The recent publicity over the disturbing events in Brixton, among a group of peo

ple originating in a Maoist collective headed by Aravindan Balakrishnan, inspire

d me to take out my copy of the We Only Want the Earth CD, a collection of Maois
t propaganda songs from the 1970s by Cornelius Cardew. (I would stress that Card
ew cant be held responsible for Balakrishnans group. His lot expelled comrade Bala i
n 1974.)
Cardew was a member of a Maoist organisation called the Revolutionary Communist
Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist), who stood in the 1978 Lambeth Central by-el
ection under the name of the South London Peoples Front. In support of their cand
idate, the RCPB(ML) put up posters around Brixton reading Down with the revisioni
st Three Worlds theory. Victory to the revolutionary people of Albania. They got
38 votes. (Which to be fair is 13 more than TUSC got in a recent by-election in
Stoke.)
Perhaps this comes under the heading of guilty pleasures, but Ive always had a so
ft spot for Cardews Maoist songs, not least because of their unabashed absurdity.
A particular favourite is Smash the Social Contract, which sought to rally the wo
rking class against the agreement the TUC reached in 1974 with the then Labour g
overnment to implement a policy of voluntary wage restraint.
The final verse asserts that the social contract can be smashed only by the work
ing class engaging in the struggle for state power under the leadership and guid
ance of the RCPB(ML). With the benefit of hindsight, youd have to concede that th
is is one of the songs weaker points.
Cornelius Cardew is a largely forgotten figure these days, but back in the 1960s
he was a major force in the musical avant-garde, having worked closely with Kar
lheinz Stockhausen for several years in the late 50s. Cardews most famous work fro
m the 60s is Treatise, the score of which is notable for not actually including any
notes. It consists of abstract diagrams that the musicians are free to interpre
t as they decide. (A short some might say, mercifully short excerpt from Treatise
was performed by Sonic Youth on their 1999 double CD SYR4: Goodbye 20th Century.
)
However, in the early 70s Cardew was recruited to the Communist Party of England
(Marxist-Leninist) a Maoist group that later changed its name to the RCPB(ML) af
ter concluding that China had been taken over by revisionist elements following
the death of Mao, and that the true socialist fatherland was to be found in Enve
r Hoxhas Albania.
The CPE(ML) convinced Cardew that the avant-garde music he had been associated w
ith was just bourgeois decadence. So he renounced his former musical works and t
hose who had inspired them. In a celebrated pamphlet entitled Stockhausen Serves
Imperialism, Cardew accused his former mentor of being part of the cultural supe
rstructure of the largest-scale system of human oppression and exploitation the
world has ever known: imperialism, holding poor Karlheinz personally responsible
for the British military occupation of the north of Ireland and the US war in Vi
etnam.
Having rejected the musical avant-garde, Cardew composed a number of resolutely
tonal piano pieces, some of which the Thaelmann Variations, for example are quite
pleasant in their own musically traditionalist way. But Cardew felt the need to
address the proletariat more directly. So he formed a group called Peoples Libera
tion Music and wrote a bunch of Maoist propaganda songs for them, which they per
formed off the back of a lorry at demonstrations and picket lines.
The leader of the international tendency to which Cardew belonged was a Canadian
Maoist named Hardial Bains, who provided the words to some of Cardews songs. It
must be admitted that this was not one of their more impressive features. For ex
ample, The Workers of Ontario, which is based on a text by Bains, declares that th
e workers of Ontario play an important role in productive labour and are a might
y section of the Canadian proletariat. I cant imagine what the pickets made of it
.
Despite his avant-garde background, Cardew could knock out a good tune. I partic
ularly like We Sing for the Future, which has a pleasant folksy melody. Again, thi
s is not assisted by the words, which are taken from a speech by Bains consistin
g of boilerplate Maoist rhetoric that doesnt even fit the tune. Still, you can jo
in in the stirring chorus: We sing for the future/Proletarians of all lands/We un
ite and fight together/For the victory of communism.
Sadly, Cardew died in 1981 after being knocked down by a car on his way home fro
m a political meeting. His comrades from the RCPB(ML) immediately concluded that
he was the victim of a state assassination. A more sober explanation is that it
was after dark and he was walking in the middle of the road.
Those of us who were around the Trotskyist milieu in the 1970s, and look back wi
th some embarrassment to the things we said and did at that time, can at least t
ake consolation in the thought that things might have been worse. We could have
been Maoists.
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62 comments on Thoughts on British Maoism
Vanya on 28 November, 2013 at 10:01 am said:
things might have been worse. We could have been Maoists.
I think it I think it would be difficult to decide whether for example the W
RP or the sparts at times were (in fact are) less ludicrous than many maoists.
