American Syndicalism and Problems of Communism Lovestone and Brandler The following is the introduction by By JAMES CANNON In such a moment as the present one comrade Cannon to the pamphlet coming. wbich is a time of preparation for the off the press this week by Leon Trotsky on ment were concentrated on the The In the ranks of the former members great days impending it is good to shake Communism and Syndicalism. Price 15 significance of the war time persecution conand sympathizers of the and to the advanced sections of the labor movement cents a copy, 10 cents in bundles.
sisted in the fact that it was led by the a lesser extent within the organization, are with discussion. And it is doubly fortunThe arguments brought forward in this Federal government, as distinguished from experienced militants who have not forgot ate if the discussion is precipitated by an pamphlet are devoted specifically to the pro the customary local persecutions arising out ten the old tradition, whose concepts do not objective Marxist analysis which, at the blems of the labor movement of France, of purely economic strikes. This persecu begin and end with the phobia against Com very beginning, lifts the fundamental questhe classic land of syndicalism. But deal tion had a national, political character, an munism. Their spirit is alien to the spirit tions to the high level of theoreticial coning as they do with such fundamental ques acknowledgment in itself that the of the Gahans and Sandgrens. They are sideration Such a service is rendered to tiong as the role of the revolutionary work was no more a trade union but a revolution sympathetic to the Russian revolution and the American movement by comrade Troters party, the state, the bureaucracy in Ary, and therefore a political force.
to Communism. Only they have no faith sky in the collection of articles which this the labor movement and trade union tactics The weak side of the move in the party. Their skepticism about the pamphlet comprises. We have no doubt in general, they have universal application.
ment, as of the syndicalist movement on American Communist party has had a certhat it will make its way and be the means This is particularly true of America, The an international scale, was its theoretical tain amount of justification, as we have of strengthening the current of Communism historical development of the revolutionary incompleteness. Because of its indifference always known. But, granting serious de in the resurgent labor movement of America.
labor movement in the United States has to revolutionary theory did not and could fects in the party, what is to be done about posed the question of syndicalism in its not pose the fundamental questions of the it? As we see the thing since we proceed This pamphlet is composed of a colspecific American form (the with revolution in their full implications and find from the point of view that a party cannot lection of articles written by comrade Trotespecial prominence. The task of assem the answer to them. As a consequence the be dispensed with one must either struggle sky at various times on the problems of bling the revolutionary elements in the movement contained a contradiction within to reform the party or, if he thinks it is the French labor movement. The first arworking class into a single body has been itself. There cannot be a really revolution. hopeless, form a new one. We, Opposi ticles were written in the early part of 1923 greatly hampered by theoretical confusion ary movement without a revolutionary tion, have taken the former course. The after Monatte, the leader of the revolutionon the issues which the author illuminates theory, as Lenin sald long ago. The con great mass of the radical workers who have ary syndicalists, and the group associated in these pages. Some of these losses are ditions of the war sharpened the class re lost faith in the dogmas of the with him had just entered the Communist irretrievable, for neither movements nor latlong to an extraordinary degree and ex without acquiring confidence in the party party of France. The two articles written their participants can stand on one spot. posed this contradiction with shattering have fallen into passivity. The post war toward the end of 1929 takes up the disDegeneration is the unfailing price for fail force. The negative attitude toward the prosperity, which depressed the entire la cussion again after the Intervening period ure to develop and advance. In the period state the ostrich policy Ignoring the bor movement to a low point, facilitated of more than six years a period which since the war we have seen not a little of state disarmed the movement when this this passive attitude. Nothing is happenMonatte had steadlly retreated to his old this degeneration in the camp of the class same state, the executive committee of ing Let us wait and see, became a sort position and consequently widened the conscious workers, and precisely for this the capitalist class and its special body of platform for many during this period.
chagm between him and the Communists.
reason. Much can yet be gained, however, of armed men was hurled against it. The People who had been concerned with the The following article, entitled Monatte by a clarification of the questions. This proletarian reaction against parliamentary problem of making a revolution turned to Crosses the Rubicon. written at the end pamphlet, sharp and clear in its reason reformism, developing into opposition to the problem of making a living while await of 1930 draws a balance to the discussion ing, so fortified in every line by the tested Politics and indifference to political ques ing further developments.
with the syndicalists who had crowned their theory of Marxism, can justly be called a tions in general, left the without TASKS OF MARXISTS reactionary trend by a bloc with Dumoulin.
timely and significant contribution to this a compass before the complicated problems Dumoulin is one of the prominent leaders work of clarification. For that reason we of war, problems which in their very esBut what now? The economic crisis is of the the reformist general labor believe it deserves the particular attention sence were political to the highest degree.
smashing all this calm routine. Class rela federation. Once a syndicalist of the Left. of the American revolutionaries.
