The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-11-09

THIS is in distinct contrast 70
statements he has written else
where, in which he declared that it
was the Communist International,
and its sections all over the world
who would lead the workers in the
capitalist countries TO the Uctori-
Gus proletarian revolution. Corey
supports a kind Of Communism at
large, and carefully avoids discuss
ing the most important points that
the Party raises in opposition to
non-Communists.
He discusses the past history and
the future goal Of the working class
movement in rhetorical phrases
such as American civilization de-
pending upon Communist revolu-
ton" But there is always an omi-
nous reticence when it comes to
dealing with the specific strategy
and tactics that are necessary for
the class battles Of today.
Such tactical questions he projects
into a vague future. He Jumps
them together as Special" problems
that will come up in the future
struggle for power and the Dictator
ship Of the proletariat. But merely
TO speak Of a Communism that will
come in the future is not enough.
Communism is not merely an asser-
ton Of a goal; it is a science and
a set of tactics that will enable the
working class to achieve the aim Of
a classics society.
The immediate demands and
struggles of the workers form the
starting point Of their preparation
or the realization Of this goal To
evade the tactical questions aris-
ing from their immediate problems
and actions, signifies that Corey
thought prudence, to put it mildly,
the safest tactic.
THIS is the only conclusion that
can be drawn from his failure TO
discuss the problem of the United
Front; his historical" treatment Of
the trade unions which does not
deal with the trade union questions
Of the present period; and his
avoidance of the Negro question in
the United States. which he does
not touch on until the next to
the last page. There he lists 1t
among the special" tasks Of the
American revolution, speaks alb
stractly of "unifying the struggle Of
the Negro in its social and class
aspects" and nothing more. On
the immediate question Of freeing
the Scottsboro boys, on the savage
oppression of the Negro masses and
their struggle for liberation, Corey.
as on all other immediate political
questions, fails to take stand.
Another example of his evasive
position and his dissertation from
present problems is his ambiguous
talk about the necessity Of creating
an American Marxist literature"
with this present volume presum-
ably the first adequate creation Of
this literature. But there is a
tradition Of American Marxist htera-
ture that dates back to the work
Of Marx and Engels on American
problems. There is the American
Communist analysis of capitalism
IN the United States in the period
of its decline which began with
Lenin and the theses of the Comm
tern. His dismissal Of this body
Of doctrine. even by inference, is
proof that Corey also dismisses the
application of its principles by the
Communist Party in the daily strug-
giles of the American workers. An
ironical aspect Of his evasiveness is
that his own graphs and tables
prove the correct stand of the Com
munist Party on such questions as
the N. r. A. and the future course
Of the New Deal.