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COUNCIL
CORRESPONDENCE
ENGLISH EDITION
F o r Theory a n d Discussion
CONTENTS
T H E S E S
O N
BOLSHEVISM;
1 The
significance
of
Bolshevism.
2 The
preconditions.
3 The class groupings.
4 The
essence
of
Bolshevism.
5 The
directives.
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v -
PAAAPULEIT PUNJAB
BY
UNITED WORKER) PARTY
WORLD WIDE- FASCISM
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VDeo.1934 - Counoil Correspondence.
I I . The Precondi t i ons of the Russian Revoluti on
4 Russian sooiety was deci si vel y condi ti oned by i ts posi t i on be
ommercial capitalist development,*the P
o l i
J
i o a
J :
h
®
u
J^o l i t i s t s ta te
'S K"s:™'£
and pol i ti oal system i n i ts own peoul i ar way.
u i^ra'sajwisrpsi;^ gsSgf
1
®
1
^
u l l S t ° i ? i t J S i S
era^of^imperialist
u
P®*^ng oreated two mutually
t r l^ l ized area
of
Western Europe
an d
Nor th ^e^oa,
ana tne
ooioniai
oenter
of
passive imperialist plunder
in the
®fj*°ultura
;
L reg:lone
of
Eastern Asia.
The
olass menace
to the
imperialist system thus arises
from both these c ent ers :
th e
international proletarian revolution
finds i t s pivot in the highly developed oapitaliet oounitrieipeasant
Europe and Amerioa, t h e national
a
?
r a r i
{ ^ t h e dividing *
countries of Eastern Asia. In Rus sia , rtlo} rtjod a t t h e dividing
point between
t h e
spheres
of
influence
of the two
imperialist oenters,
the two revolutionary tendencies were mingiea.
6, The Russian eoonomy was a combination of antiquatei agrarian
production characterist ic of Asia, and of modern industrial eoonomy
oharaoterlst io of Europe. Serfdom in various forms J"**™*
1
*} g j f
tioe for an enormous mplority of Russian Peasants. The email begin
.lings of cap i t a l i s t agi cu lt ur e were thus
tent. They merely oaused t h e breaking up of the Russian village, i t s
Indeeorlbable pauperization, while leaving t h e peasant chained to a
Joll whioh no longer was able t o nourish him. Russian agrloul'ture,
smbraoing four-fifths of the Russian population and more than half
t i e total production, was u n t i l 1917 a feudal eoonomy sprinkled with
oapitalistlo elements. Russian industry
t a B
e npa ft ed upon th e coun-
try by the oz ar is t regime, which wanted to be Independent of foreign
countries especially in the production of army supplies. Since, how-
sver, Russia laoked th e basis of a.well developed system pf handi-
craf t s and the rudiments fo r t h e building* of a class of free labor-
*78 , this state capitalism, though born a s mass produotion, created
r.d wacre-working olass. I t was a system o^oapitalistio serfdom, and
preserved strong traces of this peculiarity down to 1917 in suoh
'ea'ures as the code of wage payments, barraoking of the workers,
sooial legislation, eto. The Russian workers were therefore no t only
technically backward, b ut also t o a g reat ex ten t i l l i ter at e and in
large part direotly or indirdotly bound t o t h e v i l lage. In many
branches of Industry, th e labor foroe was made up mainly of seasonal
peasant workers who had no permanent oonneotion with th e oity.
Russian industry until 1917 was a system of capitalist produotion i n -
terpersed with feudal elements. Feudal agrioulture and cap i t a l i s t i n -
dustry were thus mutually penetrated with eaoh other's baslo elements
*
Deo.1934 - Oounoil Correspondence.
— — t
**d had been combined Into a system whioh oould neither be governed
by feudal principle# of eoonomy no r furnish t h e foundation® for an o
ganlo development o f l t f capitalist ic elements.
7• The eoonoaio task of the Russian Revolution was, f i r s t , the
sett ing aside of the oonaealed agrarian feudalism an d i t s oontlnued
exploitation of the peasants a s serfs, together with th e indust r ia l -
izat ion of agriculture, plaolng i t on the plane of modern oommodity
production; seoondly, t o make possible th e unrestricted oreation ofa olass of really "free laborers", l iber ating t h e industrial develop
ment from a l l i t s feudal fetters. Essentially, t h e tasks of the bour-
geois resolution.
6. I t was on
this foundation that
t h e
State
of
osarlst absolutist
arose.
The
existence
of
this State depended
on an
equilibrium between
the two
possessing olasses, neither
of
whloh
was
able
t o
dominate
the
other.
I f
oapitaliem furnished
t h e
eoonomlo backbone
of
that State,
i t s
poli t ioal prop
was
p rov ided ^
Wis
feudal nobil ity. "Constitutla#
1
"right
t o
vote",
an d
system^pf
T
self-government
i
oould
no t
oonoeal
t h e
politioal impotenoe
o f a l l
olasses
in the
osariat State whioh,
under
th e
oonditlons
of the
country's eoonomlo baokwardness,produoed
a
method
of
government which
was a
mixture of fcropean absolutism
and
Oriental despotism.
6 . Po l i t ioal l iC t h e taek^ 'onfron t l iw; th e Russian Revolution were;
t h e destruction
f t
absolutism, t h e abolit ion of the feudal nobility
as t h e f i r s t e s t a t e , and the oreation of a po l i t ical const i tu t ion and
an administrative apparatus whloh would secure poetically t h e f u l -
fi l lment of the eoonomlo taek of the Revolution. The po l l t loal jpaske
of the Russian Revolution were, therefore, quite i n accord with i t e
eoonomlo pre supp osit ions , th e task* of the botu^eois fevolution*
I I I . - Th e Olass groupings of the &M l aP Rg y ^ l o f t t _
10. Due to th e peouliar social oombillation of feudal and oap i tal -
istlo elements, th e Russian Revolution was ale© confronted with com-
plicated tasks, i t d i f f e r ed In essence a s fuadamenltJly from the
olasslo bourgeois revolution as the aoolal structure of Russian ab -
solutism a t t h e beginning of the SOth oentpry differed, say , from
that of Frenoh absolutism In the 17th century.
11* This dif fe re noe , corresponding t o t h e dissimilar eoonsalo foun-
dation, found i t s olearest poli t ioal expression in the at t i tude of tho
various olasses of Russia toward Csarlem and the revolution. From the
standpoint of their economic interests, a l l thes e ola sse s were tondar-
mentally in opposition t o Ciarisa. In politioal practice, however,
this pyppsit ion differed no t only l a degree but was quite different
also in i ts aim and goal.
13. The feudal nobility fought fundamentally only fo r t h e exten-
sion o f i t s influence over th e absolutist 8tate, wishing to keep I t
intact fo r t h e safeguarding o f i t s privileges.
13. The bourgeoisie, numerically weak, politically dependent and
directly bound t o Ozarlom through p ta te su bs id ie s, made numerous
sh i f t s I n i t s po l i t ical o r ien tat ion . The P*o*mbxl«t movement of 1836
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Deo. 1934"- "Counci l Corr espondenoo.
At the
ti me
of the
terrori st movement
of the
Narodniki
i n the 70 a
and 80' a,
they supported
t he
revoluti onary movement passi vel y
for
t he
purpose
of
strengtheni ng
t he
pressure
on
Ozari sm They al so
at -
tempted t o uti l i ze, as a means of pressure, t he
r
®™̂ t i onar y str i ke
movement s down to the Ootober st ruggles of
J-
9
^
5
-
l i J i i Smei w
l onger t he overt hrowbut the reformof Czari Bm Duri ng t he parl i amen-
tary peri od from1906 to t he spri ng of 1917, they entered upon a
phase of oooperat i on w th Osari Bm Fi nal l y, t he Russi an bourgeoi si e,
i n fl i ght fr omt he oonsequenoes of the revol ut i onary struggl es of the
prol etari an and peasant masses, arr i ved at uncondi t i onal eurrendi er to
ozari at reaoti on i n the peri od of t he Xorni l ov Putsch, whi ch was de-
si gned to reestabl i sh t he f ormer power of t he Ozar . I t beoame oounter-
revoluti onary even before Jrhe taBks of i t s Rfl SSnuti oi
accompl i shed. The f i rst ol ass oharaoteri eti o of the Russi an Revoluti on
i s, t herefore, t he f aot that as a bourgeoi s revolut i on i t had t o be
carr i ed. through not onl y w thout but di reotl y gai nst t he bourgeoisi e.
Thus arose a fundamental al terati on of i t s whol e pol i ti cal oharaoter.
