Radical America - Vol 12 No 5 - 1978 - September October

8/8/2019 Radical America - Vol 12 No 5 - 1978 - September October

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ARCSep ember O ber 1978

INTRODUCTIONi

REACTION: THOUGHTS ON THE POL T CALECONOMY OF THE NEW SOUTH SINCE THECIV L R GHTS MOVEMENTManning Marable

THOUGHTS ON THE ERA DEMONSTRATIONSherry Wei nga

THE ITAL AN COMMUNISTS: ANATOMYOF A PARTYJoanne Barkan

BASEBALL A MARXIST ANALYS S

HOME AND WORK: A NEW CONTEXT FORTRADE UNION HISTORYJoanna Bornat

V l 2,

3

9

22

27

50

5 3

LET ER FROM SAN FRANCISCO: RANK-AND-F LE 70UNION V CTORYJames Russe l

LETTE FROM BR TAIN: CARNIVAL AGAINST 75THE NAZ SDavid Widgery


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Sit-in, Chatanooga Tennessee

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I UC

Ever since the meteoric rise of Jimmy Carter to the pr id cy, th myth o a b"New South in which r cism has bee vir ually sw pt w , h s taken hold iIn this issue we re printin M nnin M abl ' R actio : Thought on thEconomy of the N w South Since the Civil Right Mov me t hich ff ctithis im e. Without takin away from th ry r al accomplishm t of th blain the South it is impo tant to reject th illu io that hit supr macy i o

lon er perv sive fe tur of the re io 's (as of the ation' ) ocial fabricM r ble is sh rply critical of black politician such a A dr You g a dJord nwho h ve on con iderable whit acc pta c a pa t of a proc of momilit nt thrust of the black mov m t At th sam t me, h di cu tf ilure of interr ci l working-class coop ratio in th outh, a d t i failuris c cialo s the m ss of prolet ri niz d black ar blocked off from b i g pa ostru les the o ly black lea ership that ca m r i that of b ack p litic aed e of the Democr ti p rty's mainstre m A for it orki g-cla peSouth o lon s the tr ditions of whit upr acy r ma tr g they ill krel tiv dv t es vis a vis their black cou t rpart a d th r v r di dvathe rest of the country) of low ag s rampa t xploitato , a d di or a zaworkin cl ss bl ck whit i ill v d by hit upr macy o r i th

t rkly cle r th n in the South


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signi i ant re ent l al uni n ele ti n in SanFran is he des ribes an eff rt b a rank andle au us t transf rm their uni n int aw rkers' instrument. The ver fa t that the

au us (with nsiderable parti ipati n b inde-pendent leftists was able t unseat the in um-bent president is n tew rth . He is the presi-dent f the it 's Central Lab r C un il andhas had en ugh f a pr gressive p sture t winC mmunist Part supp rt in his bid f r reeleti n against the insurgents But there aretenden ies in an trade uni n situati n f r vi -t ri us insurgents t settle int the leadershippatterns f the ffi ials the have displa ed.Thisma well be happening in the ulinarw rkers l al whi h Russell is writing ab tStill unres lved is the questi n f whether thiss rt f ele t ral ampaign in a uni n an beshaped in su h a wa that the ampaign itselfwill help t untera t this tenden .

The talian C mmunist Part is the str ngestC mmunist part in the West. Administering

ities and pr vin es ntr lling a p werfutrade uni n f derati n and an elab rate bu-reau ra the Part has n w been in rp ratedint the g verning maj rit f the nati n

M re ver the Part maintains netw rk f peratives and ultti ns fa t r and neighb rh dgani ati ns f r w men and whi h it leaves its imprint n almItalian life. T Ameri an s ialissu h strength laiming the parentand Lenin seems be nd ur wil

Sin e 197 the Italian C mmunbeen the leading Part f a new treC mmunist W rld ur msisting n the right and dut f West independen e fr m the S vie

talian part has tried t hart a state p wer. Claiming that the leChilean experien e di tate that nh pet maintain p wer while aliestantial p rti ns f the middle b urge isie and the militar thhas pr p sed instead a hist ri

a g verning allian e with their mantag nists the Christian Dem

t av id an is lati n f the Leftnist Part has nevertheless f undearluntenable p siti n f attemp

minister an e n m in de line


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li le real p wer excep f r eir abi i y curb de and f ab r

ince e e er enc f "Eur c uni ve year a e wi d f e I alian c ur e

and re pecif cal y i app icabili y er c un rie a been widely deba dT e er

aj r par ie f Eur pe e f France and pai ave en ered in fra ernal di cu i n wi e al an r y In e Uni ed a e e

i pac e I alian dep r ure a been ive pe e f rce w ic adv ca e an rien a

i n f e lef ward e ec i n f e De cra ic Par y w ic are n pe e y c rrup . Opp nen f i c ur e ave c ai ed

a e I a ian a n are i u ry and a "Eur c uni a un a be rayal

e w rkin c a ana a u e cia De cra in e pre W rld War I peri d

6

w e " del ciali par ie p r ed e i periali war f 19

Di cu i n n b ide a pered by a lack f inf rma

na ure and w rking f I alian c muc i a been e en ially amoral de

ar uin in rela ively ab rac era c uni par y should d e belieJ anne Barkan ar icle "The muni : Ana my f a ar ydeba e in a new lig . Drawing

urce and fir and e perience e en w ic "Eur c

lea in he land f i bir h ire ul f new p licy ini ia ive

e hi ry and ruc ural c n

ar y i elf.


