INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF REVOLUTIONARY SOCIALIST RECONSTRUCTION FEBRUARY, 1918 Vol. I, No. 10 Price, 10 Cents Revolutionary Unionism On Trial masses.
proceeded against the in order feasibility of making a Social Revolution, unorganized unskilled workers, which contensely interested in the trial of the to strike at the workers.
the revolution of the proletariat which is stitute the factor in the overthrow of Capgroup of officials and members of This is vital immediate issue; but the The trial is an historic there is a correlative ultimate issue of the greatest revolution in all history, by italism. Rally to the support of the inthe peurile methods described in the in dicted Rally around the event of the first importance, not only in even more vital importance: the trial of dictment. No, gentlemen, the Social revolutionary proletariat in action!
the magnitude of its scope, but in the mag. the means the trial of revo Revolution is a much more difficult task mitude of the issues involved.
lutionary unionism.
than all that.
This trial is the greatest of its kind The Constituent Assembly and in the history of the American Labor the Bolsheviki movement. Moreover, the issues are not personal, but social; not group, but class HE dissolution of the Constituent Armistice and Peace TH in scope.
At a time when the cause of Assembly by the decree of the Bolshevik government was a necessary the workers has been betrayed by the Resolutions adopted at a mass meeting held in Arlington Hall, December 20, under and a revolutionary act. regular unions paralyzed in the auspices of Local Greater New York, Socialist Propaganda League In the decree of dissolution, Nikolai of the proletariat itself takes the bit in its teeth, acts and strikes aggressively.
The workers of the world demand an immediate general peace, a peace that Lenine, premier of the revolutionary proAnd it is this fact that has brought the shall alter the imperialistic status quo ante in accord with the international aspira letarian government, declared that the tions of the revolutionary proletariat of Russia. to trial. The is an Constituent Assembly was elected from The governments of the imperialistic belligerents are determined upon a conexpression of latent revolutionary spirit of tinuation of the war in the interest of their particular imperialism; the proletariat the old election lists, hence necessarily bethe American proletariat; and, accordalone as a class is interested in and can hasten immed peace that shall procame the organ of the bourgeois republic; mote civilization and progress.
that the Constituent Assembly had set itingly, the capitalist government and the The class interests of the American proletariat make necesary the adoption of self against the revolution of November capitalist dominated and corrupt bureauc an immediate program of action: 6, which decreed all power to the Counracy of the of engage in a covert We demand that the government accept the proposal of the de facto governconspiracy to destroy the each ment of Russia for the immediate conclusion of a general armistice on all bellicils; that the revolution had proven to the gerent fronts, masses the deceptive character of the for peculiar moutves of its own, but each, We demaid that the governmeit insist dat Grvat. Britain, France and parliamentary regime, and that there is equally, because the revolutionary proleItaly shall equally accept the armistice.
tariat menaces their interests.
only one government capable of maintain3. We demand that the negotiations for an armistice shall not include the This unholy alliance is explained by discussion of peace terms, the discussion and formulation of those terms being ing the struggle against the exploiting this fact: once the American revolution left to the peoples of each belligerent nation.
class, the revolutionary government of We call upon the class conscious workers to prepare the organization of a the Councils of Workers and Soldiers.
ary proletariat awakens to consciousness, proletarian peace congress, which shall discuss our action in co operation with The parliamentary regime is the exorganizes itself and acts, it will mean the the international proletariat and in accord with the peace principles of revolu pression of bourgeois democracy. an inend of the domination equally of capi tionary Socialism talist government and of the capitalist The proletariat must organize as an independent factor in the process of strument for the promotion of bourgeois dominated of securing peace, separate and distinct from all other social groups. The proletariat class interests and the deception of the alone is international in its interests, and it alone can determine the conclusion The proletarian revolution anniAn important immediate issue involved of an international peace upon the formula of revolutionary Russia.
hilates this parliamentary regime. The is the ability of the workers to strike durWe affirm our solidarity with the proletariat of Russia, and express our fra division of functions in a parliamentary It is the purpose of the ternal appreciation of its intrepid class conscious activity.
