First English Translation: Excerpts horn MOTx' s Archive*—Pag&*& NEWS A LETTERS The Root of Mankind Is Man' 10 Printed in 100 Percent 10c A Copy Vol. 11— No. 9 Union Shop DECEMBER, 1966 6d in Great Britain Two Views of State-Capitalism State-Capitalism and Socialist Revolution .^TADA™ TSUSHIMA (Ed. Note: We present here two views on state- "... Revolutions arise only out of such a situa sible. But since the further development of produc capitalism. One is a chapter of a book, STATE tion when, to the above-mentioned objective changes, tive forces within the framework of a bourgeois CAPITALISM AND REVOLUTION, by Japanese a subjective change is added, namely, the ability of society is inconceivable the basic premise for the Marxist Tadayuki Tsushima. Except for the exclu the revolutionary class to carry out revolutionary revolution is given." (3) sion of a single paragraph referring to a Japanese mass actions strong enough to break (or undermine) In his Theories of Surplus Value (Vol. II, . group unknown in the U.S., the text is exactly as the old government, which never, not even in a period Part 2), Marx wrote: "All contradictions in bourgeois written. A few quotations were shortened, but these of crisis, 'falls,' if it is not 'dropped.'" (2) production will be expressed concentratedly in a are from works the reader can refer to easily. In short, a revolution is improbable without a full- general crisis of the world market." The other view was written especially for this scale crisis which envelops a whole nation (both According to him, periodic economic crises which issue by Raya Dunayevskaya, who was the first, in the exploiters and the exploited). A revolution can become sharper and deeper each time they recur 1941, to develop the theory of state-capitalism, y occur only when some, subjective conditions are fused are the concentrated expressions of such fundamen into the objective circumstances. tal contradictions (the conflicts between productive Traditionally, Marxists have usually presupposed forces and productive relations), the warnings which I. Introduction that some wartime situations or some economic suggest the coming of the periods of social revolu During the First World War Lenin said: crises would create such revolutionary situations tions, the stimulants which encourage the working "The socialist revolution may break out not only (severe national crises). I wonder, however, if we class to social revolutions and the elements which in consequence of a great strike, a street demonstra should still consider the problem of a revolution or serve as media for social revolutions. In his Anti- tion, a hunger riot, a mutiny in the forces, or a a revolutionary situation in such a traditional way Duhring, Engels likewise admitted the role of eco colonial rebellion, but also in consequence of any of thinking. I believe that the traditional presupposi nomic crises "as crises of this mode of production political crisis, like the Dreyfus affair, the Zabern tion should be reexamined. Here I will present my itself, as means of compelling the social revolution." incident, or in connection with a referendum on opinion about this problem for the purpose of invit (Moscow edition, p. 396). On January 25th, 1882, the secession of an oppressed nation, etc." (1) ing active discussion. he wrote to Bernstein: The above statement by Lenin deals with lighting the fuse of a revolution. When a revolution breaks "An economic crisis is one of the most power out, there surely is a general revolutionary situation II. Can an Economic Crisis ful levers for a political revolution. This was already which paves the way for the revolution. As to the admitted in Communist Manifesto and ' explained revolutionary situation, what Lenin wrote in his Still Be A Leverage For more in detail in articles of Neue Rheinlsche Zei- "Downfall of the Second International" (1915) is tung, up to and including 1848." (4.) They went into well-known to us: Political Revolution? details also about the fact that a revival of prosperity "A Marxist cannot have any doubt that a revolu A well-known formula of historical materialism would defeat the revolution and help the reac tion is impossible without a revolutionary situation; states: tion. furthermore, not every revolutionary situation leads "At a certain stage of their development, the to a revolution. What, generally speaking, are the material productive forces of society come in con _/^N ECONOMIC crisis does not automatically bring symptoms of a revolutionary situation? . . . (1) when flict with the existing relations of production, or a revolution. However, it does certainly draw it is impossible for the ruling classes to maintain with the property relations within which they have nearer a crisis of a whole nation, gives the working their rule in an unchanged form; when there is a been at work hitherto. From forms of development class an impetus to the revolution and, generally crisis ... which causes fissures, through which the of the productive forces these relations turn into speaking, prepares a favorable situation for revolu discontent and indignation of the oppressed classes their fetters. Then begins an epoch of social revolu tionary movements. Trotsky stated, "There are no > burst forth. Usually, for a revolution to break out, it tion." crises in which capitalism automatically dies. Eco is not enough for the 'lower classes to refuse' to live On the basis of this formula Trotsky said (in his nomic cycles only create favorable or unfavorable ; in the old way; it is necessary also that the 'upper well-known speech entitled "School of Revolutionary conditions for the proletariat to overthrow capital classes should be unable' to live in the old way; (2) Strategy") before a meeting of Communists in Mos ism." In this statement, Trotsky also admitted that when the want and suffering of the oppressed cow which was held just after the Third Congress an economic crisis is favorable for a revolution and classes have become more acute than usual; (3) of the Comintern: a boom is unfavorable. when, as a consequence of the above causes, there is "If the further development of productive forces a considerable increase in the activity of the was conceivable within the framework of bourgeois (Continued on Page 2). masses ... society, then revolution would generally be irtipos- (3) Trotsky, The First Five Years of the Communist In ternational, Vol. II, p. 6. (1) Lenin, Collected Works, Vol. XIX, p. 49. (2) Lenin, Selected Works, Vol. V, p. 174. (4) K. Marx, F. Engels, Briefe uoer Das Kapital. State-Capitalism and Marx's Humanism, or Philosophy and Revolution by Raya Dunayevskaya, theoreticians than the more startling fact that, no the cities. What seems to be little known is that up author of MARXISM and FREEDOM matter how the Depression had undermined private to the so-called Great Leap Forward in 1957, Mao's capitalism which disgorged both Nazism and the China referred to itself as "state-capitalist." (2) It I. The New Vantage Point "New Deal," the full statification of production took is true that its use of the term was not in the sense The state-Sapitalism at issue is not the one place in what had ^been a workers' state: Soviet of a new stage of world production, but in the sense theoretically envisaged by Karl Marx in 1867-1883 Russia. of something "Communism" could set "limits to." as the logical conclusion to the development of By the end of World War II the State Party Plan Even those who either do not accept the theory English competitive capitalism. It is true that "the had characterized not only Russia and its East of state-capitalism, or say that it does not apply to law of motion" of capitalist society was discerned European satellites, but also China where Commun Ttussia, Eastern Europe or China, face one and the and profoundly analyzed by Marx. Of necessity, how ism had achieved power on its own. Moreover, it same problem: Has the new stage of production, by ever, the actual results of the projected ultimate was achieved via an altogether new road — the whatever name, proven its viability? That is to say, development to concentration and centralization of result of a protracted guerrila war that outflanked has it found the means whereby to overcome the capital differed sweepingly from the abstract con catastrophic economic crises that were supposed (2) The Report on the Draft Constitution of the People's to have caused capitalism's collapse? Is it possible cept of the centralization of capital "in the hands of Republic of China, on September 15, 1954, reads: "The tran one single capitalist, or in those of one single corp sitional form for the socialist transformation of industry to "liberate" the productive forces for limitless and commerce is state capitalism. In the historical circum production without releasing the proletariat from oration." (1) Where Marx's own study cannot sub stances of China we can carry out the gradual transforma stitute for an analysis of existing state-capitalism, tion of capitalist Industry and commerce through various wage-slavery and thereby achieving a totally new forms of state capitalism. State capitalism under the con kind, a greater kind of energy from the liberated the debates around the question by his adherents trol of a state led by the working class is different in can hardly do so, even where these have been up nature from state capitalism under bourgeois rule." (Docu proletariat? ments of the First Session of the First National People's dated to the end of the 1920's. For us, in the mid- Congress of the People's Republic of China, p. 35. Foreign Many there are who think the answer is: Yes. 1960's, to turn to these disputes for any other than Language Press, Peking, 1955). Even on the eve of the so- Moreover, these same theoreticians would call that called Great Leap Forward, the Eighth National Congress methodological purposes, appears to this writer of the Chinese Communist Party—the only time a congress science "neutral" and even "magical" which ush altogether futile. of the CCP had been convened since 1945, four years before ered in both the nuclear age and Automation. After conquest of power in 1949, and none has been convened since—was so far from anticipating the overnight establish all, Automation had succeeded in achieving a phen The state-capitalism that is in need of analysis ment of "socialism" that the main report held that "in our omenal rise in labor productivity through the appli is not the one that feebly emerged and died during country the allies of the working class consist not only of the peasantry and the urban petty bourgeosie, but also the cation of ever greater amounts of constant capital the first world war, but the one which emerged on national borgeoisie." (Eighth National Congress of the Com (machinery) at the expense of ever less numbers a world scale in myriad forms during the world munist Party of China, Vol. I, Documents, p. 19, Peking. (relatively) of workers. And since every one, re Depression and survived World War II. Presently gardless of class, fears that a nuclear holocaust it has the appearance of affluence in the industrially would spell the end of civilization as we have known advanced countries and that of near-starvation in it, modern capitalism is also supposed to have the technologically underdeveloped countries in Asia, learned to stop short of nuclear war, thus barring Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. The fact the only other avenue open to social revolution — that within each affluent country there are the un the transformation of an imperialist war into a civil skilled laborers and the national minorities who re I Season's (greetings j war. Those who pose such questions, as well as main the ill-paid, ill-clad, ill-fed and ill-housed, those who fear such answers, seem not to have asked seems to be of less significance to many Marxist themselves, why had these questions not been | ^Jo all our friends ana readers § raised directly after World War II when both Europe (1) K. Marx, Capital, Vol. I, p. (Chas. H. Kerr, Chi- eago, 1932). (Continued on Page 5)