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U.S. CAPITALISM

IN CRISIS

a ra d ic a l a n a ys so f t he c u rre n t e c on o m ic c risis

b y the Unio n fo r R a d ca l A n O ve r ie w P o litic a Ec o n o m c s

D m n ion ofhe CTh re ical Pe p tiveSruggles fo Cont o lWhere Do We Go F omHe e

Snd to:URPE-Room 90 1

1 Union S u re W e st $4 p r c o p y p l s .50 p o sta ge Ne w Yo rk, NY 10 0 0 3 (N.Y. e sid e nts d d 8 % sa les ta x)

SCIENCE for the PEOa bim nthly publicat

In ecent ssues:- ug Abuse and Soc al Con tro

Who Needs Nuc ear Powe ?Women and Ag bus ness

-Recomb nant NA: oes the aultL e W th n Ou enes?

Soc qb ology A Sex st Synthes sSc;ene f the People magaz e s ub s ed borga Za o of e same a e, a a io a gof eo e wo k g fo og ess ve so a ma y a eas o s e e a d e o ogy.

bs be ow! e d$6 fo a o e-yea subssues) o CIe e o e eo e897 Ma

amb dge, MA02139.

B UL LETINOF CO CER ED ASI SCHOLAR

Subscripti ons: $9. One issue $2 50An Index of available back ssues s free

B B x W ha n M 33

Vo ume 10, Number 1, 1978Three essays on the Green RevolutionA review essay of 4 books on the Indochina W arMarxist Scho arsh p on Thai andSyngman Rhee and the Korean WarAna yses o the A e sand Dre oj e RedAcupuncture: Medicine and Po iticsReviews and il us trations

Number 2: Focus on JapanMiyamoto Yuriko: Communist, Feminist, Nove istJapanese Peasant Rebel ion in the 1850sSurvivors' Drawings o the A-Bomb on Hiroshima

apanese A Bomb Research in the 1940sCanada and the BombThe Bomb on Bikini Ato in the 9 0sLos Angeles Isse

Number 3 (forthcoming)Artic es/poetry and reviews on ndia and China

Number 4: (end of year)Tenth Anniversary ssue: Southeast Asia


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ITh u h s h P c c my N w S u h S c h v h s v

anning arable

A conserv ive o i ic nd cu ur re c ion h s occurred since6 Des i e rh oric rium hs o ck ower he in u o cks in o econom

osi ions o rivi e e nd he es ishmen o ck S udies curricu in re re rom he o i ic o ic o he si ies deve o ed o h e oss ssin ion key mem ers o S C L C nd he N A A C who h d

r in or mos dec de riv e y re used o come o erms wi h osi ion ny con inued o r ise he Kin e cy u ic y u s in h

co m s ormer o owers hey riv e y denounced he in ern iohe n i im eri is n ysis im ici wi hin r in s in s eeches h

Americ h d orced r in o ndon his o der re ormis ide s or hi hernd e hic cri icism; his w s some hin which o her e din in e r ion

wou d no doA hos o S N C C c ivis s re re ed under he cover o he " ck

oc nd s e e ec or o i ics o ui d o i ic ound ion J mes F rmer nd F oyd cKissick or ed ooker W shin on y e Ni on dminis r ion o es ish ck e y our eois ower

Des i e he success u vo er educ ion nd re is r ion drives o S N Cnd des i e he success u or niz ion o inde enden ck o i ic nd ississi i re resen ive democr cy e ween he r ces is c u y

mi ion ck Sou herners re re is ered com red wi h ou wo mi io

Phot t k n b y Luci Drob y in G n boro. Al b m


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butthe C v l R ghts M vement ell far sh rt fach ev ng equal p l t cal p wer f r Blacks.Black elected ff c als number 1 847 n theS uth but that am unts t nl 2. percent fthe t tal number f elected ff c als n thereg n Blacks c nst tute 20. percent f theS uth s t tal p pulat n and make up p pularmaj r t es n ver 100 c unt es et nl tenc unt es are effect vel c ntr lled b BlacksOnl tw Black C ngressmen are fr m theS uth and these pers ns represent the reg n smaj rmetr p l tan areas Th s small electedBlack el te represents w th few except ns the

nterestsf the Black pett b urge s e andmatur ng c rp rate nterests w th n the NewS uth. It tends t represent p l t cal ph l s -ph es t the r ght f the r N rthern c unter-parts e.g Barbara rdan s staunch and s n-cere defense f the character f hn C nall ath s m lk fund tr al; Andrew Y ung s s l tarBlack v te end rs ng the 197 app ntment fGerald F rd t the V ce Pres denc

Carter s ult mate v ct r and the S uthernBlacks central r le w th n that campa gn als c nst tuted a reemergence f an ther

NewS uth nt the center stage f that t reddrama wh ch s Amer can p l t cs There havebeenseveral New S uths at d fferent stages f

the nat n s h st rthe New S uth f Atlan-tan Henr Grad and the Redeemer Dem cratsdur ng the 1880s; the New S uth f the At-lanta Sp r t and the ne pr gress ves f thetwent es; the m derate segregat n st S uth

fthe T V A Maur Maver ck ClaudePepper m de. In each nstance the Black pettb urge s e pla ed n maj r r le f mp rtance

ndeterm n ng the funct n f the state thenature f wh te dem crac C Vann W d-ward has bserved c rrectl that segregat n

was the bas c p l t c l ref rm f the Pr gress veS uth.The rap d r se f Barbara rdan An-drew Y ung Ben Br wn and ther S uthernBlack m derates s gn es a bas c change fr m

th s trad t n f wh tes nlern wh te rul ng class has deacc m datecerta n representat vAmer can c mmun t rd1976 Dem crat c Nat nal Y ung s central mp rtance tdac represented the Black pettend rsement f the New S utsuccesses represent a c mpr mclass nterests f Black pe ple

