Bolshevik PartyBolshevismBujarinCapitalismCominternCommunismCommunist PartyKamenevLeninLeninismSocialismSovietStalinStrikeTrotskyWorking ClassZinoviev

December 15, 1928.
THE MILITANT Page THE MILITANT December 15, 1928.
Whither Foster?
Page wielkov is now learning sots Servable not only by comlosses to be Se presente entry is infinitely Files adopted in Febreiro problem of loose when rekvinok. We must not forget that if enough of the they have of an economy, can be overcome or even morate crisis.
insufficient learning tendency on Octolin latest Left after the rain the rise in striken.
hane panic a That is sugo of the against ing the a country.
Then to it was already beginning of mind ly the group struggle carried on by the Opposition in defense of the Socialist dictatorship. He attempts at the same time to pass off as political courage his disposition to capitulate to capitalism with his eyes wide open.
At present Rykov is directing his reactionary AN impression prevails which, for the sake of objective conditions, represent obstacles to the class development and victory of the proletariat. In the the small owner on the way to win the the enter tharin leadership, always and under all circumi rected. The opinion that the under Bu struggle against them, as Lenin said, Bolshevism grew, gained strength and became hardened.
who incline toward the Left. his time stances is is supporting Lovestone and Pepper in all Lenin against all the attacks things their source and Zinoviev origin and gave is not quite so. It is true that Lovestone tons, explained this the nature of these devia had directed Trotskyism, and Pepper, against not ation Wolfe, receive the invaluable instruction for combatting them, en ins to repeat the same opera necessary political support to maintain their artifi riching this instruction with illustrations from the tion against Stalin.
the wind reaps the cial hold on the party apparatus. But along with history of the Bolshevik Party. All this is lost inwhirlwind. You can play with political ideas. this whole hearted backing to the opportunist They are more dangerous The venturers go occasional concessions to the Foster cerned. The whole business is reduced to a Chinlegends, slogans of an imaginary Trotskyism, have group and these concessions are the bread they ese puzzle of contradictions, inconsistencies and not become an attribute of the Opposition, but cer live by. After all. half a loaf is better than a crust light hearted jugglery of words and formulae tain classes have seized upon them, and thus these and a crust is better than a crumb.
which have nothing at all to do with serious policonceptions lead their own life. To drive them more The arrival of one of these crusts of concession tics, broadly and deeply, the agitation of Stalin had was made known through the columns of the According to the Bittelman evangel deviations hundred times inore brutal than that of Daily Worker on Dec. 3rd. It was a cable urging to the Left in the American Party grow out of Zinoviev. Now it is Rykov turn. One can the Polcom to allow the Foster group to express the same objective situation as right deviations.
imagine what persecutions the Right is going to turn its dissociation openly upon the property in resulted in the publication on the same day of the deviations, the Right being a fatalistic attitude to stinct of the Wak the Rykovists form the tail of the Centrists, then the document had been suppressed by the of struggle against it and the opportunities of build Lovestone majority which had their turn another, still heavier, tail.
been unfairly mass Communist Party in the United hogImmediately behind Rykov, come those who, ging the credit for the for the fight against the States. while the Left is pessimism in the possias Pravda has already recognized, want to live in 1st right or left take your chomanismer. bility of building up a Communist Party in the peace with all classes that is to say, want once This illuminating document of more to force the worker, the hired man and the been living a furtive life, so to speak, being Thus Right is Left and Left is Right. The main poor peasant to submit peacefully to the master. smuggled around as an illegal work, surreptitious danger comes from the Right, and Trotskyism a Behind them Jooms indiready. this small raised over legalized the statement and made its pub senetic and countere baptizetary the knife within reach. And behind the small employer, beyond the frontier, the real boss stands small favors, were very happy about this victory. The Foster group leaders, who appreciate all right about face speech on October 19) as deviation. The fight ready with dreadnoughts, airplanes and asphyxiating But We believe the jubilation was ill placed. Sober of the general struggle against the Right Danger, against it was an organic part.
