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Dennis, The murder of Luxemburg and Liebknecht by police under the Germany Social Democrat leadership - remains appalling and an example of the treachery against our class by those Social Democrats who care more or influenced by the capitalists and those in power, than the working class and those challenging capitalism and wrong. I want to point out that I only joined DSA after their August 2017 national convention when they voted to disassociate from the Second International, reflecting significant political changes in DSA than that group held before 2017.And it is easy to critique after events and the period of time taken in and not having a direct personal involvement in, to state one's views of mistakes, when more is later known about decisions with less then known and what other forces were capable of doing. I say this because I still have much respect for Leon Trotsky, but not for many who call themselves followers of. The cult of personality is a problem for anyone who views things scientifically and not with a religious closed mind. While I was told by the U. S. SWP that they were expelled for their views around the French Turn, I later read and learned a much different and more politically objective history than one faction's views to justify and promote that faction over the need for a united anti-Stalinist left. In 1936, the Socialist Party of America was engaged in factional struggle with the "Old Guard" (Morris Hillquit and other older age leaders) against the Norman Thomas led "Militants", more around generational than ideological differences, that the Norman Thomas wing won. Negotiations between the Norman Thomas wing and the Workers Party (later to be the U. S. SWP), led to the Workers Party members then welcomed into SPA membership. The Workers Party held similar views with the Thomas led faction, on opposition to Stalinism and on labor union activism and favorable support of the CIO with industrial unionism over the then narrow orientation of the AFL craft unions and business unionism approach. The Workers Party (SWP) also shared with the pacifist led Thomas SPA wing, opposition to the U. S. government taking steps towards militarization and war. Note: this is another discussion than this on the reasons for the Workers Party (SWP) expulsion in 1938 from the SPA, and on what is now fully known about Nazi Germany's development then of the atom bomb. Real events should affect historical decisions and later hindsight review of, unless one is thinking religious and cult like and not logical and scientific. The Norman Thomas "Militant" faction of the SPA was comprised of three wings: the "Altmanite" (led by Jack Altman) which was the right wing faction, the "Clarity" (led by Gus Tyler) and the "Appeal" left faction that the Workers Party (SWP) was with. There was also the "Constructive" faction based mainly in the U. S. Midwest (led by Dan Hoan). The "Socialist Appeal" faction (led by James Canon) held their own separate organizational gathering in Chicago in February 1937 prior to the planned March 1937 SPA National Convention also held in Chicago. Because of the fiery speech by James Burnham then with the Workers Party (and later who moved to the extreme right wing and founded the National Review magazine still today publishing pro-capitalist views) who focused his verbal attacks on the other SPA wings rather than the capitalists at the Feb. 1937 Chicago "Socialist Appeal" faction gathering , it allowed the "Altmanite" faction to push for immediate expulsion of the Workers Party (SWP) members but the Thomas wing refused to expel the Workers Party at the next month's SPA national convention. This as a result of a meeting between Norman Thomas and James Canon and the other factions where it was agreed that no efforts would be made to expel, But the agreements and understandings made at that meeting were soon violated. Recognizing that the "Clarity" faction had decided to stand with the "Altmanites" and the Thomas group, Leon Trotsky himself suggested to James Canon to provoke a split from the SPA with focus on disagreements over Spain. At a meeting of the "Appeal" group National Action Committee in June 1937 they voted to again publish their faction's newspaper Socialist Appeal, that was one of several faction's newspapers disbanded at the March SPA national convention in an effort to tone down factionalism and disunity. The Socialist Appeal newspaper contained open attacks on the American Labor Party and its endorsed candidates which incited the other SPA factions and allowed the Altmanites faction to win expulsion of the local Workers Party (SWP) at a August 9, 1937 SPA New York City Local Central Committee meeting . Wholesale expulsions then took place nationally in the SPA. Jack Altman, the SPA New York City Local Secretary (leader) declared the