\ can p l t cal ec n m f eke a number f Black Repu

c ans dur ng the 1880s manDem crats have ren unced the pleft w th n the nat nal Demhave cemented an all ance w tht ves f the S uth s upper clrhet r c t the c ntrar . Dureral mp rtant Black Republ cnentl M ss ss pp Senat rta nedp l t cal prest ge thr ugw th the B urb n Dem crat cec n m c c nservat ves and a

n the f rst New S uth Bruwner and well t d entrepre

r ght ften had m re n c ms pp Senat r Lamar and Wadew th h s wn Black sharecr ppDesp te the r r ts n thes ruggle Andrew Y ung and ent Black S uthern p l t c an

lar c mpr m ses w th wh tThe fundamental reas n f r th

devel pments s ec n m c Sc nservat ve ec n m sts and cal ke have c mmented up n character f the S uth s m dDur ng the ec n m c recessF rd adm n strat ns S uther

leader n st ck market rev vah gh pr f t marg ns aut mchases f equ t es. C nservat

m st ll t anewa n tes th


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industrial workers nation-wide, earning an averag of $3 46 per hour compared to $6 43 per

hour in the automobile industryThe Southern police act and even perceive themselves to be an arm of coercion of the new bourgeoisie escorting scabs through picket lines The relative backwardness of Southern Black labor provides the Carter-Black elite strata with anot er beachhead of political support, an economic basis for reactionary politics Yet Southern labor's relative backwardness also indicates a real potential for radical change given an activist leadership The labor situation provides real parallels with the condition of national labor during the early 930s on the eve of radical labor militancy if, againthe laborers themselves are raised to a sufficient

level of education and working cness

This aggressive process of matic economic development bears plementar tendency toward agrvelopment The small towns an

icturesquerural South lose thiof the economic market to the assivpolitan po ers of Atlanta Memham Charlotte and Nashville Tbourgeoisie become increasingupon the economic olitical aitiatives of the metropolis boudependency creates a lumpendethe former sharecropper an rclass forging a stratum of perm

loyable men and women with


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a d ech l ical educa i Thi lumpe ecmic pa er f qua i e c l iali m i char

ac erized by he i flux f u ide capi al ihe c u ry ide a d he c ce ra i f he

be la d a d her re urce uch a credilab r a d capi al i he ha d f he few Thelumpe devel pme f he Black S u h i la eBlack reli i u a d e hical fi ure a d herradi i al leader fr m heir c mmu i ie crea i Black b ur e i leader " wi h li le p plar f ll wi I a y a raria cie y rapidly

ra f rmed i a capi ali ic cie y he eire civil ruc ure f he cul ure f he p-

pre ed bec me c radic ry a d irra i alfilled wi h he e i a d phil phie fr m

he ld way f lifea d he bru alma erialreali ie f he ew i dividuali ic a e. Fr m

he e i a d ec mic c radic ipri ul ima elya peri d f rev l .Black elec ed fficial have largely ig redhe pr ce e f pr li aria iza i a d lumpe -

pr le aria iza i which are ccuri g wi hihe S u h ew p li ical ec my The a e -i placed up he arr w p li ical ru l

f r i e ra i a d equal pp r u i y paricipa e wi hi he b ur e i a e ha b curedhe m re fu dame al cial pr blem f r

Black he de ruc i f he i depe de

Black farmi cla hr u h u he re i I19 here were 6 farm u der Blackma a eme i he S u h; by 1971 here were

ly 98 farm a d i ce he rece i hereappear have bee a evere dr p i he la erfi ure Black farmer have vir ually di ap-peared: i 19 here were 1 8 Blackfarmer bu w decade la er ly 9 8remai ed Federal ver me a d priva ef u da i upp r f r Black farmer ha beea be i ufficie Black e a farmer a d

harecr pper have experie ced a vi le ecmic pur e duri he ame peri d a d hi hmarke price be wee 1964 a d 1969 pu hedma y h u a d f Black e a farmer ff

heir la d I 1969 here wefewer Black e a ha hefi e year bef re Ma y f h

heir familie were pre ed irie a d i du rie arrivi

Thehi h ra e f i du rializu derdevel ped c ci u eS u h direc ly c ribu ed charac er f S u her Black pi cla ac ivi m hr u h

hwar ed by u iver al ri hpermi all w rker refu e member O ly f ur ee percfarm w rker have j i ed u iwi h ver hir y perce f

a i ally The v id f wide pb r u i praxi a d a cul ure

he lack f a viable B ack eual ri i i he middle f hury a d wi hi lavery p

Imp veri hed whi e a d Blacbee l ical allie ec mical

reme raci m f l cal whi e pu hed r whi e i he pac i ary c erva ive like Ge r ia Becau e whi e lab reward cul ure f raci m he wfi d i ea ier pay all S

i ifica ly le ha he amer receive a i ally uripl yme fell 2.1 perce i hwi h le ha e perce f rThe uperexpl i a i f S ufeeble c di i f u i a dpr per ie ha c mbi ed i h

i f a fir a d ec d ele aria wh e p li ical leader

ral are a repre e he cula i ude f heir expl i er

The S u h rece ry ipre ed b h capi ali parviableS u her ra e ie Ni

ra e ie c mbi ed wi h hi


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S uth ha e quiet y acc m dated them e e tthe new capita i t rea itie and New S uth"p itica eader hip. On c ege campu e rad-ica B ac pr fe r and admini trat r arebeing fired B ac tudie pr gram are aband ned fraternity and r rity ife ha rep acedan intere t in p itica di cu i n . C thing

ty e manneri m f peech and habitchanged ernight. Afr hair ty e and da hi-i are being rapid y aband ned f r b eached

