LUUL Litvinov at Geneva and Amalgamated ILOR policies were applied. It was the oppor tunist application of the united front by the leadership of the second The den of thieves and pirates located period that was responsible for the losses at Geneva is once more bustling with disin the old unions, but not the idea and armament activity. This time it is the the united front policy as such.
regular meeting of the Preparatory DigBy ALBERT ORLAND The pernicious third period policy armament Commission, in which, like all in the Amalgamated, the Left wing would The policies of the Left wing in the did not, however, fail to produce on the its prototypes, the various imperialist Amalgamated Clothing Workers have gone have been abandoned a year before and other hand some awakening in the minds powers gather in an attempt to secure by the Amalgamated members urged to join of a great many Left wing workers. The through a zig zag and finally entered a agreement a more favorable position in blind alley. With the organization of the the armed camp presented by the capitalist the new union Centrist leadership has already realized Men Clothing Branch under the Needle world today. No simpler and more Anal Is it any wonder that under such con that its new revolutionary policy brought Trades Workers Industrial Union and the reply to the deceit of these innumerable ditions the work of the Men Clothing disastrous results and made a swift turn liquidation of the group in the conferences can be made than the fact that Section could not make any headway in backwards into the opposite direction. This there are more men under arms today than Amalgamated after the second convention spite of its revolutionary tactics, that their new burn has already been applied in there were before the world war; of the held last June, the Left talk about shop committees and united some of the branches of the Needle Trades that wing forces in the clothing industry have bourgeois statement can declare without fronts from below have remained empty Workers Industrial Union and notice of it shocking anybody that Europe is closer been dissipated. Only a very small frac phrases? Having given up contact with has been served upon the Men Clothing tion, consisting of the most docile elements the masses the Left wing deprived itself of Section.
to convulsions now than at any other time since 1914. that since the aboveand loyal Stalinists joined the new union. the opportunity of regaining confidence At this writing, the full implications mentioned commission was established, the The great majority of the sympathizers and among them and participating in their of this turn are not yet clear to us. It supporters of the Left wing, not in agree struggles. The few isolated shop commitfive largest imperialist powers have inhas not yet gone through the Party fraccreased their arms budgets by 27 percent.
ment with the new line, were left to shito tees of picked Left wingers do not reflect tions, and is naturally causing new conThe Soviet Delegation for themselves.
the moods of the masses in the shops and fusion in the ranks. Judging from the At the present session of the CommisThe Left wing in the Amalgamated has are still less capable of stimulating mass past, however, it is to be expected that sion, there is a Soviet delegation with Litthus completed its last cycle of the sec struggles.
this turn will be a repetition of the old vinov at its head. We have had occasion ond period. The old leadership of the Here is clearly demonstrated the zig zag in a new cycle unless an awakenin the past to point out the opportunist Amalgamated was expelled as ruinous effect of the third period policy ing takes place in the minds of the Party tenor of the whole foreign policy of the Right wingers for their insistence upon in the trade union movement.
members to the real problems involved maintaining the Left wing in the Anal The Workers Do Not Follow ruling faction in the Russian Communist in changing revolutionary tactics and the gamated and the application of the socall The necessity for the organization of Party. It rings out brazenly in the contrade union movement, and they act ac ference under discussion. We quote from ed united fronts. The new union by the new unions two years ago was explaincordingly.
decision of the convention, pledged itself ed by the leadership by the an irreproachable source (Comintern careadiness of the masses to leave the old The latest turn in the trade union tacto the adoption of a inore revolutionary blegram to Daily Worker, November 7, tics is not an isolated phenomenon in the 1930) the remarks made by Litvinov, which form and policy adapted to the third per unions and their fear of lageng behind the official Communist movement. It is a reiod. namely, the organization of shop masses. But where are the masses in the would delight the heart of a Left social clothing industry today? Has there been ilection of the general turn in the tactics committees and the formation of the real democrat, or even an honest bourgeois united front from below to conduct strug a sudden change in their ideology or their of the noticeable in all fields and or pacifist of The Nation type, but which are gles for ecomonic conditions under the conditions that they have so cruelly disganizations under its control. The third repelling to a revolutionist who has learnappointed the bureaucrats? Surely, nothperiod ideology has given way under the leadership of the ed from Lenir: However, the work of drawing meming of the sort happened. Simply, they do stress of reality and forced the official The Soviet Union, Litvinov said, conbers into the new union and of organizing sidered the war danger indissolubly connot seem inclined to play the game of the party leadership not only to change policies the shop committees soon proved too dif Stalinist faction in the Communist movebut gradually to abandon terminology nected with capitalism but believed it pogand the talk about the third period itsible to minimize. the danger by real ficult for the weak forces of the Amalgam ment in the latest change of policies and sell.
ated Section and the confusion. disarmament, and therefore presented in the leadership.
