BolshevismBourgeoisieCapitalismLeninMarxMarxismRussian RevolutionSocialismSocialist PartySovietStrikeSyndicalismWorkers MovementWorkers PartyWorking Class

THE REVOLUTIONARY AGE Saturday, May 24, The Mass Strike in Action great industria in ווס Sail construction. CONSIDERING the period of revolutionary in Seattle and Butte. In Seattle, the strike was forced. ical strike of the first magnitude. Union after strikes into which the American proletariat upon the conservative union officials by an upsurge ion has declared in favor of a strike to demand and the proletariat of other nations has of the spirit of action in the workers; it, developed release of Tom Mooney; some unions have emerged, it is important to remember that the coming into a general strike the first of its kind in recent further and insisted that this strike should inci of the war occurred during a time of American labor history; it developed revolutionary all political prisoners. But the movement is bein disturbances. Strikes of great magnitude had shaken sentiments, in the proposals of the strike committee sabotaged by the bureaucracy of the American Fe Capitalism to its basis class antagonisms on the into assume municipal functions while the eration of Labor; and even by men active in strike was on.
dustrial field were The strike was crushed by the be Mooney Defense. They decide to call a au pelo being modified sharpened while they were politics. new strikes were trayal of the conservative union officials and by the on July a legal holiday, a day on which it everywhere there was potential action clisplay of military force by the municipal govern, surd to speak of a general strike; and, more against Capitalism. Then war was declared. and the ment. The Butte strike was equally, Soldiere and they and not include other of labor prison decide that it should be a strike for Mo strikes ceased, proletarian energy being directed in the dynamic: it was directed by an actual alone, channels of war instead of proletarian action.
ors and Workmen Council. it showed the Moreover, the general strike is again being sabot: But the war, while breaking short this phase of in to be a real industrial force: and again it was the ly the union conservatives. it is now in a sort of conservative craft unions that broke the strike. In leptic state.
scious and definitely revolutionary. The miserable these two strikes there was manifest that primitive In this emergency, the whole force of the Sou collapse of bourgeois society; the agony of the war: initial mass action which, when developing into the ist Party should be concentrated on propaganda the victorious proletarian revolution in Russia and final revolutionary form, becomes the dynamic eral political strike on July 5, to demand the rele a great mass demonstration on July 4, all these have loosed the initiative and energy of the textile mills le.
of proletariat. The epoch of strikes into which we have Lawrence, Mass. Strikes are breaking out all over labor are prepared for such a strike, but they are emerged is, on the one hand, a consequence of the the country, are multiplying; baffled by the bureaucracy, by reactionary ur and, on the other, of the problems of economic re emerged; it is the attitude of the Socialist toward this struggle; to concentrate on this fundamental construction which press down upon Capitalisın. these strikes that will hasten or retard the coming In the United States, there is no program on resue. Our comrades are languishing in prisons; a Socialism. Out of these strikes the Socialist must nesty cannot reach them, and we don want amne docile proletariat, is not bothering much with the proletariat for the conquest of power; and our parlia trial might of the proletariat, by class conscious act problem; and, moreover, its unprecedented prosper mentary action must be means of serving the indus If the political strike materializes, it will blazoi ity during the war developed a fatalistic attitude. trial proletariat in action, of developing mass action.
President Wilson, Jefore his departure for France in December, up the problem of recontry to develop the political strike. The political strike precedent for the future. it will mean reallclasse an appreciation of the polit struction to Congress; but Congress did absolutely which the proletariat uses its industrial character of its its struggle nothing, was bankrupt and impotent. Soldiers are might to accomplish political purposes, to bring pres The political strike is new to American labor.
being demobilized who cannot get jobs; workers are sure to bear upon the bourgeois state. It is out of it is indispensable. It must come. It is the fi being thrown out of jobs; the employers are trying the political strike that develops the final mass ac of the left wing Socialist to develop an inten to lower wages to pre war standards and all this is tion: and the political strike is a supreme form of paganda in favor of this method of struggle, to producing protest and strikes.
political action.
lop out of the strikes of the proletariat the action Outstanding among the recent strikes are the strikes There is, at this moment, an opportunity for a polit the concept of the political mass strike.
Socialist Parties in England By Mescheriakov trade unions which form the so called Labor P: THERE are a number of Socialist parties in Engsemi socialistic in its program and extremely mc From the Moscow Pravda At the front of the Left there is the British Socialate in its tactics. In that party the notorious so ist Party. It is Marxian in theory and its sympathies Revolution. In his memorandum, Newbold, who as patriot. Arthur Henderson, wields great power, are with the Russian Revolution and Bolshevism.
an agitator has traversed England from one end to the beginning of the war the Labor Party conclu The party leaders (Newbold, Fairchild, Sylvia the other, is thoroughly acquainted with the English a civil peace with the bourgeois But the mass of the Pankhurst) follow with great interest the march of labor movement. characterizes the Their and gradually being revolutionized. Their sym English workers are the proletarian revolution in Russia. They are par rank and file, insofar as they understand our moveticularly interested in our organization of worker ment, approve of it; they are proud of the name Rolfor the Russian Revolution grows steadily. Fo of industry and the structure of our Soviet shevik and without hesitation will follow your examGovernment of Workmen Deputies. Its leaders ple at the proper movement.
