The United Front - Summary

Summary

• The United Front has to be distinguished from the Popular Front. The latter is an alliance at the top of the political representatives of the proletariat and the liberal bourgeoisie, the former is an alliance, in action, at the base, of the workers irrespective of whether they give their allegiance to revolutionary or reformist workers' parties.

• The United Front was a tactic devised by revolutionaries in the 1920's, arising directly out of the split of the labour movement into a reformist and revolutionary wing.

• Its mantra is “March separately strike together”.

• The tactic arose because reformist workers did not understand the basis of the split in their movement, and sought a united struggle against the attacks of capital. The revolutionaries said to the reformist workers, “We agree on a united struggle, and so we propose to join with you in united action, but we disagree with the politics of your leaders, and believe they will not follow through in defending your interests where it involves an attack on capitalism. We will fight alongside you, but we will not subordinate ourselves to your leaders, and their bourgeois politics.”

• The United Front is only possible where the labour movement is fairly evenly split between revolutionaries and reformists. If the support for revolutionaries is small – less than 25% - then they are in no position to propose a United Front to the reformist workers. They are left in a position of having to work alongside them, whilst trying to build their support. This is what Lenin proposed to the small British Communist Party in advising it to affiliate to the Labour Party. Its what the Trotskyists had to do in the 1930's, with the “French Turn”, when they began to “Enter” the social-democratic parties. Where the revolutionaries already have the support of a large majority of workers, there is again no point in the United Front tactic, as it can only be of benefit to the reformists.

• The United Front is the basis of the revolutionaries demands to the reformists and petty-bourgeois parties to form a Workers Government, by throwing out the capitalist Ministers from a Popular Front government.

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