SEVENTH

WORLD CONG R ESS OF

,[HE COMMUNIST INTERNATI ONAL

G. DIMITROV
Comintern 7th World
Congress Part 3: The
Working Class Against
Fascism Response

The Working Class

Against Fascism
SPEECH IN REPLY TO THE
DISCUSSION

Georgi Dimitrov
193 5 London: Modern Books
32p.

MODERN BOOKS LIMITED, LONDON

The W orking Class Against Fascism

COlllrade O illlil , o .... 's Spuch i t! R eply 10 t il e Dis"usion .
Comrades! T h e: \'(!ry full d iscllssion on my r Cl)Ort ShOW5 the:
. lW el1SC interest taken by Ihe Congress in the fund:lmental t ac:o
I~ I problems a nd t asks of the struggle of the wor king class
tlC:ins t t he offcnsiv(' of capital a n d fa scism , against the th reat o f

~g ptrinlist

W:l T.

1111 SUlIlIn ing up .t ~le cighl.d~r d i~ussion we can sta te t hat all t he
. cip:l l p roposltlollS contained In t he re por t have met with the
"rill iOl' OUS apl)TOV:l I 0 ( h
"
t eeo ng re ~.
~one
of l hi: speakers
n
una
. 1 I"
h
ob'cCted to t he tactlca me we . ave proposed or to t he rcsolu J wh ich has been s ubm itted.
o
110 I ventu re to say that at no ne o f the previous Congresses of the
c ommunist I nternational h as such ideological :l.Od political

solidarit)' been r eve."l~d as. at the prescnt Congress. lA ppla use.l

'The cO l11p~etc una n~ l~lI ty d 15pla~ed at the C~ n~ ress indicates t~ a.t
he necessity of revlsm g our pohcy and tact iCS III accordance With
'he ch anged conditions and with d ue rega rd for the most abun" "
(
da nt and instructive ex pe ri ence 0 the past few years , has come
be full y recognised in o ur ranks.
10 This cuani mity may undoubtedly be regarded as one of th l.!
most im portan t pre req uisitesJc: suc~ess in so\ving. th e paramount
nifllediate problem of the mt ern atlo nal prolet arian movement ,
lamely, u tab/is lzillg u nit). of ac tiOI! of all sccliolls of th oU/o rking
~lass i" Hi e stru gglc against fascis m.
The successful solution of this problem requi res , fir st, that
communists skilfully wield the wca pon of Mar;dst -Lellillist
111141),sis. while carefully studyin g the specific conditions and the
alignment of class forces as they develop . a nd plan their activity
and struggle accord ingly. W e must mercilessly root out the
,,eakness . not infrequently obse rved in our comr ades , for cutand-dried schemes , lifeless fo rmulas and ready-m ade patterns.
We must put an end to the state o f affairs in w hich Communists,
when lacking the knowledge or ability fo r Marxist-Leninist
analysis, substitute general phrases and slogans sllch as " the
revolutionary way out of the c risis /' witho ut making the slightest
serious attempt to explain the conditions , the relationship of class
forces, the deg ree of revolutionary maturity of the proletariat
and the toiling masses, and the lev'el of influence of the Communist Party necessary to render such a revolutio nary way out of
the crisis possible. Without such an analy sis all these catcb-

.. t JI5

t' m p t)'

phrn ~s wh ich oUly ob

words bt<'Om ..... dud S IC\Vi~hout II concrete M nrxi st ' L~:lI.tt

our (~Sk5 of the (~:; be Rble correctly to prc!i~nt Rnd IIOh 't ~I't
Analysis we lIhn~1 lie (he problem o f the prolcl.:mnn frOlit and Iht
roblt'nI o f fn!,clsm.
I pro blem of our (1,1111\1(1(' toward s I.. lit

P I ' s fronl, tie

..'
~ llt.
"tllcrnl (>COp C
"Ielll o f the PfOCCSS\!S /{OIl1j:! Oil W'th '
...
. tht proll
I
Soc'
l III
~is-4:1cm()('rnc).
t " lI larl)' IHI\OIlG: I IC
-mI.
DeIl\O('"

.
In ' ~
1).1 r I
311e
the wotlons: c.,." ,
f ullitcd front .':O\'NIlIlU' Il I , o r nny of h

' II WI'
workers, Iht P roblcUl oa
I "om p1cx pro hiems wit
IIch life it t ,
~ neW nne ..
I
f
" It
numt'rolls 01 h"r
f the claSS SlrUgg e con ronts us now
ht devclopment 0
and
d
nil t
in the future.

will confront liS _ 1 , '. , p.'o pfr.- IX'OP] C who h:1\'c grown
nC'."'UI I.~.'.,.s hr1\'c sprulI~ f rOIll t I lCl' r cver)'dup
Secon d , we of
ay
t lcwo ....
fTonl t h~ mas.~s r lla
'1'( "~I action wh o l e h c~lrt l." dly d'-!\'Otcd to t h
. :lIleII IUnds will gi '
Slrugglr, peal)1,::0l11' pt'Oplc whose brmlls
caUse of the J)rolel~nnt, of our Congress.
With ou t notshC\"i~e
~ff(d to the. (~ecisl~ns \"e sha ll be un able to solve t h e CllorIllO~'
Leninist.St:lhnlst cn res " (oilers in the fight agai nst fa SCism S
h I confront t h c
.
problems t .:1
Ie rquipped wil h th e COIIIP(I.$S 0/ J/a,x ifl.
Third, we llced ptop Ie who arc unable to make skilful US(! of
Lenillist tll eo'y. fO.r ~o,P n"'ow make-sh ift polit ics . Inke d,
. .
t shp 10 0
'
thiS mstrumen
(0 caSC and lose the broad pc:rspcctiv'\! of
,'
on l)' froill case
.
I
'
CISIOII S
. h h ws the ma SSes w .l et'C we arc gomg and
th~ struggl~ \\ hlc s o
.
.
whither W~ arc lcading tb e tollers.

~ _ .J the orgluzisaliotJ 0/ tile ma.{$CS 11\ order to PUt

Fourth, \\e Ill'CU
'd 1 ' I
d
' ,
,'
' ,practice. Our I CO oglca an
poli tical
our deciSIOns m O l'
'
,enough, We mu st put n stop to ro:: mllee on
influence aIone IS no
h
h
I
" ' 'he mO':lemttlt (on the ope t at t Ie movement
sPontantl y In
h' h '
r
r
.,..'ould de\'elop of its own accord), w IC IS o ~e 0 our .unda.
Ye must remember that Witho ut persIstent

menta.l wen k"oesseS. l

nt and sometimes apparently thankless organisa.
ed
I
proong ,pale,
'11 never 111a k' C r
it 1e
c om
,
I
k
ou,
po.'
the
masses
W
I
or
" n,
tiona wor' o
.
'h
mumst
sore. In order to be able to orgamse
k, the masses
.1 ..we mUSt
acquire L~nill's and Stalin's art ~f rna 'mg our YCCISlons the
proptrty not only of the Commumsts but. also of the broade~
masses of the toilers. We must Jearll to talk to the ~asses. not In
the language of book fonnulas, but in the lang uage of fighters in
the cau5'C of the masses, whose every. word, wh~se, every idta
reBeets the innermost thoughts and sentiments of mllhons.
It is with tbese problems that I should like to deal in my
closing 5peech.
Comrades J The Congress has w~lcomed the ne\\' tacticnllines
with great enthusiasm and unanimity , Enthusiasm and unanimif)'

\I "NY well , of course ; but it is still better when these are

ate ~incd with n well considered and critical ~lI>l,roach to the
coP] s th at confront us . with n proper comprehension of the
~1Sions adopted and a real und erstanding of the muns and
dtC
,
ethod lS by W h'IC II t II(!Se. ( ICC 'ISIOIl!S
arc to be nllplied to the
III

'cul ar ci rcu lIlst:\I\ces of each coun try .

partl

we have before no\\' IIn :minv)\\-;ly adopted Rood n:s.o oS

bllt th<: trouble WIIS that 1I0t infrequently after
hltlo ,
' ,
ad pting these d CClsLons.
we; at best made them the l)fOpert y of
nfr th e sm:lll vanguard of the working class, Th ese decisions
~'d not bee-o nle fle sh and blood of the broad mas!les; they did not
~me a guide to the action of the millions.
CaD we assert that we h:l\'c already finally ab:ln(loncd this
lonn al :lpproach to adopted decisions? No. It must b~ said that
'en at this Congre"s the speec hes of some of the com rade!! gave
~~ication of remn ants of formalism; a desire made it<;e1f fel t :1t
:inles 10 substitute for the concrete analysis of rcali ty :lnd life's
eXperience .some sort of new scheme, some sort of new, over'rt1plificd hfeless fo rmula, to represent as act ually cxis/i'l g what
:~ desire. but does not yet ex is l.
J\ (( cr a ll.

The S tru ggle Again st Fascisltl ""u sl De COll udist d ,

No general chaTacteriS3.tion of fascism , hO\\"i:ver correct in
't,elf, can relieve us of the need to study and t a~e in to account
:he speci fic deve,lol~ment of fascism and the \'3rious forms of
fascist di ct ~tor shlP 10 tl~e individual count: i(!s a~d at its various
stages. It IS llCCCS$.'l ry 10 each co unlrr to IllVcstlgate, study and
ascertaiD the national peculiarities , the specific national features
of bscislIl and map ou t accordingly effect ive mi:thods and forms
of struggle agninst fa scism.

LeKin persisten tly warned us agaiust " ste reotyped methods

and mechanical levelling , against rendering t3ctical rules, rules
of struggle, identical." Thi s warning is Jl:lrticul:1rly to the point
v.oben it is a ques tio n of fi g hting an enemy who so subtly :lnd
Jesuitically exploits the national sentiments 3nd prejudices of the
masses and their ant ic apitali st inclinatio ns in the interest s of b ig
capital . Such aft cnemy musl be kll ow n 10 p crf ectio n, from O",Juy
Gnt le . We must without any delay whatever react t o his various
manetu\' res, discover his hidden moves, he prepared to repel bim
io any arena and at ally moment. \Ve must not h esitate even to
li6rn from the enemy if that will help us more quickly and more
effectively to "/(.Irillg "is neck. (Applause,)

- , . _. ' 0

___" 1111 " :U.:..

h"
1I0 wII II 1111; \c r.o>:11 ~ ,

.
~ f
nil ('ountri eS n nd nil I~I' 0

It wO'lllcl bt' I' I:~' 0 ('O\' ef

f nlSCIS/lI,

I t'e
cI(,I'd OPI1lCll t 0
,
b u t hRIIII)('r u s III (,:l!' rY Ill ~ on a
.
J . t hi n ~ e lsc , sue "I n fit c wo u ' d r C5ttl,ft'1-I,1
SuC'h 11 rll ,e \\ '01lid 110 1 Ie
.

,>

s truggle,

I\

pnr

t fro ll1 Cltt)

;1110 tin' calliI' 0

' (

-,

:I-.c l:- Ill t lOSe

Sect;

I.

_ _ - '_'"
. I l~(
" . {O
. UI'
indlscrtllunn
\: thrustLllg
. h -( ,Ironirly nppro.le
( at n c0",

, 'on wlll <' I

'"
.
,
,
.. of the po pu nil
t 0 " b m u,: h t In t o t Ie stl\lA~ l! al,;: f1i
W;\I s tllg \! 0

fa..'iClSlI1,
tel

f d -'\''''0 1'1111.'1 1 . ' '

t.:

' ~ !I - t

be

II 1I t

I.

nCll t ruh sc( .

or ~lIld
a t ". :.. I,lle th e !11..'\'l,!olmlc nt o f b :.cis

Ol .
k~
for ",,,1m.
I. , _
,

us;

tn 0.:,
,
I ' Germ an).

C ~ II1C cO lllrtlClcs uC I\' \ 'e t l a t, ~cnc ra l'

r a nee as i y
_
f SCISOI (,,,uno
. , _
.
SI'H:'!'IJ,ang,:I
_
,d what is r"lse 111 t li S C'oll tenhon? I,
, ,
Vhat IS trllC a' ouch <!\.'cp
Gcrman)"
,sc:1t C( ( Cllloc r n t ic tradition
,
!l'
, "
h sevtra''
is true: I ha ' here were no
'
Frallce
w
illc
\
wen
t
I
Iroll8
' a ' thcrearclU
,
' : , _
"
'
Frll.n~

an!

Ill . '

.;1V

d.::\'e!oP a:'

"

('IIS I ),

III

, -

GcmlallY ,!l'
' I
th 'lIId II II1 CI<..'(: 11 1 1 cc ntu n l::-; , It IS ttl!
rc\'olUlions in the elg Itc('n'h '~11 won th e war a nd forced th e Vcr'
, ,
_
', coun try \\ h
thai France: 1~ a
r countries. that the lI atlOnal sentllnen ts of
saiJIu system on otl~
lot been hurt o.s they h:'l\"e been in
the French people_ (o,'e t nl3,'cd such a gre:lt pa rt , It is trll
t
,here thts actor I ',
Gtrmany \\
'
~ "es of the pC:lsantry ::Ire p ro-Repub\i...
, F nce the baSIC mn....
"
..
thnt 1R ,r a ,
s ~io.l1y in the South, 10 contrast with
aud " ntl_fasclst,
f c fascism came to po wer:l considerable
Germa ny wherc e\en c or'a _ under the influcnce o f reactionary
section of the peasantry \\ !!'
p'lrt
'
- ies,
--,hstanding th e eX isting
( 1 crcnCes In tht
But comrade~ , not\\ I
,
,1 '
G

f h fist mO\'ement 111 I'rance ::Inu III ermany

de\'-eI,opmell~I'o t e aSCI c' ors which impede the onslnugh t of
h
no,wl,h.anulq"
a
_ _ - ,_
-, -ould
be shortsightedness no t to no ti-ce the
."
,
fasci sm III -r:'lncc, I \\
_, ' there of the faSCIst pen all( to under.
_
,
unlllterrupte< g ro\\ I
d' '
of 3 fascist coup
t:tal. 'I
)\ oreo ver :I
estlmo.te t Ie possl I I }
'
f
I
-
-n
"r,nce
favour
the
deve
opmcnt
0
:'
I
SCISm,
n u m ber 0 I f ac, or!!' I
. .
h-'
0" 'hn' the economic cnSIS, \\' IC I cOlllmenced
.
.
'
One must no 'Iore
later in France than in other capitahst COl~n,tnes , c,o nt1llues to
_. sh rNOn and this grently fac lht3tes t Ie o rgy of
,
(eepen
allu
a I' ~
,
,
. ,
" .
fascist demagogy. French ,fascIsm holds :it ro ng ~s lt,IOII:O; ~n the
:'IrlllY, 3mong the officers, such :'IS t,he Nattonal 50Cl311sts (lid not
h3\"e in the Reichswehr before their advent to power , Further.
more, in no other country, perhaps, has the parliamentary regime
been corrupted to such an enormouS extent and cau ~ed such
indignation among the masses as in France. Nor mus t It be forgotten that the d eveloplllent of fa~ism. is (urt~~red by the ~r:nch
bourgeoisie's keen fear of losmg ItS polltlcal and mIlitary
hegemony in Europe,
In

,e'r;;

,-rr

-b-'-' .

