User:Covoxkid/Committee for a Workers' International (2019)
Abbreviation | CWI |
---|---|
Predecessor | Committee for a Workers' International (1974) (IDWCTCWI faction) |
Formation | 21 April 1974 (founded) 25 July 2019 (refounded) |
Type | Association of Trotskyist political parties |
Headquarters | London |
Region served | Worldwide |
Membership | 17 sections |
Website | www |
The Committee for a Workers' International (CWI), sometimes referred to as the Refounded CWI, is an international association of Trotskyist political parties. The organization in its current form originated out of the 2019 split of the Committee for a Workers' International (1974), which also produced the International Socialist Alternative and International Revolutionary Left. It currently has seventeen member organizations[1] across six continents.
History
[edit]The Committee for a Workers' International (1974) was founded in 1974 by members of the Militant tendency.
Split
[edit]In 2018 and 2019, a dispute developed in around the questions of socialism, opportunism, and identity politics,[2][3] the role of the trade unions and the working-class movement, and the methods and tactics that Marxists should use to organize internationally, which ultimately led to multifaceted split. These tensions divided the highest governing bodies of the CWI, the International Executive Committee (IEC) and the International Secretariat (IS).
In late 2018, the IS was informed of an unauthorized access of an Irish comrade's personal accounts by a member of the leadership of the Irish section[4]. The incident had occurred in mid-July, but the IS had not been informed until September 2018. The IS condemned the hack, and raised criticisms of the handling of the incident by the Irish NEC, who had conducted themselves without discussing with the IS or even without the agreement of the full Irish NEC.[5] The debate quickly expanded to include issues over opportunism, identity politics, and women's oppression, criticisms raised of the Irish section by the IS as far back as 2016, that had been heightened by increasing tensions in the organization.[6]
As this conflict grew to include more and more of the international, supporters of the IS formed the IDWCTCWI faction at the December 2018 meeting of the IEC, to defend "the correct orientation that will allow [the CWI] to successfully face up to the challenges of the next period."[7] Refusing to declare a faction, the remaining IEC members who supported the Irish section were referred to as the "Non-Faction Faction", or the NFF.[8]
A Special Congress of the Socialist Party (England and Wales) voted by a margin of 173 to 35 to support the faction and sponsor an international faction conference, held from July 22nd to July 25th, 2019[9]. The conference was attended by delegates from thirteen countries.[10] The conference voted to "reconstitute the CWI as a revolutionary Trotskyist working class international", electing to continue use of the name as "the defenders of the methods, tradition and programme that [the CWI] was founded on in 1974."[11] The Portuguese, Mexican, Spanish, and Venezuelan sections, former members of Izquierda Revolucionaria who had merged with the CWI in 2017, originally sided with the IDWCTCWI faction, but eventually left the CWI to form the International Revolutionary Left. The remaining members were de-facto expelled from the organization, constituting an estimated third of its membership.[12] This group, the so-called "NFF", declared itself the CWI Majority in August 2019 and renamed itself International Socialist Alternative in February 2020.[13][14]
In September 2019, a faction in the Workers and Socialist Party, who had sided with the NFF, split to form the Marxist Workers Party, rejoining the CWI.[15] The same month, the pro-CWI faction of Socialist Alternative (Germany) split to form Sozialistische Organisation Solidarität (Sol), also rejoining the international.[16]
In November 2019, a faction in Socialist Alternative (United States), split over what they saw as a rightward movement of SA leadership, especially in relation to the Democratic Party. This new organization, the Independent Socialist Group (ISG), voted unanimously in February 2020 to rejoin the international.[17]
2020 & On
[edit]In June 2020, supporters of the CWI in Ireland relaunched their organization as Militant Left.[18] The organization holds one seat in the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council as of January 2021.[19]
In July 2020, the Socialist Party of England and Wales relaunched the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition,[20] and at a conference in September agreed to resume standing candidates, starting in May 2021.[21]
Structure
[edit]The CWI continues the democratic centralist structure as established since the organization's founding in 1974. The international consists of sections, parties that organize on a national basis. Party members are affiliated on a local basis with their branch, the basic unit of the party. There are three leadership bodies in the party:
Congress | National Committee (NC) | Executive Committee (EC) |
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|
