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Tage THE MILITANT June 1, 1929 The of the Comintern verted into a one Wire pulte is not our policy. We ty.
sister.
Draft Program CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS ISSUE Criticism of That the organizational form of a Soviet can be The Soviet appears mostly and primariof gigantic importance, this is irrefutable, pro ly in connection with strikes which have the per vided, however, that it reflects a correct political spectives of revolutionary development, but are Fundamentals line and in proper time. It can, on the other the given moment limited merely to economic hand be of no less negative importance if it is con fiction, a talisman, a demands. The masses must feel and understand a bagatelle. The while in action that the Soviet is THEIR organi By Trotsky creation at the very last moment of German Sozation, that it marshalls the forces for a struggle viets in the Autumn of 1923 would have added for resistance, for self defense and for an offensive. cy on the part of the Communist Party, would Donizational politically, it would only have caused or They can feel and understand this not on a have no doubt been much more successfully occuday experiment and in general not through pied by Soviets.
is even still fusion: What happened in Canton worse.
one The Soviet which was created act, but on the experience several weeks, months in a hurry to The acuteness of the situation had at the time querade for the form the ritual was merely a mas.
and perhaps years, with intermissions or without.
adventurist putsch. That is why reached its highest degree. It was clear that to we found out after it was all over that the Canton Therefore, only an epigonian bureaucratic leader lose further time would mean definitely to miss the Soviet was just one of those old Chinese dragons ship can restrain the rising and mutinous masses from the creation of Soviets in conditions when revolutionary situation. The uprising was finally very little time left. natte neimply drawn on paper. The policy reta were the country is passing through big and revolutionadvance the slogan of Soviets under such con against the improvizing mof Soviets by telegraph ary upheavals and when the working class and ditions would have been the greatest doctrinarism in Germany in September 1923. We were for the the poor peasants have before them the prospect conceivable. The Soviet is not talisman which creation of Soviets in China in 1926. We were of capturing power, even if only in one of the later has the power to save everything. In the situa phases and even if that prospect can against masquerade Soviets in Canton in 1927, be tion such as had then developed the creation of There is nothing contradictory in that. In that appre ciated in the given phase only a small minori in a hurry would only have duplicated the we see a deep integral understanding of the dyThat was always our conception of the Soviets. factory committees. It would have become necesWe valued the Soviet as that broad and flexible namics of the revolutionary movement and its or sary to deprive the latter of their revolutionary functions and to pass them over to the newly organizational form which is understood by the ganizational forms The question of the role and significance of the masses who have just awakened in their very first created Soviets which would have been absolutely Soviets which has been distorted and confused and phase of revolutionary action and which is capable without any activity. And when? In conditions overshadowed by the theory and practice of recent of uniting the working class in its entirety, se when each day counted. This would have meant years, has not been illuminated in the least in the gardless as to how large a section of it has in the to substitute for revolutionary action a vicious and draft program.
given phase already grown to the point of under most harmful game in organizational gew gaw.
CONTINUED IN NEXT ISSUE standing the tasks of capturing power.
Is any further documentary evidence necessary?
Here, for instance, is what Lenin wrote about till my ribs are caved in, and bowl Peccari, peccavi, the Soviets in the epoch of the first revolution: Max Comes Clean have sinned until my throat burns. luar whole The that was then the name of pieces of flesh out of my body. throw myself to the lions and beg them to bile chunks out of my bioed.
the party has never refused to utilize at MO.
MENTS OF GREATER OR SMALLER REVO My breath it corrupi, my days ore extinct, the ing frame.
LUTIONARY UNREST certain non party organiza graves are ready for me. My day are past. The truth is, confidentially speaking, that have to go tions such as Soviets of workers deputies for the my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts through this rigorous treatment and do even more to strengthening of the influence of the Social Demo of my beart. 11 wait, the grave is mine keep my pont as leader of the Party and show the boys hokte. have made my bed in the darkness. in the ranks that if it self criticism they want, crats on the working class and the consolidation of have told to corruption, Thon orl my father: the Social Democratic labor movement. Volume the lad who con give it to them in two daily shifte to the worn, Thou art my mother, and my of twelve hours each. It hard job, and want al 13, page 215. Our emphasis. And where it now wy hope? for my ond Inndry to cooperate with me in cleansing en One could cite such quotations from Lenin with bope, who shall see it? They shall go dow fented body.
out number.
to the bars of the pit, when our mot together So come along, fellows! Take a few cracks of me!
is the dust. THE BOOK OF JOB, CHAP. XVII. Punch me in the nose. Sock me in the teeth. BBat me In contradistinction to this the epigones have We have no special objections to any one of the Party in the jew. Bite off my car.
converted the Soviets into a parading organiza Hit me in the solar bureaucrate going to Canossa in bare feet, following the open plexus. Throw stones at me and cover me with frime.
tional uniform which the Party puts on the pro address of the Comintern. We don protest even when a hunSte violently on my toes. Kick my well bruised barletariat on the eve of the capture of power. But ble sinner wallops himself on the hind quarters from time to time tom with bob nailed boots. take all comets and pro.
mise no resistance. Lay it on thick!
