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Struggle in the Fourth International. International Committee Documents 1951-1954, Volume 4 of 4 volumes

Towards a History of the Fourth International, Part 3, vol. 4 · March 1974 · edited by Fred Feldman

From Towards a History of the Fourth International, Part 3, vol. 4: Struggle in the Fourth International. International Committee Documents 1951-1954, Volume 4 of 4 volumes (Education for Socialists, Socialist Workers Party, New York, March 1974). Reproduced with the permission of Pathfinder Press. Scan: Encyclopedia of Trotskyism On-Line.

Introductory note

In 1953, sharp differences over Stalinism and organizational matters divided the Fourth International into two public factions, the International Committee of the Fourth International and the International Secretariat of the Fourth International. This division lasted until the Re-unification Congress of the Fourth International held in 1963.

The articles, documents, correspondence, and circulars published in these Education for Socialists bulletins are presented as an aid in tracing the evolution of this dispute. The material is divided into two parts. The first (Part Three of Towards a History of the Fourth International) is composed of four bulletins and contains materials from the International Committee. The second (Part Four of Towards a History of the Fourth International) consists of four bulletins containing material from the International Secretariat faction.

Both sets of bulletins begin with the discussion prior to the Third World Congress of the Fourth International held in 1951. They are divided into sections dealing with key stages in the development of the dispute. Each section opens with a brief introductory note. To the extent that these notes include historical interpretations or conclusions, the views expressed are my own.

The documents, correspondence, articles, and circulars have been subjected to minimal editing. In general the style, grammar, etc., have been retained as in the originals. Additions to the text for explanatory purposes appear in brackets.

The term "section" appears frequently in these documents. This word was used in two different senses within the world Trotskyist movement. On the one hand, it refers to those groups which are affiliated to the Fourth International. Secondly, it is used in reference to organizations that are barred from membership in the Fourth International by reactionary legislation, such as the SWP, but are in full political solidarity with the world Trotskyist movement and represent the continuity of Trotskyism in their countries.

The faction struggle in the world Trotskyist movement occurred when the McCarthyite witch-hunt was at its height in the United States. Similar manifestations of political repression appeared in other capitalist countries, as the ruling class sought to whip up anticommunist hysteria. In view of these sharp attacks on democratic rights, many radicals found it necessary to use pseudonyms or pen-names in carrying out their political activity. This was true of the Trotskyist movement as well. In line with a policy of printing this material as it originally appeared, these have generally not been changed. Instead, a glossary of these pen-names is included in each volume. Note that some individuals used more than one pen-name on occasion.

The 1953-54 dispute was worldwide in its scope and repercussions. Many parts of the Trotskyist movement that participated in the struggle are not represented in this collection. An instance of this is the lack of documentation from Latin America. Material from the dispute in the Latin American Trotskyist organizations is now being translated and will appear in a future volume.

This selection is based on the documents and correspondence presently available to the National Education Department of the Socialist Workers Party. Because of the speed with which the dispute developed, once the differences had become apparent to both sides, many aspects of the struggle are not fully dealt with in official documents. Therefore, it was necessary to include a considerable amount of correspondence to allow maximum clarity for the reader.

Hopefully, the publication of these bulletins will inspire others who were involved in the dispute to make available the relevant materials in their possession. Special thanks are owed to James P. Cannon, National Chairman Emeritus of the Socialist Workers Party, and Tom Kerry and Karolyn Kerry for making their personal archives available for this project.

Fred Feldman

February 1974

Contents

Section XV: Correspondence Between Ernest Germain and George Breitman

[This exchange is reprinted from *SWP Discussion Bulletin* Volume XVI, A-14, 1954. Also included in this section are three letters, from James P. Cannon regarding this correspondence. [In the course of his correspondence with Breitman, Germain promised that the correspondence of the central figures in the "International Secretariat" would be published to disprove the SWP's contention that Pablo had secretly encouraged the Cochran-Clarke-Bartell faction. It is to be hoped that if the correspondence is not to be made public as a whole, that at least the pertinent sections will be made available to researchers.]

