capitalist Europe
and the PSOE in Spain, where Redondo, General Secretary of the UGT. the Workers Commissions, organised for the general strike. In Greece and Spain most of these left currents rapidly found themselves outside the official party. We have even seen left currents in the Swedish socialist ties, both the CPs and the social democracy, faced with the collapse of One of the most importaot political developments of the 1980s has and others, broke with the Gonzales goverment and, in conjunction with None of these developments has, so far, been so dramatic as the rise (and temporary decline) of Bennism in Britain. However, as the class ing various, often heterogeneous, currents to the left and right. Despite the programmatic limitations of most of the left currents, they are a reflec- tion of and a response to the real mass movement and marxists can only been the emergence of populist Green movements which present them- parties, condemning their failure to campaign effectively on ecological issues or to stand finn against the deployment of new classes of nuclear weapons. In West Ger- muny, where the Greensare a significant political force, this has resulted in a partial fusion of green issues and traditional working class concers - a fusion which has shaken up the SPD, but at the same time left the Green party very unstable. The working class has in general remained loyal to its traditional parties. This is partly hecause in most countries in sues; but also because the left wings of the traditional parties have begun In take up these issues in a more systematic fashion, like the Bennites in One factor influencing current political developments is the growing States, during the early years of the Reagan administration, launched a Reagan was trying (and Bush still is) to force the west European states Page 21 polarisation doepens, the trend is clear: the traditional mass reformist par the post-war political and economic consensus, slide into crisis, spawn- Europe, the Green parties almost entirely focus on ecology and peace if tussle within the bourgevis camp over which system of international al- liances the European states should adopt Simply summed up, the United cold war offensive against the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact. into a more determined "Atlanticist" posture of political, military and The New 'Europeanism' Britain and the La Fontaine current in West Germany. selves as an alternative to the traditional workers" In the shadow of Gorbachev - Thatcher tries to hold a hard NATO line. welcome them. party. EVEN THE strongest European economies are feeling the cold wind of recession and austerity. One consequence of this has been a growing class polarisation. Although this process is uneven, due primarily to the differing tempo of the crisis in the different European countries, the polarisation is forcing tional Front, anco-fascist party. Such a development was unthinkable ten years ago. On the left we have seen a significant split to the left from the the Communist Party (PCF), with Pierre Juquin and the renovateurs, and more recently the emergence of the "reconstructors". This reveals a profound crisis within the PCF-one of the rwo mass parties of the French nificantly, in the wake of the PCF's miserable sectarian record in the wave While we in Britain have been suffering the aftermath of the defeat of the miners' strike, most of the rest of Europe has seen a rise in the mass movement. Waves of struggles involving women, youth and workers, which began in France during the winter of 1986/87 against the Chirac government, continued in Italy, where we saw the re-emergence of strike committees and co-ordinations - the COBAS. West Germany has seen After these big class battles the communist and socialist parties have often gone into crisis, with left wing oppositions emerging. This year's conference of the Italian Communist party (PCI) saw the production of SPD, in particular that led by La Fontaine (now moving hack to the In France we have seen the dramatic rise of Jean-Marie Le Pen's Na- working class. It followed a series of electoral failures, but also, nig- mohilisations for the 35 hour week; there has been a general strike in Por- tugal; and in the Spanish state nearly eight million workers joined a mas a coanter resolution to the leadership at national conference for the first time since the war. A similar development has nocured in the Portugese At the same time, various left oppositions have emerged within the European social democratic parties. The Bennite left in Britain was one of the first on the scene, reflecting an carly end of the post-war consensus" here. (Also later represented by the right wing split of the SDP). But it was followed by left currents forming in the Went German mainstrcam), several currents in the French SP, within PASOK in Greece PACKER looks at the political implications of 1992 for the workers' movement in Europe. In the following article, HARRY SLOAN looks at the kind of programme the workers' movement needs to the pace of political change on both left and right. a of mass struggles in the winter of 1986/7. SOCIALIST OUTLOOK no 15 May 1989 sive one day general sinke last December. meet the challenge of 1992.
