COMMUNIST BEVIN Sec. Sub district executive committees may take up charges against any member, group or branch in their sub district. District exeo. com. may take up charges against any member or unit in their district.
Sec. 10. Federation executive committees shall have the power to expel any member, and expel or re organize branches or groups of their federations subject to the approval of the of the Party.
Knowingly and unnecessarilly to endanger the underground work of the Party: 6) In any way to betray the Party trust.
Sec. Formal charges and investigation shall be required in all cases. Upon presentation of charges the accused members or units may be suspended pending investigation.
Sec. Branch executive committeees shall have the right to expel a member subject to the approval (not to take effect pending approval) of Party sub district executive committee having Jurisdiction, Sec. Groups may be expelled or re organized by their respective branch executive committees, subject to the approval of the subdistrict executive committee having jurisdiction, Sec. Groups may be expelled or re organized by their respective branch executive committees subject to the approval of the subdistrict executive committee having jurisdiction.
Sec. Branches may be expelled or reorganized by their sub district exec. com, subject to the approval of their district exec. com.
Sec. local or a sub district may be expelled or re organized by the district exec.
com, subject to the approval of the Sec. Districts may be expelled or re.
organized by the subject to the approval of the convention.
Art. Party Press and Propaganda Sec. The shall publish the official underground organ of the Party, which shall be issued at least once month.
Sec. The shall issue a Party bulletin which shall be distribued to the mem.
bership free of charge.
Sec. Literature issued by the Party shall be under the supervision of the Ediorial Committee and under the control of the Sec. No subdivision of the Party, except Fed. exec. com. may publish papers or books without the permission of the Over their own signature, locals may issue leaflets, dealing with matters in their locality, subject to the approval of the or such District Committee as may be so empowered by he Sec. All legal and illegal Party pross and publishing machinery, including federation press and establishments shall for unconditionally and fully subject to the Party in general to its or such other Party units, as may be expressly authorized by the Sec. Editors of all central organs of the Party, including legal and Federation organs, shall constitute the Board of Party Editors, which shall function for the unification of policy and expression in the Party prese, and to keep them always in conformity with the principles, policies and decisions of the Party.
Sec. No members of the Party shall contribute articles or editorials of a political or economic nature to the bourgeois press, except by permission of the of the Party.
Sec. The shall provide for the organization of classes for the training of propagandists, and study classes in the various Party units for the education of the member.
ship in Communist theory and tactics.
Seec. The shall provide for the organization of Communist Party nuclei, composed of members only, in the shops, in the unions, and in other workers organizations; within the army and navy, and ex soldiers or ganizations.
Letter to a French Syndicalist on the Communist Party By TROTSKY Dear Friend!
more decisively and assuredly it acts the more You are in great doubt regarding the Third support does it find on the part of the numerous International in view of its political and party and more backward working masses. But in character. You are afraid that the French order that millions of workers who are artiSyndicalist movement may be taken in tow by ficially retained by capitalism, the Church, De.
political party. Allow me to expose my views mocracy, etc, in the mire of prejudices, should on the subject.
not lose their way, but should find the requisite First of all must say that the French syn. expression for their desire to obtain a comdicalist movement, whose independence is caus plete liberation, it is necessary that in all the ing you such anxiety, is already completely in branches of life, the working class should find the tow of a political party. Naturally, neither at its head its best, most class conscious repJouaux, nor his nearest assistants (Dumoulin, resentatives who always remain true to their Merheim and others) are members of parliament colors and are always ready to give up their as yet and formally are not members of any lives for the cause of the working class.
political party. But this is simply a division of You, revolutionary French syndicalists, have labor. In fact, in the matter of syndicalist approached the question rightly when you statmovement Jouaux is carrying the same policy circles of the working masses are not sufficient of coalition with the bourgeoisie, as the French ed that the syndicates alone including the wider Socialism of the Renaudel Longuet type is car for the revolution, that an initiative minority rying on in parliament. Should the Board of the is necessary which should educate the masses present Socialist Party be requested to give a and give the workers in each concrete caso programme to the General Confederation of definite programme of action.
