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MONTHLY ORGAN OF REVOLUTIONARY MARXISMRussianwenty Years of lheRevolu~ion By Max Shachtman

The Left Wing Convention andThe Founding of the New PartyThe Communist Manifesio 90Years After By Leon TrotskThe Question of Unity in theC.I.O. and A.F. ofL. By B. J. WidicThe Anarchists in lhe SpanishCivilWar By Felix MorroThe Stalinist Liquidation oSoviet China By Li Fu-jeJohn Brown, A RevolutionaryTerrorist By George NovacBooks on the TwentiethAnniversaryFeuchtwanger, Lyons, SergeBeal, Yvon,Gide By Maurice Specto

ANUARY 1938WENTY CENTS

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At HomeWELL, friends,heres THE NEWINTERNATIONALn ce a ga in . Th ist im e, w e h ope, t o s ta y . B u t t ha t supto you ,andyou ,andyoutoma kepcss ib leby helpingt o ob t a in sub-scr ipt ions ,o sell the magasine ,ndby sendingin contribut ionsegularlyt oma in t a inTHENEWIHTERNATTONALon a sur e f ounda t ion J udg in gbywh a t comr a des end f riends h a vewrittenuponlearninghat THE NEWINTERNATIONALas to appearaga in ,prospectsa rebrig ht .A comra deromthe mid.Weat ,n far-off Hutchinaon,K ~ s a s, s a ys : To s a y t h a t I m g la dTHENEWINTERNATIONALs goingt obe re-issued gainis put t ingt mildly.. . . We need the theoret i corgant okeepus postedaboutworldevents ntherevolut ionarymovement .En clos-ing subscr ipt ionand bundleorderand w i ll t r y t o senddona t ionf romtimeto time.A comra denear-byinAstoria ,Long Island City, declaresth a tTHENEWNTERNATIONALa dagrea t dea l t o do in m akingm e a

Trot sky is t . . . I d on t t h ink a n yran ka nd filer everdistributedmoreof themaroundthe peripheryof ther ndi ca lmovemen t h a n I d id . F ormyself[brethren,akenote]I pledge$5.00a monthandif I canincreasetl a t er , I ce rt a in lyw i ll . I a l so int endto hold a smallhousepartyandla tera branchaffa ir for THENEWNTSR-NATIONAL.The old NEWNTERNATJ ONALadea n d left it s m a rk, a n d it s w a n tedback quicklya nd regula r ly ,a s thecommen t sof a S t . L ou is comra deindicate.The reappeara ncef %WENEW INTERNATJ ONALs a r ea l ca usefor celebrat ion.I feel stronglyobli-ga ted to suppor t the enterpr iseineveryway possibleand I know tha tt h e ot h er comra desf eel t h e s ameway . Result : Enclosureof bundleorder and a month lyp ledgefor theSusta iningFund. A sympathizernPit tsburgh,P a . , a l so sa y s it i n wor dand indeed: Happy t o con t r ibut et o THE NEW INTERNATIONAL.n.closedfivedollars.Ma yit a ccomplishit s pu rposea nd li gh t up t h e d a rkroad . In NewH aven ,bona f ide in-tellectualfodder is wa ntedand thecomradestherelook forwa rdw itha g rea t d ea l of a n t ici pa t i ono THENEW INTERNATIONAL.P lenty -wood,Montana ,comradeshowsther ig ht s pir it by in formin gu s t ha t everybodyou t here i s broke, butwel ldo a l l we can . Weresuregladto lea rn t he N. I . is coming outaga in .From pointsst i l l furtherWest , acomr a de f rom San D iego, C a li f.,sendsin threesubscript ionsand abundleorderand declarestha tS anDiegoLocal is firmlysupportingTHENEW INTERNATSONAL.it to ,writeaa comradefrom Berkeley,Calif. ,en.clos ing subs and saying ,Wel l doa l l we can for THISNEWINTERNA-TIONAL.New s a bout N. L is beetI ve heardin a longt ime. The Codregionma kesknownits a t t i tude;alet t er fr om t h e Bos t on li ter a t ~ eagentsays: Anxiouslyaw ait inghe

THENEWINTERNATIONALA MONTHLY ORGAN OF REVOLUTIONARY MARXISMVOLUME IV JANUARY 19S8 NUMaER 1 (Whale ND. 16)Publl&?dmonthlybythe NewInternationalPublishingCompany,16 UniversityTSacO,NewYork, N. Y. Telephone:ALgonquin-8574. f4ulHcrlpt!onatm: $2.00 per Year;bundlee:14c for 5 copiesandUD.Cam&dand Foreisn: $2.5oper year; bundlea16cfor5 c0DiS9adUD.BtnslecoDY:20c. AwSJ c&tionorM@ssWCO~Wut ter@~ d~ s.Edltc.rial Board: JAMES BURNHAM, MAX SHACHTMAN, MAURICE SPECTOR.

Buslnsss Msnager: MARTIN ABERNTABLE OF CONTENTS

Th e Aim s of Our Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ . 3The Convent ion of t he New P a rty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4The Dew ey C ommission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6An a rch ism in Spa in , by Felix Morrow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Revolut ion and Coun t er -Revolut ion in Russ ia , by MaxShacktman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8The Ques tion of Tr a de Un ion Un it y, by B. J. Widick. . 13The End of t h e Ch in ese Sov iet s , by Li Fw.len. . . . . . . . . 16N in et y Yea rs of t he C ommun is t Ma nifes to, by LeonTrotsky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Homage t o J ohn B r own , by George Novack. . . . . . . . . . . . 23ARCHIVESOFTHE REVOLUTION:R em in iscen ces of t he Oct ober I nsur rect ion . . . . . . . . . . . . 26BOOKS:Af ter Twenty Years , by Maurice Spector. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28I ns ide F ron t C over : At H ome. H a nd s Off in S pa in ! N ot es .I n si de B a ck Cover : C li pping s.

HandsOff in Spain!THE int e rna t iona lproletar ia thascr ied HandsOff Spa in ! t o Hi t le rand Mnsscd it t i.t i s h igh t ime tha tthe irresist ibledemandbe made tothe St alinistG .P.U .Ha ndsOfftheRevolutionistsn Spain!The terror,int imidat ion,uppres-sion,imprisonmentndmurderprac-t ised aga instrevolut ionarymilitantsin Loya listSpa inoont inucauna ba ted.While t he leader so f t he Peop le sFront lead the massesf rom one in-excusab ledefeatto a nother ,andcon-duct seere t negot i a t ionsw i t h t hefascistsfor a fa ta lcompromise,hileLit vin ovproud lya nnouncesnG enev athat Spainhasbeensacrif icedn theINTERNATIONAL;ereputt ingin ef-forts in obta iningsubscript ionsndt hus fa r h ave q uit e a few . Min-neapolis,l ikewise,has a commit teefor thema gaz ineo canvassfor sub-script ionsend alreadyhas sent in aba tch .The managerof a NewYorkbook-shophas placed an order for150copiesof the firstissuean d say st h is i s on ly a s t a rt er .And so onfrom Chicago , Columbus,Akron ,Ph i la de lphi a ,Newa rk , and otherl oca l s. Now YOU haveh a d a n op-por tunityo readthe f ir s t issueandweresureyou l ikei t . Bu t we meanto be s t il l bet t er ; t he edi t or ia lde-par tmentwi l l keepup i t s end. I t sup t o YOU n ow t o d o y our sh ar e.HelpSE LLt he magaz ine.SendinSUB SCRIPTIONS.Assistwithreg-ularcontributions.THENEWNTER-NATIONALs a cos t ly f in anci a lenter-prise. I t cannotbe mainta inedolelythroughbundleorderaand subscrip-tions,thoughtheseof coursear e thebed-rockof the maga sine.Monthlypledgesfor THENEWINTERNATIONALare requiredto ensureregulariaau-ance.Werehereagain.Now,YOUet busy ! THEMANAGER

int e res t sof pea ce , t he bes t sol -diersin the struggleaga instreactionare beinghoundedby the impor tedG.P .U .Like so ma nyother s,Arrd reeNin,t he lea der of t he P .O.U .M., w a slynchedby the St alinistsecretpolice.The wh oleP.03-I.M.leadership,n-clu din g J u a n Andr a de a n d J u l ioGorkin,and scoresof members,a rekept in prisonfor monthswith outat r ia l . L it e ra l ly t housandsof ana r -cbist an dleft wingsocialistmilitan tsof t he Caba l le rogroupa re kept inthe pr iva tedungeonsof the G.P .U .or t he governmen t sown pr isons .Foreignmi l it a n t s ,by t he score,h a ve d is a ppea r edor a r e h eld inpr ison , some without charges , a l lwithouttriaLOurownHarryMiltonwa skeptin prisonfor monthsbeforehis release,forced by protest .Eventbe Amer icanr igh t wing socia l is t ,Sa mB aron,wa s only recent lyfreedfromimprisonments a Trotskyist.Mar c R ein , s on of t he Men sh evikleaderAbramovich,has disappearedtoR ussia,t is feared.Erw inWolf,theCzechmilitant,hasmet thesamefa te .The whereaboutsf Kur t Len .da u,w ell-knownAustr ia nrevolu tion .ist ,and V. Vit te,leaderof theG reekArchiomarxists, re unknown.The cham pionsof democracyinSpa in depr ivew orking cIass mili-tant sof the most elementarydemo-craticright s.The infam ousoutrag eaof the G.P .U .mustbe answeredbya s t ormof in t erna t iona l rolet a r i anprotest .Only in th isway was HarryMil t on s l if e sa ved . Hundredso fotherlivesare in danger.Tbe Span-ishAmbassa dorerna ndoe10SRiosa t Washington ,nd the governmenta t Ba rcelona ,mustbe innn da tedwit hthe sha rpes t p rot es t a f r om everylabor organizat ionndmeet ing.

THE FIRSTrequestwe maketour readerswh oha ve,alreadyrso loya l ly t o t herev iewin a l lof the worlduponthe announof its m-publicat ion,ccordingtordersreceivedby th ebu sinesager,is an expressionof opiniothecontentsulfilltherequiremWhetheror not t hey do, whages t ionshave the reader s forprovement?We la y grea t st ore by inat ionalollabora tion,c tha tonrer s ma y h a v e t h e bea t a n a lywor ld pol it i ca l event sand thvelopmentsn the internat ionmovement.Lettershavealreadywrit tento the mostqua lif iedwin the revolut iona ryMarxianmmentof themostimpoita ntcouof Europeand Lat in Americaing regula rcont r ibu t ionso thview. Comingissueswill devonecessarynumberof pageatoarticles.Wha t i s more fi t t ingfor a ris su ed b y Mar xis ts in t he USta testhan the closesta t tenttbe si tua t ionn the count r iestson th of us? The revolutmovementin La t in Americahdecisiver61e o performin th epto come.An effectivestr ugglea gYankeeimperialismequiresaoughknowledgeof its workinthe Americancontinent s.We eto publishimportantstudiesinf iel d by ou r comr a des in MCuba,theArgentine,Bra zil,PaChi le , Venezuela ,aud otherAmerica nlan ds.Nor d o w e in ten d to ig nor

own Un i t edS t a t e s . I n add itar ticleson currentpoliticalprot he fut ure of t he La bormovementn the UnitedSta teexamp le ,i s one such prob lehopeto treat soonweaim to pintothe historyof thepa st.Olders especia llywill welcomethturn of GeorgeNovack ,whotoo-briefpictureof J ohnBr owpears in th is issue.The authpromisedus an absorbingar tit he famous , and much-madraf t r iots in NewYorkduriCivilWar. Otherswill come.To ignorethe endur ingwoMa rx a nd Engel swou ldbe nl iv e up t o ou r t it le. As bef orsha llproducesomeof the bestwof thesegrea t th inkerswhichpot yet , un for t una t e ly , eenla t ed a nd publis hed in E nTheirfr eshnessa nd cogencytoent-dayproblemsar e oftena sting.Po lemics? Discussions? Aserious quest ions , ser iouslyw i tha lw a ys . y t h ew a y ,whsponsibleepresenta tivef anaw i ll t akeup the cha l lengeofMor row in the cu r rent i ssuepagesare wa i t ingfor h im.Thisis nota prospectus,nlyhints.And yourhints?

