Fourth International (ICR)
Encyclopedia
The Fourth International (identified here by its major theoretical magazine "La Verite") was established as an "International Centre (or Center) of Reconstruction" by co-thinkers of Pierre Lambert
, in 1981 who argued that the post-war political evolution of the Fourth International
under the leadership of Michel Pablo
and Ernest Mandel
had taken the FI away from the ideas of its founder, Leon Trotsky
. In the opinion of Lambert and his co-thinkers, the FI needed to be reconstructed. In 1993, they formed a new International, which they describe as the Fourth International. It is, by the number of sections, the Trotskyist tendency in the second largest number of countries.
The Fourth International's (La Verite) roots lie in the Organising Committee for the Reconstruction of the Fourth International (OCRFI), which was established in 1972. It formed a short-lived bloc with Nahuel Moreno
's tendency. A Parity Committee which operated in 1979 1980 produced Forty Theses of agreements between the tendencies led by Moreno and Lambert. On that basis, the Fourth International (International Committee) (FI[IC]) was founded in 1980. However, the convergence decelerated because of Lambert's support for the government of François Mitterrand
. Moreno's supporters boycotted a General Council of the FI(IC) in the Autumn of 1981 whereupon Lambert declared a split: Moreno's supporters formed the International Workers League; at a meeting on 21–23 December 1981 Lambert's supporters formed the "Fourth International - International Centre of Reconstruction", or ICR.
The ICR underwent a period of re-orientation, during which Lambert proposed that the ICR should announce itself as the Fourth International. In 1986-87 Brazilian member Luis Favre
became critical of Pierre Lambert within the PCI/OCRFI, but Lambert's position was adopted.
In June 1993, a world conference of 44 sections of the ICR was held in Paris. It re-proclaimed the Fourth International on the basis of one of its founding document: the Transitional Program
. The resulting international organization, linked closely with the International Liaison Committee for a Workers' International, is known among its adherents and national sections simply as the Fourth International. Since it is not the only group to refer to itself in this way, others refer to it as the "Lambertist" Fourth International (after Pierre Lambert
, one of its most prominent members), as the Fourth International (La Vérité) (after its international theoretical journal La Vérité), or as SIQI (for the French Secrétariat International de la Quatrième Internationale (International Secretariat of the Fourth International), the name of its leading body) http://www.broadleft.org/abbr.htm).
Algeria—Socialist Workers Organization works inside the larger mass-based Workers Party
Bangladesh—Democratic Workers Party (works as a tendency within it)
Belgium—International Socialist Organisation (OSI)
Benin—Benin Section of the Fourth International
Bolivia—The Spark
Brazil—The Work
Britain—British Section of the Fourth International works inside the British Labour Party
Burundi—Workers Political Circle
Chad—Chad Section of the Fourth International
Chile—Socialist Workers Organization
China—Chinese supporters of the Fourth International
Corte d'Ivoire—Corte d'Ivoire Section of the Fourth International
Croatia—Section of the Fourth International in ex-Yugoslavia
Denmark—Danish Section of the Fourth International
Dominican Republic—Dominican Supporters of the Fourth International
Ecuador—Socialist Workers Organization
France—Internationalist Communist Current (works inside the larger Independent Workers Party
Gabon—Gabon supporters of the Fourth International
Germany—German Section of the Fourth International works inside the German Social Democracy.