v Rage 2 NEWS Or LETTERS DECEMBER, 1966 State-Capitalism and Socialist Revolution By Tadayuki Tsushima (Continued from Page 1) curve has been rising, and the cyclical curve also ist production during the crisis was three times as However, "the economic conjuncture and the shows that the economic boom has been predominat great as it had been as a result of the first world characters of class struggles are not always mechan ing over the crisis; instead of the opposite. war, ought to be sufficient to explode the contention ically dependent on each other, but are related in First of all we must know the facts. The table that the 1029 world economic crisis was quantitively complicated, dialectical ways." Sometimes, it is pos shows the index of industrial production. It is a basic not essentially different from the previous crises ex sible that a crisis is disadvantageous for the class element in the basic curve. perienced by capitalism." struggle and a boom is advantageous to it, unless the Looking at the table, I cannot say that the basic For Marxists who believe that the contradiction boom lasts over a prolonged period. As Trotsky em curve shows a downward trend. (We can exclude between tie forces of production and the relations phasized many times, when the working glass has the war and the immediate post-war periods.) It is of production is the main cause of social revolution, been defeated heavily in a struggle preceding an obvious that the basic curve has been going upward it is interesting to note that the loss of productivity economic crisis, a prolonged crisis would cause a since World War II and especially so since the that took'jplace during the 1929-32 crisis, and that stagnation of workers' movements, and a boom would 1950's. There is a significant difference between the which occurred during World War I among Western make them revive. Here I will remind my readers indices after the two world wars. Let us take up the nations, are almost the same. Furthermore, the num- of another statement by Trotsky which should be cyclical curve. There has been no noticeable cyclical . ber of the world's unemployed in 1929 was 10 mil remembered by every one. In his long speech, en crisis after the crisis of 1937-38. We can notice the lion, but ajfter 1929 it is estimated to have climbed titled "The World Economic Crisis and the New recessions of 1948-49, 1953-54 and 1957-58 in the so that by! 1932 it had tripled reaching between 30 Tasks of the Communist International," he stated: United States, but they are not of the character to 40 million. These figures speak for themselves on "The reciprocal relation between boom and crisis of crises. We could say that the economic conditions the severity of the crisis. Marx and Engels believed in economy and the development of revolution is of since World War II differ from those following that as each economic crisis takes place it makes the great interest to us not only from the point of theory World War I and that after the Second World War next crisis more severe. The crisis of 1929-32 seemed the economic prosperity has been outstripping the to be the tj>est evidence of Marx's theory. According but, above all, practically. Many of you will recall economic crisis. v that Marx and Engels wrote in 1851—when the to V. Voytinsky, in Germany, each of six crises, be boom was at its peak—that it was necessary at thai For those not convinced by my analysis thus far, tween I860 and 1932, brought that.country's produc time to recognize that the Revolution of 1848 had I must here show the character of the big world tion down only by 5 per cent; however, the world terminated, or, at any rate, had been interrupted crisis of 1929-33. In his Capitalism and Socialism crisis of 1929-32 lowered it by no less than 46.7 per . until the next crisis. Engels wrote that while the on Trial, Fritz Sternberg has written as follows: -(8) cent, lowering it down to the level of 1900. crisis of 1847 was the mother of revolution, the "The tremendous depth of the crisis when it did Never Had such a clear instance occurred as that boom of 1848-51 was the mother of triumphant coun come can be readily seen from the great fall in of the would crisis of 1929-32, which demonstrated ter-revolution. It would, however, be very one-sided industrial production in all the leading countries that "an economic crisis is one of the most powerful and utterly false to interpret these judgements in with the exception of the Soviet Union. forces in causing political changes." However, a re the sense that a crisis invariably engenders revolu "These figures show that world industrial pro volution requires, as Lenin pointed out, not only tionary action while a boom, on the contrary, pacifies duction, not including the Soviet Union, declined be the objective conditions which are ripe for revolu the working class. The Revolution of 1848 was not tween 1929 and 1932 to 63.8 per cent of its 1929 tion, but the subjective conditions. The victory of born out of the crisis. The latter merely provided the level, or by more than one-third. The decline was the Stalin clique over the United Opposition group last impetus ... greatest in the two leading industrial countries, the (Trotsky, Zinoviev and others) in the Russian Com "... In general, there is no automatic depend United States and Germany, where production was munist Parity and in the Comintern after the death ence of the proletarian revolutionary movement upon almost halved. of Lenin allowed capitalism to survive and hindered a crisis. There is only a dialectical interaction. It is the development of this crisis into revolution. As essential to understand this . . . And should we Trotsky criticized most severely, Stalinist theories today in the period o' the greatest exhaustion of ]_^| EVER IN THE history of capitalism had of "social fascism" and of "people's front" are the the working class resulting from the crisis and the there been any remotely cc-mparable decline shameful monuments in the history Of revolutionary continual„struggle, fail to gain victory, which is pos in production. The decline in world capitalist pro movements ! (Incidentally, I consider the purging sible, then a change in the conjuncture and a rise duction during the crisis was not only greater than of the United Opposition and the Left Opposition in living standard would not have a harmful effect it had ever been in history before, but it was even groups and: the policy of "social fascism", which as upon the revolution, but would be on the contrary considerably greater than the decline in world pro sisted Hitler's victory, to be the two biggest crimes highly propitious. Such a change could prove harm duction during the course of the first world war. of Stalin. Therefore, I cannot accept, in any way, ful only in the event that the favorable conjuncture During the war European industrial production Khrushchev's criticism of Stalin which never men marked the beginning of a long epoch of prosper dropped by about a third, but non-European indus tions these two crimes.) ity . . ." (5) trial production actually increased, and to such an I agree with Trotsky. Of course, Trotsky, as a extent that the actual world decline as a result of ' Marxist, didn't deny the general advantage of crisis. the war was only about 10 per cent... w For instance, in 1928 he said: "The decline Of world production as a whole as a result of the first world war was a good 10 per cent, HY DOES THE economic boom prevail over "If the main source of the revolutionary situa but in the world economic crisis it was (outside the the economic crisis? Why has no crisis oc tion in the past ten years has been the direct conse curred since those of 1929-32 and 1937-38 and espe quence of the imperialist war, the most important Soviet Union) no less than 36.2 per cent. In other cially so after World War II? In his article, "Kokka source of revolutionary uprisings in the second words, the decline of world capitalist production in Dokusen Sljiihonsfaugiron Note" (A note on State decade following the First World War will be the the crisis wag more than three times as great as the Capitalism), Ouchi Tsutomu>(Prof. of Tokyo Univ.) relation between Europe and America. A major decline in production as a result of the first world wrote: "Once state capitalism has been established, crisis in the United States will strike the tocsin for war, or about as great as the decline in production in a crisis can be, eased, though it cannot be fully the European belligerent countries after four and a - new wars and revolutions. We repeat: there will avoided. As we see after the war, the governments be no lack of revolutionary situations." (6) , half years of the first world war. of many countries use the instruments which pre "The fact a|one that the decline of world capital- vent a crisis rather than waiting for it." (Keizai (8) Fritz Sternberg, Capitalism and Socialism on Trial, Hyoron, AqgUst, 1962) J_ HERE ARE, however, various types of economic p. 277-278. I cannot!entirely agree with Mr. Ouchi. However, crises. The especially important crisis is that THE INDICES OF INDUSTRIAI Lca PRODUCTIOn point out Nsom (1e) of,the ways by which a big which arises in the rising, not declining period of capitalism. Such a crisis can be "one of powerful levers in creating a political revolution." Year Average of Japan U.S.A. - Avg. of Western U.S.S.R. the world (2) Europe (3) He used still another expression when he de scribed that in the rising period of the basic curve 1937 (4) 56 93 44 74 27 "a boom overcomes an economic crisis" and in the 1938 52 96 34 72 30 declining period of the curve "a crisis overcomes a 1939 — 106 42 — 35 boom." This view was repeated in 1935, after he had 1940 — 111 49 — 38 fled from his own country: 1941 114 62 "Under the domination of industrial capital, in 1942 111 - 76 ' the era of free competition, the cyclical booms ex 1943 — 113 90 — , ceeded by far the crises: the first were the 'rule,' 1944 — 115 89 — the second the 'exception.' Capitalism in its entirety 1945 , 50 77 1 — was advancing. Since the war, with the domination 1946 ~ 61 22 65 51 29 of monopoly finance-capital, the cyclical crises far 1947 68 28 . , 72 ' 59 36 exceed the upswings. We may say that the crises 1948 73 36 75 70 45 have become the 'rule' and the booms the 'excep 1949 74 47 71 78 55 tions'; economic development in its entirety has 1950 84 57 81 86 69 been going down and not up." (7) 1951 91 77 89 94 80 According to Trotsky, the year of 1913 was the 1952 93 83 92 95 90 turning point when capitalism in Europe entered a 1953 100 190 100 100 100 descending period—an era in which crises surpassed 1954 101 108 94 109 114 booms. (This statement should not be applied in the 1955- 112 -- 117 106 119 128 case of American capitalism. It is generally agreed 1956 117 144 109 125 141 that the turning point of American capitalism was 1957 121 167 110 131 156 the period of the big World Crisis between 1929 1958 118 168 102 133 172 and 1933.) 1959 130 208 116 142 193 This view was held not only by Trotsky but also 1960 139 262 119 155 221 by the Comintern itself—at least the Comintern of the Lenin and Trotsky era. The whole system of NOTE: Comintern's strategies and tactics was established (1) In principle, mining, manufacturing, electric power and gas industries are included and the construction on the basis of this view. It was probably right, or industry is excluded. (2) Eleven countries in the U.S.S.R.-Mao's China circle are excluded.! appeared to be so, at the time. ; Can we still base pur strategies and tactics on (3) In Western Europe nine countries — England, Western Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Den this view? Frankly speaking, I believe that we should mark, Sweden and Norway-—are included. correct our view on this point. According to my (4) Between the First and the Second World Wars the level of production was relatively high in the year of opinion, the concept of "an economic crisis as one 1929 or 1937. of the important levers of, a political revolution" (Source) "World Economic Statistics" Division, the Bank of Japan, ;1960, p. 20, is gradually losing its significance. WORLD INDICES OF INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION (1929 = 100)
I N THE present day world capitalism, which is World World United called,state monopoly capitalism or state-capital (including (excluding U.S.A. Germany France Kingdom Japan Italy ism, and which has survived the big world crisis of Year U.S.S.R.) U.S.S.R.) 1929-1932 and the Second World War, the basic 1930 88.6 86.5 80.7 85.9 99.1 92.3 94.8 71.9 (R) Leon Trotsky, The First Five Years of the Communist 1931 79.1 74.8 68.1 67.6 86.1; 83,8 91.6 77.6 International, Vol. I. p. 207, 209. (6) Trotsky. The Third International After Lenin, p. 10. 