Let Judases of merciless thesis of Bittelman through will lead to the conclu placed by past.
two hing, putting the workers to sleep mobilesion that the decision which authorized its publi the against open Right Danger and are preaching, the holders, property the group.
Thermidor.
Trotsky Opposition led by Cannon.
preparing Such is the present position of the men on the It would have been more merciful to suppress the make everything absolutely clear, so that even a chess board. Such is the veritable mechanism motive document altogether and to order the confisca Gomez can understand it, it is pointed out that the tion of the extant copies.
Right Danger is the greatest, therefore the Left deceives the Party in stating that the Opposition The statement begins with a plaintive wail about must be expelled to protect the Party from the would like to perpetuate the exceptional measures being deprived of the credit for promptly re demoralizing effects of Trotskyism.
It would be a great error to identify this nonto which we are reduced, to our shame, after elevn porting our Right deviations on Left Trotskyism years of dictatorship by the policy pursued since the and impartial and wanting to see everyone get his jority of the Foster rundpoint of the great ma.
to the Right Wing Polcom. Being ourselves fair sense with the actual standpoint de death of Lenin. The Opposition has said clearly due, we wish to say a word in favor of this claim.
supporters. These are what it had to say in its documents sent to the 6th It is an proletarian and revolutionary, animated by a re the lentless opposition to the opportunist adventurers But Rykov ne Foster this evidence to and the will to fight them an attitude firmly The principle task of the Trotskyists is group dutifully furnished fact that this Right wing from triumphing, are fully entitled crystalized and maintained over a period of years, to prevent That and soundly based on experiences in the class to all the honor and glory which services of this at least is het niet tehe leictory of the Right wing kind usually bring to those who perform them. strogoleme tecis their misfortune and the Party a victory of the Right wing it would no longer heroic battle against Trotskyism fasted only for ism to the Lovestone faction is capitalized by such bolerosiehed out inter Party reformThe Right strictly limited to the role of information:giversThere are actual difening rods. catching the leaders as the authors of this document and wing is the handle of this wing will be but a on which the enemy classes are it is not because of lack The success of The greater energy and initiative of the Polcom opposition sentiments of many worker Commumajority and their control of the apparatus, on nists, diverting them from their real objects and the proletariat. Rykov is right. At present our the one hand, and the determined opposition of principal task is to prevent the triumph of the Rigte the proletarian supporters of the Foster group to running them into the ground. serious fight on their part to change the presthe Party to sleep as the Zinovievs, Piatakovs and their aspirations in this case, as their plans are so ent leadership of the Party is, of course, impossia others are doing, but to sound the alarm ten times frequently frustrated by the inability to see where ian supporters of the Foster group is to break as loud all along the line. We say to our Party the second step Icads when the first step is taken through this contradiction and find a clear and ginning openly to surrender the Revolution of which the Foster group signed yesterday was a The Right Danger in the American Party consistent line. That all their tendencies are in October to the enemy classes. Stalin is standing straight from the shoulder document. It said in recent weeks. It was their pressure which has now on one foot, now on the other. He is beating plain terms (and a retreat before Rykov and firing to the Left. comes from the Righty) that the main danger pelled Foster and Bittelman to come forward with and said (also correctly) proposals to moderate the criminal expulsion policy Bucharin is lulling mind of the Party with his that the present leadership of the Party is of the Lovestone majority. But the worker Com reactionary scholasticism.
sciously organized Right Wing. The Foster statebé or pacified by this vanguard must take its destiny in its own hands. declaration and cannot find room in a document the 012ing half measure. It is impossible to fight The Party must lift its voice. The proletarian out opportunist leadership and at the same time The Party must discuss broadly the three courses: of six or seven thousands words to directly char support in any way the expulsion of its real op Right, Center and Leninist. The Party needs the acterize the opportunist charlatans who control the ponents. The workers in the Foster group the reinstatement of the Opposition into its ranks. The party. The words of yesterday which called great majority who understand the disruptive Party has need of a Congress honestly prepared for these adventurers the Right Wing, and the greatest copper totes of this expulsion polecypanda stande Alma Ata, July 23, 1928.
