Workers' Party (US)
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The Workers Party (WP) was a
Third Camp The third camp, also known as third camp socialism or third camp Trotskyism, is a branch of socialism that aims to oppose both capitalism and Stalinism by supporting the organised working class as a "third camp". The term arose early during W ...
Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...
group in the United States. It was founded in April 1940 by members of the Socialist Workers Party who opposed the Soviet invasion of Finland and
Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...
's belief that the
USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
under
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
was still innately
proletarian The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian or a . Marxist philo ...
, a "
degenerated workers' state In Trotskyist political theory, a degenerated workers' state is a dictatorship of the proletariat in which the working class' democratic control over the state has given way to control by a bureaucratic clique. The term was developed by Leon T ...
." They included
Max Shachtman Max Shachtman (; September 10, 1904 – November 4, 1972) was an American Marxist theorist. He went from being an associate of Leon Trotsky to a social democrat and mentor of senior assistants to AFL–CIO President George Meany. Beginnings ...
, who became the new group's leader,
Hal Draper Hal Draper (born Harold Dubinsky; September 19, 1914 – January 26, 1990) was an American socialist activist and author who played a significant role in the Berkeley, California, Free Speech Movement. He is known for his extensive scholarship on ...
, C. L. R. James,
Raya Dunayevskaya Raya Dunayevskaya (born Raya Shpigel, ; May 1, 1910 – June 9, 1987), later Rae Spiegel, also known by the pseudonym Freddie Forest, was the American founder of the philosophy of Marxist humanism in the United States. At one time Leon Trotsky's ...
,
Martin Abern Martin "Marty" Abern ( Martin Abramowitz; December 2, 1898 – April 1949) was a Marxist politician who was an important leader of the Communist youth movement of the 1920s as well as a founder of the American Trotskyist movement. Background Mar ...
, Joseph Carter, Julius Jacobson, Phyllis Jacobson,
Albert Glotzer Albert Glotzer (1908–1999), also known as Albert Gates, was a professional stenographer and founder of the Trotskyist movement in the United States. He was best remembered as the court reporter for the 1937 John Dewey Commission that examined th ...
, Stan Weir, B. J. Widick, James Robertson, and
Irving Howe Irving Howe (né Horenstein; ; June 11, 1920 – May 5, 1993) was an American author, literary and social critic, and a key figure in the democratic socialist movement in the U.S. He co-founded and served as longtime editor of ''Dissent'' ma ...
. The party's politics are often referred to as " Shachtmanite." At the time of the split, almost 40% of the membership of the SWP left to form the Workers Party. The WP had approximately 500 members. Although it recruited among workers and youth during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
it never grew substantially, despite having more impact than its numbers would suggest.


Early years

By 1941, the WP had developed a minority tendency, led by C. L. R. James and Raya Dunayevskaya, known as the Johnson-Forest Tendency for its principal leaders' pseudonyms. It developed the viewpoint that Russia was
state capitalist State capitalism is an economic system in which the state undertakes business and commercial economic activity and where the means of production are nationalized as state-owned enterprises (including the processes of capital accumulation, ce ...
. The tendency developed the view that the WP should rejoin the Trotskyist
Fourth International The Fourth International (FI) was a political international established in France in 1938 by Leon Trotsky and his supporters, having been expelled from the Soviet Union and the Communist International (also known as Comintern or the Third Inte ...
due to the imminence of a pre-revolutionary situation. In the meantime the SWP had from 1943 onwards developed a loose oppositional tendency led by
Felix Morrow Felix Morrow ( Mayrowitz; June 3, 1906 – May 28, 1988) was an American communist political activist and newspaper editor. In later years, Morrow left the world of politics to become a book publisher. He is best remembered as a factional leader o ...
and
Albert Goldman Albert Harry Goldman (April 15, 1927 – March 28, 1994) was an American academic and author. Goldman wrote about the culture and personalities of the American music industry, both in books and as a contributor to magazines. He is known for ...
which, among other things, called for the WP to be readmitted to the SWP. In 1945 and 1946, these two tendencies argued for their parties to regroup. However, discussions stalled after Goldman was found to be working with the WP's leadership. He left the SWP in May 1946 to join the WP, with a small group of supporters including James T. Farrell. The Johnson-Forest Tendency left the WP in October 1947 in order to rejoin the SWP, while Farrell and Goldman left in 1948 to join the
Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of America ...
. Working in the labor movement during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the party grew rapidly, largely as at a time of labor shortages which allowed its mainly New York Jewish intellectual members to take industrial jobs which would otherwise have been closed to them. It militantly opposed the no-strike pledge that the
Congress of Industrial Organizations The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was a federation of Labor unions in the United States, unions that organized workers in industrial unionism, industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. Originally created in ...
had agreed to with President
Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
for the duration of the war. At the same time the draft prevented the construction of a stable industrial base as much of the youthful membership was inducted into the armed forces. During the same period other younger members, such as Marvin Mandell and Betty Mandell, were recruited; they would later become co-editors of the Third Camp socialist magazine '' New Politics''. Also, in the late 1940s, the important Black author
James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (né Jones; August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer and civil rights activist who garnered acclaim for his essays, novels, plays, and poems. His 1953 novel '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'' has been ranked ...
began a friendship with Stan Weir and became influenced by the politics of the "Shachtmanites."