1932 69.8 63.8 53.8 53.3 71.6 83.5 97.8 - 66.9 (7) Leon Trotsky Whither France? p. 52. DECEMBER, ri966 NEWS & LETTERS Page 3 crisis is prevented from occurring. These are (1) there are various types of state-capitalism, depend strengthened control and improved techniques of ing on the degree of capitalist developments and the III. Is the Slogan "Turn the control by the government, (2) technical innova differences of the crucial situations which were the tions, (3) expansion of military production, and (4) direct causes of the state-capitalism, (Incidentally, Imperialist War into as pointed out by Engels, stronger resistance by the I consider Stalinist Russia to be a bureaucratic workers to their poor living conditions. At any rate, state-capitalist country. In this context, the failure Civil War" Still Valid? I can predict that a big crisis which could lead di of the October Revolution appears as a Thermidorian As we have shown in the previous section, the rectly to a political revolution will not happen. phenomenon. History cannot be fully understood by Why? . situations after the two world wars differ tremen a formula.) dously from each other. We have already called at "A permanent crisis does not exist,, but a periodic The Thesis, "The International Situation and the tention to the fact that the basic curve has been crisis does exist." (Marx, Theories of Surplus Value, Tasks of the Communist International" (August 29, rising and that economic crises are weakening. Vol. II) Marx and Engels not only believed that 1929), which was drafted by Bukharin and revised Therefore, some may believe that the prosperous era periodic crises would occur, but that they would by the Stalin clique for the Sixth Congress of Com of capitalism has come. It is-a fact which the Comin intensify with each occurrence. "How does the bour intern and was thus the result of their struggles and tern once strongly denied. A famous economist, N. geoisie get over these crises? On the one hand, by compromises, nevertheless mentioned the tendency Ossinsky, a leader of the "Democratic Centralist" enforced destruction of a mass of productive forces; toward state-capitalism (J. Degras, C.I. Document, group said that "state-capitalism saved capitalist on the other, by the conquest of new markets, and Vol. 1). According to Bukharin, the state-capitalism nations with the active and conscious efforts in the by the more thorough exploitation of the old ones. of that period, distinguished from that of World War sphere of production relations." (Premise for Social That is to say, by paving the way for more extensive I, was "the second wave," and a higher and more ist Revolution, 1918) ' , ' • - and more destructive crises, and by diminishing the normal stage of state capitalism. means whereby crises are prevented." It may therefore be correct to conclude that, After the Sixth Congress, Bukharin lost out to the after World War II, state-capitalism saved capital This analysis, put forth in the Communist Mani Stalin clique who attacked Bukharin's concept of ism. Thus, it may appear that the basis for socialist festo, and throughout Capital, was expressed in Vol state-capitalism by publishing Lenin's criticism on revolution has vanished. ume III of Capital by Engels. "Thus every element, Bukharin's Economics of the Transition Period. We which works against a repetition of the old crises, cannot deny that Bukharin's analysis of state-cap Is this really true? Even if the development of carries the germ of a far more tremendous future italism contains mistakes (I will deal with some of world capitalism has progressed since the war, even crisis in itself." Capital, Vol. Ill, Kerr edition, p. these later). However, I do not hesitate to say that if an economic boom has prevailed over an economic 575). However, since the big crisis of 1929-33, capital his prediction had certain truth as far as the present crisis, and even if the political significance of crises ism has worked in the opposite direction; there has stage of state-capitalism which survived the great as impulses to revolutions has changed, is the ques been a weakening, shrivelling and curtailing trend, crisis of 1929-32 as well as World War II are con tion really as simple as this? rather than an expansion and intensification of crises. cerned. In order to answer this question, I will have re This is easily seen by examining the crises of 1929-33 As I have already mentioned, there was no peri course to Bukharin's theory of state-capitalism. As and of 1937-38 as against the recessions of 1949 ^nd odic crisis at the beginning, at the manufacture stage far as I know, his theory was first developed during 1954. For the past 30 years this has been an historical World War I, introduced in a magazine Communist, fact. Marx and Engels predicted the recurrence of of capitalism. Is it not possible to say that, at the present highly-developed stage of state-capitalism, and later published as a book entitled World Econ crises at five year intervals at the beginning of the omy and Imperialism, 1915. Later he wrote Econom 19th Century, to be followed by crises at ten-year periodic crises have either weakened or disappeared for different reasons than at the beginning of capital- ics of the Transition Period, 1920, Imperialism and intervals. The, past thirty-year history has shown Capital Accumulation, 1925, and many articles that that, even with World War II occurring during this , ism? Then, what is state-capitalism? appeared in the period between 1915 and 1929, in period, the interval has taken three times-longer cluding of course the Program of the Comintern, than predicted. (Incidentally, Marx regarded that According to Lenin, "The state capitalism that one cyclical period is not constant,-but rather short 1928. It is not my purpose here to analyze these sys is discussed in all books on economics is that which tematically. For the purposes of this discussion, I ened. Marx wrote this opinion in his letter to P. exists under the capitalist system,: where the state Lavron on June 18, 1875.) need only quote certain portions of his writings. As brings under its direct control certain capitalist en previously stated, after Bukharin was removed from We have been taught by Marx why crises occur. terprises." (Lenin, Works, Russian, Vol. 33, p. 249) leadership in 1929, the Stalinists began their cam He has maintained that there is no capitalism with He also says, "The state-capitalism is to concentrate, paign against him by having many economists attack out crises. This is true as far as industrial and mon to calculate, to control, and to socialize." (Lenin, his theory of state-capitalism. Those who obeyed opoly capitalism are concerned,x However, in the ibid, Vol. 27, p. 262.) Furthermore Trotsky wrote Stalin's order were E. Varga, B. Bolilin, M. Joelson first stage of capitalism-—at the stage of manufac that it is "one of the signs that the productive forces and P. Lapinski. Explaining Lenin's commentary on ture, there were no periodic crises in the modern have outgrown capitalism and are bringing it to a Bukharin's Economics of the Transition Period, Boli , sense of the term. Only with the Industrial Revolu partial self-negation and practice." (The Revolution lin wrote: tion did periodic crises come into being. According Betrayed p. 232) This theory of partial negation of capitalism by state-capitalism is discussed by Tony "Although it is not particularly necessary to to Engels, this has been true since the beginning of prove the point of Bukharin's error in logic (the the 19th century. Uno Kozo (Prof, of Hosei Univ.) Cliff in Chapter 5 of his work on Russia, which un dertakes an exhaustive study of the subject. theory that war. and economic crises are the same) writes: "Let us look at the various stages. In the we can consider his present explanation that the beginning, these same contradictions are found acci^ Seemingly in correspondence with Engels' anal entire confrontation of post-war capitalism is a con dentally in the process of circulation of capital. In ysis, Cliff writes: "The partial negation of capital frontation among capitalist countries. This returns to the middle stage, however, crises make periodical ism on the basis of capitalist relations of production the idea of external confrontations. Bukharin's error appearances in the process of production. And at the means that the productive forces which develop in last stage, depressions become gradually incurable. in logic is very closely related to these particular the bosom of the capitalist system so outgrow it, . ideas. The various confusing economic contradictions Thus, the principles of economic crisis don't appear that the capitalist class is compelled to use 'socialist' directly. The most approximate presentation of prin of the imperialistic period automatically are very im measures, and manipulate them in their own inter portant considerations. However they can all be ciples is seen in the second stage, however." (Marx ests ... The productive forces are too strong for ian Economics: A Study of Its Basic Theory.) Yet summarized into one confrontation—that is to say, capitalism, and 'socialist' elements therefore enter the war-like clashes among the various imperialistic we cannot find any trend'toward the chronic de into the economy (Engels called this "the invading pression under state capitalism since World War II. countries. As a matter of fact and this is rather ob socialist society'). But they are subordinated to the vious, imperialism, which automatically uses war to (I follow the usage of terms "state capitalism" and interests of the preservation of capitalism." (10) "state monopoly capital" in the sense in which Lenin resolve economic crises, in effect does not resolve and the Comintern used them. Lenin and Comintern Engels calls this "the invading : (hereinbrechend) them. The crisis in imperialism becomes more and used those words in a single sense.) socialist society." I think it is a suitable expression. more intensified. If we recognize war as an inevitable At any rate, I would suggest that the above cited attendent phenomenon under imperialism, that is-to Nikolai Bukharin stated: "The production rela analysis of state-capitalism .illuminates an analysis say that war is the only natural, cyclic, single means tions under state capitalism is a continuation of that of economic crises. One must not lose sight of the of resolving various capitalist confrontations, then, of finance capitalism in its completed form, as it was fact, however, that this "socialistic" process is used in this sense, war can be related to economic crises." envisaged theoretically and historically." (Bukharin, only to the degree in which state-capitalism social (Bolilin, Criticism of Bukharin's "Economics of the Economics of the Transition Period, Ch. 3) In his izes production. As Engels expressed it, "State own Transition Period." Russian) many articles written during and right after the first ership of the productive forces is not the solution of I wish to discuss one important point of the above world war, Lenin pointed out that "at the beginning ' the conflict, but concealed within it are the technical quotation by first quoting Bukharin: of the 20th century, world capitalism developed into conditions that form the elements of that solution." "At the same time however, the anarchy result- , monopoly capitalism or imperialism. Even during (11) ' ing from the widespread production by capitalists the war the concentration of finance capital devel was not abolished. Neither was competition among oped further. Thus came state capitalism." (Lenin, capitalist producers of commodities. -Not only are Works, Russian Vol. 23, p. 261) His many writings J^ARLIER I QUOTED a part of the Declaration these phenomena still in existence within the scope, regarding this matter are well known. The Declara of the First Congress of the Comintern, and of world economics, but they are reappearing and tion of the Comintern (March 1919), written by warned that we must draw a division between bour have become even more intensified. The economic Trotsky, also touched upon this subject: "The state- geois and proletarian nationalization. In the latter structure of the world is blind and illogical. 'Without ization of economic life, against which capitalist lib case, the working class holds political power and the structure' described the national (state) economic eralism used to protest so much, has become an nationalized productive means, and, therefore, they structure that has existed heretofore. Commodity accomplished fact. There is no turning back from transcend labor power as a commodity and the law x economics within a given country gives way to an this fact—it is impossible to return not only to free of value. Bukharin also differentiated this clearly. organized division; commodity economics is elim competition but even to the domination of trusts, (Economics of the Transition Period. Ch. 7). This inated or is reduced. However within the world ec syndicates, and other economic octopuses. Today differentiation is very important in terms of seeking onomic structure it wiil absolutely not disappear. the one and only issue is: Who shall henceforth be a method to evaluate Stalin's incorrect view of The commodity market in actual practice becomes the bearer of state-ized production — the imperialist "socialism in one country" (Contrary to Stalin, a world market and merely ceases to be 'national' state or the state of the victorious proletariat?" (9) Lenin and Trotsky had concluded that "socialism in . . . Within a given country those products which one country" is impossible). Cliff here uses an astute have been divided in an orderly manner may be con expression: "state-capitalism is a transition stage to sidered commodities only when the phenomena are J[ HIS DECLARATION clearly separates the Idea socialism, this side of the socialist revolution, while related to the world market." (Bukharin, Economics of bourgeois nationalization from that of the a workers' state is a transition stage to socialism, the of the Transition Period, Chapter 1, Russian) proletariat. (In discussing Russia this will become an other side of socialist revolution." There is here an over-estimation of the internal important point.) There is a great difference be There may be some people who would question organization of state-capitalism. Bukharin had also tween the type of state-capitalism just discussed and calling the NEP state-capitalism. And some Japanese written: "The nation's economic wealth is being that which survived the 1929 crisis and World War Trotskyists hold some strange views, such as, "state- concentrated in the hands of fewer capitalists. Pre II. The latter is a full scale and advanced stage. In -_eapitalism is the economy of a workers' state". Some view of the basic and cyclical curves of development viously unorganized capitalism is changing its char one says "state-capitalism is a transitional phase of acter to a more