BolshevismBourgeoisieCapitalismCominternCommunismDemocracyMarxismSocialismSocialist PartySovietWorkers MovementWorking ClassWorld War

29 28 THE WORKERS COUNCIL APRIL 15, 1921.
APRIL 15, 1921. THE WORKERS COUNCIL counted upon the gratitude of the bourgeoisie in and imperialism on the Left. During the war, this return for their sacrifices and their sufferings, had center had stood, either openly with reformism, or hoped that now, when once the war was over an era had contented itself with passively protesting of peace, brotherliness and democracy would set in, against the social patriotic policies of the Right, In the victorious nations not the proletarian revolu the same straddling policy that they are continuing tion, but Wilson Fourteen Points became the su to the present day, unable to become the bearers of preme hope of the working class, as the enthusiastic a radical labor movement on the one hand, and unreception that Woodrow Wilson met at the hands of willing to oppose it openly on the other. They met the masses in France, Great Britain and Italy plain this difficult situation by winning the support of ly demonstrated. The awakening was as swift as it the masses with a pretense of revolutionary thought was brutal.
The bourgeoisie recovered from the on the one hand and by holding back the masses fright that followed the October revolutions. It from revolutionary action on the other.
had honestly feared that these demobilized hundreds of thousands of workers would call them to account.
Along these lines of thought the Vienna conferBut the bourgeoisie makes concessions to the prole ary phrases, its attacks however were directed not ence did its work. It adopted sounding revolutionthe workers never dreamed of doing any harm to against the Second, but against the Third Internatheir allies and associates in the great war for calling upon all delegates to forgive each other their tional. Friedrich Adler opened the Conference by imperialism.
In Germany, it soon felt so secure, that it de Second International is dead, but that it is unseemwar sins and to think only of the present, that the prived the Workmens and Soldiers Councils of all ly to speak of it as the Third International has governmental functions. In England the bourgeoi: done. Of Moscow he spoke in a different tone.
sie forgot that it had, at one time, almost guaranteed Moscow seeks to divide the proletariat, Vienna will the nationalization of the mines. In France everyunite it. In closing he sang the praises of the Amthing that is reactionary united to take up the sterdam Labor Union International, which alone fight against Bolshevism. The Versailles Treaty holds the power to unite the workers of the whole showed, furthermore, how truthfully the Communworld.
ists in all countries had spoken, when they maintained that there could be no peace and certainly The conviction that there could be no underand the Third Internano just peace so long as the bourgeoisie remained standing between Vienn at the helm. Eastern Europe was driven into inter tional was the Leitmotiv of every speech that was vention after intervention in Soviet Russia, until delivered. Surely there was little need of these proits very foundations are tottering under the strain. testations. Much more to the point would have been The Central Powers were deprived of the possibile some differentiation between the Second and Vienity of industrial recuperation. The brief period of na. Nothing of the sort was so much as attempted, prosperity that followed the armistice, came to an probably because there is no difference that would abrupt close. It is becoming daily more obvious that go beneath the surface. Indeed a resolution was unathe world cannot recover while one half of the world nimously adopted that says: The International Sois condemned to industrial ruin. And in the ears of cialist Conference in Vienna calls upon all workers the working class there rings unceasingly the grim to unify the socialist movement in the various counand sinister question: Who is to pay?
tries. It is determined to work for this unification These are the influences that are steadily at work, to the utmost upon the basis of the motions here radicalizing the masses. The proletariat is recognizadopted, and calls upon the Socialists of all nations ing the impotence of the capitalist world, the hope cation from Noske to Bauer, of course on the aboveto support its endeavors. In other words, a unifilessness of reestablishing even capitalistic conditions as they were before the war. In Great Britain named basis. But since this basis provides for instrong revolutionary tendency is making itself distimate cooperation between Bauer and the raging tinctly felt in the labor movement, demanding, in social patriots Renaudel, Scheidemann, Vandervelde, sisting, upon the nationalization of the railways and Branting, and all the other fossils of a long for the mines. In France organized labor is turning gotten period in the international movement with more and more openly against the bourgeois democ radicals like Ledebour, Longuet and Nobs will find in this new international a harmonious meetracy. Even in the United States, we have lived to see large portions of the of organization ing place.
in rebellion against the dictatorship of Gompers. True, the report of the Committee on Ways and This state of affairs offers a rich field of activity Methods of Organization of the Class Struggle for a movement that stands midway between the stressed the necessity of a proletarian dictatorship radical and the openly opportunistic wing, that after the political supremacy of the proletariat has stands, in theory, upon the principles of Marxism been established. According to its report of the without carrying out these principles to their pracdemocratic power of the stato, it recognized the tical ultimate application. Germany had given an existence of a wide spread desire for a united inexample of this triple division even before the war, strument of the entire class conscious proletariat.
