'68 Generation

Labour Briefing no. 52, 25 November 1987, p. 13

Transcribed or corrected by hand from the printed page.

By-line as printed: Phil Hearse (Islington North CLP).

Street Fighting Years, by Tariq Ali, Collins, £12.95

Next year, 1988, is a year of important anniversaries. It is the 50th aniversary of a very important socialist conference, hosted by one of the leaders of the Russian Revolution, held in the French countryside (if you don't know what I mean, ask your Briefing seller for clarification).

But it is also the 20th anniversary of the Tet offensive in Vietnam; the May-June general strike in France; and the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia.

Twenty years already! 1968, and the years of student and worker rebellion which it symbolises, are for younger comrades just as much a part of revolutionary history as the Spanish revolution.

Tariq Ali's new book tells his personal story of these years.

Tariq was propelled into the leadership of the Vietnam and radical student movements not so much by his journalism, but by his oratorical flair. As the most articulate spokesperson of the new wave of revolutionary socialism, he became a media "personality".

While much of the media coverage was hysterically hostile and put him from time to time in personal danger, nonetheless it put him in a unique position of being sought out and courted by a wide range of intellectuals and celebrities.

Much of the charm of this book lies not so much in the story of 1968 and after, but in the tales of the people. A dinner party hosted by Marlon Brando; NUM leader Lawrence Daly on a visit to Vietnam (failing to keep intact his malt whiskey present for Ho Chi Minh); a summons to meet the Redgraves; Perry Anderson's energetic dancing technique — these are just a few of the dozens of entertaining anecdotes.

All this will of course be anathema to the po-faced sectarians in the far left whose commitment to Marxism is heavily laced with puritanism, moralism and a total lack of humour.

Already the most hostile review of Tariq's book has been written by the SWP's doctor turned lumpen-rock-critic David Widgery who asked in New Society "What has the British left done to deserve this man?" The import of Widgery's review is that the British left can well do without these foreigners coming to give us lessons.

Street Fighting Years is above all a defence of 1968 and the generation which rebelled in such spectacular fashion. While this generation had many illusions and made many mistakes, nonetheless in taking up the fight to change the world it was absolutely right.

Tariq talks of the "fantasies and illusions" of the '68 rebellion. More precisely, ultra-leftism was the dominant political trend, and many talked of a "decisive clash" between the workers and the ruling class — happening within a few years.

As the years went by and revolution did not occur the radicalised militants were forced to come to terms with serious long-term work in the labour movement. Inevitably there were casualties, as people became disillusioned and moved towards the right.

There have been some spectacular renegades. Regis Debray, theorist of the Cuban revolution and collaborator of Che Guevara, became a factotum of Mitterrand, peddling his poisonous foreign policy, and befriending arch-reactionary US ambassador to the UN, Jean Kirkpatrick.

Andre Gluckman, Maoist theorist of the French barricades, became a mystical and reactionary philosopher. Henri Weber, ideologue and leader of the Trotskyist Ligue Communiste, went off towards social democracy.

Casualties

Yes, casualties and renegades there have been. But overall, the '68 generation has remained remarkably steadfast, despite all the difficulties and setbacks.

A young comrade, in his early 20s, recently remarked to me that all his active political life Thatcher had been in power. He had known little but setbacks and defeats, mainly defensive struggles. "You people from '68 are lucky," he said.

In truth we are. It is difficult to convey the thrill of seeing the first reports of the Tet offensive, announcing that NLF units had taken over the US embassy in Saigon; or that of seeing the first reports of the barricades in Paris ("It's just like the revolution" was the headline in the Evening Standard); or that of marching with thousands behind banners shouting for the victory of the Vietnamese revolution.

What we had the privilege of seeing in 1968 was what it could be like when the masses rebelled, and when the powers that be become vulnerable. It is one thing to reason intellectually that socialism and revolution are possible — it is something else again to know it in your bones, to feel it, to see it unfold, in embryo, before you.

Read Street Fighting Years because it's a good story and because it's fun. But be wary of Tariq's slightly downbeat and depressed conclusions. The key slogan of 1968 was "Ce n'est qu'un debut — continuons le combat!"

Yes, indeed: 1968 was just a beginning — the struggle continues.

transcribed from the page image, 2 Nov 2026; spelling as printed (aniversary; Andre Gluckman; malt whiskey; "Ce n'est qu'un debut" without accent). A book review under a "BOOK REVIEW" band on the Reviews page (running head: Labour Briefing No. 52 Nov 24th-Dec 8th 1987 page 13). The by-line (By Phil Hearse, Islington North CLP) is set between rules part-way down the second column, mid-review. The book details line heads the review and is kept. The two bold opening paragraphs are given as one bold standfirst. No jumps. Left out: the other reviews on the page (Rosa Revisited by Valerie Coultas; Springsteen record review by Mike Marqusee; anti-apartheid book review by Charlie van Gelderen). The scan is low-resolution; read at enlargement, every word legible.