BourgeoisieCapitalismDemocracySocialismStrikeSyndicalismWorking Class

July 12, 1919 THE REVOLUTIONARY AGE 13 force the mass action of the industrial pro industrial union is the instrument of revolu may function. The revolution is an act of a letariat of average labor.
tion. equally the might for the revolutionary minority, at first; of the most class conscious The new conditions of proletarian struggle act and the norm of the new society. Indus section of the industrial proletariat, which, in develop new conceptions of organization, or trial unionism is not simply a means, a more a test of electoral strength, would be a minorideas of organization. The facts of industrial effective means than any previously used, to ity, but which, being a solid, industrially inconcentration, the decreasing importance of carry on the every day struggle against the dispensable class, can disperse and defeat alt skilled labor, the massing of industrial control employing class: it is Socialism in action and other classes through the annihilation of the in a centralized capitalist autocracy, render Socialism in the making.
fraudulent democracy of the parliamentary more and more futile the econmic struggles But the dominant conservative Socialism system implied in the dictatorship of the pro of the craft unions, which now engage large refuses to accept, it cannot accept unless letariat, imposed upon society by means of ly in industrial and political bargaining. But transforming itself, the revolutionary implic revolutionary mass action.
a new and militant force arises in the unions, ations of industrial unionism. Organized So State Capitalism, through its weakening of composed of the unskilled and those whose cialism persists in rendering stultifying hom parliamentary control and its centralized adskill has been expropriated by the machine age to the fetish of parliamentarism. The ministrative autocracy, emphasizes the insufprocess; revolutionary currents develop, and general defects of parliamentarism are em ficiency of parliamentarism. But yet the prothe problem of industrial unionism becomes phasized and multiplied by the conditions of letarian movement cannot reject politics. Paran issue. Industrial unionism, however, is State Capitalism and the developing require adoxical though it may appear, State Capincompatible with the dominant forces in the ments of the proletariat of average labor: it italism, while it emphasizes the futility of craft unions; the unskilled are a minority, cannot express the requirements of this pro parliamentarism in and of itself, broadens the and industrial unionism is turned into a com letariat, nor can it successfully wage the scope and necessity of politics. In urifying promise, a grotesque compromise in the form struggle against State Capitalism, which ruling class interests and imposing a drastic of amalgamations. The concept of indust means an intensification of class antagonisms regulation upon industry, State Capitalism rial unity and solidarity of action cannot and struggles and the development of an em makes the state a vital issue of the class strugbreak through the pride and prestige of craft erging proletarian state through industrial gle in its general aspects. More and more and property; industrial unionism founders unions as against the state of imperialistic the state concerns itself directly in industrial on the rocks of craft disputes and jurisdic State Capitalism. The new movements of disputes: the class struggle becomes intensetional squabbles, which absorb so much of the industrial proletariat engage in a struggle ly political. Politics is the field in which all craft union activity. The craft unions are to revolutionize the dominant Socialism; the issues of the class struggle are in action. It completely destroyed, as in the steel industry, struggle fails and is relinquished, developing is not a single issue, but the totality of issues or they become, largely, mere job trusts the idea that Socialist politics as such are not arising out of the antagonisms of bourgeois and instruments of peaceful bargaining and and never can become revolutionary; the society that the proletariat must struggle compromise with the employers, supplement trend becomes one of severing relations with against. It is not through ownership of ined by betrayals of the unskilled.
Socialism, and the revolutionary movements dustry alone that the capitalist maintains his Industrial unionism becomes an expression of the proletariat acquire an active or passive rule; the simple fact of ownership is itself of, and develops real strength and influence non political bias. This development empha maintained by a large number of means, a among, the unskilled workers, in whom com sizes the vital defects of the parliamentary large number of issues, social, political, intermon conditions of labor, absence of craft dis policy of Socialism.
national, all of which are centralized in tinctions and the discipline of machine in This non political policy is temporary, be State Capitalism. The proletariat must industry develope the necessity and potential ing the product of transitory conditions. As terest itself in all these issues, engage in the ity of the industrial form of organization. The industrial unionism engages more and more parliamentary struggle through which cappower of this proletariat lies in its mass and in the general class fight against Capitalism, italist society as a whole stands forth naked numbers, in its lack of artificial distictions of as parliamentary Socialism weakens under the and unashamed.
