Bensaïd focuses on the third question in his outline: How to establish a new international? He discusses the first five years of building the FI. For Trotsky, founding of a new international was less a declaration than forming a unity of different forces and trends. Bensaïd depicts the situation of the forces in the 1933 and the situation of the Left Opposition internationally in the 1933. In the second part of the recording, he discusses the fusions. He describes the "modern centrism" concept of Trotsky - between social democracy, Stalinism, and revolutionary Marxism. He then takes up the question of the united front, the inclusion of mass organisations and agreement on a general political line. He discusses examples of 68 France, and Spain in the end of 1970s.
Audio
Duration: 93:22
History of the 4th international (1933-1938) - the aimis to understand what battles we come from and what is the programmatic heritage that we have. Bensaïd provides contextual information regarding the foundation of the FI, and introduces the discussion along the axis of five questions/subheadings: 1- Why a new international is necessary? 2- What basis, what is the programme to build this new international? 3-How to establish a new international? 4- What are the problems of its building and how Trotsky himself discussed them along problems of centrism-fusions, and problem of entryism in mass parties. 5- Results and conclusions. In this first part of the recording, Bensaïd focuses on the first question and talks about the degeneration of the Second International and Third International, and the "historic tests" that evidenced the impossibility of their re-generation. He contextualises the foundational years of the FI and continues with a discussion of the programmatic basis. He describes for what the programme stands, and in terms of strategy, he goes thorough the Eleven Points, underlining the necessity to adapt them to present conditions and learn from them to evaluate present conditions.
Audio
Duration: 42:52
Bensaïd focuses on polemical aspects of Leninist theory of organisation, and starts with a discussion of two Leninist positions. Firstly, the Leninist theory of organisation represents a very historic moment in the history of working class, where the political party tends to dissolve itself in the social organisation of the proletariat. The ideas of Lenin entail a distinction between party and class. Dictatorship of the proletariat, trade unions, working class and party do not mean the the same in Lenin's thought. Bensaïd here touches upon the difference between Leninism and Bolshevism, and elaborates on the fight between Leninism and the Second International. The ambiguity in the 1st Congress of the Comintern: On the one hand, the Party as an organisation of all workers organisations including the soviets (subordinated politically and organisationally to the party), at the same time, as the party is a vanguard party, it is just one part of the soviet. Therefore, the party is only part of and subordinate to the soviets. Secondly, the Leninist concept of party as a vanguard party, selected party, doesn't eliminate at all the question of a mass party.
In discussing this position, Bensaïd sets out two levels of action: the problem of political independence of the working class for building workers party remains a task. He gives the example of Guatemala and the militarist organisation versus the Leninist organisation of a party. He sees the solution in auto-organisation in the party at different levels. He concludes by underlining that the degree of centralisation can change, the members can change, the system -as it shows the political conditions- can change; whereas, the difference between party and class should be maintained.
Audio
Duration: 39:24
In this lecture, Bensaïd provides a general survey of the conditions for building a revolutionary proletarian party. He begins with a discussion of Marx's and Engels's points on the party question. He later focuses on Leninist concept of party, and concludes with clarifications of some ambiguities of Leninism valid for today.
Audio
Duration: 91:42
Chèr.e.s ami.e.s,
Il semble que la prochaine École Écosocialiste en Novembre-Décembre va être l´une des plus internationales et remplies qu´on a eu. Vingt-neuf participants sont déjà inscrits pour participer dans ce séminaire de trois semaines où on discutera de sujets variés, du féminisme contemporain au nouveau visage de l´impérialisme et les diffèrent aspects de la lutte écologiste. On attend des participants de Haïti, du Sri Lanka, de l'Indonésie, de Colombie, de l'Inde, de Belgique, des Pays-Bas, de la République Démocratique du Congo et d'autres pays.
Des participant.e.s des écoles ont décrit ces écoles de formation comme “ des lieux très riches et importants” pour “former une perspective internationaliste” et comme une occasion importante d'apprendre des “luttes des peuples partout dans le monde”. L'intérêt international pour l'école prouve qu'elle répond à un besoin qu'ont les militant.e.s de discuter de stratégie, d'échanger des points de vue et de préparer sur le long terme un engagement en faveur d'un monde plus juste et durable.
