The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1935-02-09

limitation of the rights Of the
exploiting minority and directed
against this minority"
thus for the first time, an approach
is made to the situation when the
entire population will learn to direct
and begin to direct the state"
Soviet POwer-Democracy
In the well-known pamphlet.
THE Renegade Kautsky and the
Proletarian Revolution" Lenin
sharply emphasizes what he had
many times repeated: "Proletarian
democracy is a million times more
democratic than any bourgeois
democracy. The Soviet Power is a
million times more democratic than
the most democratic bourgeois re-
public"
Only because of this democracy
Of the Soviet system was our Party
able to draw millions of workers,
tens Of millions of peasants, into
Socialist construction. In turn, the
successes of Socialist construction
now permits us to raise the question
of developing Soviet democracy fur
ther, of carrying Socialist democ-
racy to the limit.
Whereas in the Soviet Union we
can now raise this question of the
further characterization of the cleo
toral system. replacing elections not
altogether equal by an equal sys-
tenn, elections of many stages by
direct elections, open by secret cleo
tons, in all bourgeois countries we
see the governmental system devel-
optng in the opposite direction-of
the denial Of democracy and the
introduction Of faScisn
Sham Democracy
1t was a secret for no one that
up till now the capitalists have been
able to guarantee their rule over
the masses of toilers regardless of
the system Of bourgeois democracy,
regardless Of parliaments and cleo
toral laws. In all bourgeois coun-
tries, so-called public opinion" is
commanded by the capitalist press,
aided not only by the entire state
apparatus and police, but by
whole army of priests, bourgeois
writer's, professors, artists, etc.
Powerful capitalist trusts in the big
countries own hundreds Of news
papers and many thousands of
journalists and newspapermen.
Meeting halls, not to mention the
churches, are in the hands of the
ruling class, while workers papers
and the entire democratic press Is
under the heel of the police and
continually subjected to police re-
preston. In any bourgeois coun-
tries, the ruling parties in the
country and parliament are the
parties of the capitalists and land
lords. AS you see, until recently,
the capitalists could make them
selves comfortable under any sys-
tenn OF bourgeois democracy and
parltamentarism. But the situation
changed some time ago. Discon-
tent among the rank and file of
the people began to frighten the
bourgeois class. The bourgeoisie be-
gan to scrap the relics of CAPITALIST
democracy and parliamentarisrn in
their system of administration. Not
only the Communist Parties. but the
Social Democratic parties whose
leaders had displayed uneuuivocal
readiness to adapt themselves to
the bourgeois system. are deprived
OF a legal existence. All other
workers organizations are denied
legality. The Fascist reconstruction
OF the state is now developing at
lull speed IN many countries. It is
True that parliaments still exist. at
any rate on the list of government
institutions, both in Italy and Ger
many, but in practice they are not
taken seriously. Matters have he
come SO simplified in regard to the
representation in parliament. that
after the events of June 30. 1894
IN Germany, in place of the muir
dered Reichstag deputies, new den,1-
Ties were appointed simply by the
nomination of the president of the
National Socialist fraction in the
Reichstag. Now, 1t is not rare that
Inc government secures the right
to issue laws both under the con-
stltutlon and also outside the pro-
cedlre provided for in the innDerisI
constitution Germany, law of
1889. "
The principle of responsibility to
the people is being replaced by one
more convenient for the bourgeoisie
responsibility only to God and
history" Polish constitution, 1s34.)
Growth Of Fascism
In all countries, the development
OF capitalism from its pitiful bour-
geois democracy to open unlim-
tied violence by capitalist leaders is
under way. The state apparatus is
being merged together with the
ruling organizations of capitalist
barons, and the figIeaf of democ-
racy is being thrust aside. This is
taking place as a result of the in
Classification Of the internal po-
litical situation of capitalist coun-
tries, and by no means testifies to
the stability of the bourgeois sys-
tenn. Not one country has yet
proved that the transition to a
Fascist system of government by
direct violence against the masses