Fourth International Volume 7 No. 2 i Price 25 pence Winter 1971-72 | EDITORIAL The International Committee and the struggle for power ; BOLIVIA: Revolution and counter-revolution LUKACS: a political itinerary Marxist theory and class consciousness REVIEW Stalinism, Liberalism and British HistoryVolume 7 No. 2 Price 25 pence Winter 1971-72 EDITORIAL The International Committee and the struggle for power BOLIVIA: Revolution and counter-revolution LUKACS: a political itinerary Marxist theory and class consciousness REVIEW Stalinism, Liberalism and British HistoryFourth International ‘A Journal of International Marxism Published by the International Committee of the Fourth International 1864 Clapham High Street, London, $.W.4 Editors: Tom Kemp, Cli Slaughter Volume 7, No. 2 Winter 1974-72 CONTENTS Editorial: The International Committee and the struggle for power 87 Statement by the International Committee of the Fourth International (24.10.71) 60 Statement by the Organization Communiste Inter- nationaliste (OCI) (19.9.71) 67 Joint Statement from the OCI, POR Partido Obrero Revolucionario and the Organizing Committee of the Communists of E Europe (12.10.71) 68 Bolivia : bitter lessons of defeat Tim Wohiorth 69 What happened in Bolivia ? Guillerme Lora R The Political itinerary of Georg Lukacs Balazs Nagy 7 Marxist theory and class consciousness ©, Slaugtter a Review Article: Stalinism, Liberalism and British History 1. Brotherstone 98EDITORIAL The International Committee and the struggle for power ‘Tie Laws of history are stronger than the bureaucratic apparatus.” In these words of the Transitional Programme of the Fourth Inter- national in 1938, Leon Trotsky summarized the essence of the political preparation that would be necessary to ‘resolve the crisis of revolu- tionary leadership’. At that time, the Second World War was only months away, made inevit- able by the betrayals of Stalinism in Germany and Spain. The cream of the international revolutionary leadership, the great majority of it in the Soviet Union, was being ruthlessly physically destroyed by the Stalinist machine, In the struggle to build the Fourth Inter- national on the theoretical foundations laid by Marx, Engels, Lenin and Trotsky, the Stalinist apparatus has had to be fought with every ‘ounce of energy for what it has always been, the principal counter-revolutionary force in the world, Not only did the Stalinists engage in direct collaboration with the imperialists during, World War Il, and in the capitalist coalitions which ruled Western Europe after the war. Not only did they themselves draw up with the imperialists and militarily establish the division of Europe and of Germany, they performed such an essential task (from the capitalist standpoint) in stabilizing’ the post-war world that they were instrumental in reviving the fortunes of the long, discredited social-democrats or reformists in the international labour movement. ‘The great importance to the imperialists since 1945 and today of men like Willy Brandt, Guy Mollett and Harold Wilson would be as nothing were it not for the fact that the boom conditions in which these men have thrived politically were established on the basis of the counter-revol. tionary world role of Stalinism at the end of World War TI, Without Guy Mollet and Jules Moch. the French reformists. the ten years of relative stability for French capitalism under de Editorial Gaulle would not have been initiated in 1958, Without Wilson and his Labour predecessors, the British Tories would not have had the time and opportunity to change their political clothes and start the offensive they began in 1970 in Britain and Ireland. Without Brandt, constitu tional crisis would have coincided’ with the revival of workers’ militancy and economic recession in Germany. And in Italy, the social- democrat Saragat has been allowed room. to work for endless government combinations while the Stalinist trade union leaders have restrained and diverted the succession of general strikes. The social-democrats after 1945 were the ain proponents of the economic policies of John Maynard Keynes. Having long since abandoned socialism, they deluded themselves that govern- ‘ment manipulation could iron out the contradic- tion of capitalism and lay the basis for social peace. They were actually talking about a sufficiently high degree of ‘economic growth’ to assure that the workers were not thrown into common action as a class, and that bureaucrats of their own type would become a permanently necessary committee of management for a nicely functioning system, The new historical -per- sonalities of this golden age were to be ‘the administrator, the public relations man, the welfare expert, the ‘whizz-kid’, and atthe rough edges, the ‘trouble-shooters’, and even the “ombudsman On the ‘left’ were the followers of Marcuse and every variety of revisionist who accepted that this’ was @ new stage of capitalism or a ‘neo-capitalism’, They were suitably morally outraged at the ‘consumer society’, as the victims of advertising, at the growth of a plastic world, at_the restraints on. ‘freedom’. They ‘made obscure references to the darkening of humanity's horizon and they had every fear that 7what had happened in Stalin's Russia ‘proved’ that socialism was no better than capitalism. President Richard. Nixon's preat historical place will be that, without understandieg one Word of all this, he was “chosen” to give it the eath-blow! ‘On August. 13, after’ reacting t0 the continuous and mighty pressure of the con- ttadictions which had. accumulated. for the dollar plant, he formally closed a chapter of history. The dollar” would. no. longer even ‘theoretically’ be exchangeable against gold, and fixed currency parties were dismissed. Bchind this lay the awful fact that the claims, against the dollar on an international scale had grown {0 four times the foal stock of gold held in the United States! All the alk about “de-monetizing” gold and the creation of new currencies isnot a echnical dacusion buts fant trning ay fom this chasm opening up before capitalism's eyes: a, chasm of aon-value, of the. sudden deathly verdict that what was wealth yesterday will mean mothing today or tomorrow. Bretton Woods isa dead letter. ‘Nixon's other measures have an immediate impact which pulls the bottom out from under all the reformists and the Stalinists who have Provided the international conditions for their continued life, The 10 per cent surcharge on imports into the United States with powers to increase it, is an open and certain return to protectionism of the modern imperialist type. It means mass unemployment in every other capitalist country. The manufacturing industries ‘of Japan and Germany particularly, suffer immediately. And here, where the past deeds of Stalinism and fascism had helped in “domes- ticating’ the labour force for the productive expansion of the boom, now the workers, far from being in any mood to accept the burden ‘of the plunge into recession, are feeling the strength put into their veins by the years of full employment, and are forcing ‘their unions into strugele, just as are the workers of Britin and Domesticlly, Nixon is at last forced to heed those capitalist advisers who want an “incomes polly’ but itis brought forward in virulently atlonalistic and reactionary form, The American trade unionist is promised. price “control in exchange for a wage standstill. This wage stand- sil in combination with Nuon other meas, Ws sold-as an insurance policy for the products of American labour receiving their true reward in fair competition on the world. market, The ‘American worker is invited to share with his corporate employers the joys of showing the Fest of the world. who is really the master ‘Already the price control has collapsed, as was inevitable. And the American workers wil fight in their unions with a strength of which ther employers are mortally afraid, but still do. not grasp even fractionally, Keynesian policies, and the brokers’ job carried out by a generation of Social Democrats who lived on borrowed time, are dead. Britain and West Germany best exemplify the political implication. In these two countries—and the experience is being repeated in all other coun- tries in different forms, because of the univers ality of the crisis and the depth of its political effect—the struggle for Marxist theory now takes place under conditions where the prepara- tions of the revolutionary minority can be made to coincide with the unavoidable shocks to the lives and consciousness of the masses. In the 1930s unemployment and depression, and_above all the disastrous consequences Of Stalinism, brought in the aftermath of “MacDonald consolidation of the extreme right ig (Attlee, Morrison, Bevin) in the Labour Party and this right wing carried through theit countertevolutionary task. in the post-war settlement. The working class, betrayed again nationally and internationally by the Stalinists after’ 1945, left the proletariat” no alternative other than’ ¢o express its strength through the unions and through the Labour right wing elec- torally. But the working class's strength has been ‘maintained. We approach the consequences of the slump now under way in a situation entirely different from that of the workers’ movement in 1920-1931. On the one hand we have the objec- tive factors producing a proletariat undefeated and recognizing that all its historic gains, its basic rights won in struggle, are involved in the defence of what has been won during the boom ‘And on the other hand, the subjective factor, the successful struggle for the continuity of the Fourth International, the principal content of which has been to. develop and. deepen. our theoretical and practical understanding, that the construction of independent. revolutionary par ties of the working class is the key question of our whole epoch, is the only basis for the development of Marxism. ‘Thus we enter the struggle for power, inevit ably engendered by the economic crisis, with a Trotskyist movement already armed in Britain with a daily revolutionary newspaper and inter- nationally with the consciousness. that Marxist cadres can and will be trained on the bedrock of the struggle for dialectical materialism. ‘As we go to press, the engineering workers of Western Germany record their massive majority for strike action for their Il per cent. wage claim. Capitalist opinion is insisting that to concede this wage claim would be to open the floodgates for the whole working class at a time when the employers cannot afford concessions. Why? Because, as the London Times expresses it ‘international currency factors’ and the US. import surcharge, together with rising costs, have forced a profits drop in 1970-1971, for some ‘major German companies of 80 per cent! In these circumstances the ruling class and its organs grow fearful for the stability of the West German’ coalition, and particularly for its Fourth International Winter 1971/72economic high priest, the Social Democrat Karl Schiller. Just as in England, they demand state intervention to prevent strike action, ie. to prevent the beginning of a series of actions by the organized working class which would bring down the coalition. Meanwhile in Britain, the ‘same Times lectures its readers on the necessity for a strong Labour Party! In each case the same object: to find every means of beheading the working class, so that however severe the capitalist crisis, the strongest capitalists will emerge supreme at the end of the day. The International Committee of the Fourth International will now relize the tasks set inthe ransitional Programme, to ‘mass, parties based on Marxist theory. The hour has struck for the break in the workers’ movement from Stalinism and reformism to Trotskyism. The implacable struggle of the International Com- mittee for correct Marxist theory is now ‘exemplified in the struggle against the position of the POR* in Bolivia. The documents pub: shed here reveal beyond all question that ‘minority of the IC smuggles into IC form tions about united struggles against imperialism at the cost of Marxist theory. These formula- justification for ‘entering a bot in Ceylon, for capitulation to bourgeois nationalism in Cuba, and for the abandonment of any working class tive in favour of ‘students’ power’ and “national liberation’ politics. Bolivia, for which the documents here are published in full, was but the tragic culmination of this series of betrayals. We therefore ask all our readers to study very carefully the international documents and at the same time to pursue the theoretical and philosophical questions broached in this issue of the Fourth International, as the conscious pre- aration for the future. + Workers Revolutionary Party,Statement — ails International Committee of Tuite Rta an International against isolation and under con- aitons “Snfavourable for ‘the development of, Marast theory. ‘Trotigiam “suered. from re vjstonist” attempts to Iiquidate the. Fourth. International, and Sice "133? when Pato aia ‘ie roup split" from the “Four Anterational “only "the “rte national Committee of the Fourth International has fousht for the continuity of Tretsksism. Now {he Internaional’ Commitee has fhe aak of building partes ver) country capable Bf leading fhe" erunale Tor" power, 1. A new period for the Trotskyist. movement @ the Fourth International, founded by Leon Trotsky i 1938, now. faces the greatest change "and the greatest chal- fenge in ts history. Capitalism Intemational "economic. craig entered a completely new stage fon August 15, 197i, when President Nixon administered the eath blow to all the economic find. political relations “Imposed By te ling ‘has, ated by the “Stalinist ‘bureaucracy, In The leap in consciousness, the 1944-1985. development” of revolutionary ‘nthe’ new conditions, the theory and practice, necessary (0 working. class is" everywhere meet this responsibility, invelves Unven into struggles for power. fnd"ine rrotat ovement tunities for assembling and tai Ing” the and especially of Stalinism, haa been fhe revition of Mardst theory ‘The ‘continuity of the. struggle for_revelutionary’ Marist theory In the past, the strugale of the Fourth “Intemational anc. the International Commitee, was the nly. basis for the. initiatives which ed" to\ this rally"and_ for the strugale to build the inter= haticnal revelutionaey’ youth movement. Revolutionary youth ‘verswhere must devote them: sehey above al 10, the ak Of developing "Marxist theory Ghrough. the" struggle against bboursecis ideoleay in all the forms. it) takes in. the workers" movement, This is the only basis for ‘combating’ the dang {dventuriam, activism and “pure” fmiliancy with which revisionists nd Maoiats mislead. the south, fand which can cnly lead t0 Hiteso delete or the working ‘This sas _alre teal split. Thet do FT built "on the: foundations of Sislectical materiaism and. the polities ef "Lenin and. ‘Trotsky But thes” want a. centrist. amal fam ‘cf all those ‘eho want to Sistem the masses by talk about evclutionars united. fronts” and ‘expressing the’ will cf the tmavtes. Their “IC for the recon: Structicn of the (FE ts. thei fraudulent attempt to, use. the Fesclutionats mame ‘of ‘the Te of the FI for ‘thelr own ‘oppor funist aims, They will never stgceed in" doing. this Se males the IC rejec ted their unprincipled manoeuvre at Essen, New they have. chosen ta stake everything on the issue (of Belisia, sea smokescreen for the feal issues) which thes” will not discuss Running. away from the reat theoretical and” practical qucke tony bulging the, “they Bropose te intimidate the mover rent with shouting abou folidari” with’ the “POR. of Bolivia, This was the old trick Used by ‘the SW on Cuba in 1963: ‘no theoretical “discussion and no ertisism ‘of Cubs: they ‘The vote of the OCI and the Hunsaran™ section a Esen against the TC majority was ea ‘Hed out in front. of an observer Of the American Spartacist group fof Robertson. This has an fistoncal significance which can: not be overstated. "At the ‘Third Conference of the IC in 1966, the French and Ln couvenngeNt POPULAIRE 2 undermine the poitical reaibity the demand of the t i warts ort pepuar government by wdvoncing the Soman are volved ina revolution, Similars, Pablo excluded political discussion with his theory cf the {imminent Third Weld War. And It'must never be forzotten that the" supression ‘of discussion on Cuba and Cesicn, Used to effect the ‘unfieaticn’ of 1963, had. as NS direct onsequence the entry of the Lank Sama Samaja Party (LSSPy, while “tila section of the Pabloite Secretariat, into the fourgeots coalition of" Mrs Bandaranaike Hunsarian sections voted with {or “resolutions afiiming. the revolutionary Fourth Taterstional. “Opposin this were two groups invited af observers tothe.” Conference, Robertson's Spartacists and. the French "Voix Ouvtiere™ (now Latte Ouvritve). As opportunist and praumatists they” denounced the FES "Strugsle for continuity ‘Alter the Conference, Robert. son, collaborated with Hansen and “the “revislonist | Socialist Workers Party (SWE) in whole: fale slander of the SLL" and the TC: tn its resolution at the 1966, Conference, the IC, including the ‘CL, unanimously stated: Thy JC oe ni le sing oe age or Eek ca ep ta Sir a oe acto i ops ae ges ree Camis Ge ie. te Co = ie ras eae Et hose ie tet BP Pa ‘The OCI will reply. that the invitation was sued “on ine ial inating By’ Coad ra, secretary of the ATS, that’ they haves condemned It. On. July 9, alter "Essen, the 0cr Pousial Bureau carried Uranumously the following Fe- “The Political Bureau regrets that the. Robertson "Spartacst™ froup was Invited as observer 10 Essen, without this decision ‘be ing. taken "responsibly. The PB. considers this individual initative fo"be wrong and. condemns. Th Ioan unanenered int that leaders Feit poliicaly ‘responsible for lumist polities of Bers. at Essen returned (0 Sgainst ‘Tretskyism with a tens ‘dency such as the POUM, hostile tothe very foundation” ofthe Feurth Internationa and pre- pared. to" collaborate with "the CI only co the basis “ef abane doning' the’ strustle for 8 fedndiion and contnulty? Pre: CGsely- at the point im the. world Eris, where everthing depends the basis ef” Marnst theory prosramme, “of revolutionary partis where the struggle tasinst iguidationism and against the "revision. of dialectical Iueriiim: comes to a ead at this’ point “comes. the split (ci uns cean away fom this Hatori strugle "and, "inthe fame of “expressing” spontaneous ‘movements of the masses, Joins Sworn opponents of the Fl, col inborates with the, centrist aff against the TC. 3. The fight for dialec- tical materialism WE when the French delesation at Essen “opposed the SLL ‘Statement from the ICFI amendment on the steusale for Marnst theory, they set the seal fon" an opposition. to dialectal ‘ateraiam which was fot at all few. One sear earlier. in June 1976, ‘at the ioternational ‘pre Conference of the IC, these, dit ferences Became explicit. And for Nery good “reasons objectively Founded in the. strussle. Ant SIpating the profound: worsening ofthe econcmic crisis and. the strugale provoked by it, the SLL dslegates stressed “the' ursency St the basic training of the yout in dialectical thinking What was most essential in the preparation of the sections. was “ty derlop deta! material {0 “canaform ‘the consciousness of hes working, las ia the his means the “understanding nd. development, of dalectica materialism as the. theory of Enowledge of Marsism. ‘Reflecting the attacks on dia lectial materialism by the petty: Bourgeois intelligentsia "of the ‘advanced ‘capitalist countries, ‘especialy France and Germany, ‘and of B Europe, the OCI and ‘Hungarian delegations declared that dialectical materialism was fot a theory of knowledge and Took up the positon that only programme was the basis of the Building of partes. Here is the very estence of revisionism which Prepares the way for liquidating the party into. centism. ‘We insist once more, with all fut forge: only 2 basic Struggle for ("dialectical materialism Sasinst all enemies of Marxist sed cated forward in, srusle Inst the, spontaneous con SSiousness of the working. clas, fan equip. the youth forthe Eullaing ef the Fourth Internat “Tp the polemic with Burnham and)" Shachtman (1939-1940), ‘Trotsky wrote: “in the United States he here ‘the bourgeoisie systems realy instils vulgar empiiciam {the workers, more than any- ‘where else, it’ is. necessary to speed the elevation of the move Best, © F proper theoretical ‘The theoretical struggle at this basic level is essential for every fection “of the. Fourth Interna tignal And) against” those “who ufuse i" “acquire and’ develop sineecal materia ojsky ‘wrote: “This ts nothing’ 2 "renunciation “of Marxism, of fcientife method in-general, a ‘wretched Capitulation fo" empl 4, The OCI and the French working class This opposition to the basic BeouicTtaie e ae ee at SP a deca Sea cameos Sree oes ye et gear oe Pee Soke ied Eat Bie rose rie Baleares SAS ee ae Sa oe St teat ieee ie cea ener, ee Ti SAP ese Sect Phan ates Seo le ee Beco wena Bec ais cet feos ora gan SS ee oot te Sk ce cae Stet Rai ace St ie tat Samer ees ie yc ee Pa ee Ses Gor trent et Bo eta abc's SP hu Be testa aera f Biel med Eat FL Seeannee aes hs er intone ae aes Er eatenys Scr SE Sein li “The Essen rally itself was con- ceived and. carried through by the OCI ae a diversion from the Unresolved problems." of