And to be honest, some Maoists were a lot less ludicrous in their practices
and presentation than this lot. The proponents of the 3 worlds theory, the RCL i
n particular. Then again, they were fans of the Khmer Rouge rather than Enver Ho
xha, and 3 worlds was the doctrine which justified Chinas siding with right wing
dictatorships, US imperialism and indirectly even Apartheid South Africa on the
grounds that Soviet social imperialism was the biggest enemy.
One of the groups that went on to form the RCL was the Communist Workers Move
ment, who produced an interesting pamphlet attacking the SWP on the basis of a c
ritique of Paul Foots Why You Should be a Socialist, entitled Why Paul Foot Shoul
d be a Socialist.
Imo while fatally flawed by adherence to 3 worlds, this pamphlet contains so
me valid criticism of the SWP and trotskyism in general..
Having said that, my first experience of the RCPB ML was on a Bloody Sunday
commemoration march in the mid-late 80s. The contingent (a grandiose term in the
circumstances) I was in were stuck next to theirs.
They had this big guy with a megaphone leading their chants. The idea was th
at he would shout a slogan and the rest would repeat what he had chanted.
The most memorable, not for its catchiness, was, The Anglo Irish agreement is
a savage crime against the entire Irish people.
The worst thing was that it was so wordy the rest of them couldnt remember wh
at hed chanted.
Perhaps you had to be there
jim mclean on 28 November, 2013 at 10:30 am said:
The irony being the Cardew / Stockhaussen box set vinyl goes for 700 or 800 po
und with other Cardew records getting three figure numbers on the free market ce
sspit that is ebay. Very popular with the middle classes. The one with Free Derr
y on the sleeve is perhaps only 30 on a good day.
Alan Ji on 28 November, 2013 at 10:38 am said:
jim mclean,
Irony would be even more lost on Maoists than on Americans.
Uncle Albert on 28 November, 2013 at 10:38 am said:
the South London Peoples Front [...] got 38 votes. (Which to be fair is 13 mor
e than TUSC got in a recent by-election in Stoke.)
25 votes for TUSC thats not so bad. Wolfie Smith, as a by-election candidate
for the Tooting Popular Front, only managed 6 votes though admittedly, they were
all party members.
Daniel young on 28 November, 2013 at 11:40 am said:
Well them would have got Wolfie!s vote,if they where allowed in that house.
Nick Wright on 28 November, 2013 at 12:08 pm said:
Uncle Albert: 25 votes for TUSC thats not so bad. Wolfie Smith, as a by-e
lection candidate for the Tooting Popular Front, only managed 6 votes though adm
ittedly, they were all party members.
A foul slander on the revolutionary impulses of the Tooting proletariat. As
a member of the Tooting Communist Party I remember the redoubtable building work
ers leader Lou Lewis getting over 300 votes which was six times the size of the m
embership!
R P Dutt on 28 November, 2013 at 1:26 pm said:
Ian Williams, the guru of the CWM, ended up writing speeches for Blair
Jellytot on 28 November, 2013 at 2:50 pm said:
Sadly, Cardew died in 1981 after being knocked down by a car on his way home
from a political meeting
Maybe Cardew was knocked down by another RCPB(ML) member running a Red Light
?
During the Cultural Revolution in China some Red Guards tried to enforce the
Red means Go, Green means Stop traffic rule as the internationally standard Red me
ans Stop was considered a reactionary slur on the colour red Rumour has it that f
oreign Maoists would try and replicate this in their home countries.
During the Cult
Vanya on 28 November, 2013 at 2:51 pm said:
#6 The Blair cult was welcoming to renegades from orthodox trotskyism, state
cap trotskyism and orthodox pro soviet communism. Why should 3 worlds theory ma
oists be left out?
Ian Birchall on 28 November, 2013 at 7:19 pm said:
Jellytot: During the Cultural Revolution in China some Red Guards tried
to enforce the Red means Go, Green means Stop traffic rule
Ive heard the same story told of Spanish anarchists during the Civil War, and
of Nantes under trade-union control in May 1968. Its certainly untrue of Nantes
(there is no reference in the contemporary press), and I strongly suspect it is
an urban myth in all cases.
Jellytot on 28 November, 2013 at 8:49 pm said:
Ian Birchall:
Ive heard the same story told of Spanish anarchists during the Civil War,
and of Nantes under trade-union control in May 1968. Its certainly untrue of Nan
tes (there is no reference in the contemporary press), and I strongly suspect it
is an urban myth in all cases.
Given the nuttiness that abounded back then, especially during the early pha
se of the GPCR, it does have a certain believable quality to it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rules_of_the_road_in_China#Stop_and_go
My mother-in-law was a Red Guard in Beijing in the 60's Ill mention it to her
when I next talk her and find out if she remembers it.
