In case anybody was getting some other ideas of what I was on about: I was not suggesting that the bones of the CPUSA in the 1930s & 1940s be disinterred. The issue for us here is the root of the errors that could have been averted, and what reckoning is made with regard to assessing that root which can broadly be labelled as "Browderite revisionism." There was nothing new in Earl Browder's revisionism as a predisposition or tendency. The problem was its role in retarding the bolshevisation of the proletarian vanguard, and the damage it left in its wake as a result, despite the many glorious moments in the history of the communist and workers movement from that time.
The workers movement in the US, under both direct and indirect leadership of communists, succeeded in organising itself into fighting organisations on the economic front. The old line of craft unionism was laid to rest and industrial unionism of the CIO swept the field. I strongly suspect there were no lily-livered liberals or FBI who were able to play any actual specific role inside or very close to any of the nitty-gritty organising of the workers who were led by the CIO, least of all among those that were directly backed as well by WZ Foster. Proletarian class instinct took care of any possibility of that kind of snake worming its way into the organising on the ground. Yet in the public political work of the party, the petty-bourgeois and other alien class interests, not excluding the FBI, were able to cause a great deal of confusion and wrecking. This was the result of an incorrect application, at several levels, of the united front principle. A Leninist party has to have a professional revolutionary centre. It also has to have organs and links that lead the broadest ideological and political discussions throughout the society from bottom to top and top to bottom. The two must not be mixed up, however. The revolutionary centre should be as fortress-like as the organising committee of a trade union struggle in the heat of the battles with Capital. This fortress can't just be within the Central Committee, but at all levels of the organisation. If the party had bolshevised itself back in the 1920s in the manner recommended by the Comintern throughout the 1920s and 1930s, this distinction would have been strictly maintained. The toxic impact of Browder's line and leadership style was that liberalism on this front was not seriously dealt with, let alone dealt with in time. The revisionist content of this 'liberal' Marxism is important to nail. It begins with clarifying the difference between democracy in general in opposition to tyranny in general, on the one hand, and democratic norms that serve the interests of a working class organising to fight decisive battles over the society's future path, on the other. Regards >f580 wrote: I must express these thoughts. I accept that the CPUSA >encountered repression ...[etc] > > > >_______________________________________________ >Marxist-Leninist-List mailing list >Marxist-Leninist-List@lists.econ.utah.edu >To change your options or unsubscribe go to: >http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxist-leninist-list _______________________________________________ Marxist-Leninist-List mailing list Marxist-Leninist-List@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxist-leninist-list