Labor and to appoint its leading personnel there What must such an initiative minority be?
im doubt that the pary would approve the It is clear that it cannot be grouped focording programme of Jouaux Merheim and allow to professional. or local distinctions. The these gentlemen to contnue to occupx their question does not lie in the advanced metallists, posts. Should Jouaux Co. be elected as railwaymen or joiners, but in the more classmembers of Parliament and Renar tel and Lon conscious proletariat of the whole country.
They must unite, draw guet placed at the head of the Confederation up a definite progof Labor nothing whatever would be changed ramme of action, strengthen their unity by a in the internal life of France or in the fate of firm internal discipline and thus secure their the French working class. You certainly will not leading influence over the whole struggle of deny this. The above mentioned circumstances the working class, all its organizations and prove however, that it is not a question of first of all over the syndicalist unions.
parliamentarism or anti parliamentarism, or of How then would you call this initiative mina formal party membership. All the old labels ority of the pfoletariat, united by the Communare worn out and do not answer to the new ist programme and preparing to lead the workcontents. Jouaux anti parliamentarism re.
ing class to an open attack against the fortress sembles Renaudel parliamentary cretinism like of capitalism? We call it the Communist Party two drops of water Official syndicalism may But, you might say, in such case this party repudiate the party by tradition as much as has nothing in common with the present French Socialist Party? That is quite correct. That it likes, party policy, etc. but the bourgeois is why to make the difference appear stronger, parties of France in the secret depths of their hearts can wish for no better reresentative at we speak of a Communist Party, not of a the head of the French syndicalist movement Socialist Party than Jouaux, as they cannot wish for any better However, you still speak of a party. Socialist parliamentarians than Renaudel Lon. of a party yes. Certainly, one might most guet. Naturally, they are criticising and blam. successfully prove that the word party has ing them. But this is being done only in order been greatly compromised by parliamentarians, not to weaken altogether their position in the professional chatterboxes, petty bourgeois charlabor movement. The matter lies not in parlia latans, etc. etc. But this relates not only to mentarism or in syndicalism these are only parties. We have already agreed with you formg but in the substance of the policy which that the labor unions (French syndicates, Engthe advance guard of the working class is carlish trade unions, German Gewerkschaften) have rying out by means of the syndicates, as well been sufficiently compromised by the shameful as the parliament. bona fide Communist pol role which they, in the person of their leaders, icy that is to say, a policy dirtcted towards the played during the war and for the most part overthrow of the rule of the bourgeoisie and its are playing now. However, that is not a reason state order, will find its revolutionary expression for repudiating the word Syndicate. You will in all branches of life of the working class, in agree that the question lies not in the terminall organizations, institutions and organs, into ology but in the substance of the matter. Under which its representatives may penetrate: in syn the name of Communist Party we understand a dicates, mass meetings, in the press, in the party union of the proletarian advance guard in the organizations of Communists, in the secret revoname of the dictatorship of the proletariat and lutionary circles, working in the army or prea Communist revolution.
paring an uprising, lastly, in the parliamentary Very often under argumnets directed against tribune, it the advanced workers will elect politics and party an anarchistic non compre.
bona fide revolutionary representative.
