davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-02-20

italist reformism in general, the pur-
pose of which is to shield the cap
italists and capitalism through the
corruption, materially and ideolog-
ically, Of the labor aristocracy, and
through the latter the exertion of
demoralizing and paralyzing eff
feet upon the broad masses of the
working class. The distinguishing
difference between these two phases
Of capitalist reformism lies in the
manner in which they are presented
to the workers. While bourgeois
reformism comes to the workers
from without, urged more or less
openly by capitalist elements frankly
defending the capitalist system, So
cial reformism is presented to the
workers from within their own ranks
as the working class program, by
their own leaders. Social democracy,
the chief exponent of reformism in
the labor movement, and around
which all other labor reformistic cur
rents turn, including the A. F. of l..
bureaucracy, is in the realest sense
of the word, as Lenin said, the
agency Of the employing class in the
ranks Of the workers.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-02-20

of the employers, to readapt them
selves to the needs of the capital
lists.
Comrade Bittelman is wrong when
he categorically declares that it is
impermissible to speak of social re-
formist organizations, in a given
situation, being in crisis or decline.
He is also incorrect when he de-
clares that if it is said that a given
social reformist organization, the A.
F. of L., is in decline, this neces-
sarily implies a theory of the liqui-
dation of the A. F. of L. and of
social reformism. The dialectics of
social reformism altogether escape
him.
Let US consider the situation in
Italy, for example. There fascism,
"a method of the unconcealed die
tatorship of the bourgeoisie," (Com-
intern program) has not only sent
the socialist party and the General
Confederation of Labor into decline,
but it has practically wiped them
out entirely. Nov the GROIN of
Mexico also is in a serious crisis.)
But does the smashing of the ira
ditional social reformist organiza-
tons in Italy mean that the Italian
capitalist class has completely and
finally abandoned the social re-
formist method and will rely solely
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-02-20

In view of the foregoing analysis
let us now examine the extent to
which trustified capital, the decisive
section of capital, has tended to rely
upon direct bourgeois dictatorship
and how much it has tended to-
wards utilizing social reformism.
We must see how it has oscillated
between methods of open dictator
ship and of social reformism. This
we shall do, looking towards a solu-
ton of the question of whether or
not the A. F. of L. is in decline or
crisis, and if so, what this signifies.
1t is indisputable that American
trustified capital has in general
tended to depend more upon its own
direct methods of terrorizing and
corrupting the workers and to use
less the traditional methods and or
CARNATIONS Of social reformism than
has been the case in any other coun-
try. This has been because of the
extremely favorable objective con-
ditions under which capitalism has
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-02-20

trade union leaders"
Later, when the attacks of the
workers had been beaten back, the
capitalists tended to slough off the
Socialist" governments and to
again make larger use of direct
methods of capitalist control. Thus
says the thesis of the Sixth World
Congress of the Comintern:
Through the medium of social
democracy the bourgeoisie paved
the way for the sterilization of
capitalism (the series of coalition
cabinets in Europe). The CONSOLE
dation of capital rendered the
function of social democracy as a
governing party in a certain mea-
sure superfluous. The election of
social democrats from coalition
governments and the formation of
purely bourgeois governments
took the place of the so-called era
of democratic pacifism.'
Now we see the reverse process
again setting in, the capitalists are
increasingly utilizing the aid of So
cial democracy against the workers.
Under the pressure of the maturing
inner contradictions in the various
countries and the sharpening con-
flicts between the rival imperialist
powers on a world scale (attacks on
Soviet Union, colonial countries,
etc.. the capitalists are confronted
with a rapidly sharpening war stu
alton and general Leftward swing
OF the masses, with intensifying
class struggles. In this difficult
situation their direct methods of
control of the workers become less
and less efficacious. They conse-
quently call Increasingly into their
service their main weapon against
the working class, the social democ-
racy, but it is social democracy
constantly more tinged with fas-
cism. Hence, as the world crisis of
capitalism sharpens we hear more
and more of labor governments, So
cialist ministers, etc.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-02-20
Revolt in Venezuela
Grows; Dictator Acts
to Crush Outbreaks

