Comrade Trotsky Letter to the Weisbord Group English Opposition Expelled from Party up Unemployed Activity in Retrospect, does not motivate with figures or reason munism, which is to say, to united fronts around its program emphasies the cor branch. He to the list with a total of SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1982 TIE MILITANT PAGES Opposition and the with its actual obvious centrist leadership one cannot even speak. The progressive Comrade Welshord We are publishing herewith a letter for its Ideas and methods it has purified le vers glad if your trip here and ourism against the leadership of the covered only by our implacable critic Your organization on its own initiative by comrade Trotsky to comrade Weis. its ranks of foreign elements. The in discussion will contribute to the going has delegated you to get an exchange of bord, which was written as a conclu.
ternational conference can and must over of your group to the camp of the and also against the old Brandlersion to discussions held between them.
ites who are under it and who play with views on questions which separate you start from the ideological work already Bolshevik Leninists. Continued from page 1)
in the a manifestly reactionare ter part of 1981. We hold that wrong from the American League which is the In subsequent issues we will publish accomplished and to fortify its results May 22, 1932. TROTSKY section of the International Opposition the answer of comrade Weisbord to role.
and to systematize them. To enter on this letter and a statement by our (Bolshevik Leninists. In the course of the road which was proposed by your We cannot put your Postscript to the Letter to Comrade American Left party polley and bureaucracy in the several talks you have explained the op National Committee in regard to this group would mean to make a cross over Weisbord Socialists at all on the same plane eren party are responsible for its unsatisfac.
Infons of your organization over the answer. Ed.
the past and to return to the state of For the sake of better clarity wish with the Centrist leaders of the , tory position.
who at least have broken with the Social. Answer to Threat of Expulsion tundamental litigious questions, You original chaos. Of that we cannot even to add some remarks: Unless we give up our point of view, correct polley of the have proposed that put down in writ.
Deak If speak about the inadmiesabil Democracy. By a ing my conclusions from the talks which ner, that is to say, upon the basis of we have had. In the following lines articipation in all the life of the procal sum of vacillating groups but an in Lovestone group or the Brandterites in disintegration, could become a precious we joined the Party belleving it to be The Lett Opposition is not a mechani ity of direct or indirect support of the Communist Party, the before its we are threatened with expulsion. But shall try to do this without pretending Letariat, am not able to adunt that ternational fraction created on the general do not wish at all to my auxiliary Instrument for the decomposi the only party for the workers, we stin tion of Social Democracy As for the think this. and we shall hold both to in any way to exhaust the questions anyone of the leaders or of the members granite basis of the principles of Marx that, that these elements could not, under American Left Socialists we do not have our point of view and to the party. We maised by you.
of the American League dentes this prin 1m. rapprochement and fusion any circumstances, find for themselves clple. The question reduces itself to with the International Left Opposition is place in the Communist ranks.
On the the least reason to distinguish them shall not be harassed, as was Murphy, most important the question of am inclined to consider as the creat extent to the real possibility to not able to be obtained through organi contrary under a healthy regime of thel from Hillquit that is to say, to see in Into deserting the party. We shall work the Labor Party. llere it is a question of which pertains also natural capelty, in xational manipulations or through adren Comintern the majority of the Brandler: them anything else than agents of the to win the membership to our point of view. Expulsions and liquidations will turlitle combinations la Landau. ites would have executed, without doubt, bourgeoisie in the working class.
fan revolution. Every lack of clarity Let us admit. for a minute that the was elad to hear from you that your this or that useful work. One of the In the question of the Labor Party Weston Aght within the partye tror ere or ambiguity on that question 19 pern.
common with pernicious consequences of the Stalinist you refer to the decision of the Fourth instatement, we shall appeal to the cen.