their ‘Work in’ the French “working ‘lass, An artificial formsla wat setsitted hich nade jermany the Toca! point ‘workers struggle in Europe, and thea the OCI led. their youth movement to a rally wher® less than’ 200 German youth partic Bateg and real poltial work ¢0 id’ sections. of the FI war eplaced by demagogy and show= smanehip. ld not and did not have the slightest effect on the work: France or of Germany. ‘The SLL participated retuctanty, dad only'on the “understanding wwe received the preparatory ‘document in timer Tt yas fecsved urinated onl «fer jours before out delegation left for Esten. The. SLL and. the majority of the IC. ‘Sections, Raving moved ‘their amendment, voted for the general resolution ‘despite diferences, only in order to preserve public uty ‘of the Te uring. the period of prepa: ration "ef the’ International Fourth Conference, at whieh the Gisputed “questions "would. be ‘Sseussed, June 1968, with the French workers on” General ‘Strike, themselves striving for an alternztive government, was the ‘retest testing me for the OCI, ‘But what did the strike reveal? It revealed the theoretical bankruptcy and ‘political impo- tence of the OCI’ whose leader: ship — guided by"a. superficial Impressionist analysis of de Gaulle’ coup in 1958 = had ‘exaggerated the’ strength and Wiabiiey of the Filth ‘Republic, Abandoned te revolutionary per: fective and writen off the revo. lationary capacities ofthe French working clas. ‘This defeatist conception, which extended even to" the Vietsam war, was. summed ‘up inthe rationalization of Lambert that the. French. working lass Ss destely detcted a 195 This pesimistic and essentially middleclass outlook ‘expressed, elf in all the organizational 4nd aitational work of the OCL apd ‘the AIS before and. after 136p."fe IS an “undeniable “fact that at no time during the General. Strike did. the OCT leadership" advance, a Socalst programme. ‘Nor did ‘it attempt fo undermine the political eredi= bio the: Stal Teach by critically” supporting the demand of the Renault workers for a popular government advancing the demand of 2 CP- ET government. Instead, the Cr lebders taltended the work: dng clans and rested the’ pol Heal scope. ofthe strike” by Gemanding a central strike com: ie th wee ay come Bites of ‘evelutionary” leader Shy 2 it necessary to remind the (OCI teaders that one of the chief feaons. for the debnitive slit frith "the Pabloites "was. their Telusal." "to! address "political rane to, the de? union eaueracy and fight for 2 CGT goverment tm the. French General Strike of 1953 Reval tlonists donor abstain on basic al questions ~~ only cen 3 syndicaiss do. ‘The Socialist Labour League tad warned the French section the dangers before 1968! ay 5,9: Nowe lita Phe Mata itis patent Bea hee, ea rag pall ae ISS he as ae eS atte ae moming Ee sea he Sebaet owes ‘a hee SET eon prot palo bes aan, festa! nat elites petal outa mishka ‘Sak ot is Suoe'e el Shoat SEER Sorte ted ra eet ser BU SEARS he Seal igh suh saoone aah he ie Stig motte Skeet oftPeamine te Shag EST aS th 8 Eee SOUS ers, Om o's Even fom, this 1968, exert ‘earned. ta fact the abstentionist pethods Cand. omiions of “the Minued into the presidential clee- Hons of 1969. In the referendum in March of the same. sear» the OCI had Sore Capital for a woe ‘gainst de Gaulle, im contrast 0 the abstensoniam of the Pablo. ites "However, the. guns from INS ones Har "wate fot in the presidential elections. the lass character ofowhich was ignored by. the OC ‘Romclves” on ther theory of “the “United Class Front, che OCT leaders used the ia, GE nd Ste Ens Pee ia ae iste CP ete BE Eris nate Thee tote we Sat it SPE a Sah plate Bet “la eld Eg ae Els he Be ea hemes, aes Ea ih, ann tastnce wrath SAP OP at Beene Fite, eae Salad Bo ie er at Sele i. oars ae eee Pa aa Site Me a hat Bsc tna oats ERT sit Sia ae ee oa oe Se hs Sah ipl et pets rate ats ae fed SRS Soe ‘The OCI leaders did none of these things. Some members Voted for Duclos, others for frre (SP) and. others, include ing comrade Lambert, abstained, What "was worse, the Oi attacked” the Stalinists for hav- ing dared to stand a candidate in the elections despite the fact that the “Stalimsts in the” previous presidential elections im 1963 id Rot do so and ingtead supported Mitterand, 2 Bourgeois pattician. In 1965, the OCI did not even intrvenes thi in Erape, at i Bolivar the policy of the ‘uni fe ont and the ‘united srorkert™ front” has." become Theans for diorienting the work. rs and strenathening the grip of fhe "“Stalimsts. and pete-bour- evis nationalists over the mass ovement. The sectarian sbsence ‘St any policy towards the Staine fits tn "Erance easly turns into Spportanisy 86 thatthe, Oct Gairares shou “the lode sStrugge in, Brain, without any ican “of its Suainist shop Steward: leaders — in the same iSSuet'as “their denunciation of the ‘Socialist Latour League’ and Worker eae Fourth Intemational Winter 1971/72MOB ae IMPERIALISMUS NEIN STALINISMUS IMPERIALISM = NO. STALINISH (MPERIALISHO NO | MPERIALISME NON The capitulation to spontaneity oe ‘Statement from the (CFIwin -— INPERIALISMUS NEIN — STALINISMUS- NEIN STMT IMPERIALISM = NO. STALINISH” NO SOCIALISH / ie THPERIALISHO NO —STALINISMo IMPERIALISME NON — STA WMTIEPHAAM3M_HET 5. The capitulation to spontaneity‘Thus Pablo. held. that given a hanged’ world balance of forces inthe post-war: period a. "new reality: "existed "whereby "the evolutionary process would force the ‘Stalinist Parties, the Sool ‘democratic. boreaucraces and the petty bourgeois national: ists ina “ough way" to make the ‘evolution We now find this method developed “once again By. the OCI We are told we are ina period of, ‘imminent’ revolution Within “this period. there, Is evolutionary "proces Partie and leaderships then “correspond? toc this “process. We are’ ever fold of an overall process ocea- sionally “"conereuized™ in some- thing like the Popular Assembly In "Bolivia, which proceeds "through different stages and dif ferent forms towards the Univer Sal" Republic’ of. Soviets. The evolutionary partys task’ isto ‘xpress these processes This ig nothing more than idealism in the form of French fationalism gone mad, We repeat ‘what Lenin eaide “The teats {ways concrete: Only through a etailed and. specie. analysis of the "actual development. of the cliss"strugale under the specif Conditions of the capitalist ens Ganuwe begin to. relate our Strateny. tothe actual changes in the consciousness and lite of workers. This requires of us a Sonscous develonment of dale (within the workers’ ‘movement. ‘This strvasle is at all times the strugale to construct Trotskyist parties independent of centeism Gnd Stalinism. Such partes and fly such parties cam lead the evolution. "They can only. lead the. revolution in the biteerest fof strugeles against the countes evolutionary Stalinist and social democratic Betrayers Within this framework the CT's position on tue. “united lass. front” becomes 'a_complete figuigation of the party" and its Subordination to. the Stalinist find social democratic partes and inion spparatus, Lenin and Trot ky saw the united front a5 a factie and not a strateny” as the Gel claim, They saw it 36 a rel toaship between mass workers partes’ of a temporary character or the purpose of winning the masses co the Communist Part The “OCI has translormed. this into am overall "unity" of the class achieved on the basis of fis present leadership, without {he arcptin im he united font” of our part). This “united class front” more and more, 18 {heir ‘theorizing and. ‘practice, takes over the role of the revolu: onary party ise In. the October 12. statement we find reference to ‘the achieve= feat of the unity of the cass throush the "workers" Uaited Front, motive force of the ant- {imperialist United Front ‘This carries the liquidation one step further dissolving. even the workers’ united front into. 8 Broader ‘antismperialst” one bread. enough, no doubt, to Include “the. Bourgeoisie or at leset its petty-bourgeots repre: In the 1950s, the OCI made anidentical mistakes in "thelt policy in Algeria. The bourgeois Rationalist MNA of Messall Hadj trav clevated to 9. revolutionary party not only in Algeria, but im Prince sel, The Pablottes sup: ported one wing of the nation. Bist bourgeoisie, the PLN, and the OCI. supported” che other, the MNA. In Bean, the Sh ha piven critical suppott to the MNA, but Broke off all relations weih' their representatives. it Biicain, when the MNA Spproached the United Nations f6F intervention in" Algeria ‘The OCI continued, its. rela tions’ with Messali Had) even lint the. open collaboration of Massal with de Gaulle. "The Gers" position today oa the Nisted "elase foot’ and vanti= imperialist front, even alter the Aeleat in Bolivia, shows that fhote ‘correction’ of the Algerian foventure has been,” purely formal and ‘that is. theoreti foots femain femly" implanted in the OCL Related to this has been the tk position that it fe not purty and that the Fourth Inter (onal does not realy exist, Te See the natinat “and, ern tional party in quantitative tem rather "than (rom. the. point of Wow of, the development. of Marxist theory. This in turn led it, on the eve of the May-June Bat? even to not even ave the post of “secretary of its Srgantzation, so far had the capi {ulation to" spontaneity devel- ped. On the question of the struggle in “the colonial and ex-calonal countries, the. ant Marxist ‘method of the OCI has had the ‘Sbvious results, and hot only on ‘algeria The OCI refused to campaign in upper of a victory for the Nadional “Liberation” “Front, Because. of i Stalinist leader: Ship and ‘aleg instead for the idiory of the Vietnamese work Gis ana Peasants Thin led toa SHuation on the eve of the 1968 Tet ofesive were comade Bers openly stated an abstention ist pontion on Vietnam ‘And. now, ater years, of relasal tsupport the strugsle of the"Palcsintan people for sell- fetermination, and inability 16 fake the side of the Arab revelic tion ‘against Zionism” and US Imperafsms the, OCT. welcomes tRevibid Soviet as some man festatlon of a world process (Gears ole Universal. Republic SF" Workers' Counest nab, { fiaht aginst the Stalinits and pectyebourgeois nationalists in Feat ight for independent leader fp Nin he anamperalit Stiles and at the same time an SiStaee “emagoay about the Geo. off the workers and peasants “and the “Intemational Serving for Soviets 6. The Bolivian revolu- tion ME Bolivia is being used asa smokescreen to” cover up the Bloc ‘with centrism against the International Committee.” As\ if this were ot criminal ‘enough, Invproceeding in this fashion, the cl turns against the "imost fundamental “lessons “of “our ovement ‘on the ‘question of polldeal principle. and at" the Fame time covers up for the worst ‘sort, of opportunism in istin America ‘We take back nothing from ms of Lora and his 1 defeat of the Balie Sian working class" How could Wwe" have proceeded. atherwise tan with an open attack? The oad to coalition government in Geylon’ was paved by such Sover-upe dime and again on the part of the Pabloite leadership. Flow ould we. dra the lessons we'"do’ trom thelr” Betrayal in Céyian and” practise “the same politics in relation to someone Charles Berg fon the periphery of the Inter ational Commitee? We cover rer mothing. We build” the Fourth” International von the baie of politieal” principle and ‘complete honesty It was in fact the OCI which first publicly cnitetzed the” pole fics gf lors and the POR, "The October 1970 issue of ‘La Verite arsied a lengthy criticism of the fhesis passed at the Apal 1970 Congrets of the COB (Bolivian fade "union ‘ federation). This thesis was the product of the Joint collaboration ofthe POR Ind che Stalinist Bolivian CP. Tt was voted for by. both parties nd. the, Popular Assembly” was fater to. base itself politially "on this’ document. ‘The Cl wrote no We are dealing with a text ‘which’ after having” made Certain concessions to. the idea ‘of constructing socialism in Bol Sia alone, takes on the one hand, 3" Staimists type view of the ‘Gvando' reeime, and introduces forthe chapter on proletarian Incernationalism, a” Stalinist Fourth International Winter 1971/72analysis, We have found in the COB” thesis) on the one "he 1d passages of direct Stalinist inspi- Filion, and on the other a seri ‘ous omission concerning Czecho- slovakia ‘The OCI concludes: ‘Comrades, we tell you, with fut evasion, moved By a ‘pro: found’and even sulted fon tion, that If this really became the, “charer of the. Bolivian Workers" movement ‘and ‘Tepre- ented its orientation ‘and 1 the BOR was to adopt It (or even for 4 long time ‘keep silent onthe fact “that it is the result of 8 Eompromise and only has a very reumatantial value) ‘then “the thesis of the COB can constieute noose around the neck of the Bolivian "proletriat = for it encloses it within the framework of Bolivia Was the OCI at that time siving in to enormous' pressures Be the OCI now say! of the Si"and’ the Workers, League? Was the OG aki criticisms identify enemies ofthe. dictatorship of {he proletariat and placing self ‘on the side of imperialism and Statism’? ‘The truth is that in 1967 the OCT fed the position that revor Tutions could aot be made in the Underdeveloped countries, “untl Such time av mass revolutiona parties were "created in. the vanced” countries So ‘sistan was. the, struggle inthe unde devon! "eountnc"fom® the OC leadership until ver recently thatthe basic. resolu fon around which I whe the ized “For the Reconstruction of the Fourth International” hardly mentions Latin America and does fot mention Bolivia at all, And Yet the Bolivian question is now Iade the pretext for 8 split from the International Committe, ‘we “cannot educate a" new, feneration of cadres 35, revolt: flonan" with such "factions tnd dishonest methods. We cane fot allow the question of Bolivia fo be ted rather thay ated develoning "theoretically ‘new Iadership in the underdeveloped We restate what we said about the history of the” Lora. aroup. Lora, was the maior, supporter seabable Latin “Ameren in riveal support to the bourgeois SNR Pa erent, lee ie ported ‘the POR's. postin 8 the Fourth International at" the “The POR began by justifiably granting critical support to. the MNR government. That ‘is, it esisted from issuing. the slogan “SGown with the goverament™, 1 gate the government nal supe port against attacks of imperial Km and ‘reaction, and. it sup- ported all progressive measures. Zit J Tat the way the LSSP an. its "move towards open! Folning the” Ceylonese ‘coafton ‘The POR broke with Pablo, but it turned its back’ on the International | Committee, refus- ing to take up fight for the IC in ‘tatin America though aed c/o sa Lar fom then fon played only’ a national role, ‘This is the” Ristory as “we printed it inthe Workers Press nd “Bulle. The OCT does not deny th We can add. to. this some more. Understanding the ‘past Backiround. of Lora, a back= Sround of Pabloism, ‘nationalism and. opportunism, the” Socialist Labour "Lease "refused to put ‘bp any money towards is fare jana Collaboration “in bringi fim to. the. 1986. International Conference as the OCI had pro- posed. ‘When ‘he appeared” in Europe in' 1970, the Socialist Tabeur League "made it” quice plain it ‘would. not. favour his mission "nto. the IC unless 4 ful discussion was held on his ‘whole history “and "an under Standing reached "op ‘this basis, ‘We do-not have one policy for the LSSP andthe Pabboites and nother for Lora. In our public statement we made “this "fundamental assess ‘ment of Lora role in the Bol ‘Lora, in gollaboration with the Bolivian Stalinist and. with the agreement -of the Bolivian and international Pabloites, failed {fight at any point for. the Overthrow of the Torres military regime, Thus he, along. with the fest"of the Popular “Assembly, acted as a left cover for Torres While the right-wing elements in ‘Torres’ own army’ prepared. and finally executed their eoup. ‘Then, after writing, this, we received. Lors's “own account ‘of the Bolivian’ events. which we published in, the: Workers Press and’ in the “Bulletin. ‘The OCl fas yet to publish this ‘account Tora himselt" in’ this account “At the same time everybody thoushtincluding. we" Marasts Siete arms old be given 3 Boverni team, Which: would consider that only through resting on the” manses ize the gorita ight ora thus admits to, what we tad."aceused him “of.” Never eally “fighting "to. “overthrow Torres, he had, alongwith the Stalinist, counied "on One” see- tion of the bourgeoisie to. arm the’ working class for the over- throw ofthe bourgeoisie as. a ‘wholet ‘Lora thus was. carrying ut the “very. same. policy he ‘arvied “out with Pablo" in 1952. ‘tno, point did he race, the Stan Bown ih Fortes Ths ‘was, of course, Lenin's polly in the’ “April. Theses, while Lora Stands with Stalin and’ the “old Botsheviks Even after the defeat, Lora is feformist. position in the. pages St the. TOcts “informations Suvritres: “The ultr-efts and the Pablo- ites forget the teachings of Lenin a Toby they draw up Ge minded. way, and place, ‘Torres ‘and. Ovando-Banzer on the same fevel. “These people refuse to Understand. the various. shades that" bourgeois nationalism can {ake in" underdeveloped "coun ‘Since they are removed from the class struggle “they “do not lunderstand’ the diference be: tween bourgeois-democratie de- mands, "of Torres and. the methods of the fascists: that is the diference between. going to ison legally or ‘getting ‘illed bullet in the back of the neck. ‘Revolutionary | tactics must begin with this diference. Tt is Rot a” question “of "supporting Torres, But of crushing fascism toimpose. 3 workers" goveray Revolutionary strategy does ok bem th, che Sieneneee the"military, but from the: Pere Srective of the overthrow of the ste "bourses order, i does the Jefe bougectae’ against "the fascist threat, but on the under: Standing that there" is no" way {oH alm witout tag Up the independent strugele for socal. oa Thus, lessons which Trotsky repeated ‘Ghousands of "ges, Particularly in regard ‘to Spain, fre once again bore out in the chi aries, But especially the POR Irhich ‘claimed to be Trotskyit Inthe end. the workers of Bolivia’ got both the ballet ia the head! and the fal ‘The policy of the POR was ‘consistently opportunist from beginning to end- Under condi- Hons of a” mass, revolutionary situation it, geted ‘a0. the left ‘over for ‘Stalinism and bour- eois-nationalism, Nowhere did I decisively break from the CP. infact it put forward @ com- on, cape othe ore leney of the Popular Assam ‘he CP. The policy of Lora “had nothing whatsover to-do. with {he policy "of Bolshevism,” or ‘Trotskyism, The construction of the" Trotskyist’ “movement i Latin “America, a5" elsewhere, requires a decisive. break’ with the narrow fational outlook ‘and 4 'feturn to laternationalim and {the struggle to develop Marust theory. The" POR” and. Lora Fepeat the policies of the POUM in’ Spain in'1955-1938 and are in no. fundamental way. lfferent from them, ‘Their folations with ‘Torres "and ‘the COB paraiiels those ofthe POUM. with. the Republican Government’ and the NT. The (OCi's support. for the POR now makes ear the politcal meaning oftheir bloc With the POUM at Escen 7. The way forward HE the essence of the strugsle of the’ International Committee Since “1953, has_-been the con: ‘lous contrition of independ Fourth “International. Revision: ‘Statement from the ICFI Jsts have always. attacked this fundamental "conception, with his new re Pressure’ and’ "the revolution in Airis Torms', the USSP with ite “anited left front Now “the OC, using the formula, “imminence of revolt: tion’, elaborating 2 schema of hatural stages throuth which the working’ lng passe on the road te power, distorting the tactic ff lnted front of the ‘working lass, has. taken” the’ road of fiquidationiem isd down by these ‘The spit. comes now, when the stand at the point ot ston irom, one phase of “ts the stage in, which Trotskyist partes ae called upon ta win Feedership. in’ the ‘struggle ‘for working-elass power. inthis, 6sfansition is iy inevitable that. a Secsive clash, "and. a “split, Becomes necescary'with all those Heth (GCi who" rejected the struggle: for dialectical materiale fgm®and ‘refused. to. break. fromm the ‘old, "propagandist concep” ons. This hostility to theory flwaye leads to. centrsm and ‘opportuni The record shows clearly that con ail "the disputed questions, Sd above all on the importance ‘of, theoretical ‘development and fraining, the Sodalise Labour Teague’ and. the IC. majority fried. patiently to correct the course of the OCT, and never proceeded ‘precipitately of in fueh way af to provoke a split. ‘The decision of the OCT to join the centrists ar’ Essen. against the International Committee and their manoeuvring and demagony fon Bolivia, constitute a decision fe reject and oppose the struggle {9 “‘bulld" independent’ revolu onary parties of he. Fourt International. We cal "upon Trowbyists in every country to reject completely. the” OCI line and. to Bebt o8 the principled Positions of the International Rommitte, ‘The Fourth Conference of the International Committee will eet in the fist weeks of 1972. ‘There it will be" necessary £0 make balancesheet of” the struggle against revisionism and the ‘hehe to establish the Trot Shyist cadre’ throughout "the period since 1938, A new period ‘pens siya. petiod in which the Fourth "international: ie called ‘upon to lead struggles for work: fem power. The perspectives of this “truggle in “the” advanced capitalist countries, ia the ‘cal fmal countries, and in the ght {for the politcal revolution in E Europe, "the Soviet Union and Ching, will be Sectasa, ‘discussed and ‘The draft resolution for this Conference is now complete, and the discussion ‘now begins. in all sections of "the" International Commitee WORKERS’ LEAGUE, USA (eympathetle to the’ IC of thee. REVOLUTIONARY MUNIST CEYLON. com: TEAGUE.” OF WORKERS INTERNATION: LEAGUE OF AuisT GREECE. LEAGUE FOR A WORKERS’ VANGUARD» OF IRE- LAND. SOCIALIST LABOUR LEAGUE, BRITAIN. October 24, 1971. NEW PARK PUBLICATIONS LT! Reprinted from the Rep hi Setanta T ote € | Reform or | 212%". Pe yp class nature | ofthe _ ‘International ~ Socialism’ group reply by Cif Slaughter fT Wholar's booklet “The redbty Gap— the poliicn Revolution | ote SL Reprinted from the Workers Press of April 18 and 21, 1970 open letter to Joseph Hansen Price 2ip plus post 3 Price $9 plus post 3p 186a Clapham High St., London S.W BR Pat Fourth international Winter 1971/72table that ‘anda spl fecomes necessary’ with all those ke the ‘OCT who relected. the for dislectical materiale Hem and ‘retaed to, break. from the ‘old. “propagandist concep” tons. This hostility” to theory ‘always ‘leads to centrism and ‘Spportunism ‘The record shows clearly that fon al the. disputed questions, ‘and above all on the importance of theoretical evelopment and the Socialist Labour sea Sa o majority tied patiently fo. correct. the course of the OCI, and never proceeded ‘precipitately or in Such way as to provoke a split. The decision of the OCI to join the entrists “at “Essen. against the International Committee. and their manoeuvring and demagony feonaitute a deession asd opens the Sule independent evolu: onary partes of the Fourth International. We callupon all ‘Trotskyists in every country 10 ‘eject completely. the OCI line and to fight on the principled, Positions vof the fnternational ommittee| ‘The Fourth Conference of the International “Committee wil meet in the first weeks of 1972. ‘There it will be" necessary. 