Saturday, July 26, 1919 THE REVOLUTIONARY AGE 13 Parliaments and Soviets THE fundamental difference between the By Bucharin Council, which elaborates plans for economic parliamentary system and the Soviet power Of the Russian Soviet Republic changes and the administration of production.
is already known. It is known that the Soviets In the same way the central organism of adgrant no political rights to the non producing unions embrace all industrial activity, they ministration is composed of representative classes. The country is governed by the coun have ramifications in the various towns and workers, and rests upon the mass organizcils elected by the working population in the are maintained by the masses of the organation of the working class.
place where they work, in the workshops, the ized workers. On the other hand, there Thus we have an institution quite different mines, and the villages. The capitalists, the exists today in every factory a committee from the capitalist republic. Not only because landed proprietors, middle class intellectuals, elected by the workers. The factory comthe non producer is deprived of the right to bankers, stockholders, and speculators, merch mittees group themselves and send their revote; not only because the country is adants and shopkeepers, priests and monks, in presentatives to the Supreme Economic ministrated by the workers and peasants, but short, all who form the black army of Capitalabove all because the Government of the Soism, arę deprived of the right to vote and are viets is in constant relations with the organCorrespondence without political power.
ized masses, and in this way, at all times, The Constituent Assembly (or Parliament. Continued from page 14)
the greater part of the population joins in the members of which are elected to represent by a Left Wing Convention to organize the the administration of the State. Every orterritorial constituencies) is the basis of the Communist Party. This we shall do.
ganized worker exercises an influence, not Parliamentary Republic. The highest sove But, frankly, no longer take your secession only because, once or twice a month, he elects reignty of the Communist Republic belongs to from the Left Wing so seriously. To be quite to represent him men in whom he places conthe Congress of Soviets.
accurate you never joined with the Left Wing, fidence, but because the industrial unions can In what does the one differ from the other? so far as your delegates to the Conference themselves elaborate their own plans of orIn the fact that to the Constituent Assembly, were concerned; though have no doubt we ganization. These plans are examined by the not only are the representatives of the workers shall get plenty of support from Michigan Soviets concerned, by the economic Soviets, and peasants elected, but also the represent for the National Left Wing movement as and, if approved, they become law as soon as atives of owners, bankers, and capitalists, the against the Michigan Party of America. You the Central Executive Committee of the sorepresentatives of all the capitalist class and can confuse the situation and make our task viets has ratified them. An industrial union, their hangers on.
more difficult. But if that must be, why, comor factory committee can in this way take Experience shows that wherever the bour rade, one more stumbling block in the hard part in the common work of building up new geoisie enjoys political rights, it uses those path of revolutionary Socialism is nothing forms of life.
rights to dupe the workers and peasants. Be much to worry about.
In the capitalist republic the position of the cause it has the press, both the daily news Only feel keen disappointment in the per State improves as the activities of the masses papers and the periodicals, in its hands: be sonal sense with my comrades from Detroit are restricted, for the interests of the masses cause it has great wealth at its disposal, the and Ann Arbor, and the few others in Michi are in conflict with the capitalist State. The bourgeoisie is able to corrupt public officials, gan who may encourage you in this pursuit Soviet Republic, which embodies the dictatorto employ for its benefit the services of hund of the absolutely perfect Socialist Party for ship of the popular masses, could not subsist reds of thousands of agents; is always able which only the immortelles of the Proletarian for a single instant without their support. On to menace, and to intimidate for its own ad University are fit. This is a time for big deeds, the contrary its strength grows as the masses vantage, its slaves; and, in fact, to organize for broad perspective in viewing the actualities become more conscious, and as they become things in such a way that not a scrap of the of tremendous historical developments. You more active in every direction: in the factory power shall escape from its clutches.
have bragged of the fact that Michigan stands the workshop, in every town and village.
All the people apparently participate in the today where Michigan stood even before the Before the revolution of November 7, 1917 elections, but, under this pretence is hidden the world war. This is but another admission the organizations of workers and peasants domination of Capitalism, which flatters itself that to you the realities of the proletarian were simply the instruments of the class war that it has granted the people the right to vote mass life and consciousness means nothing against the ruling, and possessing capitalists.
and all democratic privileges, but which unless it comes out of the class room. You do The organizations fought capital for higher takes good care to preserve its own privileges. violence to the class room itself by divorcing wages and shorter working days, and in the Thus in bourgeois republican countries, under it from the dynamics of the proletarian revovillages they fought for the expropriation of the cloak of universal suffrage, the power is lution. And, might add, that in this very the land. Now that the power is in the hands found to be entirely in the hands of the great experience have come to realize with pain of the workers and peasants. they have beforces of Capitalism.
ful distinctness the Michigan failure to grasp come the wheels of the governmental mechanUnder the parliamentary system each citizen the fundamental conceptions of Communist ism. The industrial unions are not merely casts his vote into the ballot box once in four theory and tactics. You spurn the concepts fighting Capitalism. As an organic and inor five years, and the field is then clear for the of mass action and industrial unionism, as extegral part of the Workers Soviet Governmembers of Parliament, Cabinet Ministers, and pressed by the Left Wing, because you are ment they join in the organization of proPresidents, to manage everything without any not looking toward the mass proletarian exduction and economic activity. In the same reference to the toiling masses. Gulled and perience under Imperialism. The fundamental way, the village and peasant Soviets, not only exploited by its officials, the toilers have no snobbery of the reactionists displays itself in wage war upon the village usurers, the cappart whatever in the administration of the this application of Michigan tactics which you italists, and the proprietors of the soil, but, capitalist state.
make to the party problem. You pay lip hom as organs of government, as wheels in the In the Soviet Republic, born of the dictator age to revolution, and you discriminatingly mechanism of this giant, the workers and ship of the workers, the administration rests quote the Marxian texts. But you want no peasants State, they work to elaborate new on an altogether new basis. It is not an or contamination of the proletariat by taking agrarian laws.
ganization of officials independent of the seriously its first incoherent expressions of Thus, little by little, through the organmasses and dependent on the capitalists. The protest, as they appear in industry, in the mass izations of the workers and peasants, the central government is established on the great strikes of industrial unionism.
Nor do you most extensive sections of the active populclass organizations of the workers and peas want the contamination of other than Exe ation are summoned to take part in the affairs ants; the industrial unions, the factory com cutive ruled proletarians within your nice little of State. No other country offers anything mittees, local workers and peasants councils, Michigan Party.
to compare with this, because no other counand organizations of soldiers and sailors. But you will have a rude awakening, and a try has known the victory of the working From the centre stretch thousands and millions bad after taste. The rank and file of the Fede class, the dictatorship of the proletariat, the of conducting threads which lead to the pro rations and of your own State, when they are Republic of the Soviets.
vincial Soviets, the municipal Soviets, the allowed to get accurate information and given Much had already been written of the diclocal Soviets, and finally to the factory work the chance to figure these things out for them tatorship of the proletariat, but no one knew shop Soviets.
selves, will make short work of your unprin exactly in what form it would be realized.
Take, for example, the Supreme Council cipled recklessness with regard to the general The Russian Revolution shows us the precise (or Soviet) of Public Economy. It is com party situation throughout the country. form of that dictatorship. It is the Republic posed of representatives of industrial comEarnestly yours, of the Soviets. That is why the arms of the missions, factory committees, and similar FERGUSON, Soviets are inscribed on the banners of the institutions. On the one hand, the industrial National Secretary. best ranks of the international proletariat.