. -

Hence i~ fo l~ow~ thnt the ~ U C<:tS~" 5Cored by the 3nli-fMCist

vtl11cnt III J . ~an ce , o f . Wh lC,h COlllrAdes T,horc7-, ~nd Cachin
1fI~,t spok.cn ~Ie l ~ . alill over w h l~l~ we M> heartIly r<:JOICe , nre still
It' ftOrn ) Olh ca t ~ns.:: that the tOll mg ,.n3 <;5(:S have defi nitely suc(tIf led in block lllg til(: r,:,ad to faSCI>;m.
r mUil emllhaticall y
~ once lIlore the full nllportallcc o f the tasks o f th e Frcnch
s~r~~l\g claSS ill the st ru~~ l c ag ainst fn'le isln, o f wh ich r nlread y
ke: in lilY r~port:
spOrt would h kcwl~ he.<lall ~:No\l '; to cherish ilI u<;,ions rega rdin g
c weakness of fasc l ~m III other countries where it <loes not enjoy
tll broad 1II:\5S b aS<." .. \VC h:\~',e the exa mille o f such countries 3-;
~lllgnrin, Yll ~o s l a\, l a a nd hnl :lI\d , w~l e rc fa scism. although :. ~
b,d no bro:l d b:I"C , carne to power, rclY ~ll g on the armcd force.... of
tbe stnte, nnd then sough t to b roaden Its ba.<;c: b y m:'lking usc of
State apP:lrnlltS,
,h' Comra(,D
- h IS
- contention
e li lt \\-as ri-g 1It III
th at there was a
tendencY am ong'st us to cont,em plate fa scism in general, without
t,J,:ing int~ account tl ~c speCi fi c featu res o f .the fascist m o\~ment
in the \'o.no us count ries.. .erroll eoll."ly cla sslf~i ng :'Ill reactionary
e:lSures of the bo nr g eol:>le as fa SCism and g Olll g as far as calling
~t entire nOIl .Comm u n lst c:'l mp fa "Cist. Th e: struggle against
{nsc islU was 1I 0t streng thened bu, rather we:'lkcned in con.
sequence.
Even now we still ha\'e snrvil':lls o f 2 stereotyped nppro:'lch to
the queSti 9 1l o r fa sc ism . \Vh cn some comrad es assert t hat
Rooscn'1t ' 5 .. :\ cw Dc-al .. rcpr e~ nt s an e\'er clearer and more
l)rOI~ollnced fo rlll,? ~t h~ d cvc!opmc ll t o f t~,e . bourgeQis ic, t~\\'al"(l"
fascism than t h ~
:;..lntlo nal Governm ent
111 Creat Brltam, for
tX:lmple, is tIllS nO,t a manifestation of such a ste reotyped
approach to the question ? One must ind eed be a confirmed addict
of the usc of hackneyed schemes not to see that the most reactionary circles of Am ericnn finan ce c apital which are attacking
Roosevelt represent first and fo remost the \'ery force which is
stimulating and org 3nisin g the fa scist mo vement in the U nited
St:ltes. Not to see the bcg innin ~ s o f real fascism in the U nited
Stntes behind th~ hypocrit ic31 o l1t pourings o f these c ircles" in
defence of the democratic rights of the Americ an citiz.en .. is
tantamount to misleadi ng th e working class in the struggle
against its worst enemy.
In the colonial and semi-colonial countries there can be no
question of the kind o f fa scism that we are accustomed to see in
Cerm :my. It31y and other capitalist countries. Here we must
study and take il1to account the quite different economic. political

,,0


, nce with which faSCism I

'
,
ition!. 11\
11 (' pL'Culmf o rm s 0 Il ll OWl,
. I con ,'
,
to U_:j\ II I
, '
'
hi li l Orl cn
'II cO lIlIIlII C
II" of 1'0::11 I c conc retely
.

,d
A'
luI \\'1
Assuntilli':. a

O:ldl 11<'

t\ CCO f <t\

,)h ... lIllllW

1I".. lIwl

!t11;11Il' ''>S ,

S\I )S t ihl t'

Un(lble to :l.pr:.,;o :>lIff"' r rrO;~lr n cn rdlll li nd cQllc rete Shld;

COl11
fadc5
.
" 11I 1 /lJtII1u1ns . , hi,> o f class fo r c c:oI. UIlIi'c
~n
, r d'llIon
. ,
,.
' ral non ""'1I1TlIl
~~
. n ami t Ie
'.
thc)" rclll1l\( u s of tho
f,':cn '

I -;wnIIO'
rins;: n!lll.
.. I
'"
f the MIlla:.
t with \Iller
I
and IIl1f: k1hn~ Y tlliu tht

o '''rrS \\,ho shOO

whO rC$: ul M Yt~ lo w 100 Ill':tr o r 100 hI'
S,II," ,iftl,nH'!1
"i('th or
"
,
' ,
" <r('lc
).:
'"
,er
10 0 ' "
" "'c in the :l ) U llr 1110\'(:",('1\,
'
, 'n'''' el
i-Is lie
,

_et shOO I "

. COl1\1l1l1 l1 !O '', working class , wan t to "-_
In...
r:1(Io:s n~
I'd 0 t Ie
d'
~
)J u l wt. COIll
'r)' \ 'nnj:;:IIR
~t
(P roIOllg. npp o lue.)
the re\ollltl On~" ,gl" ,...1 Ihe tnr!;\: .
S
II
h un al II
.
.
sniper, w 0
d til e 1!1I1i l nsc u t Peo Ple',
.
L' ro t tUl
,lUtl , .
1r tl'
Pliftd
prO
Frotlt.
"
U
rho
" "Y r:lock ing their brallls OVtr
. nee< ess
I
'
I are qll1t~
. I till' lIt1i ll'd pro rtaruUi / tonl
Some conlrtt< eS
b l'~ill ,1111 1blem of :lllwi tC1 , 10tl t ,
.'
the pro j_jllSri sl pNPle s "
formin.'!' the an tl ,bsclst peoplt 's
or the ant
I t we C:lIl Elot ~t,(lrt,
solid un ited front of tht .
Some sal' t HI
, org:lIuse< n
til we htl\ e
,
. blislullcnt of th e ullIted pro.
front un
proletariat.
th at, si nce th e ~st n ~ o f Social - Dcmocracy in a
Others argu,Ceets with the rCSISIr",",t at o nce with build ing lin
. n fron t II
. '-"!ter to s a ,
k'
"
let:trJa
tries it IS l ' "
I
the unit<!d wo r 1Ilgelass
' d thcn dc\'c op
umber of coun
n
Ie's front , UII
.
the peap h' basis
I rst3nd th 3t th e ullIted I)ro,
nt
on
t
IS
,

(ttil
to
UI
H
e '
.
[
, 0 'd "" bot h grouPS
. [ _ 'st ,>cople ' s fron t are mtcr
E\1 cn
h :tntt- asCI
.
,
tl
'
assing IIltO t Ie 0 l er In tht
f n t 3nd t e '
letari3n . .J ro interwOvcn, the Olle P'., fascism 3S a cO llsequenct
connect~' an d
ggle agaJll~ ,
.
31
f t he practic strtl
Ie and th at the re IS certainly
o
process. , d ' 1 tics of al e slrug,e "
o f th e If:'wl la rc
\,.. . 3p:lrt,
."
' ~.. wall to keep tu~m
posed that it IS Im possible to
'ollsly
s
up
, I
'
no Ch tne.....
rl
be se
.
Ie's front Wit lout securlllg
F' or I't cannol

" faSCIst peap

'd'
,
k'
class itself, t he g UI !fig OrCf
, blish a genuine nn Ies n
f the wor lng
.
"
[ I
t he unity of action 0
[ ' At the smu e ttm e, Ie urt l~r
"~I)l e ' s rOil .
d
nd s to a c
,
,
on,
o f this anti [35CIS 1,.. ..... ed roleto.rian fr on,t e~
development of the 1100t. P
[ormation II1to a peopl e s front
n
tts
trans
siderable degree. u po
agai n st fa5Ci sm .
.
ourselves a devotee of cutand,
Comr3des! Just ptcture to.y upon our resolution and con.
dried theories o{ this ki~dh t~o.ez:~1 of 0. true pedant:
trh,jng his pet sc1,)eme WI ', , . ~ front from below;
First loco.l umted pro e o.na

1 'hcll, rC.::;Qnal, united fr Ollt fr om lIelo\\';

'fh crNlft er, lIIlIh:d froll l fwm nbo\'c , 1l,,!>o;illg th rough t he sa llie

'"

fl' S
' , II m.ly.HI ti, C, t nl{ IC lillian
'
'fhen
mov(:ment;
After t!wt, t he e nlistmcnt of other anti fa '>Cht par ties;
'fhi ~ to he foUow(:d by t hc extcnd\:d peol,lc's front. from
bO\'t and rr~m bel ow;
. ,
II J\ftc r wlllch t it(: 1110\'(:II1(:n l IllU!>t be ral scd to :1 !lIghe r !ev(:l .
lidealiSCd, rc \'olu lio ni :.cd, and ~ e)\1 and so forth . (l.:lUghteT.)
pO y ou will say , com rades , t ha t th is i~ I>hcer l\(IIhCn-e , I agree
, h ,'011 . lIut the Ilufo rlunate thin~ i .. t hat in some f<lrm or
\\'11
. 1 0 sectaria
' n n on sense "IS ~tl I1 to be oun d qUIte
'
this
kUl(
.
k
olh t
fr('qu' entl )' 111 ou r ran s.
H oW d oes the mattcr rcall), stand? Of cou r:.c , we mu::.t strive
,r), whcrc for a broad anti fa scist loCople's front of strugglc
e\'\lst fascism. Bll t in a Illimber of count ries we shalt not gct
ag~~l1d general t alk about t he people ' :-. front, unles:, we ~lIecec:d in
be)bilisillS' th e ma:,:-.es of the workers for t hc purpost of brenk inK
1110 '11 th e r<!sistallce of Social Democracy to the fo rmation of :I
do\\
. 1 f ron t 0 f st rug g e,
oh:t3rin n Ulllte(
li S IS lOW t IIe matter
Ilr ods above n11 ill Creat IJrit:lin where the workin~ cbss comst~ses 'th e majo rity of the po pulati on and wherc the bulk of the
P~\king class fa Uon's thc lead o f the trade ullio n s and t he Labour
~ 0rt}.. , That is how m3tt ers s tand in Bel ~ illm and in the Scand'nnnvian cou nt ries where the n umerically sm all Communi st
p~rties must fac~ st;on ?, mass trade ullions 3nd numerically 13rge
Social-Democrattc 1 3rt1es,
In th ese coull tri es t he Communists would comm it a "''ery
rious political mi stake if t hey shi rhd th e struggle to est ablish
se united proletarian fron t under co\'er of gcncro.l t3lk about :J
~ple's (ro nt which C3nnot be formed \\ ithotlt the part icipatio n
of the mass wo rkin g.cla~ o rganisatio n s,. In order t o bri ~lg abou t
genuine people's fron t In t hese countn es , t he Communtsts must
~arr)' out an eno rmo u s amount of poli tical and organi satio nal
\\'ork amo n~ the masses of the workers. Th ey mu st overcome the
preconceived il,lea ~ o these lU3SS\!S who .r egard thei r m~ ss
reformist org31l1sat IOIls as already the embodllnen t of proletanan
unit)', They must con vince t hese masses th a t the e stablishment
of:1 united front wi th Ole Communi sts m ean s a sh ift o n t he pa.rt
of those tt1o.sses to the position of the class struggle, a nd that
this shift o.lonc will guarantee s u c~ss in the s trugg le agai n st the
offensive o{ capital and fascism. \Ve shall not overcome these

"j'," ,

. h w ill e I' t:\Skli h e r e . 0 1. Ih

- I \'c~ n l \l l
" '' we s , la ll " e
.
,0
o u r:-c
, . th. l1"1l: 1I , t il'
.
b ' se llIn ,..
'C I I~' " ''
1111I
1'01(' \1111('5 ) . 11 ;11)0: to U' IIIO\
. prcpnrc t h e Kroll n d fo r tI

(' 1It rnry . ill "~I, ill

'
,-0
d no
t u" lI y .

(Ie' ,

OIl,'" nt of b:ltt l<: agn inst fascis \~

,!c'';' ro
.
,
I
"'.

,,"(ll'd!' uI

1111
Il ti ll C
o f a g(".
"

(ll'Ol

: .

off(' !l S\ \ ' C

' II HI

ng :unst

l(!

llr\:a t

"

ere.luon
(" ll lltll \l s t
" "' th e .
. . , ",k c" P ohw'
<,giUn:.
.
'o u n lOcS
u , W II(: r(:
inl"rerilllist ",,,.1'. ~ (liiTCf<.'lIt onlo.' ,"1 "'o ,lin& s ide hy sid e w ith thO
" - \lei S.'
j - (C \ 'C
' fhe IS>
1lI0 \ ' CII1Cl tt!>
!I ' :l.lI t
'I $lIIII
. the pc. :-

1ll :':>!>CS

"

HIVe

"

t IC lt 0 .....

