A question often raised in left-wing circles is that of the ‘unity of the left’.
According to those who raise this question, it’d be desirable if everyone on the vast and very
vaguely defined ‘left’, could unite to form some kind of giant ‘left-wing organisation’ which would
somehow encompass everyone from Social Democrats to Anarchists to Marxist-Leninist-Maoists. While
this kind of “left unity” certainly comes across as a great slogan, it papers over
the very real, principled opposition between revolutionaries and reformists on the left.
While some who promote this idea are genuinely well-intentioned – such as those new to left-wing
politics, and who don’t yet fully understand why there are so many different left-wing ideologies –
the slogan of ‘Left Unity’ is too often advanced in an attempt to bring Revolutionaries under
the leadership of Reformism – an attempt to rally radically different sections of the ‘left’ behind
their chosen representatives of Parliamentarism in an unprincipled unity - which historically hasn’t
worked out so well for revolutionaries. But as Lenin Points out, the slogan of
‘Left Unity’ is a popular one, and therefore revolutionaries must deal with it comprehensively
to put to bed any misconceptions of “elitism”, “puritanism”, or “ivory towers” and outline the
true bases for the different forms of unity of Revolutionary and Progressive forces that exist,
rooted firmly in the science of Marxism, rather than bourgeois liberal co-optational approaches.
And importantly, there are different types of left unity – not just the drive for one
big-tent left-wing organisation, but also single-issue tactical unity, unity in mass
organisations of the united front, and unity within Revolutionary parties themselves.
As explained by Lenin, what’s necessary for the success of the Revolution is primarily
the unity of Marxists. Marxist unity is based around the unity of revolutionary
principles and the formation of a Revolutionary Party of the new type to lead that struggle.
In order to bring about principled unity between the Revolutionaries and the broader Progressive
forces, the Revolutionary Party establishes a United Front as the organ of bringing the broad
masses into the struggle. Below the unity of the Party and the United Front, there can also
be a tactical unity of broader left-wing forces on single-issue campaigns, such as fighting fascism.
So today, we’re not going to be discussing whether or not this or that group on “the
left” can be friends, we’re instead going to dive a bit deeper into the matter from
a Marxist strategic perspective and take a look at the three main forms of unity, starting with
wide-reaching tactical unity, then narrowing in slightly to the united front, and finally
concluding with the highest form of left unity, the unity of the Revolutionary Party itself.
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out as regularly as possible. If you’re not in a position to support financially, you can also help
out by sharing this video around on social media. Now, the most basic and widest-reaching form of
‘Left Unity’, that brings together Revolutionary, progressive, reformist and parliamentary forces,
is the tactical unity of the single-issue campaign. By “tactical unity”, what’s meant
here is that, there isn’t necessarily principled agreement between those uniting to confront an
issue of common interest. Instead, it is a simple tactical alliance entered into
to bring the greatest possible number into a very specific campaign to achieve a victory
in the shortest possible time frame. While this form of ‘Left Unity” is quite limited, it’s also
a very common framework, in practice every day. An example of tactical unity on a single-issue
campaign can be seen in Anti-Fascist Activism, where revolutionaries unite with a range of
forces that they might otherwise have very little in common with in order to mobilise huge numbers
of people to confront and defeat Fascism. In Anti-Fascist work it is not uncommon to
find Communists, Anarchists, Social Democrats and Liberals working together to defeat our
common enemy – and this is certainly a positive example of tactical “Left Unity” in action.
A further example from recent Irish History of this Tactical ‘Unity’ on a single-issue campaign
would have been the mass campaign against the imposition of a domestic water tax,
or water charges, as well as water meters in the Free State, primarily around 2014. Here,
Revolutionary forces worked in the same campaign as reformists and parliamentarians to defeat the
imposition of this damaging tax. The campaign saw the revolutionary element directly confront
and prevent the installation of water meters - or arranging their removals in some cases - while at
the same time there was a broader campaign uniting all those who opposed the tax, organising marches,
demonstrations and public meetings in which revolutionaries also participated and strived
to assert the Revolutionary Line. Again, a positive example of tactical unity in action
on a single-issue campaign. But, as Seamus Costello stated,
‘We maintain that any co-operation… must be on the basis of a principled political position.
