Thatcher a Bonaparte?

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Napoleon III Bonaparte - Marx's model for 'Bonapartism' 3y Bruce = Robinson campaign OVER 70 people attended the Labour Committee on Ireland AGM in London on April 14. Although the LCI has seen an increase in local and national activity recently, this was unfortunately not reflected in the numbers attending, and the AGM was generally low-key.

There were two main points of controversy in the AGM.

Manchester LCI proposed that "journal of the LCI" should be added to the masthead of the magazine 'Labour and Ireland' They felt that there was an inadequate LCI presence in 'Labour and Ireland' Those opposing the motion cleimed that the issue was whether 'Labour and Ireland' should be a broad magazine and involved people who do not agree with the LCI. Martin to lose support of editorial advisers such as Ken Livingstone and Desmond Greaves who may not wish to be identiffed with the LCI"

The supporters of the resolution did not oppose involving such people, but felt that the magazine should be controlled by and reflect the LCI. The Manchester resolution was defeated by 32 votes to 31.

The second controversial issue was the attitude the LCI should have to civilian bombings. Following an article in 'Labour and Ireland' which er icised civilian attacks, after tr. ICI put forward a resolut: : supporting the Republii s' right. to pursue the ggle "by any means they s fit' his effectively ruled out : Clor its members making criticism of actions and ods with the framework - ==or for the Republican As one supporter of :=5:.050D put it. 'it's 1 L = SISEESS" : =1507 iz jefeated LE=UF.

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CE DE Si3= =:e == sa gi00 025025 _... == = =is gains and Scuth. 210• •tes for made union seiween Britain and Ire= AGM 1 made little ¿e to the overall direction = LCI. WHAT exactly is the nature of the Thatcher government? How do we analyse the enemy we are facing?

There appears to be general agreement that we are dealing with the most right wing government since the war. But Thatcher's economic policies, her anti-union legislation, her attempt to ban trade unionism at GCHQ, her attack on civil liberties, her determination to destroy local government, her successful invocation of nationalism during the Falklands - these have led some to argue that the Thatcher government is a government of a new, specific type, a break from past Conservative governments.

Inat strange, sectarlan paper, the "Newsline" crystallises a vague feeling of some of the left when it refers to "Thatcher's Bonapartist dictatorship". It talks of "the shift in rule in Britain to Bonapartist dictatorship" and names "the Bonapartists themselves - Thatcher, MacGregor, the national police chiefs, the judges and the army." To sum up: "Thatcher rests upon the state violence of the police and armed forces."

This is given a fascist tinge, "It is not for nothing that MacGregor worked in Germany in the 1930s."

Bonapartist

When these people talk of Bonapartist dictatorship they are referring to Marx's writings on France, describing the regime of Louis Napoleon (1848-70).

Marx argued that "only under the second Bonaparte does the state seem to have made itself completely independent."

Napoleon III's ascendancy as a military dictator was the only way to maintain capitalist power after years of intense class struggle: "the extra-parliamentary mass of the bourgeoise ... by its servility towards the President, by its vilification of parliament, by its brutal maltreatment of its own press, invited Bonaparte to suppress and annihilate its speaking and writing sections, its politicians and its literati, its platform and its press, in order that it might then be able to pursue its private affairs with full confidence in the protection of a strong and unrestricted government li dectarad unequivocall! the: it borged to get rid of Is ooa pebt rule in order to a permi t mate fal on then treas before the rifle burt." It should be obvious that this is not a useful analysis of the lory government in 1984. The bosses are not under the rifle butt deprived of power. Thatcher is not like Napoleon III, resting only on military strength, controlling the state independently of workers and capitalists. John Mcllroy the nature of regime.

This is simply the last of a long line of WRP infatuations with military coups intended to whip up impressionable youth, unfortunate enough to come into contact with them into a frenzy of hyper-activity on the basis that revolution is just around the cormilitary dictatorship. ,if Thatcher does not front a Semi-fascist The police have stopped miners picketing in Nottinghamshire. The military have not gone into the Yorkshire pit villages burning and looting, to force the miners there back to work at the point of a bayonet.

