Doctrinal and strategic problems of the Communist Party of Australia, 1945-1962

Abstract

In writing this thesis my object has been to discuss the development of the strategy and doctrine of the Communist Party of Australia from 1945 to the present day. I have been especially interested in showing that the formulation of strategies and the periodical modifications of doctrine were affected by the Party's problems in Australian politics. While being fully aware of the Party's attachment to the Soviet Union land more recently Communist China), and to the ideas and influence of the international Communist movement, my main concern has been to examine it as part of the Australian political system, the demands of which it constantly tries to reconcile with the necessity of acting out the international Communist line. Having adopted this emphasis, I have not made a detailed examination of such topics as the mechanics of the Party's internal organisation, its social composition, its electoral performance, or its specific policies e.g. on foreign affairs, for their own sake. These subjects have been treated in so far as they are relevant to the central theme. Similarly, the doctrinal problems of the Party have been discussed in terms of their formulation by Australian leaders such as Sharkey and Dixon, rather than in the light of European debates on Marxist-Leninist theory. This is justified to the extent that a great deal of the theoretical discussion and influence in the Australian Party has been limited to the interpretations supplied by this handful of leaders. In the context of Australian politics, the Communist Party must be considered an integral part of the Labor movement: it regards itself as the real spokesman and defender of the working class; its greatest strength lies in the trade union movement; and its political and industrial activities naturally bring it into closest contact and rivalry with the Australian Labor Party. For this reason I have found it necessary to discuss in some detail developments in the Australian Labor movement as a whole, such as the Labor Party split of 1954-55 and trade union politics in the 1950s. The emphasis 1 have given to the Communist Party's role in trade union affairs is determined by the fact that the Party's main concern throughout the postwar period has been to defend its trade union positions. At the same time, its efforts to explore the possibilities of a farmer-worker alliance, and its use of front organisations to make contact with middle class groups, have been dealt with where they become important. Since the Party does not make correspondence, unpublished sources and membership records available, 1 have been forced to rely primarily upon the Party press, personal interviews with Communists and ex Communists and information from non-Party sources. Both the monthly theoretical journal, Communist Review, and the weekly (previously bi-weekly) Tribune were used extensively while the Guardians were used to follow local Party events in Victoria and Queensland. The importance of the Communist press in providing a means of contact between the leadership and the rank-and-file has meant that it reveals a great deal of the Party's internal affairs, particularly during periods of crisis. At the same time, however, it should be noted that Tribune 's coverage of industrial affairs leaves much to be desired, especially when dealing with Communist reverses, and that this deficiency cannot be made good by using the pro-Grouper News-Weekly. As a result, many non-Party sources have been used to fill in the details of trade union politics. The pamphlet collections referred to in the bibliography and the Departmental Newspaper Service (Political Science Department, Institute of Advanced Studies, Australian National University) have also been used extensively. Although they were used in conjunction with the sources discussed above, Government periodicals were not very fruitful; the exceptions were the Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates and several Royal Commissions relating to Communism and listed in the bibliography.