14. I n conformty w th thei r overwhel mng
became t he sooi al group whi ch at l east passi vel y determned t he Rus-
si an Revol ut i on. Whi l e t he numeri cal l y less i mport ant capUal i st i o--
mddl e and upper—peasantry represented a l i beral ,
?pol l oy, t he preponderant number Cf f amshi ng *nd ensl aved Smal l p ab-
sents were f oroed by,el emental necessi t i es I nto t he °ourse erf viol ent
expropri at i on of the l arge estates. Unabl e to P U^e
of thei r own, t he Russi an peasant el ements found themel ves oompel l ed
t o fol l ow t he l eadershi p of other ol asses. Unt i l Februaru 1917 t:hey
had, on the whol e, despi te sporadi c revol ts, been t he fi rmoaei s
\ Czari sm As a resul t of their massi ve i mmobi l i ty and backwardness, the
H905 revolut i on col l apsed. I n 1917 they were deci si ve i n bri ngi ng a-
bout t he end of Czari sm whi oh had organi zed them i n great sooi al
uni ts i n the army, i n that they passi vel y ori ppl ed t he h, duri ng t he years of
abl e t o mai ntai n i tsel f onl y by reason of thei r furt her aoti ve assis-
tance.
15. I n spi te of i t s backwardness, t he Russi an proletari at possessed
great f i ght i ng strength, due. to t he meroi l eBBBohool l ng of th
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I
Deo. 1934 - Oounoi l Corr espondence.
31. The basi c pri nol pl e of Bolshevi k pol i oy—he oonquest and ex-
eroi ee of power by the organi sati on—e j aoobi ni oal . The gui di ng
l i ne of the great pol i t i cal perepeot i ve and of i ts real i zati on
through t he taoti o of the Bol shevi k organi zati on f i ghti ng f or power
l a j aoobi ni oal ; the mobi l i sati on of al l sui tabl e aeansand foroes o
sooi ety f or the overthrowof the absoluti st opponent, oombl ned w th
t he appl i oati on of al l methods whioh promse suooess; zi gzaggi ng anc
compromsi ng w th any sooi al foroe whi oh may be used, i f even for
t he shortest t i me and i n the l east i mportant sector of the struggl e.
The f undamental i dea of bol shavi st organi zati on, f i nal l y, i s J aoob-
i ni oal ; t he creati on of a stri ct organi zati on of professi onal revo-^
l uti oni sts whi oh wl l remai n a pl i ant tool of an omnipotent l eader-
shi p.
22. Theoreti cal l y, Bol shevi smhas by no meane devel oped a thought
struoture
of i ts own
which ooul d
be
consi dered
a
olosed system
I t
has,
rather, taken over
t he
l l arxist method
of
l ooking
at
cl asses
and
adapted
i t to the
Russi an revol uti onary si tuat i on,
i . e.
basi cal l y
changed ittf oontent whi l e maintai ning
i t s
oonoepts.
23. The one
i deologi cal achi evement
of
Bolshevi sm
i s the
connect-
i ng of i ts own
pol i ti oal theory
aB a
whol e w th phi l osophi cal mater-
i al i sm
As a
radi cal protagoni st
of t he
bourgeoi s revoluti on,
i t
fal l s upon
the
radi oal , phi l osophi cal i deol ogy
of the
bourgeoi s
rev-
ol uti on
and
makes
i t t he
dogma
of i ts own
view
of
human sooiety.Thi s
f i xati on upon phi l osophi cal materi al i sm
i s
aooompani ed
by a
oonti n-
ual baoksl l dl ng i nto phi l osophi cal i deal i smwhi oh consi ders pol i t i -
cal praoti ce as i n the l ast i nstance the emanat i on of the aot i on of
l eaders. (Treason of reformsm i ^ at ry of Leni n and 8tal i n. )
24. The organi zati on of Bolshevi smarose out of the soatal -demo-
orati o oi roles of i ntel l ectual revol uti oni sts and devel op^through
facti onal struggl es, spl i ts and defeats i nto an organi zati on, of
l eaders w th t he domnant posi t i ons i n the hands of the pett y-
bourgeoi s i ntel l eotuaXs. I t s f urt her growh, favored by t he cont i nu-
ously i l l egal si tuati on, establ i shed i t as a pol i ti oal organi zati on
of ml i tary oharaoter, based on professional revol uti oni sts. Onl y
through such a straight- l aced I nstrument of l eadershi p ooul d t he Bol-
shevi k taoti o be oarr i ed through and t he hi stori cal task of Russi a' s
revol uti onary i ntel l i gentsi a be f ul f i l l ed.
25. The Bol shevi k taoti o, i n the servi ce of pursuing t he oonquest
of power by the organi zati on, reveal ed—espeoi al l y up to October 1917-
a powerful i nner oonsi stenoy. Ij rs conti nual outer f l uotuati ons were
essenti al l y onl y temporary adaptati ons to al tered si tuati ons and to
al tered rel at i ons of foroes between t he olasses. I n aooordanoe w th
t he pri nol pl e of absol ute subordinati on of the means to the end, w th-
out any consi derati on of the i deol ogi oal ef feot on the ol asses whi oh
i t l ed, the taoti o-' was overhauled even i n apparentl y f undamental
quest i ons. I t was the task of the f uncti onari es t o make eaoh of these
manouwers underst andable to t he masses . On t he other hand, avaxy^
I deologi oal sti rri ng among t he masses, even when fundamental l y i n
contradi cti on to the paxty program was uti l i zed. That ooul d be done
because the' onl y i ssue was the uncondi t i onal oapture of masses for
i t s pol i oy. I t had t o be done beoause t hese masses, workers and peas-
ants, had oontxadi otory i nterests and a compl etel y di f ferent oonscious-
j iea*. Preai eal y f or t hi s reason, however, the tacti cal method of
Deo.1934
-
Oounoi l Correspondence.
'
Bolshevi smreveal s
i t s
connecti on wth revol uti onary-bourgeoi s pol i -
oy: i t i s , i n
faot,
t he
method
of
that pol i oy whi oh Bol shevism actu-
al i zes.
J ,
V. - The
D recti ves
of
Bol shevi st Pol i oy.
H r
26. The goal whi oh furni shed t he ŝtarti ng poi nt of Bolshevi smI s
t he overthrowof the ozari st system As an attack on absol uti sm i t
i s of r evol uti onary-bourgeoi s character. To t# s goal i s subordinated
t he st ruggle about t he taoti oal l i ne w thi n t #e Russi an sooial demeo-raoy/ I n thi s st ruggl e, Bol shevismdevel ops i t s methods and slogans.
27. I t was the hi stori cal task of Bol shevi smt o weld together, by
i t s l eadership taoti o, t he rebel l i on of the prol etari at and peasan-
t ry, who stood on qui te di f ferent sooi al pl anes, t o t he end of com
mon aot i on against t he f eudal 8tate. I t had to oombi ne t ne peasant
revol t (aoti on of the bourgeoi s revol uti on at the beginning of the
devel opment of bourgeoi s sooi ety) w th t he prol etari an revol t ( ao-
ti on of the prol etari an revol uti on at the end of the devel opment of
bourgeoi s sooi ety) i nto a uni f i ed aot i on. I t was abl e to do thi s onl y
by reason of the faot that i t unfolded a grand strategy i n whi oh use
was made of the most di verse cl ass st i rr i ngs and t endenci es.
28. Thi s uti l i zati on, strategy begi ns w th t he w l l i ngness to cap-
i tal i ze the smal l est spl i ts ana oraoks i n the opponent' s oamp. Thus
Lenin onoe spoke of the l i beral propri etors as our al l i es of, tomor-
r ow , whi l e at another ti me he oame out f or support of the pri ests
who turned against t he government beoause of thei r materi al negl eot.
He was also ready t o support t he rel i gi ous seots persecuted by
Ozari sm
29. The ol ari ty of Leni n' s t aoti o, however, reveal s i tsel f i n the
faot that, espeoi al l y as a resul t of the experi ences of 1905, he
posed the questi on of the al l i es of the revoluti on on the ri ght
l i ne, i n that he turned more sharply agai nst al l compromses w th the
domnant capi tal i st groups and restri cted the pol i oy of the A ly
and of compromses
o
t he pett y-bourgeoi s and small -peasant •l aments,
i . e . those el ements whi oh al i ne hi stori cal l y ooul d be mobi l i zed fo r
the bourgeoi s revol uti on I n Russi a. \
30. The t wo-cl ass basi s of Bolshevik pol i oy i s expressed broakly
i n the taoti oal sl ogan of t he demooratl o diotatorshi p of the workers
and peasants , whi oh i n 1905 was made the general gui di ng l i ne of
Bol shevik pol i oy and whi oh sti l l oarri ed wt h i t t he i l l uei onary
i dea of some sort of parl i amentari smw thout t he bourgeoi si e. I t wao..
l ater repl aoed by the sl ogan of a cl ass al l i ance between the workers
and peaaants . Behi nd thi s f ormul a was oonoealed nothing but t he ' nec-
essi ty of sett i ng both these cl asses i n moti on for the Bolshevik
pol i oy of sei zi ng power.
