The Daily Worker Newspaper, February 21, 1925, Page 8

The Problem of Bolshevisation By MAX BEDACHT. N his article on the coming session of the enlarged executive commit- tee of the Comintern; Comrade Zinovievy warns against the danger - that some organizational principles of Bolshevism will be regarded as the whole of Bolshevism. He points out that after the reorganization of the party on the basis of shop nuclei, the problem will be how to fill the nuclei with life. This life must spring out of the general Bolshevist orientation of the party; it must be applied Bolshevism. Every manifestation of life of the party, must be Bolshevist, conception, orientation, action. HE recent discussion in our Inter- national against Trotzkyism was a phase in the precess of the Bol- shevization of the International. The scope of the discussion silenced even the most consistent non-Bolshevist tendencies within the various Com- munist Parties. The role of the party in the proletarian struggle for emancipation, and the relation of the revolutionary proletariat to the peas- ants were in the center of the dis- cussion. Thus two most important Bolshevist principles were given in tensive consideration; not abstractly but concretely in connection with the Russian revolution and thus with the world revolution. The fight on both of these questions supply theoretical rallying points of non-Bolshevist ele- ments. But the anti-Trotsky discus- sion in the International has streng- thened Communist understanding and has solidified the theoretical basis upon which a Bolshevist party must be built. NOTHER important development contributes to the Bolshevization of the Communist Parties. The con- solidation of international reaction be- hind the Dawes plan facilitates the pnderstand the imperialist era ¢ today. I Capitalism at the eight of rnational organization and, at the same time, it reveals its inner disintegration. It demonstrates ad ocolus that the era of imperial- ism puts the proletarian revolution up as the order of the day. It proves that its pesent fs unbearable, and that its future holds only two alter- natives—its victory or its defeats. Its victory means a twentieth century barbarism intensified by modern tech- nic and science. Its defeat means a proletarian victory and a revolution- ary transformation of capitalism into communism. The tasks of the pro- letarian struggle become clearer every day and block the opponents of Bol shevization in their attempts to cover the revolutionary perspective with an opportunist film of inaction and re- formist sectarianism. LTHOUGH Bolshevization is much more than merely reorganization, yet the problem of reorganization of our party the Workers (Communist) Party, presents a most important phase in its Bolshevization. If we approach this from the correct angle there will be little danger that we fall into the mistake of oVerestimating its importance. In our party, the Workers (Com- munist) Party, the reorganization is of the utmost importance. In Germany, or any of the European countries, where the political problems of the Communist parties present them- selves in form of direct revolutionary problems, the reorganization becomes more naturally the adaptation of or- ganizational forms to the revolution- ary functions of the party. In the United States, this is not so simple. Of course the functions of our party are not of less revolutionary import- ance than those of the German party; nor is the shop nuclei form of organ- ization of less importance to our par ty just because ft is further removed from a revolutionary climax of the class struggle than that of Germany. By no means. But at the birth and the early days of development of the Communist movement of America it has looked for its issues against nat- ive social democracy too much in the realm of abstractions or in far away Buropean fields. The differences in the early days of the American Com- munist movement with social demo- cracy developed more as differences of belief, than of action. HIS was due more to the immatur- ity of the movement than to the absence of concrete native issues. Only slowly and gradually did our Communist Party in America learn to function as one, And this develop- ment of our party from a Communist propaganda club to a Communist Party is not yet completed. The egg- shells of our former existence as so- cialists still cling to us here and there. So, to a cértain degree, the reorganization of our party into shop nuclei is not merely a process of adapting the organizational forms of our party to its necessary functions, but the simultaneous development of Bolshevist functioning and organiza- tion, HE Bolshevized Communist has the revolutionary class struggle uppermost in his mind. All his ac- tions he subjects to his determina- tion of a proletarian victory. For the Communist, the organization, the par- ty, is not an aim in itself. It is an instrument. The quality of this in- strument is measured by its useful- ness in the proletarian struggle for emancipation. Mere organizational routine means nothing