The toiler. [volume] (Cleveland, Ohio) 1919-1922, 1921-07-16

OUliilllLtcc VI tilt Gcilidl OVHiuiuiiiotl
Party did not at this time aim to
capture power. If Levi would have
raised this charge against the Party,
i. e. that it aimed to seize power,
there could be some reasonable argu-
ment about "putschism". All the read
ers of Lewis pamphlet were convinced
that this was really his charge and
insisted that he shall produce evil
dence Of the Central ExecutiveI
seriously aiming at the capture Of
power. In the preface,--the German
bourgeoisie fought savagely for this
pamphlet and bought its entire edi,
tion in a few days,--he declared that
he never made such charge against
the Party, but his accusation is that
the movement was purposelessly or
ganized by some muddlehead repre-
sentative Of the Executive Committee
of the Communist International. But
in this same pamphlet Levi recog-
nized that town after town in Central
I Germany was swept into the revolu-
tionary movement and the workers
fought heroically and died gladly.
Levi emphasizes that all this was
done by order Of the Central Execu-
tive Of the Party. But who among
conscious revolutionaries will believe
that hundreds and thousands of work
ers would 60 into battle without
knowing what for, and blindly follow
an Executive Committee of a young
Party which did not command much
authority, and what little authority it
did command was weakened by the
resignation of its most prominent
members. Only an arrogant intellec-
tual, isolated from the labor move
ment, alien to the conditions of life
Of the working class can argue to
such absurdities. The workers OF
Central Germany fought heroically
because they excellently understood
the situation, understood shat affair
was question of defence against the
White offensive, which signified the
beginning of an offensive of German
Capital against the working class.
The charge Of "Putschism" is moth
ing else than the concealment will
Marxist phrases, of the abandonment
not only of the offensive tactics o.
Communism, but also of the polio!
Of active defence. In charging tn
Central Committee of the Party witt
"Putschism", Levi does not say wha
the Party should have done whel
Hersing moved his troops into Cen
tral Germany. Should the Party hav
remained silent, or should it hav
asked Levi to make an eloquent speecl
of protest in Parliament?
By attacking the Party at the mo
ment when the Courts Martial wer
: most active, Levi automatically eX
cluded himself from the Communis
= International. But if there had no
! been treachery, his position woul
nevertheless have been an abandon
ment of Communism, for he advocate
a policy Of inactivity, a waiting pc
icy at the moment when the positio
above all demanded action.
In answer to this charge, Levi al
CUES in favour of local action if tn
majority of workers in the particula
= districts are with us. But the ad
/ vance which the Communist Party i
'e Germany has made during the pas
d year consists precisely in the fat
% that after scores Of local defeats tn
u Communist Party represents the uni
II ed vanguard of the proletariat 0
a national scale, which avoids loci
Is defeats and renders possible the trar
H. sition to fighting along the who
CT battle line. Realising the weakness
of of his position, Levi, in the prefat
Id to the second edition to the pamphl,
e. we have already referred to, refel
De to a report which he submitted to Il
ie Central Committee of the Party Z
u the 10 Of March, in which he hs
IN developed plan Of action invent,
IN entirely out of his own head. This r
I'd port merely proved that Levi was
s. dactrinaire who shielded himself fro
ry the actualities Of life by clouds
nd vague schemes, for what indeed do
al Lewis plan consist of?--The Germs
in bourgeoisie are in deplorable pos
o. tion. The Entente is imposing ruino
by conditions which are arousing indign
1t. tion among wide circles. The bou
is geoisie would not agree only in I
he lance with Soviet Russia. But I
he acceptance Of the Entente's conditio
IS are so dangerous for the petty bou
r. geoisie and the Scheidemann elemen
in that 1t is possible to rally large ma
he ses with The cry Of alliance with s
on Wet Russia and war with the Enten
To- The struggle for an alliance with $
an Wet Russia might lead to a strugs
lie for powor--This plan makes the I
lly ror in assuming that, II it is impc
he sible to move the Scheidemann woi
ist ers into battle for the defence Of tn
M immediate interests II Is neverthel,
're possible to move taem into battle
= a. ~