organized' shape." (State-Capitalism which I have already pointed out, this can no longer economy."' The answer is absolutely no. Lenin be denied. and Social Revolution). There is an over emphasis stressed that the state-capitalism of NEP was no on "organized capitalism," Criticizing Bukharin, Originally, development toward state-capitalism ordinary state-capitalism, that in his view the NEP Lenin wrote: "a rebellion against dialectic material was not just a natural product of monopoly, but a state-capitalism differs from what books conceived ism is achieved by leaping over logically—not ma product of critical situations of capitalism, such as it to be. This is explained correctly by Trotsky in his terially—many concrete stages." This clearly points wars, crises, class struggles, etc. The theory of report to the Fourth Congress of the Comintern, then out the weakness of Bukharin's argument. Especially natural development of capitalism is Bukharin's approved by the Central Committee of the Party (It can I not agree with his opinion that the commodity view. It has already been well criticized by P. La- is my opinion that the "no ordinary state-capitalism" production and the law of value are disappearing or pinski (The Crisis of Capitalism and Social-Fascism, was completely changed by Stalin to the "ordinary declining under state capitalism. When Bukharin Part II, eh: 5, Moscow 1930). It seems to me that state-capitalism"). wrote that under state-capitalism the process of (9) Trotsky, The First Five Years of the Communist In (10) Tony Cliff, Russia, p. 112-13. producing surplus value would "accompany the tend ternational, Vol. I, p. 2S. (11) F. Engels. SociaUsm, Utopian and Scientific, p. «7. ency in which surplus value changes itself to surplus Page4 , N£WS & LETTERS DECEMBER, 1966 products", Lenin wrote: "??Ungeheuerlich." (Mon- lead to revolutions, but it means that if there had has lost its meaning. The slogan: "Turn the imperial trous. Does not follow.) been no World War I, the October Revolution could ist war to civil war" is losing its meaning or,:-.-at However, Bukharin's state-capitalism is still cap not have occurred. least, is becoming limited. italism because it is closely related to the .existence According to Henryk Grossman's theory of cap Bukharin's theory of state-capitalism contains of the world market. He holds that if the whole ital accumulation in Accumulation and Collapse of many weaknesses, but it offers some valuable sug world economy were organized into a single large Capitalism: A Theory of Crises, a war weakens and gestions, enabling us better , to understand present- state-trust, the economic system would cease to be postpones the collapse of capitalism by destroying day state-capitalism. In this respect, however, there capitalistic, would be transformed into an economy the over-accumulation of capital. Varga once criti arc different strategic conclusions to be drawn from akin to "the slave owners' economy without any cized Grossman's theory, stressing that the October Bukharin. Before the present-day -conflicts of giant slave market." Yet, his "organized capitalism" denies Revolution would not have occurred without Russia's imperialists lead to a military explosion, we should the possibility of such an ultra-imperialistic univer defeat during World War I, though a war does not turn them to international socialist revolutions* in sal world trust. At this point he differs from Hil- always create the possibility for proletarian revolu cluding the second revolutions in Stalinist coun ferding's concept of ultra-imperialistic '"organized tions. Trotsky also wrote that "War—not for the tries. This is our system of strategies and tactics. capitalism" for which I give him credit. It is neces first time in history—turned out to be the mother For this purpose, we should emancipate all anti- sary to state also that his theory is not akin to the -ef revolution" (The mother was not a great crisis, nuclear weapon-test and anti-war movements from social democratic theory of the peaceful transition but a war. That is why a socialist revolution in an the influence of the Stalinists or the petty bourgeois or transformation of capitalism into socialism. (Inci underdeveloped country also becomes possible pacifists, and reveal the real economic and political dentally, Tony Cliff has based his view on Bukharin's through the imbalance between politics and eco basis of military expansionism and nuclear bomb analysis of state-capitalism on the question of law nomy). tests. Thus, for example, our slogan should be as of value, when he analyzed the soviet economy. As follows: "Against all Nuclear Bomb Tests, whether I wrote in the Japanese translation of Cliff's work, they are tested by capitalist countries or by Stalin •J _ HE MOST basic impetus for social revolutions ist ones. Down with all conflicts between American I cannot agree with this view. Cliff's weakest point is the contradiction between the productive is that he has considered the death of the law of and USSR imperialists. Toward World Revolu forces and production relations. This has been ex tion!" ... value (See my article, "Marx's Socialism and the pressed most vividly in each succeeding periodic Stalinist Regime"). economic crisis. On the present-day higher stage of So far I have raised some problems. I welcome state capitalism concentrated, calculated, controlled, active discussions on this preliminary statement of IT IS TRUE that Bukharin's "organized capitalism" and socialized, it has changed its appearance. Now my views. We cannot continue to rely only on Cap it is manifested in giant imperialist countries and ital, and Imperialism. We must go beyond Marx, overestimated the internal organization of capital Engels, Lettin and Trotsky, creatively analyse our ism within a country. However, because of his logi their conflicts, in competiton for miliary expanson on a scale never before seen in history, and by own age. As.§ matter of fact, their chief accomplish cal analysis, he has correctly emphasized the strong ment was creativity. tendency towards international anarchy, competition, ^ sua and contradiction. Once Lenin criticized Kautsky's Now available in Japanese translation: — Written in November- 1962 — theory of ultra-imperialism in his Introduction to The Law of Value and the Nature of the However, if the thesis "a crisis is one of power Bukharin's World Economy and Imperialism: (12) Russian Economy, by Raya Dunayevskaya ful levers for a political revolution" is now losing "There is no doubt that the development is going Workers Battle Automation, by Charles its meaning! and the strategy of "converting the im in the direction of a single world trust that will Denby perialistic war into a civil war" is also becoming swallow up all enterprises and all states without Philosophical Essays, by Raya Dunayevs- meaningless*, one will doubt whether the objective exception. But the development in this direction is .kaya conditions favorable for revolutions will appear, proceeding under such stress, with such a tempo, Order directly from: Zenshin, 1-50, Ikebu- whether the future of social revolutions is hope with such contradictions, conflicts, and convulsions kurohigashi, Toshima-ku, Tokyo, Japan. less, and whether revolutionary elements will be —not only economic, but also political, national, etc. obliged to surrender to reformism. —that before a single world trust will be reached, further development of military weapons to their I don't doubt file future of social revolutions. The before the respective national finance capitals will most extreme form. Since Stalinist Russia was among analyses by those who attach no credit to social have formed a world union of 'ultra-imperialism,' the leading participants in World War II, Stalinists revolutions are based on superficial and one-sided imperialism will inevitably explode, capitalism will have no right to speak of world peace and also for observations: Various favorable elements for social turn into its opposite." any movements against imperialism. The competition revolutions are appearing to fill the vacancies. To Is this view still correct? Yes, in essence. That in nuclear weapons between the USA and the USSR day such severe whole-nationaL crises as were ex is to say, generally there is a process toward a world is a good example of this. Actually, militarism results pected in the period of Lenin are 'not always neces trust because of the delay in the world revolution, in wasting productivity. The present situation might sary for social revolutions; and, if necessary, they the incapacity to take advantage of capitalism's very well result in actual confrontation of those can be created artificially. State monopoly capitalism crises. In other words, the concentration of capital nuclear giants. This would not just stop production, (state-capitalism) itself is a direct and material pre is perhaps the ultimate and final conflict now mani but turn civilization back to barbarism, or bring ceding stage jo? socialism, and I have no doubt about festing itself in its ultimate phase. Because of the human civilization to total annihilation. When we the fact thati the working class has^grown up abso failure of world revolution, history itself seems to limit ourselves only to consideration of the basic and lutely—the present-day workers have more powerful move toward Bukharin's state-capitalism. Those cyclical curves, present-day capitalism seems to have voices than those that the workers of the Marx and Marxists who cannot see this are blind. This is the achieved a new prosperous era. However, it has such Lenin era had, their forces have increased very much most basic problem of our age. Of course, there is a terrible dark side that it resembles a death-dance and the powtjr; relations between bourgeoisie and pro no doubt "Before capitalism becomes a single world performed at the edge of an active volcano. The letariat havei also changed. In these circumstances, trust, imperialism will inevitably collapse and cap present age is an age of fictitious prosperity. This, social revolutions can occur without any severe italism will become its opposite." Bukharin wrote: in turn, becomes an objective condition for the devel whole-national crisis expected in the Lenin era or "But is not the epoch of 'ultra-imperialism' a real opment of- world social revolution. with an artificially created crisis. The problem is possibility after all^ can it not be affected by the that the revolutionary Marxists should take the lead centralization process? Will not the state capitalist Yet the use of atomic weapons may bring only ership from the~ Social Democrat and the Stalinist trusts devour one another gradually until there comes destruction to the whole human race. Therefore, the cliques. into existence an all-embracing power which has ruling classes will also try to avoid having a third conquered all the others? This possibility would be world war. It is worthwhile to pause here. For that pWpose, (.1) revolutionists should throw thinkable if we were to look at the social process In the 1890's Engels wrote: "There are two situa away the traditional idea which they have had con as a purely mechanical one, without counting the tions which have chiefly been responsible for pre sciously or Unconsciously, the idea that in usual forces that are hostile to the policy of imperialism. venting a devastating war. One is the continuous periods reformists or revisionists usually have leader (13). rapid development of manufacturing methods of new ship and just in revolutionary periods revolutionists weapons. The other is that there is no way of pre take leadership. Revolutionists should make efforts Thus, it is natural to develop a theory of social dicting the possibility of winning any war." (Foreign to establish (j^eir leadership among the masses and revolution on the basis of Bukharin's theory of Policy of Russian Tsarism) to have an extremely good skill in fighting for any state-capitalism, with -a special emphasis on imperial Today there is still another situation, and that reforms. (2) ^Revolutionists should also revive and ist wars and conflicts. Bolilin criticized this view as is the discovery of atomic weapons. The appearance develop the utiited front tactics which were adopted "an one-sided explanation." Joelson also criticized of this ultimate weapon threatens human survival, in the Third and the Fourth Congresses (not in the this by saying "If we take Bukharin's view, social thus serving as a preventive force from engaging in Fifth Congress) of the Comintern and the slogan of revolution is almost impossible without a .war. Ac World War III. This, however, is not absolute, but the workers' government (the workers' and peasants' cording to Lenin, a revolution does not necessarily only relative. If it were absolute, there would be government). In former times the workers' govern require a war as its prerequisite." He spoke about no need for a protest movement against testing of ment (the workers' and peasants' government) which this in his book on Socialist Revolution and Self- atomic weapons.. Rather movements for encouraging would result from the united front was regarded as Determination from which I have already quoted. atomic weapons should be promoted, since they will a possible transitional