The communist movement in the U.S. has been dominated by a left-opportunist trend, against which an anti-“left” reaction is growing. This anti-“left” reaction contains differences over the nature of ultra-leftism and over the objective situation in the world today, which have not yet been resolved. The task of the OC is to organize the anti-“left”, anti-revisionist tendency, which will have common aims, a common understanding of the problems of communist work, and common practice. To do this the OC must mobilize all positive factors to overcome negative ones. Point 18 obstructs this. The anti-“left” reaction is divided over the international situation. As a result, the imposition of Point 18 as a point of unity for the OC splits us where our task is to unite; it forecloses struggle where our task is to organize struggle; it is a step back from mobilizing all positive factors.
For these reasons this body holds that Point 18 should not be required as a point of unity for the OC at this time.
[1] Since the BPO had declared its open opposition to Principle 18 a few weeks before the conferences and thereby resigned from the OC, it was irregular for BPO to introduce a resolution at an OC conference. In view of the lack of time to reorganize the conferences after the BPO and CUO resigned from the OC, and in view of the interests of clarifying the struggle, it was decided to allow BPO and CUO to participate in the conferences as observers but with all rights (including delivering the minority presentation and introducing resolutions) except for voting.