Greece—Greek Section of the Fourth International
Guadeloupe—Guadeloupe Section of the Fourth International
Haiti—Socialist Workers Party of Haiti (works inside the larger Parti Oeuvre Socialist)
Italy—Italian supporters of the Fourth International
India—Indians supporters of the FI (Kolkata and Mumbai)
Korea—Korean supporters of the Fourth International
Martinique—supporters of the Fourth International
Mexico—Socialist Workers Organization
Nicaragua—Trotskyist Circle of Nicaragua
Palestine—Section of the Fourth International
Peru—Peruvian Section of the Fourth International (Works inside the broader Partido Trabajodores del Campo y Ciudad)
Portugal—Internationalist Socialist Party
Romania—Workers Politics
Russia—Russian Section of the Fourth International
Rwanda—Workers Political Circle
Senegal—Socialist Workers Organization
Serbia—Section of the Fourth International in ex-Yugoslavia
South Africa/Azania—Azanian Section of the Fourth International works and leads the larger Socialist Party of Azania
Spain—Internationalist Socialist Workers Party
Sweden—Swedish Supporter of the Fourth International
Switzerland—Union of Workers Political Circles
Togo—Togo Section of the Fourth International
Tunisia—supporters of the Fourth International
Turkey—Revolutionary Workers League
Ukraine—Ukraine Section of the Fourth International
Uruguay—Section of the Fourth International in Uruguay
United States—Socialist Organizer
Venezuela—Venezuelan Section of the Fourth International
Pierre Lambert
Pierre Lambert was a French Trotskyist leader, who, for many years acted as the central leader of the French Courant Communiste Internationaliste which founded the Parti des Travailleurs.He was born in Paris to a family of Russian Jewish immigrants...
, in 1981 who argued that the post-war political evolution of the Fourth International
Fourth International
The Fourth International is the communist international organisation consisting of followers of Leon Trotsky , with the declared dedicated goal of helping the working class bring about socialism...
under the leadership of Michel Pablo
Michel Pablo
Michel Pablo was the pseudonym of Michalis N. Raptis , a Trotskyist leader of Greek origin.- Early activism :...
and Ernest Mandel
Ernest Mandel
Ernest Ezra Mandel, also known by various pseudonyms such as Ernest Germain, Pierre Gousset, Henri Vallin, Walter , was a revolutionary Marxist theorist.-Life:...
had taken the FI away from the ideas of its founder, Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
. In the opinion of Lambert and his co-thinkers, the FI needed to be reconstructed. In 1993, they formed a new International, which they describe as the Fourth International. It is, by the number of sections, the Trotskyist tendency in the second largest number of countries.
The Fourth International's (La Verite) roots lie in the Organising Committee for the Reconstruction of the Fourth International (OCRFI), which was established in 1972. It formed a short-lived bloc with Nahuel Moreno
Nahuel Moreno
Nahuel Moreno was a Trotskyist leader from Argentina. Moreno was active in the Trotskyist movement from before World War II until his death....
's tendency. A Parity Committee which operated in 1979 1980 produced Forty Theses of agreements between the tendencies led by Moreno and Lambert. On that basis, the Fourth International (International Committee) (FI[IC]) was founded in 1980. However, the convergence decelerated because of Lambert's support for the government of François Mitterrand
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
. Moreno's supporters boycotted a General Council of the FI(IC) in the Autumn of 1981 whereupon Lambert declared a split: Moreno's supporters formed the International Workers League; at a meeting on 21–23 December 1981 Lambert's supporters formed the "Fourth International - International Centre of Reconstruction", or ICR.
The ICR underwent a period of re-orientation, during which Lambert proposed that the ICR should announce itself as the Fourth International. In 1986-87 Brazilian member Luis Favre
Luis Favre
Luis Favre is the pseudonym of Argentine-born Brazilian journalist and political activist Felipe Belisario Wermus. Born in Buenos Aires, Favre joined the political party Politica Obrera as a young man. Later, he moved to France and became a member of the Internationalist Communist Organisation ,...
became critical of Pierre Lambert within the PCI/OCRFI, but Lambert's position was adopted.
In June 1993, a world conference of 44 sections of the ICR was held in Paris. It re-proclaimed the Fourth International on the basis of one of its founding document: the Transitional Program
Transitional Program
The Transitional Program, the full name of which is The Death Agony of Capitalism and the Tasks of the Fourth International, is a political platform adopted by the 1938 founding congress of the Fourth International, the international Leninist organization founded by Leon Trotsky...
