July 12, 1919 THE REVOLUTIONARY AGE Communist Party a new The 14 Points might pay. Morever, the world was divided The financially and territorially among the victors, the United States securing financial recognition Iis indisputable that the peace imposed and recognition of the Monroe Doctrine. The THE development of the American move ment is directly tomard the organization 14 points formulated by President Wi son. thrust into that garbage can of diplomacy of a Communist Party. The tactical aspect The projected terms, which Germany accepted which contains so many ideals.
whether it shall emerge out of a transforas a basis for peace in concluding the armis Then there was democracy. Democracy mation of the Socialist Party, or as a comptice, have been violated in practically every was conceived as the basis of the 14 points. letely new party is determined by events; particular. This fact has aroused the scorn and indeed, the 14 points were to make the the important thing is that there must and invective of even ordinary bourgeois liberals, world safe for democracy. In this again will be an American Communist Party.
who lament bitterly Wilson treason to his was involved the whole character of the war The adoption of the name Communist ideals. But the invective and the sarcasm and the political tendency of Imperialism. Party is not determined by sentiment, but by invoked by the collapse of the 14 points. Democracy and Imperialism exclude each objective facts.
while justifiable, by no means touch the heart other. It excludes bourgeois democracy, that Socialism, the dominant Socialism, has of the problem.
traditional democracy which is the carrier of broken down miserably under the test of the The liberal petty bourgeois democracy, the bourgeois struggle against feudalism and war and the proletarian revolution. It has, while compelled to accept Imperialism, the political expression of the competitive in fact, become the last bulwark of defense ruggles in a tragi comic way against the con epoch of Capitalism. The centralization of of Capitalism. We must break away from sequences and excesses of Imperialism. It industry and capital produces a centralization this movement and its stigma.
willingly acquiesces in the waging of a preof the power of government; Imperialism Lenin says: datory war, comforting itself with illusions; transforms political democracy into a factor The term Social Democracy is unscienand then it protests against a predatory peace, promoting Imperialism and government tific, as Marx explained in 1875, and Engels confronting itself with the illusion that a just centralization that negates the old democracy in a more popular form in 1894. Mankind peace is realizable under the conditions of of bourgeois society.
can only pass from Capitalism into Socialism, Imperialism. The petty bourgeois democracy Under these conditions the old liberal slo that is, public ownership of the means of protests against these excesses of Imperial gans of democracy come to pocess a production and the distribution of products ism, while rejecting the revolutionary struggle meaning. The older democracy implied naaccording to individual work. Our party against Imperialism. The consequences are tional independence; the democracy of Imlooks farther ahead than that: Socialism is unavoidable reaction.
erialism annihilates the independence of nabound sooner or later to ripen into CommunThe collapse of the 14 points is not a tions. The older democracy implied an actualism, whose banner bears the motto: from each according to his ability, to each accordstudy. in the malignancy of an individua. but functioning of the parliamentary system; Ima study in the malignancy of social conditions perialistic democracy breaks down the system ing to his needs. That is the first reason. Here is my secunder Capitalism.
and places practically all power in an execuond: Under Imperialism, governments are necestive autocracy. Democracy having been persarily imperialistic. that is to say, organized verted by Imperialism, it becomes a part of The second part of the term Social Democracy is scientifically wrong. Democracy for international conquest and spoilation. An Imperialism and the necessary factor in wagis only a form of authority. We Marxists imperialistic government waging a victorious ing a predatory war. This circumstance alone are opposed to every form of authority.
war must necessarily conclude an imperia istic would necessarily produce a collapse of the The word democracy cannot be scientipeace. unless the Socialist proletariat intervenes.
of those seduced by their ideology) lies in a fically applied to the Communist Party The fact democracy is simply a shckle fastened upon longer threatens the independence of nations provides italism.
that Imperialism necessarily functions in the Imperialistic epoch of Cap the revolutionary nation.
In answering the objection that the workers an excellent opportunity for developing a liare accustomed to the old name, Lenin says: beral ideology for an imperialistic war. This Another assumption of the 14 points in fact was used to the utmost by the European contradiction with the actual forces prevailing love of routine. We want to recast the world.
belligerents. The position of the United States And here we are hesitating. Here we are made it particularly easy to develop the cept of realising national independence for the keeping on our backs the same old dirty ideology of a war for democracy, since this small peoples of Europe.
shirt! It is high time we should cast off the country had no territorial interests at stake, The war was not a war for national inc! shirt an put on a new, clean one.
making it difficult to connect Imperialism with dependence. except in the case of Serbia. But The American Socialist Party has familiaout entry into war. Out of this circumstance the moment the war actually started, Serbia rized the masses with certain phrases of Soarose the conception of the United States as independence disappeared as a factor, and cialism. But it has equally familiarized the.
a disinterested factor in the war and the Imperialism dominated, with the small nations masses with a false conception of Socialism.
fraudulent ideology of the 14 points.
as pawns. Belgium itself (as Holland) is The Socialist Party means, to the workers, But the United States did have a direct Im rampantly imperialistic.
parliamentary action as the means to realize perialistic interest in the war, altough this Oppressed nationalities, such Poland, Socialism; it means government ownership interest was not territorial aggrandizement. have secured independence. But they are of industry; it means co operation with the Imperialism is a struggle for world power, not independent, being vassals of international middle class; it means bolstering trades uniona struggle as to which particular national finance capital.
ism and sabotaging revolutionary industrial finance capital shall control the world. The Moreover, the real struggle in these nation unionism; it means, fundamentally, a nonissue in the war was world power. In the case alities is a social struggle the struggle of the proletarian program and policy.
of the European nations this issue assumed an masses to end Capitalism and class rule. This Names may mean much, or nothing acimmediately territorial character. But in the was true before the war the political revolu cording to circumstances. It this case, the case of the United States it did not. it assumed tions in Mexico and China developed econoname Communist Party means much, since a completely financial character. The war had mic aspects, assumed the character of social our prime task is to familiarize the masses aggrandized American Capital, until it prac revolution. This social revolutionary tenden with a revolutionary conception of Socialism tically dominated the trade and the investment markets of the world; it had ceased being a cy conquered in Russia, and is trying to contotally antagonistic to the official Socialist quer in other nations.
Party. To use the old name is to confuse the debtor nation and become a creditor nation, National independence breaks down either issue and hamper our task.
possessing enormous resources of surplus ca under the domination of Imperialism, or under The name Communist Party would fire pital. American Capitalism had invested the impact of the international proletarian the imagination and develop new energy in heavily in a prospective victory for the Allies. revolution. The ideology of the 14 points the revolutionary comrades. It would come German victory would have practically necessarily promote Imperialism and reaction. to the masses new, clean, virile, with a prowiped out this investment and smashed the The final futility of the 14 points is the letarian message necessarily evoking a propower of American finance capital to secure alliance between France, Great Britain and letarian response.
world domination.
Italy which is the final proof of the futility More the name Communist Party is neAt the Peace Conference, it was necessary, of the League of Nations.
cessary to make clear the issue. There must in order to protect the investments and the As against the corrupt ideology of the 14 be no compromise. There must be no opportpotential world power of the United States, points and bourgeois democracy, the prole unity to mix Laborism with Socialism. There to conserve the financial and territorial inte rests of the Allies in order that the Allies for Socialism.
tariat must oppose the aggressive struggle must be an implacable determination to rally revolutionary elements alone in our party.
as