The of Convention and the November Election Two recent evente, seperated by less By MAX SHACHTMAN calization of the workers and drew the than a month, furnish us with aspects in conclusions that the process was well undifferent fields of the position of the Am stantly deepening reaction at every year aristocracy. The rise in the standard of der way. Closer examination and recent erican working class. They are the gold convention, there are valuable aspects to living of this section of the workers, which developments indicate that the pre condi.
en Jubilee convention of the American this convention which crown the period counted millions in its ranks, was, so to tions for radicalization are even increasing, Federation of Labor in Boston and the that preceded it.
speak, granted without a struggle by a but the process is only at its elementary national elections just concluded.
Labor Dissatisfaction bloated capitalist class. Unlike previous stage development.
The of Convention periods, labor economic improvements restlessness and discontentment is It has become a commonplace to say were not squeezed out through the interAt what tempo will it proceed? What permeating the American working class.
Where will be the extent of its sweep?
mediary of the trade unions. With a satisof the former that it was one of the It is begnning to awaken from the luxur.
fled working class at home, the fabulous will it end? That depends not only a series mart reactionary assemblages in its hisiant dream of the prosperity days. It is super profits extorted by American imperof economic factors, but in larger degree tory. That trait, indeed, has come to be not only feeling the scourge of unemploytaken with an almost fatalistic certainty.
ialism from the rest of the world, not than is usually conceived, upon tar ilment, but the radical lowering of Its livThe Boston convention did not seem to be only made these improvements possible ity of the revolutionists to take advantage ing standards in a dozen different forms: illuminated with the faintest ray of light.
but even profitable.
of the premises in order to accelerate the wage cuts, lengthening of the working day.
The petty bourgeoisie and big bourgeoisie The Fall of the Strike Curve process of radicalization.
intensification of labor, stagger systems that dominated the of and its There is no law compelling the workand the like. Directing the hostility at the This view is coniirmed by the index ing class of America to repeat the expericonvention, its spokesmen who ranged from boss, it also commences to discern behind of strike activities. Previous periods of the principal executive of the American the capitalist government the hazy figure prosperity and trade union growth ences of its own past or those of the have capitalist class, Hoover, to its scarcely European working class, at any rate, not of the capitalist class. In a word, the almost always been characterized by an concealed agent, Green, ruled the convenfor the same length of time. We live, as increase in premises are present for the development the number of strikes and tion in dead black serenity. The burning We have remarked, in an epoch of convulof a clear class consciousness among the strikers. The last period of prosperity and problems of the working class, crying out sions, developing jerkily and unevenly, reworkers.
of improved workers economic conditions for solution, were either entirely ignored plete with the breaking of precedents. All The bureaucracy of the of and showed a directly opposite process: strikes or else treated with a cold, dead hand. precedent showed that in this election its whole conservative machinery, are piland strikers have been almost uninterrupLess than three out of the approxithere should have a large third party lars of American imperialism more visitedly on the decline not only from 1920 but which, like the Greenbackers, the People mately forty millions of workers are orble today than ever. Without them, the from 1924. To use the figures of the ganized into the of It is to the Party, the Progressive Party and the Labor security of the ruling class would be con Bureau of Labor Statistics, repeated recentdirect interests of the organized workers, Party movement of seven eight years ago, siderably diminished. The function of the ly by the Standard American Corporation, would arise fatally on the basis of an and corresponds to the desire of the more bureaucracy is to prevent the workers we get the following table (Strike column conscious among them, to draw the other economic crisis. But this law was viofrom understanding the class nature of the includes lookouts. millions into the trade union movement, so lated: there was no real sign of a third government. That this function is being that even from the narrow standpoint of Year Strikes Involved party in the present elections. Tbe disexercised by Green and Co. with more en1919 3, 630 satisfaction of the the trade unionist the bargaining power 4, 160, 348 masses Wg anrost ergy today than for many years past, of labor is increased. Two years ago, the 1920 3, 411 speaks loudly for their fear of an imminwholly absorbed by the Democratic Party.
