Revolutionary Communist League (Internationalist)
Encyclopedia
The Revolutionary Communist League-(Internationalist) was a small Trotskyist group which existed in various forms between 1968 and the late 1980s.
and Vincent Copeland within the Socialist Workers Party
from 1948-1959, organizationally it began as a splinter of the Spartacist League
in 1968. This first incarnation was simply known as the Revolutionary Communist League, and had a more "activist" orientation than the SL. They collaborated with the Workers World Party
, Youth Against War and Fascism and other New Left
elements within an united front group called the Coalition for an Anti-imperialist Movement or CO-AIM.
The original RCL merged with the WWP later that year. However they quickly found the WWP internal atmosphere "stultifying" and its commitment to world revolution "decayed beyond belief". They began to drift out during 1971 and established the New York Revolutionary Committee, which published several issues of a periodical called Common Ground. A year later this "evolution culminated in what was essentially a rebirth of the old RCL" adding (Internationalist) to the end of their name to reflect the development they had gone through. It originally had branches in New York City, Boston, and New Haven, but after several years the organization had only its New Haven group. Its publication was the Internationalist Worker and the Internationalist Worker Newsletter.
They attempted re-entry into the WWP in 1982, but were rejected in December of that year. In 1986 RCL(I) merged with Socialist Action
. However, the group was soon to be expelled from SA. Later the group joined the Communist Party USA
.
, the bombing of defense research facilities on campus, the campaigns of the Weathermen and Black Liberation Army
. In 1974 they announced that they supported the Symbionese Liberation Army
as well.
On international issues it strongly supported the degenerated workers' states
, even while advocating a change within them. They supported the Soviet Unions suppression of the Prague Spring
, the strengthening of the Warsaw Pact
, a healing of the Sino-Soviet split
, Soviet and Chinese aid to defend the Korean
, Cuban and Yemeni workers states, as well as revolutionary and national liberation struggles, and opposed Détente
as an imperialist maneuver. Within the workers states they advocated a "rearming of the masses" into "peoples militias", the abolition of privileges for bureaucrats and the "restoration of Marxism-Leninism".
RCL-(I) viewed the Workers World Party as having abandoned Trotskyism to its political detriment..
In the 1974, RCL-(I) organized the New Haven Political Defense Committee (NHPPDC) to defend a group of three Black Liberation Army
members who were arrested in New Haven after a bank robbery and the shooting of a security guard
.
Organizational history
Though they considered their ideological origins to be in the "Global Class War Tendency" which was led by Sam MarcySam Marcy
Sam Marcy was an American Marxist of the post-World War II era. In 1959, a group he led founded the Workers World Party, which continues to the present day....
and Vincent Copeland within 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...
from 1948-1959, organizationally it began as a splinter of the Spartacist League
Spartacist League (US)
The Spartacist League/ US is a Trotskyist organization in the United States. It was the original Spartacist group that helped to inspire and organize similarly oriented groups around the world...
in 1968. This first incarnation was simply known as the Revolutionary Communist League, and had a more "activist" orientation than the SL. They collaborated with the Workers World Party
Workers World Party
Workers World Party is a far-left political party in the United States, founded in 1959 by a group led by Sam Marcy. Marcy and his followers split from the Socialist Workers Party in 1958 over a series of long-standing differences, among them Marcy's group's support for Henry A...
, Youth Against War and Fascism and other New Left
New Left
The New Left was a term used mainly in the United Kingdom and United States in reference to activists, educators, agitators and others in the 1960s and 1970s who sought to implement a broad range of reforms, in contrast to earlier leftist or Marxist movements that had taken a more vanguardist...
elements within an united front group called the Coalition for an Anti-imperialist Movement or CO-AIM.
The original RCL merged with the WWP later that year. However they quickly found the WWP internal atmosphere "stultifying" and its commitment to world revolution "decayed beyond belief". They began to drift out during 1971 and established the New York Revolutionary Committee, which published several issues of a periodical called Common Ground. A year later this "evolution culminated in what was essentially a rebirth of the old RCL" adding (Internationalist) to the end of their name to reflect the development they had gone through. It originally had branches in New York City, Boston, and New Haven, but after several years the organization had only its New Haven group. Its publication was the Internationalist Worker and the Internationalist Worker Newsletter.