Ian on 29 November, 2013 at 12:03 am said:
Its a shame he didnt do Glam Rock
Sorge on 29 November, 2013 at 12:22 am said:
Cardews work in the late 60s with AMM, a group of jazz musicians playing a ra
dically free-form improvised style, is excellent;much more inspiring than the ag
it-prop stuff. Its telling though, I think, that even before the Maoism he was c
iting Chinese ideas such as Daoism as an artistic strategy. A sincere attempt to
think with the East, perhaps? As for wider Brit-Maoism in the 70s, god knows wh
at to think.
brecht eisler holder axis on 29 November, 2013 at 12:29 am said:
Recommend John Tilburys biography of Cardew excellent and well worth a read,
though very very long; clearly a labour of love.
Cardews stuff with AMM is essential stuff for music lovers; indeed Cardew is
essential stuff for music lovers whatever one thinks of his politics a view that
perhaps chimes in with old Trotskys Manifesto for Free Revolutionary Art.
I seem to remember Eddie Prevost saying that when the pro Hoxhas Albania stuf
f got really heavy (playing Radio Albania as part of AMM performances for instan
ce) he got so frustrated at the wrong headedness of it all that he did a degree
course in Chinese and Oriental Philosophy to better arm himself within the group
.
Cardews graphic scores (not abstract diagrams for heavens sake!) are works of
beauty in themselves.
[Cardew will be spinning in his grave at the heresy (sorry revisionism) of a
ll the above of my assertions.]
All the musicians Ive met who actually knew him or worked with him still hold
him in great regard musicians dont generally suffer fools gladly when they have
to work with them.
Anyway this old CWI supporting Trot is still glad of Cardew in amongst the B
oulez and Slade collections.
Plus organised labour smashed the social contract kind of.
God bless
Bert
ps I think most of AMMs stuff is still available from Eddie Prevost through M
atchless Records Eddie is the real musical genius!
eisler holder songwriting team on 29 November, 2013 at 12:33 am said:
Recommend John Tilburys biography of Cardew excellent and well worth a read,
though very very long; clearly a labour of love.
Cardews stuff with AMM is essential stuff for music lovers; indeed Cardew is
essential stuff for music lovers whatever one thinks of his politics a view that
perhaps chimes in with old Trotskys Manifesto for Free Revolutionary Art.
I seem to remember Eddie Prevost saying that when the pro Hoxhas Albania stuf
f got really heavy (playing Radio Albania as part of AMM performances for instan
ce) he got so frustrated at the wrong headedness of it all that he did a degree
course in Chinese and Oriental Philosophy to better arm himself within the group
.
Cardews graphic scores (not abstract diagrams for heavens sake!) are works of
beauty in themselves.
[Cardew will be spinning in his grave at the heresy (sorry revisionism) of a
ll the above of my assertions.]
All the musicians Ive met who actually knew him or worked with him still hold
him in great regard musicians dont generally suffer fools gladly when they have
to work with them.
Anyway this old CWI supporting Trot is still glad of Cardew in amongst the B
oulez and Slade collections.
Plus organised labour smashed the social contract kind of.
God bless
Bert
ps I think most of AMMs stuff is still available from Eddie Prevost through M
atchless Records Eddie is the real musical genius!
Evan on 29 November, 2013 at 1:06 am said:
If people have access, this article by Matt Worley is very interesting on ho
w the various groups of the left (and right) interpreted punk rock. http://www.t
andfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13619462.2012.703013#preview
Bob on 29 November, 2013 at 10:16 am said:
Sorge: Cardews work in the late 60s with AMM, a group of jazz musicians p
laying a radically free-form improvised style, is excellent;much more inspiring
than the agit-prop stuff.
Im not sure I share the enthusiasm for AMM, though Ive got the 2-CD version of
The Crypt. Maybe it was different live, when the uncompromising rejection of co
nventional melody, harmony and rhythm must have been quite impressive in itself.
But is this really the sort of stuff youd want to listen to regularly?
Im a fan of 60s free form jazz, and in the early 70s I enjoyed performances by
the Spontaneous Music Ensemble, who were influenced by AMM. However, while the o
ther musicians in AMM may have had jazz origins, theres no sign of any sort of ja
zz here.
Apparently tensions developed in AMM because Cardew and guitarist Keith Rowe
wanted the group to adopt an overtly political stance. Though how you could exp
ress a political message through such relentlessly abstract music beats me.
Joe on 29 November, 2013 at 10:39 am said:
That red lights story is definitely true in Dublin. I got a taxi from the ai
rport a few years back and your man drove through every red light he came up aga
inst. I said to him what are you at? thats fierce dangerous. He said not at all, sur
e the brother has been driving a taxi in this town for years and he never stops
for a red light and he never had an accident. Next thing we came to a green light
and your man stopped. I said what are you stopping for, the lights green. He said I
know, but the brother might be coming the other way.
Vanya on 29 November, 2013 at 11:23 am said:
#13 Sadly I dont have access as Im sure it would have great nostalgia value, a
s my first political activity was selling copies of Temporary Hoardings and Rock
Against Racism badges.
