Alan Woods
Encyclopedia
Alan Woods is a Trotskyist political theorist. He is one of the leading cadres of the International Marxist Tendency
and political editor of the "In Defence of Marxism" website.
with a strong Communist tradition. At the age of 16 he joined the Young Socialists and became a Marxist, becoming a supporter of the Trotskyist Militant tendency
within the Labour Party
. He studied Russian at Sussex University
and later in Sofia
(Bulgaria
) and at the Moscow State University
(MGU). Wood's work in Brighton for the Militant tendency
established an important base of support at the university and in the town. He later moved back to south Wales, becoming the first regional full timer for the organisation. He, his wife, and two small daughters moved to Spain
in the early 1970s where his well-known political stance placed him amongst those struggling against the Francisco Franco
dictatorship, where he worked to establish the Spanish section of the Committee for a Workers International (CWI). Woods speaks several languages, including Italian, English, Spanish, French, German and Russian.
, were expelled from the Militant tendency and its parent organization, the Committee for a Workers' International
, over what they considered to be the ultraleft turn of this organisation when it decided to split from the Labour Party. The minority group led by Ted Grant also argued that a decline in emphasis on political education, as well as the development of a bureaucratic clique arount Peter Taaffe
was damaging Militant. Grant and Woods and their supporters internationally formed the Committee for a Marxist International in 1992, which was later to be known as the International Marxist Tendency
, and remained active in the Labour Party. The British section of the IMT is known as Socialist Appeal
.
, published in London. Alongside Lal Khan
, he is currently a leading theoretician in the International Marxist Tendency
and editor of the website In Defence of Marxism. His writings on the current revolution in Venezuela
and the tasks to be carried out by revolutionaries elsewhere are followed around the world.
At the political level he has had meetings with Hugo Chávez
, and defends the idea that the Bolivarian Revolution
is the germ of the World Revolution. Woods also travels and supports other revolutionary processes in Pakistan
, Bolivia
, the Middle East and Cuba
. He is a close friend of Trotsky's grandson Vsievolod Platonovich "Esteban" Volkov, who regards Woods' work as closest to Trotsky's theories.
In 2010, Woods was subject to severe criticism, first by some Venezuelan right-wing newspapers http://opinion.eluniversal.com/2010/11/10/opi_art_las-caras-del-radica_2093304.shtml and groups like Primero Justiciahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFtBEeSQ4g4http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRoQQ1cFpmE and then on international media http://www.economist.com/node/17527250?story_id=17527250http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/noticias/2010/12/101203_venezuela_chavez_alanwoods.shtml, for an article (Where is the Venezuelan revolution going?) he wrote after the latest Venezuelan general elections in which he suggested to further radicalise the Bolivarian Revolution towards "the expropriation of the commanding heights of the economy". His reply to these attacks was given widespread attention in the Venezuelan media.
International Marxist Tendency
The International Marxist Tendency is an international socialist organisation based on the ideas of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Trotsky. The late Ted Grant was its chief theoretician and the person who built the organisation since its beginning. Currently, Alan Woods and Lal Khan are its best known...
and political editor of the "In Defence of Marxism" website.
Early life
Woods was born into a working-class family in South WalesSouth Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
with a strong Communist tradition. At the age of 16 he joined the Young Socialists and became a Marxist, becoming a supporter of the Trotskyist Militant tendency
Militant Tendency
The Militant tendency was an entrist group within the British Labour Party based around the Militant newspaper that was first published in 1964...
within the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. He studied Russian at Sussex University
University of Sussex
The University of Sussex is an English public research university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. The University received its Royal Charter in August 1961....
and later in Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
(Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
) and at the Moscow State University
Moscow State University
Lomonosov Moscow State University , previously known as Lomonosov University or MSU , is the largest university in Russia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be one of the oldest university in Russia and to have the tallest educational building in the world. Its current rector is Viktor Sadovnichiy...