TEEltD

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HE NEW I NT ERNATI O NALMONTHLY ORGAN OF REVOLUTIONARY MARXISM

OLUME IV JANUARY1938 NUMB ER

The Aims of Our ReviewT IS INCRE AS ING LY clea r t ha t t he center of gra vit y of t herevolut iona ry l abor movemen t i s sh if t ing Westwa rd . The b ir t h -a ce of t he scien t if ic soci a li st movemen t i s now a f a sci st shambles .Rus si a , t h e v a ngua r d movemen t h a s f el t t h e cr uel , pr os tr a t in gow s of a n a t ion a li st r ul in g cl iqu e wh ich h a s become a v a st i nt er -on a l ma ch in e f or f a ls if yi ng t h e Ma rxi sm wh ich t h e 1917 r evo-t ion ret r ieved f rom the mud. Wherever t he l abor movemen t s t il lxis ts a s a for ce in E ur ope, it is i n t he pa r a ly zin g g rip of eit her ort h t he Second and Th ird In t erna t iona l s.I n t he Un it ed S t a tes , h ow ever , t he la b or mov emen t is exper i-n cin g a sw eepin g u psur ge. Almos t ov er nig ht , t he t ra d e u nion sve sw elled w it h hundreds of t housa nds a nd m illions of newmber s. I n t h e ma ss econom ic s t ru gg les t h a t a ccompan ied t h isn d t h e new t r a de uni on is t s, w i th t h a t a g gr es si ven es s cha r a ct er -s t ic of t h eAmer ica n worker i n a fi gh t , spon t a neou sl y a dopt ed t h es t mil it a n t and advanced forms of s t rugg le .The s it -down s t rikesch u ps et t he eq ua n im it y of t he Amer ica n r ulin g cla ss a r e t heir st m in a tor y, if u ncon sciou s, d ecla r a tion b y t he w or kin g cla ssi t does not have t oo much awesomerespect f or cap it a l is t prop-t y r igh ts and cl a ims . They foreshadow the revolut iona ry t omor-w wh en t he t oiler s w ill perma n en tly occu py , m a na g e a n d ownindus t ri es wh ich w i ll b e t h e pr oper t y of or ga n iz ed soci et y .Despi t e i t s t umul tuous r ise, however, t he workers movemen t inUn it ed S t a t es l a cks con sci ou sn es s, cr ys t a ll iz ed i n a pr og ramd a scien tific d oct rin e, a nd im plem en ted by a r evolut ion ar yl it i ca l pa r t y . Where i s t he scien t if ic doct r ine t o come f rom? Thei ca l Amer ica n i nt el li gen t si a , l ik e t h e i nt el lect u a ls a s a whol e,

a s no root s in t he ma sses, t o w hom it ha s not hing to offer a nd, for t ha t r ea s on , a s k n ot hin g of it . Th e in tellig en ts ia , w h ichabandoned the t r ad it i ona l prejudices of Amer ican i sm and i seekin g a n ew or ien ta t ion , con sider s t ha t it h as foun d on e in a nr it i ca l a ccept ance of t he Russi an exper imen t . I n a ctu a li t y, i ta n s t ha t , h a vin g n o d oct rin e a n d n o s ocia l s uppor t, t he in t elli-en ts ia fin ds n ot hin g bet ter t ha n t o s in k t o it s kn ees befor e t heviet bu rea u cr a cy . H a r dly h a s it h a lf-lib er a ted it self fr om pr e-a iling bour geois ideology t ha n it fa lls vict im t o a consum ingi ri t ua l I nqu is it i on . For t he Kremlin bureaucr a cy , and i t s spi ri t-s s t ool , t he Communist I n t erna t iona l , a r e not t he banner -bea re rsf r evolut iona ry science but i t s f ie rcest an t a gon is t s .The havoc wrought in t he l abor movemen t by the soci a l-democ-y i s s econd on ly t o t h e dev a st a t ion of i ts pr in ci pa l pr esen t col -

a bor at or , S ta lin ism. I n t he S oviet U n ion , n ot on ly polit ics butscience , l it er a t u reand a r t a r e impressed int o servi ce t o ju st i fy ,on solid a te a n d g lor ify t he B on a pa r tis t d ict a tor sh ip. All in de-en den t t hin kin g is h ou nd ed a n d per secu ted a s a mor ta l d a ng er .ea t ion is permit ted on ly a s a comma nd per forma nce. I t is n otr pr is in g t h a t t h e sou rces of spi ri tu a l cr ea t i on opened up by.t h eevolut ion h ave dried up so q uickly . Not a sin gle w ork of eco-m ics , polit ics or s ociolog y h a s b een pr oduced t ha t m ig ht t a ket s pla ce in t he libr a ry of h uma nit y. P h ilos oph y h a s d eg en er a tedi nt o shameful s chol a st ici sm . L it er a t ur e, pa i nt in g, a r ch it ect ur e,s ic, w hich m igh t h a ve a t ta in ed n ew h eig ht s in t he s er vice ofcia l ism, a re t a in tedw i th ster i li t y .The pest ilence is not confined to t he borders of the S ovietUn ion . Throughou t t he Communist I n t erna t iona l and i t s a f fi li a t es ,ev er y mean s is u sed t o humil ia t e, ema scu la t e a nd en s la v e t h e pr o-g res si ve movemen t i n a l l count r ieB .The au t hor it y of t h e Oct ober

r ev olu tion is r epla ced b y t he a ut hor it y of t he in fa lli ble L ea da nd s upplem en ted by a sy st em of br iber y w it hou t pr eced en th is t or y . A dr il l-sergean t spi ri t , Byz an t in ism ,b igot r y , je su it r y ,a nd ca lumny poison t he a t mosph er e br ea t hed by t he a dva nw orkers a s w ell a s by t he ra dica l in tellect ua ls. This w orkd emor aliza t ion on a w or ld s ca le is cloa ked un der t he ba nn ert h e def en se of t h e Sov iet Un ion .Our a im i s t o h elp b rea k down t h e demor a li zi ng a nd r ea ct ioni nf lu en ce of S t a li ni sm and i ts n ew l y a cqu ir ed a l ly , s ocia l r eforism of t he old school. We ha ve no ot her w ea pon a t our dispos a ve t h e i dea s of r ev olut ion a r y Ma rx ism. All t h e ev en t s s in ceou tbr ea k of t he la s t w or ld w a r h a ve on ly con firmed ou r b elief tun less t he la bor m ovem en t is built upon t hese idea s, it n ot oca nn ot liber at e it self fr om ca pit a lism , but it ca nn ot even , exunder ca pi ta l ism a s a n in dependen t for ce. Al l t h a t t h e i nnov a t ia n d t he pr a ct ica l s ubs tit ut es h a ve y ield ed in t he la st q ua r tera cen tu ry h a s b een on e d efea t a ft er a n ot her .The rev iew does not propose merely t o defend idea sand theorI t t akes upon it self t he m ilit ant a dvoca cy of t he F our th I nn a t ion a l, wh ich i s t h e wor ld movemen t of r ev olut ion a r y Ma rxia nd of it s s ect ion in t he U nit ed S ta t es. Th e d ecisive fa ct or in

hist oric fut ure of t his count ry, a s w ell a s a ll ot hers, w ill ber evolut ion a r y pr ol et a r ia n pa r t y. We in t end t o pr ocl a im it s id eabove a l l in t he gener a l pol it i ca l and theoret i ca l f ie lds , and thert o bu ild a n d s tr en gt hen i t.To defen d t he idea s of Ma rxism , w e must fir st t ea r it fr omcla w s of t he I nq uis it ion , fr om it s t ra d ucer s a n d d is tor ter s w h

ever t hey may be. We int end t o re-conquer t he f reedom of cr it i cia nd cr ea t ion . We s eek t o r es tor e h on est y, sin cer it y a nd t rut ht heir fu ll r ig ht s, t o r es tor e in depen den ce, d ig nit y a n d s elf-cfid en ce t o r evolu tion a ry t hou gh t. A g en uin e Ma rxia n r ev iewbou nd b y n o ob lig a tion s ot her t ha n t hos e of h on es ty i n ma tt er st heor y. Ma rxism, by it s very na ture, is not a dogma , but a gut o a ct ion ; it is crit icism w hich st ops befor e n o t aboo. I t is a lt o idola t ry . I t im poses t he n ecess it y of sh ar pen in g a ll t he fiedged and inci sive ins t rumen t sof t hought .Ma rxism mea n s t he a n aly sis of t he livin g h ist or ica l pr oceUnfet tered ana lys is presupposes the inev it abi l it y of d i fferencest he ba sis of Ma rxism it self. F or t his r ea son w e in ten d t o t hropen t he pa g es of ou r r ev iew t o a g rea t er ext en t t ha n ever b efo

t o a d is cu ss ion of t h ose pr ob lems wh ich con cer n t h e l iv in g r evot iona ry movement . Th e edit ors do no[ ,propose t o a ct a s mspect a tor s a t a for um , but a s a ct iv e p a rt icipa n ts w h o h a ve a s tapoint t o present a nd w ho do not fea r t o confront discussiondebate.We make no pret ens ions t o t h a t hypocr it i ca l impa r ti a li t y whmor e oft en t h an n ot con cea ls a fea r t o expr es s a firm opin ion .a r e t h e s t a un ch pa r t is a ns of t h e doct r in es , of r ev olut ion a r y Maism. We r eg ar d t his s cien ce of t he pr olet a ria t a s on e t ha t g iv est he keenest inst rument s w it h w hich t o a na ly ze problems aeven ts . Th e fu nct ion of a Ma rxia n r eview is n ot fu lfilled by t rala ting t he la test uka se of t he Moscow burea ucra cy. Nor isob li ga t ion a t an end when, every mon th or every qua r t er , i t a n a lyt he r evolut ion of 1776, or t he C ivil Wa r, or t he posit ion of acu lt u ra l l a bor under Mussol in i, or t h e i nt r ica ci es of n om in a lib ut flees fr om t he ver y t hou gh t of u tt er in g a w or d on such bur nq ues tion s a s t he cr is is of t he Rus sia n r evolut ion , t he P eop

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THE NEW INTERNAT 10NAL January19ron t, or t he pr olet a ria n a t tit ud e t ow a rds t he com in g w a r. Ou roncep ti on of t h e d ef en se of Ma rx ism does not i ncl ud e fl ig ht fr ome problems of t he da y; it presupposes a ser ious a tt empt t o

r t h e ques t ion spos ed b y t h e cla s s s t ru gg le.An a nsw er t o t he q uest ion s of t he da y im plies ver y oft en t hes t v ig or ou s polem ica l m a nn er . We a r e m in dfu l of t h e fa ct t h a tbes t-or ga n iz ed en emy of r ev olu t ion a r y Ma r xism in t h e r a nk s

f t h e l a bor movemen t , i s t h e i nt ern a t ion a l S t a li nis t ma ch ine. Thes t d angerou s enemy ca l ls f or t h e hea v ies t b low s .Th e a la rmed cou rt ier s w ill of cou rs e r eply t h a t w e a r e d es tr oy -n g t he foun da t ion s of t he S oviet U nion , w ea ken in g t he un it edr on t of t h e d emocr a cy , a n d s er vin g fa s cism. We r eply in a d va n cet h es e ou tcr ies w it h con t empt , w h ich w ill ea s ily a rm it self w it hr on y a nd sa rca sm w hen a sim ple boot is n ot en ough . All livin gn gs a r e con sumed a n d r eju ven a t ed . Th e os sified r ev olu t ion ,f or e a l l el se, h a s need of r eju ven a t ion . We have not h in g i n com-

mon w it h t he h igh -cla ss con cen tr a tion camp of t he F rien dsthe Sov ie t Un ion . We base ourselves ent i rel y on the revolut i onaf ounda t i on s of t h e Sov iet r 6g ime. We ha t e it s expl oit er s, it s pa rs it es , it s g ra v e-d ig ger s. I n t h e i nt er es t s o f t h e Sov iet Un ion andt he w or ld pr olet a ria n st ruggle a ga in st ca pit alism , w e declaim pla ca ble w a r on S ta lin ist B ona pa rt ism a nd it s in ter na t ionla ck ey s. Th e B a b ylon ia n ca pt iv it y of r ev olu tion a r y t h ou gh t can ot a n d w ill n ot la st for ever . Th e fr ame-u ps a n d pu rges m a rk tb eg inn in g of t h e end. We wan t t o h a s t en t h e d es t ru ct ion of pol iccommand over t h e v angu a rd t h r oughou t t h e wor ld .We begin our w or k w it h m odest m ea ns a nd for ces but w it hunsha ka ble fa it h in t he fut ure. Our t asks a re of in t erna t ionsign ifica n ce. Th a t is w h y w e a r e cou nt in g on in ter na t ion a l cola bor a tion . Over a ll obst a cles a n d in spit e of a ll d ifficu lt ies, wsh all ca rr y on our w or k t o t he en d!

