We have received the following contribution from a young sympathiser of the Communist Left which we have no hesitation in publishing not only as a contribution to the debate on the crisis of the British ruling class but to recognise the fact that a new generation is increasingly taking up the task of developing an independent movement of the working class. We cordially invite readers'comments.

Following the EU referendum, and the success of the Leave campaign which won with 51.89% of the vote, the politics of the British ruling class is in a bit of a mess. As we showed in our article on the Brexit vote (see leftcom.org) capitalism’s insoluble economic crisis is undermining the old political order. For the Tories, the result triggered a leadership contest as Cameron, the face of the Remain campaign, had to resign. A number of even more unsavoury characters now compete for his position. For Labour, the result served as a signal for the centre and the right of the party to carry out a coup against their leader. Corbyn stands accused of supporting the Remain vote only reluctantly, but by this point any excuse would do as the Blairites increasingly want to pull in the reins. The Labour left is now rallying once again, in a bid to #KeepCorbyn as their leader.

The traditional ruling classes and their parties throughout the world have no answer to the global economic crisis of capitalism. They are losing their grip and not just in the UK. The rise of so-called “populism” is just one symptom of this. In 2013 we saw the growth of UKIP, a party of the Eurosceptic anti-immigrant right with a stock broker leader who plays the act of being ‘one of the people’. In 2014 the Scottish independence referendum, with a turnout of 84.6%, the highest in the UK since 1928 when universal suffrage was first introduced, was celebrated by both left and right as the ‘greatest democratic experience in Scotland’s history’. [1] The referendum cemented the Scottish National Party as the main party in Scotland overturning decades of Labour dominance. In 2015 Corbyn was elected leader of the Labour Party, with 250 000 votes in his favour, and thousands of new members. And finally this year the EU membership referendum was called by Cameron in order to calm down the Eurosceptics within his own party. The turnout of the referendum was 72.21%, higher than any recent election in the UK. Now with a second Scottish independence referendum on the horizon, and the leadership crises in two of the biggest British parties, increased participation in these political spectacles is not likely to stop any time soon. Already in major cities there are rallies in support of Corbyn.

Of special interest here is the renewed capability of the Labour Party to bring thousands back into the dead-end of parliamentary politics. Much of this is thanks to Corbyn and the election contests, as even some of those who would normally not get involved in Labour, suddenly have changed their minds (an article published by the anarchist Freedom Press appeals to the left to ‘#KeepCorbyn as a transitional demand’!). [2] Just over the recent crisis the party has gained 60 000 new members, many joining only to vote for Corbyn. [3] For British politics these are huge numbers (the entire Liberal Democrat party membership is about 60 000), but they may sound more impressive than they are in reality. There are three ways to have a say in a Labour leadership election: 1) join the Labour Party as a member (which requires a monthly membership fee), 2) become a supporter (which only requires a one-time payment of £3), or 3) be a member of an affiliated trade union. Whichever of these categories a Corbyn enthusiast may belong to, it doesn’t necessarily mean they will be engaged in party structures or stay active beyond just voting in the election contest. This is especially true for many young people, who increasingly get involved in politics on an ad-hoc basis (it’s not uncommon to see someone jump from Labour to the Greens, and then once again to Labour just to support Corbyn).

Nevertheless the participation of self-avowed communists or even anarchists in Labour has to be explained. The history of the party, it’s origin as a platform for trade union bureaucrats, and it’s many betrayals both in and out of power (be it support for both World Wars, sending troops against striking workers, or the neo-liberal turn) are not a secret. [4] Labour is a party of the capitalist class and always has been. At best, it tried to moderate some of the more nasty elements of the system; at worst it embraced them whole. Yet many leftists still believe that it can be transformed, that it can be made a ‘workers’ party’ again. Others join it out of opportunism – these groups may want to split the party or just recruit new members. Historically the most successful example of this was the Militant tendency. In the 1970s these Trotskyists were able to build a base within Labour, grow in size and by the 1980s dominate the Liverpool City Council. It didn’t take long for Labour higher-ups to realise what’s happening, and soon the process of expelling the entryists commenced. By the 1990s Militant abandoned entryism, formed its own ‘true workers’ party’, the Socialist Party of England and Wales, which nowadays stands in elections as the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition. Unsurprisingly, the electoral front has not been fruitful, and now we find SPEW as one among the many groups that sing the chorus of defending Corbyn. And so the cycle starts again. The left-wingers in Labour right now have to deal with many of the same problems as Militant did. Some have already been expelled, others hide their aims and politics to avoid it. Every once in a while there is an article in the news decrying the ‘hard-left’ that is wrecking Labour. It turns out that the biggest enemy of the Labour left and Corbyn is actually their own party (particularly the Parliamentary Labour Party).

What’s more, a look at Corbyn’s policies reveals how inoffensive he is to capital. A crackdown on tax avoidance, higher income tax for the wealthy, ‘people's quantitative easing’, opposition to TTIP, and [gasp!] nationalisation. His vision for new politics is not drastic even by petty bourgeois standards – at the end of the day, ‘Labour’s new leader wants a prosperous economy’. [5] The attempts to appear ‘electable’ have led McDonnell to claim that ‘Labour will tackle the deficit’ and that ‘we in the Labour Party have to show [the public] how we will act as a responsible custodian’. [6] And that’s what Corbyn will be at best – a custodian of the capitalist system. Momentum or the Labour left in general may shout about socialism, but the programme behind which they have rallied is strictly that of capitalist reform. This is not unlike the other left populist projects across Europe, such as Syriza, which tried to ‘save capitalism from itself’, or Podemos, which even according to finance investors ‘can improve Spanish capitalism’. [7] Corbyn’s ‘new politics’ certainly sounds awfully familiar to the ‘l'autre politique’ of François Mitterrand of the French Parti Socialiste, who, elected in 1981 on a programme of reform, soon after unleashed a programme of austerity instead. While naïve optimists hope that Corbyn in power will not turn out as bad, history shows that even a mass movement will not stop a social democrat from capitulating on their promises.

The role of Internationalist Communists is to dispel illusions in reformist agendas and show how they fail to disturb underlying capitalist dynamics. While the Corbyn phenomenon may be a positive sign that more and more people have begun to question the current condition, as a response to capitalist crisis this is not enough. Do not depend on left leaders of capitalist parties, in the vain hope that they will somehow move against capitalism for you. Only an international working class, fighting on its own terrain and with its own independent organs, can bring the fight to capital and its states.

Dyjbas

2 July 2016

Notes

1. The Independent‎, ‘Scottish independence: SNP doubles in size as thousands of Scots flock to join’ independent.co.uk . For the CWO take on this see leftcom.org.
2. Freedom News, ‘The End of Dogma: #KeepCorbyn as a transitional demand’ freedomnews.org.uk
3. The Independent, ‘Labour Party gains 60,000 new members in one week following attempted coup against Corbyn’ independent.co.uk
4. Libcom, ‘Labouring in vain - a critical history of the Labour Party’ libcom.org
5. Forbes, ‘Six Reasons Why Entrepreneurs May Come To Love Jeremy Corbyn’ forbes.com
6. Morning Star, ‘Labour 'On The Front Foot' For Economy’ morningstaronline.co.uk
7. BreakingViews, ‘Podemos can improve Spanish capitalism’ breakingviews.com