It where
. _ nclica h. sc(I a s;1 n:su "t o f th
10 \ ' (' 11\('1 .
1,I."C011l1 1l j : !
k
" '"
t
hbour n
'h ich arc
I o"" rcsioJl (:\' 0 '..:S III( 1& 1\:llio\

. lio nS
\\ whert: I I .~ tio
lla
O n:: 11l1lS.1
' _' "
, "
ll crl!' t h..: ( , eve IO pl11e lll of th '
erl!>I!>,."o" nl nll' llontlc ..' , I "", II Ilrn,....:c("
"
"
,,'~rll n'
3n
para
e
w
ith "'
,
....
I nfl I '
f
n o,::g e \1
,~
IllllOng t Ie I' . . fronl 0 :;tr " ,aria II front, atHl at ti mes in this
I l>eOP C!>
' ,et! pro c
''\ ~c n er:\ I t)(:0Pleoo.: "!> f ront tlla t
Io!~' ncr:l
f the \\111
f
c1e\'cloptlH~I\t 0 the Il\O\,ClllC nt or :orki ng . c1 nss front.
stro1tJ;' 1'("

country
lit for a \\
.
the J\\OVelllC
,
d lich is in t he process of \
e\' <!ll outstriP
'r)' like Sp~l lI. \ Gan it be said thnt, beca" .
n
Iu lion . 'Oil"
sl1lall oq..:.a lll' !>:ttl
, ' ons, corn
Ta k e a ('Ou
ratic
('C\'o
j - den lOC '
. '
r.
b
b
"
bourg-eo!> . '. sl,lit \Ill ,III to "u\l\el
.
cl a SS must , m ;t e est:l 1isht1;!
at I!>
.
I .errollx and
the prol"t:trt
0,; "
it)' of t IIe \ \'orkln g. , _' , front ngatllst
!> th e qllestlon
" til t IIt"S Way Ylt
ptete fiIt>.. httng unorkcrs' tUI d I)(:a<:.an
'I'
" ~ fore a w
DY tad:. tIl g peasantry , wou I(I 11\
" eft......
here
lI"

creflted?
" R ble ~ IS
'
. t from
.
~ '\
GIl 0 !>. ,"e I)roletana fie . grarian revolution, WOuld
tl "
,
wou I ',l I'sointe
' ., g" the slog-ai,'
f h l)Cople to d islllllte the prolt.
'.h 'Ithdr:l\\ ln
' (; S 0 t e
.
,,
\1.
-ier for the enelll
1 the peasr.-\try III OpPOsItion to
make
I .~.
.. " is well known, was on.
. It en!>
d tie
y-" santr)',
'
,and SC
I1lrad es , ".,
tarlat :lll .
I 55 Yet thiS, co 'k' g clasS was defeated in th~
the workl~g c a nS why the wor III
f the 1l1aln re3S0
.
o
events of 19.}4'
t be forgotten : 10 all countrit!
October
one thing must no _ , Iy small in numbers , whtrt
l'Iowe\'er,
. omp.'lratl ve
1 '
he proletariat IS c
t _bourgeois strata pre( om1nale,
where t try and the urban pet Yd every effort to set up a firrt
e
the pea~~le more nccessary to b \ elf so that it may be able to
it i,~::ilfront of the work~ng ~Ia~~rl '~'itl; regard to all the toilers,
link' 't place as the leading a,c the problem of the proletarl~
ta -e 1 s
, a\lac\-ang
l '
Thus comrades, 11l
h
can be no genera panacea sun
nd the people's fronl~ t erIeI peoples, In this matter uniHt.
tron t a .
II untnes, a
II
I'
all
cases
,
a
co
d
the
same
recipe
to
a
coun
ntS
for
able
. . n of one an
' I
'
the apphcatiO
to say so to Ign orance:; ie.
I
sa Ism,
" 11 alloW me
'
b
ed even when it st3lks a. out, nay,
is equivalent, if you \\1
ignorance should ~e flo~g
t in the cloak of u1llversal ttt,.
" I I when It stalks aU.
parUc~ ar Y
(APplause.)
3ud-dned schemes.

tytle

,', e

l}\;

bo

10

T/tll R olli oj Socia /- D ctlloCFncy and itl A II it 14 de T O,,,llrd, the

U"i/ccl F, tnl/ oj tll ll P,oltJta ,ia l.
COlliratk s, in " iew of Ihe IflCtic:l1 problems con fro nting \1 5 , it

, ,er)' important 10 gile fl correct reply to the question of whether

~i!l I . De\lloCrncy al Ihe pre;,cn t time is :;till the pri nci lml bulwark
f tho.: bourgeoisie, aud if so, where?
o Some of the comr:_des who par ticipated in the discussion
(Col1lrades Florin , Dutt) touched upon this quest ion, but in view
fits illlllOrt:lUcc a fulle r reply mu ~t be given to it, for it is "
Ouest ion wh ich workers o f all tre nds , par ticula rly Social
bel\lOC r:ltic workers , are askillg' and cannot hel p ask ing.
It llI ust be borne in mind that in a number of countries the :
)Osition o f Social -Democracy in t he bourgeois state , a nd its a tti~ude towards the bourgeoi sie , h3vc becn undergoi ng :1 ch :lnge.
In the first pl:'ice, the cri sis has thorough ly shaken the position
f even t he 1110st secu re sec tio n of th e working- cl:lss , t he so-called
:ristocraCy of labour , upon which , as we know, Social-Democracy
elies for support. T his sect io n, too , i!' begi nn ing more a nd more
~o revi se its views :lS to t he e:>.:pedi -::ncy of the policy of class
collaboration with the bourgeoisie,
Second , as I IlOil1ted ou t in my report, th e bourgeoisie in a
number of count ri es is it self compelled to abandon bourgeois
democracy and resort to t he ter roristic form of its dicta torship,
depriving Social- De moc racy not on ly of its prcvious position in
the political system of fi nance capital, b ut al so , under certain
conditions, of its legal status , persec utin g and eve n su ppress
ing it.
.
Third, und e r the lIlfluen ce of the lessons learnt fr om t1, .:
defeat of the work e rs in Germa n y , Austria and Spain, a defeat
which waS brgely the result of the Socin.l-De mocratic policy of
class collaborati on with the b ou rgeoisie , :md , o n the other hand,
under the influen ce of the victory of Soci alism in the Soviet Union
as a result of Bolshe vik policy :md the a pplication of living, revolutionary Marxism, th e SocialDemocratic worke rs are becoming
revolutionised, are beginnin g t o tum t o the class struggle against
the bourgeoisie.
The joint effec t o f all this has been to make it increasingly
difficult, rind in some countries ac tually impossible, for Social
Democracy to preserve its form-cr role of bulwark of the
, "
bourgeoiSIe.
Failure to unders tand this is parti cularly harmful in those
countries in which the fa scist dictatorship has deprived Social
Democracy of it s legal status , From this point of view tbe sclf11

5oCiBI_Dellloc rnti ~

who ;n their !!peechu 1Tlen.

I
' C GenUll n C'OlllnH C' I,' " " 10 I IIe I eltCf 0 ' b
0 SOle"
t
0 "
O (t lO~
' 1g to C
...
cnllCISn1
("6Sit)' o f C(,:&:.11 . ~ 5oc i(lI _ D c lll oc r a~y . of ceasing
l;otl~1 the nd~l('CiSiOIt5 COllccnllll~ kl'lI plnec in it s posit io n, Wa!l.
{ormulM an (1Iall " e5 !IUlI h:'l,"(' 1.1 these c han ges , it w ill lend to
, ,ore the C .,.
" , ,gnore
.'
I
'
to 11;1
' , \cM th at I w\:!
f c .. l!lbilshmg t II! u n ity o f thl!
C(lrrc<:t . . It '~f (' IIf policY in f a\, OUft 'I\botn~c o f the un ited frOtH
(l dis to rtIo n ~_ 0
d will f~l (' ilit 3 t C t Ie s . I.OclllOC ru1ic lenders ,
k'
d[\~ . all
f the Soclll
WOf ' ln!: ', 'onar)' clements o .
.
" the rllllk s of th e Social.
'
,he
reac
I
,

'
311011
11
.'
I
b)
~., of rc" O u tlOlll:.o
. nil CO\l llt ncs IS (c\'clopin ..
The pro"'"
. g on In
. . I 0

ic Parties noW gOI~'

. led thnt the SocIa - c mOCratic
Democrat I, IIlUSt not be 11\1:1.$:11 ,On ,'sed will at {l lI ce anc.l on a
,tilly
' c\'olutl
~
I

;\'ho nrc bccom 'n ~ , r

{C<>ll s i ~ t c nt cb ss strugs c: , :\ 1\(1
workers I :\(Iopt the posItion 0 C 1I!1l11llists without ally inter_
maSS sc:~ c "" '")' unite with the 0 1 ",ies this will be a 1Il0re or
"II st,ntg h ."
._. o { coni
,
e
llh
\\ 1_ ..1 '
s"ges In a lIu ,..r
I',e" ed and prolong ( I~ r<><:ess
1!'
\
.latc
.
'
I
colllJ}'
m d'm " a Olorc or eS5
, the correctnes..... 0 f ou r POlicy'
less I ICU ,
, rntc, 0 1
' bT
h
'
" tially dependent,:tt nn) . kOIl wi th the poSSI ,I lty tat, m
es.'tCn ,
\Ve lIlust e\'en ree
Il nborntioll with the bour.
and tactiCS,
,'
{ claSS c o , ,
I
' ,
,
{rom the posItion 0
t ug~lc agall1st the )OurgC<lISle,
P.'\~I?g , ,he I>osition of claSS s r, org nnisations will contilltlGto
geDlsle 0
, p' tics all(
"
'
0 __ ,'" DemocratiC .11'
orgnni satlonS or pa.rt les ,
In
so ntC~
.
, , "'udent
.
f
I 0 _ _'
, f
n time nS lit( el....
I.ft nO thought 0 S li C I ~ Ial.
eXIst or
f course, ..,..
d
'1\1 , wark
'cnt
therc
cn.Il,
0
'being
regarde
:"IS:l
suc h C\ ,
' tions or partIeS
DemocratIc or~a,1lIS3
,
of the bourgeoiSie,
h ,,., Social.Democ ratlc workers
ed that ht o~
I' be '
t cannot be e.... tJCC t
'deology of class co a ration
, fl ence of tel
d'
h
'
h
vho are under the III u ,
h been instille lilt . e m In t e
"
vhlch as
f I '
vith the bourgeol sl~, \
,' th this ideology 0 t IC'lr o\\:n accord,
"I
No It is our bu smess , the
cou rse of dccades, \\'111' pa~t
live
causes,..
'
,
f
b
actuated solely by 0 Jcc ,
to help them free themse ves rom
business of the Con~mu~lsts,
The work of explaining the
the hold of rcfornllst IdeolOrgyC' lmunism must be carried on
IIImeO
on
d
principles nnd progra
f h'
and must be ndnpte to the
patiently, in a comradelY
ti~~t, individual SocialDemocratic
degree of de\'el?~n:'ent Social.Democracy mllst become more
workers, Our cfltlcl~m ofd must be based on the experience of
s,>CCific and s),st-c mat lc , an
1
,
. masses themse ves.
the Social-Democratic,
. d that primarily by utilising their
t must be bo:n,e m nun I 'ith the Communi sts against the
experience in t?e J,omt strug~b~e \\nnd necessary to fa cilitate and
class enemy will It be ~sst
development of the Social,
accelerate, the revoluTl1honarrS no more effective means of the
Democratic workers.
ere
1I11\:\,

or

I2

w~ rk<:~~

nbando ni ng their vncillntion and

d ubts thall P:Ut!Clpatlon 11\ the prolda,ian united front.
o \Ve sha ll do all in our power to makr: it easier, not only fOT the
SoCial - D ctll oc rat~ c wo r~ers , but also for those leading membe rs of
SoCi:tI. Dclllocra tl c r ~ rtl(:s and orglmisntions who sincerely dc:sirc
to adOJlt the revolu tionary class position, to work and fight with
, ng:tin st the cIa!'!!'! enemy. At the 5.'llll e time w e dec10re that any
SoCial -Dcmocratlc lIn C ~lollary, lowe r official, or worke r who con
tin ues to uphold th e disru pti ve tactics of the reactionary SocialJ}eOlcratic Icadc:s, ,who co~e out against the united front and
thuS directly o r IIl(li rcctly :ud the class en..:my, will thereby incur
t le:!.st equal guil t before the wo rking class as those who are
~istoricnllY rC~i>on sible fo r having su pported the Social
Democratic policy of class collaboration, the policy which in a
nutUber of Euro pean countries doomed the revolution in 19 18
and cleared the wny for fascism,
The nttitude adopted towards th ~ united front is the dividing
line between the reactionary sections o f Social-Democracy and the
sections that are becoming revolutio nary . Our assistance to the
latter will be the more effective, the more we intensify ou r fight
against the reactionary camp of Social.Dem<><:racy participating
in a bloc with the bourgeoisie, And within the Left camp the
self_determination of the various elements will take place the
SOOner, the more determinedly the Communists fight for a united
front with the Social -Democratic Parties , The experience of the
claSS struggle and the participation of the Social-Democrats in
the united front movement will sho w who in that camp will prove
to be If left" merely in words and who is really Left.

'"

Tile United FTont Cm'cTumenl.

While the attitude of Social.Democracy towards the practical
realisation of the united proletaria n fro nt is , generally speaking,
the principal indica tion in every country of whether the previous
role in the bourgeois state of the Social-Democratic Party or of its
individual parts has changed, and if so, to what extent, the aUi
'ude oj tllc SociaiDem ocTals 011 the issu e oj Q. united Jront
gO'VCrIIlJlcnt 'Will be a particularly cleaT test,
When a situation arises in which the Question of creating a
united front government becomes a n immediate practical problem,
this issue will become decisive, the touchstone for the policy of
Social-Democracy in the given country: either jointly with the
faSeist-bound bourgeoisie against the working class, or jointly
with the revolutionary proletariat against fascism and reaction,

.13

O Il ~
,, 0 , , r

\11

to th l! ex ten t that the lo iter wi ll really fl$(lll aRai nst th ~ ,enemies

f the IlcoPh: lUid gra nt rn::ed!,)1II or 3ctioll to the Commulllst Pn,rlY
o d to Ihl! workin g class, The question or wheth er Commu nists
.n'II tak e put .In t ,h : ~ o \'ernll\ent WII!
. Ix: dl:lermme(
, entire
' IybY
act ll~d situation prHail ing at the time , Such ftucst ions will
I I
.
.....,
.
b e pn:scnb ed In
'
be seUled as tht:y arlS<:.
....0 landy reC11)(:S call
:I ""ancc ,

, _ T hIll iii h ow the ques tion ......,

. , rron , gOVt'run iCIlI "'
'o rll..: b ll I ill d cc(. ,," , the Ulllh~(
II
~
"a t th e 11111('
IS
ul C
t ...

v11. ll I I), b<! pre.....

