Saturday, March 15, 1919 THE REVOLUTIONARY AGE M posed cages of Nations Frite so far as we are ism.
ser didn Mass Action it is not direct action in the technical sense, since the Anarchio Syndicalist exponents of direct action Bolshevikjabs is necessary that the Left Wing of the Socialist had no recognition of the political character of the CH has been said and written about the proWe are still in the stage of disagreement, of dis during the revolution.
aware no one lias ventured to explain how the cussion: but ly means of these we shall approach a The quotations cited by The Proletarian (we ex International Police Force is going to be recruited clear understanding necessary to become a power included one as not characteristici may be unified in without recognizing Ireland.
the proletarian movement.
this way: Mass action is extra parliamentary; it is the An important difficulty is that the old disputes still proletariat itself in action through mass strikes, dis The Health Conmissioner reports that there is no rumble in the minds of many comrades. We must pensing with parliamentary leaders except as these sleeping sickness in Boston, there is nothing remarktest our okl ideas in the light of contemporary events, may recognize and beconte merged in the mass action: able in this fact when we consider that sleeping sickrecognize that the old ideas ofte reobutieneiy ac tihe develops in the shops, its initial forms odetermined by ness presupposes a period of wakefulness. There is no sleeping sickness in the of proletarian revolution in action. There is tendency action determined largely by the compulsion of inWhen we see all these denunciations of the aliens to accept old icleas as Bolshevik, the policy of the left wing of yesterday as being the policy of the dustrx; out of this inclustrial mass action develops we cannot help wondering what would happen if the wing of today. But much water has passed under political mass action against the state, for definite 17, 000, 000 aliens got annoyed and went home.
the mill since five years ago plement in practice: and it is necessary that we dis field of proletarian action which is precisely what is Yow that the Committee on Public Information is criminate between the old and the new, adopt a policy implied in the Michigan Socialist Party conception ended we in accorel with the ruquirements, theoretical and tactnay expect that in the near future of political action.
information will reach the public.
ical, of contemporary conditions. The source of revMass action is a process and synthesis of action olutionary practice is not the theory of yesterday, since, first, it developes larger forms out of the initial If a man celebrates the Declaration of Independence but the experience of the proletarian revolution in primitive form and includes large masses of the pro on July by getting drunk will he be a patriot or a Russia and in Germany. accepting but the old con letariat in action, and, secondly, since it becomes pol criminal?
ceptions.
itical in character at the moment of definite action An essential phase of the Left Wing movement, for the conquest of power. Bolshevist Rising Feared in Bohemia Unless Food of revolutionary Socialism, its tactical basis, is mass Arrives says a headline. From this it would appear The conception of mass action developed in the that famine causes Bolshevism but from reading the action. But old meanings are read into this term, and Left Wing of the European Socialist movement, which many refuse to recognize its fundamental character. provided the theory for an instinctive action developed German Spartacans we of course know that it is editorials the bourgeois press on Russia and the The Proletarian, organ of the comrades of the Detroit Socialist Party, says in its March issue: by the proletariat under the compulsion of impense the other way round that Bolshevism. causes famine.
istic Capitalism. The exponents mass action What is mass action? Is it just our old friend Direct been Marxists of the first magnitude, who recognized Action come lack with a new suit of clothes? We will The Mayor of Buffalo is reported as saying that ans of explaining the past, but not as a means do well to inquire into its meaning before accepting it. as an instrument of action, as a dynamic phase of the there are only 15. 000 people out of work in the city.
At present it seems to he the rallying cry for all the proletarian struggle, Marxists such as Rosa Luxeme ceeded without causing atly cornment.
elements who have repudiated the old parliamentarWe would In lis recent look, Revolutionary Socialism, Louis Anarcho Syndicalist theoretical conception of direct like to call his honor attention to the fact that Fraina tells us that mass action is not a form of action cannot be attributed to these Marxist adher people are thinking more these days, besides the Kaiaction as much as it is a process and synthesis of ents of mass action.
cause any comment among the German peoaction. Mass action is the instinctive action of the ple until recently.
proletariat, gradually developing more conscious and The final and complete form of mass action was organized fornes and definite purposes. Mass action described by Trotzky in The Prolctariat and the Rev Cleveland Dodge is becoming so anxious about is the proletariat itself in action.
olution, published in 1904: the starving Armenians that we are beginning to beAustin lewis, in the New Reino, June 1913, says: lieve the Armenians must be excellent copper miners. Rcal mass action is outside the sphere of parliamentWe have got to summon all revolutionary forces to ary action: it has nothing to do with the election of simultaneous action. How can we do it? first of all men lv political positions, and yet is in the highest we ought to remember that the main scene of revolu What with the proposed trip of Queen Marie of degree political.
tionary events is bound to lie the city. Nobody is likely Rumania to this country and King Alfonso plans to deny this. It is evident, further, that street demonAnton Pannekoek delines mass action very completeto visit South America we are beginning to believe strations can turn into a puyular revolution only when ly thus: When we speak of mass action we mean they are a manifestation of mussrs, that is, when they in the immigration restrictions.