Vanya on 29 November, 2013 at 11:35 am said:
Does anyone have any thoughts as to why Maoism was so much more of a pole of
attraction for those who considered themselves to the left of official communis
m in some countries in Europe/ America than Trotskyism, but not in others, parti
cularly Britain?
The biggest success in Britain for Maoism was having Reg Birch on the NC of
the then AUEW. Of course the Birchites morphed into something very different to
say the least.
Bob on 29 November, 2013 at 12:02 pm said:
Vanya,
Maybe it was because there was a well-implanted Trotskyist movement in the U
K, and they were the natural pole of attraction for anyone to the left of the CP
.
If you wanted student rebellion plus rank-and-file workerism there was the I
S. If you were attracted to various forms of middle-class radicalism you could j
oin the IMG. If you preferred a more traditional labour movement orientation wit
h added Labour Party entryism, Militant was the group for you. If you wanted a h
ardline sectarian approach and enjoyed selling and delivering newspapers there w
as Healys SLL. All tastes were catered for.
I think Maoism just found it difficult to find an opening in the UK.
Daniel Zylbersztajn on 29 November, 2013 at 12:05 pm said:
Dear Bob, and those who commented.
I am writing for the German Taz and am intending to try to recreate a bit of
the feel of the revolutionary London 70s. If any of you were about in London an
d also encountered the Workers Institute people, I could be interested to hear f
rom you. I am aiming more about a feel what it was like for some of you then, po
litically curious and testing different flavours of counter-establishment though
t. If the notion is true (we only have assumptions so far), that the WIMLM becam
e cult like and introverse ending in this small group, how do you judge them, an
d how do you think you were able to manage to sail through differently (in other
words, what kind of people would have gone for the hard core Maoist approach?).
How much was it about charisma and how much about content in those days? If any
one would like to share a snippet of your memories from younger years in London,
dont be shy to call me. UK M. 07843630760 or email danielz@taz.de Taz is Germanys
main independent paper, held up by a co-operative not dissimilar to Le Monde Di
plomatique and has historical roots in the Rudi-Duschke Axel Springer dialectics
. Willing to meet you in person if you are in London.
Vanya on 29 November, 2013 at 3:11 pm said:
Does anyone have any insight into the situation in a country (Nepal) where M
aoists actually do get respectable votes in elections?
I understand that theyve lost out significantly to the other main left party
and to the right. The only analysis Ive read was by Farooq Tariq reprinted in Lin
ks.
Kent on 29 November, 2013 at 3:21 pm said:
I saw Paul Foot speak to a large audience at the University of London in 197
6. A small group of Maoists tried to heckle him at the end of his speech. One of
them shouted, what are you going to do, Paul, when the peoples army marches to yo
ur door? Someone in the back of the room shouted back, invite them in for tea.
Mark Victorystooge on 29 November, 2013 at 5:09 pm said:
A comment on the German daily TAZ: it has moved well to the right politicall
y, even if its roots lie in 1960s radicalism, it supports the German Greens who
have also moved rightward, and internationally it has an appetite for humanitaria
n intervention. This is certainly the impression I gained from reading the occasi
onal copy while living in Germany.
Bob on 29 November, 2013 at 5:13 pm said:
Daniel Zylbersztajn,
Im afraid I cant help you there, Daniel. I was a Trot in north London at the t
ime and didnt have any contact with Maoism south of the Thames. In fact, if theres
one thing I find more alien than Mao Tse-tung Thought, its south London. Interes
ting questions you raise, though.
Vanya on 29 November, 2013 at 5:24 pm said:
In different ways a number of Trotskyist currents historically had/ have qui
te a positive attitude to certain aspects of Maoism.
Pierre Rousset of the LCR / USFI wrote some very interesting stuff on the Ch
inese revolution, although Livio Maitains piece in the historic 100th issue of Ne
w Left Review was far more orthodox iirc.
Socialist Appeal have produced a series of articles about the history of the
Chinese revolution which may also be interesting (although that word may not se
em synonymous with Socialist Appeal :) ) .
And of course there were the Posadists (as in beam me up Scottie) whose resp
onse to the Sino-Soviet split was to write to the Central Committee of the Chine
se Communist Party inviting them to join. They also put around the theory that C
he had been murdered by Fidel because he was close to Beijing.
Feodor on 29 November, 2013 at 6:02 pm said:
Vanya: And of course there were the Posadists (as in beam me up Scottie)
whose response to the Sino-Soviet split was to write to the Central Committee o
f the Chinese Communist Party inviting them to join.
Cracking! Even more audacious than red means go.
Manzil on 29 November, 2013 at 6:56 pm said:
Vanya: Does anyone have any insight into the situation in a country (Nep
al) where Maoists actually do get respectable votes in elections?
Not really insight, but more an aside: It might be useful to consider the qu
estion as, why wouldnt Maoism have considerable influence in Nepal?
