resources to make any significant impact on the consciousness of normal people, and can't win any victories to show people they're worth supporting. They seem to be living in a delusion that they'll eventually win everyone round to their cause and become the vanguard party; sorry, but if that is going to happen it should be happening NOW. And it isn't.
For a working class person who is willing to listen to socialist ideas (and right now, I'd say a majority of young working class people in this country are willing to have an open mind to socialism) but not interested in reading up on Marx, Lenin, Trotsky, Gramsci, Luxemburg, Bakunin, whoever, and just want to defend their families, communities, and class from the crisis they are going to be put off by the sectarian *****ing that makes up so much of leftist newspapers. I'm sorry, but the revolution isn't going to be made up of socially inept eggheads.

I know some people here are inevitably going to defend this sectarianism on account of various organisations being nutjobs, or incompatible. We need to get over this bullshit. It's totally anti-democratic and anti-social to be unwilling to compromise with what the majority of your organisation may want to do, and it isn't achieving anything.

Forming a united front is a necessity in these times; there is a complete lack of any debate about how to take things forward from the economic crisis, and the creation of a new revolutionary party would create this debate and also send a signal to the bourgeoisie that things are up, and would certainly terrify them. It would create a coherent voice of opposition to capitalism, with the manpower and resources capable of delivering the successes needed to win the trust and respect of working people, and be a clear starting point for those looking to struggle against capitalism. For example, some of my formerly apolitical friends are now agreeing with much of what I say and thinking "something drastic has to change" but can you really expect people with no real interest in theory to join some obscure miniscule sect selling newspapers full of the most ridiculous and embarrassing rhetoric? They're bold calls to action and revolution look absurd when contrasted to their own impotence. Say what you want about LSD, but his criticisms of leftist organisations had a lot of truth in them, and if we put interested people off we should be looking at ourselves not blaming those we fail to win over.

I urge you all to pressure the leadership of your organisations into forming a united front, it's the only way to begin a real challenge to capitalism. Right now, the bourgeoisie are laughing at our sectarianism and incoherence, because they know it keeps us harmless. Imagine how they'd react if we united; humoured contempt would be replaced with hate and vitriol. That would be a good sign.

[Revy]

The Socialist Party looks good to me. They actually started the Campaign for a New Workers' Party (http://www.cnwp.org.uk/).

[disobey]

The Socialist Party looks good to me. They actually started the Campaign for a New Workers' Party (http://www.cnwp.org.uk/).

That's why I joined them. The motivation behind the CNWP is exactly that, and is gaining strong support. However, it's still not enough. We do need greater mass support and especially from the other organisations that currently exist.

However, in my opinion there are those with authoritarian tendencies such as the SWP who many do not trust to simply merge into a single movement that will not match their ideology word for word. This is the problem! And it must be solved quickly. Workers' have little time to get to grips with marxist theory let alone pick and choose between various left factions vying for their support (and money).

So what should we propose? I do indeed think that the CNWP is the way forward. Whether it succeeds in creating enough "neutrality" within the left to form a true vanguard I do not know.

[politics student]

That's why I joined them. The motivation behind the CNWP is exactly that, and is gaining strong support. However, it's still not enough. We do need greater mass support and especially from the other organisations that currently exist.

However, in my opinion there are those with authoritarian tendencies such as the SWP who many do not trust to simply merge into a single movement that will not match their ideology word for word. This is the problem! And it must be solved quickly. Workers' have little time to get to grips with marxist theory let alone pick and choose between various left factions vying for their support (and money).

So what should we propose? I do indeed think that the CNWP is the way forward. Whether it succeeds in creating enough "neutrality" within the left to form a true vanguard I do not know.

My issue is quite simple, too many parties to choose from and all too small to make much difference.

The socialist party sounds like its doing well at the moment but considering the state of capitalism, its a very sad sight to see how little the left in the Uk have managed to do.

So at the moment I am returning to my armchair.

[Matty_UK]

That's why I joined them. The motivation behind the CNWP is exactly that, and is gaining strong support. However, it's still not enough. We do need greater mass support and especially from the other organisations that currently exist.

However, in my opinion there are those with authoritarian tendencies such as the SWP who many do not trust to simply merge into a single movement that will not match their ideology word for word. This is the problem! And it must be solved quickly. Workers' have little time to get to grips with marxist theory let alone pick and choose between various left factions vying for their support (and money).

So what should we propose? I do indeed think that the CNWP is the way forward. Whether it succeeds in creating enough "neutrality" within the left to form a true vanguard I do not know.

I might get in touch with them again, I suppose. I can think of a few friends who might now be interested in joining too.

Do you know if they've approached the smaller parties suggesting co-operation with the CNWP? I know the Sparts and the SWP hate the Socialist Party, but what about the other, less sectarian parties?

[Matty_UK]

My issue is quite simple, too many parties to choose from and all too small to make much difference.

