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Watkinsfw^^^^' Revolutionary Communismin the United States


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Reprinted from The American Political Science Review, Vol. XIV, No. 1, Februarj". 1920

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REVO LIT IONARY COMMUNISM IN THE UNITEDSTATESGORDON S. WATKINSUniversity of Illinois "'

On October 15, 1919, a press dispatch from Buffalo, New York,indicated that the primary election returns in that city gave anaverage of about three hundred votes to the three candidateswhose names appeared on the ballot as representatives of theCommunist party the protagonist of the soviet form of govern-ment in the United States. The total number of votes cast was54,000, which shows that the Communist vote was insignifican^t,-numerically. Newspapers ridiculed the diminutiveradicai'vofe.All phenomena have a genesis, and it is the fact that a Communistballot was cast rather than the quantitative character of the vc^tcthat has significance for the student of political philosophy an4action. To those who saw the revolutionary left wing of the old'Socialist party organize the Communist party and the Commun-ist Labor party in Chicago during the first week of September.1919, this initial appearance of the revolutionary Communists inAmerican political life presages important developments. Theevent was heralded by revolutionists in this country and in Eu-rope as the emergence of a new era in the political and economiclife of the United States. The widespread dissemination ofultra-radical propaganda in connection with recent strikes isfurther evidence of the revolutionary purposes of Communists

[, in America.Optimistic prophecies are prevalent to the effect that bolshev

ism wdll find no fertile soil in the United States, since Americaworkmen are too prosperous to become susceptible to revolutioary political and industrial philosophy. Similar predictions wevoiced even on the floor of the Socialist emergency convent?and the Communist Labor party convention last Septeml

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REVOLUTIONARY COMMUNISM IN THE UNITED STATES 15Recent developments in American socialism throw a great dealof light on speculations of this nature. , As a matter of fact thesoviet form of government, with the identical ad interim dictator-ship that obtains in Russia at the present time, is being openlyadvocated in the United States by the Communist party and theCommunist Labor party. Both of these parties have declaredadherence to the Third (Communist) International, which wasconvened in Moscow by Nicholai Lenin and Leon Trotzky duringthe early part of 1919. These groups of American communistsare self-expressed supporters of Russian bolshevism, and the prin-ciples which they have formulated and are expounding vigorouslywould, if adopted, introduce a communist regime with all of itsrevolutionary implications.An analysis of revolutionary American communism will beclearer if we review briefly the present status of American social-

ism and the developments that have determined this status.American socialism now comprises a moderate right wing, avacillating center left, and an extremely radical left wing. Thethree divisions are officially organized into the Socialist party,the Communist Labor party, and the Communist party, respec-tively. It is impossible to determine accurately the numericalstrength of these parties, on account of the fact that the member-ship of the old Socialist party has not yet settled sufficiently towarrant an official enumeration. The officials of each party,]however, have ventured an estimate of the comparative strength

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of the three groups. Prior to the recent split in its ranks, theSocialist party had a membership of approximately 100,000. Ofthis number it still claims 55,000, and concedes a membership of35,000 to the Communist party and 10,000 to the CommunistLabor party. ^ The Communist party claims a membership of60,000 and it estimates that the Socialist party and the Com-munist Labor party have about 25,000 and 10,000 respectively,which leaves 5000 members unaccounted for.^ The estimatemade by the Communist Labor party includes 30,000 members

1 Estimate of Mr. Otto Branstetter, Executive Secretary of the Socialist party,in a letter to the writer, October 1-t, 1919.

2 The Communist, September 27, 1919, p. 2.


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16 THE AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE REVIEW) for itself, and 25,000 for the Communist party, which leaves45,000 still in the ranks of the Socialist party.^ It is highly prob-

iable that with the lapse of several months an official census willfind about 46,000 persons in the ranks of the Sociahst party, 40,000in the Communist party, and 14,000 in the Communist Labor

i party, unless a merger between the last two parties is effected inthe meantime, which wôuld throw a majority of American So-cialists to the surviving left wing party.

