by other organisations of the left.
The Morning Star of Friday, 25 May, carried an interesting piece by Bert Ramelson (Industrial Organiser of the Communist Party) under the title of Ultra-left tactics hold back advance.
Rumelson's attitude to the 'últra-left flows from his rather one-sided view of the recent history of the working class movement. "It is generally agreed that emble shift to the left in the Inhour movemeot." He tends to see future developments as a happy progression of this pattern, liable to disruption only by the hysterical rantings of the ultra-lefts who do not understand that bistory is on our side.
TWO ELEMENTS But this is a caricature of the real history of tents. What Rameison does not understand is that this 'shift to the left' has two quite different elements to it On the one hand, under the impact of the grow ing economic crisis of British capitaliun and the growing inability of the capitalist class to meet the needs and expectations of the working class, tbe rank-and-file of the trade union movement has acquired a new level of political understanding and combativity in the class struggle. On the other hand.
unions, Increasingly unable to offer even a show of leadership to the tank-and-file under these circunstances, is being edged out by a new, "left" buresucantic leadership, Ramelson fails to grasp that these two elements can come into explosive conflict. Left-wing hureaucrals shout socialisn and workers' control at testimonial dinners, and treat tbeir pet Communists kindly, but more interested in finding a comfortable niche time to time in order to take up some of the more important statements made within the capitalist system than in leading a mass struggle against that system. But the dynamic of the rank-and-file's struggle leads in the opposite direction: they may not care so much now abbut the line words, hut when it comes to the crunch the objective needs with capitalism.
What thon must be the central task of revolutionaries?
Not to centre our activity around electing more left' bureaucrats, but in organising and preparing the rank-and-file (and its most politically conscious sections -the vanguard) for the coming mass strupales. Those will be struggles in which the bulk of the trade union bureaucracy - left' and right - will be on the other side, Of course we must support the lefts" against the over the past five or six years there has been a consid right wing; but we support them - to use a well chosin phrase of Lenin's - 'as the rope supports a hanging man'. That is, we support them by organising the broadest possible movement in tha trade unions around those correct positions which they demagogically support (wage rises above government norms, kick wut the Tories, stc.). Hut at the sume time we prepare for their eventual sell-out of these positions, We build unity not around the need for lett "leaders', but around the need for class struggle policies. Thus when the inevitable betryal of the lefla comes, the movement is not defused by the loss of its great personalities but is fully equipped to swoep aside these Ramelson also argues that revolarionuries want to turn the Liaison Committee and other rank-and-file the old right-wing bureaucratic leadership of the trade organisations into 'alternative organisation". This is absurd. No revalutionacy is mad enough to suggest thar we could try to replace the British trade union movement with our own organisations. The only current in the history of the British left that was ever so deluded as that was... the Communist Party in coexist only for a short period of time; then they will the early 1930'sl Revolutionaries are seeking to build an alternative all right, but a rank-and-file alternative may cagage in much more militant talk, say nice wordsto the bureaucratic leadership within the working clase movement, If Ramelson soos this as bualding an alternative to the TUC, it can only he because he las when if comes to the crunch tocy remain bureaucrats sank to the point where he oquates the movement with the 'eft" bureaucrats, judgement: but what about the Jones Aldington seport on the docks? Surely the error of liningap with the capitalist state against your own rank-and-file has a more descriptive name! What about the role of Jones and Scanion in the secret talks leading up to the new town a bueramon ecs indeed their presence in those very negotiations: Perhaps the Communist Party plans to campaign against the talks under the slogan, "No More Errors of Judgement?
The danger of the present manoeutes between the TUC leadership and the Government for the mass of workers is very greal. A mass campaign througbout the movement against these talks is a key task for all militants, But such a movement cannot be led effec tively by those who see in the actions of Scanion. struggle of the rank-and-file develop the broadest unity? on what basis can it draw in allies from other social groups what types af instilutions must be developed to carry the strupee forward: how can they be related to the present struggls of the wur king-class!
Those who are interested in discussion - and sons answers - on these questions must sock it from the ultra-left, particularily the International Marxist Group. From Hamelson and his ilk they get anly the scale old plicases about the leading role of the Communist Party', political objectives narrow the base of the movement", bring pressure on the officia mocensent" - - phrases whiel bave served to confuse and disoricot the left wing of the working class moverpent for the past forty years critics by threstening them with expulsion from the