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THE September 27, 1919 COMMUNIST Page Seven since Russia was economically an undevel. Socialist Party required simply the oppor ge in the sense that its objective is political, oped country, it was premature to make a tunity to develop a revolutionary proletarian overthrow of the political organization proletarian revolution in Russia and histor. policy.
upon which capitalist exploitation depends, ically impossible to realize Socialism.
and the introduction of a proletarian state The Socialist Party under the impulse of Moderate Socialism in Germany also acted its proletarian membership adopted a milpower. The objective is the conquest by the against the proletarian revolution. It ofitant declaration against the war. But the proletariat of the power of the state.
fered a capitalist parliamentary republie as Communism does not propose to capture officials of the party sabotaged this declaraagainst proletarian dictatorship.
tion. The official policy of the party on the bourgeoise parliamentary state, but to The issue in Germany could not be obconquer and destroy it. As long as the bourthe war was that of liberal pacifism. The seured. Germany was a fully developed naParty bureaucracy united with the People geois state prevails, the capitalist class can tion indestrially, its economic conditions Council which propagandized a Wilson baffle the will of the proletariat.
were mature for the introduction of Socialpeace. The 1918 party platform accepted In those countries in which historical ism. but Moderate Socialists still rejected the Wilson fourteen points as adopted development has furnished the opportunity, the revolutionary task.
the working class has utilized the regime of by the pro war Interallied Labor and SocThere is a common policy that character ialist Conference.
political democracy for its organization izes moderate Socialism; that is, its conagainst Capitalism. In all countries where The war and the proletarian revolution the conditions for a workers revolution ception of the state. Out of the conception in Russia sharpened the antagonism between are not yet ripe, the same process will go that the bourgeois parliamentary state is the party policy and the revolutionary pro on. The use of parliamentarism, however, is the basis for the introduction of Socialism letarian temper in the party. Revolt broke only of secondary importance.
developed a directly counter revolutionary loose. The Socialist Party was crushed. The But within this process the workers must policy.
Communist Party is the response to this never loses sight of the true character of Communism rejects this conception of the revolt and to the call of the Communist bourgeois democracy. If the finance olistate. It rejects the idea of class reconcila International garchy considers it advantageous to veil its tion and the parliamentary conquest of deeds of violence behind paliamentary votes, Capitalism. The Communist Party alone is COMMUNIST PARTY PROBLEMS.
then the capitalist class has at its command capable of mobilizing the proletariat for the The United States is now a world power. in order to gain its end, all the traditions revolutionary mass struggle to conquer the It is developing a centralized, autocratic and attainments of former centuries of power of the state. The Communist Party, federal government, acquiring financial and working class rule, multiplied by the wonrelizes that it is necessary to develop sep; military reserves for agression and wars of ders of capitalist technique lies, demagoge arate organs of working class political conquest. Imperialism now consciously dom, power by means of which to crush the redemand of the Proletariat that it shall be inates the national policy.
sistance of Capitalism and establish the content to yield itself to the artificial rules Communist Commonwealth.
The war strengthened American Capitalism, instead of weakening it as in Europe. served by the enemy it to make a mockery devised by its mortal enemy but not obAMERICAN SOCIALISM.
But the collapse of Capitalism in other of the proletarian struggle for power, a Socialism in the United States, prior to countries will play upon and affect events Feverishly, American velopment of separate organs of working struggle which depends primarily on the dethe apPearance of the Socialist Labor Party, in this country.
was a movement of isolated and indefinite capitalism is developing a brutal campaign class power.
protest. It was the sport of middle class of terrorism. It is utterly incompetent on movements, while itself split by Socialist the problems of reconstruction that press Party performs a service in mobilizing the The parliamentarism of the Communist and Anarchist factions.
down upon society. Its reconstruction proletariat against Capitalism, emphasizing The Socialist Labor Party after casting program aims simply to develop power for the political character of the class struggle.
off the non Socialist elements, developed as aggression and plunder in the markets of the world. While this is not the moment of The conquest of the power of the state is a consistent party of revolutionary Socialaccomplished by the mass power of the proactual revolution, it is a moment of struggles ism. Particularly, the realized the letariat. Political mass strikes are a vital importance of imparting a Socialist characpregnant with revolution.
