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The Left Wing Manifesto

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The Left Wing Manifesto ,’ .: (. ‘. Devotid to the l,nt&ndion& Commirnis+ $trub&le ‘.’ Price: 5c. ‘501. 2, I&. 1. Saturday, July 5, 1919 ” ‘. ‘. .’ . .’ In This. Issue: ^ ,’ Left Wing Con~edion, Manijksto ad Program, I “Nothing Doing!” 6: THE REVOLUTIONARY AGE July 5 1919 lhe Lefk Wing Manifesto r HE world is in crisis. Capitalism, the Issued on Authority of the Co~fmwe LIponproduction. The answer of Capitalism is J. prevailing system of society, is in pro- by th.e National Council qf the Left Winq war; the answer of the proletariat is the So- cial Revolution and Socialism. cess of disintegration and collapse. Out of its THE COLLAPSE OF THE INTERNATIONAL. vitals is developing a new social order, the heavy machinery, in short, predominantlv a system of Communist Socialism; and the trade in iron goods. This export of capital, In 1912, at the time of the first Balkan war, struggle between this new social order and the together with the struggle to monopolize the Europe was on the verge of a general im- old is now the fundamental problem of inter- world’s sources of raw materials and to con- perialistic war. A Socialist International Cong- national politics. trol undeveloped territory, produces Imperial- ress was convened at Basle to act on the im- The predatory “war for democracy” domi- ism. pending crisis. The resolution adopted stig- mztized the cm&g war m imperialistic and nated the world.. ~ But now it is the revolutions A fully developed capitalist nation is com- ary proletarrat m action that dominates, con- pelled to accept Imperialism. Each nation 0s unjustifiable 07~ any $rPtext of national b- quering power in some. nations, mobilizmg to seeks markets for the absorption of its sur- ferest. The Basle resolution declared : conquer power in others, and calling upon the plus capital. Undeveloped territory, possessing I. That the war would create an economic proletariat of all nations to prepare for the sources of raw material, the industrial develop and political crisis; a. That the workers f&i struggle against Capitalism. ment of which will require the investment of would look upon participation in the war as But Socialism itself is in crisis. Events are capital and the purchase of machinery, be- a crime. which would arouse “indignation and revolutionizing Capitalism and Socialisrui-an comes the objective of capitalistic competition revulsion” among the masses; 3. That the indication that this is the historic epoch of the between the imperialistic nations. crisis and the psychological condition of the proletarian revolution. Imperialism is the Capitalism, in the epoch of Imperialism, workers would create a situation that Socialists final stage of Capitalism; and Imperialism comes to rely for its “prosperity? and suprem- should use “to rouse the masses and hasten means sterner reaction and new wars of con- acy upon the exploitation and enslavement of the downfall,of Capitalism” ; 4. That the gov- quest-unless the revolutionary proletariat acts colonial peoples, either in colonies, “spheres of ernments “fear a proletarian revolution” and for Socialism. Capitalism cannot reform itself : influence,“. “protectorates,” or “mandatoies “9 should remember the Paris Commune and the it cannot be reformed. Humanity can be saved -savagely oppressing hundreds of millior;‘s of revolution in Russia in 1905, that is, a civil from its last excesses only by the Communist subject peoples in order to assure high profit war. Revolution. There can now be only the SO- and interest rates for a few million people’in The Basle resolution indicted the coming cialism ‘which is one in. temper andpurpose the favored nations. war as imperialistic, a war necessarily to be with the proletarian revolutionary struggle. This struggle for undeveloped territory, raw opposed by Socialism, which should use the There can be only the Socialism which unites materials, and investment markets, is carried opportunity of war to wage the revolutionary the proletariat of the whole iworld in the on “peacefully” between groups of internatio- struggle against Capitalism. The policy of general struggle against the desperately de- nal finance-capital by means of “agreements,” Soc;alism was comprised in the struggle to structive Imperialisms -, the Imperialisms and between the nations by means of diplo- transform the imperialistic war into a civil war which array themselves as a single force macy; but a crisis comes, the competition be- of the oppressed ap.