Decline and Fall
Decline and Fall
This chapter deals with the eventual decline and fall of the DWP. A double standard had quickly taken hold in the leadership. Dixon was never held accountable in the ways her followers were, nor did she ever live by the organization's rigid rules and norms that she herself put in place. Two purges of non-full-time militants came during a time of increasing isolation, erratic political involvements and changing strategies, and the onset of intensified class-standpoint struggle inside the DWP. This became a significant turning point in organizational life. The cadre members realized that Marx's utopian vision of a communist society was not within their sights. Feeling harassed and distraught, members of the inner circle staged a revolution of sorts, breaking the bonds of silence and, in Dixon's absence, dissolving the party and expelling her. The members' varied reactions to the breakup are recorded. For those who had spent the best part of a decade or more totally devoted to the ideals and goals of the group, it was an extremely emotional event.
Keywords: purge, isolation, class-standpoint struggle, utopian vision, revolution
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