But as with all the changes made by The tactics of working within the old the ranks of the Left wing and the broad two proposals, one of complete disarmaofficial leadership in the past, masses of the clothing workers condemned ment, and an alternative of partial. digunions that was given expression in the without a frank analysis and criticism of all their attempts to futility from the bearmament.
organization of the a few years the mistake made.
ginning Lenin, while not being so clever a ago was based on the conception of the Under such conditions it is difficult to statesman as Litvinov, not to speak of the The Left Wing at Low Ebb trade unions as organizations embracing believe that the Party membership will latter master, Stalin, was nevertheless The Left wing during its entire period the broad masses of the workers in a give learn anything from their latest experience content with replying to both of them in of existence in the has built iten industry. The conservative or reac with the third period policies and their advance: self a record of unprincipledness and in tionary character of a trade union was ex origin, and the official leadership will be The Kautskyan preaching of digcompetence through its false and confusplained by that very fact, because the given a new, lease of life to continue on armanent. which is addressed chiefly to ionist policies. Tus adventurist united workers as a mass are not class conscious their worn out zig zag path that has calised the present governments of the imperialfronts with Hillman in the years of its as yet. It was the duty of the Communi so much injury to the Communist and reistic great powers, is a vulgar piece of greatest infiuence in the New York organi ists, as the class conscionis vanguard, to volutionary movements. At any rate, this opportunism, of bourgeois pacifism, actuzation and later on with all sorts of car penetrate these mass organizatons and by will be the result unless a thorough analy ally caloulated in spite of the good ineerists who used the Left wing in order participation in their struggle, gain infly sis and a fundamental criticism is forced tentions of the gentle Kautskyans to diyto climb on its back to paid offices in the ence and leadership there. This tactic ac through in the ranks, ert the workers from the class struggle. has destroyed the confidence of For such a propaganda is calculated to the workers in it and their hope for a inspire the workers with the thought that change in their conditions. The activity the present bourgeois governments of the of the Left wing in the at the imperialistic powers are NOT bound by Those who hold the position that re this is no longer possible, capitalism retime of the organizaton of the Men Clotitthousands of threads of finance capital It ing Section of the was at its formism must develop in the United States sorts to open dictatorship (Fascism. and tens or hundreds of corresponding (i.
lowest ebb. The new section did not come are wrong. Trotsky pointed out that Am is most likely, too, that American capital e. predatory, greedy, preparatory to imism will try reform before using open dicas a result of the radicalization of the erica does not have to pass through a perperialistic agression) SECRET TREATIES clothing workers and as the culmination iod of reformism but this does not mean tatorship. In 1918, the German capitalists between themselves. The Disarmament of their struggle with the leaderAmerica will not. When conditions cause used the reformist parties and reformy to Cry, Sbornik Sozialdemokrata, December ship, but was merely an act of servility on a Left ward movement in America today their advantage against the workers but in 1916. the part of the third period bureaucrats both reform and revolution gain but the 1923 the material base for reforms in GerThe Stalinist presy, in this country as to the Stalinist apparatus. Indeed, the orratio depends to a large extent upon the many was lacking and instead of reforms clsewhere, grows positively purple with ganization of the Men Clothing Section tactics and strategy of the Communists. the workers were beaten down to a lower enthusiasm at the retty bourgeois conduct was rather belated. Had it not been for Most likely a period of reform will standard of living by a reform party withand policy of Litvinov Stalin. Lenin the Right wingers in charge of the develop but it will be distinguished from out reforms. Today the new instrument teachings on the reactionary utopian sloEuropean reformism because historical of fascism is being shaped to take the helm gan of disariament ender capitalism, conditions (decay of capitalism) will limit in place of the reform party, the social De have been entirely lost to the Stalinista.