to the party. The question is not how well the in- ner party organization is functioning, but how well does the party as a whole function outwardly. The smoothness of the inner organization- al machinery is important only as far as it facilitates the outward function of the party. In that respect, how- ever, it is of the utmost importance. EORGANIZATION of our party on the nuclei basis is difficult espe- cially, because of our.traditional or- ganizational forms. It is much harder to overcome the natural inertia of tradition than it is to solve the ac- tual technical difficulties. Old tradi- tions have not only preserved organi- zational forms but also the shortcom- ings that went with these forms. The principles of federalism underlying ou rold language group organization have permitted enough segrega- tion of the diverse groups within our party that a measure of auton- omy of these groups prevailed. With the change of the fundamental organ- izational principle of our party from that of federalism to centralism we could not revolutionize the practice. ‘Up to this day there are still whole sections of our party living in prac- tical seclusion and in some degree of independence from the party as a whole. It is true that we adopted a new principle. but the old practice re- mained. Consistent efforts on the part of the party and also much good will on the part of the language sec- tions and members have gradually brought about considerable improve- ment—but no fundamental change. IS condition is decidedly non- Bolshevik. It fosters and pre- serves a separate loyalty to a sub- division of the party. It develops sep- arate problems that are entirely aside from the political problems of the party. And no matter how intensely the party endeavors to concentrate on its revolutionary duty, some sub- divisions of the party are too busy solving their own particular inner problems to participate unreservedly in the efforts of the party. It is evident that a fundamental change is required to overcome this difficulty. The reorganization of the party into shop nuclei will bring about this change, But at the same time, this reorganization also presup- poses a change. It presupposes a Bol- shevization of the minds of the com- rades, T present we meet again and again the argument that shop nuclei are all right in theory but in practice they are impossible in the United States. is non-Bolshevik. It presupposes a dualism of theory and practice, Such dualism is unscientific—non-Bolshe- vik. If theory and practice cannot be made to conform then there must be something radically wrong either br . the theory or with the practice. The quality of the theory is proven in its applicability, A theory that does not work in practice is not built on real- ities, and is therefore wrong. A Bol- shevist party cannot build on such “good” theories that do not work in practice. Form and activities of a Bolshevist party must be made a per- fectly harmonious unit of theory and practice. HAT is the theory of shop nuc- lei? The Communist Party must be the head of the working class. The head is the most important member of the body. It has the eyes to see, the ears to hear, the mouth to speak; it is the seat of the brain where all im- pressions ‘concentrate to be digested, assimilated and transformed into ac- tion. But the head alone cannot act. A head only functions in connection with the body. This connection is supplied by a system of nerves. Nerves are the conveyors by means of which the body transmits all the impressions it receives to the head, the brain. The nerves are also the conveyors that transmit the under- standing, the initiative the will of action ef the head to the body. The strike of the fist against the enemy emanates from the head. The nerves convey. the will of the head to the arm and fist and that member rises to descend forcefully on the skull of the enemy. COMMUNIST party that wants to be the leader, the head of the working class, must penetrate the whole body of the working class with a system of nerves. It must per- meate every manifestation of life of the proletariat with an organizational system of nuclei. Every labor organ- ization must be thus permeated. But the basic labor organization, supplied by capitalist itself is the grouping of larger or smaller numbers of workers at the place of work, in the shop. All struggles of the working class originate from the relation of that organization to the exploiter. All pressure that drives the workers to fight is applied and felt in the shop. The original form that the worker meets capitalism in. is the relation of the worker in the shop to his boss or the boss’ representative. The first form that class solidarity. takes among the workers is the solidarity of the workers in one shop. If our Communist Party wants to hear and see for the workers, it must be organ- ized in the shops. If it wants to gain leadership over the workers so that the latter may act in accordance with the party’s strategy aud tactics, it must be -organized in the shop and must thru this organization, thru