Page THE MILITANT Saturday, February 1, 1930 The «Third Period» of the Comintern Mistakes Crises of Conjuncture and the Revo.
By Trotsky ries of the third and last period. These people deduce revolutionary perspectives Jutionary Crisis in Capitalism juncture had a disorderly character, which workers, because metallurgical and cbemi not from the real process of contradictions was expressed by the fact that the crises cal industries are affected only to a slight but from tale schemas. And from this flow At the Fifth Congress of the Confeder.
recurred more frequently than before the degree, capitalism is not as yet in decline. their fatal mistakes in tactics.
ation General du Travail Unitalie, Vas.
war. How does it happen that leading Before him there is still a forty years sart made a lengthy speech against ChamFrench trade unionists do not know such period of development.
It may seem quite improbable that at belland. which was later publisbed as a elementary facts? Especially how can one the Congress of the in France What does Vassart answer to this?
pamphlet, with a foreword by Jean lead a strike movement without having in the official orators tried above all to depict Brecot In his speecii, Vassart attenipts Chambelland, according to him, does not mind a realistic picture of the changes of the affairs of French capitalism in the to defend the revolutionary perspective see the radicalization because he does not economic conjuncture? Every serious commost piteous form. Loudly exaggerating see the new methods of exploitation. Page against the reformist perspective. In this munist can and must put this question to the present swing of the strike movement, respect, our sympathles are entirely on 30. Vassart in every respect repeats the the leaders of the primarily the French Stalinists at the same time thought that if one recognizes the intensihis side. But unfortunately he defends to Monmousseau and that squarely.
gave such a characterization of French tied exploitation and understands that it the revolutionary perspective with such industry as would make strike struggles That is how the matter stands from the will develop further, that in itself comarguments as can bring only advantages to absolutely hopeless in the future. Among point of view of the facts. It is no better pels you to reply affirmatively to the questhe reformists. In his speech, there is them was Vassart. Precisely because he, from the methodological point of view. tion of the radicalization of the masses.
included a series of fatal theoretical and What does Vassart actually prove?
together with Monmousseau, does not disThat (Page 31. factual mistakes. One may object: Are capitalist development is generally incontinguish between the crisis of capitalism there so few mistaken speeches in the When one reads these polemics, he gets and the conjonctural crisis, and figures veivable without conjunctural contradicworld? Vassart can still learn a great the impression of two blind folded men this time together with Chambelland, that tions; they existed before the war and deal. myself would be glad to think so.
trying to catch each other. It is not true a conjunctural rise might further remove will exist in the future. It is doubtful if But it has been made difficult by the fact that a crisis always and under all circumeven Chambelland would deny this comthe revolution to a period of decades, Vasthat the speech has been published in the stnces raicalizes the masses. Example: sart is apprehensive of an industrial rise.
monplace. But from this there does not as form of a propraganda pamphlet. It 19 Italy, Spain, the Balkans, etc. It is not true yet flow any revolutionary perspective.
On page 21 24 of his pamphlet, he proves provided with a foreword by Jean Brecot that the radicalism of the working class On the contrary: if for the past century that the present industrial revival in who is at least a cousin to Monmousseau necessarily corresponds with the period of France is artificial and momentary and a half the capitalist world passed himself, and this gives the pamphlet a capitalism decline. Example: Chartism through eighteen crises, then there is no (page 24. At the December national comprogrammatic character, The fact that in England, etc. Like Chambelland, Vasbasis for the conclusion that capitalism mittee meeting, Richetat diligently painted not only the author, but also the editor sart also ignores the living history of the must fall with the nineteenth or twentieth.
the French textile industry as being in a who prepared it for publication, did not labor movement in the name of dead forms. state of crisis. If this is the case it beans In actuality, conjunctural cycles in the perceive the enormous mistakes is witness Wrong also is Chambelland conclusion lite of capitalism play the same role as is that the strike movement which so far to the sad state of the theoretical level of itself: From the fact, that strikes have not served as the only indication of radicalizaplayed, for example, by the cycles of blood the present leaders of French Communism.
as yet embraced the main mass of French tion has no economic foundation under itcirculation in the life of an organism.