The socialist party sounds like its doing well at the moment but considering the state of capitalism, its a very sad sight to see how little the left in the Uk have managed to do.

So at the moment I am returning to my armchair.

I know exactly how you feel, but sitting in our armchairs isn't going to help anything. So many potential comrades feel like this, it's ridiculous that some leftists still see anything positive in attacking the positions of other leftists so much; if there's ever going to be a mass worker's movement there WILL be many different tendencies, and co-operation will encourage open debate between these tendencies allowing for the best ideas to win out.

[Tower of Bebel]

I think people should look for organizations to join.

The united front should be one between workers, not simply parties. Because the workers movement is divided the united front should be a tactic to unite the working class to support certain (short-term) goals.

[Matty_UK]

I think people should look for organizations to join.

The united front should be one between workers, not simply parties. Because the workers movement is divided the united front should be a tactic to unite the working class to support certain (short-term) goals.

And the workers' should be united under what if not a party of some description?

I'd like to see the IWW becoming a force to realistically unite workers, but that looks pretty unlikely for the time being. Workers looking to protect their interests are going to join a bourgeois, but reputable, union. Most wouldn't have even heard of the IWW. I think the creation of a democratic syndicalist union would be a good development, but creating a mass party first would make this easier to set up.

[Die Neue Zeit]

Don't join the Socialist Labour Party (a weird mix of Labourism and fond sentiment for Stalin at the top of the leadership), and don't join the [Utopian] Socialist Party of Great Britain.

I recommend joining the CPGB (PCC) and/or the Campaign for a Marxist Party for a fresh perspective into republicanism, democracy, internationalism, and class independence.

[politics student]

I know exactly how you feel, but sitting in our armchairs isn't going to help anything. So many potential comrades feel like this, it's ridiculous that some leftists still see anything positive in attacking the positions of other leftists so much; if there's ever going to be a mass worker's movement there WILL be many different tendencies, and co-operation will encourage open debate between these tendencies allowing for the best ideas to win out.

I would agree but with the collapse of the capitalist system, the left have only profited on a minor level.

I might be will to join a party if they met 3 aspects.
1. They were highly active.
2. Spent a lot of time trying to increase recruitment.
3. Actively producing free propaganda. An issue I find many of these small parties are producing papers but charging upwards of 50-80p and people have little interest to buy them. Im all for producing a news paper if we made it as cheap as possible perhaps working accross a range of left wing groups.

[Magdalen]

3. Actively producing free propaganda. An issue I find many of these small parties are producing papers but charging upwards of 50-80p and people have little interest to buy them. Im all for producing a news paper if we made it as cheap as possible perhaps working accross a range of left wing groups.

This is a great idea in principle, but the fact remains that a small left-wing organisation, such as my own, can't afford to distribute newspapers for nothing. Unlike the corporate press we are not backed by millionaires, nor do we carry pages and pages of advertisements. The money for having the newspaper printed must be met from somewhere, and our ordinary working-class members don't have pockets deep enough to subsidise it.

I whole-heartedly agree with your other two points.

[Charles Xavier]

A united front should be something to fight for. More information: http://www.marx2mao.com/Other/TUF35NB.html

[politics student]

This is a great idea in principle, but the fact remains that a small left-wing organisation, such as my own, can't afford to distribute newspapers for nothing. Unlike the corporate press we are not backed by millionaires, nor do we carry pages and pages of advertisements. The money for having the newspaper printed must be met from somewhere, and our ordinary working-class members don't have pockets deep enough to subsidise it.

I whole-heartedly agree with your other two points.

I agree with you completely which I why I support a united news paper so we can draw on the resources of many it could also include left wing debates, making left wing ideology presentable to the general public.

[Chapaev]

Objective conditions urgently dictate that the workers must have unity in action. But certain organizations make this goal problematic. The so-called "Alliance for Workers Liberty", for example, is a destructive group that is guilty of inculcating revisionism, dogmatism, and sectarianism in the progressive movement thereby inflicting great harm to the cause of unity in action. As enemies of the workers, they must be marginalized.

[Tower of Bebel]

And the workers' should be united under what if not a party of some description?Ideally the working class is united under the wings of its own, independent, revolutionary workers party. Since this isn't the case different parties should struggle for the united front to unite the working class behind common goals that benefit the working class (not the benefit of a certain party or a set of parties - but workers' unity should be emphasized). The united front will be one of workers under different workers' parties.

And for those who would like to join a party but disagree with certain programs or theories: join and fight. We should not be interested in sectional (party) interests as long as that party is not thé vanguard party, or as long as the party cannot become a vanguard party.
Is there a party in your neighborhood, but unlike you it supports national self-determination? Join it and defend your opinion if possible. Is there a party in your neighborhood you disagree with on the nature of the Russian Revolution, but it also does not allow you to defend your position? Stay away.
Parties don't monopolize the truth. Only democratic criticism and the class struggle can lead us to the "truth".