There is not space here to review in detail the causes that haveproduced the schism in American socialism.'* A brief summaryof these conditions, however, is necessary to a proper under-standing of the differences that obtain between the three parties.Generally speaking, the disintegration and the reconstruction in thestructure of American socialism are due to the refusal of theright wing faction to abandon its program of opportunism forthe ultra-revolutionary platform leading to the establishment ofa proletarian dictatorship which wâs demanded bj'- the left wingof the old Socialist party. This irreparable breach in AmericansociaUsm is the logical sequence of a similar crisis, disruption,and reconstruction in European sociahsm, in w^hich the moder-ates still adhere to the Second International while the revolu-tionists accept the leadership of Lenin and Trotzky within theThird (Moscow) International.

Like its European contemporaries American socialism even be-fore the wôrld war was experiencing unprecedented disaffectionamong its adherents, and this discontent has gained momentumduring the subsequent years. Naturally enough, the foreign-language federations of the old Socialist party were most largelyresponsible for the development of dissatisfaction with the party'sprogram of opportunism. Pronounced revolutionary tendenciesat the St. Louis Convention of the Sociahst party in April, 1917,forced the adoption of a militant declaration against the wâr,and led to the arrest of the party's leaders. Increasing impa-tience on the part of the revolutionary membership and

^ The Communist Labor Party News. September. 1919, p. 1.* See an article by the writer on "The Present Status of Socialism in the UnitedStates," Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 124, No. 6 (December, 1919), pp. 821-830.


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REVOLUTIONAEY COMMUNISM IN THE UNITED STATES 17its enthusiasm for the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia led tothe organization of a Communist Propaganda League in Chicago,on November 7, 1918. There soon followed general agitation forthe adoption of a revolutionary Communist program of action,emphasizing the necessity of a radical reconstruction in the thoughtand practices of American socialism. The left wing section ofthe SociaUst party was organized in New York City early in 1919;and immediately the Lettish, Russian, Lithuanian, Polish, Ukrain-ian, South Slavic, Hungarian, and Esthonian federations of theSocialist party, representing about 25,000 members, declaredtheir adherence to the program of the left wing faction. Thusfar no general movement for secession from the Sociahst partyhad appeared; but the opposition had developed remarkablestrength, electing 12 out of 15 members of the national executivecommittee at the party election. The election, however, wasdeclared fraudulent by the old national executive committee, andthe latter decided to remain in office until the emergency conven-tion, caUed for August 30, 1919, although its term of officeshould have expired on June 30.^ This action of the committee,together with its suspension of the foreign language federations,stimulated the opposition of the left wing.

Local Boston, Local Cleveland, and the left wing section ofthe Socialist party of New York City issued a call for a nationalleft wing conference, which convened in New York City on June21, 1919. Ninety-four delegates representing twenty states, andchosen especially from large industrial centers, ''the heart of themilitant proletarian movement," attended this assembly. Atthe outset of this conference there developed a difference ofopinion on the alternatives of organizing immediately a newparty devoted to the revolutionary class struggle or of continuingthe fight for control of the old Socialist party, at least until theemergency convention. The proposal to organize at once anew party was defeatfed by a vote of 55 to 38, whereupon 31 dele-gates, representing for the most part the Russian federations,

* Report of Louis C. Train a, international secretary of the Communist party: of America, to the executive Committee of the Communist International. The\Communist, October 11, 1919.


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18 THE AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE REVIEWdecided to withdraw. Later this minority of thirty-one issued acall for a convention to open in Chicago on September 1, for thepurpose of organizing the new party, thus repudiating all par-ticipation in the Socialist emergency convention. The majoritydelegates at the left wing conference adopted a program togain control of the old party, and to assure the success of thisprogram a national left wing council was elected to combat thereactionary right wing faction.By August 1, the national left wing council was convinced thatthe majority of the membership represented at the left wing con-ference had repudiated the action of the majority delegates andhad indorsed the proposal for the organization of a new party.Consequently, the left wing council joined the organizing com-mittee, elected by the minority delegates, in issuing a call for aconvention to organize a Communist party. Out of this conven-tion, held in Chicago during the first week of September, 1919,emerged the Communist party of America, with the dual purposeof waging war against reactionary socialism and against capital-j.sm. Meanwhile, the left wing executive committee of theSocialist party, elected by the revolutionary faction, was deniedrecognition and office by the old national executive committee.The left wing forces, however, continued their struggle for partycontrol, and carried hostilities to the floor of the emergency con-vention. There the superior parliamentary tactics of the rightwing leaders spelled defeat for the revolutionists, whereupon thelatter, led by John Reed, John Carney, and William Bross Lloyd,convoked a separate convention in the I. W. W. hall and organ-ized, on August 31, the Communist Labor party of America.The emergency convention of the Sociahst party did not in-

dorse the Communist International, but submitted the questionof indorsement to the membership through referendum, whileboth of the Communist conventions accepted without qualifica-tion the pronouncements of the Communist International andformulated their programs and platforms with Russian bolshev-ism as the major inspiration. It should be noted here that al-though the Communists in the United States are divided into twodistinct parties and present center left and extreme left factions,