Youth organizations

The organization created a youth section, the Socialist Youth League, in 1946. After a merger with a number of former members of the Young People's Socialist League in the early 1950s, including
Michael Harrington Edward Michael Harrington Jr. (February 24, 1928 – July 31, 1989) was an American democratic socialist. As a writer, he was best known as the author of '' The Other America'' (1962). Harrington was also a political activist, theorist, profess ...
, who had left the latter organization because its parent organization, the SP, was too inclined to support United States foreign policy during the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
, the SYL renamed itself the ''Young Socialist League''. It "re-merged" with the YPSL at the same time as the former Workers Party, now the Independent Socialist League, was merging with the Socialist Party-Social Democratic Federation in August 1958. A group led by
Tim Wohlforth Timothy Andrew Wohlforth (May 15, 1933 – August 23, 2019), was a United States Trotskyist leader. On leaving the Trotskyist movement he became a writer of crime fiction and of politically oriented non-fiction. As a student, Wohlforth joined th ...
did not approve of this merger and joined the SWP-affiliated
Young Socialist Alliance The Young Socialist Alliance (YSA) was a Trotskyist youth group of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) in the United States of America. It was founded in 1960, although it had roots going back several years earlier. It was dissolved in 1992. The ...
.


International affiliation

Having departed the SWP the newly founded WP found itself outside the ranks of the
Fourth International The Fourth International (FI) was a political international established in France in 1938 by Leon Trotsky and his supporters, having been expelled from the Soviet Union and the Communist International (also known as Comintern or the Third Inte ...
as well, but during the Second World War it continued to consider itself to be in political sympathy with the FI as a whole. In order to give expression to this the WP founded a "Committee for the Fourth International" to regroup its international "Third Camp" co-thinkers, including a group of émigré Germans. After WWII Shachtman would attend the Second World Congress of the Fourth International as an observer, only to reject the organization as having "proved incapable of abandoning its role of an utterly ineffectual left wing of Stalinist totalitarianism and counter-revolution."


Independent Socialist League

In 1949, recognizing that it was far too small to properly call itself a party, the WP renamed itself the Independent Socialist League. It was removed from the US
Attorney General's List of Subversive Organizations The United States Attorney General's List of Subversive Organizations (AGLOSO) was a list drawn up on April 3, 1947 at the request of the United States Attorney General (and later Supreme Court justice) Tom C. Clark. The list was intended to be a co ...
after a lengthy court battle, but failed to grow as
Irving Howe Irving Howe (né Horenstein; ; June 11, 1920 – May 5, 1993) was an American author, literary and social critic, and a key figure in the democratic socialist movement in the U.S. He co-founded and served as longtime editor of ''Dissent'' ma ...
and others exited the organization to start the political magazine ''
Dissent Dissent is an opinion, philosophy or sentiment of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or policy enforced under the authority of a government, political party or other entity or individual. A dissenting person may be referred to as ...
.'' From 1949 the organization published an internal discussion bulletin for its members called ''Forum.'' In 1957, the ISL joined the SP-SDF, dissolving the following year. Some members took staff positions in the
United Auto Workers The United Auto Workers (UAW), fully named International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico) and sou ...
and/or leading positions in the SP, many of them (including Shachtman) drifting rightward, some to the point where they supported the Bay of Pigs and the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
. A small group including
Hal Draper Hal Draper (born Harold Dubinsky; September 19, 1914 – January 26, 1990) was an American socialist activist and author who played a significant role in the Berkeley, California, Free Speech Movement. He is known for his extensive scholarship on ...
left the SP milieu to form the Independent Socialist Clubs, which upheld the Third Camp tradition and opposed supporting any candidates of the Democratic Party, instead urging the creation of an independent labor party.