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This structure is reflected in the international, with the World Congress consisting of delegates elected from sections, the International Executive Committee (IEC) consisting of delegates elected by the congress, and the International Secretariat (IS) acting as the day-to-day leadership of the organization. As this is an organization on an international scale, the World Congress meets every three to five years, and the IEC meets every year.[22]
Sections
[edit]Part of a series on |
Trotskyism |
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Section | Name | English Translation |
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Austria | Sozialistische Offensive | Socialist Offensive |
Algeria | El Yassar El Thawri | The Revolutionary Left |
Chile | Socialismo Revolucionario | Revolutionary Socialism |
England and Wales | Socialist Party | |
Finland | CWI Suomi | CWI in Finland |
France | Gauche révolutionnaire | Revolutionary Left |
Germany | Sozialistische Organisation Solidarität - Sol[23] | Organisation Solidarity |
India | New Socialist Alternative | |
Ireland | Militant Left | |
Japan | Kokusai Rentai | International Solidarity |
Malaysia | Sosialis Alternatif | Socialist Alternative |
Nigeria | Democratic Socialist Movement | |
Russia | Sotsialisticheskiy Mir | Socialist World |
Scotland | Socialist Party Scotland | |
South Africa | Marxist Workers Party[24] | |
Sri Lanka | එක්සත් සමාජවාදි පකෂය / ஐக்கிய சோசலிச கட்சி
Eksath Samajavadi Pakshaya / Aikkiy Cōcalic Kaṭci |
United Socialist Party |
United States | Independent Socialist Group[25] |
References
[edit]- ^ "CWI-Worldwide". Socialist World. Committee for a Workers' International. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
- ^ "Socialist Party documents illustrate criticism from international comrades". Irish Times
- ^ Sell, Hannah; secretary, Socialist Party deputy general (2020-02-29). "Socialists debate identity politics -". Retrieved 2020-02-29.
- ^ "Rebuilding the CWI – lessons and tasks – Marxist.net". Marxist.net. Committee for a Workers' International. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
- ^ Taaffe, Peter. "In Defence of a Working-class Orientation for the CWI – Marxist.net". Marxist.net. Committee for a Workers' International. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
- ^ Hamilton, Weizmann; Arendse, Shaun (27 December 2019). "On the Greek Resolution". In Defence of Trotskyism. Committee for a Workers' International. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
- ^ Stott, Philip (27 December 2019). "The formation of a faction: An explanation for Scottish members". In Defence of Trotskyism. Committee for a Workers' International. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
- ^ Demarty, Paul. "Taaffe demands a split". weeklyworker.co.uk. Weekly Worker. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
- ^ "Britain: Socialist Party conference overwhelmingly supports refounding CWI". Socialist World.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Refounding the Committee for a Workers' International on the basis of a Trotskyist programme and method". Socialist World. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Building the CWI". In Defence of Trotskyism. Committee for a Workers' International. July 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
- ^ Demarty, Paul. "Taaffe expels his majority". weeklyworker.co.uk. Weekly Worker. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- ^ Koritz, Joshua. "Bureaucratic Coup Will Not Stop CWI Majority from Building a Strong Revolutionary Socialist International! | Socialist Alternative". Retrieved 5 August 2019.
- ^ Alternative, International Socialist (February 4, 2020). "Announcement || Welcome to Our New Website!". International Socialist Alternative.
- ^ "The Founding of the Marxist Workers Party…and the split in the CWI and WASP". Marxist Workers Party. 6 September 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Der Kampf für Sozialismus geht weiter" [The struggle for socialism continues]. Solidarität. 8 September 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Statement of unification in political solidarity between the Independent Socialist Group (ISG) in the United States and the Committee for a Workers' International (CWI)". Independent Socialist Group. 24 April 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Launch of Militant Left – for workers' unity and a socialist future". Militant Left. 9 June 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Militant Left". The Cedar Lounge Revolution. 9 June 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Time to relaunch the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition". Socialist Party. 22 July 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Back at work! TUSC to stand in elections again against pro-austerity politicians". Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition. 4 September 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Democratic Structures & Acronyms". In Defence of Trotskyism. 27 December 2019.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ https://solidaritaet.info/2019/09/der-kampf-fuer-sozialismus-geht-weiter/
- ^ http://marxistworkersparty.org.za/?p=613
- ^ https://www.socialistworld.net/2020/03/13/statement-of-unification-in-political-solidarity-between-the-independent-socialist-group-isg-in-the-united-states-and-the-committee-for-a-workers-international-cwi/
External links
[edit]Category:Committee for a Workers' International Category:Trotskyist political internationals