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Healy's Big Lie: The Slander Campaign Against Joseph Hansen & George Novack
The Slander Campaign against Joseph Hansen and George Novack
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First published September 1, 1999
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June 28, 2026
The Roots of the ‘World Socialist Web Site’ part II
In 1963, most of the groups that comprised the Fourth International, the revolutionary group founded by Leon Trotsky and his followers in 1938, reunified, having been divided since World War II made communications difficult. The main two groupings agreed on more and more, and there was no justification for refusing to become one organization. Even though in many ways the reunification was never complete; still the Socialist Workers Party was totally correct in being part of it at that time.
Among those who disagreed with the reunification was a significant-sized grouping led by Gerry Healy in Britain. In the United States, among some Shachtmanite youth (see In Defense of Marxism and The Struggle for a Proletarian Party) who had joined the Young Socialist Alliance and then the Socialist Workers Party, two groupings emerged vying for the support for Healy. The one then headed by Tim Wohlforth, which became known as the Workers League got the franchise. While there were many disagreements, some of the most important were on the question of Black nationalism as represented by Malcolm X (see Malcolm X, Black Liberation, and the Road to Workers Power) and the Cuban Revolution (see Dynamics of the Cuban Revolution: A Marxist Appreciation). While this and the other grouping that emerged, the Spartacist League, both sounded extremely ultraleft, time allows us to see that they were fundamentally opportunist. Around the world, revolutionary youth had as their heroes Malcolm X, Che Guevara, and Fidel Castro, and in this they were totally correct.
Marxism Vs. Ultraleftism: The Record of Healy's Break with Trotskyism is a compilation of articles by leaders of the Fourth International, like Ernest Mandel, analyzing Gerry Healy and his followers in various countries. Like many Marxist polemics, it deals with fundamental issues that are still relevant, regardless of whether you’ve ever heard of the groups and individuals involved.
You will learn a huge amount about what the Socialist Workers Party and others did to defend Trotsky during this period. Despite taking some trips outside the house with bodyguards/secretaries, Trotsky felt somewhat like he was in prison, and didn't want visitors to feel the same way. He decided not to allow people to be searched when they came to visit him. Healy during this time period had broken with Trotsky and his movement.
The groups inspired by Healy became more and more removed from reality. In 1975, the Healyites accused leaders of the Socialist Workers Party of having been involved in the assassination of Leon Trotsky. That is the big lie answered by this educational bulletin. Joseph Hansen had been a secretary to Trotsky in Mexico, and George Novack had played a big role in pulling together the Preliminary Commission of Inquiry into the Charges Made Against Trotsky in the Moscow Trials, often known as “the Dewey Commission,” after its chairman John Dewey (see The Case of Leon Trotsky: Report of Hearings on the Charges Made against Him in the Moscow Trials and Not Guilty: Findings of the 1937 Commission Chaired by John Dewey Investigating the Charges Against Leon Trotsky in the Moscow TrialsNot Guilty).
Before the Healyites could do this, they had to get rid of Tim Wohlforth and his companion Nancy Fields; they both briefly (re)joined the Socialist Workers Party.
Today, Healy is dead, and they've disassociated themselves from him, but not from his methods. The World Socialist Web Site continues to insist upon this false accusation, which is based on methods quite similar to the methods used by Stalin in concocting the Moscow Trials.
In 1963, most of the groups that comprised the Fourth International, the revolutionary group founded by Leon Trotsky and his followers in 1938, reunified, having been divided since World War II made communications difficult. The main two groupings agreed on more and more, and there was no justification for refusing to become one organization. Even though in many ways the reunification was never complete; still the Socialist Workers Party was totally correct in being part of it at that time.
Among those who disagreed with the reunification was a significant-sized grouping led by Gerry Healy in Britain. In the United States, among some Shachtmanite youth (see In Defense of Marxism and The Struggle for a Proletarian Party) who had joined the Young Socialist Alliance and then the Socialist Workers Party, two groupings emerged vying for the support for Healy. The one then headed by Tim Wohlforth, which became known as the Workers League got the franchise. While there were many disagreements, some of the most important were on the question of Black nationalism as represented by Malcolm X (see Malcolm X, Black Liberation, and the Road to Workers Power) and the Cuban Revolution (see Dynamics of the Cuban Revolution: A Marxist Appreciation). While this and the other grouping that emerged, the Spartacist League, both sounded extremely ultraleft, time allows us to see that they were fundamentally opportunist. Around the world, revolutionary youth had as their heroes Malcolm X, Che Guevara, and Fidel Castro, and in this they were totally correct.
Marxism Vs. Ultraleftism: The Record of Healy's Break with Trotskyism is a compilation of articles by leaders of the Fourth International, like Ernest Mandel, analyzing Gerry Healy and his followers in various countries. Like many Marxist polemics, it deals with fundamental issues that are still relevant, regardless of whether you’ve ever heard of the groups and individuals involved.
You will learn a huge amount about what the Socialist Workers Party and others did to defend Trotsky during this period. Despite taking some trips outside the house with bodyguards/secretaries, Trotsky felt somewhat like he was in prison, and didn't want visitors to feel the same way. He decided not to allow people to be searched when they came to visit him. Healy during this time period had broken with Trotsky and his movement.
The groups inspired by Healy became more and more removed from reality. In 1975, the Healyites accused leaders of the Socialist Workers Party of having been involved in the assassination of Leon Trotsky. That is the big lie answered by this educational bulletin. Joseph Hansen had been a secretary to Trotsky in Mexico, and George Novack had played a big role in pulling together the Preliminary Commission of Inquiry into the Charges Made Against Trotsky in the Moscow Trials, often known as “the Dewey Commission,” after its chairman John Dewey (see The Case of Leon Trotsky: Report of Hearings on the Charges Made against Him in the Moscow Trials and Not Guilty: Findings of the 1937 Commission Chaired by John Dewey Investigating the Charges Against Leon Trotsky in the Moscow TrialsNot Guilty).
Before the Healyites could do this, they had to get rid of Tim Wohlforth and his companion Nancy Fields; they both briefly (re)joined the Socialist Workers Party.
Today, Healy is dead, and they've disassociated themselves from him, but not from his methods. The World Socialist Web Site continues to insist upon this false accusation, which is based on methods quite similar to the methods used by Stalin in concocting the Moscow Trials.
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