The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-02-20

bodies, fuse them With the state eco~
nomic organs. In 192O-1921, during the
discussion on the trade unions, Trot-
sky and his supporters put forward
the idea to Immediately fuse the trade
unions with the economic organs. On
the other hand, the so-caued labor
opposition" put forward the idea that
the administration of economy be
completely transferred TO the ALI
Russian Congress Of Producers, the
various industries to be administered,
according to the idea Of shlyapnikov.
who headed the labor opposition, by
the corresponding trade unions.
The Trotslyists and the labor OPP
position equally, did not realize the
role Of the various sections Of peas
antry at the different stages of the
revolution. They underestimated the
Importance Of an alliance between the
working class and the middle peas
antry. Their deviations, their lines
were also founded on an incorrect
idea as to the relations between. the
working class and its vanguard, the
Party. And hence, the incorrect idea
as to the relations between the Party
and the trade unions and likewise be-
tween the Soviet organs and the trade
unions. They did not understand the
great ana complicated question Of the
trade unions as the school for COM
munism. Their positions were anti
Party, anti-LeniniSt.
This Is what Lenin said on Deem
Der 80, 1920, in his speech on the role
of the trade unions: The trade
unions are not only historically neces-
ssry, but are historically inevitable
organizations Of the Industrial pro.
letariat, which in the conditions OF
the Proletarian Dictatorship embrace
IL practically entirely" COLLECTED
Works, Rus. ed, Vol. XXyI, .. So.
Trotsky continually forgot this fun
damentaI argument From this we see
the extremely important role of the
trade unions in carrying out the Pro-
letarian Dictatorship. And this role
is extremely peculiar Embracing
practically every single Industrial
worker the trade union is an organ
ization Of the ruling class-it is not a
state organization, it is not an organ
ization of cOmpulsion. The trade
union is an educational organiza-
ton, an organization to draw In, to
train, the workers. II Is q school
school for administration, for rule, q
school for communism" In this
school we have TO deal with certain
extremely remarkable combination Of
what has remained from capitalism,
what could not but remain, and that
which is put forward, from their
midst, by the advanced revolutionary
attachments, SO to say the reyolu-
tionary vanguard Of the working
class" Not to understand this viii
inevitably lead TO mistakes in solving
the question as to the role Of the
| bAelOG ALAIOA4Os WOlhos NUS CAlsg NO4s
XXVI, PIP. 6S-64.)
The proletarian dictatorship and sos
cialist construction can only be enc
sured if the formally non-party
unions become communist in SUBJ
stance" (Resolution Of the Ninth
Party CongresS.) The vanguard, the
Party, cannot effect the Proletariap
Dictatorship if there is not such q
foundation as the unions The PEI
culiar feature Of this situation is that
the trade unions create the connec.
tions between the vanguard and the
masses, the trade unions by their day
to-day work convince the masses, the
masses Of the class which alone Ia
able to lead us from capitalism to
communism" At the same time the
trade unions are the reservoir for
state power. This is what the trade
unions are in the transition period
from capitalism to communism"
Works, Vol xxvI, p 64.y
! (To BE CONCLUDED.)