31. The
temporary sl ogans under which these
two
cl asses determn-
i ng f or the Russi an Revol uti on were' to be mobi l i zed on the basi s of
thei r oontradi otory i nterests were ruthl essl y subordi nated
to the
one
purpose
of
usi ng
the
foroes
of
these olasses.
I n
order
t o
mobi l -
i ze the
peasantry,
t he
Bol shevi ks
as
earl y
as 1905 or
thereabout?
ooJr. od
t he
sl ogan
of
radi oal expropri ati on
of the
l anded propri e-
tors
by the
peaaants . Thi s sl ogan ooul d
be
regarded f rom
t he
peas-
ants
'
standpoint
as an
i nvi tati on
t o
di vi de
the bi g
estate' s among
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Deo.1934
-
Oounoi l Corr espondence.
t he
emai l peaeanta. When
t he
Menshevi ks poi nted
out t he
reacti onary
oontent
of t he
.Bol shevi k agrari an al ogana, Lenin i nformed themt hat
t he
Bol shevi ks
had not i n t he
l eaat deci ded what
waa t o be
done w th
t he
expropri ated estatws.
To
regul ate thi s matter woul d
be the
func-
ti on
of
aocial -demoorati o pol i oy when
the
si tuat i on aroae. The demand
f or
expropri ati on
of the
l arge estates
by the
peasants
waa
thus
of a
demagogi c oharaoter#
but
atruok
t he
peasants
on the
domnant point
of
thei r i nterests.
I n
l i ke manner,
the
Bol shevi ks have al so dropped
al ogana among
t he
workers,
e.g.
that
of t he
aovieta. Determni ng
for
thei r taoti o
was
merel y
t he
moaentary euoceea
of a
sl ogan whioh
was
by no
means regarded
ae an
obl i gati on
of
prj .noi pl e
on the P r̂^ of
the
party w th respect
to the
maaaea,
but aa a
propagandi st s meana
of a
pol i oy having
f or i t a
f i nal content
the
oonqueat
of
power
by
t he organi zati on.
32. I n the peri od 1906-14, Bolehevi amdeveloped, i n t he combi nat i on
of l egal w th i l l egal aoti vi ty, t he taoti o of revol uti onary parl i a-
mentari sm. Thi s taoti o was i n aooord w th the si tuati on of the bour-
geoi s revol uti on i n Ruaai a. Wth the aid of thiB taot i c, i t aucoeeded
i n l i nki ng t he day-t o-day gueri l l a warf are between the workers and
Czari am and between t he peasants and Ozari am i nto the great l i ne of
preparati on for t he bourgeois revoluti on under Russian oondi ti ona. I n
parti cul ar, eaoh etep i n parl i amentary aoti vi ty on the part of the
RuBBi an aool al demooraoy bore, i n consequenoe of ozari st di ctatori al
pol i cy, a bourgeof i a-revol uti onary oharaoter. I n i t s taoti o of mobi l -
i zi ng the t wo deci si ve cl asses of the
Ru08
J ' ^
R
?
v ol u
|
l 0
.̂
n
-
t h
®
a
I
tered si tuati on between
t he
revol uti on
of 1905
down
to the
Worl d
War,
thi s ai m was f urther puraued and t he Duma waa used aa a t ri bune fo r
i t a propaganda among the workere and peasants.
VI . - Bolshevi smand t he Worki ng O aSB.
33. Bol shevi amhas aolved t he hi stori cal probl emof the bourgeois V
revol uti on i n feu&al -oapi tal i at Russi a w th t he ai d of the prol etar-
i at aa t he aoti ve, f i ghti ng i nstrument. I t has al so appropri ated the
revoluti onary theory of t he worki ng ol ass and t ransformed that theory
to sui t i ta purpoees. Marxi amLeni niBm i a not Ha*xism but a f i l l -
i ng of the Marxi at termnol ogy adapted to the needs of the bourgeoia
revol uti on i n Ruasi a w th the aooial oontent of t he Ruaai an Revolut i on,
fhie theory beoomea, i n the handa of th4 Bol ahevi ka, and i n spi te of
I t s bei ng a means of understanding the ol aaa structure and tendenci es
of Russi a, al so the meana of vei l i ng t he actual ol asa content of the
Bol shevik revol ut i on. Behi nd t he Marxi at oonoepta and sl ogans i a con-
cealed
the
oontent
of a
bourgeoi a revoluti on whi oh
had t o be
brought
about, under
the
leaderahi p
of a
revol uti onary petty-bourgeoi s i ntel -
l i gentsi a,
by t he
uni ted assaul t
of a
social i Bti oal l y ori ented prol e-
tari at'
and a
peasantry ti ed
t o
pri vate property, agai nst ozari st
ab-
sol uti sm l and—owni ng nobi l i ty
and t he
bourgeoi si e.
34. The
absol ute ol ai m
t o
l eadershi p
on the
part
of t he
revol uti on-
ary,
pett y-bourgeois
and
j acobi ni oal i ntell i gentsi a
i s
concealed
be-
hi nd
the
Bol shevi k oonoepti on
of the
rol e
of the
Party among
the
worki ng cl ass.
The
petty-bourgeois i ntel l i gentsi a ooul d expand
i t s
organi zati on i nto
an
aoti ve revoluti onary weapon onl y
on
oondi ti on
of
attr acti ng
and
maki ng
use of
prol etari an f oroes.
I t
therefore
cal l ed
i t s
j acobi ni oal party prol etari an.
The
subordinati on
of the
f i ghti ng working cl ass
to the
petty-bourgeois l eadershi p
was
j uati -
- 8 -
Deo. 1934 - Counoi l Correspondence.
fi ed by Bol shevi amon the theory of the vanguard of the prol etar-
i at a
theory whioh
i t
extended
i n
praoti oe
to the
pri noi pl e that
the
party
i s the
embodi ment
of t he
olass.
The
Part y, that
i s, i a not an
i natr ument
of t he
worki ng-olass,
but the
worki ng-olaes
an
i nstrument
of the
Part y.
35. The
necessi ty
f or
baai hg Bolehevi k pol i oy
on the two
l ower
olasses
of
Russi an sooi ety
i s
transcri bed
by
Bol shevi smi nto
the
formula
of a
ol ass al l i anoe between therprol etari at
and the
peasan-
t r y —an al l i anoe
i n
whi ch logi cal l y antagoni sti c ol ass i nterests
are
oonsci oualy l umped together.
36. The
demand
f or
uncondi ti onal l eadershi p
of the
peasantr y
i s
di sgui sed
by
Bol shevismw th
t he
formula
of the
pri macy
of the
prol e-
tari at
i n the
revol ut i on .
As the
prol etari at
i n i t s
turn
i s
ruled
by
the
Bol shevik Party,
the
pri maoy
of the
proletari at meana
the
pri m
acy of t he
Bol shevi k Party
and i ta
ol ai m
t o
governing both olasses.
37. The
Bol shevi k pretenti on
of
sei zi ng power w th
the
support
of
t wo
cl aaaeB fi nda
i ta
hi gheet expreeei on
i n the
Bol ahevik oonoept
of
the
diotatorahi p
of the
prol etari at .
I n
oonj unoti on w th
t he oon-
cept
of the
Party
ae the
absol ute l eader-organi zati on
of the
ol aaa,
the
formula
of the
proletari an di ctatorshi p natural l y meana maatery
on the
part
of the
j aoobl ni oal —bolshevi k organi zati on.
I ta
ol ass
con-
tent
i s
f urthermore completel y done away wth
by the
bol shevi k defi n-
i t ion
of the
di ctatorshi p
of the
prol etari at
as the
class al l i anoe
between proletari at
and
peasantry under
the
pri maoy
of the
prol etar-
i at . (Stal i n and t he programof the Comntern. The Marxi at pri noi -
pl e of the di otatorahi p of the worki ng ol asa i s thus diatort ed by
Bol ahevl smi nto the rule over two opposed ol asses by t he j aoobi nl cbi
part y.
