Introduction
"1991 marked a turning point...We have
entered a more disturbed period in world history, marked by sharper
inter-imperialist rivalries and a deepening capitalist crisis." (The
Collapse of Stalinism, para 1 - 3)
The world watched as the former Stalinist
regimes of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union crumbled. The
destabilising effects of the collapse of these bureaucratic
dictatorships can and capitalist restoration in these countries still be
felt today.
In contrast to the euphoria of the bourgeoisie
at the time, and the demoralisation of many on the left, the analysis of
the Committee for a Workers' International in the documents in this
section of Marxist.net stands
the test of time.
Revolution
and Counter-revolution in the Soviet Union and The
Collapse of Stalinism explain developments from a Marxist
perspective and anticipate in a general way the subsequent events. They
contrast with the document of a minority then within the CWI at the
time, "The Truth about
the Coup", which we also present on this site.
The development of a "majority" and
"minority" within the CWI during 1991 is explained in the
documents on the 'Open
Turn' debate, also on Marxist.net.
A general overview of the developing crisis which enveloped the
Stalinist countries of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, and their
political reflection within the CWI, can be found in the chapter, Russia,
Trotsky And The Collapse Of Stalinism in The
Rise of Militant by Peter Taaffe, on the Socialist Party website.
A more detailed criticism of the
politics of this minority can be found on the section Militant's
real History on this site. In particular, the following excerpt
gives an insight into the situation faced by the CWI. Peter Taaffe
explains that this Minority, led by Ted Grant and Alan Woods, made:
An even worse blunder centred on perspectives
for Stalinism in the USSR and the possibility of capitalist
restoration. Militant and the CWI had underestimated the possibility
of capitalist restoration in the USSR and Eastern Europe. This was
partly explained by our lack of a base within the Stalinist states
and, thereby, the absence of a gauge with which to measure fully the
degeneration of the Stalinist regimes. However, it was those -who
subsequently became the majority of Militant - who first raised the
possibility of capitalist restoration. This was fervently denied by
Grant and Woods, who operated, and still do, with an outmoded
perception of the real situation which existed.
Following Thatcher's visit to Poland in
1988 and the tumultuous support that she received in Gdansk, we began
to pose the possibility of bourgeois restoration. In fact,
pro-capitalist features were strongly represented in the movement of
1980-81 around Solidarity and, going further back, even in the events
in Czechoslovakia in 1968. At that stage, however, the possibility of
'reform', of Dubcek's "Socialism with a human face",
was still quite strong. The boom of the 1980s and the further collapse
of the Stalinist states contributed, particularly in Poland after the
suppression of the movement of 1980-81, to a pronounced pro-capitalist
mood, reflected in the support Thatcher and George Bush senior
received in visits to Poland. The 1980s boom helped to reinforce this
mood in all the Stalinist states.
We therefore posed tentatively, too
tentatively as it turned out, at the CWI's World Congress of 1988,
the possibility of capitalist restoration in Poland and the rest of
the Stalinist world. This was before the collapse of the Berlin Wall,
but it was quite evident that there was growing opposition to the
Stalinist regimes then. Such a possibility was vehemently denied by
Grant. In a lead-off on Stalinism in 1988, I 'set a hare running'
by posing the issue of bourgeois restoration. This caused a certain
amount of controversy at the congress but Grant as the so-called
"leading theoretician", refused to speak. He confided
privately that it was because he disagreed with my lead-off but was
not prepared to take the floor to answer it.
This was not the case later when an
increasing divergence developed between the two trends on the issue of
Stalinism. We sent delegations to Eastern Europe - particularly to
Poland - who reported back on the mass sentiment for a return to
capitalism. Grant refused to recognise this and condemned those who
gave the report as "being out of touch". The same thing
happened when comrades spent a period in Russia and reported on a
growing pro-capitalist mood.
The differences on this issue came to the
fore over the August 1991 coup in the Soviet Union. (Peter Taaffe, Militant's
real History)
The CWI published its analysis of
the events surrounding the 1991 coup in the first document in this
section: Revolution and
Counter-revolution in the Soviet Union. After a lengthy
delay, the "Minority" produced "The
Truth about the Coup" in reply. The Committee for a
Workers' International can confidently put the discussion documents of
our former opponents on our site so that our readers can make up their
own minds about the claims and counter claims.
In early 1992 the Minority
split from the Committee for a Workers' International, before the
publication of the CWI's reply: The
Collapse of Stalinism. The ex-Minority document was still
circulated within the CWI, however, so that the political ideas could
still be clarified.
These documents demonstrate that,
unfortunately, over a period of time there had opened up two quite
separate political, strategic and tactical orientations in the CWI,
between the Majority and the Minority, which could not and would not be
reconcilled.
[Continue...]
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