The spectre of a Fifth International

Among the issues being debated by the theorists and publicists of the movement is the formation of a Fifth International.

One of the key figures on the reformist wing of the movement, Bernard Cassen of Attac and the World Social Forum, declares himself firmly opposed to what he calls the "nagging temptation of the fifth international".

Michael Lowy, co-drafter of the declaration of the World Social Forum, noted that a French employers' newspaper spoke recently of "the danger of a Fifth International.", while himself preferring a new international "without name or number".

Author Patrick Bond has a section of his essay in a recent book, The New Politics of Empire called Next steps: towards a 'fifth international'. Welcoming the rise of the anticapitalist movement he argues: "The time may well arise for a formalisation of the movement's character in explicitly political terms, such as within the traditions of international socialism - for which the four internationals provide a host of lessons".

Why is a discussion starting to emerge on the apparently obscure question of a Fifth International? The answer is that the descendants of previous four working class internationals influence and indeed "lead" the new anticapitalist movement.

The Past Grips the Present

Each of the four Internationals represented a great gain for the anticapitalist workers of the world. In their heyday they represented a deadly threat to the exploiters. This meant that the capitalists used every possible means to divert them from their anticapitalist goals and break them up. Due to their direct pressure from without and from their bureaucratic agencies within each of these Internationals collapsed as an effective instrument of social revolution. As a result, what remains of them organisationally represents the political continuation of their periods of betrayal and degeneration,...

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