abandoned.
Far from Kinnock being winnable to socialism a starting point orany realistic socialist strategy today must be a firm understanding of the fact that Kinnock is a totally committed enemy The practical and industrial.' away outcome policies and views of the Kinnockite left were spelt out with crystal clarity in last week's issue of the New Stateman. The journal's new year editorial declared, 'Ihe scope for reducing unemployment and re-expanding the economy in the is distressingly limited programme must. include a whole range of other positive policy objectives that are not narrowly economic the sophisticaled black communities, the black section, the formation of Women Against Pit Closures ana ils affiliation lo the NUM, the struggle in local Ilical. demands of Tony Benn, Dennis Sinner, others in the Campaign group of MPs, did not simply give verbal supporl lo the miners but went out and directly supported them in action. They followed this up after the strike by helping lead the struggle to support the miners through the amnesty Callbalkll
Jon ane areas or une country where trie tight wing almost totally dominales the bour movement. The right wing maority in these areas breeds ultra-leftism a response.
The common views of these groupis are the positions such as that we ace a 'revolutionary crisis' in Britain in le next four or five years; that tacticalArthur Scargill disasterously failed confront the trade union at the 1984 Trade Union Conthat the central organising line of de in the class struggle today is not fight against Thatcher but 'organis:
the anti-Kinnock lell: enn, or another leader of the Labour a, should have run againsı Neil Kinck for the leadership of the Labour ry following the miners strike; and er views that both wrong emselves and would chiefly succeed getting the left in the party smashed.
These ultra-left views lics alc generally coupled with ra-left, and sectarian, views on inter¡onal politics. Views such as thal LN is trying to preserve capitalism in aragua, the FMEN is trying lo build popular front in El Salvador, the promame of the UDF in South Africa is rong occause based mocratic demands againsi apartheid not expuenty sociansi demands.
OR PEACE AND SOCIALISM ported etc.
for socialism, suicidally wrong the views of this ultra-left current. burear- Trends these baree bad thal Tony means that separale on all ferent issues.
British ultra-left, through the coordialllig necessity 10 now quielly dropping this.
Ine class struggle left. that Sinn Fein's politics cannot be supBut as regards British tactics it is the view of a shorl term struggle for powe tall and socialism, the failure to understand the prolonged lask of creating a majoriana a series of lactics which flow from this analysis which characterise Having outlined the existence of trends the kin. nockite lefl, the class struggle left, and the ultra-left — this does not of course these force. are totally afford, internally homogenous. Differences within these broad trends, exist among all of them.
These different sections of the left can, and should, work together on difA loose. form of collaboration already exists belween a seclion of the class struggle left, and the Left the which starled off with an ultra-left line of the pressed, Run a candidale agains leadership innock for parly leader but which sections of the Kinnockite left, and the ultra-left are working logerner manany in tne Justice for Mineworkers Campaign. The class struggle left, at least Ken Livingstone from the Kinnockite left, and ultra-left working against the Anglo-Irish Accord. The tinal set of forces that will work together against the witch hunt is nol yet clear, but should be as wide as possible on a principled basis.
But despite ine overlap cooperațion, and currents such as Milltant which stand outside all of them, there are three basic currents on the left movement today. • A Kinnockite left which limits itself 1o what the bourgeoisie is prepared 10 and which capitulates before each serious bourgeois assaull. Il is a left however which contains contradiclory trends on particular issues as it does have a mass working class base which is not prepared to go all the way with Kinnock • A class struggle left whose base is the mining communities, the big cities, black community, working women and olher sections of the op but which has thrown which has shown prepared to fight against altacks of the bourgeoisie. which knows "which side it is on' This struggle left recognises that it is a minority today, the whole us na was between n ha?" and is fighting on a perspective which could be summarised as popular majority for socialism.' • An ulira left understand that the working class 10day is engaged in a fight for a socialist majority and therefore and sectarian tactics and politics both in Britain and, for somewhat different reasons, internationally.
While these different currents can, and should, cooperale where ever it is in the objective interests of the working class and oppressed, they do constitule distinct currents 1o be organised distincily course does not al all preclude cooperation.
It is out of this that the discussion on a new paper on the left arises. class struggle left is acquiring distinclive organisations and policies it sup ports - the Scargill wing of the NUM the Campaign group of MPs and Campaign groups Women Against Pit Closures, the black up section, the demands of the Action Committee, CLPD, the Labour Committee o11 have fought in local government and others. also to the Kinnockites this class struggle left does nor have a distinctive paper Socialist Action 10 January 1986 'creating which refuses • and not a fight for power proposes ultra-left They therefore need which of . The wnich develod locally, people. who But since Tribune openly went which seriously draws together, and is based on, these forces There is of course a precondfion for the success of such a paper: That is that is must be really based on, and under the control of, the forces which lead this left. Papers produced by small grouping which pretend to be the Campaign group, for example, are no use at all. Papers such as Socialist Action cannot possibly play such a role because they have a quite different function and views which are an extreme minority in the class struggle left which is developing. Nor can smaller forces claim to be the mouthpiece of this current.
The acknowledged leadership of this class struggle current, the people who have the overwhelming majority support among it, are people like Arthur Scargill's supporters in the NUM, the Campaign group of MPs Women Against Pit Closures, the black section, and others. A paper of the class strug gle left would have lo be under their control. Others could, and should, express their views but the real majorities, and real relations of forces, which exis in this class struggle current have to. be expressed in such a paper.
But such a newspaper of the class struggle left, organised on that basis, is urgently needed today. Socialist Action would strongly support it.
ONI DECEMBER a gigantic step forward was taken by the black majority of South Africa in the struggle for its liberation. The formation of the nearly 500,000 strong non-racial, overwhelmingly black, Confederation of South African Trade Unions Socialist Action 10 January 1986 the most powerful the African continent.
defining its political (COSATU), created not only the largest organisation of black workers in the history of South Africa but organisation of workers on Since its formation COSATU has been rapidly orientation. DICK CARTER looks at the political development of COSATU in the first month of its existence - and in particular at COSATU's increasing move towards united action, with the African National Congress (ANC).
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- that the Soviet Union was denied by, Mar Wars reseathe necessity of curing VOL 49 NO 1 O
messag 3 JANUARY 1986