38. The bourgeoi s oharaoter of the Bolshevik revol uti on i s under-
scored by the Bol shevi ks themel ves i n thei r revi sed sl ogan of the
peopl e' s revol uti on , i . e . the oommon struggl e of di f ferent ol aaBea
of a people i n one revol uti on. That ia the typi cal 8l ogan of every
bourgeoi s revoluti on whioh behi nd a bourgeois l eadershi p bri ngs
masses of petty-bourgeoi s peasants and prol etari ans i nto aoti on for
i ts own ol aaa ai m.
39. I n viewof the organi zati on' a struggl e f or power over the
revol uti onary ol aaaea, every demoorati o atti tude of Bol shevi smbe-
oomes a mere taoti oal ohess move. Thi s has been proved part i cul arl y
i n the
que3ti ©n
of
workers' demooraoy
i n the
soviets.The Leni ni st
sl ogan of l i aroh 1917, al l power to the eovi ete , bore t he typi oal
two-ol aaa aspect of the Russi an Revoluti on, for the sovi ets were the
counci l s of workers, peasants and sol di ers ( i . e . agai n peasants' *
Furt hermore, the sl ogan was mere taot i o. I t was put forth by Leni n
i n the February revoluti on because i t Beemed t o assure t he peaceful
transi ti on of oontr ol f romt he aooi al - revol uti onary Menshevik coal i -
ti on to the Bol shevi ks by the i noreaee of thei r i nf l uence i n the
soviets. When, aft er t he J ul y demonstrati on, t he i nf l uence of t hj
Bolshevi ks over the Bovi ets deol i ned, Leni n temporari l y abandoned
t he soviet sl ogan and demanded the organi zati on of other siugâ d of
i nsurr ecti on by the Bolehevi k Party. I t was only when, as a resul t o
t he Korni l ov Putaoh, the bol shevik i nf l uence i n the sovi ets agai n
sharply i noreaeed, that Leni n' s part y agai n took up the sovi et sl ope
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Si noe t he Bol shevi ks regarded t he soviets preponderantl y âs ôrgans
of i nsurr ecti on i nsteadi of as organs of sel f -government of t he wor
ki ng ol ass, they made i t al l t oo cl ear that to themt he sovi ets wei \
onl y a tool by the ai d of whi ch their party ooul d t ake over the
po««r^ Thi s has been demonstrated i n general practi ce, not onl y by
thei r organi zati on of the sovi et state after the conquest of power,
but al so i n the speoi al case of the bl oody repression of tne Kron-
stadt rebel l i on. The peasant-oapi tal i st demands of thi s i nsurreoti oi
were granted by t he NEP; i ts prol etari an-democrat i c demands, however
were drowned i n working-ol ass bl ood.
40$ The st ruggle over the content of the Russi an soviets l ed, as
earl y as 1930, to t he f ormati on of a genuine, though on the whol e
sti l l weak, communi st ourrent i n the Party. The workers opposi ti on
(Utyanl kov) represented the i dea of oarrying through soviet d3moc-
racy for the worki ng-ol ass. Li ke al l other seri ous opposi ti ons of
this nature, l ater on, i t was eradi cated by i mpri sonment, exi l e and
ml i tary exeout i on, but i ts pl atformremai ns as the hi stori oal
starti ng poi nt f or an i ndependent, prol etari an-oommuni st movement
agai nst the Bolshevik regi me.
41. The att i tude of the Bol shevi ks toward the trade uni on questi on
i s l i kew se determned f romt he poi nt of vi ewof control and l eader-
shi p of the workers by the Bol shevi k party. I n Russi a, t he Bol sheui ku
have oompletel y taken away f romt he t rade uni ons . the r oharaoter pf
l abor organi zati ons, by gOvernmental i zi ng and ml i tari zing themby
the oompul sory oharaoter i mposed upon themafter the oonquest ofpower. I n the other oountri es, t he f i nal resul t of the Bolshevik
pol i cy has been t o protect the bureaucrati c, reformst trade-uni on
organi zati ons, and i nstead of the breaki ng up of suoh organi zati ons,
t he Bol shevi ks have advooated the oonquest of thei r apparatus.They
were bi tter oppoaents of the i dea of revol uti onary, i ndustr i al organ-
i zati ons beoause t hese l atter embodied demoorati o demooraoy. The Bol -
sheviks fought f or the oonquest or renovati on of organi zati ons con-
trol l ed by the oentral i sti o bureaucracy, whi ch they thought t o rul e
fromt hei r own oommand posts.
42. As a l eader-movement of j aoobi nl oal di ctatorshi p, Bol shevi sm
i n al l i t s phases has consi stentl y oombatt ed t he i dea of sel f -deter-
mnati on of the worki ng ol ass and demanded the subordi nati on of the
prol etari at to the bureauorati zed organi zati on. I n the di soussi on
whi oh took pl aoe, pri or t o t he war, on the questi on of organi zati on
wthi n t he Seoond I nternati onal , Leni n was a viol ent and vi ndi cati ve
opponent of Rosa Luxemburg and supported hi mel f outspokenl y on the
centri st Kautsky, who duri ng and af ter t he war, dearl y reveal ed hi s
pol i oy of cl ass betrayal . Bol shevi smhad even then, as constantl y
si nce, proved that i t not onl y has no understati ng of the questi on
of devel opi ng the oonsoi ousness and t he ol ass organi zati ons of the
proletari at,
but
that
i t
al so oombats wth
al l
means
al l
theoreti oal
and
praoti cal attempts
t o
defbl op aotual olass organi zati ons
and
nanci es.
VI I . -
Thfi Bol shevik Revol uti on.
43.
Bolahevi am
has
cal l ed
the
revol uti on
of
February
the
bourgeoi s
revol uti on,
and
that
of
Ootober
t he
prol etari an revol uti on
i n
order
to be
abl e
t o
paae
of f i t s
l ater regi me
as
prol etari an ol ass rule
and
- 10 -
Deo. 1934 - Oounoi l Correspondence.
i t s eoonomo pol i oies aa sociali sm The absurdi ty of thi s di vi sion
of the revol uti on of 1917 beooraes olear merel y f romconsi derati on of
the fact that i n that oase a devel opment of seven months would have
suff i ced t o oreate the eoonomo and soci al presupposi ti ons for a
prol etari an revol uti on i n a oountry whi ch hed j uet entered the pro- \
cess of i t s bourgeois revol uti on, i . e . si mpl y t o l eap an eoonomo
and eooial phase of development that woul d at l east requi re deoades.
I n real i ty, the revol uti on of 1917 i d a qui te uni tary soci al prooesa
of transformati on, begi nni ng wth the ool l ap se of Czarl emand at -
taini ng i t s cl i max wth t he vi ctori ous armed i nsurrecti on of the
Bolshevi ks on November 7th. Thi s vi ol ent process of transformati on
i s that of Russi a' s bourgeoi s revoluti on under the hi stori cal l y
oreated, pedul i ar Russi an condi ti ons.
44. I n thi s prooess, the party of t he revol uti onary, j aoobl ni oal
i ntel l i gentsi a sei zed power on the t wo eooi al waves of peasant and
proletari an mass i nsurrecti on and created i n the pl aoe' of the shat-
tered governi ng t ri angl e, Ozari sm nobi l i ty, bourgeoi si e, t he new
governi ng tri angl e, bolshevi sm peasantry, working ol ass. J ust as
the
state appartus
of
Ozari smrul ed i ndependentl y over
the two
poss-
essi ng cl asses,
so t he new
Bol shevi k state apparatus began
t o
make
i tsel f i ndependent
of i t s
doubl e cl ass basi s. Russia stepped
out of
t he
condi ti ons,
of
ozari st absol uti smi nto those
of
Bolshevi k absolu-
tism
45.
Bol shevi k pol i oy attai ns, duri ng
t he
revol uti onary peri od, i ts
hi ghest poi nt i n t he way of embraoi ng and masteri ng the ol asa foroes
of the
r evol uti on.
The
acme
of
thei r revol uti onary t aoti o
l a
reaohed
i n the
preparati on
and
oarrying
qut of t he
armed insurrecti on.
The
queatl on
of the
violent upri si ng became
for the
Bolsheviks
a
ques-
ti on
of an
exact, thoroughl y sohedul ed
and
pl anned ml i tary acti on,
t he
head
of
whi oh
as
wel l
as i t s
dri vi ng
and
contr ol l i ng force
was
the
Bol shevi k Part y w th
i t s
ml i tary formati ons# Oonoepti on, prepar-
ati on and executi on of the armed i nsurroti on by the Bolsheviks bear
t he obvi ous stamp of the j aoobi ni oal oonsD raoy, (i n the Russi an
Revoluti on again t he onl y possibl e pol i cy) that i s, of i nsurrecti on
under the pecul i ar oondi ti ons of oarrying through the bourgeoi s rev-
ol uti on agai nst t he bourgeoi si e.
