be free themselves. and the army would eventually come for them too.
like Paisley dread being defeated in the north of Ireland, British workers can only and une wnole impenalist system is ariven out of Ireland. As Mike Cooley (past class is beginning to recognise that it is not in its interests to have the British army in Ireland. The task from this conference is to build the broadest possible mobilisations and especially the conference call op probably the most experienced counter- for a massive demonstration in November trade union delegates at the conference tried to explain how this could best be done in the hundreds of Troops Out Now pamphlets sold and in the pages of Red Weekly. The IMG delegates who managed to get to une sustrum emphasised that a massive working class movement for tne but would be a material factor in preventing a Loyalist-unleashed civil war.
ility, it was still a long hard fight within benefit when the army of British imperialism International Socialists, expelled by that president of TASS) said, the British working number of groups to the left of the CP, Fourth International.
The 50 or so IMG militants who were effect of our criticism.
immediate withdrawal of troops would not only advance the struggle of British workers They explained that although a troops out movement was beginning to be a possib- at its national conference to one delegate per thirty members. • 1 am writing on behalf of several member: of the former 'Left Opposition' of the • organisation six months ago. Since then we have examined and had discussions with a and having completed that process we have now applied for membership of the ING. This decision is based both on the lessons we learnt in our struggle in IS, and on our estimation of the IMG and the While we were in IS the Left Opposition offered a far-reaching criticism of • the theory and practice of that group. • The fact that within two weeks of issuing our platform we were expelled witnout a nearing obviously limited tne The expulsion in itself did not sur*critique of IS was that it was developing internally into a bureaucratically repres • sive clique that could neither countendance nor afford serious self-criticism. This estimation was borne out by the manner of our expulsion and has since been confirmed by a whole series of of the IS leadership to limit attendance Yet the internal life of any political organisation is often no more than a con sequence of its external practices and policies, and our criticism of IS was more elaporate than a mere objection to the suppression of internal debate. For here is an organisation which concentrates its agitation on shouts for bigger and better trade union militancy, offers no more *than moralistic judgements on class enemies with a reliance on exposure and (shouts of 'hypocrites', and whose final • solution to capitalism is 'join IS'.
Consequentiv there is a conscious avoidance of any issues which are seen as obstacles on the economistic road to political debate within its own ranks. An organisation such as IS which recruits on the lowest common denominator-to 'the extent of containing within its membership supporters of Orange rule in Northern Ireland (i.e. advocates of the Two Nations Theory')-cannot place too many conditions on membership, lest that membership fades away.
In contrast to such practice and theory-or rather the lack or it-w found the IMG refreshingly different. You were serious enough to allow us to aliena your national conterence desorte the fact that during the conference there was.much criticisin of the IMG. That you still encouraged us to attend as observer: displays a serious approach to political development, and contrasts well to IS which allows only just over.3 per cent of its members to attend its conference and which now bans all observers, even those in IS.
But again such differences, while important, are no more than an indication of more important matters such as wo men's liberation and Irish liberation on which you rave a principled revolutionary position. Indeed your whole estimation of the working class, that it can and will look for political answers, contrasts well with the patronising view of IS that the rank and file are too thick to appreciate the relevance of politics. And yet the IMG has no reason to be over self-congratula tory on the stand it nas taken on sucn issues as women and Ireland-it is only to be expected from any organisation which takes Marxism/Leninism/Trotskyism as a starting point.
But what has also become apparert over the last few months is that politica positions by themselves in 'one country, nowever correct are nosenouong: internationalism of the proletarian struggle has been proved vividly with the events in Portugal and South East Asia. We stand opposed to the view that revolutions in one country can evolve to a -communistic society-we stress instead the need for an international strategy and, accordingly, an international party of the working class.
We do not approach the IMG and the Fourth International as offering the embodiment of that party, nor do we see the MG as being a panacea for all our ills a solution to all our problems; indeed, we do not seek to hide the fact that we are entering the IMG with constructive criticisms. However we do recognise that witnin the iva and the rourtn interna tional there is a willingness and a poten tial to seek for and to find the basis of the only alternative to capitalism and imperia lism; the solution of international JEFF BELL, London.