The Renaissance of Marxism

This phrase can be primarily contributed to the late Mac Intosh (Alan Milchman) and the organisation he belonged to, Internationalist Perspective. But what does it entail? It is a call to all within the revolutionary milieu to critically engage with our past and the conditions of the present, to actively contribute together the further development of revolutionary theory. This Renaissance is not the work of one group in isolation or the result of well-meaning academics, but an active process that all within our milieu can and should contribute to. It leaves no stone unturned, no preconceived notion unchallenged.

Internationalist Perspective originally split from the International Communist Current (ICC) at its Sixth Congress in 1985. The origins of this split lie in disagreements with the resolutions on councilism in the previous congress as well as what Internationalist Perspective (known at the time as the External Fraction of the ICC) referred to as the stifling internal culture of the organisation towards theoretical development, with the EFICC claiming the majority viewed theory as a done deal which only needed to be bestowed upon the rest of the class. It is this focus on continuous theoretical development that in my opinion became IP’s most significant aspect and was the origins of the idea of the Renaissance of Marxism.

We at Without Restraints have come to a similar conclusion for the necessity of such an undertaking and admire Internationalist Perspective’s attitude that this is not an undertaking for them alone, that they hold all the answers and are right about everything and nobody else has anything worth adding to the discussion. It is our hope that we here can contribute to this incessant process to maintain Marxism as a living theory and not the fossilised relic of dead men.

This is not to say however that we are in agreement with everything that IP has published ever, then again neither are their own members as shown by the rich culture of debate displayed in their issues. Specifically their characterisation of Lenin, and what I’d say a bit of a lack of clarity on the role of the organisation of revolutionaries (whether you call it a party, the future party, a fraction, collective, whatever). We also tend to perhaps take more directly from the developments within Marxist-Humanism than some of our comrades there. But the focus of this piece is not an in depth examination of the positions of Internationalist Perspective, whether we largely agree (I do) or disagree. Rather it is a focus on the core mission we both share.

Without Restraints is made up pretty much entirely of young people. The next generation of militants in the Communist Left/Revolutionary Milieu, if you want to call it that. We look to learn from the experiences of those that have came before us while also bringing fresh insights. Fortunately (in my opinion), due to our youth we have been spared from the direct events which have split and caused so much animosity amongst our tradition. This leads us to be more inclined to communicate with everyone we can, and to not write off people and groups as parasites or counterrevolutionaries without first learning more about what they have to say.

Stay tuned.

Lyra