Originally from ChuckO webpgs. http://burn.ucsd.edu/~mai/texts/iso.html
We've gotten several requests for background information on the ISO (International Socialist Organization), as well as some critical analysis of Trotskyism and Trotskyist organizations. The following articles are for those of you who want to know more about this authoritarian leftist organization and its sister organizations around the world.
ISO: THE JOY OF SECTS by John Lacny A wit once remarked that of all the Jesuits, the worst are the Protestant ones. I have come to the conclusion that this cogent observation has a counterpart when it comes to the world of the sectarian left: of all the Stalinists, the worst are the Trotskyites.
And among these, there is the group that a member of which once proudly described to me as "the fastest-growing organization on the Trotskyist left": the International Socialist Organization (ISO). Properly speaking, the ISO is not Trotskyist, since most such organizations saw progressive features in the USSR even during the Stalin era, while the ISO dismisses the entire post-Trotsky Soviet venture as "state capitalism." But since the group vociferously claims the mantle of the exiled founder of the Red Army, it seems a little perverse to deny them the label they seek for themselves. On the surface, though, the ISO is not as objectionable as the three other main Trotskyite groupings in the United States: the Castro-worshipers of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP, publishers of The Militant), not to be confused with the ISO's British "sister organization" of the same name; the Socialist Equality Party (SEP, publishers of the Internet-only International Workers Bulletin), which dismisses all trade un ions as "reactionary"; and the certifiably lunatic Spartacist League (SL, publishers of Workers Vanguard), which still boasts of its support for Soviet military operations in Afghanistan throughout the 1980s. But anyone who has ever worked with the ISO - and, as a consequence, has been incessantly solicited to purchase a copy of its biweekly tabloid, Socialist Worker- knows that the ISO can hold its own with its factional rivals in terms of fanatical persistence...
(SNIP, see,http://burn.ucsd.edu/~mai/texts/iso_sects.html )
Marxism and "Anarchism": A reply to the SWP The Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci once wrote that "to tell the truth is a communist and revolutionary act." Sadly, when it comes to anarchism, Marxists rarely tell the truth. Instead, they usually produce a series of slanders and lies.
In issue no. 1714 of Socialist Worker (dated 16th September 2000) the British SWP decided to “expose” anarchism in an article entitled “Marxism and Anarchism.” However, their article is little more than a series of errors and distortions. We shall indicate how the SWP lies about anarchist ideas and discuss the real differences between anarchism and Marxism.
The Anarchist FAQ: Anarchism and Marxism
The Anarchist FAQ: Reply to errors and distortions in David McNally's pamphlet Socialism from Below In chapter three of his pamphlet Socialism from Below, David McNally decides to expose (what he calls) "The Myth Of Anarchist Libertarianism." In reality, his account is so distorted and, indeed, dishonest that all it proves is that Marxists will go to extreme lengths to attack anarchist ideas. As Brain Morris point out, defending the Leninist tradition and ideology "implies . . . a compulsive need to rubbish anarchism." [Ecology & Anarchism, p. 128] McNally's pamphlet is a classic example of this. As we will prove, his "case" is a mish-mash of illogical assertions, lies and, when facts do appear, their use is simply a means of painting a false picture of reality.
Personal account of being a member of Resistance (Australia)
Resistance and the Democratic socialist party are very similar to the Socialist Workers Party of the USA. These groups are very uncritical of castro's regime and like all trotskyist groups, they assert that their brand of marxist-leninist theory is right. Resistance and the DSP claim to have large memberships, though when I was a member, it didn't seem so large. They assert that the Bolsheviks wanted free speech. And that Karl Marx really intended that dictatorship of the proletariat to be democracy. Like the ISO they don't look outwardly objectionable like the spartacists and others.