THE EDITORS

The Conventionof the NewPartyHE CONVENTION OF THE revolu t ion a r y m il it a n t s expell edfr om t he S ocia list P a r ty a n d t hos e w h o a r e in solid ar it y w it h

em , w ill t a ke pla ce in C hica go du rin g t he N ew Yea r w eek-en d.w ill m a rk a n im pr ess ive m ilest on e in t he bu ildin g of t he r evo-t i on a r y worker s pa r t y of t h eUn i t ed S t a t es .The even t is of i nt er -n a l impor t a n ce, for i n t h e s t ronges t cen t er of wor ld imper ia l -

sm the conven t ion w i ll es t a bli sh t h e l a rg es t s ect ion of t h e Fou r t hThe expulsion of t he left w ing from t he S ocia list P a rt y is aci si ve cu lm in a t in g poi nt i n t h e d evel opmen t of b ot h t h e f ormerd t he la t ter . U nder t he impa ct of t he ca t ast rophic defea ts ofe w orking cla ss in C ent ra l E urope in 1933-1934 a nd of t her rific cr isis of w or ld ca pit a lism, t he t hen mor ibu nd S ocia listy of Amer ica a cq uir ed a n ew lea se on life by t he in filt ra t ionf s ev er a l t h ou sa n d y ou ng a n d m ilit a n t left w in g elemen t s w h ombu rea u cr a t ic a d ven t ur ism of t h e C ommunis t P a r t y r epelled .h e pr es su re of t h es e l eft w in g for ces w a s s tr on g en ou gh t o pr o-uce a split in t he S ocia list P a rt y a s a r esult of w hich t he in cor -gible Old G ua rd sepa ra ted it self from t he or ga niza t ion . Th eg ht w in g B ou rb on s, s tu bbor nly r epea t in g t h e s ter eot yped for -

e of t h e b ank rupt s oci a l-d emocr a cy and r ef us in g t o a s simi la t es in gl e one of t h e obvi ou s l es son s of i nt ern a t ion a l even t s, r et ir edt h e com for t s of a lit t le F a bia n s ociet y d ed ica t ed t o ma in t a in in gcoupl e of muni ci pa l s ocia l is t el ect i on mach ines and t o b es eech -n g t he la bor bu rea ucr a cy t o bu ild t hem a la bor pa r ty sh elt er .Wit h a l l t h eir imma t ur it y a n d con fu sion a n d d es pit e t h eir h a p-lea d er s hip , t h e l ef t w i ng m il it a n t s wer e s er iou sl y s t riv in gbu ild a r evolu tion a ry pa rt y ba sed on Ma r xia n pr in ciples a n da r t icipa t in g a ct iv ely in t h e cla s s s tr ug gle. I t w a s q uit e clea r t h a tt h t he cen tr ist lea der sh ip of t hese m ilit a nt s con tin uin g a t t hea d, t he en er gies of t he m ov em en t w ou ld be dis sipa t ed a n d t heovement it self end up in a st at e of disin t egra tion. The best

l emen t s among t he m il it a n t l ef t w e re t h er efor e con st a n t ly a t log -er hea ds w it h t he New Yor k cen tr ist lea der s w h o, fr om t he d ay sf or e t h e Det r oi t conven t ion i n 1934, oper a t ed on t he t h eor y t h a ta pit ula t ion t o su ch con gen it a l r igh t w in ger s a s cam e fr om t helwaukee sewer-soci a li sm schoolto say noth ing of cap itu la t i onNorman Thoma s a n d h is en t ou ra g e of mud dleh ea d s, F a bia n s,i fi st s , Indus t r ia l Democra t s and other n i ce peop lewas a lway sr ef er a b le t o an hones t fi gh t f or r evol ut ion a r y pr in ci pl e.Never t h eles s, r evol ut ion a r y id ea s we re mak ing t h eir w a y i n t h ea r ty a n d t he d es ir e t o h a ve t hem pr eva il w a s con cr et iz ed in t heow in g dem a nd t ha t a ll r evolu tion is ts n ot m ember s of t he S .P .u ld b e inv it ed t o joi n it s r a nks w i t h f ul l r ig ht s , ob li ga t i on s andr ivileges, in clu din g t he r igh t t o d efen d t heir poin t of view . I nr der t o b reak down any or g ani za t i on a l b a rr ier s b etwe en t he r evo-

4Iut iona ry w orkers inside t he pa rt y a nd t hose out side of it , a ndeffect a fu sion of t he t w o, t he Tr ot sky ist , or ga n iz ed a t t ha t t imin t he Wor kers P a rt y of t he U nit ed S ta tes, decided m or e t ha ny ea r a nd a h alf a go t o join t he S ocia list P a rt y.Th e a ffilia t ion of t he Wor ker s P a r ty m ember s t o t he S .P . (a nof t he F our th I nt er na t ion alist S pa rt a cus Yout h L ea gue t o tYoung P e oples S ocia lis t L ea g ue) coin cid ed w it h t h e d epa r t uof t h e Wa l dman-Onea l -Lee-Forwa rd s g ang a t t h e C l evel a nd pa rcon ven tion . Alm ost a ut om a tica lly , t he split of t he m a in bu lkt h e r ig ht w in g, follow ed s hor t ly t h er ea ft er by it s B r id gepor t a nR ea d in g con tin gen ts, ca used a sh ift of pos it ion w it hin t he r a nof t he pa rt y. A consist ent left w ing, st anding on principleg round s and meaning bus in es s, w a s s oon cr y st a l liz ed a r ound tSociuli.st Appeal a t it s C hica go I nst it ut e i n t he Win ter of 193I t w a s a ch ieved by a h a rm on iou s fu sion of a ll t he g en uin ely lew in g elem en tst he former m ember s of t he Wor ker s P a r ty a nt hose r ev olu tion a ry socia list s w h o h a d been ca r ry in g on a figfor left w in g policies b efor e t h e Worker s P a r t y w a s d is solv ed .At t h e oppos it e pole of t h e pa r ty , t h e r igh t w in g for ces effecta con cen t ra t ion of a loos e b ut n on et h eles s effect iv e k in d, u niton no clea r -cu t pol it ica l pr og ram , but a n ima t ed b y a v iol en t a n t aonism to t h e pr in ciples of r ev olu t ion a r y Ma r xism t o wh ich , likt h e S t a lin is ts , t h ey a pplied t h e g en er a l t a g of Tr ot sky ism. Thconcen t r a t ion i ncluded bot h g roups of Wi scon sin r ef orm is t s, tP or t er -B er ger S t a lin is t cr ew a n d t h e Hoa n -B e ns on g ood g ov ernmen tpeople; t h e pa cifis ts , t h e F a bia n s of t h e L ea g ue for I nd ut r ia l D emocr a cy a n d ot h er g ood folk for w h om t h e s ocia lis t movm en t begin s a nd en ds w it h Norma n Th om as; liq uida t or s of tAlfr ed B a k er L ew is s ch ool w h o fa v or t h e d is solu tion of t h e pa rin t o a n ed uca t ion a l in st it ut e; t h e d ea dwood , t h e r ig ht w in g r emn a nt s, y ou ng t ra de u nion officia ls on t hem a ke a n d a ssor ted im podera bilia orga nized in New York under t he lea dership of aa mbit ious office-h older by t he n am e of Alt ma n; a nd a fr ankS t a li ni st g roup i n Connect icu t or g ani zed under t h e fi tt in g, memory -s t ir r ing name of Commit t eeo f Cor respondence .B et w een t hese t w o curr en ts st ood t he H amlet s of t he C la rigrot ip, or ga nized a s a sepa ra t e ent it y follow in g t he split t h

occur red in t he New Yor k left w in g gr oup w hen t he cen tr ist sZam , Ty ler , Del sonfound t hemsel ves i n a m inor it y . I t s et it s et he not a t a ll modest a nd not a t a ll mea n t ask of reconciling ti rreconci lab le, thus underwri t ing i t s own certa in col lapse.Th e fir st blow dea lt t he left w in g w a s d eliver ed a t t he speci

con ven t ion in Ch ica g o ea r ly t h is y ea r , w h en a mot ion b y Thomw a s a dopt ed pr oh ibit in g t he pu blica t ion of a n y sepa r a te gr ouor ga n s. Th e left w in g bein g exclu ded fr om pa r ticipa t ion in tofficia l pa rt y pa per , w hich w as the monopoly of the r ight w in

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1938 THE NEW INTERNATIONAL Pagt h e cen t ri st s, t h e deci si on wa s t a n t amount t o a g a g, especi a ll yconven t ion p ledge t o pub li sh a gener a l ly a ccess ib le int e r-d is cu ss ion paper w a s non ch a la n t ly s cr a pped by t h e fir st meet -g of t he Na t iona l Execu t iveCommi t t ee fol low ing the conven t ion .Th e s econ d blow a t t he left w in g in pa rt icula r, a nd a t t he left -rd developm ent of t he pa rt y in genera l, w a s delivered a t t hela d elph ia meet in g of t he N .E .C . w h ich fin a lly a d opt ed a r es o-ut ion on S pa in . Alt houg h t he con ven tion h ad t a ken a pos it ionn st P eopl es F r on t ism, t h e r esolut ion on Spa i n w a s a pol it ica ln dor semen t o f t h e C a ba ll er o P eopl es F r on t a nd, wor se t h a n t h a t,

ov er ed up t h e r6g ime t h a t ma ss a cr ed t h e r evolut ion a r y worker sr in g B a r celon a s May D a ys . Not ew or th y is n ot t he fa ct t ha t t hegh t w in ger s t hr oug hout t he pa rt y a n d on t he N.E .C . vot ed foris r es olu tion , b ut t ha t it w a s s pon sor ed a n d ca r ried by t he C la r -i ty g roup ma jor it y on t h e commi tt ee, wh ich , t h en a s now , made nodes t cl a ims t o r ad ica l ism .Th e r eply of t he r an k a n d file of t he pa rt y a nd t he y out h or ga n-

iza t ion w as a fea r-inspir ing rem inder t o t he right w in g a nd it scent rist a llies of t he gr ow th of t he left w in g movem ent . In on et y and you th organ iz a t ion a f t er another , t he member ship vot eddow n t he misera ble resolut ion on S pa in a nd ca lled upon t heN.E .C . t o d isca rd it in fa vor of a r evolut ion ar y d ocum en t. Th isvid en ce of left w in g gr ow t h w a s a nsw er ed by t he C la rit y-r igh tw in g combin at ion w it h on e of t he m ost s tupid decr ees kn ow n inr a di ca l movemen t .A s one C la r it y s t a tesman s a i d, ma r tia l l aww a s es ta b lis hed i n t he pa r ty . Ot her s ca lled it t he g a g-la w . An d s oit w a s. I t pr oh ib it ed t he member sh ip fr om d is cu ss in g pa r ty pol-

iciesnoth ing more. I t forba de a ny a ttempt t o ca ll upon t heN.E .C . t o in it ia t e a n ew policy or a lt er a n old on e. I t es ta blis heda n index prohibitorurn for heret ica l l it era ture---e ., ., the l it era turef t he left w in gwhich pa rt y in st it ut ion sm igh t sell on ly uponper il of excommun ica t ion a nd con sig nm en t t o t he fir es of h ell.Th e wh ole i dea met w it h t he a ppr ova l of ever yb od y bu t t he mem-ber sh ip, a nd it m igh t st ill h a ve w or ked if t he N.E .C . could h a vegot ten en ough cops t o en for ce it , or if it r ea lly ha d t he pow er t oissue let ters of m ark a nd reprisa l. B ut t he m ore desper at e a ndt r a r y t he p roh ib it or y deci sions of t he N.E .C. , t he more clea r l yw a s it s f ut il it y a nd impot en ce r ev ea l ed .The gener a l r ebel li on of t h e member sh ip a g a in st t h e in famou sgag-l aw was on ly w idened by the notor ious Al tman-Thomas-La id-ler pr opos a l t o s uppor t t he b ou rg eois b la t her skit e, L a Gua r dia ,ca n did a te of t he R epu blica n pa r ty for m a yor of New Yor k, t o s up-por t h im n ot on ly in con tr a ven tion of s olemnly a d opt ed con ven -on d ecis ion s, b ut b y t he pecu lia r ly cr a ven s tep of w it hd ra w in gsoci a li st cand ida t e for LaGua rd ia s benef it w i t hou t g iv ing h ima forma l endor semen t .The r ight w ing t ook t h e of fen si ve on t h ispr opos a l, a n d a s w a s a lw a ys t h e ca s ewhen con fr on t ed by a ser iou sof fens ive, t he C la r it y Na t iona l Execu t ive col lap sed and endor sed

t he pr opos a l by a m a jor it y vot e.S im ult a neou sly , a fox-h un t w a s or ga nized by t he r igh t w in gin st t he left , w h ich h a d r ou sed t he bulk of t he a ct ive member -

ship a g a in st t h e od iou s sel l-ou t i n New York, a nd t h er ef or e s t oodin t he w a y of it s execut ion . Mor e t ha n a h un dr ed suppor ter s oft he left w in g Appea l As socia t ion w er e b rou gh t u p on ch a rg es b yt he Alt ma n a dm in ist ra t ion for t he cr im e . . . of belon gin g t o t heAppea l Ass ocia t ion a nd ow in g fea lt y t o a n a lien or ga niza t ion ,n amely , t he F ou rt h I nt er na t ion a l. I n a w or d, t he cr imes ch a rg edw er e not a ct s of indiscipline, but t he fa ct s of a ssocia t ion a ndl ie f, t h a t i s, a conspi ra cy ind ictmen t . Speaker of t he AssemblyS weet w ho ha iled t he five socia list a ssemblpen befor e him in1920 in or der t o depr iv e t h em of t h ei r s ea t s , ch a r ged t h em w i th nogreater crimes.I t is d ifficu lt t o d es cr ib e w h a t f ollow ed in t emper a te la n gu a ge.Wh at pa ssed for a t ria l of t he left w in ger s w a s a t on ce lud icr ousa nd obs cen e. Th e Alt ma n gr oup fun ct ion ed im per tur ba bly a s