Iclous. The ideas developed by you for sility in muss work. am ready to ad. Landau his methods. Precisely for bureaucracy consists in this that it is congress. The Left Opposition stands tral Committee to the party Congress, of the slogan Labor mit that able in this reason it is necessary to renounce compelled by each new empiric zig zas, entirely on the basis of the decisions of to the Comintern. Meanwhile, we shali document which have given you. Here Anrican League. But mass work must ing the International Lett Opposition into out of the party its allies of yesterday. es the decisions of principles and pro icisms and principles at Koah Ark. It is necessary to choose Zinoriev and Kamener represent high rum from tactical and episodie deci this aren keepen working for comin deem It necessary to add only several and method. Ontil the time that, in another road less precipitate but more ty qualified elements. Under the regime sions. The decisions of the Fourth Con munism and for the party side my side words.
a number of fundamental questions serious and certain.
On the question of the Labor Parts tecessary unanimity will be attained Before everything you must keep clear sible work in spite of their insufficiency tactical hypothesis. After that the hypoor Lenin they accomplished very responsress on that question could be only a with all other party members.
your organization is very near to the disputes on mass work will inevitabls us in mind that the road to the Inter which was well understood by Lenin. thesis was submitted to a slantic test vote and keep quiet, we want to play We do not want to return in order to position of Lorestone which is notorious icmain lifeless.
ly opportunistic. The Lovestone group is consistent in its denial of the inde yeur TOUD eclectie. By this do not, not exist. Unification with the Ameri same thing can be said of Bucbarir, and we consiste precisely in that you ignore rolicy. agninst bureaucracy, and for the Above. have called the position of the American League: a second rond does and Kimenet to political dente souse, from that test. The fault of your car part in the struggle acalust wrong pendent historie role of the Communist wish it all to express any condemnation can League is possible only on the basis many others. The ideological and nidral the work of the Left Opposition in this work for the revolution. Only by strugcorrect policy essential for Communist Party. That group approves up to today as a whole which burs the possibility of of unity or principles and methods which decomposition of Radek is witness not fundamental question.
the policy of the Comintern in regard to a future rapprochement. The question is must be formulated theoretically gle can the party be changed from the Kuo Min lang and the British Trade to also decided dynamically.
and only of the fact that Radek is not made The same thing applies to the quesnaper distributing phrase mouthing. re You verified by experience.
Unions, that is to say, the capitulation in must opus, clearly and attentively re The best thing would be, in my opin fact that the Stalinist regime can rely But the task does not consist to refer vigorous section of the International, of first class material but also of the son of Centrism. You refer to Lenin. solution passing machine, into a live and principle of Communism in the one case e your bagguge so as to take care to ion, if you wonld devote coming issue only upon impersonal chinovniks or mor to this or that quotation from Lenin we want to help with this job. We ask before the bourgeoiste and in the other uncover by that not only your manifest of your organ to a critical revision of ally decomposed individuals.
which is concerned with other times and you, comrades, to demand our re instateense before the lieutenants of the bour political faults but also the historical and your ideological baggage, especially in However, it is necessary to take facts other conditions, but to use correctly the ment as a group.
geolsle within the working class.
principled roots of these faults. have regard to the litigious questions. Only the as they are in reality. The Brandler. method of Lenin. In Lenin you do not Your group, as far as know, con reacted with such warm praise to the character of this revision (before all na ites chased out of the Comintern, and find, naturally, anything about bureauWe are, comrades, yours fraternally, demus the politics of the Stalinists he thesis of the Second Conference of the turally its content but particularly also their worst section (the Lorestone group) cratie Centrism because the China and in Great Britain but at the Americal League on the Labor Stalinist THE BALHAM GROUP same time it accepts the slogan of the because in this thesis there was Party its form) can demonstrate just to what have proved themselves condemned to fraction was formed politically after the Steve Dowdall 11 years membership Labor Party. That is to say: In taking not only a correct position in the essence of unification are really ripe.
taken degree the practical steps on the side political degeneration. Their ideological death of Lepin. In the struggle with Jim Barrett or trying to take a Marxist position to of the question but also there was given the most important extracts of your not and cannot have As an independent position grew. Also in this question, yon Crores wards the past events in other coup an open and courageous criticism of its article could be printed in the Interna grond they are capable only of bringing ignore its critical activity. Chaleroft months tries you take an opportunist position own past. Only in this way can a revtional Bulletin az information material confusion and decomposition.
