NATIONALISM AND INTERNATIONALISM By Harry Turner

Part One: Theory and Practice http://marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/vanguard-newsletter/V1-N2-Jul-1969-VanguardNewsletter.pdf Vanguard Newsletter Vol. 1 No. 2 July 1969 !he more overt enemies of "eninism on the left# self-identified $arxists# attempt to sever "enin%s &ontinuity to $arxist theory in atta&'ing his &ontri(utions on wor'ing &lass vanguard party and the theory of imperialism. !he )*) la(or &ommittee# whi&h has these attri(utes in &ommon with rightwing so&ial demo&rats# in an out of the so&ialist party# has had little to say on the national +uestion as su&h. ,owever# its own pe&uliar (lend of reformism and radi&al posture# its unresolved &onglomerate nature -ex-.".%ers# ex-!rots'yist# ex-/New "eft0 students1# and desire for &osy theoreti&al mur'iness# has led it to attempt to &arry water on (oth shoulders# to oppose the (la&' separatist movement in general# while# at the same time# ma'ing /pra&ti&al0 adaptations to se&tions of it# e.g.# the 2ueens 3ollege )445 students. "enin%s more insidious enemies see' to transform "enin into a harmless i&on# who &an (e used to san&tify their opportunist pra&ti&es. 6(eisan&e to theory# whi&h is violated in pra&ti&e is nowhere more evident than in the treatment of the national +uestion (y the so-&alled "eninists of the 3.# )7.# 7or'ers 7orld -771 and its youth arm# 8outh 9gainst 7ar and :as&ism -897:1# the .rogressive "a(or .arty -.".1# the ;ndependent )o&ialist 3lu(s -;)31# and the multifarious fa&tions of the neo-/"eninist0 students for a *emo&rati& )o&iety -)*)1. !he 3. and the ;)3 epigones of "enin see' little theoreti&al <ustifi&ation for their positions on the Negro +uestion. !he 3. simply attempts to utili=e (la&' nationalism# /tieing into0 the /popularity that the term self-determinism has...not...the $arxist meaning0 -.oliti&al 9ffairs# 9pril 19691# to put pressure on the ruling &lass for reforms and &on&essions within the &ontext of its />re=hnevite0 program of /pea&eful &oexisten&e0 and /pea&eful transition to so&ialism0. ;n the wa'e of the radi&ali=ation of the &au&uses and ghettos# the 3. now finds that a more militant ver(iage is ne&essary in pursuit of its reformist and &ounter-revolutionary line. !he ;)3 see's a /pra&ti&al0 path to the so&ialist revolution# and ad<usts its program to empiri&ally viewed reality# ergo its involvement in &lassless anti-war um(rella a&tivities# support for student adventures# and for (la&' nationalist demands. ;ts program for the .ea&e and :reedom .arty -.:.1 is a masterpie&e of reformism. ;n its desire for /(road0 support# the ;)3%s .:. adopted a left-li(eral issues-oriented program# whi&h studiously avoided raising either the issue of so&ialism# or even of an /independent0 la(or party# in addition to its support for (la&' separatists demands. !he )7.# 77 and /New "eft0 formations# also in a de fa&to (lo& with the 3. in anti-war# ghetto and student arenas# assert that the /right of nations to self-determination0# "enin%s di&tum# is fully appli&a(le to the Negro struggle. 6n the (asis of this formula they <ustify support and en&ouragement for (la&' separatists demands# in&luding so-&alled &ommunity &ontrol of ghetto s&hools# and autonomous departments of >la&' )tudies in universities# in whi&h (la&' students will (e taught (y (la&' instru&tors in segregated fa&ilities. !he Negro +uestion in the ?)# superfi&ially la(elled a national +uestion# is me&hani&ally lin'ed with the upsurge of nationalism in the industrially (a&'ward se&tors of the world# in &onsonan&e with the impressionisti& and empiri&ist methodology of opportunism. !he /!hird 7orld0# a &ategory whi&h presently in&ludes (la&' and )panish-spea'ing minorities in the ?)# is viewed (y the opportunists as a su(stitute for the /passive0 wor'ing &lasses in the advan&ed &apitalist &ountries. !he 7or'ers "eague -7"1# attempting to &om(at the division of wor'ers on ra&ial lines# and the opportunist a&&ommodation to (la&' nnationalism (y so-&alled "eninists# denies that the slogan# /the right to self-determination0 is appli&a(le to the (la&' people of the ?)# a finding with whi&h we are in a&&ord. 9long with its &o-thin'ers in the ;nternational 3ommittee -;31 of the :ourth ;nternational# whose leading se&tion is the )o&ialist "a(our "eague -)""1 of 4ngland# it also relates the upsurge in