l a in t if f, pr osecu t in g a t t or ney , ju dge, ju ry , cou rt of a ppea l s a ndxecu t ion er , t h us econom iz in g t ime and ener gy . The no l es s a u s-

t e re ly impa r ti a l Na t iona l Execu t ive Commit t ee , a f t er r esolvingt ur n ov er t he pa r ty t o t he P eoples F ron t combin a tion of AlfrL an don s pa rt y+ t h e F us ion pa rt y+ t he P r ogr es sive Ta rt y+ tAmerica n La bor P a rt y+ t he C ommunist P a rt y+ t he Lovestg rou p, d ev ot ed it self for a n h ou r t o h ea r in g t he a ppea l of t hew in g a nd t hen en dor sed t he expuls ion , t he C la rit y g roup vyw it h a l l t he ot her r ig ht w in ger s for t he dub iou s h on or of t or pei ng t h e Socia l is t P a r t y. To gua r a n t ee i ts s inking beyond t h e ef foof d iver s, a r es olu tion w a s u na n imou sl y a d opt ed ca llin g u ponm ember s t o cea se a nd d es ist fr om a ny con tin ued suppor t ofleft w in g or it s or ga n on pa in of immed ia t e expu ls ion . P r ov isw a s m ade for t he prompt lift ing of t he cha rt ers of a ll orga nt ion s wh ich f a il ed t o ex ecu t e t h e ma s s expu ls ion or der .Th e lamen t ab le colla ps e of t he C la r it y d iplom a tis ts in fa cet he r ig ht w in g off en siv e in New Yor k a n d Wis con sin w a s ma tcon ly by t heir effr ont er y a nd vir ulen ce in pr oceed in g t o cutpa rt y t o pieces s o a s t o d islod ge t he left w in g. B ut t ha t pr ovedbe n o s im ple m at ter . D es pit e a ll kin ds of s ha d y ma nipu la t ior ig gin g a n d dues -fixin g, t he left w in g r eceived a n overw helmma jor it y of t h e vot es f or t h eYoung P eopl es Soci a li st L ea gue cven tion , w hich a dopt ed a left w ing progra m, elect ed a r evot ion ar y lea der sh ip, a nd en dor sed t he F ou rt h I nt er na t ion al.N ew Yor k, t he ma jor it y of t he a ct iv emember s s tood firm w it hleft w in g; likew is e i n C hica g o; likew is e in Oh io. I n st a tesMinnesot a , C a l if or n ia a nd I ndi a na , t h e l ef t w ing w a s suppor t eda ny wh er e fr om 75 t o 95 per cen t of t he m ember sh ip. I n r eplyt he La G ua rdia pa rt y w reckers, t he left w ing issued a ca ll fospeci a l conven t ion i n Ch ica go over t h e s igna t u res of t h e Na t ioExecu t ive Commit t eeo f t he Y .P . S .L ., t he Execu t ive Commit t eet he New York a nd C ook C oun ty Left Win g, a nd t he S ta te Cmit tees of t he Ohio, Min nesot a, I ndia na a nd C aliforn ia paor ga n iz at ion s. Th e con ven tion ca ll h a s s in ce b een en dor sedn umer ou s impor ta n t pa r ty cen ter s, like R och es ter , N . Y., B uCount y a nd Al len t own in P enn sy lv a ni a ,K a n sa s C it y a nd S t . L oCoun t y in Missou r i.Wh il e t h e l ef t w ing i s con sol id a t in g i ts for ces f or t h e r e-formt ion of t he r evolu tion a ry Ma rxia n pa r ty in t he Un it ed S t at es ,r em na nt s of t he old S ocia lis t P a rt y a re dis in tegr at in g a pa ce.t he t ra d it ion a l s tr on gh old of New Yor k, t he pa r ty s imply d idexist a s a fa ct or in t he current elect ion. I n P hila delphia , itd or sed t he ca n did a tes of t he C ommunis t P a r ty . I ts S t a lin is t wis b rea k in g off a n d mov in g f orma lly t o t h e C .P . , a s f or e-sha dowby t he a ffilia t ion t o t he la t t er b y t he S .P .S s ta r of h ope amon gstudent s, La sh; by t he tour w hich H illia rd B ernstein, a n Swhee lh ou se a mong t h e unemployed , i s making f or t h e S t a lin ia nd by t he a ppr oa ch in g d eser tion of D a vid La sser , pr esid ent h e Worker s Al li a nce. The number of member s who h a ve becoin differ en t or d ropped ou t en tir ely r un s in to t he h un dr ed s. TJ ew is h s ect ion is s ecr et ly n eg ot ia t in g for f us ion w it h t he J ewsect ion of t he Old G ua rd, a nd does it w it h im punit y despit et ea r ful p rot es t s of t he demora l iz ed C la r it y it es . The la t t er s t enin the pa rty is it self t enuous, if the S .0.S . cry of their lafa ct ion cir cu la r is t o b e cr ed it ed ; s ome of t hem a r e a lr ea d y u pcha rges and other s a re t h rea t enedw i t h remova l f rom pos t s or f rmember ship. The act ivi t y of t he Na t iona l Off ice in the pa s t perh as b een con fin ed la rg ely t o t he n ot ver y pr ofit a ble bus in es st a kin g in ch ar ter snot m ember s. At tempt s t o r esus cit a te of fici a l Y. P . S.L . w i th h ypodermi c i nject ion s of Al tman it e ss id ies , i n lieu of member s, h a ve pr oved va in . Th e on ly or ga nt ion s till left in t he S .P . t ha t is w or th s ha kin g a s tick a tWis cs inw i ll n ot be l on g in sol vi ng t h e en igma of con t inued a f fi li at ha t h a s pu zzled s o ma ny obs er ver s. Th e pa la d in s in t he g rea t wa ga in st t he sect a ria n left h ave en ded by r educin g t he old St o a s ect , a n d a d is in teg ra t in g o ne t o b oot .Th e fu~ u re of t he r evolut ion ar y polit ica l pa rt y of la bor inU n it ed S t a tes l ies w it h t he left w in g con fer en ce in Chica g o. I t

n o n eed t o look ba ck t o t he m or ibun d movemnt t ha t is left inhands of Thomas and Ty le r. The revolut iona ry poss ib il it i es of

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ol d S .P . h a v e been exh au st ed . Subs t a nt ia l lya l l t h a t w a s I if e-wor t hy in it , ca p a ble of a s sim ila t in gr ev olu t ion a r y id ea s a ndcar ry ing out ser ioussocia l is t ac t ion , i s now associa tedwi th theIeftw ing.Thet asksbeforet henew partyw hichw ill be establ ishedin Ch icagoa re t ru ly enormous, and the d if fi cu lt i esnot l es s so.Bu t the p rospect sof g row th a re sure, a nd the convi ct i onsof therevolutionistsa re firm.Th e n ew pa r ty w ill n ot h a ve t o in ven t new formula or n ewpr inciples . I t s t a r t sw i th the pr inciples tha t have wi ths toodtheassau l tof t imeandt he tes tof thec lasss t rugg le . I t w i l l appearasthe Americansect ionof theF ourthInt ernat ional ,whichstandsonthe grani tefoundat ionof the experiencesand lessonsof almost acen turyo f the revolu t ionarymovement . I t s ideas are invincibleand, once fusedw itht he ris ingAmericanworkingclass , they wil lcrea tea movementtha tmarchesirresistiblyto the finalt riumph.

TheDeweyCommissionTHE COMMISSIONOF Inquiry in to the chargesmadea ga instLeon Trotskya t theMoscow tr i a l shas announcedtha t i t w i lldel iv er ~ t s f in a l r epor t a t a pub li c meet ingca l led f or December12. We are not a s yet , of cou r se, a cqua int edw i th the con ten toft h e r epor t . The ch a r a ct er a nd ab ilit ies of t h e member s of t h eCommissiona nd our knowledg eof th escientificth oroughnesswit hwhichthey have pursuedtheir invest igat ion,however,assuresusin advanceof the p rof ound h is t or ica l s i gn if icanceof the f or th -comingdocument.P robab lyno ana logousCommiss ionin the historyo f the labormovementhas ever been conf ron tedwi th such obsta clesor sub-ject ed to so v ici ous, unaba t i ngand ru thl es san a t t a ck. By everymethod,precedenteda nd unprecedented,ev er y a g en cy of ev er yform of react ionhasbrought it s energ iesto bear on one solea im:to preventthet rutha boutt heMoscowTrials from beingkn own.Iti s a v a s t t r i bu teto the cour ageand integr it yof the Commis si onmember s, a nd of it s d is t in gu is hedch a irman, P r ofes sor J ohnDew ey,tha tth eyha venot beentu rneda side,but ha vecar riedtheirworkto i ts complet ion.The at ta ckagainst the Commissionis in no respecta ccidenta l .No ques t ionof ou r t ime is morec ruci a l t h an tha t of theMoscowtr i a l s. In the issueof the t r ia l s i s summedup in concentra tedormthe prob lemof the Russianrevolut ionwhich in i t s turn sumsuptheprob lemof the in terna t iona levolu t ionand thusof the fu tureof mankind.To supposetha t thet r ia lsa re out-dat ed ,havesunkinto the b ackgroundaga in st the lur id and migh tyeven t sof theinterveningmonths,is to be merelyblind.The tr i a l so f Zinov iev-Kamenevnd of P ia ta kov-Radekre theblue-printsof theful l force of therea ct ionaga instthe proleta r ianrevolut ion,of the counter-revolut ion.In them the ideology, themethods@d the implicat ionsof the counter-revolut ionare dis-p la yed in the pures t a nd b lun tes tmanner . These t r i a ls a r e thea r ch-t ypeupon wh ich a re model led the ent i re ser ies of I es se rt r i a l s, purges ,execut ionswhich have become a da i ly fea tureo fthe Soviet rhg ime. No on e ca n even pr et en d t o ~ n d er st a n d h emeaningof the purgew i thout fi r st unders tandinghe t r i a l s; andthey a re equa l ly neces sa r yto an unders t and ingof the new Con-st i tut ion,the developmentsn Soviet economy,a nd indeedof theentire presentpol icy of Sta l inism.Bu t t he t r i a ls a r e not i n the l ea s t a merel yRus si anphenome-non , as the phil is t inesare so anx iousto insi st .Thei re f fect wa sf el t immed ia t e lyby the ent i rewor ld ; in eve ryna t i on the t r ia l sa t oncebecame,and remain,an inescapa bleissue. More direct lyand speci fi ca l l y,the methodof the t r i a l shas a l readybeen in t ro-duced in tocountrya f tercountry ,on an in terna t iona lscale.Whati s the pol icy of the Sta l in i st sin Spa inbut the t r i a l s t r ans fer red oSpa nishsoil? In Czechoslovakia ,hefirstMoscowtria lh a sa lreadybeen a t t emptedtoendin f a i lure, for th i s f ir s t t ime. In France,theprepara t ions wel l underweigh. In thiscountryalso, thetr ia ls

have a l readybegun : the Sta l in i st sin Minnesotaare now endor ing t o t rans formtheeventssurroundinghe assass ina t ion fla b or lea der , C or cor a n , in t o a n a t iv eAmer ica n r eplica ofMoscow t r ia l s. I t wou ld be na i ve to imag inetha t i t w i ll s t opt his, w h a t ever t he immed ia t er es ult . S t a lin ism a nd a ll ofhenchmen,agents ,and al l ies , are now irrevocably committt h eme thodo f t h e t r i a ls ; t h is met hodnow sumsup it s polisubs tance ;and i t can no longer draw back . ,Th er e is n o a v oid in g t h e is su e of t h e t ria ls, a n d t h er e ismiddleground.Tha t i s why i t i s a permanentssue ,why i t rema n d ca n not be t hr ust a s id e. F or , in a ct ua lit y, th e is su e o ft r i a l s i s the i ssueof the revolu t ioni t sel f. I f S ta l inand Vish ia re correct , thosew ho made the revolu t ionare t ra i tors , fa sccounter-revolutionists,ndt herevolut ionin i ts own his toryprth a t the goa l of soci a li sm i s impos sibl eand must be ab andBu t to under s t andhe t ru th, t o r ea l izeth a t the t r i a l s a r e themgigant icf rame-upin his torya nd to real izewhy tha t f rame-upunder taken ,s to see tha t i t i s S ta l in i smwhich is thecounter.Iu t ion ,and to re-assert r iumphant lyhe goa l of socia l ismandmethodsthemethodsof Marx and Lmin an d Trotskythrwhich tha tgoa l w i ll be ach ieved.