The do not wish to say at all that Mi towards the future of your own coun. Olntionary tendency assure itself serious. Naturally the question will be decided by soonor they will be liquidated the bet your group defended in the past the unC. Whiting try. believe that without a radical rely against a relapse.
Harry Wicks the American League. But all our sec. ter. Which part of them will be transworthy methods of the Landan group.
11 years membership vision of your position in the centrall. Your group has raised the tions will want to be informed. Not one formed by this into Stalinist chinoridh However, you are in error in thinking lienry Suru question of the party an effective rap slogan of an international conference of them will demand concession in prin. and which into Social Democrats is that this question is an interal question Reg. Groves prochement between your organization with the participation of all the orciple from the American League. But matter of indifference Dowdall of the Left Opposition. The Left Opand the International Left Oppositino sanizations and groups who count them however all of them will cooperate com The remark made above that the prition does not have and cannot have Simmonds month cannot be affected.
selves with the Left. This was presents pletely in the cause of a rapprochement. elements are more progressive anything in common with the Landau Pyne present the definition accepted by us of International Left Opposition does not basis of principle will be confirmed. Your group has rejected up to the itself to me to be false to the roots. The and fusion if the existence of a common than the Brandlerites must in no case be group nor with those who support that the international Stalinist action as exist for the first day, submitted to an enlarged interpretation group, In the struggle) It is not necessary to say that shall About a political bloc between the Left May 24, 1932.
Bureaucratic Ceutriem. You start out TROTSKY MILITANT BUILDERS from the view that one can give the name Centrum only to those groupinga which occupy the place between the of.
the movement the united fronts which, aver, did not make it incorect. Today the program projects must become united it is as correct as it was when issued.
Well, the August contest is over. At telal camp of reformism (Social Dem.
fronts of workers sympathetic to Coin. The party failure to build a movement the head of the staff stands a new name ocracy) and the official camp of Com comrade Weber of the New York munism. Under this purely formalist. Continued from last issue)
schematic, undialectical conception of the rectness of our program in a negative four dollars in subs. To him goes, very We do not mean to create the impres. any more than did the et all. More than this. because centrism is hidden in fact a lack of clarion that it is incorrect to fight for these pered trade relations with the Soviet ployed workers for the most part, are! The class struggle will yet force the reluctantly, the Eastman biograpby of solution, and recognition and unham movement orientation on relief unem sense.
ity of the political position of your own demands wherever they are issues. But comrade Trotsky.
Close behind him was a Minneapolis difference between the official party, the these demands the larger objectives of the dressing. They are not explained in the fronts will be, are composed of unem. not wait while unparalleled opportunities Toure oberture concerned to face the by an almost exclusive concentration on Unlo. But they are present as window drawn into the movement and the united adoption of our program. But we can Right traction (Lovestone group morenent are lost sight of and these text of the program, nor is their con ployed workers sympathetic to Commun. are being wasted by the stalinists. It standby, comrade II. Schwartz; and close and even the demands do not become steps leading to nection with the fight for relle estab. ism. The united front which beghus so is time now to make a step forward.
er happily in the program can, in practice, The party should adopt our program who usually score bullseyes in these conmakes it easy for you to remain in anward the development of class conscious. Tished. They do not outweigh the turn out to be nothing more than an now. It should begin by opening up a tests. The start record tells the story: eclectie position and defend your rightness and the raining of the struggle to cessive welcht laid on the fight for relief Weber other parts auxiliary good for useful discussion in its ranks on the entire of a bloc with the Lorestone group.
II. Schwartz a higher plane, but ends in theinsel vor as an end in itself.
That the Lovestone group does not re They become reformist, opportunist deThe result is that no basis is establisb. work in demonstrations, etc.
question of unemployment and the fight 1 A. Weaver What remains is another milestone on for relief. The discussion should be present a purely reformist organization mands. And they sow confusion in the ed by the program for drawing into the Wynne is incontestable, but the question is in minds of the workers by wiping out the movement the Socialist and of the road to the opportunist swamp. The free. Party members seriously interest Hashow its tendency and political orbit.
