The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-12-29
COMMUNISM VERSUS OPPORTUNISM


particular link in the chain which
one must seize with all his strength
in order to hold the whole chain and
to PREPARE A SURE TRANSITION
TO THE FOLLOWING LINK" What
is that link that will keep the chain
unbroken at this moment?
The general flow of sentiment,
which was the manifestation of a
general movement for a labor party
in 1922, has been the beginning of a
process. The policy of the party then
rightly was as follows: THE party
must not oppose the coming TO life
of this power" Since then the process
has been contaminated; the movement
has been completely directed into the
channel of LaFolletteism. Never mind
the building Of boggies, conjuring up
ghosts and showing them to the fore
front by some Of our omrades,-there
is no mass movement seperate and
apart from the LaFollette movement
now in Dec 1924. The boss of the
progressive forces" is now carefully
laying the corner-stones in his founda-
ton. His strategists have carefully
studied the various tendencies that
manifest themselves in the ranks Of
workers and dissatisfied farmers, who
in their political immaturity are
BOUND FOR DISILLUSIONMENT
but not by the minority medicine.
All the delicate slogans Of "class,"
mass" "class mass" revolutionary"
class revolutionary" "class mass
revolutionary" ad infinitum, will fall
on deaf ears; we will deliberately
cajole ourselves into a position, where
fiery leaflets to northwestern farmers
will be most eagerly and effectively
distributed on Second Ave. and Sth
st., New York City; party with one
Of the above titles will be formed of
ourselves and sympathizers. Our
pure" agitation for the slogan
will result in OUR taking out
hot chesnuts Of the fire of class strug-
gle and delivering them to our bitter
est enemies, to the LaFollette move
ment. Meanwhile the LaFollette move
ment viii slap us right and left and
We'll (as in the past) neglect the most
essential elementary work Of building
up our young, and very weak Com
munist Party.
Let us not so for another campaign
Of draining the life-blood of our infant
party, let's admit our past blunders
land if it were not for the decision
of the Comintern in the last elections
there might have been MORE than
three in the then minority, let's learn
from our past mistakes how to reals
tically build hereon. We must leave the
utopia of getting to the social revolu-
ton on high white horse by quick
route, but rather stick to our reliable
fundamentals that our road is hard,
windy, and full of obstacles and turns
We must hold fast to our basic prin-
ciples and ALWAYS hold in the FORE
front the banner of the only class pol
itical party Of the proletariat-th
Workers Party Of America.
There may be advantages for the
Workers Party in partaking some
time in block formations with other
political groups. yet it is up to the min
ority to prove that it is correct Marx
ian and feminist policy and tactics to
CREATE AND BUILD non-Commun-
list, or semi-Communist parties as a
general principle, that it is permits
sable to sneer and soon at the EXIST
ING Communist Party, neglect it and
have to utter lack of faith in it.
The way of the minority is the
SWAMPY way, the one which leads
to opDortunistic leanings and tenden-
acies. That road is impregnated with
"chvostcism" and liquidation.
Slogans must be effective to be USE
full. They must either be rallying cries
for the mobilization of large masses
OF workers, or must have the attrac-
tive power to bring large masses into
action.
The C. E. C. (majority) thesis
proposes that the party for the first
time in its history gets out of the
clouds Of speculation. puts 1t both feet
on the class-struggle ground and in
true Observation-Disclosures way begin con-
sidering IT'S manifold pressing prob
lens on the economic and political
fields.
There is only one party that fights
always and everywhere for the inter-
ests of the working-class, that has no
interests apart from those of the
working-class, and that party is the
party Of Communism, the Workers
Party -. The Workers Party under
Its own name, its own banner, its own
program Of political struggle, must
enter into every battle of the workers
against their oppressors, calling for
and forming where possible all sorts
Of united fronts upon special issues,
and nqinn avarv o,,oh rf~.-~Y.