The producers news., 1935-08-02

Political unity, for one thing, is
not the same as united front. Uni
ted front means united action for
specific purposes, against wage
cuts or evictions, for the defense
Of labor prisoners etc., by organ
izations which have grave politi-
cal differences.
Membership in a political party
of the working class is not on the
same basis as membership in
union. A union is a mass organiZa-
ton to which all workers in a Civ
en- trade or industry belong-Re-
publicans, Democrats, Single Tax
ers, Workers Party, C.P., S.P.,
Baptists, Presbterians, Prohibition
lists, etc. 1t does not follow that
you can put the same Republicans
Democrats, Single Takers, Prohib-
itionists Baptists, etc. in a politi-
cal party, and have labor party,
much less a revolutionary party.
The revolutionary party does not
deal merely or primarily with i'm
mediate issues of wages, hours and
conditions of work. 1t deals with
the problem of the economic-politi-
cal system as whole, how it must
and can be changed or abolished,
etc. A revolutionary party must,
therefore, have a philosophy, a the
ory, a program. If it has the wrong
one, then at the critical moment it
will fail and betray the masses.
Take the example of Austria.
There we had a great working
class party, the Social Democratic
Party. 1t had no rivals. It had in
it practically all the best elements
in the Austrian working class.
There was likewise a powerful
trade union movement, closely lin
ked with the political party, great
cooperative cultural, sports or
ganizations. Yet this mighty and
united movement collapsed before
Fascism. Why? Because it was ba-
sed upon a false, Social Democrat
ic, philosophy and program. To the
consideration of that philosophy
and program, l shall turn in an
other letter. Suffice is now tc
point the obvious moral: the work
ing class does not want the kind
of "unity" that leads to Fascist
concentration camps, any more
than it wants the divisions that
lead to defeat at the hands Of Fas.
cism. An army moving unitedly in
, the wrong direction cannot get Il
the right place!
What, then, is the philosophy anC
program of the W.P.? 1t is no
something brand new, which W.
patented yesterday. Our Declara
, tion Of Principles says: "The w
, P. Of the U. S. is founded on tn,
great principles of revolutionar,
theory practice stated by Marx ant
, Lenin and tested by the experienc
of the class struggle on an inter
national scale, above all in tn
Russian Revolution of 1917 9TH
> October Revolution'O. The WI
carries on, in other words, tn
great revolutionary tradition {
the modern working class. To
belong Marx, and Lenin, and Trot
sky, for we are not Of those VIII
. have read him out of the revolt
= = tionary movement. To it belong
! the Russian revolution, throug
q which the one workers state, be:
con light of inspiration to til
: workers of the entire world, wa
> brought into being.
n AS the revolutionary party
s the American working class OF
2 primary task, as the DeclaratiC
d OF Principles states, "is the defe;
,r OF the enemy at home-the owe
st throw of the capitalistic goverl
& ment of the United States''. Thu
ID preceding from the basic primo
pies of Marx and Lenin, we "wi
use the revolutionary potentialiti,
OF American tradition and history
adapt our tactics to the concre
= situation and the lineup of Il
~ class forces in the U. S. in ord
~ |, to inspire and lead the Americ;
le working class and its allies
other exploited sections of the DO
u ulation, the overthrow of capt.
g lism and the building of a socie
e In which natural resources and Z
y machinery Of production will
nc used for the benefit Of the wor
y ers and not for the profit Of t,
81 few.
Of Continued next week.