an extra parliamentary political act of the organized embrace, in the first place, the workers of the factories working class liy which it acts directly and not through and the plants. To make the workers quit their mathe medium of political delegates. Organized tabor Now that conscription is done away with in Gerchines and stands; to make them walk out of the factrights develop into political mass action as soon as they ory premises into the street: to lead them to the neighmany, we can congratulate ourselves on the death of acquire political significance. The question of mass boring plants; to proclaim there a cessation of work; militarism, of course we are going to have at least action, therefore, involves merely broadening the field to make new masses walk out into the street: to go five big armies and as many navies, but these are for of proletarian organization.
thus from factory to factory, from plant to plant, in defense only so it alright. Militarism is dead, long The outstanding feature of the literature on mass cessantly growing in numbers, sweeping aside police live universal military training.
action is a general haziness, a lack of clarity, and a harriers, absorbing new masses that happen to come wealth of conflicting definitions. And at this time along, crowding the streets, taking possession of buildwhen the new tactics are being formed we must, above ings suitable for public meetings. fortifying those build Just when the League of Nations is getting on so all, have clarity of thought.
ings, holding continuous revolutionary meetings with audiences coming and going. hringing order into the nicely and peace is about to be signed we think it is At its state convention recently, the Socialist Party movements of the masses, arousing their spirit, explainmost unkind of these unemployed people to be walking ing to them the aim and the meaning of what is going about the streets.
of Michigan, influenced largely by the Detroit comrades, adopted the following definition of political on; to turn, finally, the entire city into one revolutionaction: We do not imply that political action is alary camp. this is broadly speaking, the plan of action.
And talking about the signing of peace, when the The starting point ought to be the factories and the ways confined within bounds of parliamentary pro plants. That means that street manifestations of a signatures have all been fixed will it be correct to say cedurs: nor that the means employed in waging the serious character, fraught with decisive events, ought that peace is finished?
to begin with political strikes of the masses.
action we define as any class struggle are every the same.
taken That was precisely the course of revolutionary thing about war is the coming of peace. In fact it the exploited Judging from the newspaper headlines the worst against their exploiters to obtain control of the events in the proletarian revolution This is more than hazy, it is seriously de final revolutionary mass action breaks independently draw up a set of the rules of civilized peace.
Russia. The looks as if we would have to elect a commission to state.
fective, in that it lays emphasis on obtaining control of the will of the conscious representatives of the of the bourgeois state machinery, instead of destroy, masses, breaks louste spontaneously under the pressure ing it which are two different things. The political of crisis and instinctive action. It is then the task Would it be correct to say that we are at present power of the proletariat comes from out of the organ of the Socialist to organize and direct. Theorganized waging peace?
ization of the new proletarian state. Nor does the form, or purposes, of this final mass action is the revdefinition indicate what other forms of struggle there olutionary dictatorship of the proletariat functioning We suppose the opposition of the clergy to prohiare which are included in political action. But the through the new proletarian state of the federateiibition arises from a desire to save their jobs and a cletinition is correct in tendency.
Soviets.
feeling of resentment that Congress should take on what has hitherto been their exclusive privilege. strike for higher wages or shorter hours clearly, is not included in any action, its object is not to The Moscow (svestia in (ctober last year printed Although we can understand that in these days of obtain control of the powers of state. But if the the following news which shows in what light Im crashing thrones things are apt to be overlooked we strike is for a political object, to secure tire franchise, perial Germany attack on Russia was viewed by fail to see why the Czecho Slovaks, the Jugo Slavs, or the release of political prisoners, or to overthrow many German soldiers: and all these other peoples whose rights we were so political action in the Marxian sense. Now a strike markation line and, generally, in the occupied districts. dropped out of sight. From the German troups who camp on the de anxious about a few months ago have suddenly Is it that they have got their rights and are now political general strike. and that is one phase of daily come deserters and groups, who refuse to go mass action.
to the French front. Lately the German soldiers trying to find out what to do with them or is it but armed go over to the Soviets and join the no, of course, not. Didn one of them name its capMass action develops out of the industrial action Red Army. few days ago near Pskov, a party of ital Wilsonstadt?
of the proletariat. Imperialism means concentrated, deserters with rifles and two machine guns crossed monopolistic industry: concentrated industry means the border and joined Another party We know that George is a democrat, and that Victor Emmanuel is at least not antagonistic to the large masses of workers massed in one plant, expro 18 men headed by a German officer, on their way priated of their skills and largely unorganized but to Russia fought a pitched battle with Bavarian de Mikado really understands politics well enough to word but we sometimes wonder whether or not the disciplined by the machine process. These workers, tachments and fell in leprived of skill and consequently of craft jealousy declare that they do not want to fight any longer for feel at home in Tammany Hall.
and divisions, act in term of the mass, a imperialists and are really to die for real freedon unit the initial developinent of mass action. When proletarian freedom. Together with the German And speaking of the Japanese we would like to this industrial action includes several plants, or several group there was found another deserter an Hun know whether these guys in the League of Nations cities, and has a political object, it developes into real garian sailor escaped from Austria after the uprising are the samte Japanese as the kind we like so well mass action. It is direct action, in the actual sense; in the Austro Hungarian fleet.
in California. Political.
the Red Army.