talk about opportunist tendencies in the state it. The same holds true for the many who secretly ment of today a direct and sympathize with our whole position. Mere caucus straight forward characterization of the present agitation only plays the game of small scale caucus THE MILITANT can be no question politicians and serves the interest of the Right Published twice a month by the Opposition Group in the of a serious struggle against them. And further. Wing splitters.
Workers (Communist Party of America more let the proletarian Communists of the Foster Address all mail to: Box 120, Madison Square retreat from the basic position taken at the Sixth remember this diplomatic Benefit Performance for THE MILITANT Publishers address at 340 East 19th Street, New York, Congress is only a transition step to a further re of Telephone: Gramercy 3411 treat and an abandonment of the struggle after the SINGING JAIL BIRDS Subscription rate: 00 per year. Foreign, 50 Convention. part of the leadetship of the Foster Bundle rates, 3c per copy. is moving directly to this. The pressure of by Upton Sinclair New Playwrights Theatre Production the rank and file of the Foster group who really Associate Editors want to struggle against the Opportunist leaderMax Shachtman ship make such an immediate capitulation impossiPROVINCETOWN PLAYHOUSE Maurice Spector ble. This expla the fact that the leaders of the 133 Macdougal St.
Foster group, lacking firmness and definiteness TUESDAY EVENING, DEC. 18.
of principle, are moving in zig zags backward.
Curtain at 8:40 Sharp.
Right and Left deviations, arising out of specific an absolute and Congress.
said.
Was perfectly right when he the part of his program on which he now remains The July Plenum and the Right Danger silent. It is impossible to solve the crisis by entering the road of the NEO NEP without imparing the CONTINUED FROM PRECEDING PAGE cannot doubt that functionaries who really know their monopoly of foreign trade.
caricature of the Friends of the People, of the business, are consoling the politicians by assuring At the same time that Rykov was celebrating this Zemstvos of 1880. Agriculture cannot be elevated them that it will be possible to recoup upon other triumph, Stalin, the vanquished, made a speech at except with the aid of industry. There exist no other levers. Nevertheless our industry is frightful be paid in excess for grain. But such talk is pure makes one sick to read it. Stalin presents ly backward in relation to the peasant economy, in charlatanism. In the first place, the worker con the bounty now acorded to the rich elements of the ast hat is. The sumes bread and not the raw materials utilized by villages and extorted from the workers and the lagging of industry is observable the machine; the raising of the price of poor peasants, as a new consolidation of the bridge parison with the general historic aspirations of thus strike directly at the budget of the worker.
peasant economy, but also by comparison with the buying In the second place, we will not succeed any better consolidations have we had already. Stalin doesn in indemnifying ourselves through the other peas even attempt to show how he intends to avoid the questions, one having to do with the general histori ant products fit is first decided to cover the contradictions which are closing in on him. He has cal backwardness of country as against town, the of the Left zig zag course with the ruble. In general just got out of the difficulties produced by Article other having to do with the backwardness of the maneuvers of retreat are carried out with more 107, and proceeds to tangle himself up in those of cities in in the villages, is to capitulate and abandon the face of the present need of merchandize loss than as disordered as that marked by the decisions of gain. This is still more true of a retreat the rise in prices. Stalin is merely falling back on hegemony of the cities over the country.
as against the resolutions adopted in February. have already been repeated ad nauseam.