6 make a balancesheet of” the struggle against revisionism and the fight to establish the "Trot skyist™ cadre throughout "the Deriod since 1938. A new period Spens up, a period in which the Routt Vinteratonal, called tipon to lead struasles for wot err powers The perspectives. of this “Sruggle in "the advanced ‘capitalist countries, in ‘the col fotal countries, and in the She for the political revolution In E Europe, "the Soviet Union and China,” will be Secisea. ‘iscussed and The draft resolution for this Conference is now complete, and the discussion now begins in all fections of the” International ‘Committe. WORKERS’ LEAGUE, USA. eympathetic tothe’ 1C of the FD. REVOLUTIONARY COM: MUNIST. LEAGUE OF CEYLON. WORKERS | INTERNATION: AUST. LEAGUE OF GREECE. LEAGUE FOR A WORKERS’ VANGUARD OF IRE- October 24, 1971. NEW PARK PUBLICATIONS LTD class nature of the ‘International Socialism’ group By Cliff Slaughter a Pree § plus post 3p BLE uma eis PITRE Reprinted from the Workers Press of ‘September 10, 11 ‘and 12, 1970. Price 4p plus post 3p Reprinted from the Sate Workers Press of ‘April 18 and 21, An 1970 open letter to Joseph Hansen Price 2p plus post 3¢ Telephone 01/662 7029 Fourth International Winter 1971/72Statement by the OCI entral Committee THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE of the OCI, section of the Inter fpational Committee for. the Feconstruction "of the Fourth {nternational, having examined the situation in Bolivia, on. the Basie of all’ the documents available, and in particular” on ‘the basis of the report of the Sevelopment of the. revolution- struggle drawn ‘up by com. Fade" Guillermo "Lora, secretary of toe POR of Boi, Teams ly ite absolute’ solidarity ‘wlth the POR, Trotskyist party, member" of the International Committee” for the. reconstruc: fovernment and for soviet power. Th Cel Cammy of oot cain Ss", Sie Gi ate as eee at reese SM Be Stat ee iat ae nd Sa ee fo pace a. The CE sates thatthe pro cess of clash strugsle in "Bol SSmplecey a" into thi per Spective: fn Bolivia it iy In fact, Hound’ an, organ, of a soviet thatthe worker and ‘peas: 4am masses organized themselves ig their strule "apaost | the find the miserable Bolivian bour: seo. Like the soviet in. Irbid in Palestine, like the workers, coun” «ils in the Baltic ports in Poland, ihe suing "up_ the’ Popular Ssembly “expresses the funda ental trend of the period, the wil of the proletarian.” and Peasant masses ro enter into the Strugale for power. ‘The CC of the OCI, member ‘of, the International Committee, Salutes the heroic. struggle car: sd out by the Bolivian POR in Situation where all the forces ‘imperialism sought to break this "deep aspiration “of the Bolivian ‘masses to destroy the ‘bourgeois "masses andthe’ rela: ‘Statement trom the OCI tions of production of capitalist Property f0 build workers power “The CC of the OCT sates that in the coup. d'etat organized by the CIA and the ‘miltary” dicta. tors of Brazil and Argentine and fachitated ‘by the action of the hat the poley cared bythe the polla 3 POR ‘was fundamentally based On the’ terest of the ‘Bolivian proletariat and. of the Proletariat. The facts confirm this: st fe process, the Struggle of "he BOR en the masses to preserve thei inde- pendence of the class from Forres and to outdo all. the Subordinate them to bourgeois tnd pety-bourgecis ‘nationals. It, is the policy of the POR which’ enabled the ‘maintenance Fig tothe gr of the. form, ‘alsed ‘to the fevel of power, of the United “Clase Front of "the politcal and trade ‘union organ: ations, expressed in the Popu- lar Assembly. If is the unity in and around the: Popular Assembly, organ of ual power, which “under feadertip ot” the “Trotskyist arg the OR, dominated the Defore and alter the confrontar tons of August 20 to August 2 The Moscow bureaucracy recognised this: they ‘condemned their party. in. their press. for hving! capitulated” before the PeThe POR gave to il the png bourgeois ‘currents the. example of an armed. strugale based on ‘workers militias and. completely Integrated” in the’ movement of hers. in struggle “for” thelt {manelpation.. It is consciously that, through the' voice of the "Washington Post’, yankee. imperialism stated that, dn the ‘rst day "of the fascist’ uprising in. Santa’ Cruz, the "Bolivian situation was. far ‘more serious than that in Cll hat Fe confronted the "United tates" with a more. dangerous State of affairs "than ‘even the Cuban” revolution of "1958, soe Born se at Sloe ee Tesceeie OC des niaS gehts Och de Site Sea S22 os es ese hig! eaters ee ne eee a Fa Sate Haier is Sache poe crane s EEE Send eat Er er ee one Spanish proletariat against fee ee ee Blea cla” gE ati cates ee See It ig this which determined’ the intervention of, imp land which explains the hatred of the. Bolivian revolution "shows the world bourgeoisie, By the Moscow” bureaueracy apd ts Stalinist parties, and by all pet bourgeois partes. ‘The CC of the OCI, member of the "International Committee, Sates that those’ who attack the Bolivian "POR, attack the. party seca the naar and otve, “force ol Popular ‘Assembly, that” js\ the organ ‘which concretized” the struggle Of the “Bolivian proletariat to build its ‘own power and_ which ‘pened the "road towards” the the POR through ‘this, represent the enemies of the dictatorship of the proletariat. They fake the ‘imperialism and” Stal Eat they'te sees of counter revolution and are. enemies, con: Selous or ‘unconscious, of the Fourth International The CC of the OCI, member of the International Committee, fotes that those who attack the POR and expose, their total inca: pacity, in understanding the ‘reaming of the struggle of the Bolivian ‘masses, ‘are’ the. same people who characterized Ho Chi Minh as a revolutionary, the man who covered up the thurder of The Trotskyist leader"Ta The ‘Tau thove who subordinated the Palestina enstace to Rese, fs ofthe Paleniian rentance, “Gf soled event tareutionsey {hreats the intervention of the Bureaucracy in" Ceechor Nowak “They take their rightful place in the camp of alanderers of the heroic struts ‘of the POR ‘of Which numerous leaders fell in thes civil" war” paying. the heavy Pass, the rua or the frernatonal proletarian ‘revo: The CC of the OCE, who took up the struggle in 1951-1952 to ‘aintsin the continuity of Fourth International, that is the with the struggle of Len and Trotsky ‘and of Bolshevism, Son the amp of tae ws fon inthe face of ice of, te, Stim Pablote ‘Unified Secretariat has nce. fain taken 8 rand atanet FR “and. the. Fourth inter a they id tn 1953, at the time of the Berlin uprising tnd the French General Site, St‘the time of the second inter. Sention‘in Hungary in 1986, and Sat all crucial moments, the {la strugte, onthe side of the Stalinist bureaucracy. “Today, when the whole of the perspectives on hich, the strua. fevsl leon Trotsky were inded Wecome clear and Cone rete more “and ‘more’ as the {inked “enna of imperisism and bureaucracy ,“actleraten and ‘when confrontations.” posing Boyett the CC. ot the firms that ie wil cootinue ‘with “all the ecessary emness the" struggle: taken up 20" years 0, ecnuse it ie the srtagie the "victory “of the world proletarian revolution, for" the Eniversal "power of soviet, for the“ btidlng = of revolution Fic, secon ot he Fou fnterational in each” country, andthe rebuilding ‘of the Fourth International, the ‘indispensable Instrument for tory September 19, 1971 ovStatement by the OCI entral Committee THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE Of the OCI, section of the Tater~ ‘ational Committes. ‘for. the Feconatruction "of. the. Fourth International, having examined the situation in Bolivia on. the dase of all the documents ible, and in particular on the. basis of the report of che Sevelopment of the. revolution- ‘struggle drawn up by com. fe “Guillermo. Loray secretary of She BOR of ola, earns Completely te absolute’ solidarity ‘withthe POR, Trotskyist party, member’ of the International Committee forthe ‘reconstruc: in of the Fourth Inertia Teg struggle waged. in Bolivia forthe workers" and. peasants! Sovernment and for soviet power. ‘The Central Committee of the OCK recalls" that the Intern fooat "Commitee, characterized the period “opened bythe Gen- (ral Strike of May-June 1968 and the. process of political revalu Hon "in Caechosiovakia. 3s the Pred of he imminene of reo: futon, that is the period. when class confrontations will "ake place posing the "question of Bower. The CC states that the pro- thot ian struggle in Boi completely fis into. this per Spective: In Bolivia ft ib in fact around. an organ. of a. soviet, ope that the worker and ‘peas nt matces organized themselves le against the inkee imperialism Sind the miserable Bolivian bour- eoise Like the soviet in Irbid. in Palestine, like the workers, coun fils in the Baltic ports in Poland, the ‘setting up. cf the” Popular ‘Assembly “expresses ‘the funda imental rend’ of the period, the ww of the proletarian ° and peasant masses fo enter into the Strugale for power. The CC of the OCI. member of the International Committee, Salutes the heroic struggle cat- Hed out by the Bolivian POR In 2 VSisation where all the forces ‘of imperiatim sought to. brea this deep aspiration “of the Bolivian masses to destroy. the bourgeois’ masses and the’ re Statement trom the OCI tons of production of capitalist property fo build workers power "The CC of the OCI states that in the coup eat organized by the GIA and the ‘military dicex. {ors of Brazil and Argentine and {aclitated ‘by the action of the ‘Torres, govetoment isthe proof thar the. policy, carsied. by” the POR “was” fundamentally based fon the interests of the Bolivian proletariat and of the world Droletarat ‘The facts confirm this: at each stage pf the process, the politcal Sirugsle ‘of “the BOR. enabled the masses to preserve their inde pendence of the class from Fotrer and to. outdo. all. the manoewres aiming against ‘to Subordinate, them to” bourgeois and petty-bourgeois‘natlonalism. It is the policy of the POR which enabled the ‘maintenance Fight to the end. of the form, faised to the level of power, of the “United ‘Class From ofthe pola! ind irae unign reine Feations, expressed inthe Popu. ‘Assent. Tt is the unity in and around the. Popular Assembly, organ of ual" power, which under the leadership “ot” "the “Trotskyist party, the POR, “dominated. the hole ““Sevolutionary proce Before and after the confrenta: tions of August 20 to August The, Moscow, buteauracy recognised this: they condemned their partyin. thelr press for hing” capitulaed before’ the POR . ‘The POR gave to all the petty- bourgeois currents the. example han armed stvaalebaeed oh ‘Workers millias and’ completely Integrated” in. the. movement. of ‘workers in" struggle for’ theit It is consciously that, through the. voice” of the "Washington Post, jankee. imperialism stated hat,” on the ‘Rest gay” ofthe fascist" uprising in, Santa’ Cru, the Bolitian vstuation was ‘more serious chan that in Chile, that" it confronted. the "United States" witth amore’ dangerous Sate of affairs thon ‘even the Coban” revolution of 1955, ‘because the Bolivian masses had taken up the "srugsle for 8 ‘The CC, of the OCI. declares that “the Bolivian revolution is fin integral part of the E Bevin Uprising. of 1953, of the Hun: ‘arian ‘workers’ counell revola- Tony of the. movement’ towards Boles revelation ofthe Crechos lovak. people. of the. Stu Gf the Bokeh workets, of he Maycfune 1968 General Strike in France, of the struggle of the English roltaritpainet the ory government, of the Genera Motors "srke io the Unted Retes; of the struggle of" the Spanish ‘profetariat atainst Franco, o€ the struggle of the ‘Artentinian “proletariat” sesinst int digatonip. of Strugate of the ‘world’ proletariat fo destroy ‘the’ domination of Imperiatiom, ‘ind “that “of the Stalinist buresueracy which oalesces with Te tis this which determined’ the, intervention of imperialism nd which explains the hatred of fhe. Bolivian revolution “shows by the world boura the Moat” bureavracy ind ts Sealine partis, and by al pety= ‘ourseois parties, “The CC of the OCT, member of the "International Committee, Stes that those: who attack. the Bolnian “FOR, atack, the arty which’ "was. the’ instigator "an pete, orca of the Pope sembly. that” is "the. organ ‘hich esncretized’ the struagle Sr the “Bolivian proletariat ts Buitd es own power and. which Epened' the "road towards the akeatorship of the proletariat tn Bolivia All” those "who attack the POR through this, represent the neni of he dictatorsip oF the proletariat They take the Sides of imperialism’ and. Stalin- ism. They are agents of counter revolution and are-enemies, con: Sous ‘or “unconsclous, of the Fourth International ‘The CC of the OCI, member ‘of the International Committee, fotes that those who attack the POR and expo, thr ft ince pacity in "understanding "the feaning of the struatle of the Bolin masses, “are the same people who characterized Ho Chi ‘Minh as a revolutionary, the man ‘who covered up the Turder of the Trotskyist leader "Ta Thu ‘Bie the ho subordinated the then to the pett-boungeos ead: el tae Pawan pecans, ‘Who tied to justty, by talking 9f so-called ‘counter revolution hreais, the Intervention of the Kremlin bureaucracy in Czecho= slovakia, “They take their rightful place in the cap of senderrs of the eroie strugale oft of spied pomeous Tenders Yel fn thes civil" war” paying, the “heavy Pile, of, the trues "for “the International proletarian ‘revolue The CC of the OC, whe took up the struggle in 1951-1952 to ‘Baintsin the continuity” of the Fourth Intemational, that Is the Tink “with the struggle of Lenin and Trotsky ‘and ‘of Bolshevism, as lon in the face of the Satnist Dureaucracy, states that the Babloite “Unified Secretariat has ‘nce again taken a stand: against the POR “and: the: Fourth Inter: ational, at they did in 1953, at the time of the E Berlin. uprising Sind the French General Strike, at at the ‘ume of the second Inter: ‘eatin in Hungary in 1956, and ‘at all crucial moments in the lass strugtie, on the side of the Stalinist bureaveracy. “Today, when the whole of the perspectives on, which the Struge Ble ef Leon Trotsky were founded become, clear and Sone Grete. more and “more as the finkea ‘Crisis of imperalism and bureaucracy” accelerates; = and when "eiatontaions © posing wer multiply, t ore Seiamirms that 1 will continue With ‘all the necessary firmness the struggle’ taken "up 20" years azo, “beense eis The “srustle for’ the ‘victory “of the world broléarian revolution, for” the Universal "power of soviets, for the "building "of revout parties, sections of the Four Faternstional "in ‘each country, and the rebuilding of the Fourth International, ‘the ‘Tndlspensable Instrument for Vetory. September 19, 1971, erTHE DELEGATIONS of the Political Bureau of the OCI, French section of the. Inter: national Committee for the re Construction of the Fourth International, “of | the POR, Bolivian section of the Inter: ‘national Committee and of the Organizing Committee of Com- imunists CTrotskyists) in the E European countries, discussed questions of common interest Taised. by the strugsle carried four, by the POR, the sig. hificance of which is outlined BLOM: General Strike France: andthe process of al fel realon a Caehasova {RE potieal power of the. wo {ng Gas is posed atthe centre of ete evade of workers and South throuhout, the world, Ia {he face of decaying impertalism Which fers only misery, unem- Floyment, facie barbarom "and wevar of extermination, in the face “ot the bureaucracy which {irate Mo “destroy the "com. {iets of the gloioug Revolution St Sexaber “i517, which puts 2 Stake “on and. dinlocates” thei Struggles all the resistance and mand of the workers, alt thir Swif'to live requires the direct {Ind Immediate “sruaale to ake Poets mpose a worker ‘Never ‘before has the conquest of power by the proletanat been Sich "a" clear” chievable and Lent task "We. creation of the Soviet in 1ebid by the oppressed Palestinian masses che committees and coun Els formed by the Polah working Sree the ‘Bolan’ Popular ‘Aasembiy Concretize these strug” fier converging. on his tmmed- Ste goals "proceeding, although Mfough alerentsiages and Giferent forms: towards ‘the Univeral Repubic of Soviets. Tet in Boba that this march forward of the working clay to. wards its power Teached ts high- Sativa, Sci Seperenes, Pressing and. concreting" the Repeat aspiration of the whole of the itersaional working lass [AY the head of the Bolivian wor fers was the FOR, armed. with the, prokramme of he Fourth International steeped a dozens mined” strugsie revolution fusinst atonal, against Sidiism, “ngsinstabloite re stmt, and aging all ors OF petty bourgeois ideas, such 3s fueralassm, “deeply enerenched {athe most ‘combative section of tbe Bolin polar” Because ie Party prepared this strussle, Ie'vas prepared for it, and. was Babi fo seize the occasion and. at ‘Sach “revolutionary proces It {evetoped the conditions for the ‘working class to take power. We Gan see, in the development of Tewsons and experiences on the fheans_and. methods to achieve ihe the achievement of the ‘othe. clasthrouth the workers" United Front motive Torces of the. antiimperaist Uicg Pog gered the pulse, “Assembly, orsan er, The POR of Bova, mem ‘i the fatemational” Com mittee for the reconstruction of {he Eourth International; worked {or this unity to create the ine Sepemaal Conditions for the taitas of power. "This experience of a strussle for "a ‘workers’ and "peasants ‘revit anesthe leadergp SFa Trowkist party, a ital be erence for the vnferniopa Working clas, brings ts fe the Tinersal lesions of the “1919 Sctober. Revolutions Tes the most "worthy commemoration ‘om the eve offs next anniversary ‘This is then che positive reply to thes anata "revolt of Svstrugale to lve a centralized nd. organized. strenath to the Struggle of the whole of the proletariat marching "towards ower aginst the French Stalin {ts who. betrayed and. dislocated the “1968 General "Strike, and fought the attempt of the OCT (0 $chlee! such an oranied cen "Today the French CP carries cout a slander" campaiga. aeainst the POR with the aim of turning the [proletariat away. [rom the carping out of its Fevolutionary ‘asks ‘The international apparatus of the ‘Kremlin finds inthis work the greatest of ‘support from the ‘campaign of the obedient Pable- er 'tligue ‘Communiste, “Lute eel east the FOR ia seule. ‘Novone can be mistaken. All the open and concealed enemies ff the dictatorship of the prole- fariat and its Party, today’ pour fut mountalng of les and Sta Gers auainst the POR of Bol ‘The Stalinsts eho, at each point dnd on an international scale, fight the class independence real. ed. inthe Popular Assembly, ‘which "was femly maintained by the POR, slorfy the ‘class col laboration sm Cie, condemn ot ‘only the, POR, but the Bolivian Communist. Parey which, inthe Popular Assembly, was forced 10 actept the United Front "All the “petty-bourkeois cur- Statement |from the OCI (French section of the International Com-| ‘mittee for the reconstruction of the Fourth International) |—from the POR (Bolivian section of the International] ‘Committee) |and from the Organizing Committee of the Communists (Frotskyists) from the E European countries. Tents spit out their hatred of the Bolivian POR ‘because it vigor: ey peed eta ade ‘ure, firmly guiding