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What Is the “Left Wing” Movement and Its Purpose? by Edward Lindgren

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Lindgren: What is the “Left Wing” Movement? [Feb. 1919] 1 What is the “Left Wing” Movement and Its Purpose? by Edward Lindgren Published in The Class Struggle [Brooklyn, NY], v. 3, no. 1 (Feb. 1919), pp. 111-114. This question is agitating hundreds of mem- Its origin has a more fundamental basis. While for bers of the Socialist Party at this time. years there have been factions in the party no real Since the memorable night when the Cen- line-up was taken until 1912, when half of the tral Committees of the various locals of New York party membership was read out of the party by City held a conference, at which half of the del- the infamous clause known as the “sabotage” sec- egates bolted and adjourned to another hall and tion of the Socialist Party constitution. At that time there organized themselves into a “Left Wing” the reactionaries were left in control, as they be- group of the party, it has been a perplexing ques- lieved for good. But the question was one of prin- tion, and the party machinery, held in control by ciples and could not be killed by official procla- reactionary officials, paid organizers and speakers mations or by expelling members who refused to and other parasites who cling like leeches to the accept it. Logically, one reactionary step must be socialist pie-counter, have endeavored to squelch followed by others, and the party plunged deeper this exhibition of indignation and anger of the rank and deeper into the mire of vacillating policies, of and file by holding private meetings of “good,” opportunism and reforms; compromising the revo- “loyal” comrades, for the purpose of saving the lutionary position it should have occupied as a party from “IWWism,” “anarchy,” and the devil Socialist party, for a vote-catching policy, based knows what. Indeed, going to the extent of using on social reform issues, aimed exclusively at elect- their influence with the party press to have them ing candidates to office, no matter who the candi- deny their columns for notices of meetings or state- dates were or their stand on the class struggle. ments of principles and tactics as long as the name When the test came in 1914 for a showdown “Left Wing” is used. as to the quality and quantity of socialist idealism Apparently the bolt was brought about by and principles in the party, that happened what the chairman refusing to grant the floor to a num- any socialist could have predicted who was famil- ber of delegates, who wanted to question Alger- iar with opportunism and its result: The leaders non Lee, leader of the Socialist group in the Board of the party vied with each other in finding ex- of Aldermen, on the question of voting an $80,000 cuses for their co-patriots in Europe — who were appropriation for a “Victory Arch”; and the atti- voting appropriations to their various governments tude of the Socialist leader, “that it had been a mis- for carrying on the war — pleading with the party take in squandering so much of the people’s money, membership that internationalism in wartime but that there were no socialist principles in- must give way to nationalism; that the worker’s volved.” immediate concern was “his job, his home, and However, these were but contributory causes. his country.” It left the rank and file aghast and 1 2 Lindgren: What is the “Left Wing” Movement? [Feb. 1919] bewildered. The leaders in whom they had had the ranks of the socialist movement — for that implicit faith, whom they had cheered and ac- which should be a means to an end is made the knowledged as the true exponents of internation- end itself. alism, had failed miserably when the time came to The “Left Wing” group is the logical out- uphold that which they had expounded to be the come of a dissatisfied membership — a member- true philosophy of the proletariat. ship that has been taught by the revolutionary ac- A convention was demanded by the rank and tivities of the European movements “to compro- file of the party. It was held, and in no uncertain mise is to lose.” And hold, with the founders of manner declared its position. The result was the modern socialism, that there are two classes in so- now world-famous St. Louis Resolution. It was ciety; that between these two classes a struggle must sent for a referendum vote and adopted by an over- go on, until the working class seizes the instru- whelming majority. ments of production and distribution, abolishes Was the question settled? No! the capitalist state, and establishes the dictator- The party machinery was still in the hands ship of the proletariat. They will not wait until of the opportunist apologists for the European par- the vast majority of the people will vote them into liamentarians, and, of course, it would interfere power. But — if the proletariat during its struggle with their program of social reforms should they with the bourgeoisie is compelled by the force of insist upon elected officials carrying out the spirit circumstances to organize itself as a class, if, by of the resolution. The result was that throughout means of a revolution, it makes itself the ruling the entire country, with a few exceptions, the class, and, as such, sweeps away by force the old elected officials voted and worked for war appro- conditions of production — then it will, with these priations and other measures pertaining to the war. methods, have swept away the conditions for the To many members of the party, as well as the existence of class-antagonisms and of classes gen- people in general, it meant the death of the social- erally, and will thereby have abolished its own su- ist movement. They were mistaken, it was not the premacy as a class. death of the socialist movement, but the death of The Socialist Party has been too flexible that slimy, treacherous creature, known in the where it ought to have been firm, and too rigid world of politics as the parliamentarian, who in where it ought to have been flexible. The Soviet the guise of practical politics had misled the work- government of Russia is very flexible and there- ers the world over to believe that socialists in a fore it succeeds. It is inflexible only on the funda- capitalist legislature can, by working for social re- mental class question; the dictatorship of the pro- forms, introduce a socialist industrial state. letariat is the basis of its flexibility. And so with It has taken the party membership a long our own socialist movement. The class struggle and time to realize the fallacy of such action. Russia the class struggle alone must be the basis of its with its Mensheviks and Bolsheviks, Germany with flexibility. its Majority Socialists and Spartacus groups have On the basis of the class struggle must it re- clarified the atmosphere. Where a few years ago organize itself, must prepare to come to grips with only those who remained close to socialist prin- the master class during the difficult period of capi- ciples could see it, today, almost anyone who un- talist reconstruction now going on. It can do so derstands the theory of the class struggle has no only by teaching the working class the position it trouble in comprehending the reason why com- faces — it must preach revolutionary industrial rades are fighting and slaying each other and that unionism and political action and urge the work- opportunism must necessarily create a division in ers to develop their craft unions into industrial Lindgren: What is the “Left Wing” Movement? [Feb. 1919] 3 unions. It must carry on its political campaigns paganda for revolutionary industrial unionism as not as a means of electing officials to the legisla- a part of its general activities. We believe it is the ture (as they have done in the past), but as year- mission of the socialist movement to encourage around educational campaigns for the enlighten- and assist a proletariat to adopt newer and more ment of the working class to class-conscious eco- effective forms of organization and to stir it into nomic and political action and keeping the revo- newer and more revolutionary modes of action. lutionary fervor alive as a flaming ideal in the hearts That the press be party-owned and con- of the people. trolled. The “Left Wing” group therefore believes That all the educational institutions be party- “that the time has come for the Socialist Party of owned and controlled. America to throw off its parliamentary shackles That the party scrap its obsolete literature and stand squarely behind the Soviet Republic of and publish new literature in keeping with the Russia and the revolutionary movements of Eu- policies and tactics above mentioned. rope. That it will thus be enabled, when the time comes — and it is soon coming — to take the Immediate Demands. leadership of the revolutionary proletariat in its struggle with the capitalist class. Instead of stand- We demand that the NEC of the party call ing in its path dangling the bait of parliamentary an immediate Emergency National Convention. reforms, push them forward towards the dictator- We demand that the NEC shall not issue cre- ship of the proletariat, the final phase of the class dentials to the three delegates selected to go to the struggle, transient and necessary to the ushering international conference at Lausanne, Switzerland. in of the Cooperative Commonwealth.” We demand that the SP of A issue a call for an international congress of those groups of the Tentative Program.
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