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REVOLUTIONARY COMMUNISM IN THE UNITED STATES 19there is a probability that a process of amalgamation will takeplace sooner or later, which will leave American socialism withbut two major parties-the Socialist party on the right and theCommunist party on the left. If this consolidation does takeplace the Communist Labor party, being the weaker of the com-munist groups, will doubtless become extinct. Thus far extensive .negotiations seeking a merger of these two Communist partieshave failed on account of the unwillingness of both to effect acompromise on the question of party control and the absence ofan acceptable basis of fusion. The rank and filethe unknownquantity in the present reconstruction of American sociaUsmmaysoon accomplish what the officials of the two parties have failedto do.

' This survey of the conditions that have necessitated a recon-struction in American socialism suggests that there is a funda-mental basis of disagreement between the Socialists and the Com-munists. This fundamental difference is that the Socialists, ^jrepresented in the Socialist party, accept parliamentary action as ,an effective and desirable means of overthrowing capitalism and ,introducing the socialist state; while the Communists, repre- jsented in the two Communist parties, oppose parliamentary par- 'ticipation except for purposes of propaganda, and advocate therevolutionary extermination of capitalism as the initial step inestablishing a dictatorship of the proletariat, preceding the or- jganization of the communist society. The program of the Social- 'ist party, therefore, is moderate and opportunistic, while the pro-gram of the revolutionary Communist parties is ultra-radical,deprecating all compromise with existing political and economic \institutions and rejecting parliamentary reform as a means of |revolutionizing the social order. Between moderate sociaUsm_Jand revolutionary communism there is no basis for compromiseand cooperation.^ Revisionist and reformist socialism organizedwithin the Second International is condemned as counter-revo-lutionary in philosophy and action, a betrayer of proletarian in-terests and the prophet of reactionary state capitalism. State

* The Communist, September 27. 1919, pp. 1, 6; The Communist Labor PartyNews, September, 1919, p. 1.


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20 THE AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE REVIEWcapitalism, precisely that type of state capitalism advocated bymoderate socialism, is viewed by the Communists as the highestexpression of imperialism and as designed to buttress capitahsmin further exploitation of the proletariat. Germany is the Com-munists' example par excellence of what might be expected under

state capitalism. Moderate socialism proffers a capitaUst par-Tliamentary republic and not a proletarian dictatorship.' Revo-lutionary communism and reformist socialism, therefore, holddifferent conceptions of the state; the former adheres to thetheory that there must be a revolutionary demolition of the cap-italist state and organization of a new state under proletariandomination; the latter accepts the bourgeois parliamentary stateas the basis for the evolutionary transition from capitalism tosocialism.American communism, like Russian bolshevism, its major in-

spiration, is an attempt to return to pure Marxism and to oblit-erate every vestige of pseudo-Marxism represented in opportunis-tic socialism. In speaking with the leaders and the rank and fileof American Communists one is impressed with their strong de-sire to return to the first principles of communism as enunciatedin the manifesto of 1848; and communist literature is repletewith orthodox interpretations of the revolutionary class struggle,the materialistic conception of history, the theory of surplusvalue, and the law of the concentration of capital. Moderatesocialism both in Europe and in America have wandered farafield from these fundamental articles of communist faith; andAmerican communists, accepting the challenge of what ihey be-lieve to be the new era of proletarian dictatorship, are organizingtheir forces after the manner of their Russian comrades with aview to reconstructing the whole sociahst movement on the basisof unadulterated Marxism. One need but examine the manifes-toes and programs of the Communist parties to grasp the signifi-cance and determination of this purpose.^ The program of revolutionary communism in the United States;may be summarized briefly as follows: (1) complete disruption

' Manifesto of the Communist Party, The Communist, September, 1919, pp. 6-8.