CUCUTA, Colombia, Feb. 19-Re-
ports received here from Venezuela
indicate a widespread revolutionary
situation there, which the support
ers of General Cedeno, who is re-
ported marching from the south on
Caracas, are seeking to take advan-
tage of.
General Vicente Perez-Soto, presi
dent of the state of Zulia, and Pres
ident Garbi of the state of Sucre,
both close friends of the dictator,
Juan Vicente Gomez, have been ar
rested by Gomez, charged with rev.
dictionary conspiracy. Other ar
rests are pending. 1t is said large
cargo of arms for rebels was found
at the port of La Guaira.
The Cedeno revolt, while it may
make use Of the mass anger against
the Gomez regime, promises nothing
better. Cedeno is famed for his in
trigues with any and all imperial
lists who will back him and his
clique in coup. Undoubtedly, one
or another of the British or Amer
lean oil interests is backing Cedeno.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-02-20

dangerous character. Social democ-
racy is the principal instrument of
the employers 10 weaken the ideol-
ogy of the working class, to prevent
the growth of revolutionary under
standing and struggle among the
workers, by the sowing of reformist
illusions among them and by force
full breakup of their movement. 1t
is the central enemy that the Com
munist Party has to defeat in order
to gain the leadership Of the masses
in the struggle against capitalism
for the proletarian revolution.
Consequently, although we must
fight against all phases of capitalist
reformism, we must concentrate our
main fire against its most danger
Gus form, social reformism, which
in this country is represented
chiefly, industrially and politically,
by the A. F. of L. bureaucracy.
This we must be very clear about.
1t is the error OF my article not to
clearly single out social reformism
for this attack, as differentiated
from bourgeois reformism. The
same error is made in the theses of
the Majority and Minority, as well
as in many articles, etc., in our
Party literature, including my re-
cent articles on Capitalist Efficiency
Socialism, Comrade lacks article in
the Dec, 1928, Communist Inter-
national" etc.
All these documents, Of course,
mako sharp attacks against social
reformism (concretely, the A. F. of
l.. and S. P.), but their weakness is
that they do not point this out as
the main danger, as against bour-
geois reformism. 1t was the draft
Of the C. I. decision which gave the
lead to correct this mistake. How I
made my error, in seeking to focus
the attention of the Party upon
other, neglected, aspects of the prob
lem, I shall explain further along.
Let the other comrades, who have
made the same error, also give the
necessary explanations. Simply to
ignore their error and to attempt to
gloss it over will not do. Bolshevik
self criticism demands the utmost
frankness and clarity of explana-
ton.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-02-20
BY WILLIAM Y. FOSTER.

upon methods of force to hold the
workers in subsection? By no
means. Even Italian capitalism,
despite its present uncodcealed die
tatorship, will, as it confronts its
developing revolutionary crisis, have
recourse to the methods of social
reformism in corrupting the labor
aristocracy, spreading reformist il
lusions among the masses, in order
to shield itself from the revolution
airy working class. This it will
probably do thruout the development
tf LEFT" fascism which brings
forward the pseudo-labor character
istics of fascism in sharp reformist
garb or by the reconstruction of the
social democratic party and trade
unions in semi-fascist forms. So
cial democracy is the bulwark of
the capitalist system against the
proletarian revolution.
Because my article and the other
theses and articles mentioned do not
clearly analyse the decline of the
A. T. of L. in this sense of the
varying tempo of social reformism
in varying objective situations, they
are all to be sharply criticized.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-02-20

developed in this country; the ultra
rapid growth of the industries in
general and the trusts in particu-
lar, the rich natural resources of
the country, the presence of a work
ing class whose development was
relatively slow because of various
bourgeoisifying tendencies (free
land, etc., lack of heterogenity,
etc.
The capitalists have been strong
enough to, as rule, take pretty
directly in hand themselves the job
of corrupting the labor aristocracy
and of smashing back the move
ments of the masses through use
of state power, economic pressure
and bourgeois reformism. But, de-
spite this, they have not failed to
promptly call into their service the
social reformist agents wherever
and whenever they have felt the
need for them. In the United
States, as well as in Europe, social
reformism has developed with vary
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-02-20
Story of Soviet Rescue,
"Krassin" Best Seller
at Workers Book Shop

"The Krassin" is the title of a
newly-published book written by a
French Communist journalist, Maui
rice Parijanine, whose book is rap
idly approaching the best-seller
class, according to Aaron Chorover,
manager of the Workers Bookshop,
90 Union Square, who says that the
book is having the largest sale
non-fiction book has had for some
time.
The hero of the book is not an in
dividual, but a ship, an icebreaker
in the Soviet navy which quietly and
unobtrusively smashed her way
through hazardous icefloes and i'm
minent danger to rescue the sur.
vivors of the Italia.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-02-20
The Present or Third Period"

The postwar period was distinct,
one of decline for the old trade
unions in spite of all the efforts of
the bureaucracy to re-adapt them to
the needs of the employers. Now
we are entering into a new period,
which the 9th World Congress of the
Comintern characterizes as "the
third period" This is a time of
sharpening inner and outer contra
dictions of capitalism, of growing
class conflicts and world war danger.
In this period the employers, con-
fronted with the Leftward drift of
the masses and an imperative neces-
sity to press the workers into the
naturalization and war program,
tend to again call the social reform
lists more directly into their service.
This general conclusion applies not
only to the European countries but
also to the United States, which is
an integral part of the world situa-
ton.
This means that American capt.
talists will (and do) make more
direct use of the A. F. of l.. bureau
crazy in mobilizing the workers for
naturalization and war. On this we
have no dispute. The immediate
question confronting US however is,
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-02-20
sg'.T$ 1.-THE Varying Tempo of Social Reformsm.

