John Crump's resignation letter from the Socialist Party of Great Britain (SPGB) in 1973. Written as he left the UK for Japan, he describes and critiques the two main currents (economic determinists and utopians) that existed in the organisation and its failure to respond to events in society.
What is it that prevents the SPGB functioning as a revolutionary organisation?
Comments
See the SPGB reply to John
See the SPGB reply to John Crump
http://www.socialiststudies.org.uk/polemic%20john%20crump.shtml
Of course our comrade John
Of course our comrade John Crump (who contributed much in his brief membership of the spgb and was consistent in recognising some of that organisations strengths) is no longer alive to respond further to this republished response to his short criticism of the spgb' failings as an organisation over it's long history up until the early 70's. It is submitted here presumably more as an attack on the real spgb by the ageing 'Socialist Strudies' rump that was expelled from the main organisation that continues to publish the 'Socialist Standard' (with all it's continueing strengths and weaknesses).
Much else has been published since then to reinforce and deepen John's criticism of both wings of the spgb but as far as 'Socialist Studies' is concerned - it's a case of 'let the dieing die'!
Interesting re-reading this
Interesting re-reading this after 40 years. Interesting too that the SPGB still exists and that it has members who weren't even born then. At least this shows that it is filling a niche for those opposed to capitalism who are not satisfied either with the vanguardism of the trot groups of the direct actionism (for reforms or other immediate demands) of the anarchists. These groups still have to face the SPGB case for a group that campaigns for a classless, stateless, moneyless, wageless society and nothing else. Which presumably is why John Crump's letter has been put up here.
Probably also relevant here
Probably also relevant here to mention this chatty article (originally a letter) written by another of the spgb internal critics initially associated, like John Crump, with the 'faction' that eventually went on to publish the duplicated journal 'Libertarian Communism' and later the group and publication 'Social Revolution'
http://libcom.org/history/monument-or-movement
John of course continued to contribute to 'Libertarian Communism and the 'Social Revolution' group.