Jean Brecot does not tire of smashing the workers, one must by no means deduce a self or is losing it rapidly. To say the From the periodicity of the crises, there Marxist Opposition. What he ought to do, flows just as little the conclusion of the but what can and must be arrived at is a denial of the beginning of radicalization; least, by anticipation Vassart and Richetat as we shall soon demonstrate, is simply inevitability of the revolution, as the in concrete evaluation of the extent, depth give the representatives of capital a priceto sit down and study his Leadless argument against economic conces.
evitability of death from a rythmic pulse.
ership of the labor movement is incomand intensity of this radicalization. Cham sions to the workers and what is more impatible with ignorance, as Marx once said At the Third Congress of the Comintern belland, evidently, agrees to believe in it portant they give decisive arguments to to Weitling (1921. the ultra Leftists of the time (Buch only after the whole working class is en the reformists against eoonomic strikes, arin, Zinovlev, Radek, Thaelmann, Thalheim gaged in an offensive. But such leaders At tho congress, Chambelland exfor it must be understood that from a perer, Pepper Bela Kun and others) calcu who wish to start only when everything is spective of chronic crisis one can by no pressed the superficial thought based delated that capitalism would never again Teady, are not needed by the working means draw a perspective of increasing cisively on nothing but the reformist tenknow an industrial revival because it had class. One must be able to see the first, economic struggles.
dencies of the speaker that capitalist entered the final. Third. period, which even though weak, symptoms of revival, stabilization will last for about another would develop on the basis of a permanent while only in the economic sphere, adapt Do not these sorry syndicalists follow years, that is, that even the crisis until the very revolution, Around one tactics to it and attentively follow the economic press? But, they may say, new generation of the proletariat which is question, a big ideological struggle took the development of the process. Meantime the capitalist press deliberately parades its Just coming forward cannot count upon optimism. However, it is not a question place at the Third Congress. My report was one must not disregard, even for an hour, the revolutionary seizure of power. devoted to a considerable extent to proving the general nature of our epoch, which of editoria here. From day to day, from Chambelland brought no serious arguments the idea that in the epoch of imperialism has proved more than once and will yet month to month, the press publishes the to substantiate his fantastic period of time. the laws determining the change in indust prove, that between the first symptoms of market reports, the balances of the banke, Whereas, the historical experience of the rial cycles remain in effect and that con revival and stormy upsurge which creates commerciai and industr. al enterprises anú past two decades and the the theoretical junctural vacillations will be characteristic revolutionary situation, not a railroads.
forSome of the totals involved analysis of the present situation speak have already icen printed in No. 12 of of capitalism as long as it exists: the pulse ty years but perhaps only a fifth or a wholly against Chambellland perspective. ceases only with death. But fron. the state tenth of that are required.
YeriteThe more recent figures are further proof of the rising tendency of French But let us see how Vassart refutes him. of the pulse, in conjunction with other This matter stands no better with Vasindustry. The last economic weekly to He proves first of all that even before the symptoms, a doctor can determine whether sart. He simply establishes a mechanical reach me, Le Temps (October 9, 1929. carwar the capitalist system could not exist he is dealing with a strong or weak organ parallel between exploitation and radical ries for instance, a report of a general without convulsions. From 1850 to 1910, ism, a healthy or a sick one. of course, lization. How can the radicalization of the meeting of the stockholders of the metalan economic crisis took place approximately do not speak of doctors of the Monmous masses be denied, Vassart says irritably, lurgical enterprises of the North and East every 14 years. bred by the capitalist seau school. Vassart however makes the it exploitation grows from day to day? of France. We do not know Quivelette system. Page 14. And further on: Il, attempt to prove the inevitability and prox This is childish metaphysics, quite in the attitude to the philosophy of the Third before the war, the crisis took place every imity of the revolution on the basis of the spirit of Bucharin, Radicalization must be Period and we admit that we are not very 14 years, we see a contradiction between fact that crises and booms take place proved not by deductions but by facts.
much interested. But nevertheless he can this fact and the assertions of Chambelland every 14 years.