It must be on the basis of explaining fully… what all our policies are… It will be primarily an
educational function, or an educational campaign… in the hope at least that some significant section
of… the working class will understand.’ These important words from Costello explain
how Revolutionaries should conduct themselves during the tactical unity of a single-issue
campaign. At all times, the Revolutionary element must assert who they are and what they stand for.
They have to work tirelessly at all times to push the Revolutionary Line within the
campaign and they must work, through political education, to convince others in the campaign
of the Revolutionary position and to provide leadership to the masses with
the aim of winning them away from reformist and revisionist lines to the Revolutionary Line.
In this way, when Revolutionaries follow the correct line and method while engaged in tactical
unity on a single-issue campaign, new allies can be found to take unity to the next level,
which is the establishment of the United Front. The United Front is the method through which
Revolutionaries build a deeper, principled unity with Progressive Forces and the broad Masses.
The Purpose of the United Front is to unite all revolutionary classes and strata,
under the leadership of the working class, to organise forces for the strengthening of
the Revolution and the defeat of imperialism. This is achieved by the adoption of a Principled
programme by the United Front that is put before Progressive forces and the masses
asking all who agree to join the United Front. Principled unity is established on this basis,
against the common enemies: the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie and Imperialism.
The United Front is therefore a key, principled expression of genuine ‘left unity’ between
Revolutionary and Progressive forces. It allows Revolutionaries to take great strides forward
by uniting with all those whose class interests rely on the victory of Revolutionary forces. It is
the only basis for any form of genuine, lasting ‘left unity’ because it’s a principled unity.
So, the United Front is established to bring about the greatest possible Principled Unity
between Revolutionary and Progressive forces and the Masses for the waging of struggle and
the eventual victory of the Revolution itself. The Front is then a key weapon of the Revolution
and it’s argued by some Revolutionary organisations the United Front is itself
the organ of New Power - that is of working-class power, and as such can be seen as the new
Revolutionary state itself in embryonic form even before the victory of the Revolution.
Beyond just theory, successful real-world examples of the United Front can be seen
in Chinese Revolution, the Vietnam War, the Peruvian revolution and by studying the strategy
and tactics of the Revolutionary forces engaged in People’s Wars today in India and the Philippines,
in which the United Front plays a key role.
Here in Ireland, the idea of the United Front isn’t a new one, as the 1916 Rising was the result
of a United Front between the Socialist Republican Irish Citizen Army and the petty-bourgeois
Nationalist Irish Republican Brotherhood and Irish Volunteers, which brought a wide array of forces
into the Irish Revolution, including Cumann na mBan and Na Fianna Éireann among others.
Now, beyond the United Front, the highest form of left unity is the unity of Marxists.
Marxists understand that without Revolutionary theory, there can be no Revolutionary movement.
We also understand that there must be a Revolutionary Party to put that theory
into action and lead the Revolution. It’s this Revolutionary Party – the Communist
Party – that brings about the unity of Marxists. Since the publication of the Communist Manifesto
in 1848, Revolutionaries have argued that the working class must unite as a class
in order to achieve liberation, and in order to do so, they must have their own independent
fighting organisations to assert the Revolutionary line and organise Revolutionary action.
This is the basic theory behind the establishment of the Revolutionary Party. This Communist Party
is therefore the fighting instrument of the most advanced sections of the working class, and it
aims to unite all genuine Marxists within its ranks around an agreed and Principled programme
for Revolution. The Communist Party is also then the highest expression of Revolutionary Unity;
the most principled form of genuine Left Unity within the Revolutionary Movement.
Lenin developed on Marx and Engels’ call for fighting proletarian organisations to
the higher understanding that the Party must be an organisation of Professional Revolutionaries,
a Revolutionary Party of the new Type. By this he meant that the Revolutionary
party must be different in nature to the bourgeois parties that have gone before,
discarding bourgeois methods of organising and instead setting about achieving victory
in the revolution in a professional, systematic way by leading the progressive forces against
the common enemy of Capitalist Imperialism. Mao further built on this foundation by explaining
that ‘If there is to be revolution, there must be a revolutionary party.
