The S.L.P. and Formation of the Communist Party, 1920 (1942)

From the January 1942 issue of the Socialist Standard 

In our October issue we dealt with a complaint by the Socialist, organ of the Socialist Labour Party, that we had published an incorrect statement to the effect that the Communist Party was formed in 1920 by the “fusion” of several organisations, including the S.L.P. The Socialist, in its issue of November, replied to our statement of October.

We will deal with the various points one by one.

First there is our original statement that the S.L.P. and other organisations were fused into the Communist Party in 1920. That statement was made in good faith by the writer of the article, and passed in good faith by the Editorial Committee. That it came to be published could justify a charge of negligence, but the Socialist, instead of making only that charge and giving their version of the facts, wrote an abusive article imputing that the statement was a deliberate falsehood:—”The facts could have been easily verified, and there is no excuse for the falsehood unless it be that he lied deliberately with intent to deceive his readers, and thereby create a false belief regarding the S.L.P. His assertion has not even the shadow of fact behind it.”

This imputation of deliberate falsehood is one for which the Socialist has and can have no kind of evidence, and in their November statement they so far forgot their complaint that we knew the facts and falsified them deliberately, that they offer instead the explanation that our statement was made “without knowing the facts.” As we do not wish to copy the Socialist’s methods of controversy, we do not ask for an apology, though it would certainly seem to be called for.

Since, however, the Socialist is evidently under the impression that we are attempting to justify the original statement, we state that it was wrong, and offer our apologies for publishing it.

As the original statement is agreed to be incorrect, we come to the next point, What were the true facts? In our October issue we drew attention to two published statements, one by a Communist to the effect that “the main part of the S.L.P.” was fused into the Communist Party, and another by Mr. G. D. H. Cole that “most of its more active members . . . passed over to the Communist Party in 1920.”

On the plea of first things first the Socialist, in its rejoinder, declines to deal now with this aspect except to argue that it is necessary to distinguish between the whole and the part (which is true) and that to say that the “main part of the S.L.P.” went into the Communist Party is “in flat contradiction” with the statement that the S.L.P. went in. The Socialist having declined except in its own good time to say what is its version of the facts that matter must be left there for the present.

One other statement made by the Socialist does, however, require comment. In their September statement they say: —

“Never in the whole of its history has the S.L.P. fused, united, federated nor anything of the sort with any party whatsoever.”

Readers who are not familiar with the history of the S.L.P. may be led by those words, “nor anything of the sort,” into assuming that the S.L.P. has not been prepared to associate with other parties towards which it from time to time declared its hostility. This is not the case. One instance of its willingness to do so may be found in the Socialist of December, 1918. Under the heading “The Crisis: A Call to Labour,” the Socialist prominently displayed a manifesto calling on the British workers to take action against the Defence of the Realm Acts, against the intervention of Allied troops in Russia, against the blockade of Germany, etc. It ended with an appeal to British workers to rouse themselves and join hands with their fellow workers in other lands and “march through the gates of freedom now opened wide.” This manifesto is expressly stated to have been “issued jointly by the Executives of the Independent Labour Party, the British Socialist Party and the Socialist Labour Party.”

It was the British Socialist Party which was mainly instrumental in forming the Communist Party.

While, therefore, the Socialist is entitled to object to statements that the S.L.P. fused with the B.S.P., the knowledge that it was prepared to issue joint manifestos with the B.S.P. does suggest that the display of indignation is excessive.

Editorial Committee.