~ «WHITHER THE NDP?’ DEBATE

_NDPer gives views
on the way forward

In the December 13 issue of the PT we carried an article. entitled ‘‘Whither the
NDP?” by Ben Swankey. Along with that article we invited opinions from readers, on this

important question.

On this page we print the first contribution to come in on this subject. Despite its
length, the PT felt it should be published in full. This article is written by a member of the
NDP from the B.C. Interior, who for various reasons prefers a nom de-plume.

We invite further contributions from readers. However, because of limitations of space
contributors are asked to keep their letters below 500 words. In this way we can ensure
that more of these contributions will be published.

Other letters received from readers on this subject will be carried in subsequent issues.

By JOHN HOPE

| n the last issue of the PT you
asked for comment from read-
ers on Ben Swankey’s article
‘“‘Whither the N.D,P. in B.C.?”’

In contributing to this dis-
cussion we should like to say that
although our comments are going
to be somewhat critical of Mr.
Swankey’s article, we should like
to congratulate both him and your
newspaper in starting the ball
rolling in a highly important area
of the labor movement where the
cleansing wind of constructive
criticism has long been overdue,

We shall not here attempt tc
go into the reasons of just why
the New Democratic Party is so
important to the people of B.C,
and Canada though we are of the
Opinion that far too many of our
nfore militant people could pro-
bably well do with a deeper under-
standing in this respect.

First, then, let us try and deal
with this ‘Socialist Caucus”
business if for no other reason
than that Mr.S. repeatedly refers
to it and, to some extent, uses
it as a Set of building blocks for
some of hisconclusions concern-
ing the future of the N.D.P.

We suggest that the partial
revolt of the N.D.P. membership,
against the leaders’ soft-sell
policy which bubbled up at the
recent provincial convention, was
the result of the good, class
instincts of the members fresh
from the experience of a recent
unsuccessful provincial election.

It should be mentioned here
that, considering the possibility
that a great many delegates were
probably elected by atiny fraction
of the 12,000 membership, this
revolt was far more wide-spread
than the 1/3 shown on the con-
vention floor. Be that as it may,
the fact that this revolt, this
healthy reaction, had no better
outlet than a self-styled *‘Social-
ist Caucus’’ does not make this
Caucus necessarily the correct
kind of vehicle for any kind of
leadership.

The history of the labor move-
ment is bespattered with mis-
guiding ‘‘leaderships” in times
of the first quickenings of a
deeper understanding by a size-
able section of our movement.
(Occasionally such a ‘‘leader-
ship’’ will be consciously guided
by the people’s enemies. )

The question might well be
asked, just who is this ‘*N.D.P,
Socialist Caucus’, and whom do
they represent? Before attempt-
ing to answer this question we
should like to make it quite clear
that we realise that not all the
Caucus members are suspect.
Even more so, of course, does
this go for the one-third delegates
that voted with them. Neverthe-
less, this should not blind us to
a correct estimation of this, the,
at present, sole alternative within
the B.C, N.D.P. to the Strachan
& Co. leadership,

Looking over the names of the
individuals who form the Caucus
leadership we come across some
of extremely doubtful political
color. Besides just labelling
these individuals ‘* Trotskyites’”’,
(which term, we suggest, could
well be worthy of an explanatory
article in this newspaper), we
would say that one of the favorite
tactics of these individuals—and
of Trotskyites—is to turn the’
blade of direct action of people
who are fighting for an immediate
and realisable aim into a target
stuffed with some kind of distant
**socialism’’,

And it is here that one must
in strong but friendly fashion
critisize Mr.S. for his repeatedly
referring to this Caucus as a oe
‘left-wing, socialist grouping’’
+... and.. .*fa crystallization
of left-wing and socialist think-
ing.’’ It would be one thing for

him to just quote these people’s
own estimation of themselves and
leave it at that. It is, however,
quite another kettle of fish for
him to accept their self-quali-
fication as true and on this basis
arrive at a conclusion. =

POYCHUATRIST
=

“USAID MY EMPLOYEES DoN'T LIKE ME FoR SoME REASON,
WASH OUT YoUR EARS YA STUPID JERK!"

SSS ES eee siegat oat nail
Slee *. EH) ne SAE ES = ai] rau

Mr. S, gets back on the rails
with his criticism of the Caucus’
attitude of limiting their call to
only those who will fight for
socialism. This, after he has
been, earlier, correctly in our
opinion, highly critical of the
Caucus’ conception of socialism!

As the old saying goes, ‘‘You
can’t make a silk purse out of a
sow’s ear’’—however many pigs
you have around! For this you
need silk and, for this, silk-
worms and, since these will exist

only on the leaf of the mulberry ,

bush, this is what you have to
grow. In other words, you have
to create the right atmosphere,
the right environment, step by
step, to end up with a silk purse,
No short-cuts allowed—ever.
And this is the way we in the
labor movement have to operate.
Of course it is absolutely essen-
tial to see the goal as Mr. S. so
concisely and accurately puts it;

‘*Public ownership of the basic
means of production plus work-

ing class control of the state.’?
Yet, surely, this concept is of
more value to the movement AT
THIS TIME AS A GUIDE FORE-
SEEING THE STEP-BY-STEP
WAY FORWARD RATHER THAN
AS A TOPICAL SLOGAN IN
ITSELF.
* * *

To be quite realistic about the
bresent situation, we have been
losing battle after battle. And
“‘we’’ is not just the N.D.P, and
the labor movement —it’s the
people of British Columbia and of
Canada, Two federal elections,
and God knows how many provin-
cial ones, in a row in less than
two years for a start. Worse
still, in this electoral field we
can’t even point with pride to
particularly honorable defeats!