Open Letter to the Seattle Chapter of the ISO from a Wobbly To the Seattle ISO; Recently, your organization held a public forum (May 24th) about the union of which I am a member, entitled "Who Were the Wobblies". After attending this forum, many things became clear to me about the nature of your organization, and reaffirmed everything I have seen in the years I've been active in Seattle, as well as accounts from fellow activists in Seattle; that your organization does nothing but to further deface the term "socialism" and alienate working people from learning about the class struggle. Your forum has also exposed your agenda of misinformation, as it is obvious to many people that the IWW is in fact alive and well; in other words, you are lying.
What is Socialism from Below: an anarchist perspective It may seem dead obvious but it is impossible to go anywhere without first knowing where you are headed for. Without a clear view of the objective and the forces impeding or aiding your advance towards it one can become "all movement and no direction." One question which a socialist must always have on the tip of her tongue is where am I going and how can I get there? If you are heading for socialism then you must have a clear idea of what, exactly, it is.
The S.W.P. and Socialism from Below Anarchism stands for 'Socialism from below'. This means a future society where ordinary working men and women control all aspects of that society. It also means that struggle for that society must be conducted with that goal in mind. That is, that our organisations must have an internal structure that puts all of the members in direct control of all decisions taken.
Ongoing Dispute Between ISO (U.S.) and SWP (U.K.) The most interesting document here is their March 2000 Internal Discussion Bulletin, which discusses their entryism into various student movements, like the students against sweatshops movement. Recruitment, recruitment, recruitment!
"Comrades involved in the Washington, DC host committee for the IMF/World Bank protest report a sharp increase in labor union participation over the last few weeks. Meanwhile, the Steelworkers union’ has announced it will send 1,500 union members to the protest, This participation is welcome news, since it offsets the dominance of hard-core anarchists within the host committee–and also makes it much more likely that the demonstration itself will be a much broader show of force. And most importantly. of course, it will place class politics front and center at the April 16 protest."
ISO Nightmares I just finished reading your informational page on the International Socialist Organization and I must tell you that it made my day. I agree completely with the writer's analysis of their goals and tactics--they are a completely self-serving, insulated clique, with many "leaders" who border on tyrannical.
The Marxist Theory of the State Although Marx and Engels never put forward a unified presentation of the theory of the state, their conception of the state is a fundamental aspect of their outlook, and of what has since come to be called Marxism. In fact, theories of the state constitute critical facets of all totalitarian credos, not just the Marxian. After all, a given ideology may be overwhelmingly totalitarian in underlying logic, but if it lacks a focus on using the state as the means of transforming society—that is, of imposing its ideas—its totalitarianism will remain implicit. It is the same with Marxism. While Marxism contains many propositions that imply totalitarianism, it is Marx and Engels' view of the state that renders their theory totalitarian in practice. This is most evident in their argument that the state, in the form of the dictatorship of the proletariat, is the chief weapon in the struggle to establish communism.
Vampire Alert! The Socialist Workers Party (SWP) is once again sniffing around what could loosly be called the direct action movement - the lively culture of resistance that has grown out of the anti-roads protests, reclaim the streets parties and so on. Seeing the growing awareness in this scene of capitalism as our enemy, and gutted that an event of the scale and militancy of June 18th could pass with not an SWP paper seller in sight, the party leadership has obviously decided that we're a prime target for recruitment.
'International Socialist' betrayal of Prague protest We've just had a suspicion confirmed by the 'Weekly Worker' about the behaviour of the International Socialists in Prague. From talking to individual members it has seemed that for some reason instead of ending up in the Pink sector (for which they had put themselves down) they somehow ended up behind 'Ya Basta' in the yellow sector. As they were at the front of the march this should have been impossible. It turns out they deliberately entered the wrong sector because they refused to accept the agreed plan to split the march in three. The article revealing this (from a rival Leninist group that agreed with their decision) is at http://www.cpgb.org.uk/worker/353/pragues26.html
If you are an ex-member of the ISO or SWP, we'd like to hear your story!
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Updated: November 3, 2000
Michael Pugliese