stage to the proletarian dicta However, today it has not yet been proven that serve as a strong deterrent in keeping others from torship, but at the present high stage of capitalism "every element, which works against a repetition going to war. Recently Stalinists have really devel and class struggles such a government seems to be of the old crises, carries the germ of a far more oped such an opinion and spoken in favor of Rus an inescapable transitional stage. tremendous future crisis in itself." And, if "crisis sian and Chinese tests of A and H bombs. As to the workers' government discussed in the is the strong lever to political revolution," it has al There is no absolute guarantee that World War Fourth Congress ef the Comintern, I have explained ready lost its meaning. Thus Bukharin's view is not III will not occur. As I have already said, in the in another article entitled "A Criticism of Khrusfi- necessarily a onesided view. present-day world of state-capitalism the conflict of chev-Togliatti Line." In this article I have criticized At the beginning of this article I pointed out that, imperialists as a parent body for war is becoming the "Structure Reform" line and its "Third Power" besides crises, certain kinds of wars are also favor more intensified. The entire space of this world is theory (the theory of a new-type democratic polit able for revolutions. This does not mean that all wars filled with gun-powder. This is expressed by mam ical power). I think that this is the key point which (12) V. I. Lenin (Introduction to Imperialism and World moth militarism and endless striving for military should be discussed by many people. Economy, by Nikolai Bukharin), Collected Works, Vol. 22. expansion. "Imperialists do not make war because p. 13. — Written in June, 1963 — (13) Nikolai Bukharin, Imperialism and World Economy, they have weapons. They make weapons because they p. 142. find cause to make war" (Trotsky). The most danger ous moment is the moment of imbalance in military R Fori Unusual Holiday Giving expansion (There is more of an aggressive than a News & Letters defensive nature in the process of military expan | An International Symposium on VOL. 11, NO. 9 December, 1966 sion). There is always the danger, that a limited, partial war could develop into a full-scale, unlimited, i I SOCIALIST HUMANISM News & Letters is published every month except war unintentionally. during the summer months when issues appear | 36 essays, edited by Erich Fromm June-July, August-September, by News & Letters, yw E ARE NOW engaging in movements against I Includes Leopold S. Senghor of Senegal, 8751 Grand River, Detroit 4, Michigan. Telephone: | Raya Dunayevskaya and Herbert Marcuse TYler 8-7053. Subscription: $1 for 12 issues; atomic weapons and against wars. If W.W. single copy—10c; for bulk order of ten or more Ill has already begun, what shall we do? Should we | of Hie U. S.; Adam Schaff of Poland, Lu-r —6c, each. think of the war as the parent body of a revolution? 8 cien Gokfrttann of France, Iring Fetscher Shall we fight with the slogan "Turn the imperial fl of Germany, Karel Kosik of Czechoslo- "iRaya Dunayevskaya, Chairman ist war into an civil war," as Lenin had done dur $ vakia. National Editorial Board ing W.W. I? Charles Denby Editor No! There is not enough time for that. War | Paperback Edition Just Out: $1.75 O. Domanski Managing Editor would leave us only barbarism or perhaps entire jf (Also available in hardcover: $5.95) destruction. There seems to be little chance for us Second Class Postage Paid to turn the imperialist war into a proletarian civil- I Published by DouWeday & Co., Inc. at Detroit, Michigan war. I Copies available from News & Letters "Crisis as a powerful lever to political revolution" DECEMBER, 1966 NEWS & LETTERS Page 5 State-Capitalism and Marx9s Humanism, or Philosophy and Revolution By RAYA DUNAYEVSKAYA ism is dialectially transformed into the state form , (Continued from Page 1) II. Lenin vs. Bukharin: the of workers' socialism." Everything here stands and the Orient lay prostrate? Why could these topsy turvy as if indeed people were nothing but problems not have presented themselves any earlier Dialectic and Its Meth "human machines." (7) than the mid-1950's when, on the one hand, Western odological Enemy, Ab Europe could, without the prop of the Marshall JP OR A REVOLUTIONARY intellectual to have Plan, once again stand on its own economic feet; stract Revolutionism become so entrapped in the fundamental aliena and, on the other hand, the Korean War had ended tion of philosophers in a class society, identifying so that a semblance of peace could be effected? To Because the transformation of reality is central men with things, is a phenomenon that laid heavy get the answers to these questions, we must take a to the Hegelian dialectic, Hegel's philosophy comes closer look at those mid-1950's. on Lenin's mind as, he wrote his Will, hut in his to life, over and over again, in all periods of crisis Notes on Bukharin's book, Lenin moved cautiously , and transition, when society is shaken to its foun in drawing any conclusions. Yet he began his criti dations as the world reaches a new turning point. cism with Bukharin's very definition of political I HE PERIOD of 1950-1956 is a crucial one, how Hegel himself lived at just such a turning point in ever, not because capitalism had gained a new economy as "the science of social economy based history — the French Revolution; the dialectic has on production of commodities, i.e., -the science of lease on-life> Mt-because a new proletarian opposit rightly been called "the algebra of revolution." (4) ion arose. In the United States workers were resist an unorganized social economy." Lenin comments: What seems almost beyond comprehension is this: "Two untruths: (1) the definition is a step backward ing the new stage of production called Automation just when the Russian Revolution made real "the by a general strike in the mines, wildcatting in the from Engels; (2) commodity production is also 'or algebra of revolution," and smashed bourgeois state ganized' economy." auto industry, talking up a storm at union meetings power, just when "workers organized as the ruling and elsewhere. In East Germany, the opposition to class" was concretized as Soviet power, and the By stressing that not only state-capitalism, but- increased "norms" (speedup) led to open revolt workers finally organized national trade unions, and even simple commodity production is "also 'organ against the totalitarian state. just, when the Party that led the revolution was estab ized' economy," Lenin is rejecting the counterpo- lishing the first workers'.state in history, that Party sition of "unorganized" to "organized" as any sort The absolutely -unprecedented developments of fundamental criterion for the determination of throughout Eastern Europe culminated in the Hun became embroiled in arguments over, of all things, state-capitalism. a workers' state. By pointing out that Engels had, garian Revolution of 1956, the very year which as far back as 1891, held that, with trustification, ushered in the Negro Revolution in the United The two debates most relevent to us are the planlessness ceases, Lenin has in mind his State States. (3) By the end of the 1950's that new page vocal'one on the trade unions and the silent one— and Revolution where he first developed not only of freedom was large enough to cover a new, a Lenin's Notes on Bukharin's Economics of the Trans his theory of state-capitalism (based on Engels' third world — Asia, Africa, Latin America. Along ition Period. Elsewhere (5) I have analyzed the three thesis) but also his theory of proletarian revolution. with these epochal developments came a search for major positions in that famous trade-union debate, a new philosophy of freedom, a new, a Marxist 1920-21, including that of Shlyapnikov of the Work Or, to put it differently, what Lenin is saying is Humanism. ers' Opposition who opposed both Lenin and Trotsky- that the -days when plan -and planlessness were In the third section of this essay we will deal with Bukharin and who called for an "All-Russian Con considered absolute opposites, are gone forever. the philosophical problems of today. Here it will gress of Producers." The position of Lenin—that What is now on the agenda is listening to the voices suffice to assert that the theoretical void in the the workers must maintain the independence of from below not only for the theoretical preparation Marxist movement since the death of Lenin has not their trade unions (and all other organizations) from for revolution, as he had done in State and Revolu been filled, not for lack of a life and death struggle the state, although that state be a workers' state — tion, but for reconstruction of society on new begin over Stalin's usurpation of the mantle of Lenin, nor was opposed by Bukharin, this time in coalition with nings. The point at issue now, 1920, is this: Russia is for lack of statistical studies of the economy and Trotsky. They maintained that, ~*'since" Russia was not a theoretical or "abstract" workers' state. It reams of political theses. Rather, the void exists be a workers' state, the workers had nothing to fear is a workers' and peasants' government that is "bur- cause, from Leon Trotsky down, the disputants have from it, and "therefore" should dissolve their trade eaucratically deformed." The workers are demand failed to face up to the shattering truth of Lenin's unions into the state apparatus. Here, where we are ing an end to State interference in their trade wartime break with his own philosophic past. Len concerned with methodology, the trade union de unions: "We-, the ordinary rank and file, the masses, in's dialectical analysis of the relationship of mon bate concerns us only as it illuminated, theoretically, say that we must renovate, we must correct, we opoly capitalism to the collapse of the Second Inter- the role of workers in a workers' state and as this, must expel the bureaucrats; but you pitch us a yarn ternational at the outbreak of the first world war in turn, was related to the theory of state-capitalism. about engaging in production. I do not want to en has been reduced to a set of cliches, while the In -a word, Bukharin's theory underlying his argu gage in production with such and such a bureaucrat-* methodology he worked out for discerning the emer mentation in the trade union debate is of greater ic board of directors." (8). gent administrative mentality within Bolshevism has relevance to. us than the debate itself, which, of nec So totally did Lenin disagree with Bukharin's been bypassed altogether. essity, bears the marks of factionalism. It will clar method of presentation that even when he agreed Where Lenin, although he knew exactly where ify matters if we concentrate, therefore, on his with the specific points, he felt it necessary to crit he was going politically, felt it imperative to work Economics of the Transition Period, and, along with icize. Thus, he singled out for praise Bukharin's out anew the dialectic methodology, directly from it, Lenin's commentary on it. (6) restatement of Marx's "two essential moments: centralisation of means of production and socialisa Hegel and, indirectly, in relationship to the attitude Bukharin's theory of state-capitalism, the obverse of his Bolshevik co-leaders, how can "Leninists" tion of labor which bloomed together with the capi side of his theory of economic development under talist method of production and inside it." But here think they can coast along politically without such a workers' state, is that of a continuous develop a philosophic foundation? Naturally, this is not a is how he phrased his agreement: "Finally, thank ment, a straight line leading from "unorganized" god! Human language instead of 'organized' babb mere matter of showing "respect" for the dialectic. competitive capitalism to "organized" state-capital That word was on no ones lips more frequently than ling. All is well that ends well." ism. On a world scale, it remains ''anarchic," sub But "all" didn't end well, not even when there on Bukharin's. And yet the mechanistic abstractions ject to the "blind laws of the world market." An of his philosophic magnum opus, Historical Mate was no disagreement. Thus, there was certainly no archy is "supplemented by antagonistic classes." disagreement about the major achievement of the rialism, permeate all of his writings, even the "cor Only the proletariat, by seizing political power, can rect" ones. Moreover — and this, precisely, is the Russian Revolution — the destruction of bourgeois extend "organized production" to the, whole world. production relations. But the minute Bukharin tried reason for its relevance to today's debates — his The fact that Bukharin believes in social revolution dialectic never seemed to breathe life, have a "per to make an abstraction of that, tried to subsume does not, however, seem to stop him from dealing production relations under "technical relations," sonality" of its own, much less that of self-activity, with labor, not as subject, but as object. of proletarian self-development. It is no accident it became obvious to Lenin that Bukharin simply that the so misused and abused word, the dialectic, Quite the contrary. 