hair urrea c thing and high hee he b ueandja nce an integra part f the p itica

trugg e f the ixtie i rep aced by b atantyexi t di c . Numer u B ac acti i t j urna

and c mmunity new paper initiated in theixtieha e been f rced t c e f r ec n mic

rea nPerhap the tr nge t ing e cu tura chang

ha ccurred within the re ati n between menandw men he Ci i Right era in the S uthwa a peri d f expanded exua freed m.W men i e R a Par f M ntg mery andFannie L u Hamer f Mi i ippi a umed

eader hip r e in de egregati n trugg eacw men f a age ran f r ffice rgan-

i ed ter regi trati n campaign ga e p iticapeeche and rai ed fund f r ci i right acti i

tie . During recent year h we er an er-whe ming y B ac ma e ca te ei ed the new ya ai ab e tate and c unty p itica ffice .S uthern B ac ma e ha e d wnp ayed egi -

ature . B ac p itician ha e n t campaignedf r expanded tate upp rted ab rti n faci itie

f r examp e n y in 976 did ab rti nc inic pen in A abama We t Virginia andMi i ippi Acc rding t a recent i ue fFam ly lann n r p c s h we er ethan ne ixth f a w men needing ab rti nandbirth c ntr er ice in 976 c u d btain

treatment in Mi i ippi A abama L ui ianaand Ar an a .raditi na cia c nditi n f S uthern

B ac w men ince egregati n ha e re erted t

the pre 960 c nditi n De pgramin hea th care many B acha e infant m rta ity rate in ex

000 birth each year Sixtym re B ac in B ac Be t regp erty e e in tate where pr ide fund f r day care f r w

and grant minima aid t depenN Deep S uth tate egi aturEqua Right Amendment and chau ini m inherent in the S uthnew expre i n within B ac

p n red beauty pageant and dhe expan i n f the tate a

eminence f the b urge i ie wici i ciety ha e par ed a decu tura and inte ectua creatithe regi n. he S uth' aggre

tructure fr m a e ab r tcapita i m ha c ntributed t W . Ca h termed the a acu ture f the white b urge imateria p e i n it acgr di re pect f r ife and ecc uraged wide pread cia bac ward inte ectua c imate.murdered per th u and in Sa anng mery per year f r examp eY r r Watt . he incidence f

er 4 percent in N rth Car inand 973 and increa ed by ignina m t e ery S uthern tate. the S uth increa ing y repre enAmerican academic and cu turaIn 970 the S uth had n y fi enati n' eading graduate cha nati na ur ey In pite f W

i n f tate upp rted educti n A abama ran at the er

e ery nati na ca e f r educati naB ac S uthern c ege B ac educati n in the S uthdec ining enr ment and e


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cult e argely becau e of he de egrega on ofhe reg o major wh te ate upported tut o Many wh te and Black rad ca ha e

fled to he North a d the We Coa n earchof be er work g cond t on a freer academ cc mate and h gher a ar e .

The po b t e for oc al change w th n the

South po t cal economy depend pr mar yupon the ucce of Black act t a d nte ecual reeduca ng he d po e ed Black

work ng peop e a d he poor toward the po tcal con c ou ne of trugg e. Recent y RonDan el and he Nat onal Black Po t caA emb y ha e mo ed toward creat ng a progre e Sou hern trategy " p ck g up whereS N.C.Chad eft off ten year ago. Pre ent yhowe er Black po t c n the South marked y to the r gh of nat ona B ack po t cThe March 1976 C nc a con en on of t e

A emb y wa no able for Southern Black delega e Exand Lou a a no more thSouthern de egate out of almoa te ded the con en on Thee t n the Black Sou h for the thcand dacy of former M ne

Eugene McCarthyA h tor ca a alog e ha ue nce h tory n e

d a ect ca . Each uccefought on a h ft ng mater al bent cu tura terra n for d

dea Any comparat e tue o ut on can on y a t u

con ou of our pa t a wa g he m tat on an

futurehe h tory of human y


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predic ab e even s moving inextricab y towardan inevi ab e socia revo ution or po itica up-

eava T e Civi Rig ts Movement as a erieof po itica confronta ion between B ack fo kand an arc aic socia institution wa predictab ebut not inevitab e T e present period of reac

ion in e Sou caused by many sub ective

and objective condi ions cannot be understoodou side of e impor ant posi ive ac ievementsof B ack peop e in previous decade im Crowwi never re urn as it once exis ed nor wi itcrude i dignities w ic crus ed t e umanityof i s master c ass. In spite of cont adictory

eaders compromising po i icians and an af-uen pet y bourgeois s ra a t e B ack ma or-

i y wi never re rea fundamenta y from t every substan ia gains ac ieved during t e 1950sand 0s T e o d tradi ion of communityorganizing picketing boycotting and ra yings i exists and many B acks w o were ooyoung o par icipate active y in t e Movementseemnow to be interested in reestab is ing itsac ivist e os if not i s origina organizationaforms

e next Movemen in t e Sout must begrounded wi in Marxian t eory if it opes tosuccessfu y comba racism Sout ern communi y organizers and B ack po itica activists

ave begun o rea ize e profound i toric

symbiotic re a ions ip betweennomic deve opment and w ite rcip ed trugg e against t e resid

egregated society can become deeper conf ict against cu turament and expanding economic T e future trugg e agains t e

must be c anne ed t roug newicains itutions at owe t eir pmateria i ana ysis of Sou eIt seems probab e t at is dimmense y con radic ory periot egrounding for an even modemocratic movemen against equa i y ine next decade

MANNING MARABLE s Cha rperson oDepartment of Pol cal Sc ence a Tu Inst ute Alabama and an Assoc a Inst ute of the Black World Mann ng wr tes a regular pol cal

rom the Grassroo s " ha appears Black and/or soc al s newspapers nIn T ese Timesand Ams erdam Nf rst collect on of pol cal essaysFromGrassrootsw ll be publ shed la e h

h rd World Press of Ch cago.


