IWCA part 1

[R-HICKMAN@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

On Jan 18th Adam Rose accused me of having a "patronising
attitude to working class organisations". What I'd actually said
was "if you agitate for more industrial militancy, that's what
you get, more industrial militancy; not necessarily revolutionary
change". To make things clearer regarding my attitude to working
class organisations, I reproduce a leaflet distributed by the
Independent Working Class Association; the Open Polemic
collective to which I belong, is one of the initial sponsors of
this initiative.
Adam might be particularly interested to look at the second part
of this posting -IWCA part 2 - under the headings 'Clean Break',
Self Determination' and 'Resistance'. To the leaflet:

"The Independent Working Class Association" has been established
to promote and celebrate the political independence of the
working class and to pursue the political and economic interests
of that class, with no consideraion for and regardless of the
consequences to the existing political and economic structures."
Founding Statement 21st October 1995

In June 1994, the media reported that Labour had recruited only
6,000 trade unionists from the 4,000,000 political levy payers
offered a vote in the leadership poll. Since then Labour has
recruited well in ecxess of its 80,000 target figure. But if they
are not trade unionists, who are they? Activists within the
Socialist Workers Party who will be campaigning for Labour at the
next election already know the answer. "All the indications are
that the electoral support and possible membership emerges from
the thoroughly rattled middle classes and not from the working
class at all." Former deputy leader Roy Hattersley concurs: "We
live in the age of the almost universal middle class, what they
want from a political party is prudent compassion. The near
unanimous support for cautious altruism is an electoral
blessing."
Labour a middle class party for middle class people. This is the
moment of truth for the entire British Left. Will it continue
with the pretence that Tory versus Labour represents the very
essence of class conflict, while bemoaning the fact that
'socialism' has been abandoned, or take advantage of the fact?
It's make your mind up time.

LESSER EVIL

Like the left the working class is increasingly split into pro
and anti-Labour camps. And as with the working class only the
former are organised. The first step towards reaching the
unorganised working class is to organise the un-organised
anti-Labour left. Many working class people are increasingly
alienated from Labour. The strategy of the far right is entirely
reliant on this alienation. However it is not the job of working
class militants to mend this relationship. On the contrary, the
task is to make the break permanent. Labour's arrorgant contempt
in regard to its former constituency is based on the belief that
there is no possibility of an alternative to them, and so the
working class will be forced to vote for them as  'the lesser
evil' regardless. "The least advantaged - and in some ways the
attractive  members of society will undoubtedly vote Labour
whatever the party does." (Roy Hattersley 1/4/1994)

CONSERVATIVE LEFT

One consequence of this analysis, is that their left flank is
glaringly vunerable. Many organisations to Labour's left defend
their repeated failure to attack this flank on the grounds that:
a) 'Labour is a step to the left' b) 'we are to small to stand
against them'c) 'we are the socialist alternative'.
While such organisations present themselves as radical, they are
on the wrong side of this natural demarcation line. The one
consistent message of the conservative left is that a politically
independent working class is not only impossible but undesirable.
As sponsors of The Independent Working Class Association we
disagree. Now more than ever what is needed is a politically
independent working class organisation. The setting up of such an
organisation is the only practical response to the situation we
are faced with; the total abandonment, even as a concept, of the
working class by Labour.
For without organisation the working class has no voice. Without
a voice there can be no resistance. Without resistance the
British working class fulfills the role ordained for it by the
establishment and becomes politically extinct.

To be continued....



     --- from list marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ---

     ------------------