Written: May 1931.
First Published: The Militant, Vol. IV No. 10, 15 May 1931, p. 2.
Transcription/HTML Markup: Einde O’Callaghan for the Marxists’ Internet Archive.
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The increasing number of capitulators from the Right wing is one of the most interesting and significant aspects of the development of the inner-party struggle. The announcements of these capitulations is becoming somewhat of a regular feature of the Daily Worker. Taken together with the recent outright desertion of a whole group to the Musteites, they add a fresh confirmation to the idea that the position of a faction attempting to stand halfway between Communism and social democracy is not a strong one. It cannot be maintained that the capitulations represent merely the falterings of individuals, which occur in every fight. There are too many of them. Nor is the fact that a number of the former supporters of the Right wing, recently readmitted to the party, had previously been inactive in the faction of any great importance. It means only that Lovestone has been losing them by a gradual process; that sympathizers as well as members are falling away from the faction. This is the actual trend revealed by the recent events.
In this respect also the position of the Right wing contrasts sharply with that of the Left. Our capitulators were an insignificant handful, and were confined almost exclusively to the first months of the struggle. And lately, even among those who turned back at first, signs of a new approach to the Opposition is to be observed. The same contrast, appears in an opposite direction. From all indications the movement of party members toward the Right wing has ceased, while the Left Opposition continues, steadily if slowly, to recruit members and gain sympathizers in the party ranks. Such declarations as that recently issued by Clem Forsen, head of the T.U.U.L. in the Twin Cities, occur frequently enough to show the way the wind is blowing. But open declarations of adherence are not the real measure of our strength and growth in the party. Many more are fighting for our slogans, in whole or in part. A still wider circle has been neutralized.
For these developments there is a principle explanation. The Lovestones are driven by the logic of their position to turn more openly toward the Socialist party, through the door of Muste and the counterfeit “militants”, and thus to close the avenue of approach to the Communist workers. The Communist League, on the other hand, endeavors to bring a Communist criterion to every question of the class struggle. Its mission is to educate the party. To the extent that it succeeds with this task it draws closer to the Communist workers and becomes a guide for them in every field. The real issues involved in the party crisis were buried at first under a mountain of misrepresentation and confusion. Time and the test of events are making them clearer. This is the explanation of the trend of development noted above.
Last updated on: 27.12.2012