1917 notwithstanding — and- failed to understand the dialectic. Thus, when keeps cropping up throughout a whole decade of de despite the fact that Bukharin played no "small role he quoted Bukharin to the effect, that, "Once the bates among Bolsheviks, from the outbreak of the in that revolution— his concept of revolution is so destruction of capitalist production relations is first world war till Lenin's death, January, 1924. abstract that all human activity is subsumed under really given, and once the theoretic impossibility of it. Thus, he is inescapably driven to preclude self- their restoration is proven," Lenin hit back with: The relevance, nay, the imperativeness of a movement. Which is exactly why labor remains an philosophic method as foundation for today's debates " 'Impossibiliity' is demonstrable only practically. object to him. As object, the highest attribute The author does not pose dialectically the relation on state-capitalism lies in this: without it;'the debates Bukharin can think of assigning labor is its becom can lead nowhere else but to eclecticism. This has ship of theory to practice." ing an "aggregate." Indeed, Bukharin uses the Practice to Lenin was workers practicing. To the been true ever since World War II proved the Trot- word, subject, not to denote the proletariat, or liv skyist Fourth International to have been a stillbirth. Marxist theoretician, this is where all theory must ing man, but just "consciousness," "single will" so begin. Without having been aware of Marx's Human It has resulted in the theoretician beings forced to that, despite his contention that only the proletariat "pick out something" from a Bukharin who had ist Essays — they had not yet been discovered and can plan on a world scale, state-capitalism "has~be- published — Lenin developed a "new universal" for worked out a full theory of state-capitalism without come a rational organization from an irrational giving up what he had previously learned from Trot his age, that the population, to a man, was to run system; from a subject-less economy, it has become production and the state — or it could not be consid sky, though the latter had rejected the idea that the an economic subject." To this economic form of "the theory of state-capitalism has any applicability to ered a new social order. He wrote this in State and future" the proletariat must submit; in a workers' Revolution, and he tried practicing it after conquest Russia. For good measure, one adds to this some state he becomes the "smallest cell." Thus: "The thing from Lenin who analyzed a state-capitalism of power. What worried him about his Bolshevik co- statification of the trade union and factual statifi- leaders was that, now that they had power, they which one "cannot find in books" because its frame cation of all mass organizations of the proletariat of reference was a workers' state, that is to say, a themselves either displayed "a passion for bossing," is the result of the very inner logic of the process of or, at best, were ready with an administrative solu state where workers controlled the conditions of transformation . . , The smallest cell of the workers' production,' held political power. This choosing and tion where only the self-activity of the masses could apparatus must become transformed into a bearer solve the crisis. (9) picking from contradictory theories is then topped of the general process- which is planfully led and by one's own contribution of a'still different epoch, conducted by the collective reason of the working In the fires of revolution and, again, when under" thereby succeeding in making a complete hash both class which finds its material embodiment in the the threat of counter-revolution, all may have been of different historic periods and conflicting philo highest and most all embracing organization, in its forgiven. On his death-bed, however, Lenin showed sophic methods. Of necessity, this must end by su state apparatus. Thereby the system of state-capital- he had not forgotten. As he lay writhing in agony— perimposing an abstract universal, like Revolution, not just physical agony, but agony over the early with a capital R, on a static situation, instead of la (4) Alexander Herzen, Selected Philosophical Works, p. bureaucratisatiSn of the workers' state and its ten boring to discern new revolutionary impulses and tho 521. (Foreign Language Publishing House, Moscow, 1956.) dency "to move backwards to capitalism"—Lenin (5) See Chapter XII, MARXISM AND FREEDOM. Those emergence of a concrete universal out of the actually who can read Russian will find the major positions includ took the measure of his co-leaders in his Will. In it, developing conflicts wherein the "subject" (the pro ed in The Party and the Trade Unions, edited by Zinoviev, Lenin warns that Bukharin, despite the fact that and the major proponents speaking for themselves—Lenin, letariat) itself determines the end — both the rev Trotsky, Shlyapnikov—in the Stenographic Minutes of Ninth he was the Party's "most valuable and biggest olution and what comes after as inseparables. The Congress of the Russian Communist Party. When Lenin was alive, no one thought that theoretical disputes are won theoretician," "never learned and, I think, never discernment of new revolutionary impulses is a through concealing the opponents' views. The English task each generation of Marxists must achieve for reader is limited to Lenin's views arguing against the other (7) Draft CI Program, included in Ataka, p. 121, Collec positions. Lenin, Selected Works, Vol. IX (International Pub tion of Theoretical Articles by N. Bukharin (May, 1924, itself. The methodology that was at stake in the lishers, NY, 1943) is indispensable both for the trade union Moscow, Russian). debate and the Report to 11th Congress of RCP where (8) Lenin, Selected Works, Vol. IX, p. 19. debates between Bolshevik theoreticians, between Lenin warned of a "return backwards to capitalism." (9) "They (the workers and peasants) must understand Lenin and Bukharin, however, has much to tell us that the whole thing now is practice, that the historical (6) Unfortunately neither Bukharin's Economics of the moment has arrived when theory is being transformed for the period of the 1960's. Transition Period, nor Lenin's Commentary On it is avail into practice, is vitalised by practice, corrected by practice, able in English. (I've used the Russian texts.) However, tested by practice .... Every attempt to adhere to stereo (3> For a factual report of the Montgomery Bus Boycott other works by N. Bukharin are available in English. These typed forms and to impose uniformity from above, as our by one of Its leaders see Stride Toward Freedom: The are: The World Economy and Imperialism, Historical Ma- intellectuals are inclined to do, must be combated .... Montgomery Story, by Martin Luther King, Jr. (Harper & terialism, and individual essays are included in other works, The Paris Commune gave a great example of how to com Row, NY, 1958). For a Marxist-Humanist analysis, see those against self-determination in The Bolsheviks and the bine initiative, independence, freedom of action and vigour MARXISM AND FREEDOM, p. 279-83, and Introduction to World War (edited by Gankin and Fisher, Stanford U. from below with voluntary centralism stereotyped forms." the 2nd edition. (Twayne Publishers, N.Y. 1958 and 1964). Press, 1940) and elsewhere. (Lenin, Selected Works, Vol. IXmp. 420) Page 6 NEWS & LETTERS DECEMBER, 1966 fully understood the dialectic." (10) In 1953, on the other hand, with the spontaneous It sounds like the kind of abstraction that Lenin proletarian outburst in East Germany, followed in considered his methodological enemy, the kind of a few weeks by a strike in the forced labor camps abstraction that Lenin criticized in Bukharin. Once, within Russia itself, the pivot of the discussion however, one remembers that the WiM is both con at once shifted from concentration on the "objective" crete and the summation of a whole decade of theor- capitalist development
technologically underdeveloped, but politically ever more maehines—and the motive force of prod One co-thinker has raised the question of the mature, countries, in the throes of birth, was unfur uction—extraction of surplus value or unpaid hours qualitative change in economic crises since the ling the banner of the new Humanism. This stretched of labor from living labor—leads to crises, to cur period of the Depression. He recognizes, of coarse, from West Africa where Leopold Sedar Senghor tailment of production, to big capital eating up - that our affluent society where degressions have singled out the Humanism of Marxism as the most little capital and greater production and still great | become "mere" recessions is not free of crises, wars, contemporary and profound aspect of Marxism, (18) er markets, only once more to end up in crises, and political upheavals. He stresses, further, that the to Latin America where Fidel Castro also at first more technological revolutions that continue on their I fictitious prosperity should not make us forget the called his revolution "humanist." (19) Even in the merry way, that is to say, in disregard of the motive new, third world, and calls for a theory of social most pragmatic, most undiatectical and unMarxist force of capitalist production. i revolution to be built on the theory of state capital- land—the United States—(and not among Marxists Yet, no matter how fabulous the mass of profits, ! ism. But this is still a lofeg way from a concrete at that) the Negro Revolutioa began to speak in the once the capitalists experience a decline in the rate i discussion of Marx's Humanism and the point is that terms of humanist philosophy. It is true that it was of profit, they lack the passion for the accumula the theory of state-capitalism must test itself against not yet in the sense of Marxist Humanism, that its tion of capital needed to keep expanding production the philosophic developments as well as the econo- frame of reference was the humanism of the Exist on the ever greater scale demanded by technological i mic, old and new. If we take a second look at the entialist Jewish philosopher, Martin Ruber, but this revolutions. new forms of revolt—say, the Negro Revolution could as little hide the deep Marxist roots as could So extreme was this assumption, in Volume III and the youth rebellion both against academia and the choice of Gandhian "non-violence" hide the roots of Capital, that no one, at first, paid any attention the draft (25)—we can see how inter- related are the of Abolitionism. (20) to it when it was first published in 1895—ten years new forms of crises and new forms of revolt, and Nor was this due to any forgetfulness of the after Marx's death and some 30 years after he had ; yet how "only human." The Negro Revolution began "real" material foundations of the world. The written it. With the rise of imperialism and the as a fight against segregation, but the greatest out- third world of technologically underdeveloped coun super-profits of capitalism, one revolutionary Marx | bursts North have been among the urban, ghetto- tries was all too conscious both of its physical hun ist—Rosa Luxemburg—thought, in fact, that she ized Negro where unemployment is not a "mere ger and its "industrial backwardness." The Negro could disprove it by contrasting theory to reality. 