The Daily Worker Newspaper, May 9, 1925, Page 14

The Role of th eCiy | 7 ~ (Continued from page 7) ences and the positive experiences of the October revolution. I am of the opinion that in order to make an end of all skepticism and in conection with this question the Communist Parties must make a careful study of these lessons in order to realize that the peasant question is not a secondary question, but a most important strateg- ical task without solution of which victory is impossible, 5 In studying the present conditions in the village (in the widest sense of this word) we must first of all admit that a change has taken place after the war in the mutual relations be- tween town and country. Marx once said: the changes in the relations between town and country are a sign of changes in the whole epoch. This is perfectly correct. The development of capitalism meant in- equality between town and country, and the present period has also spe- cific features as far as relations be- tween town and countryside are con- cerned. We notice that the relative importance of the village with rela- tion to the town has increased. From the standpoint of economy, agriculture with the relation to industry plays to- day a greater role than before the war. From the standpoint of class: the agrarians, the peasantry play to- day relatively (not absolutely) a more important role than the urban class. And therefore, also from the stand- point of politics: the influence and the political power of the village is great- er than before. HE second important phenomenon on this field is the agrarian crisis which has already been dealt with in Zinoviev’s report and in Varga’s speech. The third phenomenon connected with it is the growth of peasant activ- ity in all countries without exception. And the fourth fact of a social na- ture is the fact of the differentiation of the peasantry and its organizations. These are the specific features and the most important phenomenon of this situation. . Because. of this -situation there are ’ the differences in the peasant move- ment which we have to record. The differences between the big agrarians and the peasants. Another set of differences are those within the peasantry itself. All these differences give us an opportunity to make use of the situation and to draw proper political conclusions. These differences develop in various forms. The difference between the peasants and big agrarians follows in backward countries the line of agrarian reform. This is the struggle for land. The gulf between the peasantry and the bourgeoisie in the so-called civilized countries follows two main lines, on the one hand it follows the line of taxation policy and on the other hand, the line of economic policy—of syndi- cates and trusts. The third feature of the situation is the war peril. LL this represents an objective basis for our policy. We have only to take advantage of the differ- ences between the big landowners and the peasants in the backward coun- tries to get a revolutionary solution of the agrarian question in the chief sense of the word. In conne¢tion with questions of taxation, corn prices and prices for manufactured articles, we must use the slogan of joint struggle against trust capital. Y Comrades, I must declare here most emphatically that in some Communist Parties it has not yet been understood that we must go to the peasants with wholly empiric, wholly concrete de- mands, The social democrats and the bourgeoisie on the other hand proceed with concrete demands, and this makes a great impression on the peasants. The Communist Parties must not ignore these partial de- mands. On the contrary, in this re- spect we can give much more, but we must associate all partial demands with our revolutionary prospects. This is the main thing as far as we are con- cerned. What is the best method to rouse the peasants against the bourgeois state? Evidently the taxation prob- lems. Taxation policy is the policy of ns the state. When the peasants protest against the burden of taxation they protest against the state. It is the most important thing for us to bring the peasants into conflict with the bourgeois state. Taxation policy and the Communist demands in connection with it, that is the most important bridge to bring over the peasants from the standpoint of love for the bour- geois state to the standpoint of hatred of the bourgeois state. HERE are comrades who hold the view that by decreasing the bur den of taxation for the peasantry we are increasing it for the workers. This is a very bad argument. The contrary is the case; it is because.the poor and middle class peasantry is as inter- ested in the lowering of the taxes as the working class that we must march together. The same applies to prices for manufactured articles. One of the most important causes of the problem of the scissors is the policy of the monopolist organs of capitalism. The solgan of struggle against monopolist capitalism, against cartel profits in the form of struggle for lower prices for manufactured articles is well adapted to bring together the forces of the peasants and the workers. It is the same with the struggle against the war peril. On the strength of this situation, we witness now various movements with- in the peasantry, movements of vari- ous types, revolutionary agrarian movements, movements based on the agrarian crisis, etc. A specific form was the farmer. movement in the U. S. A., where close on a third of the farmers were ruined. Then there are movements based on bad harvests, as for instance in some parts of Germany. An important chapter in the history of movements are colonial movements. There are also various mixed kinds of movements. But there is no doubt whatever that the magnitude, the in- tensity, the social weight -of these movements has been on the ascendant of late. Moreover, the differentiation process within the peasant associa- tion has been a general féature. This process takes, place. in, all: countries where peasant’ organizations exist.” ~ I have already described the situa- tion on this feld. In all countries, except in the colonies, the leadership of the peasant organizations was in the hands of the big agrarians and big peasants. Lately we witness a process of differentiation and splitting off of the organizations of the small peasants, dwarf farmers, etc. In Bul- garia there is a fairly big left wing within the former Stambolisky union, in Czecho-Slovakia there are the so- called independent small owners (domoviny), and we see similar phe- nomena in Germany, Poland, France, ete. This kind of differentiation in the peasant organizations is an _ incon- trovertible fact. Here we are con- fronted with various questions of propaganda, agitation and organiza- tion, In connection with