the Negro struggle to the rise in nationalism# (ut in the advan&ed &apitalist &ountries# rather than in the industrially (a&'ward# as do the revisionists. 4mphasising the international nature of wor'ing &lass struggles# it# however# ignores the revolutionary impli&ation of the in&reasingly militant Negro struggle. Form and Content !he 7"%s !im 7ohlforth atta&'s .".%s &ontention that the Negro struggle is /national in form and wor'ing &lass in &ontent0# as a /metaphysi&al distin&tion0# and &ounters it with his own stati&ally &on&ept that /form and &ontent are a unity in the (la&' struggle0. 6n this (asis# 7ohlforth finds that .". /o(<e&ts not the form of the (la&' struggle @its separateness @(ut to its &ontent @its (la&' nationalist program.0 -!he New Nationalism and the Negro )truggle# p 1A1. *espite 7ohlforth%s emphasis on $arxist method# on diale&ti&s# his approa&h is essentially metaphysi&al. ,e &onfuses the form and the &ontent of the Negro struggle# mista'es its &urrent appearan&e for its essen&e# and identifies an aspe&t of the form# /(la&' nationalist program0 @/separatism0 is merely another expression for the same manifestation @ as the &ontent of the struggle. ,e then must &ondemn the real &ontent of the Negro struggle @whi&h is dire&ted against the spe&ial oppression of >la&' people and the super-exploitation of >la&' wor'ers# engendered and perpetuation (y 9meri&a &apitalism @ (e&ause mu&h of its leadership# &onfused (y (la&' nationalist ideology# has su&&eeded in diverting it into self-defeating# sterile and/or rea&tionary &hannels. 7ohlforth is logi&ally &ompelled to deny that this spe&ial oppression and super-exploitation exists# (e&ause of his ina(ility to &omprehend that form and &ontent are not fixed metaphysi&al entities# (y dynami& and intera&ting relationships. "enin in his ta&ti&al treatise on the /infantile disease0# "eft-7ing 3ommunism# dire&ted against Berman ultra-lefts refusing to wor' in /histori&ally o(solete0 parliaments and /rea&tionary0 unions# demonstrates how a diale&ti&al materialist handles +uestions of form and &ontent: /Cight do&trinarism persisted in re&ogni=ing only the old forms# and (e&ame utterly (an'rupt# for it did not noti&e the new &ontent. "eft do&trinarism persists in the un&onditional repudiation of &ertain old forms# failing to see that the new &ontent is for&ing its way through all and sundry forms# that it is our duty as $arxists to master all forms# to learn how# with the maximum rapidity to supplement one form with another# to su(stitute one for another and to adapt our ta&ti&s to any su&h &hange that does not &ome from our &lass or our efforts.0 7e will dis&uss the +uestion of spe&ial oppression and its (asi& expression# super-exploitation# at greater length# in a separate se&tion of the series on /Nationalism and ;nternationalism0# with parti&ular emphasis on the 7"%s positions. 7e &on&entrate on its positions# as mu&h (e&ause of our agreement with mu&h of its program# as with our disagreements on the Negro +uestion# and (e&ause we (elieve that their position on this vital +uestion# to the extent that it is a&&epted (y revolutionary so&ialists# pla&es in <eopardy the goal whi&h we (oth see'# the &onstru&tion of a "eninist party &apa(le of leading to wor'ers to power. ;n addition# the 7" is the only organi=ation on the left whi&h openly denies the existen&e of spe&ial oppression of Negroes in the form of super-exploitation. 7e (elieve that polemi&s with the 7" will not only (est define and verify the existen&e of this relationship# (ut will also serve to delineate our program as well# and show its theoreti&al &onsisten&y. !he leadership of the )parta&ist "eague -)"1# in the pro&ess of for&ing us out of that organi=ation# also repudiated the histori& &ommunist position# that (la&' wor'ers are super-exploited. -*o&umented in S artaci!t Lea"ue S #it ?nfortunately for the )"# shortly after our ouster# every organi=ation on the left# with the ex&eption of the 7"# (egan to trumpet its dis&overy of super-exploitation to the heavens. ;n a gross exhi(ition of unalloyed opportunism# the )"# in a re&ently issued leaflet# /$i'e 5lons'y and >rother )talin0# una(ashedly referred to />la&' and other super-exploited minorities.0 ;ts elasti& politi&al line and its light minded pu(lishing s&hedule# effe&tively remove it from &onsideration as a serious politi&al opponent. 7e will# therefore# only dis&uss its positions in passing# or when lessons from the )" fa&tional struggle &an (e utili=ed to give greater &larity to oiur ideas. Lenin and Mar$i!t Method

9lthough "eninism is a&'nowledged in words to (e a &ontinuation and extension of $arxist theory# "enin%s ideas are usually set forth in a metaphysi&al and dis&ontinuous manner# as issuing from a godhead# whose wisdom# li'e 9thena from the forehead of Deus# emerged full-grown. :ormulas are ripped from their &ontext and pro&laimed as supra-histori&al dogma# after having (een prudently trimmed to eliminate any potentially em(arrassing appendant ideas. !his is the tendentious method of the revisionists of "enin and !rots'y. Judging from 7ohlforth%s /!he New Nationalism and the Negro 2uestion0# it is also the method of the 7". 7ohlforth inveighs ma<esti&ally against the opportunists who apply /"enin%s position on the right of nations to self-determination... as an a(stra&t# s&hemati& formula0# -p.11# and then goes on to +uote "enin against "uxem(urg: /!he &ategori&al re+uirement of $arxist theory in investigating any so&ial +uestion is that it (e examined within definite histori&al limits# and if it refers to a parti&ular &ountry -e.g.# the national +uestion for a parti&ular &ountry1# that a&&ount (e ta'en of the spe&ifi& features distinguishing that &ountry from others in the same histori&al epo&h.0 -2uestions of National .oli&y and .roletarian ;nternationalism. p.E11. 4x&ellentF 7e shall examine in our next issue the &orresponden&e (etween 7ohlforth%s understanding of these words to his own approa&h to the national +uestion# (etween his understanding and "enin%s# and (etween the &on&lusions drawn (y the 7" and a "eninist position.

