Reflections on the ‘IS tradition’

David Renton has produced a series of articles examining the issues being debated in the SWP on his Lives; Running blog. 

Tony Cliff

It is wrong to focus merely on the form of democratic centralism without having a sense also of the different quality of the decisions taken by a leadership. Any structure which gives the leadership a key role in initiating tactical change, will inevitably depend for its success on the quality of the people in top positions, and not their general quality (their sense of humour, their tactical nous, their humility, their ability to write well or to think deeply) but much more specifically on their ability to lead in the immediate social crisis of the present, to act, to make fruitful decisions.

Read “Reflections on the IS tradition” here.

There’s plenty more on Dave’s blog worth reading, including articles on Peter Sedgwick, socialist morality and the role of teachers in the working class.

 

Note: This piece was published before rs21 was established as an independent organisation in January 2014. rs21 was founded by a group of people who had been in the opposition within the SWP and who left in response to its persistent mishandling of rape and sexual harassment allegations against a leading member.

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