46. The i nner oharaoter of the Bol shevik revol uti on as a bourgeoi s
revol uti on reveal e I tsel f i n i t s eoonomo sl ogans. To the peasant
masses, t he Bol shevi ks represented the vi ol ent expropri ati on of the
l arge estates by the spontaneous aotl on of the l and-hungry small
peasantry. They perfeotl y expressed i n thei r agrari an praoti oe and
sl ogans ( Peaoe and Land) t he i nterests of the peasants f i ghti ng fo r
t he seouri ty of smal l pri vate property, henoe on capi tal i sti c l l nea,
and were thus, on the agrari an questi on, ruthl ess ohampi ons of small -
oapi tal i st, hence not sool al l at-prol etari an i nterests agai nst feudal
and capi tal i st l anded property.
47. Nor w th regard to the workers were the eoonomo demands of
the Bo-l shevi k revol uti on fi l l ed w th a sooi al i tt content. Leni n on
several oooasi ons r epel l ed w th dl sti not sharpness t he Menshevi k
ori ti ciemthat Bol ehvl emrepresented a Utopi an pol i oy of Bool al J za-
ti on of producti on i n a oountry not yet ri pe fo r i t . The Bolsheviks
decl ared that i n the revol uti on it was not at al l a questi on of soo-»
i al i zati on of produot i on, but oonti ol of producti on by the worker
«
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The . l og. n Of control
?
J Pr * « «. n pr ,
capi tal i sm
a# a
foroe
:f ox of
expi rati on.
The boa:
duoti on,
but
depri vi ng
i t
roV
ol utl on
and t he
Bol shevik ael f -
geoi s oharaoter
of t he
Bolehevi k, character,
as
opposed
to the
roetr l oti on
t o
thl a „?°°So ovsrtt i row
of 1917,
ooul d
not be
0?
8
«l j thi s . l ogon of oontr ol of produotl on.
40. The
el emental f oroe
of t he £ > £
ZnShUe
and t he sabotage of the fart her i nto taking, Over the
drove t he Bol shevi k
i nd
}j
t
f j j
1
n
52 °J
or nmen
t al bureauoraoy.The state
i ndustr i al enterpri ses
by t he ne ,g
«
eX
i ,
0
d
of war
communi em
al -
eoonomy whioh at fi rst, throughout geper i oa ox
L e n l n
as
Bf i Sl i i t
l « i
produot
of t he
8tal i ni «t
era.
4 9 . Lenin hlm.e lf h ad , how.ver n^o th er J »
of
soc i a l i za t i on
of
Qerman
wa r
eoonomy
and the
postal
duoted state eoonomy. To him the German
l 2 a t l o n
i
# e
, eoonomio
service were i l lus t ra t ion, of
MOM
g oen t r a l i s t l oa l l y
-organization
of a;i
M W g k ] .
Jh e
teohnioal ,
n o t t h e
p r o l e t a f -
oontrolled from
^ o v e . Be
p r0
blem. Lenin likewise based
l a n , sooial side of the soo l a l i za t P .
Q n t h e
00
noepts of so-
himeelf, an d with him Bolshevism, i n genera ,
l n h l # - r i n
_
oialisation propounded by the o e n t r
a
completely o r -
anoe Capital ha d eke tohedan_
i
Jeal ized p
l a l l 2 l n g
production,
ganlzed oapitalism. Th e a o t u a l p r o b l e m i n s o r ga n iz at i on of
i . e . tfce tak ing over of the en t e rp r i s e s and the organisat ion « ^
eoonomy through t h e working olaes and i t . i t by . I t had to be
shop counoiis; Bolshevism h a s completely p < < nn nt f r aa and
JaaSeS S? bemuse t h e Marxist " e a of t h e associa t ion
a
equal produoers
i s
dlreotly opposed
*° *** .
d i d n o t
pptaess
t h e s o -
jaooblnioal organisation,
an d
beoause :RUSBJooialism.
The
soc i a l i ze -
oia l
an d
eoonomio conditions necessary
fo r so . .
m m i ta l i s t
u £ concept o f t h e Bolsheviks i s therefore
1 l
£ £
i 8 t
eoonomy taken over b y th e S tate an d directed from t h e ° j j e i aa ana
from above b y i t s buxeauoxaoyf The Bolshevik socialism
ganized oapitalism.
VII I . - Bol shevik I nternatl f tntf-
ian a n
^
t h g
50. Duri ng t he Worl d *
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Counoll Correepond4»oe.
t h e oommander of a worla bolalxevik system of coupl ing toge ther t h e
oommunie t -p ro le t a r idn a nd p a a e a n t - o a p i t a l i B t i n t e r e s t s . T h is p o l i c y
wa s i n s o f a r p o s i t i v e a s i t h a s p r o t e c t e d t h e Bolshevik State f rom im -
p e r i a l i s t i n v a s i o n b y o o n t i n u a l l y d i s q u i e t i n g t h e c a p i t a l i s t S t a t e s ,
a n d t h o i t b y h a s g iven i t t ime t o . b u i l d i t s e l f g r a d u a l l y i n t o t h e
world impc r lu l ly t f jyct^m again b y t h e c a p i t a l i s t m e t n o d s o f oommer-
c i a l rel
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Counci l Corr espondence.
61. i n the o e n t u r o f t h e f o r ^ g n p r o p a g ^ r f u ^ ^ ^ S a ' a ™ ?
1
"
shevismpl aoed t he thesi s of l mpe -
l n t h e
l east wt h the
Uni on though euch a phrase di d ^
of
-
nt
erest8 and thei r
compl i cated l i nes of ° ?? t̂ ed to mobi l i ze the i nter-
oonti nual l y changi ng groupi ngs. I t a P ̂ through a part l y
S J i ; f . n S j
a t
p S S - S S . S S . ^
h
P
e
o £ / - ^
8
f
8
? t f
e a
1 r
t
o S
e
w
0
i ? S
n
i n
t
d
i e t
Union.
62. o The oppo si t i one bet we en
V
p® Q
P
^anda
&
of t h e Comintern"
powers led to the ideological J
t
p
^
0
U . 8 . 8 . R . " P r o t e o t
under th e slogans:
n
^ ^
t
° ^
a
J
0
^ ^
8
;
e
J e p^sen ted irith these op-
th e Soviet Union". In that th e ^orsere wo*
v
p o l i o y
, they
posit ions as the only an d
d e t e r
° ^ J " §
t
° ? ®
t 0 t h e
ao tual real i t ies of
were prevented from gaining "J.^Jnts of the communist parties b e -
International poli t ios.
T
^® ^ l l n d Li d opportunistic defenders of
oame, before everything
e 1
?
0
' of th e faot that the So-
th e Soviet Union an d were kept J
n
f
^ f ? ° J ^
K
ed faotor in imperialist
viet Union had long ag o beoome a full-fleagec iauw*
world politios.
63. The continual ory of a l a r* ah o u t ^ i m* i n en t ^ . a r
blned imperialist powers against th e . *, •,
l t a
_4-a^ ion
0
f labor and
pol i t ics f o r jus t i fy ing th e in^nsined mi l i tar izat ion tOi ^ ^
th e
increased pressure
on the
^ s i a n
p
a W 8 t l n t
e r e s t
In the
however, th e Soviet
Un
*°A
h
| £ "J?,??"
y
conflict with other States,
unconditional avoidance of any mil ita ry J--,*-,*,. inte rnal ly in lararo
The existence of the ^ l ^ e v l k g o v e ^ e n t ^ e p j n d ^ l n t e r n a l l y I n ^ a r . o
measure on the avoidanoe o f a l l volut ionar y. Therefore the Com-
pol i ti cs, both ml i tary
as »eU as
revol uUonai y. n̂erei or
^
Intern has in praotioe, i n ®*y*^
f
°®
b o t f t
„
e 0
f jy.1
r e a
l revolutionary
propaganda, carried
on a
PPl*°y
®*
" 5 S u S s t p ar ti es somewhat openly
proletarian development and in the
f
P. Sovi et Union must
sure , employed str ong ges tur es aga ins t i mpe ria lis t p
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-
Oounoll Oorreepondenoe.
henoe against
a l l
groupa eeeking
t o
anohor then anew
i n t h e
p r o l e t a r -
i a t i i o n e o f t h e
f i r e t t a s k s
i n t h e
s t r u g g l e
f o r t h e
revo lu t iona ry
r e o r i e n t a t i o n
o f t h e
work ing o laee . P ro le ta r ian po j jo j
1
oped only from
t h e
p ro le ta r ian o laee g round
a n d
with
t h e
methods
and
organ isa t iona l fo rne adap ted the re to .
