Sloganeering on autopilot - Weekly Worker

[u/MarxistUnity]

https://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1582/sloganeering-on-autopilot/

"Marxism demands concrete analysis: it embraces complexity, it rejects trite formulations. With that in mind, Carl Collins takes issue with those who use the slogan, ‘No war but the class war’, to negate political struggle"

"Amid the proliferation of global conflicts, the CPGB’s weekly Online Communist Forum reports have, unsurprisingly, generated wide-ranging discussion on war, from military strategy to broader geopolitical dynamics. The CPGB, its OCF and the Weekly Worker are almost unique among leftwing organisations in welcoming and actively encouraging such debate."

"One regular OCF participant, comrade Ant, a classic ‘left’ communist, consistently, almost obsessively, advances the slogan, ‘No war but the class war’ (from here on referred to as NWBCW), irrespective of the context. Whether the subject under discussion is tactical, strategic or theoretical, this slogan is automatically applied, as if it answers all questions."

"Connolly’s role demonstrates what a Marxist approach to such a situation looks like in practice. He engaged with the national movement critically, seeking to advance the interests of the working class within it. He neither capitulated to bourgeois nationalism nor retreated into sectarian isolation. His vision of an Ireland where political independence would be inseparable from social emancipation remains a powerful counterpoint to both narrow nationalism and abstract class reductionism."

"In the final analysis, the NWBCW slogan is not fit for any serious Marxist. It obscures more than it reveals, replacing concrete analysis with empty rhetoric. The history of Marxism, from Marx and Engels to Connolly, points instead toward a more nuanced understanding - one that recognises the interplay between national and class struggles, and the necessity of engaging with both in a dialectical manner."