WSL policies on Stalinism ipheld
Socialist Press1981 1981-05-14Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 3 →
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WSL Conference report LEGUE IPS WA WORKERS SOCIALIST LEAGUE SELF DETERMINATIN FOR I'L 3SI1 PEOPLE OPS OUT VOW! S In a lively debate on the contradictions and crisis of world Stalinism, a brief document endorsing. the existing WSL positions on Afghanistan, Kampuchea and nuclear disarmament was carried by a large majority.
A vocal opposition argued in particular that we should adopt a policy calling for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan: and some of the same comrades had also-with othersargued for policy of nuclear disarmament of the Soviet Union to run alongside the call for nuclear disarmament of the imperialist countries.
From a different standpoint, another group of comrades had argued againsi our call for the withdrawal of Vietnamese troops from Kampuchea, declaring that this would open the road te an imperialist-backed right wing regime.
Condemned
the majority strongly argued in defence of existing WSL policies. they upheld our analysis of the Afghanistan situation-in we e have consistently condemned the invasion as a reactionary by the nised that in the new situa tion the invasion has created a withdrawal of troops wone enabe use moenaist backed guerrilla forces to conduct a pogrom of lettists and pos a new threat on the very borders of the USSR itself.
The speakers insisted despite its degeneration in the hands of the Stalinist bureaucracy since the mid-1920s. the nationalised property relations secured dovel unon-and u an evel more distorted form, the nationalised economies in the deformed workers' state creen unce ine wat unde Soviet military protection represent material historic gains class which must be defended against imperialist attack.
Agreed
And as long as imperialism holds vast arsenals of nuclear weapons, this means that the workers' states too must have such weapons if they are io deter a muitary onslaught.
Other aspects of the WSL's positions on Stalinism however were agreed almost unanimously -in particular the positions adopted since our last conference on the mass struggle in Poland.
One section-outlining for the first time a position on the Cultural Revolution in China-was referred back to the WSL's Stalinism Commission for further work.