BY TIM KIRCHLER
One purpose of the Socialist Alliance as an electoral alliance is to raise the profile of socialists and socialism by means of its participation in election campaigns. We need to create widespread awareness of what our tradition of socialism is actually about — that socialists are people who support grassroots democracy rather than bureaucracy, that we stand for workers' rights and against racism, sexism, environmental destruction and so on.
I am certainly not suggesting that creating this awareness through election campaigns and (hopefully one day) winning parliamentary seats is the key to overthrowing capitalism. That only happens after people's own circumstances move them into political activity. As Marx said, "Life dictates consciousness".
However, using electoral politics to win respect for our ideas has the potential to aid in this process. We could do this well, if we exercise appropriate political self-discipline, or we could do it badly. Hence the need for rigorous self-analysis at every step of the way.
A second purpose of the Socialist Alliance, which may not be shared by all the members, is to draw moderate left-wingers closer to revolutionary politics. To achieve this, it unites various people who are opposed to capitalism and its effects on society, and who believe that mass action rather than legislative and parliamentary means is the key to change. However, it can still accommodate a variety of different viewpoints as to the finer details of how such change can be brought about.
The question remains: should the holders of these different viewpoints continue to organise themselves as separate identifiable organisations within the larger alliance? Yes, they should, for the reason that there are many complex political and strategic questions that have to be nutted out throughout the long process of organising towards the eventual revolutionary overthrow of capitalism.
Many of the political questions which separate the various groups will only be settled with the passage of time and events, and the opportunity to test the different groups' theories in practice.
Although we all fight for the same cause, it makes perfect sense for the various groups to continue to build themselves around these differing arguments. The key to co-operation between them is intellectual honesty and adaptability.
All the groups must place a premium on their ability to learn political lessons as they grow and take part in various campaigns. Hopefully, in a revolutionary situation, the various groups would be able to co-operate in the process of organising for socialist revolution, just as we have been co-operating in many of the current campaigns. Call it co-operative disagreement, if you like.
However, some of the groups may find that the underlying theories that set them apart from other groups are proved wrong in practice. Successful intervention to overthrow capitalism can only occur if groups can modify their practices based on the lessons drawn from their practical political experiences.
Where does all this leave the Socialist Alliance? The affiliate groups within it all have theoretical standpoints that set them apart from one another. If they simply cast aside these differences in the name of unity, they will be abandoning the task of working through the political arguments that are necessary to take the movement forward towards the eventual revolutionary overthrow of capitalism.
Within the Socialist Alliance, there is still room for the sceptics and the reformists — those who agree with the need for mass action to fight against the evils of capitalism, but who are still not convinced of the full political platform of any one of the affiliate groups. They can still participate in the process of building the profile of socialism through election campaigns. They should also be able to do this comfortably without the need for any individuals or groups within the alliance to hide their true political colours.
This is the purpose of an electoral alliance. The function of the alliance and the function of the affiliate groups are not quite the same. If the electoral alliance is transformed into a regrouped revolutionary party, it loses some of its ability to draw moderate left-wingers towards revolutionary socialism in order to promote the socialist cause more widely.
There may be a time for casting aside political differences in the name of unity, but this time cannot come until we are much closer to the overthrow of capitalism.
[The author is a member of the International Socialist Organisation, one of the eight organisations affiliated to the Socialist Alliance.]
From Green Left Weekly, November 6, 2002.
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