Bert Cochran
Encyclopedia
Bert Cochran was an American Communist politician and author.
Cochran was born in Poland in 1913 and came to the US at an early age. His birth name was Alexander Goldfarb. In the 1930s, Cochran attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison
where he was recruited to the Trotskyist movement by Max Shachtman
. In 1938 when a group of American Trotskyists under the leadership of James P. Cannon
formed the Socialist Workers Party
, Bert Cochran was one of them. For a number of years, Cochran was part of the National Committee, the leading body of the SWP and became the party's main leader in Detroit. Under the pen-name E.R. Frank he was a regular contributor to the magazine of the Fourth International
, which the SWP supported.
In the beginning of the 1950s, Bert Cochran became the leader of a faction inside the Socialist Workers Party that opposed the leadership of Cannon and instead favoured the approach of Michel Pablo
, a leader of the Fourth International
. The faction, known to their opponents as the Cochranites, argued that the SWP was abstaining in a sectarian manner from the opportunity to intervene into the radical layers around the Communist Party. The SWP's leadership interpreted this as meaning that the current around Cochran no longer believed a revolution in the United States was possible, and that they had recoiled from revolutionary activity under the dual pressures of relative post-World War II capitalist prosperity and the accompanying McCarthy
-era anti-communist witch-hunt. Cochran was also criticised for proposing to remove the image of Trotsky from the masthead
of the SWP's newspaper, The Militant
.
Eventually, Bert Cochran and the Cochranites were expelled from the SWP in 1954, which meant that the party lost a great deal of its members in Detroit and the Cleveland area. James P. Cannon
sent Ed Shaw
to lead the reconstruction of the party's branch in Detroit.
Bert Cochran, with Harry Braverman
and about one hundred of his supporters founded the Socialist Union of America, which existed from 1954 to approx. 1959. After a short period out of regular political activity, he became a sponsor of the Third Camp
journal, New Politics (magazine)
, and remained so until the journal's demise in 1976. Cochran taught labor relations at the New School for Social Research and Empire State College
and was a senior fellow at the Research Institute on International Change at Columbia University
. He wrote six books, one of which, Labor and Communism: The Conflict that Shaped American Unions (1977), was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. He died from cancer
the summer of 1984 before the re-launch of New Politics in the mid-1980s.
Cochran was born in Poland in 1913 and came to the US at an early age. His birth name was Alexander Goldfarb. In the 1930s, Cochran attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
where he was recruited to the Trotskyist movement by Max Shachtman
Max Shachtman
Max Shachtman was an American Marxist theorist. He evolved from being an associate of Leon Trotsky to a social democrat and mentor of senior assistants to AFL-CIO President George Meany.-Beginnings:...
. In 1938 when a group of American Trotskyists under the leadership of James P. Cannon
James P. Cannon
James Patrick "Jim" Cannon was an American Trotskyist and a leader of the Socialist Workers Party.Born on February 11, 1890 in Rosedale, Kansas, he joined the Socialist Party of America in 1908 and the Industrial Workers of the World in 1911...
formed the Socialist Workers Party
Socialist Workers Party (United States)
The Socialist Workers Party is a far-left political organization in the United States. The group places a priority on "solidarity work" to aid strikes and is strongly supportive of Cuba...
, Bert Cochran was one of them. For a number of years, Cochran was part of the National Committee, the leading body of the SWP and became the party's main leader in Detroit. Under the pen-name E.R. Frank he was a regular contributor to the magazine of the Fourth International
Fourth International
The Fourth International is the communist international organisation consisting of followers of Leon Trotsky , with the declared dedicated goal of helping the working class bring about socialism...
, which the SWP supported.
In the beginning of the 1950s, Bert Cochran became the leader of a faction inside the Socialist Workers Party that opposed the leadership of Cannon and instead favoured the approach of Michel Pablo
Michel Pablo
Michel Pablo was the pseudonym of Michalis N. Raptis , a Trotskyist leader of Greek origin.- Early activism :...
, a leader of the Fourth International
Fourth International
The Fourth International is the communist international organisation consisting of followers of Leon Trotsky , with the declared dedicated goal of helping the working class bring about socialism...