(MGU). Wood's work in Brighton for the Militant tendency
Militant Tendency
The Militant tendency was an entrist group within the British Labour Party based around the Militant newspaper that was first published in 1964...
established an important base of support at the university and in the town. He later moved back to south Wales, becoming the first regional full timer for the organisation. He, his wife, and two small daughters moved to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in the early 1970s where his well-known political stance placed him amongst those struggling against the Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
dictatorship, where he worked to establish the Spanish section of the Committee for a Workers International (CWI). Woods speaks several languages, including Italian, English, Spanish, French, German and Russian.
The split in Militant
In the early 1990s Woods and his mentor, Ted GrantTed Grant
Edward "Ted" Grant , 9 July 1913 in Germiston, South Africa – 20 July 2006 in London) was a South African Trotskyist who spent most of his adult life in Britain...
, were expelled from the Militant tendency and its parent organization, the Committee for a Workers' International
Committee for a Workers' International
The Committee for a Workers' International is an international association of Trotskyist parties. Members include the Socialist Party of England and Wales, the Socialist Party , the Socialist Party the Democratic Socialist Movement in South Africa and Nigeria and groups using the name Socialist...
, over what they considered to be the ultraleft turn of this organisation when it decided to split from the Labour Party. The minority group led by Ted Grant also argued that a decline in emphasis on political education, as well as the development of a bureaucratic clique arount Peter Taaffe
Peter Taaffe
Peter Taaffe is the general secretary of the Socialist Party of England and Wales SPEW and member of the International Executive Committee of the Committee for a Workers International , which claims sections in over 35 countries around the world.Taaffe was founding editor of the Marxist Militant...
was damaging Militant. Grant and Woods and their supporters internationally formed the Committee for a Marxist International in 1992, which was later to be known as the International Marxist Tendency
International Marxist Tendency
The International Marxist Tendency is an international socialist organisation based on the ideas of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Trotsky. The late Ted Grant was its chief theoretician and the person who built the organisation since its beginning. Currently, Alan Woods and Lal Khan are its best known...
, and remained active in the Labour Party. The British section of the IMT is known as Socialist Appeal
Socialist Appeal
Socialist Appeal is the publication of a British Trotskyist organisation operating within the Labour Party which was founded by Ted Grant and Alan Woods after they were expelled from the Militant tendency. The organisation is popularly known as the Socialist Appeal group, and publishes a monthly...
.
Recent activities
Woods was the editor for some years of the Marxist journal Socialist AppealSocialist Appeal
Socialist Appeal is the publication of a British Trotskyist organisation operating within the Labour Party which was founded by Ted Grant and Alan Woods after they were expelled from the Militant tendency. The organisation is popularly known as the Socialist Appeal group, and publishes a monthly...
, published in London. Alongside Lal Khan
Lal Khan
Lal Khan, M.D., is a political activist and Trotskyist political theorist. He is the leading figure and main theorist in the International Marxist Tendency, alongside Alan Woods. He is a doctor of Medicine, although he no longer practices this profession for the sake of his revolutionary activities...
, he is currently a leading theoretician in the International Marxist Tendency
International Marxist Tendency
The International Marxist Tendency is an international socialist organisation based on the ideas of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Trotsky. The late Ted Grant was its chief theoretician and the person who built the organisation since its beginning. Currently, Alan Woods and Lal Khan are its best known...
and editor of the website In Defence of Marxism. His writings on the current revolution in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
and the tasks to be carried out by revolutionaries elsewhere are followed around the world.
At the political level he has had meetings with Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
, and defends the idea that the Bolivarian Revolution
Bolivarian Revolution
The “Bolivarian Revolution” refers to a leftist social movement and political process in Venezuela led by Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, the founder of the Fifth Republic Movement...
is the germ of the World Revolution. Woods also travels and supports other revolutionary processes in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, the Middle East and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. He is a close friend of Trotsky's grandson Vsievolod Platonovich "Esteban" Volkov, who regards Woods' work as closest to Trotsky's theories.