So much for the matter of concen-
trating our fire on the main enemy,
social reformism, that is, upon the
A. F. of L. bureaucracy and the S.
T. Now to consider the question of
whether or not the A. F. of l.. is in
decline, and if this is so, does it, as
Comrade Bittelman declares, imply
the declining role of social reform
ian1?"
Although the capitalists, without
let-up, utilize social reformism to
demoralize the working class and to
break up its mass attacks, they do
this with varying degrees of inten-
sity and under various forms. So
cial reformism is not static thing
used by the employers with the
same tempo and forms regardless of
the changing objective situation. In
times Of less pressure from the
masses the employers tend to rely
more upon their own methods of
direct control, that is, force and
bourgeois systems Of reform. But
in times Of increasing attack from
the workers they tend to call social
democracy more and more directly
into their service, that is, to make
increasing use of their master wea-
pom against the workers, social re-
formism.
This rhythm has been demon
strated time and again. For ex-
ample, during the postwar revolu-
tionary struggles IN Europe the cap
italists called upon social democ-
racy more than ever before to pro-
tect them from the workers, draw
ing its leaders into all sorts Of posi-
lions of governmental power so that,
by virtue of their quality as "lead-
ers" Of the workers, they could the
better betray the working class.
The program of the Comintern de-
clares that the defeats Of the post
war revolutionary struggles "were
brought about primarily by the
treacherous tactics of the social
democratic leaders and reformist
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-02-20

without and to avoid the organiza-
ton of the conservative unions.
This did not prevent the capital
lists, however, from making use of
the A. F. of L. leaders politically,
through the National Civic Fedora
ton, the capitalist parties, ETC., to
demoralize the workers. 1t was
characteristic of this period that
great employers who would not per-
nit an A. F. of L. organizer within
mile of their industrial plants
would sit down and hob-nob with
these same organizers, or their
chiefs, in such class collaboration in
situations as the National Civic Fed
Grafton.
During the war period the CAPT
talists modified very considerably
their attitude towards the A. +. of
L. unions. Their tendency was to
make more use of social reformism.
To mobilize the workers for the war
they had to call more directly than
ever before the leaders of the A. F.
of L. into their service. Result, a
wide modification of their former
open shop policy and an extension
of the trade unions into many in
dustries. But this concession to the
A. F. of L. was made with reluc-
lance. While on the one hand allow
ing the unions freely to organize in
the railroad, ship-building and other
industries, the employers at the
same time developed the company
union movement as barrier against
too wide spread of the unions. In
many industries, notably steel, they
refused to depart from the open
shop policy and met with powerful
resistance the attempts of the work
ers to organize into the A. F. of L.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-02-20
During the Postwar Period.

During the postwar period the
pendulum swung far back in the re-
verse direction, towards the methods
of open dictatorship. The employers
generally, following the lead of big
capital, largely cast aside social re-
formism and delivered violent at
tack against the trade unions in
every industry. The state power
was used violently to smash the old
unions.
The objective of this assault, the
greatest in the history of the Ameri-
can labor movement, was not merely
to wipe out the higher wages and
shorter hours won by the workers in
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-02-20
Social Reformism the Main Danger.

or the two phases of capitalist
reformism, social reformism pre-
sents the main danger for the work
ing class. This is because of %
its strong organizational base in the
corrupted labor aristocracy and la
Dor bureaucracy, and (2) its insid
ious approach to the workers under
the guise of being the working class
program.
The social democratic leadership,
basing itself primarily upon the cor
1upted labor aristocracy and labor
bureaucracy, uses all of its great
power as the controlling head of
vast political and industrial organ
izations Of the workers to push
through it's program of social re-
form, which is only the program of
the employers disguised and which
paralyzes the action of the workers.
With the help Of the employers and
the state it makes ruthless war upon
the Communists at the head of the
increasingly revolutionary masses,
breaking strikes and otherwise de-
moralizing the workers mass at
tacks against capitalism and steer
ing it into illusory channels of re-
form. The disastrous betrayals of
the workers in the postwar revolu-
tionary struggles in Germany, in the
British general strike, as well as in
a thousand other working class bat
Ties, show how effectively the cap
italists use against the revolutionary
workers the powerful social demo-
cratic, social reformistic organiza-
ton. The treachery Of the A. F. of
L. bureaucracy and the socialist
party can only be understood in the
same sense.
Social reformism not only has
powerful organizational base in the
skilled aristocracy of labor, but its
manner of approach to the mass of
workers is far more insidious and
demoralizing than that of bourgeois
reformisnn. The social reformists,
who include the A. F. of L. bureau
cracy, typically present to the work
ers as their own program capitalist
reformism dressed up in working
class clothes.
This is what gives it its especially
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-02-20