As if the Our agriculture in its of the backward open in comparison to industry, which is as an exceptional and extraordinary measure, as a backward But to conclude that this conkind of article 107 read backwards, conceals in formula, a promise, as if one could believe (anyone, that is. except Stalin docile functionaries)
ration throughout centuries of a sequence of itself an enormous danger: it only accentuates the law of unequal development of the different parts contradictions which gave birth to the hoarding a miracle to overcome the disproportion which has by reducing the already funds This rise in prices strikes only the consumers, Sealyben a edhe klyschiges revions Frareste to industrialization, would be like combatting illiterby shutting down the institutions of higher harvest is not sufficient for his personal consump solution. He is waiting. He is turning that is, the worker and the poor peasant whose Right, but he is still more afraid of the Leninist his back That would be to tear out the very the Kulak and the and occupying himself with manipulating the aproots of historic progress. Although our industry well off peasant, but a still further increase of class has a type of production and technique infinitely differentiation. It industrial products are lacking that he is gaining it. After the convulsive shock superior to that of agriculture, not only is it not big already under the old price of grain, the lack will enough to play a directive and transforming role be still greater afte Khvostism in all its pitiable impotence. The prices and the ina truly socialist role towards the country, but crease in the quantity it is not even capable of satisfying the current needs amount to a new extension harvested. This will speech of Rykov has a totally different tone. When Stalin dodges the issue by keeping still, it is because growth of social differentiation developinent of this market.
in the he has nothing to say. Rykov, on the contrary, leaves certain things unmentioned because he doesn It is exactly upon this basis that the collection combat the hoarding crisis by increasing the price want to say too much. The of raising the the general backward historic character of the coundepreciation of the chervonetz in other words, it an expose of the Rykov motives in explaining the try, or by an alleged too rapid advance of industry. is to quench your thirst with salty water. This abrogation of the Left zig zag in the Spring) conOn February 15, Pravda informed us that three would be so, even if it were an isolated and exception stitutes, and cannot but constitute, the years had not passed without leaving their mark, al measure. But in the of Rykov this a change of orientation towards the Right, a deep that the enriched, that is to say especial. rise in prices is in no wise an extraordinary and perhaps decisive change. Legal barriers eKulaks, that in the face the delay in the proceeding. It is one of the essential parts of the rected upon this road, such as the limitation of leasdevelopment of industry this must a hoarding crisis. Directly contradicting, ting this in this road čurrency inflation is only a piechnical demandings and of the employ of wage labor, will be abolOn the subject of the danger of inflation, Rykov with the monopoly of foreign trade at least unless mitted during the last year by the Party heads was says with a meaingful air: In the on the contrary to have excessively speeded up in buying capacity of the ruble these people break their heads against the iron firm. What continues dustrialization and that it is necessary to slacken does this mean: in the meantime. It means: Un Right course can very quickly become irrevocable. of the new harvest diminish its share of the national revenue, the face of a shortage of industrial product all these re, hopes in the false policy of the Right, at increased All the false and utilize the funds made available as calculations in general, the loss of sidies for the rural economy, especially in its pre But when the inflation arrives, Rykov will say to the mental the workers, whose wages with fall inevitably in reservations, and the diplomacy, are nothing but an of such procedures that Rykov hopes in a very short such a situation. You remember said to you in effort to put the workers to sleep, to support the time to double the But he says the meantime. And then he will begin to develop enemy, to promote, whether consciously or uncondisposing of that is to say, of exchanging commenting on the resolutions of the July Plenum, for an industry whose rate of Flaherty for the the Right wing has thrown down the gage to the development October Revolution. We must understand that.
have grown still slower. It is in possible that Rykov does not raise this Opposition question We must take up the gage.