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REVOLUTIONARY COMMUNISM IN THE UNITED STATES 21of the capitalist state and the elimination of every vestige ofbourgeois parliaments; (2) organization of a dictatorship of theproletariat as the initial step in the communist reconstruction ofthe social order, subsequent to the anticipated successful socialrevolution; (3) participation in political campaigns under capi-talism to be of secondary importance, devoted only to the taskof disseminating communist propaganda against the bourgeoisstate; (4) nominations for public office and participation in elec-tions to be limited to legislative bodies, as municipal councils,state legislatures, and Congress; (5) representatives of Americancommunism in these assemblies not to introduce or support po-litical and social reform measures, but to use their parhamentarypowers and privileges in exposing capitalistic oppression of theproletariat; (6) absolute maintenance of the revolutionary classstruggle and no compromise or cooperation with political groupsnot committed definitely and openly to that struggle, as theSocialist party. Labor parties, the Non-Partisan League, andmunicipal ownership leagues; (7) major activities of the Com-munist parties to be carried on in the industrial struggles in orderto develop a general understanding of the strike in relation tothe final overthrow of capitalism,ithat is, to emphasize the revo-lutionary implications of the mass strike rather than the immedi-ate purposes of the local walkout; (8) trade-unions to be revolu-tionized and industrial unionism to be advocated as against thereactionary craft unionism of the American Federation of Labor;(9) cooperation with the revolutionary proletariat of the world tobe encouraged, in order to guarantee the success of the Commun-ist International and pave the way for the introduction of worldcommunism comprised of free, coordinated, cooperating commun-ist societies.^ The program of revolutionary communism in the United States^

is similar to the program of Russian bolshevism, namely, com-plete disruption of the capitalist state, oppression and expropria-jtion of the bourgeoisie, the organization of a proletarian dicta-! 8 The Program of the Communist Party, The Communist, September 27, 1919,!p. 9; The Program and Platform of the Communist Labor Party, The Comm^mist[Labor Party News, September, 1919, p. 2.


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22 THE AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE REVIEWtorship and, eventually, the reconstruction of the social orderupon a communistic basis. The immediate objective of theCommunist attack is t^e political and economic foundations ofthe present society. In the Communist program there is no pro-vision for a temporizing compromise with the institutions thatconstitute the major defenses of capitalism, such as private prop-erty, the wage system, the courts, and the parliamentary struc-ture. There is to be no gradual growing into socialism. Evo-lutionary development has no place in communist parlance;revolutionary extirpation of all those institutions the continuedexistence of which might facilitate counter-revolutionarj^ move-

, ments is the strategy par excellence of communism. ''The im-' mediate objective of the proletarian revolution is the conquestof the power of the state; and this means the annihilation of thebourgeois state, its parliamentary system and bourgeois democ-racy, and the introduction of a new 'state' comprised in the dicta-torship of the proletariat," states the international secretary of

\^the Communist party of America.^The proletarian struggle, then, is essentially a political strug-

gle. It is political in the sense that its objective is politicaltheannihilation of all parliamentary defenses of capitalist power,and the substitution therefor of a proletarian commonwealth.It cannot be emphasized too strongly that communism does notpropose to "capture" the bourgeois parliamentary machinery, asdoes moderate socialism, but rather to conquer and destroy itcompletely, for "As long as the bourgeois state prevails, the capi-talist class can baffle the will of the proletariat."^" This immedi-ate aim of American communism is identical with that executedby Lenin and Trotzky in the Bolshevik Revolution, and is be-lieved to be a tactical necessity in disposing of the old socialstructure and defending the communist order in its germinalperiod.

For the realization of their immediate purposes the Commun-ists have outlined a specific program of action. There is to be,

8 Fraina, Louis C. Revolutionary SocialismA Study in Socialist Reconsirue- \tion, p. 213.

1" Manifesto of the Communist Party, The Communist, September 27, 1919, p 7.