Continued from Previous Page) it to a short duration Developing capital taocracy, which must be discarded to fight Like the petty bourgeois press, it helps to ever to those expelled to the Communist ism in the past could offer reforms through the workers and the Communist vanguard. foster the most dangerous pactist illusions workers in the Party ranks. Likewise, we pressure of the workers and the reformist In Russia in 1917 the breakdown of in the minds of the workers. In Notes can have nothing in common with the parties but in this period even American the economic system eliminated the mater on the Problems of Our Delegation at the standpoint of those who, instead of Hghting capitalism and its reformist parties have ial base for the reform party to carry out Hague o document also directed at estain the to safeguard its unity little of material value to offer the workits reforms yet the reformist parties ex blishing the Bolshevik conception of the and correct its course, yield to provocation ers. Decadent capitalism, internationally isted and thrived from February to Oct struggle against war Lenin writes: and run away from the fight against Mink, characterized by keener competition, inten ober. The reforniists without a material The press of the dominating class obJohnstone Co. to form an absolutely artil sified contradictions, mass production, ra base were doing a good job for capitalism. scures the issues by spreading lies about ficial organization which has neither a basis tionalization, organic unemployment disin They failed because of a Marxian party, it in vast numbers of coples against which in the class struggle nor any possibilities tegration of the skilled stratn, etc. are the the Bolsheviks, under the leadership of the weak socialist press is entirely powerfor extended life.
objective conditions which narrow the maLenin and Trotsky. Capitalist reforms as less, the more so that in the time of peace As far as the members of the Left Op terial base of social reformisto. But from a material concession in Russia had reachthey maintain a radically wrong attitude position and their collaborators are con this we cannot conclude, as the Stalinists ed an end with the breakdown of the systowards this very question. The Commun.
cerned, no provocation by bureaucrats can siyi soyi Sitas poped page. əq u op tem and these reforms could only be fulist press in the majority of countries also divert them from the course we mapped proves the fascization of reformism filled through a transformation (revolu disgraces itself.
out long ago. We will continue to fight socialist fascist and that the road in Am tion) with workers reforms under the The Stalinist conrse at Geneva, and on the platform of Communism. Any div erica is a sharp line of demarcation of Soviets. The fast tempo of the Russian rethe panekyrics of the Daily Worker do not ersion from this path plays the game of class against class. revolutionary up formists from February 10 October detract from, but rather emphasize, the the Minks, temporarily at least, for it con surges and the radicalization is a con a reflection of the fast tempo of social truth of these words, all of which, particusoiidates their position even if upon the tinuons Left ward swing.
changes, but nevertheless, the reformist larly the last sentence, are fresher today basis of a still narrower union. Their hold, Reform Parties and Reform parties played their role in spite of the than ever.
of course, remains a precarious one, for Reform parties and reforms are two death of the material base.
they will run their heads into the wall of different things. Reform parties growon When the objective conditions are fav their duration and even alter their quality.
their own miomanagement as before, arous. reforius but the former can outlive the orable and relorm wins, as in Germany in Since the objective conditions favor us, the ing the rank and file revolt which will latter just like antiquated structures of 1923, Great Britain 1925, and in the United battle between reform and revolution now strengthen the influence of revolution the past exist today and will be carried States today the lack of success on the primarily Tests upon a Marxian party of ary movement among the marine workers over in the future. Their growth and liv part of the workers falls on the shoulders dialectic revolutionists, not only to explain and weaken the hold of those who so sys ing force depends upon material conditions of the party which cails itself the vant correctly the conditions but to present the tematically cast shame and discredit upon but structures, customs and ideologies are guard, the Communist. Today, with ob programi, nnd the program of action to reour cause. This rank and file movement, used by reaction after the material con jective conditions so favorable, groater re inake them. connecting today activity with absorbing the lessons of the recent events ditions are swept away and before new sponsibility falls upon the shoulders of the our goal. The Cominunist can only be in the we will continue to sup conditions and new generations move on.
Communist Party and this means primarily equal to this task hy basing himselt upon port, and assist to a triumph that is equi When Capitalism can not rule as a on the left Opposition. We cannot skip the program of the Left Opposition and we valent to the victory of the revolutionary bourgeois republic it uses reform (Social necessary evolutionary steps toward revo of the Left must int sensify our activity cause over that of opportunist adventurism. ist, etc. as long as possible and when Jution but we can, as Marxists shorten and concretize our program. OEHLER.
Social Reformism in the United States