WAT'3 BEHIND
THE NEW
DEAL"?
The New
Deal
la no
ha rb inge r
of a new
soc ia l o rde r" ,
n o r l e i t s
apost le , Franklin Delano Roosevelt , se lf-p rocl aime d Messiah
f o r t h e
" f o r g o t t e n
man , th e
rea l ly unse l f leh
a n d
p u b l l e - a p i r i t e d i n d i v i du a l
h e i s po r t rayed .
Rooseve l t ' s e lec t ion
wa s
engineered, Ju st like
a l l
other previous
e l e c t i o n s ,
by a
group
of
individuals whose eoonomlc interests
r e -
quired urgent governmental a i d .
Th e f a l l of 1932 saw th e oomplete oollapse of Amerloan industry and
a r i s i n g t i d e of ag ra r ian d l soon ten t . Th e current occupant of the
White House/] Her ber t Hoover, pla ced t he re by the Morgan a n d Mellon
f in anc ia l In t e re s t s , appea red to ta l ly ob l iv ious t o t h e desperate
a t r a l t e of tpese tw o groups. I t was only nat ura l that t hes e groups
s h o u l d s t r i y i f o r tha t p o l i t io a l power I n t h e coming election which
would enable'them
t o
p a s s b e n e f i c i a l l e g i s l a t i o n
f o r
themselves.
Why was Roosevelt se leoted t o " lead" t h e country ou t o f eoonomlc
chaos? N ot only becauss he had caught t h e n a t i o n ' s a t t e n t i o n as a
much adve r t i sed " l ibe ra l " po l i t i c i an ,
b u t
even more
so
because
h i s
own economic in te re st s were ident ica l with those o f t h e group push-
i n g h i s
candidacy.
James Roosevelt , fa ther
of
Franklin
D .,
one-time ^ vfcre-p resi dent
of
t h e
Delaware
&
Hudson
R . R . ,
accumulated such a,tremendous fortune
i n
ra il ro ad organ izat ion*, both down South fol lowi ng
t h e
C i v i l
War, and
i n t h e
East , that- t te
wa s
considered
one o f the
f i v e r i c h e s t
men in
New
York Ci ty . Although young Fra nkl in
D- , had
expressed
a
d e s i r e
to
en te r
t h e
Navy,
t h e
elder Roosevelt persuaded
h im to
s tudy
l a w i n -
s tead
an d
thus better equip himself
f o r t h e
ultimate management
of
t h e
ea ten slv e Roosevelt hol din gs. Following gradua tion from Harvard
an d
Columbia
Law
School, Roosevelt ent ered
t h e
o f f i o e s
of the
beat
e s tab l i shed f i rm
o f
management lawyers
In New
York Ci ty . While
In
their employ,
he
d i r e c t e d
t h e
a f f a i r s
o f t h e
huge Aator estate,
and
the reby e s tab l i shed
a
very close friendship with William Vincent
Aator,
one o f th9
c o u n t r y ' s m o s t i n f l u e n t i a l I n d u s t r i a l i s t s
a n d b a n -
ke rs .
I n a
s p i r i t
o f f u n ,
Roosevelt then entered pol i t ic s . Running
s i
o r
t h e
s ta te S ena te
o n t h e
Democratic t loket ,
h e
surprised everyone
py
c a p t u r i n g
t h e
o f f i c e .
No
sooner
was he
seated, than Roosevelt,
t h e
yfcomparatlvely unknown, drew nat ion al at te nt io n
t o
himself
by
leading
/ a n
oppos i t ion
t o t h e
Tammany nomination
f o r
U.S . sena to r
( I n
those
/
days,
1911 ,
they were elected
b y t h e
s ta te l eg ia la tu re ) • Thus
h e
/
gained through ti ls
o n e a c t
that unfounded reputation
f o r
unse l f i sh
(
devotion
t o t h e
p e o p l e ' s i n t e r e s t s t h a t
h a s
sndured
t o
this day.Next
•Roosevelt boosted Woodrow Wilson
f o r t h e
Democratic presidentia l
- 18 -
bee.1934 - Council Correspondence-
nomination in 1912, stumping fo r h im ufterwarda during the ,succeasful
election campaign- As a reward, Wilson appointed hi m Assis tant Secre-
ta ry
of the
Navy. Roosevelt spent seven yeara
In
th la poa i t lon .S eve r -
a l
montha
a g o , t h e
Adml nist rati on pub li ci ty agenclea made much
of the
State department's order removing
t h e
U.S.Marines
who had
been
s t a -
t ioned
in San
Domingo (Haiti). They discreetly neglected
t o
mention
t h a t
i t was
thie sume Franklin
D.
Roosevelt
who
sent them there
i n
1 9 1 3 i n h i e
f i r a t o f f i c i a l
act aa
Aas i s tan t S ec re ta ry o s tens ib ly
to
prot ect American l iv es, actual ly
t o
protect American investments,
Astor Int er es ts among oth ers During
t h e
summer
an d
f a l l
of
1915,our
peace-loving Asst . Secretary
of the
Navy began preparing
t h e
Navy
f o r
e v e n t u a l p a r t i c i p a t i o n
I n t h e
World
War, two
yeara before
o u r a c -
tual entry1
I n
a d d i t i o n ,
h e
developed
a
g i f t
f o r
o ra to ry
an d
began
t o
advocate public ly
f o r a
much la rg er Navy. This mi ssi onar y work
waa
l a rge ly in s t rumen ta l
i n
causing President Wilson
t o
sponsor
t h e l a r -
geat jNavy appropriation bill
up to
that time. Paased
in 1916 , i t
provided
an
app rop r ia t ion
of
$320, 00Q
r
000
f o r
naval expansion.
After America.was propagandized into
the war ,
thanks
t o
paid Allied
propaganda plus
t h e
h-elp tendered
by
American f inancial in terest* ,
(J
^.Morgan .
C o . ) a n d
young Jingo'iata
o f t h e
Rooaevelt type,
our
hero proved himself quite capable. Rooaevelt Invented
t h e
"Macy Boti r^"
t h e
f ira t governmental
w ar
labo r board, which coo rdi nat ed wagep
In \
every part
of the
coun t ry .
Th e
Na t iona l
War
Labor Board developed
from.this. Thla latter Board ahowed i t a regard f o r Labor by forbl ri-
ding a l l s t r i k e s f o r t h e te rmina t ion of the war . Rooaevelt alio s e r -
ved as
r e p r e s e n t a t i v e
of the
Navy
on the War
Labor Pollclea Board,
charged with working o u t labo r po l l c lea . I n h i a Rapacity a s Navy l a -
b o r expert , Roosevelt helped "arbitra te" labor disputes perta ining t o
t h e Navy construction yards. This work brought him into contac; with
various American Federation of Labor o f f ic la l s> h o a l l displayed
grea t pa t r io t i sm an d extreme reaaonableness i n the i r dea l ings .
Th e g r e a t e s t of these pa t r io t s a n d t h e most reasonable i n h l a demands
was the v ice -p re s iden t o f , the In te rna t iona l Assoc ia t ion o f .Mach ln ls ta .
Roosevelt never forgot t h e favors he rece ived f rom th i s o f f ic ia l , and
so
when
t h e
C.C.C.
was
In s t i tu ted laa t yea r ,
a t i t s
head
was
placed
thi s a t er l l ng pa tr io t , Robert Fechner.
After helping
to win tne war to
"make
t h e
World Safe
f o r
Democracy".
Rooaevelt returned
t o
c iv i l i an l i f e , r e suming
h ia law
p r a c t i c e .
At
Alf red
E.
Smith 's behe8t,
h e
reen te red po l l t l c a , ga in ing
t h e
govef-
norahip
of New
York
In 1928, and
again
I n ' 3 0 -
During th la period,
t h e
Governor diacovered
h e
poaaeaaed
a
remarkable radio voice,,
f o r a
politician. From auch humble beginninga sprang that great American
Insti tu t ion: In timate Fireside Chata With
Th e
Prea l^e nt (through
t h e
cou r te sy
of
both broadcasting systems).
H is
admin is t ra t ion
a s
governor,
i n
s p i t e
of
press-agency
tc the Con-
trary, shows
no
b e n e f i t s
f o r
l a b o r .