for the German movement was even then sharply The value that such platonic declarations have divided, in spirit if not in fact, the Center about may be judged from the fact that even Renaudel, Kautský holding out against the Bernstein oppor the most determined opponent of proletarian dictunists on the Right and against the radical wing, tatorship as well as the representatives of the Polish under the leadership of Luxemburg, Zetkin, Mehr Socialist Party which fully supported its governing and Liebknecht on the question of mass action ment in the war with Soviet Russia, found it possible to vote without a visible qualm for this ambig ods employed by their governments and their chauuous flourish.
vinistic press to carry on their dangerous and insiEqually amusing was the position taken by the dious propaganda among the masses.
conference to that central problem in West EuroThat these gentlemen also declared for disarmapean proletarian politics, the Peace Conference, and the reparation crisis. Nothing could have shown League of Nations, and even that distinction has ment goes without saying. They all but indorsed the more plainly, that the unity of their capitalist been achieved by some of its individual participants classes is the first premise of the unity of the parties in the past. Indeed, the whole conference fairly that comprise this new International. Its great aim is to be not the revolutionary, education of the cumstances, to be sure, the fight against the Treaty oozed pacifistic sentimentality. Under these cirmasses in times of national capitalist conflicts, but of Versailles became little more than a lame gesture.
the reconciliation, upon a purely pacifistic pro The Powers behind this treaty have only one foe gram of the capitalist enemies with each other.
whom they need fear: Moscow and the Third InterThe Leitmotiv of the resolutions that were ad national. By the same token the Vienna Conference opted on the question of reparations might directs its venom against the Third as its own most well be expressed by the words Capitalists of all dangerous opponent. It refuses the unification of countries, unite. After acknowledging the declara all revolutionary elements and proclaims, instead, tions adopted by the various menshevist parties, and the unification of capitalism by pacifistic phrases.
concurring in the proposal of the French Party Unquestionably the time is not far distant when that a conference of the menshevist parties of Ger this conglomeration of pacifistic phrasemongers will many, France and England an exact replica of unite with its half brother, the Second Internationthe notorious London Conference of the great al, the latter supplying the masses, the former the powers be called, the resolution goes on as follows: bait in the shape of revolutionary slogans. For it is The conference regards the internationalization a fact that in Germany, Holland, the Scandinavian of all war debts and the rendering of unlimited as countries, in Great Britain and in practically every sistance by those countries which suffered least un other nation in Europe the big majority of the soder the devastations of the world war to those which cialistically inclined workers stand behind their rebore the brunt of destruction, in the building up of formistic social patriots.
their productive and consumptive forces as the sup And in the struggle that will follow, the workreme necessity in the regulation of the problem of ing class will be forced by the ruthless logic of reparations. The conference maintains that the events, to recognize that their leaders are, intencapitalist governments are incapable of solving the tionally or unintentionally, the tools of the capitalproblems opened up by the war. It warns the work ist class against the revolutionary forces represented ing class in all countries to guard against the meth by the Communist International.
The Commune: Half a Century of Struggle: 1871 1921 The reII.
closed down by the manufacturers, while at the The Central Committee of the national guard same time plans were made for handing over these now took over the government. This committee con shops to co operative associations of the workers sisted of three delegates for each of the twenty formerly employed in them; these co operatives in precincts (arondissements) of Paris. Two of the turn were to be united into large federations. Here three were chosen by the council of the Legion, the then we have a positive infringement upon the propthird by the battallion commandant of the Legion. erty rights of the capitalists. The expropriators The batallions of one arondissement taken together were themselves expropriated and the means of labor comprised a legion. On March 19th the Central were returned to the disinherited masses.
Committee met in council to decide what was to be maining social decrees of the Commune likewise bear done. It decided to appeal at once to the voters, a distinct proletarian character. Thus the Commune in other words to proceed to the election of a com abolished night work for bakery workers, abolished munal administration for Paris. These elections the system of checking up workers which had heretook place on March 26th, and then the Central tofore constituted the monopoly of certain individCommittee surrendered its powers to the Commune. uals appointed by the police, forbade the reduction There were elected 90 members of the Commune. of wages by the impositions of fines and the These included 15 adherents of the former goverra like on the part of the employers, and encourment and bourgeois radicals, who had been opposed aged the workers associations to place before the to the government but condemned the revolt. The authorities at the city hall their opinions in regard great majority of the members of the Commune to all decrees that seemed essential in the interests stood on the side of the revolt. On the other hand, of the working class. The Commune regulated the not all the revolutionary members of the Commune housing system, ordaining the remission of all rents were socialists.
for the period from October to April, crediting the Meanwhile the Commune proceeded at once to sums already paid in the interim to future rent, inwork. One of its most important measures was the cidentally forbidding all landlords to dispossess decree concerning shops and factories, providing for their tenants. The Commune further prohibited the the municipal operation of the shops that had been sale of pledges in the municipal pawn office, aiming