Given the preponderant position of (a progressively more) bourgeois national
ism in South Asia, communism has traditionally exercised a considerably greater
appeal than in developing countries where labour movements have been monopolised
by reformist working-class leaderships.
In areas where industrial centres are absent, the combination of radical int
ellectuals alienation from the mainstream (owing to the increasing bankruptcy of
nationalisms hegemony), and the existence of ill-organised but deeply pissed-off
rural masses, created the perfect conditions for Maoist political activity.
In that sense, I dont think there is any qualitative difference between the I
ndian red corridor and Nepal, except that the bourgeois polity is significantly
weaker, and there exists no substantive orthodox communist movement to limit the s
tate-building ambitions of the Maoists.
Of course, the Nepalese Maoists seem to have failed to meet even the most el
ementary democratic or social aspirations of their supporters. So in that sense,
the greatest enemy of Maoism might well be Maoist government participation. Respe
ctable votes (and respectability itself?) seems to equal the death-knell of thei
r movement.
Vanya on 29 November, 2013 at 7:11 pm said:
#26 But my understanding is that the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxis
t Leninist), which is supplanting the Maoists is precisely an orthodox Communist P
arty. I may be wrong of course.
Manzil on 29 November, 2013 at 7:28 pm said:
Vanya:
#26 But my understanding is that the Communist Party of Nepal (United Ma
rxist Leninist), which is supplanting the Maoists is precisely an orthodox Communi
st Party. I may be wrong of course.
True, but only to the extent that the modern-day CPI (at a national level, a
nyway) could be considered orthodox (or rather, communist) either like them, the CPN
-UML has consistently acted as a junior partner of nationalism, using its partne
rship with Congress in the pro-democracy movement to justify abandoning an actua
l revolutionary strategy.
Hell, it even adopted the traditional pro-Indian attitude of the Nepalese Co
ngressmen! Given the ongoing authoritarianism of the Nepalese state even after t
he supposed collapse of the absolute monarchy, this has been seriously problemat
ic in its affect on the partys attitude towards the semi-democracy of the civil war
period.
Obviously the situations are not exactly comparable the CPI has a tradition
and a social base which both allow a considerable internal life despite the stul
tifying attitude of its leadership towards the Indian ruling class. But overall
the differences are of degree rather than kind: the CPN-UML and its antecedents
were weaker, and therefore more pliable when nationalism came calling. That they
have a significant popular appeal does not necessarily mean they present a seri
ous revolutionary challenge to the status quo.
jim mclean on 29 November, 2013 at 8:39 pm said:
The Scottish Vanguard January 1968
Journal of the Workers Party of Scotland ( Marxist Leninist)
Break With Englands Capitalists Now.
If Albania and the Yemen can over throw Imperialism so can Scotland.
http://www.marxists.org/history/erol/uk.firstwave/sv-2-1.pdf
jock mctrousers on 29 November, 2013 at 11:06 pm said:
jim mclean,
Are you serious? Id take a lot of convincing that Yemen and Albania have over
thrown imperialism, but unfortunately I can all too easily imagine an independen
t Scotland soon matching these countries for the wretched condition of their peo
ple.
jim mclean on 29 November, 2013 at 11:27 pm said:
jock mctrousers,
Am I serious, my main fear in the Scottish Referendum debate is that I am mi
staken for somebody that gives a fuck. No, Im not to serious, but apparently the
Workers Party of Scotland (Marxist Leninist) were.
jim mclean on 29 November, 2013 at 11:50 pm said:
jock mctrousers,
The WPS(ML) were a breakaway from the Committee to Defeat Revisionism, for C
ommunist Unity (CDRCU) and who basically created the MYTHS in relation to John M
acLean wrapping up nationalism, Maoism and anything else they could get their ha
nds on. MacLean, or the modern concept of MacLean, was created by these Maoists
and the guys on the folk circuit.
Dr Paul on 30 November, 2013 at 12:00 am said:
Vanya: Does anyone have any thoughts as to why Maoism was so much more of a p
ole of attraction for those who considered themselves to the left of official co
mmunism in some countries in Europe/ America than Trotskyism, but not in others,
particularly Britain?
Al Richardson used to say it was because Britain has not had a peasant class
for 500 years.
Mark Victorystooge on 30 November, 2013 at 8:04 am said:
An obituary on Matt Lygate, who died last year:
http://www.scottishrepublicansocialistmovement.org/Pages/SRSMMemoriamMattLyg
ate.aspx
daniel young on 30 November, 2013 at 8:47 am said:
One of these brainwashed people was oops is 70 odd.Has human trafican been h
appening all that time.Time to lose the party colours,get together and say enoug
h of this usury,72,12 going to a better world.Food a bed and a roof that don!t l
eek.Is this the cost.
daniel young on 30 November, 2013 at 9:15 am said:
Anyhow!s.I liked Mao,for the man of our last century.He had massive walls to
break down in his peoples knowing and cultured indenture.He hard lined his cont
rol,yet better than the previous rules justice.Yep he made some monumental fuck
ups.But heh! all in all,had a socialists understanding.