. . ' !I i n 1)OII'c r .
ine
, ) , 1\'1,11 as II' hlle \1 1 . . , ' " Ill)' rc po rt II h o ll \ t lie c h a r ne l"
fornl j!( Ill'
I \\" 15 ~(l!( I
. 1
.,
"
"
. k tlull l'nO U'!:: I '
I fi nd Ih e :11\11 - a scI:> IICOPe s fr o n l

",'e

1111111 , ' front j.:OIcrJln ICII ,li lio ns of their (ormatio n ,

,
. the ("011
0
he Ulllte<
o( '
as weI :l~.
.
To
c:o.:pcct
us
O\'er
and
abo
,
'('r n llU' lll ,
. I (11 r('cIl O Ii .
,
"
,. .
':0 1 .
c ne r:iI I :lCI1(':I,
f rillS nnd :I II ('OIH ULo n s 1111( cr which
c
pr~\,l(le. 1-': 1i('lI t C nil l)Oss,bl 0 " II'o ultl lIIea n b ut 10 in"i t\: (Util

thi S 10 III(
.
'1\'
h gOI 'eru l1l('l1l:: Ill, .

be form <'<

tl llil udc Towa rds Dourg eois Democracy,

SlIC. ,uI<
r I'lu ning :lg nins t. o\,c, r.s
illl l)lifka"
:\ not e 0 \ .
.
ollid like to IIt h.'r.
,rd .:\II(\ . fnst rules lI\ t liS ql u,'stiOll
I \\
' I of n llY HI
'
"
,.
.
u
O
. or the l'I]lplic3 I
. II' scheme , I' or examp c, It WOuld
u~,n '~ more colllplex th:1II n h). ' united fron l go\'e rn me nt is :III
Ll el~ n'" 10 uli
"~
',
(
'
ag lO Ih a lt d ' 0 the cstnbhS
IIncnt
0 t Ie prole.
be WN to
the roa
I f
. d Pl'll sClble slag .. 011
" t tiS wrong as t IC ormc r asscrtioll
IN IS
, '
'fh nt 15 JUS
"
r .,
, n dictators III"
d y slageS III t Ie aSCls cOu ntries
t (\fIR
'Izlume) mr
'
I 1 1
there will be 11 0 I
"
cer
taill
1
0
be 1111 IIl c e 1 C )' sUPer.
t h:It
'-t dictatorshIP IS
Ilnd thnt fASCI~,
Iictatorship,
,
con]f:<"

~ -..ted by proletarlRn (

'I d 'n 10 this: will the prolct3riat

~~
, 011 bol S 0 \\
I
The whole qu es I
" noment for the ( Irect overthrow
t the deCISive I f
',""If be prepare d a
bl,'shmenl 0 ItS o wn power, and
I~
"
d
the
esta
'I' ?
f the bourgeoISie nn
cure th e support 0 f Its ales
0'11 it be able in tllat e\'ent to SC' ,ed ,)rolel arian frou t 3ud the
WI

t of the UIlI
' .
Or, ",ill th e mo\'~mcn at the particular stnge ~e III a position
f .,... ism withou t direc tly proceed
:lnti.fnscist people S front
w
o\'erlhro a ~
'
,. '} I th I
only to suppress or .
h'
f the bourgeoISie '
~
e alter
jng to abolish the dlCt:ltOrs liP 0 , e of politicnl shortsightedness
'ntole rab e plec
h'
I
'
case it woul<I be an I
.
,
lilics to usc t IS a Olle as 'I.
nar
and not serious re\'oluuo > ':d su~port :l united front or a
ground for refusit~g to create :1
people's front. govern~ent'l
nderstand that the establishment
It is likeWise not dlfficu t t,o u ountries where fascism is not yet
of a united front gov:nune~t In c from the creation o f such a
t
in power is somethm~ dlJ/Oh'CII 'he fascist dictato rship holds
,
ntnes were
government m cou
.
united front government can be
sway, In the latter countnes OIl crvcrtllrowiJlg fasci st rulo. In
t d 0
i,1 fh e proceSS 0
,
. d
1
crea e, '
bour eois_democratic re'Vo/uitoli IS eve op.
g
become the government of
countnes where the
,
Ie's front government may
mg , ad peop t' d,'cta,orship of the working class and th!!
the emocralC

,
I

Il,-

pe~~~t':~ve

already pointed out in my report, the Communists

~..iU do all in their power to support a united front government

14

COillr:lde Lellski poin ted Oll t in his speech that" wbile mobi
)'sing the masses to repel the OIll>lauRh t of fa sciMIl against the
r~ghts of the toilo.:r5 , the. P~li sh Pa.r ~y at th e salll,t: lime had i~s
i " iv ings about forlllub llllj{ pOl>lttvC (\.:!IIlOCratlc demands III
fI\rder
l>~ uot to create (, 1!lIIOC ratl.C I.,' uSlons
'
among the masses, .. "1'1Ie
;olish P~ rty is, ~~ course , not ~he only one in . w~i~h such fear of
formulating j"l(bltlVC dl!mocratlc demands eXIsts til one way or
another.
\Vherc docs til at fear come fro m, comrades? It comes from
all incorrect, nOll,dialectical conception of ou r aUitude tow ards
bourgeois democ racy .
W e, Communists , arc unswerv ing
upholders of Sov iet democr:lcy, the great protot ype of ..... hich is
the proleta ri an dictatorship in the Soviet Union where the iotroduction of equal suffrage , and tbe direct and secret ballot is proclaimed by resolu tion o f th e. Scventh Congress of Soviets ~ t th e
same tim e that the last vestiges of bourgeois democracy arc bein g
wiped out in the. capitalist countries. This Soviet democracy
presupposes th e vict.lry of the proletarian rcvolution, the con"I!rsion of private prope rty in the means of product ion into public
property, the embarki ng of the ovcrwbelming majority of the
people on the road to Sociali sm , Th is democracy does not repre
5Cllt a fin al form; it develops and will continue to dcveloll in
proportion as furt her progress is made in socialist construction,
in the crea tio n of cl assless society and in the overcoming of the
survivals of capitali sm in economic life and in thc minds of the
people,
But to~day the millio ns o f toilers li ving unde r capitalism are
faced with the n ecessity of tnking a d efi nite stand on th es e form s
in which the 1'Illc of 1,11 e bourgeo isie is clad in the various
countries. We are not anarchists and it is no t at all a matter of
indifference to us what kind of political regime exists in any
given country: whether a bourgeois dictatorship in the form of
bourgeois democracy, even with democratic rights and liberties
greatly curtailed, or a bourgeois dictatorship in its open, fascist

15

" ,' , I dt'!'I\OCf M' Y. w r .fll edl d I

I
~
of
:-,0\1
1; '
e t tld
lleirl~ "ph ol ( ('
'U I,i,. $ 1.,I,i(.11 Ou: WO I ' H'R clau ,
,,)nll .. h / /111\ 1I"", ,,, wI ' R / s/llbbo rll sh IlGJ:/ e. (It.d ,'Ill
",,11'.1'
,1' 0/ )'t/J's o .
'''''11

"fj""
I.d i" Ihe

d til tS" X(I\tlJ.

1I't4lS, I I ,/i,,/I l 10 r."' ~ '1
AI
r Utl II r J
,.
t (' 5,'1 CrI'fiIC~"'. of the Bri t is h workinH
f
.
... 1l5!
H ow grcal wefC t I, h I to strike. R kgal .!>ta tus o r Its tt~t1t
. ~-" ured the rig I
II (rc{' dom of the p rc l'is , CXtCIl.!>I
~rorc II "....
( s:;t'lIlb)' 1111
(011
the ri~hI 0 (l
hiS I How llIany Il'U.!> 0
thous,'lnd
Il5
1II1iO (, chist ond olhc r ~Ig Ihc re \'olut ionary battl es fOIlRht . ~
of the ran
'h ' Ih~s 11\

I
I
In
t . r5 gil' '\! t cit
ry
to
obwtll
t
Ie
l.' e mcn ta,), ti t'hl
of wor",('
.
nth cen l U
. .
I ' (
,
'n , hc nUlett'e
.
( or"'a lll :'lIlg t IClt o r~cs fo r th
Frlln I
rtUnlt)' 0
l!>

(II

I h I"wflll oppo
. " The prolet ari at 0 a COU lilril"!i
am t I' .goinst the esploltr r!; : n bourgeois-de lllocrat ic libcrtil"
strugg ~
. blood 10 \\1

I
",
ed
much
of
It5
.
II . (5 SlrenJ1;lh to ret:lIn I len} .
h" sh
.
ura II fi"ht with" I
(Ot!

will nal
)' Ie.
eois democracy IS not the S.'llllt
on Our 3lt itudt to\\"ard~ ~U~lg:tnce nt the tim e of the OCtObet
..
Jor ln!;
'
1'
1' (
I
ullcltr nil C'Ondl uon~._ .
Bolshevik s ruga,!.:.:( 111 a I c-al\( dcath
Rc,.olutioll, t he RUS!iIll.lI . I p:lrties whit-h oppo~cd the es tablish_
stru/:/; Ie against all l~htIC~ictatorship uncier th~ sios,:an of the
'.lIt of the proletarlRn (
'fhe Bolsheviks foug ht Ihest
II )..;
democracy.
I d
ddt'llce of bou rgeoiS
r o f bourgeois democ racy la at that
mrlies be<:IIUse Ihe b:l llll '
nd which :lll cOLlIl \er-revolut ioll:lry
I
th talld:lttl aroll he victory 0 ( t I Ie pro Ie , :lnat.
'
lime ~IllC e s
Tht'
et
'1
'
I
to
ch:llleng
.
. .
forces mobllse<

. ,I, copi tah st CQlIntnc:; :It prescllt

.
.
. IilTerent In I
.
I.
. . d
.
situation IS qUltc (
. I , on is atlnd:lIIg uomg<''Ols ~m().
. counter- re , 0 11 I

Now the (aSClsl

bl" h most barb:mc regIme a exploIta.
cracy in au cffort I~ est tl( I~ ~oiJing masses. Now the taili ng
lion and suppression 0 t~, Ist countries arc !aC'<'d with the
.
mber of capi a I
.
.
I
masses 1Il n nu .
fill ite choice, and of runklllg It to ( ay, not
necessi ty of mak l~lg a ~e
h'p and bou rgeois dem ocracy, but
~t\\"et'n proletarian dictators I d f scism
be geois democracy an n
.
bctW("C1l
ur
. 1' tulltion which difTers from l hat which
~csides, we have no~, a: poch of capitalist s tabi lisa tion . At
eX is ted, for example,dill t e c. 1101 "S acute 3S it is to -day . At
.
h f ist auger \\ s
.,
that t~me! e asc
. dicilltorship in t he (orm o f bourgeOis
g
th at tllllC It \hvas bo ur eo,v: lutiol1ary workers were fa cing in a
delllocCDcy t at t h e r
.
. d
h
number o( countries and it waS agamst bourgeoiS em,ocrac{y t at
rating their fire. In GermAny, t ICy o ught
n<enl
I
t ICY were co
.
bl' b
.
h
IV
'
ar
Rel>ublic
not
because
It
was
a
reJlu
'.,
.lC, ut
ag alllst t e
elm
.
.
bOII,g.OI, repubhc which was s llppress mg the
u=u~llw~.
'.,
.
revolu tio nary 1Il0\lement of the proletllnat, espectnlly III 19 18-20
d

and in 1923.
.
But could the Communists maintain thlS stand also when the

16

.ISI 1I10VClllell i hega n to raise its head, when, for illstllnee . in

f,'!C the rn~cist s in C enHlln), were organ ising anti arming
1 9J~ t(ls of thousnnds of storm trooper:. IIgaiullt the worki llg
hUrl; Of course li n t. It w ns the mi stake of the COllullu nist!i in
clasS lber of cnunl ries , p:l rliclliariy in Cerma ny , Ihat they failed
n~~c intO accoun t Ihe ch:lngc>; which had tllkclI place, but con to t.I"d to repeal t Ilose s I 0K:l II 'I , 11I:llIIlalll
"
I10lle tactlca
. I poSIuon5
..
t
lin uc
I}c (ore , espeCla
. II y wh t n t Il~
. h had beel! cor rect a (
ew years
",hie "Ie for tile pro I etaTl:l
' n d IC
' , li tor!i I np
' was nn .IIll1ne d lale
'
I. ~ue,
stt ugl)
.
G ern.lan cou lltcr-revo Iullon
.
.
I when t h\: entire
was ra II ylnK"
1111'
1 r the ball lle r of the Weimar RepUblic , a5 it d id in 19 18-20 .
\I11 ( C
Anll thc circlllll o;t:ul ce Ihat c\cn to.d:. }' we must still nl ake
.{crCIICC to fear , in our .ranks , of launching positi ve: democratic
r g.nns ind ica tes how little our cOlllr:.<i':!i have mastered th e
S xist.Lenini..,t mdhod o f approaching such important problems
~f a;ur tac-t ics . Some So'l y tha t t he st ruggle for democratic right5
d ivert t he workers from t he slrugR le for t he prolet:lrian
Y
111(1
.
I t Ill ay not I)c l:I1I\1~
' to tecn II W Ilat , _cnm
. S.'ll'd on
di l' t tltorsh~P .
this question :
" Jt would be a fu ndamental mi stnkc to s uppose that t he
st ruSf,: le fo r d emocracy call di vert the proleln- riat from th~
Socialist revolut ion, or obscure, or o vcr:;h adow it, etc . On the
contr:uy , j ust as socialis m ca nnot he victOriOliS unless it introduces complete dem oc racy, so the IlfOlda ri at will be unable to
preJ):l re for victo ry o' cr t he bourgeoisie unless it \\'3ge5 a
many-sided, con sis tent and rcvolution ary s truggle for
democracy.
These words s h ould be firmly fix ed in th e memo ries o f all our
~lIlradcs, bearing in m ind t hat in history the g rcat revolutio n s
hnve grown Oll t o f s m :\l1 movements for the defence of the
elementary ri ghts of t he working c1::J.SS. But in order to be able
to link up the s truggle for democratic rights with the s truggle o(
the working cl ass (or socialism, it is n ecessary first and foremost
to discard any cut-and-dried approach to the ques tio n of defence
of bourgeois democracy. (Applause .)
---

lt

...

A Co rrect

LjllC

A 10 llc Is Nol ElIougll.

Comrades, it is clear, of COl1r$C , th a t fo r the Communist International nnd each o( its Section s , the fundamental thing is to
work out a correct line . Dut a correct line alone is not enough
for concrete leadership in the class struggle.

-,.......-::-:--:-:::-:--:"-;--:-;-..:..:.,,,--_._ - Lenin, Selected Works, Vol. V. p . 268.

. 17

Fllf th Rt ,

It

11l1m wr 0

, C'(Ultli l ioll'" Inu ,<' he fulfil J.:d , abo

\'e lire ftu:ed w ith the tnsk o f ol"ganl~i n g a united fr ont of

\
. allt" (r:lwlIlg
.
broad masses o f t b e ~op "e Into
\\-hell oletarHlt
t 'Ie
,he pr,i .fascht people's fro nt . The f)()l it ical lind t:lcticnl genius
1. 11 :n ill :'11,,1 SIIII i " is c\'in..:cll lI10 s t c\curl y :lml most vivid ly in
,"tcrful ahilit), to ge t the m:l~-;es to llllder:.tnnd the corn.."C.t
of .~ell,
hClr n ,"
t. e all d the s logan:. of the l'ilr ty through their ow n experi ence .
lin . folloll' up the h b lory o f llolshevhm , that Rreatt'st of

Vit 111\

Ih(' (nllo\\,jll/,:. :.
,"'111 .... .. '1.,' 11/.0 tll:11 :l\h'JlI"'~ dcci~IOll5 \\ill
F in-I, orgMIISn'l .
rlllt! 111M al\ nh';lndcs III the WII)'
~~
. ,
I in p rn.' UC'c
.,. , .
.,
0,
Cllfl1l'( (Ill
\ VII II! C(IIlIrlhlc ;,\11 11\ ~ah
:\1 t he ~ .