[inst the oppressor?, an<! against the onsweeping proletarian revolu- comes irreconcilable, antagonisms cannot be for Socialism. tion. solved peacefully, and the nations resort to The war that came in 1914 was the same THE WARAND~MPERULISM. war. imperialistic war that might have come :n The prevailing conditions, in the world of The antagonisms between the European na- 1312, or at the time of the Agadir crisis But. Capitalism and of Socialism, are a direct prod tions were antagonisms as to who should con- upon the declaration of war, the dontinm: uct of the war; and the war was itself a direct trol undeveloped territory, sources of raw ma- Soriahn~, tontrwy to the B&e resolz&on, cc- product of Imperialism. terials, and the investment markets of the cepterl and justiiied the war. Industrial development under the profit sys- world. The inevitable consequence was war. Great demonstrations were held. The govern- tern of Capitalism is based upon the accumula- The issue being world power, other nations, in- ments and war were denounced. But, imme- tion of capital, which depends upon the ex- cluding the United States, were dragged in. diately upon the declaration of war, there was propriation of values produced by the workers. The United States, while having no direct ter- a change of front. The war credits were acted This accumulation of capital promotes, and is ritorial interests in the war, was vitally con- by Socialists in the parliaments. The dotni- itself promoted by, the concentration of in- cerned since the issue was world power; and nant Socialism favored the war; a small minor- dustry. The competitive struggle compels each its Capitalism, having attained a position of ity adopted a policy of petty bourgeois pacif- capitalist to secure the most efficient means financial world power, had a direct imperial- ism; and only the Left Wing groups adhered of production, or a group of capitalists to com- istic interest at stake. to the policy of revolutionary Socialism. bine their capital in order to ,produce more The imperialistic character of the war is It was not alone a problem of preventing the efficiently. This process of concentration of climaxed by an imperialistic peace-a peace war. The fact that Socialism could not pre- industry and the accumulation of capital, while that strikes directly at the peace and libertv of vent the war, was not a justification for ac- a product of competition, ultimately denies and the world, which organizes the great imperial- cepting and idealizing the war. Nor was it a ends competitipn. The concentration of indus- istic powers into a sort of “trust of nations,” problem of immediate revolution. The Basle try and of capital develops monopoly. among whom the world is divided financially Manifesto simply required opposition to the Monopoly expresses itself through dicta- and territorially. The League of Nations is war and the fight to develop out of its &cum- torial control exercised by finance-capital over simply the screen for this division of the world, stances the revolutionary struggle of the pro- industry ; and finance-capital unifies Capitalism an instrument for joint domination of the letariat against the war and Capitalism. for world-exploitation. Under Imperialism, world by a particular group of Imperialism. The dominant Socialism. in accepting and the banks, whose control is centralized in a While this division of the world solves, for justifying the war, abandoned the class strug- clique of financial magnates, dominate’ the the moment, the problems of power that pro- gle and betrayed Socialism. The class strug- whole of industry directlv, purely upon the duced the war, the solution is temporary, since gle is the heart of Socialism. Without strict basis of investment exploitation, and not for the Imperialism of one nation can prosper conformity to the class struggle, in its revolt p”rposes of social production. The concentra- only by limiting the economic opportunity of tionary implications, Socialism becomes either tion of industry implies that, to a large extent, another nation. New problems of power must sheer Utopianism, or a method of reaction. industry within the nation has reached its ma- necessarily arise, producing new antagonisms, But the dominant Socialism accepted “civil turity, is unable to absorb all the surplus- new wars of agression and conquest-unless peace,” the “unity of all the classes and par- capital that comes from the profits of industry. the revolutionary proletariat conquers in the ties” in order to wage successfully the im- Capitalism, accordingly, must fmd means out- struggle for Socialism. perialistic war. The dominant Socialism united side the na$on for the absorption of this The concentration of industry produces with the governments against Socialism and surplus. The older export trade was dominated monopoly, and monopoly produces Imperial- the proletariat. by the export of consumable goods. American ism. In Imperialism there is implied the social- The class struggle comes to a climax during exports, particularly, except for the war period, ization of indztstry, the material basis of Sociol- war. National struggles are a form of expres- have been largely of cotton, foodstuffs, and ism. Production moreover, becomes interna- sion of the class struggle, whether they are raw materials. Under the conditions of ‘Im- tional ; and the limits of the nation, of national revolutionary wars for liberation or imperial- perialism it is capital which is exported, as production, become a fetter upon the forces istic wars for spoilation.
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