Et tu, J.R.?

Another national convention

"The Organizational Character of the Socialist Workers Party" is a resolution adopted at the 21st National Convention of the SWP in 1965. It's probably of little interest except for people interested in the minutiae of SWP history.

The resolution justifies the expulsion of a dissident minority from the party, the so-called "Robertsonites". Although the resolution claims that the Robertsonites had carried out "disloyal acts" against the party, the main thrust of the argument is that a dissident group can be expelled even *without* overt evidence of disloyal acts, simply on the basis of "disloyal" ideas. In practice, this means a ban on factions within the party, making it hard to understand why the resolution simultaneously claims that factions are allowed! The resolution also states that the majority has the right to regulate the conduct of any minority group within the party, and that a homogenous revolutionary party is needed to conquer power in the United States.

It's somewhat ironic that the Robertsonites went on to form a revolutionary group (the Spartacist League) which eventually became even less democratic than the SWP! But that's another show, as they say. This resolution should be read together with Farrell Dobbs' exposition "The Structure and Organizational Principles of the Party", reviewed by me elsewhere.