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The Johnson–Forest Tendency, whose supporters are called the Johnsonites, was a radical left tendency in the United States associated with the
Marxist humanist Marxist humanism is a philosophical and political movement that interprets Karl Marx's works through a humanist lens, focusing on human nature and the social conditions that best support human flourishing. Marxist humanists argue that Marx him ...
theorists C. L. R. James and Raya Dunayevskaya, who used the pseudonyms "J. R. Johnson" and "Freddie Forest" respectively. They were joined by author/activist Grace Lee Boggs (pseudonym: "Ria Stone"), who was considered the third founder.


History

Much of the story of the Johnson–Forest Tendency relates to disputes between various factions of the
Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...
parties in the US. James and Dunayevskaya first met in the Socialist Workers Party. From 1939–1940, there was a bitter fight amongst the members of the Socialist Workers Party, and in 1940, James, Dunayevskaya, and
Max Shachtman Max Shachtman (; September 10, 1904 – November 4, 1972) was an American Marxist theorist. He went from being an associate of Leon Trotsky to a social democrat and mentor of senior assistants to AFL–CIO President George Meany. Beginnings ...
, among others, split to form the Workers Party. James and Dunayevskaya set up a study group within the Workers Party to work on the idea of
state capitalism State capitalism is an economic system in which the state undertakes business and commercial economic activity and where the means of production are nationalized as state-owned enterprises (including the processes of capital accumulation, ...
, and were soon joined by Grace Lee Boggs. While this new group rapidly cohered around politics which were very similar to those of the Socialist Workers Party, there were certain differences which eventually led to the formation of the Johnson–Forest Tendency. The majority of the Workers Party members believed, as did Shachtman, that the class nature of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
was such that it should be designated a
bureaucratic collectivist Bureaucratic collectivism is a theory of class society. It is used by some Trotskyists to describe the nature of the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin and other similar states in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe and elsewhere (such as N ...
society. The minority opinion, held by James, Dunayevskaya, and Lee, held that it was state capitalist. Further, James was unhappy with the WP's lack of interest in Black activism. This resulted in their secession from the Workers Party. Their disgruntlement with the Shachtmanite majority within the Workers Party led Johnson–Forest in 1947 to rejoin the Socialist Workers Party. It was during this time that the Johnson–Forest Tendency reached the conclusion that, as there was no true
socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
society existing anywhere in the world, a return to the fundamentals of
Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...
was in order. Their emphasis on
Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a 19th-century German idealism, German idealist. His influence extends across a wide range of topics from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political phi ...
's philosophy as being the foundation of
Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...
was largely due to Dunayevskaya, who was deeply immersed in both Marx's and
Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
's writings. Johnson–Forest remained in the Socialist Workers Party until 1950, exiting the party once again with a book co-authored by James and Dunayevskaya, ''State Capitalism and World Revolution''. In the three years Johnson–Forest remained in the Socialist Workers Party, James also participated in party discussions on the American "Negro question" (as it was then called), arguing for support for separate struggles of blacks as having the potential to ignite the entire U.S. political situation. His hypothesis prefigured the organized civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Finally leaving the Socialist Workers Party, Johnson–Forest founded their own organization for the first time called Correspondence which was renamed the Correspondence Publishing Committee the next year. However, tensions that had surfaced earlier presaged a split, which took place in 1955. Through his theoretical and political work of the late 1940s, James had concluded that a
vanguard party Vanguardism, a core concept of Leninism, is the idea that a revolutionary vanguard party, composed of the most conscious and disciplined workers, must lead the proletariat in overthrowing capitalism and establishing socialism, ultimately progres ...
was no longer necessary, because its teachings had been absorbed in the masses. In 1956, James would see the
Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 4 November 1956; ), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by ...
as confirmation of this. Dunayevskaya had agreed that the Leninist vanguard party was outmoded, but, in contrast to James, felt the need for some kind of revolutionary organization. In 1953, James was deported from the U.S. to Britain for the lack of a visa, and the polemic continued. The split was completed in 1955, when Dunayevskaya and her faction founded the group News and Letters Committees. Grace Lee remained with the Johnsonites who founded
Facing Reality {{Short description, 1960's Radical Left Group Facing Reality was a radical left group in the United States that existed from about 1962 until 1970. History Facing Reality originated in the Johnson–Forest Tendency led by C. L. R. James and R ...
, as well as a newsletter based in Detroit of the same name. When Lee moved away from the group in the early 1960s, the continuity of the Johnsonite tradition was maintained by Martin Glaberman until Glaberman's death in 2001.


Publications


''The Invading Socialist Society''
a pamphlet published by the JFT in 1947.

a pamphlet published by the JFT in 1947.


See also

* Autonomist Marxism * Chaulieu–Montal Tendency *
Marxist humanism Marxist humanism is a philosophical and political movement that interprets Karl Marx's works through a humanist lens, focusing on human nature and the social conditions that best support Eudaimonia, human flourishing. Marxist humanists argue th ...


Notes


References

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External links


Marxist Humanism, subject indexBoggs CenterNews & Letters, the NewspaperLibertarian Communist Library Raya Dunayevskaya holdingsLibertarian Communist Library CLR James holdings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson-Forest Tendency 1945 establishments in the United States 1962 disestablishments in the United States Socialist Workers Party (United States) Anti-Stalinist left Libertarian socialism Political party factions in the United States Trotskyism in the United States C. L. R. James State capitalism