war time, but to break the backbone
of the trade union movement. From
1919 to 1928 practically every union
in the country, excepting only a re-
latively few ultra-skilled organiza-
tions were menaced with destruction.
1t was a period of the capitalists
kicking out the social reformists
whom they no longer had such keen
need for, and the taking more
directly in hand themselves the job
of controlling and exploiting their
workers. American Imperialism, al
ready feeling the urge of its ap-
preaching several years of unprece-
dented growth and development, had
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-02-20
DISCUSSION SECTION

, capitalists continued to use these
takers extensively to betray the
workers as class through the CAPT
talist parties, the Civic Federation,
by breaking strikes of the old trade
unions, etc. Here Comrade Zack, in
his article in the Communist Inter
national" makes a serious mistake
in denying the role Of the A, F. of
L. bureaucracy as betrayers of the
whole working class, when, confused
by the refusal of the capitalists to
permit the A. F. of L. to organize
their workers into unions, he de-
clares that Screen and Companys
service to capitalism at this time
does not consist in capital accepting
Green's production efficiency brand
of company unionism,' but in de-
moralizing and disorganizing the
two million workers still within the
ranks of the A. F. of L."
The postwar period has been one
of decline for the A. F. of L. and of
actual crisis for many of its sec
tons. This is clear to all who do
not shut their eyes to realities. The
old trade unions have not only de-
clined as organs of struggle for the
workers (and to emphasize this
phase of the A. F. of L. decline was
a major aspect of my article in "The
Communist") but are also in crisis
in their general role as reformist
organizations. 1t has been a period
of ebb in the use of the social re-
formists by the employers. The old
unions have steadily crumbled in the
face of American imperialism's
policy of the industries of the open
shop plus an elaborate system of
bourgeois reformism. They have not
been able to organize even the most
highly skilled workers, although the
past several years have been ones
of unprecedented industrial activity.
On the contrary they have constantly
lost membership, organization, and
strategic position in industry. That
this is most distinctly a process of
decline and not only one of readap-
tation cannot be disputed. Comrade
Bittelman is in error when he denies
the decline and sees only a process
of readaptation. The question is
rather whether this decline still con-
tinues and what forms the readap-
tation is taking.
The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1929-02-20
Bourgeois Reto,wism and Social Refor1mism

a diminishing need for the help Of
the social reformists.
With the aid of its tremendous re-
sources, American Imperialism then
began to elaborate the most insidious
methods of direct capitalist control.
1t developed in its factories and
plants an unprecedented growth of
bourgeois reformism (backed by
ruthless open shop policy in the in
dustries) to corrupt the labor aristo-
cracy and to demoralize the broad
toiling masses, so that it might have
a free hand to develop the most in
tense exploitation of the workers.
The main features of this bourgeois
reformism Company unionism, well
fare systems, group insurance, en-
ploye stock-buying, ETC., together
with a whole series of illusions about
"the abolition of poverty" "perma-
nent prosperity" workers becoming
capitalists" etc., have summarized
under the title of Capitalist Eff
cheney Socialism, are we'll known and
need no description here.
This was a period of the minimiz-
ing of the use of the social reformist
trade unions by the employers. 1t
is correct to say, as l do in my ar
ticle in "The Communist" that al
though the A. F. of L. declined, the
spread of reformist illusions among
the workers in the industries in
creased. The big employers used
chiefly their own bourgeois reformist
apparatus, rather than the social
reformist apparatus, the A. F. of L.
Nor could all the shrieks and beg
gings and concessions and strike
breaking of the A. F. of L. leaders,
the adoption of the NEW wage
policy" "higher strategy of labor"
and the whole elaborated policy of
intensified class collaboration,
change the capitalist policy. The
employers turned a deaf ear to the
A. F. of L. bureaucracy that it be
permitted, with its company-union-
lied trade unions, to organize the
workers in the trustified industries
and thus to help the employers ex-
plot them. At the same time the