The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-09-13
BY P. MANUILSKY

the support of those peoples sup.
pressed by the English Lords These
words were uttered many years ago
when the British Empire did not yet
represent so great a colonial power
in the world, occupying one-third of
the earth's surface. Do our English
comrades think that the revolutionary
process begins with the English pro.
letariat Iberating itself, and then in
the capacity of Messiah, carrying
deliverance to the colonial peoples?
We do not think SO,
In none OF the documents on the
relations Of the British Communist
Party to the colonies which have been
brot to US for perusal have we found
a single declaration in which our Brit
ish comrades have clearly and unmis-
takably demanded the separation of
the colonies from the British Empire.
Show US the documents in which you
have defended Irelands right to indie
pendence. And yet there are con-
slant opportunities for declarations of
this kind. Since the labor govern
ment of Macdonald has been in
power you have not taken advantage
Of single opportunity to bring this
question before the proletariat of
your country. Under the labor gov.
eminent the oppressive burden of
British Imperialism weighs down the
colonies. as it did before. Lord Read
ing, the celebrated hangman of Brit
ish India, the same viceroy under
wnom the famous trials were con.
Quoted against even such moderate
reVolutionists as Ghandi, the Broth.
ers Ali, and others, remains intact in
his post. MacDonald's government
has not taken the trouble even TO re-
place the 100000 bmeaucrats who are
ruling over the population of British
IndiG- Where is your lighting spirit,
English comrades? Where is your
readiness to carry decisive struggle
for freedom into the most far-fiung
corners of India?
The Russian comrades are grateful
to- you for launching the slogan
Hands on Soviet Russial" at the
time of the armed Intervention OF
Russia. But the entire International
would rejoice even more if you were
now to launch another no less cour-
ageous call: Hands or the Colo
MES"
;. To the third class OF mistake be-
long those connected with the theory
Of Rosa Luxembourg. Rosa Luxem-
burg's viewpoint might be character
lied as the theory Of national nihilism.
Rosa Luxembourg based her theory
on the assumption that in the imper-
ialist epoch every national move
ment is inevitably doomed to be used
by the imperialist powers in their own
interests. Therefore Rosa Luxembourg
believed that the proletarian party
should eradicate from its program
the clause relating to the self-deter-
mination Of peoples. Just as Cuno's
theory Of government represented the
latest phase in the development of
imperialism, so Rosa Luxemburg's
theory represented the childhood
stage Of the labor movement when the
question Of the seizure of power
seemed far of problem to the work
ing class.
It was only the feminist Bolshevist
school which put forward the question
of the seizure of power as a question
Of the present day, and which was
able to connect this problem with the
interests of those millions who repre-
sent the intermediate stage in the So
ciRl mechanism and on whose. be-
havior depends, in the last analysis,
the victory of the proletarian revolu-
ton. We have only to examine some
OF the resolutions on tactics OF our
European comrades TO realize that we
are still not quite free from the influ.
ence of Rosa Luxemburg's views I
have already cited the resolution Of