"Third Camp"

From the start, the group distinguished itself from the SWP by advocating a Third Camp perspective. In an article published in April 1940, entitled "The Soviet Union and the World War," Shachtman concluded:
The
revolutionary vanguard Vanguardism, a core concept of Leninism, is the idea that a revolutionary vanguard party, composed of the most conscious and disciplined workers, must lead the proletariat in overthrowing capitalism and establishing socialism, ultimately progres ...
must put forward the slogan of revolutionary defeatism in both
imperialist Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power ( diplomatic power and cultural imperialism). Imperialism fo ...
camps, that is, the continuation of the revolutionary struggle for power regardless of the effects on the military front. That, and only that, is the central strategy of the third camp in the World War, the camp of
proletarian internationalism Proletarian internationalism, sometimes referred to as international socialism, is the perception of all proletarian revolutions as being part of a single global class struggle rather than separate localized events. It is based on the theory th ...
, of the
socialist revolution Revolutionary socialism is a political philosophy, doctrine, and tradition within socialism that stresses the idea that a social revolution is necessary to bring about structural changes in society. More specifically, it is the view that revolu ...
, of the struggle for the
emancipation Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure Economic, social and cultural rights, economic and social rights, civil and political rights, po ...
of all the oppressed.
The group soon developed an analysis of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
as a
bureaucratic collectivist Bureaucratic collectivism is a theory of class society. It is used by some Trotskyists to describe the nature of the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin and other similar states in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe and elsewhere (such as N ...
mode of production In the Marxist theory of historical materialism, a mode of production (German: ''Produktionsweise'', "the way of producing") is a specific combination of the: * Productive forces: these include human labour power and means of production (tools, ...
. It was the first group to use the slogan "Neither
Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...
nor
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
," implying that its members actively opposed both
capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
and the states allied to the Soviet Union. They opposed both American and Russian
imperialism Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of Power (international relations), power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power (diplomatic power and cultura ...
and saw the "
Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
" revolutions in
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
, China, and
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
not as extensions of the
Bolshevik revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. It was led by Vladimir L ...
of 1917 but of the
Stalinist Stalinism (, ) is the totalitarian means of governing and Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1927 to 1953 by dictator Joseph Stalin and in Soviet satellite states between 1944 and 1953. Stalinism in ...
counterrevolution in the USSR.


In popular culture

Harvey Swados Harvey Swados (October 28, 1920 – December 11, 1972) was an American social critic and author of novels, short stories, essays and journalism. Family and early life Born in Buffalo, New York, Harvey Swados was the son of Aaron Meyer Swado ...
’s 1970 novel ''Standing Fast'' focuses on a fictionalised version of the Workers Party; the character Marty Dworkin is based on Max Shachtman.