the siruggle ff the ‘popular masses. towards the mores "goverment. Par Heuariy active inthe petty bourgeois Front against the POR, {he Pabloites find thei pace with alt their nuances, the "Lutte Guuntre the" so-called Ligue ‘Communic of te Unihed See relarats the te of the Fourth’ tnternational, those who lorfied petiy-bourseeis leaders SSealinists like Gomulka as well as. Yair Arafat = who. carried ‘ug an unprineipled’ agreement Stith Tepreseneatives of the ou feoise in the. “Vietnam” Com mittee, These same petty ou Seelsctck the FORD who were proces in Bolivia. They capitulate Train” America asin France fnd_everywhere in front of 30. Saled spontanear Curent ofthe pet bourgecsie to participate fhe 'Stalins attack’ against the Fevolutionsey “upsurge ef the mmaes ‘who, in” each county, ose the dictatorship ‘ol the Proletariat, ‘the. democracy “of ‘orkers" counel Tis, precisely because the Bolivian’ Events "concentrate at {heir highest point the march to. sae pores the Inergaton Working class, posing as the most Iroportant thing all the deetsve questions. in. the conquest. of Hovey, well a he acily of the ‘Totsyist Party at the heart Dt this world process in an epcch St ‘upheavals "and sherp” turns, thar the unresolved problems ome ‘out of the isis of the Fourth, nternaticnal which tn 1930 Pablo, Mandel, Frank. etc wanted to destroy. finding helt Capression so inthe heart of fhe" Tnternational Committee pon the ety Bourse nd this Surprine "Tne histor of the Fourth Internationa, since its foundation by Leen “Trotsky in. 1938, was Giticut struasie for ies mainten- fnce against. immense forees Erouped together to. destoy Te Sng" the “Fourth “International, through" 0 rogramme "and Through its untiring. strussles, has always fought for the lass Independence of the prolecarat for fhe world poletarian revolu {len against imperialism and Stale Inst ‘cass collaboration. That is Why ftiwas and is today the Cente ‘of sharp stacks by all the Enemies of the proletarai. The Fourth International is decisive in the outcome of the world class Srugsle as itis in the continua fon of Bolshevism, of the Octo ber Revolution, The. Trotskyist wt, since 1550, “rained the ality of capitulation in front of Bre bereaucracy which is" the essence of Pabloism, the Trotsky {St organizations whieh, 10 1953, fet up the Tnvernational Commit: {ce, they’ alone engured the con- fini the Fourth ter Conditions for its reconstruction {indispensable to. the building. in each country of the leading Re- olutionary.” Workers’ Party, atonal exon “of the Four ‘What more natweal than that au the diel probleme tthe Snternational clase strugale be re- ected and. concentrated. at, its heart? What f more natural than the fact that the decisive factor in the outcome. of the gigantic world struggle be reflected in the rsis of the Fourth International fas It 8 in abe crisis ofall the Organizations “of the” working fay, the leadership of cer- tain organizations ef the Inter- fational "Committee, “hike, the Seeaist, Labour Lesgue and the Workers’ ‘League, lacking early Preciely on the question, of the Erategy of the conguest of power 4nd the “reecastruction of the Fourth International have given no lenormove pressure it stacking the POR. ‘The three delestions, meeting in Pars, considering thatthe lscussion if legitimate, as mach between the sections adhering to fhe" TCas inside each of It gee. one. they: condemn the method Used by the: Workers League and the SLL who publely condemned {he Bolan setion of the Te eis for hig reason that the delegations of the Oct and of the Orsaniaine Commitee for the ropean countmes agree with fhe. request made. by comrade G* Lore: demanding that the TC {Be called to a plenary meeting tn {he most rapid Gelsy To tke a Stand"on “the. Teport "on the Bativian revolution and the tasks Of the ‘reconsruction vof she Fourth ratenattonal. which the leadership of the POR has pre~ pared sr. Secretary of the “Balivian BOR, member cf the IC for the reconstruc lon ‘of the ‘Fourth Inter: Pierre LAMBERT, {rom the ‘CC of the OCL, French sec tion ot the NC for the re- construction of the Fourth international. Balazs NAGY, leader of the “ie Tot, Sagi” Revalic ber of the IC for the recon struction of the” Fourth International, leader of ‘the Qrenisng Commace. “ok ommunists (Trotsks sts) E'Europe. a Fourth International Winter 1971/72THE DELEGATIONS of the Political Bureau of the OCI, French section of the. Int national Committee for the re- construction of the Fourth International, “of the POR, Bolivian section of the Inter: ‘national Committee and of the ‘Organizing Committee of Com- ‘munists (Trotskyists) in the E European countries, discussed questions of common interest Taised. by the struggle carried ‘out by the POR, the sig. nificance of which is outlined ieiallon Sew: General Strike in France and dhe process of pol atseeltuon a archlot Beisel power of the work the Zs posed atthe cents of ea tonae of worker ahd South ‘threaphout_ the work In Zhe'tace of, Secaying imperialism Mhich“caer ony misery, une Biymentt asc brturom ad Bem extermination, ithe face "orth burenseracy which {Eetatne to ‘destroy "the "eon ists Of abe glerout Revoltion Se Sercber 1517, which pee rake" and slestes thet fuss all the reaance nd Seip'to: ive requires the. direct IN Womedagestrgale to. Soweto impose sa workers Evrae ‘Never Bsiore bas the strpower be rent ‘tant | etd by te om ‘he oP Tate the committees an coun. ‘formed by the Posh wo Slarar the Bol Sacerbiy Sones ‘es"coneraing on ths treat SE Soal""proceeding” although Joti alten saute "and Gites forme’ cows the Ulena Republic 6 govt Wein Bola hat cg arch forward’ of the working cia to trarde its power reached ss high Wi ove, ch in experience x esting’ and, ‘concening "the Icy axprton of the mole of GeMinereatenel working Cass RE A Red ofthe Botan wor Bethe OR armed. with Hie amare jhe hourth iMertainal steeped in. dozens SF Sear of dctermined” struc fee "the “Deltananreohtion Sins” attonaism, aaint Silinism, “saint Fable Yoni an ae al sybourseos fdas, su fuetrilacm, “deeply entrenched the mont ‘combatie secon of the Bolan prota Because ABS reeves staal IRiwas prepared fori, and ‘ble to seize the occasion and, at S45 “veolanonany proces 1 Mtlped the comtns for the Sevilng tas co take power We TOMS nine development of {fo afm retolanon, aot only ioe ata of ne ‘workers ourlur the words for ther ovement, bt aso msl the force. of the antiimperialist United Front, materialized in the Popular Ascembly, organ’ of fr, The POR of Bolivia, mem- ofthe, International” Com mittee for the reconstruction of {he Fourth International, worked for this unity to create the ine lspensable conditions for. the ‘aking of power, "This experience of a strussle for a ‘workers and "peasants {Eovernment, under the leadership Sf a Trotkyist party, a vital ke perience for the international Sorkins class, brings to life the nversal esions "of the 1917 Setober Revolutions Tevis the tmost worthy commemoration She ce of he set annnera. is ig then the positive rep #0 the, Hungarian "evolution of ‘workers coun, which 15 years ao, sought in vain for its organe iped politcal leadership. Here ts the Treskyst demonstration of 2 srusgle to sive a centralized organised” strength. to. the rigics of the, whole of the Droletarit” mareKine "towards Power azsinst the French Stalin: B'wiho betrayed and dislocated the ee General Sean fought the attempt of the OCI to achieve uch an ortanized cen tralzation Today ihe French CP carrie cut a sander campaign atanst fhe POR with the aim of turing {he proletariat away. fromthe Carrying out of its revolutionary te ot international apparatus the Kremlin finds inthis work {he greatest of support from the ampaign of the obedient Pablo- fies "tligue ‘Communiste, Lute Ouvritre)asainst the POR in strugele w Nov one ca e_ mit the open and_conceaied. enemies St the dictatorship of the prove aiatsand is Party. toda ‘out mountains of ies an Ste ent the POR ot Bal ‘The Stalinists who. at each point a ona aterhauaral Fae tthe class Independence rel fied inthe Popular -Atserbiy, Which was firmiy- maintained. by the POR slority the class col Inborabo fa Chiles condenn not tnly: the POR, but the Bolivian Communist Pagty" which, jn the Popular Assemby, was forced to sceept the United Front ‘Al the petty-bourgeois cur- Statement [from the OCI (French section of the International mittee for the reconstruction of the Fourth International) from the POR (Bolivian section of the International] Committee) |—and from the Organizing Committee of the Communists} 5) from the E European countries. eee Soe cet oe eae aa a erie Dead uote eee te ae eee ee Sacer ot Soe cee el Serer ty ee se fees ens ie a oe Soo eee Se teh ca ee et the Stalinist ‘atack against ‘the pbimilee. ea cee cere ee ee ee oe cee caer tame ae Serer ae Ge Sar fof this world process in an epoch et ere Soe ene a in the outcome of the world class strugale'as itis nthe continua: tion of Belaheviom of the Octo ber Revolution, The Troskyits Mo nce sd, rested. the Policy of capitulation ip front of fhe bereauctacy” which vis the fesrence of Pabloism, the Trotsky: {organizations which: In 1983, ct up the International Commit: fee, they alone ensured the con- Ainuity of the Fourth tnter- ational nd ‘thus ‘preserved the fonditons for its feconstruction indispensable tothe building in cach country of the leading Re- olutionary” Workers Party, Section of the’ Fourth natural than that au the dict robieme tthe flected and concentrated at its heart? What is more natural than, the fact that the decisive factor fn the outcome. of the isantc ‘world sirugsle be reflected in the {hss of the Fourth International anit \6 tn dhe crisis ofall the Otganizations of the” Working “Today, the leadership of cer- tain “organizations ot the Inter- atonal Commies, ke the Worker Teague, Hacking cay precisely onthe question of the Strategy of the songuest of power andthe receestruction of. the Fourth International, have given into. ‘enormous pressure In sacking the POR. ‘three delepitions, meeting ig. Fars gonsdering thatthe between the sections adhering 10 fhe TC as inside each of its sec Hons, they condemn he method Used by the Workers League and the SLL who publicly condemned the Bolin section of the TC. cis for this reason ‘that the delegations of the OCT and of the Organizing Committee for the E European countries agree with the. request made” by. comrade GS Lora, demanding that the IC Be called to a plenary meeting in fhe most ‘rapid delay to take. 2 Mand" on the. report” on. the Bolivian revolution and the tasks Of the reconstruction » of the Fourth, International. wich the Teadrsnip of the" POR has re- Paris, October 12, 1971. Guillermo LORA, Secretary of ‘he ‘Bolivian BOR, member ge TAMIR, om he SE NMORT ht Se oe eet Pans isan, RACE ne ote Nt ed Hecate iy Sa Seater mata! Seal. Gay vine Fourth International Winter 1971/72olivia: Bitter lessons of defeat By TIM WOHLFORTH: Reprinted from the ‘Bulletin’, weekly organ of the Workers’ League of America, ‘August 30, 1971. ‘THE RIGHT-WING militarists, inh the support of the fascist alangists and the old nation alist leader Paz, have’ taken grer_in| Bolivia, ending the Forres regime and the Popular Assembly. No information has been forthcoming on the fate be said that capitalism rules only because of the paralsis and con fsion of those elements ‘which call themselves. Trotskyist, ie the bitter lesson of Bol Nothing, absolutely” nothing. can ‘Ne consiructed in Latin. America unless this Tesson is learned. of Tevolutionaries In ‘Bolivia, Strongest ‘Quiide of Ceylon, Bolivia has had the “SctomestTrotkyst movement of ‘any colonial coun {yin the world. Trotskyism has been” a major factor’ among Bolivian tin miners for a, decade and a hall now.'The Key figure of Bolivian Trotkyism has been Guillermo ‘Lora. Lora, who lost which took and other ilitanis ofthe ld. Trout ovement as wells “hunting down and ‘murdering Guevare {his "ner asestaupperted il: ap, Fine can be spered’ ths own brehce under Sunt carry through even more brutal and°whose whereteuee ges ‘urders ‘of Teveutonan. omentis pot Known, sust share Te Ww neceesry 0 make an 8, Tsponslicy "ior tae reese assessment of how this coup was Fightist coup. permitted 0 ake pies bat't | “Loraiis Saboration with the Reveals of the Popdicastembin Bolivian Stalag and wi ie ind the ole partelary of those sercement ofthe ‘Bolivian and Sithin'i'sotclamed'® Se Rete cranial Peblowes Taed Sipiem The constuction” sf°% Gat aU any. pola fer erence ‘roinkjst "movement im. arin throw. of ihe” Torres multary ‘America wil Gepend’ on absarte rete Thus he, Seng wi Re inethe biter lessons of thie aest tisods episode in the tumultuces story of Bali “There ino" time te tose, in drawing hese tests. What’ hap appened in ‘Bova ean be_fat Towed” shorty in Peru i Chile nd even in Argentina The Gs af espitaiom 30 Tatense and Fest" of ‘the’ Popular “Aveembly, Sted ‘as @ left "over for Forres hile fhe neht wine cements in formes own army" prepared. and finally executed thelr coup. roi a ors at caring forward, a political course bexun over a decade ago, from which he has consistently refused to veer the “working-class” movement. in At-every” paint this course has {auin’Americs so-determined that Teceived » Support within the the ‘rise of leadership is posed Fourth. International” or forces with "‘acute sharpness” In ‘every claiming 10 represent the Fourth Country of Latin’ America it can International. Though less known, Bolivia: biter lessons On the wookend of August 21-22 the tenmonthold regime of General Juan José Torres. was overttyown by’ a ClAbacked coup lod by. Colonel Banzer-head of the miliary academy. Banzor had the close suppor of the bourgeois MNA—Natlenal Revolutionary ‘Movement™and the Bolivian ‘Socialist Falange— {an extreme rightwing somifasciat movement Torres came to power when a rightwing army coup against President Ovando misfired and he found himsel! the. reluctant hero’ of the Bolivian masses and leader of a Bonapartit regime ‘whose margin tor manoeuvre, was Increasingly resiioted by the rapidly "escalating ‘class struggle in. town and countryside. In order to. protect his cogime from the army's conspiracies ‘Torres moved warly 10 the lat In May he s0t Up the ‘Peoples’ Assembly” to. act a5 a safety valve for the masses. This ody, ‘Composed of 240 members, 60 per cent of whom wore nominated BY the trade unions and 40 per cent by other leftwing organ lations, did ot have. any ‘statutory. powers. Its resolutons wore nat binding but it began to exercise & very Important and {rowing influence on the social and political Ne of the people. eet peneelgregatehabens stn Ta ns tet eat Rare Vatinare magma aes Ahad Sesaneat na cat at ae aie are eta 2 Eanes Sort Soe get ti eo Setar cio Berean an ono cme pee Sane ree ee ee Re ot ca Sl ny feta epee Bed st we aioe aaa Sts ge sont sete ae aaa Serene mies aati cee mee aan ee oa Rear tadh a tie mi than the evolution of the LSSP (Lanka “Sama Samaja Party) in Ceylon, the role of Lora and the POR has been io less treacherous elf Sul be aoted that we ae ere speaking. of support to. Paz who today seeks tone. back Into power along with the fascist nd important. Flanges the rightwing generals weit L93F Fae the leader ofthe and the CIAL rego ‘ay me F lathe nandoriake SEEPS), this period the Four Lanka Freedom Party) of Ceylon, foteznational was wracked by a gOR ores the government while Pablo attempt to completely the armed miners took, ove the ycidate Trotyins into Stele hts ofa dual power situse aNd, the social ‘democratic parties Under "these conditions twas not really possible for the Bolivian question to be seriously discussed, much less fought out Temust, however, be noted that Lora contbuted his sare fo deepening his ersis by throwis his weight’ behind. Pablo.” Like ‘many in the LSP, Lora had areas ir agreement with the. SWP. t Workers Part)) and the thers in the International Com: initee. ‘But he did not proceed rom questions ‘of international concern “and. perspectives. The fasiest" course ‘was’ to go along ‘with Pablo. This he did. This way. the Latin “American sections of the ‘Fourth. Internation {Brown behind. Fable who, ube sequently, through his cal tor Posadas, was to do his breakup "and liquidate "these i a Seo Hs rab nite tae neat ee a to Yaad Acris ai et ie tet at Siena iat, mateo that cea Ta ae ar a aS ete! ‘ supp and other ternational in that period, They wrote in their magazine Ride back “The POR besan by justifiably {ranting critical "support to the | Mandel in ora "was MINNR government, ‘That “is, it independent of ‘either the. Inter: desisted from Issuing the slogan national Committe or the United “down with the government” it Secretariat. ‘The ‘United. Secre- gave the government critical sup: fariat's group “in’ Bolivia “was ort against attacks of imperial. headed by Moscoso. Soon there: {sm and ‘reaction, and it sup- after" Lora fused. with Moscoso ported all progressive measures” entering the United Sectetanatolivia: Bitter lessons of defeat By TIM WOHLFORTH: Reprinted from the ‘Bulletin’, weekly organ of the Workers’ League of America, August 30, 1971. ‘THE RIGHT-WING militarists, with the support of the fascist Falangists and the old nation- alist leader Paz, have taken ‘over in Bolivia’ ending the Torres regime and the Popular Assembly. No information has been forthcoming on the fate be sid that cation rales ony cause of the paras and con Fs ‘of those ‘elements which call themselves, Trotskyists, This ide biter lesson af Bolivia Nothing, absolutely nothing. can Neconsiracted in Latin America ‘hls this lesson i Tearned. of, revolutionaries in Bolivia, a Particularly the militants of the Strongest bor: Quiside of Ceston, Bolivia has bad the “Srongest, Trotskyist Brutal as the old Barsentos movement of any colon count mulltary regime was, which took ty inthe world: Trotsaese aay the lite of Cesar Lora'and ther been” a" major. Teetse tae imitans ofthe ld Trothyst Bolin un’ mine fora dtodd movement as "weil! as ‘hunting and hall now: The hey fae of down "and ‘murdering Guevara, Bolivian. Trotakyrn’ hart host {his new fatcst-supported mill’ Guillermo Lore Lora, who “ken {ary regime can be expected to his own brother unde! Biers carry through even more brutal ind whose, wheteabdsate at tos murders of Fevoltionais moment i pot known, ssust share Ie is necessary to make an a responsibilty "in the recast assessment of how this coup way Fiahtist coup. ermirted to take places watt Lora, in Sllaboration with the Fevcals of the Popdier Ascenbiy, Bolivian Stalinist and’ wah Ae 2nd he ole partculary of tows agreement ‘ofthe Botvlan and ‘within e'whiorclatmed to be Trot. itternational Pabloites, filed to SOs. The constuction’ of fight at any point for the over ‘Trotsksst “movement in_ tatin th Ow. ofthe Torres military America will depend. on” absorb. fetime, ‘Thus he, along with the ing the bitter lessons ofthis ote Test of the Popular “Assembly Bloody episode in the tumultuous acted as left vover for Torres Bloody epleeds in ie the right wing elements in There is ino time to Jose, in Fortes own. army” prepared and rawing these *iessons. What has tally executed thet coup. happened in Bolivia can be fol, in s¢ doing Lora’ was Carrying owed shortly in "Peru, in Chile forward politcal course bewun and even in Argentina. The grsiy over a devade ago, from which he sfcSpitatisn a so stense ond has consntentiy fused To vets the “working clas'"movement’ in At_cvery point this courte has ‘atin’America so determined that fecelved” Support within the the ensis of leadership 1s posed Fourth International” or "forces with" acute sharpness) In very claiming to represent the Fourth Country of Latin America it ean International, Though less known Bolivia: biter lessons the weokend of August 2122 the tenmonthold regine of Senet ua lose torres. was overthrown by a Cibacked Soup Ted by" Colonal Banzer—head ol the miltsry eoadeny Benzor'nad the close support of the Sourgeols MNK--Nationai Revolulonary Movement™end the Bolvian Socialat Falango=- sn'extrome vghtwing somtfeslet movement Torres came to power when a rightwing army coup against President Ovando misfired and he found himeelt the eluctant here’ of the Bolivian massos and leader of a Bonapertis regime ‘whose margin for manoeuvre was increasingly restricted by the Fapidly "escalating "clase “struggle "in town” end. countryside, Ih order to. protect his cogime from the army's conspiracies ‘Torres moved warly 10 the fof. in May he Set Up the “Peoples? ‘Assembly to. act a8 a safety valve for the masses. This body, ‘composed of 240 members, 60 per cent of whom wore nominated BY'the trade unions and 40 per cent by othr leftwing” orga lations, did not have. any ‘satutory. powers. Its resolutons wore nat binding but it began to exercise & very Important. and {rowing influence on the social and political Hie of the people. The crunch finally came, when the Assembly despite tesistance from Torres--domanded the setting up ol a People’ Army" 'as) & counterweight othe. regular “army. Before’ th Assembly could ‘discuss this proposal at ite next. scheduled, ‘meeting, which was. due to, have’ been ‘on September 7, the lay, alr Yorce, Rangore and CIA struck. Hundreds of students and Workers were kiled and Torres took asym In the Peruvian Embassy from whence he. has now fled %0 Pert. The heres working’ class of Bolivia has lost an important bait but not ar against the reactionary caplale class of Bolivia, an {heir imperialist