The toiler. [volume] (Cleveland, Ohio) 1919-1922, 1921-08-27
The Root Of the Problem.


broke out in England In November 1917 the Russian poeara
seized the of Government The month of November 1918
marked the downfall of the German and Hungarian
arches In the course of the succeeding year. number Of
European countries being swept by powerful strike
ment constantly gaining scope and intensity In March 1919
Soviet Republic nauguraed Hungary AT the close of
that year the United States conyu by turbulent strikes
involving the meaworkes miners and raiwaymen Following
the January and March battles Of 1919 the revolutionary
Germany reached s eliminating point shortly after the
Kapp uprising March 1920 The internal situation in
became the Month of May 1920 In Italy wit
messed the constant growth among the Industrial and
agraran poeara leading September 1920 the Of
factories miles and estates by the workers In December 1920
the Czech prearat resoed the weapon Of the proearan
strike March 1921 marked the uprising Of workers in Gen.
trail Germany and the coal miners strike in England
Having reached its highest point in those countries which
had been involved in the particularly in the defeated
tries the revolutionary spread the neutral countries
well In Asia and in Africa the aroused and nten
sed the revolutionary spirit of the great Of the colonial
countries But this powerful revolutionary did succeed
in sweeping away international capitalism the capitalist
order Of Europe itself.
number uprsngs and revolutionary battles taken
place during the year that elapsed between the Second and Third
Congress of the Communist International which resulted
sectional defeats (the Red Army offensive Warsaw in
August 1920 the of the Italian proearat Sepem
Der 1920 and the uprising the German workers in March 1921
Following the close of the which has been characterised
by the elemental of its onslaught by the considerable
formesness of methods and and the extreme panic OF
the ruling classes the first period of the revolutionary movement
may regarded having reached its termination The self
confidence of the bourgeoe class and the apparent stability
of its apparatus has undoubtedly become strength
ened The panic of Communism haunting the bourgeoe not
having disappeared has nevertheless somewhat relaxed The
leading spirits of the bourgose boasting of the
might Of their apparatus and have assumed the
against borng everywhere both the
economic and the political fields
THIS situation presents the following questions to the Com
and to he
what extent does this Transformation in the relations be-
the bougeos and the proarat correspond the actual
balance the contendg force true that the bourgeose
about to the social balance which had been upset by the
war? Is there ground to that the period OF political
upheava and of classwars going be superseded by
epoch of restoration and capitalist development Does not this
necessate revision of programme tactics of the Communist
International? 20" S3E .fsisit5
The War; Artificial Business Stimulation The Crisis and
the Countries of Europe.
The high tide of capitalism reached in the two decades
preceding the The intervals of prosperity superseded
by periods depression of comparatively shorter duration and
intensity The general trend that Of upward curve the
capitalist countries growing rich.
Having secured the world market through their trusts cart
and consortums the masters of world-capam well realised
that this mad growth of capitalism will FINALLY strike dead
wall connng limits of the capacity of the market created
by themselves They therefore tried to get out Of the difficulty
by surgical method In place of lengthy period of economic
depression which follow and result in wholesale desuc
ton of productive the bloody crisis Of the world
was ushered in to the purpose
But the proved not only extremely destructive in its
methods but also of Unexpectedly lengthy duration So that
besides the economic destruction of the surplus productive
sources also weakened shattered and undermined the fun
damena apparatus of European production AT the time
gave powerful impetus to the capitalist development Of the
United States and kened the aggrademen of Japan Thus
the of gravity of world industry shifted from Europe
to America.
The period following upon the termination of the four years
slaughter the rehabilitation of the armies the transition
peaceful of affairs and the inevitable economic crisis
ing result of the exhaustion and chaos caused by the
all this regarded by the bogeoe with the greatest anxiety
the approach of the most critical moment AS matter of fact
during the two years following the war; the countries involved
became the of mighty movement OF the proletara
One of the chief which enabled the bourgeoise
serve its dominant position furnished by the fact that The
first months after the instead of bringing about the seem
ngy unavoidable crisis marked by economic prosperity
This lasted approximately for and half Nearly all the
demobsed workers absorbed in industry As general ru
wages did not catch up with the cost of living but they nverhe
less kept rising and that created the Illusion Of economic gains
It was just this commercial and industrial revival of 1917
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