Wi',

11
r('solu ll:ly 0" ('1('''>1 ,' ' , COllllllllni-.t Part)'

t he Soviet 1J\~I1
"
.
,
111011
i'lf" 10 ,-any ou t t It' III(: 0 the I),

"
" I'\. ...s <'
I h
teenth ....
o n ...
, {'()n ciilio ll :<> 11.:( .. ':-. ... .
lloon t ti e
.
' \ l 'lI t i rd v,
",HI should IW (lf . III I ...

c an ;'
.
" ress
IIdopl:o; . .
o u r Co,, ..
~

(, bo

or

"

0 11 t Ie l (':<: ISI01\5

tty

wh' '

Comrade Stalin ~J(I :

. .
.. Some IX'Oll l.. I " lin... t h .' lt it j", !-1I0U," CII I to draw . lip a ('Qt r ttl
"
I '
" fr o tH t he hou sct o PS, l'IHI1IClah:: it in I\.
line
,lroc
!l1I1I
I
.
P Rr l~.
" ,,,."solu t .lo n ... (nil" carry t le ln Un, '".
.
. "
n,.
\ 'rIIl thes("l' :I t!
form 0 f ~C I e
t.
,id o!"\' com(" of It se , :llItonHl.tical'
, . oreler to n Ht"C \
.
"-,
,
.
y
moUS ), 11\._ TI I":'

f
-,
i
..
wrong
.
lose
w
to
thlnk
0 COU f1'C. . "
t
so to spct\ ...
1 '. ._ .
Onl \' incorr1~:lblc bll fcauCrt\ls and
e\1.Att.:l
"l1I :ltte!" o r. f t\ct, t , lCSC S UCCt~
thnt lICe " " ' )' 1I11 <:. I:Ith...at.
office rt\ts ~.In tllll b ..... 1 not au tomallct\lly, bu t as a rt slIl

- were_0 t:lllh",.
"
\ ,.Ictor)' n C\.tt
t\n(I ,!Ictonc:.
p ' out the Pa rt y m c .
of a fierce ~trll.'!~I~ t~ c~ rt~ be df:l.'!scd by the h and . C~
COnles by Itself- I; a;'OI1S in favour o f the gen crnllinc of tllt
resolut ions t\lId dcc :I~t\ I. p ' the" ",erely express the desire!
a hegulIlIlll>'
W
Party arc 01 , 1\'
. '

After t he correct "me has bt..

.
b
"t i - not VIc tor}
,
b
Win ,
\1t I :';
. I tion o f the problem las ~n found
given , after a corf(~cht so \Inner in which t he work is organiStd'
I t\l=':llenh
,' " on of
success d el)enels
. on
' t e lil
f atl e st r\l s~::le fo r tie
on the orgalllsation 0
tlhe ' llrOp~r selec tio n of workers on
the line of the Part}fi"1 0" , of the d ecision s o f the leading
. .
th e full men
supervlsmg .
his the correct line o f t he Party and the
organs. Without t . I " ger of being severely damaged
lution s nre 111 (a
.
,I
.'
correct so
1
rrec t politicnl 11Ile laS lcen given
Mo re than. th ~t , nfte'~'~rl~ ~ccides everything, including th~
th e org ams.'ltl~n.nl I'
' tself i.c. whether it is fulfilled or
(nte of the pohtlcnl IOC I
,
,
not ."
t dd nnything to these s triking words
It is hardly l~ecesshn~Yh ~l~st become a guiding principle in all
of Co mrade Stalin, w IC I

",k'

g: .lk

the work of o ur ~n.rtics: th abi/il)' to CC"ll Crt d cc isio )ls oj Ikt

Another condItion IS e . 5 ,.
, . I MId lis ec lOri S ,'n'o d llcisions 0/ ,~,
Communist I"t urla I Clla
.
,
he
broa d masses fl, tmsci'Vts. 1 hIS IS all t
more necesSary now,
Stali n, " Report on the W o rk of the Centm\ Committee."

See Socialism Victoricus, pp . 78-9 .

18

If \\\e houses of the poli tic:.1 strateH Y anel tactics o f the revolu

Ich

treaSlly
nr movemen t , we Cll n see for ou rselves t hat the Bolshev ik s
liou r substit ut l.'{" lIlet UX.:i
, 0 " d'
C:l Ing the P:lrty for mf:th ad 5 0 f
ne\'e
ding the Jll:l:.-..es.
lea comrade <.:
.
te{ " Oll t t lat one 0 , t h c: pecu , lnntles
"
. 0 f t he
~t n , III
pOlll
'cs of the R u!>:.;inn Bolshev iks in the period of prCl1arat ion for
cU
ta October ",eva , II tlOIl
COllsls
t , lelr
correctl y to
.
' te(, 11\
'
' a b ' , tty
'
the ....line t he Il:l th al1(l the turn s which nalur:lll)' \c3d the masses
de te. ..
p
,
the slogans of the a rt y , to the vcr}' ' threshold of lhe rc\'olu
t? ,J helpin.': th em to .:icn sc , to tes t and to rcali~ fro m their own
110~rience the correct ness of th ese slo~ ans . They d id not con
~:se leadershi p of t he Pa rty with Icadcr::.hip of the mnsscs , but
, ,Iy 53W the diffcf{:n ce betwccn le:ldership o f the fir.;t kind and
C ea
',
, n th iS
. way they worked o ut
1
clership of t ,H! secont, ."lIle.
efl tics as th e sc ience, not o nl y o f Party leadership, but also o f the
,ac
leadersh ip of t IlC IIlI',,'Ion s 0 f t O ',
I Cr!>.
Furthcrmore, it mus t be bo:'o e in mind that Ihe br oad I114SSt:S
(a nnat assimilat e o ur d u isio tu ulI less we lea r" to s peak IIl e Ian
uage w llicll tll: "Hi sses IIlId n s ta tld . \\l e d o 110t always know
~ow to speak sim ply, concretdy , in imag es which are familia r
(ld intelligible to th e masses. W e arc s tillloalh to d ispense with
"bstract fo rmulas whi ch we have learnt by rote . As a matter of
~aet if you scan ou r leaflets , neWSpapers , resol ut io n::. and theses,
.you'will find tha t th ey a~e o ft e n written in a language and s tyle
SO heavy thnt t hey are difficu lt for even our P nrty functionari e~
10 unders t And, let alo n~ the mnkandfilc work ers.
If we reflec t, comrades , thnt wo rkers , es pecially in fascist
countries, who dis tribute o r o nly read these leaflets risk their very
lives by doing so, we s hall rcalise s till m o re clearly the n eed o f
writing for the masses in n lnnguagc which they understand, so
that the sacrifices m ade l1Iay no t have been in vain .
The same applies in n o less deg ree to o ur oral agitation and
propaganda. \Ve mus t admit quite frankly that in this res pect
tbe fasci sts have ofte n proven more dexterous a nd flexible tban
many o f our commdes.
1 recnl1. for ex a mple, a meeting of unemployed in Berlin

19

. to I>ower It was at Ihe time o f the

~(or~ H itler':J nccC'$Slon . ,"Ars ~nd specu l nto r~ . the Sk, ttilll
ious SWill .. .
.
att!(
of tho~ lI o~or
n ed o n fo r scvcrlil mo nths. A Nation
brothers, which ~r 1;1;" c " ing the meeting Illnde demagogic III
' "1St :;1>
' cnkcrlllnr
'" to I IC sWi nd!" s,
Socia
I" ~
OWII cuds. H (' re f cHe(
oClha! trial, to further I~\es committed by th e S kJarck bro t! es,
' I.
1(\ other Ctl1l .

f
lets
th e bnlJcr), ar
h ' 'rll had been drag ~ lt\g o r Illonths

'
d
that
t
e
n
.
,
,
'
f
(jill!
emp h IlSlse'
I tlndrcds of t iOusaIH S 0 marks it I
iig'ure<1 O llt how 1111\11) 1 oo,)le T o th e :l c c O lllp:lniIllC nt of I l ad
t the German p
.
b"
GlI d
d
nlrea Y cos
~ ker declnred th nt such nllt Its li S the S klarel(
npplRuse the spen
be
shot without an)' ado , and the me
brothers should ~I~\r~ ~~1 have gone to th e unemployed.
ney
wasted on the tna s ou I ': "ked fo r the fl oor . T he chainnan
""
lit
A ComOl unist rose an<
.
him but un der the pressure of th
llls

firs t refused to recog ,' hen; from the Communists he had "
d'
vhich wante d 0
.
I
0
au Jenee \
\VI
the COlllltlUllIst got upon tIC pl at forrn
let him spenk .. . ..1 l~n, t"nsc e.''\"pectfttion what the Communis,
every bod)' nW3Ih::u wll I . .. Well what (IId h c say.'
,
ker would h3"e to sa) . '
.
.:;pe~f
.. he began in a loud nnd stro~g VOICC, "tht
Comrndes ,
,' s' Internation:l l h3s lust closed It
PI
of the Comnlun
.
I
.
enum
th salvation of the worklllg e ass. The chitf
showed the way to e
rades is ' to 1uill tllc majority 01 th
task ~t puts before Y?U'( r::lgilter.') The plcnum pointed out tha~
wo rklllg class. d. . . lent must be po Itlca IS'C(
L...a~ u g IIter 1
the unempIOye" moven to raise it to a ',iglltl r /cl)cI." (I...AlIgltte;)
The Pl enu m ea s o n us

. .
, h ' ne strain evidently uuder the Impression
He went on m t e s:u
,
. .
f h P'
" .," g " authentic deciSions 0 t e enum.
that he was exp alOm
, ~ .., C Id
h
appeal
to
the
unemp
oYI:U .
ou they
speec
h
Cousuc
, '111 ten de d to politi.
"
'd . f a '
. the fact that first ,,e
. .
h
.
lind any satls actIOn III
calise then revolutionise, and finally moblilse t em In order to
, 'h'
t to a higher level? (Laughter, applause.) .
raIse t elr mo\'emen
. h h
'
,'
mer of the hall I observed Wit . c agnn how
5 Ittmg In a co
' eager to hear a eommUlllst
' in
'ho
had
been
so
t h e unemp 'oye
b
d, n
order to find out from him what to d~ conc~etely I egan to yawn
and display unmistakable signs of dlsappomtment.. And I Was
not at all surprised when towards the end the chalrm~n rUdely
cut Ollr spea ker short without any protest fro~ th.e m~etmg. .
This unfortunately is not the only case of Its kmd In OUr ngtta.
tio na l work . Nor were such cases confined to Germany. To
agitate in such fa shion means to agitate against one's own cause.
It is hig h time to put an end once and for all to these, to say the
least childish methods of agitation.
During my report, the chairman, Comrade KUlisincn, received
f

20

' "

"

"

( '

rnctcristi e lette r from the fl oor of the: Congress addre:sse:d to

ch , et me real, It' :
me. l ~
" [n yOllr spce<:h at the Congress, Illeasc take up the follow. g (IU<!!>t ion, 1l :ll1l cly , th at all resolutions and decisions
1'~oPted in the fu ture by the Communist lnterulltional be
n'ritt cn so th at not o lily trained Communi sts can get th e:
" call in$:: , but t , lal ally wark'lIlg
'
,
' t 0f
man readlllg
the materia
"', ,. Comintcrn might with out nlly prcliminnry training be able
sec nt once w ll.t t I t.: ommullIsts want , and o f what service
~ornllllll1ism is to n~ankind. Some Party leaders forget this.
They I1lU S ~ be remindcd o.f it , and very str?lIgly, too. Also
thot agitat ion for CommulIlsm be cond ucted III understandable
longung c.. "
1 do not know exnctly who is the author of this letter, but I
e no doubt that thi ~ comrade voiced in his letter the opinion
ba~ d esire of millions o f wo rk ers. Many of our com rades think
~1;3t the more .hi.gh-sounding words , and the more form~las ~nd
h ses unintelhglble to the masses they usc, the better their agltat. ~ and propnganda, forgetting that the grcntest leaders and
t~oeoreticians of the working c1nss of Ollr epoch, Lelzill and $ Ialill,
~ e always spoken nnd writt en in highly popular language ,
:W
dily understood by the brO:1d masses.
rea Everyone of li S must make this a 1:1w, a Dolshevik law, an
elementary rule:
Wh clI writing or spcak illg ahva)rs lla-vc ill mind t.he rank-andf"l worke r who lIIust u uderstalld you, must beli ctre in )'o u,"
Ip~cal all d be read)r to lollow you! Y ou must hal)o in mind
~/Iose lor w ll om you .vritc, to whom yo u sp eak. (Appla use .)

".

, ' C'

'

Cad rcs
Comrades, our best resolutions will remain scraps of paper 11
we Jack the people who are to put them into effect. Unfortunately, however, I mu st state that the problem of cad res, one o f
the most important quest ions that confront us, received practically 110 attention at thi s Congress. The r-eport o f the Executive Committee o f the Communist In.ternational was discussed for
seven days. There were Illany speakers from various countries,
but only a few, and they o nly in passi ng, discussed this questi.on,
SO extremely vital for the Commuuist Parties and the labour
movement. In their practical work our Parties have not yet
Cadres-here re ferring to active Party wo rkers
tionaries, Or officials.-Transl.

21

and tunc

list't'll' (M 'h I
"II
I 'h I

ll h"IIP/1" fIIdtrs, d(l ch/r rvr ' y tld"g '1',

I'
' i'
, .
,
"

ICy
COlllrnd~ ... //1 HI tlllI,!:: I I IIl1 0 ( 0, l1aln('1

!lI t

unllble 10 ( 0,,\\ Silo" ml.,IIt' T (,lIl l i\'l1l1.'5 his (!I \,ou r il ... fr\li~' Cl1lli.
\' 31t' ('.1flre~
II,.,
.
"
trl'''' I.

.
'<-"0, ,11.' 10 IIPP(,,";'h.' ('II( rcs , 0 apprccin ,

.. 10 Il/lfl l\.'{"w t c I

worker wh o

L ,

("Iii

,>I.

of

II :: ...

to our

("0.)11 1111011

'

cau"....

