of FRANK Wainwright (Letters, Dec 1998) is right on the subject of revolutionary regroupment: "it seems like there is a spirit of rapprochement in the air". The event in November reminded me of the Workers Press/WRP sponsored event in November 1986 on the Hungarian Revolution, at which Bob Pennington, Balasz Nagy, Cliff Slaughter, Peter Fryer, Bill Hunter and others addressed an audience of several hundred militants from across the far left.
The fact that some previous attempts at political fusion between supporters of different left papers should not deter us from trying to regroup the dispersed forces of the revolutionary left today.
One spectacular failure was that of the weekly Socialist Organiser, which came from a fusion between two papers, Socialist Press and Workers Action (no relation to today's publication of the same name!). The former supporters of Socialist Press were expunged from the ranks as the others politically degenerated into the current now known as the Alliance for Workers Liberty (AWL), known for their controversial views on international questions like Ireland and Israel/Palestine.
At a recent debate between the AWL and Alan Thornett on the European Single Currency, AWL supporters bayed like a pack of wolves and abused Alan, equating his opposition to Maastricht with the views of the Tory right.
Whatever my personal disagreements with Alan over summed up Margaret Cook says that Robin sold his principles in favour of a career.
Tony Blair says Robin is superb.
Enough said?
John Nicholson Manchester Europe, there is no basis for political degeneracy of this BaLuLC. The major problem today is that many comrades are becoming demoralised by the low level of class struggle, writing contributions in What Next? and New Interventions arguing for "rethinking it all".
This is a cover for dumping all the theoretical baggage which differentiates Trotskyism different to other left wing political philosophies, that is, defence of the permanent revolution, the transitional method, the Marxist theory of the State, our understanding of the degeneration of the formerly Stalinist states, and the confidence that the working class is the only class capable of seizing power from the bourWhat we need today is some type of regroupment journal to facilitate discussion among revolutionary activists who have not yet given up and practical activities in the real class struggle -which is still happening.
That is why my strong advice to all supporters of Socialist Outlook and Workers Action is to fuse their somewhat meagre resources, along with those of Socialist Perspectives, and attempt to build a principled, fighting revolutionary organisation that can carry out some meaningful activity in the class struggle here, and have some impact abroad as well.
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