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o er extraneous issues and that she had nointention of attending the e ent.

For me, howe er, it was hard y extraneous to think that a march for women's equarights wou d co sider what was most o mymind: that two days before the march assa-chusetts had become the thirty sixth state toeffecti e y cut off edicaid funds for abor-tions

Both NOW s preparation for the march andthe manner in which the e e t itse f was conducted underscored NOW's percei ed need forhegemony. NOW's process of mobi ization,exc uding as it did Left feminists, did notsimp y ref ect the common ibera feministassumption that our networks and grape ineswou d automatica y tur us out for any dem-

onstration, because in their iew we are on yconcerned with short term mi itance, notong range" so utions and organizi g. By

seeing egis ati e, pressure group po itics as theo y mature and rea istic" approach tochange, ibera feminists create a bui t inrationa e for ignoring socia ist feminismK owing, a so, that socia ist femi ists wou dpress for a broad perspecti e and for the needto go beyond the ERA, NOW seemi g ywanted to demo strate unity" o er di i-si eness by not making a specia effort toreach us

Not o y was the eadership gui ty here butthis a ue was a so interna ized by many marchers As I marched with the Coa ition forAbortion Rights and Against Steri izationAbuse (CARASA, NY we cha ted a d sangsongs of pro choice using ci i rights me odies.Orga ized groups of marchers then tried todrown us out by chanting HO HO, HEYHEY, Ratify the ERA!" Not satis ed withora contro , NOW s permit for the a stipu ated that on y iterature pertainingsol ly tothe ERA was permitted in the assemb y area

Thus hawkers for the Gua d ana d the tant as we as anti nuke and ab

news etters were shooed off the grimanded for disruption I knewthere once I saw I wasn t entire

O ce t ere, howe er, I wanwa ted, to fee good about beinandparticipati g in the demonstra

iewing the thousands and thousanest a d jubi ant white c ad mwanted to discard any exc usi esisterhood and see beyond the appations of the action. I was i terewords of one of the Washi gto , on strike against the city's princhospita She, B ack woman years of age (the greatest conce

B ack peop e at the march was contingents , to d e:

It s al m o tant w h Il nty of l n s - k t l n s un m lo

l n s and n d monst at ons B g anth y all m o tant I m oud to

For me the resu t of these cosponses was that I a ternated betwmyse f for cynicism and dismissin

owest common denominator po iment I wou d be aw re that sociaha e ne er mobi ized such numb(sa e racia di ersity. Yet in thsome new examp e of un ecessarthe unheeding denia of a ythi ginist wou d re ew my critica judwou d once again wonderabout the esthe experience for other partici anfor the women s mo ement as a

It is ironic and te i g that mai seadership shou d be ie e thatstre gth ies in the suppressio ofromwhich the second wa e of fe


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he abse ce of s ro mul i issue femi is a ia io a d or a izi i wi l have li le impac

a d he fai h will be u warra edThe wome s movem has lo bee co

cer ed wi h he processes by which wome arepoli icized a d he effec of ha poli iciza ioo ma y spheres of our lives The mis ake

liberal femi is ur e o arrow our sco e irespo se o he Ri h s accelera ed effor s hasu dermi ed wome s abili y o deal wi h hefull ramifica ioof a i femi is backlasThis backlas has deep roo s a d is i evi ablewi h ei her e passa e or he defea of he

RA We do ourselves o favors he byhi ki ha we ca hide behi d he RA a d

avoid he realis ic hrea of femi ism o hissocie y I s ead we should exami e he profou d reaso s why so ma y wome a e ded

he march a d co sider he perso al a d poliica pressures which eve mere a e de ce crea ed for ma y wome There were o doubma y furrowed male brows a he prospec of

heir wome (wives co w rkers dau h ersemployees) bussi off for a day of pro esThose wome re ur ed home hey mus be

ive more ha a lovely purple a d oldba er if hey are o deal wi h he predic abledisso a ce A ai Miller is su es ive idescribi his her firs mass demo s ra io

Th s was grea fun, fan as c, no a lo ofanger - a mos happy occas on W h hebanners say ng Three genera ons for heERA ", mo hers w o had sponsored daugh ers

o go, all he d vers y, we were say ng, We'rehere, We ve pa d our own way, nobody old us

o come, and h s s wha we s ould have! "

The mpac had on me, and he mpac I

h nk for a lo of women here, was he fac

ha so many came, on he r own, becas mply wan ed o come. Tha n s gn can You could no gnore

A reed We ca o i ore wome we o pri ciple a d ever poli ely heir collec ive Tha s a eme of pri ciple w

liberal femi ism would admi di o assume ha mos wohe s uff of heir ives is as

si e issue reduc io makes socialis femi is s ca ar ue succeeded i spi e of he apprNOW succeeded because so spo a eously reco ized he

a ce of he RAPar of he New Ri h s poo fearsome y ma ipula e symo a xie ies abou cha e by hereversal of si ifica soci

psycho o ical moral a d poliA y weake i o he par of

he ef i co fro i hese o his by maki cer ai

Socialis femi is s ca o afRi h efi e he issues jus befemi is s wil o ake hem ufalsely ake fu l credi for he

hu dred housa d wome a I s ead we mus ry o shake i ism ou of i s expedie isocialis femi ism forward by deve op s ra e ies a d s rucprac ice which are ful y ref eallhas o e before