The justifiable hostility to bourgeois and tions are being sharpened and all the con he betrayed the movement and took a leadditions are being created for a revival of reformist parties grew, as a result of loose ing part in the expulsion of the revolutionTHE AS REVOLUthe militant labor movement.
thought, into an opposition to the concept What path ary wing of the TIONARY MOVEMENT which resulted will this movement take and what part even of a proletarian revolutionary party.
in a split and the formation of a rival In the decade before the world war the This was the crowning theoretical error of will be played by those who consider themgeneral Federation in 1921. Now he is proletarian revolt against the parliamentary the movement of American syndicalism, or selves to be revolutionaries? This ques talking Left Again and this serves as reformism of the Socialist Party and the secindustrialism. It prevented the conscious tion calls for an answer. In any case it the cover for the passage of Monatte into tarian sterility and legalism of the Socialist organization of the proletarian can not be answered with a waiting, or the camp of reaction through the medium vanguard Labor Party found two main points of cryg.
into a single uniform body able to work out passive attitude. time of storm, and that of a bloc with him.
tallization. One of these was the Left the program of the revolution and strive for is what is before us, above all is a time The final article in the pamphlet deals wing in the The other was the its application with united force.
when nobody can stand aside; that is, no with stior Communist policy in the Both of these movements had elements body who doesn want to play the part of trade unions which are at present the subof a revolutionary party. The task of Com THE SHORTCOMINGS OF a reactionary. Revolutionary health re jeet of discussion in the French section of munism in America was to unite them into THE quires exercise.
the International Left Opposition.
a single revolutionary organization. To The experiences of the war and the the failure to understand this task, and Russian revolution disclosed the shortcomconsequently the failure to accomplish it ings of the as well as those of to any appreciable degree, we owe not a the Left wing in the The problems elucidated in the living experience of the The Revolutionary Age (No. 10. gives little of the weakness of the American Comwith Brandler and Thalheimer. The party munist movement. large share of the re Russian revolution became, as they remain 08 a brief summary of the international records will show that it was over the conference of the Right wing Opposition sponsibility for this belongs to the party it. to this very day, the touchstone for revprotests of both Bedacht and Foster that groupe recently held in Berlin. What acself. It could not see the revolutionary im olutionary organizations throughout te first resolution against Brandler ant the tually took place at this conference, its plications of the movement and world. The Marxist teachings on the state Thalheimer was adopted by the American political significance for the movement, and did not know how to mature and assimilate and on the role of the workers party as Political Committee. Furthermore it was them. But this fact does not absolve the the vanguard of the class, without which the future of the Right wing, we will still Bedacht who proposed in Moscow to comrevolutionary syndicalists from responsi the class cannot raise itself to power, re take occasion to elaborate upon in future rades Gitlow, Lovestone and Wolfe to es.
issues of the Militant. Here it is interest.
bility. They contributed more than a gen ceived brilliant and irrefutable confirmation tablish connections with Brandler and to erous measure of prejudice and dogmatism in the Bolshevik revolution.
ing to make a remark or two on an instruc Adjustment keep permanent representative in Berlin.
to the issue. If the party walked blind to these lessons taught by life could not tive phase of the Lovestone group parti This was instantly rejected by the comrades cipation folded the militants, for the greatbe evaded.
and it comes with bad grad from Bedacht er part, put stumbling blocks in its path.
In the failure to make this adjustment The leading spirits at the Right wing to try to ascribe his proposals to others.
conference were the heads of the opportunWhen he is making his confessionals, it In its essence the pre war was is written the whole story of the post war ist Brandler group in Germany. In his rewould be well for him to confess his own a variant of French syndicalism. Its dis degeneration of the The record pont, Lovestone refers to this and similar errors in place of ascribing them to others tinctive features were its centralized form of this entire period is a record of the groups in Europe as the healthy.
who did not share them. Emphasis in of organization and its indifference toward steady and systematic displacement of the forces marshallex under our banner in the original. the syndicalist theory of the role of the from its old position in the van militant minority.
guard of the struggle: of its transformadetermined struggle to bring back the world As to Bedacht. We have no special reaparty of Communism to the line and pol In its struggle against parliamentary retion into the antipode of its former rerson to doubt the charges made by Lovestone deles of Lenin. Other laudatory observaformism and legalism the intro olutionary self. Insofar as the upper and especially since Bedacht is spiritually closer alons on the pristine Bolshevik purity of oftieial stratum of the organization is conduced and popularized a number of ideas to the solid social democratic school of cerned the keynote of anti capitalism soundthe Brandler group hare been published in and practices of a decidedly progressive Brandler than would appear on the sured in the best days has been transformed the Right wing paper for some time now.
