PHIL Hearse's article, 'Crisis looms for CND', makes some admirable : pathetic showing that CND made in tne clechon However, Phil makes gesting CND should not have called for a Labour vote. In fact oniy a policy whole organisation to campaign for Labour stood any chance of sucLos.
Individuals like Bruce Kent and EP Thompson can't be expected to speak on Labour platforms, when they are Alternative to war COMRADE Baker (SA J3) accuses me of sudoorThatcher's task force and the 'Fortress Falklands' policy. This is dishonest and slanderous.
I opposed the former at the time, and would welcome a serious labour moyclicht callball against the latter now.
Our disacreement is over whether the strategy Thatcher is to hope for Argentina, or whether the labour movement must take the lead in preventing a new war breaking out in the South Atlantic.
Comrade Baker believes that the nationalist passions of the Argentine people can be used to do what the British labour movement has been unable to ao. and put an end to Thatcher's triumphal procession. This is a cynical and desperate policy.
In the first place, it prevents the British precisely the people steering the disarmament movement in the direction of middle-class 'pressure group' politics. The apoliticals in CND have always feared deterring Liberals and non-aligned supporters of the But the real point is. which party represented their interests? In practice it was and is Labour. An independent CND campaign would not only have increased the pressure on multilateralist backsliders but also have led CND activists to an understanding of the STUCLOL . The nature of the Labour bureaucracy.
In future when we call for a 'Labour movement vaculaur we musi make it clear we mean the abour movement of rank and file democracy and The main task is to pull back the fighting minority from futile adventurism and into a sober and long-term struggle to root out both the Labour traitors and the middle-class pacifist leadership of CND.
London WC1. seriousness, to fight now for an alternative to capitalist war Come to think of it, comrade Baker supports Thatcher's policy, since it will lead to the war which he craves.
COLIN MEADE, Surbiton. must be very confused il he thinks either Colin Meade or myself 'back Thatcher's unjust claim' to the Malvinas/ Falklands.
In fact I pointed out in my original letter on He ssue bal les duty of socialists is to op imperialism BUT does ina automatically mean that any country (imperialist or nou conne unto conflict with British imSurely not We take our stance from the interests of the working class, completely independently of the position of the bourgeoisie here, in Argentina, or anywhere else.
What interests do workers in Argentina have in pursuing the Malvinas claim anv further? It could only be a diversion away from the fight against their own reactionary (and pro-imperialist) rulers division which would cost yet more Argentinian working Class lIves 'It's a historical fact,' says John, 'that from the moment of her foundation the Malvinas islands were a part of Argentina as much as Buenos Aires itself. This statement is ustorcary accuralc Led them until 1816 when they were clanca v.
Argentina. There was no significant Argentinian population in 1833 when Britain took over.
But apart from this, the real point is that for Marxists nations are peo ple, not geography. There are no Argentinians on the islands, and the islanders themselves oppress no-one (unlike the Ulster protestants, for instance).
So why support Argentina's claim? The only explanation can be some sort of mystical, irredentist* nationalism quite alien to Marxism.
That such nationalism, is, in John's case, undoubtedly borne of a genuine hatred of Thatcher and of British imperialism, does not make it any the less wrong or any tne less ulsastious il so far as its consequences for Argentinian workers For British and Argentinian workers, the main enemy is at home!
JOE GUARNIERI, Birmingham. * Irredentist refers to an Italian party which ad. vocated the recovery and union to Italy of all Italian-speaking districts now subject to other countles Write to us!
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Socialist Action 24 June 1983