The “labour aristocracy” and groundhog day

Bob Gould

Nick Fredman and I could very well drive each other mad by going over the same piece of territory again, and again, and again. I’ve already discussed the aristocracy of labour theory with Peter Boyle and Jon Strauss at considerable length on Marxmail and Green Left. I’d also draw attention to an extract from A.J. Polan’s book, Lenin and the End of Politics.

Two documents on the question of the “labour aristocracy”

Green Left discussion list, March 16, 2004

A.J. Polan’s book, Lenin and and the End of Politicscontains a lucid and explanatory discussion of Lenin’s theory of imperialism and the associated question of the role of an “aristocracy of labour” in the development of reformism in the labour movement in Europe and the US.

This extract is of value for its overview of the issues and because the notes provide a useful coverage of the literature on this question.

This short extract from The Struggle for Socialism in the Imperialist Epoch, a 1984 resolution of the Australian Socialist Workers Party (later the DSP) is of interest because its view of the “aristocracy of labour” question differs somewhat from the present view of the DSP leadership.

These observations on the labour aristocracy question are obviously influenced by the Australian SWP’s rather negative experiences during what was called “the turn to industry”, which lasted from about 1978 to 1983 in Australia.

Discussion

Origins of the working class in Australia

Continuing the discussion on the DSP’s theory of the “labour aristocracy

This discussion is developing in a robust, serious and rather complex way. Quite obviously Peter Boyle, Jon Strauss, Shane Hopkinson and myself have put some effort into the necessary reading and research, and that’s a useful development.

Some questions on the DSP’s “labour aristocracy” theory

Bob Gould

Green Left weekly discussion list, January 22, 2004

The responses of Peter Boyle and Jon Strauss to questions from myself and Shane Hopkinson have been very useful in beginning to lay the basis for a more informed and possibly constructive debate about this question. However, I’ve got a couple more.

The DSP and the so-called labour aristocracy

A response to Peter Boyle’s curious mantra about Lenin, the labour aristocracy and other matters

Bob Gould

Peter Boyle has posted on Marxmail an extremely strange, almost unintelligible, piece about Lenin and the labour aristocracy, and I echo Louis Proyect’s slightly irritated response to the last paragraph, and extend it to the whole post. What, in Lenin’s name, does Boyle mean? What immediate political propositions is he trying to convey from such an oracular and convoluted appeal to the imputed sanctity of Lenin’s writings about the “labour aristocracy”?