Part T%o: Lenin &er!u! 'oh#(orth on the Nationa# )ue!tion

Vanguard Newsletter# Vol. 1 No. A 9ugust 1969 ,ardly had the 7or'ers% "eague%s !im 7ohlforth ended his homily against the revisionists of "enin# on the need to /understand reality in all its &on&reteness...within its proper histori&al evolution0 -!he New Nationalism and the Negro )truggle# p.11# when he emerged with a new supra-histori&al law# whi&h he# in the exa&t same manner as the revisionists# foists onto "enin. "enin it seems: /emphasi=ed throughout his writings that the ne&essity for raising this demand for selfdetermination is always asso&iated in a &ountry in a state of (a&'wardness whi&h has either not passed through the (ourgeois demo&rati& revolution or where this revolution has only (een partially su&&essful0.-emphasis added1. /"enin0# &ontinues 7ohlforth# therefore# /saw no validity whatsoever to the right of nations to selfdetermination0 in /%advan&ed &apitalist &ountries%0# and /&urrent nationalist and semi-nationalist movements in >elgium# 4ngland# 3anada and the ?nited )tates0 are /so &ompletely rea&tionary / (e&ause /the (ourgeois revolution has long (een &ompleted0 in these &ountries. 7ohlforth triumphantly holds aloft the warrant for his position# point 6 of /!heses on the )o&ialist Cevolution and the Cight of Nations to )elf-*etermination0# in whi&h "enin analyses in this &onne&tion three main types of &ountries. ;n addition to the pros&ription of the right of nations to self-determination in 7estern 4urope and the ?)# "enin# it seems# also set forth two other &ategories where the /slogan0 was appli&a(le# the &olonial and semi-&olonial &ountries# and those &ountries where the /(ourgeois demo&rati& revolution had only partially su&&eeded in &reating multi-national states0 su&h as /%4astern 4urope# 9ustria# the >al'ans and parti&ularly Cussia.%0 -!he New Nationalism...# p.A# emphasis added. ;t is o(vious nonsense to attri(ute to "enin the opinion that the (ourgeois demo&rati& revolution had /partially su&&eeded0 in Cussia prior to 191G# let alone that its /partial su&&ess0 had &reated the Cussian multi-national state. ;t would also seem that 7ohlforth is not aware# even after having read "enin on the national +uestion# that (ourgeois demo&ra&y is# at (est# limited and in&omplete in every area# in&luding the national. ;f# as 7ohlforth avers# "enin had ruled out the appli&a(ility of the right to self-determination for nations whi&h had &ompleted their (ourgeois demo&rati& revolutions# then how &ould he have pointed to the example of the se&ession of Norway from )weden as an instan&e of its valid useH ;n what essential way in regard to the national +uestion did the Norwegians (efore 19IE differ from the present-day 7elsh or )&ots in Breat >ritain# :lemings in >elgium# :ren&h in 3anada# or >retons in :ran&e# et&.H .erhaps 3omrade 7ohlforth will (e good enough to enlighten us.

9&&ording to "enin: /?ntil 19IE autonomous Norway# as a part of )weden# en<oyed the widest autonomy# (ut she was not )weden%s e+ual. 6nly (y her free se&ession was her e+uality manifested in pra&ti&e and proved...9s long as Norway was merely autonomous# the )wedish aristo&ra&y had one additional privilege...0 -!he *is&ussion of )elf-*etermination )ummed ?p. "enin%s emphasis.1 ;f /(a&'wardness0 is the &riterion# for the right to self-determination to (e supporta(le# how then does 7ohlforth explain the fa&t that the >olshevi's supported the right of :inland to se&ede# after the 6&to(er CevolutionH 7hy did they insist upon that right for peoples in )oviet Cussia# no longer the /prison-house of nations0H The Ri"ht o( Nation! to Se#(*Determination !he o(<e&tive (asis for national +uestion was stated (y "enin as follows: /*eveloping &apitalism 'nows two histori&al tenden&ies in the national +uestion. !he first is the awa'ening of...national movements# the struggle against all national oppression# and the &reation of national states. !he se&ond is... the (rea'down of all national (arriers# the &reation of international unity of &apital...0 -2uestions of National .oli&y and .roletarian ;nternationalism# p. 2I.1 9s a &onsistent diale&ti&al materialist# "enin understood that the wor'ing &lass# arising in the national environment# &ould only (e made &ons&ious of its international &hara&ter# not (y attempting to ignore the nation# as did Cosa "uxem(urg# (ut (y trans&ending it. "enin fought for the adoption of his position upholding the right of nations to self-determination# i.e.# the right to se&ede# as a &orre&t understanding of the diale&ti&al unity of national and international# whi&h would ena(le the $arxists to lead the wor'ing &lasses of (oth the oppressed and oppressor nations to proletarian internationalism. "enin never gave the /national +uestion...support0 as 7ohlforth%s diffuse language has it# (ut unremittingly and intelligently opposed every manifestation of (ourgeois nationalism. ;n order to do so# he was re+uired to wage a struggle against opportunist and se&tarian -the opportunism of a different sort1 poli&ies in the so&ialist movement @against those from the oppressed nations and oppressed minorities# who spo'e from the viewpoint of petty-(ourgeois nationalism# and those who in the name of internationalism# either (ehaved li'e annexationists -from the oppressor nations1# or played into the hands of real annexationists -from the oppressed nations1. ;t is only from an appre&iation of "enin%s unyielding struggle against metaphysi&al and opportunist approa&hes on the national +uestion# that we &an understand his theses# whi&h represented# not only a summation (ut also# an enlargement of his position on the national +uestion. Needless to say# "enin ela(orated no supra-histori&al dogmas# (ut on the &ontrary# indi&ated in the shape of a program# from whi&h he edu&ated# and whi&h he a(ly defended# the duties and responsi(ilities that devolve upon the $arxists in the histori&ally prepared &on&rete situation# in whi&h they are re+uired to fun&tion. Ty e! o( Countrie! 7hat "enin did say a(out the three main types of &ountries was the following: ;n the first type# /the advan&ed &apitalist &ountries of 7estern 4urope and the ?nited )tates0# (ourgeois nationalist movements did not existF ;n answer to "uxem(urg# "enin replied that point 9 of the program /&overs all instan&es of (ourgeois-demo&rati& national movements...J(utK it is ridi&ulous to expe&t and answer to non-existent +uestions in the programmes of 7estern 4urope.0 L"enin%s emphasis1. !he se&ond type referred to the &ountries of: M4astern 4urope: 9ustria# the >al'ans and parti&ularly Cussia JwhereK the twentieth &entury parti&ularly developed the (ourgeois-demo&rati& national movements and intensified the national struggle.M ;n the third type:

/;n the semi-&olonial &ountries...so&ialists must...demand the un&onditional and immediate li(eration of the &olonies without &ompensation# JandK support...the more revolutionary elements in the (ourgeois-demo&rati& movements...0 -!heses# point 61. !he sheer nonsense uttered (y 7ohlforth in "enin%s name# does not result from over-hasty formulations or generali=ations# (ut dire&tly from 7ohlforth%s method. No matter how many times he &apitali=ses# not only the first# (ut every letter in the word -as he did in his review of "una&hars'y%s OCevolutionary )ilhouettes%1# he &annot transform his method into the method of $arxism. 7ohlforth wishes to provide a theoreti&al <ustifi&ation for the positions of the )o&ialist "a(our "eague -)""1# whi&h does not uphold the right of the )&ots or :ren&h 3anadians to self-determination# while also posing a theoreti&al (asis for opposing the (la&' struggle in the ?). ,e# therefore# approa&hes the national +uestion tendentiously# and develops his position through an e&le&ti& and me&hani&al reading of "enin. :or the same reason# 7ohlforth tends to de-emphasi=e the stress "enin pla&es on the differing edu&ational approa&hes to the wor'ers of oppressor and oppressed nations# i.e.: /;n the oppressor &ountries# emphasis must (e laid on their Jthe wor'ersK advo&ating freedom for the oppressed &ountries to se&ede and their fighting for it. 7ithout this there &an (e no internationalism...!his is an a(solute demand# even where the &han&e of se&ession (eing possi(le and /pra&ti&a(le0 (efore the introdu&tion of so&ialism is only one in a thousand. ;t is our duty to tea&h wor'ers to (e /indifferent0 to national distin&tions...>ut it must not (e the indifferen&e of annexationists. 6n the other hand# a so&ial demo&rat from a small nation must emphasi=e ...the se&ond word of our general formula: Ovoluntary integration% of nations.0 -2uestions of National .oli&y# p 1E1# "enin%s emphasis1. 7e as' the &omrades of the 7" and )" @to the degree that (ourgeois national movements have arisen# whi&h involve masses of wor'ers in the /demo&rati&0 &apitalist &ountries# as a result of the artifi&ial prolongation of the life of &apitalism (y )o&ial *emo&ra&y and )talinism and under the impa&t of the developing world &risis @would not "enin%s on self-determination (e a far more logi&al and effe&tive# not to spea' of valid# method of &om(ating the influen&e of (ourgeois nationalism on the wor'ing &lasses of (oth oppressor and oppressed nations# than the neo-"uxem(urgist position whi&h you have adoptedH "uxem(urg%s mista'e was mitigated (y the fa&t that she &ame from an oppressed nation. >ut the )"" &omrades in 4ngland# who uphold the state (orders of the /3ommonwealth0 against the )&ots# the 7elsh and :ren&h 3anadians# do not have here ex&useF

Part Three: Trot!+y on the Ne"ro )ue!tion ,The S'P and the 'or+er!- Lea"ue
Vanguard Newsletter Vol. 1 No. E 6&to(er 1969 !he 3u(an revolution mar'ed the point of +ualitative transformation of the )7. from revolutionary $arxism to revisionism. :or a num(er of years# it had attempted to mas' its ina(ility to &reatively develop $arxism in the fa&e of post-7orld 7ar 2 developments# (y the in&antation of orthodox !rots'yist formuli. ;t was a(le to sustain itself in this manner in the fa&e of the expansion of )talinism into 4astern 4urope and 3hina# and the politi&al +uies&en&e of the wor'ing &lass in the advan&ed &apitalist &ountries# following the (etrayals of the )talinists# and during the long post-war e&onomi& upsurge. !he vi&tory of the 3u(an revolution# from a peasant (ase# with an essentially passive wor'ing &lass# and under a left wing se&tion of the (ourgeois 6rthodoxo party# and its su(se+uent development e.g.# expropriation of ?) imperialist holdings# domesti& &apitalist industry and latifundia# planning# &onvin&ed the )7. leaderhip that short-&uts to the so&ialist revolution were at hand. ;n a period when the revolutionary /epi&entre0 would seem to have shifted to the /third world0# it would only have (een ne&essary to hold onto the &oat-tails of a 3astro or $al&olm P# and the arduous tas' of (uilding a "eninist party in an as-yet ina&tive wor'ing &lass in the advan&ed &apitalist &ountries &ould (e &ir&umvented. ;ndeed# why not postpone this unrewarding tas' -to the Bree' 5alends1 until the /third world0 had su&&eeded in giving a revolutionary impulse to the advan&ed industrial &ountries and more

