Fourth International Documents

Conferences, congresses and resolutions, in English

History › Part 4, vol. 2

Struggle in the Fourth International — International Secretariat Documents 1951-1954, Volume 2 of 4 volumes

Towards a History of the Fourth International, Part 4, vol. 2 · March 1974 · edited by Fred Feldman

From Towards a History of the Fourth International, Part 4, vol. 2: Struggle in the Fourth International — International Secretariat Documents 1951-1954, Volume 2 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 III: The Split in the French Section

[The majority of the Parti Communiste Internationaliste, the French section of the Fourth International resisted the instruction that they make "entryism sui generis" into the French Communist Party the central axis of all party work. They proposed a more modest entry tactic. The International Secretariat responded by suspending the leadership of the French section from their posts for "indiscipline." This move was opposed at the time by Ernest Germain, Livio Maitan, Peng Shu-tse, and others. As a result of this opposition, Pablo agreed to a compromise in which the two factions of the PCI would have parity on a new political bureau. Germain (under the pseudonym of Albert) was to represent the International Secretariat on this body with a deciding vote. However, Pablo maneuvered to force the French majority out of the Fourth International, using their opposition to his tactical proposals as a pretext. Many of the forces which later supported the International Committee faction still had considerable confidence in Pablo. Since these forces (such as the fraternal sympathizers of the Fourth International in the leadership of the SWP, and Gerry Healy) were not convinced that Pablo was on a revisionist course, they thought the French refusal to carry out the "deep entry" tactic reflected a sectarian bent. Therefore, they made no objection at the time to Pablo's moves and even supported them. The SWP leadership, however, was disturbed by the supercentralist implications of Pablo's actions. The materials in this section are reprinted from "Documents on the Crisis in the PCI (French Section of the Fourth International)," SWP *International Information Bulletin*, November 1952.]

  1. 1. Resolution Adopted by the Tenth Plenum of the IEC on the French SectionFI documentInternational Executive Committee of the Fourth International (Tenth Plenum) · pp. 52
  2. 2. Resolution of the Political Bureau on the Framework of the Preparatory Discussion for the CongressPolitical Bureau of the PCI (as constituted by the Tenth Plenum) · March 31, 1952 · pp. 53
  3. 3. Declaration of the Bleibtreu-Lambert Tendency on the Agreements Concluded at the International Executive CommitteeBleibtreu-Lambert tendency (Central Committee majority of the PCI) · pp. 53-54
  4. 4. Letter from Ernest Germain to the Bleibtreu-Lambert TendencyErnest Germain [Ernest Mandel] (signed "Albert") · pp. 54-56
  5. 5. Resolution of the Political Bureau of the PCIPolitical Bureau of the PCI · May 3, 1952 · pp. 56-57
  6. 6. Resolution Adopted by the Conference of the Majority of the PCINational conference of cadres of the PCI majority tendency · pp. 57-58
  7. 7. Resolution of the 11th Plenum of the IEC on the French PCIFI documentInternational Executive Committee of the Fourth International (11th Plenum) · June 1952 · pp. 58-59
  8. 8. For a Decisive Turn in FranceMichel Pablo [Michel Raptis] · July 12, 1952 · pp. 59-61

Section IV: The Position of the SWP Minority on Stalinism in the Cochran Fight

["The New World Reality and the New Confusion — What Hansen's Document Has Revealed," by Harry Frankel (the pen name used by Harry Braverman) was a reply to Joseph Hansen's "What the New York Discussion Has Revealed," which appears in part three of this series. Frankel's polemic is reprinted from SWP *Internal Bulletin* Volume 15, No. 10, published in April 1951. Although many adherents of the Cochran-Clarke-Bartell faction went much further privately in revising the Trotskyist position on Stalinism, the Frankel document gave a clear indication of the direction in which they were moving.]