backore, Despite the treachery of the Stains hd reverie th Boian workers wil succeed i asamlat ing the lossone."of August "and buld a mace revelution leadership on Trtskylet foundations id than the evolution of the LSSP (Lanka ‘Sama Samaja Party) in Ceylon, the role of Lora and. the BOR has been io less treacherous el BOM Be noted that we are ere speaking of support to: Paz who today seeks tg ide. back Into power along with the fascist nd important. Flange’ the righting generals welt SE ae the lender of he andthe CIAL rgeois, MIR," party mel lke'the Bandaranaike SEED (Sr 18th period the Fourth International was: wracked by 8 Lanka, Freedom Party) of Ceylon, fundamental. Spit “cesteting” ot {gol over the goverment whic fundamental spit entering on the armed imine tok over the faUss, Memett0 compleny lements of a dual power situa: 18, M4) the social democratic ton. "Under these’ conditions Patties. Under, these. conditions org and the "POR called. for as not really possible for the Tethin"and he" COB” Batiien Bolin aston 0 be seriously frade'union movement) to be ade S4e¥84ed, much Less fought out mitted into the PoE POUrEEOS nat ora contnbuted is shave fo font eral suppor instend cf fe@ening this rss by throwing Behting fo Bea the rade unions MS. welsh. Pebipd Pabl, ike fom” the ‘Bourgeois nationalist Many im the LSSP, Lora had ares perees, Lora fought for ~] (Socialist Workers Party) and the the government, Instead Sthers in the International Come 3 Sling fot the" overnrow of other I the, Interational Com; this government and its replace- from questions ‘of. inverattional rent by a, Mprkers: government. Concern and ‘perspectives, The Fer ypeted for critical Support Setest course was’ to, £0" alone This position reccived the full wth Pablo. This he did, This way suppor "a hiche Fabio, Mandel Ihe tin “Amenican ectons of and other leaders of the Fourth thrown behind’ Pable who ‘eb International in that period. They Soecaniy through ae Sabor {or Posadas, was to do fis best 0 Ride back breakup "and. liquidate "these “The POR bezan by justifiably forces "AL the time of the reunification ranting. eritical "support tothe MINR government, hat ‘sy it of the SWP-supported forces with Mande? "in 1963, Lora was Independent of either the. Inter: desisted from Issuing. the slogan gational Committee or the United “down withthe government’? it Seortarat "The United ‘Seer: save the government critical sup: Port against attacks. of imperial Em and reaction, and it sup. fariat's "group in. Bolivia was ported all progressive measures” headed by Moscoso. Soon there: after" Lora Yused. with, Moscoso entering the Unieed Sceretaiatand lending to the United Secre tariat his “support. ‘The fusion {ook place om what appeared (0 be-common agreement over Cuba and Castro. Subordinate The unification was not to last long as Moscoso sought fo imple: ment" this agreement “by. sub. Srdinating the POR to. quer clvtis in the countryside, Lorg insisted on an_onentation based fon the Un miners and other sec: Hons “of "the “Bolivian” working lags and a split engued, ‘Following this spit Lora estab. lished “contact with the. Inter Rational ‘Committes_ announcing Bis agreement with the IC's iter ational perspectives, especialy Tis postion on the centrality of the Btruegles of the working lass in‘ all countries. But Lora never made any" serious attempt. 0 {Stes his own history and on this Basie make a. fundamental evelopment” towards. "a bresk ‘vith his own, past ‘With the rise of Torres and the Popular Assembly the old pox tions "of ‘Lora re-emerge._ Once Spain the country is faced with s dea owe euion 8nd he pose Lora fefuses to face vp to i to pose the necessity fo break, with Fotis. forma worker an farmers’ government to fight it fut directiy with all sections. of fhe military and capita stead he combines. with the Communist Party around a COB relation which sate fe present proces is con- seadietory" while he government ieViaking_ certain antiimperalst tne and. on the other hand itis ‘Sdopting pro-imperiait measures Contrary "to. the “national and popular interests. The proletariat pros whatever ie postive for the emancipation of ‘our_peopie nd “the same time eres nd ‘ight the' measures which fighting "to. impose new a Itmperatist° measures whieh “wi Jead us to. a true fevolution "on the road of national emancipation soci The fe our face ‘nthe present process, and this 5 etyoutfogrting, che al foals of the working elase® ‘This section of the esolution, we understand, was" written. by the Stainiats, but "the POR vored for ‘the document az <2 whole anyway, in sny event thelr pose ion was, not qualitatively Kiferent from’. that of the Beasts "Fogener with the Btalinsts the POR supported the Benton of threatening a Gone ike and military” action it defence of Torres! “The. Pablo, including Man del andthe SWP, must assume their responsibilty’ inthis situa: ton, Firat of all twas the SWE ‘which developed the ‘theory of Coming to power ‘with “blunted fnstruments""in Latin’ America, 0 encouraging liquiationist and Sntrtheory tendencies throughout the repion. n'a period when what was meeded was a sharp. theo- Fetical “struggle to “develop a Ieadership for the coming. clase ‘movement, the SWP. encouraged dventurisin and guersilaism and Al sorts of unprineipled "com Binations with Castroites, Maoists snd Stalinists ‘in 1969 Bolivia was 2 central ‘Students trying to resusctate feature of the struggle within the alted Secretariat, The ‘malonity Bound Mandel Prank Masta, ‘whieh. supported a strategy of {ucrnila warfare, beld up Bolivia Ss'the one: country in the world fand Moscoso. at the man for the {ob, where a Breakthrough would fe” ade through setting "up Buerrila foc, ‘The, SWP opposed. this but offered no real alternative to this perspective, Then one year later Bolivia does become a Torus" but fof proletarian not guernila ware fare. “Mandel, ‘and Co. quickly {rop Bolivia shifting heir atten: fiom fo Argentina, Such is the Teaction of such elements to the movement of the working clas! However, most important, the Sw iets em otis alto iropped Bolivia from ts polemics ‘with Mandel and Maitan only to, low student severely wounded by slrcratt fire. He dled tater. Fourth International Winter 1971/72in the recent, period, start eke Ing’ of ‘the Popular Assembly fa the same uncritical terms as Lora Gisssiy"“the" movement of the Working class in Bolivia upset the EWP a well Flow could’ it pro- pose. an ‘orientation to, the Siu Gents “onthe basis of Bolivian developments where the question of working-class ‘powers of Socialist revolution "sci wan Posed? 't, foo, had to do its Dest Bike Ge tt fe arene fotvia ‘didnot. 0 c Bounds ofrones : jerry” Foley, writing in the uid, HA imerconinentat Prete, “expressed "the. complete approval of the SWP precisely of ihe relationship between the Popular Assembly and Torres He "Arming to defend the demo- cratic tights of the workers, the Sone spore” gave “rita Support 10" the ‘Torres regime SNoppore’~ that perfectly suits Lenin's definition: “as the rope Supports‘s hanged man” ‘ed ater oa iy and. lage, the programme gf the Assambiea setmed cone fined to “demanding that “the ‘Torres ‘government Carry out itt promises to the working ‘people Sf the country. The measures it recommended flowed ‘early and Togically ftom this postion, Tis it necesgary to point out that Lenin' was referring to support 10 social democratic Barties and not To. bourgeals governments and Certainly not to military Getators? Fundamental ‘The potential for building the Trottigiet" movement in Latin sneriea is now extremely great What i fadamentt i that now the struggle ofthe “colonial Peoples eoincdes “with the Strugsle of workers. in the ad anced. countries, This struggle Sem includes the" power vnerican working class's well gs" that of Europe particularly Feuewing ‘Nisga's new economic policies. At the same time the angers involved are ss grave as the potential is brish ‘We cannot forget the terrible Bolivia: biter lessons. Workers’ and students’ mia in La Paz, the Bolivian capital, being rushed to the battedront at the height ‘ofthe battle. price the working-class youth of Cevlon have paid for tevsionism Jp the form of the LSSP. In the Sadan ihe" CPsSunpore 12 sae ther rosresive’ "general has fed to its massacre, We now fear fer the weay fives of the militants of the POR in situation created by the cretunal “of the ‘POR Ieadership to confront the central lessons. of the historic develop: ment of the Marxist movement Tis. not possible to. build a revolutionary” movement on any ther basis than prineple, To do Stherwise in this. period is Invite” new defeat new “mas Seeres, To take up the principled Straagie for Trotskvism ‘based on ithe Iessons of the “struggle ‘against revisionism can lead to the development of mass revel: tionary parties throughout Latin AAmercarco the roceesdl overt Siow ol? cai, ot Never concerned Like the LSSP leadership, Lora never concerned Himsei” with {estions of "the "international ovement, is theoreti! bale, e"dificuve, He felt that as Jong. athe rooted himsel tm the oti as nd ard tthe tion and Transitional Programme fhe saw it he would be. able {5 play a revolutionary role in Salas eb thisperspective. can, only Xiate"and’ through the srugale its opposite, against the tempts of revision fo destroy eet precisely through some fronting af the aifietties of the movement —~" the isolation, the petty” bourgeois presure,” the Eonfusion, ao. much ‘confusion that theoretical development can {ake place: Without such develope ‘ent succumbing to the national Soureeoisie Ts inevitable "The lessons of Bobs reinforce cou conviction in what we wrote fp she recent convention of the Sib." There. is ne proletarian freniaton outade of the strona fo" construct the Fourth Inter ‘ational The Fourth Toter- Rational can only be constructed, fn the Sinn principled ground of S"urue and Honest assesment of it own history. nWhat happened in Bolivia? __ Guillermo Lora IN THIS Ineue we re-print a report by Gulllermo Lora, general secretary of the POR (Revolutionary Workers’ Organization), on events between August 18 and 23 this year leading up to the right-wing military coup by Col. Hugo Banzer. minority groups of the right of of Cochabamba and Oruro syrned refeting only tangentially to Eee es) eeanin fs of eateatn af Paden Taret Gent’ Tore an ave awaited and announ ane ace of rightist sub- infor insuvsinable one, making ment. The real struggle wan an re Tee veto fase Seuttiesks | Suubusble for hint recaps between She natonal maior coup d'etat by the right yerson. who count Jones ture Oruro, whlch was strongly and-gorismo and. init Torres wing of the army broke ational emergency is declared surrounded’ by the Rangers, of played a role of little importance. out, having as civilian and we cll tnstis the relay CHE iggurrection began the fest ck 8" pin for sine support the dismem- {onto mobilize, around the by raising the flag of a furious months, thanks tothe extreme bered FSB of Mario Revolutionary Goverment in gnicommpniin: The “rgse exiremes “ar erage ahs Gutierrez (one section “Th, "%, Toe sank of, th Tarmac Gesolaton in the streets of a Bie, at 0 oo he Exeatel ane cy (unaypats f "The Sate Baio’ "Brondcast unrealable Rtteions to sabotage the Tare of the tan When, the Maftthe Plasa Mure io ima stopped Eanamitting and’ Torres Ged At the same te the few elements that were left in Miraflores feom the Political Command’ (Lechin, ‘Alandia, Lora) met for the last fime, ianasiog: the real situation Rumours kept. coming in. that the Great Headquarters had sur rendered ‘Thrve tanks took possession of the Plaza Murillo and four others Ment t0, Laikacota, whose. Ree rity of, deaths. ‘oring The air fore conned fe cleaningup operation, always hhaving Laikacota a6 thelr objec: In Santa Cruz the decree that created the miliary trumerate Swhich took the place’ of Torres was made public. (Jaime Floren- feng," Merdula, Hugo, Banzer, ‘Andis Seliea) but it had no life except on paper. On August 22 Hoge. Banzer’ swore himsell in ae the new. president and. dif- ferent” ministers were chosen from the MNR and FSB, which, together with the. Anny,” form the Nationalist Popular Front UNIVERSITY ‘The fest hours of the mom: ing of the 22nd the University of Ta Paz was miltanly” occupied and it. was, sad that. inside Femained around. 20" armed Students. The following mediation | board was, chosen (Archbishop "of La "Paz, ‘diplo- thats, Red Cross, students)” t0 Sock 2 Way obt for chose refugees Inthe University. ‘At noon about 500. students blocked” Village Avenue and eed. to. mect in assembly any were sitting in ‘front of {the tanks. to. stop ‘them from returning tothe University. ‘The Army ordered the stud en Yo png themscies a8 ‘Houp. They said that a shot was heard’ from “the. upper floors, ‘The airplanes, tanks and sold attacked the “students, killing Seven persons and wounding over 37. The students said. that their compateros were murdered in ‘cold’ biood “and others were Srrested. ‘More than, 200, students, were put in jail after this assembly. FASCISTS “since noon groups, of people called bythe State Radio” were etting osether to show their support to. the new government ot the Nationalist Popular ron ‘Grom "Presencia’, August 23) Groups of | Movimientistas (guoporters of the MAR) set" up far general “headquarters on Colon “Street, in feont of the ‘Tesla, cinema, They” 'made the Tounds of the stieett of the Gity"on motoreyeles. distributing propatanda calling on everyone foJoin the meeting. The Falange [sts carried "out. an assault on the Confederation of Secondary Schoot "Students" om. Yanacocha Seto install their ofices ‘The crowd concentrated in the ‘Muriio Plaza was not small but {here were. -unvety de Slgrcup moued the NNR gad Foe" layers of the middle. class (mall merchants and proprietors, Dublic "employees, unemployed ‘ntrepreneuts) who want. an {institutionally and socialy stable ‘eime with guarantees for them and greater opportunities for Sonomic sdvincement The Up satisied their desires, verb. lye An end to anarchy” and Ase: to assert orders work and ‘scipline; respect for” private Bropertvs” banishment. of "come nunca and of violence snd their replacement with law, et BANZER Colonel Hugo Banzer, with a cent ove tu nye Clearly defined hs political pos: {ions "shall follow the steps of ‘Busch, Villaroel and Barvientose hhe said, In'a defiant tone he let 1 be known ‘that he will cone finwe fob 4 ois "and “ic ‘iezest and) dearest dream “is Continuing the fascist polities of Sarncnege Benne ie thea fo fhe ithe in relation to. the ‘Torres government. Even though ‘oth speak of nationalism, this nor more, than pariule Expressions of the” pet-bour. feoie nationalist process initiated iiss OPPORTUNISTS ‘The action of, Movinentista ‘Tema Peles and the Falangist Mino "Gtterer ‘wer much more damaging, revealing for everyone. it was ‘evident’ that fhey “were dealing with two, ‘Spportnists, Their speeches. were frequently interrupted by hisses and some fours before” when they. tried 5 enters the’ palace, they were Swom at. and ,rotien Oranges ‘Were’ thrown at them: Meanwhile, during the high sounding speeches of che lade, heli of the to part ind nce’ cl Punches. In fear that the fragile Eitance would be broken Inte. ¢ milion. pleces, they have ‘desigy 18hated to ministerial posts some onpartisan technicians. (even though they were ultra-conserva tive elements politically speaking) of the past. Which, were those sero Fi eft blunders? ie ties with labour, which dragae im Into, what."today is called fg. they can act as ‘bles in Chos and anarchy? the intemal “Rovernment Seon ance, that he wished strong and Given these conditions, the gtersal, nothing less ‘than with army would continue to be the decisive force. "The. party base fof the’ regime is being totaly Falangiom, which was an expres: Sion "of the vulnerable. interests ‘of bossims, ofthe great miners ‘spl nd hindus who PAZ Strussied "bitterly against "the Seven, yearn ster his. over SMRUNS evitons of the throw. Paz" comes ‘back to" the country’ “under “apparently” sur. The alliance between the Fal- Pring ‘reumatepers'*” otf angstas and Movimiencistas Ghrown by" "Barmientos Cand makes one ask which of them Grando for not “being able"to Has realy taken the position of bridle che “turbulent “toiling other. “The positions fase of workers he is brought assumed by Gutierrez in the Tast By these Same Barvienuistas to ears, the intransigent struggle Ssains the left that arose in ‘un party, the conspiracy on the Side "ot "goniismo demonstrate aha the ESB continues to be the pollical expression of reaction, ris the MN, that went over the positions of ‘the Fatsngists Pas Returned (0 the county as Peddie ‘everything contrary to ‘what he"ssid and did” when in power. Te wat not in vain that he remarked, in an emotional tone, that he returned to. the father lind now not to make the errors ne of the surest servants of the State” Department” of the USA. and it ft thie fact that forces him fo" Bloc with the” Barrientstas nd Falangstas. ILLUSIONS Pax is now an eminent expon- is premature to speak of elec: fom He alo say he doesnot Know how long he ‘shall retain wer at the moment, since ‘ist must. ttend tomy” abligations to'the “people” through the owe Srament’ (rom: “Ulta Hora, ust 34) At the same time he said there eat of, oumet revolution’ HS eis ho ips Of the Fas ane ‘main’ weapon is "revolutionaty {3m demanding elections for Ma hationalism which “has "been {93,H*manding elections for May So, ees Behe as They , repeat what alread occurred ‘in 1968" the ‘profes Sonal politicians are” sure the Stoel Wl srrender ower easly. Already. we Know $a the hinge occured andl Gaver, ands /movlmtene dist frends “speak of pacing the" county gh of stoping the secutions but immediately the itary announced they would ‘estoy. the eftsts. The battle ‘etween revolution and counter= evolution Is posed this way. ‘Bully overcome’ y the Botan objective situation, by" the radi- alization of the mantes and. by the lavon of thee Rationalism which in 1952 could ppear revolutionary and many illusions inthe mastes ie ‘Row’ unmistakably Teactonary. Paz knows. fully. thatthe smasios are” convinced that ‘he Betrayed his old. preaching. and has become 2 rightst: this is why "he "emphasizes thst his Rationalism is of the left. ‘Surely the movimlentista chief dreams of returning 0 the pre dency” in “the next” elections Nevertheless, Banzer says that tt RESOLUTION OF THE POLITICAL COMMAND ‘THE LATEST events in the country give evidence, once more, that gorlsmo, fascist reaction and. the servants of Imperiaisn, utilize coupe terrorism and every means ‘heir vain tttempts (o efush the revolutionary movement and the ‘Working “class The Polltcal Command, ia. the name of the Popular Assembly, reiterates that its fundamental objective Is the Construction of socal at ths can gal be geieved it" gorilisro and. of re- ference fo the inevitable {ualority workers’ partitpation in COMIBOL and the sure victory ‘working class, ‘which will be the The defence of ur enue which ‘men and women whch inbabi this landy obliges 4S to reect with al encray and decison the fascist provocation, this cruclal moment we Believe its our duty to point out that the reaction can comforably conspire, uilize part of the Separates "and the reourees.of the’ of the Torres government. Th ith'nor complicate ise In’ such conduct and. maker known Eat a contain ict gor, any tereemen ith ‘Of national interests ands marked service to imperialism. ‘On account of the above, the Political Command, ledersh gf he revolutionary and antCimpertalist united Trowtcals oa Bolivians, men and women, the workers and advanced. fel {uals the Soldier and reveluttonary’ military youthy to stand up for Sombat, to win the streets, to. crush ‘dehnitely ‘and totally fou frie, the stone ae wing and tbe servant of “The Fol ical Command calls on all Bolivans to defend their revolution, which Is their own fyture; to save the country from % all that is arrogant and to tear up the counter-revolution by the "BOLIVIANS: The people are at war to the death with fascist gorismo. Ag in any war the central objective consists In defeat: fing and crashing the enem “The exploited confide only in the own ‘force, and it is around these that they must mobilize. organizations and their LA PAZ, August 21, 1971 STUDENT-FACULTY STATEMENT ‘THE Student-Faculty Assembly and students from Universidad Mayor de San. Andres who met on August 23" decide Tr “To'declare that university autonomy is one of the basic priniptes in our tnstitational Bolivian fe, 2 right that we cannot ive away ore Universty autonomy that was pained in. a democratic act in 1932 and which appeared the Political Constitution of the state is volated wherever there fs a change inthe government that “decides to overlook. the university authority and "when fred forces break into the university sreas and bulldings. "the UNSA will be intransigent Ta the defence of wni- versity autonomy. “The student assembly decided that the re oven a Bron the new subs te copied fet, be realized s000, 1 asigns the, cont Administration of the ‘University tothe deacons and Uele ihe” sehouls of Lave Medicine aa Pharma. Se ask the government of the republi yitndiaval oP ‘troops and police rom he ine “6. Demand guarantees and tiberty of all students and professors who re in jail or are being prosecuted. Fe Rally is all spor to the. pi '& Declared mourning for those who were killed in the events ofthe lant days ‘ied in th LA PAZ, August 25, 1971 Fourth international Winter 1971/72The Political itinerary GEORG LUKACS By Balazs'Nagy ‘pais briicie~is-WAREGMR ardn the French Journal La Verfié-and willbe followed by further inst@iments.