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56 THE WORKERS COUNCIL MAY 15, 1921 57 May 15, 1921 THE WORKERS COUNCIL this period has been reached, then it is the duty of ducted by a mighty proletariat to win or to hold itthe Italian movement to apply the methods that self in political power, but a fight that has been were so effectively used in Russia in July, 1917, the forced upon it by its enemies, that threatens to method of offensive mass action against the bour choke the whole labor movement in its own blood.
geoisie. If, however, Serrati and his followers are Not the Red Terror, but the White Terror rules in right, if there is, at the present time, no promise for Italy to day, and how thoroughly these countera successful revolution in Italy, then it becomes the revolutionary elements control the situation may immediate duty of the party to strengthen its or be seen from a cable message from Florence that ganization, to educate the working class to an un appeared in the New York Globe sent by its correderstanding of its revolutionary aims, and to turn spondent, Hiram Moderwell, who is well known the passionately excited proletariat of Italy into a for his reliability as well as for his sympathy with class conscious power that will be ready to carry the radical labor movement.
out great and decisive revolutionary actions. SerFlorence, Italy, May When the writer attempted rati was not opposed to the expulsion of the oppor to enter the office of the Florence Labor Union Federatunists. But he vehemently opposed the Third tion to ask about the Fascisti anti Bolshevist campaign International when it or rather its Executive the office was locked, and a nearby shoemaker explained that the labor men rarely visited it.
presumed to dictate the time and the number to be expelled. And for certain very definite reasons. They are afraid of the Fascisti, he added. Where is the Communist deputy, Caroti, who once group of Communists that we learned to know in organized the restaurant waiters strike in New York? the Left Wing movement here in the United States, asked.
of the well meaning but headless and impetuous He has had three different addresses in the last three type, under the leadership of Bordiga, had organ weeks, was the reply. He is now hiding from the ized a Communist Party before the Livorno ConFascisti.
vention met. Just as the Left Wing organization. Where can one attend a Communist election meeting?
by its passionate aggressiveness, made it impossible There are no such meetings. The Communists canto withdraw from the Socialist Party more than a not meet because of the Fascisti.
fraction of those who were at heart in accord with In this city there are none of the Viva Lenin or its position and the Third International to day Viva Revolution signs, which a year ago covered all the realizes only too well how gravely this Left Wing walls of Florence. This is the result of the sensational was mistaken in its tactics so it was impossible for Fascisti campaign. The Socialist and Communist labor unions do not dare hold propaganda meetings or take par an Italian Communist Party to create a strong rev in the elections, as their leaders and agitators are in conolutionary labor movement so long as it stood un stant danger of death. The Fascisti organization, which der the control of these impetuous elements. For three months ago was confined to a small bitter ender this reason Serrati was unwilling to break with TuNationalist organization in Romagna and Tuscany, is now rati at the present time, as the latter, whose ina nation wide organization, with branches in nearly every city and village in Italy. The leaders claim 2, 000, 000 memAuence in the party was, after all, comparatively bers. Ever ready action squads are prepared to go at small, would act as a counterpoise to the superenthu any moment to undertake any violence at command.
siasts of the Bordiga group. In other words, he beIn this connection, the fact that possibly neither lieved that it would be possible to create a strong revo Socialists nor Communists will participate in the lutionary movement, against Turati, in the same elections that are about to take place in Italy, party with Turati, much sooner than this could be speaks volumes.
done in a separate organization made up of and Paul Levi, at that time chairman of the United controlled by elements whose spasmodic irrespon Communist Party of Germany, attended the Lisibility is always repellant to the slower thinking verno Conference, and upon his return published an masses. The opinion recently expressed by the article in the Rote Fahne (the Red Flag. the leaders of the Third International concerning the Berlin official organ, in which, in carefully and American split, ely that the methods used by diplomatically chose words, he sides with Serthe American Communists to divide the Socialist rati. He insisted that there is, in the Italian Party, Party were wrong, is even more true in the case of Italy. With this difference, that there this grave an overwhelming Communist majority, divided mistake is being made with the sanction and under importance, that these groups were being torn asun.
from each other by differences of only secondary the instructions of the International Executive der by the impossibilist attitude of the Italian 100 itself.
per cent Communists, as it was being inspired and What followed in Italy after the Livorno consupported by the Executive of the Third Internaference is well known. The new Communist Party tional, and that the more moderate group, instead immediately embarked upon an offensive campaign.
of being won for the revolutionary movement, was It believed that the Italian revolution was immi being driven into the ranks of the Opportunists.
nent, and adjusted its tactics to meet this situation. But the Italian incident has assumed proporThe first immediate result they achieved was the tions that spread far beyond the confines of the resuscitation of the Fascisti, a comparatively un Italian movement. Levi, and with him Clara Zetimportant nationalist organization, founded and led kin, whose revolutionary determination has always by socialist renegades, who answered the offensive been above criticism, see in the occurrence at Licampaign of the Communist Party with such verno a dangerous entering wedge, that will inevivicious brutality that Communists and Socialists tably split every one of the parties now allied with were driven from the offensive into the defensive. the Communist International. The Italian party What we see in Italy to day is not a civil war, con was present at the birth of the Third International and has ever since been one of its most important more aggressive methods by the International members. If what happened in Italy should be re Executive as against the systematic mass propapeated in Germany, in France, or elsewhere and ganda that the Open Letter had inaugurated.
