Communist Workers Organisation (UK)
Encyclopedia
The Communist Workers Organisation (CWO) is a British left communist group and an affiliate of the Internationalist Communist Tendency, formerly the International Bureau for the Revolutionary Party
. It publishes a quarterly magazine, Revolutionary Perspectives and distributes an agitational broadsheet Aurora.
, and Revolutionary Perspectives, a group based in the North of england and Scotland some of whose members had previously been active in Solidarity
. Both groups were influenced by German left communism and in particular the KAPD. Both published articles on the German Revolution. Revolutionary Perspectives also translated Otto Ruhle's "From the Bourgeois to the Proletarian Revolution" into English. By 1975 the two groups coalesced broadly around the positions of the KAPD's "Essen Tendency". Both groups had also taken part in international conferences sponsored by the French group Révolution Internationale with the British group World Revolution
. These two groups formed the International Communist Current
, but the Workers Voice group denounced this as "counter-revolutionary" over its defence of the October Revolution
and its position on the period of transition. Revolutionary Perspectives had tried to mediate between Workers Voice and World Revolution but was now forced to choose. As World Revolution had already rejected its draft platform and it had disagreements on several other positions, most notably the tendency of the rate of profit to fall
Revolutionary Perspectives chose to unite with Workers Voice.
, which they now claimed was the communist movement. Although the majority were prepared to discuss this the Aberdeen section left within a month (it would split from the ICC within a few years to form the Communist Bulletin Group
).
and in the course of them became convinced by them that the positions the latter had defended since 1943 were the best product of the left communist tradition. The two organisations formed the International Bureau for the Revolutionary Party
in 1983. This organisation was eventually joined by left communist groups in France, Canada, the USA and Germany. In recognition of this expansion it moved towards a closer coordination of its activities in 2009 with the formation of the Internationalist Communist Tendency.
International Bureau for the Revolutionary Party
The Internationalist Communist Tendency is a political international whose member organisations identify with the Italian left communist tradition...
. It publishes a quarterly magazine, Revolutionary Perspectives and distributes an agitational broadsheet Aurora.
History
The group was founded in the mid-1970s with the union of Workers Voice, based in LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, and Revolutionary Perspectives, a group based in the North of england and Scotland some of whose members had previously been active in Solidarity
Solidarity (UK)
Solidarity was a small libertarian socialist organisation from 1960 to 1992 in the United Kingdom. It published a magazine of the same name. Solidarity was close to council communism in its prescriptions and was known for its emphasis on workers' self-organisation and for its radical...
. Both groups were influenced by German left communism and in particular the KAPD. Both published articles on the German Revolution. Revolutionary Perspectives also translated Otto Ruhle's "From the Bourgeois to the Proletarian Revolution" into English. By 1975 the two groups coalesced broadly around the positions of the KAPD's "Essen Tendency". Both groups had also taken part in international conferences sponsored by the French group Révolution Internationale with the British group World Revolution
World revolution
World revolution is the Marxist concept of overthrowing capitalism in all countries through the conscious revolutionary action of the organized working class...
. These two groups formed the International Communist Current
International Communist Current
The International Communist Current is an international centralised left communist organisation which was formed in 1975 and which has sections in France, Great Britain, Mexico, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Venezuela, Brazil, Sweden, India, Italy, USA, Switzerland, Philippines and...
, but the Workers Voice group denounced this as "counter-revolutionary" over its defence of the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
and its position on the period of transition. Revolutionary Perspectives had tried to mediate between Workers Voice and World Revolution but was now forced to choose. As World Revolution had already rejected its draft platform and it had disagreements on several other positions, most notably the tendency of the rate of profit to fall
Tendency of the rate of profit to fall
The tendency of the rate of profit to fall is a hypothesis in economics and political economy, most famously expounded by Karl Marx in chapter 13 of Das Kapital Vol. 3. It was generally accepted in the 19th century...
Revolutionary Perspectives chose to unite with Workers Voice.
Growth
For a year the organisation grew, issuing ten publications (the journals Workers Voice and Revolutionary Perspectives) as well as distributing thousands of leaflets at factory gates and establishing groups in several factories. However by the end of 1976 it was clear that the wave of working class struggle which had led to the rebirth of left communism in Britain was over. The Liverpool section now began to retreat into local activity and, without issuing a document or giving any political explanation, abandoned joint political work and dissolved. This loss was followed in 1977 by the demand of the Aberdeen section that the CWO should now join the International Communist CurrentInternational Communist Current
The International Communist Current is an international centralised left communist organisation which was formed in 1975 and which has sections in France, Great Britain, Mexico, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Venezuela, Brazil, Sweden, India, Italy, USA, Switzerland, Philippines and...
, which they now claimed was the communist movement. Although the majority were prepared to discuss this the Aberdeen section left within a month (it would split from the ICC within a few years to form the Communist Bulletin Group
Communist Bulletin Group
The Communist Bulletin Group was a small left communist organisation based in Scotland. It was founded in 1981 by groups in Edinburgh and Aberdeen which split from World Revolution...
).
Merger
In 1977 the CWO majority adhered to the international conferences initiated by the Internationalist Communist Party (Battaglia Comunista)Internationalist Communist Party (Battaglia Comunista)
The Internationalist Communist Party is a left communist party in Italy.It was founded in 1952 by the wing of the International Communist Party led by Onorato Damen, which opposed Amadeo Bordiga's advocacy of a "return to Lenin"...
and in the course of them became convinced by them that the positions the latter had defended since 1943 were the best product of the left communist tradition. The two organisations formed the International Bureau for the Revolutionary Party
International Bureau for the Revolutionary Party
The Internationalist Communist Tendency is a political international whose member organisations identify with the Italian left communist tradition...
in 1983. This organisation was eventually joined by left communist groups in France, Canada, the USA and Germany. In recognition of this expansion it moved towards a closer coordination of its activities in 2009 with the formation of the Internationalist Communist Tendency.
See also
- An earlier British organisation with the same name in the late sixties was a Maoist group which merged with the Irish Communist Organisation in 1971.
- British leftBritish leftThe biggest organisation on the British left is the Labour Party with over 100,000 members.The Communist Party of Great Britain had a peak membership of 56,000 in 1945...