September 27, 1919 Page Eight THE COMMUNIST activity of unorganized workers in the basie industry, its initial form is the mass strike as the moderate Socialist conception of the old order, it performs the positive task of gradual growing into Socialism.
constructing the new. Together with the of the unskilled. In these strikes large government of the proletarian dictatorship, masses of workers are unified by the im DICTATORSHIP OF THE PROLETARIAT. there is developed a new government, pulse of the struggle, developing a new tactie which is no longer government in the old and a new ideology.
The proletarian revolution comes at the sense, since it concerns itself with the man moment of crisis in Capitalism, of a collapse agement of production and not with govern.
dass action is industrial in its origin, but of the old order. Under the impulse of the ment of persons. Out of workers control of it aequires political character as it develops crisis, the proletariat aets for the conquest of industry, introduced by the proletarian dio.
fuller forms. Mass action, in the form of power, by means of mass action, Mass acgeneral political strikes and demonstrations, structure of Communist Socialism. indus.
tion eoneentrates and mobilites the forees tatorship, there develops the complete unites the energy and forees of the prolet of the proletariat, organied and unorgan: trial self goyernment of the communistically ariat, brings proletarian mass pressure upon the bourgeois state. The more gen.
state and the conservative organizations of organized producers. When this structure is completed, which implies the complete ex.
eral and conseions mass aetion becomes, the the working class. Strikes of protest demore it antagonizes the bourgeois state, the velop into general political strikes and then propriation of the bourgeoisie, economically more it becomes political mass aetion. Mass into revolutionary mass action for the conand politically, the dictatorship of the pro action is responsive to life itself, the form of quest of the power of the state. Mass action letariat ends, in its place coming the full free munist order, Imperialism. Out of this struggle develops parliamentary in form; it is equally a pro the arressive proletarian struggle under becomes political in purpose while extra social and individual autonomy of the Comrevolutionary mass aetion, the means for the cess of revolution and the revolution itself THE COMMUNIST INTERNATIONAL, proletarian eonquest of power.
in operation.
The conception of mass action has little The Communist International, issuing diThe state is an organ of coercion. The common with Syndicalism. In its mass im bourgeois parliamentary state is the organ rectly out of the Proletarian revolution in pulse. Syndicalism was a protest against the futility of parliamentarism. But anarchoof the bourgeoisie for the coercion of the action, is the organ of the international reproletariat. Parliamentary government is volutionary proletariat; just as the League Syndicalism tactically and theoretically is a the expression of bourgeois supremacy, the of Nations is the organ of the joint aggres.
departure from arxism. It does not ap form of authority of the capitalist over the sion and resistance of the dominant Imperialpreciate the necessity of a proletarian state ism.
worker, Bourgeois democracy promotes the during the transition period from Capitalism dictatorship of capital, assisted by the press, The Communist International represents a to Communism (which implies the disappearance of all forms of the state. Syndicalthe pulpit, the army and the police. Bourge Socialism in complete accord with the reois democracy is historically necessary on volutionary character of the class struggle, ism makes the proletarian revolution a the one hand, to break the power of feudalIt unites all the conscious revolutionary direet seizure of industry, instead of the con. ism, and, on the other, to maintain the proforees. It wages war equally against Imquest of the power of the state.
letariat in subjection. It is precisely this de perialism and moderate Socialism each of Industrial Unionism also, cannot conquer perialism, since the middle class, the tradi ity to solve the problems that now press mocracy that is now the instrument of Im which has demonstrated its complete inabil.
the power of the state. Under the conditions of capitalism it is impossible to organize the tional carrier of democracy, accepts Im down upon the workers. The Communist whole working class into industrial unions.
perialism. The proletarian revolution dis International issues its call to the conscious It will be necessary to rally the workers, orrupts bourgeois democracy. It disrupts this proletariat for the final struggle against ganized and unorganized, by means of redemocracy in order to end class divisions Capitalism.
volutionary mass action. Moreover, indusand class rule, to realize industrial self gov It is not a problem of imediate revolution.
trial unionism does not actually construet ernment of the workers. Therefore, it is ne The revolutionary epoch may last for years the forms of the Communist administration cessary that the proletariat organize its own and tens of years. The Communist Internaof industry, only potentially. After the constate for the coercion and suppression of the tional offers a program both immediate and quest of power the industrial unions may bebourgeoisie. Proletarian dictatorship is a re ultimate in scope.
come the starting point of the Communist cognition of that fact; it is equally a recogni. The old order is in decay. Civilization is tion of the fact that in the Communist re in collapse. The workers must prepare for reconstruction of society. But the conception that the majority of the working class construction of society, the proletariat alone the proletarian revolution and the Communcan be organized into conscions industrial counts as a class.
ist reconstruction of society.
unions and construct under capitalism the form of the Communist society is as utopian While the dictatorship of the proletariat The Communist International calls!
Performs the negative task of crushing the Workers of the World Unite!
The High Cost of Living T!
seventeen cents per hour increase, the PresHE cost of living haunts the working their favored position. At one time numbident offers an increase of four cents. It class and the workers are becoming ering in their ranks the best paid slaves in restless. The underlyng cause of the present the country, they are today among the most seems that there is a difference of thirteen cents in the two standards of fairness.
unrest in this country is the high cost of the poorly paid. The increase in the prices of necessities of life. Great as the advance in the necessities of life has far out stripped What the shopmen must decide is whether the money wages of the workers has been their wage increases. The conservatism of they will accept four cents instead of seventheir real wages have been reduced. These the railroad workers has proven costly. teen. If they accept Mr. Wilson idea of are facts of common experience but anyone what is fair they will kiss the hand that Conditions have become so serious that who so desires may verify them by consultgives them four cents and go back to work.
our honorable president is using the case of ing governmental statistics.
the railroad shopmen as the basis of an apBut if they realize that they produce all the Out of the inability to make their wages peal to the slaves of the country to be loyal wealth and that there is nothing in common buy the kind of living they have become between them and those who take this to their masters, and as a warning to the aceustomed to, has grown the discontent of wealth from them, in the form of rent, inmasters to be careful how they treat their the workers. Unconsciously, they are in reslaves. An examination of the vagaries of terest and profit, then it is likely that they volt against the misery brought on by the this call for a truce will prove beneficial will adhere to their original demands. high cost of living. Each day brings to the entire working class and the shop This increase of four cents is all that the news of strikes and revolts against these men in particular. Because of the logic railroad shopmen are offered. The balance conditions of the appeal the men are asked not to press of the President message is an appeal to all Many of these strikes have taken on a their demands; hence, they should examine workers to be contented with their lot.
serious aspect. Workers have been murd that logic.
ered by hirelings of the bosses and riots are According to the dweller in the White numerous. Usually the trouble is provoked The President, of course, examines the House, the cost of living will soon be lowby the brutal treatment of pickets and procase and judges in all fairness. But the cred. Reading this beautifuly written aptesting strikers by the agents of the employshopmen should by this time realize that the peal we are moved to say Almost thou perers. The coal mining districts are seething President standard of fairness is not suadest me. But the fact is that the govwith unrest and there is a possibility that their standard. What Mr. Wilson would ernment has done nothing that will bring the transportation system of the country consider a fair and equitable return for decrease in the cost of living. The puny eftheir labor is not what the men have in mind.
may be tied up.
forts now being made will have little or no This is proved by the demands they have The railroad workers, the aristocracy of effect. The constantly increasing cost of made and the judgment which has been labor before the war, no longer occupy living cannot be solved within the capitalist handed down. The men demanded about system.