the Berlin representative of the International indicated quite unreservedly that this will be the case, The resignation of the five from the Central then the Communist movement will inevitably be Committee at its meeting of February 22 to 24, was therefore only logical. No Communist who disrupted, again and again and the forming of Communist Mass Parties which could become a power could think clearly and independently, who was honest with himself and with the movement, could in the country, would be an obvious impossibility.
have acted otherwise in the given situation. Having There is only one alternative, that we return to the recognized that the authoritative organs of the already thoroughly discredited theory that a small minority of class conscious and determined ComInternational were no longer in accord with their munists can overthrow the capitalist government conception, that their methods were being regarded and establish the Dictatorship of the Proletariat.
with suspicion and open opposition, they withdrew To accept this theory as the highest wisdom of from the leadership of the organization. Under the circumstances neither a Levi, nor a Zetkin, nor a revolutionary socialism means, however, that the Hoffmann could hope to win their point. Every atmethods, and practice of violent uprisings, and secret organizations must make all agitation on a large scale tempt in this direction would have been futile. They have been accused of desertion and cravenness. This not only impossible but unnecessary.
accusation is as unfounded as it is incorrect. They While all of these considerations were of parknew that the party was on the point of launching amount importance to Paul Levi, who was chair new tactics, tactics that they could neither fight nor man of the Spartakus Bund and who, after the death tolerate. They refused to be responsible for the of Liebknecht and Luxemburg, held the reigns of occurrences that would inevitably follow, occurthe German Communist movement in his capable rences which, they are convinced, would end tragically hands, while they influenced Klara Zetkin, Adolf for the Communist movement and for the proletariat.
Hoffmann and the others who stood upon the same The happenings of the weeks that followed conground profoundly, there were other considerations firmed their worst fears. The new tactic was orthat practically made their resignation from the dained to a trial hy fire only too speedily. It failed.
Executive Committee of the of Germany Miserably, hopelessly.
a necessity. First among these was the recognition of the Communist Labor Party of Germany by the ing steadily more intense. The counter revolution The class struggle in Germany had been becomInternational as a sympathetic party (a party with a voice, but no vote. We have previously had striven to use the crisis through which Gershown that the dominant characteristic of the many was passing for their own purposes. The London negotiations, with their open enmity beL. of Germany is its pronounced syndicalist antitween France and Germany, the plebiscite in Upper parliamentarism, that it was numerically at the time when the Third International adopted its deSilesia, preceded as it was by months of intensely nationalistic propaganda and chauvinistic hatred, cision, of practically no importance, that the leaders and the organs of this party concentrated their and finally the increasing horror of unemployment had kept the masses in a fever of nationalistic activity mainly upon a series of vile personal attacks upon Levi who had become the nucleus prejudices. In this crisis the called to arms.
It called upon the masses to answer the London against which their entire propaganda was directed, On the other hand it had been extremely sharp in negotiations with their own action. The final anits attacks upon the Third International, accusing swer, they cried to the people, lies not in London, it of compromising, of political cretinism, of opporbut with you. Say what you want, and you will get tunism. The recognition of this party could, in what you want. We have talked long enough! The view of these facts, be regarded only as an intentime for action has come. The language in these tional unfriendly act against the of Gerproclamations became more and more unmistakable, more determined, more powerful. At the same many and particularly against the person of Levi, time, the industrial crisis was assuming dangerous its chairman. Furthermore it seriously hindered the effective work that had been accomplished by the proportions. Negotiations in London were broken open letter in the labor organizations, by off. The bourgeoisie of Silesia and of Poland were strengthening the influence of the syndicalist elecoming to blows over the Silesian question, while ments. This recognition of the permitted the counter revolutionary volunteer organization, but one interpretation, it was virtually an order on the Orgesch, showed an increasing readiness to take the part of the Executive of the Third, to the up the fight against the working class. to approach the and in order to perCertainly, the had no reason to warn its fect a union between the two parties, to sacrifice supporters to grin and bear these intolerable conPaul Levi and the other opportunist leaders who ditions in silence. It is no pacifist organization like shared his views. This interpretation is strengththe Independent Social Democracy. It cannot play ened by the statements made by Zinoviey concernthe traitor, as did the Social Democracy. It had uning Levi in his report to the Tenth Congress of doubtedly become the duty of the to call the Russian Communists.
the masses to revolt, to turn the desperation that was taking possession of greater and greater porIn short, the recognition of this numerically tions of the nation, into conscious revolutionary deunimportant party was an open endorsement of the termination. The situation offered an unparalleled