lone nut on 30 November, 2013 at 10:03 am said:
Its perhaps understandable that some British Trotskyists are riffing off the
Maogate allegations in order to have some fun at the expense of one of the few p
olitical currents which is more marginalised and irrelevant than their own, but
I would issue some caveats:
1. in the eyes of the masses, standing at street corners bellowing about thi
ngs you know nothing about is pretty weird behavior anyway, whether you are deno
uncing Thermidor or running dogs. At least most people know what a dog is. As re
gards clunky slogans, workers must break with two stage theory of revolution is qu
ite a doozie, but the South African Trotskyists who raised it were lauded by the
ir confreres over here. Indeed we were told these people were probably as popula
r as the ANC, and should be given equal status on solidarity platforms. So crazy
behavior is most certainly not a Maoist monopoly.
2. We can note that even the craziest Maoist cults, like the RCPB(M-L) or fo
r that matter the Workers Institute, seem a lot more congenial to non-white peopl
e of immigrant origin than their Trotskyist equivalents. It might be worth ponde
ring over the reasons for this.
3. Of the mainstream British groups, for all its quirks the CPB(M-L) built a
stable trade union cadre which did some respectable work. Birch was universally
regarded as the best union negotiator in his field, and there arent many Trotsky
ists who would win such accolades. I confess I was always struck by the contrast
between the quality and intelligence of their cadre and the general dreadfulnes
s of their newspaper (especially given that several said cadre have gone on to s
uccessful careers in the national media). The RCL was a small but eminently sane
group basically aligned on the positions of Klassekampen in Norway. Whatever on
e thinks of groups like B&ICO, they certainly had a vigor and originality which
was reflected in the intellectual influence they had much beyond the circles of
the revolutionary left. In Ireland, the Ripening of Time Collective also embarke
d on a project of developing an understanding of the specificities of Irish capi
talism, rather than parrotting slogans imported from Britain as the Trotskyists
did.
3. If we extend the concept of British Maoism to academia, and stretch it to i
nclude those of a general Althusserian disposition, the work of Hindess, Hirst,
Husain, Tribe, or Gregory Elliott, Philip Corrigan and Derek Sayer, Graham Lock
etc. stands up to the test of time pretty well in my view, especially in key are
as like economic history and state formation. Turning to Ireland again, the cont
ributions of Gibbon, Bew, Patterson, Macdonald etc contribute much more to an un
derstanding of modern Irish state history and class formation than the scribblin
g of the Trotskyists, who are generally still trying to work out why the Limeric
k Soviet failed.
As to the relative failure of the British anti-revisionist movement, I think
we can dismiss Richardsons typically crass remark, since European Maoism had no
significant peasant support outside of Spain and Portugal. Building red bases in
the countryside wasnt part of the programme. Bobs idea that there was simply too
much existing Trotskyist competition has more plausibility, although the same wo
uld be true in France and the United States. I suppose you could say that M-L mo
vements emerged either through oppositional groupings in the CP (which would be
the origin of most Mao-Stalinist movements) or hyper-intellectual student coteries
in elite universities (Gauche Proletarienne, the MRPP in Portugal, the PTB in B
elgium, AKP (M-L) in Norway). For whatever reason, neither happened in Britain.
There are few revolutionary currents in western Europe with any electoral si
gnificance or social weight, and its worth noting that of that few, two are of M-
L origin the Socialist Party in Holland and the PTB in Belgium. With respect to
that, Peter Drucker has written somewhere of the connection between lapsed Catho
licism and Maoism another fruitful avenue to explore, though presumably not for
those who think all Catholics are Nazis.
Finally, I would not two traditions within western Maoism which are of genui
ne value. First, the tradition in the French M-L movement, derived from classica
l French sociology, of having an enquete before launching major interventions ie f
inding out what is actually going on in the sectors in which you wish to interve
ne. And secondly, the tradition, of simply liquidating your organisation when it
is no longer going anywhere or achieving anything. Gosh, wouldnt it be nice if B
ritish Trotskyism was to adopt that approach?
jim mclean on 30 November, 2013 at 10:38 am said:
lone nut: of having an enquete before launching major interventions ie fin
ding out what is actually going on in the sectors in which you wish to intervene
.
As it should be.
George Hallam on 30 November, 2013 at 11:58 am said:
lone nut,
Thank you for a thoughtful and informative post. There is much to reflect on
here.
Vanya on 30 November, 2013 at 12:03 pm said:
#40 Youre right about the RCL. I was very impressed by a number of their acti
vists and by their paper. I was less impressed when I realised that they support
ed the Khmer Rouge even after their nature became apparent, although they perhap
s didnt believe it. Henning Mankel when he lived in Norway was a member of their
sister (or mother) group, and some of his books show a continued interest in and
reference to Maoism, particularly The Man From Beijing.