They attempted re-entry into the WWP in 1982, but were rejected in December of that year. In 1986 RCL(I) merged with Socialist Action
Socialist Action
Socialist Action may refer to:*Socialist Action , a Trotskyist political party in the United States*Socialist Action , a Trotskyist group in the United Kingdom that published a magazine of the same name until 2001...
. However, the group was soon to be expelled from SA. Later the group joined the Communist Party USA
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
.
Activism and ideology
The RCL(I) defended various violent actions by New Leftists in the late 1960s and 1970s. In 1972 they stated that they "Unconditionally and with only the most marginal political criticism - all oriented toward integrating military policy with an overall revolutionary strategy" supported the Days of RageDays of Rage
The Days of Rage demonstrations were a series of direct actions taken over a course of three days in October 1969 in Chicago organized by the Weatherman faction of the Students for a Democratic Society...
, the bombing of defense research facilities on campus, the campaigns of the Weathermen and Black Liberation Army
Black Liberation Army
The Black Liberation Army was an underground, black nationalist-Marxist militant organization that operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981...
. In 1974 they announced that they supported the Symbionese Liberation Army
Symbionese Liberation Army
The Symbionese Liberation Army was an American self-styled left-wing urban militant group active between 1973 and 1975 that considered itself a revolutionary vanguard army...
as well.
On international issues it strongly supported the degenerated workers' states
Degenerated workers' state
In Trotskyist political theory the term degenerated workers' state has been used since the 1930s to describe the state of the Soviet Union after Joseph Stalin's consolidation of power in or about 1924...
, even while advocating a change within them. They supported the Soviet Unions suppression of the Prague Spring
Prague Spring
The Prague Spring was a period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia during the era of its domination by the Soviet Union after World War II...
, the strengthening of the Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
, a healing of the Sino-Soviet split
Sino-Soviet split
In political science, the term Sino–Soviet split denotes the worsening of political and ideologic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the Cold War...
, Soviet and Chinese aid to defend the Korean
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
, Cuban and Yemeni workers states, as well as revolutionary and national liberation struggles, and opposed Détente
Détente
Détente is the easing of strained relations, especially in a political situation. The term is often used in reference to the general easing of relations between the Soviet Union and the United States in the 1970s, a thawing at a period roughly in the middle of the Cold War...
as an imperialist maneuver. Within the workers states they advocated a "rearming of the masses" into "peoples militias", the abolition of privileges for bureaucrats and the "restoration of Marxism-Leninism".
RCL-(I) viewed the Workers World Party as having abandoned Trotskyism to its political detriment..
In the 1974, RCL-(I) organized the New Haven Political Defense Committee (NHPPDC) to defend a group of three Black Liberation Army
Black Liberation Army
The Black Liberation Army was an underground, black nationalist-Marxist militant organization that operated in the United States from 1970 to 1981...
members who were arrested in New Haven after a bank robbery and the shooting of a security guard
New Haven Black Panther trials
In 1970 there were a series of criminal prosecutions in New Haven, Connecticut against various members of the Black Panther Party. The charges ranged from criminal conspiracy to felony murder. All indictments stemmed from the murder of nineteen-year-old Alex Rackley in the early hours of May 21,...
.
Publications
- Common Ground New York Revolutionary Committee Vol. 1, no. 1 (Jan. 1, 1972)-v. 1, no. 3 (May 20, 1972)
- Internationalist news letter New York Vol. 1, no. 1 (June 1972)-Vol. 2, no. 1 (Jan. 1974)
- Internationalist worker Vol. 1, no. 1 (June 1974)-v. 10, no. 5/6 (summer 1985) (published in New York 1974-1975; Boston 1975-1977; New Haven 1977-1985)
- Internationalist worker bulletin New Haven Vol. 1, no. 1 (July 1979)-v. 2, no. 1 (Feb. 1980)
- Whirlwinds of danger: in defense of the workers' state. New York : The League, 1973
- The Class character of the Chinese state by Vincent Copeland New Haven, CT: Distributed by Revolutionary Communist League (Internationalist), 1975
- The global class war and the destiny of American labor by Sam MarcySam MarcySam Marcy was an American Marxist of the post-World War II era. In 1959, a group he led founded the Workers World Party, which continues to the present day....
New Haven, CT : Distributed by Revolutionary Communist League (Internationalist), 1979 - Leninist logic and method for developing the forces committed to the "global class war" tradition: a review of the lessons of recent years by S Redfield New Haven, Conn: Revolutionary Communist League-(Internationalist), 1980