The question of recruitment from the Communist Party¶
Core Argument¶
The chapter mounts a polemic against the Minority faction within the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) for its dismissive attitude toward recruitment from the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). The Minority, represented by comrades Healy, Goffe and Finch, argue that long-standing CP members are “demoralised and drained” and therefore not worth winning, while younger members are not yet ready to be won. They contend that the greatest gains from the CP will come indirectly, through the Labour Party, where CP members will be forced to compete programmatically alongside revolutionists, especially after the CP’s failed bid for Labour Party affiliation. The Minority envisions a future period when both the CP and the RCP will operate inside the Labour Party, making recruitment from the CP a secondary, deferred task.
The chapter’s core argument is that this perspective is a grave strategic error. It accuses the Minority of being so preoccupied with discerning a non-existent centrist tendency within the Labour Party that they ignore the already developing left-centrist trend inside the CPGB. This development — a mood of criticism toward the CP leadership within its own ranks — is described as the first sign of a general centrist tendency that will emerge within mass working-class parties in the coming period. The chapter insists that precisely now, before a left wing has crystallised inside the Labour Party, the RCP must direct a major part of its activities toward dissenting elements in the CP. Valuable cadre gains can be won immediately, whereas significant recruitment from Labour Party work is not expected for some time.
The chapter also challenges the Minority’s assumption that a future period of joint CP-RCP work inside the Labour Party is inevitable. It argues that the CP may remain outside the Labour Party even if the RCP adopts an entrist tactic, because the difference in their social bases tends to keep them organisationally apart despite programmatic identity. Moreover, entry into the Labour Party would divert all energies toward winning the Labour left, making it more difficult to approach CP members. By that time, the favourable conditions inside the CP — the early appearance of centrist criticism — may have passed. The Minority’s policy, the chapter concludes, would lead to missing valuable opportunities that may not recur.