Anarchismin SpainTHE AP P EARANCEOF RudolfR ockersThe Tra gedyof Spwa rran tsa proposa l to the ana rch ist sof the Engl ish-spewor ld for a bas icd i scussionof the r61eof anarch ismin theSish revolut ion .As eventsd icta t e ,Rocker s pamphle t is in lpart a damningindictmentof the bourgeois-St a linistounter-lut ion.We subscribeto everyjot and ti t t leof tha t indictmentcomrades th roughou t the wor ld have undert akenas thei rmen t a r y dut y t h e defen se of t h e C .N .T. worker s.We s t a nunconditionalsolidar ityw ith them a gainsttheir oppressors.own pres sha s l a r gel y subord ina t edour cr it i ca l ana l y si sofstra tegyof Spa nishan ar chismto the immediat elypressingta sra l l ying a id for the persecutedana rch istmovement . I f Rocknew work werebu t such a def ensea l one,w e shou ld be on lyhappy to sol idar izeourselveswith i t completely .The Tragedy of Spain i s, however ,more than a def ensepph let . I t is a l so an a t t emptt o ju st ify t h e fund amen t a ls t rapursuedby the C .N.T. leadersh ip .More , i t deduces the bgeois-Sta l in i st repress ions f rom Lenin and Trotskys thewhich weremere ly pa thbreakersor Sta l in ,whosepol icieson ly the log ica l resu lto f thew ork of h is predecessors .No one can havefa i led }0 observethe suddenrecrudescenana rchis tand Syndical ismtta ckson the foundat ionsof LeninThe s t rugglefor Krons tad tin 1921is revivedas a burn ingqt ion ! S t renuousare the a t t emptso pronounceSta l in i smtheura lhe i ro f Bo lshev ism.Trotskya nd othercomra desha vea na lsuch argumentsand coped withthem at great length.Here, I wmerel y to under li neone rea son for the rev iv a l o f th is s tuf fd is a s t rouscour se of the l eade rsh ipof Span ish ana r ch ismdevelopeda strong semi-B olshevikurrentin the an a rchistmment .The Friendsof Durrut i ,supportedby sect ionsof the Lita rianYouth a nd the F.A.I . , represent histendencyin Spa initTheirr ecognitionof the necessityfor democra ticorgansof po(soviets)a nd organs of repressionaga instthe bourgeoisiea ndirecta l l ies (dicta torshipof the proleta r ia t)lessonslearnef rom booksbu t f rom theha rd b lows of theSpan i sheven t ~hspelled the end of anarch is tprejudicesaga ins tproleta r i anspower. But this is Trotskyism!The ana rchis t leadershipouSpa i n t h er efor e s eek s t o immun iz e it s follower s a g a in stt en den cy b y id en t ify in g it w it h . . . it s mer ciles s per secu(InsideS pain,however,thismethodis employedbut little,fors imple rea son tha t the C .N .T. l eade rsh ipcour t s S t a l in .) T

s t r a t a gemwi ll not s ave ana r ch ismf rom dis cuss ingw i th usques t ion : the movement led by the ir Span ishcomradeswas

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nuary1938 THE NEW INT ERNATI d NAL Pagea t est s ing le for ce in the Iber ian p rolet a r i a t ; a n a r ch i smhas thuseived it s fir st t es t on a la r ge s ca le; w h a t h a s t ha t t es t s hown ?We con t end tha t t he Span ish event s have demons t ra t ed the com-t e ba n kr upt cy of a n a rch ism a s a g uid e t o t he pr olet a ria t on t het o a s ocia lis t s ociet y. I s ha ll b riefly ou tlin e s ome n eces sa r yin t s of d iscussion :L Anarchism becomes cluss colbborationism in dz.eperwd ofial revolutwn.Du ring t h e per iod of s t a bl e bou rgeoi s r ule, a n a r ch is t h a t red ofpression spurs it t o st ruggle a ga inst ca pit alism. B ut in t heci bl e of t h e r evolut ion , when t h e bou rgeoi si e ca n on ly wea t h erf lamesby of fe ring t o col la bor a t e in bui ld ing the new societ y ,ch is t oppos it ion t o t he d ict a tor sh ip of t he pr olet a ria t is r e-a l ed a s a non -cl a ss i deol ogy, i n ot h er wor ds , cl a ss col la bor a -n ist . Wh y did nt t he C .N.T. t a ke pow er on J u ly 19, 1936, oropose t he a ssum pt ion of pow er by democra tic orga ns w it hnch ise lim it ed t o w or ker a nd pea sa nt ? Not e t he a nsw er ofdol f R ockerwho i s con cea l ed ly t h e mos t impor t a nt f igur e i nr ld a na rchism. Arguing a ga in st t he S ta linist m yt h t ha t t heN.T. w a s t rying t o t ake pow er in Ma y 1937, Rocker sa ys: I fC .N .T.-F .A.I . h a d r ea l ly en t er t a in ed a n y such pla n s, t h ey h a dr a lon g t im e a ft er t he 19t h of J U I Yfie best oppor tun it y t o puti r w i sh es i nt o eff ect , f or t h ei r t r emendou s mor a l a n d phy si ca lper ior it y ov er ever y ot her fa ct ion w a s s uch t ha t s imply n o on euld h a ve r es is ted t hem . Th ey did n ot d o s o, n ot beca us e t heyked the s t r eng th, but because they were opposed to any dicta-rship from whichever side it proceeded.Note tha t t he a na rchist cr it er ion is not condit ioned by t heeci fi c Span ish s it u a t ion : it is a blueprint for a ll revolut ion s:s col la bor a t ion w i th a n y sect ion of ca pi ta l is t s who do not t a kem s in h an d a ga in st t he m as ses (t hey do n ot beca us e t hey h avet y et t he s tr en gt h! ) is a t t he ver y h ea r t of t he a n a rch is t con cep-n of t he r oa d t o s ocia lism. Thus t he Spa n is h a n a rch is ts -a n dl w h o follow t hem i n t he fu tu rer eh a bilit a t e t he b ou rg eois ief or e t h ema sses , nur t ur e t h em , g iv e t h em t ime t o r es t or e t h ei rr en gt h-a n d t o t ur n a n d cr us h t he ma ss es .I I. A coalitwn governmeti is inevitab~ anti-working class.Rocker i s l ess t h an ent i re ly hones tto put i t no more s t rong lyw rit in g a pamph let w hich d oes n ot on ce commen t on t he sig-fica nt fa ct of C .N.T. pa rt icipa t ion in t he Va len cia n a nd C a ta .ian governments ! These coa l i t ions wi th the bourgeois ie , inst rum-s of cla s s colla bor a tion dur in g a r evolu tion a ry per iod , w er emos t impor t a nt mean s wher eby t h e bou rgeoi s-S t a li ni st b loccouped t he pow er fr om t he m asses . Th ey did s o by t he sim plev ice of a r r og a t in g mor e a nd mor e power t o t h e gov er nmen t , i .e.,t he old bou rg eois st a te for w hich t he C .N.T. ser ved a s a r edont ; a nd t hey d id s o w it h t he d ir ect a ppr ob a tion of t he C .N .T.

R ocker is g uilt y of a vu lg a r a n ti-S t a lin ismwh ich d oes n ot t a keo a ccou nt t he r iile of t he bou rg eois s ta t e, for w h ich S t a lin ismr el y s er ved a s t h e mos t ef fi ci en t b l oodhound . If on e ca n b ri ngr epr oa ch a g a in st t h e l ea d in g per son s i n t h e C .N .T.-F .A.I .,s R ocker , it is t ha t t hey a ccor ded t hes e fa ls e b rot her s [t hen is t s] a g rea t e r con fidence than they deserved, and tha t undere pr es su re of d es per a te cir cums ta n ces t hey let t hem selv es b ein t o mak ing concess ions wh ich cou ld on ly p rove d isa s t roust hem la t er . Th is , a n d ot her eq ua ll y v a gu e s ta t emen ts of t heme kind, r emind on e of t hose a ca demic a dmissions of errorch S t a lin ism g iv es a s lip-s er vice t o cr it ica l Mar xism, but t hea ct con ten ts of w hich a re d iscr eet ly left for fut ur e t ur ns a nds ts . Th e fa ct is t ha t t he b as ic cr imes of t he C .N .T. lea d er sh ipe commi tt ed dur in g t h e fi rs t w eek s of t h e Gener a li da d gov er n-n t (Sept ember 26 on), when the S t a l in is t sw ere s t il l hopeless lya k in S pa in a nd w h en n o Ru ss ia n a rm s h ad y et a rr ived. Wh atthose basic cr imes? Joiningwiththebourgeois-stalinistlociss uin g a s er ies of decr ees w ipin g out t he r evolut ion : t he d e-es d is sol vi ng t h e Cen t ra l Commi tt ee of An t i-F a s cis t M ili ti a st ur nin g it s pow er s ov er t o t he M in is tr ies of D efen se a n d P u b-

l ic O rder ; t h e decr ee d is sol vi ng a l l t h e r evolut ion a r y commit t eeth roughou t Ca t a lon ia ; t he decree est ab li sh ing municipa l governm en ts ba sed on fixed r at ios of r epr esen ta t ion fr om t he va rioupa r ties ; t he d ecr ee d is a rm in g t he w or ker s; t he d ecr ee pr ovid inf or compen sa t ion t o t h e la nd lor ds a nd f a ct or y owner s; t h e decr eem ilit ar izing t he m ilit ia s under t he bourgeois milit ary code.men tion on ly t h os e d ecr ees w h ich t he b ou rg eois ie pr opos ed a nt he C .N.T. a ppr oved . I sh a ll n ot even m en tion t hos e n ecess armea sur es f or t h e soci a l r ev olut ion wh ich t h e C .N .T. f a il ed ev en tpr opose (n a t ion a li za t ion of b a nk s, l a nd , etc., etc.).C a n on e spea k of t his sy st em at ic legis la t ion , a ppr oved by t h

C .N.T., a s a n er ror ? No, C .N.T. a ppr ova l flow ed fr om a ba sit en et of a n a rch ism: t he r efu sa l t o d is tin gu is h b et w een w or kers t a tes a nd bou rgeoi s s ta t es , h en ce C .N .T. col la bor a t ion i n a bou rgeoi s s t a te, C .N .T. a ppr ov a l of l eg is la t i on t o s t ren gt h en t h e boug eois s ta t e a g a in st t he w or ker s. Th e cr imes of t he C .N .T. lea d erca nnot be l a id t o t h ei r t r us tf ul nes s i n t h e S t a li nis t s. As a ma t ter ofa ct , I ca n a dduce pa ge a nd cha pter t o demonst ra te tha t t heunder st ood who t h ei r S t a lin is t con fr$r es wer e. Much deeper wert he root s of t his colla bor at ion w it h reformist s a nd bour geoicoun t er -r evolut iona r ies : i t f lows f rom ana rch is t t heory .H I . There is today in Spain a corrupt, degenaate anarchibureaucracy.Doct r in a i ri sm can exp la in much : l eaders pur suing f a lse t heor iw ill n ot a dmit t he fa ls it y of t heir t heor ies , d es pit e t he impa ct oeven ts . B u t t h is is n ot t he on ly expla n a tion for t he pr es en t cou rsof t he C .N.T. leader ship. F i ft een mon ths of cl a ss col la bor a t ion , ooccupying bourgeois governmenta l post s , etc., h a s cr ys ta llizedbu rea u cr a tic la y er in t he C .N .T. w h ich feels it s a 5n it y w it h t hcommun is t and soci a li st bureaucr a cies r a t her t h an w i t h the massof t h e C .N .T. Despit e a l l t h eexper ien ces of t h e fi rs t coa l it ion goer nm en ts , t his C .N .T. bur ea ucr acy s eeks on ly t o r et ur n t o tgov er nmen t , u nder t h e f a ce-s a vi ng f ormul a of t h e a nt i-f a scisfr on t, w hich is n ot hin g but a r e-ba pt ized P eoples F ron t. Thbur ea ucr a cy con cea led fr om t he w or ker s on t he b ar rica d es in tMa y d a ys t he g over nmen ts s en din g of t roops fr om Va len cia , tGene ra l id a ds v iol a t ion of i ts a g reemen t s, t h e ma ss a cr e a t Ta r rgona, etc., et c.int en t on ly on get t in g t h e worker s t o ca pit u la tTh is bu rea u cr a cy ca lls u pon t he ma ss es t o pu t it s fa it h i n C a baler ot he s ame C a ba ll er o w h o h ea d ed a g ov er nmen t w h ich b ocot t ed Ca t a lon ia economy , p revent ed syst ema t i c developmenta w ar indust ry in C at alon ia , st arved t he Ara gon front of a rmes t a bl is hed pol it ica l cen sor sh ip of t h e worker s pr es s, or ga n izp rt et or ian for ces in the Assaul t , C ivi l gua rds and carabineros, etetc. This bureaucr a cy pr a i sed S t a l in , suppressed a l l cr it i ci sm of tMos cow t ria ls, a nd t hu s fa cilit a ted t he blood y w or k of S t alinh a n gmen .Th is bur ea u cr a cy d id not li ft a f in ger t o s a ve t h e F r ienof Du rr ut i, i ts con t ender s for l ea der sh ip of t h e C .N .T., f rom beiou tla w ed by t he g over nmen t. One ca n no longer spea k of t hC .N .T. bureaucr a cy a s ju st mak ing mis t akes .Yet a n a r ch is t comra des , pa r t icu la r ly i n t h e Engl ish-speak iw orld, in t he na me of un it y of a ct ion, of defense of t he S pa niworker s, r ema in s il en t a bou t t h ese c rimes a nd t hus joi n i n bea r int he r es pon sibilit y for t hem . Wh ile t he la t e C am ill o B er ner i a nJ o a q uin As ca s o, amon g ot her s, h a ve n ot h es it a t ed in Spa in pulicly t o d en oun ce t he policies of t he C .N.T. bur ea ucr at s, w him or e a nd mor e loca l pa per s of t he C .N.T. m ovem en t s pea k ouwe f in d t h e Amer ica n a n a r ch is t s e speci a lly s il en t a bou t t h e t r a gcou rs e of t h e C .N .T. Who i s s er ved by such s il en ce? Cer t a in ly nt he ma ss es of a n y cou nt ry . C er ta in ly n ot t he t heor et ica l fou ndt ion s of t h e r evolut ion i n a n y count r y. We ha ve opened t h e d is cusion . Wh at d o t he a na rch ist s h a ve t o sa y?