here we find that Soviets cannot be improvised as he drags his calloused belly along the ground. But the way in Well, we too are for self criticism, but we are agaioast self24 in which it is being done by Max Bedacht in the Daily Worker, by order, with the direct object hours, by of an bit too much for the most hardened stomach and should flagellation. It would have been better for Bedacht to play armed insurrection. Such experiments must un be suppressed by the authorities as an obscene public display the role not of Job and Jeremiah rolled into one, but a naive, avoidably become of a a fictitious character and the of masochistic self flagellation inclined to arouse lewd and lasciv. coy and sad Gretchen who wistfully regrets her seduction by absence of the most necessary conditions for the ious tendencies in the youth and in general present a menace, Don Juan Lovestone or Bertraw Faust. The role of a fragile to law and order. Between groans, Bedacht manages to Gretchen might be a somewhat difficult one for Max, but he capture of power be masqueraded by the external ap: would at least be more amusing and certainly less painful.
ceremonial of the Soviet system. That is what benever and wherever consciousness of this monhappened in Canton where the Soviet was simply trous reality downed wpon us, we put our Party conscience to sleep with a soothing argument of identily appointed to perform the ritual. That is where of grow and Party interest in our case.
the epigonian formulation of the question leads to. Spurred on by my factionally corrupt logic, harr In the polemics on the Chinese events the Op. there helped to embody in document after document, in speech after speech, the monstrous ided that the Coposition was accused of the following alleged cry We print here the names of an additional number of com inters plans to break up our Party because it is de rades who have been expelled from the Party in Canada or ing contradiction. Whereas at the beginning of termined to break up my factions the United States by the Stalinist bureaucrats. Despite the 1926 the Opposition advanced the slogan of The feeling gradually grew in me that to put my will attempes of the opportunists to conceal their corrupt course Soviets for China, its representatives spoke against against the will of my World Party is a presumption by fake unity maneuvres and unprincipled combinations of the slogan of Soviets for Germany in the Autumn Nof growing out of revolutionary, but out of petty bour Party officials at the top, workers in the Party continue to geois logic.
read and study the position of the Communist Opposition and of 1923. On no other point perhaps has scholastic The source of our error certainly was betty bourgeois take a stand on the principle questions raised by it. The thought been expressed so glaringly as on opportunism. Was the Comintern justified in connames of the comrades recently expelled are as follows: this. Yes, we demanded for China a TIMELY demming us for our wnprincipled factionalism, and is start for the creation of Soviets as INDEPEND.
GUELPH, ONTARIO (Canada)
the conscious eradication of this factionalisme necessary ALBERT FARLEY ENT organizations of prerequisite for the freparation of the Party for ils workers and peasants, ON THE BASIS OF THE REVOLUTIONARY UNserious tasks in this period? Of course it is CHICAGO Thus the corruption of our own logic, wrought by six REST. The chief significance of the Soviets was DAN POLLIN year of factional strije led us to a systematic negation BORNSTEIN to be that of SETTING UP THE WORKERS of every important decision of the Can we hope FANNIE MINUK ROBERT GARVER AND PEASANTS AGAINST THE KUOMIN. to free ourselves from this corruption if we do nor, CLAUSEN JOSEPH BOOTH TANG BOURGEOISIE and its first of all recognize. existence and acknowledge the JOSEPH GODDISS Left Kuomintang justice of the criticisms?
agency. The slogan of Soviets in China first of rejection of the criticisim. would transform the DETROIT all meant the break up of the suicidal, shameful culprit from Communist into petty bourgeois oppor. HARRY HOFF Alliance of Four Classes and the withdrawal tunism, pelty bourgeois politician and rotte diploBOSTON of the Communist Party from the Kuomintang.
The center of gravity consequently lay not in Translated from Bedachian into American, this means: SAM FRIEDMAN What scoundrel have been! For rars ve been We are further informed that a group of comrades in Montvague organizational forms, but in a class political most umboly scamp and wastre. Tere was nothing real, Canada, have been expelled by the Scalinists for supporte too dirty for me. Up to the very last minute sinned ing the Opposition. Their names will be published later.
In the Autumn of 1923 in Germany it was a like take. never went to mass or confessional. corrupted the Party and was myself as corrupt as they question of organizational form only. As a re. come. was a peily bourgeois politician; was rigby MASS MEETING IN BOSTON sult of the extreme passivity, backwardness, and winger; committed deviations with sinful glee; chort.
tardiness of the leadership of the Comintern and led gally at every new crime of my buddies, Loverstone BOSTON. Max Shachtman, member of the national com the Communist Party of Germany, the moand Gilowad mr. In general, was pretty low mitto of the Communist League of America (Opposition) will dog.
speak here on Friday, June 21, 1929, at 7:30 pm. at 62 ment for timely call for the organiza But now, comrades and brethren, roe seen the light. Chambers Street, on the program of the Comentetist Opposi.
tion of Soviets was missed and the factory Ob, how ve seen the ligb. And praise the Lord, tion and the work of the recently concluded nacional conference, committees had occupied in the labor movement of am stoning for my sins! wear hair shirt wext to All workers are invited to attend and bring their friend.
Germany by the Autumn of 1923 the nlace which, my tender skin. have shared wy bed dear. Tickets are obtainable at Shapiro Book Store, Beach Screet, sleep on barbed wire mattresses. m going to foi Boston.
provided there had been a correct and daring poli The meeting is held wider the auspices of the Boston longer thol Terence Mr. Skiney. m beating my breast Communist League. Opposition. THE EXPELLED line.