Leftist Groups on the Syrian Civil War
923/01/2017 by socialistfight
Useful information although Michael Pröbsting will be alarmed and Laurence Humphries will be pleased to learn that the leading section of the RCIT is in the UK. Well done Laurence!
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This is a survey of various groups around the world considered to the left of democratic socialism regarding their stances on the Syrian civil war. I have searched the websites of just over 50 left-wing and far left parties, networks, and international tendencies for any articles, blurbs, statements, etc. regarding Syria since 2011. You’ll notice that I tend to focus on American leftist groups, with which I have the most familiarity. Also note that some of the international organizations overlap with each other.
I have found that leftists have incredibly diverse attitudes toward Syria, even within ideological tendencies. All the groups profiled below support secularism and socialism (or, in the case of some anarchists, socialist-like systems) and oppose intervention by Western powers, but their attitudes towards the Assad regime, the Kurdish PYD/YPG-led Rojava, the vast and multi-colored opposition, and the so-called Islamic State vary…
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Socialist Fight 
This survey shows that the so called “leninists”, or “marxists leninists” or “trotskyst” or whatsoever; every time that they are confronted with a “new” problem, in the conditions of today, when they need to analyse with their own heads and not just copying books, they went splited in many directions but mainly in the same three tendencies that has been always present in the worker’s political mouvement: right, center and left (and with division inter groups).
Personally, not been trotskyst, I prefer to work with SF trotskysts on matters as Syria and almost in all the international question that with “marxists-leninist” that goes fully or partially wrong in this questions.
Today, in France, there will be presidential elections, the principal elections in the country, And you find M-Leninists that will support a “trotskyst” (not in my opinion) LO candidate. But also others ex-trotskysts (even worse than those of LO) who are capaigning for another “anticapitalist” candidate which will make a very poor score against…Mélenchon a sort of Sanders-Corbyn-Tsipras candidate but the only one who has a chance of not beeing ridiculous and the only one wich, thee massesof the left people believe or feel, would permit to have a “left” alternbative to tthe right of Fillon or the nationalist right of Le Pen .
Of course it is an illusion and the man is working for himself but in the actual situation, so instable, it is the dynamics of the situation, the real conditions of the class struggle that determines even the psychologie of demagogues. I have seen that before.
There are some ML and trotskysts that will support this sort of “left” wing social democrat who have some chance of making a good score. There are also “revisionnists” (ancient communist parti members and the PCF iltself) that has supported that Mélenchon, But others are still trying to rise a “real communist” candidate and will not vote Mélenchon because he is what he is, a left social democrat strongly suspected to be a carrierist..
The ancient lines about (as trotskysts called them) “stalinists” and “troskysts” have exploded are are no more useful, they don’t men anything when confronted to every real political situation.
We have a center , a right and a left (when there is one and here in France there is very little of it)
You must work with the ones that are more or less corrext and here sometimes I work with “revisionnists” sometimes with “marxists-leninists” and some times I translate and difuse articles coming from this blog that called itself “trotskyst orthodox” or “serious trotskysts”. Perhaps the best works on the net and it last from some years.
But I wonder, it is not time already to abandone those useless and only historic divisions to work all together and make only the distinction between right, center and left?
What do you think about?
Sorry for the english.
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Most of the names of organisations reviewed here are unfamiliar, but it is difficult to see how I can rely on the comments/ descriptions of their political positions, when I read what is said about the ICFI. The International Committee of the Fourth International which produces the World Socialist Web Site has repeatedly made clear its opposition to the Syrian Government.
To be told that the ICFI stance on Syria is that it “vaguely supports the Government” is absurd. I don’t know whether the comment is due to ignorance or factional malice, but as one who reads http://www.wsws.org regularly I can say it is not true and undermines the credibility of the rest of the posting.
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The article is indeed confused on ICFI, which takes an unusual position on the Syrian War. For the most part, tendencies who are defeatist on the Syrian government deny that the “rebels” are imperialist proxies, since if they are, Assad is fighting a legitimate national war. But ICFI agrees that the anti-Assad forces are U.S. proxies, yet opposes both sides. ICFI contends that progressive national wars are no longer possible under globalized imperialism. Thus, they refused any support to Sadaam Hussein when the U.S. invaded Iraq. (The same analysis of globalization leads ICFI to declare trade unions thoroughly bourgeois.)
[Incidentally, the referenced article says there are 5 main purportedly Trotskyist groups in the U.S., one of which is SEP (ICFI). I gather the other two are ISO and Socialist Alternative. Can anyone tell me who are the other two?]
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Socialist Action is one and I suppose Socialist Alternatively, of the Settle councillor fame.
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Seattle
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I did have Socialist Alternative in my list. If Socialist Action is in the big five, I suppose the fifth would be the Spartacist League.
[Will we be hearing more from the LCFI’s U.S. section?]
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You will. It’s the coming thing!
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Excellent site you have here but I was wondering if you knew of any community forums that cover the same topics talked about in this article?
I’d really love to be a part of community where I can get responses from other knowledgeable people that share the
same interest. If you have any recommendations, please let me know.
Thanks a lot!
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