Saturday, February 22, 1919 THE REVOLUTIONARY AGE Democracy and Proletarian Dictatorship them.
of spirit.
power should working class had conisented to certain degree have not the workers even the bourgeoisie af By Bucharin we are to have a dictatorship of the workers in dealing with them as in dealing with their beloved and peasants with the object of putting down the FOREWORD masters and benefactors. Many such persons at prebourgeoisie, of depriving the bourgeoisie of any Bucharin is a dominant factor in the Communsent, who in their day fought against the Czar and opportunity to undertake attempts to reestablish its ist Party of Russia, and since early in the Revolu the nobles, now set up a dying wail whenever the power, it is clear, that there is no room for any wiae tion head of the Moscow Soviet. He was for years, workers touch the possessions of the bourgeoisie. For liberties for the bourgeoisie. nor for extending the together with Lenin, the brains of the Bolsheviki. Dur the ing the Revolution Bucharin was aggressive and impast they have our gratitude. But if at the preright of suffrage to the bourgeoisie, nor for trans placable; and after the conquest of power by the prosent conjuncture, they are going to resemble the forming the Soviet power into a bourgeois republican letariat and the organization of the Soviet State, he Black Hundred in their actions, we must act against parliament.
was the representative of the extreme left of the ComThe Cominunist (Bolshevist) Party is assailed munist Party, opposing, Lenin as moderate on many issues, although one with Lenin on the general theory While the bourgeoisie and all the other enemies from all sides with expressions of dissatisfaction, and and policy of revolutionary proletarian dictatorship and the proletariat and the poorest peasants must be even with threats, to this effect: You are closing communism.
muzzled, the proletarians and peasants themselves Bucharin is an original thinker as well as an extraiolating up the newspapers, dispersing meetings, the freedom of speech and of the press; you are esmust liave the fullest liberty of speech, association, ordinary able propagandist. His writings on Imperialism are of first importance and it is the intention of press, etc. and they must have these not in work tablishing an autocracy, you are highwaymen and The Revolutionary Age soon to make them available to only, but in fact. Never under any system of society murderers and other similar things. We must thereAmerican Socialists. This article is a chapter from Bucharin book The Program of the Conimunist were there so many organizations of workers and fore go into the question of liberties in the Soviet Party published in Russia about eight months ago peasants as there are now under the Soviet power.
Republic in considerable detail.
We shall publish other chapters from time to time. Never did any state support so many workers and Let us take an example. When, in March 1917, quiet, restrained and unassuming man, Bucharin peasants organizations, as in our day under the Soviet is consumed by an intense energy and revolutionary the revolution broke out, and the Czarist ministers power. This is the result of the simple reason that (Sturmer, Protopopov, etc. were arrested, did anythe Soviet power is the power of the workers and one object? No one did. And yet, these arrests, like enemies of the people (such as, liberty of the press, peasants themselves, and it is not surprising that this any other arrests, were a violation of Personal Libersupport of speech, of association, assembly, etc. On the ing class, in so far as that is possible, in so far as the why did we then say: So it is and so it should be?
contrary: it demands constant readiness to confiscate strength and the means are present. And we repeat: Simply because these arrests were of persons who the bourgeois press, to disperse the meetings of the were dangerous counter revolutionaries. And in revenemies of the people, to prevent them from dissem berties, not olutionary times more than in any other it is necesinating lies, intrigues, and panic; to put down in the bet es not merely promising them to the world. Helio example: The liberty of the workers press.
sary to observe the eleventh commandment: Thou Under the pressure of the most ruthless manner every effort they make to rethe shalt not be caught napping! If we do not remain turn to power. For that is what the dictatorship constantly watchful, if we allow full freedom of the proletariat means.
for the action press. But the workers In other words, when we speak of the press, our all the enemies of the people and make no first question should be: What press is under disthe means: the printing offices are all in the hands of effort to restrict them, there soon will be very little left of the revolution.
cussion, the bourgeois or the proletarian? When it is a matter of meetings, we must first ask: whose meetthe capitalists, who have bought everything. The Another example. At the time the Sturmers and ings, those of workers, or those of counter revoluGoremykins were being arrested, the Black Hundred make this liberty real, because he has not the where tionaries? When the question of strikes is raised, press was also suppressed. This was very clearly our first concern is this is it a strike of the workers withal. The Communists turn to the gentlemen cona violation of the freedom of the press. But was trolling the printing offices, declare them to be the against the bourgeoisie or a sabotage of the bourthis violation of the freedom of the press justifiable?
property of the workers and peasants state, and Of course it was. And not one reasonable man will geoisie or the bourgeois intelligentsia against the proletariat? Anybody who can see this can see any. they may now actually realize their right to a mee places them at the disposal of the working comrades attempt to deny that this act was as as it should be Why? Again simply for the reason that in a life and thing The press, meetings, association, etc. are pre instruments of the class struggle, and in a revolupress. Of course the capitalist gentlemen will set death struggle it is necessary to deprive the enemy up a howl. But it is clear that the right to a free tionary epoch are instruments of civil war, no press can be realized only in this way.
In the November Revolution, in Kiev, the Black chine guns, gunpowder, shell. And the wholé quesThey may put another question us: why did not organization. The Double Headed Eagle, was suppressed, in addition to number of others.