SHERR Y WEINGART s a woman s

worker n Bos on


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29/84

Sm P

Jo nn B

"A party of struggle, a government party, became the Italian Communist Party

primary slogan in 1976, just about the time when Eurocommunism began to generategreat deal of discussion in the United States and abroad. Since then, the Italian CommunParty (PCI) has attracted particular attention. A party that ins 12 million votes, counsome 1 ,8 , members, and claims commitment to an independent, national road tosocialism is certainly impressive

But questions arise as to the exact nature of the Italian party. Is it a revolutionary parth t has developed a ne kind of strategy for the socialist transformation of Ita isociety? Or is the PCI disguising reformism - either traditional or ne sty e under c oak of rhetoric? In order to ans er these questions, this investigation of the PCI explore the Party s day to day mode of operations, its internal structure, andrelationship in practice to the orking class, mass movements, and the state since Second World War The lo shift in the nature of the CI from a class oriented, mparty to a socially heterogeneous electoral force, the Party's organizational dec ine throuthe 1960s, and its subsequent gain in strength the traditionally eak links bet een the and the most political y advanced and militant sectors of Ita ian society, al of theseconsequences of the PC s gradualist strategy and reformist pre suppositions After than thirty years as a legal political force, the Party faces a series of prob ems hicstrategy seems unab e to resolve The PC s future as a party of strugg e angovernment party has been thro n into question To understand ho this happened,

must g back to the immediate post ar period.Th s art c e s nc uded n a for hcom ng anthology of or g na wrDEMOCRACY IN POWThe Cr s s of European Cap ta sm and the R se of Euro ommun sm ed ted by Carl BDav d P otke, to be pub shed n December by South End Press, BoOpposite: Fo the fi st time fo owing ibe ation the annive sa of the Ru ian Revo ution ;s ce eb ated in RomNovembe 7 /


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HE POS WAR PERIOD HE MASSPAR Y

A he lo eof he Se ond World War,heleader h p of he PCI reje ed he al erna ve of

n n urre on o e ze power. S al n, Roo e-vel and Chur h ll had already d v ded upEurope, and I ly w a gned o he We ern

amp. he e re ary of he PCI, Palm ro ogl a , re urne from he USSR n 1 44 hav nga ep ed he de on ha here wa o be norevolu on n I aly. In add on, obje ve ond on for u e ful n urre on he endof he w r were no good n e he al ed roopwere o upy ng he oun ry.

he leader h p of he PCI omm ed e f owork ng w h a l he non fa pol a par e

n order o rebu ld parl men ary demo ra y nI aly. he Commun par pa ed n hewr ng of he new on u on and were p r ofhe na onal un y governmen of he mme

a e po war per od. he propo ed ra egy ofhe PCI wa o play a pr mary ro e n he on-ol da on of a progre ve demo ra e ha

would en ru ur l reform and al ow forhe gradual and pea eful ran forma on of

I ly n o a o al o e y. In pra e, heoverr d ng on ern of he PCI dur ng he en repo war per od wa o avo d a onfron onw h he rul ng la . he eader h p of hepar y argued ha he po on of he work ng

la wa no ye rong enough o mpede orw h and a rea on. N onal un y ra her

han la ruggle dom na ed he PC ' rhe o-r , an he pro e on of v l l ber e be ame

pr n pal obje ve. he par y a weredefen ve n na ure and lef he pol a ande onom n a ve o he bourgeo e.

Af er he long year of lande ne a v yand ex le under fa m, he PCI emerged from

he war no a a mall organ za on of profe -onal adre, bu a a ma p r y of 1 7 m ll onmember wh h grew o 2 25 m ll on by 1 47

ogl a , who led he par y from 1 26 un l h

dea h n 1 64, e ab hed PC ' po war developmen . no fun on mply aan e e oral wou dbe deeply roo ed n everymandworkp a e where would ew hhe m l on of I l an

hange he r ua on. In h

og ve he e people' a p raorgan zedmovemen and lead hemfor pe f obje ve . h of ruggle o up ed a en ral

ra eg formula on .In dd on o he Par y' u eful o apply he o o

ma par y" and a h llana y of he PCI. he polp anned by he Commun leaa European yle ma par yor en ed par y ha an expldeology and ome k nd of glob

he ran forma on of o en ere of pe f groupo h ra her han o w nn

po ble. Ele oral a v yma p r y' fun on , and pr mary fun on. he par y onon e e oral pol al a v

uppor er n demon ra onand o on. I o pl ya role n he

feof he workpla e and he oom ng a major for e n he un elle ualo a za on of

deo og a hru ndr eg well a a

p r ya ra rela vely homber h p n erm of a .

Un kehe ma par y, a hno have an organ progr m for

o e y. I l m e f

hange progr m o mee momen . he a h all par y dn o he da y l fe of he nd

mob ze on uen y

_


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poses Such a party presents no long term objectives or fundamental principles, and its electorate uctuates The goal of the catch all partyis to obtain the maximum number of votes, andso it directs its electoral campaigns to all socialclasses

In order to create a mass party, the Com

munist leadership gave primary attentionduring the early years to building the PCI or-ganizationally. The territorial section," whichdraws members from a geographical area (forexample, a neighborhood) became the basicpolitical and organizational unit, and one slo-gan of those years was a section for every belltower " The PCI placed great emphasis onrecruitment, and party militants devoted muchof their energy to membership drives and tobuilding new s ctions around the country

In terms of this goal, the PCI was quitesuccessful By 1954, it had penetrated evensome of the smallest and most remote com-munities and counted 9,569 sections and 1,578nuclei (sections of less than 20 members). Only14 ercent of the cities and towns in Italywere without a section or nucleus

