Workers Socialist League

Socialist Press, Trotskyism Today and the Trotskyist International Liaison Committee, 1975–1984

[Ve reprint below the text of a letter…]

Socialist Press no. 155, 20 June 1979 · scan p. 8 · about 1,169 words

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Ve reprint below the text of a letter 'up, British section of the 'United' S letter has been slightly abridged for 1 Dear.

you F 'Unar recori conce the 1 the the W the W to n publi the p outsti exist tions ings not letter reort! file reply has any Grc the Socialist Press ith reference to the letter published last week headed swered questions for the • We would like to put the d straight for your readers arning relations between MG, United Secretariat of Fourth International and ISL. is most unfortunate that VSL leadership has seen fit nake our correspondence c before we have exhausted ossibilities of resolving any anding problems which between our two organisathrough constituted meetof our two leaderships. hat is worse, however, is just the partiality of the s published in simply iting one letter from a long ›f correspondence between rut most important of all ›utright lie which is perpe1 in your introductory ination to the letter. ou say categorically: 'No has yet been received to of the points which it Comrade Grogan is of course quite correct to point out that the exchange of correspondence between the Workers Socialist League and the International Marxist Group on this issue now amounts to "a long file"

Indeed it was very much because of our concern at the apparent impasse in such correspondence after three years of written and verbal exchanges that Socialist Press took the initiative in publicising the issues at stake.

It is true also that since the letter which we published in Socialist Press was sent to the IMG, we have received a replytoo lengthy to reprint here in full.

But it is quite misleading for Comrade Grogan to cite this November letter as in any way an answer to the points raised by us.

ember letter significantly failed to give any undertaking to circulate The Poisoned Well, arguing that:

'We stand by our original position that the World Congress debate is not the best format to have a discussion with you about the positions contained in the 'Poisoned Well'.

"However, the last thing that we want is for this organisational question to become the main point of dispute and discussion between us. We want to get down to political discussion with you as soon as possible.

"Accordingly the IMG will préss for your document to be circulated to the world movement."' makes'. I enclose a copy of the letter dated November '78 replying to the one you published.

I would hope that you can publish it, too, in full, for the benefit of your readers and draw their attention to your error in claiming that no such letter was received.

But let me also take time out to reiterate our proposals as well as renewing our appeal in front of the readership of Socialist Press.

For as you are perfectly aware our proposal in this letter for a meeting between a representative of your leadership, a comrade from the Bureau of the Fourth International and representatives of the lIMG leadership did in fact take place in early January on the evening of the school of the Fourth International to which you made a contribution.

It is we who are awaiting a reply. from you on these propósals which were also at that time made in the name of received last week f. ecretariat of the For ack of space.

the International United Secretariat.

1. On the document The Poisoned Well' • we remain of the opinion that the World Congress discussion is not the appropriate place for the discussion of this text.

For us matters and disputes of history of our movement are best dealt with in party schools, educational publications and so on. This was the meaning of our invitation to you to participate in our last party school on the history of the FI.

You attended and were able to make your points. Our movement abhors the concept of "official" party history, voted on and made the basis of party line and party discipline. This was an importation of Stalin into the Comintern.

Nonetheless, as we spell out in our November letter and as was reiterated at the meeting held with a comrade from the International Bureau, we do not want this organisational dispute 'om the International Mars rth International. The end over the fate of your text to get in the way of the political discussion between us and are therefore accordingly prepared to circulate this text to the members of the 1MG and the Bureau will inform the sections of its existence and encourage them to circulate it.

As we understood it, you undertook to underwrite the organisational and financial burden of this.

2. On the World Congress. Our proposal to you on the worid Congress, made at the meeting with the representative of the comrade from the international Bureau, was that you make a contribution on the five main texts being presented to our upcoming world congress by the USec (viz World Political Resolution, European Resolution, Latin American Resolution, Resolution on the Fight against Women's Oppression and Resolution on Socialist Democracy).

All the points you wish to raise on the question of Stalin¡tional programme can be raised within the framework of these texts. In addition, we invited you to make a specific contribution on our text on Eurocommunism.

As you know we have published a public bulletin with the comrades of the OCRFI debating this theme.

A serious choice has to be made by the comrades of the WSL. Do you wish to have a serious discussion with us about the possibility of jointly building a revolutionary international?

If so you have to take issue with us at the level of the perspectives which we are offering and make your points about your view of our record in relation to that.

To insist solely on the question of your view of our record is a half way house, If you have a case, show us how it affects our present perspectives.

This is not to say that we wish to avoid a full blooded NAL [Grogan's with a third organisational the discussion and the WSLI. discussion on your The Poisoned Well'. We have already made a reply to you at our last national school on the history of the Fl to which you were invited to make a contribution.

Moreover, as we have suggested before, we are more than keen to organise joint membership meetings with you to discuss some of the questions you raise in 'The Poisoned Well'.

To facilitate this, some comrades of the IMG are in the process of preparing a rejoinder to your text. We will send this to you in due course.

We look forward to hearing your response.

Revolutionary greetings, Brian Grogan For IMG Political Bureau.

letter concluded point, proposing steps to advance between the IMG

----- pull-quotes -----

No undertaking I In particular, the IMG's Nov-

LONDON REDITIE CHEN LL' ism and the fight for the trans-

← Contents of Socialist Press no. 155, 20 June 1979