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REVOLUTIONARY COMMUNISM IN THE UNITED STATES 23first, the development of a general political strike in which elec-tions will be boycotted, as they were in Russia by the Bolshevikiin the elections for the Second Duma in 1906, and, second, _the^germination of mass action through the general strike. The!method of the Communist attack, therefore, is to be both eco-nomic and political. The nature of the political boycott is not_at all clear from statements issued by the Communist parties.From the expressions on the convention floor it seems that thepolitical strike is to consist in nonparticipation in elections,which is to serve the purpose of a silent proletarian taboo of theparliamentary regime of capitalism and to emphasize the irre-concilability and incompatibility of bourgeois and proletarianinterests. The pronouncements of the Communist groupsthemanifestoes, platforms, and constitutionsdo not contain pro-vision for such a boycott of elections and do not, moreover, pre-clude election to public office. ^"^Although the Communists emphasize the fact that not one of

the great teachers of scientific socialism has taught the possibilityof social revolution through the use of the ballot, they do notignore entirely the value of voting, or the election of revolution-ists to public office, provided these achieve beneficial results forthe workers in their great economic struggle. Cognizance is takenof the fact that political campaigns and the election of partyrepresentatives to seats in parliamentary bodies provide oppor-tunities for exposing capitalist democracy, educating the workersto a realization of their class interests, and demonstrating thenecessity of overthrowing the existing regime. The Communistparties entertain no hope of achieving their purposes at thepolls, and warn their adherents against placing confidence in leg-islative reforms under capitalism.

There is nothing in the program of the Communist Laborparty that would prohibit its parliamentary representatives fromintroducing and supporting legislative measures in the interest ofthe workers, and on the whole the party appears not adverse toreformative statutes of any character, provided these advancethe proletarian conquest of the state.^^ The Communist party is

11 Program of the Communist Labor Party, The Communist Labor Party News,October, 1919, p. 2.


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24 THE AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE REVIEWless vacillating and opportunistic, for its program provides that(1) participation in parliamentary campaigns is of secondary im-portance, to be used only for the purpose of revolutionary propa-ganda; (2) parliamentary representatives of the party shall notintroduce or support reform measures ; (3) Communist represen-tatives shall use the parliamentary forum to interpret and empha-size the revolutionary implications of the class struggle, to exposethe oppressive class character of the capitalist state, and to showthat parUamentarism and bourgeois democracy deceive theworkers with reform palliatives. ^^ in order to concentrate itspolitical activity and to prevent degeneration of parliamentaryaction into reformism, the Communist party limits nominationsfor public office to legislative bodies, including municipal councils,state legislatures, and the national Congress. For the same reasonsthe party prohibits cooperation with organizations not committedto the revolutionary class struggle. ^^ A similar position in regardto such cooperation is taken by the Communist Labor party. ^^

In relegating legislative reforms to a position of minor im-portance or completely ignoring such measures, American com-munism differs from other reform movements, including moder-ate socialism. For this reason its^rogramJsJiQtlikely tciproveattractive to practically minded American workmen. Fromparliamentarism the Communist turns to mass action as the mosteffective means of expediting the social revolution, which he de-clares to be inevitable. If the immediate aim of communism ispolitical in character, its method of achievement is both politicaland economic. Politico-economic mass action is the sine quanon of the social revolution. According to the Communist analy-sis of historical developments, isolated economic action in theform of craft unions and sporadic strikes, and parliamentary actionin the bourgeois assemblies, have proved futile when viewed fromthe standpoint of the revolutionary class struggle. The newphase into which the class struggle is just entering necessitates

12 The Program of the Communist Party, The Communist, September 27, 1919,p. 9.

" Ibid.1* The Communist Labor Party News, October, 1919, p. 2.


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26 THE AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE REVIEWate socialism is giving place to revolutionary communism. Thusunionism will become an agency for militant action in theaggressive struggle of the proletariat against capitalism, andindustrial union organization, divorced from the methods andpolicies of autonomous craft unions and 'inspired with therevolutionary purpose, becomes a vital factor in the proletarianrevolution."1^

Industrial unionism develops its real power among theunskilled workers who, untrammeled by obstructions of craft dif-ferentiation and stratification and welded into a common moldby machine industry, possess a clear conception of group inter-ests and cultivate the esprit de corps of the industrial proletariat.It is this industrial "consciousness of kind," this vigorous sense ofcommon interests, that makes industrial unionism, structurallyand functionally, the peculiar unionism of the unskilled workers.American communism has ingeniously sensed this peculiar psy-chology of the untrained mass.^^ The Communists, however,find limitations even in industrial unionism, on account of theimpossibility of organizing the whole working class into industrialunions under the capitalistic regime, and they contend that toachieve the social revolution it will be necessary to enlist theworkers, organized and unorganized, by means of revolutionarymass action. 18 Nevertheless, industrial union organization is tobe effected whenever and wherever possible, and the generalstrike is to be generated; for as strikes become general they''acquire political significance, action becomes the action of themass, the integrated action of an integrated proletariat. "^^CTo marshal the forces of the militant masses, American com-unism has determined to function through local and districtunits of the two parties assigned to the task of establishing inti-

mate contact with the workers in the miUs, workshops, and mines.It is the business of these party units to initiate and support

" The Communist, September 27, 1919, p. 2.1^ Cf. The Programs, Platforms, and Manifestoes of the Communist Parties,

and Revolutionary SocialismA Study in Socialist Reconstruction, by Louis C.Fraina.