This was a violation of the liberty of association. Yet being used, and against what ychwassay clase are thing of full rights for the bourgeoisie why did they forma class cannot offer liberty of organization to the The working merly stand for a bourgeois democratic republic?
it was a proper act, since the revolution cannot tolerWhy did they themselves formerly stand for the ate liberty of association to organizations directed against the toiling masses.
Similarly, it cannot grant absolute the hourgcoisie of the right of suffrage? Why, in Constituent Assembly? And not asking of depriving against the revolution.
When Kornilov was advancing on Petrograd, a tion, organization speech, press, assembword, have they now changed their program on these ly, to counter revolutionary chieftains who with number of generals went on strike, refusing to sub great persistence are carrying through their program mit to the orders of the Provisional Government. and only waiting for a chance to hurl themselves The reason is very simple: the working class has hitherto not had the strength to attempt an open They declared themselves to be entirely in favor of against the workers and peasants.
Kornilov. Could we afford to support this kind of attack on the bourgeois fortress. They needed preWhen the right Social Revolutionaries and the liberty of a general strike? It was necessary to Mensheviki utter the battle cry of the Constitutional paratory measures, a gathering of energies, enlightproceed against such strikes on the part of the Black Assembly, they are really concerned with votes for enment of the masses, organization.
Hundred generals with the most severe measures. the bourgeoisie. Similarly, when they shout wildly They did, to be sure, have liberty of the workers What is the point of all this? We see that violations about the annihilation of all liberties, they are conpress, of their own, not of the press of their masters.
of every variety of liberty are necessary in dealing cerned with the liberties of the bourgeoisie. No one But they could not go to the capitalists, and to their with the opponents of the revolution. There cannot may touch the bourgeois press, the bourgeois leaders, alists. shut down your papers and open up ours!
in revolutionary eras be any liberties for the enemies the counter revolutionary bourgeois organizations nie have laughed at of the people and of the revolution. That is a clear. that is the position these people take.
irrefutable position.
culous to put an euch demand to the canitaliats: But, we are told, you also closed doyn the Men would be equivalent to asking them to cut their own From March to November, neither the Mensheviki, shevik and Social Revolutionist papers; more than throats.
nor the right Social Revolutionaries, nor the bour once the Communist Party has failed to respect the height of a successful onslaught.
Such demands can only be made at the, No earlier time geoisie, raised any outcry against the forcible seipersons of respectable people, people who had been was suitable. That is why the worker, as well as zures undertaken in March, against the abrogation jailed under the Czar regime. How about that?
of the freedom of the (Black Hundred) press, of We shall answer our party, used to say: Hurrah for freedom of the this the (Black Hundred) speech, etc. No outcry was question with another: When Gotz, a right Social Revolutionist, Colonel, organized press (the scholc press, including the bourgeous raised, because these acts were carried out by the to take another example: It is clear that power seized by the bourgeoisie in March. the Guch the soldiers and workers, should we caress him fond kcep blacklists working class could not openly an uprising of the military cadets and leagues. which throw the workers into the streets, etc. are harmful to the working de their faithful servants, the Kerenskys and Tseretellis.
In November the situation had Novotionist, organized a Moscow White Guard in Chess du mand: Abolish your orsanizations and establish ours. changed. Then of bourgeois wher To do that they would first have had to crush the workers came out against the bourgeoisie, which on March had been sitting on their necks. In November avrich the female militare. cadets you come out on carta military tried to put down the peasants supported the workers. Of course tne own enough. That is why our party then also cried: we with machine guns and to drown in blood the Novemclemand librrty of associations (in general, not only bourgeoisie was inspired with an insane hatred of ber uprising of the workers and soldiers were we for for the workers. the workers, revolution, which was hardly exceeded this to decorate him with an order? When the Men Put the times have changed. Now we are no longby the hatred felt by the feudal landholders. All the shevik paper Forward (which should have been called great property owners now united against the work Backward. and the Social Revolutionist Labor lied er discussing prolonged preparations for the battle: We are already in the of attack, after ing class and the poorest peasants. All rallied to the to the Moscow workers at a most critical hour, saying the first great victory over the bourgeoisie. The support of the so called party of popular liberty that Kornilov had taken Petrograd (and they did working class is now confronted with another task. actually the party of popular treason) against the this to crush the will of the workers. did they de people. And naturally, when the people began to To crush thronposition of the hourgeoisie.
serve our praise for this little provocatory prank? And for that reason the working class, which is put sone pressure on these their enemies, the latter What must we in fer from all this? The following: now act for the liberation of all humanity from began to shout in impotent rage: Mob violence! If the social traitor leaders and the social traitor pa the crueltics and orrors of capitalism, must with Highwayıner! etc.
pers begin to serve the hourgeoisie with unmitigated inflexible prepluteness carry out this task: no conThe following is, however, clear to the workers ardor, if they cease tn differ in any respect from the silation the horiranicic, but full liberty, and amit peasants. The Communist Party not only does Black Hundred Cadet Pogrom Band, in their public the means of exercising such liberty, to the working Hot iemand any liberties whatever for the bourgeofs utterances, we shall have to adopt the same measures class and the poorest peasants.
liberty of questions?
officers against the consisting geois boys, house owners day the final