A British socialist magazine from the 1950s

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

[Barry Buitekant sent me some interesting background on a magazine called
"Socialist Outlook" that was published in the 1950s and which is mentioned
favorably in "American Socialist" frequently. Of particular note is the
fight between Gerry Healy and John Lawrence, which alas did not end
favorably.]]

Louis

You asked about 'Socialist Outlook'.

I presume it is the journal founded by Gerry Healy. One way of describing it
is to quote from 'Bevanism- Labour's High Tide' by Mark Jenkins published by
Spekesman in 1979:

"Tribune's involvement with Transport House in the consolidation period,
combined with the Communists' self-imposed quarantine, meant that the field
of critical left-wing politics in the Labour movement was relatively open
for two years or more. At this very moment the British Trotskyists, studied
practictioners of sectarianism, made a remarkable turn towards the Labour
Party and began to work in the left current. In December 1948, a modest
monthly, 'Socialist Outlook', was launched from the North London home of the
Labour Publishing Society by a group of left wingers which included
Trotskyists, fellow travellers and some left Labor MPs and trade union
leaders.

'Socialist Outlook' grew into an impressive little monthly that was able to
transform itself into a forthnightly and then a weekly in the course of
1952. A measure of the importance of this historically neglected publication
and the organisation associated with it - Socialist Fellowship - is to be
gauged from a list of those who, with varying degrees of regularity,
contributed articles to the paper, or were involved in meetings and joint
activities."

Later he writes:

"Although they numbered less than one hundred people nationally, a short
review of the immediate post-war activities of the British Trotskyists is
called for. Whilst neither the Outlook or Fellowship were explicitly
Trotskyist enterprises, Trotskyists played a leading, if not dominating
role- certainly on the paper, though not entirley in the organisation. The
two tendencies of British Trotskyism had fused in 1944 to form the
Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) which optimistically set itself up in
competion to both the Labour Party and the British Communist Party. Within
the RCP 'entrist' factions began to push for entry into the British Labour
Party. The most imprtant af these factions was led by Gerry Healy.

By December 1948 the entrist faction had begun work as Labour Party members
and established the Socialist Outlook as a vehicle for conducting a dialogue
with Labour's left wing. But the Trotskyists had no one of the intellectual
and political stature to make the exercise worthwhile. The RCP's 'open'
journal 'Socialist Appeal' continued to publish until the summer of 1949
when that organisation broke up. At the time in question British Trotskyism
did not present the picture of anarchic fragmentation which we are familar
with today, and the Healy entrists, after losing a small faction at the time
of the Korean war, quickly established unchallenged leadership of British
Trotskyism. They became know as 'the Club', and worked clandestinely as part
of the Labour left."

They continued in existence until 1954 when a combination of being banned by
the Labour Party, witch hunted by the Stalinists and the financial costs of
a libel case by Geoffrey Phillips Tobacco Company forced the closure of the
paper.

Mark Jenkins, the author of 'Bevanism' was for years a leading member of the
SLL and then a supporter of the Lambertists.

One more point about the demise of 'Socialist Outlook' which I had forgotten
about. This was the faction fight between Healy and John Lawrence (editor of
the paper) in 1953/54. Lawrence was a supporter of the Cochrane/Clarke
tendency . Healy finally defeated Lawrence at the AGM in May 1954 but the
demoralisation of what was a very fierce struggle combined with the effects
of the Labour Party proscription a few months later and Stalinist attacks
plus the libel case costs was more than the paper could bare.

Lawrence entered the Communist Party and led a famous rent strike in Camden.

Presumably if the 'American Socialist' was commenting favorably on
'Socialist Outlook' this would be before May 1954. But Sol Dollinger will
know more than I do.

Regards

Barry Buitekant

Louis Proyect
Marxism mailing list: http://www.marxmail.org/