Manifesto of the Left Wing National Conference [July 1919] 1 Manifesto of the Left Wing National Conference: Issued on Authority of the Conference by the Left Wing National Council. Published as “The Left Wing Manifesto” in The Revolutionary Age [New York], v. 2, no. 1 (July 5, 1919), pp. 6-8, 14-15. The world is in crisis. Capitalism, the prevailing and the war was itself a direct product of Imperialism. system of society, is in process of disintegration and Industrial development under the profit system collapse. Out of its vitals is developing a new social of Capitalism is based upon the accumulation of capi- order, the system of Communist Socialism; and the tal, which depends upon the expropriation of values struggle between this new social order and the old is produced by the workers. This accumulation of capi- now the fundamental problem of international poli- tal promotes, and is itself promoted by, the concentra- tics. tion of industry. The competitive struggle compels each The predatory “war for democracy” dominated capitalist to secure the most efficient means of pro- the world. But now it is the revolutionary proletariat duction, or a group of capitalists to combine their capi- in action that dominates, conquering power in some tal in order to produce more efficiently. This process nations, mobilizing to conquer power in others, and of concentration of industry and the accumulation of calling upon the proletariat of all nations to prepare capital, while a product of competition, ultimately for the final struggle against Capitalism. denies and ends competition. The concentration of But Socialism itself is in crisis. Events are revo- industry and of capital develops monopoly. lutionizing Capitalism and Socialism — an indication Monopoly expresses itself through dictatorial that this is the historic epoch of the proletarian revo- control exercised by finance-capital over industry; and lution. Imperialism is the final stage of Capitalism; finance-capital unifies Capitalism for world exploita- and Imperialism means sterner reaction and new wars tion. Under Imperialism, the banks, whose control is of conquest — unless the revolutionary proletariat acts centralized in a clique of financial magnates, domi- for Socialism. Capitalism cannot reform itself; it can- nate the whole of industry directly, purely upon the not be reformed. Humanity can be saved from its last basis of investment exploitation, and not for purposes excesses only by the Communist Revolution. There of social production. The concentration of industry can now be only the Socialism which is one in temper implies that, to a large extent, industry within the na- and purpose with the proletarian revolutionary tion has reached its maturity, is unable to absorb all struggle. There can be only the Socialism which unites the surplus-capital that comes from the profits of in- the proletariat of the whole world in the general dustry. Capitalism, accordingly, must find means out- struggle against the desperately destructive Imperial- side the nation for the absorption of this surplus. The isms — the Imperialisms which array themselves as a older export trade was dominated by the export of single force against the onsweeping proletarian revo- consumable goods. American exports, particularly, lution. except for the war period, have been largely of cotton, foodstuffs, and raw materials. Under the conditions The War and Imperialism. of Imperialism it is capital which is exported, as by the use of concessions in backward territory to build rail- The prevailing conditions, in the world of Capi- roads, or to start native factories, as in India, or to talism and Socialism, are a direct product of the war; develop oil fields, as in Mexico. This means an export 1 2 Manifesto of the Left Wing National Conference [July 1919] of locomotives, heavy machinery, in short, predomi- While this division of the world solves, for the nantly a trade in iron goods. This export of capital, moment, the problems of power that produced the together with the struggle to monopolize the world’s war, the solution is temporary, since the Imperialism sources of raw materials and to control undeveloped of one nation can prosper only by limiting the eco- territory, produces Imperialism. nomic opportunity of another nation. New problems A fully developed capitalist nation is compelled of power must necessarily arise, producing new an- to accept Imperialism. Each nation seeks markets for tagonisms, new wars of aggression and conquest — the absorption of its surplus capital. Undeveloped ter- unless the revolutionary proletariat conquers in the ritory, possessing sources of raw material, the indus- struggle for Socialism. trial development of which will require the investment The concentration of industry produces mo- of capital and the purchase of machinery, becomes the nopoly, and monopoly produces Imperialism. In Im- objective of capitalistic competition between the im- perialism there is implied the socialization of indus- perialistic nations. try, the material basis of