International dialogue and collaboration

International meeting of November 2003 and follow-up

The sad farce of the "no" victory

Written the day after the referendum, this text will be expanded and modified to address readers feedback. Text below in both English and French. By Yves Coleman (Ni patrie ni frontières). THE SAD FARCE OF THE NO "VICTORY" On the nationalism of the Left bourgeois parties and the political manoeuvres of the Far Left Just like during each electoral competition, everyone, winners or losers, was thankful for the results of the May 29th referendum. Sure, "yes" supporters are a little put out that "la France" will be, because of the no, a few years behind in what they call the "construction of...

Should socialists vote no to EU constitution?

No Campaign will not lead to a better Europe In reply to the message of greetings to the AWL conference of May 2005 from the French Marxist group Liaisons arguing that the "No" campaign will stimulate the class struggle, Martin Thomas replies: Let us stand back and take a longer view. Since the 1960s the AWL and our forerunners have had to respond to several rows in mainstream politics over Europe. There was the row over British entry (1972-3) into what was then called the Common Market, and the referendum on British withdrawal in 1975. There was the agitation around the Maastricht Treaty of...

Debate on the draft European Union constitution

In this message of greetings to the AWL conference of May 2005, the French Marxist group Liaisons urge us to favour a "no" vote in any referendum on the draft European Union constitution, rather than the position of refusing to take sides in such a referendum and instead saying that there should be a democratic Constituent Assembly for the EU. Click here for AWL reply. English translation first, then original French text. Message of greeting from the editorial board of "The Letter of Liaisons" [France] to the annual conference of the AWL, 21-22 May 2005 Dear comrades, For several months now...

Amendments on imperialism and on Stalinism (English)

Amendments on imperialism and on Stalinism, from Paul Hampton 2. Imperialism During the nineteenth century the capitalist mode of production spread across the globe. British capitalists and their state promoted capitalist relations through trade and military rivalry with other European powers, through the establishment of formal colonial rule over territories and by informal control over politically independent states such as Argentina. During the period of high imperialism (1880-1945) the European powers, the USA, Russia, and Japan, waged a competitive struggle for the world's less developed...

Draft minutes of WL international meeting 10 Nov 2003

Paris, 10th November 2003. ---------------- Present: Bruce Robinson, Vicki Morris, Martin Thomas, Paul Hampton, Dan Nichols, Mark Sandell (all WL), Melissa White (WL Australia), Yves Coleman (Ni Patrie, Ni Frontières), Luc Blomet (Convergences Révolutionnaires - faction of Lutte Ouvrière (LO)), Vincent Présumey (Liaisons), Olivier Delbeke (Liaisons). Apologies: Worker-communist Party of Iraq, Aulis Kallio, Débat Militant, Bjarke Friborg, Lalit (Mauritius), Yassamine Mather (Workers' Left Unity (Iran)) ---------------- Martin Thomas presented the draft statement. Summary: Workers' Liberty...

Our 10 November 2003 international meeting

This meeting was called by the Alliance for Workers' Liberty (Britain), and attended in addition by a delegate from Workers' Liberty Australia and a number of comrades from different currents of the French revolutionary left. Apart from a final session which discussed brief political reports from Australia and from France, the meeting was given over to discussion of a draft statement presented by the AWL. The conclusion of the discussion was to identify eight points in the draft which required further discussion and on which short amendments would be drafted. Background articles and discussion...

Amendment on Trotskyism (English)

3 and 4: replace by: Those who today set out to struggle for the emancipation of the exploited and the oppressed do not start from zero as regards ideas which can guide their struggle. The main axis of struggle is the class struggle, and above all the struggle, organic to capitalism, between the productive class, the class of wage-workers, and the capitalist class. The liberation of the working class will be the task of the workers themselves; and it is that the same working class that can, in emancipating itself, also emancipate all the oppressed. The workers cannot win a clear and durable...

Amendement sur le trotskisme (francais)

3 et 4: remplacer par: Ceux et celles qui veulent aujourd'hui lutter pour l'émancipation des exploité(e)s et des opprimé(e)s ne partent pas de zéro en ce qui concerne les idées qui puissent guider cette lutte. L'axe principale de la lutte, c'est la lutte des classes, et surtout la lutte organique au capitalisme entre la classe productive, la classe des salariés, et la classe capitaliste. L'affranchissement de la classe des travailleurs sera l'oeuvre des travailleurs eux-mêmes; et c'est cette même classe des travailleurs qui pourra, en s'émancipant, émanciper aussi tous les opprimé(e)s. Les...

Amendment on productive forces (English)

Reword para 10 as follows After 1945, the world changed in many ways. The peoples ruled by the old European colonial empires fought great struggles for national independence. By 1975 they had all won political independence. In almost all cases this political independence was real, not fictitious. Although economic independence can only ever be an illusion in the modern world, in most cases the political independence also brought relief from the stifling economic domination previously exerted over those countries by particular colonial powers, and, at the least, a diversity of dependence. The...

Further reading on 3 issues

Further reading on three issues discussed on 10 November 2003 The development of the productive forces Workers' government Imperialism yesterday and today

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