used in learning from the Party failures The 31. Abern essential differences between the revolu. workers without whom no brond more program in practise cannot bring Lovestone group represents a variety of tonary Communist program, and the ment can be built. And, consequently, closer to our revolutionay goal. It and in building a movement for relief Sacharow Erlent comme unentrem Woche evolving Socialist and other reformist programs. no directives are issued by the program Leads in another direction. It will not should raise their voices for such a disJ. Keller Coodman The German Socialist Labor Party (8. This can best be seen from the text fram thus makes the same blunder made through struggle because the struggle the Lett Opposition be given an opporJ. Edwards which broke from the Social Dem recognition of the fact that those who by the u. resolution of last which it will conduct is conducting, tunity to participate in the discussion Cowl ocracy, contains a more progressive ten lown and control the wealth and govem. October. It is forced to present the two based on reformist premises. The pro and defend its program Schulman dency than the Brandierites although ac programmatic Rt. Karsner ment are willing to allow millions to movements as separate, and it is forced gram attempts to put a cording to the theoretical formulae the suffer hunger and want in order that to pose the question of uniting the two seal on the right to opportunismit conR. Ruskin last are apparently nearer to us. Static their great wealth shall not be drawn on movements. Its solutions are a repeti. summates the turn initiated by Browder Schlossberg ally, the Lovestone group, the German for relief. Emphasis in the original. tion of the solutions of the Last year. It is the second step back Pioneer Publishers Notes The record by branches finds New Brandlerites as well as the re The Unemployed Councils are the organ resolution which have been tested by Ward.
York away out in front with 15 2 dolOne Step Forward present varieties of Right wing Centrism. for the determined, uncompromising time and found to be no solutions at all.
LITERATURE RUNNING OUT lars in subs. In second place, displacing But dynamically one is different from the struggle against all who are responsible In short the program does not advance Against this opportunist course the We want to sound a serious note of Minneapolis, comes Chicago other and it is the dynamics which de for and all who assist in imposing upon us a single inch toward building one Opposition has repeatedly warned.
New York It warning to all our propagandists and 15 2 cides.
the workers the miseries that result from united movement of employed and unem has done more than that. It has offered comrades. For some time we have, all of Chicago Certainly, in a number of partial mass unemployment. Again: a program in place of the ideological us, been speaking of a wave of member Minneapolis 1 questions, the Lorestone group has taken effort to safeguard the masses from the But it does narrow the chasm separat mess of porridge the Stalinists have ship coming over to us from the inevit.
Philadelphia a position more correct than the official effects of unemployment the Unemploying the Communist relief program from served up in its Open Letter to the alle smash up of Stalinism. As one of Cleveland party but to conclude a bloc with the ment Councils organize and conduct the the Wobbly charity begging schemes of GPUSA, issued early in 1931, the results of this ware of membership Iloston Lovestone group would mean to augment daily struggle and the Socialist reformist program it emumerated six basic points of awe anticipated a tremendous demand on Miscellaneous 1 general authority by that to help It is in keeping that such theoretical dressed up in militant phrases. In this Marxist program upon which to build a wave very In a week or so we will be back at stoto fulanitx renctionary historic mis opportunistit should stand its counterpart sense the program becomes not an in. Nighting working class movement for rearfinitely on the horizon. Sipashort you comrades with a brand new idea. It shall not stop here to go into more in the schema of fighting methods. Un. class consciousness, but a vehicle of contime it will break and surge up to the will put all of you on your toes and der the heading How to Formulate and have you up early and It predicated it program on the ab. shore, details on the question of centrism.
getting subs.
permit myself to refer you to my last Fight for immediate Demands, there is solutely correct assumption that the But as it often happens in life and while you are waiting breathlessly for to be found the following axiom of op This narrow conception of the upem Aght for rellef must be a general class the class struggle, a secondary, so to our announcement suppose you run brochure which will soon appear in Am nortunism: It should be obvions that if ployed movement is thus, of necessity fight embracing both employed and un peak, and component part of the process around and get new bundles orders. It erlen (What Next. It indicates they Withont clarity in this most essential we constantly appear in a given rellet carried over to the organizational forme employed workers. It rested its program precedes the primary process itself. We is only a thin trickle question in my opinion a rapprochement agency to dispute over the contents of worked out for the movement. The un on the obvious truth for Marxists are speaking of the order in time. That are coming in of their own record. But between your fraction and the Interna every basket the authorities will soon employed committee is established by the that, for revolutionists, a relief program is what is happening with our literature that if you go after them you can do it.
