MILITANT HAS produced a pamphlet attempting defend chauvinist position against Argentina. answer' written by tions, confusions and tions, writes Brian Grogan.
Ted Grant ends his pamphlet with a rather preposterous boast: are the only section of the Labour movement which has a clear understanding, first, of war in general and the war over the Falklands I parucular and, second of how to approach the working. class and other exploited strata and win them to Marxism in the event of war.' This pamphlet proves the exact opposite of this claim. What is its purpose?
apply 'clear understanding' of how to tight hatcher's war? Not a bit of it. Its nearly 10,000 words acacated showing why the 'demand "withdrawal of the is a meaningless pacifist gesture'. All comTace Grant's are an attempt to justify supporters fighting those who are attempting to build a move. ment to force a withdrawal of the British fleet.
scandalously towards Britain's war 'Falklands Crisis: a socialist their most prominent reactionary assumpcnildish ultimatism would work out on other issues.
How end A SOCIALIST Comrade Grant inadvertently gives two different sorts of answers to his question 'how could the demand for the fleet to be withdrawn be complished?' lowards the end of his pamphlet he observes, 'without the support of the trade union and Labour leaders would be impossible to go to war'. Quite right. But shouldn't any Marxist Falklands— fleet? Then we have been comrade Grant, short of a SCCOnU general strike leading to an insurrection for withdrawing the fleet!
But une problem worse for comrade Grant. i camy, want turning the tide against Thatcher's war, the prospect of winning the Labour government committed to socialist policies. is ruled out. Moreover, if we can't force the Labour leaders to break with Thatcher over war policy, how can we helr to commit them to socialist policies? As comrade Grant himselt DUllILS ouL, wal Is simply politics by other means. Appeal However, only does comrade Grant fail to out forward demands to mobilise the class against the war, he actually makes proposals to reverse the steps which left leaders have taken against Thatcher.
The actions of Arthur Scargill and Tony Benn should be opposed position of the Labour position of Labour war' But, does Benn and Scargill's appeal to withdraw the fleet make it easier or more difficult to win militant workers to an understanding of the need for hostility to the class which wages the war"? This is the judgment which has simply dark mutterings that such an opposition can play into the hands of the imperialists' The gutter press regalling of Benn and Scargill as 'traitors' should give a hint to comrade Grant about the present dynamic of the actions of these lefts.
Actions to demand the withdrawal of the fleet are present time. It is then the duty of Marxists to ally whatever their motives and forces overall understanding. It is empty-headed childishness to refuse common action Canada 23,940,000 75.5% $245.8 billion $62.6 billion S67.5 billion 335.71 billion 16.1 million 9.02 million 1.14 million 610,800 215.35 billion 14,5 million 1.06 milhon 76% 12.4 an imperialist on the grounds that everyone agree your analysis; that Denl ano Scargill don't join Militant.
IN SU JUVERTUD IRA MADI LA Militant's position boils down to a refusal to fight the sentiment that exists amones Ine mass of workers. degree economic develoomen атем • by themselves indices of impertaisin. . The world is no simply divided between capitalist states and workers states, but also between imperialist and dependent countries. It is not enough to examine the Cas within country, but also the relahons belween countries Control of the Argentine economy is not in the hands of Argentinians, but in the hands of foreign investors. Most of the top companic. foreigr owned. There is net outflow resulting in Argentina hav cavital ing the second largest na. tional debt in the world at $36bn. It exports primarily food, consumer goods and raw materials and imports capital goods and patents It is a semi-colonial coun Grant assumes our characterisation to be).
Assumes To assume that places like Taiwan, South Korea, DIaLI, MEAIo, Algenullo and similar semi-colonia countries had broken from dependency perialism would not only Ull imfail to appreciate the deep crises which these countries are now experiencing despite all the confident pagandists it would
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spokesperson, Ted Grant, has the merit of br- inging to the surface all of Militant's contradic-
lefts is not opposition to the class which wages the