LEFT TENDENCY
For a Left Tendency
in the Fourth International 1. For the building of the Fourth International as the world leadership of the workers' movement and oppressed masses, for building its sections as mass parties in every country of the world without exception.
The Trotskyist programme is the only valid one for developing the perspective of the world socialist revolution. This is why the Fourth International must be built. The International should reject the illusionary perspective of a new revolutionary International and of similar revolutionary parties at a national level, on, the basis of a confused mixture of Trotskyist and centrist positions. 2. For a Leninist attitude towards the mass movements and their leaderships. The task of Trotskyist organizations is to play a vanguard role in the mass movements and not to give in to their illusions and their limits or to be unclear on the distinction between us and their leaderships and adapt to them. The balance sheet of the International on this question is negative. IN the name of the objective dynamic of the revolutionary process we have adapted
240 International Marxist Review to opportunist leaderships (for example, Poland, Iran and South Africa). We have to come back to the Marxist policy of struggle to fight from the beginning for the leadership of the revolutionary movement against all other political forces. 3. For the defence of the programme of worldwide socialism and the theory of permanent revolution.
The goal of our programme is to build the world republic of workers' councils. The general theory on which this perspective is based is that of the permanent revolution, which does not simply represent a schema for analyzing an objective process but indicate the strategy for the fight for proletarian power. These conceptions have to be reaffirmed against the attacks made in the International against the theory and strategy of permanent revolution (in relation to the Nicaraguan experience for example. 4. No capitulation to radical nationalist forces.
Radical nationalist forces have a petty-bourgeois nature and programme, opposed to the programme of the socialist revolution. In consequences, the policy of revolutionary Marxists can only be that of the anti-imperialist united front while in general we are political adversaries of radical nationalism. 5. No adaptation to bourgeois nationalist leaderships.
Our policy must be that of intransigent opposition to the bourgeois nationalist leaderships. It is possible to adopt a policy of limited tactical agreements against imperialism and its agents, but any long term alliance or bloc should be rejected. The International leadership has made serious mistakes on this question, in the name of the dynamic of the revolution. 6. No to adaptation to the reformist leaderships of the workers' movement.
The reformist parties, whether social-democratic or of Stalinist origin, represent the agents of bourgeoisie in the workers' movement. We have to be clearly opposed to them. We can have united front actions with them but only of a tactical nature for precise political goals (including those of considerable scope) and not of a strategic nature. 7. For a clear political battle against centrism and left reformism, no to unity of revolutionaries and to the par-
For a Left Tendency 241 ty to the left of the left or revolutionary regroupment on the basis of the Trotskyist programme.
Only parties based on the Trotskyist programme can be consistently revolutionary. We should reject the perspective of so-called unity of revolutionaries according to which revolutionary parties could emerge from fusions on the basis of a programme and strategy midway between Trotskyism and centrism. We should refuse to consider left reformism as a legitimate expression of the working class and its historic interests and thus reject the approach according to which our objective is building a united party of the legitimate tendencies of the working class. Whatever the steps to be taken at one point or another (activity within mass parties as a fraction for example), our strategic goal should always be the extension of the leadership of the Fourth International and its sections as the new leadership of the workers' movement and expressed masses. 8. For political revolution against all Stalinist regimes, for the democracy of workers' councils, for the defence of the programme of international revolution against any hypothesis of socialism in one country, against market socialism and illusions in self-management, for a democratically planned economy at the international level.
We have to reaffirm the need for a real political revolution against all the regimes of degenerated or deformed workers' states, including Cuba, as well as our programme for proletarian democracy, based on the power of workers' councils. We should fight against illusions in relation to Western-style parliamentarism and centrist positions which put forward confused combinations of bourgeois-type parliamentarism and councils. We also have to develop a clear polemic, not only against market socialism but also against illusions in self-management. We have to counterpose democratically centralized planning and the perspective of the international development of the socialist revolution to the bureaucratic planning of socialism in one country. 9. For the use of the method of the Transitional Programme in our intervention in the mass movements.