favoura(le &ir&umstan&es ensuedH 7hy not follow (ehind these new leaders# who were inevita(ly developing into /revolutionary so&ialists0H 9s an even faintly &riti&al word might result in an a(rupt severan&e from the &oat-tails# it would naturally (e ne&essary# not only to avoid ma'ing su&h faux pas# (ut also to ensure against it (y providing &omplete support and applause for every word pronoun&ed and deed performed (y these leaders in their inevita(le transformation. Theoretica# .Ad/u!tment!0 !he &apitulation to (la&' nationalism (y the )7. followed on the heels of the 3u(an revolution# with the ne&essary attendant theoreti&al @/ad<ustments0. !rots'y%s views on the Negro +uestion were a(stra&ted from his all-em(ra&ing revolutionary outloo'# and the possi(ility he foresaw of a national development for the >la&' people was distorted into a theoreti&al s&reen to &over the )7.%s present opportunist adaptation. !hus# the 19NQ )7. &onvention resolution adopted in 19EI# /Negro "i(eration through Cevolutionary )o&ialism0# whi&h appeared in *o&uments on the Negro )truggle# pu(lished in 1962# was omitted from the re-edition in 196G# entitled "eon !rots'y on >la&' Nationalism and )elf *etermination. !he 19EG resolution# /!he 3lass )truggle Coad to Negro 4+uality0# is also ignored. 7hile still pro<e&ting the possi(ility and supporting the right of >la&' people to form a separate nation# and although the latter already displays &onfused and &on&iliatory attitudes toward petty (ourgeois >la&' leadership and /third world0 &on&eptions# (oth do&uments were written from a c#a!! viewpoint# and as a result# &ontain formulations whi&h today &onstitute an em(arrassment to the )7.. !he former resolution# for example# states the following &on&erning the utili=ation of the >la&' struggle (y the ?) ruling &lass to promote /separatism0. /*espite all appearan&es 9meri&an &apitalism &onstantly in&reases and intensifies its Jim 3row system...!he more powerfully the Negroes organi=e and protest# the more &apital is &ompelled to (ri(e them with spe&ial Negro s&hools...hospitals...&olleges...playgrounds...news films...appointments...0 !his paragraph today (e&omes a suffi&iently a&id &ommentary on the )7.%s support for (la&' separatist demands# for (la&' studies# for (la&' students in all-(la&' dormitories and taught (y (la&' tea&hers. B#ac+ chau&ini!m ;n dis&ussing (la&' &hauvinism and its impli&ations for the &lass struggle in the ?)# the 19NQ resolution stated the following: /7hile it would (e a serious error to ignore the reality of ra&ial hatreds whi&h have (een in<e&ted into the histori&al development of the 9meri&an people# not the slightest &on&ession must (e made to ideas whi&h do not pla&e upon &apitalism the &omplete responsi(ility# deli(erate and &ons&ious# for the existing situation of Negroes# the spread of ra&ial pre<udi&es in all areas of the ?nited )tates today...;n the Negro movement in parti&ular and often in the la(or movement the party will meet Negro &hauvinism. 7hile ma'ing no prin&ipled &on&essions to it# the party treats it with great &aution and ma'es a sharp distin&tion (etween the &hauvinism of the oppressor and the &hauvinism of the oppressed...!his &hauvinism of the Negroes &ontains possi(ilities of (eing exploited under &ertain &ir&umstan&es (y the &apitalists and turned into a terri(le danger to the organi=ed la(or movement.0 9pplied the )7.%s role in the N83%s tea&hers% stri'e last year# these words (e&ome a s&athing indi&tment. ?nder the (anner of /&ommunity &ontrol0 of ghetto s&hools# (la&' &ultural nationalists# su(sidi=ed (y the :ort :oundation# and in (ehalf of the N83 3ity and )tate governments# attempted to destroy the ?nited :ederation of !ea&hers -?:!1. !his atta&'# representing a (low at all 3ity and )tate wor'ers# was laun&hed shortly after the !aylor "aw# whi&h prohi(its pu(li& servi&e wor'ers from stri'ing was passed. 9tta&'ing the stri'e &alled to re-instate sa&'ed tea&hers as /ra&ist0# and with ?:! (ureau&rats helping to provide them with ammunition for this atta&'# the )7. <oined the 3. and a motley &rew of so&ial opportunists in s&a((ing on the tea&hers. Se#(*Determination

