A Brief History of Pan-Leftism

Since the Marx-Bakunin split there have been those who have constantly tried to unify factions, regardless of slight ideological differences, out of the interest of the preservation and unity of the political left. For the most part these heroes were unsung, however there have been those who were well known and made it their mission to end Sectarianism. A brief list of those people can be found below:

1904-1917: After the schism between Bolsheviks and Mensheviks in the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, Leon Trotsky attempts for over a decade to cool the hot tempers flaring between the two factions, ultimately unsuccessfully.

1936: Leftist unity is created spontaneously around the world when Leftists of all shades enlist in the International brigades to fight in the Spanish Civil War alongside one another. This comaraderie is short lived though, as within a year the Spanish Civil War becomes a three way conflict - Communists vs. Anarchists vs. Fascists

1937-1939: Libertarian Socialist, Anarchist and even Trotskyite groups make attempts to form an cooperative alliance of sorts in Spain after the Barcelona May Days when both the POUM and the Anarchists were openly attacked by the Republican forces.

1934-1946: The Soviet Union introduces its "popular front" strategy, which calls for all Communists to cooperate with anyone opposed to Fascism. Though this leads to very little cooperation between Trotskyists and Stalinists, it does lead to cooperation between Democratic Socialists, Syndicalists and Stalinists.

1977: The Vietnamese Fatherlands Front is Created, which still exists today. It incorporates all revolutionary parties and organizations which took part in the Vietnamese Revolutionary War, and carries out the task of ruling alongside the Communist Party of Vietnam.

1979: The Lao Front for National Construction is formed. It is similair to the Vietnamese Fatherland Front in role and creation.

1979: The Iranian Revolution. Despite its religious and Nationalist tendencies, Iranian Leftists like the Fedaian Guerrillas, The Tudeh Party of Iran and the People's Mujahedin chose to fight in the revolution while still maintaining an anti-clergy stance.

1980s: Two self-proclaimed Iranian pan-leftist groups are formed in exile, the National Council of Resistance of Iran and Worker's Left Unity - Iran. These groups never meet but encompass several groups, Worker's Left Unity encompassing mainly Marxist groups and the National Council of Resistance encompassing mainly Islamic Socialist groups.



If there are any that I've missed, please add them to the list.

1946: The Socialist Unity Party of Germany is formed in the Soviet Occupied zone of Germany. Threw the combination of the Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Communist Party of Germany. The Socialist Unity Party would rule East Germany until 1990.

Why do you suppose claims like these, at least in the first world, are always spearheaded by bolshevists, and moreover by rather stalinistic groups?

Anti-sectarianism is all well and good in the abstract, but needs to be based on concrete movements rather than opportunistic defenses of any old leftist regime/group that proclaims the mantle of anti-imperialism or anti-capitalism. When the purported alternatives to a liberal democracy, for example, are actually less conducive to our goals, leftists need the breathing room to call out comrades on it, not be stifled out of some arbitrary cry for "solidarity". For example, when Mugabe's regime sends in the army against striking miners and tortures communist journalists and the capitalist governments issue condemnations, we shouldn't all be expected to engage in public demonstrations supporting Mugabe's autocracy.

Our loyalties lie with the workers and downtrodden of the world. Not with the leftists of the world.

Why do you suppose claims like these, at least in the first world, are always spearheaded by bolshevists, and moreover by rather stalinistic groups?

Anti-sectarianism is all well and good in the abstract, but needs to be based on concrete movements rather than opportunistic defenses of any old leftist regime/group that proclaims the mantle of anti-imperialism or anti-capitalism. When the purported alternatives to a liberal democracy, for example, are actually less conducive to our goals, leftists need the breathing room to call out comrades on it, not be stifled out of some arbitrary cry for "solidarity". For example, when Mugabe's regime sends in the army against striking miners and tortures communist journalists and the capitalist governments issue condemnations, we shouldn't all be expected to engage in public demonstrations supporting Mugabe's autocracy.

Our loyalties lie with the workers and downtrodden of the world. Not with the leftists of the world.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't be able to dislike each other, take different stances on certain things and even different actions. I'm saying that we shouldn't boycott each other's ideas and parties, or refuse to listen to someone on the grounds of an individual being an Anarchist / Trotskyist / Stalinist / Whatever.

Also I'm saying that when two groups who typically hate each other for whatever reason have the same opinion on something, they should actually work together. For example, both Trotsky and Stalin had the same opinion about Finland becoming part of the USSR. Yet Trotskyists and Stalinists wouldn't cooperate in any way on this matter just because of damned sectarianism. This is what I'm getting at.

Anyway, this thread has nothing to do with any sort of debate, so please don't draw this out, create another thread to continue this if you'd like.