. The faction, known to their opponents as the Cochranites, argued that the SWP was abstaining in a sectarian manner from the opportunity to intervene into the radical layers around the Communist Party. The SWP's leadership interpreted this as meaning that the current around Cochran no longer believed a revolution in the United States was possible, and that they had recoiled from revolutionary activity under the dual pressures of relative post-World War II capitalist prosperity and the accompanying McCarthy
McCarthyism
McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s and characterized by...
-era anti-communist witch-hunt. Cochran was also criticised for proposing to remove the image of Trotsky from the masthead
Masthead (publishing)
The masthead is a list, published in a newspaper or magazine, of its staff. In some publications it names only the most senior individuals; in others, it may name many or all...
of the SWP's newspaper, The Militant
The Militant
The Militant is an international Socialist newsweekly connected to the Socialist Workers Party and the Pathfinder Tendency. It is published in the United States and distributed in other countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Sweden, Iceland, and New...
.
Eventually, Bert Cochran and the Cochranites were expelled from the SWP in 1954, which meant that the party lost a great deal of its members in Detroit and the Cleveland area. James P. Cannon
James P. Cannon
James Patrick "Jim" Cannon was an American Trotskyist and a leader of the Socialist Workers Party.Born on February 11, 1890 in Rosedale, Kansas, he joined the Socialist Party of America in 1908 and the Industrial Workers of the World in 1911...
sent Ed Shaw
Ed Shaw
Edward "Ed" Shaw was an American socialist and lifelong member of the Socialist Workers Party.Born in Zion, Illinois, on July 13, 1923, Shaw grew up in a family of working farmers. In his youth, he rebelled against the fundamentalist religious assumptions that surrounded him in Zion...
to lead the reconstruction of the party's branch in Detroit.
Bert Cochran, with Harry Braverman
Harry Braverman
Harry Braverman was an American Socialist, economist and political writer. He sometimes used the pseudonym Harry Frankel.Braverman was born on the 9th December 1920 in New York City...
and about one hundred of his supporters founded the Socialist Union of America, which existed from 1954 to approx. 1959. After a short period out of regular political activity, he became a sponsor of the Third Camp
Third camp
The third camp, also known as third camp socialism or third camp Trotskyism, is a branch of socialism which aims to oppose both capitalism and Stalinism, by supporting the organised working class as a "third camp"....
journal, New Politics (magazine)
New Politics (magazine)
New Politics is an independent socialist journal founded in 1961 and still published in the United States today. While it is inclusive of articles from a variety of left-of-center positions, the publication leans strongly toward a Third camp, democratic Marxist perspective, placing it typically to...
, and remained so until the journal's demise in 1976. Cochran taught labor relations at the New School for Social Research and Empire State College
Empire State College
Empire State College, one of the thirteen arts and science colleges of the State University of New York, is a multi-site institution offering associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees. It is primarily oriented towards the adult learner...
and was a senior fellow at the Research Institute on International Change at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He wrote six books, one of which, Labor and Communism: The Conflict that Shaped American Unions (1977), was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. He died from cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
the summer of 1984 before the re-launch of New Politics in the mid-1980s.
Notable works
- Prospects of American radicalism New York, N.Y. : American Socialist Publications, 1954
- American Labor in Midpassage, Monthly Review Press, 1959 (editor and contributor).
- The Cross of the Moment, Macmillan, 1961.
- The War System: An Analysis of the Necessity for Political Reason, Macmillan, 1965.
- Adlai Stevenson, Patrician Among the Politicians, Funk & Wagnalls, 1969.
- Harry Truman and the Crisis Presidency, Funk & Wagnalls, 1973, ISBN 0308100441.
- Labor and Communism: The Conflict that Shaped American Unions, Princeton University Press, 1977, ISBN 0691046441.
- Welfare Capitalism — and After, Schocken Books, 1984, ISBN 0805238689.
- Through the Rearview Mirror: Past Book Reviews on Still Present Social Issues, Times Two Publishing, 2005, ISBN 1-930077-75-0. (A collection of book reviews, published posthumously.)
External links
- Bert Cochran (E.R. Frank) Internet Archive
- The Lubitz TrotskyanaNet provides a biographical sketch and a selective bibliography on Bert Cochran
- The American Socialist
- Reflections on the Cochranites
- The Bert Cochran Legacy