The Daily Worker Newspaper, November 28, 1924, Page 3

Friday, November 28, 1924 (Sey cmemommen The Economic and Polltical Situa- tion and the Immediate Tasks of Our Party Submitted by Ruthenberg, Love- stone, Bedacht, Engdahi and Gitiow. ‘s The World Economic and Pollt- loal Situation. ‘The world war, precipitated by the ‘capitalists in an endeavor to solve the problems of imperialism, has it- self developed into the insoluble pro- blem of the capitalist order. Four years of production for destruction have thrown the economic machinery of capitalism out of gear, ‘The present and coming generations have been loaded down with a mountain of debt that cannot be liquidated without a raid either on the surplus pocketed by the capitalists as profits or on Standards of living of the workers. This economic problem has created 8 revolutionary period—the period of the proletarian revolution. On the one hand, the capitalist class is des- perately hanging on to political power to save its system of exploitation. On the other hand, the working class is compelled to struggle against at tempts to reduce its standard of liv ing and against an increase of un bearable burden of exploitation. Th: antagonism between the classes i: sharpened. The struggle grows more and more intense, There remains only one solution—the solution of the prole- tarian revolution. The Communist International de- clares “The bourgeois order has pre- served its existence for a period in spite of the fact that the world im- perialist war toward its end called forth a tremendous outburst of ele- ~ mental discontent among the masses. “The forces of the international prole- tariat proved to be insufficiently or- ganized; the parties of the interna- tional proletarian revolution proved to be not strong enough; and as a re- sult, the victory of the proletarian revolution at the end of the imperial- ist war proved impossible. “The imperialist peace treatfes and the occupation of the Ruhr were only &® continuation of the war with other ‘weapons; they were not a means of healing the wounds caused by the war. ‘The consequences of the war have not been overcome nor can they ever be overcome by capitalist methods.” 2. In Russia the situation created by the imperialist war led to the struggle for power by the workers and peasants and tht establishment of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat through a Soviet Government. In spite of all the efforts of capitalist imper- jalism to destroy the Workers and Peasants Government of Soviet Rus- sia, it stands as an inspiration to the workers of the world, pointing to the only solution of the problem created by the imperialist world war. 3. While the struggle of the work- ers against the unbearable conditions of the period of decline of capitalism have their ebb and flow, the economic conditions of capitalism will develop sharper and sharper struggles and ultimately the proletarian revolution. 2. Economic and Political Condi- tions of the United States. ‘lL. The United States has not es- caped from the effect of- the imper- jialist war upon capitalism. While in this country there was no destruction of the ability to produce wealth, but on the contrary a great increase in ‘the productive power of capitalism, still the threads that bind capitalism together as a world order are so many and so vitally effect it, that it is im- possible for American capitalism to “ free itself from the forces which are ’ bringing the general decline of cap- * ttalism. Hence we find, tho the gov- ernment pretends to follow a policy of ‘non-interference in European af- fairs, the American capitalists are making a strenuous effort through the Dawes plan to save European capiial- ism and with it American capitalism. 2. Following the year and a half of prosperity, which the capitalists of the United States enjoyed after the signing of the armistice, capitalism in this country felt the first impact of the destructive forces let loose by the world war, The economic crisis of 1920-21 threw six million American workers out of jobs and brought~a more deep-going crisis than American capitalism had previously experienced. After a slowly developing period of it In economic conditions interven- “indicate the instablity of capital- ism, that in spite of the efforts of THE DAILY WORKER SUMMARY OF THESIS SUBMITTED BY RUTHENBERG, LOVESTONE, BEDACHT, ENGDAHL AND GITLOW iF 2. The economic problem created by the world war has developed the févolutionary crisis of the capitalist order. In this’ period every successive step of capitalism to save itself agravates exploitation of the workers and accelerates the elimax of the crisis—the proletarian revolution. in this period the greatest task of a revolutionary party, of a Communist Party, is to win the teadership of ever greater masses of workers. 4. This task can be performed only by a strong and bolshe- vized party. 5. The bullding up and the strengthening of our Communist Party is a task which cannot be separated from the problems of setting into motion the proletarian and poor farming masses against the capitalists. To divorce these tasks by setting up “the building of the party” as a separate problem Is sectarianism and not revolu- tionary. 6. The slogans of the Workers (Communist) Party must there fore .be those. which will enable the party to crystallize and unity politically the struggling masses in the factories and on the land under Communist leadership. 7, The slogan of a class farmer-larbor party Is such a slogan. It tends to develope political consciousness amongst the masses and helps the Communists separate these masses from the petty bour- geois and reactionary labor leadership. 