For most of the twentieth century, left-wing politics in Australia was dominated by the Stalinist po

For most of the twentieth century, left-wing politics in Australia was dominated by the Stalinist politics of the Communist Party of Australia (CPA) and its various offshoots. While never in a position to challenge the ALP as the leading force in the working-class movement, the CPA – which per head of population became the largest Communist party in the English-speaking world—built a powerful presence in the trade unions.

For decades, committed Communist activists played leading roles in innumerable workplace struggles and community campaigns. Consequently, the party built an influence that went well beyond the ranks of its formal membership.

It had enormous influence on the outlook of the Labor Party left. That influence was reflected in the fact that, when pro-Moscow loyalists split from the CPA in the early 1970s, the NSW Labor left split along similar lines. The party also had a powerful impact on intellectual, artistic and small-l liberal circles.

Though worker Communists played a positive role in many struggles, the overall impact of the CPA’s Stalinist politics on the workers’ movement was disastrous. The CPA’s championing of the murderous regimes in Russia, Eastern European and China as workers’ paradises discredited the very idea of socialism.

READ MORE: 100 years since the founding of Australia’s Communist Party