From Kansas City comrade Buehler Left Opposition cannot be find it more convenient and safer to program as the basic form of unemployed had to be linked up with the final ror. The demand is shooting up like a very achieved.
grant the demand for cash relief or more movement. This is defined as an elected Olutionary goal as a step toward that light. It is a source of no little gratifica writes very, very encouragingly Farm. Your criticism of the American adequate relief as the case may be. body to which is eligible any worker Boul. As its third major premise it detion to us. But it is making great in. ers from Nebraska and Texas come and hunt us up now. Trotsky seems to be Teague starts to considerable degree (Emphasis in the original. regardless of any other opinion or clared that the slogans of today had to roads on our stocks of literature.
from wrong premises (the most importWhat working class content do these amintion who agrees with the program prepare the morement for tomorrow and Orders are pouring in from every cor their favorite. Even cloth bound books ant of which are given above. At the formulations and methods have? What adopted in the meeting (of workers) act as a bridge.
ner of the globe. Our stocks are dropping are in more demand now. Enclosed find same time you give to your criticism aj Is there in them to which a well mean where the election takes place. On this basis it placed in the fore Whoever is lacking a copy of this or check. That the language to talk immediate, exagerated and ing. Christian clergyman cannot sub. There unemployed committees are groups front of its program the slogans of the that work by comrade Trotsky had bet Farmers, workers, everybody wants to embittered that it forces us to see in you seribe? Have the Stalinist authors of of from three to fifteen workers who six hour day, five day week with no re ter order it at once. Whoever is busy rend The Milltant. Let give it to them.
an Ideological nuance not in the camp the program, like the Socialist Party, for have been elected by a body of workers duction in pay: unemployment insuranon propagandizing workers hnd better Iny After the suls! Get bundle orders!
of the International Left Opposition but gotten the class struggle? Who are the fanyl en place. The commit at the expense of the capitalist class and in a supply now before some of the titles REVOLUTIONARY LESSONS AND of its adversaries it not of its enemies. all who are responsible for mass unter elect delegates to a larger territorial its government and long term, large are unavailable.
Upon the bases of criteria which are employment? This is degeneration to Unemployed Council scale credits to the Soviet Union. It The great interest in our literature WHITHER ENGLAND partly false, partly Insuficient and arbi uberalism. It makes of the occasional This formulation seems to The first of these two works by comestablish called for a fighting movement around can be seen in part from what comrade trary, you deny, as have said, the ex. militant phraseology of the programa the basis of a united front. But it 18these centr slogans and stated that Buehler writes from Kansas City. It rades Lenin and Trotsky is out. We have istence of differences in principle between ghastly masquerade.
only an appearance. There are some such a movement could be built only on is quoted in The Militant Builders Column on more But we still have a few of the American League, the lovestone. It is true that the program lists group and the official party. With this basic demands the seven hour day with no basis laid for drawing the so. That this program was not accepted by daily mall brings evidence after evidence the last call on this book.
you declare not only that the leader without reduction in wagen which it cialist of workers into the party ever one knows. That, how of our growing influence.
whip of the League is classed in an op portunist position but also that the InTHE MILITANT STRATEGY OF THE WORLD WORLD UNEMPLOYMENT AND ternational Left Opposition as a whole Entered as second class mall matter REVOLUTION is absolutely incapable of distinguishing THE FIVE YEAR PLAN November 28, 1928, at the Post Once between Marxism and opportunism on a Part of the Draft Program 48 pages paper cover 100 Now York, Under the act of PROBLEMS OF THE CHINESE most essential question. Is it that you (Out of Print)
HISTORY OF THE RUSSIAN 86 pages 25 March 1879.
REVOLUTION are astonished after that, REVOLUTION Vol. DRAFT PROGRAM OF THE the Bol.
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