Labour and the Struggle for Socialism
The Uprising in America
The Chinese revolution: a critical perspective from the left
On 16th May the Workers’ International Network (WIN) hosted a very successful meeting on The Chinese revolution: a critical perspective from the left, introduced by Gregor Benton, the foremost expert on the history of the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese Trotskyist opposition
Over 25 people from nine countries attended, and there was a lively and comprehensive discussion. A video recording of the meeting will soon be posted on WIN’s facebook page and Youtube channel. For further reading, see any of Greg’s writings, including Mao Zedong and the Chinese Revolution, Was Mao Really a Monster?, Poets of the Chinese Revolution and Prophets Unarmed: Chinese Trotskyists in Revolution, War, Jail, and the Return from Limbo.
There are hardly any Chinese Trotskyists left today, but in their day Trotskyism was a living force of thousands. The sharp differences between Trotsky and Stalin over the strategy to be adopted in the Chinese revolution loomed very large in the development of the Russian Left Opposition, and these theoretical differences were put to the test of history, literally in blood, far sooner than the next terrible defeat, in Germany in 1933. After the crushing of the heroic uprising of the workers of Shanghai in 1927, and the execution of 10,000 Communists, Trotsky’s warnings were vindicated. Few political groups in history have faced harsher persecution than the Chinese Trotskyists, who became prime targets of both the ruling dictatorship, the insurgent Maoist opposition, and the Russian Stalinists. Hundreds or probably thousands were jailed or killed – in China itself, but also in Russia, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Macao. In 1952 one thousand Trotskyists were rounded up by Mao in China. The Chinese working class then was tiny. Today it numbers hundreds of millions. For them and for us, there are rich lessons.
This was an online discussion with Marxist economist Michael Roberts, with participants from several different countries.
The Pandemic, Crisis and the Economy
This was an online discussion with Marxist economist Michael Roberts, with participants from several different countries.
This is the first part of the discussion. The You Tube link can be found here.
This is the second part of the discussion. The You Tube link can be found here.
This is the third and final part of the discussion. The You Tube link can be found here.
Read the introduction to the online discussion from Roger Siliverman:
Welcome. This meeting has been organised by the Workers’ International Network, and we’re happy to see comrades present from Britain, the USA, France, Sweden, Denmark, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Ireland, and maybe more countries too, all prominent activists in the labour movement. Internationalism has never been more essential than at this time.
We’re meeting at a crucial turning point in world history. So far more than 200,000 people have died worldwide, and the total could reach millions. In Britain alone, the projection is over 80,000 deaths. But this pandemic is just the start of the convulsions that will grip the planet. A prolonged economic slump like that of the 1930s or even worse lies ahead. Already before the pandemic struck, there was an unprecedented global wave of uprisings, stretching across at least 35 countries spread across four continents, with tens of thousands on the streets, braving tear gas and bullets, and bringing several governments crashing to their downfall. The plague and the lockdown have temporarily cut across this process and there has been a sudden pause in the struggle, but these experiences have stripped bare the hopeless incapacity of capitalism to meet human needs or sustain human civilisation and even the very survival of the species. We can be sure of intensified turmoil and social unrest for years to come.
We invite comrades who are not already subscribers to read our journal ON THE BRINK and visit our website www.onthebrink.online. We will be holding more zoom meetings periodically and will keep you all informed by e-mail.
We’re proud to introduce today the Marxist economist Michael Roberts, who writes the outstanding blog www.thenextrecession.wordpress.com, to explain the economic consequences of the pandemic. We have already circulated fifteen questions to Michael, and you’re welcome to raise further questions in the course of this discussion.