The PCI also met many of the other criteriaof a mass party Its ideological orientation andstrategic goals were explicit (although it is true

that the party never developed an organic program of specific short and intermediate termobjectives and well defined tactics to achievethese) The PCI attracted members who identi-fied with its ideology and strategy, and therefore the social composition of the party wasfai ly homogeneous. In 1954, urban workersmade up 48 6 percent of the membership baseand farm workers 21 7 percent. Small farmersand sharecroppers accounted for 19 7 percentartisans and merchants 6 4 percent, white collarworkers, intellectuals, teachers, and professionals 3 3 percent, and students 0 3 percentThe voting base of the Party was more heterogeneous than the membership, but the Party's

share of the votes increased only 4 32from 1953 to 1 968 (from 22.64 percenpercent).

As for intervening in everyday lifecommunities and playing a role in the tual and cultural socialization of its baPCI put out daily newspapers, weeklies,tical journals and ran its own publishingThe party gained control over the coopmovement, and carried on commercialties, ran recreational and cultural centeganized popular festivals, and held admtive posts in the local governments ofcities, towns, and proinces

Belonging to the PCI required no mosigning up and paying dues, and only proportion of the members were activeParty. There were probably abo t 2 ,vists during the 1950s, but estimates athis number dropped to 80, durin1960s

Thus the PCI succeeded in establishmaintaining its identity as a mass partthe end of the war until the early 1970terms of being a party of struggle, thfailed early on

STRATEGIC AND TACTICAL CHOICEDuring the 1944 45 armed Resistancpartisans and workers expected Togliescalate the anti fascist struggle into arection to seize state power When inannounced the new gradualist strategplans to participate in a coalition govermany cadre at first believed it was a distract the ruling class and theAnAmerican orces Over the next fouyears, it became clear to the militants nthat the PCI leadership had renounced revolutionary struggle for the foreseeablebut more important, that he arty was tremendous concessions to the ruling

.- - ---- ,

-


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wh chsh fted the ba ance of power n fa or ofth s c ass and the Chr st an Democrat c Party.

nce the PCI had comm tted tse f to carryng out the post war reconstruct on w th n the

boundar es of the cap ta st system, the pr ncpa focus of c ass strugg e became estab sh ngthe cr ter a for con ers on of the war t me

economy he quest on was how much controeach c ass wou d ha e and how much eachwou d pay n terms of ts own econom c nterests he work ng c ass has as ts nstruments ofstrugg e the PCI and the un on confederat oncontro ed by t e PCI (Con ederaz one Genera eIta ana de La oro CGIL) he ma n concern of the Commun st eadersh p, howe er,was to a o d a c ash w th the bourgeo s e. h sconcern determ ned ts essent a y pass estance.

hus a though the workers contro ed themportant factor es of the North (the majorndustr a zone) at the c ose of the war, the PCI

d d not use th s to extract concess ons. he f rsttaxes estab shed were d rect deduct ons fromworkers sa ar es rather than taxes on prof tsfrom specu at on and the war. In genera , thePCI put a brake on the ndustr a work ng c assmo ement wh e try ng to w n reforms for therura petty bourgeo s e and work ng c ass (forexamp e, and reform n the South). In September194 , the CG IL agreed to mass ayoffs n

ndustry. By August 1946, northern workerswere demonstrat ng aga nst the po c es of theCommun st M n ster of the reasury Ep carm oCorb no.

e CGIL refused to ead str kes n factor esthat were operat ng, and the occupat on of non-operat ng factor es d d not great y affect thecap ta stsat that t me. In 19 , the CGIL

acceptedan accord that ga e management afree hand n nd dua ayoffs. he ru ng c assused th s measure effect e y o er the nextdecade to weed out m tant workers and un on

sts and to keep the rest of theorder y.

By 19 the cap ta st c ass ts contro . hus just f e years

t on, the PCI cou d do no moregand st ca y denounce the boursu ng a course that fa ored forethe detr ment of the nat ona eW th the restructur ng of the econthe hands of the bourgeo s e, theconom c batt e to be fought byc ass was o er the d str but on too, the PCI was unab e to secuFrom 19 to 19 , prof ts soabut rea wages rose on y 6 perc

he PCI a so suffered se eradefeats n the po t ca arena. crat c Pr me M n ster A c

res gned n May 1947 and then fpost war cab net n Ita y w thn sts or Soc a sts he Chrwon an abso ute major ty n te ect ons, and from then unt the exerc se of state power was

ssue n pr act ce for the PCI.By 19 1, the consequence of

strateg c and tact ca cho ces fowere c ear. he Commun st assumed that, as a party of struggwou d forge and ma nta n a strothe anguard of the mo ement pres pposed that the party wou dw th, and gu de, the anguard mwe as susta n ts organ zat onfactor es. Instead, the PCI part cstrugg es of the ear y years as a foat on and ended up weaken ng trad t ona y m tant strata of

ng c ass.

