The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-05-23
BY NIKoLAI RucHARIN.


AfA pose the theses, but made various
remarks of supplementary nature.
Comrade Varga proposed including
a special passage on village poverty,
in other words, on small peasants and
peasants on small allotments. l form
ulated the theses in the Russian term
inology. We make distinction be-
tween small peasants and peasants on
small allottments, and in order to be
precise, believe that we can accept
this subdivision.
We can also accept the suggestion
of aComrade Varga in connection with
the thesis stating that in the present
epoch it is impossible for the peasant
ry to. be an independent governing
force, to say instead "a lasting gov
erning force"
On the other hand l do not share
the view of Comrade Varga on the
formation of peasant parties, nor of
the analogous statement of Comrade
Dombal.
VARGAS whole argument consists
in his stating that we ourselves
claim that the peasantry is becoming
political. The political party is the
expression of this development, and
therefore we must have a political
party of the peasants. That may be
correct from vulgar formal stand
point, but viewed dialectically, this is
not correct and does not conform with
reality. Can one say then that peas
ant league is non-political forma-
ton? believe it is false to say that
a class organization can exist without
having a political character The
peasant organizations have a political
character as the trade union organiza-
lions have.
Does, for instance, the A. d. G. B.
General Federation of Trade Unions)
in Germany play no political role?
OF course it does, and yet 1t is not a
political party. Did the peasant
league here in Russia play no political
role? OF course 1t did, but it was not
a political party. Here the socialist
revolutionaries, menshevists and other
parties carried on activity within the
framework Of the peasant league. This
is also the case with the peasant or
CARNATIONS already in existence.
They exist, they grow, new organ
izations not only one, but sometimes
many political parties engage in ac-
tiyity. 1t may be that these parties
differ from on another in very few
respects, but that is fact.
WARGA states that the principal
' demands of the peasants are
counter to the bourgeois state. 1t is
bit strong to say against the "bour-
geois" state. One might get the i'm
preston that the peasant organiza-
tons are the greatest revolutionary
organizations against the state. They
are not counter to the state, but they
put forward demands to the state
which have both an economic and pol
itical character, for instance, the
question of taxation.
Most of the demands of the peas
ants are Of such a nature. The revo-
lutionary elements among the peas
ants are not so advanced that they
set up direct revolutionary demands.
It is not right to say either politics
and then the political party, or only
economic demands and then NO poll
teal party. This is how Varga puts
the question and Dombal repeats It.
Therefore 1t is no accident that the
peasants organize carefully, not in
the conventional political form, but
in the form Of the peasant league.
The question which Varga puts and
which Dombal repeats can also be
raised logically and tactically. They
ask whether thsre is any difference
whether some peasant league engages
in politics and when It does so as a
political party. What Is the differ
ence7 No difference can be drawn