Socialism. Production more- Capitalism, in the epoch of Imperialism, comes over, becomes international; and the limits of the na- to rely for its “prosperity” and supremacy upon the tion, of national production, become a fetter upon the exploitation and enslavement of colonial peoples, ei- forces of production. The development of Capitalism ther in colonies, “spheres of influence,” “protectorates,” produces world economic problems that break down or “mandatories” — savagely oppressing hundreds of the old order. The forces of production revolt against millions of subject peoples in order to assure high profit the fetters Capitalism imposes upon production. The and interest rates for a few million people in the fa- answer of Capitalism is war; the answer of the prole- vored nations. tariat is the Social Revolution and Socialism. This struggle for undeveloped territory, raw materials, and investment markets, is carried on “peace- The Collapse of the International. fully” between groups of international finance-capital by means of “agreements,” and between the nations In 1912, at the time of the first Balkan war, Eu- by means of diplomacy; but a crisis comes, the com- rope was on the verge of a general imperialistic war. A petition becomes irreconcilable, antagonisms cannot Socialist International Congress was convened at Basle be solved peacefully, and the nations resort to war. [9th: Nov. 24-25, 1912] to act on the impending cri- The antagonisms between the European nations sis. The resolution adopted stigmatized the coming war were antagonisms as to who should control undevel- as an imperialistic and as unjustifiable on any pretext of oped territory, sources of raw materialism, and the in- national interest. The Basle resolution declared: vestment markets of the world. The inevitable conse- 1. That the war would create an economic and quence was war. The issue being world power, other political crisis; nations, including the United States, while having no 2. That the workers would look upon participa- direct territorial interests in the war, was vitally con- tion in the war as a crime, which would arouse “indig- cerned since the issue was world power; and its Capi- nation and revulsion” among the masses; talism, having attained a position of financial world 3. That the crisis and the psychological condi- power, had a direct imperialistic interest at state. tion of the workers would create a situation that So- The imperialistic character of the war is climaxed cialism should use “to rouse the masses and hasten the by an imperialistic peace — a peace that strikes di- downfall of Capitalism”; rectly at the peace and liberty of the world, which or- 4. That the governments “fear a proletarian revo- ganizes the great imperialistic powers into a sort of lution” and should remember the Paris Commune and “trust of nations,” among whom the world is divided the revolution in Russia in 1905, that is, a civil war. financially and territorially. The League of Nations is The Basle resolution indicted the coming war as simply the screen for this division of the world, an imperialistic, a war necessarily to be opposed by So- instrument for joint domination of the world by a cialism, which should use the opportunity of war to particular group of Imperialism. wage the revolutionary struggle against Capitalism. The Manifesto of the Left Wing National Conference [July 1919] 3 policy of Socialism was comprised in the struggle to ditions of Imperialism is not directly counterrevolu- transform the imperialistic war into a civil war of the tionary! It justified the war as a war for national inde- oppressed against the oppressors, and for Socialism. pendence — as if Imperialism is not necessarily deter- The war that came in 1914 was the same impe- mined upon annihilating the independence of nations! rialistic war that might have come in 1912, or at the Nationalism, social-patriotism, and social-Impe- time of the Agadir crisis. But, upon the declaration of rialism determined the policy of the dominant Social- war, the dominant Socialism, contrary to the Basle reso- ism, and not the proletarian class struggle and Social- lution, accepted and justified the war. ism. The coming of Socialism was made dependent Great demonstrations were held. The govern- upon the predatory war and Imperialism, upon the ments and war were denounced. But, immediately international proletariat cutting each other’s throats upon the declaration of war, there was a change of in the struggles of the ruling class! front. The war credits were voted by Socialists in the The Second International on the whole merged parliaments. The dominant Socialism favored the war; in the opposed imperialistic ranks. This collapse of the a small minority adopted a policy of petty bourgeois International was not an accident, nor simply an ex- pacifism; and only the Left Wing groups adhered to pression of the betrayal of individuals. It was the in- the policy of revolutionary Socialism. evitable consequence of the whole tendency and policy It was not alone a problem of preventing the war.