- Tim Wohlforth
Timothy Andrew Wohlforth (born
May 15 ,1933 ) is aUnited States formerTrotskyist leader. Since leaving the Trotskyist movement he has become a writer ofcrime fiction and of politically oriented non-fiction.As a student, Wohlforth joined the youth section of
Max Shachtman 'sIndependent Socialist League in1953 . [Jim Higgins, [http://www.marxists.org/archive/higgins/1995/xx/prophetskids.htm The Prophet's Children (1995)] , "Revolutionary History", Vol. 6 No. 1, Winter 1995/96. (accessed 2008-08-15)] He broke with Shachtman in1957 when the ISL moved rightward to merge with theSocialist Party of America . Later that year, Wohlforth and a minority of ISL members joined the Socialist Workers Party which was the main Trotskyist group in the US at the time.Harry Ratner, [http://www.whatnextjournal.co.uk/Pages/Newint/Wohlforth.html "Review of "The Prophet's Children"] , "New Interventions, Vol. 7 No. 1, 1996. (accessed 2008-08-15)]In the early 1960s when the SWP rejoined the
International Secretariat of the Fourth International and developed an uncritical attitude towards theCuban Revolution , a minority of members led by Wohlforth and James Robertson (another former ISL member) formed the "Revolutionary Tendency" within the SWP. While Robertson left the SWP in 1962 and went on to form the Spartacist Group, laterSpartacist League , Wohlforth and his supporters remained within the SWP and fought for the perspective of theInternational Committee of the Fourth International . They were expelled in 1964 after demanding a discussion of the significance of the Sri Lankan LSSP's entry into the government of M. Bandaranaika. The US supporters of the ICFI formed the American Committee of the Fourth International, and in 1966 they formed the Workers League.In 1974, the ICFI discovered that Wohforth's partner, Nancy Fields, an active member of the Workers League, was raised by a relative who had worked for the CIA's computer division and had ties to top-ranking agency officials. The Workers League Political Committee and ICFI criticized the fact that neither Fields nor Wohlforth had revealed this to the League. In August 1974, the League's central committee suspended Fields from membership and removed Wohlforth as national secretary pending a commission of inquiry, in a unanimous vote that included Wohlforth's. Both left the League, and Wohlforth rejoined the SWP. An investigation conducted by the Workers League concluded that Fields did not have connections to the CIA, and the two were requested to resume their membership. However, they refused. [
David North , "The Heritage We Defend", Detroit 1988.]Wohlforth now claims that the Workers League became a
cult , largely due to the domination and manipulations of the principal ICFI leader at the time,Gerry Healy .Wohlforth in recent years has been a member of the
Democratic Socialists of America . In1994 he published his memoirs, "The Prophet's Children". He subsequently co-authored "" (2000) with Dennis Tourish. His former wife Nancy Wohlforth, is Secretary-Treasurer of theOffice and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) and on the Executive Committee of the AFL-CIO. [ [http://www.opeiu.org/AboutOPEIU/OurNationalLeaders/NancyWohlforth/tabid/122/Default.aspx Nancy Wohlforth] , OPEIU Website (accessed 2008-08-15)] He is presently married to Joyce Gibrick.References
ee also
* Tim Wohlforth, "The Prophet's Children : Travels on the American Left", Humanities Press, 1994, ISBN 0-391-03802-8
* , M. E. Sharpe, 2000 (withDennis Tourish ), ISBN 0-765-60639-9External links
* [http://www.timwohlforth.com Tim Wohlforth, the writer] , (personal website) (accessed 2008-08-15)
* [http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=Tim%20Wohlforth&page=1 Books by Tim Wohlforth] , atAmazon.com (accessed 2008-08-15)
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