The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-01-10
Concluded from last Saturday.
Relations Between Workers and
Peasants.

necessity of adopting new theses.
That which is fundamental remains
the same as it was drawn up by the
hand of Lenin, but there is something
new in the political and economic sit
uation that you, the leaders OF the
organized working class Of our
country must consider first Of ALL
Comrade Lenin taught our party and
the comrades working in the trade
union movement that he is not a
Bolshevik who thinks of the workers
only, but he is Bolshevik who thinks
Of the entire country and feels himself
to be the giant Of the revolution, the
leader, its basic force. Here at the
congress we have to take decision
not on the tasks of the labor policy
in general, but of the tasks Of the
labor policy in a peasant country. and
you will have to map out your funda-
mental policy not as merely as trade
union policy but as the policy Of the
working class in peasant country.
Only then will the question be solved
in a truly Bolshevist instead of lifeless
manner
Our congress should map out the
basic principles of this policy, remem-
bering that we are effecting dictator
ship in a country predominantly
peasant. 1t would have been the worst
kind of craft unionism, were our trade
union workers to consider these CUES
tons from a purely workers point
of view. You would get workers
point of view in quotes, and since the
working class governs the country,
since it is holding the dictatorship in
a peasant country, 1t must effect a
wise dictatorship, 1t must effect such
a dictatorship that would be accepted
by the overwhelming majority Of the
peasants, it must act as the master of
the entire country, and not think as a
craft unionist defending his own craft.
Therein lies the fundamental differ
ence between Leninism, Bolshevism
and craft unionism. We are members
Of trade unions, /. e., of the organiza-
tons Of our trade. but we are not
trade unionists in the sense that we
stand for our craft only, we are not
mensheviks in politics, we are mem
bers of trade unions. but we are Boil
sheviks, we feel ourselves class
holding supreme power. we must feel
ourselves class pursuing its policy
in a peasant country, and here our
congress finds itself in a situation that
is new to some extent.
Jealousy" of the Workers.
We observe a certain kind of
jealousy of the workers or the part
Of the peasants, something that we
did not observe before or that was
observable in quite a different form.
In some places we even have mutual
jealousy on the part of some back
ward groups of workers towards the
peasants. However, this feeling is
particularly dangerous among the
peasants, and it crops up sometimes,
being based upon the class division
in the village; it is displayed by the
rich peasants who are interested III
stirring up hatred for the workers
among the peasants.
We have in our country two classes,
or perhaps two classes plus an ap-
pendix, a fraction. This appendix
consists of the remnants of the old
bourgeoisie, of the embryonic new
city bourgeoisie, of part of the bour-
geois intelligencia, who hate us organ
ically. OF course, this semi-class is
discontinued, it is jealous of the
workers and of the Soviet power. but
they are Of no danger. We do not have
to worry about them. They will wait
as long as necessary.
The difficulties do not lie here, but
in the inter-relations of the two main
classes. the working class and the
peasantry. Here the least friction of
one degree might give us big defec-
ton, and here you must keep your
eyes wide open. We must remember