The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-11-14
THE LESSONS OF THE
ELECTIONS

ncan program" editorial of the journal of
Commerce, Nov. s..
The Democratic party had to raise denagogic-
ally the issue of unemployment first of all be-
cause the struggles of the Communist Party
forced this issue to the forefront; secondly, be-
cause only by raising certain working class de-
mands could the Democratic party get mass sup
port.
1t is also necessary to point out that the
demagogic utilization of the crisis and the misery
of the masses was not only practiced by the
Democratic candidates, but also by Republican
candidates. who refused to take upon themselves
the stigma of the Hoover administration and
some of whom pretended to fight their party
machine, such as Pinchot in Pennsylvania, La
Toilette in Wisconsin, Norris in Nebraska, etc,
not to speak of the Socialist party. The extent
of this social demagogy is best illustrated by the
statement of Pinchot of Pennsylvania. 1t is
interesting to note that this millionaire expoiter
of labor makes his campaign issue "the right
of the exploited against the privileges of the
ploiters"
THE battle is set, and l welcome the
contest. An out and out issue between the
rights of the exploited and the privileges
of the expIOiters can have but one result.
The enemy is out in the open the
mastering issue of the campaign has
come to the front, and the people are go
ing to vim
The resort to such social demagogy is not
only done as catching scheme but for more
fundamental reasons. The basic underlying fac
tor was the struggle for the masses. The purpose
is to keep the workers chained to the two party
system, to make the workers and farmers be-
lieve that their economic and political problems
can be solved in the realm of the two-party
system.
The Strategy of the Bourgeoisie.
The economic crisis the growing unemploy-
ment and the rehabilitation of the working class
created special problems for American capitalism
and consequently forced the bourgeoise to adopt
a certain system of strategy. The first basic
problem was to eXonerate American capitalism
from the responsibility for the economic crisis
and the misery of the masses; to show that the
crisis was due to factors beyond their control
The first problem could not be solved by opti-
naistc forecasts, nor by declarations of faith in
the American capitalist system. Therefore other
means had to be resorted to, and these were to
place responsibility for the economic crisis in
the United States upon the world crisis to make
the success of socialist construction in the us.
S.R. responsible for the bankruptcy of the Am
erican farmers and to make the revolutionary
struggle in the colonies against imperialism res
ponsible for the decline in factory production
and the unemployment. Secretary of War,
Patrick j. Hurley declared: 1.-The ma or causes
of the crisis lie outside the United States"
Former president Coolidge, gave the following
explanation:
1--WE have a worldwide recession in trade.
There has been a chronic revolution in I
China, economic chaos in Russia 81 and
grave disturbances in India, so that one
half of the population of the globe has
been turned into financial liability.
South American states have been in revolt.
These had their influence"
The implications in this analysis of the ruling
class are more than mere exoneraton of Amer
lean capitalism from its responsibilities for the
economic crisis and unemployment. This is part
of their strategy for war preparations, particu-
larly against the Soviet Union. This is ideolo-
gical war mobilization of the masses 1t is
means through which American capitalism wants
to get approval of it's irperialist war policies in
the colonial countries.
The second basic problem was to prove the
soundness of the capitalist system; to offset the
effects of decaying capitalism han1pering fur
ther progress of society; to divert the struggle
OF the workers into proper channels, and prevent
the revolutionary solution of the crisis The
bourgeoisie is afraid of the consequences of the
crisis, especially its effects upon the working
masses One of the leading democrats, Senator
Wagner of New York. declared that if the mas
ses see that capitalism can no longer feed the
workers and provide them with jobs, then the
capitalist system will be in danger.
Unemployment is increasing and our
economic system cannot last unless we ar
range things so that every person who
wants work can work."
1t is to save this system, that the democratic
party and the so-called progressive candidates
had to resort to social demagogy in order to
prevent the political crystalization of the mass
discomfort along revolutionary channels. In other
words, the aim of capitalism was, to select such
a government leadership that it could carry
capitalism out of the crisis, by placing the bur-
den upon the shoulders of the workers