‘TO EXPOSE AND TO FIGHT the countless distortions in the field of Marxist theory by Stalinism, past and present, would require—and indeed does re- ‘Quire—a large number of analyses and even whole Dooks. The particular forms of class-collaboration proper to the Stalinist bureaucracy and its appara tus are always given unmistakable expression in the revision of Marxism and in the debasement of theory. Opportunism in the workers’ movement has always been accompanied by revisionism, ‘which is always inevitably linked with a contemp- ‘uous and cavalier attitude towards theory, an attitude well known among the Stalinists. Faced with an ever more blatant class-collabora- tion between the Stalinists and the bourgeoisie, the working class and the youth are starting a powerful movement for new alignments on an {International scale, nourished by the crisis of Stalinism. Various groups are born and develop which, as a reaction to Stalinist opportunism, seek ‘new roads’ to revolution. It is inevitable and quite natural that in these conditions there are ‘born and develop various theories, the only novelty ‘of which consists mostly in a renewal of forgotten and outdated doctrines. But there are many who, ‘among these ‘theoretical seekers’, announcing that they are seeking. to rid Marxism )of Stalinist deformations, manage to rediscover Marx. If the international working class, despite its efforts, has still not won the decisive battle against capitalism, the reason lies undeniably in the poli- cies of elass-collaboration practised by the Stalin- {st and reformist leaders of the labour movement. But, from another side, this situation also shows the weakness of the Fourth International which, in the face of Stalinism, has not yet been able’ to defeat this leadership. So the reconstruction of the Fourth International, and the building of its party, is not only a political struggle, but a theoretical ‘one too. Engels long ago warned the labour move~ ment of the capital importance of the theoretical struggle. He set an example with the decisive battle against Dhring. Lenin’s fight for the build- ing of the Bolshevik Party was intimately linked to his theoretical struggle, to the development of ‘Marxism. For ‘only a party guided by a vanguard theory is capable of fulfilling the role of a vanguard fighter’. Our task of reconstructing the Fourth International obliges us to pursue thé theoretical struggle for the defence and deepening of Marxism. It is with this perspective and this aim that we ‘must examine and criticize the various ‘theories’, particularly those which proclaim themselves to be antiStalinist, referring to Marx and Lenin. A special place belongs to Georg Lukaes, whom ‘many ‘left’ intellectuals, even communists, regard as the model of a Marxist who stood up to ‘Stalinism. Precisely in the last few years, at the very time of the intensification of the crisis of Stalinism, there has been a growth of publicity around Lukacs, publicity which presents him as always being an anti-Stalinist, as one who defended Marxism against Stalin and his suct cessors. Thefe are many who do not hesitate t0 call Lukacs the ‘only Marxist’ of our epoch, the ‘greatest Marxist thinker’ etc. We feel obliged to n look into all this, but within the restricted frame- work of this article, itis, obviously, only possible to trace out his political itinerary. To begin with, it is important to note that if, in recent years, Lukacs' audience has grown, it is because he himself has become more active. Since 1964, Lukaes has intervened incessantly in the ‘most varied domains. Without speaking here of the reason for this activity, which will be examined later on, let us indicate some of his interventions. Since 1967, he has made public declarations on the following subjects: the Greek putsch; birth con- tol; discoveries in physics; St. Thomas Aquinas’ philosophical system; cybernetic machines; plan ning reforms; new Hungarian films; the formation of the galaxies; the present power of the Stalinist structuralism, ‘happenings’ ete. One could wonder, is there any subject on which Lukacs has not made 4 declaration? Yes, there is. He has made no declaration against the intervention in Czechoslovakia, nor against the expulsion of Solzhenitsyn from the Union of Soviet Writers. The very active “only Marxist” of our time has remained totally dumb. ‘Yet he would have risked much less than numerous Hungarian militants and intellectuals who raised their voices in protest. Lukacs’ ‘Marxism’, just like his politieal itinerary, which is inseparable from it, appears in condensed form in this attitude. Departure Im the last analysis, every man isthe product of his time. To understand Lukacs” itinerary we most 2 least sketch out the historical conditions in Which he began his career and hich have left Their stamp all along his path. These’ conditions were determined by the defeat of the 1848-1889 revolution, defeat in Germany and all the coun- tries of the Hapsburg empire. It we seek to under~ Sand the reason forthe ease with which the Holy Alliance, that feudal enemy ‘hated by all, won through’ against the immense movement of the ‘springtime of the peoples, we fad in the back: ground the complicity of the European bourgeoisie ‘The English bourgeoisie, basing itself on a favour able balance of force, and inflicting. « defeat on the Chartist movement, was the powerfel organizer of thes victory of the’ Holy Alliance. A® tothe German’ Bourgeoisie, it had abandoned its own fevolition and. thrown itself into. the arms of Prussian absolutism, frightened as it was by the barscades of the Parisian proletariat. The power= ful revolutionary wave of 1848-1849 was in fact the unmasking of the counter-revoltionary nature of the bourgeoisie. The German revolution con firmed this much more, since of all the. bour- sevisies which had not yet made thet revolution. st was by far the most powerful. Even before 184%. this bourgeoisie was “brutal aginst the proletariat and petty bourgeoisie, cunning towards abso and feudalism’, as Mehring noted. From the hr days of the revolution, it "was more frightened the tniest popular movement than of the tots si Fourth international Winter 1971/72Engels’ Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Germany is the analysis of this betrayal. The con- clusion that Marx and Engels drew from it was formulated in 1850 in the famous ‘Address of the Central Committee to the Communist League’. We must quote a passage from the Address, whose ten pages or so of text have, until now, been the ‘bugbear of all the revisionists and class collabors tors who have tried to cast it into oblivion, Marx and Engels wrote: ‘Whilst the petty-bourgeois democrats want to fend the revolution... quickly if possible, our rests and. tasks Tie in making the revolution Permanent, until all the more or less established lasses are swept aside, ‘the proletariat conquers power. and the unity’ of the workers 3s s0 advanced, fot only’ in one countey but sn all the dominant countries of the world that competition among the ‘workers of these countries ceases, and at least the depive. productive forces. are concentrated in the hafds of the working class Tn Hungary, much more backward than Ger- many or even Austria at the time, the very weak nascent bourgeoisie was under the leadership of the middle nobility, the leading class of the 1848- 1849 revolution. But if the German bourgeoisie, feeling the working class on its heels, could in 1848 “only be counter-revolutionary, the middle nobility in Hungary was, so to speak, ‘naive’. It had seen nothing comparable to the revolt of the Silesian weavers who in 1844 terrified the German Dourgeois. Thus the backwardness of Hungarian conditions becomes the revolutionary virtue of its ‘middle nobility. The emancipation of the serfs, he introduction of parliamentarism and demo: atic rights, could be more far-reaching than in Germany. since they were realized particularly against the landowners, protected by the foreigner, he house of Austria. The rebellious middie nobility could only hope to hold power thanks to these measures, We must still not forget that the Passing of power into the hands uf the most Politial tn ry of Georg Lukacs the activity and uprising of the poor population of the capital. And this nobility remained ‘revolu: tionary’ to the extent to which is was to act under the pressure of these masses In seeking the reasons for such an attitude, which distinguishes a Kossuth so favourably from the Frankfurt Assembly chatterboxes, we must, in addition to more backward class conditions, raise the question of nationalism. The middle nobility in Hungary was a victim of the crisis of feudalism, a crisis exacerbated by the subjection of the counsry to the House of Austria. The ‘illegal’ attack of the latter aggravated the nationalism of this nobility, ich in the traditions of secular independence struggles, nourished by nascent bourgeois. It is on the decades which follow, particularly fon the atmosphere at the time of Lukacs’ youth, that the characterization of this nobility and its nationalism throws indispensable light. Engels saw the significance and importance of revolutionary Hungary’s war of independence in its immediately European character. But if the revolutionary war of independence objectively had this European character, its leading class was above all charac terized by its national narrowness combined with a stupid sense of legality. It was a nationalism fed on glorious traditions, with more nostalgia than dynamism, drawing from the past rather than turned towards the future, As the nobility was historically condemned, its nationalism looked on the past with a pride and melancholy full of irritation and impatience for the present. Such a nationalism could play a certain progressive role in 1848-1849, despite its strong, reactionary stench But what about its future? The combined strength of the Holy Alliance rushed the revolution. This defeat became in turn the source of a new delay in the country's evolu: tion. The re-established order in Central and Easter Europe was based on the powerfully 7”Of all the government’. ee eee een ena mee See ie meme Semen eae kare Si eta ne cei ges conta arartage oe sar rene ay ae SP eae me cae nee ae ns Eau ness Se Lee pee d's co ae bee cree ate ee eee eee eed rena eae ane ev euear eee Ses oar eae Suir ea ee ener a oieaeiaot See anaes arate, Weenie ae Sgr oi ree ae a ae ee nae Sees era Yotical tinerary of Georg Lukacs Parla 1048: frightened the German bourgeoisie into the arms of Prussian abeolitiem resolute {Coo RR Tae TUES the activity and uprising of the poor population of the capital, "And this nobility Temalned -revolu- tionary: to the extent to which i was fo act under the presure ofthese matse Ta seeking the reasons for sich an attitude, which distinguishes a Kossuth so favourably from the Frankfurt Assembly chaterbones, we mst, in Addition to more backward class conditions, raise the question of nationalism. The mide nobility Hungary was a victim of the criss of feudalism 2 crisis exacerbated by the subjection ofthe country to the House af Austin. The illegal attack ofthe Tater aggravated the nationalism of this nobly, ich inthe. traditions of secular Independence Siuggles, “nourished by “nascent bourgeos ational, Tis on the decades which follow, particularly on the atmosphere at the time of Lukacr’ youth, that the characterization of this nobly and is Zationlism throws indispensable light. Engels saw the significance and importance of teoluionary Hungary's war of independence in ts immediately European character Bot if the revolutionary wat af independence objectively had’ this. European Sharacter, is leading clas was above all chara terized by its national narrowness combined mith a stupid sense of legality. I wars attonaiom fed on orious. tadtions, with” more nostalgia “then Gynamism, drawing from the past rather than turned tovards the future. As the nobility ‘was Nstorically condemned its nationalism looked on the past with pride and. melancholy full of iio dnd imptience forthe present. Sacha nationalism could play a certain progressive role ia 1848-1849, despite ts strong, reaconar) stent. But what about its future? ‘The combined ‘strength of the Holy Alliance rushed the revolution, This dfest became in turn the source ofa new delay in the countrys even tion, The se-csablished’ order in Cente and Eastern “Europe was based on the powerfully nfavourably citing reinforced vestiges of the past. The development of capitalism was, however, an irreversible process despite the straitjacket of feudal forces. which weighed so heavily. This was the fate shared by Russia, Germany organized by Prussia, and the monarchies, all under the political rod of the feudal lords. This ‘Prussian path’ of capitalist development, realized from above, always behind, meant tremendous suffering for the workers and accumulated explosive national and social con- tradictions, ‘The revolution was the last historical gasp of the middle nobility. Rebellious in 1848, it then renewed its alliance with the aristocracy and, after the reconciliation with the Hapsburgs, the whole nobility was charged with maintaining’ order over the peasantry and emergest working class, and also over the nascent nations of the Serbs, Croats, Slovaks and Rumanians. On the other ‘hand it obtained a relative political autonomy under the henceforth Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Under this monarchy capitalist development, although distorted, restricted and deformed, was neverthe- less a real process. However, although embedded in the state apparatus, in the municipalities, thus continuing to blay a leading politcal fle the, mide nobity Was in fact losing ground. Capitalist development was mocking its existence. Set in an overdofie, limited and. provincial nationalism nostalgic for a past gone for ever, this proud nobility placed Itself outside of that development. It looked on industry, trade, the whole of capitalist evolution as something unworthy, especially as it was itself being ruined at the hands of the bankers and usurers, since it lacked capital. The life of its members, socially useless, clashed with that of their own ‘society’ in which these ruined nobles led an existence reviving the glorious past, a life of hunts and balls, even more costly than was the state administration in the hands of this closed caste. This was the fate of the ruined nobility over ‘Tonio Kroger’ dilemma Lukac’s quandary the vast territory of a Europe fettered by feudal vestiges and where capitalism was developing as it had in Prussia, The Hungarian “djentr had some- thing in common with the sad heroes of Gogol ‘or Goncharov. Like industry, trade was regarded as unworthy of the nobility, and they completely and voluntarily left it to ‘unworthy’ beings, primarily to the popu. lation of German stock who were the agents. of German and Austrian capital. The old national pride, the kingly contempt for the foreigner, were confounded by the ‘djentri’ with hatred towards industry and trade, rendering nationalism even more vacuous, sterile and aggressive, and making industry and trade ‘anti-national’. The hatred of ‘society’ for the rich foreigners was even greater their social exclusion more complete than that of the “djentsi’, and the political regime was entirely dependent upon them. The ideas of the ‘glorious’ ruling class penetrated all of Hungarian society; it influenced the peasantry, it created a particularly stifling atmosphere, an unsupportable. aggressive nationalism, a spirit of servility skilled in distin- guishing between the castes. But at the same time, fre traditional ruling but impoverished group only lived thanks to the injections of gold from these ‘unworthy’ bourgeois. And ‘unworthy’ they were, Nourishing no less a hatred towards these useless ‘djentr’, the bankers, industrialists and even more the big grain merchants or usurers dreamed only fof becoming members of ‘society’, of obtaining. credentials of nobility. Among: these pariahs, the Jews, scarcely emancipated and often traders or uusurers, were the most thorough outcasts. To be a Jew at that time in Hungary was to suffer all the ‘contempt, aggression and discrimination that the dominant nobility of traditional Hungary showed towards that afflicted race. The Hungarian bour- eoisie was much more dominated by the feudal Political order than in Germany. More dominated envious hatred of the moneyed men towards the ‘djentr', and the condescending and contemptuous Fourth Intemational Winter 1971/72Kossuth favourably aistingulshed from Frankfurt chatterboxes Tonio Kroger’s dilemma Lukac’s quandary reinforced vestiges of the past. The development ff capitalism was, however, an irreversible process despite the strait-jacket of feudal forces which weighed so heavily. This was the fate shared by Russia, Germany organized by Prussia, and the monarchies, all under the political rod of the feudal lords. This ‘Prussian path’ of capitalist development, realized from above, always behind, meant tremendous suffering for the workers and accumulated explosive national and social con tradietions, The revolution was the last historical gasp of the middle nobility. Rebellious in 1848, it then renewed its alliance with the aristocracy and, after the reconciliation with the Hapsburgs, the whole nobility was charged with maintaining order over the peasantry and emergent working class, and also over the nascent nations of the Serbs, Croats, Slovaks and Rumanians. On the other hand it obtained a relative political autonomy under the henceforth Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Under this monarchy capitalist development, although distorted, restricted and deformed, was neverthe- less a real process. However, although embedded in the state apparatus, in the municipalities, thus continuing to play a leading political role, the middle nobility was in fact losing ground. Capitalist development was mocking its existence. Set in an overdofe, limited and provincial nationalism nostalgic for a past gone for ever, this proud nobility placed Itself outside of that development. It looked on industry, trade, the whole of capitalist evolution as something unworthy, especially as it was itself being ruined at the hands of the bankers and uusurers, since it lacked capital. The life of its members, socially useless, clashed with that of their owa ‘society’ in which these ruined nobles Jed an existence reviving the glorious past, a life of hunts and balls, even more costly than was the state administration in the hands of this closed caste, This was the fate of the ruined nobility over «0 the vast territory of a Europe fettered by feudal vestiges and where capitalism was developing as it hhad in Prussia, The Hungarian “djentri" had some- thing in common with the sad heroes of Gogol ‘of Goncharov Like industry, trade was regarded as unworthy cof the nobility, and they completely and voluntarily left it to ‘unworthy’ beings, primarily to the popu: lation of German stock who were the agents. of German and Austrian capital. The old national pride, the kingly contempt for the foreigner, were confounded by the ‘djentri' with hatred towards industry and trade, rendering nationalism even more vacuous, sterile and aggressive, and making Industry and trade ‘anti-national’. The hatred of ‘society’ for the rich foreigners was even greater, their social exclusion more complete than that of the ‘djentr', and the political regime was entirely dependent upon them. The ideas of the ‘slorious’ ruling class penetrated all of Hungarian society; it influenced the peasantry, it created a particularly stifling atmosphere, an ‘unsupportable aggressive nationalism, a spirit of servility skilled in distin uishing between the castes. But at the same time, tre traditional ruling but impoverished group only lived thanks to the injections of gold from these ‘unworthy’ bourgeois. And ‘unworthy’ they were, Nourishing no less a hatred towards these useless ‘djentr', the bankers, industrialists and even more the big grain merchants or usurers dreamed only of becoming members of ‘society’, of obtaining credentials of nobility. Among: these pariahs, the Jews, scarcely emancipated and often trades or rusurers, were the most thorough outcasts. To be a Jew at that time in Hungary was to suffer all the ‘contempt, aggression and discrimination that the dominant nobility of traditional Hungary showed towards that afflicted race, The Hungatian bour- eoisie was much more dominated by the feudal Political order than in Germany. More dominated envious hatred of the moneyed men towards the ‘ajentr’, and the condescending and contemptuous Fourth International Winter 1971/72a a. The familiarity of ‘society’ with the “usurers’ were also more virulent. But to be a Jew or a big merchant With millions or perhaps a freshly-bought ttle forced ‘fine society’ to feign respect which exceeded these limits. The damned and divided souls of the bourgeoisie of that part of Europe, a backward bourgeoisie, in Hungary a sort of comprador, ‘ersatz’ by nature, was particularly sharply rellected among the newly rich and ennobled Jews. It was into such a family that Georg