Saturday, March 22, 1919 THE REVOLUTIONARY AGE the Socialist Party of New York York City the Cost of Living and Taxation when it should be exraining how the worker is robbed at his job?
Tl::re are many signs of the awakening of labor.
Strikes are developing which verge on revolutionary action; the trade unions are organizing a Lalor Party, in an effort to conserve what they have won and wrest new concessions from the master class. The organization of the Labor arty is an inunature expression new spirit in the Labor movement; but a labor arty is not the instrument for the emancipation of the working class; its policy would be in general what is now the official policy of the Socialist arly reforming Capitalism on the basis of the Ixourgeois state. Lalmora ism is as much a danger to the revolutionary proletariat as moderate Socialism: neither is an instrument for the conquest of power.
of a CAPITALIST IMPERIALISM creaseil olitical action is also and more generally used to refer to participation in election campaigns for the immeliate purpose of wiming legislative seats. In this scuse, too, we urge the use of political action as a rerolutionary weapon.
But louh in the nature and the purpose of this form of political action, revolutionary Socialism and 2011crale Socialism are completely at odds. olitical action, revolutionary and emphasizing the implacable character of the class struggle, is a valuable means of propaganda. It must at all times struggle 10 arouse the revolutionary muss action of the proletariat its use is both agitational and olistructive. It must on Revolutionary Socialism uses the forum of parliament for agitation, but it does not intend to and cannot use the bourgeois state as a means of introducing Socialism: this lourgeois state must be destroyed by the mass action of the revolutionary proletariat. The proletar.
ian dictatorship in the form of a Soviet state is the immediate objective of the class struggle.
Marx declared that the working class cannot simply lay holl of the ready made state machinery and wield it for its own purposes. This machinery must lie de stroyel. But intolerate Sexcialism makes the state the centre of its action.
The attitude towards the state divicles the Anarchist (Inarcho Syndicalist. the moderate Socialist and the revolutionary Socialist. Lager to alwlish the state (which the ultimate purpose of revolutionary Socialisin, the Anarchist and and (Anarcho Socialist)
fails to realize that state is necessary in transition period!
from Capitalism to Socialism: the nxerate Sonialist proposes to use the burgeois stæe with its fraudulent.
its illusory theory oi unity of all the class.
in abs thin the burgeois state must be completely lsatilling elu niisses. le revolutionary Surialist destroyerl, and propose the organization of new state the state of the organizel producers. the elerated Soviets the basis of which alone can Socialism le introduced.
Industrial Unionism, the organization of the prole tariat in accordance with the integration of industry and for the owerthrow of (apitalism, is a 1l cessary phase of revolutionary Socialist agitation. olentially, industrial unionism constructs the basis and develops the ideology of the industrial state of Socialism; but industrial unionisin alone cannot perform the revoluitionary act of seizure of the power of the state, since under the conditions of capitalism it is impossible to organize the whole working class. or an overwhelming majority into inxustrial unionism.
It is the task of a revolutionary Socialist party to direct the struggles of the proletariat and provide a program for the culminating crisis. Its propaganda just be so directed that when this crisis comes, the workers will be prepared to accept program of the following character. a) The organisation of IVorkmen Councils; rccognition of, and propaganda for, these mass organizations in the imnsediate struke gle, as the form of expression of the chiss struggle, and as the instruments for the seizure of the power of the state and the basis of the new proletarian state of the organized producers and the dictatorship of the proletariat (b) IVorkmcu control of industry, to be vercised by the industrial organizations (inulustrial unions or Sovicts) of the workers and the industrial vote, as against government ownership or state control of industry. c) Repudiation of all national debts witla porovisions to safeguard small investors. d) Expropriation of the bank preliminary measure for the complete priation wi capital (c) Expropriation of the ruil uys, and the laryje (trust) organisations of capital 110 cmsation to ix paid, as buying out the cap italists would insure a continuance of the exploitation of the workers; provision, however, to be made «luring the transition fuerint for the prolaction of small owners oi stek. 1) The nationalisation of foreign trade.
These are not the immediate demands comprises!
in the social reform planks now in the platform of unr party: they are not a compromise with the capitalist state, but imply a revolutionary struggle against that state and against capitalism, the conquest of power the proletariat through revolutionary as accion. They imply the new Soviet state of the organizel producers.
the clictatorship of the proletariat: they are preliminary revolutionary measures for the expropriation of capital and the introduction of conumunist Socialism.
and the which it enwcracy, its Imperialism is the final stage of Capitalism, in which the accumulated capital or surplus of a nation is to great to be reinvested in the home market. The inproductivity of the working class, due to improved machinery and efficiency methols, inere subsistence wage which permits the worker to buy lack only a small portion of what he produces, causes an ever increasing accumulation of conumlities, whichi in tur lecome capital and must be invested in iurther production. When Capitalism has reached the stage in imports raw materials from undeveloped countries and exparts them again in the of manufactured products, it has reached its righest development.
This process is universal. Foreign markets, spheres of influence and protectorates, under the intensive dcvelopment of capitalist industry and finance in turn frecome highly developeil. They, too, seek for markets, National capitalist control, to save itself from ruin, breaks its national bonds and emerges full grown as a capitalist League of Nations, with international armies and navies to maintain its supremaey.
The United States no longer bulls itself aloof, isolated and provincial. It is reaching olit for new markets, new zones of influence, le protectorates.
The capitalist class of America is using organizeci labor for its imperialistic purposes. We may soon cxpect the capitalist class, in true Bismarkian fashion, to grant factory laws, old age pensions, unemployment insurance. sick benefits, and the whole litter of hourgeois reforms, so that the workers may be kept fit to procluce the greatest profits at the greatest speed.
DANGERS TO AMERICAN SOCIALISM There is danger that the Socialist Party of America might make use of these purely bourgeois reforms to attract the workers votes by claiming that they are victories for Socialism, and that they have been won by Socialist political action: when, as a matter of fact, the object of these master class measures is to prevent the growing class consciousness of the workers, and to divert them from their revolutionary aim. By agitating for these reforms, therefore, the Socialist Party wouli be playing into the hands of the American imperialists.
On the basis of the class struggle, then, the Socialist Party of America must re organize itself, must prepare to come to grips with the master class during the diffi.
cult period of capitalist re adjustment now going on.
This it can do only by teaching the working class the truth about present day conditions: it must preach revolutionary industrial unionism, and urge all the workers to organize into industrial unions, the only form of labor organization which can cope with the power of great modern aggregations of carrila. a means of It must carry on its political campaigns, not clecting officials to political office. as in the past, but as a year round colucational campaign to arouse the work ers to class conscious economic and political action, and to keep alive the burning ideal of revolution in the hearts of the people.
POLITICAL ACTION We assert with Marx that the class struggle is essentially a political struggle, and we can only accep his own oft repeated interpretation of that phrase. The class struggle, whether it manifest itself on the industrial field or in the direct struggle for governmental control. is essentially a struggle for the and «Icstruction of the capitalist state. This is a political zet.
cludes revolutionary industrial action. In other words, the objective of Socialist industrial action is political.
in the sense that it aims to undermine the bourgeois state, which is nothing less than a machine for the oppression of one class by another and that no less so democratic republic Chan under a monarchy.
Red Week in New York City!
Under the auspices of the New York Conference of the RUSSIAN SOCIALIST ORGANIZATIONS Benefit of The Revolutionary Age and Novy Mir Manhattan Lyceum, 66 East 4th Street PROGRAM Monday, March 24, 7:30 CONCERT AND MEETING Speakers: John Reed, Hourwich, Weinstein, Louis Fraina and Jim Larkin Gitlow, Chairman ADNIISSIOX FREE PROGRAM We stand for a uniform declaration of principles in all party platforms both local and national and the abolition of all social reform plunks now contained in them. The party must teach, propagate anul agitate exclusively for the overthrow of Capitalism, and the establishment of Socialism through a roletarian Dicetatorship. The Socialist candidates electeel to office shall achere strictly to the above pruwisimis. Realizing that a jx»litical party camo reorganize and reconstruct the industrial organizations of the working class, and that that is the task of the economic organizations th: mselves, we cleman that the party assist this process of reorganization by a propaganda for revolutionary ustrial unionism as part of its general activities. We believe it is the mission of the Socialist movement tu chevurage and assist the prole.
tariat to adopt newer and more effective forms oi organization and to stir it into newer and more rovolutionary nocles of action. We demand that the livinlarly press le pirty ownel and controllel. We clemand that officially recognized clucational institutions be party owned and controller. We demand that the party discard ils olosulete literature and publish new literature in keeping with the policies and tactics above mentioncil. We demand that the National Executive Conmittec call an inuncdiate emergency national convention for the purpose of formulating muriy qilicies anil tactics to meet the present crisis. We demand that the Socialist arly repuuliate the Rerne Congress or any other conference engineerod by modcrate Socialists and social patriots.
10. We demond that the Socialist arty shill keet «lelegates to the International Congress piruposed by the Communist Party of Russia Belsheviki. that our party shall participate only in a new International with which are afiliated the Communist arty of Kussia (Rolsheviki. the Communist lalor arty of Pier.
many (Spartacans. and all other other Left Wing parties and groups.
Tuesday, March 25, 7:30 CONCERT AND STEREOPTICAN VIEWS OF LIFE IN REVOLUTIONARY RUSSIA Admission 50 cents Wednesday, March 25, 30 CONCERT AND BALL Admission 50 cents Thursday, March 27. 30 CONCERT, AND PART TWO OF THE STEREOPTICAN VIEWS Admission so cents capture