Casualties of 1930s Stalinism

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who have tried to arque that it somewhat to the rions ot tae originally trom the "establishthere were not a 'state within a Parliamentary opposition of the ment cannot be held against Philby and the others coul Encounter magazine. question of, tid the Queen the or can the fact that they 'establishment' -and did-remain part of th that way also. Clearly Blunt ended up in then there would be because There has been one thing about Anthony Blunt on which there has been agreement from many quarters.

From Tory MP Julian Amery and his ilk on the extreme right there has been talk about 'patriotism' and treacherysubjects on which he should have intimate knowledge since his brother was hanged for working for the Germans in 1945.

From the •reactionary anuainmant thara har haan tall of preserving their system from 'Marxist danger'-woe betide intellectuals or sons of the ruling class who decide they want to betray" the system which has given them so much privilege.

Even more. interesting has been thel reaction of Labour 'lefts' like Canavan and Skinner AL A SI Stalin: 'efficient security service" , able presumably to root out 'traitors' both external and internal, with greater expediency.

Canavan, from a puritan know?' Yet it is well known that the monarchy stands simply at the pinnacle of the anti-democratic, extra-Parliamentary forces which are determined at all costs to maintain capitalist domination.

Blight

However, there are more interesting aspects of the Blunt affair which has much to tell us about the development of socialism in britain ana about the blight on Marxism brought about by Stalinism.

What must be said is that the likes of Blunt, Burgess, Philby and MacLean took a decision to fight for the overthrow of capitalism during the 1930s and proceeded to do so at times with heroism and dedication.

That they came themselves initially turned towards the Communist Party, at a time when few other 'Marxists' could seriously present themselves.

However, Blunt and the others turned to 'Marxism'. at a time when, under Stalin, the Communist International was developing its policies of the popular front-an alliance of class forces against fascism without proletarian policies or proletarian leaders.

The policy of the Soviet bureaucracy was to defend itself from fascism by alliance with other sections of capitalism.

The use to which the talents and dedication of these people was put was therefore towards furthering the interests of the Soviet bureaucracy rather than the working class.

Diplomacy

were deliberately turned into the world of diplomacy on behalf of the Soviet state.

Their efforts were not turned towards the emancipation of the working class, in Britain or elsewhere-where no doubt they might have made a contribution.

Much the same points could be made about the more public lett intellectuals of the 3Us, like Auden and MacNiece, who worked with the CP on the basis nf a liharal renunnanna anainct fascism, without any political fight being taken up with them as Marxists.

One of their number, Stephen Spender, wrote a book called Forward from Liberalism which made it 'clear that he did not actually travel - very far forward.

Spender soon went back to be an editor of the CIA-runded le - --- -I ALi AIR I... _1_ But he did at one point place the cause of socialism and the working class above that of the 'patriotism' in which he was brought up, and for this we should give him some credit.

'Patriotism' of that sort, as Samuel Johnson correctly put it 'the last refuge of the scoundrel'.

Higher loyalty

Blunt's tragedy, along with that of many of his generation, is that their higher loyalty was to the bureaucratised Stalinist leadership and not to the working class and the fight for revolutionary leadership.

It is up to revolutionaries today to ensure that those fow elements of the upper bourgeoisie who drop out should not become sucked back into accomodation to capitalism but become part of the workers' struggle against it.

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FSŁN Central America - a tinderbox of rerolution CO CITY Tl lica 10n ion ,01)

najr TA L HONDURAS • GUATE GUATEI MANAGUX le FSLN regime in ragua is now four ths old. The revoluthat overthrew loza and scored a victory against erialism has TEGMERLALPA NICARAGUA MARI AJOSE PANAMA CITY COSTA RICA PANAMAL Sandinistas march in triumph Sandinistas marcum wamp"

PAL CMA It is quite clear that the It is quite clear that the extraordinary slaughter at „tranrdinary slanghter at the end of the civil war was the result of a last ditch U.S. attempt to bolster Somoza's Guard.

Yet after the Sandinista victory a rapid about-turn was made.

This was facilitated by