Fe lix MORROWq q

As in dica t ed i n t he a r ticle of F el ix Mor row , t he E dit or s of THNEW INTERNATIONALre r ea dy t o open it s pa ges t o a discussia rt icle on t he s ubject by a r es pon sible a dvoca t e of t he policyt he Span ish ana r ch is t s .

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8 THE NEW INTERNATIONAL January1

evolution and Counter-Revolutionin Russia20th Anniversary of the Bolshevik uprisingntihe Degenerationof the Soviet Pow

HE TWENTIETH a nniv er sa r y of t he Rus sia n r evolu tion h a sbeen greet ed in mon ot on ous dit hyra mbs by t he liber als ofos t ev er y s chool . I t i s n ot s o much t h e soci a l r ev olut ion a g a in sta pit a list s ociet y a nd pr iva t e pr oper ty t o w hich t hey pa y t heirl a t ed a spect s . Th ey h a il w h a t t hey con sid er t he s ucces sfu lly

s ta blis hed G r ea t P ow er , t he a ba n donmen t of a ll t hos e ch ikiis ht ions of wor ld revolut ion wh ich they a lways rega rded a s u t opi anmor e t ha n a lit t le ill-m a nn er ed , a n d t he ma tu rin g of t he on ced e y oun gs ter w ho h a s n ow com e of a ge a nd is em in en tly fit tedjoi n t h e soci et y of t h e r e spect a bl e a nd democr a t ic n a t ion s of t h eTh is a spect of t he t w en tiet h a nn iver sa ry is of n o sm a ll symp-mat ic s ign i ficance. In November 1917 a nd a fterw ards, t heber a ls r eg a rded t h e Bol sh ev ik r evolut ion a s a n unwa r r a nt ed i n-s ion upon t h e l eg it ima t e dev el opmen t of Rus si a t ow a r ds t h eiron cept of d emocr a cy , u nder t h e z eg is of Ker en sk y a nd h is coa l i-n governmen t w i t h t he rea l is t ic and s t a t esman likesoci a l-demo-ra ts. The w it hdra w al of t he S oviet s from t he imperia list w a rich left the Allies a ll a lone in the fight to ma ke the w orld

a fe for democra cy, a nd the subsequent overturn of a ll t hecon om ic pow er of t he ca pit a lis tic cla ss a nd t heir polit ica l r e-n er s on ly a d ded t o t he a lr ea d y mount in g h or ror of t he lib er a lTh eir h or ror w a s n ot a b at ed bu t in ten sified w h ene prolet ar ia t bega n t o sha tt er t he r esist ance of t he count er-volut ion w i t h d is t in ct l y impol it e weapons of ru thless wa r f a r e.The dust st irred up by the int ense cla ss st ruggle in Russialin ded t he liber als t o t he w or ld -h is tor ica l sign ifica nce of t hev olu tion wh ich w a s la y in g t he fou nd a tion s ton es for a h it her ton ly d reamed-of soci a l or der . E ven y ea rs la ter t hey could notor give t he B olsh eviks t heir a ud acit y. G r ud in gly a t fir st , a nd me en d en th us ia s tica lly , w it h a pit yin g if n ot a n gr y g la n ce a t t her ot sky ist w ho st rike a d iscor da nt n ot e a t t he cer em on y, t heyoin ed i n t he n ow s ty lis h en dor semen t of t he S oviet r 6g ime. B u teir t a rd y r ecogn it ion of t he r evolut ion of 1917 coin cid es n ott h it s s ocia l t riumph but w it h t he per iod of it s d egen er at ion .t a s t hey on ce fa iled t o s ee t ha t t he vict or y of t he B ols heviksed t h e v ict or y of t h e soci a l r ev olut ion a g a in st ca p it a li sm , so

ey fa il t o s ee t ha t t he vict or y of t he S t a lin is t bu rea u cr a cy ma rkse vict ory of a political counter-revolution. Yet t h a t i s pr ecis elyi s n ew in t h e dev el opmen t of t h e Rus si a n r evolut ion .* * *Not a sin gle B olshevik lea der consider ed it possible for t heviet pow er t o en dure for a long period of t ime, much less fors si a t o a ch iev e t h e cl a ss les s soci a li st or der , u nl es s t h e worker sf on e or mor e a dva n ced ca pi ta l is t count r ies come t o it s a i d.Whenw e began the in terna t iona levolu t ion[sa id Lenina t the Third

ssof the Communistnternat ionaln 1921] . . . w e t h ough t ,ei th erinternat ionalevolut ioncomesto our aid and thenour victoryis quiteor elsewe do ourmodestrevolut ionaryorkand do it in theknowl-ge tha t in t heeven tt h a twe suf fe rde fea t ,we a re therebyof u se t o t heeof the revolu t ion ,becausewe makeit possiblefor otherrevolut ions,wderby our exper iences,o do i t bet ter . I t was clea r to us tha thoutthe supportof the interna tionalorldrevolution,he victoryof theetar ianrevolutionis impossible.Even before the revolutionan d alsowe reflected:eitherthe revolutionn the othercountries,n themore developedcount ries,comesimmedia te lyr a t leas t inor we mustsuccumb.Neither theh ope n or t he pr ogn osis w a s r ea lized, a s is kn ow n.et t he S oviet st a te h as n ot per ish ed . At fir st blus h, t his s eem scon fi rm S t a li ns n a t ion a li st ic t h es is t h a t a s oci a li st s oci et y ca nes ta blis hed w it h in a s in gle cot in tr y r eg a rd les s of w h et her t hevolu tion t riumph s in ot her la nd s. B ut on ly a t fir st blu sh . F orl e t h e Sov iet s t a teh a s not succumbed despit e it s en for ced i so-

la t ion, it ha s not on ly been una ble t o a ch ieve it s socia list gbut it ha s been corrupted from w it hin by t he dea dly ca ncerd eg en er a tion . Th e ca n a l t hr ou gh wh ich t he pois on s h a ve f lowt o t he h ea r t a n d h ea d of t he r 6g ime, is t he S t a lin is t b ur ea ucr aE ven befor e it expr opr ia t ed t he econ om ic pow er of t he bogeoi si e, t h e Rus si a n r evolut ion depr iv ed it of it s pol it ica l powI ts pla ce w a s t a ken b y t he r ule of t he w or kin g cla ss , a pr olet a rdemocr a cy , Len in wrot e , a m illion t im es m or e democr at ic t ha ny bourgeois democra cy, a nd t he S oviet r6gim e . . . a millit imes mor e democr a t ic t h a n t h emos t democr a t ic r 6g ime in a bogeois r epu blic. Th e S oviet dem ocr acy w a s ba sed on t he a bot ion of a pr ofes sion a l g over nmen ta l b ur ea u cr a cy d ivor ced frt he people, on t he in divisibilit y of t he legisla tive a nd exet ive bodies, on the direct rule of t he toilers through thdeput ies t o t he Soviet s, subject a t a ll t imes t o reca ll, ona rmed people a s a ga inst a professiona l body of a rmed mdivorced from t he ma sses, a nd on t he privileged posit iont he prolet ar ia t a s t he va ngua rd of the t oiling ma sses. Wht he B ols hevik pa rt y, a s t he t est ed a nd t rust ed r evolut ionva ng ua rd of t he pr olet a ria t , w a s t he r ulin g pa rt y, it m ain ta ina liv e a n d s en sit ive con ta ct w it h t he t oiler s t hr ou gh t he S oviet he t ra d e u nion s, t k fa ct or y commit t ees , t he commit t ees of popea san t s , t he coopera t i ves, and s imil a r ins t it u t ions . The exi st eof a w id e fr eed om of d is cu ss ion a n d d ecis ion in a ll t hes e b od iof g enuine worker s d emocr a cy , made of t h is i nt er lock in g s ys tof in st it ut ion s t h e livin g r ea lit y of t he polit ica l r ule of t he plet a r i a tnever idea l or f law less , t o be sure, but deci sive .The coun t er -r evolut ion of t he S t a l in is t bureaucr a cy cons is t sn ot h in g les s t h a n t h is ; I t h a s ef fect iv el y des t roy ed a l l t h ese i nt ut ion s in t he la st four teen y ea rs a nd t her eby it h as just a s efft i ve ly exp rop ri a t ed the prolet a r i a t politically.THE QLJ) GUARD OF THE PARTY.Len in a t ta ch ed , evif n ot u ncr it ica lly , a t remen dou s s ig nifica n ce t o w h a t w a s ca lt he Old Gu a rd of t he B ols hevik pa r ty . H e r eg a rd ed t h os e vet erwho h a d pa s sed t h r~u gh t h zee r evolut ion s, t h eWor ld Wa r a ndcivil w a r, a s on e of t he ma in a s su ra n ces t ha t t he r ev olu tion w oucont inue a long it s indica ted pa th. I t must ~ recow ued,w r ot e t o t h e Cen t ra l Commit t ee i n Ma rch 1922, th a t a t t h ep rest im e t h e pr olet a ria n pa r ty policy is d et ermin ed n ot s o much b ym ember sh ip a s by t he un lim it ed a nd pow er ful a ut hor it y of tt hin la y er w h ich w e ma y n ame t he old pa r ty Gu a rd . Th e S t a linbur ea ucr acy , in t he cour se of it s r ea ct ion t o t he r evolut ion ,t ra dit ion s a nd it s id eolog y, h as d est roy ed t he Old G ua rd w hembod ied them.Ta ke bu t on e example wh ich comes t o h a nd , t he C en tr a l C o

m it t ee elect ed a t d ie 9t h C on gr es s in 1920: Ar tem , D zer zh in sLenin , Bukhar in ,Z inoviev , Kamenev, Krest insky , PreobrazhensRudzu t a k, R a dek , R akov sk y, R ykov , Ser eb ri a kov , I . N . Sm ir nTomsky , Tr ot sky , An dr ey ev, K a lin in a n d S t a lin . Th e fir st t hd ied of n a t ur a l ca u ses . Of t h e r es t, Zi nov ie v, K amenev , Ser ebkov a nd I . N. Smir nov w er e mur der ed by t he S ta lin is ts; Tomw as killed or driven t o suicide; Trot sky is in Mexica n exiBukha r in , Kres t in sky , P reobr a zhensky , Rudzut ak , Radek , Raksky a n d R yk ov a r e impr is on ed or d is gr a ced -a ll t hir teen of t ha s fa scist s or w reckers or a ssa ssins. on ly S ta lin , Ka lin~ aAndr eyev r ema in ,wh i ch i s l ik e s a y in g t h a t on ly S t a li n r ema in s.Impor t a nt t o not e i n t h is dev a st a t in g a nd unint er rupt ed puis t he fa ct tha t it is not only t he genera tion of defenders ofOct ober t h a t h a s been cr ushed . The Trot sky is t or Zin ov iev is tmen l ik e Trot sk y, Zi nov ie v, K amenev , R akov sk y, Mdv ani , P i a

kov , Smirnov , Smi lga , P reobr a zhensky , B ieloborodov , Mura lovw er e r emoved lon g a go by t he Ther midoria n gen era t ion t

