Audio's Daniel Bensaïd

Bensaïd departs from the problems in the Monarchy system, which was defeated in the 1931 elections, and talks about the democratic demands by workers' movement regarding teh national question, self determination, the question of land, the separation of Church and State - demands which have been noted by Trotsky in the Tasks of the Spanish Revolution. He discusses the problems with the CP, which despite belonging to the 3rd International, failed to recognise the democratic demands and failed to devise a transitional programme after the fall of the monarchy.

Bensaïd starts with a discussion of the differences between the CP and the POUM, and prepares the participants to draw lessons from the Spanish Revolution experience. He then provides factual information on Spain in the 1930s with concrete data on the political parties and organisations. He concludes the lecture with a chronology of events to provide a summary of background for the next lesson.

Bensaïd talks about the question of party-building in 1933, around the same time Trotsky saw the radicalisation in the socialist party. In 1934 Trotsky launched a proposal for the Spanish communist left to enter the Socialist Party. Bensaïd provides an in-depth discussion -both contextual and theoretical- of this entryist proposition. He then discusses the National question in party-building and formation of POUM. Bensaïd then moves on the discussions around Popular Front, with contextual information on the parties involved, and the 1936 elections.

Bensaïd begins with a survey of the general conditions of building a revolutionary proletarian party. Under this heading, he sets out the differences between the proletarian revolution and the bourgeois revolution. The conditions of the exploitation of the proletariat reproduce the conditions of class and an alienated relation with the goals of production. He relates all these points to the party question, where workers need to organise themselves to take power. Bensaïd then discusses several points from Marx, Engels and the party question regarding building a proletarian conscious party.

In this part of lecture, Bensaïd talks about the "Leninist revolution" on organisational question. He continues discussing the involvement of workers, such as professional revolutionaries, or selection, or democratic centralism, which implies that the party will act as a single body through a discipline which submits minority to majority decisions in action.

Lastly, Bensaïd talks about some polemical aspects of the Leninist theory of organisation. Bensaïd discusses the debates between Second International and Lenin. Theoretical and definitive clarifications on the concepts of party, soviet, trade union. Sovereignty of the Soviets above the party as a vanguard organisation. Bensaïd then talks about the question of programme. He underlines that the two following distinctions should be maintained and well understood to avoid complexities: party and class; system and principles.

Bensaïd begins his lecture with a survey of the general conditions of building a revolutionary proletarian party. Under this heading, he sets out the differences between the proletarian revolution and the bourgeois revolution. The conditions of the exploitation of the proletariat reproduce the conditions of class and an alienated relation with the goals of production. Bensaïd relates these points to the party question, where workers need to organise themselves to take power.

In this part of lecture, Bensaïd talks about the "Leninist revolution" on organisational question. He continues discussing the involvement of workers, such as professional revolutionaries, and democratic centralism, which implies that the party will act as a single body through a discipline which submits minority to majority decisions in action.

At Eleventh World Congress, it was decided to send comrades to industry to change the centre of gravity of sections. The term "turn to industry" implies a denigration of proletariat to only "industrial proletariat", but in fact, it included all employers. Bensaïd discusses certain weaknesses in the adoption of this policy, and arguments against the policy.

In this recording Bensaïd explores the consequences of the state, the networks of clandestine immigration on the one hand and of the social, revolutionary and workers’ movements on the other hand regarding the development of populist legislative measures such as the expulsions in the name of “public order” (which is more and more widely discussed in populist groups across Europe). He then mentions the emergence of successful movements like the one of the “without papers” in France or a caravan of the undocumented in Germany.