8. The intensified struggles of the workers In this period of the decline of capitalism makes it the first duty of the party to combine its slogans with campaigns of action which will them. Such slogans are: FOR A FARMER-LABOR PARTY! realize AMAL- GAMATION OF THE CRAFT UNIONS INTO POWERFUL INDUS- TRIAL UNIONS! ORGANIZE THE UNORGANIZED! THE UNEMPLOYED! % party is synonomous with the task divorcing the working cl. is trade union bureaucracy and petty bourgeois leader. ‘This task cannot be performed merely by a mechanical addi- ite treache ship. RELIEF FOR The task of bullding up and extending the Influence of our from tion of new members. Only to the extent that we succeed in revolu- tlonizing the labor movement will we succeed in buliding a mass Communist Party. 10, In order to face this task and meet with success our party must be a unlfied party, every section of which participates actively in all campaigns and does not content itself merely with formal mem- bership. trom the war and the reduction of the world market, on to the workers thru forcing down their standard of living. While not on such a large scale, the depression of 1924 has brought wage cuts to hundreds of thousands of workers in an effort to make them shoulder the losses to capitalism. The crisis of 1920-21 was accompanied by the open shop drive which reached its climax in the strikes of nearly a mil- lion workers in 1922 indicating the resistance of the workers to the at- tempt to lower their standard of life. In 1924 miners, steel workers, textile workers, railway. shopmen and auto- mobile and other workers aggregating several million have been without work for long periods of time with all the consequent misery and suffering which unemployment brings. 4. The decline of world capitalism must bring with it sharp crises for American capitalism. “The whole bas- is of capitalist economy is fundamen- tally disturbed. A large fumber of countries are permanently consuming more than they produce, hence gold can no longer perform the function of world’ currency. ‘Gold flows in un- broken streams into the United States. The gold reserves of Europ- ean states have diminished to such an extent that to re-establish the gold currency would be impossible on merely technical grounds. In the place of gold, paper money has been introduced and its value fluctuates to an unlimited extent. There is no longer a tree flow of loan capital in and out of capitalist countries, In place of comparatively secure and well-defined relations of normal cap- italism, we find universal insecurity. Instead of production and calculation, there is gambling and speculation.” Every attempt to solve these prob- lems creates a new one. Any plan to make Germany pay reparations must provide for a free access to world markets of German goods, but to pre- vent precisely this was one of the ob- jects of the world war, Any attempt of the United States to collect inter- creates a new problem. “English pay- ments to the United States increase quite uselesély the gold funds of the g i 4 g : ieee sett shown in last week's stock market, has not obliterated the economic forces which actually shape the course of business. Cool examination of these forces, as they are traceable in current records, discloses no likeli- hood of a business boom.” And a week later it declares: “When one seeks, however, for the material basis of the higher price levels in the stock market, he meets the fact that there have been practic- ally no changes for the beter—certain- ly no decisive change in the prospects either of industrial or railroad shares, except insofar as confidence alone stands for a better outlook. While the activity was greatest in Wall Street, there was no upward surge in the de- mand for steel, no warrant for any great increase in the production of pig iron, only a very slight advance in the cotton textile industry, no ad- vance in the automobile market to represent greater buying activity on the part of the wheat farmers, no increase in general merchandise trade beyond the increase almost insepar- able from the advance of the season toward Winter.” 6. The expected increase in the buying power fo the farmers has not materialized, There are no facts to warrant the belief that the depression which existed during 1924 will be im- mediately overcome. bs The severe economic crisis fronting international capitalism ser- jously disturbed American agriculture as well as industry. On May 12, 1924, the Advisory Coun- ceil of the Federal Reserve Board in discussing the dangers to America in its having more than half the world’s monetary gold and in making a strong endorsement of the Dawes plan, point- slight gains that may have accrued to some farmers as a result of this tem- porary price spurt have been largely gobbled up by the bankers in back interest payments, in paying overdue taxes and mortgages, and by the spec- ulators, The much-hoped for increase im the purchasing power of the farm- ing masses has not materialized and has proved disappointing to the cap- italist optimists. 7. The future in the United States holds a period of deep-going depres- sions, alternating with temporary per- iods of improvement. Hence we must look forward to the sharpening of the class conflicts growing out of these economic conditions, a period in which the economic life of the coun- try will force the workers to fight in order to prevent the continuance of the reduction of their standard of life. Capitalism, in the crisis of its life, will hot grant the American working class a long period of “peaceful” de- velopment for its movement. The school which will transform the polit- ically inactive proletariat into a rew olutionary active one will be one of intense clashes which will bring great struggles on the economic field and develop the political consciousness of the workers. 