The toiler. [volume] (Cleveland, Ohio) 1919-1922, 1920-05-14
From the Liberatof

ever the workers choose to demand in the way of
economic justice they can secure. Nothing stands
in their way except the moderation of their own
demands.
Thus capitalism he's lost all the merits by which,
in the past it sought to commend itself to the aver
age man. Through trusts and intimate union with
t2e State, capitalism has succeeded in destroying al
most all vestges of freedom Through control of edu
cation and the press it has made democracy farce
Through national rivalres, it has made peace impos
sibe except by its overthrow. And by arousing the
discomfort Of the workers it has become inefficient
as a method Of production The first three of these
failures for desiring its overthrow The
fourth fortunately, is also for expecting It,
Capitalism has failed to secure freedom, genuine
democracy stable peace, the increased production
that the world needs and there is to think
thst its failure in these respects is in any way tenn
porary On the contrary it is likely to grow more and
more marked through the discomfort which it arousey
What has Socialism to offer in these respectsi
Tie most important of all the new facts that
have emerged from the war is the existence Of
Great Power which has adopted socialism in practice.
Socialism, htherto has been mere theory something
which practical men could despise as impossible and
visionary The Bolsheviks, whatever may think of
their merits and demerits, have at any rate proved
d
cessful State Faced by the united hostility of Europe
and by civil war within their own borders, coming
into power at time of unexampled chaos and star
ation deprived by the blockade Of all outside help
they have nevertheless beaten back their enemies,
reconquered the greater part of the old Russian En-
pre survived the worst period of the famine without
being overthrown by internal revolution, and set 70
work to regpnerate production with amazing vgoc.
There has been nothing comparable since the France
of the Revolution, and for my part I cannot but
think that what the Bolsheviks doing is of
greater importance for the future of the world than
what was accomplished in France by the Jacobins
because their operations wider scale, anl
their theory is more fundamentally novel; I believe
taat Socialists throughout the wcrld should support
:le Boshevks and cooperate with them. And
think that Guildsmens in particular, ought to pay
great attention to Boshevk methods of organization
not only because of their power and prestige but
because CT their partial adoption of an industrial
instead of geographical basis for the Soviets But
do not mean to suggest that we, in this country,
where conditions exceedingly different from ttose
IN Russia should blndly follow in the footsteps of
the Bosheviks. With other Guildsmen, I recognize
the Importance of organization by trades but at the
same time believe that the territorial Parliament
/ am not persuaded that, for u.s. the complete sup
iression of Parliament as opposed to Soviet forms
is desirable. And strongly of opinion that what
ever in the way of socialism is feasible in this
try can be accomplished without armed revolution
olavish imitation of the Bolsheviks is not what
wish to advocate. I am inclined to think that their
methods probably the only by which success
could have been achieved in Russia, but it by no
fol hat he on1v tha hact
method, for us. Our circumstances however, are Pc
eular, and through ont the Continent there is far
similarly to Russian conditions, and far more
likelihood of similar methods beng needed, if social
ism is to acquire power And in view of the success
Of Bohevism in beating back its enemies the spread
o4 socialism Throughout the Continent has become "A
by means remote possibility.
Bolskevism has temporarily flouted two ideals
which most of us have hitherto strongly believed in;
J mean, democracy and liberty. Are we on this ae-
count 10 view it askancei l think not
The dictatorship of the proletarat is professedly
q transitional condition, wartime measure, just
tied while the remnants of the old bourgeois cla''
ses were still struggling to promote counterrevoiutoh
t,nin. following Marx regards the State as in es'
sence the domination of class in the community
As soon as communism has abolished the distinction
Of classes The State is to witber away When there
is no longer any class cxcdt the proletariat, tho
dictatorship of the proleariat will pso facto cease,
and the State in the sense in which Lcnin uses the
world will disappear Are we to object to this pro
cess on tho ground that it may involve for time
the seizure of power by minortyH And are we to
object on the same ground to direct action for po'
htical ends in our own countryi Lenn's defence Of
his action is broadly that the opposition to com
munism is essentially temporary, and that, when once
communism has been established it will command
universal support. An argument of this sort can
only BIZ Judged by the outcome. If the outcome
shows as 1t seems to have done in Russia that the
opposition was largely ignorant and that experience
Of the new regime leads people to support it, it may
be said the foraibe transition has been justified The