“Hansen’s vitriolic defense of Wohlforth’s right to ignore the security needs of his own party and his labeling of concern for security as paranoia raised fundamental political questions for the Fourth International. How could revolutionary cadre be trained if Hansen’s position was allowed to go unchallenged? If it was accepted that members, not to mention leaders, of a revolutionary organization could establish and maintain unreported relations with individuals who may be connected with the intelligence agencies of the capitalist state, this meant that the party would be left defenseless against the machinations of the political police.”

P. 447

Compare this to Peter Daszak. The WSWS argues like Joseph Hansen, saying they have a “right to conceal” Dr. Peter Daszak’s $100 million in contracts from the Pentagon for his laboratory, which has ignored demands from congress for documents in the course of their investigation of the origin of Covid-19. They have also exercised their right to conceal Daszak’s expulsion from the Lancet team on the grounds of conflicts of interest. They have also promoted Dr. Andersen. All this has come at the same time as the WSWS has joined in Daszak’s witch-hunt of “conspiracy theorists”, (Hansen used the term “paranoia”) eliminating comments and commentators from their website possibly on the same scale as Nancy Fields had done to the Workers’ League, possibly on an even greater scale. This time, however, the WSWS has produced no inquiry.

While Hansen’s charge of paranoia found a ready response among all the diseased middle-class radicals who unfortunately infest the workers’ movement, the International Committee was right to call Wohlforth to order. It would not hesitate to act in the same way if similar circumstances were to arise once again. Wohlforth’s relation with a woman whose immediate family included a high CIA operative was not his own ‘personal business.’

P. 448

In writing the Heritage We Defend, North calls his own movement “diseased middle-class radicals who unfortunately infest the workers’ movement…” This time, we do not have Hansen, but WSWS Malthusian philosopher and Pentagon contractor, Dr. Peter Daszak. They charge paranoia and use this as a wrecking ball with which to attack legitimate socialists.

Wohlforth’s successor was Fred Mazelis, a founding member of the Workers League, who assumed, under extremely difficult conditions, the responsibilities of the secretaryship, a position which he held for the next 15 months. During this crucial period, the foundations were laid down for the creation of a real collective leadership which functions to this day inside the Workers League.

P. 450-451

A recent election proves quite the opposite. Fred Mazelis had to step down from the central committee before the votes were counted. It’s not clear if members even had a choice to keep him on the committee. Since this writer, Bertrand Poster, worked frequently over five years with Mazelis as part of the New York City branch, without greater details, it appears as if this demotion of Mazelis had as its motive the elimination of the influence of the Democratic Power Faction on the membership of the ICFI. Did the ICFI create a “real collective leadership?” A real collective leadership would give factional democratic rights to the Democratic Power Faction and allow it to participate with equal rights within the collective.