skill and craft. Being a product of the mass pressure of revolutionary events, each in it The parliamentary struggle, waged in a ing of workers in a particular industry, the self and even jointly are considered incom revolutionary spirit and as a phase of the unskilled strike en masse, act through mass plete, and the two means of action become general action of the proletariat, issues a action; being united and disciplined by con merged in the general action of the proleta challenge to capitalist supremacy in every centrated industry and its machine process, riat, centralized, dominated and energized by issue which insures bourgeois supremacy. It the unskilled proletariat organizes its unions revolutionary mass action.
is not through securing better wages and betindustrially, in accord with the facts of in What are the limitations of industrial ter conditions of labor that the proletariat dustry, in accord with the conditions of its unionism and parliamentary action in their conquers power, but by weakening Capitalism work and existence. Industrial unionism in particularized activity?
in all the issues that maintain its ascendancy.
form is an expression of the integration of Parliamentary action in and of itself can Parliamentary action centers attention on all industry and the proletariat by the mechanism not realize the militant independence of the these issues; if revolutionary, parliamentary of capitalist production itself, and it becomes proletariat, marshal its forces and organize action realizes the futility, however, of solvpeculiarly the unionism of the revolutionary its revolutionary action. Parliamentary act ing these issues through politics alone, and proletariat. All groups of workers in an in ivity is an expression of the proletarian it therefore calls to the struggle the industrial dustry are organized and unified into one struggle, not the struggle itself; it is a forin and mass action of the proletariat in class.
union, cast in the mold of the industry in of expression of class power, but not a fun political strikes. This unity of means and which they work, artificial differences of oc damental factor in developing this class action develops class consciousness and class cupational divisions being swept aside. Strikes power. Parliamentarism in itself cannot power. By concentrating on all issues that become general and acquire political signifi alter the actual bases of power in the class are vital to Capitalism, revolutionary Socialcance, action becomes the action of the mass, struggle, nor develop that force without ist parliamentarism emphasizes and intensifies the integrated action of an integrated prole which the aspirations of the Revolution are the antagonisms between proletariat and tariat. Where the craft unions initiated the unrealizable. All propaganda, all electorai bourgeoisie, and in this sense. awakens the strike of a single group of workers in an in and parliamentary activity are insufficient for consciousness and general action of the proledustry, the industrial union initiates a strike the overthrow of Capitalism, impotent when tariat. At one moment politics develop into of all the workers. The ideology of solidar the ultimate test of the class struggle turns industrial and mass action; at another moity becomes the practice of solidarity. into a test of power. The power for the So ment, these develop into politics: the two are Industrial unionism, as the expression of cial Revolution issues out of the actual strug inseparable phases of the same dynamic prounskilled workers impelled by objective con gles of the proletariat, out of its strikes, its cess of class action, each dependent upon and ditions to subjectively accept class action, industrial unions and mass action. The peace developing the other. Socialist parliamentacquires a revolutionary concept, conscious ful parliamentary conquest of the state is arism, accordingly, should not be an empty ness and activity. Instead of the craft union either sheer utopia or reaction; this concep means of protest or a futile means of demomotto of fair day pay for a fair day tion forgets two important things: the actual cratizing the state and growing into Şowork, industrial unionism inscribes upon its power of government resides in industry and cialism, but a dynamic phase of proletarian banners the revolutionary motto, Abolition in an administrative autocracy, not in parlia action; and, recognizing its limitations and of the wages system. The ultimate purpose ments, and this power must be overthrown utility, becomes a supreme method of develof industrial unionism is the organization of by extra parliamentary action; while it is ut oping revolutionary and class consciousness all the workers in accord with the facts of terly inconceivable that revolutionary Social ideologically, which is transformed into class production, constructing in this way the struc ism should ever secure power through an el power by industrial and mass action.
ture of the new society within the old, as a ectoral majority under the forms of bourgeois Industrial unionism, in itself, and even if necessary phase in the overthrow of Capital democracy. Parliamentarism is actually coun it recognizes and accepts the Socialist parliaism and the establishment of a new society ter revolutionary, as it strengthens the fetish mentary struggle, has its own limitations. Inwhich shall function through the industrially of democracy: bourgeois democracy must be dustrial unionism, in its dogmatic expression, organized producers. Not the state, but the anihilated before the proletarian revolution assumes a general organization of the prole