government is a necessary instrument capitalist class to curb and abolish strikes against opposition, the legislature talks during the war, and in this way make and represents democracy, while the more profits in the present and set a preceThe first count in the government indent for the future. But war intensifies But the wording of the indictment is executive acts autocratically.
dictment charges that the is a the exploitation of the workers: war means mere camouflage, a cloaking of the real lutionary government of Russia unites purpose. Of course the prosecution could both functions democratically in the Couna more brutal capitalism, a more intensely revolutionary organization that seeks to secure for the working class complete not charge the with having a cils of Workers and Soldiers.
exploited proletariat; it means all the evils All democracy is relative, is class of the capitalist system raised to the control and ownership of all property, and revolutionary objective alone, since the The revolution in Russia highest, most malevolent point. Under of the means of producing and distributDeclaration of Independence provides democracy.
these conditions, the class struggle should ing property through the abolition of all and sets a precedent for revolution. It recognizes no other class but the prole other classes of society (by the members had to be done by tortuous means with tariat and proletarian peasantry. Its be waged more aggressively. The proleout any regard for right or wrong.
democracy is also class democracy, with tariat can not relinquish its strikes that of said organization designated as capitalist, the capitalist class, the master way lies more misery and subjection.
The purpose is plain. It is to strike at this vital difference: that while bourgeois class, the ruling class, exploiters of the revolutionary unionism.
The capitalist class uses war to pro workers, bourgeois, and parasites. very well be done in the days of peace, This could not democracy perpetuates class tyranny, proletarian democracy annihilates tyranny.
mote its own interests: securing new marso the opportunity of war (that patriotic The problem of parliamentary goverkets which can absorb its surplus capital. such abolition to be accomplished not by with any regard for pretext for all sorts of capitalist infamy)
ment is a crucial one in the proletarian revolution: Socialism cannot seize the fabulous profits out of war needs, and right or wrong but by the continued and had to be used instead.
increasing its domination over the workers. persistent use and employment of unlawful, tortuous and forcible means and Now there can be no Socialism with ready made machinery of the State and use it for its purposes. new form of The proletariat should use war to proout revolutionary unionism and its cormote its interests: multiply its strikes for methods, involving threats, assaults, inrelated general mass action of the prole lutionary proletariat. as in Russia.
government must be organized by the revo juries, intimidations and murders upon better conditions, emphasize its antagonism tariat. Revolutionary unionism and mass the persons and the injury, and destruc action are the great forces for surmountYears ago, Karl Marx indicated the to and weaken the domination of the tion (known in said organization as sacapitalist class, and develop its revolufunction of a dictatorship of the proleing the capitalist mode of production; tariat in the Social Revolution. It is botage, direct action, working on the tionary spirit for action in the days to job. of the property of such other classes, moreover, revolutionary industriay unionism will constitute the structure of the precisely this dictatorship that is now makThe employers in the West used the the forcible resistance to the execution est new Socialist society. It is upon the basis dictatorship of the proletariat refuses to all laws and finally the forcible revoluwar to cheat the government and the of unionism and mass action that revolu recognize any rights of the non prolepeople, to make unheard of profits. At tionary overthrow of all existing governtionary Socialism builds. And in the trial tarian class; it breaks completely with the the same time, it tried to break the spirit mental authority, in the United States.
of the is involved precisely the This count in the indictment is as stuinstitutions, idealogy and superstitions of of the workers, crush their organizations action of the proletariat as expressed in the bourgeois regime; it use dictatorial and action. The workers marched out pid as it is illuminating of the motives of revolutionary unionism and mass action.
measures, the dictatorship of a class, to in revolt, through their own spontaneous the prosecution in making the indictment.
The task of the revolutionary Socialist promote and establish the revolution and mass action, and rallied around the The individual who framed this indict is clear. The with all its the new society, in which dictatorship will as a true representative of the work ment is certainly an original sociologist, imperfection, is a revolutionary organiza be incompatible with the actuality of full ers. The capitalist government thereupon a genius in assinity: just imagine the tion, an expression of the vast mass of and free democracy.
ing the war.
The revocome.