Fieldites
Encyclopedia
The Fieldites were a small leftist sect that split from the Communist League of America
in 1934 and known officially as the Organizing Committee for a Revolutionary Workers Party and then the League for a Revolutionary Workers Party. The name comes from the name of its leader B.J.Field.
educated petroleum analyst on Wall Street
before the crash of 1929. Afterwords he became a Trotskyist and led informal discussion groups at his home with the other members. When the New York branch of the CLA first expelled him for not putting these under the direction of the party, he traveled to Constantinople to get permission from Trotsky himself.
The immediate causes of the split were rooted in the New York Hotel strike of January 1934, led by Field on behalf of the CLA. Though the strike was successful in gaining some concessions, Field was expelled in February for not accepting CLA discipline and not getting adequate safeguards for former strikers against discrimination. One of Fields most important collaborators in this strike was a young Greek-American, Aristodimos Kaldis
, who would later have a career as a landscape artist. During the strike the CLA elements worked closely with a group of dissident Lovestoneites led by Benjamin Gitlow
called the Workers Communist League. After being expelled the group around Field and Kaldis joined Gitlows group, which now became the Organizing Committee for a Revolutionary Workers Party Though the membership of the group was small in the United States, it was more successful in Canada
, taking the whole Montreal
section and some of the Toronto
branch members from the CLA in April of that year. Under the leadership of William Krehm they overshadowed the official Trotskist movement in Canada by 1937.
The Gitlow group didn't stay long and by October 1934 had decided to enter the Socialist Party of America
This left the Fieldites with few experienced Communist or labor leaders. The group then began negotiations for unity with a variety of other sectiods, including the Communist League of Struggle
, the Revolutionary Workers League
and a small group of Italian-American Bordigists
. None of these was successful. In May 1936 the majority of the New York branch voted to rejoin the Trotskyites, but a minority stayed with Field in a reduced organization. According to one report, from a hostile source, when two members of the New York local F. L Demby and S. Stanley summited a statement favoring dissociation from the LRWP during a meeting of the New York local Field had the door locked and he and his supporters physically attacked them. In any event a reported eight out of the groups twelve members left.
Among the associates of the league was a group of Columbia university students which included future philosopher Morton White
, who was drawn to the group because it was harsher on the Soviet Union than the Trotskyites. They had come to the conclusion that capitalism had already been restored in Stalinist Russia, and was no longer a degenerated workers state.
The exact date of the groups extinction is uncertain. In April 1940 they published a special bulletin addressed to the convention of the Socialist Workers Party (United States)
, urging it to adopt its perspective on the USSR, which the Fieldites regarded as totalitarian rather than state capitalist. They believed "Russian question" was the most important issue facing the working class movement. They seem to have finally disbanded sometime later in 1940.
Communist League of America
The Communist League of America was founded by James P. Cannon, Max Shachtman and Martin Abern late in 1928 after their expulsion from the Communist Party USA for Trotskyism. The CLA was the United States section of Leon Trotsky's International Left Opposition and initially positioned itself as...
in 1934 and known officially as the Organizing Committee for a Revolutionary Workers Party and then the League for a Revolutionary Workers Party. The name comes from the name of its leader B.J.Field.
History
Born Max Gould in 1903, B.J. Field had been a successful ColumbiaColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
educated petroleum analyst on Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
before the crash of 1929. Afterwords he became a Trotskyist and led informal discussion groups at his home with the other members. When the New York branch of the CLA first expelled him for not putting these under the direction of the party, he traveled to Constantinople to get permission from Trotsky himself.
The immediate causes of the split were rooted in the New York Hotel strike of January 1934, led by Field on behalf of the CLA. Though the strike was successful in gaining some concessions, Field was expelled in February for not accepting CLA discipline and not getting adequate safeguards for former strikers against discrimination. One of Fields most important collaborators in this strike was a young Greek-American, Aristodimos Kaldis
Aristodimos Kaldis
Aristodimos Kaldis was an artist and left-wing activist in New York.It is impossible to think of East Tenth Street and of the gallery and museum scene during the 1950s without including Kaldis in the picture. His friendship with leading members of the New York School dated from the 1930s...
, who would later have a career as a landscape artist. During the strike the CLA elements worked closely with a group of dissident Lovestoneites led by Benjamin Gitlow
Benjamin Gitlow
Benjamin "Ben" Gitlow was a prominent American socialist politician of the early twentieth century and a founding member of the Communist Party USA. From the end of the 1930s, Gitlow turned to conservatism and wrote two sensational exposés of American Communism, books which were very influential...
called the Workers Communist League. After being expelled the group around Field and Kaldis joined Gitlows group, which now became the Organizing Committee for a Revolutionary Workers Party Though the membership of the group was small in the United States, it was more successful in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, taking the whole Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
section and some of the Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
branch members from the CLA in April of that year. Under the leadership of William Krehm they overshadowed the official Trotskist movement in Canada by 1937.
