Marxist Studies Vol. 1, No. 5, Autumn 1969

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Marxist

Studies
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THE BULLET iNew OF sMARMIST Stuy IEs

Editorial Committee: Chris Arthur, Keith Veness, Ken Tarbuck, John Walters. Managing Editor: John Walters. Business Manager: R. Carter.

16A Holmdale Road, London N.W. 6.

Vol. 1. No. 5 CONTENTS Autumn 1969 Page 2 Editorial: A Victory for Who?

~ 5 Workers' States? - Problems of Transition

Pert II by B. Biro ¥ 18 Australia's ‘Left Convention' by Me Quinn * 23 The Debate between Cliff and Healy -

The Politics of the IS and SLL by J. Greenlark

30 A Reply to Raymond Challinor by Ken Coates

THIS ISSUE

This issue is both late and shorter than intended, the main reason for both these omissions has been the changes in the editorial team and the change of editorial address. However, we are confident that from now on the journal will be regular in its publication and carry a wider coverage of artioles.

In this present issue we print the second and concluding part of B. Biro's essay on the nature of transitional regimes. We feel that this work is going to provide a great deal of controversial discussion material, and we hope written interventions. For far too long has the. ‘discussion' taken a stereotyped form, with many people in the Marxist movement being too ready to fall back on analyses and documents written thirty or more years ago. That such documents should be studied and understood there can be no doubt, but that itself is not enough.

The analysis of the Cliff v Healy debate combines well with other material printed in previous issues. Whilst the editors would not agree with all that is in the article, we feel that it does throw some light on certain questions that have a general relevance. On one point in particular we would take issue with the writer of the article, and that is the characterisation of the IS Group as reformist. One can understand the sense in which the term is used in this context, but we feel that economist is a more accurate term. We make this point not to be pedantic; rather we feel that the term reformist may mislead, since many in the IS Group are just as adept at using 'revolutionary' rhetoric as any other Marxists.

The report of the Australian Left Action Conference, although it is a little dated, nontheless does give a lively picture of some very important developments. Since the article was written there have been large scale strikes against the anti-trade union laws which underline the message of the meeting. Perhaps the most significant aspect of this report is that the Communist Party of Australia convened the conference. This is a move without precedence within the Communist movement.