"

C ev

C'y

. , . "~,I rltljlwlc 011 the 'lIu.'l!lroll o f C:ld n:i IS a l] tI,

cillo
lIis."ibk {or the (l':JoSO n th n t w~ n(\' cOlls ta tltly 100itlR
II,!

'\1\ I II! IIn' ( '

,",pen

oC

. IWlble of our cadres III th i: s truJ:i:l c.

I he lIl(b l \ II

. .

,"

Fo r

SOfrlt
\\"e a

.
' socicl,' bul :1 1111111:1111 m O\'l'lllen! IV nch IS COli ' ,
"
nOI II /e,,(I1,'<
.
" alltl
'n" line Ou r most cllcrgdlc, 1Il 0~ t cOllrageous and
Y
on I hC fiIn ~.
.
Illos,
" ,'OIlS c/cll1('uIS arc In I Ie rOllt (all,,5 ,
t IS
claSS("OIlS.
,
. ,
cl~1
men t !Hlt the CIIClIly HUll :> (0\\'11, IlIUr<!N:> "
t

,r

th ~

rron","}'t;

. ".,

"

,.

"

, .','T,
,

I r O\\'

P" ' ~ ill (."Ollci:n lrat lOli (':II11pS:l1H SII )Jccts to e"cru ,', . '
:;
" .", '
atu"...
,
"rlkul:trh'
in
f:lsclst
counltll.'S,
li S cr(':ltcs ti l "
l orlur~, I
"
, , '
... \'tr
.... ~~.::
' " . of col1';lnn
ll" r('pll'lll s illi g the milks ,
urgen , nn~
~
"
ahn t

mlO Jill

ClI',,,..

new C:ldr~s as \\'ell :lS c:lrdully prcservin ....

"
'
c> t It
:lllu" ,rainillg
~:dsli /lg cIlClres,
The Queslion of C:l(lres is of, fl:l~ l icnlar n rJ:ell cy for the add '
on.' re3son Ihnl ti nder our mflucll cl' the I1l:'l SS u ni led r ,.
,
mo\'eme-nl
is g:'lining momenlu m :In(' b"
rm gmg [orward mrOIl!
'
. g.c ,:'ISS 1111., IlalllS,
"
IhollSIlllds of new \\'~rklll
." oreol'er, it is an}'
nOI
on'" young rc\'OhlllolHl ry elements, no t on ly workers '
.
'.
JUSt
becoming re\'olullon:'lry,
\\' ' 10 h ave .l1 e\('r b[
e ore partlCIP:lted
in
.71
political mo\'eI1lCllt , that. ~t re:l1l1 IIlto OU~ T:'I llk s, V~ry o flen
former members flnd actl\'lsts of the SocI:'lIOemocT:'ltic Par,'
.
' ]
.
les
Rlso join us. These ne\\, c:'l~res re<I~lll'e 51>(-<;'13 all~ntlOll , Part icl!.
lad" in the illegal Communist Part Ies, the more so beca\lse th
' ,
"
[
cadres with their poor theo[,ettca . trahllll,n g rCt'I,uelltly cOllle up
against serious politica l proll ems In t elf prnctlca l wo rk Which
they must solve for thcmseh 'cs.
The pfoblem of what shall be th e corrc.cl " oUcy 'wit/, rega ,d
to cadres is a "cry serious one for OUf Parties , as well as for th
Young Communist Leagues nnd for all o ther m:lSS o rgalliS:ltion:
- for the enlire rc\'OIUlionary labour movement.
What does a correct policy with regard to cadres imply?
First, kt! OWi'lg 01lC'S poop/c . As n rule the re is no systcmati
study of cadres in our Parties. Only recentl y have the Com~
munist Pa rt ies of France and Poland and, in the E3St, th e Com.
munist Party of China, achie"ed certain successes in this direc.
tion. The Communist Party of Germnny, before its underg roun I
period, h:ld a lso undertaken a study of its cadres. The eXPtr;.
enre of these Parties has shown that 3S soon as th ey began to
study their people, Party workers were discovered who had

..,

22

rtm:dlled tlll llotir..tl bdore . On th e other ha nd , the Parties bega n

t o be l)Ur$.:~d \If :1i!t;I\, t:I .. m~ lIh who \\ cre id\:ological1y and
polit ica ll )' h:lrlll fl ~1. ,II IS suOrciell1 10 poi nt to tht: (:)( 3ml)\e of
eelor :lnd IbrbC III l'rI'IlIce who , when IlU t under the Bohh<:vik
lUicro~o(ll.: IU rI1ed ou t to be agen ts of the c1n.!>5 enemy and were
Ihrown ou t o f the I'ar~y , I ~I I'olalld nnd in lI u ngary th e veri fi ca.
tion of clI(lres made II enSH,' r 10 di sco\'er n est.s of provocat~u r s ,
agcuts of th e enemy , who had :.c<lulous\ y conCf:a\cd their identity.
Second , /n o/";, p , ot/lo lioll 0/ ead ,es, Promotion should no\
be solllething ca!>ua \ but ,one .o f the Ilormal functions of the Party.
It is bad whcll p~omotl,on IS made cxclusivf:\Y o n the basis o f
narrow P:lrl y conSi deratIons , without regard to whether the Com.
munist promoted has contac t with the masse.!> or not. Promotion
should wkf: !l!ace 011 the ?:l~i s of the. ability of the various Party
work ers to (llscha rge particula r fUl1 ctlons, and of their popularity
a010ng II~c lIIas~s, \Vc have eX:II11ples in our Part ies of prolllo.
tions which ~la \'C proouced excellent results, For inst:mce , we
have :l Span ish ,woman.Communi st , silt ing in the Presidium of
this Congrl:!>5. Comrade Dolores , Two years ago she was still a
r:Ulk.:llld.file Party worker. Out in the vcry firs t clashes with the
cl3SS enemy she proved to be au ex cellen t ag itator and fighter.
SubSCCluently promoted to the leading body of th e Party, she has
proved herself,a most worthy member of that boey, (Applau se. )
I could POlllt to a number of simil:u cases in several other
countrie~, b u t : n Ihe majority o f C:lSCS promot ions arc made in an
unorgalllscd a nd h~phaz:lrd Ill~nll er, and therefore a rc not always
fortunate , Sometimes morahscrs, phrasemongers and chatter.
bo,:e~ who :lc t ll~dly harm the cause are p romoted to lead ing
posItIons.
Third, ti, e a b il~t)1 to tl se ,people to bes t adva ntage . We must
be able t~ ascertam and ulllise th e valuable qualities of every
single acti ve worker. T her-c are no ideal people; we must take
them as th ey are ,and Correct t~eir wcaknesess and shortcomings ,
We know o f glnrmg eX:lll1ples III o ur P arties of the wro ng ulilisa~
tion of good, ho nes.t Commun ists wh o might have bew very use.
ful had they been g IVen work that they were better fit to do .
Fourth, proper distribution 0/ cad res, First o f all we must
see to it that the main links of the movement are in the' charge of
strong people who ha \'e contacts with the masses, have sprung
from the very depths of the m asses , who ha\1e initiative and are
st~unch. The mo re imp~rt.ant districts should have an appropnate number o f such a ctivists. In capitalist countries it is Dot
an easy matter to transfer cadres from one place to ano ther. Such

23

umber of ob51nd u fin d cliffi c u lt i ~s , inchrd '

" I,,$k ('110011 ~11 e rs 1~ I j'ons id('ral iOIl" , ('IC. I cI i ffi e t! It i ~s wh ich In Illfr
la('k 01 f\l ~Hb. ( li ll ) I fi nd prol>el'ly o vercome . Bu t II sunll liSt
be laken nllo n('('OlI lI
Y \\'~
le-cl to do this altoge ther .
....
n eg
/'
ssist(JIl u to (od ,n, 1 11I~ :l:;$I!Stnn cc IIh
''ilth s)-slr-ma Ie 1I
.
d ,
,
OUld

f (':\refill instructIOn, ("amm C)' con tro , ~c l i fi

toke' the (orlll o .
and mista kes lI m l cO llc n 'le, eVe r . '"

J:

I
I

tion oC shortco l1l1n /::I

Y a)'
guiclnncc .
l or Ili r "rrsfJ r:.'otiol/ 0/ t: ad , rs. \Vc II
Sixth prop" rare
I
lUSt
.
. to wit hdraw Pnrl)' workers to I Ie ren r whcucvc
learn prompt!)
' re and rcplllec t hem by o th ers. \V c rill! r
circIlUlslallccshso ,~cqtl)I,1 Ic~:lcrship JlM t icu lnrlr in cOll ll tries whe SI
demand ,that l e " " a r
'
" '"
"
a SS Ullle PMMllOllnt r ~ po Il S I )1 Ity for th

the Pnrtles are I ega ,

""
.
,
.'
( cndres. (A PP/llI l st' . )
Ie p ro p~ r ,?h:serva tloll of
pre5('n at 10 11 0
" highl)' efliciell t org:lIlls:u loli o f secre
.
d
Oy
cadres also presupposes
,
, t ' 1\ of our Par!lcs lIIallY COlilra es thin"
m the Party., 1\ cer """'
1\1
( '
'
jelltly prepared or till( erg ro und exist
Ihat the Par!le5 nre 5 U ..
. d
,
'
h3\'C
rcorga
lll
se
t
lemsd\'es
on'
'
,
ence even t hOil S I thc) '
.
.
,
y
O
ng
to
read)"
1U
3dc
rules
.
W
c
13d
to
P3y
vcr),
k (
"
formn y aC'('()r dI
dearly " {~r having "tarte<! the real wor ' 0 reorg 3111 :,", tloll only
I gonc underground, und er th e <hree! henvy
, . . tl C
a ( ler t h e P arty lac
'
Rcmcmber
the
se\'crc
osses IC Ollllll ll nist
n.
,n,
(
th
0
\\'5
0
e
C
"
.
'
.
'
b'
'
"
,(fcred
d
uring
Its
trallSltlon
to un.
dcrg round
'
Pnrty 0 ( Gerlllon)
condit ions ! Its expe rience should scr~e 3S n serlOliS warll lllg to
those of our llarties wh ich todn), arc s till Ie-gnl bll t Ill :'!)' lose their
leg al s tatus tomorrow.
.
O nly 3 correct policy in regard . to cadres WI ll e nab le OUr
Pnrties to dcvclop nnd utilise all nVlUl~blc forces to the lltmoSt,
nnd obtai n (rom the enormouS re.sen olr of the Ill ass movement
e"er fresh rei nforcements of new nnd better tlcth'e wo rkers.
Wh at s hould be o ur IIIa il! crit eria in sel ecting' cad res ?
Firs t , absolute devotion to the cause o f the wo, rking c lass ,
loyally 10 til e Pari')" tes ted in face of the enemY- lIl battl e , in
prison, in court.
Second, the closest possiblc contact 'willi the masses. The
comrades concerned mus t be wholly absorbed in t he int erests of
the masses, fecI the Jife pulse of the masses, know their senti.
ment's and requirements. The prestige of the leaders o f Our
Party organisation should be based, fir st of all, on the fact that
the m asses regard them :lS their leaders, and are co nvinced
through their own experience of their ability as leaders , and of
their determination and seHsacrifice in struggle.
Third, Gbilily independently to /illd olle's b04rings and not

...

afrnid of tl u u mir'J.'. r ~~ /Jo r~ sibm l y i ll takins dec/l io" s. He

l?hO fellr.!! to tnkc re~j)oll.!II),llI t y 1'1 no t II leader. 11 f: who 1!Io unable
II displaY li llmlme. who :o-.ayli: .. , I I ill do only \Ihat I am told ,"
~: not I I IInblll::\'ik . Ou ly he i:-l II rCfl l Bolshcvik lender who does
I t loSC hi" hcad at momelL ts of defe:'! t, who does not gel a swelled
,,0 d nt mome nts o f S UCC(:5'I , who di splays indomi tl\ble fir mness in
ht llryi ng out (t ee1"M01l5. Cd
,
a rell (c\'e101)
and grow bes t when they
cur pille-cd in t he IlOsition o f hnv ing to sol ve concrete problems o f
"Ire. str uggle illdependelltl y, and are aware that they arc fully
t'cpOnsiIJte for thei r decisions.
rt'~ Fourth , disci plirlt and Bolshevik I,a rd t " ing in t he struggli':
lIinst th e class enemy ns well :1$ ill thei r irreconcilable 01>p05i.
:i~n to all dcv iations fr om t he Dolshc:vik line.
We must place all t he more em phasis 011 these conditions
which d e t e r lll i l ~e t he corn.-<:t : c1<:ction o f cadres , because in prac
tict preference IS \:cry o ft en glv(: n to a comrade \\'ho , for example ,
mil)' be :Iblc to w~IlC \~e ll and be a .~ood s peaker but i s not a man
or womall o f actio n , IS not as SUIted for the struggle as some
ther cO!llr:'!de who perha ps may not be able to write or spt:ak 50
but is a ~tau n ch comrad e , possessi n~ initiath '(: and contacts
'
with, the m:tf,ses , alH IS
capable o f goi ng into battle and leading
thers juto battl e. ( App/nll s(J .) H :'!\'e there not been ever 50
~lIny cases of sectarians , .doctr ina~rcs or moral b e rs crowd ing out
loynl mnSS wo rkers , genu llle worklll j:tclass leaders?
Our lead ing cau res sh ould comb ine the knowled ge of w hat
they mu st do-wit h . Bolsll evi I~ sta Ill i lIa , t c'Volu tiona, >, st rength 0/
'haracl or 4"d t il e 'w I Il p O'WC t to can y it tllfou gll.
10 connection with t he q u es tion o f cad res permit me, comrlldes, to d well nt.so on t he great rotc wh ich t h e lrti c,nalional
ta bOllr D, /CllCc IS called upo n to Ilia), in relatio n to t h e cadres
of Ihe tabour mo vement. The m aterial and m oral assis tance
which the I.L . D. org ani sation s ren d;;: r to our prison ers and their
families, to political emig rn nts , to persecuted revolu tionaries and
antifasci sts , has s., ved th e H\'es and p reser ved th e streng th and
fighting capacity of t housan ds u pon thousa nd s o f m ost valuable
fighters of the working' class in man)' countries. Those: of u s who
b:\\'e been ill jail h a\'e foun d o u t d irec t I } ' t h ro ugh our own
experience the eno rmou s sig n ifi cance of the activity o f the LL.D.
be

,,11
"

(Appla.",)
By its activity. the LL.D. has won the affection, attachment
and profound g ratitude o f hundreds of tho usands of proletarians.
and of revolutionary elements among the peasantry and profes- - - - ' - - - - - ' - In Russian-MOPR.-Transl.

