A reply to Kurt Hill on what British European Elections represents?

A REPLY TO KURT HILL BY ANTHONY BRAIN.

Kurt Hill on the SWP USA discussion website criticises my analysis of main dynamics in Britain (see MPS expenses and the Brown crisis). His critique is too impressionist leading to pessimistic conclusions. There is no denying of reactionary trends in the European elections within Britain. In that document I said that these elections would most probably occur in this form but the key thing is how the masses react. In the last 24 hours we have seen spontaneous anti-BNP demonstrations in northern England which includes sizeable layers of youth/students; contingents from different Trade Unions; Gays; and disabled. This could be the beginning of another radicalisation against Fascism.

That combined with the collapse of Labour vote to 15% with the Tories being a serious threat of winning a general election is shaking Labour as a party from top to bottom. It is interesting to note that if there are 8-11 Billions cut on NHS spending it is going to lead to massive dislocations. Just imagine if there are hundreds of billions in cuts within public services. Kurt Hill does not realise that workers and middle class elements will not tolerate this. In dialectics you have to distinguish between appearance and reality. The European elections appear to strengthen Conservative Bourgeois elements electorally but if that agenda is implemented there could be mass resistance. This explosive situation is added by Fascists winning those two MEPs which are leading to the radicalisation becoming anti-Fascist.


Social Democrats are utilising most Blairites leaving the cabinet to force Brown back to their policies. Policies these Social Democrats are pushing for include rights for agency workers; stop privatisation of the Post Office etc. Brown may manoeuvre by appearing to concede towards Social Democracy to survive the Blairite leadership challenge and then return to semi-Blairite policies. History will determine what Brown does. On tonight’s Newsnight programme the Unite Union General Secretary Derek Simpson launched a major attack on Brown’s government for not changing policies. This represents the pressure of rank-and-file Trade Unionists who will not tolerate Blairism anymore and the failure of Brown to help them in containing their members’ anger. One thing I am surer of is that is some Blairites split from Labour Brown would have to take the Social Democrats more into his consideration because of a changed social base. Trotskyists argue regardless of manoeuvring by Social Democrats and Trade Union Bureaucrats place demands on them to fight for Socialist policies!


Hill makes amassing statements for an ex-SWPer (American) which means he was a Trotskyist in the past. He attacks Trotskyists for seeing recession as automatically leading to revolution. Then he introduces terminology associated with Stalinism when he states: “I'm not all that optimistic that progressives will come out on top this time around. It's not the 1930s”. Popular Front politics led to defeat of Spain’s revolution from 1936-1939 and led to reaction in France after 1937. It was only the Trotskyists who understood (despite Trotsky being wrong that the Soviet Union would be destroyed by World War 2) that reaction would not last forever and the harshness of World War 2 would cause revolutionary upheavals. This is what gave our movement the courage to stand up in that period because they understood as Trotsky wrote the dialectics of history can turn even the most reactionary and counter-revolutionary situations into their opposite into revolutionary possibilities.


The victory of Soviet forces against Nazi Germany is an example of dialectics in historical processes. It was the Stalinists who led to the victory of Fascism in Germany with their Ultra-Left Third Period policies. Yet it was the same Bureaucratically-led Red Army which included millions of workers which destroyed German Fascism. This shows the dual nature of Stalinism. Stalinism’s main contradiction Trotskyists argue is that their deals with world Capitalism/Imperialism strengthen reaction and counter-revolutions, but the Stalinists have to protect their privileges which are based on workers’ states against attempts by Imperialism/pro-Capitalist forces to overthrow them.


German Imperialism during the spring of 1945 was developing their nuclear technology. If the Soviet Union had not decisively defeated them German Capitalism under a Fascist regime could have had nuclear weapons. The defeat of German Imperialism by Red Army soldiers provided breathing space for the workers to organise again politically in Western Europe and for Trotskyists to fight for our programme and strategy In Eastern Europe during 1948 the Soviet Bureaucracy overthrow Capitalism. Negatively Stalinism helped Capitalism re-consolidate their rule in Western Europe. In return Capitalism had to concede major reforms such as Welfarism. Then there were the Colonial Revolutions after World War 2 which ended direct Colonialism in most Third World countries.


Hill is wrong in his suggestion that “progressive” which implies Popular Front policies worked during the 1930s. He is also wrong that objective conditions are today worse than during that period. There have been setbacks in Western Europe but Welfarism has not been destroyed. Fascism’s historic role would be to reduce or destroy Welfarism as the ruling class brings this plebeian middle class and lumpen Proletarian mass movement in order to destroy the organised working class (Trade Unions and different working class political parties) so these policies can be implemented. Griffin demagogically is trying to win semi-Lumpen layers by attacking privatisation of the NHS. The BNP are doing this to gain a base in order to later attack Trade Unions. They will try to do this by demagogically attacking aspects of Capitalism while trying to destroy the organised working class. By being demagogic they try to con layers of their base that once the organised working class are destroyed that they be looked after. This is why they have to be nipped in the bud now before they attack the organised working class and whip up racism. If Labour moves Left this will undercut the BNP considerably because their electoral base in working class areas have not been won to destroying the Labour movement. That is why the BNP are trying to conceal their historic role.


The workers’ States in Eastern Europe (except for ex-GDR and possibly Kosovo) have not been totally destroyed but seriously weakened. There are Fascist forces in Hungary and the Czech Republic. Their aim is to complete the restoration of Capitalism. At some point they will be in conflict with those Bureaucrats who want to maintain workers’ states. These Fascists are trying to use their limited base in Eastern Europe to try to challenge Russian Stalinist rule. The Russian Bureaucracy is beginning to react. This is one reason why legalisation in Russia banning Fascist formations and may work with other Eastern European Bureaucrats to counter their threat. According to BBC’s six o’clock news tonight it was a Russian TV News agency which tipped of Unite against Fascism (UAF) that Griffin was holding that news conference which anti-Fascists broke up. Trotskyists while supporting the Russian workers’ state banning Fascists, we oppose the rehabilitation of Stalin. Russian Trotskyists would argue there should be the democratic right to challenge Stalin in public debates among those who defend the workers’ state against Fascism. By doing this Russian Trotskyists lay the basis to overthrow Stalinism through Political Revolution while defending the workers’ state against Capitalist restoration.


The Neo-cons have failed to re-colonialise Afghanistan and Iraq. This has weekend Capitalism in the Imperialist countries. When there are major outbreaks of Racism such as in Big Brother during 2007 mass protests occurred within India. If Fascists carry out programs there will be reactions by oppressed ethnicities within the Imperialist countries and semi-colonies. All these contradictions within the Colonies/semi-Colonies; and workers’ state objectively lay the basis for mass radicalisation within the Imperialist countries. If Fascism grows they are in conflict with global trends and will be resisted by the organised working class and oppressed.