I T cconomic subordination to the United States. This offensive faltered in the ing inter-imperialist competition and the emergence of a now leadership in But a ruling class opposition to Reagan Thatcher Atlanticism" has also emerged in Europe, as the latest rows hetween Thatcher and Kohl vividly face of a mass peace movement, grow- the Soviet Union.
SOCIALIST OUTLOOK no 15 May 1989 create more jobs, but existing jobs will he defended from the full force of American and Japanese competition. The only way of saving jobs is the unification of the European market and a controlled opening up of , is also a frce-market Europe. It answers the needs of the biggest European enterprises to face the left will be a conservative one, given Gorbachev's commitment to a The new brand of right wing reformism in European social democracy: cial Europe' - the defence and extension of social and political rights - which they say will come about through the reorganisation of European industry and an economic upturn. They argue that the SEA will not only munism, nationalist currents such as the parties. From the point of view of the working class, they are as bankrupt as the Overall, we can predict that the influence of Gorbachev's policies on led by figures such as Jacques Delors (president of the Europcan Com- mission), and SPD theorist Peter Glotz, proposes the creation of a 'So- "Arlanticist" preocupations of old guard, cold war, social democrats like Schmidt, Healcy, Craxi and Soares. Reformist pun- European ideas, in left or right variants, are now important trends within European social democracy, and they have close parallels within right wing eurocom- Scotlish National Party and some Green old 'Atlanticist' ideas of the post-war set- cow. It is rather an attempt to bring them into a new relationship with the Soviet Union, and create an altemative pole to Atlanticism', which has been their traditional post-war orientation. Gorbachev makes an appcal for expansion of trade with the cast - a policy that plays on their desire to preserve welfare state capitalism in westem Europe, together with effective trade union and civil liberties, without All this is a far cry from traditional standing ovation for the Sovict representatives), appear to be influenced Gorbachev's approach to European social democracy is far from being an attempt to turn these parties into ideological fellow-travellers of Mos- confronting the capitalist system itself. But this capitalist Europe, or 'Fortress Europe" 1992 and all that "global historic compromise with imperialism. tlement. Germany's Kohl is less than enthusiastic about risking by bureaucratic calculation. In socialist internationalism but "The Gorbachev leadership's order to give themselves the economic reform, they want stance is determined not by perestroika programme of breathing space for the trade with the Fast international stability." nuclear weapons, in which Bush and a nuclear war that would devestate Germany. by Gorbachevism. within the European CPr reflects a deepening crisis of stalinism as a ing eurocommunist parties. The Italian Communist Party, after years of of its voice. Even the former leaders of the far left Il Manifesto, who have cial democracy, not only within the West German SPD, but also within the leadership of the Lahour Party and others, It is significant that Benn and Scargill (who at the 1987 Chesterfield Conference led an altempted nost, while the majority leaderships are more "hard line" and sectarian in character. However, in the ultra cumcommunist and pro Gorbschev Italian PCI, the ritustion is more complex, and Cosuta, the main leader of the left, has a hard line' stalinist back ground. This incoherent response Gorbachevism has won the greatest applause from the rightward lean- distancing itself from Moscow, is singing Gorbachev's praises at the top gone into the PC, are now saying that Gorbachev shows that they Gorbachev's "westpolitic" is also having its impact on Europcan so- cesemerging from within the PCF and in the Portugese CP are pro-glas- fronted by united front of the main European imperialist govemments, Two questions immediately arise: where does Gorbachev stand in As far as the Gorbachev Ieadership is concerned, their stance is deter- mined not by socialist intemationalism but by bureaucratic calculation. In order to give themselves the breathing space for the perestroika Thatcher, thrown onto the defensive by Gorbachev's initiatives, are con- these conflicts, and where should socialists stand? intervene into the crisis-tom relations ment has been significant, if contradic- tory. This is particularely the case with pressure off their back. Moreover, closer technological and trade/credit ly with West Germany, are essential to the development of an economy, management. Gorbachev's policy is to hetween Europe and America and sub- The response of the more idcological Teaders of the European workers' move- the communist parties. The new left for- programme of economic reform they want international stability. They also want to get US military and political links with the capitalist west, particular- weighed down by