18 Manifesto, Program, Constitution, etc., of the Communist Party, 1919, p. 12.15 Fraina, op. cit., p. 187.


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REVOLUTIONARY COMMUNISM IN THE UNITED STATES 27plans for the organization of labor along the lines of the shopsteward and shop committee movement in England. More-over, Communist propagandists are to encourage the organiza-tion of these shop committees into industrial councils, districtcouncils, and a central council of all industries, as proposed underthe WTiitley Plan.^o These committees and councils afford aneffective medium for the dissemination of Communist doctrines,and suggest the practicability of the administration of industryby the workers. Paradoxical as it may seem, many employers,both in Europe and in the United States, have inaugurated simi-lar schemes of shop committees and industrial councils with thehope of satisfying the workers' demand for industrial democracyand preventing the spread of Communist philosophy. There islittle doubt, also, that industrial councils have been introduced to"break the back of trade-unionism," precisely what the revo-lutionary Communist hopes will be achieved.The organization of a general type of industrial unionism em-

bracing the Industrial Workers of the World, the Workers' Inter-national Industrial Union, independent and secession unions,militant unions of the American Federation of Labor, and theunorganized workers, becomes the major task of American com-munism for two reasons. First, because this type of proletarianorganization makes possible the mass strike, with its revolu-tionary implications, constantly suggesting the feasibility of theconquest of capitalistic political power ;2i and, second, because^industrial unionism, organizing the workers by industries, be-comes potentially, if not actually, the fundamental basis of thenew communist society, together with other administrative agen-cies necessary to correlate the nonindustrial functions of the newregime.22 ''After the conquest of power the industrial unionsmay become the starting point of the communist reconstructionof society.""

'"' Special Report on Labor Organization, The Communist Labor Party News,October, 1919, p. 2; The Program of the Communist Party, The Communist: Sep-tember 27, 1919, p. 9.

21 Manifesto of the Communist Party, The Communist, September 27, 1919, p. 8." Cf. Fraina,. op. cit., p. 220.2' Manifesto of the Communist Party, The Communist, September 27, 1919, p. 8.


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28 THE AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE REVIEWThe social revolution, which communism predicts will come

through mass action generated in the industries, and which is toassume political character and significance, will introduce the

) dictatorship of the proletariat as it did in Russia. American/ Communists entertain no hope of immediate revolution; it may

[ be a decade away, but it is inevitable. Their present task, there-fore, is to prepare the workers for the administration of the stateand industry during the approaching cataclysm, which will comeat a moment of utter collapse of the old structure of society.Communism teaches no obedience to the bhnd fatahsm of whatit terms pseudo-Marasm, but purposive and conscious action inthe interest of proletarian triumph. The creation of mass actionis all important in the immediate policies of communism. ''Un-der the impulse of the crisis, the proletariat acts for the conquestof power, by means of mass action. Mass action concentrates andmobilizes the forces of the proletariat, organized and unorganized;it acts equally against the bourgeois state and the conservativeorganizations of the working class."-* To the communist philos-opher the vital facts of industrial evolution are the concentra-tion of the machinery of production in the hands of a few, theincreasing tendency toward combinations and trusts, and theleveling down of all workers to the ranks of the unskilled. Tothese facts the unskilled proletariatthe hope of communismis expected to respond through mass action for the appropria-tion of political power and the organization of the proletariandictatorship.The dictatorship of the proletariat is a recognition of the fact

that in the communist reconstruction of society the proletariatalone counts as a class." This dictatorship, however, is designednot only to perform the negative task of crushing the old orderof capitalism, but also the work of constructing a new societywhich is to function not in the government of persons but in themanagement of production and distribution. The proletariandictatorship is viewed by the Communist as a necessary buttemporary expedient in effecting the transition from capitahsm to

" Ihid.26 Ibid.