1, 463, 054 New Orleans convention of the of 1921 2, 383 1, 099, 240 For many historical reasons, the Amerient awakening of the American workers walled in between the demand for organ1922 1, 112 1, 612, 562 can working class is a very violent one, and as a class, the consummation of which izing the unorganized that proceeded from 1923 1, 553 756, 584 at the same time the least class conscious.
would be a landmark in revolutionary prowithin the unions and the work that was 1924 1, 249 654, 641 With the whole atmosphere favorable for a gress.
begun independently by the Lett wing from 1925 1, 301 Thirteen years ago, the capitalist class 428, 416 swift development of this consciousness, the outside, issued the slogan of double 1926 1, 035 329, 592 what is mainly needed to achieve it is a required the solid support of the working the membership, just as the Detroit con1927 734 349, 431 Communist Party capable of seeing at what class for the imperialist slaughter. It vention before it issued the slogan of or1928 629 357, 143 turn we find ourselves, and steering for needed the official labor movement as a ganizing the automobile industry, The 1929 903 the right road. But the Party leaders, who 230, 463 bulwark against the Red menace presenthistory of this campaign is completed in are really only approaching this road, ed by the militant socialist and The current year shows a still further two sentences. The Toronto convention conduct the Party and its policies as opposition to the war. It therefore took decline (about 40 percent less than the repeated the double the membership though the road were not only reached the unusual step of sending Woodrow Wil 1929 figure for the same months. And the slogan. The Boston convention tacitly atbut already half way travelled over. That son to an of convention to enlist tremendous unemployment attendant upon tended the funeral where even its name is why we have one smash up after anlabor. In 1930, it needs its acquiesesent crisis does indicate any was not mentioned. In place of the new other under the leadership of the third cence because the crisis is to be solved increase in strike activity for the period forces from the immense reservoir of unperiod specialists who cannot distinguish at the expense of the workers. It needs immediately ahead.
organized that has only to be tapped in tomorrow from yesterday or today, and the of more than ever as a barriorder to flow torrentially, the convention From all that has been said above, it take the beginning of a process for its cade against the new Red menace of the had a new decline in membership to redoes not at all follow that the outlook conclusion.
Communist movement. It therefore recurs for the American working class is so unicord.
to the unusual step of sending a president What is needed is a bold leadership, formly dark It 18 an establshed fact Increasing millions of workers are to give a public demonstration of the unnot a foolhardy or foolish one, with polunemployed in the country, suffering inthat, especially in our time, apparently icies based on realities and not fantasies.
ity of the official labor movement and the tense misery, starving in the golden storefixed precedents are broken, that the slow capitalist government. Hoover speaking Such a leadership could liquidate the liqhouse of the world like Tantalus, surarithmetical progression of the working at the Boston meeting was not a sign of uidators of the night wing without great rounded by food and unable to avail himclass is frequently interrupted either by the confidence the capitalist class feels, uitnculties, for it would oppose to the latabrupt geometric leaps or by a retrogressell of it. The debates on the subject of but of its uneasiness.
ter policies those Bolshevik policies that unemployment and relief were like the sion. So far as the radicalization of the produce successes and not the defeats that droning of monks cut off from the real The of Decline working class is concerned, the last half a the night wing teeds upon. The Lovestone decade has shown a retrogression on the world without. The only loud voices raised There is an even more interesting group, recovering from its grudging and were those of the reactionaries who, like whole. But this very past has prepared phase of the of development, palna support to the program of organGreen, considered the grounds for a penetration of the reit preferable for the which is quite without precedent. Since it izing the unorganized into industrial unworkers to starve in the streets, than for was organized in 188. it has reflected, volutionary idea into the consciousness ions under the leadership of the Left wing, them to want even that pitiful, bureaucraof the proletariat.
with greater or lesser accuracy, the alterinas become bold enough to raise the slogan tic social Insurance that the liberals advo nating periods of boom and crisis. With There is an enormous working class back to the o its clever cate as a sedative for social unrest.
Thus far virtually no deviation, it increased its discontentment in the country.
way of proposing an end to this foolish Thoughtful members of the captalist class membership with every economic rise it is blind and mirdirected, that is, polibusiness of the new unions. Without more concerned with their own interests. 1889, 1899 1903, 1905 1908, 1911, 1913. 1915ically, it is sately canalized into the bourwasting time arguing with the Right wing to be sure, than with relieving working 1920) and declined precipitately with evgeois parties this time the Democrats. The over the need of winning Irom withinclass misery are looking with approval at ery depression or crisis. The depression bulk of the working class voted against the or workers (a need which we, some mild form of insurance, but not the commencing in 1920, found it at its unHoover and his administration as the em at least, take for granted. the Communist hierarchy of the of Like the ser repeated height: 4, 078, 740 members. With bodiment of the crisis and the unemploy movement must proceed with the consolivile footman. the Greens more con the crisis it declined to 2, 865, 799 in 1924. ment. So rapidly do profound changes in dation of the new unions, which have a cerned for interests their master But the riod of prosperity that followed, economic and political life take place in our tremendous future and great vitality, and than the master himself.