bureaucratic mis- ing the domination of the United States (and Japan). This implies much closer links. The result has been the move towards the Single European Act of 1992. For some forces, this is perceived as a step towards Europcan political This conflict is expressed in the cur- rent sharp division over short range European bourgeoisies are on the verge of breaking with the Atlantic alliance or tion or a shift within that alliance. The pan-Europcanism of the right means a Market nations with the aim of counter- technological, economic and military confirm. This is not to suggest that the NATO, rather it is a radical reformula closer integration of the Common "underestimated' the Sovict Union. tly play off me against the other. union - although not by Thatcher. led by Chancellor Kohl. political force: Page 22
CHEFUTUNT DUIE
most combative sections of In the European worker movement today we are confronted by hig parties of the working class, with treacherous leaderships, who everywhere hamper the struggle against developments such as the SEA. and attacks on workers living standards and organisation. But the work- ing class and its allies have not been able simply to by-pass the tradition- al mass organisations. Despite some defeats, the the working class con- tinually push forward, and test out new aiternative leaders from within their own ranks and organisa- tions. This is as true at the national level as within in- The crisis of the mass reformist parties dividual workplaces. must coordinate their efforts and present a political and strategic alternative to the unions and in the mass workers' parties "The class stuggle forces in the trade Britain's TUC: everywhere, European workers are confronted by treacherous leaderships. Single Europe Act". up to competition with America and Japan. It will lead to an increase in monopolisation and the exploitation of labour. The single market means sequcnces: redundancy, and/or a shift in production elswhere. In this The present disparities in social legislation, wage levels (ie prodoc- tivity of labour) in the different countries of the EC are a means of put- ting pressure on the workers to accept worse conditions or face the con deregulation, open markets, free movement of capital and some labour. ploited immigrant and migrant Tahour will be systematised so as levels. The creation of a pool of clement of 1992. Central to cur context the use of supci-ex- to further undermine wage cheap Tahour will be a crucial struggle against the SEA and all its works must be a fight against the racist laws now being formu- PHOTO: John HarrisTFL
union bureaucracy, the traditional parties, with few exceptions, remain Along with the trade politically dominant within the workers" movement across Europe. socialists with many opportunities to link up with the broader workers" One of the key strategic questions for revolutionaries is how to wrest control from the reformist misleaders and break their bureaucratic stranglehold. This cannot he achieved by simple denunciation, but must involve a consistent fight in the mass organisations to force the leader- ships intounity with workers in struggle. Only in this way will the workers In the Europe of 1992 and beyond revolutionary socialists will be forced to address themselves to the big political recompositions that are begining to unfold at the heart of the traditional organisations as the result The question is posed. Is the marxist left in Britain and Europe going to contest the leadership of the workers movement where many of the key political battles will be fought? Are we going to tum the movement to these battles inside the mass organisations, link up with left forces by means of the united front in action around the demands of the wookers To do otherwise will reduce us, at hest to syndicalism, or at worst we Page 23 Together they constitute the main obstacles to building mass revolution ary socialist alternatives. On the the other hand left currents, and oc- casionaly centriat splits from these parties, provide revolutionary come to see the need to break with the unreformable party apparatuses. will find ourselver posturing on the sidelines. movement and avoid left propugandism. of the deepening class polarisations. and oppressed? al and European companies. The class stuggle forces in the trade unions and in the mass workers" parties must coordinate their efforts and present In developing working class answers to 1992 and all that, we should avoid the Little Englonder" conception of national autarchic planning. would include the castern bloc countries. This poses the task of uniting world and cancels the third world debt. A Europe that links the struggies movement must create the instruments necessary to fight the multination- which has in the past been associaled with the Lahour left, and was im- plicit in the so-called "Altemative Economic Strategy' of the late seven- tiek und early eighties. To the "Europe of the hoaxes" we should counter- pose a socialised and planned economy on a real pan European scale that the west Europcan working class and its allies with the 300 million people of caster