  1. The New World Reality and the New Confusion — What Hansen's Document Has RevealedHarry Frankel [Harry Braverman] · April 2, 1953 · pp. 62-80

Section V: Pablo's Role in the Cochran Fight

[Although Pablo declined to take an open stand in the early stages of the dispute, the Cochran-Clarke-Bartell faction in the SWP insisted with great confidence that it represented his views in the SWP. When James P. Cannon wrote to Pablo seeking clarification on this, he received an answer that was evasive except on one point: Pablo expressed a clear preference for Harry Frankel's document on Stalinism over that written by Joseph Hansen (see the previous volume of this series). He also admitted in a letter to George Novack that he had been maintaining correspondence with the minority faction without informing the SWP leaders of this fact. Despite a statement from the International Secretariat praising the unity agreement reached at the May 1953 Plenum of the SWP National Committee by the two factions, (see *Speeches to the Party*, Pathfinder Press, 1973 for material from this plenum) the SWP majority leadership was becoming convinced by Pablo's evasiveness that he was indeed giving encouragement to the Cochran-Clarke-Bartell grouping behind the scenes. They objected to the fact that this political intervention in the SWP struggle was carried on without the knowledge of the party leadership. Even more serious, if Pablo was encouraging a revisionist faction in the SWP, it meant that he must be in fundamental agreement with them on the political questions in dispute. The SWP leaders decided to raise a discussion of these issues internationally. Pablo, backed by the Bureau (Pablo, Ernest Germain, and Pierre Frank) of the International Secretariat, responded to these developments by adopting an increasingly threatening tone. The SWP leaders were warned against any attempt to organize a tendency against what was called "the whole international leadership." In these letters, the Pablo leadership criticized positions taken by the SWP on East Germany and other questions. These criticisms made their sympathy with the views of Cochran-Clarke-Bartell much clearer. Pablo replied in September to Cannon's speech, "Internationalism and the SWP" (reprinted in *Speeches to the Party*, Pathfinder Press, 1973, pp. 67). In this article, "Some Very Strange Conceptions of Internationalism and the International," he challenged Cannon's opposition to the use of Comintern-like centralism in the Fourth International. According to Pablo, internationalism required "relying with full confidence on the line, the judgement and the discipline of the international movement as a whole." Pablo indicated his perspectives for the coming struggle by the tone of his remarks (he describes Cannon's speech as the "most revolting projections of a complex which is now exploding with unprecedented brutishness."). He threatened, in effect, to split politically with the SWP unless it changed its course. The language of this document was not calculated to assuage fears that Pablo headed a secret faction that intended to finish with the older cadres of the International, unless they agreed to "rely with full confidence" on Pablo's line.]

  1. 1. Letter from Michel Pablo, Ernest Germain, and Pierre Frank to Farrell Dobbs, Morris Stein, and Joseph HansenMichel Pablo, Ernest Germain and Pierre Frank (signed "Gabe, Germain, Pierre") · February 13, 1953 · pp. 81-82
  2. 2. Letter from Gerry Healy to Morris Stein, Farrell Dobbs, and Joseph HansenGerry Healy (signed "Jerry") · Feb. 19, 1953 · pp. 82-83
  3. 3. Letter from Michel Pablo to George NovackMichel Pablo [Michel Raptis] · March 23, 1953 · pp. 83-84
  4. 4. Letter from Michel Pablo to George Novack dated April 1953Michel Pablo [Michel Raptis] · April 1953 · pp. 84
  5. 5. Letter from James P. Cannon to Michel PabloJames P. Cannon · May 22, 1953 · pp. 84
  6. 6. Letter from Michel Pablo to George NovackMichel Pablo [Michel Raptis] (signed "Gabe") · May 28, 1953 · pp. 85
  7. 7. Letter from Michel Pablo to George NovackMichel Pablo [Michel Raptis] (signed "P.") · June 23, 1953 · pp. 86
  8. 8. Letter from the International Secretariat of the Fourth International to the National Committee of the SWPFI documentInternational Secretariat of the Fourth International (signed "I. S.") · June 24, 1953 · pp. 86
  9. 9. Letter from the Bureau of the International Secretariat to the SWP National Committee MajorityFI documentBureau of the International Secretariat (E. Frank, E. Germain, M. Pablo) · August 10, 1953 · pp. 87
  10. 10. Letter from the International Secretariat to the SWP National Committee MajorityFI documentInternational Secretariat of the Fourth International (signed "The IS") · September 3, 1953 · pp. 87-89
  11. 11. Some Very Strange Conceptions of Internationalism and Our InternationalMichel Pablo [Michel Raptis] · September 9, 1953 · pp. 89-95

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

← Part 4, vol. 1 · Part 4, vol. 3 →