absolutely unprecedented in modern times, epoch, that it required only a brief two all the conditions for which still exist. it To bring out more distinctly the re far from resulting in a growth of memberyears to secure a repudiation of a governis hardly necessary to emphaside here that actionary pall hanging over the convenship, actually shows a persistent decline that ment swept into power with the biggest we do not wit draw a syllable of our crihas continued to this moment. throughvote on record. From 1928 to 1930, the tion, the progressives can be mentioned.
ticism the Stalinists who, by their conTimid and pitiful though their bleating out the prosperity, down to the present turnover of votes amounted to upwards of duct in the Left wing unions, have done protests may have been and they were crisis! The decline continued at the Bos 8, 000, 000 (the total of the Republican incaluable harm to the new movement.
worse than that the manner in which ton convention, for while a formal in plurality in 1928 plus the Democratic plurBut even they have been unable to destroy even their supplicating and thoroughly reGrease of 27, 000 members was recorded ality this year. Neither the Wilson adit or its possibilities.
spectful speeches and proposals were reboth this increase and the real loss are ministration but the disreputable Harding accounted for by the calm report of the ceived (they might have been made in the regime suffered so humiliating and rapid The Place of the Left Opposition a deteat as did Hoover.
arid deserts of Africa for all the attention made by Lewis without batWhat is needed is a leadership capable they got in Boston) only emphasized the ting an eyelash in which 400, 000 members What About Radicalizaton of strengthening the Party, not keeping it Iron rule of the Greens, Lewises, Wolls were claimed (when there are actually But this discontentment is not yet a stagnant or weakening it. What the preand Hutchegons. And why should the less than 100, 000 miners in the Lewis unradicalizaton of the working class. So far sent Party leadership does is to broaden barons of the of treat these peoas the latter was expressed politically, it the base for reformism and not for revoluple with less contempt? They occupy a How is this record, which breaks with was done largely through the tiny vote of tion: that is, its policies help to allenate miserable post akin to the Russian czar previous, allegedly historical prece the Communist Party (a bare doubling of the awakening workers from Communism official Jew. the hof Jude who was kept dents, to be explained?
the still smaller prosperity vote in 1928. and to drive them into the socialist or synat court to show that the emperor was not Amerloan imperialism emerged from to which should be added, of course, many dicalist camp. Out of the present Party an anti semite.
the war, from the post war domestic crisis thousands of disfranchized workers. But leadership, which is thorughly corrupted by What the whole situation demanded and the revolutionary crises Europe, the results of the elections, plus the stat Stalinism, no fundamental progress can be from one with the pretentious title of not only as a first rate world power, but istics of strike struggle the two principal expected. That must proceed from the ranks progressive was a vigorous denunciation as the first world power. Its frenzied indices of working class radicalization are of the Party and the Left wing around it, a of the whole bureaucracy and its system expansion after 1924 was an expansion be a smashing blow at the monstrouly ex process that the Lett Opposition is helping e. of capitalism and those who serve it yond its boundaries. Its wealth and power aggerated analyses of the Stalinists. Their to accelerate by building its own ranks and in the labor movement. But when the rested, and still rests upon its dominant contentions concerning the mass upsurge organizing the Bolshevik faction within the progressives bear names like Zaritsky, position in world economy. One may say of the American workers. the widespread Party itselt. Our struggle is inextricably whose claim to trade union leadership that the relationhip of the international radicalization of the masses. the workers bound up with the whole question of the rest principally upon collaboration with the working class was to the American work following the Communist Party all these path of the American working class, the hat manufacturers and persecution of the ing class as a whole what the relationship fall to the ground before the facts. To a question raised anew by the two events Left wing minorities in his union, it would of the unskilled American worker is to moderate extent, the Left Opposition we have discussed: the revolutionary road be asking for too much.
the American labor aristocrat. American shared his error in the past. That is, it or the reformist. Our victory is one guarDespite all these features, which com imperialism was enabled for the first time proceded from the indisputable fact that antee that it will tread the former.
bine to produce the even monotony of con on such a scale to sustain a broad labor the premises exist for a deep going radi1 ion.