The Daily Worker Newspaper, July 18, 1925, Page 7

| i | “The idez becomes power when it pene- trates the masses.” —Karl Marx. SPECIAL MAGAZINE SUPPLEMENT THE DAILY WORKER. SATURDAY, JULY 18, 1925. <2 SECOND SECTION This magazine supple ment will appear every Saturday in The Daily Worker. . World Capitalism and the Soviet. Union By KARL RADEK The Question of the. Russian and Chinese Markets a f lage only way left to international capitalism to ‘solve the ques- tion of markets, is the second way: the capturing of new markets at any price. What new markets are to be ob- tained? If we consider such markets as the Japanese or Indian, we per: ceive that they are now developing théir. own industries, which very jea- lotisly. oppose the intrusion of foreign goods. If we consider sich markets as the countries of South America, we have to realize that their powers of absorption can only develop very slowly, as these countries are relative- ly very thinly populated. In order to develop these countries by means of colonization, it would be necessary to invest enormous amounts of capital, which are likewise not available. There remains only Russia and China, which constitute a huge market for international capital, not only because our mujik, as well as the Chinese peasant, requires every- thing from the linen goods to tractors etc., but also because the peasant po- pulation in Russia and China can give an equivalent in exchange. The whole of Europe is suffering from the fact that it has to purehase agricultural products from America. But what can it pay to Anierica in return? It has to pay with what America already pos- sesses—with industrial products. Rus- sia, therefore, is not only important for Europe as a market, but also as a source of raw materials and corn. God does not always punish the Bolsheviki with bad harvests! Agriculture is re- covering more easily than industry, as its chief forces for the time being are still nature and human labor power. This is the explanation why, in spite of the misery and the back- wardness of our peasantry, we have been able to raise our agriculture up to 80 per cent of the pre war stand- ard. If-there had been no bad har- vests, then we should this year have attained to the pre war level of. pro- duction. The basis of the progress of our agriculture is not yet technics, but the fact that the brain of the mu- jik is becoming active, that the revolu- tion and the war have caused a pro fond psychological change among the peasantry. E do not always notice that in our every day work. Every foreigner however who has seen Russia before the war and who visits it today states, that there has been created for the first time in Russia a basis for a tech- nical advance in peasant economy, be- cause the mujik is beginning to think. He is no longer afraid of the tractors and other wonders from over the sea, but gladly accepts them. Rus- sia can increase its agricultural ex- port. It thereby offers European cap- ital a huge and growing market. If we now consider China, this coun- try which, as regards its coal and iron resources, occupies the third place in the world and is thickly populated, it suffices to indicate the possibilities of development if one says that China is already today carrying on a foreign trade equal in value to three milliard gold roubles, althought capital has only penetrated into the narsow coast districts. Bhar aren is looked upon even today as a medieval feudal power. This view however, is absolutely false. Manchu- ria alone which during the Russo-Jap- anese war from the standpoint of com- merce, was of no importance, is now exporting 100 million puds of various kinds of grain yearly, a fifth of the Russian prewar export. China consti tutes today.a new gigantic market, which, should world capital succeed in capturing, would serve as that de- cisive and vast reservoir with the help of which world capital would really be able .to extricate itself from the morass of the last imperialist war. At present one might say the follow- ing: “In Western Europe, world cap- italism, with the help of English and American capital, is working’ feverishi- ly to restore the conditions for stabil: izing the social relations of the pre- war period, and is undoubtedly achiey- ing considerable results in this direc tion, in the first place in the spher: of the restoration of the world econo- | must in the first Place examine the prospects of the struggle of interna- tional capital for new markets. The Question of the Imperialist United Front HE first question is, whether world capital, in this fight for the exten- sion of the markets, has succeeded in creating a united front. This question mInust’ be answered in''the negative. Capitalism has not succeeded in set- ting up « united ‘front, and it will hardly succeed in doing so in the fu- ture, Why is it so difficult for’ the bourge- the dollar or the pound. If the gold mark rests upon the dollar Dasis, then it is dependent in the first place upon America, in the other case London would become the center for discount- ing German bills of exchange. There is proceeding here an uninterrupted struggle between English and Amer- ican capital over the question of the domination of Germany. American ta- pital is the stronger, but English ca- pital is more organically bound up with Germany. As a result of “com- mon” actions and a hard struggle, the American banks have succeeded in grabbing the fourth part of the shares of the .German Bank. We therefore see in this connection, as regards the TALKING ABOUT DISARMAMENT AND PEACE . ny y Pee ne ted k BD AY While Invading the Riff country in Africa and dispatching troops and battleships to China, the “civilized” capitalist countries are talking about the limitation of the sale of armaments in Geneva and of peace in the Pacific at mic system.” We know from our own experience what the stabilization of the valuta means in this connection. ‘The situation of the workers in Rus- sio is at present still far from being a splendid one. The fact, howevei. that the country possesses a siable valuta must have a correspondingly favorable effect upon the workers’ household budget. The same applies to the state budget, and to economic life in general. That which we are witnessing in this connection in Russia, is not ab. sent in the capitalist countries. Tlie Stabilization of the valuta is the most important basis for the restoration Wf the whole economic life. _ Let us now consider the present so- cial and economic situation. Here we a | Honolulu, Hawaii. oisie to set up this united front? For the reason that politics is a tenfold more complicated thing than it ap- pears to be if one only considers it schematically. England is pursuing ihe same aims as America—the exten- sion of the market, but ™ the first place for itself and not for theUnited States. And whilst the’two states act together in certain questions, as, let as say, in the German reparation ques- tlon,-we see in other questions, like- wise relating to Germany, that Ger- indny becomes an object of an eco- nomic struggle between both parties. When the gold mark was introduced in Germany, the purpose of which was to cover the German mark, the ques- tion immediately arose, whether this sold mark should be based upon the stabilizing of capital conditions in Germany; where America and England act. together, an uninterrupter strug- gle, which prevents common action on the part of the capitalist sharks. In the Far East, England and Am- erica are likewise acting together and are endeavoring by this means to open the Chinese markets for foreign capi- tal. Here, however, England relies upon diplomatic privileges which she obtained before the war, America does not posses these to the same ex- tent as England, Soviet Russia is al- so intervening and, demanding the abolition of all diplomatic privileges, and thereby delivers a blow to Eng- land and America, To the Americans there naturally occurs the question: (Continued on Page 8)