the nucleus, influence the workers in the shop. Thru party organization in the shop, the party feels the pulse of the working class. Thru the organi- zation in the shop, the party inspires and leads the workers. LL these considerations make it imperative that the shop nucleus shall be the basic unit of our party. The reasons why this should be so apply to the United States as much as they apply to any other country in the world. But, say some comrades, we Lave some difficulties here in putting the plan into effect.. Language difficulties, organizational difficulties, etc. 4 Unquestionably there are difficul- ties. However, our comrades must learn to reformulate the problem. Some say now: “There are serious difficulties in the way of that task; therefore we cannot carry it out.” They must say: “Our struggle against capitalism demands the carrying out of that task; therefore, let us find ways to overcome all the obstacles In the way.” — ANY of the difficulties are already solved—theoretically. fhe prin- ciples of centralization did that for This very argumentjus. All that is needed is to Bolshe- vie our party and to make our prac- tice conform to our theory. Questions of hall property, printing plants, pa- pers, ete., belong to that category of difficulties. A Bolshevized Commun ist will consider these questions of very little importance. He will not ask: “What, will become of our prop- erty,” but “How can we organize the most effective attacks against the en- emy, against capitalism, with - the forces at our disposal?” To create this atmosphere among the members o. our party is the task of our campaign for Bolshevization. But the needs of reorganization do not permit us to carry out that cam- paign separate from the problem of actual reorganization. N our party the problem of Bol- shevizing the minds of our com- rades and Bolshevizing the forms of our organization must be solved con- currently. The greatest technical problem of reorganization is presented by the need of propaganda and agitation among those workers in America who do not speak the native tongue of Eng- lish. Sut for the solution of this prob- lem the presently existing federations can be preserved. If our party is made a solid, compact organism that draws every one of its members. into the general functions of the body, then the federation will no longer be able to act as seggregators by its mere existence, HE existence of the federations will then supply an additional ma- chinery to the party for foreign lan- guage propaganda and _ agitation. These federations will then no longer be actually parallel organizations to the party as a whole but helpful aux- iliaries. Their functions will then be limited not only by a rule on paper but by the fact that the new organ- izational forms of the party do not leave them any other function except the one that gives them a right for ex- istence, Here again the Bolshevization of the concept of the membership is needed. The needs of the revolution- ary te fone he and the needs of the leading role must be put in the” Pai tena of a pro brafich, a pro-district, a pro-federation atmosphere there must be developed an anti-capitalist atmosphere. The healthy efforts that most of the sub- divisions of the party made in tho past to co-operate with the party as a whole in the solution of these prob- lems is some guarantee that this spirit can and will be developed and that we will get a party hewn out of one piece. {NCE the Bolshevization of organ- ization and action must go hand in hand it is clear that a mere tech- nical reorganization does not suffice. The task remains to fill the nuclei with life. In the “good old days” we had many branches into whose meetings there never penetrated even a whiff of the storm of the class struggle that whis- tled around the ears of the proletar- ian masses in the land, Branch meet- ings in many, too many instances, were affairs where the spirit of the struggle was put asleep in. endless and meaningless routine, instead of being placed where this spirit was fanned. If the shop nuclei should only take over these routine functions of many of our old branches; the reor- ganization would not mean Bolsheviz- ation—but only a temporary disturb- ance of the comfortable sleep of those _ branches and members. In the last years there Was a considerable im- provement and our branches have be- come more lively. But, as I said at the beginning, the eggshells of our former being are still clinging to us here and there. : reorganization will help in the solution of the problems. First it will draw every member who works in the shop, into action. And second it will put the problems of party ac- tivity up to the members in a more concrete manner than the territorial and language branch form. It will provide very distinct functions in a very clearly defined sphére of action. On ‘the other hand the reorganized party will face new problems, Politi- cal leadership and direction will have to counter-balance the danger of mak- ing out of the shop nucleus an eco- (Continued on page 7) RL