The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-10-05
Leader of American Socialists Aids Carver
and Laski; DistOrt Marxism

letarian revolution hurls the ruling
class of one-sixth of the inhabitable
globe from power and establishes
its own class rule through it's own
form of state, the millionaire New
York lawyer and socialist party
leader passes the Judgment of Of
ficial social democracy as follows:
But Western Social Democra-
cy refuses to accept the Bolshe-
vk revolution as a working class
revolution and the Soviet Gov
eminent as a socialist govern
ment in the MARKHAM sense of the
word"
Certainly, Hillquit is correct when
he insists that the Soviet Govern
ment is different from the social
democratic governments Of Western
Europe. The Soviet Government is
not under the leadership of servants
of the bourgeoisie and assassins of
the working class.
But when Hillquit calls the treach-
cries of social-democracy Marxism,
he traduces the founders of the re-
volutionary movement in the most
contemplate manner, by epdeavor-
ing to depict them as theoretical
founders of a counter-revolutionary
movement.
Nothing New for Hillquit.
However, it is nothing new for
Hillquit to distort Marxism. Never,
at any time during his entire career
has this man understood Marxism.
His conception of socialism has not
altered in the slightest particle
since he became the leader of the
socialist party in this country. AS
far back as 1910 Hillquit held the
identical views regarding the rela-
ton of socialists to the capitalist
state that he holds today. Had there
been at that time group of ortho-
dox MarXists in the United States
Hillquit would have found it much
more difficult to maintain his lead
ership over the socialist party. For
tunately for Hillquit, the opposition
at that time was also MARKHAM
and the revolt against the right
wing of the socialist party became
strongly anti-parliamentary and
spent itself in neutrality-suspicious.
futility.
The syndicalist revolt against
Hillquit's legalism can be under
stood when we refer to his concep-
ton of the socialist movement as
expounded in his book, Socialism
In Theory and Practice" published
by the Macmillan Company in 1910.
Says Hillquit on page ITO of that
book;
Modern socialists indulge but
little in fantastic forecasts of the
future order of things; they fully
realize the general futility OF
such things for the practical pur-
poses of the socialist movement.
The socialist criticism is directed
against existing evils, the social
list program is a program of i'm
mediate relief, and the socialist
demands are made on the present
state. The socialists are con-
cerned only with the immediate
effects of their proposed mea-
sures on the welfare of the pres
ent population"
This is the very essence, the alpha
and omega, of opportunism. Such
conception has nothing whatso-
ever in common with Marxism,
either "early" Marxism or modern"
Marxism conceptions conjured up
by the heroes of the second inter-
national
The conception that the capitalist
state is democratic piece of ma
chinery from which can be taken
one part at time to be utilized in
the interest of the working class is
the antithesis of Marxism, which
holds that the state is an instru-