The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-10-26
How Can a Worker Cast His Vote
For Socialism?

"By socialists, in 1S47 understood
the hand, the adherents of the various
Utopian systems !; the other hand
the most multifarious social quacks, who. by
all manner of tinkering, prOfessed to redress
without any danger to capital and profit, all
sorts of social grievances, in both men
outside the working class movement, and look
ing rather to the educated classes for sup
( port"
These words of Frederick Engels in the
preface to the Communist Manifesto were
written to explain why it was necessary for
Karl Marx and himself to give to the revo-
lutionary working class movement of that
time the name Communist" instead of the
name socialist"
Any intelligent worker in the United
States States today who follows the cam
paign of the so-called socialist" party and
its ridiculous social quack" candidate for
president, the Reverend Norman Thomas, is
bound to come to the conclusion that the
words written by the great revolutionary
leader Engels eighty-one years ago are just
as good today in describing the "multifarious
social quacks," men outside the working
class movement, and looking rather to the
educated classes for support" who consti-
tute what is called the socialist party of the
lawyer and preacher leaders with hardly a
trace left of membership composed of work
erS.
There is but one thing that the intelligent
working class observer would want to add to
that description today: the fact that in this
day of capitalist Imperialism, in this day
when there exists Union of Socialist Soviet
Republics born of revolutionary struggle
against imperialist capitalism by the work
ers' movement founded by Marx and Enges
in this day when the militant workers of
the left wing in each remaining capitalist
country are fighting to win over the trade
unions from capitalist class collaboration to
the support of the working class cause-in
this day the social quacks" of the socialist
party have to be described as in a more
active role than that described by the words
of Engels, written so long ago, which we
here have quoted For today the organiza-
ton called the socialist party, in "a manners
of tinkering," pursues not an aimless but
consistent part as the active ally of the
forces of capitalist reaction. The socialist"
party of today is the strikebreaker in ac-
ton; it is an agent of the bosses in every i'm
portant strike, in partnership with the po-
lice; it is the sly and constant propaganda
and provocateur against the Union of So
ciaist Soviet Republics, for the benefit of
capitalism (Which it calls democracy,
among whatever portions of the working
class it can reach.
The socialist party still is able during
election times, to deceive thousands of work
ers with the mere use of the word socialist
which for so many years was the official
name of the workers revolutionary move
ment. But is it not clear now that Lenin,
the great Marxist leader of modern times,
was right when he pointed out that it is
again necessary to break sharply with the
social quacks" who in the name of Social
ISM betrayed the workers and went over to
the capitalist class during and after the
world war?
Socialism, not as an empty name but as
system of society founded through the rule
Of the working class, after the overthrow of