Democratic Socialist Perspective
Encyclopedia
The Democratic Socialist Perspective (DSP) was an Australian Marxist political group, which operated as the largest component of a broad-left socialist formation, the Socialist Alliance
. In 2010, the DSP voted to merge into the Socialist Alliance.
The name of the group is something of a misnomer, as the DSP was a revolutionary Marxist-Leninist organisation and not affiliated with the Democratic Socialism
movement. The name arises from the DSP's advocacy of democracy in the socialist movement, in contrast to the practices of Stalinism
.
(previously, and also currently, called Resistance) which grew out of the student radicalisation surrounding the Vietnam War. The SWL affiliated to the reunified Fourth International
, under the influence of the American
section, the Socialist Workers Party. It was also undoubtedly due to this influence that the SWL itself took the name Socialist Workers Party (SWP).
and disaffiliated from the Fourth International. While maintaining Leon Trotsky
's critique of the USSR, the party replaced Trotsky's theory of permanent revolution
with the view that socialist revolution in Third World
countries (countries in which, according to Marxist theory, the development of capitalism
has been distorted by colonialism
and imperialism
) will take place in two connected stages
. In the early 1990s it was renamed the Democratic Socialist Party. It contested the 1998 federal election as part of the Democratic Socialist Electoral League
.
in 1984/5 the DSP read the significance of the rise of Green Party in Germany and reshaped its political orientation towards a Eco-socialism
perspective. The main consequence of this was the creation of Green Left Weekly
in 1991 which has consistently pursued an environment agenda in its pages. The DSP has also been a consistent participant in environment campaigns.
, formed the Socialist Alliance
, initially an electoral vehicle. In 2002 the DSP championed the idea of turning Socialist Alliance into more of a party formation, although at first it had to withdraw this proposal as the ISO's opposition threatened to destroy the alliance. In 2003 the DSP became the first (and so far only) Socialist Alliance affiliate to become an internal tendency
within the Alliance, changing its name to the Democratic Socialist Perspective, in line with its view that SA should become a "Multi-Tendency Socialist Party", a view that the May 2003 National Conference of the Socialist Alliance subsequently adopted.
Each of these changes of name and tactics has been accompanied, like in many far-left groups, with a turnover of members. While the SWP and DSP recruited many activists from the radical student movement of the 1970s and from various social movements since, it failed to retain most of them for long as the sixties and seventies radicalisation wave has receded. Nonetheless, the DSP has retained a core membership drawn from each upsurge of political struggle, some of whom are founding members of the party back in 1972. The SWP, and then DSP, was led by Jim Percy
as National Secretary from 1972 until his death in 1992.
The SWP and the DSP regularly contested Australian federal elections but seldom polled significant votes. From time to time they practised entryism
into the Australian Labor Party
, but with little success. They also took part in the Nuclear Disarmament Party
project during the 1980s, as well as a number of other left regroupment projects, and were part of the political and activist alliance that led to the formation of the Australian Greens
.
The Socialist Alliance had been created in alliance with other forces in the hopes of using joint electoral work amongst Australian socialists to increase trust and collaboration between socialists, and in the process making socialist organisation a more attractive option to the left. But although it contested the 2001 federal election and the 2004 federal election, as well as several state elections, it has failed to attract significant support. The Socialist Alliance has had only one electoral success, electing Sam Wainwright to Fremantle City Council in 2009.
Several years into the SA project, it has attracted a number of activists, radical indigenous activists and militant unionists. Among those who have joined the SA are leading indigenous activist, Sam Watson; historian and author, Humphrey McQueen
; and some leading trade union figures such as Chris Cain of the Maritime Union of Australia
and Craig Johnston who led a reform current in the AMWU. This modest step forwards was seen as due to a combination of socialist collaboration making socialist activity more appealing to the left, and to the radicalising effects of the anti-corporate globalisation, anti-war and refugee-rights movements.
A debate broke out in the DSP in 2005 about its Socialist Alliance orientation but the minority viewpoint that opposed continuing with the Alliance orientation was soundly defeated at the DSP's January 2008 congress. This caused a split, where the opposition formed a new organisation the same year, the Revolutionary Socialist Party
.
In October 2009, the DSP National Committee proposed that the organisation merge itself into the Socialist Alliance. At the DSP National Congress in January 2010, the membership voted to go ahead with the merger.
Socialist Alliance (Australia)
The Socialist Alliance was founded in 2001 as an alliance of socialist organisations and individuals in Australia, initiated by the Democratic Socialist Perspective and the International Socialist Organisation along with 6 other founding socialist organisations, to create greater left unity in the...
