THE YOUNG VANGUARD Appeal to the League Convention one Comrades! The Sixth Convention of the of industrialization, especially in heavy in.
Young Communist League of the dustry, of the country; to collectivize agrimeets at a time when the gap between the culture on the basis of industrial progress, rich opportunities for Communist advance so as to bring the peasants nearer to socialand the isolation of the party and League ism. This internal policy was based on the is especially wide. This fact requires a perspective of the development of the prothorough explanation and therefore a thor letarian revolution in the highly developed ough examination by all young Communists capitalist countries, the victory of which and by this convention.
would bring immeasurably closer a radical The present leadership has shown itself solution of the contradiction inherent in incapable of giving such an analysis. Its an isolated workers state.
theoretical ignorance and immaturity, its The Right Center bloc (Bucharinlack of independence, its origin appointStalin 1925 28. on the basis of the theory ment by party bureaucrats disqualifies it of socialism in one country which they defrom the careful and objective study neceg veloped jointly left the path of Lenin sary, and which alone can form the premise with his support on the agricultural workof the growth of the er and the poor peasantry, and instead hased itself on the middle peasant and Why the gap? Why has the party and yielded to the kulak. At the same time especially the mdae no real progress?
the policies led to a tremendous growth of To begin with, an understanding is necth party and state bureaucracy, that is, of a caste of officials who have become essary of the reasons for the expulsion of accustomed to routine and peaceful functhe supporters of the Left Opposition from tioning and, living a life separate and apart the American League and Party since the latter part of 1928.
from the party members and Russian workWhen leading comrades of the party ers, seek to raise themselves above the asked for a discussion of the questions classes. This not only weakens the proletarian state but threatens its very existwhich were threatening the very foundaence.
tions and life of the Russian party and Under pressure of events (for examthe Comintern, the policies pursued in the ple, the kulak grain strike of Feb. 1928. Soviet Union, China, England and elsewhere by the Communist International, and and the proletarian element of the party, expressed their solidarity with the views the Left Opposition the bloc with the Right, who believed in the possibility of the of the Russian Left Opposition led by comkula. peacefully developing into socialism. rade Leon Trotsky, they were summarily was broken, and a course to the Left was expelled. This made any thorough and honbegun. However, the Stalinists regime is est discussion of these vital matters imincapable of a genuine Left policy. Instead possible. The leadership of the American it led the country into ultra Left adventurparty, at that time Lovestone and Foster, ism which threatened the alliance between used the methods of Stalinist buerauthe proletariat and the peasantry as well crats in suppressing documents (in Russia as to throw the country into a serious Lenin Last Testament, Lenin speech crisis. The course away from the ultraAgainst Stalin on the national question Left was commenced with the change of minutes of the April 1917 meeting of the Central Committee of the Russian party, front on the complete collectivization in two years policy. The mass admissions in the statements and theses of the Russian to the party which has virtually liquidated Left Opposition on the Russian and the it, the inactivity of the proletariat, the aboChinese questions, Anglo Russian Commitlition of factory committees, the growth of tee. Groups of party and League functhe party and state bureaneracy, the antitionaries were sent to slug the comrades of proletarian foreign policy (Kellogg Pact our group. Raids were made on our headLitvinov speeches. very sharply pose the quarters where wholesale burglary took place. This prompted many rank and file members of the party and League to ask for a discussion of the issues involved, and to protest against these anti Communist actions. Such comrades were immediately (Continued from page 1)
expelled. It is no accident that the directgreat deal upon the support of the stronging force in our expulsion was the Love est Latin section in the Comintern the stone group. This faction, which repreFrench Communist Party. However, the sents most consistently the opportunist bureaucratic spirit and the Stalinist degentendency in the Communist movement, is eration which prevails at the present time the most logical antagonist of the Left throughout the Comintern, are driving the Nor is it by chance that the most ardent French to turn its back upon the and violent organizer of the hooligan squads Spanish Communist movement which, as a employed against us, Bert Miller, is now result of an intolerable regime of a few to be found in the ranks of social reform loyalities in the Comintern apparatus, is ism, the Muste movement.
