THE COMMUNIST TIVO The Communist Party and Parliamentarism.
Annex to Thesisjon Parlamentarism. dieniorship, and of the DS struggle for the latter, pot on a DAT with the minor question about the uulization of parliamentariam, THESIS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE COMMUNIST The Communist International, there.
PRESENTED TO THE SECOND CONGRESS.
INTERNATIONAL, foro, declare in the most categorical fashion that it considers Ry crime against the Labor (1) In number of countries in Western mout, and print itsell, from within (c.
movement any split, or attempt at a aplit, wita.
Europe and America, one of the burning ques.
tions of Comnuunist tactics is that of the Parlia.
the activity of Ilebkuchot in Germany, of thu in the communist jartles on tbis point, The mentary struggle. The split in the German com.
Bolsheviks ju the Imperial Dumu, iu tho De.
Congress summony 11 clements standing for the mass traggle for mocratic Conferences in Kerensk) ro pur.
proletarian dictator munist Party, the formation of an unti Parlia.
meutarian fraction in the ltp Unu arty, the posi.
liument, tuliy, in the Constituent Arnoudy. whip under the guidance of the centralized party nud likewise in the low councils. of the revoutopary proletariat, which exercises tion of the Belgian Coinmunist group, tho dis.
putes in the ranks of the British Communists. 13) This work lo parliament, wbich rosol 08 ity intence in uil the musi organizations of the working class, to strive for the complete and falls, the atlitude itselt inainly iuw revolutionary agitation from of revolutionary syndicalist circles and of the all these the door of tho House, exposuru of Opponens, unity of all communist elements in spite of any necessitato clear and definite guidance on the the proclamation of watch words for the MATUD, poxwible divergence on the question of parlie.
otc. must part of the Communist International, in its entirely be wubordinated to mularism, the forms and problems of the mass struggle outside parliament (2) Parliamentarism as. State systein is (14) For this, the following conditions are the democratic form of bourgeois supremacy, essential: which requires, at certain stage of its de. The absence of any form of uutouom)
velopment, the ald of the fiction of popular for the Communist grous in Parliament, and representation. The latter, outwardly the organ. their unquestioning Eubordinution to the coutral BY ZINOVIEV.
ization of the people will irrespective of CLab. committee of the Party.
To Communist members of bourgoL Darile yes, in reality 18 a machine of suppression and Constant control and guidance on the dients and municipal bodies, and to the Contra oppression in tus hands dominant capitalisin.
part of the executive committee.
Committees of Coninunil Partie, whose duty (3) Parliamentarism is a definite form of The arrangement of simultaneous dumonIt is to direct the Communist groups in bour.
Stato structure. Consequently It can in no way strations both wiluin aud without parliament.
be a form of Communist society, which knowi revolutionary attitude in parliament Gois parliaments. The opposition to thu Communista entering neither classes, nor the class struggle or any Itsell, e. the absence of any fear ou principle tue Lourg 018 parliaments is sustained mostly form of State whatsoever, of transgreusing the rules of parliamentary deby the recollections of Social Democratic parlin (4) Parliamentarism cannot even be the bate.
mentarism during the epoch of the second Inter.
form of the proletarian government during the The execution by Communist members dational. The conduct of the majority of the period of transition from the dictatorship of of parliament of non parliamentary work, espe.
Social Democratic members in the bourgeous the bourgeoisie to the dictatorship of the pro ciany in connection with mass denuoustratious.
parliaments was really 80 unprincipled ana, letariat. At the moment of intensifiod class Constant touch with the illegul work of frequently, treacherous, that this bitter ezstriggle, passing into civil war, the proletariat the Party, and the utilization of parliamentary perience cannot be forgotten by the working must inevitably build up its State organization privilege, so fur as the lutter exist, in this class as a fighting organization, into which represent.
direction That is why it is necessary for the Domatives of the former ruling classes cannot be The immediate recall or expulsion from launist Internutional, which has in the intercat admitted. At such stage, any fiction of the thie Party of every mcmber of the parliinentary general will is directly barmful to the proof the revolution advocated the utilization of group who, in his parliamentary work, disobey letariat; and similarly unnecessary and harm. the order of the Party the parliamentary tribune by the Communista to observe very strictly the activity ful is the Parliamentary division of Lunctions.
of the (15) The electoral campaign itselt must be The Soviet Republic represents Communist inembers, and to take ul measures to the form o: carried on not in a spirit of pursuit of the mail.
the Proletarian Dictatorsbip.
create a new type of revolutionary parliament.
niini number of parliamentary scals, but in the arian. 5) The bourgeois parlaments, a parliamentary Communist Warrior, which re. spirit of the revolutionary mobilization of tue To this end it is necessary that present one of the important arts of the bour. wasses around the watch words of the proletarian The Communist Party as a whole, and its geois State apparatus, cannot be conquered, Just revolution. The electoral campaign must be car.
as the bourgeois State Itself cannot be con.