The NGA had its funds sequestrated until it paid the court fines. And at the behest of Eddie Shah, not Thatcher, at that. It has not been permanently outlawed.

Despite the size of her majority, despite the increasing power of state and capitalist bodies outside Parliament, despite her dominance both there and amongst the Tories, Thatcher can dispense with neither Party nor Parliament, whatever may happen in the future she is not wearing a uniform yet.

If this analysis is nonsensical in its patent crudity, there are others who are willing to give it more sophisticated forms. Writing in "The Politics of Thatcher" a collection of articles from Marxism Today, Stuart Hall argues that the Thatcher government represents "a move towards 'authoritarian populism' exceptional form of the capitalist state which unlike classical fascism has retained most (though not all) of the formal representative institutions in place and which at the same time has been able to construct round itself an active popular consent."

Bayonet From the same stable, Eric Hobsbawm feels that over the Falklands, Thatcherism represented. "I hesitate, but only just, to say a semi-Fascist direction".

Nicos Poulantzas has used the term "exceptional state" to describe forms of the capitalist state unh: bourgeois democracy such as insist or military dictator. ship. Once again the same idea is being floated that something important has happened. Whilst maintaining the appearance of Parliamentary democracy, Thatcher is ruling independently of it, relying on the military and the courts. Whilst this chimes again with popular anti-Thatcher feeling, it is a wildly wrong analysis. looks at the Tory Thatcher's attacks on "the unions, her monetarism, her yoking of the Tory themes of nation, lamily, duty and author. ity with the liberal values of self-interest and individualism the rule of law." (April 2). does, as Stuart Hall correctly liberal organ felt that that very points out, represent a break from the post-war consensus. (There was a false hiccup from Heath in pute, evidence is acumulating 1970-72).

That consensus was based on incorporation of the union leaders and the ability of successive watch it. governments to grant reforms.

That is what Thatcher has broken from, not from Parliamentary WInd Dovizeok democratic democracy.

The change has been produced by the developing crisis and the the same degret oi coerciol inability to conjure up conces- A1 71 man Stanley sions. Baldwin (provoking genera The strong state is emerging. strike, rounding up communists, Things are tightening up. Two usuls doops, banlig dade umon law lecturers writing in The Guar- ism right across the civil service, dian about the policing of the etc) and he had not broken from bourgeois democracy.

on the army or on fascist storm things deteriorate, who knows what may happen.

integrative, debilitating power o precisely bourgeoi democracy and bourgeois ideology the working (class. • "tree' the union leaders.

Mussolini miners' dispute, commented that It is still the hold of ruling this operation must be seen as class ideas and one Len Murray more characteristic of an albeit and his cohorts, not the Generals elficient and developed police and Britain's nuclear deterrent state than of one founded upon who can be relied on to pull Thatcher's chestnuts out of the fire. The role of Murray and his pure, evidence i accumulating or. chums isn't what it was in the 1970s.

But then it wasn't what it was police activity that should be in the 1970s in the 1920s or considered quite outrageous in a 1930s either, was it? democratic society." We need to For all their recent casting out into the external darkness, comNonetheless, there have been, pared to Bevin and Citrine 1926believe it not, tougher right 40, Murray and Basnett are almost totally enmeshed in the governments than this one. capitalist state. Chatcher has not relied on even It's still in the broad sense 'consent' , not bayonets that keeps Thatcher in No. 10.

And if we believe that Thatcherism is a new phenomenon with at least the whiff of jackboots, and not simply an extreme right wing example of bourgeois demoprescriphis can infect our political Thatcher is not directly reliant Faced with this new force, troopers. Not as yet anyway. If superior to all classes, Hall and Hobsbawm end up telling us we need "A broad, anti-Thatcherite.

Today she relies still on the alliance, or to put it more honestly, a popular front" . In its way, that would be just as disastrous for the working class as the revolutionary response the WRP unionism and particularly sees as sweeping Gerry Healy into Downing Street.

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no.175 April

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