Without a revolutionary party, without a party built on the Marxist-Leninist revolutionary
theory and in the Marxist-Leninist revolutionary style, it is impossible to lead the working class
and the broad masses of the people in defeating imperialism and its running dogs.’ Mao teaches
that one of the bases of Revolutionary unity is the practice of criticism and self-criticism.
Criticism- Self-Criticism is the systematic approach of addressing any issues that arise in
the course of Revolutionary work and addressing them in a comradely way to find a solution.
As Mao explains, ‘Conscientious practice of self-criticism is still another hallmark
distinguishing our Party from all other political parties. As we say, dust will accumulate if a
room is not cleaned regularly, our faces will get dirty if they are not washed regularly.
Our comrades' minds and our Party's work may also collect dust, and also need sweeping and washing.
The proverb "Running water is never stale and a door-hinge is never worm-eaten"
means that constant motion prevents the inroads of germs and other organisms.
To check up regularly on our work and in the process develop a democratic style of work,
to fear neither criticism nor self-criticism, and to apply such good popular Chinese maxims
as "Say all you know and say it without reserve", "Blame not the speaker but be warned by his words"
and "Correct mistakes if you have committed them and guard against them if you have not" - this
is the only effective way to prevent all kinds of political dust and germs
from contaminating the minds of our comrades and the body of our Party.’
Building on the work of the earlier revolutionary experiences, the Peruvian revolution took the
understanding of the Revolutionary Party to the new heights of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism,
outlining a number of key lessons on unity and struggle. “The first lesson is the importance of
the basis of Party unity, and its relation to the two-line struggle. […] without two-line struggle
there would be no basis for Party unity. Without a firm and thorough two-line struggle in the Party,
there is no way to firmly grasp the ideology, nor establish the programme, nor the general political
line, much less defend, apply and develop them. For us the two-line struggle is fundamental,
and that has to do with our view of the Party as a contradiction, in accordance
with the universal law of contradiction.” Revolutionaries understand that there are two
lines on all issues today: the proletarian line and the bourgeois line. This debate is the life
of the Revolutionary Party and it’s healthy that this debate takes place on all issues
so that all members of the Party can be won over to the correct proletarian lines. They themselves
will then consequently be able to give correct leadership to the United Front and to the masses,
and fight for the correct revolutionary lines within the single-issue campaigns
of tactical unity with broader groupings. In summary then, through the theoretical
teachings brought forward from the experience of Revolutionary practice since 1848 and right up
to the Revolutions being waged to this very day, we can understand that the highest form of Left
Unity is the unity of Marxists in a Revolutionary Communist Party. This is a principled unity around
a political programme, a Revolutionary political line, and the revolution’s particular Guiding
Thought which has been generated through the practice of revolutionary struggle itself – such
as Irish Socialist Republicanism specifically and exclusively for the Irish revolutionary context.
From Marxism-Leninism-Maoism specifically, we also learn the two most important tools
that form the basis of party unity: which are (1) criticism-self-criticism, and (2) two-line
struggle - both of which need to be practiced by all party cadre and not simply just paid lip
service to in order to ensure the principled unity of all Revolutionaries at all times.
So, whenever the question of Left Unity is raised in the future,
our immediate response, like Lenin, must be Unity for whom, and Unity to what end?
Broad Left Unity is possible on single-issue campaigns without too much complications,
so long as the revolutionaries within the campaign strive always to assert the Revolutionary Line.
More principled Unity is established through the United Front around an
agreed Revolutionary Programme uniting all Revolutionary and Progressive Forces
and mobilising the masses into the struggle. And the highest form of left unity,
is the unity of Marxists into a Revolutionary Organisation of a new type, namely the Communist
Party, with its own particular guiding thought, a political programme and a revolutionary line that
aims to lead the masses and the Revolution. Never accept sloganeering for unprincipled left
unity behind Parliamentarians’ demands. Always fight instead for a genuine, principled Left Unity
through the United Front and the Revolutionary Party for the victory of the Revolution.
Right, thanks very much for watching this video. Hopefully it has helped some people consider the
topic of Left Unity from more of a strategic, organisational perspective, rather than a “Can I
be friends with X group of people?” perspective. Thanks especially to the supporters on Patreon
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