. In 2010, the DSP voted to merge into the Socialist Alliance.
The name of the group is something of a misnomer, as the DSP was a revolutionary Marxist-Leninist organisation and not affiliated with the Democratic Socialism
Democratic socialism
Democratic socialism is a description used by various socialist movements and organizations to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation...
movement. The name arises from the DSP's advocacy of democracy in the socialist movement, in contrast to the practices of Stalinism
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
.
Formation
The DSP started as the orthodox Trotskyist Socialist Workers League, founded in 1972 by members of the radical Socialist Youth AllianceResistance (socialist youth organisation)
Resistance is a Revolutionary Socialist youth organisation with its national headquarters in Sydney. Resistance is an independent affiliate of the Socialist Alliance with a strong historical relationship with the Democratic Socialist Perspective, which dissolved into the Socialist Alliance in...
(previously, and also currently, called Resistance) which grew out of the student radicalisation surrounding the Vietnam War. The SWL affiliated to the reunified Fourth International
Reunified Fourth International
The Fourth International is a Trotskyist international. In 1963, the majorities of the two public factions of the Fourth International, the International Secretariat and the International Committee, reunited, electing a United Secretariat of the Fourth International...
, under the influence of the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
section, the Socialist Workers Party. It was also undoubtedly due to this influence that the SWL itself took the name Socialist Workers Party (SWP).
Abandonment of Trotskyism
In 1986 the SWP broke with orthodox TrotskyismOrthodox Trotskyism
Orthodox Trotskyism is a branch of Trotskyism which aims to adhere more closely to the philosophy, methods and positions of Trotsky and the early Fourth International, Lenin, and Marx than other Trotskyists....
and disaffiliated from the Fourth International. While maintaining Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
's critique of the USSR, the party replaced Trotsky's theory of permanent revolution
Permanent Revolution
Permanent revolution is a term within Marxist theory, established in usage by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels by at least 1850 but which has since become most closely associated with Leon Trotsky. The use of the term by different theorists is not identical...
with the view that socialist revolution in Third World
Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...
countries (countries in which, according to Marxist theory, the development of capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
has been distorted by colonialism
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
and imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
) will take place in two connected stages
Two Stage Theory
The two stage theory is the Stalinist political theory which argues that underdeveloped countries, such as Tsarist Russia, must first pass through a stage of bourgeois democracy before moving to a socialist stage...
. In the early 1990s it was renamed the Democratic Socialist Party. It contested the 1998 federal election as part of the Democratic Socialist Electoral League
Democratic Socialist Electoral League
The Democratic Socialist Electoral League was a minor Australian political party that operated from 1998 until its voluntary deregistration in 2001. It supported a broadly socialist platform.-Policy:...
.
Orienting to the Green movement
The DSP was the first Marxist party in the world to orientate actively to the green movement. From its movement experience and especially its activity supporting the Nuclear Disarmament PartyNuclear Disarmament Party
The Nuclear Disarmament Party was a political party in Australia. The party was formed in 1984 and enjoyed considerable initial success.-Foundation, the 1984 election, and the split:...
in 1984/5 the DSP read the significance of the rise of Green Party in Germany and reshaped its political orientation towards a Eco-socialism
Eco-socialism
Eco-socialism, green socialism or socialist ecology is an ideology merging aspects of Marxism, socialism, green politics, ecology and alter-globalization...
perspective. The main consequence of this was the creation of Green Left Weekly
Green Left Weekly
Green Left Weekly is an Australian radical left-wing newspaper, written by progressive activists to "present the views excluded by the big business media". It was published by the Democratic Socialist Perspective from its inception in 1990 until January 2010, when the DSP merged into the Socialist...
in 1991 which has consistently pursued an environment agenda in its pages. The DSP has also been a consistent participant in environment campaigns.
Socialist Alliance
In 2001, the DSP, along with several other socialist parties including the International Socialist OrganisationInternational Socialist Organisation (Australia)
The International Socialist Organisation was an Australian Trotskyist political organisation, founded in 1971, originally as the Marxist Workers' Group until it dissolved to form Solidarity in 2008 with two other socialist organisations...
, formed the Socialist Alliance
Socialist Alliance (Australia)
The Socialist Alliance was founded in 2001 as an alliance of socialist organisations and individuals in Australia, initiated by the Democratic Socialist Perspective and the International Socialist Organisation along with 6 other founding socialist organisations, to create greater left unity in the...
, initially an electoral vehicle. In 2002 the DSP championed the idea of turning Socialist Alliance into more of a party formation, although at first it had to withdraw this proposal as the ISO's opposition threatened to destroy the alliance. In 2003 the DSP became the first (and so far only) Socialist Alliance affiliate to become an internal tendency
Political faction
A political faction is a grouping of individuals, such as a political party, a trade union, or other group with a political purpose. A faction or political party may include fragmented sub-factions, “parties within a party," which may be referred to as power blocs, or voting blocs. The individuals...
within the Alliance, changing its name to the Democratic Socialist Perspective, in line with its view that SA should become a "Multi-Tendency Socialist Party", a view that the May 2003 National Conference of the Socialist Alliance subsequently adopted.
Each of these changes of name and tactics has been accompanied, like in many far-left groups, with a turnover of members. While the SWP and DSP recruited many activists from the radical student movement of the 1970s and from various social movements since, it failed to retain most of them for long as the sixties and seventies radicalisation wave has receded. Nonetheless, the DSP has retained a core membership drawn from each upsurge of political struggle, some of whom are founding members of the party back in 1972. The SWP, and then DSP, was led by Jim Percy
Jim Percy
Jim Percy was a founder of the Socialist Workers League of Australia, later called the Socialist Workers Party and the Democratic Socialist Party, and served as national secretary for almost twenty years.-Career:Percy first became active in politics as a high-school student in 1965, helping...
as National Secretary from 1972 until his death in 1992.
The SWP and the DSP regularly contested Australian federal elections but seldom polled significant votes. From time to time they practised entryism
Entryism
Entryism is a political tactic by which an organisation or state encourages its members or agents to infiltrate another organisation in an attempt to gain recruits, or take over entirely...
into the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
, but with little success. They also took part in the Nuclear Disarmament Party
Nuclear Disarmament Party
The Nuclear Disarmament Party was a political party in Australia. The party was formed in 1984 and enjoyed considerable initial success.-Foundation, the 1984 election, and the split:...
project during the 1980s, as well as a number of other left regroupment projects, and were part of the political and activist alliance that led to the formation of the Australian Greens
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
.
The Socialist Alliance had been created in alliance with other forces in the hopes of using joint electoral work amongst Australian socialists to increase trust and collaboration between socialists, and in the process making socialist organisation a more attractive option to the left. But although it contested the 2001 federal election and the 2004 federal election, as well as several state elections, it has failed to attract significant support. The Socialist Alliance has had only one electoral success, electing Sam Wainwright to Fremantle City Council in 2009.
Several years into the SA project, it has attracted a number of activists, radical indigenous activists and militant unionists. Among those who have joined the SA are leading indigenous activist, Sam Watson; historian and author, Humphrey McQueen
Humphrey McQueen
Humphrey McQueen is an Australian author, historian, and cultural commentator. He has written many books on a wide range of subjects covering history, the media, politics and the visual arts...
; and some leading trade union figures such as Chris Cain of the Maritime Union of Australia
Maritime Union of Australia
The Maritime Union of Australia covers waterside workers, seafarers, port workers, professional divers, and office workers associated with Australian ports. As of 2011 the union has about 13,000 members. It is an affiliate of the International Transport Workers' Federation and represents the...
and Craig Johnston who led a reform current in the AMWU. This modest step forwards was seen as due to a combination of socialist collaboration making socialist activity more appealing to the left, and to the radicalising effects of the anti-corporate globalisation, anti-war and refugee-rights movements.
A debate broke out in the DSP in 2005 about its Socialist Alliance orientation but the minority viewpoint that opposed continuing with the Alliance orientation was soundly defeated at the DSP's January 2008 congress. This caused a split, where the opposition formed a new organisation the same year, the Revolutionary Socialist Party
Revolutionary Socialist Party (Australia)
The Revolutionary Socialist Party is a small socialist organisation in Australia, formed in 2008 by a split from the former Democratic Socialist Perspective . Members of the split were expelled from the DSP over debates about the organisation's participation in the Socialist Alliance...
.
In October 2009, the DSP National Committee proposed that the organisation merge itself into the Socialist Alliance. At the DSP National Congress in January 2010, the membership voted to go ahead with the merger.
External links
- Democratic Socialist Perspective
- Green Left Weekly
- Resistance
- Socialist Alliance
- Green Left eulogy for Jim Percy
- Resistance Books, the DSP & Resistance's publishing house
- Links – international journal of socialist renewal
Further reading
- Percy, John.(2005) Resistance: A History of the Democratic Socialist Party and Resistance: 1965–72. Resistance Books, Australia.
- The Program of the DSP