SLX COMMUNIST Should Communists Participate in Reactionary Unions?
RY a THREE YEARS OF SOVIET RUSSIA (Continued from Page 1)
By Lonin.
SUCH CAPITALIST WAR. IF THEY (Concluded)
exclusiveness. The Workers The struggle with the labor aristocracy Union will be CONSCRIPT YOU LEARN HOW TO broad. they say, and will admit everybody TURN YOUR GUNS AGAINST YOUR we carry on in the name of the working masses only upon ONE condition, e. the recognition OPPRESSORS IN YOUR OWN COUNT and for the purpose of winning them over to of the Soviet System and the Dictatorship.
our side. This struggle with the social. chauv Greater foolhardiness, greater detriment of the YOU WORKERS ARE THE BACKinist and opportunist leaders must be carried proletarian revolution, than this on in order to attract the working class to us. ivity on the part of the left communists of sort of actBONE OF SOCIETY. CIVILIZATION WOULD GO CRASHING TO DOOM It would be sheer folly to ignore this most Germany is impossible to concelve. If we, in WITHUT YOUR NECESSARY LABOR elementary and self evident truth. And it is Russia, after two and one half years of un.
WHICH FEEDS, CLOTHES AND SHEL precisely this folly that is being committed by parallelled victories over the Russian TERS THE WORLD. YOU ARE MANY, the left German Communists, who, because bour geoisie and those of the Entente, should now YOU HAVE THE POWER TO ABOof the reactionary and counter revolutionary stipulate as a condition for admission to the character of the leaders of the trade unions, LISH THIS DAMNABLE SYSTEM trade unions, the recognition of the DictatorWHENEVER YOU ARE PREPARED jump at conclusions and withdraw from he ship, we would be committing a blunder and AND ORGANIZED TO DO IT. YOUR unions, refusing to work within them; evolv. impair our influence with the masses ing new and fantastic forms of labor organ.
and ENEMIES THE CAPITALISTS ARE thereby play into the hands of the Mensheviki. FEW, YET THEY KNOW HOW TO izations. In persisting in this unpardonable For the real task of the Communists is to be KEEP YOU IN SUBJECTION AND Polly, the communists are rendering the great able to convince the most backward masses, SLAVERY. THEY HAVE THE GOVest service to the bourgeoisie. For the Menshe to work among them, and not to isolate our viki, the social chauvinist and Kautskian leadERN ENT, WHICH GIVES THEM CON selves from them by fanciful and childish ers of the trade unions are nothing less than left slogans.
TROL OF THE ARMY, THE NAVY, agents of the capitalists within the working THE POLICE, THE COURTS, THE Gompers, Henderson, Johaux, Legien, are class movement. just as wo have always said PRESS, THE CHURCH, ETC. AND without doubt, grateful to these left revolutionof our own Mensheviks) or, in the beautiful THUS THEY KEEP YOU IN IGNORaries, who, like the German opposition on and profoundly truthful expression used by DeANCE DIVIDED AGAINST YOURprinciple (save as from such principles. or SELVES, INCAPABLE OF TAKING Leon, in America, the labor lieutenants of the like some revolutionists in France, or the EFFECTIVE ACTION AND WHENcapitalist class.
American Industrial Workers of the World, To refuse to take part in the reactinoary EVER NECESSARY THEY CALL OUT preach withdrawing from the reactionary trade trade unions means to abandon the undeveloped THE ARMED FORCES OF THE STATE unions, refusing to work within them.
or backward masses to tender mercies of the reTO HOLD YOU DOWN!
There is no doubt but that the opportunactionary leaders, the agents of the bourgeoisier ist leaders THE CAPITALISTS HAVE BUILT of the unions will resort to all and to the aristocrats of labor. the capitalist the dirty tricks of bourgeois diplomacy, inUP POWERFUL MACHINE THE minded workers. See a letter written by voking the help of the capitalist governments, STATE BY MEANS OF WHICH THEY Engels to Marx in 1852, referring to the ARE ABLE TO RETAIN THEIR GRIP priests, police, judges, etc. in order to prevent English workers. AS THE RULING CLASS IN SPITE the communists from The silly theory of non participation in the penetrating into OF THEIR NUMERICAL INFERIORtrade unions, to force them out of the unions, the reactionary trade unions discloses in to make their ITY. DONT YOU SEE THAT THE DEwork within the unions most striking manner the superficial attitude as STRUCTION dangerous as OF THIS MACHINE possible, aiding the police of the left communists toward the question to AND ESTABLISHING YOUR OWN persecute and run them down. But we must of reaching and influencing the masses. Their MACHINERY OF GOVERNMENT be able to withstand all that, to be ready for ravings about the masses become abusive THAT WILL BE ABLE TO EXPROPRI any and every sacrifice, and even if necessary, and worthless.
to practice trickery, to employ cunning, and ATE THE CAPITALIST CLASS, PUT In order to be in a position to assist the DOWN COUNTER REVOLUTION AND to resort to illegal methods, to sometimes masses, and win their sympathy, good will, and TURN THE INDUSTRIES OVER TO even overlook or conceal the truth. all for active support. we must fear neither insults, the sake of penetrating into the trade unions, THE WORKERS. THAT IS WHAT THE hardships, or persecution at the hands of the THE WORKERS AND PEASANTS OF to stay there and by every and all means reactionary leaders, who being social patriots, RUSSIA HAVE DONE. THIS WORKcarry on the work of COMMUNISM ERS STATE THE. DICTATORSHIP are in most Case directly or indirectly ropUnder the Czars regime, prior to 1915, we nected with the capitalist government and the had no legal status, but when Zubatov, of the OF THE PROLETARIAT IN THE FORM OF SOVIET GOVERNMENT police powers of the state. IT IS INCUMBENT Russian secret service police, undertook to IS NOT LIKE THE CAPITALIST UPON US TO WORK WHERE THE MASorganize the Black Hundred Labor Assemblies STATE. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO SES ARE!