hension of tho rolo of the state in tho class The task of the working class is to expel the struggle is concealed. Proudhon used to say: bourgeoisie from the power, to annihilate its that the workshop (l atelier) would éliminate apparatus of violence and oppression, to create the state. This is in so far correct, that the organs of its own labor dictatorship for crushing society of the future will become a gigantic all resistance of the bourgeoisie and for a more workshop, liberated from all state elements, rapid reconstruction of all social relations in because a state is a compulsory organization the spirit of Communism. Whoever should of a class rule, whereas Communism will supunder the pretex of anarchism, deny this task press all classes. But the whole question is the dictatorship of the proletariat 18 re by what means shall we arrive a Communist volutionist, but petty bourgeois grumbler. society. Proudhon thought that the workshop There is no place for him in our midst. We would gradually by means of association Bupshall speak of this, however, later on, plant capitalism and the state. This proved to Hence, the task of the proletariat consists in be a purely utopian idea: the workshop was suppressing the bourgeois order by means of supplanted by powerful factories, and over the revolutionary dictatorship. But in the work latter rose the monopolising trust. The French ing class itself, as you know, there are different syndicalists thought and even partly levels of class consciousness. The task of the now, that the syndicates as such would supCommunist revolution in its totaity is clear press all capitalist property and abolish the only to the more class conscious revolutionary bourgeois state.
But this is not correct. Synminority of the proletariat. The Strength of dicates are a powerful weapon in a general this toinority Hes therein that the firmer, the strike, because the ways and methods of a general strike coincide with those of a syndicalist organization. But in order that a strike should really become a general one, an initiative minority is necessary, which would day by day and hour by hour carry on a revolutionary educational work among the masses.
This minority, evidently, must be grouped not in accordance with guild or industrial distinctions, but on the basis of a definite programme of proletarian revolutionary action.
This, as we have said, is the Communist Party.
But a geneal strike which may be conducted best by means of the syndicate apparatus is not sufficient for the overthrow of the rule of the bourgeoisie. general strike is a means of defense, not a means of offense. We must bring down the bourgeoisie, wrench the state apparatus out of its hands. The bourgeoisie, in the person of its state, is supported by the army. Only an open uprising in which the proletariat collides face to face with the Army, dealing cruel blows to its counter revolutionery el ints and curryinr away with itselt ito bast: part routs such an open uprising of the pföld tariat is able to make it master or the situation in a country.
But for such an uprising an energetic, intense, preparatory work is noces sary: agitationa organizing, technical. It is necessary day by day to denounce the crimes and baseness of the bourgeoisie in all the domains of social life: internal politics, colonial brutalities, internal despotism of the capitalist oligarchy, Baseness of the bourgeois press all this must constitute the material for a bona fide revolutionary denunciation with all the ensuing revolutionary conclusions. These themes are broader than a syndicalist organization and its tasks. At the same time it is necessary to create organized supports for the uprising of the proletariat. It is necessary that in each local syndicate, at each factory, in every workshop there should be a group of workers closely bound together by a unity of ideas and capable at the decisive moment by their unanimous movement to carry along with them the masses, to show them the right way, keep them from making mistakes, and guarantee their victory. It is necessary to penetrate into the army. In every regiment there must be a closely welded group of revolutionary soldiers, ready and capable of passing over to the side of the people at the moment of collision and of calling to the whole regiment to follow them.
These groups of revolutionary proletarians, united in their ideas, and organized, can act with complete success only as nuclei of a single centralized Communist Party. If we shall succeed in having in the different governmental and military institutions, our own faithful friends, open or secret, who would be in the course of all the events, all the plans and machinations of the ruling cliques and inform us duly of all, this would naturally be of great advantage to us.
Equally We would only strengthen our own position it we would suc.
ceed in sending into parliament but a group of workers true and loyal to the cause of the Communist revolution, working in close unity with the lawful and illegal organizations of our party, absolutely subordinate to the party discipline, playing the part of scouts of the revolutionary proletariat in parliament one of the political general headquarters of the bourgeoisie. and ready at any moment to exchange the parliamentary tribune for tho barricados.
Certainly, dear friend, this is not Renaudel. One must say however, that history has known general strikes which have been carried hrough almost without the help of the labor uions (the October strike in 1905) On the other hand the attempts of the French syndicates to carry through a general strike onded generally in non success, in consequence of the absence in France of a leading revolutionary organization (a Communist Party) which would have day by day systematically prepared the uprising of the proletariat, and not only attempt ed simply from time to time o improvise decor.
ative mass domo astrations.
think