!he 19EG resolution presented the )7.%s position on the >la&' struggle and the right to selfdetermination as follows: )in&e minority peoples have the demo&rati& right to exer&ise self-determination# so&ialists would (e o(ligated to support su&h separatist demands of they should refle&t the mass will. 8et even under these &ir&umstan&es so&ialists would &ontinue to advo&ate integration rather than separation as the (est solution of the ra&e +uestion for Negro and white wor'ers ali'e. 7hile upholding the right of self-determination# they would &ontinue to urge and allian&e of the Negro people and the wor'ing &lass to (ring a(out a so&ialist solution to the &ivil rights pro(lem within the existing national framewor'...:usion of these independent politi&al &urrents should (e advo&ated through a la(or-Negro allian&e to form an independent la(or party (ased on the unions...;f the right for &omplete e+uality is to (e won# the Negro wor'ers must ta'e the leadership out of the hands of the middle &lass elements. !hat tas' re+uires the (uilding of a left wing founded on &lass-struggle perspe&tives...9(ove all we have stressed the need for &lass politi&al &ons&iousness among wor'er militants# &olored and white# as the 'ey to vi&tory for (oth movements.0 !oday# and also in the name of !rots'y# the )7. not only gives its (lessing to every (la&' nationalist demand# (ut has even su(stituted# in effe&t# its proposal for an /independent0 >la&' politi&al party for the demand for a la(or party. The 'or+er! Lea"ue and Trot!+y !he 7"%s !im 7ohlforth# in his /!he New Nationalism and the Negro )truggle0# in exa&tly the same manner as the )7.# a(stra&ts the national aspe&ts from !rots'y%s dis&ussions in 19A9. ;n so doing# he aids the )7.%s de&eption from the /left0F ,aving treated !rots'y%s views on the Negro +uestion in metaphysi&al fashion# 7ohlforth &an only understand them as an a(erration. ,e informs us that# /!rots'y was wrong in proposing the possi(ility of the Negro (e&oming a nation0: that !rots'y%s /error0 resulted from his failure to ma'e /a serious &on&rete analysis of the a&tual development of the Negro people within 9meri&an &apitalismR that he had (een /&onfused (y a &ertain O3arlos%0 and (y /3ommunist .arty >la&' >elt notions0. )t. John informs us that /!rots'y appears to (e relying on a totally su(<e&tive and psy&hologi&al (asis of analysis0R that his /statements were far from definitive...and often &ontradi&tory0R that /!rots'y%s &on&lusions appear to (e (ased solely on the need for the )7. to turn to the Negro masses without a &lear analysis of the histori&al# politi&al and so&ial role of the Negro in the ?)0. 7ohlforth# una(le to respond to Joseph ,ansen%s thrust -/!he ,ealyites >egin to ?nravel their O!rots'yism%01 that !rots'y%s method on the Negro +uestion &annot (e separated from that used to ela(orate the !ransitional .rogram# &ounter-atta&'s (y &harging ,ansen with a la&' of understanding of the $arxist method# and (y a general dis&ussion of the !ransitional .rogram. ,owever# 7ohlforth &learly agrees with ,ansen%s &ontention that# on the Negro +uestion# not only 7ohlforth# (ut the /leaders of the )""0 (elieve that !rots'y was no diale&ti&ian (ut only a (ungler and a dogmatist.0 9nd in fa&t# the review of "una&hars'y%s /Cevolutionary )ilhouettes0 (y 7ohlforth# has for its main purpose the positing of !rots'y%s /individualisti&0 (ehaviour# in order to esta(lish the /priority0 of "enin over !rots'y in respe&t to /$arxist method0# i.e.# to &ounterpose "enin to !rots'y# to a&&ount for his /su(<e&tive and psy&hologi&al approa&hes0 to the Negro +uestion. - Bulletin# $ay E# 19691 7e (elieve and intend to demonstrate that# not only was !rots'y%s essential position on the Negro +uestion# although in&ompletely formulated# arrived at (y the use of the diale&ti&al method# that his approa&hes on this +uestion are not only in ex&ellent agreement with "enin%s on the national +uestion# (ut are# furthermore# insepara(le from his approa&hes to the !ransitional .rogram as a wholeR that while (oth the 7" and )7.# ea&h in its own way have a(andoned the diale&ti& for empiri&ism# for symmetri&al and opposite opportunist adaptations to the (la&' nationalistSwhite &hauvinist polarity# !rots'y understood and fought for a synthesis that would unite (la&' and white wor'ers against these opposite refle&tions of (ourgeois ideology. !he 7"# despite its desire to pose itself as the revolutionary alternative to the )7.# to present itself as the organi=ational &ontinuity of revolutionary $arxism to the )7.%s revisionism# (e&ause of its ina(ility to understand the most fundamental of +uestions relative to the 9meri&an revolution# the Negro +uestion# has su&&eeded only in (e&oming its mirror-image# with all signs reversed# as a result of its one-sidedness and its tenden&y to fun&tion as me&hanisti& materialists.

Part Four: Trot!+y on the Ne"ro )ue!tion: The .B#ac+ Be#t0 Vanguard Newsletter Vol. 1 No. 6 Novem(er 1969 7as !rots'y /wrong0 in posing the /possi(ility of the Negro (e&oming a nation0# as !im 7ohlforth avers -!he New Nationalism and the Negro )truggle1H ;f so# he &an only perform a servi&e for $arxism# for !rots'yism# (y proving his &ontention. ;t is# in fa&t# the duty of $arxists to explore errors# point out their roots# indi&ate why a position# on&e &orre&t# is so not longer# there(y 'eeping $arxism vital# in &onta&t with &urrent reality. $arxism was su&&in&tly defined (y "enin as a /summing up of experien&e illuminated (y a profound philosophi&al &on&eption of the world# and a ri&h 'nowledge of history0. 9s a world outloo' &on&erned with human development# with more transitory phenomena than the exa&t s&ien&es# $arxism &an in&orporate errors. ;n &riti&i=ing strategi& and ta&ti&al positions assumed (y the &reative $arxists# however# it is ne&essary to examine the situation o(taining at that time# if one studies $arxism in order to learn from it# and not with the aim of refuting it. !he intrepid warrior against empiri&ism# 7ohlforth# informs us in what appears to (e an histori&al analysis of the Negro +uestion# (ut is# in "enin%s polemi&al phrase# /a mo&'ery of the histori&ally &on&rete presentation of the +uestion0# that# /the further development of the Negro sin&e 19A9# rather than &onfirming his J!rots'yK position# has done the opposite0. 6n this (asis# every a&ademi& wise-a&re &an point to similar /errors0 of the great $arxists. $arx and 4ngels &onsidered the 3roats and 3=e&hs to (e outposts of Cussian despotism in 1QNQ# and opposed their national aspirations. 7ere they wrongH !rots'y# in his dis&ussion on the unions in 19A9 stated that# /the overall &urve of &apitalist e&onomi& development is toward de&line0. >ut the &urve of &apitalist development sin&e the se&ond 7orld 7ar has (een upwardF 7asn%t !rots'y wrongH /9ny possi(ility of a Negro nation died# says 7ohlforth# /with the destru&tion of re&onstru&tion# the attrition of the plantation e&onomy# and the migration of the Negro /from the O>la&' >elt%0. ,owever# even had these developments not ta'en pla&e# it would seem that 7ohlforth and the 7or'ers "eague -7"1 would have opposed the right of self-determination for the >la&' people# &ontrary to "enin# (ut in "enin%s name# (e&ause /the 9meri&an 3ivil 7ar mar'ed the &ompletion of the 9meri&an (ourgeois demo&rati& revolution0. -)ee our dis&ussion on this +uestion in the 9ugust issue J.art !wo a(ove ed.K1 7ohlforth%s fa&ile summary (ears little resem(lan&e to a serious analysis of the Negro +uestion. !he aspe&ts of the +uestion so lightly tou&hed upon (y him &over a &entury of development. !rots'y more than on&e emphasi=ed the ne&essity of 'nowing# not only the dire&tion# (ut also the speed of a development at a parti&ular histori&al <un&ture. ;n this &onne&tion# the rate of migration from the />la&' >elt0 in 19A9# would seem of parti&ular moment. 7ohlforth avoids in+uiring into the &on&rete situation at the time that /a &ertain 3arlos0 made the assertion that the tenden&y to migrate from the />la&' >elt0 &ould no longer operate# however# (e&ause he would# perhaps# have (een for&ed to re&ognise that the method (y whi&h !rots'y arrived at his position on the Negro +uestion is insepara(le from that used to formulate the entire !ransitional .rogram. !hroughout his life# !rots'y fought for the method of $arxism as indispensi(le armament for $arxist revolutionists. ,e &ould ma'e immense &ontri(utions to $arxism only (e&ause of his thorough understanding of the materialist diale&ti&. !he diale&ti& does not# of &ourse# ensure against mista'es. ;n dealing with any many-sided phenomenon# all aspe&ts of whi&h are in motion# &onstantly a&ting# rea&ting# and intera&ting# internally and externally# errors# (oth ma<or and minor# on one +uestion or another# in one degree or another# are not only possi(le# (ut inevita(le. !he method of $arxism has demonstrated its validity# however# (y providing a s&ientifi& understanding of the &omplex and antagonisti& motion of matter# parti&ularly in the so&ial sphere. The O1/ecti&e Situation