peasant organ- izations we must take into considera- tion various types and various possi- bilities. Where organizations already exist they probably exist in two dif- ferent forms, in the form of a political party and in the form of the so-called peasant federation. I think that our tactics with respect to the already ex- isting organizations, must generally speaking, consist in supporting the left wings of these organizations or in forming a bloc with them. The form ard methods depend on various cir- cumstances. In how far and when we should split off these left wings also depends on specific circumstances. The characteristic feature of all these organizations is that they embrace a variety of social elements from the big agrarians down to the agricultural la, borer. This is even noticeable in’ or- ganizations which have split off, for even they embrace various sections of peasants. We must support the left organizations within the party and the federations. But when necessary must not be afraid of causing splits. _ the most important question is, which form of organization we should give preference to when the initiative is ours. Not the form of a political party, I think, but the form of a peasant federation. Political parties are not suitable for various reasons. For instance, this would mean the adherence of our party must be on the one hand members of the Communist Party and on the other hand members of another party. We would also have only Communist groups, among the peasants, only a federation and not an extensive peas- ant organization. We have no neetl for Communist peasant sects, little groups. We must capture and organ- ize the large numbers of dwarf farm- ers and small peasants. For this the form of the peasant union is much more suitable. We need not offer these peasants the full Communist program. We do not want to bring about a state of Communist constipa- tion. We must bring forward elemen- tary demands, we must be much more radical than any other organization, we must give this organization great scope and must establish our influence thru the activity of our party com- rades. If necessary we can form frac- tions in this organization. But under certain circumstances, the organiza- tion can be under our influence even without fractions. Thus the form of a peasant union and not of political (Continued from page 1.) effect of the sudden deflation of pres- ent prices by even ten per cent, but we are bound to say, aSsuming an immediate change to be inevitable, that authorities advising Churchill ap- pear to have adopted the best pos- sible method.” The London Daily Mail says: “The public has not for- gotten how completely financiers’ pre- dictions of benefits from the Dawes plan have been belied by events. Are the financiers going to show them- selves better prophets now?” There are ominous fears of the British industrial capitalists that the change will bring them a sharpening .ot. friction with the British working lass. ‘The newest effort at stabiliza- tion throws again into sharp relief the fact that “stabilization” is at the expense of deeper enslavement of the working class and carries the germs of its own destruction. In con- sidering the possibility of France fol- lowing the lead in establishing the gold standard, the question seems to the French bourgeois to hinge upon a sharp reduction of wages, while in England it is already said that prices will have to be sharply lowered as a consequence of the re-adoption of the gold standard, and that therefore the British labor bull will have to be fought for a reduction of wages. British Labor. And here we come to the question of the different layers of the British working class—for the working class also has different layers. The dom- inant MacDonaldism of the labor party is a reflection of the privileged position of the higher-paid “labor aris- tocracy” which holds the political views of the petty-bourgeoisie and supports British imperialism, not thru some unaccountable accident, but be- cause it has enjoyed a little share of the spoils of imperialist exploitation of the colonies. The cracking of the British colonial empire undermines The “Shot-Gan Wedding” at London parties is the most suitable form. Some of our parties have already been successful in this direction. But in comparison with the great task which is before us, these are only the first timid steps on the way to the capture of the masses. OMRADES, I should like also to say something about the specific problem of the relations between the working class and the peasantry in Russia. But P think it will be more expedient to deal with it in my report on the Russian party discussion. I reiterate, it is a fact that very little study goes on in our parties. And yet this is the most elementary neces- sity. The bourgeoisie - understands the problem much better, it studies more and is much more efficient on this field than the Communist Parties, I close my report by expressing the wish and.the hope that after this ses- sion of the Enlarged Executive and af- ter the theses on the Bolshevization of the party, all Communist parties and the Communist International will be- come truly Bolshevized and will above all turn their attention to the agrarian and peasant question, applying the Leninist policy on this field. (Loud applause.) the privileged position of the upper layers of the working class and pre cipitates them toward the really pro- letarian ranks and the proletarian out- look. HE growth of the left wing of the British labor party—and the will ingness of the trade unions to enter into relations with the trade unions of Russia for world trade union unity— all this is also intimately connected with the impossibility of the dream of permanent stabilization. All will not be happy in this shot- gun marriage of British ‘capitalism with American capitalism. The bit- terest fight is provided for in the very fact of the @ ceremony —and this is the age of international” divorces. The new housekeeping arrange ments will begin, and will last for a time—and then the break-up. The 2,000,000 unemployed in England, the frightful stagnation of industry, with the only way out a struggle between capitalist England and America for re- division of the subject territories for exploitation—all this promises that the shot-gun marriage will not last to a silver wedding. Meantime it is a time for the fast work of our British comrades and ourselves to build up our Communist Parties. In England, to develop the minority movement, in America to do the parallel thing as well as the more primitive task of drawing the working class out of political alliance with the capitalists class and into independent political action and class conscious- ness. 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