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January1938 TH E NEW 1NTER N AT 10 N AL P abr ou gh t S t a lin t o pow er . Now ev en t he men of t he Th ermid or ia nr ea ct ion ha ve gone or a re going: B ukha rin, Rykov, Rudzut ak,Tukhachevsky ,Bubnov , Postyshev, and hundreds less wel l known.Thei r pla ces a r e t a k en by en t ir el y col or les s unknown s l ik e Be ri a ,E ikh e, Zh da n ov , K hr us hch evwh o a r e n ot s o much pa r ty lea d er sa s S t a lin is t g ov er nor -g en er a ls w h o r ule t he pr ovin ces l ike oldTurkish Wa lis; t hey a re ma de or un-ma de in a da y by simpledecree, a nd their coming a nd going a re like t he sha dow s of agut ter ing candle f lame.THE BOLSHEVI K PARTY.-Wh at ever els e it m a y be, a poli-t ica l or ga niza t ion t ha t does not ha ve a free a nd rich inner lifeis n ot a r evolut ion ar y pr olet a ria n pa rt y. I n L en in s t im e, evena f ter t h e Men shev ik s a nd Soci a l R evolut ion is t s h a d pl a ced t h em-selves outs idethe Soviet pa le by their counter-revolu t ionary coursea nd left t he B olshevik pa rt y w it h a m on opoly of polit ica l rule,t he pa rt y led a n in ten se a nd a ct ive in ner life, discussin g fr eelya t a l l t imes, deba t ing a l l ques t ions open ly , e lect ing , cr it i ci zing andr emov in g i ts l ea der sh ip a nd deci di ng t h e pa r t y l in e a t w i ll . Undert h egun-f ir e of t h e K ron st a d t mut in y a nd t h e echoes of t h e pea s a n tr is in gs i n Tambov and el sewher e, t h e 10t h Congr es s a dopt ed t h eent i re ly except iona l and t empora r y emergency mea su re p roh ib it -ing sepa ra t e f a ct ions w i t h sepa r a t epl a t forms. Th is unpreceden t edlimit at ion on pa rty democra cy, how ever, w as a dopted w ithnumerous significant reservat ions. The adopted resolu t ion st a ted :I t is necessaryhat everypartyorganizat ionakesrigorouscaretha t theabs olutelynecessar ycriticismof the shortcomingsf the party,all an aly sesof the generalpartydirection,all appra isalsf its practicalexperience,veryexaminat ionf the carryingout of the partydecisionsand of the meansofcorrect ingthe mistakes,etc.shallnot be discussedin separa tegroupsst andingupona ny pla t form ,bu t ra therin the meet ingsof a l l the par tymembers.Towa rdsthis end, the Congressdecidesto publisha periodicalDiscasswn Sheet a nd specialperiodicals.Ever yonewhocorn= forwa rdwitha cr i t icismmust t ake in to considera t ionhe posi t ionof the par ty in themidstof it i encirclingenemies, ndh emustalsostrive,in his directa ctivityin Sovietandpart~( il( l(wj to (WIY(YI th( mistfik is of t ie ~ ., .W@a e.%hiletheC ongreasordersthe CentrrdCanm it teeo extert t ta te a ll fac.t iot ra l ism,he conferencedecla resa t the samet ime tha t thoseq uea t ie t t awhichat t ract the specia la t t ent ionof the party membership-e.g. ,on thepurgingof the partyof uuproleta r ian,nreliableelements, on the struggleaga instbureaucrat ism,n the developmentf democracyand the broaderparticipationof the workers,etc.an din generala ll objectiveproposda,must be exam inedwit ht he utmostpossiblescmpulousnea snd test edprac-t ica l ly .Al l par tymembersmustknow tha t the par tycannot t ake a l l therequiredmeasuresn thesequest ions, inceit encounters wholeseriesofthe most variedobstacles,and tbat whilet he party decisivelyrejects anun-objectivean d factionalcriticism,it will continuetirelesslyto teat newmethods ,and t o f igh tw i t h a l l meansaga in s tbureaucr a t i smnd for t heextensionof the democracyof the self-act ivemasses,or the Uncover@,exposurea ndexpulsionof a ll unr eliab lelement sromt he part y.(RussischeKorrespondenz,Nr. 5, Ma y1921,p. 323.)Not a imed a t s uppr es sin g d emocr a cy , ev en t he r es tr ict ion s oft he 10t h C on gr es s w er e d esign ed t o ext en d dis cuss ion a nd cr i-t icism , t o or ga nize it , t o fer ret out bur ea ucr at ism , a nd t o d o a llt his i n a m a nn er t ha t w ou ld b e les s d a ng er ou s a n d fa ct ion a l u nd ert he con cr et e con dit ion s. When , a t t he s ame con gr es s, R ia z a novmoved an amendmen tp roh ib it ing e lect ions of delega t es t o comingcon gr ess es on t he ba sis of fa ct ion al pla tforms, L en in , q uick t osense the danger, r ep li ed :I thinktha tthed esireof comra deRiaza novs unfortuna telyotr ealiza ble.I f fundamenta lisagreementsx is ton a quest ion ,we cannotdeprivemem-bers of the Cent ra lCommit teeof the r igh t to addressthemselveso theparty. I cannot imaginehow we catsdo this.The presentcongresscan inno wa ya nd in no form engagethe elect ionsto the next congress .And i f,for example,qwest ionsike the Brest -L i tovskeace ar ise? Can we guar-an t eetha t such ques t ionsw i ll not a r i se? I t cannotbe gua ran t eed .I t ispossibletha t i t w i l l thenbe necessa ry o elect by pla t form.Tha t squ i teclear. (Minutes oj the 10th Congress,p. 292Russ.cd.)An d a g a in , els ew h er e, d ur in g &e s :m l per iod , L en in w r ot e:Bu t i f deep,Rhda rnsmtddia~ reementaf principleexi st ,we ma y b etold: Do they not ju a t if y~ l l e&Pest factional action? Nat ura llyt ,bw

just ifyit , i f thedisagreementsre rwill~ deep, andi f therect i fica t ion f thewr ongpolicyof the partyor of the workingclasscan notbe obtaitsedother-wise (Works, Vol.XVIII , P t . 1,p. 47,Russ.cd.)

I n t he per iod of a cut e d an ger t o t he S oviet r ~ gim e, w hen itt o make t h e pa i nf ul a nd h a za r dou s t r a n si ti on t o t h e New EconoP olicy , a nd w h en t he pa rt y im posed cer ta in or ga n iza t ion alst ra in ts u pon it self, L en in n ever th eles s ca lled for fr eedomd is cu ss ion a n d cr it icism, for in ter na l d is cu ss ion or ga n s, a n dknow l edged t h e permi ss ib il it y a nd even inev it a b il it y of fa ct ipla tforms a nd t he sha rpest fa ct iona l a ct ion. B y this hemerely t es t if ying t o t he exi st ence of a living party.The S t a lin is t bu rea u cr a cy h a s ch a ng ed a ll t ha t . I t s ta r ted wthe Trot sky-Zinov iev Oppos it i on . I n 1927, i t p roh ib it ed the pl ica t ion of t hei r Pk/orrn, a r r es t ed those leaders and mil it a n t sm im eogr aph ed it for cir cula t ion in a pr e-con gr ess dis cusper iod , a n d expelled a l l t hos e w h o d efen ded it . I t d ema nd edon ly t h a t t he Oppos it i on suppor t er s cea se advocating t he v iewtheir PZut/orrn, but t h a t t h ey cea sebel iev in g t h ose v iew s ! I n 1S t a lin d ema nd ed t he execu tion of t he old B ols hev ik, R iu tin ,cir cula t in g a pla t form w hich en ded w it h L en in s d em an dS t a li n be r emoved f rom h is pos t; R iu t in w a s mer ely impr is ob y t heG .P .U . I n t he la s t few y ea r st he y ea r s of S t a lin is t d omt ionnot on e s in gle w or d of cr it icism of t he pa r ty lea d er sh ipbeen u t t ered ; not one s ing le p roposa l d if fer en t f rom the propoof t h eF i ih rer . Nobody d a res . Yet t h er e a r e d if fer en ces of opinwh is per ed a b ou t a n d mut t er ed i n t in y g rou plet s. Only , t he pd oes n ot d ecid e t hes e d iffer en ces . Th e pa r ty is d ea d . Th e G .Pdeci des t h em in a ccor d w i th t h e i ns t ru ct ion s of t h e Secr et a r ia tTh e con gr es s of t he pa r ty is it s h ig hes t a n d mos t a u th or itin st a nce, s elect in g t he lea d er sh ip t o ca r ry ou t t he l in e of pow hich t he congress a dopt s. At lea st , so it w a s in Len ins tTke ques t ion of s ei zi ng power , t h e B r es t -L it ov sk t r ea t y , t h e NEconomic Po li cy , t he t r ade un ion ques t iona l l t hesewere deca t pa rt y congresses, a ft er t he fullest discussion of a ll t hef li ct in g s t a ndpoint s . I n t h e S t a li ni st epoch , congr es ses no l ont akep la ce. I n t hei r s t ead , t he bureaucr a cy organ izes pa la ce a sI slies of h a nd -picked lieg es w h o lis ten w it hou t d is cu ss ion t oThrone Speech of t he F ii ?t rw r .T% les ser bu rea ucr at s a pp~ ofor t he pur pose of bur nin g fr an kin cen se t o S ta lin a nd of @vh im a ss ur an ces of t heir blin d fea lt y in t erms r em in is cen t offa w n in g s peech es ma de b y pr ov in cia l pr in celin gs t o a n Or iepotentate.J ust t hink: In t he da ys of illega lit y a nd t hin purses, unTsa r is t despot i sm , t he Russ ian pa rt y never t helesshe ld fou r rla r con gr ess es bet w een J u ly 1903 a nd Ma y 1907. (Of pa rt yfer en ces under Tsa ri sm , t h er e we re ei gh t , f rom t h e Tan tmermeet in g i n 1905 t o t he P or on in o meet in g in 1913. ) I n t he r evt ion a ry per iod , b et w een t he ov er th row of t he Ts a r a n d t he dof L en in , t h e pa r t y h el d ei gh t r egul a r pa r t y congr es ses (a nd scon fer en ces ). Th e S t a lin is t r ecor d is q uit e d iffer en t. Th erea l pos t -Len in congress wa s the 14th , in December 1925; t hew a s h eld 2 y ea rs la t er ; bet w een it a nd t he 16t h, 21/2 y ea rs wa llow ed t o ela ps e; b et w een t he 16t h a n d t he 17t h C on gr es s-tla st t o be held, in J a n ua ry 1934-mor e t ha n 3% y ea rs w entThe s t a tu t es a dopt ed by t h e S t a lin is t s t h emsel ves a t t h e 17t h Cg res s pr ovid ed ($27) t ha t reg ula r con gr es ses a r e con ven edles s t ha n on ce in t hr ee y ea rs. In cynica l viola tion of it ss ta t ut es , t he bur ea u cr a cy h a s let fou r y ea r s pa ss a n d t he ficof a pa rty is not even a llow ed to hold it s fict ion of a congrAn d w ha t four y ea rs t hes e h a ve been ! Wh at d ra st ic ch an gesbur ea u cr a cy h a s made w i th ou t even going t h rough t h e f ormaof con sult ing t he pa rt y! U nder t he S ta linist burea ucra cy,B olshevik pa rty (if it ma y be ca lled tha t) ha s been a llow em eet in con gr ess (a ga in , if it m a y be ca lled t ha t ) on ly four ti n mor e t h a n t h ir t een yea r s. Th e pa r ty met mor e oft en u nd erTs a r! Th e bur ea ucr a cy h a s cr us hed t he old pa r ty .TH E TRADE UNI ONS .-I n t he ea rly da ys of t he r evolutt he B olsh eviks rega rded t he t ra de unions a s a school of Cmun ism, a nd a s one of t h e i ns t it u ti on s t h rou gh wh ich t h e worr ul ed i n t h e f a ct or ies a nd t h e Sov iet s . The Bol sh ev ik sd i d notdeba te a nd discussion, a nd a s la te a s 1920, a lm ost t hree y

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t er t he r evolut ion , D a lin a nd Ma rt ov could st ill a ppea r a s t heici a l r epresen t a t ivesof t he Menshev ik pa r t y a t t he 3rd Congresst h e t r a de uni on s t o pr esen t t h ei r v iew s a nd deba t e t h e Bol sh ev ikokesm en . B ut even mor e: t he B ols heviks r eg ar ded t he t ra deion s a s a n in dis pen sa ble in st rumen t for t he d ef en se of pr ole-m in ter es ts fr om t he t ra n sg res sion s, a bu ses a n d w a n ton nes st he st a te it self, a nd es pecia lly of it s bur ea ucr acy . I t w a s on ly1927 t ha t Molot ov pu t for wa r d t he big ot ed , bu rea u cr a tic con -pt ion t ha t s in ce Rus sia is a w or ker s s ta t e t her e ca n b e n o q ues -on of defending the w orkers from it . Lenin ha d nothing inmmon w it h t his bur ea ucr at ic id ea lism. S pea kin g befor e t he

