Johnson-Forest Tendency

The Johnson–Forest Tendency, sometimes called the Johnsonites, refers to a radical left tendency in the United States associated with Marxist theorists C. L. R. James and Raya Dunayevskaya, who used the pseudonyms J.R. Johnson and Freddie Forest respectively. They were joined by author/activist Grace Lee Boggs, who was considered the third founder.

Much of the story of the Johnson–Forest Tendency relates to disputes between various factions of the Trotskyist parties in the USA. James and Dunayevskaya first met in the Socialist Workers Party. From 1939–1940, there was a bitter fight amongst the members of the Socialist Workers Party, and in 1940, James, Dunayevskaya, and Max Shachtman, among others, split to form the Workers Party. James and Dunayevskaya set up a study group within the Workers Party to work on the idea of State Capitalism, and were soon joined by Grace Lee Boggs.

While this new group rapidly cohered around politics which were very similar to those of the Socialist Workers Party, there were certain differences which eventually led to the formation of the Johnson–Forest Tendency. The majority of the Workers Party members believed, as did Shachtman, that the class nature of the Soviet Union was such that it should be designated a bureaucratic collectivist society. The minority opinion, held by James, Dunayevskaya, and Lee, held that it was state capitalist. Further, James was unhappy with the WP's lack of interest in Black activism. This resulted in their secession from the Workers Party.

Their disgruntlement with the Shachtmanite majority within the Workers Party led Johnson–Forest in 1947 to rejoin the Socialist Workers Party. It was during this time that the Johnson–Forest Tendency reached the conclusion that, as there was no true socialist society existing anywhere in the world, a return to the fundamentals of Marxism was in order. Their emphasis on Hegel's philosophy as being the foundation of Marxism was largely due to Dunayevskaya, who was deeply immersed in both Marx's and Lenin's writings.

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