Lukacs was born. He was born in Budapest in 1885 of a recently ennobled Jewish family. To be born into such a milieu, full of contradictions, forces every mind to open its eyes, creates tensions and rebellions. His consciousness was awakened very early. As he wrote himself in his final autobiographical account ‘in 1969), from the age of puberty he was against his Hungarian milieu, against the ‘world of Jews and djentr’, he was a ‘fighter impregnated with the feeling of being a foreigner’. He himself tells how, at that age, he had already generalized on his rejection of the family milieu through to the rejec- tion of patricians and bourgeois and all of Hungarian society. Knowing the stilling atmosphere fof the everyday life of all “good families’ one can fully understand and approve this juvenile revolt He sought refuge in contemporary foreign literature, At 14 to 15 he avidly read Tbsen and Strindberg, Hebbel and Hauptmann, Flaubert and Verlaine. These attempted escapes from his milieu, Lukacs tells us, were stressed by exaltation of international modernism against Hungarianism, ‘narrow conservatism’. In his short autobiography written in 1933 (‘My Path to Marxism’, in Georg Lukacs Writings ‘on Ideology and. Politics, Luchterband Verlag, 1967) he notes that while Still at school he read both the Communist Mani- festo and the writings of Thomas Mann at about ie same time. He himself writes that it was the novels. Mann's ‘novellas’ which impressed_him, Sixty years later he was to write of Mann Poitical Minerary of Georg Lukace cain checiey when te tad ine ant imprsions of hit work, The problem of Tone Kroter primarily determined the main themes st outa werts” What, then, isthe problem, of Tonio Kroger? He is the “aolated bourse, whose problemi the impossibility of reconeing ‘art with bourgeals Ht, whilst the same me waning both that Ife and are ital! Mann throughout hs ie, with feat artistic force, expressed the fundamental Gliemma ef the bourgeoisie in the period of ts Aline, Not of 2 Bourgscinie in General but precisely one whieh had fated in its revolution, and Was no longer capable of fighting” absolutism. Mans, ftom. his. book Buddenbrook. (1900) through Tonio" Kroger. and Royal Tighnes to The Magic Mountain describes analyses and Interprets the decadence of the. Sourgetsie In a masterly mane, his novels expres the anguish of the bourgeolsie." He bases himself on shmpathy for that clas siding down the slope of history He twins to the past with a certain nostalgia fo time’ when the bourgoise was strong and full of Ife. in his works the. proletariat is completely absent, non-existent. And since the writer man, tain the incompatibility of reconciling (bourgeo) Me 'with art and is unable fo ste the: woekoy class, he is deeply pessimist. From this pesmisg fre sometimes born attempie to" tegenerte the Bourgeoisie. Here we grasp the meaning of that ‘internal analysis of Mann's writings, which occupied me throughout my life, of which Takacs speaks, Ais interest in lteratute and particularly lama, gree He personally fet the attatton and. tension of contradictions, thei tragedy expressed‘ dease fad also im the works of Thoms Man The bane of ese contradictions, refeted in contemporary literature, is that ulimately there is no Tonges aay place in life for Life In terminology faman 3, the period, the bourgeols ineligentia expressed the Impossibility of realizing a human Wife Is the ooit was ty of ‘society’ with the “usurers’ were also ‘more virulent. But to be a Jew or a big merchant ee piles oo cia a Feira ae forced ‘ine society’ to feign respect which excec these limits. The damned and divided souls of the Bourgeoisie of that part of Europe, a backward bourgeoisie, in Hungary a sort of comprador, ‘ersatz’ by nature, was particularly sharply reflected among the newly rich and ennobled Jews, It was into such a family that Georg Lukacs was born He was born in Budapest in 1885 of a recently ennobled Jewish family. To be born into such a milieu, full of contradictions, forces every mind {0 open its eyes, creates tensions and rebellions. His consciousness was awakened very early. As he ‘wrote himself in his final autobiographical account (in, 1969), from the age of puberty he was against his Hungarian milieu, against the ‘world of Jews and djentr’, he was a ‘fighter impregnated with the feeling of being a foreigner’. He himself tells hhow, at that age, he had already generalized on his rejection of the family milieu through to the relec- tion of patricians and bourgeois and all of Hungarian society. Knowing the tiling atmosphere of the everyday life of all ‘good families’ one can fully understand and approve this juvenile revolt. He sought refuge in contemporary foreign literature. At 14 to 15 he avidly read Tbsen and Strindberg, Hebbel. and Hauptmann, Flaubert and Verlaine. These attempted escapes from his milieu, ikacs_ tells us, were stressed by exaltation of ternational modernism against Hungarianism, ‘ow conservatism’. In his short autobiography written in 1933 (‘My Path to Marxism’, in Georg. Lukacs Writings on Ideology and. Politics, Luchterband Verlag, 1967) he notes that while still at school he read both the Communist Mani- festo and the writings of Thomas Mann at about the same time. He himself writes that it was the novels, Mann's ‘novellas’ which impressed him, Sixty years later he was to write of Mann: Poitical itinerary of Georg Lukace ‘What, then, is the problem of Tonio Kréger? He isthe ‘éolated bourgeois’, whose problem is the impossibility of reconciling ‘art with bourgeois whilst at the same time wanting both. that life and art itself, Mann throughout his life, with reat artistic force, expressed the fundamental dilemma of the bourgeoisie in the period ecline, Not of a. Bourgeoisie in general, but Precisely one which had failed in its revolution, and ‘was no longer capable of fighting absolutism. Mann, from his book Buddenbrooks (1900) through Tonio Kroger and. Royal Highness, The Magic Mountain describes, analyses and interprets the decadence of the bourgeoisie. In a masterly manner, his novels express the anguish of the bourgeoisie.” He bases. himself on sympathy for that class sliding down the slope of history. He turns to the past with a certain nostalgia, to a time when the bourgeoisie was strong and full of life. Tn his works the proletariat is completely absent, non-existent, And since the writer main- tains the incompatibility of reconciling (bourgeois) life with art and is unable to see’ the ‘working lass, he is deeply pessimistic. From this pessimism are sometimes bora attempts to regenerate the bourses Here we grasp the meaning of that ‘internal analysis ‘of Mana’s writings, which occupied me throughout my life, of which Lukacs speaks. interest in literature and particularly drama grew, He personally felt the attraction and tension of ‘contradictions, their tragedy expressed in drama and also in the works of Thomas Mann, The basis of these contradictions, reflected in contemporary literature, is that ultimately there is no longer any Place in life for Life. In terminology familiar 10 the period, the bourgeois intelligentsia expressed the impossibility of realizing a human life in theLesate Inftuenced first class organization in 1868 conditions of bourgeois life, but also the impos- sibility of transcending them. Lukacs, as a student, became one of the organizers in Budapest of & ‘free Theatre’, the famous ‘Thalia’ where with his friends he staged Ibsen and Strindberg. This choice of fbsen is equally revealing. But theatrical activity was only an intermediary. He was already writing reviews for a journal, and then’ began to study philosophy. It must be stressed, as he does himself, that with his tum foreign influences, particularly German,- increased especially that of Kant. At university he was still studying Marx's work. He read Capital, The 18th Brumaire and Engels’ Origin of the Family. His first ‘Marxism’ he characterizes as follows: “This study immediately convinced me of the correctness of some of the main points of Marxism. In the frst place the theory of surplus value, the ‘conception of history as that of class struggles, and the division of society into classes influenced me. However, as. is. usually the case with bourgeois fntellectuals this Influence was limited to economics fand above all to "sociology", I held that the ‘materialist philosophy, in which I made no dis- tinction between materialism and dialectical ‘materialism, must be transcended from the point of View of the theory of Knowledge. The neo-Kantian theory of “the immanence of consciousness" was in perfect harmony with my class situation, my world Satlook at that time” (My Path to Marxism op. ct) ‘The imprint of this starting point It ig now possible to summarize and charac- terize Lukacs’ starting-point. If our examination of the milieu and awakening of his consciousness seems to the reader lengthy, and perhaps super- it is nonetheless essential. This is because profound characteristics of | Lukacs’ Hi "Sommunard ounce st workers pary starting-point will mark him throughout his sub- sequent itinerary. ‘What is particularly striking is that his awaken- ing and then his evolution and researches were purely intellectual. He came to study Marx and, Tater, even to know his works only through study and feflection. He revolted against his milieu, and sought the answer not in struggle but in reading ‘and reflection, trying thus to find both the explanation and the solution for his position and that of society. In his attitude there was not even ‘a break between theory and practice, but a pure land simple non-existence of the latter. However, the essence of his reflections is outstandingly rich in social content. His autobiographical comment, in which he explains that through his immediate milieu, he broke with the whole of Hungari society, is revealing. Written almost 70 years later, Ihe does not even see to what extent he ‘forgets in his youth and stil today—that this ‘Hungarian ‘society’ was itself made up of classes. Tt was in vain that ‘the conception of history as a history of class struggles, and the division of society into lasses’ influenced him. For him, it is only theory without practical application. There is nothing surprising in the fact that even at the time these autobiographical notes were published, the Lukacs ‘of today does not notice that this conception is not that of Marx, and has nothing Marxist in i Marx and Engels clearly explained that. they borrowed it from the historians of the French Revolution: Thierry, Michelet and Guizot. This conception appears at the summit of bourgeois 19th century thought. Marxism goes radically further: it teaches the historical mission of the proletariat in this class struggle, a mission written Into the laws and nature of capitalist society. This intellectual stance of Lukacs, including his reading of Marx, has no justification. The working class was not absent from the Hungary of those days, Its formation as a class begins from the crushing of the 1848-1849 revolution. With the Fourth International Winter 1871/72esate Intuenced first class organization In 1668 conditions of bourgeois life, but also the impos- sibility of transcending them. Lukacs, as a student, became one of the organizers in Budapest of a ‘free Theatre’, the famous ‘Thalia’ where with his friends he staged Tbsen and Strindberg. This choice of Tbsen is equally revealing. But theatrical activity was only an intermediary. He was already writing reviews for a journal, and then began to study philosophy. It must be stressed, as he does himself, that with this turn foreign influences, particularly German,- increased. especially that of Kant. At university he was still studying Marx's work. He read Capital, The 18th Brumaire and Engels” Origin of the Family. His first “Marxism’ he characterizes as follows: ‘This study immediately convinced me of the correctness of some of the main points of Marxism. In the first place the theory of surplus value, the conception of history as that of class struggles, and the division of society lato clastes influenced me However, as is. usually the case. with bourgeois intellectuals this Influence wat limited to economics find above all to “sociology”. I held that the materialist philosophy, in which 1 made no dis: tinction between. materialism and. dialectical materialism, must be transcended from the point of View of the theory of knowledge. The neo-Kantian theory of "the immanence of consciousness” was in perfect harmony with my class situation, my ‘world Sutlook at that time. (My Path to Marxism op. cit.) The imprint of this starting point It is now possible to summarize and charac- tetize Lukacs’ starting-point. If our examination of the milieu and awakening of his consciousness seems to the reader lengthy, and perhaps super- fluous, it is nonetheless essential. This is because certain profound characteristics of | Lukacs’ a] Hungarian Communard founded frst workers" party starting-point will mark him throughout his sub- sequent itinerary. ‘What is particularly striking is that his awaken- ing and then his evolution and researches were purely intellectual. He came to study Marx and, Tater, even to know his works only through study and reflection. He revolted against his milieu, and sought the answer not in struggle but in reading and reflection, trying thus to find both the explanation and the solution for his position and that of society. In his attitude there was not even fa break between theory and practice, but a pure fnd simple non-existence of the latter. However, the essence of his reflections is outstandingly rich in social content, His autobiographical comment, in which he explains that through his immediate milieu, he broke with the whole of Hungarian society, is revealing. Written almost 70 years later, he does not even sce to what extent he ‘forgets— in his youth and still today—that this ‘Hungarian society’ was itself made up of classes. Tt was in vain that “the conception of history as a history ‘of class struggles, and the division of society into ‘lasses’, influenced him. For him, it is only theory without practical application. There is nothing surprising in the fact that even at the time these autobiographical notes were published, the Lukacs of today does not notice that this conception is fot that of Marx, and has nothing Marxist in i. Marx and Engels clearly explained that they borrowed it from the historians of the French Revolution: Thierry, Michelet and Guizot. This conception appears at the summit of bourgeois 19th ‘century thought. Marxism goes radically further: it teaches the historical mission of the proletariat in this class struggle, a mission written Into the laws and nature of capitalist society. This intellectual stance of Lukacs, including his reading of Marx, has no justification. The working class was not absent from the Hungary of those ays. Tts formation as a class begins from the rushing of the 1848-1849 revolution. With the Fourth International Winter 1971/72formation of the trade unions, it fought for decades, in a struggle rich in lessons, to tear itself from the liberal bourgeoisie and’ form its ‘own political party. Tt was in 1868 that the first political class organization was formed, under the hheavy influence of Lassalle's ideas.' After its destruction by the police, the Marxist, Leo Frankel, ‘one of the leaders of the Paris Commune, returned to his country of birth and founded the first really socialist Hungarian workers’ party. Movements of the working class in the towns merged with great Peasant revolts. Under the pressure of the bour- geoisie and. the state, Frankel again being in emigration, this new party succumbed to oppor- ‘unism, But in 1890 the Social Democratic Party was formed, Powerful strikes and demonstrations in the towns and the countryside, shook the fegime. Lukacs had the chance to see that the class struggle is not a theory, but a reality that theory only grasps and fertilizes Of course, the awakening of the consciousness of intellectuals often proceeds by reflection and not by the daily experience of class struggle. It is, hot a question of reproaching the young Lukacs With this characteristic of development. But Whether beginning from day-to-day experiences or hrough reflection, once they have arrived. at Marxism the worker and the intellectual are merged in this common struggle in which theory and practice fuse in a constant interaction. What is to be noted with Lukaes is that this intellectual imprint of his starting-point remains present throughout his life, marked by a split between theory and practice. His approach to the labour movement in the course of the First World War is characterized by discussions in different groups and lectures but at no time does he participate ina trade-union or political movement of the working class. It is Temarkable that in all his autobiographies written from 1933 t0 1969 (we know of at least three) he explains in minute detail, although sometimes with Political Wtnerary of Georg Lukaes some omissions and discrepancies, his intellectual ‘movement towards Marxism, but never explains how he approached the labour ‘movement, And even when he states that, on the eve of the war and during the first years of the war, anarcho- syndicalist and Sorelian ideas influenced him, he just does not think of explaining whether or not hhe did something in practice for these ideas, This complete break between theory and practice was later ‘softened’. But its foundation remained. Thus, later, as a member or leader of the Communist Party, he sees this party in itself, completely detached from the labour movement as a_whole. The living dialectic between, on the one hand, the labour movement and class struggle, and on the other the Party, the vanguard, escapes him completely. The dialectical unity between the Party as an ‘emanation of the class and its struggles and as a leader of that class will never be grasped. by Lukacs. For him, the Party leads, it is something finished, perfect, because Marxism conceived as totality of finished categories guides it. This is precisely the realization of the Spirit in History of Which Hegel speaks. And one of the reasons, if ‘ot the most important one, for this idealism is the separation of theory and practice When he joined the Communist Party, he did ‘not only see it as a party in itself, detached from the labour movement, but rather as a sort of life. buoy for culture through the building of socialism, This statement is in no way a reproach to Lukacs It only shows that for him, even when practice appears close to theory, there is no organic link between them. In fact, for a Marxist, the party of the class leads the emancipation of the proletariat and by that, permits the salvation of all humanity, culture included. Consequently, the theoretical pre- occupations of a Marxist are intimately linked to that struggle (practice) and not to the problems of culture. There was only one period in Lukas life, from 1919 to 1930, when theory and practiceMaman, Aiawk Kant fan carly tntuence tended to fuse (for the moment, we will leave aside the political content of this fusion). This was the time when he was one of the leaders of the Hungarian Communist Party. Later, he again becomes the ‘saviour of culture’, usually indepen- dently of the class nature of society. ‘The fact that with Lukacs, even Marxism be comes a sort of system with fixed categories, found particularly in his ‘Aesthetics’, clearly shows the break between theory and practice. The Hegelian ism for which he has been correctly reproached finds its origin there. ‘A particularly eloquent example of the relation between Lukacs’ theory and practice is his par- ticipation in the struggle of the opposition before the Hungarian revolution of workers’ councils. In June 1956, the Pet6fi Circle organized a public debate on the theme, ‘Present problems of Marxist Philosophy’. One of the noteworthy participants ‘was Lukaes, whose contribution constituted the centeé of the debate. But instead of analysing, with the weapon of dialectical materialism, the funda- mental problems of a struggle which was to sweep the entire country, he only spoke of the situation of Marxism in Hungary, taken as a science apart, ‘And even from this standpoint, he made not the slightest effort to show the irreconcilable opposi- tion between Marxism and Stalinism, for. the simple reason that he did not want to sec it him- self. In his contribution, as in. several of his writings, Stalinism in this respect consisted only of a dogmatism, with no other content, stifling the living method of Marxism. He never poses the main problem, even if here and there he touches ‘on it, of whether Stalinism falsified, deformed and perverted that method itself, dialectical material ism. And since he does not pose it, he tries even less to reply to it in an overall and positive ‘manner, Thus, in the Petbfi Circle debate, the axis of his contribution was the necessity to develop ‘Marxism in the form of applying it to particular “ For ‘today, there is no Marxist logic, no Marxist aesthetics of Marxist ethics, Marxist pedagogy or Marxist psychology, and so om’ ‘So Marxism becomes a sort of philosophy to be applied to the various sciences. Its development this becomes an intellectual task realized only by intellectuals in their studies. And since, in this ‘way, his ‘Marxism’ loses its raison d'etre, as