The conclusion of Vassart can be turned very well sum up profits and cut dividends.
who does not forsee a serious crisis before Vassart could easily have, avoided into its opposite without difficulty. It Quivelette sums up the total of the past forty years. Page 15. these gross errors if he had at least made is sufficient to put a question like this: year in the following phrase: The cona study of the report and discussion at the It is not difficult to understand that How could the capitalists increase exploitThird Congress of the Comintern.
dition of the domestic market has been exBut, with this sort of argument, Vassart, who ation from day to day if they were conceptionally favorable. This formula. unfortunately, the most important docu fronted by the radicallization of the confuses crises of conjuncture with the hope, has nothing in common with platonic ments of the first four Congresses, when masses? It is precisely the absence of revolutionary crisis of capitalism AS optimism because it is strengthened ty genuine Marxist ideology ruled the Comwhole, only strengthens the false position fighting spirit in the masses that permits forty franc dividends on stock instead of intern, are now prohibited literature. For of Chambelland.
an increase of exploitation, True, such the twenty five franc franc dividend the the new generation of leaders, the history reasoning without qualifications would year before. We ask: Has or has not this First of all, the establishment of the of Marxist thought begins with the Fifth also be one sided, but still lot nearer to fact an importance for the economic conjunctural cycle at 14 years is rather Congress, particularly with the unfortun life than Vassart constructions.
struggles in the metal industry? It would surprising. Where did Vassart get this ate Tenth Plenum of the The The trouble is that the growth of ex seem that it has. But unfortunately, befigure? We hear it for the first time. principal crime of the dull and blind bur ploitation does not under all circumstances hind the back of Quivelette we see the figAnd how is it that Jean Brecot, who in eaucratic apparatus consists in the mechraise the fighting spirit of the proletariat. ures of Vassart and Brecot or that of Monstructs us so authoritatively. almost as anical interpretation of theoretical tradiThus, with a declining conjuncture, with mousseau himself, and we hear their voice: authoritatively as Monmousseau himself) tions.
the growth of unemployment, particularly Don believe the words of this capitalist did not notice such a crass mistake, esafter lost battles, increased exploitation optimist who does not know that he is pecially in such a questios that has such Economic Conjuncture and Radical does not breed radicalization of the up to his ears in the third period! Isn it an immediate, such a vital significance for ization of the Masses masses, but quite the contrary, the falling clear that if a worker makes the mistake the trade union movement? Prior to the of spirit, dispersal and disintegration. We of believing on this question, Monmouswar, every trade unionist knew that crises Il Vassart does not know the mechanics saw, that, for example, in the English coal seau and not Quivelette, he will have to or at least depressions recurred every sevof business cycles and does not understand mining industry right after the strike of come to the conclusion that he has no en or eight years. If we take the period the relationship between conjunctural 1926. We saw it on a still larger scale in ground under his feet for successful econof a century and a hall, we find that one crises and revolutionary crises of the capRussia when the industrial crisis of 1907 omic struggle, to say nothing of an offencrisis was never separated from the other italist system as a whole, then the dialectic fell with the wrecking of the 1905 revolu sive.
by more than eleven years. The average cal interdependence of the economic contion. If in the past two years the growth The Monmousseau school If one may duration of the cycle was about eight and a half years, and furthermore, as was juncture and the struggle of the working of exploitation in France brought about the class is just as unclear to him. Vassart evident growth of the strike movement, the shown by the pre war period, the conjunc We can only welcome the fact that conceives this dependence just as mechani ground for it was created by the rise in La Verite has introduced monthly econtural rythm had a tendency not to slacken cally as his opponent Chambelland, al the economic conjuncture and not its debut to accelerate, which is bound up with omic reviews The first article (No. 12)
cline.
though their conclusions are directly conIn gives an excellent outline for the need of the renewal of technical machinery.
trary, and moreover erroneous to the same economic orientation for every Communist the post war years, the changes of condegree.
False Revolutionaries Fear in the Party as well as in the trade union Chambelland says: Radicalization of Economic Processes work. Particularly the Oppositionists Spokesmen in the for the the masses is in a certain sense the barmust rely on this side of the matter the ruling regime in the French Communist ometer which makes it possible to evaluate But the ultra Left opportunists lead establishment of a correct revolutionary Party. Ed.
the condition of capitalism in a given ing the Comintern fear a rise in industry perspective, based on Marxist analysis Leader of the syndicalist minority country. JP capitalism is in a state of As economic counter revolution. Their of facts and figures, not only in opposition group at the congress and one decline the masses are necessarily radical radicalism leans on a weak reed. For the to the empty babblings of Cachin and Monof the editors of La Revolution Proletar. ized. Page 23. From this Chambelland further rise of industry, business conjun mousseau, but also to the political fiction lenne, organ of the Syndicalist League draws the conclusion that because the cture would in the very first place have de of some gentlemen who have wandered into (Monatte Group. Ed.
strikes embrace only the periphery of the livered a mortal blow to their stupid the the ranks of the Opposition by mistake.