Footnotes


Publications

* F. Forest ''Outline of Marx's Capital: volume one''
nited States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
Educational Dept. Workers Party, U.S.A. * C. L. R. Jamesbr>''My friends: a fireside chat on the war ''
(as "Native Son") New York : Workers Party 1940 *''This is not our war!'' New York, N.Y., Workers Party 1940 *''Labor's voice against the war: election platform of the Workers Party.'' New York, N.Y., Workers Party, Local New York, 1940 *''Conscription--for what? : an open letter to the President of the United States.'' New York, N.Y. : Workers Party and the Young Peoples Socialist League, 1940 *Walter Weiss ''How to get jobs for all'' New York : Workers Party Election Campaign Committee, 1940 *''Jim Crow on the run!: Negro bus drivers today, Negroes in the war industries tomorrow.'' New York, N.Y. : Workers Party and the Young Peoples Socialist League, 1941 *Henry Pelham ''On to Washington for Negro rights'' New York, N.Y. : Workers Party, 1941 * Henry Judd ''India in revolt'' New York, N.Y., Workers party 1942 * Ernest Erber ''The role of the party in the fight for socialism'' New York, N.Y., Educational Dept., Workers Party, U.S.A., 1942 *
Max Shachtman Max Shachtman (; September 10, 1904 – November 4, 1972) was an American Marxist theorist. He went from being an associate of Leon Trotsky to a social democrat and mentor of senior assistants to AFL–CIO President George Meany. Beginnings ...
br>''For a cost-plus wage''
New York; The Workers party 1943 *
Paul Temple Paul Temple is a fictional character created by English writer Francis Durbridge. Temple is a professional author of crime fiction and an amateur private detective. With his wife Louise, affectionately known as 'Steve' in reference to her jo ...
''ABC of Marxism.'' New York City, Workers Party, National Education Dept. 1943 * J. R. Johnson ''Education, propaganda, agitation: post-war America and Bolshevism. '' New York City, Workers Party, National Education Dept. 1943 *Max Shachtma
''The Struggle for the New Course''
New York: New International Pub. Co. 1943; originally published together with Trotskys ''The New Course'' * Ernest Lundbr>''Plenty for all; the meaning of socialism''
New York, The Workers party, 1943 *''The labor party question; resolutions of 1938 and 1944 on the relationship of the Marxists to the movement for a labor party.'' ew York?National Educational Dept., Workers Party, 1944 *
Hal Draper Hal Draper (born Harold Dubinsky; September 19, 1914 – January 26, 1990) was an American socialist activist and author who played a significant role in the Berkeley, California, Free Speech Movement. He is known for his extensive scholarship on ...
br>''The truth about Gerald Smith: America's no. 1 fascist''
San Pedro, Calif: Workers Party, Los Angeles Section, 1945 *Max Shachtma
''Socialism: the hope of humanity''
New York: New International Pub. Co. 1945 *''Workers Party election platform, New York City, 1945.'' New York, N.Y. : Issued by Workers Party Campaign Committee, 1945 * David Coolidge ''The New York elections and the fight against Jim Crow'' New York, N.Y. : Issued by Workers Party Campaign Committee, 1945 *''Sing!: labor and socialist songs.'' os Angeles, Calif.Workers Party, Los Angeles Section, 1945 *''Security and a living wage; why workers strike.'' ew York, Workers Party, 1945 *Albert Glotzerbr>''Incentive pay: the speed-up new style''
New York: Workers Party, 1945 (as Albert Gates) *Irving Howe]
''Smash the profiteers: vote for security and a living wage''
New York, N.Y. : Workers Party Campaign Committee, 1946. *Max Shachtma

New International Publishing Co., New York, 1946. *Hal Drape
''Jim Crow in Los Angeles''
Los Angeles: Workers Party, 1946 *Hal Draper ''ABC of Marxism: outline text for class and self study'' Los Angeles: Workers Party, 1946 *''1947 municipal platform'' Chicago : Workers Party Campaign Committee, 1947 *Leon Trotsk
''Marxism in the United States''
(introduction) New York: Workers Party, 1947 (as Albert Gates) *Irving How
''Don't pay more rent!''
Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a neighborhood within the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; Sunnyside to the east; and Newtown Creek, which separates Queens from Greenpoint, Brook ...
, N.Y. : Published by Workers Party Publications for the Workers Party of the United States 1947. *
Albert Goldman Albert Harry Goldman (April 15, 1927 – March 28, 1994) was an American academic and author. Goldman wrote about the culture and personalities of the American music industry, both in books and as a contributor to magazines. He is known for ...
br>''The question of unity between the Workers party and the Socialist workers party,''
[Long Island City, Workers party publication, 1947 *''Stop the enemies of the working people: a program for the Detroit elections.'' New York, N.Y. : Workers Party of America, 1947 * Ernest Erber ''The role of the trade unions: their economic role under capitalism'' Long Island City, N.Y. : National Educational Dept., Workers Party, 1947 *Herman W. Benso
''The Communist Party at the crossroads : toward Democratic Socialism or back to Stalinism''
New York, Published for the Independent Socialist League by New International Publishing Co., 1957.
''The case for unity : new perspectives for American socialism : resolution adopted by the July 1957 Convention of the Independent Socialist League''
New York, N.Y. : Independent Socialist League, 1957


Similarly named American parties

*Workers Party of America *American Workers Party *Workers Party of the United States


External links


Complete archive of ''Labor Action'' newspaper at the Marxists Internet Archive
* ttp://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/ni/issue3.htm Complete index and selected articles of ''New International'' during the ISL era at the Marxists Internet Archive {{Authority control Defunct Trotskyist parties in the United States Defunct communist parties in the United States Political parties established in 1940 1940 establishments in the United States Multi-tendency organizations in the United States