Th e
l e g i s l a t i o n
t o
whloh Rooae-
velt points with greatest pride
a s a
boon
t o
labor,
The New
Tork
S ta te
Old Age
Pension
A c t ,
doesn ' t bene f i t l abo r
a t a l l . N ot
only
must applicants
bo 70
yea re
o r
over, (sure ly
no
he lp
t o
moat workera
who
never reach
6 0 , l e t
a lone
7 0
becau8e
of
modern working conditions
b u t t h e
prooee.dure
i s so
loaded with red-tape that really needy indi-
viduals without money
f o r
lega l
a i d o a n
hardly hope
t o
aacure
i t s
©*»agre banefit.a.
19 -
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8/18/2019 ICC Vol 1 No 3
12/13
Dec.1934
-
Council Correspondence.
Roosevelt
i s n o t t h e
only member
of h i s
family with extensive ra i l-
road holdings.
H i s
f i r s t coua in
o n h i s
mo th er' s sl 5e , Lyman Delano,
i s
today Chairman
o f t h e
board
of
d i r e c t o r s
o f t h e
Atlantic Coast
Line R.R.Co.,
t h e
L o u i s v i l l e
Nashv i l le ,
and has an
i n t e r e s t
i n
man>
o the rs . Othe r re la t ives
a r e
J . J .P e l l ey , r ecen t ly re s igned p re s iden t
of the New
York,
New
Haven
Sc
H a r t f o r d
R.R. , and a
sha reho lde r
i n
o t n e r s ;
and Mr .
Curry
o f t h e
Union Pa ci f i c . Roosev elt 's thr ee moat
In t ima te f r iends
a r e
l ikewise indus t r ia l i s t s wi th huge ra i l road ho ld -
ings .
Th e
aforementioned Vincent Astor , besi des extensi ve Int ere sts
i n i n d u s t r y a nd ocean t ranspo r ta t ion , i s a d i r e c t o r o f t h e Great N o r -
thern Ry.Co.,
a n d . t h e
Il l inois Central . Wm.A.Harrlman, heir
of the
o l d ra i l road k ing , I s a d i r e c t o r of both t h e I l l i n o i s C e n t r a l a n d t h e
Union Paoif ic . wm.K.Vanderbil t holds directorates in the New York
C e n t r a l , t h e Michigan Central, an d other ra i lroads. Besides these
r e l a t i v e s an d c lo se f r iends , a l l who supported Roosevelt 's presiden-
t i a l campaign with sub sta nti a l f i nan ci al cont r ib uti ons, a lmost every
other ra i lroad mogul i n t h e country likewise backed h i m : Robert
Goelet, Arthur C . James, Edward S . Harknes s, C.S.McCain, David Bruce,
Howard Bru ce, Wm.T.Kemper, an d F.H.Rawson. Th e railroad group behind
Roosevelt numbered almost everyone btit, significantly enough, t h e r e -
p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f t h e roads controlled b y t h e J .P .Morgan f inancall I n -
t e r e s t s .
Th e
r a i l r o a d s
ha d
indeed taken
t h e
worst beating
of any
c a p i t a l i s t
group during
t h e
pe r iod
o f t h e
c r i s i s ,
an d
oerta inly needed help .For
example,
i n 1932 , 150
selected r a i l roa ds showed
a
d e f i c i t
of
$150,634,00 compared
t o
earnings
of
$896,807,000
in 1929 . The
r a i l -
road equipment Industry
led by
Wto.Woodin also marshalled behind
Roosevelt .
Another section
of
indust ry that r a l l i ed behind Frankli n
D . , was th e
min ing , pa r t i cu la r ly
t h e
precious metals
-
gold
an d
s i l v e r
-
group.
Most prominent here were
t h e
Guggenheim
an d
Bernard M.Baruch inter-
e s t s , exe r t ing
a
virtual monopoly
on
si lver through control
of the
American Smelting
&
Ref in ing
C o . ,
which e i t her extra cts
o r
re f ines
f o r
others almost one-half
o f t h e
world s i lv er produced year ly .
I n -
cluded with these
i s
al so Wm.R.Hearst,-newspaper pub li she r, lar ge
Mexican s i l v er mine owner
an d
sha reho lde r
i n t h e
Homestake Gold
Min-
i n g
Co.Thfo -g^oup
i n
advocating gold devaluation
an d
g r e a t e r
use o f
s i l v e r
f o r
monetary 'purposes enlis ted
t h e
large farmers ' vote
who de-
manded th at farm pro duo t.p ri oes
b e
raised through monetary legis la t ion.
A
p o l i t i c a l
>.
*rty th at promised
t o
raise farmer purchasing power,
( f a l l e n
in 1932 to
almost one-half that
of 1929) was
bound
t o
gain
t h e
support of indus t r ia l in te re s t s dependen t o n t h e f a r m e r ; aad so we
f i n d t h 6 McCormicks, owning t h e monopo l i s t i c In te rna t iona l Harves te r
Co. , and other farm implement a/»d f e r t i l i z e r m a n u f a c t u r e r s j o i n i n g t h e
Roosevelt band-wagon.
Minor indus t r ia l in te re s t s inc luded t h e liquor concerns who wanted r e -
peal of the Prohibition Amendment, a nd construction industry moguls
such a s C.R.Crane of Crane Co.> J e s s e H. Jones (R.F.C. head) a n d J . T .
Jones o f t h e Jdnes Lumber C o . , e t c .
Behind both poli t ical part ies
wa s
a l so
a
grim struggle between
two
f a c t i o n s
f o r
c o n t r o l
o f t h e
gi ant Chase Nat iona l Bank. Backing
t h e
Republican Hoover wore
h is 1928
mentors,
t h e
House
of
Morgan. Opposing
2 0
* i
Dec.1934
-
Council Correspondence.
J.P.Morgan
wa s
th is oth er group-of stockh olde rs headed
by
John Rocki
f e l l e r ,
J r . , a nd
including Vincent Astor ,
t h e
Vande rb l l t s
an d
Guggei.
helms.
Th e
fight centered about
t h e
polloy
of
J.P.Morgan,
who co n-
t r o l l e d
t h e
bank,
i n
f o r c i n g
t h e
Chase National
t o
engage
i n
practlc
e s
ou ts ide
i t s own
leg i t ima te f ie ld , such
as
lending money,
f o r
sped
la t lve pu rposes ,
t h e
f l o a t i n g
of new
stock
a nd
bond Issues,
*nd buy-
i n g a n d
s e l l i n g
o n t h e
stock market . Rockefeller ,
J r . , a n d h i s
all lc
who are
p r imar i ly ind us t r i a l i s t s , v io len t ly d i sapp roved
of
t h i s
po l -
i c y
blaming
i t i n
great part
f o r t h e
stock market crash
of
'29.They
n o t
only wanted
t o
gain contr ol
o f t h e
bank
an d
r e t u r n
i t t o I t s n o t
m al
commercial banking practice, which
i s to
provide funds
t o
Indus
t r y a n d
business
f o r
meeting cur ren t expenses,
on
good securi ty ,
but
they wanted control
o f t h e
fedea-al government
i n
o rde r
t o
enact
f e d -
e r a l l e g i s l a t i o n a g a i n s t
t h e
Morgan policy which
h a d
become wide-
spread under
t h e
in f luence
a nd
example
o f t h e
Chase National .
The
Lehman Br os , (among which
i s Gov .
H.H.Lehman
of N . Y . ) t h e
country '#
second largest f irm
of
Investment bankers,
a nd
other investment
houses such a s Halsey Stuart , supported th is a t tempt t o lega l ize
aga ins t the i r compe t i to r s .
f
Roosevelt was no sooner inaugurated than he commenced t o remamber t h e
f o r g o t t e n m e n . F i r s t o n t h e l i s t , of course, were t h e Rocke fe l le r s ,
So on March 15 , 1933 , J.P.Morgan wa s summoned before t h e Senate Bank-
i n g I n v e s t i g a t i o n . H i s reve la t ions a nd those o f 'Albe r t H . Wlggin.the
nominal head.of t h e Chase National appointed by Morgan, were so' dam -
aging that Wiggin wa s foroed t o r e s i g n a n d t h e Rockefellers gained
t h e balance of voting power, enabling them t o e l e c t t h e i r own map
Winthrop
W.
Aldrich
t o t h e
Chairmanship
o f t h e
Board
o f t h e
Chase1
National Bank.'When Aldrich appeared beforeHhe Banking Investiga-
' t ion , he announced that t h e Chase National would divorce i t s Chade
S ecu r i t i e s Corp .