Trotskyists were expelled for attempting to undermine the Socialist Party of America, their open refusing to abide by the decisions of the SPA National Convention and sole allegiance to the Fourth International grouping and for the Appeal faction carrying out public disagreement with the SPA ledership in public press and gatherings. The Socialist Call editor Gus Tyler wrote his faction's agreement with the "Altmanite" faction to expel the Workers Party members. The factional havoc immobilized the SPA, with loss of most of their activist youth in YPSL joining the Workers Party "Appeal" faction and the "Old Guard" forming then as well the Social Democratic Federation of America. By 1940, the SPA consisted of only a shell of the previous group with mainly pacifist members. The CPUSA was then able to dominate the U. S. left until the 1960's and the rest is history. Who most benefited from this? Not our class! The momentary small gain in members for the Workers Party did not lead to anything. Factional thinking was deepened to become a part of the culture of the then U. S. SWP in opposing different internal views and driving out anyone who thought and did not conform. "Democratic Centralism" was in name only - with only the centralist part promoted and that what today the remaining cult membership of the current U. S. SWP is - where they promote "iconic leaders" and oppose free thought and speech among even those professing loyalty of that group and their "dear leader". Our class needs to get organized and that requires the current factionalized and ineffective left, being replaced with new political formations. My political judgment was to join the DSA, which I hope will become a major opponent to capitalist attacks on our class and our only planet's environment. One can sit on the sidelines and complain, but that may not change or affect anything. I prefer to help promote class awareness and the need for working people to organize against exploitation and injustice and this new DSA seems the logical vehicle with thousands of more also doing the same. But if one only wants to have internal fights and not organize the working class to defeat the capitalists, then stay where you are. But for the others in the United States who want to be effective - this is "where the action is". The SWP held a non-authorized national conference of their faction and rebuffed efforts of Norman Thomas's faction to compromise and stay together. The CPUSA was then frantic in lies about Trotsky and his supporters, as being all fascist agents and this was pressuring some of the SPA members. There were ________________________________ From: Dennis Brasky <dmozart1...@gmail.com> Sent: Tuesday, December 5, 2017 6:09 AM To: John Obrien; Activists and scholars in Marxist tradition Subject: Re: [Marxism] Eric Blanc: The Ballot and the Break (the case of the Mn. Farmer-Labor Party). I'm not so certain that the "French turn" - entering the social democratic parties in the 1930s when they got an influx of young people new to radical politics and turned off by the ultraleftism of the Comintern' s "third period" - was a "sectarian mistake." Trotskyists in Spain refused to enter the Spanish social-democracy, so the Stalinists did and became a major force on the Left. The SWP entered the SP in 1936 - at the invitation of that party's leadership - and recruited its youth wing. The Trotskyists didn't split from the SP - they were expelled, a bureaucratic organizational maneuver to prevent them from politically winning over more of their ranks. John asks - "How did the workers in France, the United States or elsewhere benefit with these weakened social democrat groups facing the fascists?" Let him answer - how did the workers of Germany in the late 1920s/early 1930s "benefit" from a strong Social-Democratic Party (SPD)? How did the working class of Europe "benefit" from their strong and unchallenged-from-the-left social-democrats between the years 1914 and 1918??? Social Democracy after WW1 was not some new organization that sprang onto the scene without a thought-out program. It was a hardened counter-revolutionary force. If Rosa Luxemburg, Karl Liebknecht and all those German leftists murdered by rightists supported by the SPD in 1919 were here, they'd testify to that! On Tue, Dec 5, 2017 at 2:45 AM, John Obrien via Marxism <marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu<mailto:marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu>> wrote: I recently joined DSA. We do not need a "French Turn" That was a sectarian destructive tactic that resulted in only harming any needed effort for a large united left. This is an example of bad education promoted in the US SWP to justify their wrong approach that we often see being done by other more recent groups such as the U. S. Sparticist League. _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