As for intellectuals, you seem to have left out the late Gwyn Alf Williams w
ho was involved in BICO as well as the mainstream CP.
georgier on 30 November, 2013 at 6:46 pm said:
I am surprised there has been little/no reference to the Progressive Labour
Party in the USA. I first heard of them in relation to the SDS and there was a fe
ar among the established groups (IS, IMG etc) that their brand of Maoism would inf
ect the student movement in the UK. The Solidarity Federation reproduced one of t
he PLPs impressive pamphlet on the Flint motor strikes of the 30's but was told b
y a leading member of the CPB(ML) in Liverpool that the SF had gutted the politi
cs. I have looked on their website and they are still active and have evolved pu
rsuing a self critical approach to their practice but I have no idea of their st
rength or orientation. Anyone?
dagmar on 30 November, 2013 at 11:08 pm said:
Daniel Zylbersztajn: Taz is Germanys main independent paper, held up by a
co-operative not dissimilar to Le Monde Diplomatique and has historical roots i
n the Rudi-Duschke Axel Springer dialectics. Willing to meet you in person if yo
u are in London.
The Taz interestingly has published a few articles on slavery in South London, e
ach of which failed to mentioned anything about Maoism or politics at all. This
could be related to the fact that the Taz was set up by, amongst others, a load of
ex-Maoists, and is now the house paper of the right-wing of the German Green Pa
rty, which also includes a load of ex-Maoists, some of which were government min
isters, and in particular the Taz is a fan of the current Prime Minister of the
German state of Baden-Wttermberg, Kretschmann, who is a very conservative-rightis
t Green, and a former hardline Maoist.
It really is a despicable little rag. Its axis is more towards Axel Springer
than towards Rudi Dutschke these days.
Bob on 1 December, 2013 at 2:39 am said:
lone nut: If we extend the concept of British Maoism to academia, and stre
tch it to include those of a general Althusserian disposition, the work of Hinde
ss, Hirst, Husain, Tribe, or Gregory Elliott, Philip Corrigan and Derek Sayer, G
raham Lock etc. stands up to the test of time pretty well in my view
While lone nut makes an interesting case for the positive features of Maoism
, I dont buy this bit. I mean, just try re-reading Pre-Capitalist Modes of Product
ion. And there was that journal Hindess and Hirst used to edit. What was it calle
d? Theoretical Practice, I think. It was completely unreadable.
Evan on 1 December, 2013 at 5:40 am said:
Bob,
Do you mean Politics & Power?
Evan on 1 December, 2013 at 5:40 am said:
Vanya,
Here it is: http://afaarchive.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/punk-and-politics-
2012.pdf
Mark P on 1 December, 2013 at 6:00 am said:
Evan
If he does is a quite unjusifiable assertion. Politics and Power was an absolu
tely excellent journal, I;ve stoll got all 4 editins and very, very good. Knocks
spots aff the so-called academic Marxism of the Historical Materialism lot, now t
hat stuff is truly unreadable tho their conferences admitedly attract a biggish c
rowd.
Mark P
Evan on 1 December, 2013 at 6:42 am said:
Mark P,
I think P&P was a great journal, but it was the only one I could think that
had Hindess on its editorial board.
Evan on 1 December, 2013 at 6:45 am said:
Mark P,
I must say that the Historical Materialism journal prints some really intere
sting stuff and the book series has had awesome stuff lately. The new book by Wa
de Matthews on the new left and nationalism looks very good!
http://www.brill.com/new-left-national-identity-and-break-britain
Mark Victorystooge on 1 December, 2013 at 10:31 am said:
The German Verfassungsschutz regards Junge Welt, a daily with a smaller circ
ulation than taz, as the most important daily in the German left-wing extremist s
cene. Which implies they do not see taz as left-wing extremist.
At a tangent, on the issue of radical poachers turning into system gamekeepe
rs, I was reading Lenins Brother, by Philip Pomper, which is a biography of Alexa
nder Ulyanov, hanged with others for plotting against the Tsar in 1887. The chie
f prosecutor, Nikolai Neklyudov, was himself a radical student in the 1860s who
spent time in prison. He went all out for convictions and death sentences, yet h
ad a kind of collapse towards the end of the trial guilt feelings over hanging p
eople for being now what he had once been?
Bob on 1 December, 2013 at 12:59 pm said:
Evan,
No, I just checked, and the Hindess-Hirst journal was indeed called Theoreti
cal Practice. It was an odd-looking publication, with the pages in landscape rat
her than portrait format. And it was filled with incomprehensible Althusserian g
ibberish.
(The concept of theoretical practice was taken from Althusser. It demolished t
he distinction between theory and practice by asserting that theory was itself a
form of practice. So you could engage in the most abstract theorising, complete
ly divorced from any practical application, secure in the knowledge you were eng
aging in political practice. This had an obvious appeal for academics.)
dagmar on 1 December, 2013 at 1:43 pm said:
Mark Victorystooge: Which implies they do not see taz as left-wing extrem
ist.