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REVOLUTIONARY COMMUNISM IN THE UNITED STATES 29communism. Out of the disorder and chaos of the disruptedcapitalist regime the revolutionists believe there will arise thecomplete structure of a new social order of communist socialismindustrial self-government of the communistically organizedproducers. When this structure is perfected, which implies ab^solute economic and political expropriation of the bourgeoisie,the dictatorship is to end. To undersj;and the Communists' jus-,tification of this ruthless ad interim dictatorship one must recallthat to them the state is a symbol of intimidation and coercion,functioning always in the interest of the ruling class. Thus,with the conquest of political power by the workers who becomethe dominant authority, political rights and recognition are de-nied the bourgeois class.^^ During the transition from capitalismto communism, therefore, democratic government as it is gener-ally interpreted cannot obtain; rather must there be a proletarianautocracy.

All this prompts the query: who constitutes the proletarianclass? The term proletariat as used by the Communists refersto that class of persons which is dependent for its livelihood uponselling its labor power to the owners of industry.^^ The profes-sional and skilled classes receive little consideration, and are verylikely classified with the petite bourgeoisie. It is the unskilled whoare the real proletariat in Communist terminology, for the skilledand professional groups think in terms of their craft, of individualsand their property, while the unskilledthe standardized productof modern industrythink in terms of the mass. ''The SocialRevolution can be carried through only by the industrial prole-tariat of unskilled labor, in spite of and acting against all the ideasand activity of all other social groups."^^ And again, ''The ma-chine proletariat of average unskilled labor constitutes the typi-cal proletariat in the Marxian sense," and "constitutes the mate-rial basis of SociaUsm."29 Marx and Engels, it will be recalled,

" Fraina, op. cit., pp. 214, 217." Mr. C. E. Ruthenberg, Executive Secretary of the Communist Party, in aletter to the writer, November 20, 1919.2** Fraina, op. cit., p. 137. The italics are ours." Fraina, op. cit., p. 143.


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30 THE AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE REVIEWthought of the proletariat as the class of modern wage-laborerswho, having no means of production of their own, are reduced toselling their labor-power in order to live.^" As the AmericanCommunists interpret the term '' wage-laborers," it applies evi-dently only to the unskilled in industries and agriculture.Beyond the period of the proletarian dictatorship the program

of American communism does not provide a definite form ofsocial structure. Not an outline of the future society, but aprogram of action is the present purpose of communism. Toattempt to describe the structural and functional aspects of thenew social order, other than those indicated in the form of organi-zation created to wage the class struggle, would be Utopian, saythe Communists. It is expected that the framework of the newsociety will be made during the transition,* under the surveillanceof the ruling proletarians. The norms of the communist orderwill evolve in this period. At first industrial administration willfunction through general organizations known as councils of work-ers. These administrative units are to be integrated and adaptedto industrial divisions. It is at this juncture that industrialunionismis to function, becoming the basis of the new communistsociety, together with such other administrative agencies as mayprove necessary to coordinate the nonip^dustrial activities of thepeople. ''Each industry will constitute a department of the in-dustrial state ; the workers in each industry will organize in localcouncils and these unite into general industrial councils coordi-nated with other general industrial councils into a central ad-ministration of the whole productive process. "^^ The function ofthe central administration is to be directive, not repressive; posi-tive, not negative, coordinating and guiding the machinery ofproduction and distribution. The distribution of the product isto be determined ultimately on a purel}- communistic basis:from each individual according to his ability, to each according tohis needs.^"^

^ The Communist Manifesto, translation by Mr. Samuel Moore, p. 12.i Fraina, op. cit., p. 220."Cf. Ihid.


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REVOLUTIONARY COMMUNISM IN THE UNITED STATES 31This is identical with the program of Russian bolshevism. The

Bolshevists, it will be remembered, have two general forms oforganization: the All-Russian Council of Soviets with its execu-tive committee and people's commissars, and the SupremeCouncil or commissariat of public economy. The functions ofthe former are political in their character, constituting the politi-cal government of Bolshevist Russia during the period of recon-struction. Police powers to preserve order within, control ofthe army and navy to protect the soviet republic from externaland internal enemies, administration of the foreign affairs of thecommune, and the adjudication of appeals in industrial matters,are some of the functions performed by the soviet administrativeunits, coordinated in the AU-Russian Council. With the defeat