;n examining the o(<e&tive situation o(taining# on a world s&ale and in the ?)# !rots'y had &on&luded that the inter and intra-&apitalist &ontradi&tions had rea&hed a stage whi&h threatened all man'ind with &atastrophe# with a return to (ar(arism# unless a new revolutionary leadership was forgedR that any possi(ilities for reformist solutions within the &apitalist framewor' had (een exhaustedR that the &urve of e&onomi& development presaged further e&onomi& stagnation and de&line# and that therefore# a revolutionary situation was developing whi&h would result in either the vi&tory of the wor'ing &lass under the leadership of the :ourth ;nternational or further de&ay# fas&ism and war. !hat the )talinists ena(led &apitalism to extend its lease on life for another period# does not invalidate the ta&ti&s developed in and for the pre&eding histori&al period. 9s &apitalism%s &ontradi&tions intensify# the validity of these ta&ti&s is again demonstrated. !he situation of the Negro in the ?)# and in the />la&' >elt0# spe&ifi&ally# also has to (e understood in that histori&al &ontext. 9&&ording to the ?) 3ensus >ureau statisti&s# at the turn of the &entury# NE.9T of >la&' people still lived in the />la&' >elt0# southern &ounties where they &onstituted a ma<ority. >y 19NI# a little more than a fifth# 2I.ET# still resided there. ,owever# during the NI year interval# the rates of migration had varied mar'edly# depending on &hanges in the o(<e&tive situation. >efore the /Breat *epression0 in 1929# the rate was high. 9fter# and until the out(rea' of the se&ond 7orld 7ar# it was low. 7hereas the per&entage of the total >la&' population remaining in the />la&' >elt0 de&reased E.9T (y 191I# Q.9T (y 192I# and Q.1T (y 192I# it had fallen only (y 2.ET (etween 19AI and 19NI. 9s statisti&s are only availa(le in 1I year intervals# one &an only postulate the li'elihood that with the onset of the depression in 1929# followed (y the /re&ession0 in 19AG# migration (efore 19A9 had virtually halted# and that mu&h of the limited migration reported (etween 19AI and 19NI resulted from the stimulus of war produ&tion whi&h (egan in 19A9. 7hen !rots'y posed the possi(ility in 19A9 therefore# that the >la&' people# although not a nation# might develop into one# he too' into a&&ount the +uite material (asis for nationhood when then still existed# a &ommon territory# as well as the other o(<e&tive &onditions whi&h promised to further not migration from# (ut the sta(ility of the />la&' >elt0. 6ne &an see# therefore# the groundlessness of the &harge (y "u&y )t. John that !rots'y was /relying on totally su(<e&tive and psy&hologi&al analysis...%their feelings and impulses% rather than on an o(<e&tive analysis0 of the Negro +uestion. -!he Negro# Nation and $arxist !heory# />ulletin0# *e&. 16# 196Q1. !he ignoran&e shown (y relative new&omers to !rots'yism is# perhaps# understanda(le. !he disloyalty of self-styled if not /orthodox0 !rots'yists# who were evidently not &on&erned to evaluate all aspe&ts of their differen&e with !rots'y (efore rushing into print to atta&' him# is another matter. ,owever# the +uestion is (y no means exhausted. 7hile the material (asis for the evolution of a separate Negro nation existed then# &ould !rots'y have (een /wrong0 in politi&al supporting su&h a possi(le developmentH $oreover# &ould !rots'y have &orre&tly ta'en a position supporting the right of >la&' people to nationhood if the />la&' >elt0 had not then existedH 9nd what position should !rots'yists ta'e on this +uestion today# now that the />la&' >elt0 has &eased to existH Se#(*Determination !rots'y stood on the same ground as "enin on the right to self-determination. !o the extent that the wor'ers of an oppressed nation# or of a national minority whi&h may ta'e the path of nationhood# are &onvin&ed that the wor'ers of the oppressor nation are their &lass (rothers# who fight for their rights# in&luding their right to se&ede# who do not stand with their /own0 (ourgeoisie in defending the state (oundaries of the oppressor nation# to that extent they may de&ide not to see' separation. !he "eninist position has proven to (e the only (asis on whi&h the wor'ing &lasses of the oppressed and oppressor nations &an (e united# )t. John to the &ontrary# notwithstanding. ,er assertion that# /;n the period J19A9K as well as today# it meant dividing the J?)K wor'ing &lass0# is not only and e&ho of "uxem(urg# (ut also represents a &on&ession to the white &hauvinism /in that period0# as in this. :urther# !rots'y# viewing the matter of an international perspe&tive# understood that the ?)# industrially the strongest &ountry in the world in the epo&h of imperialist de&ay# would play an in&reasingly &ounter-revolutionary role in the world. !o the extent that the >la&' people struggled for national freedom against the ?)# they administered hammer (lows to 9meri&an &apitalism and to the world imperialist system. !oday# as in 19A9# revolutionary so&ialists would have nothing in &ommon with those who &onsider the state (oundaries of the ?) to (e sa&rosan&t.