4-5 per cent ", but 25 per cent and higher. Ttoe Viet Revolution in affluent United States could not pos For Marx's abstract assumptions did indeed appear nam war, being a "poor man's war" (that is to say, sibly separate the fight for political equality from even more fantastic than the one that underlined the rich college youth can escape the draft), we that for jobs. And the college youth the world Volume II of Capital where he presented a capital again confront the economic problem, but again, it over that wasn't working but was feeling its aliena ism that had no worries over markets; everything T isn't only "economics". tion was determined to' let the world know that ' the capitalists produced that was not consumed by The same is true of the slogan, "turn the imper there were other, deeper crises, than the economic itself and the laborers went into further production. ialist war into a civil jvar." Of course, the problems ones, nor were they going to be terrorized by the Luxemburg now proclaimed that, if we are to wait of a nuelear age are different than when wars were threat of nuclear war to de-humanized actions. for capitalism to collapse because of a decline in the fought with other arms. Of course, this makes more rate of profit and lack of capital, we might as well urgent the anti-war struggles. Of course, it will be J. Economic Crises and Wars wait for "the extinction of the moon." (22) altogether too late to raise the slogan when the H- I'm not saying that this means that all economic' WHAT HAD seemed stratospheric to a great i bombs start falling and put an end to civilization problems have thereby been "dissolved" into philos revolutionary at the'turn of the century had, by the i as we have known it. But it is precisely because the ophic ones. That would be ludicrous. What I am say 1960's, so closely approached factual development | H-bomb cannot be used within a country without ing is this: how, in the face of the actual objective that even a bourgeois economist could recognize destroying the perpetrator of the crime that the and subjective conditions—the new forms of econom this visceral characteristic of advanced capitalism I slogan may, under many circumstances, be the only I -correct one. Surely, what we are witnessing in Viet ic crises and wars, on the one hand, and the new which kept it from doing anything substantial to; forms of revolt and underlying philosophies, on the industrialize the underdeveloped countries, despite nam is, precisely ,the revolutionary act of the South other hand—can the disputants on the state-capitalist the fact that they feared that otherwise the "Third Vietnamese trying to transform the imperialist war theory keep themselves shut away from the existen World" would be won over and absorbed in the J into a civil war. And because it is indigenous, they tial reality of which philosophy is an integral part? Communist world. Thus Barbara Ward wrote: "Am have not lost yet, despite the astounding, the over- In the 1930's those who sensed the emergent state- erican foreign ventures are barely one-fifth of Great | whelming might of United States imperialism. capitalist form of production felt hamstrung by the Britain in its heyday . . . Shortage of capital is the giant revolutionary figure of Leon Trotsky who world's troubles today, not the struggle of rival 2. Philosophy and Revolution opposed the state-capitalist theory and lent all his capitalists to go out. and invest." (23) Miss Ward weight to the characterization that nationalized | Marx stated it succinctly enough when he said notwithstanding, imperialist rivalry, of course, also ! that his original discovery, "the pivot on which poli- property characterized Russia as a workers' state, continues, as the attempts to dismember the Congo, "despite all crimes of Stalin" which contributed to I tical economy turns", is the distinction he drew bet on the one hand, and the all-sided investments in ween concrete and abstract labor. One of these econ- the "degenerate form" of this workers' state's exis South Africa, on the other hand, testify. tence. The Hitler-Stalin Pact, followed by the out | omic categories, concrete labor, was easy enough break of World War II, did undermine Trotskyism, At the same time, even in the most affluent of I for any one to see whether they looked at a tailor splitting it, first, and, following the war, showing the developed countries—USA—and despite the or factory worker,'at a carpenter or a miner. But, the Trotskyist Fourth International to have been a fact that we have, in the postwar world, confronted what is "abstract labor"? No one has ever seen stillbirth, a mere footnote to history. "only" recessions, not depressions, the crises had | an "abstract" laborer so why create such a fan become chronic not alone in relation to the under tastic category? That this is precisely the question What excuse can there be now for any inde developed world, but right within it. Again, even Marx wanted to be asked can be seen not only from pendent Marxist theoretician to persist in keeping bourgeois economists recognize the chronic nature the fact that he states his original contribution in the economics, politics and philosophy in three separ both of the underdeveloped regions like Appalachia very first chapter of Cajjital, but that he never lets ate compartments just when the 1950's disclosed a and persistent unemployment. (24) go of it either throughout the whole volume, or vol movement from practice itself toward theory? umes II and III, all of which disclose how capitalist Presently, if even wex limit ourselves to normal (22) Luxemburg, Accumulation of Capital. (Yale Univer sity Press, New Haven, 1951^'translated into English as production (1) reduces the concrete labor of the and "purely" economic issues, we cannot escape part of "Rare Masterpieces of Philosophy and Science/ whole working class to one abstract mass of undif seeing the new form of appearance of economic edited by Dr. W. Stark, introduced by Joan Robinson, and translated i»y Agnes Sehwartschild (doctor iurls), some ferentiated, socially-necessary labor time by follow crises tied tightly to the new forms of revolt, be vulgar errors appear, beginning with the elimination of the ing the movements and speed of the machine, there that of the Negro Revolution in affluent USA, or dashes in "Nitwatei—on," thus "eliminating"; the Tsarist censorship which compelled Danielson not to sign his by not only (2) alienating the workers' very acti the Afro-Asian revolutions that brought into exis name. Thereupon "Nikolayon" appears as if it were a vity as well as his products, but also (3) perverting tence a new, a third world. Let us first look at the name by ttseif. Nevertheless, the English reader is finally the relationship of man to things, making the ma relationship of the technologically advanced coun enabled to read Luxemburg's greatest theoretical work. (23) Barbara Ward, Five Ideas that Changed the World, chine master of man, not man of machine. Because tries to the underdeveloped economies, made urgent p. 139. (4) there has been this reificatien of man himself, for our day by the ever-widening gap between these (24) See Simon Kuznets, Postwar Economic Growth, which gives the reader not only an economic analysis of the transforming him into a thing (5) the fetishism which newly independent countries and the technologies postwar wesrW but raises ether than economic questions. clings to commodities in their exchange makes social which suck the former back into the vortex of the "If modern economic growth is, in essence, a controlled world market and world production. Over half of revolution in economy and society, and the revolution in relations assume the form of relations between society, with its internal and external ramifications, is an things as if real. Marx insists that relations between the world's population live in countries with per indispensable part of the total process, economic growth c capita income of less than $100 a year. Despite all is neither fully understood ,nor properly measurable and men must assume "the fantastic form o a relation analysable, in a study limited to traditionally defined eco between things" because that is what they "really the "foreign aid" there has been no improvement. nomic variables." (p. 128). In Indonesia, for example, the per capita product are," at the point of production or, as he put it else actually declined from pre-war levels; in all coun where, "The mastery of the capitalist over the worker tries, even those experiencing a comparatively fairly is in reality the mastery of dead over living labor." high rate of economic growth, the gap between ad It is this concept of the dominance of dead labor vanced and backward countries actually widened. which was the determinant feature in the whole Under world capitalism, it is true that the rich get of capitalist society. This, just this> is the reason ting richer and the poor getting poorer is a familiar why Mark attributed the degradation of bourgeois enough sight. The new form of appearance of econo thought to an ideology, i.e., a false consciousness. mic crisis, however, is not, and it is for this reason The fetishism of state property had even a more that we must turn to the most extreme assumptions deadening effect on Marxists than the fetishism of of Marx in .purest theory. commodities had on classical political economy. The death of Stalin, however, did produce a liberating It was Marx's contention that if capitalism con effect both, in a movement from below to put an tinued in its perverse course of development—in end to that epoch of enslavement of workers in creasing constant capital, or machines, at the ex production, as well as to the administrative men pense of variable capital,, or labor—there would tality in the realm of thought, and in the beginnings come a day when "if even" capitalists could appro of a theoretical return to Marx's Humanist Essays- priate "the full 24 hours of the laborer", (21) they as well as to Hegel's Absolute Idea. (26) would head toward collapse. The irreconcilable con v tradiction between the method of production—using I would like to reiterate that it is not for any abstract reason that Bakharin's logic is non-dial (18) Leopold Sedar Sengher, African Socialism (American ectical; rather it is because he saw no new subject Society of African Culture, NY, 1959); and also L. Seng- hor's "Socialism Is a Humanism" in Socialist Humanism that will itself determine the end. Instead, the state (edited by Erich Fromm, Doubleday, NY, 1965, pp. 53-67). will do it "for" the proletariat. Of course, he didn't (19) Fidel Castro, History Will Absolve Me (1954), Lyle Stuart, NY, 1961); also his Summer, 1959 speech published mean the bourgeois state. Of course, he had in mind in New Left Review, London, Jan.-Feb. 1961: "We have the workers' state. Of course, as a revolutionary, named it (our policy) humanism . . . The tremendous prob lem faced by the world is that it has been placed in a posi he couldn't have had any other "end" in mind than tion where it must choose between capitalism, which that of socialism, a classless society. starves people, and communism, which resolves economic problems, but suppresses the liberties so greatly cherished Nevertheless, it is a fact that he opposed the con by man. . . . That is why we haye said that we are one step ahead of the right and of the left and that this is a crete, living Russian workers in their attempts to humanistic revolution, because it does not deprive men of have their own organizations, that is to say, them this essence . . . Capitalism sacrifices man; the Communist state, by its 'totalitarian concept sacrifices tne rights of selves determine that end. So that, despite his un man. That is why do I do not agree with any of them . . , sullied record as 'a revolutionary, he saw the ours is an autonomous Cuban revolution." BOOTS OF STALIN are all that remain of workers, not as subject, but as object. The inescap (20) See Preface to 2nd edition, American Civilization on able result was that his concept of revolution was Trial (News & Letters, Detroit, Mich., 1963). See also Rev. his statue as Hungarian revolutionary free Martin Luther King, Jr., "Letter from Birmingham City thoroughly" abstract, which is why he opposed self- Jail," published by New Leader, N.Y., 1963). dom fighters demonstrate their hatred ei the (21) Capital, Viol III, p. 468: "In order to produce the . totalitarian regime forced on them by the (25) See The Free Speech Movement and Negro Revolu same rate of profit, when the constant capital set in motion tion by Mario Savio, Eugene Walker and Raya Dunayev- by one laborer increases ten-fold, the surplus labor time Russian dictator as they demolish his statue skaya (News & Letters, Detroit, 1965). would have to increase ten-fold, and soon the total labor in Budapest during the 1956 Hungarian (26) An Exchange of Letters on Hegel's Absolute Idea, time, and finally the full twenty-four hours a day would appendix to mimeographed Extracts from Lenin's Philo not suffice, even if wholly appropriated by capital." Revolution. sophic Notebooks (News & Letters, Detroit, 1955). Page 8 NEWS & LETTERS DECEMBER, 1966
determination of nations both before and after the of the world economy — neo-colonialism, although It is that there is "only one road, changes from conquest of power. that, of course, played not an unimportant part. below; we wanted the workers themselves to draw Rather, they are closely related to the fact that the up, from below, the new principles of economic new leaders moved away from the spontaneity and conditions." (29) \JuR THEORY of state-capitalism differs from revolutionary zeal of the very people that made In oilr age, the new principles of economic con Bukharin's not-only because the concrete prob possible the revolutionary victory. ditions are inseparable from the mass search for a lems differ hi each epoch, but because the vision, if total philosophy, or, to use Marx's phrase, "a quest you will, must differ from Bukharin's abstract rev It is the human problem that is the problem of our age. Without the Humanism of Marxism, the for universality." (30) "To discern this mass search olutionism and, instead, be rooted in the actions and for a total philosophy," I wrote elsewhere (31), "it thoughts of working people who would themselves theory of state-capitalism could degenerate into one more variety of economism. Without the dialectic of is necessary only to shed the stubbornest of all decide their own destiny before, in,-and after the philosophies — the concept of 'the backwardness revolution. objective contradiction, materialism is nothing but bourgeois idealism in the sense of all men of good of the masses' and listen to their thoughts . . . The This is why, from the start of the state-capitalist will (changed to all good Party men) will "fix espousal of partiynost (party principle) as a phik> debate in 1941, my immediate point of departure everything up." The strangest combination of vulgar sophic principle is another manifestation of the was not the crimes of Stalin, but the role <>f labor economism. and sheerest voluntarism ("Mao's dogma of 'the backwardness of the masses' by in a workers' state. That