November 2nd, 1919, THE COMMUNIST Page Serra Bourgeois Democracy and Proletarian Dictatorship Thement or the proletariat in mai By Lepin among them the German, which, by a mockery of the truth. is designated as a (The following Theses by Comrade lo nin, which formulate the theory underlying proletaran republic by the betrayers of the attitude of the Communist Internatio Socialism, hare retained this boorgeois cuntries has inspired the Bourgeosie and Dal with spet to the problem of Bourgeois Lemocracy and Proletarian Driestate ruachinery. All of which proves, again its agrofs in the labor crganization tatorship. wire transmitted to the Bureau of and again, most plainly and clearly, that the strenarus efforts in the discovery of ideai. the International with Instruktions te procure for them the widest possible publicity. outcry raised in defense of essential de istic political argupients in favor of the conmocracy represents nothing but the de td new exercised by the exploiters. In IV, ſense of the tourgeoisie and its exploitationdiese arguments special emphasis is laid privileges.
upon the rejection of dictatorship and the In explaining the class nature of bourgeois VII.
eic guarding of democracy. Yet the hypo civilization of bourgeois parliamentarism.
critical and lying nature of such arguments, all Socialists have uttered the thought set Frectory of assembly may be taken as repeated in a thousand variations by the forth with the utmost scientific cxactness an example of the requirements of Sure capitalist press, and by the Conference of by parx and lingels: that the most demo democracy. Every conscious worker who the yellow international held in Berne dur. cratic bourgeois republic is nothing but a has not deserted his class SCCs without ing February 1919, most be obvious to any machine for the oppression of the laboring forther ado that it would be nonsense to one who does not contemplate betrayal of class by the bourgeoisie, of the mass of promise his exploiters freedom of assembly the tesic principles of socialism workers by a handiul of capitalists. There during the period and under the circumis not a single former revolutionary, not a stances intien the latter are resisting their 11.
single erstwhile Marxist among those who downfall and defending their privileges. At nor declaim against dictatorship and in a period when the bourgeoisie itself was These arguments depend primarily upon favor of democracy who did not at one time still revolutionary, it did not allow freedom the concepts of essential democracy, and swear, by all that he held most holy, that of assembly, cither in England in 1649 or essential dictatorship, never raising the be acknowledged this basic truth of Soci.
in France in 1793, to the royalists and alism. Now, however, when there is a nobility (when the latter brought foreign question of the class implicated. Such a jormulation of the preblem from a point of ferment among the proletariat and a moretroops into the country and assembled in ment aimed at the destruction of this maview apart from and above the class riesorder to organize an attempt at restoration. point and ostensibly valid for the population chine of oppression and at the conquest of a Should the contemporary bourgeoisie, loog as a whole, is a direct mockery of the basic dictatorship for the proletariat, these traitsince become reactionary, demand that the principle of socialism, tumeh, the principle ors to Socialism place the matter in such a proletariat guarantee in advance freedom light as to make it scem that the bourgeoisie of assembh to their exploiters regardless ol the class struggle, principle which is acknowledged in words but forgotten in has actually made a giit of pute de of what opposition the capitalists may set mocracy to the workers, that the bour: up against their dispossession, then the prodeeds by those Socialists who hare gone over to the camp of the bourgeoisie. For genisie are disposed to forego all resistance letariat will merely be moved to laughter at and to yield to a majority of the workers, such a display of bourgeois hypocrisy.
in no civilized capitalist country does es.
that a democratie republic is not a political sential democracy cxist, but only a lurOn the other hand, workers know very instrument for the oppression of labor by tell that freedom of assembly. even in the gecis democracy, and the question does not turn on essential dictatorship but on dic. capital.
most ocratic burgeois republics, is an tatorship by the oppressed class, e. the for the wealthy chces have proletariat, orur tie oppsors and ex The Paris Commune, which is applauded the disposat st public and private ploiters, i, e. the bourgeoisie, for the purpose by all who wish to be recoguized as Sac buildings and Enough leisure for of evercoming the resistance of the exploit jalists since they know that the raass of the assemblage. They enjoy the protection of eir struggle to remain in control workers have a great and sincere sympathy the bourgeois machinery of force. The city with it. the aris Commune revealed moist and the village proletariat, as well as the II.
clearly the historical relativity and the peasants e. the overwhelming majority limited value of bourgeois parliamentarism of the population, hare neither the first, nor History teaches that an oppressed class and bourgeois democracy which, in comthe second, nor the third. So long as this never could acquire power without going parison with the Middle Ages constitute state of affairs continues, equality is e through a period of dictatorship. a very progressive institutions to be sure pure democracy will remain a fraud. In pericd of conquest of the political power but which in this Age of the roletarian order to establish a real equality, in order and of icrable suppression oi the desperate Revolution call inevitably for radical actually to realize democracy for the work and frantic resistance, shrinking from no changes. Vars himseli, who set the greaters, it would be necessary first to take all crime, that is always displayed by the ex est store on the historical significance of the the magnificent private and public structures ploiters. The bourgeoise, whose control is Commune, laid bare in his analysis of the away from the exploiters, to provide leisure now defended by Socialists who prate of movement the exploiting nature of Lourgeois for the workers, and to see to it that the ential dictatorship and who are body democracy and bourgeois parliamentarism, freedom of their assemblies is safeguarded and soul for essential democracy, won a system which gives the oppressed class the by armed workers, not by scions of the it domination in the civilized countries by right to decide, once in so many years, mobility or by officers drawn from capitalmeans of a series of revolutions and civil which ambassador of the owning classes is istic circles and placed in command of inwarly means of the forcible surpressie to stand for and upon the people in purlia timidated troops.
of royal puwer, of feudal power, of slave. Ind it is at this time, when the Nit until such a change has taken place holders and of their attempts to re establish soviet increment is taking hole all over will it be possible to speak of freedom of themselves. In books, in pamphlets, in the the world, carrying on the cause of the assembly of equalit: tuithout making mack relations of their congresses in their Commune everywhere, that the betravers of of the working people. o the poor. But this speeches, Socialists in all countries are Socialism forget both practical experience change can le brought about only by the explained to the people a thousand, nay, a and the concrete lessons of the Paris Com vanguard of the working people, the prole.
million times, the class nature of this mune and repeat the ancient bourgeois tariat, which dethrones the exploiters, the bourgeois revolution. That is why the pres. nonsense about essential democracy. The bourgeoisie.
ents de ſense of bourgeois democracy in Commune was a non parliamentary instiVIII.
speeches on essential democracy, and the tution.
present denunciation of the dictatorship oi freedom of the press is another of the VI.
the proletariat in the outcry against eschief watch words of pure democracy. Bot sentul dictatorship. constitutes a direct The importance of the Commune lan in workers all know, and the Socialists of all litrayal of Socialism, an actual defection the further fact that it made an attempt to countries have admitted inillions time: into the camp of the bourgeoisie, a denial destroy and uproot the lourgeois state that this inicdom niust remain a fraud us of the right of the proletariat to its proletar machinery, the bureaucratic, judicial, mili. long as the best presses and the most abuede iat revolution, a Jeiense of bourgeois re tary, and lice machinery, and to replace ont supplier of paper remain in the hands formista at an historical crisis when lour it by the seli governing mas organization of the capitalists, as long as capital retains Reais rciorisni the world over has col. of workers, rid of the separation of legis. its power over the press control which lapsed and the war has created a revolu lative and administrative power. All the manifests itself inost clearly and sharply.
tanary situation.
bourgeois democratic republies of our time, most cynically, wherever democracy and ment