re THE REVOLUTIONARY AGE July 12, 1919 Unionism and Mass Action THE HE working class, as every revolutionary By Louis Fraina war; and this failure to adjust purposes and class, passes through a process of mat From Revolutionary Socialism tactics to the new proletarian and social conerial and ideological development, in which ditions conservatizes Socialism, turns it into its purposes and tactics, determined by the cannot develop out of isolated economic a reactionary force, temporarily, to be sure, prevailing historical conditions, are trang action. At this period the concept of the but still reactionary.
formed and adapted to new circumstances as workers engaging in independent class poli The concentration of industry and technothey arise. This development, roughly, contics is revolutionary, as it develops the consci logical development generally have during the sists of three phases: ousness of class and establishes class contact past twenty years revolutionized the material Isolated economic action, through craft with the ruling class.
existence of the proletariat. On the one hand unions and sporadic strikes, with a gradual Socialism, with its program of class poli has been produced the typical proletarian of development of the idea of independent politics, offers the workers a class conception and tical action as a revolutionary means of strugclass activity that are historically revolution integration of industry in mammoth proporaverage unskilled labor; on the other, the gle.
ary. This development marks an epoch in tions has developed the conditions for general Political action, in its parliamentary logically and potentially at least, the workers the proletarian movement. It arouses, ideoclass action of the workers through industsense, dominant in the proletarian class moverial means directed against the capitalist, not consciousness of class; and without this conment, becomes conservative and incompatas an individual but as a class, and against ible with the development of the proletariat, either to futile insurrection or being an inst proletariat has been centralized into large insciousness of class the proletariat is doomed the whole bourgeois regime and its state. The does not adapt itself to this development; rument for the promotion of rival bourgeois dustrial groupings, and its revolts and action and revolutionary movements arise, industrial interests.
in character, that repudiate all politics.
constitute a general action against Capital3. The third phase, the phase into which lines of politics, in the parliamentary sense.
Accordingly, Socialism develops along the ism, the tremors of which are felt throughout the whole industrial and social system.
we are now emerging, adjusts itself to new circumstances and the increasing develop, or conservative according to historical con phasized, with the rise of Imperialism, arousBut a means of action may be revolutionary This development, coincident, it must be emment of the proletariat, recognizing industrial ditions and requirements. At one period, a and political action as synthetic factors in the particular means may be revolutionary; at which are unable to cope with the new develes discontent and revolts in the craft unions, general mass action of the proletariat, as another, considering new conditions which rephases of the dynamic struggles of the new opments, and in which the unskilled become quire new or supplementary means of action, social revolutionary era.
a more and more influential factor. But even it may become conservative, even reactionary.
The proletariat steps upon the stage of This is precisely what happens to Socialism ing large masses of unorganized unskilled more significant are the great strikes involvhistory as a revolutionary class. It wa the in its parliamentary phase, which is its domin workers, strikes that shake the very fabric of still immature class of workers that saved ant phase. Where previously Socialism dev capitalist society, and the influence of which the French Revolution, that established a eloped the consciousness of class and poten stimulate revolutionary currents within the bourgeois revolution in spite of the cowardly tial revolution in the proletariat, within the Socialist organizations. Instead of recognizhesitancy and compromise of the bourgeoisie, limits of its maturity, it now becomes a force ing the revolutionary vitality of these new In all subsequent revolutions in France and that hampers this development. rance is the classical exemplar of this period developments, the dominant Socialism tries to Socialism in its early activity as a general compress and stultify them within the limits in the development of the proletariat the organized movement was compelled to em of the old tactics, tries to maintain the ascendorkers were a dynamic factor; they made phasize the action of politics because of the ancy of a Socialism expressing the non revthe revolution, but they could not retain con immaturity of the proletariat. The workers olutionary elements of skilled labor and the trol because of the immaturity of their class are scattered, and their struggles are largely petty bourgeoisie. In its struggles against development. The great struggle of the Paris directed against the individual employer; Capitalism and the dominant Socialism the Commune was the final heroic act of this large scale industry has not developed suffi unskilled industrial proletariat turns to mass period, and at the same time a projection of siently to make large masses of workers eng action, a mass action that emphasizes the futwhat was to come.
In the historical sense, age in a general industrial class struggle ility and reactionary character of pure and these revolts were not revolution but insur against Capitalism and the state. The work. simple parliamentarism.
rections, revival of the action of the bour ers, subjectively and objectively, find it diffigeois revolution and dominated largely by its cult to establish general class contact with The reactionary character of the dominant ideology. With the downfall of the Com each other industrially; it could be, and it Socialism is expressed not simply in the faimune and the collapse of the social revoluwas, done through political contact of isollure to accept the new developments, but in tionary First International, the workers enter ated workers. Socialism, the dominant parthe fact that it has frequently condemned upon a new period, the period of systematic, liamentary Socialism, sees in the unions simand opposed manifestations of the new propeaceful organization and struggle, along ply a transitory phase which may be necesletarian action, occasionally even actively national and moderate lines, and not inter sary under given conditions, but which are betrayed the unskilled proletariat while it was national and revolutionary. The value of unimportant in comparison with politics, as in the midst of gigantic struggles against these early revolts lay in impressing the work is mass action and extra parliamentary action Capitalism.
ers with a sense of their own class immatur generally. The unions are conceived as conThe dominant Socialism maintains its inity and driving out of their consciousness the servative instruments, as organizations that fluence because of prestige, the conservatism surviving ideology of the bourgeois revolufact retard the revolutionary development of organization, and the insufficiently develtion.
of the workers, which is true, in the period oped consciousness of the unskilled proletaThe workers, when they organize against under consideration, but not as an ultimate riat; but it is gradually undermined by inCapitalism, organize into unions to carry on proposition. Socialism makes a fetish of dustrial development and its new requirea struggle for more wages and better condi polítics. parliamentarism is emphasized as ments. The industrial proletariat is organtions of work generally. Largely because the instrument with which the proletariat may ized by the very mechanism of capitalist protheir skill is still an important factor (and emancipate itself. But that happens which duction itself; industry becomes co ordinthese early movements are dominantly niove differs from the earlier Socialist politics; ated, integrated, and the strikes of the induments of skilled labor. the workers win cer under the impulse of the national bias, social strial workers assume revolutionary signifitain concessions. But because they are skill reformism and an opportunism that refuses cance, antagonizing the dominant craft unions ed workers, and equally because Capitalism to adapt itself to new requirements, the parlia and parliamentary Socialism, and striking has not yet integrated industry and the pro mentary, as well as the general, activity of directly at Capitalism through the industrial letariat, these movements do not assume rev Socialism becomes conservative, hesitant, source of capitalist supremacy. While antaolutionary proportions, nor do they actually compromising. The dominant Socialism bé gonisms between the bloc of skilled labor conquer material concessions. The comes a fetter upon the emancipation of the and the petite bourgeoisie as against the capmic action is isolated; there is no general proletariat.
italist class are softened, the antagonisms contact of the working class with the capital This result does not arise out of any one between the industrial proletariat and Capist class, and the conception of a more general fact, but of a series of facts, previously con italism are sharpened. Industrial struggles class struggle arises, developing into poli sidered; the central fact is that Socialism did become more and more general, larger in tics and parliamentary activity. Through the not adjust itself to the development of the scope and intensity; a new epoch of class war action of politics, the workers oppose a gen proletariat, nor to the social revolutionary era emerges, relentless in spirit and aggressive eral struggle to Capitalism, a struggle that objectively introduced by Imperialism and the in purpose. a class war having as its driving econo