The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-08-21

/ ~@~hCA N5NAOOuo1y NOAbiiCQ CAOAANhASs
Would it have beenrpessible to realize
the unity of the workers and peasants
If the party had had some other pol
icy with regard to the peasants?
1t follows from the formula of the
Superior Finnish comrades that the
policy of the Russian Communist
Party is an opportunist policy. After
such conclusion it is not remark
able that the comrades of the Super
Tor Finnish branch twice call them
selves in their statement the most
mature party members"
Let us go on with the question of
"self-criticism" The comrades of the
Superior Finnish branch affirm that
opportunists avoid self-criticism. Quite
the contrary. Nobody talks so much
about freedom of criticism as the
opportunists. We have only to re-
member the starting point Of the in
itiator of opportunism in the German
Party, Bernstein. He began with the
demand for freedom Of criticism. This
demand was in fact demand for
freedom for an opportunistic criticism
of Marxism. The whole question is
only a question of what criticism we
are talking about, whether we are
talking of an opportunistic criticism
or a Communist criticism. A party or
a section of party which carries on
an opportunistic criticism and resists
a Communist criticism is an oppor-
tunistic party. Vice versa, a party
which carries struggle against op-
portunistic criticism and criticises it.
self from the point of view of Marx
SIN and Leninism is a Bolshevik, a
Cruly Communist Party. Self-criticism
is necessary for every Bolshevik
party. Thus it is only question of
what kind of criticism is necessary
for the party, opportunistic or Com.
munist criticism.
We see then that the definition of
opportunism given by the Superior
Finnish comrades is good-for-nothing.
Social Democratic Baggage.
Opportunism within the Commun-
list Parties in the present period is a
tendency to substitute social-democ-
racy for Communism. TheJoverwhelm-
ing majority of the present Commun-
list Parties We're organized from the
left wing of the old social-democratic
parties, and included in their ranks
tens of thousands of former social
democrats. These comrades brought
with them great deal of social-demo-
cratic theological baggage, and could
not within a couple of years complete
ly regenerate themselves into genuine
Bolsheviks. These remnants of So
cial-democratic viewpoints are the
basis for the opportunistic tendencies
with the Communist Parties. Trot-
sky in Russia, Brandler in Germany.
Smeral and Neurath in Czecho-Slo-
vakia, Rosmer in France, Simon Mark
ovich in the South Slavic, Lore in the
United States, etc, these are the rep
resentatives, of modern opportunism
within the Communist Parties.
A misunderstanding of the basic
idea of Leninism, the union of work
ers and peasants in the proletarian
revolution, social-democratic perver
sion of the tactics of the. united front,
a tendency to reorganize the Com
munist Parties on a mensheyist So
clal-democratic basis (Trotsky in Rus
sia), or to resist the reorganization
or the party on a Bolshevist basis in
the parties which are even now or
ganized on the old social-democratic
oasis-such are the general features
OF opportunism in the Communist
Partles. In different countries the
opportunists take different stands on
different questions. That is natural.
But the main tendency, the tendency
which unites them all, is the substitu-
ton of opportunism for Leninism.
Let us see how the comrades from
Superior make this substitution of op-
portunism for Leninism.
According to our understanding
communism is a mass movement
they write. They mean to say that
Communism can triumph only as
lass movement of the workers. But
they express it with an incorrect for.
mutation, because in almost all coun-
tries Communist movements exist
But nowhere with the exception of
RUSSIA, do they have a mass charac.
ter.
Obvious Confusion.
Immediately after these words the
comrades continue, THE membership
Is justified in continually criticising
its own movement and to build it &C.
cording to its own IDEAS"
This is obvious confusion. The
comrades began with "a mass move.
ment of the workers" and immediate
ly jumped to the masses OF the party.
CThe membership
The membership is not only justi-
ned, but 1t is its duty to determine
who shall be its officials, is also justi-
ned in criticising them and even to
throw its officials aside when II be.
comes necessary. And sometimes this
becomes absolutely necessary. The
VIII OF the masses is the highest law"
IL is obvious that here they are talk.
ing about the party masses.