Re: DSP on Cannon (Re: Camejo's article)

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Thu, 13 Jun 2002 23:26:12 -0400, Martin Schreader wrote:
>
>Um, wasn't the SP Left EXPELLED -- that is, left
>not of their own accord?
>
>Comradely;
>Martin

There are splits and there are splits.

When the Russian social democracy split into Bolshevik and Menshevik
factions, it was understood by all participants that they were part
of the same movement. In fact Lenin seriously considered making a
bloc with the Mensheviks against Bogdanov, a Bolshevik leader who had
gone off the deep end on philosophical questions--now obscure.

The split in the American movement was a cold split. It may or may
not have been preventable given the mindset of rightwing social
democrats like Hillquit. However, once the split was consummated, the
consequences were disastrous for the working class. There would be a
permanent division based on whether or not one would be willing to
follow Moscow's cue.

In fact Lenin tried to heal these divisions through a united front
tactic that was actually first proposed by German CP'ers who viewed
the split in social democracy worldwide as harmful. Keep in mind that
although the German SP rightwing leaders had Luxemburg and
Liebknecht's blood on their hands, the German SP leftwing worked
closely with the CP in the ill-fated insurrection of 1924.

The last act of "Bolshevik" intervention in the SP was played out in
the "French turn" which was one of Leon Trotsky's most foolish
initiatives in the Zinovievist art of party-building. He instructed
his followers to enter the leftward moving SP's in the mid 1930s in
order to capture the leftwing and destroy the SP as a serious
alternative to the Stalinized CP's. He was eminently successful. You
had SP's which were cannibalized and strengthened Trotskyist sects
that by their very nature could not win the masses.


--
Louis Proyect, lnp3@xxxxxxxxx on 06/14/2002

Marxism list: http://www.marxmail.org



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