--

--

sional I)('OP,t' .

11

" ,-"""'me so

mil:>

...... ~.

10 SIJ<'a k,

of I,
'tI Ie anti

fn .

tI.

SO rt

1>

{ronl of the prol l!lRfint rut(

Ulilliou .. o f toilil n: po..'OI}lc the" ~I't
rOSS" of the 1I1111{"(1 .
C
I mbnICtll ,l:
)COple ,s (rOil.
t

f th e loi lin,l:: c!:l..so:" elll I 1:1t! " C( :l~ a i ll s t f

bro.~" of IIll' nrlll) 0 'l1Id socin lb m. IC t li .. LL.D . i ~ to (\'1..
.
{or PC:lCC
'
dJ'n1, fij:htutJ:
" f II ' it mll .,t ( nU. ll t , lOu .,a ll("
o f it!' "', .
.
"
(.
0\\11
{orlll 11$
1),,1rt s uC'("eS'> U,'t,)' .,ucle o f /1
.; .I). ..
,f (" " ' ' $ 0
Its 0,
., ' ' lIS n nl!
.
. '
acti\'C IU llt.1I
" ,rnel('r rlllel cajlne lty
I ,Ie spuml
",of/ous\' 11 '
.
inthelrc1ll . ' IL
of

'<.

I
I

!Insw~rH\J:
.
rttlllt or}:luUS-'l 110
'l1Idy
uup<>
.
.
. J: ro\\,,'

."
t h IS \'x t
, ','o"s when bours:cols
reaction
IS
(' '{'nt con( I I .
.
n (t
Vu(, t'r ,Pf :>.

and t he dn~s strug',l:: I..! IS bccomi n$.: III

I "!11 IS r:U::Jn,c
f.."~I"
~.
I role 0 f I'h
e', , , . I) .

.
' llh:n!;.CI
'rile t"ore,.
in
crellslIIg
IlII
y.
.
,
s...
nellie, t Ie
1 1 0 j - to become II ge lllll l\c mass o rgalli ~nti
~
. ( p...ulleu
. "nr y III
. (ab On
countries
'
noW '-IIC-fore the. .~." . p't:llist
lo' lers III a ea I.
. ' ...... ISt
of the l
,
1St ac1:Wl il :;..:lf to the ~pe{",lal conditio
countries where II nil
. '
n~
e\,!'Iiling there) .
I
Pr .
l
.t 0"" a- categorically nnd as s I:lrply :\S I pO
And here n1ll:; ~' . . ~ ,
I
,.
.,
bllrl"(WCfa
tic
approllch
all(
a
so
u
ll
c.s,'~
att
'
,
' ean
' eI
51'bl)
, Ihllt
' \1' 111 ea
'5 dc<;"icable in the lahour m O'~lllellt tak
tude toward. I}\.~J>
I of
- :leln'lt\"
. . or I IIC I , I- . 0 . SlIC
. II an athtud
. n
h e here
in geller:tl, III I e!lll
. , ..
(
I
) '1"

.
'1 ,." der," tS on the CrIIllIli al. tlpp (ill S!! .
1(' fighters
Isnnc"I ...
UV f
.'

- who a,..
of react lOll
:"II\( I faSC1:-;111
, . the VICtllllS
of the wor"mg c nSS,
.
.
. .
. ' \ torture chambers and COllcelltmtlOn cant""
stllfenng :"I!:'ony 11
..
I Id I'
.
''',
.' I
. nt s amI their fanlilles 5 lOll
a meet WIth the
pollllcn ellllgf:l
. .
fl'
'm ).1thetic care and soliCItude on th e part 0 t Ie org anls,1.
~ost 5) Il'f"" etiollaries of the LL.D . (Pfolo"gcd applausl" .) iht
lions nn
.
. (IUly o(
f1n( I (I'ISCIlarge ItS
' ll better apprecIate
LL,D. must s t L
.
d
. f .
.'
th fighters in the prolel:. nan an a nI! :lSClst 1110\'(,.
nSSlstmg e II rl)' ,'n I,h)'sicnlly lind mom I" Y preserv1I1g the
ment pM t ICU a
.
" f th labour movement. The COllllllUII15tS lind revolu.
carcsO
e
10
'
.
.d
,. r ' ,,'ho "r' nctive in the J,.. . org:1Il1 5:ltloIlS mUSt
tlOnnry \\'or",-, : ; . .
. . ,
. t e 'cry step the enormouS respolI stlJlhty they benr before
relllSCn'
"
If
the workill~ class nnd the COIllJ1lUIl1St Internatlona o r th e sue
"
cessfu l fu lfilment o f the role lind t:lsks of the I.r., D. (A PPlflll sc.)
Comrlldes, as you know, ('(Idres recei,'e their ~st training in
til e procrss oj struggle, in surmounting difficulties a nd with
standing teslS, in studying Ja'i.'OIHablc :lnd IlIlJa,'o llrab/~ eX:l.Inples
of conduct. We have hundreds of examples of splendid conduct
in times of strikes , durin~ demonstrntions. in jail. in court. Wt
have thOll5.1 nds of instances of heroi sm , bllt unfo rtunately also
no t B few ('ases o f pigeon-hellrtedness, lack of firmne ss , and even
de~rtion . We often forge t these examples, both good nnd bad,
We do not teach people to benefit by these examples. \Ve do not
\\'h~n

i~

.6

I
I

110\\' th.:1Il what shou ld I,c clIlulated anel what rejected . We

5 .\ 5Wtly th e COllcl u(,t of our c(.tInradc'S and active
k
III Ii!>
n'
t
t .
..
war
usd
.

cia
('a
ll
I('!I
,
at
po
I Cc COU lt heanngs III th
..
\
du rlfl
.
.
,
t: Jill 5 an
ncelltratlO~1 camps, III court, etc: , The good liides should bt:
cO
t ami hel ll lip a .. m()(lcl~ to be. folio' I
h'II:
\ 1111
br otl &.. ht . to h~h
'
,
\ _.

.... e(."'
which I' rotU' lI , 11 0 11 Jo "he\' lk and ,)hllbtilll': is , b.
.
th3"t e SUICC
.
,
,
"
'
,
OI!C:R~t
ti e' .el l/Zlg
tna we , h ave l1 '',d {",,' ,'".. "' " mn b(.:r 0 f
as ll .
f
cOfllradl'S appe arl~l J.:. be or.: bourgeOiS ll":d f a~iS l COllrts who have
ShOI\'1I thnt, UUI\IHulh cad res ar.: g r~wmg up wi th an excc1h:llt
ullderS!:IlIdmg: of 1(./wl rea lly c:onstltllte .. Bobhevik conduct in
cOurt,
"LIt
hoW lIIany . eve
. ' k now
u
, llI of yOIl
' deh:f;: ates 10 th e Con".... tess
tttede t ail so f .~hc tn a 0 the railwa)' lIlc n in Rumania, kllOw about
rinl of I'l et e Schulz who W:"I S !'>ubsb luell tl" behe:\(' ed b th
t
h
te
. G crmany, t\
' 1 0 ( ollr \'ahant
.
Y'
f~ists III
Ie tria
J :tpant!M: comr:ld
"'awn, the trilll o f the Bulg arian re,"olutionarv soldiers
ed'
II"
.
,
I
.
I
I
'
.
'
,
an
1Illa )' ot her In ~ s at II' ~IC 1 nt 1I11 mbie exampleli o f proletarian
n
beroism were displayed , (S~ o 'm of ~ppla u s c , all rise.) Such
'orth)' examples o f pro\etan an hcrol sm m u ~ t he ,,,,pula,," '
"m
I Wit
. II tIC
I lIlallI'f e~ t a t l.o ns of fainthear tedness
~~,
be
con
traste(
llst
hilistini sm, alld e,"cry. kind of rot and fr ailty in our ranks and
PhI' rank s of the \\'orkm ~ cla ss. These eXrll"plcs mu st be used
~ost extensively il' CdUC3till:;.! the cadres of the labou r 1ll0\,'C.nent.
Comrades! Ollr Party lead ers often com plain that th crt. art.
nO peoplo; that th ey are short o f people for agitational and propa.
ga nda work, for t he newspape rs , the trade unions , fo r work
among Ihe yout h, .am? n g women , Not enough, no t -c.noughthnt is the cry . \\ e sun ply h aven't got the ptople. T o this we
cOuld reply in the old, yet eternally new, words of Lenin :
" TIIHC arc 11 0 people-yet thae arc cno rm ous tlUlllb ers oj
people. There are eno rmous, numbers o f people, bcause the
working class and the ~n os t dl\'erse strata o f society , yellr after
renr, advance from th~lr ranks an in creasing number of discontented people who deSire to protest, who a re ready to render all
the assistance they .can, in the fi Rht again ~ t absolutism, the
intolerableness o f whic h IS n o t yet recognised by all, but is nevertheless more ~lIld m o re, acutely sensed by increasing m asses of the
people. At the ~a.1l1e tune we ha,'e no people, because we have no
luders, no poh t.lc.al leadcrs~ we have no talented o rganisers
capable of org:ulIslllg extenSIve and at the same lime uniform
and harmonious w ork that would give employment t o all forces
even the most inconsiderable. ".
'
'Lenin,

"What I s to be Done 1" Sclocted W orks , Vol. 11, p, 142,

27

'rh' ~"

,
J
elllll
C

III

""

bo: Ih o roLl~hly f,:Ta spcd by

.

OUt

words 0 ~
S :I "uiclt: III t I Cl f c\,cryd rlY .. ,
""
. .. b,' them 1\.
,.,
I"
"'Otlc
, , '-.. nnd RPI)lIt"..
','h '," n ;;>c<i only :x: ( IM'o vered in .
I a T h ."
f 1~i>le .
~
. "
.
OU r
There nre p\ell t )' 0
.
tr ike.; nnd d ... m o n s l r.1I1 01ls , III va rio
dutlng s .-.:s ill 111Iitcd fronl bOdi.: s . 'l'h"'
O "~"lni~llions.
0\\,11'"
.
f the wo r ... ,
.

"
..
nnil\.
'
lUOIlS
0
.
I
'
course
of
th
CIT
w
a
r
'
an
d
Sltu

1
nlllSS O'"
. r o W III t Ie
I
"
lSI be helped to ~ _ " co ndition s where I H:y c all Teally' h'

1111

lUI III :oIlC I

they must be I . rs' caUse .

.
US{'fu\IO the worke
' -, s arc people o f nctlOll. OUTS is th
CommunI!>
IT
,' ,
C
'
ComT:1c1cs , we. I t l'si{le :Ign ins! the 0 ('n sn c 0 caPital

lcnl of pr!l<'tl(' 3 .s f '

, of impcri t,ii st W3r, the struggle f '
.
d th e t h re3
. I I '_ I
'
.,
'n
s
l
(fl
SC1501
an
.
It
;
,
,JrCclse
r
t
llS
noc
it
cal
t
..
I.
ag- Ill
'
C
italls1l1
bl "
..!I~
uni st cadres t he a If,;ntlOn to equip
t he overthrow 0 cap C
,that impo~S I~PO n t he I Ol1l1n
1 '0 11(11)' tll /'O ' Y,
'or us 51 a"In, that
p1 ob

t hemselves

WIth r(.110 II I . , ," nction , h:l S t:lugh t us; theory

C
'
f rcvolutlon.
reatest
master
o
.
"
'
31
work
t
be
power
0
Of1
cntation
g '
edulprflcl,

CI
'
I1 of ou,'
i\'('s
those
engflS
.
,\'ork
bche
III
t
Ie
trnun!)
g
. .
'
clarity of \'ISIOI1,
a5S\Irnnce m
cause.
.
r th eory is irrecon cii.ably hostile to any
But rC1l1 re\olu.tl.ona ~ny futile loying wllb nbstract ' defini.
emasculated theof1S.II1~~1 a dogma, bill a g uid e to nct inl1, lenin
lions. O llr III cory IS
h .... that our cadres need, and they
sl4
ch
a
t
ea.:
I
'
used to S.1Y It IS
.
cd their daily brcad , ns t ICY need air,
need it as badly as the) ne. I
to rid our work o f deadeni n....
lIy \VI S les
.
6,
W:lter. \Vhocver rca
. ' s s,holnsticlSIll, must scnr the ...
,
of permc lO u
.
'"
stereotyped schemcs:
both by real, praclical , actIVe struggle:
out with a red-ho~. Iron, d at the head of the masses , and by
waged together \\lth an
. ht. fe rti le, all- powerfu l Bolshevik
ulltiring elTort to.gras~ ~~:r~l,l~n~;ls, Lenin, S t!llin. (A pplnllsc.)
th eory, th e teachlilgo
'd," ,'t particularly necessary to draw
t"on I conSI .

In t b IS connee I
k
1
r Pa.ly sc hools. It IS n ot pedants
,
.
th vor' 0 ou
your attention to e' uotin that our schools must train. No!
1Il0rali.sers or adepts at q .... h g , th' cause o f the working class
.
. If
t ankug tersm
It IS practlca ron or.
II pcol)!e who are front-mnk fighters
tilat must leave thelr ,~a 5d readiness for self-sacrifice
f their bo ld ness an
.
,
I be
not on y cnuse 0
f ther thnn rank-mal-file workers and
but also bec3use thh'Y s,': pU: th that leads to the emancipation of
kno ..... better than t e y e . I
,'I
,
All
,'ODS of the CommuOIst nterna lona must
the toilers.
sec I
.
f h
, h out any d I' il. y-ua
,. [Iy,'ng seriously take
up the question
Wit
,
h 0 't e
"
1 P,r'y schools 10 order to turn t em 111to
proper org:ulIsat1Oo o .
'
be f
d
smithies, where these fightmg cadres are to, orge.
.
" I 'as k' 01 our P,rty schools , It seems to me, IS to
TI Ie pnnclpa
teach the Party aod Young Communist League members there

28

to appl), thc Muxi !>t-I",ui"isl method It") the concrete sit ull-

l~ow in part .ic ul ar COun tr ies,

to defin ite condition5, not to the
.. .