Workmen Councils. But the English workers ing our example, the English workers tried to proudly call themselves Bolsheviki. The British Sonot yet clearly understand that Councils as or, expressed its solidarity with the ically very weak. The British Socialist Party has ship can work successfully only in the atmosph Unfortunately, all these Socialist parties are numer of the revolutionary struggle and proletarian dicta Russian Revolution in one way, the sending of Eng 45. 000. The majority of the English workers are not by publishing a Mani10, 000 members, and the Independent Labor Party of a proletarian revolution. Accordingly, nothing festo protesting bitterly against lish troops to crush the Revolution far has been accomplished by these Councils in affiliated with the Socialist parties, but are in the land.
Alongside of the British Socialist Party there exThe old leaders adherents of coalition with ists in Scotland another party revolutionary in its nature the Socialist Labor Party. Theoretically, Socialism and the Majority bourgeoisie and the old unions are gradually be ning to lose their influence over the laboring ma: this party strives to combine Marxism with the teachMore and more often the workers violate the ings of the American Socialist, Daniel De Leon, By Lenin peace by calling strikes in spite of the advice of teachings, as the slightly how hen gave me for menyn attacking the petty bourgeois Socialists of the old leaders and the prohibitive orders of the ole ions. The Workmen Councils are in cont (as the coming leader of the revolutionary labor these strikes.
movement of the world) characterizes the Socialist (leinned their uncontrolled phrasemongery about the are the most people and the majority of the people in general.
The revolutionary spirit among the English Tabor Party in these words. These they are the enthusiastic Bolsheviki. In my ers is In order that the majority should really rule in a gradually increasing, though the proces be slow. The food crisis and the dislocation.
real Bolsheviki of England. The is very con country, it is necessary to have definite, actual consistent and carries on wide aditions, namely: it is necessary that such a form of dustry must assume more acute forms in order large quantity of literature. The members of the government be established, such a governmental anth provoke a revolutionary outburst in England.
propagate as much as possible the isleas ärity as would furnish the opportunity to have affairs land there is noticeable a sympathetic attitude towa of Bolshevism, published the secret documents, defend decided by a majority and to assure the development the Russian Revolution.
in of that opportunity into reality. From another point is the famous inember of party of the British Bolsheviki. They are our Lenin of view, it is ites. It must be taken into consideration, in evalu ance with its hecessary that the majority on to any and the London Daily Neters give the best informat compostion and in relation ment. The radical papers. the Manchester Guard par not a member of the be co operatively and Away from stands the most influential English successfully. It is evident to every Marxist that these protest against intervention in Russia and intert ence with the Russian Revolution.
Party. Those of its leaders whom met (Snowelen. of the majority of the people, and in the course of roads. New and younger leaders are coming up Socialist Party, the so called Independent Labor two real conditions play a decisive role in the question The English Labor movement is at the cro Bruce Glasier, MacDonald, Brailsford and others) are affairs not at all revolutionary. They do not believe that this majority.
of the clepths of the working masses, taking there will be a revolution in England after the war If the power of government is in the hands of a places of the old leaders, the opportunists and soc On the contrary, they believe that after the war: there class whose interests coincide with the nterests of the patriots who are losing their influence. Newbold si will be a reaction in England.
They expect a still majority, the administration of the government can in his memorandum: number of riots have more reactionary wave in France. However, the then be in reality, identical with the will of the majorcurred in the coal regions; to the surface have co a considerable number of fine young comrades, ideas of this party have always been opportunistic. ily.
Nevertheless, even these leader show sympathy for they are not yet able to oust the old leaders in Tf, on the other hand, the government power is in centres of trades unionism in Britain.
the Russian Revolution, and are greatly interested in the hands of a class whose interests diverge froin the it. They have also protested against sendling English interests of the majority, then every attempt to govern sponsible and the industrial crisis which will co The inevitable disruption for which the war is troops to fight the Russian Revolution.
inevitably becomes a fraud upon or a subjugation of out of this disruption will accelerate the process But the rank and file of the Independent Libor that majority. Every bourgeois republic furnishes us creating a new revolutionary labor movement Party is much more sympathetic toward the Russian with hundreils and thousands of examples of this. England.
parties.
cialist Party has King, in accord among them it.