The Gitlow group didn't stay long and by October 1934 had decided to enter the Socialist Party of America
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
This left the Fieldites with few experienced Communist or labor leaders. The group then began negotiations for unity with a variety of other sectiods, including the Communist League of Struggle
Communist League of Struggle
The Communist League of Struggle was a small communist organization active in the United States during the 1930s. Founded by Albert Weisbord and his wife, Vera Buch, who were veterans of the Left Socialist movement and the Communist Party USA, the CLS briefly affiliated with Leon Trotsky...
, the Revolutionary Workers League
Revolutionary Workers League
Revolutionary Workers League may refer to:*Revolutionary Workers League/Ligue Ouvrière Révolutionnaire, a Canadian Trotskyist group*Revolutionary Workers League...
and a small group of Italian-American Bordigists
Amadeo Bordiga
Amadeo Bordiga was an Italian Marxist, a contributor to Communist theory, the founder of the Communist Party of Italy, a leader of the Communist International and, after World War II, leading figure of the International Communist Party.- Early life :Bordiga was born at Resina, in the province of...
. None of these was successful. In May 1936 the majority of the New York branch voted to rejoin the Trotskyites, but a minority stayed with Field in a reduced organization. According to one report, from a hostile source, when two members of the New York local F. L Demby and S. Stanley summited a statement favoring dissociation from the LRWP during a meeting of the New York local Field had the door locked and he and his supporters physically attacked them. In any event a reported eight out of the groups twelve members left.
Among the associates of the league was a group of Columbia university students which included future philosopher Morton White
Morton White
Morton White is an American philosopher and historian of ideas. He is both a central figure in the philosophical movement of Holistic Pragmatism and a noted historian of American philosophical thought...
, who was drawn to the group because it was harsher on the Soviet Union than the Trotskyites. They had come to the conclusion that capitalism had already been restored in Stalinist Russia, and was no longer a degenerated workers state.
The exact date of the groups extinction is uncertain. In April 1940 they published a special bulletin addressed to the convention of the Socialist Workers Party (United States)
Socialist Workers Party (United States)
The Socialist Workers Party is a far-left political organization in the United States. The group places a priority on "solidarity work" to aid strikes and is strongly supportive of Cuba...
, urging it to adopt its perspective on the USSR, which the Fieldites regarded as totalitarian rather than state capitalist. They believed "Russian question" was the most important issue facing the working class movement. They seem to have finally disbanded sometime later in 1940.
Periodicals
The Fieldites published The workers' voice http://www.worldcat.org/wcpa/oclc/32690679 in Canada, Labor Front http://www.worldcat.org/wcpa/oclc/42656661 in the United States, Workers anti war bulletin http://www.worldcat.org/wcpa/oclc/19789921 and Revolutionary Youth, by the partys' youth section. Bibliographer Walter Goldwater lists Labor Front as #128 in his index and gives its duration as Vol. I #1 June 1934 to Vol. VI #1 February 1939. The group also published an irregular "international" publication New International Bulletin: Documents of the New International which lasted from Vol. I #1 October 1935 - Vol. II #1 March 1937. Apparently this ceased publication when the majority of the New York group went back to the Trotskyists.Prominent members & associates
- Paul JacobsPaul JacobsPaul Jacobs can refer to:*Paul Jacobs , American activist**Paul Jacobs and the Nuclear Gang, documentary film about the above*Paul Jacobs , Flemish author*Paul Jacobs , professional hockey player...
, founder of Mother JonesMother Jones (magazine)Mother Jones is an American independent news organization, featuring investigative and breaking news reporting on politics, the environment, human rights, and culture. Mother Jones has been nominated for 23 National Magazine Awards and has won six times, including for General Excellence in 2001,...
magazine - Aristodimos KaldisAristodimos KaldisAristodimos Kaldis was an artist and left-wing activist in New York.It is impossible to think of East Tenth Street and of the gallery and museum scene during the 1950s without including Kaldis in the picture. His friendship with leading members of the New York School dated from the 1930s...
- Morton WhiteMorton WhiteMorton White is an American philosopher and historian of ideas. He is both a central figure in the philosophical movement of Holistic Pragmatism and a noted historian of American philosophical thought...
- Albert WohlstetterAlbert WohlstetterAlbert Wohlstetter was an influential and controversial nuclear strategist during the Cold War. He was major intellectual force behind efforts to deter nuclear war and avoid the further spread of nuclear weapons to more nations...
Pamphlets
- Trotsky, Leon The only road New York, Pioneer Publishers 1933 (translated by Field and Max ShachtmanMax ShachtmanMax Shachtman was an American Marxist theorist. He evolved from being an associate of Leon Trotsky to a social democrat and mentor of senior assistants to AFL-CIO President George Meany.-Beginnings:...
, before the split) - Field, B. J. Prospects of American Capitalism: Problems of the American Revolution, No. 1 New York City : Organization Pub. Co., 1935
- Davis, Edward Big Industry in Canada: A Marxian Survey [Toronto?] : League for a Revolutionary Workers' Party (Canadian section), 1937
- Krehm, William. Spain: revolution and counter-revolution [Toronto?] : League for a Revolutionary Workers' Party (Canadian section), 1930s