developing outside the ranks of the official Against Class Collaboration Policies What are the views, the support of The organ of the Humanite, which has led to the expulsion of many published the notice of the arrest of the tried revolutionists in every important Communist group in the International SalCommunist party in orld?
oon without comment all the bourFollowing the defeat of the German and geols papers. Since then, it has shown no Bulgarian proletariat in 1923, the revolu interest in the fate the arrested comtionary movement in the West experienced rades. Why? Because these Communists are a decided setback. Gradually the feeling not loyalites. are not 100 percent Stalset in among the leaders of the Russian inists. It matters little to the bureaucrats party and Comintern, that the proletarian that the whole party is behind these comrevolution in the West, WHICH LENIN rades, that the workers follow them in the AND THE BOLSHEVIK PARTY HAD trade unions, that the republican socialist COUNTED UPON TO AID THE RUSSIAN government persecutes them: they are inREVOLUTION, was postponed for decades. scribed in the archives of the Comintern This essentially pessimistic and false view expelled. That is enough for the led to the theory of the ability of the Sor zealous bureaucrats of the not to ieti Union, by its own inner forces, to lend the slightest attention to these herecounstruct an isolated socialist economy tics. Now what does their heresy consist within its national borders. That is that of? Let us recall it briefly again to our Russia, after few years, could separate renders.
itself completely from the international market and live in a self sufficient, national The Crime of the Expelled socialist economy. This reactionary and The whole Madrid organization, as a utopian theory leads to the policy of class Woc, as well as the Catalonian Balearic collaboration inside the Soviet Union as Federation, has refused to follow the Exwell as outside of it.
ecutive Committee of the Communist Party In the Soviet Union, the party was con of Spain in its splitting adventure in the fronted with the question of strengthen National Confederation of Labor. The Exing the proletarian state and the socialist ecutive Committee has succeeded only in sector of economy, in a country with an Seville where it was able, thanks to the overwhelming peasant population and in the entirely personal influence of Manuel midst of a capitalist encirclement.
Adame, to create a trade union movement The policy of the Left Opposition led under its leadership. In Madrid, every by comrade Trotsky signified a definite con where else, the Executive Committee was tinuation of the policy of Lenin: the state not even followed by the ranks of the power of the working class to base itself The whole organization was then in the village on the agricultural worker, expelled. It is this organization (Agrupacand poor pertsant, form an alliance with the Ion Communista de Madrid) which now middle peasantry and to carry on a class leads a few trade union organizations and fight against the kulaks, the exploiters of which always places itself in the forefront the village, the course for a rapid increase of the revolutionary struggles of the Madrid The Spanish Bourgeoisie Gets into Action serious dangers of the degeneration of the substantial movement against the withSoviet State.
drawal of mailing privileges for the Young The theory of socialism in one coun Worker. This is to be explained by the try and its logical conclusion of class colla fact that the Young Worker has no influboration, led to the defeat of the revolu ence among the working youth, by its ex.
tion in China 1925 1927, and the stultify tremely poor contents, as well as by the ing of the tremendous possibility for growth abandonment of the united front tactic by of the of England in 1925 1927. the League leadership.
In China, the leaders of the Comintern, The special youth activities and youth in order to extend the so called pro soviet demands were practically abandoned, as front (for Chiang Kai Shek was supposed evinced by the elections of last year and to anti imperialist, pro soviet. the work the unemployment campaign. The ers and peasants were subordinated to the became more and more only a junior apcapitalist bourgeoisie, and their agents pendage of the party Such phases of activwere supported. England because of the ities as opponents youth work have either 90 called pro Soviet character of the Anglocompletely disappeared or are carried on Russian Committee and the British trade spontaneously The tactic of the united union fakers, Purcell, Hicks, etc. the Stalinfront was discarded as a relie of a preBucharin bloc supported it even after their vious period. Recently (and correctly) it betrayal of the British General Strike. This has been revived in connection with tbe harnessed the big move to the Left coninviting of the to the National siderably.