Centrul Committee, blould, during the prepar.
ried on by, the whole mass of the inembers or atory stage, e. Delore the parliamentary quered by the proletariat. The problem before the party, and not only by the leaders. It is ne.
elections juspect very carefully the quali the proletariat consist in blowing up the bour.
cessary to utilize and be in complete contact geois State machine, in destroying it, and de.
of the personnel of the parliamentary group.
with all mass actions taking place at the given The Central Cointuittee should be responsibb stroying with It all parliamentary Institutions tment. BUikes, denuon suations, movements whether of a republnc or of constitutional for all the work of the parlamentary Communist amon; soldiers aud sailors, etc. It is necesgroup. The Central Committee must have the Donarchy sary to involve in active work all the mass or.
undeniable right to reject any candidato of any (6) The same applies to the bourgeois ganizations of the proletariat.
local authorities, which, organization, if it is aut perfectly convinced from theoretical 16. If these conditions are obbers par. that such candidate will carry on. real Com.
point of view. It is incorrect to distinguish lumellary work represents the complete ant. anunst policy when in parliament from the organs of the State. In reality, they csis or that dirty political schening called on The Communist Parties must desist from are just as much parts of the bourgeoiy State by tho Social Democratic parties of all count. the old Social Democratic habit of electing u mechanism, which will have to be destroyed Jies, who enter parliament to support that de. deputies only the so called experienced par le by the revolutiouary proletariat, and replaced by Locatic Inbulutlon, or, al test, to couquor meutariaus chiefly lawyers and so forth. AS local Councils of Workers Deputir it. The Communist Party can stand only and rule, it is necessary to put workmen forward u (0) Consequently. Communis. repudiates exclusively for the revolutionary utilization of parliamestarism as a form of the future; It recandidates, without troubling about the fact that parliamentarism, 28 pudiates the possibility o conquering parlia.
practised by Karl Lib. these may sometines be simple rank and Dulo knecht, Hoglund, and the Bolsheviks.
workers, without much parlianientary experience ments; it lays down as Its aim the destruction.
The Communist Party must treat with morcilo of parliamentariem. For this reason there can (17)
be a question only of utilizing the bourgcols Anti parliamentarism on principle, contempt those elements who try to make a State Institutions with the object of their de.
in the sense of an absolute und categorical re career by joining the party just before the elecstruction. On this, and only on this plan, can fusal to participate in elections and in revolu. Lions in order to get into Parliament. The Cont the question be discussed.
tionary parliamentary struggle, thus appears rul Coinmittees of the Comununist Parties must u naive, childish doctrine, unable to saction the candidatures of only such menu (8) Every class Bruggle have, bv Jung years of work, prored their unis political criticism, which sometimes has Ils foundation struggle, since, in the long run, It is a struggle a healthy disgust at parliamentary politicians, Warering loyalty to the working class.
for power. Any strike which spreads through.
but which at the saine time does not realize the When the elections are over the organpossibilities or out the country begins to threaten the bour.
revolutionary parliamentarisn.
Izations of the parliamentary group must be zeols State, and thereby In addition, this doctrine is frequently connected wholly in the baudy of the Central Committe.
acquires political character. To strive to overthrow the bourgeoi.
with a coinpletely inaccurate understanding o!
of the Communist Party whether the party sie, and to destroy its State apparatus, by what.
the purt to be played by the Party, which it a whole is a lawful or illegal one at the given ever means, bignifles to Views not as the lighting centralized vanguard moment. The chuirinan and the presidium of carry on a political struggle. The creation of a class apparatus for of the workers, but us decentralized system the parlian mentary Comunist group must be the task of government and to crush the opposi.
of feebly connected revolutionary groups.
confirmed in their functions by tho Central tioa of the bourgeoisie (whatever be the nature (18) On the other hand, ther. ducinot Committee of the Party. The Central Committee of that apparatus) means the conquest of po.
follow from the recognition of the princi, le of of the Party must have its perinanent represent.
litical power parliamentary work the ubroute recognition utive in the parliamentary too group, with (9) Consequently, the question of the poof the necessity, under all and any chicumsan.
right of veto. On ull important political questions litical struggle is not at all the same 88 the сев, the parlian entary Communist group must be of actual election, or of actual participation in the sessions of parliament. Here the ninary instructions from the Central question of our attitude towards parlamentarism Com It is the general question of the class struggle question depends on series of specifc condimittco of the Party.
of the proletariat, in the measure that the tions. With certain grouping of these con.