a r ty fr a ct ion of t he 8t h S ov iet C on gr es s on December 30, 1920,r in g t h e d is cu ss ion on t h e t r a de uni on ques t ion , h e s a id :ComradeTrotskyspeaksof the workerss t a te . Permitme, tha t is anwhen we wroteaboutthew orkers ta tein 1917thatw asunder-nda ble;but wh enit is said today:Why defend,defendthe workingclassinstwhom,theresno longera bourgeoisie,d on t w e h a ve a worker sthen an obviouserror is beingcommit ted .The wholejoke is tha t i tnot qu i tea workerss t a te .Tha t swherethe basicmist akeof comraderotskylies! We ha vepassedoverfromgenera lprinciples o objectivedis.esio~and to decrees,but that swherewe are beingheldback from prac.s l object ivework.Tha t wi l lno t do! Ourst a te is in rea l it yno workersbu t a workersandpeasan t s t a te .A wholelot fol lowsfrom tha t . . . .s t i llmore .Fromour par typrogramit fol lowstha tour st a teis a work-format ions.We haveto pasteth is-how sha l lca ll i t ?sorrylabelon i t .Tha t is therea li t yof thet ransi t ion ! . .Our presentsta teis suchthat the organizedproletar iatmustdefenditselfwe mustu t i l ize theseworkersorgan iza t ionsor the defenseof thersaga insttheirsta teand for the defenseof the sta t eby the workers.KamP! ur ndie soz~e Revelutio%PP. 593f.)Wha t a d ecis iv e r 61eL en in a s sig ned t o t he t ra de u nion s in t hisr of ound ly d ia l ect ica l con cept of t h e i nt er rel a ti on s between t h econom ic or ga n iz a t ion s of t h e worker s a nd t h e r ea lnot id ea l is -ca lly per fectw or ker s st a te, a con cept bey on d t he gr asp ofper fi ci a l minds a ccust omed to abst r a ct and absolut e ca t egor ies .h e t r a de uni on s a r e a n ins t rumen t for t h e def en se of t h e worker st at e a nd for t he defen se of t he w or kers from t ha t st at e! And ifla t t er w a s n eces sa r y s ev en t een yea r s a go, h ow inf in it el y mor er gen t is it t od ay t ha t t he t ra de u nion s d efen d t he w or ker s fr omrkgime in wh ich the bureaucr a t i c cancer ha s g rown to mons t rous ,d reamed-of pr opor t ion s? Wha t , for exampl e, h a s h a ppened t oe r ig ht t o s tr ike, s olemnly r ecog niz ed b y t he pa r ty con gr es s inn in s t im e? Mos t lik ely it h a s n ot b een a b olis hed b y la w ; on ly ,

he exercise of t ha t r ight is rew a rded by a prompt visit byG . P .U .Th e r igh t t o in ter ven e i n t he q ues tion of h ir in g a nd fir in g a ndf m a na g emen t i n g en er a l w a s t a ken fr om t he t ra d e u nion s, fr ome fa ct or y commit t ee a n d fr om t he pa r ty n ucleu s i n t he fa ct or y,Sept ember 1929. The t r ade un ion is t s and the un ions themselvesilen t i n t he fa ce of t he mos t a b om in a ble a bus es of t he fa ct or yrect or s . The b it t ernesso f t he aver ageworker aga in st t he grow ingspa r it y betwen h is w a ges a nd t h e s a la r y of t h e i ndus t ri a l bu rea u -r a t or t h e l a bor a r is t ocr a t who ca r ri es t h e t it le of S t a kh a nov it e, i selt in t he h ea r t a n d mut t er ed in t he mos t d is cr eet pr iva cy , bu t ist expr es sed i n or t h rou gh t h e t r a de uni on s.Th e t ra de un ion lea dership is composed of ca se-ha rdenedr ea ucr a ts , a ppoin ted fr om a bov e a n d r emoved jus t a s ea s ily .h ey know t h ey h a v e nei th er ob li ga t i on s nor r espon si bi li ti es t oe r a nks ; n or a r e t h ey n ud er t heir con tr ol. As a r es ult t he S ovietr es s is compelled t o pr in t cou nt les s d epr es sin g r epor ts of w a n -

ss, irresponsibil i ty , embezzlement ,bruta li ty and degenerat ionong t he t ra de un ion o5cia ldom. Th e w orker does not knowd ay w h o w ill be t he h ea d of h is t ra de u nion t om or row ; h e is n otonsult ed a nd, know ing q uit e w ell t ha t he h as a un ion in na men ly , h e ca res pr ecious lit tle. H e is a w a re t ha t t he a rt ned g ua rdo w atches over h im in t he mine pit a s described by K16berg a y el sewher e in t h is i ssue, i s f a r mor e r ea l a n d fa r mor e power -ul t ha n t he empt y shell t ha t w a s once t he Russia n t ra de unionTh e fir st All-R us sia n con gr es s of t he t ra d e u ni on s met in J a n -

uary 1918;thes econd ea r ly i n 1919; t h e t h ir d i n Apr il 1920. T9t h Congr es sme t t ow a r ds t h e end of 1928; t h e 10t b Congr es s e a rin 1932. S in ce t hen -t ha t i% for a lmos t s ix cr ucia l y ea r s-t herh a s been no congr ea s . I f on e knew not h in g el se a bou t t h e Rus s@t r a de uni on s, t h e compa r is on between t h e two set s of d a t es wousuf fi ce t o ind ica t e t he d ii le rence between a l iv ing movemen t , a r efounda t ion s t one ig t he s t ructu re of p rolet a r i an democr a cyandf ict ion . Bu t beh ind the f ict ion s t ands the usurpa t or y bureaucr a cTHE SOVIETS .The Rus si a n r evolut ion l a id b a re t h e Sov iethe counci ls of worker s, s old ier s, pea s a nt s -a s t h e mos t n a t urmos t d emocr a tic, mos t efficien t form of pr olet a ria n s ta t e r ulet h e t r a ns it ion per iod between ca pi ta l ism and commun ism. I n aother coun t ri es where a revolut iona ry s it u a t ion ma tu red, Sov ieju st l ike t he Rus sia n or s lig ht ly va r ied in form, d eveloped s pot a n eou sl y a s t h e embr yon ic or ga n s of in su rr ect ion a nd power , anota s a pr oduct a r t if icia l ly impor t ed f rom Russi a .The or ig in a l Sov iet s we re a m il li on t imes mor e democr a t ic t hany bourgeois republic precisely because they smashed the monool y of t h e pr of es si on a l ca pit a li st pol it ici a n a nd bur ea u cr a t whor ela t ion sh ip w it h t he ma ss es is con fin ed t o elect or a l campa igonce a yea r or less often. The S oviet s ma de it possible for tm as ses t o t hr ow off t he y oke of vot in g ca t tle w hich bou rg eorule imposes upon t hem, a nd t o a ct a s t he direct , in depen deadmin is t r a t or so f t hei r own a f fa i r s. Unsa t is fa ct or y rep resent a t icou ld b e r eca lled a t w il l a n d r epla ced b y ot her s. L en in s a w escia lly in t he right of reca ll not on ly one of the ma in pilla rsS oviet d emocr a cy bu t a ls o a g ua r a nt ee o f t he pea cefu l s et t lemof con fli ct s a nd d ispu t es i n t h e count r y. F ou r week s a f ter t h e Bs hevik upr is in g, h e sa id a t a ses sion of t he All-Rus sia n C en tExecu t ive Commit t eeo f t he Sov ie ts :Variouspartiesha veplayeda dominant illeamongus. The last time,passa geof influenceromonepar tyto an otherwa saccompaniedby an ovturn,by a fa ir lystormyoverturn,wherea sa simplevotew ouldha vesu5hadwe had ther igh t of r eca l l.i . . The rightof recallmustbe grantedtSovie@whichare the most per fect ea rner of the st a te idea , of coercThent hepassa geof powerfrom onepartyto anotherwill proceedwithbloodshed,by mean sof simplenew elections.(Zzves ti qNo.233,Dec.6,191Th e wh ole cou rs e of t he S t a lin is t b ur ea ucr a cy , clim a xed b yd em ocr at ic elect ion un der t he n ew democr at ic C on st it ut iowh ich i s g ruesomely mocked by the never -cea sing purge, h a s pceeded by t r ampl in g under f oot ev er y one of t h e con cept ion s of tpla ce a nd funct ion of t he S oviet s w hich preva iled in t he eay ea rs of t he revolut ion . F rom t he loca l S oviet s t o t he C entExecu t ive Commit t ee i t se lf , t he admin is t r a t ions a re appoint ed a

removed a t w i ll by t he cor respond ing pa rt y appa r a tu s-bosses , aw i th ou t t h e s li gh t es t i nt er ven t ion of t h e ma sses t h emsel ves . Tright of reca ll exist s, t o be sure, but it is exercised on ly by tS t a li ni st bur ea u cr a cy . Wha t Sov iet i ns t it u ti on , wh a t ma ss or gaiza tion or movem ent int ervened, for exa mple, t o r em over ecen t ly condemned Peopl es Commis sa r y of Wh it e Rus si a , ofU kr ain e, of G eor gia , of t he R.S .F .S .R., of t he S oviet U n ion , at o put ot her s in t heir pla ce? On ly t he G .P .U ., a ct in g a s a dm inr a tive a g en t of t he pa r ty s ecr et a ria t . Wh a t d emocr a tic s i@fca n ce h a ve t h e new con st it u ti on a l r ight s of f ree speech , f ree pra n d fr ee a s sembly w h en t hey a r e en joy ed exclu sively (a n d evt hen limit edly) by t he myrm idons of t he bur ea ucr acy w hot h emsel ves under t h e con st a n t sur ve ill a nce of t h e secr et poli cWh a t v a lu e h a s t he s ecr et b a llot w h en t her e is b ut on e ca n didt o ch oos e fr om , a n d h e h a nd -picked b y t he a ppa r a tu s? Th e elt ion s t o t h e Sov iet s a nd a l l ot h er a l leg ed l eg is la t i ve a nd execu tbod ies a r e cla s si c ex ampl es of B on apa r t is t pl eb is cit es ; t h ey a r eabominab le ca r i ca t u reof Sov ie t democr a cy , t hevery nega t ion ofTh e bu rea u cr a cy h a s s tr a ng led t he S oviet s of t he r evolu tiThe pol it i ca l ru le of t hew orkers and pea san t sha s been supplanby t he polit ica l rule of t he burea ucra cy a nd t hose socia l st rw h ich a r e it s d ir ect pr ops . Wh a t a r ev ea lin g s tor y t her e is insoci a l compos it i on of t he gua r an t eed-t o-be-e lect ed cand ida t est he C ouncil of t he U nion ! Of a ct ua l w orkers a nd peasants, th

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Jmmy 1938 THE NEW INTERNATIONAL Pagea renone or nextt o none.The overwhelmingmajori ty of the can-didatesis madeup of party of ficia ls ,fac tory directors ,labor ar is-tocra t s (S ta khanov ites),G .P .U . and army of fi cers , well -to-dof a rmer s, ba t i s, t he reac t iona r ybureaucr a cyand it s a s soci a t edsoci a l l a yer s. The Sov iet swere t o make i t pos si bl e, in Len in swords , for any charwoman ,for the lowes tand mos t despised,tobecomethea dminist r a torsf the s ta te ,so tha t i t wouldno longerbe, p roper ly speak ing ,a s t a t ein the old senseof a bureaucr a t i cappa ra tusof oppressionwithspecialbodiesof a rmedmensepara teand apar t f rom the people .The tr iumphof the Sta l in i stbureau-cra cy ha s been accomplishedby the political expropriat ionof thech a rwomen ,of t h e pr olet a r ia t . I t s ig nifies t h e vict or y of t h epolitical cowt.ter-revohktion.* * qTHE FOREIGNPOLICY.Athome, the bureaucracyhas notyetbeena bleto free i tself f rom theconfinesof the economicbasisachievedby the Russianrevolut ion,aboutw hich more later .B uta br oa d , it h a s a fr ee h a nd , s o t o s pea k, a n d t h er e it s cou rse i sopenlycounter-revolutiona ry.t is thegenda rmeof law an d order,of t he s ta t usquo throughoutthe capi ta l is tworld. A comparisonbetw eenthe si tuat ioneven in 1923, whent he react ionarytumorw a s a l rea d y appa r en t in t h e Sov iet body, a nd 1937, when t h etota l i tar ianbureaucracyis celebrat ingi ts tr iumph,wil l indicat etheprofoundchange.In 1923, whent he G ermanrevolutionwa s expected,the SovietRepub lics tooda t a t t en t iono a id i t .Theharboro f Pe t rogradwasf il ledwi thgra insh ipsready to sa i l fo r Ste t t inso tha t t heGermanSoviet repub licwould not be s ta rvedout by the Enten te.Repre-sentat ivesof the Cominternand the Russianpart y werea ct iveonGermansoi l, preparingfor the upris ingas best t hey could underthe leadershipof Bra ndlerand Zinov iev. Specia l is t sof the RedArmy wereassignedto give expert ass is tanceo the Germancom-munis t s .The closedip lomat ic a l l ianceex is t inga t tha t t ime be-tween the Sov iet s and the Germanbourgeoi s r epubl ic had notconver tedthe In terna t iona ln to the main prop of Germancapi-ta l i sm-quite the contra ry .In 1937,al l the diplomat icmovesin Europe,a l l the aid sentbythe Sov ietUn ion to the Span ishloy a l is t s (i n the f orm of muni -

t ions , a rms ,mi l it a ry exper ts ,G .P .U . agents,etc. ), a re d i rectedtowa rdscrushingthe proletaria nrevolutionin Spa in, preservingSpanishbourgeoisdemocracyas an ins t rumentin the hands ofAnglo-Frenchimperia l ism.The pol icy of Sta l in in Spain is dis-t inguishedf rom tha t of Noskeand Scheidemannn the Germanyof 1919only by i tsmore systemat icsavagery . AU the pol icies of the Soviet bureaucracyare based upon i