Dear Comrade O'Daniel,
This is in answer to your two letters of recent vintage. I am sorry for not writing right away, but I was waiting for your promised letter on the YS. I guess that the current turn of events in France have been enough to keep you busy these days!
I greatly appreciated hearing from you and getting the addresses. I am looking forward to hearing from you at greater length and getting the Spring issue of the 4th International.
Since I first wrote you I have read the current issue more or less cover to cover. The documents on Stalinism were especially impressive. They had an all-over sweep and consistency which show a very high level of theoretical work as well as a testament to the advancement of Marxist thought over the last few years, taking into account the developments in Poland, Hungary, etc. Except for one or two minor formulations I cannot see any differences that I have with them.
In addition I have been looking into the controversy over the MNA business. I have studied your letter and Magri's [Mage] reply that was printed in a bulletin that you have no doubt received. In addition I looked over Banda's article in the current Labour Review. While I am not fluent in French and therefore have little or no actual material to go on, I generally feel that a position of support for the FLN is the correct one. I feel that the FLN's position on the all-important question of recognition of independence before negotiations is superior to the MNA's complicated pseudodemocratic formulations which leave a hundred and one openings for imperialism, not the least dangerous one being the UN supervision gimmick.
However I feel the real danger in the Banda-Lambert-Magri position is the attempt to glorify the MNA as a socialist tendency, seeing the struggle with the FLN as a sort of class struggle. Far better to recognize the petty-bourgeois nature of both groupings than to allow wishful thinking to dominate over political reality.
The most serious aspect of Banda's article was his uncalled-for slurs against you people. Not being one for particularly "soft" formulations, I do feel that we should not use our terminology as swear words. Regardless of the differences we have, let us recognize that we are all Marxists and Trotskyists. Thus I must object to the attacks on you as vigorously (really more vigorously) than yours on the SWP.
[p. 99]
In any event I hope that the present differences existing on the Algerian question will not be utilized and intensified as a block to unity.
You will probably notice in the current issue of the YS some articles at rather wide variance with a revolutionary-socialist outlook. This is especially the case with the Turner-Max article on peace. However this problem has been resolved with the resignation of these two editorial board members who to whatever degree that they were at variance with the Stalinist position, were to that degree moving in a reformist direction. We hope that from now on the paper's line will be clearer even though we will still have discussion articles from a wide range of political points of view, and put out a paper that will help us reach further into the ex-LYL milieu.
By the way, if you have any extra copies of the first issue of your magazine, please send them as we could use them here. You may shortly hear from one or another of our youth groups requesting to carry your magazine—along with the ISR, Labour Review, etc.
Hoping to hear from you,
Fraternally,
Tim Wohlforth
Managing Editor
P.S. Excuse the copy paper but I am writing you at work. I am working at the National Guardian presently for a while.
PPS—Please send the promised address of the Belgium youth as we would greatly like to get in touch with them as I am sure we can be of assistance to each other. My brief acquaintance with the European youth situation indicates some tremendous opportunities in some of the Social Democratic orgs. like the Falcons in Germany. Any information you can give me on the European youth situation would be greatly appreciated. Also I would like it if there is a French youth I could correspond with for information and/or an occasional article. Enclosed is a copy of a letter to Labour Review which is not meant for publication.