The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-12-23
By SAM DON

THE Socialist New Leader in the
last few months is making he
roic attempts to become Marx
list" Why this maneuver? Or is
our statement, as Oneal, the off
cial S. P. "theoretician," would call
it, but another Communist Sian
der?" Maybe it is not a maneuver
at all. Perhaps some of the new
gentlemen "Marxists" of the So
cialist Party have had real hon
est-to-goodness change of heart"
Let us meet the issue. In 1880
Norman Thomas wrote a book,
Americas Way Out. In that book
he has a special chapter aiming to
prove that Socialism can do with
out Marxisn; in fact, that Marx
ism is burden to Socialism. To
pick out one of the gems in his
book: mot only is the concept
of economic deterninism Ca perver-
sion of historical mater 'alism of
Marx with vulgar economic de-
terminiSml-SD.) inadequate to the
weight MarXistS have put on it,
but so is the more yehemently
held dogma @ of the class con-
flict." page 138.. Our en-
phaSis) So the class struggle, the
class conflict, is for the leader of
the Socialist Party dogma!
ONCE "OLD STUFF" NOW
INDISPENSABLE GUIDE"
Compare this statement with an
article which appeared in the Nov.
10Th issue of the New Leader. First,
the writer, Mr.. Gibson, begins with
a confession that when Marxism
first came TO his attention 'it was
most old stuff, antiquated." But
now 'MarXism remains an indis-
penSable guide" He already speaks
in the terms of ''we MarxiSts," etc.
We shall not enter into a discus
sion Of his various old reviSionist
conceptions of Marxism. We shall
merely emphasize the somerSault
from the official denial of Marx
ism, not only on the part of its
presidential candidate, but on the
part Of its 1928 convention, which
deleted the class struggle clause
m its platform, to the
present-day attempts on the part
of the Socialist Party to proclaim
its adherence to MarXism.
The writer Of the above-men-
toned article goes so far as to
ctata +Ioo+ aif fNHo ,vic,,,N will ,,oaIxo
us see the necessity and the in
evitability of the coming social
revolution % and it will make us
willing to participate in it," Here
we see the harmony between the
talk of peaceful revolution to the
chatter on the part of these MARY
lists" of the "inevitability of the
coming social revolution" Why
these left phrases? Because he
further on lets the cat out of the
bag: America needs Marxisrn."
Translated into the language Of
the class struggle, this means that
under the pressure of the crisis the
laws established by Marxism be-
come ever more obvious to large
masses of the workers. That, with
the sharpening Of the class strug-
gle, with the workers becoming
ever more radicalized, the phil
osophy and teachings OF Marxism
are being embraced by larger Sec
lions of the American working
class.
Only a few years ago the Social
list Party, in order to become more
American" eliminated from its
constitution the words class strug-
gle. Many articles were written
by Socialist Party leaders, includ-
ing the aforementioned book by
Thomas, to prove that Marxism
is un-American and the Socialist
Party must be purged of MARKHAM
ideas Gas il it ever suffered from
MARKHAM ideasD. But now, as
part of its maneuvers TO continue
to appear as a Party Of the work.
ing class, 1t is also attempting to
dress itself in MARKHAM phrases.
If we wish to get an idea of what
this 'Marxist," Mr.. Gibson, had in
mind, you can see it from his state
ment that "MarXism is not final
formula" that "Marxism is far
from finished" Behind these
phrases lies the conception that
you can accept Marzdsm without
following all its teachings and
particularly its revolutionary con-
illusions. Mr.. Gibson refers con-
tinually to Marx as a great thinker.
OF course Marx was the greatest
thinker OF modern times. The
compliment here To Marx, how