1,0 11

.. ,.]t ng:l.I l1st an tnemy III I(eneral " h ut agamst n partl(::ulnr,

,, '.
. .
"tinite enell1Y 'or 1 1.IS. purpost: . lt I.S .1l ccessflry to study .n~t
d re I,' the lcll c-r of l.c nln1sm , hut Its Itvln~ r(!\'ol litionnr}' spl nt .
Illt Th ere nre t wO wa),s 0 C Irflll" ll ng c~l(l res 111
our P:lrt y schools:
Firs l met hod: h:ac hi n ~ people ah.,tract theory, try ing to give:
the ~r(' a tesl r)()ssible do'ic of dry learning, coaching them
t hefll to write t heses and resolutions in literar y style, and only
~lO\~dentallY touching u ron t he problems of tlH: particular coun try
1';C:he p:lrticul:l r l:lbour. rnO\'em~l~t, !ts h is.tor), an (~ lradit ions , .an~
o
,)l.'ri e n tt of the CommulII ~t I a rt)" 111 qu estIOn . Only m CIthe eX
dentally!
.
...
Second meth od .: such t ~)~ore t! cal. tramlllg If) th e hll~dflmen t a l
, -pies of Marx IS]l) -Lell1ll1sm
3S IS based on 3. prac\1cal study
pnncl
.
, I e student of the c:ltdmal proble ms conct::rIl mg the struggle
b~ ~I proletari at in hi s own cou n try. On return in g to his prac0,
'ork , the st udent will t hen be able to fmd his bearin gs
il e A \\
'ndependently , and becomc on illl/C/,c Ild c nt /Hltc lical o rRallisc r
, d leader capable oj /eadi l'R tllC masses to batll e againsl fhe
slr u .. ".

t,'

'" Not all gradua tes of o m

clalS cll cm y.

P:lrty sc ~ ool s prove to be: suitable

, b"
Many have phmscs , abst mctlOns , book knowledge:
tun
e.. .
.
.and
shoW of lcarni ng. D,.t we need real, truly BolsheV Ik org?llIsers
. d leaders of the maS5(!s. And we n eed them badly thiS very
an
It does n ot mattc r if such studcnt s be unable to writ e good
d.y,
theses (though we need t hat vcry much , too) as l o n ~ as t~ey
knoW how to organise and lead, un daunted by difficulties ,
C3pable of surmounting th~m.
.
.
.
Revolutionary theory 15 t he generalised , Slwltl1an scd &xpenIce of the revolutionary movement. Com muni sts must carefully
~~i1ise in their countries n ot on ly t he experience of the past but
also the experience o f the present struggl(!: of o ther d e tachl~l~nt~ of
the international labour movement. H owe '~r, correct utthsatlon
of experience does n ot by any means denote m cc llanica l transposilion of ready-made forms and methods of struggle from onf! set of
conditions to another set, from one country to another, as so often
happens in o ur Parties. Bare imitation, simple copying of
methods and form s o f work, even o f the Communist Party of the
Soviet Union in countries where capitalism is still supreme, may
\1'ith the best of intentions result in harm. rather than good, as
has so often nctually been the case, It is precisely from the
experience of the Ru ssian Bolsheviks that we must learn to apply

29

<I

ent('WIl

"

J.

10 Ih(' :.pt..ifi..: oomlitioll " O( lifl.' ill eac h c

."

iHitllUIJ/jolllli 1111,'" III l ie 1>11 u J:8 C 1L).:!U lh t

m'l e
mus t /t-a rll

. ,
r ( leu c

"~

,"

'I

Ol lll t r
ell,>,
Y,
lalis

'/I
I,
pililc~ly 10 Ctlst ~Sl ( C, PI o ry :UI< IOld up to
J.J, , (I$t'./IIotlgi' "" J: .

",

.
.
I
OI
p~Ja,," J' (Hul d,ullll/ ' sm .

(1/

II Si'

I l(IrkllrY' d

IL
lIe
\Ir

III
t
Rto .... ,
/ n. ".
I
" Q.t.

s n-C" ........'1r' 10 Iearll, colllradl:!> , If') 1t... ,11 alwa}.

In
s, a t
slt'p," in Ih l' ('() lIr~ o( the s lrug.': l ' , It! I ' .... r ty and iii jai l. T t\'tf'y
d 10 fi nlli . 10 ligh t nnd to I('MII. \Ve 111 11'1 he lIhle to o lCIi/ 1i
UII"
,
L('IIIII
all( ' S
'i l'ill ""b
tl <>'r(':1f I(':ac hing of ;\f:lr.'\:, , ~. 1I81.''',
talln
I tnt
Ie.,.
.
I
' /I '>, ,. "
I Sial '
j;'mnu.t al \\'ork and 111 s tr llgg e , ~i r l I . "lIl .f ''' ''co llcil . '.'1',
0" matlus 0/ IHin, ipk, lowanl the das.~ e ll emy and d Q ~lll/)'.
(rolll the Bolshc\'ik lillC, ,rifl! Sfil lill ' s j"nr!('sS I/('H i'l /fIC e.-Vlatof~
cN/firs , 'U itlt Stillitl 's r(';'ol ,I ';OIll.,,I' r f'II IiSIII . (APP itlll sc. ; 0 / diJJj.
I

C:oUlrades! NC\'er has ~n}' . il~ terna tiolla l, cOIlRr<,ss of C

IIlUlIISls MOIISNI slIch keen IIIte l e~1 0 11 the p .l n of world
0111.
opinion as \I'e \\'illl~SS no w in r~l::Jrd I~ ollr pres<'lIt ConP~blit
We llIal' S3}' lI'ilholt[ fCM of exa~R('r:ltloll th ai Ih ere i g l'o5."
.
' I e po ' IIIC.
" 1 I pa rty , 1I0 t a
S nOt
singl(' serious
n('wspapcr, not a Sill!:"
' a
more or less serious polilical or puh!ic pcrsoll:lgc that' i~' nglt
{ollowing the course o f our Cons,:rc.<;s with th e closes t a tt ell tionnOt
The cyes of millions of workers , pca~a nI S , slllall to wllSp(: ,
office work ers a nd in tellectua ls, of cololl lll l pcoplcs and oPpr:OPlt,
nationalilies arc turned towards Mosco\\' , the g reat capila l o~d
jirst but not lasf utate o f the int erna tioll al pro letarint. (A PPla tht
we sec a COil fiIrnlat/on
0 f t IIe enormo us II' 11 PO rt:. llce~'
liSe)
I II Ihls
urgency of t he qu estions discussed at the CongreSS alld of , d
decisions. Tile frenzied howls of the fa scis ts of a ll CO Unt . lis
particu larly of Gumnn fa scis m fu ming a t th e mOll th, o nly fI <'S,
firm us in our belief th at our decisions have ind ced hit th e m:~'
(Appla lwl,)
,
In the dttrk nig ht of bourgeois reactio n and fascis ul, in wh ' b
the class enemy is endeavouring to keep the to iling lIlaSSes of ;~
cap,italist countries, the Communis t Iut ernational , th e intert
nahonal Party o f the Bols heviks, s tands O llt like a betlcoll sh ..
II
.. d h
.g h
"
0\\_
I~g a , n;~tI"lllfr t .!on~ n twa!' to emtHl cipatlon fro m the yokt
o caplla ISIll, om asclSt barbanty a lld the h orrors of imperial .
war,
lSt
TI,e es tablish ment of unity of a ction of the \\'ork in g class .
'

IS l\
,leW. e s tage on ~hat road , Yes, UllIt)' of action by the orga nisa,
tlons 0. the lVorklllg cJa~s of e,v~ry trend, the cO ll so lic1ntion o f its
(orces III all sph eres of Its activity a nd at all secto rs o ( the cl
s trugg le,
ass

"4'

The wo rking dass mus t achieve the unitu of its trad,

J

.. 30

"mo"s,

I
I

, d SOllie rdormis t trade u n io n h:adt'r8 attempt to fri ~h len

In
k:r!l with th~ sp<:cl re of a Irnde union dt:moc rncy
Ihe \\ ;~I by th e interrerence.- o f the COllilHunist Parties in Ihe
dc5I,ro') 1.',1 th e II lIit<'"d tradt' un iOIl", h y Ihl.' I.'x ist(:nce of Co mllll1 l1 ist
!11T'urs
0
.
,(r/lC
" llon.
s within the t ra d ~ UIllOIl'i,
T o clt-pict us COIlUHU Ili:-.ls :I .. OppOllent "! of tra (~ t: union d emo, '5 sheer non ... ~nsc , \V ... rHl\,ocatc alld cO II " l st~ntly uphold
' ,rile), lilt o f th e trade u niO Il 'i I r) lleciflc th ei r problems for th emt It: rig
" , .,
,
.
C
, se h'~s, \Ve MC e\'1.'1I pre:par ... < t ~ or~,"o, t l ~ I( ea 0 crea ting a m
mUIll.S, /" .,. ,iOIlS in the trade \lIuon" I t w t , .. ne.-ceS5ar}' to promote
u ion IInity , \ Ve are: prepa red to cOlne to term s as to th~
,
' I Ira(e
, lIlIlon,.,
.
. ,
.Ira<, e_ u d,- Uce o f the ulllte<
0 '"
a po ,..
Il lca , J>3 rtl~
Ill( 1.'1 ......
D" we are decidedly opposed dto any d o; p r llde ll ce bof t he trad~
nions
011 the bour.s;:<:,obie , and
0 11 0 1 g i ve up our
aSlc point of
'
::iew thnt it is im pcrmi!>sible for trad e u nions to adopt a II r ulr(li
posit ion in reg a~<~ to the class s tru ggle bt: t weell the p roletariat
lind t he bourgeoiSIe: ,
Th e work in g cl ass mus t str i\'\! to secu re th e nmalgllllla f io ll o f
all forc('s of t he \\'orking-cb ss youth and o f all org'lIlisaliolls o f
the allli.fascist yo ut h, and wi n o\'('r t hat sect ion of the l oiling
),outh which has come under th e dem oralising influence o f
f:l sciSIll ,;;,<1 other cllemies o f t he people,
Th e work ing class mus t an d will achievc unity o f :Ict ion in 311
spheres of t he labour mo velllent.
Thi s will come about the
sooner the mo re firm ly a nd r('solutcly we Communis ts and revo
lu tionary workers o f all capitali st cou n t ri es apply in p ractice th e
new tactical line adoph:-d by Oll r Congress in rel:tt ion to th e mos t
im portant urS{cllt {Illes t io ns o f the int ernatio llal labour mo\'ement.
\Ve kn ow th at th ere are m any diffi culties ahead, Ou r path is
not a s mooth, asphalt road; our path is no t s trewn with roses,
The \\'or~ in g cla ss will have to o\'ercome m nn)' al\ ob"o\acle,
obstacles in it s 0\\'11 mid st , as well ; i t st ill faces the tas k above all
o f rendering completely harm less th e disru ptive role o f t he re ac4
tionary eleme nt s o f SocinlDemocracy , Many are the 5.1.(.'r ifices
tha t will be exacted undc:r th e hammer blows of bourgeois reaction and (a~islll , Th e reVOlutionary :;;hip of the proletarin t will
have ,to IHlVlg ate among a multitude o f s ubmerged rock s before
reachmg safe port.

\,.,;1

But th e \\', orking ,class in the capitali s t cou ntri es is l o-day DO

I~nger w h at It, was I,ll 1914, at the beginning o f the imperialist
\\ar, no r what, It ,,:a5 111 T9 1S, nt th e end o f the W3r , The working
class has b ehl11d It tweut)' years o r ric h experience and revolu

31

. ,

bitl(!r lessoll!! o f n number o f ddcnts <!sl_'

""\;Inll .

tionary Ifill !I,

GrrmllllY. ,\uslria nnd !;pafn .

.. .

Y III

"o"..' ing dA.s..~ hilS bef fore . II, ' the ,.III"0
sp.rlllR
CX fll ll,>,.
\\
.
.. o f " 'It
U'
Ih (! cO llnlr)' 0 SOC III IS III \ Ie n Oll!'l , au ex

"' "' Ie
,

~\,le,th II::~; enemy ('1I1l IX!

\\'ork~:lIJ)lt! Of
alld build
soc ia list SOc,' c,')'
=' cla~

dcfc:ltt.'1I, o f ho w the

ow c ', . .,' ", . own "0\'(' f l1lll-111

C811CS in b I S I I S ' "

The bourgeoisie no longe r holds IlIIdl1' ~dcd ,d omi nion O \ .(:'r

. o f the wo rld . No\\' 'h e 1, , ('/,H' () /j $ l('o t k'
tOt
whole explllUe
, So .
H'K cl
. o ne.sisth oC Ihe Rlobc, (1111 \ ' lel S COll t rol
0"
,
til e.s O \ (' r
~
,
,
(C,

II ... ~
',o,,' in th e S relll niH 0
1111:1 .
~I
~Irel c h 0 (, N n
.
The working class possesses n, firm , well.klllt ,revalUliano
"
. , d 'he COnllllu nist Inte rnatto nal. It has a tned a nd I
I,
\angll

( 51
ceo&:
'sed a g reat a nd wise leade r
ta w . . O r", oj aPPlau$
.
~~e. ' Cl, errs (lPld sl,ollts oj greet ;II/! j rom 011 d clr/!o lio ll$.) e, QlI
Th~ entire course of historica l de\'c l~pmcnt, cOlll r:ld
f:wours the causc of the working class. III valli are t he efio rt ts,

-s r

the reaclion ari~s, th e fascis ts of every ~HlC, th e C,lllire wOrld ~1J~f

geoisie to turn bock the wh eel of history. No , that wheel .turning forward and will cont iU lie to tt~rn {orwllrd Ull til a \\'orl'5
wid~ Union of Soviet Socialist Repl~bl~cs sh a!1 h:we been esla~
Hshed until the final victory of Socm ilsm throll~hou t the wh I
world.' (Loud, prolotlgcd applause. )
0 t
Th ert> ;s but otle thi"g Olat ti,e ~jJorking class oj "'e caPital'
couII/rh's still lacks- utdt,. ill Us O:llll ranks.
1ft
So let the clarion call of Marx aud Engels, Lenin and Star
the battle cry of th~ Communist Interna tional, ring out aU
more loudly from this platform to the whole world :
t
W o,kers oj th e W orld, Ullile I
(Loud prolonged applause. The vnst hall resonnds to shouts I
I I Hurral. ! "
U
Rot Front! " I I Banzai! ~' All rise and sing t~
Ini e,"otionale." 1'he German delegatio n o ffe rs a triple" R ~
Front! n Shouts oj I I Long live Comrade S ial;" ! " H Lo'fl
I;ve Comrade Dimitrov ! " are heard in many Inng u:lges. 'fb'
delegations of the various countries in turn si ng thei r songS o~
s truggle. When the singing and cheering subside fo r a moment'
Comrade Manuilsky exclaims:
'
" L ong live Ill e /aitll/ul and Icsted companio /lat- arms 0/ th'
gre4l Stalin, long live ti,e helmsman 0/ lI, e Co mmun;st
nalionol, Comrade D;lIIitr(1) , "
Renewed enthusiastic applause and cheering, culminating io
om ovation lasting fifteen to twenty minute5 .)

tl:,

II

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", '00 Prtnlllll 00. (T.O'.>, He'ttm P1&ce. Cayton Street. E.C.t ,

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