Ireviously to any important demonstration struggle is for the overthrow of the capitalist ditions, It may become necessary ti leave par.
of the Communists in parliament, the Central order.
lainenL This is what the Bolsheviks did ben Committee inust be entitled and bound to apoint (10) The fundamental method of struggle they left the Pre parliament in order to blow or reject te orutor of the faction, to demand employed by the proletariat against the bour. It up. at once rendering It helpless and placing of line to hand in beforehand the theses, of his geoisie, ie, akainst its State power, Blech, or the text, for confirmation by tho first and in barp opposition to it the Petrograd Soviet, foremost, the method of mass action. Mass action which was about to take charge of the insur.
Centrul Committee, etc. Every candidate entered 1s organized and directed by the mass organ.
rection. This is what they did in the Constion the Communist list inust sign a statement to Izations of the proletariat, under the general tuent Assembly on the day of its dissolution, the effect that, at the tirst request of the Cenguidance of a strongly knitted, disciplined transferring all their activity to the second All.
tral Committee of the Party, he is bound to centralized Communist Party. The civil struggle Hussinu Congress of Soviets. Under different give up his Dandate, BOLDAt the Party CAA 18 war. In that war the proletariat must bave circumstances It may be necessary to boycott obtain a new election.
1tx eficient corps of political oficers, its eficiont elections und organize direct violent uttack ln countries where reformist, semi reform.
politien keneral start directing all operations on tbe bourgeuls parliamentary clique; or to 1st, or simply carcer. seching elements havo LD.
In all spliers of the conflict.
participate in elections whilo boycotting par.
aged to penetrate luto the parlamentary Com. 11) The man struggle reproconta e whole lument itsell: and so on muniut group (A has already happenod in system of developing deinonatrations, becomDig (19) In this way, while recognizing. As a several countries) the Central Committee of more and more intensified in their form, and general rule, the necessity of participating in the Communist Parties are bound radically to logically loading to a riwing akainst the capital.
Clections, both to central parlaments and to the wood out the personnel of the groups, on the Ixt State. In this mass utruggle, unfolding itself taking part in the work of those institutions.
principle that it is better for the cause of the Into civil war, the guiding party of the pro.
organs of local self government, us wel as of working class to huve mall but truly Com.
Jetariat must, as a general rule, consolidate in the Communist Party must decide the question munist group than a numerous one without.
Ils par any and every legal position, making concretely, Lasing itself on tbe peculiar con.
rogulur. ommunist line of conduct, them subsidiary strong points in its revolution.
ditions of the actual moment. The boycott of communist deputy, on the docision of kry work, and subordinating them to tho plun elections or of parliament, and sinkrly the the Central Committee, is bound to combin.
of the chief cumpaixn, that of the mass strukgle.
Landopment of the lutter, aro yerinisible.
lapul work with Illegal work. In countries where (19) One of the mubordinate strong points Mpoaking seterully, when contana the Communist deputy thi enjoy. certain rigt for the tor of the bourgeois parliament. It is diru! transition to an urinu klo tor Invlolubility, the latter must be utilized by way net Derul sible to urge against participation 10 power.
of rendering ungintunou to the megal organize Parliamentary action thut parliament is an in. 20) It Is DUCOEUILT) constantly to krup in tion and projend of the Party.
titutute of thu bourgeois wtate. The Communist mund the relativo uninsportance of this question. The Comunist members shall Party term thar institution not for the purpose If the centre of Xavily low 111 the struggle for all the parliamentary work dependent on the make of carrying on Orkuule work there, but to order power outside gurllunt, thou It follows work of thu Purty outside parliamont The to blow uy thu bourgeois machinery of covora. inatter of course that thy guustion of proletarian (Continued on Peso 7)
as bear