A ar ety of data demonstrathe non PCI dom nated un on cbegan to ncrease the r strength aof the CGIL as ear y as 19 1 wh

, . " < -


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pe ce t o t e ote some a ge acto es By195 t ey a ma e s g ca t ga s a 1955 t e C ost ts ma o ty at F at t e

sto c ea t o t e ta a wo ke s o e-me t

T e PC a so ost st e gt ea ly o t ea ge c t es o t e No t west w e e t e o ga

e ust a wo k g c ass was co ce t ateT e pa ty s ote M a o e amp e eom 4 9 pe ce t 1946 to 5 pe ce t

195 T e umbe o acto y cel s e om11 495 to 1 betwee 1954 a 1967 T e

ate o a es o to t e pa ty t e pe ce tageo PC membe s t e e t e ot g age popu-

at o c t es o mo e t a ab ta tsoppe om 7 pe ce t 1949 to 6 8 pe ce t 195 a t e co t ue to ecl e to a ow

po t o 6 pe ce t 1971

PARTY FT e Pa ty s te al o ga at o a ts

mo e o ope at o o a ay to ay bas s e-ma e t e same om t e ea y post wa pe oto t e p ese t As me t o e ea l e t e te to

a sect o aw g membe s om a e g bo -oo o mu c pa ty was t e u ame ta o

ga at o al u t o t e PC Most act sts c a

e e t e po t ca o k t oug t ese st eetsect o s at e t a t oug ce ls o sect o s wo kp aces T e sect o s occup e t emse esp ma y w t t e out e wo k o membe s p

es u a s g st but o o t e ewspape a so o T e out e wo k was te -

upte pe o ca y by e ecto a campa g s aby ma o at o a a te at o a e e ts T e

atte o te spa ke po t cal scuss o at t ebase e e o t e pa ty but t e ea e s pte e to om ate t ese scuss o s a tot eat w ate e a appe e as a cu e te e t sepa ate om t e e pe e ces a act -

t es o pa ty membe s a t e e o e u coecte to t e ta t cs a st ategy o t e pa ty

e ons a on aga ns he T ffa Law

at e e cept o a occao ga e a mass espo se to 195 o e amp e t e PCcampa g aga st t e T u a t e C st a Democ ats tg e a most two t s ome t to a y pa ty w g 5

ote Yet t s k o ca l was ecte at t e e t e p

ta a c t e s T e sectbu a ect a c ass motoget e t e most m l ta t g oups spec c st ugg et a c c atu e

' m " " ' , . .


34/84

At the intermediate level of organization (thefederations) the arty once again devotedmuch of its time and energy to routine mattersinvolving budgets membershi ublicationsand electoral cam aigns This kind of activityrelated to the maintenance and self

er etuation of the arty as an institution he

stro ger of the 1 or so federations also rancoo eratives and community and cultural centers Those in the red zones" (where the PCIwas art of the local government) had administrative res onsibilities in various agencies Although these activities rooted the arty solidlyin the social fabric of a given area they alsocreated a situation in which the arty becamea

rogressive institution within the existingsystem oriented toward equilibrating thatsystem

The tasks of the federations made the intermediate level of the arty articularly ronetoward bureaucratization as well as integrationinto the establishment " Many of the functionaries (full time arty em loyees) worked atthis level and became rofessional city council

ersons unionists and coo erative directorswhode ended on the arty for their salariesand ho ed to reserve their jobs As well aslacking t e time for creative" olitics and forbuilding class movements that challenged theexisting order many functionaries came to

erceivethis kind of activism as working againstthe arty's and their own interests

he highest levels of arty leadershi (thecentral committee olitbureau direc orateand secretariate) concerned themselves rimarilywith elaborating the olitical line develo ing and announcing ositions on s ecific

issuesdirecting the PC s arliamentaryactivity and overseeing the work of the lower levelsof the arty From so great a distance theleadershi was inca able of forging and directing a class movement and the organizational

2

structures methods of work andsaryto bridge the ga did not ex

As might be ex ected the PCas a arty of struggle took their tofrom 19 4 to 196 were characsteady organizational decline Band 196 the PC s me bershi

6 or while the rathe arty sli ed from 7% to 4PC s youth organization whowaysbeen an indication ofthe arty s samong young eo le lost over 7members

The number of recruits taken invaried between 6 and 16 bnumber of members not rejoininhigher fluctuating between 1

6 he eriod of time membinthe arty was often very short allindicate an instability in the artshi base

Between 19 6 and 1967 the ntions and nuclei fell by and thof Italian munici alities without nucleus increased from 16 9 to

By the late 19 s the organizaof the arty was of great concern tshi but in s ite of all efforts tmembershi base (including recrutests between federations) the tinued

It is im ortant to note that altPCI s organizational strength dim

artymaintained many of the characa mass arty (ex licitideology consistegic goals socially homogeneoubase and stable ele torate) thro196 s After that time there wercant changes but in order to undthesechanges came a out we mus

arty s relationshi to the two cycclass stru gles that took lace in196 s


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THE PCI IN HE 60

The PCI had clearly row ou of ouch wi hchan e occuri i he ruc ure of he I aliaeco omy a d i he a ure of he i du rialworki cla The par y wa cau h off uardby he wave of ex remely mili a ru le ha

wep hro h he fac ori of he Nor h from1 60 hrou h 1 62 markin wha i called hereawakeni of he I alia worki claYoun worker and immi ra " worker from

he ou h had ee pulled o o he a emblyli e by he e of hou a d a he eco omyexpa ded U like he previou e era io of

killed worker e ew ma " worker eerally did o elo o a poli ical par y orunio bu heir commo experience i he

fac ory enera ed a level of u i y a d mili a cyha had o been een in I aly for ma y yearThe PCI which did o i i ia e or lead heru le of 1 60 62 wa forced o re po d o

he i ua io a i developed i i no urpri iha he PCI be efi ed li le i erm of or a i

za io al ren h from he moveme he meind of epara io from he va uard a dheir ru le charac erized he i i ial rela iohip of he PCI o he ude ' a d worker '

moveme ha hook I aly i he la e 1 60From he occupa io of Mila ' Ca holic U iver i y in Oc ober 1 67 hrou h he hoau umn" of worker ru le around co ra

Documents

Radical America - Vol 12 No 5 - 1978 - September October