History Socialist Equality Party (Australia)

1 history

1.1 background , foundation workers party
1.2 end of world war ii , refoundation labour socialist group
1.3 refoundation socialist labour league
1.4 refoundation socialist equality party

history
background , foundation workers party

the communist party of australia (cpa) founded in 1920 in response founding of third international in 1919. lenin , trotsky, ideological models of sep, supported development of united front between communist , social democratic parties, such australian labor party (alp), oppose rise of fascism. @ fourth congress of third international executive committee of communist international (ecci) decided communists should participate in labor party, because of peculiar rule allowed other organisations affiliate alp.

—letter ecci, suggesting practical application of united front tactic in australia.

the fourth congress last congress @ internal opponents of stalin, such trotsky s left opposition, able openly discuss party tactics. in australia, in 1924 cpa members purged alp. cpa membership declined , relations comintern worsened. no australian delegate attended fifth congress of communist international in 1924. stalinist persecution of trotskyists came australia however, when, following publication of ecci’s open letter in workers’ weekly on 6 december 1929, cpa congress, held @ end of month, denounced current leadership (which critical of stalinist line of fourth international) , installed new central committee declared unswerving loyalty stalinist line. comintern, still sceptical, sent harry m. wicks (known pseudonym herbert moore) united states reorganise cpa. on next year wicks (who, later discovered, long time spy , agent fbi) took control of party, rewriting program , constitution , reorganising leadership through series of purges of members of left opposition.

by 1932, militant, newspaper of communist league of america (cla), first non-russian trotskyist organisation, being published in australia. in 1933, trotsky called founding of fourth international. in 1933 australian branch of international left opposition founded trotskyist workers party. workers party went direct confrontation cpa on wwii, trotskyists characterised imperial war while cpa stalinists supported war.

end of world war ii , refoundation labour socialist group

in 1941, cpa , workers party banned australian government, , australian trotskyists reorganised labour socialist group (lsg), led nick origlass. @ annual conference on easter in 1952, lsg adopted entrism sui generis, renewed united front strategy proposed secretary of fourth international, michel pablo. however, alp refused origlass , other leading trotskyists attempts join party. alp demanded dissolution of party newspaper, socialist, accept membership. socialist liquidated in august 1952, , slg members accepted alp.

refoundation socialist labour league

inspired british socialist labour league, nick beams , other young australian radicals founded socialist labour league (sll) in 1972. throughout 1970s , 1980s, sll supported strikes against fraser (liberal) , hawke (alp) governments. party s newspaper, workers news, circulated in major cities.

in 1992 perspectives resolution, sll drew balance sheet of response of petty-bourgeois left tendencies demise of soviet union , dissolution of communist party of australia in 1991, arguing long working class dominated , subordinated vast apparatuses of stalinism , laborism, happy define ‘socialists’ , ‘marxists’ or ‘revolutionaries’. formed part , parcel of petty-bourgeois buffer, created ruling class in aftermath of war, suffocate working class.

—sep statement of principles, adopted unanimously @ january 21–25, 2010 founding congress.
refoundation socialist equality party

the socialist labour league officially refounded socialist equality party in 2010, founding congress held in sydney on 21–25 january 2010, unanimously adopted statement of principles.