Mais cette participation mondiale nous pose en même temps un vrai défi. L'augmentation du nombre de participant.e.s, et l'impact plus large de notre école signifie une augmentation de l'argent nécessaire. Les organisations participantes contribuent largement aux frais financiers pour les voyages mais les mouvements sociaux du Tiers Monde ont besoin de notre solidarité pour qu'elles puissent participer de façon optimale à cette formation. C'est la raison pour laquelle nous faisons un appel vers tout le monde pour contribuer à l'école par des donations petites et grandes. Votre argent rendra possible la participatin des militant.e.s du Tiers Monde, militant.e.s dont la contribution forme une perspective essentielle dans nos mouvements pour la justice sociale.
Vous pouvez donner de l'argent sur:
SOWS (Stichting voor Onderzoek naar en Vorming in het Wetenschappelijk Socialisme)
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(notez pour votre don “school”)
Retrouvez des enregitrements des école précédentes sur www.iire.org
Soutien à l'IIRF
Pour renre possible extension du travail de l'IIRF, nous avons lancé un appel pour des donnations mensuelles. Si cent personnes font un don mensuel de 25 euros, celà rendra l'existence financière de l'IIRF sur le long terme plus durable et donnera au personnel les possibilités de développer encore plus l'effort de rénovation de la pensée socialiste par la tenue de séminaires et d'écoles, par la formation de nouvelles générations militantes et par l'expansion de nos publication. En récompense, les donateurs/trices qui donnent au moins 25 euros par mois, reçoivent gratuitement toutes les publications de l'IIRF. Ces donations peuvent se faire sur le même compte en banque çi-dessous. Contactez-nous si vous souhaitez en effet reçevoir nos livres par la poste.
Teaching
Research
Publications
Advocacy/public scholarship
Women’s Seminar 2015 assembled successfully at IIRE from 4th to 8th July. Organized by the women’s commission of the Fourth International , the seminar was attended by 30 women from 12 countries. Apart from Western European countries, there were participants from Philippines, Mexico, and the USA. The participants came from wide range of ages, from 17 to 70.
The program started with country reports and continued with rich presentations and discussions on key topics for socialist feminists. Women’s oppression in a class society, the link between exploitation and oppression, intersectionality, domestic labour, experiences of autonomous women’s movement, how to feminise our organizations in terms of fighting sexism and sexual aggression and strengthening women’s role in the organizations and leadership were the main subjects that were discussed thoroughly by participants.
The Women’s seminar 2015 was made possible partly by the solidarity campaign launched at our website in early spring 2015 (see ). The Commission already started to work on the next women’s seminar. Audio files from the seminar and selection from the reading materials will be added soon.
In sisterhood,
IIRE
The Institut International de Recherches et de Formation (IIRF) or in English International Institute for Research and Education (IIRE), is a Belgian Non Profit International Association. It was founded by Ernest Mandel and has been recognized as an International Scientific and Non Profit Association by Royal decree on 11 June 1981.
The IIRF is being registered in Brussels, Belgian at the Kruispuntbank nr. 421632274.
In Amsterdam the IIRF/IIRE is registered at the Chamber of Commerce Amsterdam nr. 34242044, as congress and study centre, as well as organiser of education sources, seminars, conferences and research. The VAT number of the IIRF is: NL 8153.35.210.B01.
The IIRF has members and a board.
The present board members are:
Joost Kircz | - Chairman |
Marijke Colle | - Secretary |
Penelope Duggan | - Member |
Historian Jan Willem Stutje has published on the Dutch and international workers movement. Stutje has written the biography of the Dutch communist Paul de Groot (Paul de Groot, De man die de weg wees). His biography of Ernest Mandel (Ernest Mandel, Rebel tussen droom en daad) was translated into German and English. In May 2012 he published the biography of Dutch socialist pioneer Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis.