Saturday, May 17, 1919 THE REVOLUTIONARY AGE Manifesto of the Communist International The deluge of enities; HE new era has begun! The era of the downfall Program Adopted by the First Congress of the Expropriation of the Bourgeoisie and Socialization of Capitalism its internal disintegration. The Communist International, at Moscow, of Production.
epoch of the proletarian communist revolution.
March 6, 1919 The breakdown of the capitalistic order and the In some countries, victorious proletarian revolution. disruption of capitalistic industrial discipline makes increasing revolutionary ferment in other lands; upTranslated by IDA FERGUSON risings in the colonies. utter incapacity of the ruling impossible the reorganization of production on a classes to control the fate of peoples any longer. press and organizations, to deceive and betray the even when successful do not that is the picture of Humanity, whose whole faces danger of complete There is only alize its rights and liberties. The Soviet power longer controlled by the bourgeoisie but by the degluce now lies in ruins et pleine ben keine pe based in the Soviet type in gove betterment of conditions of living the workeipated vower tariat. The old capitalist order 10. longer gives to the people palaces, houses. printing offices letariat. In order to raise the Standards of producenten duction is chaos a chaos to be overcome only by the ian democracy made possible.
The ultimate result of the capitalistic mode of pro assemblies. And in this way alone is actual proletar the bourgeoisie (which only prolongs the death strug; great producing class, the proletariat. It is the proletariat which must establish real order, the order of Bourgeois democracy, with its parliamentary sys total, ruin. the Proletarian Dictatorship must carry Communism. It must end the domination of capital, tiom in government. Actually the masses and their junkerdom and convert the means of production and of the greater bourgeoisie and make war impossible, wipe out state boundaries, transform the whole world into one co operative comtarian State.
monwealth, and bring about real human brotherhood and freedom Communism is now being born out of the ruins of World Capitalim prepares itself for the final batThe Collapse of Capitalism Capitalism there is no other salvation for humanity.
tle. Under cover of the League of Nations and a Declaration of the First Congress of the Communist opportunists who are making utopian demands International.
for the reconstruction of the economic system of Capof pacifist phrase mongering, a desperate efitalism, so as to postpone socialisation, only delay the fort is being made to pull together the tumbling cap The contradictions inherent in the capitalist system have become manifest in a gigantic explosion in the italist system and to direct its forces against the conprocess of disintegration and increase the danger of great imperialistic world war.
total demolition. The communist revolution, on the stantly growing proletarian revolt. This inonstrous Capitalism is trying through organization to over other hand, is the best, only means, by which the most come its anarchy in production. Instead of numerous he proletariat by seizure of the political power of important social power of production the proletariat he State, competitors, huge capitalist associations are being form can be saved, and with it society itself.
turning this power against its ed (syndicates, trusts, cartels. The banks unite with emies, and using it as a lever to set in motion the industrial capital; the whole economic life is dominated The Dictatorship of the Proletariat does not in any economic revolution. The final victory of the proleby this financial oligarchy, which becomes a dictator way call for partition of the means of production and tariat of the world means the beginning of the real ship through the systematic organization of its power.
Instead of free competition monopoly.
exchange. rather, on the contrary, its aim is further to history of free mankind.
But while capitalist organization may modify the centralize the forces of production and to subject all anarchy in the capitalist system of production in a few of production to a systematic plan. As the first steps socialization of the great banks which now conThe Conquest of Political Power.
countries, this, by making ever sharper the opposition (the war of competition. intensifies the anarchy in world trol production; the taking over by the power of the Seizure of political power by the proletariat means production. This war of competition between the great proletariat of all government controlled economic utildestruction of the political power of the bourgeoisie.
robber states leads inevitably to a giant imperialistic war. The struggle for profits drives on world capital the transferring of all communal enterprises; the The organized power of the bourgeoisie is in the civil socializing of the syndicated and trustified units of to acquire new markets, make new arrangements, el.
State, with its capitalistic army under control of gage in new combats for raw materials and colonial production, as well as all other branches of producbourgeois junker officers, its police and gendarmes, slaves to turn into cheap workers. The imperialistic tion in which the degree of concentration and centralijailers and judges, its priests, government officials, powers that parcelled out the world among themselves the African, Asiatic, Australian and American prozation of capital makes this technically practicable; the etc. Conquest of the political power means not mere letariat and peasantry that have been converted into socializing of agricultural estates and their conversion ly a change in the personnel of Innihila work cattle must soos later come in into co operative establishments.
tion of the enemy apparatus of government: disarm with each other, exposing the anarchic nature of their ament of the bourgeoisie, of the counter revolution capitalist system. Thus arises the greatest of crimes, As far as the smaller enterprises are concerned, the ary officers, of the White Guard. arming of the prothe world war of plunderers.
proletariat must gradually unite them, according to the letariat, the revolutionary soldiers, the Red Guard of Capitalism is also trying to end the contradictions in degree of their importance. It must be particularly its social structure. Bourgeois society is class society.
workingmen; displacement of an bourgeois judges emphasized that small properties will in no way be exThe capitalists of the most civilized nations wish to and propriated and that property owners who are not excover up these social contradictions. Out of the plunder of controlation of proletarian courts; elimination officials drawn from colonial peoples, capital rewards its own ploiters of labor will not be forcibly dispossessed.
substitution of new organs of slaves at home, creates a common ground between the This element will gradually be drawn into the socialVictory of management of exploiters and the exploited, in order to oppress the istic through the force of example, procese peoples yellow, black and red peoples chains the the enemy Organicat consists in of through practical demonstration the superiority of European and American proletariat to its imperialistic the proletarian power; in the destruction of the Bour fatherland.
the new order of things, and the regulation by which geois and upbuilding of the prol But this method for the permanent corruption of the the small farmers and the petty bourgeoisie of the cities Not until the proletariat has achieved this working class, which created its patriotism and spiritwill be freed from economic bondage to usurious cap victory and broken the resitance of the bourgeoisie ual subjugation, was converted into its opposite during ital and landlordisni, and from tax burdens (especially an the former enemies of the new order be made the war. Physical demoralization, world wide enslave. by annulment of the national debts. etc.
seful, by bringing them under control of the comhunger, misery that constituted the pressure, world The task of the Proletarian Dictatorship in the munist system and gradually bringing them into accord the civil peace. It collapsed.
economic field can only be fulfilled to the extent that with its work.
the proletariat is enabled to create centralized organs of management and to institute workers control. To Democracy and Dictatorship.
organizations are held far out of reach of the real this end it must make use of its mass organizations The proletarian State, like every State, is an organ power and the real State adminitration. In the which are in closest relation to the process of producof supression, but it arrays itself against the enemies Council Soviet system the mass arganizations ruletion. In the field of distribution the Proletarian Dicof the working class. It aims to break the opposition and through them the mass itself, inasmuch as the tatorship must re establish commerce by an accurate of the despoilers of labor, who are using every means Councils draw constantly increasing numbers of distributon of products: to which end the following in a desperate effort to stifle the revolution in blood, workers into the State administration; and only by methods are to be considered: the socialization of and to make imposible further opposition. The dicthis process tatorship of the which gives it the fay ally become will the entire working population gradu wholesale establishments, the taking over of all bour.
part of the government. The Council geois State and municipal apparatus of distribution; ored position in system also builds itself directly on the mass institution. As the opposition of the bourgeoisie is in the community, is only a provisionalzations of the proletariat, on the Councils theme ani control of the great co operative societies, which organizations will still have an important role in the the revolutionary trade unions, the co operatives, etc. production epoch; the gradual centralization of all into the working groups, the proletarian dictatorship Bourgeois democracy and its parliamentary system these organs and their conversion into a systematic disappears, until finally the State dies and there are of the masses from the State unity for the rational distribution of products.
by division of the government into legislative and field of Democracy, so called, that is, bourgeois denrocracy, excutive powers, and through parliamentary mand distribution ali qualified technicians and specialists are is nothing more nor less than veiled dictatorship by ates beyond popular recall. The Council system, boy to be made use of, provided their political resistance the bourgeoisie. The much vaunted popular will contrast, unites the masses with the organs of some broken and they are still capable of adapting them, exists as little as a reality there ernment by right of recall, amalgamation of legisare the classes, with antagonistic, irreconcilable and executive powers.
and pur.
by use of working system of production. Far from oppressing them the poses. However, since the bourgeoisie is a small boards. Above all this union is fostered bx the fact proletariat will make it possible for the first time for in a. Aourish of fine sounding words to reinforce its arbitrary territorial districts, but on tits of pro letarian Dictatorship. with their co operation, rule over the working classes and class will people.
The proletariat, on the In this way the Council Soviet system brings true nich Capitalism has developed and thus will Science Sontrary, as the overwhelming majority of proletarian democracy, democracy by and for the pro and Labor be unified. Besides expropriating the facole, openly exercises its class power means of its letarians against the bourgeoisie. The industrial tories, mines, estates, etc. the proletariat must also nass organization and througl, its in order proletariat is favored in this system lucause it is the abolish the exploitation of the people by capitalistic o wipe out the privileges of the wosie and to etas, eles whoses leadershiped the landlords, transfer the large mansions to the local classless Communistic Commonwealthi.
and small farmers will be gradually elevatel.
The main emphasis of bourgeois democracy is on temporary privileges of the industrial proletariat During this great transition period the power of the formal declarations of rights and liberties which are draw the small farmers actually unattainable by the proletariat, because of, want from the control of the big landowners and bourge trative organization into a more centralized structure, Councils must constantly build up the entire adminisof the material means for their enjoyment. while theoisie and to organize and train them as helpers in the bourgeoisie uses its material advantages, through its building of the communistic structure. Continued on page eight)
by reactionary governmente menet of the organization proletariat, umified people. In only a that upon the peolive semi proibit up line getirebourgeois dwellings.