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August 23, 1919 THE COMMUNIST Face hurco Call for a National Convention for the Purpose of Organizing the Communist Party of America After considerable negotiations seeking to slimmate the differences existing between the Communist elements of the Left Wing, as repreitalism. In et countries where the conditions for a wher sented by the so called minority and majority of the Left Wing Confer revolution are not yet ripe, the same process will go on.
ence held in New York June 21 to 24, the National Council of the Left But within the process the workery must never tose sight Wing Section Socialist Party realizing the necessity of the organization of of the true chracter of bourgeoig democracy. If the finance.
the Communist Party of America, in accordance with the decisions of the oligarchy considers it advantageous to veil its deede of vio.
National Left Wing Conference, realizing also the futility of participating lence behind parliamentary votes, then the capitalist power in the proposed Emergency Convention of the Socialist Party, does hereby join with the National Organization Committee in issuing the following call hag at its command, in order to gain its ends, all the traditions for the organization oi the Communist Party: and attainments of former centuries of upper class ruke, demagogism, persecution, slander, bribery, calunny and terror. To In this, the most momentous period of the world hisdemand of the proletariat that it shall be content to yield ittory, Capitalism is tottering to its ruin. The proletariat is self to the artificial rules devised by its mortal enemiy, is to straining at the chains which bind it. revolutionary spirit make a mockery of the proletarian struggle for power a is spreading throughout the world. The workers are rising struggle which depends primarily on the development of sepato answer the clarion call of the Third International.
rate organs of the working class power.
Only one Socialism is possible in the crisis. socialism The old Socialist International nas broken into three based upon understanding. socialism that will express in main groups: action the needs of the proletariat. The time has passed for (a) Those frankly social patriots who since 1979 have temporizing and hesitating. We must act. The Communist supported their bourgeoisie and transformed those lements of call of the Third International, the echo of the Communist the working class which they control into hangmen of the inManifesto of 1848, must be answered.
ternational revolution.
The National Executive Committee oi the Socialist Party (b) The Center, representing elements which are con of America has evidenced by its expulsion oi nearly half of stantly wavering and incapable of following a definite plan of the membership that it will not hesitate at wrecking the one action, and which are at times positively traitorous; and ganization to maintain control. crisis has been precipitater (c) The Comniuniste.
in the ranks of revolutionary Socialism by the wholesale expul As regards the social patriots, who everywhere in the crit.
sion or suspension of the membership comprising the Socialist ical moment oppose the proletarian revolution with iorce of Party of Michigan and Massachusetts, Locals and Branches arma, a merciless fight is absolutely necessary. Agregards throughout the country, together with seven language federa the Center, our tactics must be to separate the revolutionary tions. This has created a condition in our movement that elements by pitilessly criticizing the leaders. Absolute sepmakes it manifestly impossible to longer delay the calling of a aration from the organization of the Center is necessary.
convention to organize a new party. Those who realize that It is necessary to rally the groung and proletarian orthe capturing of the Socialist Party as such is but an empty ganizations who, though not as yet in the wake of the revovictory will not hesitate to respond to this call and leave the lutionary trend of the Communist movement, nevertheuss have right and center to sink together with their leaders. martested and developed a tendency leading in that direction.
No other couree is possible; therefore, we, the National Socialist criticism has suficiently stigmatized the bourLeft Wing Councit and the National Organization Committee, ceoig world order, The task of the international Contaanist call a convention to meet in the city of Chicago on September Party is to carry on propaganda for the abolition of this order 1, 1919, for the purpose of organizing a communist Party in and erect in its place the structure oi the Communiet world America.
order. Under the Conimunist banner, the emblem under This party will be founded upon the following principles: which the first great victories have already been won in the The present is the period of the dissolution and col war against imperialistic barbarity, against the privileged lapse of the whole capitalist system, which will mean the com classes, agaist the bourgeois state and bourgeois property, plete collapse of world culture, if Capitalism with its luisolv against all forms of social and national oppression we call able contradictions is not replaced by Communism.
upon the proletarian of all lands to unite! The problem of the proletariat consists in organizing Program of the Call and training itself for the conquest of the powers of the state.
We favor international alliance of the Communist: This conquest of power means the replacement of the state Party of the United States only with the Communis groupg machinery of the bourgeoisie with a new proletarian machinery of other countries, such as the Bolsheviki of Russia, Spartacang of government.
of Germany, etc. according to the program of Communism ag This new proletarian state must embody the dictator above outlined.
ship of the proletariat, both industrial and agricultural, this We are opposed to association with other groudy not dictatorshop constituting the instrument for the taking over of committed to the revolutionary class struggle, such as labor property used for exploiting the workers, and for the re or parties, Non Partisan leagues, People Councils. Municipal ganization of society on a communist basis.
Ownership leagues, and the like.
Not the fraudulent bourgeois democracy the hypocrit We maintain that the class struggle is essentially a ical form of the rule of the finance oligarchy, with its purely political struggle by the proletariat to conquer the capitalist formal equality but proletarian democracy based on the pos state, whether its form be monarchistie or democratic repubsibility of actual realization freedom for the working masses; lican, and to destroy and replace it by a governmental strucnot capitalist bureaucracy, but organs of administration which ture adapted to the Communist transformation.
have been created by the masses themselves, with the real par The party shall propagandize class consciovy industicipation of these masses in the government of the country trial unionism as against the crait form of unionism, and shall and in the activity of the communistic structure; this should be carry on party activity in co operation with industrial disputes the type of the proletarian state. The Workers Councils and that take on a revolutionary character.
similar organizations represent its concrete form.
We do not disparage voting nor the value oi success The Dictatorship of the Proletariat shall carry out the in electing our candidates to public office not if these are in abolition of private property in the means of production and direct line with the clase struggle. The trouble comes with distribution, by transfer to the proletarian state under Social the illusion that political or industrial immediate achievements ist administration of the working clasy; nationalization of the are oi themselveg steps in the revohition, the progressive Therg.
great business enterprises and financial truste.
ing of Capitalism into the Co operative Commonwealth.
The Basis of Our Political Campaign Should Be: The present world situation demands the closest re(a) To propagandize the overthrow of Capitalisa hy lation between the revolutionary proletariat of all countries. The fundamental means of the struggle for power is proletarian conquest of the political power and the establish ment of a Dictatorship of the Proletariat.
the mass action of the proletariat, a gathering together and (b) To maintain a political organzation as a clearing concentration of all its energies; whereas methoda such as the revolutionary use of the bourgeois parliamentarism are only house for proletarian thought, a center of political education for the development of revolutionary working class action.
of subsidiary significance. c) To keep in the foreground our consistent appeal for In those countries in which the historical development has Turnished the opportunity, the working class has utilized the proletarian revolution; and to analyze the counter proposals regime of political democracy for its organization against Cap and reformist palliatives in their true light of evasions of the