We must immediately doubled harvest would entail a five and with all our might give the first blow to the Tom Flaherty, the most popular Comor ten times multiplied demand of merchandize Right. The Right, in issuing its defiance, has fixed by the rural munist propagandist in America and the writer its strategy in advance. For this ducts would thus also be multiplied several times. of the famous Daily Worker column As We great ingenuity. Rykov asserts that at the basis It is inconceivable that Rykov does not understand See It and a revolutionist of many years of the Centrist tendencies of the Left there is a this very simple correlation. Why then does he not standing, has issued a statement setting forth of divulge the secret which is to enable him to triumph his unconditional support of the Platform of Socialism on the basis of the this disproportion, destined to the Russian Opposition and his solidarity with the The struggle against grow For politicians of the Right, words are silver monstrously? be all comrades expelled for these views hobby of those who After stadying material on the ques are beginning to slide. But if this sort of arguments in his repo spent too much silver in were fairly stupid on the lips of Stalin, they become tion of the Trotsky line in the and difficult to estimate the value of his gold. An report. But it is not Comintern, said comrade Flaherty, in a pitiful caricature on the lips of Rykov. It is just increase here that he ought to have remembered that silence statement, economy of have come to the conclusion merchandize, faced a backward movement in inthat the line of the Russian Opposition led by dustry, would mean quite simply an increase in the comrade Trotsky is the correct Leninist line power by the proletariat in peasant Russia who are and therefore associate These really panic striken before the Moujik.
importation of manufactured products myself with the from posi destined both for om ud: tion taken by comrade Cannon and his asso heroes of panic were seen on the other side of the towns and the country. There ciates in the Workers (Communist Party of barricades of October. Rykoy was one of them CS OF OCT cannot exist any tive. As a result, the America. They were unjustly expelled from of For us, we were with Lenin and the proletarin necessity this course will be for we never doubted one instant that the the critering upon be so 1:1 the Party for attempting to explain to the pressure of the growing membership of the Party the political ine was capable of leading the peasantry. The Rykov of 1917 really advocated by Trotsky in the Rykov will decide to coin his gold reserve and will demand out loud the abolition or a reduction that and the Comintern.
of the present econmic tactic. At present he proposes to surrender one after another the dominant Comrade Flaherty statement sets forth abolition of the economic positions already conquered by the proforeign trade.
his agreement with the position of the Russian letariat to the elements of primitive capitalist acThis is exactly the plan of the Right which our Opposition on such specific questions as Socialcumulation. It is only thanks to the privileges platform predicted. From now on it will be carried in one country, the Anglo Russian Com which have been conferred upon him these last openly to the tribune, if not as a whole, at least in mittee and the problems of the Chinese Revo years by the falsification of history, that Rykov one of its very considerable parts. As it appears lution, and brands the accusation of counter dares to describe as a panic the uncompromising from the whole speech of Rykov the raising of the revolutionary hurled as its supporters as ridiculous phrase mongering having no basis in 5) Rykov was in 1917 among the most resolute opponents of the price of grain is hypothecated upon that plan. It is above all a bounty to the Kulak. It permits him actual fact and carrying no conviction.
to lead along with still more assurance the middle Comrade Flaherty, who has been removed At the moment when the Mensheviks and Social Revolutionaries from his position on the Daily Worker, has meidt, Rykov, Kameney and Zinoviev demanded a capitulation to them pay me well for the damage caused by Article promised to contribute regularly to The 107. It is in struggle that we will win our rights, When the Central Committee refused to agree to the formation of Militant.
such a government, they announced their resignation from the Cestral as say our masters, the Social Revolutionaries. One meantime the the yield per acre.
nothing as to the means of over it the products will have stion in hie his own mind.
it did not need any com the in the future over Because the hour has not yet munists fooled or Trotskyism is thoujik. The ment of today Crawls come.
away from this straight set tempists, must not but silence is the his of the capacity to buy Nowhere is does ned not, and there cow other As for alterna policy SO menacing, that is equivalent to monopoly of 5c per copy Editor at Martin Abern James Cannon seizure of power. Appointed a Commissar in the Government after che Revolution of October, he deserted several days after with Zinoviev and Kameney.
VOL.
DECEMBER 15, 1923.
No.
Application for entry as second class matter pending at the Post Office at New York, began their open struggle against the newly formed Soviet Governthem and the formation of a coalition government.
Committee, and Rykor and some others descited the positions in the Government which had been confided to them by the Party.