Spark (U.S. organization)
Encyclopedia
The Spark group is a US Trotskyist organization. It is aligned internationally with the Lutte Ouvrière
tendency.
Spark began as a faction within the Spartacist League
that was attracted to the French group Voix Ouvrière method of propagandizing in the factories. They were allied against the leadership with the Turnerites
, but left independently before the Turnerites were expelled late in the year. This tendency formally organized as Spark in 1971 with two locals in Detroit and Baltimore
.
The organization began a monthly magazine Spark in July 1971, which became a biweekly in early 1976. It also produced a variety of newsletter based at local factories, such as the Ford Spark, Eldon Spark etc. Another magazine Class Struggle began in 1980.
The movement was weary of becoming to enmeshed in "petty bourgeoisie" movements, and wished to firmly base themselves in the proletariat
. But neither did they completely eschew work in such movements. For instance, referring to the anti-nuclear movement of the late 1970s and early 1980s they proclaimed "They should participate in its activities when such participation does not detract from their basic activity in the working class. But we must be clear that the building of a revolutionary organization rooted in the working class comes before participation in any petty bourgeoisie movement"
In mid 1982 Spark had locals in Baltimore, Detroit, Chicago
and New York
.
Internationalist Communist Union
The Internationalist Communist Union is an international grouping of Trotskyist political parties, centred on Lutte Ouvrière in France....
tendency.
Spark began as a faction within 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...
that was attracted to the French group Voix Ouvrière method of propagandizing in the factories. They were allied against the leadership with the Turnerites
Turnerites
Under a variety of names and within a number of organizations over at least 17 years, the group around Harry Turner, or Turnerites was a presence within Trotskyism in the United States.- History :...
, but left independently before the Turnerites were expelled late in the year. This tendency formally organized as Spark in 1971 with two locals in Detroit and Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
.
The organization began a monthly magazine Spark in July 1971, which became a biweekly in early 1976. It also produced a variety of newsletter based at local factories, such as the Ford Spark, Eldon Spark etc. Another magazine Class Struggle began in 1980.
The movement was weary of becoming to enmeshed in "petty bourgeoisie" movements, and wished to firmly base themselves in the proletariat
Proletariat
The proletariat is a term used to identify a lower social class, usually the working class; a member of such a class is proletarian...
. But neither did they completely eschew work in such movements. For instance, referring to the anti-nuclear movement of the late 1970s and early 1980s they proclaimed "They should participate in its activities when such participation does not detract from their basic activity in the working class. But we must be clear that the building of a revolutionary organization rooted in the working class comes before participation in any petty bourgeoisie movement"
In mid 1982 Spark had locals in Baltimore, Detroit, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Publications
- The people's democracies: are they socialist states?: the meaning of their present evolution toward a liberation by Voix Ouvriere Detroit, MI: The Spark, 1966
- For a Trotskyist organization in the working class Baltimore : The Spark, 1971
- Chile 1973: the tragedy of frontist politics Detroit, MI : The Spark, 1973
- The double nature of the mass communist parties Detroit, MI : The Spark, 1976
- Workers states or bourgeois?: what determines the class nature of a state? Detroit, MI : The Spark, 1976
- Revolutionaries and trade union activity: reprints of articles from the class struggle Detroit, MI : The Spark, 1977