3. The Political Situation in the United States, 1, With these conditions as a sackground the political groupings in the United States undergo a rapi¢ change. Although not yet politically conscious the exploited masses begin to stir uneasily, The war brought a greater centralization of power in the hands of the national government. The great post-war economic and fin- ancial problems compelled the govern- ment to more openly use its power as the agent of the capitalists. This took the form of attempts to reduce the standard of living of the workers and farmers and to shift the enormous burdens of taxation necessary in or- der to meet the costs of the war onto the backs of the workers and the pet- ty bourgeoisie. As a consequence of this there arose the movements of the petty bourgeoisie, the workers and the farmers seeking to gain political power for themselves. The workers and farmers were forced to fight to prevent the lowering of their standard of life and the petty bourgeoisie de- sired to halt the encroachments of big capital on their group interests. Thus the political effects of the world crisis of capitalism on the United States manifested itself on the one hand in a movement for independent political action of the workers and exploited farmers, through a -farmer- labor party, and on the other in the movement of the petty bourgeoisie for a “third” liberal party. 2. In relation to the world situa- tion the American capitalists were divided. Those great international banking houses whose investments were largely in Buropean loans de sired our entry into the League of Nations, because they looked upon the League of Nations as a means of guaranteeing the gigantic loans and investments which they had made in Europe. Those finance capitalists who were awaiting more favorable terms, and the capitalist group re- presenting largely. industrial invest- ments, which was not so deeply im volved in the Buropean situation, wished to take fulladvantage of what it considered its strong economic eit- uation in exploiting the wrold market and therefore refused to assume any international obligations through the League of Nations. With this and the exception of tariff policy, there has been little to distinguish the re- publican and demooratic parties from one another during the past twenty years. The democratic party up to ed out the seriousness of the present |1912 posed as the opponent of the situation by citing: “The economic mal-adjustment already existing with- in our own boundaries, a maladjust- men which not only disturbs and en- dangers our trade with other coun- tries, but which makes our agricul- tural situation particularly difficult trusts but nothing was done during the eight years of the Wilson adminis- tration in the atempt to carry out the program of destroying the trusts. Un- der the administration of the demo- cratic and republican presidents alike, the government has been equally sub- servient as the tool of the dominant capitalist interests. As a consequence there has appeared in both of the old parties a tend toward a new align- ment thru the old parties. This movement gained new life and strength as a result of the world war and the sharpening of class conflict growing out of the crisis which the war precipitated and devel- Page Three RESOLUTIONS OF CENTRAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ON P ARTY DISCUSSION 1 The theses of the Central Executive Committee in its entirety ’ shall be printed at once in single issues in all party papers. The theses of the minority im ite entirety shall be printed in the following Issue of each paper, 2. Discussion of the thesee In the party press shal! commence immediately after their publication, Articles contributed to the dis- gussion shall be printed in the DAILY WORKER in a special depart- ment under the heading “Party Discussion.” 3. All party papers are obligated, as a matter of party discipline, to print all articles relating to the the party press service. 4. Preliminary discussion of the party branches. 5. party branches has continued for party discussion sent to them thru the theses shall begin at once in After the preliminary discussion In the party press and in the the period of four weeks, general membership meetings shall be called to discuss the.theses. The Cen- tral Executive Gommittee will send representatives of both the Central Executive Committee and of the minority to open and sum up the discussion at the membership meetings in the following cities: New York, Ghicago, Boston, Detroit, Cleveland, Philadeiphia, New Haven, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Minneapolie-St. Paul, 6. The Central Executive Committee will set the dates for the membership meetings in all the cities as listed above, to which it will send representatives. 7. All general membership meetings now scheduled shall be postponed to comply with the provisions of this resolution. 8 The convention date will be set by the Gentral Executive Committee as Soon as approval has been secured from the Communist international, At feast sixty days from the date of the publication of the Central Executive Gommittee political theses shall be allowed for discussion before the convention. 9. This resolution Is to be published immediately in the party press. 