Workers World Party - Ideological Background and Platform

Ideological Background and Platform

While the party originally considered itself Trotskyist, is soon began to cease referring to Trotsky in their organ or to carry much, if any, Trotskyist literature. In its first decade the group leaned more to Maoism, while still considered itself to have "the kind of political independence that enables revolutionaries to speak up if they see that the cause is being damaged by the policies of the leadership of socialist countries." They supported the Peoples Republic of China on the issues of the 1959 Tibetan uprising and the Sino-Indian Border War of 1962, and endorsed both the Great Leap Forward and the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, but criticized their characterization of the USSR as social imperialist, fearing that it would lead to Sino-American reproachment. The party was particularly attracted to Lin Biao, praising the inclusion of him in the preamble to the 1969 Chinese Constitution. They felt that the disappearance of Lin and his associates mark "the end of an entire stage of the Cultural Revolution." They grew increasingly critical of Communist China after 1971, especially their closer relations to the west and supported the "radical faction" within China that opposed this course. After the fall of the Gang of Four in 1976 they considered the Chinese leaders "reaction" and "attacking the revolutionary domestic achievements of the Mao era". By the mid 1980s the only trace of Trotskyist ideology still espoused by the WWP was the idea of the USSR and other Communist controlled countries as degenerated workers' states who had to be defended against imperialism even if their leaderships needed to be criticized.

Ideologically, the WWP is orthodox Marxist-Leninist. The Party's Trotskyist origins are reflected in much of Sam Marcy's early literature. However, Marcy also continued to uphold the USSR as a socialist state until the very end. When the Provisional Organizing Committee to Reconstitute a Marxist-Leninist Communist Party was formed, the WWP included a friendly headline directed to them, "Welcome, Comrades!" in Workers World newspaper. The Provisional Organizing Committee replied by telling them, "Trotskyism is Counter-Revolution and Nothing Else!". Following this, "virtually all mention of Trotsky vanished forever from its pages." These things led some individuals and organizations to accuse both Marcy and the party of being "Stalinist," yet the Party was never simply a "pro-Soviet" organization. They were never following the line of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union without discussions: Marcy was always critical of Stalin's leadership and the Party remains largely Trotskyist in many areas. Marcy also firmly criticized Khrushchev for starting the Sino-Soviet split and called for the unity of all of the socialist states at the time (i.e. the Warsaw Pact countries, China, Yugoslavia, Albania and the DPRK. Their program of supporting all of the socialist states and calling for a united socialist bloc, rather than simply following the line of one of the large, ruling Communist parties (e.g. Chinese or Soviet), was part of what made the WWP unique during the Cold War era, and independence remains a defining trait of the Party. The ideological positions of Workers World Party developed through the theoretical analyses of Marcy and co-founder Vince Copeland over the course of 37 years - by 1998 they were both deceased. The Party hasn't strayed from the line in the years since, but longtime cadre and Secretariat member Fred Goldstein has proven to be a leading Marxist economics writer who builds upon the political theories that have always defined WWP. Today as always, the Party is much more involved with getting to know and build solidarity with ordinary working-class and oppressed peoples on the strength of constant activism than in debating. The relatively low priority given to recruitment during intermittent periods is due to a lack of time when various important actions are taking place rather than any view of elitism. WWP adheres strongly to the Leninst concept of a cadre membership but seeks to become a revolutionary mass party through Marxist political analysis as well as deep involvement in organizing movements and protests. The party platform includes guaranteed rights of work, housing, education; justice for oppressed social groups; release of political prisoners; and working class solidarity