SWP rubber-stamps new course

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Socialist Action sets fall goals The Socialist Workers Party held its 32nd national convention on August 49, one full year after the regularly scheduled convention was undemocratically cancelled by the party leadership.

Since the 1981 convention, the SWP leadership has publicly repudiated key aspects of the party's traditional program. (See Socialist Action Information Bulletins.) All of these fundamental changes, however, were decided and put forward as the party's line without any discussion or vote by the party membership.

Given the significant resistance within the party to this course, and due to the leadership's fear of a debate within the party, the SWP leadership decided to do two things: First, it cancelled the 1983 convention. Then a few months later it proceeded to expel the entire opposition.

Having been undemocratically expelled from the party, over 100 party members constituted themselves as a public faction of the SWP. The purpose in founding Socialist Action was to defend the program and traditions of the SWP against the party leadership, both by demonstrating the validity of that program in the antiwar, trade union, women's, and Black movements, and by pursuing the political and theoretical debate with the SWP from outside the party.

For the SWP leadership, the purpose of the 1984 convention was to codify the programmatic changes undertaken in a step-by-step manner over the past three years and to ratify the "split, which they imposed on the party. And this they did-but not without more undemocratic methods and more resistance from the party's membership.

Ilona Gersh, writing in the July 6, 1984, issue of The Militant, states that "In preparation for the convention, the SWP has organized three months of thorough oral and written preconvention discussion."

Nothing could be truth.

Not only was the entire opposition expelled before this convention, the party leadership did not even present the resolution it was submitting for a vote until three weeks before the convention and one week before the deadline for submitting articles for the written discussion. Moreover, the leadership informed the new oppositionists that they could not form any tendency or faction within the party, even during the preconvention discussion period. Not surprisingly, all votes were approved unanimously by the convention's delegates.

The convention was another indication that the SWP leadership is intent on deepening its break with its Trotskyist program and traditions. In so doing, the SWP is slowly being converted from a once proud and serious party representing the best class-struggle traditions The National Committee of Socialist Action held its second plenum on August 17-19 in San Francisco to discuss and evaluate its activity and political orientation over the past six months. The plenum was attended by the full National Committee of 23 members, as well as by branch organizers and invited guests from around the world.

The plenum voted to hold the first national convention of Socialist Action in San Francisco over the Thanksgiving weekend of November 22-25. Reports were presented to the plenum opening a full discussion and debate in the National Committee to be followed by a three-month pre-convention discussion in all units of Socialist Action. During this period the membership of the organization will be engaged in a wide-ranging discussion of strategy and tactics necessary to build the revolutionary socialist party in the United States and across the globe.

The plenum marked the considerable progress made in building Socialist Action in the brief months of its existence. Reports were presented on the expansion of Socialist Action newspaof U.S. workers and their allies, to a rapidly declining organization with minimal influence in the struggles of the day.

Still, the SWP maintains decisive components of its revolutionary program, including its clear opposition to any support to capitalist parties and their candidates in this country. The SWP's presidential campaign of Mel Mason and Andrea Gonzalez deserves the support of all workers.

Socialist Action pledges its support to the SWP presidential ticket. At the same time we will relentlessly seek to defend the party against the political course being imposed by the party leadership; a course which threatens the very existence of the SWP as a revolutionary party. per and on the organization's increased involvement in the antiwar and trade union movements. Progress was also made in deepening collaboration with the Fourth International, the world organization of revolutionary socialists. Representatives and leaders of the Fourth International from several countries addressed the plenum.

Socialist Action now has members in 19 cities, including over 50 new members who have joined since its founding conference last October. The goal of winning 500 new subscribers to the newspaper set at the February plenum was surpassed. The current press run of Socialist Action is 3000.

In February a goal was set of raising $16,000 from members and supporters to continue the expansion process. Over $11,000 has been collected to date. The plenum voted to reach the $16,000 goal and to obtain another 500 new subscriptions by November.

You can help Socialist Action continue the significant progress made thus far. Send a subscription to a friend. Send a contribution to the fund drive. And join Socialist Action.