Imperialist pose

However, as an ex-member of the pre-Weekly Worker CPGB himself, the comrade sees a potential contradiction between “political pluralism” and the danger of “falling into the chaos of a dispersed and ineffective micro-politics”. Will we become no more than a talking shop, in other words?

He expresses an idea that is common on today’s left, mostly constituted as it is of bureaucratic sectlets. That is the  notion that a party regime which allows for open debate and the expression of differences acts to break the cohesion of Marxist organisations and undermine their ability to unite in practice. As Peter Taaffe of the Socialist Party once put it, “a revolutionary party is not a debating club, let alone a debating circle, so beloved of the minuscule sects on the outskirts of the labour movement” (Members Bulletin March 16 1996).

In the party culture we fight for, freedom of discussion and unity in action are not opposites, but two poles of a unity - democratic centralism. Put another way, our fight for political clarity and precision facilitates our ability to cohere the organisation for practical work. A high point of our action as a political group is our annual Summer Offensive, the intensive two-month period of fundraising. Thus, it is useful test of the fighting mettle and unity of our organisation.

So, what sort of start have we made this year? A little quiet, to be honest. Since the formal launch of the Summer Offensive 2008 on June 21, comrades have contributed £2,540 to the campaign. This is a decent enough figure, but down on the £3,210 raised in the first lap of last year’s campaign.

Not a disaster by any means, but probably a reflection of a certain fatigue and ‘flatness’ in the ranks of the party and periphery this year. As Mike Macnair noted in his speech to launch the year’s SO, where we are at the moment is “not a comfortable situation for CPGB comrades. Certainly there is a tendency of comrades who were active in the CPGB during the days of the Socialist Labour Party and Socialist Alliance to demoralisation in view of the foundering of such unity projects” (see pp8-9).

Added to that deflated morale amongst some comrades is a certain physical fatigue. Viewed superficially, one might conclude from the sheer number of meetings and demos that the left is organising that its is actually in rude health. In fact, it is an odd by-product of the fact that it is dying - and dramatically fragmenting as it does so. Thus, much of the old left’s activity now consist of “galvanic kicks”, as Mike puts it.

This has had an effect in our ranks, but the SO is precisely an opportunity for all comrades to take stock of our real situation and the exciting opportunities that beckon in the coming period. We have every reason for confidence, comrades. Even in this bleak period for the left, our politics and organisation can take real steps forward, can tap a new audience - witness the steps forward for the paper over the past year, along with the campaigns we sponsor.

Not all comrades are yet convinced of this, however. Debate, argument and frank exchanges of opinion between us over the nature of this period, our tasks as a still very small communist collective and the marked successes we have seen for our project over the recent past are needed. A process I am confident will take our unity to a higher level.

Let’s pick up the pace as we go into the second week of our campaign, comrades!