Last January in the port of Sasebo there was an outbreak of ferce fighting between helmeted students armed with heavy sticks and police using water hoses and tear gas.
The students were attempting to The Sampa Zengakuren (Threeprevent the U.S.S. Enterprise, Faction Zengakuren) is a somewhat nuclear-powered aircraft uneasy coalition of three factions:carrier, from entering the port. In the Chúkaku-ha (Core Faction), the the midst of the fracas, and to the Shagakudo (League Socialist astonishment of onlookers, it became Students) and the Liberation Facevident that some of the students tion' of the Shaseido (League of were beating each other up —right Secialist Youth). Each of these three under the noses of bewildered police- factions still publishes its own paper. men. That this was an ideological 107 of the 510 committed students dispute between supporters of dif- councils support the Sampa Zengaferent factions of one of the three kuren, and it has been the most Zengakurens may give some idea of prominent group in the public view complexity of the Japanese because of its violent clashes with tha student movement. The factions are the police. The Chukaku-ha is the embroiled in jealous claims of legiti- most influential of the three factions mate representation and conflicts of and calls on its members to act as ideology; each faction publishes its 'co-ordinators with peasants, citizens own paper and uses an argot which and labourers". is incomprehensible to outsiders.
Strongly opposed to both the other Zengakuren stands for Zen Nippon Zengakurens is the Kakumaru ZenGakusei Jichikai Sorengo (National (Revolutionary Marxist Federation of Students' Self-Govern- Zengakuren). They claim to be the ing Associations). From its formation legitimate heirs of the original Zenin 1948 until 1955, the Zengakuren gakuren, but although they are in followed the Japan Communist possession of the official Zengakuren Party and was encouraged to take a Stamp, and have the right to send line of violent political struggle'. delegates to the International Student However the J.C.P. suddenly changed Federation, they control only a small its strategy and adopted a moderate minority (30) of the 426 councils. position, and in 1956 the Zengakuren However, they regard themselves as broke away declaring that the prime a revolutionary elite, their theory aim of the student movement lies in being that revolution must beein the struggle to defend peace. Start- with a mass student movement so ing in 1958 there was a proliferation that, unlike the other Zengakurens, of revolutionary student organisa- they seek no relations with tha tions and these split up, collaborated, unions or political parties. The or merged with each other in a con- Kakumaru Zengakuren is very critifusion which can only be explained cal of the International Communist by the Japanese custom of regarding Movement and is trying to organise no decision as a decision unless it a new Anti-War International. he unanimous. In any meeting of students proposals are given shouts There are other fragments of the of ves or no, there is no middle student movement, notably the ground for discussion, dissenters peaceful Kózó Kaikaku-ha (Strucform their own factions and start tural Reform Faction) which conrecruiting members for themselves. trols 38 of the councils, but none of them claim to have inherited the There are now three groups claim- Zengakuren mantle. Anarchist groupsing to be the real Zengakuren. One are few and far between. of these is still influenced and supMarcuse's appeal is explicitly to te small oppositional enclaves. lt is a programme of sporadic putschism to be conducted by them indis criminately against all official institu tions, parties and media.
torm ther own factons and start sural recruiting members for themselves. trols 38 of the councils them claim to have inherited the There are now three groups claim- Zengakuren mantle. Anarchist groupsing to be the real Zengakuren. One are few and far between. of these is still influenced and supported by the J.C.P. and is known So far the students have not as the J.C.P. Zengakuren. Leaders of achieved much, though they have this group see themselves as the succeeded in preventing certain in"democratic intelligentsia"; they creases of tuition fees. Only a very favour discussion, negotiation, and if small minority of Japanese students necessary strikes against the faculty feel able to take part in violent over university matters. The J.C.P. action; at most 10,000 can be Zengakuren occupies itself with mobilized from the whole country.
cand by the lished in 1954.) moyement or social crucism or rebellion in the USA, and concluded The last few sentences may sound that capitalism had entered a new like a grotesque caricature of Martotalitarian stage of development, in cuse's case. They are, however, a automated which all sources of opposition to summary of what he actually states, the system had become exhausted not as risks, as chances, as tendenand superseded. He first presented cies that might be overcome by this view in a long postscript to the struggle, but as over-riding determinsecond edition of Reason and ing laws of human consciousness in (International So 1965) seem remarkably prophetie in view of the French events this year.
while he was developing his most It is quite possible that a fully pessimistic position. In sector of industry, interview (published in New Left equipped with transfer machines and Review last year) he has, with many numerical control apparatus, would hedgings and hesitations, affirmed generate a "middle-class" type of the necessity and the possibility of consciousness among its operators, revolution in the West. laying who would work with a great deal particular emphasis on the explosive concasios tal Marcew's politics, whatever the commentators say to against the more or less hidden centhe contrary, have actually no inflaSOISEID that permeates the free media." ence upon the theory and the tactics of the movement that we have toWho is to conduct this exproporia- day. If we have Marcusians amongst tion of the media and the ban on us, it would be interesting to bear civil rights? Not the capitalist State -Marcuse rightly sees the useless- thei views. Reactionary as these ness of appealing to official society might be, they would deserve at to commit suicide. Not the masses least our tolerance.