and Labor Societies for the purpose of trap REMAIN FOREVER. IT IS ONLY TEM We must school ourselves to make any ping the revolutionists and combatting them, PORARY DURING THE TRANSITION sacrifices, to be able to overcome the greatest we dispatched to these meetings and organizaPERIOD FROM CAPITALISM TO COM obstacles, in order to carry on, systematically, tions, some of our best men, who got in MUNISM. AFTER THE CAPITALISTS and with indomitable determination, our pro touch with the masses and contrived to HAVE BEEN EXPROPRIATED, AFTER paganda and agitation in all these unions, 80 carry on a campaign of agitation within these ALL CLASSES HAVE BEEN ABOLISHcieties, etc. even though they are the most organizations, with the result that we guoED, AFTER ALL PROPERTY HAS BEfrankly reactionary, provided always that they ceeded in turning the masses away from the COME THE PROPERTY OF ALL THE are composed of proletarian or semi proletar influences of the Zubatovists.
WORKERS IN COMMON THE WORK lan working masses. The trade unions and Gompers, Henderson, Joheux, Legien, and ERS STATE WILL DISAPPEAR BEworkers co operatives (the latter only to a Co. are nothing but Zubatovs who are disCAUSE IT WILL HAVE. NO COERCcertain extent) are just the kind of organiza tinguished from the Russian Zubatov by their IVE FUNCTIONS TO PERFORM.
tions which take in the working masses. ACmodish dress, their cultural polish, and by cording to data cited in a Swedish newspaper, their more refined and democratically develAND IN ITS PLACE WILL APPEAR of March 10, 1919, the membership of the oped technique, in carrying out their infamous THE COMMUNIST SOCIETY. THE British trade unions increased from million policy.
FREE ASSOCIATION OF ALL MANin 1917, to million in 1918, a 19 per cent KIND IN THE PRODUCTION AND It is certainly much more difficult to acincrease. At the end of 1919 this figure jumped DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH.
complish the kind of work carried on in Rusto million. do not happen to have at sia, by the Communists, in the countries of THIS IS THE MESSAGE OF SOhand corresponding figures for France or GerWestern Europe and America, because the VIET RUSSIA OF THE FREE WORKmany, but it is incontestable that the memworkers are 50 thoroughly permeated with ERS AND PEASANTS OF THE RUSbership of the trade unions in these countries legalistic, constitutioal, bourgeois. democratic SIAN SOVIET REPUBLIC TO THE has also increased enormously.
prejudices. Nevertheless this kind of work not WORKERS OF THE WORLD!
These figures and facts bear out with the only can be done, but must be done, and THIS IS THE MESSAGE OF THE utmost clarity that which is being indicated done systematically.
COMMUNIST PARTY OF AMERICA!
by a thousand other manifestations, viz; the The Executive Committee of the Third THIS IS THE MESSAGE OF THE growth of consciousness and the intense doInternational, should, in my opinion, straightTHIRD (COMMUNIST INTERNA sire for unity and organization among the TIONAL THE INTERNATIONAL ORway condemn, and recommend that the Third proletarian masses and the most backward International should issue a thesis exposing GANIZATION OF THE REVOLUTIONelements of the workers. For the first time in detail the stupidity of such tactics, 88 ARY PROLETARIAN VANGUARD OF mllions of workers in England, France, and being inimical to the best interests of the THE WORLD!
Germany, are passing from a condition under proletarian revolution, and particularly doTHEN RALLY ROUND THE REwhich there was an utter lack of organizanounce the line of conduct followed by the VOLUTIONARY BANNER OF THE tion of any kind, to the elementary (and for Dutch Tribunists who directly or indirectly, COMMUNIST PARTY OF AMERICA those who are still imbued with bourgeois deopenly or covertly, completely or partially, FOR THE COMING SOCIAL REVOLUmocratic prejudices. the most accessible, lowTION FOR THE OVERTHROW OF est, and simplest form of organization, namely: support this misguided policy.
THE CAPITALIST GOVERNMENT AND the trade unions. The revolutionary, but inoon. The Third Communist) International must THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SOVIET sistant, lott communists stand alongside of repudiate the tactics of the Second Interne.
this phenomenon shouting to the masses, at tional and settlo burning Quostions, not in an GOVERNMENT OF AMERICA THAT tho WILL JOIN HANDS WITH SOVIET TO time refusing to work within the ambiguous way but directly and clearly, hitRUSSIA FOR THE EMANCIPATION trade union, refusing under the pretence that ting straight from the shoulder.
the We told the German Independents (In OF THE WORKERS OF THE WORLD these unions are reactionary: while at fame time organizing or inventing brand new, dependent Socialist Party) the wholo truth, FROM WAGE SLAVERY AND CAPSMOD. pure, organizations, which, while tre. evorything that we thought about them, We ITALISMI rom bourgeois democratic prejudices, are still must tell the whole truth to the left Com HAIL TO SOVIET RUSSIA!
barduced wite the way of trade and craft LONG LAV OMMONW6M!
muntets as well, and right to their tacos.