In 2010, Woods was subject to severe criticism, first by some Venezuelan right-wing newspapers http://opinion.eluniversal.com/2010/11/10/opi_art_las-caras-del-radica_2093304.shtml and groups like Primero Justiciahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFtBEeSQ4g4http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRoQQ1cFpmE and then on international media http://www.economist.com/node/17527250?story_id=17527250http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/noticias/2010/12/101203_venezuela_chavez_alanwoods.shtml, for an article (Where is the Venezuelan revolution going?) he wrote after the latest Venezuelan general elections in which he suggested to further radicalise the Bolivarian Revolution towards "the expropriation of the commanding heights of the economy". His reply to these attacks was given widespread attention in the Venezuelan media.
Publications
- Marxism in Our Time (1992)
- China in Crisis (1994)
- A Socialist Alternative to the European Union (1997)
- Revolution in Albania (1997)
- A New Stage in the Capitalist Crisis (1998)
- Indonesia: the Asian Revolution has Begun (1998)
- The Kosovo pogrom and the Balkan Powder-keg (1998)
- Crisis in Russia, the free market failure,
- History of Philosophy,
- Two books co-authored with Ted GrantTed GrantEdward "Ted" Grant , 9 July 1913 in Germiston, South Africa – 20 July 2006 in London) was a South African Trotskyist who spent most of his adult life in Britain...
- Bolshevism: the Road to Revolution (1999).
- Marxism and the National Question (2000)
- British Poets and the French Revolution (2003)
- The revolutionary dialectic of Republicanism - An Open Letter to Irish Republicans (2003).
- In Defence of Marxism - Reply to Israel Shamir (2004)
- The Celia Hart Controversy - Stalinism or Leninism? (2004)
- Ireland: Republicanism and Revolution (2005)
- The Venezuelan Revolution - a Marxist perspective (2005)
- Marxism and the U.S.A.Marxism and the U.S.A.Marxism and the U.S.A. is a 2005 book by the British Trotskyist Alan Woods, in which he examines American history from a Marxist perspective. The author highlights the revolutionary ideals that are the foundation of the history and traditions of the American people....
- article (Wellred USA, 2005). - The Reawakening of the World Working Class and the Tasks Faced by Marxists (2006)
- Reformism or Revolution — Marxism and Socialism of the 21st Century (reply to Heinz Dieterich) (2008)
- XXI Century Socialism, or There is Nothing New Under the Sun November 2010
See also
- International Marxist TendencyInternational Marxist TendencyThe International Marxist Tendency is an international socialist organisation based on the ideas of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Trotsky. The late Ted Grant was its chief theoretician and the person who built the organisation since its beginning. Currently, Alan Woods and Lal Khan are its best known...
- Socialist AppealSocialist AppealSocialist Appeal is the publication of a British Trotskyist organisation operating within the Labour Party which was founded by Ted Grant and Alan Woods after they were expelled from the Militant tendency. The organisation is popularly known as the Socialist Appeal group, and publishes a monthly...
- Bolivarian RevolutionBolivarian RevolutionThe “Bolivarian Revolution” refers to a leftist social movement and political process in Venezuela led by Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, the founder of the Fifth Republic Movement...
- Hands Off VenezuelaHands Off VenezuelaHands Off Venezuela is a political lobby group based in the United Kingdom and with branches in many other countries. The campaign was established in December 2002, following the Venezuelan coup attempt of 2002, with the aim of increasing public and political awareness in the UK and elsewhere of...
- TrotskyismTrotskyismTrotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
- Ted GrantTed GrantEdward "Ted" Grant , 9 July 1913 in Germiston, South Africa – 20 July 2006 in London) was a South African Trotskyist who spent most of his adult life in Britain...
- Lal KhanLal KhanLal Khan, M.D., is a political activist and Trotskyist political theorist. He is the leading figure and main theorist in the International Marxist Tendency, alongside Alan Woods. He is a doctor of Medicine, although he no longer practices this profession for the sake of his revolutionary activities...
- Militant tendencyMilitant TendencyThe Militant tendency was an entrist group within the British Labour Party based around the Militant newspaper that was first published in 1964...