)hould the mass of the >la&' people# the vast ma<ority of whi&h is wor'ing &lass# de&ide on nationhood# rea&h the &on&lusion that they &an no longer reside in the same nation state with whites# and demand a separate se&tion of the ?) for a separate state# we should support their demand# in the spirit of the 19EG )o&ialist 7or'ers .arty &onvention resolution# /!he 3lass )truggle Coad to Negro 4+uality0 -see our 6&to(er ;ssue Jpart A a(ove @ edK1. 7e would still attempt to &onvin&e the >la&' wor'ers that the /(est solution to the ra&e +uestion for Negro and white wor'ers ali'e0 was unity in the struggle for the overthrow of &apitalism. 7e would hope to &onvin&e them (y forging this unity in the struggle against the spe&ial oppression of >la&' people. 7e would hope to unite (la&' and white wor'ers (y edu&ating the white wor'ers to the understanding that the struggle against the spe&ial oppression of >la&' people is in their immediate and fundamental &lass interests. Su1/ecti&e and O1/ecti&e !he metaphysi&ians of the 7" might &onsider that we# li'e !rots'y# are relying on /totally su(<e&tive and psy&hologi&al analyses0. !hey will merely &ontinue to demonstrate that they have not understood !rots'y# "enin or $arx# that their method is fundamentally empiri&ist# even when presented as $arxist /method0# that they &annot understand that there are no immuta(le &ategories in the real world# that opposites su&h as o(<e&tive and su(<e&tive are transformed into one another# and that the su(<e&tive will of the individuals (e&omes an o(<e&tive for&e for revolutionists# to the degree that it ta'es on a mass &hara&ter# and to the extent that revolutionists do not have suffi&ient roots among those masses to provide them with leadership.

Part Fi&e: Trot!+y on the Ne"ro )ue!tion , Conc#u!ion2

Vanguard Newsletter Vol. 1 No. G *e&em(er 1969 !he /!rots'yist0 opportunists and se&tarians have a &ommon (ond. >oth su(stitute e&le&ti&s for diale&ti&s in the pro&ess of falsifying $arxism. 3ontri(utions of the &reative $arxists whi&h do not fit their politi&al outloo' are ignored or deli(erately distorted. >oth# therefore# operate as opportunists in theory and pra&ti&e. 6ne variety dis&ards the revolutionary essen&e of $arxism# the other# ne&essary strategy and ta&ti&s that do not a&&ord with its pre&on&eptions and pre<udi&es. ?na(le to &riti&ally examine &ertain (asi& postulates# the se&tarian sometimes attempts to for&e su&&ess through organi=ational manipulation. 9long with a metaphysi&al rigidity on sele&ted theoreti&al +uestions# therefore# the se&tarian &an often outdo his diale&ti&al opposite in opportunist organi=ational fun&tion. *espite pious o(eisan&e to $arxist /$4!,6*0# (oth opportunist and se&tarian are pra&titioners of empiri&ism. !he former# (y sa&rifi&ing prin&iple# for a /pra&ti&al0 road to /su&&ess0# the latter# (y a simplisti& representation of the motion of so&ial phenomena# and through the magnifi&ation of some aspe&ts at the expense of others. Nowhere are these manifestations more evident than on the Negro +uestion# the most sensitive and &riti&al +uestion for the 9meri&an revolution. V9NB?9C* N47)"4!!4C# in &ontradistin&tion to (oth opportunists and se&tarians# has presented an integral and revolutionary position on the Negro +uestion. 7e pro&eed from the fundamental understanding that the $arxist outloo' is s&ientifi&# that the (ody of 'nowledge a&+uired through the diale&ti&al method is an essentially &orre&t representation of &onstantly &hanging reality# and that the present &annot (e understood without an appre&iation of the hard-won lessons of the past. 6ur position on the Negro +uestion is a synthesis# therefore# of the &ontri(utions of !rots'y# parti&ularly on the Negro +uestion and the !ransitional .rogram# of "enin on the national +uestion# as well as our experien&e in wor'ing &lass and &ivil rights struggles. 7e have understood the radi&ali=ation of the >la&' masses as an opportunity to (uild the "eninist vanguard party in the most oppressed layer of the wor'ing &lass. 7e have re&ognised that the disorienting# rea&tionary and utopian (la&' nationalist ideology &ould (e over&ome# and that the >la&' wor'ers &ould (e won to a &lass viewpoint only (y an un&ompromising struggle (y white wor'ers against all aspe&ts of >la&' spe&ial oppression# in&luding super-exploitation in the wor'pla&eR that the

1I

white wor'ers# now in motion on the e&onomi& front as a result of the sharpening of the &ontradi&tions of ?) and world &apitalism# would only (e won to so&ialist &ons&iousness (y a struggle whi&h would &onvin&e them that white &hauvinism only served their &lass enemy# and that the student radi&al would finally adhere to those revolutionists who showed themselves &apa(le of winning a (ase in the wor'ing &lassR that (i-ra&ial &au&uses# (asing themselves on a program of transitional demands# &ould (e lin'ed in a transitional organi=ation whi&h &ould# in turn# aid their transformation into fa&tory &ommittees and wor'ers &oun&ils# into the organs of dual power and wor'ing &lass rule# in the revolutionary period. 7e (elieve that only a program that in&orporates these &on&epts &an lay the foundations for a "eninist party in the ?) &apa(le of leading the (la&' and white wor'ers in the so&ialist revolution. 4N*

11