10, All articles in all party papers must carry the signatures of thelr authors and mo party paper shall carry unsigned editorial artivies pertaining to the discussion. with the LaFollette-progressive move- ment was dictated by its policy of class peace and maintenance of the ilusion of “government of the people” and the fear of the labor bureaucracy that a farmerlabor party organized upon the basis of the class interests of these two economic classes would fall under the influence and prove an ally to the Communists. 3. The great class conficts of 1919, and the open shop drive of 1921-22, in which the government was openly and brutally used by the capitalists against the workers forced the work- ers to fight against a reduction in their standard of life. The farmer found that the government was serv. ing the bankers, raflroads, and mar keting organizations during the ag- feultural crisis and using’ its power against them. This movement for a farmemlabor party sprang up out of these conditions and is not compar- able to the development of the British iabor party. The conclusion that it wilt produce @ similar party to that which exists in England ignores the fact that it is developing in a differ- ent historical period—the period of the decline of capitalism and of the proletarian revolution. The extent of the movement was shown in the first convention of the Conference for Progressive Political Action, which, although diverted and distorted by the trade union bureau: crats was fundamentally an expres- sion of the desire of the workers and farmers for independent action. The rank and file conference in which the Federated Farmer Labor Party was formed was able to bring together representatives of 600,000 workers and farmers. State and local farmer labor parties sprang up on all sides, showing how wide spread is the de mand of the workers and farmers for @ means of expression of their polit ical stretigth and to enter the political struggle in their Class interests, The development of this movement side by side with the petty-bourgeois progressive movement led inevitably to @ struggle on the part of the petty bourgeoisie to impose its leadership on it and to absorb it. In this, the petty bourgeoisie was aided by the betrayal of the labor bureaucrady, which feared a radical farmer-labor party based upon the rank and file organizations of the workers and poor er farmers. One of the most import- ant factors which made this possible was the error of our Party after the convention of July 8rd, 1923, in which the Federated Farmer Labor Party Was organized, in not carrying on an basis for the farmer-labor movement. Had we crystallized and organised the sentiment for a farmerlabor party at that time, before the LaFollette movement had developed in definite form, we woul: z ‘been successful in preventing the La- Follette movement from establishing its leadership over the farmerlabor forces. which stood for @ class party to such an extent as to leave us i tion, which protected the property righs of the owning class, big and little, was in danger, it was able to mobilize the strength of most of the property owning classes in the United States. While maintaining its posi- tion as the expression of the ruling Class of the South, the democratic party suffered great losses thru petty- bourgeois desertion in the east and West and desertion of labor elements in the northern industrial states, Al- tho the LaFollette progressive move- ment polled more than four million votes, its petty-bourgeois leadership fs showing the usual hesitancy and vacil- lation af the petty bourgeoisie, and it is still an open question whether thie Movement will crystallize in a petty. bourgeois third party. It is a tact of great.importancte, however, that th’ the ‘eléction between four and five million voters cast their votes against the two old parties. Among the voters there were several million workers and poorer fatfmers who have become sufficiently conscious-of their inter ests to refuse any longer to support the old capitalist parties, These work- eré and poorer farmers are the mater ial for the development of’ a class party fighting the battles of these two economic groups. The fundamer tal conflicts between the interests of the labor elements as against the small capitalists, well-to-do farmers and -professional groups, expressing the Capitalist interests, make a per- manent alliance of these groups im- oossible and furnishes the basis for our Campaign to split this alliance, Gompers has alteady deserted the LaFollette movement. He contends that the endorsement of LaFollette was an expression of the non-partisan policy of rewarding the friends and punishing the enemies of labor and Proposes to continue this bankrupt policy, The disappointment of the re-election high hopes of the LaFol- lette movement has dampened the ar aor Of some elements, and there is iso tendency in some quarters to look to the new struggle for petty- bourgeois control of the democratic party as a medium of expressing the Political interests of this group. The Workers Party participating for the first time in an election cam- Daign gained political experience, but did not full advantage of the opportuni! offered by the campaign. It was one of the errors of our elec tion campaign that we did not apply |>asis for real campaigns, Today the United Front tactic in conducting |4*merlabor party supplies the form Liscussion on Immediate Tasks of Our Party | actions—xpontaneous strikes | walkouts, The trade unions as possible lead- ers and organizers of such defensive actions will be another target of the attack of the employers. The estab- | lished bureaucracy of the labor union | will, In this crisis, follow the way of least resistance—it will try to use the unions as instruments