He
a r g u a d ^ o r
a
c o m p l e t e d l ^ r c e ' o f
t h e
s e c u r i t i e s
bus iness
an d
commercial deposit banking. This suggestion
was em-
bodied
i n t h e
Gla8s-Steagell Banking
A ct
(June
16, 193 3)
ordering
a l l
commercial banks
t o b e
separated from t .heir se cu ri t i es business with-
i n
twelve months. Restrictions were also placed against loans
f o r
speculative purposes.
Th e
deva lua t ion
of . the
gold doll ar , fo llowed la te r
by the
n a t i o n a l i -
za t ion
of
si lver , enriched immediate ly
t h e
gold
a n d
si lver producers .
This monetary policy plus crop curtailment
a s
p r a c t i c e d
by the
A.A.A.
h a s
increased farm prices
t o
some degree.
T he
Administration, however,
overlooked
t h e
obvious fact t hat h igher food pric es r a is e
t h e
cost
of
l i v i n g
f o r t h e
worker, which
i s
directly opposed
t o t h e
i n t e r e s t s
of
t h e
i n d u s t r i a l i s t
who
d e s i r e s
lo w
production costs .
Th e
N.R.A. whose f i r 8 t form
was
suggested
by
Bernard
M.
Baruch
as the
r e s u l t
o f h i s
war-tirae experience
a s
Chalrman
of the War
Indus t r ie s
Board,
was
administered
by
Hugh Jqhneon
( a
former employe
a n d d i s -
c i p l e
of
Bariich 's)
i n
such fashion
as to
allow
t h e
natural tendency
toward mqnopoly inherent
i n
c a p i t a l i s t
t o
deve lop un res t r ic ted ly .
Codes were drawn
b y t h e
l a r g e s t i n d u s t r i a l i s t s
i n
each industry
and
naturally they were drawn
i n
t h e i r
own
interests. Minimum wages
and
hours served
t o
e l i m i n a t e
t h e
small competi tors
who
were only able
t o
s tay
in th^e
race
by
p-.ylng unfculte7ably lovv wages
a nd
working long
hours . Governmental re st r i c t ion , ther efo re , helped
t o
l iqu ida te these
small
f r y a n d
fos ter ed monopoly. S ince an ti - t ru st re st r i c t io ns have
been
s e t
aside during
t h e
course
of
N.R.A.,
i t i s
evident that th is
phase will
b e
continued.
- 21 -
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Dec.1934 - Council Correspondence.
I n t h e e f f o r t t o help those oth er for got ten irien , t h e backbone of
h i s p o l i t i c a l s u p p o r t , t h e r a i l r o a d a nd a d d i l i a t e d i n t e r e s t s ( l n o l u -
d in g h imse l f ) t h e Pre s id e n t h a s been forced t o adopt a c a u t io u s and
slow policy. Because they a r e sUbjeot t o fe d e ra l r e g u la t io n , t h e
r a i l ro a d s p re se n t a delicate problem. Rates cannot be a r b i t r a r i l y
ra ised without consent o f t h e Interstate Commerce Commission. Com-
p e t i t i o n a t t h e hands o f the bus , waterway a n d t h e aeroplane has
caused a great drop i n r a i l r o a d t r a f f i c . F o r example: volume of
f r e i g h t t r a f f i c t o d a y i s only 60 # t h a t o f 1929 ; p a s se n g e r t r a f f i c
today
i 8
only
50# of 1929 and 33# of 192 0. A
c o o rd in a to r
of
ra i lroada
wa s e s ta b l i sh e d a f t e r Ro o se v e l t to o k o f f i c e . H i s j o b h a s been t o d e -
velop a plan t o r e e s t a b l i s h t h e roads. H i s plans ca l l f o r greater
consolidation among t h e various competing roads which would eliminate
competition between them - - one o f th e requirements o f t h e I .C.C. In
a d d i t io n , i t h a s been suggested that t h e I .C .C . be reorganized with
se p a ra te d iv i s io n s f o r ra i lroads , motor l ines , a i r l in e s a n d o lh e r
c a r r i e r s
i n a
coordinated system
of
government regulation. If-4rhese
•
plans
a r e
carr ied through,
an d
they should consider ing Roosevelt 's
hold
on
Congress today, t hen
t h e
ra il roa ds wi ll become more
of a
monopoly than ever,
an d
r ival forms
of
t r a n sp o r ta t io n wi l l su f fe r .
Th e
government will also
be
forced
t o
su b s id iz e
t h e
r a i l r o a d s
i n o r -
der to
modernize them. Private capital could hardly finance
t h e
costs
Involved today.
Having secured most
of i t s
re a l o b je c t s ,
o r
about
t o
secure them,the
New Deal can now a f f o r d t o drop i t s mask of ra d ic a l i sm .Ov e r tu re s
have been made
t o b i g
b u s in e s s a s su r in g
i t
th a t
t h e
a d min i s t r a t io n
is^ inher entl y devoted to p re se rv in g t h e profi t system.Because of La-
bor ' s growing mil i t ancy a n d i t s r e f u s a l t o obey an d accept docile ly
t h e t r a d i t io n a l t r a d e -u n io n l e a d e r sh ip o f the A.F . o f L . , in the
f a c e of -ever-growing misery, a change in^be governmental labor p o l -
icy may be expected short ly . In r e t u r n f o r some s o p , such as unem-
ployment insurance of a kind, l abor wi ll be made t o give up i t s
r ig h t t o s tr ike . Once t h e s t r i k e i s outlawed, i s made illegal, wage
cuts will become t h e r u l e . Of course, Labor will be asked to accept
these cuts only temporar i ly unti l business revivesl
O ur only conclusion i s that Labor only by completely changing t h e
s o c i a l an d economic system c an r e a l l y an d t ru ly g iv e i t s e l f a New
%
Deal f o r a l l time.
it. *
n «
a
a x
« « # # # * # _ #
N O T I C E
Each i ssue of the Counci l Corr espondence cont ai ns
* f i r s t t r a n s l a t i o n s in to En g li sh of some important a
w
t i d e o r pamphlet by Marxian theore t ic ians . This mat-#
*
e r i a l
i s n o t
obtainable anywhere else. Every Marxist
*
*
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Council Correspondence.
You can
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*
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sK iii
- 22 -
Dec.1934 - Council Correspondence.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF CLASSES CONDUCTED BY U. W. P.
NEW YORK CITY: Monday eve ni ng s - 8 P . i i .
I.W.W. Hall - 94 F i f t h Ave.
Su b je c t s : - D ia le c t i c Ma te r ia l i sm
C a p i t a l i s t C r i s i s an d Collapse
Production & D i s t r i b u t i o n i n Communism.
CHICAGO Monday ev en in gs
- 8 :30 P .M.V 1604 N.
C a l i f o r n i a
Ave.
A
Subj ect: The hi story a«d devel opment of the
Ameri can Labor Movement
BUFFALO, N . Y . Thursday evenings - 8 P.M.
53 3 Broadway (corner o f J e f f e r s o n A v e . ) 2 n d f l o o r -
Su b je c t s : In t ro d u c t io n t o t h e Economic Laws of
Motion.
Dia le c t i c Ma te r ia l i sm .
FORTHCOMING ARTICLES IN THE COUNCIL CORRESPONDENCE.
I n
i s su e
of
January
1935:
Th e
Labor Movement
a n d t h e
Workers
i n
Motion
- by
Karl Korach
Is the A. F. of L. a
Labor Organiza t ion?
Th e
present Stand
p f t h e
Eudjopfean Co un ci l Movement.
A r t i c l e
o n t h e
Org a n iz a t io n ' l j t f e s t io n
- by
Rosa Luxemburg.
Th e Labor Movement i n England.
Some ne w t r a n s l a t i o n s f rom Ka rl L le b tn e c h t .
To th o se who have wri t ten i n asking f o r a d d i t io n a l c o p ie s ot t h e
f i r s t i s a u e of Council Correspondence, we a r e so r ry to say that th is
i s su e i a e n t i r e ly so ld ou t . We hope t o g e t o u t t h e f e a t u r e a r t i c l e ,
What l a Communiam In pamphlet form sometime i n t h e near fu ture ,
an d when we do we wi l l n o t i f y t h e workera who have sunt i n th e se r e -
q u e s t s . We s t i l l h a ve a f ew copies o f the November issue.
IN GERMAN: - - BESTELLT - LEST.
Ratekorreepondenz (Theore t lschea - und Diskussiona-
organ f u r d i e Ratebewegung) Herauagegeben von der
Gruppe Internationaler Kommunisten Holland.
Jede Mummer 10 c e n t . P o r t o f r e i . B e s t e l l t b e i
United Workers' Party
1604 N.
C a l i f o r n i a
A v e . ,
Chicago,
111 .
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