LENIN AND THE YOUTH By WILL HERBERG. pies of the colonies thru the most merciless exploitation is used, in a “Upon the. . . youth organizations great variety of ways, to corrupt a falls the gigantic task of struggling section of the working class of the for revolutionary internationalism, home country and to raise that section for true socialism, against the dom- to the position of an "aristocracy of inant opportunism that has gone labor.” Insofar, therefore, as this over to the side of the bourgeoisie.” skilled "labor aristocracy” profits falling TN this revolutionary call to the from the few crumbs off the A imperialist table, there tend to devel- youth uttered by Lenin in the dark- op certain economic ties binding est days of the war we have the key them to the imperialist bourgeoisie to his conception of the role of the and giving them a certain interest in revolutionary youth in the class strug- the maintenance of imperialism. gle the proletarian revolution. In the What be the political reflex of youth Lenin saw the bearers of the can situation? What but a growing uncompromising struggle for true so- this opportunism, a cancerous reformism cialism, of the war to the end against thart began penetrate spread the cancerous opportunism that had to and thruout the whole of the labor eaten the very vitals of the inter- move into par- national proletarian movement. rnent. And the social-democratic ty and the trade union bureaucracy—- Why Did Lenin Turn to the Youth? representatives of the labor aristo- cracy—began to reflect and the more more Why did Lenin thus turn to clearly, in a hidden or open manner, youth? Was it for sentimental rea- the devastating corruption which im sons, or was it because Lenin wished perialism was producing in the upper to set off the youth against the adults? strata of the proletariat. Nothing of the kind! And it is in Lenin’s analysis of the position and The Youth Remains Revolutionary. the role of the proletarian youth in The youth, however, largely capitalist society that we find ample was un- evidence of the profound Marxist un- touched by this cancerous corruption derstanding and astounding ability to of opportunism. The youthful prole- probe with a few deft strokes to the tariat has no skilled aristocracy feed- very of things that have made depth ing on the crumbs from the imperialisi Lenin, beside Marx, the greatest feast. The laboring youth is almost leader the oppressed and exploited of exclusively subject the earth have ever had. unskilled and to the severest exploitation and oppres- The Economic Sources of sion. Upon the youth, likewise, falls Opportunism. the full weight of the crushing mili- tarism that characterizes the imperial The revolutionary sprit and the in- ist nation. It is the youth that forms domitable enthusiasm of the youth the conscript armies sent to slaughter Lenin saw as the direct consequence for the greater glory of finance-capital. imperialism upon of the effects of the It is the laboring youth in short that obverse working class, as the of the finds its lot the hardest of any section opportunist rottenness and reformism of the laboring masses. that characterized the dominant so- cial-democracy. Lenin analyzed very In the youth therefore, untouched thoroly what Marx and Engels had by imperialist corruption, as Lenin suggested than once—the in- showed, opportunism find more can no The serpent of capitalist imperialism tries to sneaa his way into the fluence of the development of im- lodgement. In the youth reformist labor movement. cant, and perialism upofi the various tendencies illusion can find' ao welcome. The The shams, the the platitudes of imperialist in the working class movement. He youth has no long-standing opportun- ideology successfully poison a large part of the labor movement. But the showed how a certain portion of the ist traditions. The fiery enthusiasm youth of the working class can overcome this poison. immense super-profits wrung by fin- of the toiling youth can not be ance-capital from the masses of the dampended by the debilitating rotten- toilers and from the “backward” peo- turning ness that succeeded in the whole structure of social democracj Lenin and the Errors of the Youth. into a "whited sepulchre.” The prole- Lenin devoted his very greatest tarian youth will stand firm for the care and attention to the liquidation revolutionary struggle! class The of the theoretical mistakes and un- The Dentist Will Get His revolutionary youth bears death and clarities that naturally characterized destruction for the opportunist agents the first attempts of the proletarian Fingers of the bourgeoisie! youth in their role as vindicators of Bitten true and That is why Lenin turned to the Marxism Internationalism. And youth. Liebknecht had done this also the remarkable tact and consider- ation with which the and for identical reasons. But Lieb- errors of the youth knecht had “gone to the youth” blind- were criticized by this man, known the world as ly. one might say, without understand- over the most “bitter” and most uncompromising ing the why and the wherefore. It controversialist, proves signifi- was Lenin that laid bare the hidden the Lenin saw in the movement social forces that contributed in rais- cance of proletarian youth. ing the advanced proletarian youth as the the bearers of uncompromising class Lenin and the Russian Youth League. \CeT’t(H< Cwfy struggle. The profound ferment produced by the Russian revolution in 1917 crystal- Collapse V. —TECTfi 16/ The of the Social-Democracy lized all over Russian revolutionary at ALU GOT the Outbreak’ of War. circles of proletarian and student \LtiW youth. It was the war, above everything Lenin was quick to see the significance of this movement and else, that proved striking in the most lent it his best support. It was he fashion the correctness of Lenin’s also who was most influential in de- analysis. What Lenin had foretold veloping this movement and finally happened! The official social-demo- in organizing it as a Young Commun- cracy turned over to the military gen ist League, an organizationally inde- eral staffs its whole organization pendent but politically subordinate or- which had a hold, ideologically and ganization and not, as some,comrades organizally, upon millions of workers. wished to make it, simply a depart- Social-democratic leaders fairly glori- ment of the Communist Party. Indeed, ed in falling over each other to be- Lenin had always maintained most tray the workers and to send them vigorously the position of the organ- into the armies of Imperialism. One izational independence of the youth way or the other, either the open so- since, as he proved, only on such a cial chauvinism of scheidemann or basis can the youth movement develop the hypocritictl centrist social-pacifism in the proper direction and attain its of Kaut3ky—all ended in the same objectives. thing—betrayal, treason, corruption. One could go on forever citing ex- The Youth Fights for Internationalism amples of Lenin’s profound under- standing of the role and significance In the small band of fighters who of the movement of the revolutionary remained true to the cause of the pro- youth. To the toiling you Jh of the letarian struggle, the leading elements world, suffering under the n ost severe of the Socialist Youth International exploitation and oppress.on, Lenin stood in the front rank. Lenin main stands forth as the leader, as one tained the closest ideological and or- who understood better and appreciat- ganizational contact with these youth ed more than anyone The labor faker In the service of the boss wants to pull the teeth of else their miser- organizations and was personally in- ies and their strivings. In the labor movement. By getting the reds—the militant Leninism members—out of the strumental in helping to organize the lie toiling youth of the world sees unions, he would make the unions toothless and harmless servants to the Young Communist International—th< tho road to its emancipation! In world League of Communist Youth leninism, employers. But experience shows that In this case the patient bites the fing- as embodied in the Young the vanguard of the toiling youth of Communist International, sees its ers of the faker dentist and will not have teeth pulled. it his the world. 1 leader in the struggle for freedom! 2