[Marxism] Scott McLemee on Albert Weisbord

[dwalters@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

Well, I still respect Scott for the work he did on CLR James and his early
contributions to the Marx Engels Internet Archive (of which, Louis P, was one
also).

It is not quite true that Scott wasn't ever a member of any of the left groups
that exist in the US. He was probably the only recruit to "Socialist Unity", a
group that came out of Socialist Action in 1985 or so. SU was one of the 3
constiuent groups that formed today's Solidarity [the other two being the old
International Socialists and the Workers Power group, the latter an earlier
split from the former]. I do not know if Scott ever joined Solidarity, or if he
did, for how long.

On Abe Weisbord. I completely enjoyed both his writings and his autobiography,
haveing been a founder of the early CP and a leading union guy at the time. He
was, along with the "Oehlerites" (a group the late Sidney Lens was a member of,
as well as Irving Howe, of all people), the "Sparts" of their day, along with
the same sort of polemics, much/most/all of it directed at the SWP, James P.
Cannon, and eventually, Leon Trotsky, who both groups argued, eventually, was
a "Centrist".

Trotsky, in the early 30s, during the 'Dog Days of American Trotskyism', in his
view, wanted nothing to do with Weisbord. Abe then travelled to see the Old Man
(LT) in his first stop of his exile in Turkey. LT wrote a very short note
asking Cannon to consider a discussion with Weisbord, but LT never raised it
again after Cannon either ignored or disregarded his advice.

Vera Wiesbord and some friends received a grant of sorts to transcribe "Class
Struggle", (they paid to have done) and built a great historical site, some of
which we mirror on the Encyclopedia of Trotskyism On-Line and the Trotsky
Internet Archive.

David Walters

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