Our tasks in the coming revolution¶
Core Argument¶
Our Tasks in the Coming Revolution
This chapter argues that the objective conditions for proletarian revolution in Britain are now fully matured, and that the revolutionary party must prepare for the seizure of power. The conference resolution restates the fundamental propositions of Marxism, which have been proved correct through the experience of the last decades and the present world war. Lenin’s reformulation of Marxism for the First World War—concluding that capitalism was outmoded and no section of the bourgeoisie could be supported—was vindicated by the 1917 revolution and the subsequent revolutionary wave of 1917–1921. The period of reaction that followed was caused by the outmoded leadership of the Second and Third Internationals. Revolutionary Marxists alone understood that a process similar to Russia after 1905 was unfolding on a world scale, preparing a new revolutionary upsurge that would dwarf the earlier one. War has revitalised the proletariat and ruined the middle class; the contradictions of imperialism are aggravated, not solved.
The Italian revolution is the first break in the chain. Every European country will be defeated, and the Red Army’s victories pave the way for revolution in Europe and the overthrow of the Stalinist bureaucracy. In Britain, all objective conditions for the conquest of power exist. A strike wave, the biggest since 1926, indicates that the masses are preparing for struggle. The material basis of British imperialism is shattered; Britain is now a second-rate satellite of American imperialism. The middle class is moving toward revolution, and the Tory Party’s traditional base is finished. Even a snap Churchill victory would not last more than a year or two, forcing struggle into extra-parliamentary forms. Fascism is not a realistic threat if a fighting leadership emerges. The Gallup Poll shows a Labour majority despite the leadership’s reactionary policy; Labour leaders will be thrust into power by the masses. Hatred of union bureaucrats and Labour leaders among advanced workers is at a historic high. The armed forces are more revolutionary and class-conscious than sections of the working class itself, as shown by solidarity with Negro and Indian struggles. The Eighth Army is our army, its soldiers expressing complete dissatisfaction. Stalinism has revealed itself as a counter-revolutionary disease; its votes are for communism, not Stalinism. The ILP will reveal its centrist incapacity. Industry is key: Bevin’s attacks on the Militant Workers’ Committee confirm our correctness. We have moved from an insignificant sect to a significant tendency. Without revolution, Britain will face France’s fate; a great part of the population will become surplus.