* 1of the enemies of the commune and the completion of the social-izing process this political machinery will cease to function.The Supreme Council of Public Economy administers the indus-trial affairs, such as determination of wages, apportionment ofoutput, distribution of rations, insurance and relief of workers,technical education, and recreation.As in Russia, the proletarian dictatorship devised by American

communism is to be a terr^orary makeshift created to dispose ofcounter-revolutionary movements. As the political machineryof the ad interim period completes its work, that is, when theopposition of the bourgeoisie is broken, the dictatorship of theproletariat will disappear and with it the political state and allits class distinctions. The basis of the communist society willbe industrial, not territorial, and its constituents, therefore, willbe the organized producers. The other elements of the popula-tionthe petite bourgeoisiewill participate and function in thisnew proletarian order onlj^ as they are absorbed into the indus-trial structure and become useful producers.^^ The communistsociety, it is contended, will be undemocratic only to those whoare not proletarians. Within the communist structure itseK allare to become proletarians and productive labor wiU be the basisof franchise.

" Fraina, op. cit., p. 217.


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32 THE AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE REVIEWThe philosophy and program of American communism invites

adverse criticism at several points. First, its disregard of par-liamentarj'' action and its opposition to legislative reforms areunfounded denials of the efficacy of the ballot in improving thestatus of the workers and other classes in society. It is concededthat social reform has faUed to usher in a proletarian millennium,but this does not constitute proof of the futility of legislativereforms. The history of social legislation is replete with splendidachievements of parliamentary action in behalf of the workers.Communism's rejection of pragmatic opportunism seems unwisein a country like the United States, where with effective politicalorganization much can be done to defend the interests of the so-called proletariat.

In the second place, the egalitarian philosophy, out of whichsprings the dictum "from each person according to his ability,and to each according to his needs," has never been generallyaccepted as practicable, and its adoption in this country is veryunlikely. A system of "distributive justice" that is based uponneeds rather than upon contributive effort is to many personsnot justice at all, but expropriation of the industrious and ef-ficient for the benefit of the inefficient and indolent. Such asystem of distribution would very likely destroy the initiative andenterprise that have constituted the potent forces in socialprogress.

Third, it is difficult to justify, even as a temporary expedient,the autocratic proletarian dictatorship by a revolutionary minor-ity who, during the transition from capitalism to communism, areto deny all rights and privileges to the other classes of societyand permanently expropriate them. The refusal to permit theorganization of a constituent assembly to determine the structuraland functional aspects of the new society is the antithesis of theAnglo-Saxon concept of democracy.

Finally, the abolition of the political state seems a presumptionin favor of anarchism. To abolish parliamentary governmentof persons and establish in its stead a management of industrialprocesses presumes that the production and distribution of wealthare entirely divorcible from persons as producers and distribu-


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REVOLUTIONARY COMMUNISM IN THE UNITED STATES 33tors. Unless the human factor in these processes can be stand-ardized to react altruisticall}^, authority must be delegated tosome person or body of persons to compel obedience, or else orderwill be replaced by chaos and anarchy. Anarchism is the nega-tion of all authority, whether political, economic, or religious;communism accepts unlimited state power and authority duringthe transition from capitalism to communism, beyond which allgovernment of persons is to cease.^* If in their future society theCommunists propose to continue the industrial councils of thetransition period, it is difficult to see how there can be govern-ment of things apart from government of persons. Moreover,should the Communists, during their reconstruction of society,find that the continuation of political councils like the Soviets isa prerequisite to order and progress, it is highly probable thatthese councils would be no more democratic and truly represen-tative of the entire population than political caucuses and legis-lative committees have been under the present system. Dele-gated authority, under communism, w^hich would seem impera-tive for the maintenance of order, would doubtless be open tothe same danger of abuses of power as now obtains under theirarch enemy''Capitalistic Parliamentarism."Despite the destructive character of its program, the uncerHtainty and vagueness of its plans for the future social order, and/the unsoundness of many of its doctrines, American communismjis gaining a large following among the industrial w^orkers andjpromises to become an important influence in our political andjeconomic life. For these reasons it commands the thought-ful consideration of every student of political and economic!philosophy. '

34 Q "The Russian Revolution," by N. Lenin, The New International, June30, 1917, and Revohdionary SocialismA Study in Socialist Reconstruction, IsjlLouis C. Fraina. \^^

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