Theyd be seriously misguided if they were to.
It would be nice if the Verfassungsschutzbericht had a section on ex-left win
g turncoats, because then they could list the Taz under it.
Bob on 1 December, 2013 at 1:52 pm said:
I remember back in the 70s composing a spoof obituary of Barry Hindess. It we
nt something like this:
Contacts in Liverpool have alerted us to the sad death of leading Althusseri
an theorist Barry Hindess, as the result of a recent road accident. A witness to
the event has sent us the following account:
Professor Hindess and myself had just stepped off the pavement to cross the r
oad to Liverpool University when a juggernaut lorry swept round the corner and h
eaded towards us at high speed. Look out Barry, I shouted as I jumped back onto th
e pavement, theres a lorry coming.
But Barry refused to heed my warning. Im sorry, he replied, but your statement is
theoretically incoherent, based as it is on an untenable empiricist epistemolog
y that posits an unmediated identity between the Thought Object and the Real. Fu
rthermore . But at that point Barrys words were cut short as he was flattened benea
th the wheels of the oncoming lorry.
Colleagues of Professor Hindess, who warned him of the potential dangers of
embracing the philosophy of Louis Althusser, had been fearing a tragedy of this
sort for some time.
Mark Victorystooge on 1 December, 2013 at 6:12 pm said:
dagmar: Theyd be seriously misguided if they were to.
It would be nice if the Verfassungsschutzbericht had a section on ex-left
wing turncoats, because then they could list the Taz under it.
Such a list would be quite a long one. But the Verfassungsschutz objective i
s to pillory radicalism, not the return to the bourgeois fold.
I find the mechanics of apostasy interesting the most frequent explanation m
ust be self-interest pure and simple.
lone nut on 2 December, 2013 at 12:01 pm said:
As the Old Codgers used to say in the Daily Mirror, call a truce folks, youre
both right. Hindess and Hirst did indeed briefly edit a pretty incomprehensible j
ournal called Theoretical Practice which represented a kind of high point of the
Althusserian/Maoist fusion in Britain, but they went on to produce the eminentl
y more accessible journals Economy and Society and Politics and Power. And Hirsts lat
er work on themes like globalization or the law is very readable.
John Grimshaw on 2 December, 2013 at 10:23 pm said:
Given the latest news on Camerons prostitution to the Chinese government doe
s it mean hes a crypto Maoist?
Harry Blackwell on 3 December, 2013 at 6:01 pm said:
Some Maoist organisations have broken from their past and moved towards the
Fourth International.
The Communist Party of Bangladesh (Marxist-Leninist) has come from a Maoist
history to establish permanent observer status with the FI, a prelude to becomin
g a section. The Revolutionary Workers Party Mindanao has been the Philipines se
ction of the FI since 2003 and also comes from a Maoist background.
http://socialistresistance.org/3445/fourth-international-grows-rapidly-in-as
ia
Within Europe, the Portuguese FI section (PSR) works closely with the Maoist
UDP within the Left Bloc and the Netherlands section of the FI (SAP) has members
active in the ex-Maoist Socialist Party.
dagmar on 3 December, 2013 at 9:11 pm said:
Harry Blackwell,
And the old German KPD/ML merged with the old-Official German section of the F
ourth International (USec), the GIM in 1986 or so, to form the VSP, but the merg
er fell apart very quickly indeed, as the ex-Maoists hadnt just dropped their Mao
ism, but most of their socialism and Marxism as well, most of the ex-KPD/ML peop
le dropping out very quickly. The VSP spluttered on until the mid 90s, a number
of the serious USec-ers left to form their own USec-affiliated organisation, the R
SB a few years beforehand.
The VSPs paper, the SoZ still exists (and often is a reasonable read) http://
www.soz-plus.de . The USec-people around the SoZ have these days a group called
the isl, which, together with the RSB, publishes Inprekorr, which unlike Interna
tional Viewpoint is still available in printed format.
caroline powell on 28 December, 2013 at 2:02 pm said:
Nick Wright,
You are correct about lou lewis, sadly he died on the 16th decks 2013 aged 9
5.he continued to campaign throughout his life and was a prolific artist we wIll
miss him. Any photos or stories welcome .so nice he has been remembered here. Hi
s great niece caroline :-)
Ian Birchall on 29 December, 2013 at 10:37 am said:
caroline powell: You are correct about lou lewis
I well remember Lou Lewis from the 1960s. He was a highly respected militant
. My recollection is that he was on very friendly terms with some of the young b
uilding workers in the International Socialists. I think he was involved with th
e mass pickets at the Barbican site in around 1966 or 1967. Also I think he was
involved in the founding of the Liaison Committee for the Defence of Trade Union
s. My condolences to his family.
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