["The person who now speaks only of a…]

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"The person who now speaks only of a revolutionary democratic dictatorship of the proletariat and the peasantry' is behind the times, consequently, he has in effect gone over to the petty bourgeoisie against the proletarian class struggle; that person should be consigned to the archive of 'Bolshevik' pre-revolutionary antiques (it may be called the archive of "old Bolsheviks')' Since ousting the corrupt dictatorship of Eric Gairy, the New Jewel Movement in Grenada has pushed through many radical reforms. It deserves full support against the constant threats from It calls itself a "workers' government". But what it means by this is that it is "determined to improve the quality of life of the worker". Its view of the workers themselves is that: 'They are still at the trade union level, for better wages and working conditions. They are not fighting for laws to protect their interests.

(Quotes from Grenadan leader Selwyn Strachan, in an interview with ers' Revolutionary Party.

All this must come as strange news to some of Barnes' co-thinkers in the United Secretariat of the Fourth International - the British section of which is the Socialist League (formerly IMG).

Presumably the bulk of the USFI membership falls into Barnes' "sectarian' bag.

Where, then, does Barnes see the future? His speech, focusing on the changing views of the leadership of the Salvadoran CP (PCS)

and praising the Castro regime in Cuba, makes this clear.

It is towards the left talking, populist forms of Stalinism parties backed by the material power of the Kremline bureaucracy - that the SWP is turning for international links... "a new world movement"

The PCS has indeed (under pressure from groups to its left) spelled out political criticisms of the reformist "peaceful roads' to socialism which have been advocated with disastrous results by. most Latin American CPs - most catastrophically in Chile.

Marxists obviously welcome any break by Stalinist leaders from the politics of the peaceful road' - and should seek wherever possible to develop debates and dialogues designed to capitalise on such divisions. We should press for a decisive break from the political methods and international machinery of the Stalinist apparatus in the Kremlin.

But the SWP position is quite the opposite. Taking every left' statement by Handal and by Castro as good coin, they have simply thrown aside Trotskyist politics and adapted to those of the Kremlin's Caribbean and Central American proteges.

In Barnes speech we see the ways in which the SWP leadership is busily devaluing and discarding its Trotskyist heritage. "TrotskyUS imperialism.

They are not at that stage yet"

So: "There are a number of stages ... we see us moring toward socialism. approach...

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Socialist Organiser no.127 April 14 1983 Page 7 · 35