role was of the essence, Thought") that characterizes Mao's China at this which intellectuals in state-capitalist societies irrespective not only of the role of "the rude and very moment has a great deal of relevance to our rationalize their contention that, the masses must disloyal" Stalin, but also of the "administrative" at- discussion. It is surely no accident that the most be ordefed about, managed, 'led'. Like the ideolo tude of the revolutionary planner, Trotsky, as well rabid attack on Marx's Humanism comes from gists of Ithe West, they forget all too easily that rev as of the non-dialectical but revolutionary Bukharin. Mao's China. (27) olutions! do not arise in the fullness of time to Dialectic is, after all, just shorthand for development, establish a party machine, but to reconstruct society self-development, development through contradic Lenin couldn't have foreseen any such willful on a huinian foundation." tion, development through transformation into op "transformation into opposite." And yet some such posite, development not only through negation conception of the workings of the dialectic must Instead of fearing Humanism as if it meant a (abolition) of what is, but also, and above all, have been at the back of his mind when he insisted -return to the young, "Hegelian-tainted" Marx, if through negation of the negation, that is to say, -that even the destruction of the bourgeois state is not back to outright bourgeois humanism of the reconstruction of society on new beginnings. It is this insufficient to constitute the makeup of a true Renaissance, we have much to learn from the way which we have to concretize today. Marxist: "The petty bourgeois in a frenzy may also the neiw revolutionaries in the underdeveloped want as much." (28) One thing, and one thing only, countries and the youth everywhere embraced it. In a word, what needs to be investigated, I Leopold Sedar Senghor profoundly and poetically should think, is not so much the probability that distinguishes a socialist revolution from all others. defined Marx's humanism as "a new humanism, new capitalism is not about to repeat its near-fatal ex (27) See Chou Yang's Speech at the Fourth Enlarged Ses because it is incarnate." (32) perience of the Depression. What needs to be in sion of the Committee of the Department of Philosophy and Social Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Future generations will stand in amazement at vestigated are the new revolts, how it is that a new, (Foreign Language Press, Peking, 1963k "Completely dis third world won its freedom, despite the fact that carding historical materialism, the modern revisionists sub the equivocal but relentless resistance that those stitute the bourgeois theory of human nature for the Marx who consider themselves Marxists in our age carry it was technologically backward, despite its lack of ist-Leninist teaching of class on class struggle and proletar arms, despite the largeness of its poverty and small- ian dictatorship, for scientific communism. . . . The modern on against Marx's Humanism. Once, however, this revisionists and some bourgeois scholars try to describe becomes the underlying philosophy of revolution, ness of the nation; how a little Guinea of less than Marxism as humanism and call Marx a humanist. . . . This, three million could say, No, to mighty (but not al of course, is futile. In the early stages of development of the idea of freedom will no longer be "philosophy"; their thought, Marx and Engels were indeed somewhat in it will be reality. —November, 1966 mighty) DeGaulle France — and win. fluenced by humanist ideas .... But when they formulated the materialist conception of history and discovered the (29) ittid, p. 277. The recent retrogressive moves in some of the class struggle as the motive force of social development, (30) K. Marx, Poverty of Philosophy. they immediately got rid of this influence." (31) Socialist Humanism, pp; ,79-80 (edited by Erich newly-independent countries — military take-overs Fromm Doubleday, NY, 1965). — are not the result only of the pull of* the vortex (28) Lenin, Selected Works, Vol. VII, p. 337. (32) Ifeid, p. 61. First English Translation: Excerpts from the Archives of Marx (Ed. Note: The year 1967 is the chase of means of production and it represents capital as much as which he must sell. The separa tion, i.e. the self-augmentation of 200th anniversary of the publica capacities of labor, forms in its the elements of production ... tion advances so far, that these its value. Without the exchange, tion of Marx's CAPITAL, Vol. 1. turn the immanent moment of the In the process of production conditions of labor cojifront the of variable capital against the In celebration of this historic aggregate process. labor becomes materialized labor worker as independent persons, capacity to labor, no self-aug event we here publish a part of If however, we examine the in contradiction to the living cap because the capitalist,: as owner mentation of the value of the the original ending of thik work. formation of capital within the acity to labor, i.e. capital, and of the same, is only their per aggregate capital would occur, This first English translation direct process of production, then secondly by means of the same sonification in contradiction to and therefore no formation of from the German by Egon H. E. it, just as a simple commodity, sucking up and appropriation of the worker as the soki owner of capital or no transformation of Lass is from the ARCHIVES OF has the dual form of use value labor in the process of production the capacity to labor. If bis seper- means of production and means MARX, Vol. II (VII) Moscow, and exchange value. But in both the predetermined value becomes atioh and becoming independent of existence into capital . . . augmented value and therefore 1933.) forms there enter further deter is predetermined, so that the The means of production here value which creates a surplus purchase and sale of tb;e capacity Thus, the precise, specific minations which are distinct from represent themselves not only as the determinations of simple, in value different from itself. Only to labor occurs, i.e. tjaat living function of capital as capital through the fact, that labor is labor on the whole is incorporated means for the realization of labor, is the production of surplus dependently considered commod ities, more developed determina transformed into capital during into dead labor as m0ahs of its but just as much as means for the value, which, as is revealed tions. > the process of production, is the preservation and self-augmenta exploitation of alienated labor. later, is nothing but produc predetermined sum of value real tion of surplus labor, appro REGARDING first of all- the ized, which was only potentially NEWS & LETTERS PUBLICATIONS use value, its particular content, capital, as real capital. priation of unpaid labor in I—Nationalism, Communism, Marxist-Humanism and the actual process of produc its further determination was (. . .) i.e. to receive back a completely indifferent for the de the Afro-Asian Revolutions—_ tion, which represents itself, PC higher value from production By Rayo Dunayevskaya. African 2.5° ' termination of the understanding than the sum of values amounts materializes itself as surplus of a commodity. The article Revolutions and'Western Ideologies *•«* Copy value. to, which the capitalist advances 2—Workers Battle Automation— which was to be a commodity, and in it and for it (the process of JUST as a commodity is the therefore a bearer of exchange By Charles Denby, Editor of NEWS & LETTERS. WorkersJn production). The production of e Per direct unity of use value and ex value, had to satisfy a require auto, steel, coal and other industries , J JEJ " commodities itself appears only as Copy change value, so the process of ment of society, and therefore tell their stories!directly from the line **J production, which is a process of a means to this end, as generally 3—Freedom Ridejrs Speak for Themselves— had to possess some kind of useful the labor process appears only production of commodities, rep attribute. Voila tout. It is differ By Mary Hamilton, Louise Inghram, and others. An account by resents a direct unity pf labor as a means of the process of aug participants in the Freedom T.^' Pe' ent with the use value of com mentation of value. This process process and the process of aug modities, functioning in the pro Rides to Mississippi . - '"•••^ Copy mentation of value. Just as com is here not to be understood in 4—Indignant Heart— cess of production. Thanks to the former sense as a process modities, i.e. direct unities of use the nature of the labor process, By Matthew Ward. The autobiography of a Negro worker value and exchange value come creative of value, but as a process in the South "J C« Pet the means of production fall, first for the formation of surplus value. Copy out of the process as a result, as of all, into the subject of labor and in the North *mJ a product, so they enter it as one and the means of labor, or, to 5—The Young Marxist-Humanist— BUT this result is brought A search by today's youth to find a philosophy equal to the of its formative elements. In gen define this more accurately, into under way to the extent that the c Per eral, there can never come out challenges facing America ?^ raw materials, on the one hand, living labor, which the worker and the world. ..— "»'Cop y something of the process of pro instruments, auxiliary materials must perform, and which there duction which did not enter into 6—American Civilization on Trial- etc. on the other. These are the fore materializes also in the prod- Statement of the National Editorial Board that traces the roots it in the form of the conditions of determinations of the form of use duct of his labor, is greater than of Marxist-Hunionism from the Civil War ^0C Pe' production. value which arise out of the nat the labor contained in- variable to the modern!day Abotitionists ^WCopy The transformation of the ad ure of the labor process itself, capital or laid out in labor wages 7—News & Letters vanced sum of money, sums of and thus use value, in relation or, which is the same, the labor Unique combination of worker and intellectual, edited by money having to augment them to the means of production, re required for the reproduction Of Charles Denby, Negro production worker, and published 10 selves in value and transform ceives a further determination. the capacity to labor. Insofar as times a year. National Editorial Board Chairman, $ | Per themselves into capital, into the The determination of the form of the advanced value becomes capi Raya Dunayevskaya, is author of Marxism and Freedom • Sub factors of the process of produc use value itself here becomes es tal only through the production 8—The Free Speech Movement and the Negro tion, is an act of commodity cir sential for the development of the of surplus value, the formation Revolution — economic relation, of the econom Revolution— culation, of the process of ex of capital itself, as the capitalist c er change and falls into a series ic category . . . mode of production, is due to By Mario Savio, Eugene Walker and ^O ^ of purchases. Consequently this two moments to begin with: Raya Dunayevskaya act still occurs outside of the dir SINCE surplus value is the 9 $ 98 ect process of production. It is specific product of the process of Firstly the purchase and sale — Marxism and Freedom \ production, its product is not only of the capacity to labor, an act, only its introduction, but it is its By Raya Dunayevskaya _^ necessary prerequisite, and when commodities, but capital. Inside which falls into the sphere of cir we examine not the direct pro of the process of production labor culation, but when the entirety of cess of production but capitalist is changed into capital. The ac the capitalist process of'produc MAIL ORDERS TO: tivity of the capacity to labor, tion is viewed, an act which News & Letters, production as a whole and its con i.e. labor, materializes itself in tinuity, then this transformation forms not only a moment and a 8751 Grand River, the process of production, thus predetermination, but also the Detroit, Michigan 48204 of money into the factors of the becomes value, but since the process of production, the pur- constant result of the same. This Please enter my subscription to NEWS & LETTERS, labor, already before it begins, purchase and sale of the capacity has ceased to belong to the work 12 issues for $1 Q to labor imputes the separation Enclosed please find $ for the following: jh IN JANUARY WE RE- er himself, that which material of the material conditions of labor izes itself for him is the material 1¾ TURN TO OUR REGULAR —i.e. of the means of existence 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ization of alienated labor and and means of production — from (Please circle number corresponding to literature desired | FORMAT. WE WELCOME therefore independent value con as listed above) the living capacity to labor it NAME -.;.;; | READERS' VIEWS ON fronting the capacity to labor. self, so that the latter is the sole 1 THIS SPECIAL ISSUE. Capital. The product belongs to ADDRESS ,., : property at the disposal of. the C8TY STATE the capitalist and to the laborer worker, and the sole commodity