The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-08-08

nPPORTUNISM, that malignant
" growth that infected the labor move
ment through the decades of the
peaceful development of capitalism,
impelled the French and Belgian So
cialists to follow in 1914 the path of
those German Social-democratic re-
negades who formulated the policy
of August 4th and voted the war
credits for the government of the
kaiser. The same forces that gave
impetus to the diseased growth in
Germany also produced war jingoism
in France, Belgium, and England and
had its reflex in Russia as exemplified
by Plechanoff and AleXinsky.
Pre-war opportunism which carried
the germs that produced war jingoism
was based upon the union of the up
per strata of the proletariat with the
lower bourgeoisie. The German party
in particular, as the leading party of
the second international, suffered
greatly from this disease growth, this
devastating blight. There was no
other powerful opposition party hence
thousands of bourgeoisie elements
were tt-racte to the social
democracy. The right-wing of the
proletariat and the left-wing of the
bourgeoisie both received certain IA
vors in the way of crumbs that fell
from the hands of the imperialists and
both groups, united in one party, felt
their interests endangered by the de-
mands of the mass of proletarians.
In times of peace this manifested it.
self most frequently in attacks upon
and suppression of the Impractical"
views of the extremists" This OPP
portunism consciously distorted all
the theories of Marx and Engels re-
garding the revolutionary struggle
street fighting, the general strike
and instruction. According to the
heroes of the second international all
necessary achievements for the work
ing class could be realized within the
framework of the capitalist state and
within the confines of capitalist class
legality, in all those countries where
workers could vote.
AGAINST the main current there de-
"A veloped an opposition that in its
most pronounced form embraced syn
dicalism and the general strike as a
substitute for all other class action.
This tendency predominated in France
just before the opening of the world
war. At a special congress of the
French socialist party held on July
15th-17th, to discuss instructions to
delegates at the international socialist
congress called in Vienna for August
%, 1914 (Which was never held be-
cause of the wary a resolution was
carried declaring that:
THE French party considers the
spontaneous general strike of the
workers of all countries, combined
with anti-war propaganda among
the masses, as the most workable
of all means in the hands of the
workers to prevent war and ts force
international arbitration of the
present dispute"
The main supporters of this resolu-
ton were Jean Jaures, Edward Vail
liant and Marcel Sembat. Jules Guesde
refrained from voting, although he
vigorously opposed the resolution.
Guesde, who was the leader of the
Marxist wing of the French party
pleaded that he was not opposed to
the general strike on principle, but
that the international congresses had
not sanctioned it therefore it could
not be used. The resolution itself is
weak and un-Marxian inasmuch as it's
realization is based upon the spon-
taneou action of the masses. The