to pacify the workers rather than to organize their | resistance, . The American Imperial- jist interests are more and more meet- jing with success in hitching to their | chariot the upper crust of the working | class, the highly skilled workers. | This consciously fostered aristocracy of labor is seeking to transform the trade unions from organizations of Class struggle for the workers into capitalist agencies for more intense | exploitation of the great masses of unskilled and colonial workers, Wit- | ness the Baltimore and Ohio pian, the | extension of labor banking, the owner- ship of non-union coal mines by mem- bers of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. The sacrifice of the wel- fare of the great mass of workers, a price for peace with the employers, will be the tactics of the trade union leaders, the more so the more the resistance of the victimized workers against the offensive of the employ- ers turns into partial revolts against the very system of capitalism itself. Under these conditions, all policies, based exclusively on the so-Called bona fide trade union movement, for fevolutionizing broad masses of work- ers are doomed to fail. 2, Thus the struggie of the work- ers in the near future will increasing- ly take the form of revolts of the un organized and unauthorized, “outlaw” strikes. These strikes will be revolts of the working masses, not only against their capitalist employers, but also against their own leaders, 8. The task of the Workers (Com munist) Party, is clear: to give leader ship and direction to these struggle. All the slogans of our party for the re- volutionization of the labor movement must be developed from propaganda slogans against the old trade-union bureaucracy into objects to be real ized in actual campaigns. Amaigama tion of craft unions and the building up of industrial unions must become an immediate object of united front campaigns in such “outlawed” strug- gles, and other mass struggles, to be realized by rank and file action where ever possible. The organization of the unorganized must become an immediate object ot campaign for the mobilization of the fill strength of fhe working mas5es for “their detensive struggies. Reorganization of the party on the basis of shop nuclei will adapt our organization to these tasks. It will facilitate the formation of shop com- mittees, these to -be made the {nstru- ment for the defensive struggles of the workers, for the task of carrying om actual amalgamation campaigns, and for the organization of the unor- ganized. All successful attempte to widen strikes will strengthen the workers in their defense and will facilitate the achievement of tangible results in campaigns for amalgamation and the organization of the unorganized, For carrying out of these tasks, the party must mobilize ite industrial department in full strength. 4, The mobilization of the party for industrial work and its active participation in industrial struggles mist have as its primary object the development of political activity of the working class. The realization of this object depends upon our ability to inject political issues into the everyday etruggles and to mobilize the struggling workers for political action. Political problems arising ont of strikes (use of state power in all forms against striking workers) will supply ample basis for political um ited front movement. The slogan of @ “Farmer-Labor Party” supplies the bropagandistic basis tor the develop- ment of political consciousness. of the masses. In intensive struggles of the im- mediate future, the slogan of the farmer-labor party also becomes the the and our campaign in support of the im-| Which political united front movement Mediate issue of our party platform,}°f the Communists with non-Com- While we carried on propaganda on |™Unist working massos will take, such issues as unemployment, recogni The political alliance of the trades tion of Soviet Russia, etc. we made|"Mon bureaucracy with the petty ‘2O effort to draw the Workers into a | b°Urseoisie will make the slogan of a United Front movement in support of |{4merlabor party an entering wadge our proposals, thus lifting our cam-|>¢tween the working masses and their paign out of the realms of mere pro-|‘Teacherous leaders. The conflicts Daganda into the actual lite struggies |*"!#ing between the workers and of the workers, these leaders on the basis of the lat- 4. Summary of Economic and Polit. |*¢t’® Abandonment of the cause of leal Conditions which Must Guide Our Policy, 1. To safeguard and increase their |°! Prying lose those masses trom the Profits in this period of the decline |Plitionl leadership of these of Capitaliam, the capitalists conoen- trate their efforts on an intensifica- the former in their immediate econ- omic struggles, will facilitate the task ans. - Thus the slogan Of farmerabor par- tion of exploitation. Even when there |'Y 42d campaigns for the duction, the industrial reserve army |*t*enethen the Workers build ( is no decrease in the output of pro-|°f farmeriabor parties will pe 2 ( tends to increase. This army ig | zationally, will extent its marshalled the army of the employed |‘4 beyond its organisational st and @ general campaign of wage re-| Will help to make a real duction and deterioration of condi-| Ut of it, at the same time tfoas of labor results therefrom. Th immediate economic crisis ag-|Of workers who must be made gravates this tendency. mass | izing tho activities of broad masses, nites The work-}of Communist leadership, er will be forced to meet the general |they may not and cannot be 4 oensive of capital with defensive (Continued on Page 4 f