Isn’t it about time we stopped
fooling around with substitutes
for activities? Substitutes which
involve handfuls instead of hun-
dreds and thousands such as won-
derfully , militant resolutions
passed at meetings attended by
point-something-percent of the
local membership? Resolutions at
conventions, concocted at these
point-something-percent meet-
ings, that get passed but have
no force whatsoever from the
people of the constituencies—
yes, PEOPLE, not just N.D.P,
members—to guarantee them
being acted upon?

More than anything else it’s
about time we started to win, and
long past the time we began in
earnest to properly decide what is
the acceptable level of under-
standing of the people in our pro-
vince, and our individual lo-
calities, that will bring them into
action and start from there—now,

It may be several dozen
mothers demanding a children’s
crossing, old age pensioners
petitioning the provincial govern-
ment to leave their welfare money
alone or perhaps Indians on a
Reserve wanting one of their
roads put in good shape, But
something that involves the
people themselves taking action.

If the basic units ofthe N.D.P.,
the Clubs and the Constituency
Associations, can be activated
into taking the lead in their own

/

: to

Pa el

Saal

Profits soar — jobs lag

UTO and aerospace industry
profits in the USA are boom-
ing but not employment.

General Motors’ before - taxes
profits for the first six months
of 1963 approached two billion
dollars, a record.

American Motors made as
much in its nine-months fiscal
period ending June 30 as it did

B.C. INDIANS
UNITING TO
PRESS CLAIMS

The Native Brotherhood of
B.C. announced last week that
it plans to hold a convention
in Vancouver in Marchto unite
with two other Indian organi-
zations in B.C. to speak with
one voice in asserting their
claim to titles of B.C. lands.

The two other groups are
the Nishga Tribal Council and
the North American Indians
Brotherhood, It is estimated
that the combined group will
represent 40,000 Indian peo-
ple.

The group plans to present
a strong case before the five
man Indian claims com-
mission when it is convened
by the federal government
this year.

!

in the 12-months fiscal period the
year before. {
Ford’s before - taxes profits
were over a half billion dollars, ~
up almost six percent over the
same period of 1962, $
And Chrysler’s profits before
taxes for the same period were a9
whopping $152 million, 2533 per-—
cent increase, j
While the auto industry em-
ployed a total of 750,000 workers —
in car production jobs not long
ago, the total now stands about
600,000. 4
National City Bank of New
York statistics show that profits —
of 27 auto and parts industry
companies zoomed upward 16 —
percent for the first six months ©
of 1963 over 1962. Aerospace and ~
railway equipment industry pro-—
fits covered by the bank’s report
rose almostas high as 15 percent.

a

Both were far above the 11.5
percent increase averaged for
713 of the nation’s leading corp-
orations, according tothe figures
in the bank’s report. 3

While these lush profits have
been moving sharply upward, un-—

-employment still remains nation-—

ally at almost six percent. Des-—
pite the high corporate profits

at the same time, it’s been
hovering around that high level —
for almost six years, j

—FROM UAW SOLIDARITY.

areas after this fashion, directly
or indirectly just as long as they
are woven into the fabric of the
struggle, then we’d be laying the
foundation stones of victory. Then
we’d be starting to build Bennett’s
and Pearson’s coffin—and a heck
of a lot more things too, Among
those things would be a finish
to having to grasp at the straw
of some misbegotten ‘socialist’
grouping. We’d also be creating
the atmosphere for unity within
the labour movement.
* * *

This way our people are going

learn~really learn. Those
mothers who want the crossing are
going to find out who their real
friends are—and who are their
enemies, And all the other
mothers, and fathers, are going
to regain something so sadly
lacking at present; a confidence
that they themselves, together,
can move mountains as well as
gain crossings! They’re going to
find out, too, perhaps sooner than
some imagine, the difference be-
tween ‘Reforms’? and ‘Re-
formism”’, :

We should, however, like to
again emphasize that in our

opinion one of the keystones of

this way forward is that the —
issue about which activity is
planned can be atthe most modest —
level: just so long as it is con-
cerned with a realisable demand
of the people for which truly
popular, active support can be
had, Putting this in a somewhal
sharper way: some militants in
our movement, just because they
understand so well, say, the role
of Yankee imperialism and the
huge majority of other people do
not, must at this time resist the —
temptation to brush aside as un-
worthy of their attention those
aemands which at this time the
people will accept as issues they
are prepared to fight for. 4
We believe that this is the way ©
forward for the N.D.P, A way —
that will put an end to the largely
meaningless window-dressing of ©
its conventions, that will become ~
an invulnerable armour against —
the attacks bythoseinthe leader- —
ship who are consciously or —
unconsciously working for the ~
big corporations, Above all, it —
will rejuvinate the New Demo- |
cratic Party so that the ordinary
people can take full advantage of
these times which are potentially —
so favorable to their progress.

January 10, 1964—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page &