. The resulting international organization, linked closely with the International Liaison Committee for a Workers' International, is known among its adherents and national sections simply as the Fourth International. Since it is not the only group to refer to itself in this way, others refer to it as the "Lambertist" Fourth International (after Pierre Lambert
Pierre Lambert
Pierre Lambert was a French Trotskyist leader, who, for many years acted as the central leader of the French Courant Communiste Internationaliste which founded the Parti des Travailleurs.He was born in Paris to a family of Russian Jewish immigrants...
, one of its most prominent members), as the Fourth International (La Vérité) (after its international theoretical journal La Vérité), or as SIQI (for the French Secrétariat International de la Quatrième Internationale (International Secretariat of the Fourth International), the name of its leading body) http://www.broadleft.org/abbr.htm).
Countries the reproclaimed Fourth International has sections or groups of Supporters
[Notes: as of February 2010]Algeria—Socialist Workers Organization works inside the larger mass-based Workers Party
Bangladesh—Democratic Workers Party (works as a tendency within it)
Belgium—International Socialist Organisation (OSI)
Benin—Benin Section of the Fourth International
Bolivia—The Spark
Brazil—The Work
Britain—British Section of the Fourth International works inside the British Labour Party
Burundi—Workers Political Circle
Chad—Chad Section of the Fourth International
Chile—Socialist Workers Organization
China—Chinese supporters of the Fourth International
Corte d'Ivoire—Corte d'Ivoire Section of the Fourth International
Croatia—Section of the Fourth International in ex-Yugoslavia
Denmark—Danish Section of the Fourth International
Dominican Republic—Dominican Supporters of the Fourth International
Ecuador—Socialist Workers Organization
France—Internationalist Communist Current (works inside the larger Independent Workers Party
Gabon—Gabon supporters of the Fourth International
Germany—German Section of the Fourth International works inside the German Social Democracy.
Greece—Greek Section of the Fourth International
Guadeloupe—Guadeloupe Section of the Fourth International
Haiti—Socialist Workers Party of Haiti (works inside the larger Parti Oeuvre Socialist)
Italy—Italian supporters of the Fourth International
India—Indians supporters of the FI (Kolkata and Mumbai)
Korea—Korean supporters of the Fourth International
Martinique—supporters of the Fourth International
Mexico—Socialist Workers Organization
Nicaragua—Trotskyist Circle of Nicaragua
Palestine—Section of the Fourth International
Peru—Peruvian Section of the Fourth International (Works inside the broader Partido Trabajodores del Campo y Ciudad)
Portugal—Internationalist Socialist Party
Romania—Workers Politics
Russia—Russian Section of the Fourth International
Rwanda—Workers Political Circle
Senegal—Socialist Workers Organization
Serbia—Section of the Fourth International in ex-Yugoslavia
South Africa/Azania—Azanian Section of the Fourth International works and leads the larger Socialist Party of Azania
Spain—Internationalist Socialist Workers Party
Sweden—Swedish Supporter of the Fourth International
Switzerland—Union of Workers Political Circles
Togo—Togo Section of the Fourth International
Tunisia—supporters of the Fourth International
Turkey—Revolutionary Workers League
Ukraine—Ukraine Section of the Fourth International
Uruguay—Section of the Fourth International in Uruguay
United States—Socialist Organizer
Venezuela—Venezuelan Section of the Fourth International
External links
- The Manifesto of the Fourth World Congress of the Fourth International (1999).
- The Fourth International and the United Front (Excerpts from a report by Pierre Lambert presented to the Fifth World Congress of the Fourth International, Berlin, 2002).
- International Liaison Committee for a Workers' International
- Socialist Organizer
- International Socialist Organization, OSI-SIO (Belgium)
- Parti des Travailleurs (France)
- Organización Socialista de Trabajadores (Mexico)
- Corrente O Trabalho do Partido dos Trabalhdores (Brazil)
- Unofficial site concerning the Parti des Travailleurs (Algeria)
- Partido Obrero Socialista Internacionalista (Spain)
- Tribuna Socială (Romania)
- L’Union des Cercles pour une Politique Ouvrière (Switzerland)
- України "Боротьба" (Ukraine)