factor in developing this mass power, prepter and consciousness to the unions. The Strikes are developing, verging on rev aring the working class for the conquest of Socialist Labor Party, together with the olutionary action, and in which the sugCapitalism. The power of the proletariat lies experience of the Western Federation of gestion of proletarian dictatorship is apfundamentally in its control of the indusMiners and the American Labor Union, devparent. The striker workers try to ursup trial process. The mobilizing of this control cloped the theory and practice of Industrial functions of industry and of government, against capitalism means the initial form Unionism.
as in the Seattle and Winnipeg general of the revolutionary mass action that will The struggle of the Socialist Labor Party strikes.
conquer the power of the state.
against the old unionism developed a seces minor phase of proletarian unrest is sion from the party of elements who con the trade unions organizing a Labor Party, UNIONISM AND MASS ACTION sidered protecting the reactionarv in an effort to conserve what they have The older unionism was based on the craft Federation of Labor more important than secured as a privileged caste. Labor revolutionary Socialism. These, together Party is not the instrument of aggressive divisions of small industry. The unions conwith bourgeois and agrarian radicals, orsisted primarily of skilled workers, whose working class struggle; it can not break skill is itself a form of property. The unions ganized the Socialist Party.
the power of the capitalists and the profitThe Socialist Party was a party of Modwere not organs of the militant class strugle.
system of oppression and misery, since it Today the dominant unionism is actually a erate Socialism. Its policy was that of govaccepts private property and the rights of bulwark of Capitalism, merging in Imperialernment ownership of industry, not the procapital. The practice of a Labor Party is in letarian conquest of power. It maintained general the practice of the Socialist ism and accepting State Capitalism.
The concentration of industry and the dethat the middle class and the lesser capParty. co operation with bourgeois pro velopment of the machine process ex propriitalists are necessary in the Socialist struggressives and reforming Capitalism on the ated large numbers of the skilled workers gle against Capitalism. The Socialist Party basis of the capitalist parliamentary state. of their skill; but the unions still maintained asserted in substance: Socialism is a struggle Laboism is as much a danger to the prolethe ideology of property contract and caste.
of all the people against the trusts, making tarian as moderate petty bourgeois Socialthe realization of Socialism depend upon the ism. the two being expressions of an Deprived of actual power, by the ineffectiveness of its localized strikes as against unity of the common people. the workers, identical social tendency and policy. The large scale industry, trades unionism resorts the small capitalists and investors, the procan be no compromise either with Laborism to dickers with the bourgeois state and acfessions. In short the official policy of the or reactionary Socialism.
cepts imperialistic State Capitalism to mainSocialist Party was to attain Socialism by But there is a more vital tendency, the tain its privileges as against the unskilled means of capitalist democracy.
tendency of the workers to start industrial proletariat.
The Socialist Party stuitified proletarian strikes. strikes which are equally a revolt The concentration of industry produces political action by limiting it to elections against the bureaucracy of the unions and the industrial proletariat the machine and participation in legislative reform acthe capitalists. The Communist Party will workers. This proletariat, massed in the tivity. The party favored reactionary trades endeavor to broaden and deepen these basic industry, constitutes the militant basis unionism as against revolutionary industrial strikes making them general and militant, of the class struggle. Deprived of skill and unionism developing the general Political strike.
craft divisions, the old petty isolated strike The Socialist Labor Party developed a The Communist Part is useless to these workers.
Purely theoretical activity, of real value, of its action the mass struggles of the proThese facts of industrial concentration debut was isolated from the masses. The Soc letariat, engaging directly in these struggles veloped the concept of industrial unionism ialist Party attained a considerable member. and emphasizing their revolutionary im among the organized workers, and mass acship, but largely of a petty bourgeois char plications.
tion among the unorganized.
acter. The war brought in new industrial POLITICAL ACTION.
Mass action is the proletarian response to proletarian elements but the party still the facts of modern industry, and the forms isolated itself from revolutionary theory The proletarian class struggle is essential it imposes upon the proletarian class strug.
and practice. The proletarian masses in the ly a political struggle. It is a political strug. gle. Mass action develops as the spontaneous mass