Youth Day Conference in New York. But The and the Commurlist Youth this has been done without explanation and Leagues are politically subordinate to the in complete contradiction to everything Comintern and the Communist parties. This that has been said in the last two years.
political guidance and leadership by the There has been no stable and compeparty should be maintained through a party tent leadership. Changes have been very cadre in the League, correct policies, and frequent with the purpose of concealing the through discussion in the League of party real nature of the crisis. Arbitrary appolicies. Only by understanding the tactics pointments and removals by the party burand policies can the youth be expected to eaucrats have only plowed the ground for carry them out.
careerism. In addition to big losses of The Situntion in the members the turn over has been whirlingly In the United States, the Young Comrapid, revealing the emptiness of the munist League has been unavoidably inLeague inner life. The ideological level volved in these processes with disastrous has never been so low, and the educational consequences. The period since the last work has never been so poor and scarce.
convention, two years ago, has been marked The right to question the correctness of by the ultra Left zig zag, the adventurism party decisions has been denied, thus crushof the third period which is now silenting the possibility of independent thought ly sneaking into oblivion. The sectarian and theoretical growth.
policies have resulted in an enormous deThe pre convention discussion thus far crease in membership in complete isolation has been of an extremely superficial charfrom the proletarian youth, loss of what little influence it had in the past. The acacter, as is to be seen from the contributions in the Daily Worker. It has not risen tivity of the League in the past two years above the level of a unit discussion on is symbolized by the stupid and innumerable shock plans which set fantastic and some technical problem or other. From reading the articles no one would suspect unrealizable aims altogether out of prothat the is afflicted with a poliportion to the realities of the situation, and tical and organizational crisis. No which always end in miserable failures.
The League has failed to arouse any dares to make a true analysis of the conditions of the League or to discuss its problems from a political point of view. It is for the purpose of radically changing this stagnant situation, of elevating the discussion to a Communist plane, of arousproletariat. Is it Trotskyist. Does it ing every young Communist to a realization adhere to the Left Opposition? No! But of what confronts him that we address ourthe Agrupacion, rid of the bureaucratic ap selves to the convention. But we paratus of the Comintern, permite Com cannot be satisfied with this alone We munist discussion and the collaboration of want the right to participate in the strugthe Leninist Opposition within its ranks. gles of the young workers together with It conceives of workers democracy as Lenin the members of the Young Communist conceived of it in the Bolshevik party and League. We want united action of the in the There is its whole erime. and the youth of the Left Opposition.
It also seeks, on the basis of democracy, to We demand to know why the petty bourunity all the scattered Communist forces geois P. can be invited to a conto create a solid Communist party, The ference called by the and the Spanish Left Opposition, conscious of the same right is not extended to the Commungreat importance of a unified party in ist youth of the Communist League of Amthe present revolutionary situation, is help erica (Opposition. ing the Agrupacion de Madrid with all its We call upon the Communist youth strength in the work of gathering up and once again to unfurl the banner of Maryunifying the Communist forces.
ism and to struggle in the front ranks It is the Comintern and its bureaucrats against opportunism.
who are the only obstacle at the present We call upon the young Communists to moment to the creation of a solid Commun demand the reinstatement of the expelled ist Party of Spain. This is a truth which Left Oppositionists into the League, the the Spanish Communists observe today with Party, and the Comintern.
considerable bitterness. As for us, it is Forward to the revolutionary unity of not surprising: it is the consequence of the the ranks of Communism. Stalinist degeneration of our Communist National Youth Committee International.
Communist League of America (Opposition)
The Left Opposition in every country considers as its greatest duty the support of the Spanish Communists persecuted by the bourgeois republic. campaign of sympathy and financial aid must be organized without delay. The International Red Aid International Labor Defense) must organize the defense of all the persecuted Spanish revolutionists, regardless of whether or Official Orgn of the Communist not they are partisans of the Executive League of America (Opposition)
Committee of Madrid.
Whoever does not understand these ele mentary duties of international solidarity The Militant is indispensable for an is a traitor to the nascent revolution of understanding of the problems and develthe Spanish proletariat!
opments of the labor and revolutionary May 22, 1931 MILL.
movements in this and other countries. It presents, through the regular contributions by Leon Trotsky and other spokesmen of WATCH YOUR SUBSCRIPTION NUMBER! the International Left Opposition, an invaluable aid towards clarifying the posiThis issue of The Militant is No.
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