It is this failure which lies behind the very real 'crisis in the schools'. But since the labour movement has never had a line on education independent from the State's 'progressives, it has been completely unable to cope with this crisis.
The working class experiences the crisis - of 'violence, of learning failure - as being to its disadvantage. But left teachers are mostly still wed to an outlook that uncritically defends not the workers interests, but the projects set up by the State to fit workers' children to meet capitalism's new needs. Rather than fighting for a socialist understanding or this crisis, even the most conscious of teachers often play down its effects and tell workers that, once the cuts are reversed, the rest will be plain sailing.
The right wing has been quick to spot this weakness. In the case of William Tyndale School, there has been a line-up of Black Paper' supporters with right-wingers in the local Labour Party to smash progressive teachers and impose a the defeat of the General Strike. As Ben commented: Ordinary people learnt to organise themselves, from they have done in 90 days?
by 'lefts Purcell and Swales - who with their vicious wage-cuts. heavily over-done once or twice, but repeatedly.
fidence all over the country, was thus largely absent.
cial facet of the situation - workers taking over a bus while under attack from mounted right-wing vigilantes, or the discussion in the local Council of Action - stood out like sore thumbs
.. the overthrow of the dictatorship is on the agenda!" 10 spain The following is an interview with a leader of the LCR-ETA (VI), Spanish sympathising organisation of the Fourth International, given shortly before the recent execution of five anti-fascist militants by the Spanish This brutal action, far from fulfilling its intended aim of breaking the spirit of the mass movement, touched off a new wave of mass struggle. In the Basque provinces of • brutal actions did not move the leadership of the Communist Party to abandon their policy of political passivity, adopted to reassure the Spanish capitalists of their 'responsibility. As a result no important strikes took place outside of the Basque country, although a number of demonstrations were mounted - especially in Barcelona, where 5,000 attended Txiki's funeral. red weekly 9 october 1975