  1. 1. Letter from Ernest Germain to George BreitmanErnest Germain [Ernest Mandel] · November 15, 1953 · pp. 196-198
  2. 2. Letter from George Breitman to Ernest GermainGeorge Breitman · December 3, 1953 · pp. 198-203
  3. 3. Letter from Ernest Germain to George BreitmanErnest Germain [Ernest Mandel] · December 9, 1953 · pp. 204-209
  4. 4. Letter from George Breitman to Ernest GermainGeorge Breitman · January 15, 1954 · pp. 209-214
  5. 5. Letter from James P. Cannon to Farrell DobbsJames P. Cannon · December 7, 1953 · pp. 215
  6. 6. Letter from James P. Cannon to George BreitmanJames P. Cannon · January 12, 1954 · pp. 216-218
  7. 7. Letter from James P. Cannon to George BreitmanJames P. Cannon · March 1, 1954 · pp. 218-220

Section XVI: Correspondence Between James P. Cannon and Leslie Goonewardene

[This exchange is reprinted from *SWP Discussion Bulletin* Volume XVI, A-16, 1954. [Goonewardene was Secretary of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, the Ceylonese section of the Fourth International.]

  1. 1. Letter from Leslie Goonewardene to James P. CannonLeslie Goonewardene (Secretary, LSSP) · January 26, 1954 · pp. 221-222
  2. 2. Letter from James P. Cannon to Leslie GoonewardeneJames P. Cannon · February 23, 1954 · pp. 222-231

Section XVII: The Struggle Over the "Fourth World Congress"

[During this period, the International Committee did its utmost to convince the wavering elements to break with Pablo. The most important of these was the Lanka Sama Samaja party of Ceylon which called for removal of all disciplinary measures against supporters of the International Committee and for postponement of the "Fourth World Congress." This period ended with the holding of the "Fourth World Congress" under Pablo's aegis. [This proved to be a pyrrhic "victory" for Pablo, however. The Ceylonese section, followed a little later by Ernest Germain, began to differentiate themselves from some of his more extreme positions. Major amendments proposed by the Ceylonese delegates to "Rise and Decline of Stalinism" were passed. The Pablo faction was dealt a severe blow when some of his closest associates — George Clarke (United States), Michelle Mestre (France), John Lawrence (England), and Murray Dowson (Canada) — walked out of the Congress. Mestre and Lawrence joined the Communist parties of their respective countries almost immediately thereafter.]

  1. 1. Letter from James P. Cannon to Farrell DobbsJames P. Cannon · April 13, 1954 · pp. 231-233
  2. 2. Letter from James P. Cannon to Farrell DobbsJames P. Cannon · April 24, 1954 · pp. 233-234
  3. 3. Letter from James P. Cannon to Farrell DobbsJames P. Cannon · April 28, 1954 · pp. 234-235
  4. 4. Letter from James P. Cannon to Farrell DobbsJames P. Cannon · May 12, 1954 · pp. 236-237
  5. 5. Letter from Farrell Dobbs to James P. CannonFarrell Dobbs · May 8, 1954 · pp. 237-239
  6. 6. Resolutions Adopted by the International Committee of the Fourth International at its May 11, 1954 Meeting in ParisInternational Committee of the Fourth International · May 11, 1954 · pp. 240-241
  7. 7. Letter from James P. Cannon to Leslie GoonewardeneJames P. Cannon · May 12, 1954 · pp. 241-243
  8. 8. Letter from James P. Cannon to Farrell DobbsJames P. Cannon · June 3, 1954 · pp. 243
  9. 9. Letter from Gerry Healy and Sam Gordon to Farrell DobbsGerry Healy and Sam Gordon (signed Jerry and Joe) · 8th July, 1954 · pp. 244
  10. 10. Letter from Farrell Dobbs to James P. CannonFarrell Dobbs · July 14, 1954 · pp. 244-245
  11. 11. Letter from James P. Cannon to Farrell DobbsJames P. Cannon · July 16, 1954 · pp. 246

Glossary of pseudonyms

Harry Braverman:
Harry Frankel
James P. Cannon:
Walter, Martin
George Clarke:
Campbell, Livingstone, Livingston
Colvin R. DaSilva:
Roy
Farrell Dobbs:
Smith, Barr
Ross Dowson:
Kane
Leslie Goonewardene:
Tilak
Sam Gordon:
Tom, Harry, Burton, Joe
Joseph Hansen:
Herrick
Gerry Healy:
Burns, Mason, Jerry
John Lawrence:
Collins
Ernest Mandel:
Ernest Germain, Albert, Jeb
Sherry Mangan:
Patrice, Terrence Phelan, Patrick O'Daniel
George Novack:
Manuel, William F. Warde
Michel Raptis:
Michel Pablo, Gabe
David Weiss:
Stevens
Milton Zaslow:
Mike Bartell

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