a Science of the proletarian class struggle, guiding that practice and gathering sustenance from it, it ceases to be Marxism. It quite naturally gives way to the idealist Utopia of wanting to create, from prefabricated elements, a “Marxist” pedagogy. tthies, ete, Marx and Engels finished with philo: sophy’as such, Lukacs recreates it. And the key to its resurrection js the separation of theory and practice, ‘whereas its liquidation by Marx, sum fmatized in the Theses on Feuerbach, on the con- trary, united them. Tt follows that this rupture, if it distorts theory, is also a danger for the practice. The latter becomes crippled. Deprived of a theoretical support and sustenance which are firmly linked to practice, its, characterized in Lukacs by accommodation, some: times reticent sometimes not, to all situations. He was criticized by Lenin in 1920 and he rapidly made a self-criticism. Then in 1923-1924, the Communist International criticized his book His- tory and Class Consciousness; just as quickly, @ selfcriticism. In 1929-1930 another criticism, and another self-criticism by Lukaes, then more tit cisms, but Lukacs always knows how to withdraw, never hesitating to sacrifice his companions. Let tus not forget that he is one of the few survivors! In 1956 he follows the revolution and joins Imre Nagy’s government; he is one of the seven leaders founding the new Communist Party during the revolution, But later all the leaders of the revolux tion are executed or imprisoned, including the founders of the new party, except Kadar—and Lukaes. For Lukacs a theoretical position is only a theory with no link with the struggle, and can Fourth Intemational Winter 1971/72an carly intuence tended to fuse (for the moment, we will leave aside the political content of this fusion). This was the time when he was one of the leaders of the Hungarian’ Communist Party. Later, he again becomes the ‘saviour of culture’, usually indepen- dently of the class nature of society. ‘The fact that with Lukacs, even Marxism be- comes a sort of system with fixed categories, found particularly in his ‘Aesthetics’, clearly shows the break between theory and practice. The Hegelian- ism for which he has been correctly reproached finds its origin there ‘A particularly eloquent example of the relation between Lukacs’ theory and practice is his par ticipation in the struggle of the opposition before the Hungarian revolution of workers’ councils. In June 1956, the Pet6 Circle organized a public ‘debate on the theme, ‘Present problems of Marxist Philosophy’. One of the noteworthy participants was Lukaes, whose contribution constituted the ‘centre of the debate. But instead of analysing, with the weapon of dialectical materialism, the funda- mental problems of a struggle which was to sweep the entire country, he only spoke of the situation of Marxism in Hungary, taken as 2 science apart. ‘And even from this standpoint, he made not the lightest effort to show the irreconcilable opposi tion between Marxism and Stalinism, for the simple reason that he did not want to see it him- sell. In his contribution, as in several of his writings, Stalinism in this respect consisted only of a dogmatism, with no other content, stifing the living method of Marxism. He never poses. the main problem, even if here and there he touches ‘on it, of whether Stalinism falsified, deformed and perverted that method itself, dialectical material- ism. And since he does not pose it, he tries even Jess to reply to it in an overall and positive ‘manner. Thus, in the Petdfi Circle debate, the axis of hig contribution ‘was the necessity t0 develop Marxism in the form of applying it to particular For today, there is no Marist logic, no Marxist aesthetics or Marxist ethics, Marxist pedagogy or Marxist psychology, and 50 00" ‘So Marxism becomes a sort of philosophy to be applied to the various sciences. Its development thus becomes an intellectual task realized only by intellectuals in their studies. And since, in this ‘way, his “Marxism” loses its raison d'etre, asa scienee of the proletarian class struggle, guiding that practice and gathering sustenance from it, it ceases to be Marxism. Tt quite naturally gives way to the idealist Utopia of wanting to create, from prefabricated elements, a. "Marxist’ pedagory. ethics, etc. Marx and Engels finished with philo sophy’as such. Lukacs recreates it. And the key to its resurrection is the separation of theory and practice, whereas its liquidation by Marx, sum- marized in the Theses on Feuerbach, on the con- trary, united them. Te follows that this rupture, if it distorts theory is also danger for the practice. The latter becomes crippled. Deprived of ‘a theoretical support and sustenance which are firmly linked to practice, itis characterized in Lukacs by accommodation, some- times reticent sometimes not, to all situations. He was criticized by Lenin in 1920 and he rapidly made a self-criticism. ‘Then in 1923-1924, the Communist International criticized his book His: tony and Class Consciousness; just as quickly, a Selferiticism. In 1929-1930 another criticism, and another self-criticism by Lukaes, then more crit isms, but Lukacs always knows how to withdraw. never hesitating to sacrifice his companions. Let us not forget that he is one of the few survivors! In 1956 he follows the revolution and joins Imre Nagy’s government: he is one of the seven leaders founding the new Communist Party during the revolution, But later all the leaders of the revolu: tion are executed or imprisoned, including the founders of the new party, except Kadar—and Lukaes, For Lukacs a theoretical position is only a theory with no link with the struggle, and can Fourth Inrnational Winter 1971/72therefore be easily modified or abandoned. What is, important is to survive, and always be on the winning side. Lukacs is always in the camp of the exterminating bureaucracy, even if previously he was to be found in the camp of the ‘oppositionists. ‘Another profound characteristic of his youth accompanies Lukacs up to the present. It is closely linked to the first. This is his attitude to the fundamental antagonism between proletariat and bourgeoisie. Coming out against his environment, he did not turn to the proletariat, but, as we have seen, to- wards. lectures and. intellectual research, More exactly, as he expresses it, to ‘international modernism’ against. ‘conservative Hungarianism. This ‘modernism’ ig contemporary literature, expressed particularly in the work of Thomas Mann and in German neo-Kantian philosophy. In order to define Lukacs' relationship to the bour- sgeois-proletarian antagonism, an. examination, even 2 rapid one, of the class content of this philo- sophy and literature is necessary. Engels summarily characterized the German university philosophers of the second half of the 19th century as philistines, as “posthumous abor- tions of German classical philosophy’. The essence ‘of neo-Kantian rhilosophy lay in purging Kant of his materialist inconsistencies by rejecting materialism. Basically, the various neo-Kantian schools in Germany represented a theoretical front of the bourgeoisie against the dialectical material: ism of the proletariat. The ‘Baden Schoo!" of neo- Kantians, with the Heidelberg professors Windes- band and Rickert, sought to transcend Kant. by rejecting the Kantian recognition of the materialist Ding an sich (Thing in itsel}. This schoo! busied itself “above all with intellectual and. cultural values. The other school, that of Marburg, tried t0 reconcile Kant's critique with modern logic and to apply his ethics to social problems. This philosophy expressed the situation and specific interests of the bourgeoisie at a well Poltical itinerary of Georg Lukacs ‘Baden School’ of Neo Kantians—a theoretical counterbalance to defined period of its evolution. Just as the Tater, faced with a proletariat strengthening its strusle and organizations, was sheltering in the arms oF absolutism whilst debating against it so neo Kantian philosophy was the theoretical attempt to translate and so. support this “equilibrium”. But the latter never existed in socal reality: the bour feosie had Become once and forall. counter. Fevolutionary, despite its intentions with regard to absolutism, The realization of the tasks of the bourgeois revolution, such a» the dissolution cf the powerful feudal remnants and the application of democratic rights, henceforth required. a pro- Jetarian revolution. This was the meaning of the permanent revolution advanced by. Marx and Engels as the principal conclusion of the 184% 1849 revolution. The Russian Revolution of 1905 vetted it in practes, with much more force now that the working class'and is organizations were developing. against the. now reactionary” bouts feoisie All of this development was analysed and expressed in Leon Trotsky's major contribution to Marxism, ‘the theory of “permanent. revolution elaborated on the morrow of the Russian Revol tion of 1903. Th these ‘conditions, neo-Kaniian philosoph could not be a “balance, nonexistent in tality, between materialism and idealism, but—just lke the bourgeoisie onthe social and politcal planet was reactionary. It went back, not only felation to Hegel, not to speak of Marx and Engels: but even in relation to. Kant himself Neo-Kantian Philosophy constituted the theoretical weapon of the bourgeoisie to fight dialectical materi, the form of a balance” between: materialism and idealism. It insinuated itssif a8. "noble attempt to rid materialism ofits rigity. Te found its form of ‘penetration into. the. labour “movement ‘with During. Engels" theoretical struggle against his attempt was thus the necessary condition of the feinforcement of the conscious proletariat for itt historical role, as an independent class: But since‘the principal social conditions remained the same, the theoretical front of the bourgeoisie, namely the different forms of neo-Kantianism, continued to flourish. They undermined the labour movement. ‘The appearance of Bernstein's revisionism, immedi- ately after Engels’ death, and its influence must rot be separated from the fact that the leaders of German social democracy did not understand Engels’ warning on the necessity of theoretical struggle One of the most dangerous forms of neo- Kantianism thea represented was Machism, azainst which Lenin took up the struggle and thereby won a decisive battle against neo-Kantia..sm. Lenin's Materialism — and Empirio-Criticis:, written in 1908, aimed at the defence of material: ism by developing it, was Lenin's rely, fighting for the proletarian revolution, to the attempts of the ‘bourgeoisie to theoretically disarm it by an attempt at ‘reconciliation’ of materialism with idealism. In the same way, the theory of permanent revolution claborated by Trotsky in 1906 constituted the arming of the proletariat’ against efforts to sub- ordinate it to the bourgeoisie. Between these two theoretical works there is an intimate link; they arm the working class against the desperate attempts of the bourgeoisie to confuse the perspec tives, aim and content of its struggle. Without this theoretical preparation and struggle, the October Revolution is inconceivable. ‘So the social significance of neo-Kantianism rested on this, that it assigned a progressive role to the bourgeoisie. As such, this philosophy was violently opposed to the independence of the pro- letariat, it) constituted the theoretical counter balance to the theory of permanent revolution, This sociotogical application of neo-Kantianism, with ‘borrowings’ from Marx, was also taken un by contemporary academics, particularly Max Weber and Werner Sombart. The “philosophical” transition to this sociology was assured by the ‘Philasophy of life school of Dilthey and Simmel, Lukacs was 21 in 1906, when he arrived in Berlin to complete his studies, following the course of the ageing Dilthey and Simmel. The latter deeply influenced him, so much so that in October 1918, on Simmel's death, Lukacs devoted 2 eulogy to him. In 1913 he left Berlin for Heidel: berg University because of the attraction the neo- Kantian ‘Baden School’ had for him. He explains his choice of Heidelberg in one of his auto biographical notes. “Thad always had reservations regarding extreme subjective. idealism (the Marburg. school” of eo: Kantianism as much as Machism), However, this fact did not lead me to materialist conclusions, but on the contrary to approach the philosophical schools which wanted to resolve this problem in an ‘erational-rlatvist manner, sometimes making. the latter sparkle in mysticism. At Heidelberg, or the university near Friburg, he finds a whole team whose names were, or were to be, known as philosophical or sociological representatives of a ‘transcendence’ of Marx. Max ‘Weber was professor at Heidelberg until 1903 and his influence had continued to grow. In fact Lukaes himself was to write later: “Max Weber's Wwritigs on Protestantism were my models for a “sociology of literature’ in. which tlements taken from Marx, necessarily diluted and paled, although still present were “scarcely re Cognizable." At Heidelberg he found professors Wilhelm Windelband, Heinrich Rickert, ‘those. posthumous abortions’, along with Emil Lask and Paul Eris ‘whose preoccupations, if not the same type, always remain recognizable in Lukacs. AS companivn there he finds Ernst Bloch, of his own age. Kul Jaspers, then Karl Korsch’ and Karl Mannheim Whilst Martin Heidegger was at Friburg, whe Edmund Husserl was a professor. Quite a pio gramme—Lukacs was then no longer a youthful beginner. From the age of 21 10 30 he husks uw the university milieu of Berlin and Heilellety Fourth international Winter 1971/7225 one of ite pillars, On the practical plane this University milieu was the base'and support of the Social study ‘cicle.founded_and organized ‘by Weiner Sombart. This. Breslau (now. Wroclaw) professor undertook to elaborate. social reforms favour. of the workers” He was. the pale unwversity reflection of Schuitze-Deltzsch, whose tim was to make workers believe that it Is pos Sible to reconcile their struggle for emancipation with the maintenance of the socal order. ‘The proliferation of tis kind of professor is characteristic in Russia, Germany and the Avstro: Hungarian monarehy of the time, which all had fundamentally the same social and poltial con- Gitions, But whereas in Russa a theoretical and Consequently politcal struggle “was. waged "by Lenin and Trotsky, by the Bolsbeviks, against the “legal Maraiste”Struve,Tugan-Baranowski ete, invthe other “counties, because of theoretical negligence and the consequent opportuni ram: Pantin the labour movement, the influence of Eoneiatry “theories and their practical corollary amely the stack on the independence of the proletariat, sesking. to subordinate it to. the Bourgeosie—was considerable: For a long’ me Subsequent development of the labour movement in those countries On. the plane of philosophy and theory huge Bate was to take place, the price for which was to be the conscioumness, and therefore the clase independence of the proletariat. ‘Attempts to cloud the consciousness of the pro: Tetra were to. be. concentrated. in Germany there the working class was strongest its actions Conditioned the victory of the European revo fon. It was not accidental that Tater the Bol Shevik leadership of the Russian. Revolution Tooked precisely towards the German proletariat and its Fevoltion as the guarantee of the world Fevolution and” consequentiy the victory of socialism, Theoretically, the permanent revolition linking the class conditions of revolutionary. but backward Russia to the revolution inthe indstial Poltical tinerary of Georg Lokacs Heldetberg proteseor Weber countries was in fact stressing the capital role fof the German proletariat. Thus, the role of the German working class against its bourgeoisie was fone of the important elements of the permanent revolution, Inversely, one could say without exaggeration that the relationship to the German proletariat and its role determined the relation- Ship to the permanent revolution. In fact, to this theory were opposed only ideologies of the progressive role of the bourgeoisie and the sub- ordination of the German working class, just as all variants of such an ideology remain’ enemies fof the permanent revolution; as much then as later, right through to the present. Breaking from his milieu, and a complete foreigner to the workers, Lukacs tured towards ‘international modernism’, particularly German, Granted it expressed a struggle on all planes against the backward state of feudal absolutism, but in order to ensure the expansion of the bourgeoisie. So if, then, such a hope seemed futile to Lukacs in’ Hungary because of the weak- ness of the bourgeoisie and its consequent more craven submission, in Germany all intellectual life aspired to such a possibility, despite some. pes- simistic notes. So, breaking from a backward and deformed capitalism, Lukacs turned to a classical, So-to-speak ‘pure’ capitalism, His attachment 10 the problems of contemporary literature in general and to classical literature was conditioned by this, starting point. Throughout his subsequent evolution hhe was marked by it theoretically and politically. We shall see that throughout his life he was to remain a vicious and declared enemy of per manent revolution. This is why it was. quite Batural for him to repudiate ‘ie ‘evautionary attitude at the time of the revolutions of attitude lutions of 1917 In 1969 he wrote these significant lines ‘Like most people who were drawn. into. the revolutionary movement by the events of 1917.1 too was convinced that soon, by the revolutionary road, Socialism would replace European capitalism, This asectarian fanaticism ha ot yet known the bureau: Crate rexttons ofthe ltr stages of declopent os (i mn a Beason sect wii be ive desea dfents and revels, inthe Tap and radical rebirth of the word Ie was ths ‘nd of assimilation to Mara Ii ery sages {hat dominated for sme yeas my pontion on ine nation! development: [Our empbasi} Revolutionary politics i completely repudiated by Lukacs, who! identies it with sectarianism and fanaticism. But if the European revoltin is only fanatical Messianism, the only| possible path Is “socialists in one country’ Electivly, this i Lukace’funda- mental position, His repidition of revolution dates fom 1924. Lenin died in January 1924. Ta the following month, Lokacs devoted @ book to him, in’'which—although on the ‘whole in. an ambiguous form—appeared the frst elements of “Socialism. in"one country’. Stalin himself only arrived at thie position Inthe autumn of the same year, But Lukace is modest; he was never to admit that in some way, he anticipated Stalin, In 1967, writing slong Preface to" the. second volume ‘of his works published. by Luchterhand Verlag, he wrote: ter 1924 the. Third Internation correctly defined the position of the capitalist World a one of relative ability” These fete meant tha T hed to reahink my heorteal potion In the debates tn the Rass Party T agreed with Stalin about tae Tecemity for socal in one county and ths shows very slary the sat 'a new epoch in my house” Te could not be clearer. Tn this article we shall have oceasion to demon- strate this host {0 the permaneat revolution, and thus to revolution along with his hatred for ‘Trotsky and loyalty to ‘socal in one county” For this reason, Be was, throughout his fe not an antiStalinst, as many would have us believe, Bur on the contary the ideologue ofthe Stalinist Bureaucracy who just made the mistake of going forward “too. quickly" forthe bureaucracy af opening up the rad which t was to travel before the "moder variant ofits counter-revelutionary policy had been found. We must, however, raise Something. which was to deeply mark the begin. ning of this development™his hostility 0 the German proletariat, hostility which, fnked with that towards. the permanent revolution, is ise ne of the characteristics of Stalinism, in his youth Lukaes was a neo-Kantian, nostalgic for’ the "grandeur" of the ‘bourgeoisie. ‘Thomas Mann's problem is bis too. There is nothing sur prising im the fact that for Lakacs, Mann fs ‘not nly the greatest writer, but also-as he was "0 Say in 1955—~a profound judge of the socal and cultural processes of his time, “a'man of areat” political clairvoyance’. But in fact, Mann’ was, 8nd remained 50 until his death, a bourgeois who despised the working class. In T914, Mann basi ally supported the war of German imperialism, hoping that through ie wosld come the regeneration of the bourgeoisie. This “profound judge of socal processes Tater wrote on the question of socialism (inhi study 00" Goethe and Tolstoy) “is intellectual life was cramped for too Tong in an inferior materialism,’ and for that reason ‘its national task [is to] read Hélderlin to Karl Mara." He too, wanted to rid Marxism of its ‘igidity’ by proposing nothing lec, than the mystical BaliEte etn i hs, ew Co SIRs pny th es Sa ee et aes Be tans epee ae See Baie nat ais Sor, Rhine ast tm act Sea a at pata ie ay St pe So ee dae ee Mae ee i ae tae tinct! ct tay hat se aa SESE Cle po aa fae aca sth ae Sot es ar a Ne eR he Sa mon, cnt ty dese, eh io att move she nnn eas rae pe ae soi "Soa a se ate loath are oN Ra Sarat Eo ta le et Peg dain wish el Seiad eres ae eae aR omens Ss Meh (See meet ea aba sake ae PEM 8 seat ely Sa ma eh ae terete be Saket a se Sa wats a Fourth International Winter 1971/72)