There is a tendency in the International to lose sight of the the general meaning of the methods of transition goals, while we should constantly
242 International Marxist Review develop and use transitional goals, in agitation if possible as well as in propaganda. 10. For a Leninist policy of the united front.
The united front has a tactical (although central) character and not a strategic character for us. A central aspect of the united front tactic is the fight for Trotskyist hegemony within the united front itself. The united front should be based on concrete goals or programmes of action; in no case should it become a propagandist bloc. 11. For building class-struggle and revolutionary oppositions with programme of transitional demands in the trade unions and other mass organizations.
The aim of revolutionary Marxists in relation to the workers' trade unions and all the mass organizations of the oppressed and exploited layers of society is to transform them into auxiliary instruments of the socialist revolution. This is why in these organizations we have to build class-struggle currents on a programme of transitional demands. 12. For the full recognition of social oppression of the majority of humanity, starting with that of women, for an intervention in the most oppressed sectors, with the method of the Transitional Programme.
The majority of humanity suffers from specific forms of oppression, which cannot be reduced purely and simply to class oppression. With the goal of unifying the proletariat, of creating a strategic alliance between the proletariat and all the oppressed sectors, we have to develop a specific activity in the different oppressed sectors as well as a general one on their problematic. Such activity should be based not on minimalist economism not simple solidarity but on the method of the Transitional Programme. 13. Fora Leninist electoral policy.
According to Marxism, elections are an opportunity where the revolutionary party should make an efforts to present its programme and its overall proposals to the broadest sectors of the masses. This means, in a general way, presenting independent candidates of the Fourth International parties. If that is impossible, we can give critical support to one or several candidates of the
reformist, centrist or petty-bourgeois nationalist force. But we must never consider standing jointly with other forces (except in cases where we belong to other parties in the workers' movement) on the basis of compromise programmes. The effect of that would be to eliminate the alternative programmatic identity of the revolutionary Marxist party in the eyes of the masses.
Democratic centralism is a political and organizational principle which also applies at the international level. In the International, particularly during the
1985 congress, the idea of an International of sections has been put forward very forcibly. In opposition to this, the next World Congress must reaffirm
- through an organizational and statutory expression - the idea of the
International as an International of members, all organized without national sections and all with full democratic rights and the same subjection to the decision of the International. At the same time, it is necessary that democracy, particularly the rights of international tendencies and factions be fully
We have to note a situation of organizational decomposition of the Fourth
International linked to the growth and expression of revisionist positions in its ranks. In fact, no international organization can claim to be the Fourth
International. Today the Fourth International is living but it lives through the life of its different organizationally separated factions. We have to develop an activity which will put an end to such a situation and lead to the organizational rebuilding of the Fourth International, which cannot be separated from
14. For real democratic centralism.
respected.
15. For a policy of Trotskyist revolutionary regroupment.
its political regeneration.
For a Left Tendency 243
İNTERNATIENAL
MARXISTREVIEW
The national question in Ireland, in the Spanish state, in building the
Special issue on national question in the history of the USSR and
Feminism to the tune of the cumbia etc. - Heather Dashner
IMR (back issues), 2 rue Richard Lenoir, 93108 Montreuil, France.
Back issues available:
Vol. 5 No. 1 (No 10)
Documents of Fourth International:
Centrai America today
Decisive stage in Cuba
Also:
revolutionary party.
Vol. 4 No. 2 (No 9)
today.
Vol. 4 No. 1 (No 8)
Special issue on European unfication in 1992
Vol. 3 No. 2 (No 7)
Why the Fourth International - Ernest Mandel
Heirs of May 68 - Daniel Bensaid and Alain Krivine
Vol. 2 No. 4 (No 5)
The significance of Gorbachov - Ernest Mandel
Vol. 2 No. 3 (No 4)
The legacy of Antonio Gramsci - Livio Maitan
Liberation theology - Michael Löwy
For single back issues please send £2.50/$5 to:
Revolutionary strategy in Europe - D. Bensaid/A. Artous
Resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism - Salah Jaber
D