Bill Bland
Encyclopedia
William 'Barbosa' Bland (Bill Bland) (April 28, 1916–March 13, 2001) was a British
Marxist-Leninist and optician
who was notable as a worldwide leader of a movement that backed Enver Hoxha
, the Albania
n communist leader, in the struggles over Marxist-Leninist orthodoxy in the later 1960s. Before becoming a leader of the small anti-revisionist movement Bland was a member of the Communist Party of New Zealand
and the Communist Party of Great Britain
. Bland considered Mao Zedong
a left-deviationist while still maintaining that Hoxha was a true Marxist-Leninist in the tradition of Karl Marx
, Vladimir Lenin
and Joseph Stalin
. Bland's line on Mao was problematic since Hoxha and Mao were strategic allies at that time. Bland's position was strengthened after the Sino-Albanian split
and he formed the Communist League of Great Britain
. After the Sino-Albanian split, a whole raft of formerly Maoist Marxist-Leninist groups went over to a Hoxhaist position.
Bland was one of the founders of the Albanian Society, and three years after its foundation he became its secretary, a post which he held almost continuously for 30 years until the fall of the communist regime in Albania. He was Editor of the journal of the society, Albanian Life. Together with the American Communist, Jack Shulman, he participated in the Alliance Marxist-Leninist (North America) and supported International Struggle Marxist-Leninist (ISML).
Bland was born in Ashton-under-Lyne
, Lancashire and attended Manchester Grammar School
. His father was director of a printing works, but lost his job in the Depression, and Bland had to leave school at 15. After a visit to the Soviet Union in 1937, Bland migrated to New Zealand in 1938-39. He returned to England in 1950.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Marxist-Leninist and optician
Optician
An optician is a person who is trained to fill prescriptions for eye correction in the field of medicine, also known as a dispensing optician or optician, dispensing...
who was notable as a worldwide leader of a movement that backed Enver Hoxha
Enver Hoxha
Enver Halil Hoxha was a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary andthe leader of Albania from the end of World War II until his death in 1985, as the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania...
, the Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
n communist leader, in the struggles over Marxist-Leninist orthodoxy in the later 1960s. Before becoming a leader of the small anti-revisionist movement Bland was a member of the Communist Party of New Zealand
Communist Party of New Zealand
The Communist Party of New Zealand was a Communist political party in New Zealand from the 1920s to the early 1990s. It never achieved significant political success, and no longer exists as an independent group, although the Socialist Worker organisation is considered organisationally continuous...
and the Communist Party of Great Britain
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
. Bland considered Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
a left-deviationist while still maintaining that Hoxha was a true Marxist-Leninist in the tradition of Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
, Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
and Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
. Bland's line on Mao was problematic since Hoxha and Mao were strategic allies at that time. Bland's position was strengthened after the Sino-Albanian split
Sino-Albanian split
The Sino-Albanian split in 1978 saw the parting of the People's Republic of China and People's Socialist Republic of Albania, which was the only Eastern European nation to side with the PRC in the Sino–Soviet split of the early 1960s.-History:...
and he formed the Communist League of Great Britain
Communist League of Great Britain
The Communist League of Great Britain is an anti-revisionist group in the United Kingdom.It origins lie in the Communist Party of Great Britain, where a faction formed around Bill Bland. Initially Maoist, it joined the majority of the Committee to Defeat Revisionism, for Communist Unity in 1965 to...
. After the Sino-Albanian split, a whole raft of formerly Maoist Marxist-Leninist groups went over to a Hoxhaist position.
Bland was one of the founders of the Albanian Society, and three years after its foundation he became its secretary, a post which he held almost continuously for 30 years until the fall of the communist regime in Albania. He was Editor of the journal of the society, Albanian Life. Together with the American Communist, Jack Shulman, he participated in the Alliance Marxist-Leninist (North America) and supported International Struggle Marxist-Leninist (ISML).
Bland was born in Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne
Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies on the north bank of the River Tame, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines...
, Lancashire and attended Manchester Grammar School
Manchester Grammar School
The Manchester Grammar School is the largest independent day school for boys in the UK . It is based in Manchester, England...
. His father was director of a printing works, but lost his job in the Depression, and Bland had to leave school at 15. After a visit to the Soviet Union in 1937, Bland migrated to New Zealand in 1938-39. He returned to England in 1950.