and revolutionary character, ideas which face today. But what about Lorestone?
retain their validity todas. Its emphasis into anti Communism. Out of a militant Exactly on what date Lovestone dis What feats have Brandler and Thalheimer direct action on was an anticipation, body of revolutionaries they strive make covered the virtues of the Brandler group performed since the above was written to incomplete it is true, of ospectally the fantastie idea that they were the Bolshevik reactionary sect.
cause such a violent somersault in political fighting for Leninism it is difficult to say. position on Lovestone part? The answer principle which puts the mass action of the No politics and no party. these are All that written records can establish is workers above parliamentary activity. Its the formulae under which this degeneration is not far to seek: just as water finally finds that Lovestone since 1924, fulminated its level, so the Lovestones, for all their advocacy of industrial as against craft unhas proceeded. And together with them has against the Brandler gronp as a hopelessly ionism prepared the way for modern or gone the slogan of no leaders that slogan temporary diversions into other streams, oppontunistie, Right wing faction. To a cerganization of the workers. Another pro of demagogues who themselves aspire to 13 ally find their Prandlers and the Brandtain extent, the Lovestone group in the gressive fenture was the emphasis the leadership without qualifications. As hus iers find their Lovestones. placed on the unskilled the most party built its reputation as been remarked before, the leadership of the fully blown Leninist of the Stalin Zinoviev Bucharin What is particularly instructive here deprived and exploited, the most numerous Communist party contributed to the tragic era, upon its attacks on Brandler and Thal.
is the method of the Right wing an inherand potentially the most revolutionary sec failure to build the new Communist move heimer In fact, one of its main cards ent characteristic of their whole political tion of the working class. From its first ment in part on the foundations of the course. Lorestone pulled a number of convention onward it declared solidarity against the party minority in those days militant Intellectualism, condewith the Negro and welcomed him into its Communist workers out of the party under scension, the control and command sickwas an open or veiled accusation that it was somehow or other connected up with a barrage of attack upon Brandler. He tanks. The members of the went negg, played here, as always, an evil role.
Brandler.
never unfolded to them his opportunist through a number of historic class battles It is necessary to tnderstand this and to platform in full, that is, he mply adopted and displayed unexampled militancy and say it plainly. But an understanding and Less than two years ago on the ere the classic method of every opportunist sacrifice. Solidarity with all struggling acknowledgment of this fact cannot undo of his expulsion from the party and directly misleader. Little by little, with a measure workers everywhere and an unceasing em the past. We must start from where we afterwards. Lovestone still sailed under the of skill, no doubt, he led them imperceptibly ng of anti Brandlerism. Startling as it phasis on the revolutionary goal of the are. If we bear in mind the mistakes of into the camp of Brandler.
Substitute struggle were central features in all of its the past in order to avoid them in the fumay seem today, one of Lovestone main fuste for Brandler and you get the activity ture something can yet be done of positive points against those his group who had same result: for he ro:red against Itiste, These aspects of the were its value for the revolution. It is not too late turned against him (Bedacht) was that the the social refor latter had been entertaining ideas of conhe left the party strong, progressive and revolutionary side. even now to make a place for those syndiwith a fury excelled only by the softness That it represented, as did revolutionary calist workers who are imbued with a necting with Brandler. something which with which he casts a coy and desirous eye syndicalism in general, a step forward from hatred of capitalism and the will to strugLovestone of course, indignantly rejected.
in the direction of Muste, the honorable parliamentary socialism was acknowledged gle against it and there are many of them Here is what he wrote in his Appeal to progressive today. Lovestone could never the Comintern issued to the party: by the theses of the second congress of the. under the Communist banner. It is quite have hoped to get even the support he da Communist International. That it occupied true that the official party leadership is We do not believe that the Commun get in the party, by presenting his real place in the vanguard of the American unable to do this, as it is unable to solve ist International will be fooled by the platform in advance and he knew it. And working class was attested by the fierce any of the problems of Communism. All fraudulent so. accusation of Bedacht he has not yet presented it in full. The persecution launched against it. Particularly the greater, therefore, is the responsibility against comrades Gitlow. Lovestone, Wolfe, depths of the swamp at which he will come during the war the attacks of the govern of the Opposition.
that they proposed to establish relations to rest have not yet been reached.