First Published: The New Masses, Vol. 56, No. 3, July 17, 1945.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
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To NEW MASSES:
I am most glad that the Communists are reappraising their position, for it gives me now the opportunity to help hew a new party line. In the past period I have been opposed to the exaggerated “united frontism” as I called it. Although I subscribed to NM for the past five years, nevertheless I participated with a sort of unenthusiastic vigor in the Communist movement since I felt that all the Marxism I learned was sort of slipping from the Communists. Yet they were the best movement in the anti-fascist struggle, and so I stuck waiting for a more favorable Marxist program.
The struggle for socialism, for me, has never abated–at least not the education of the masses for it. Furthermore, the struggle for a true proletarian party of Marxism has never stopped. However, there is one point which I wish to point out, if I may. The United or Democratic Front is a dual tactic, and it seems to me that the greatest deviation occurred when for the sake of antifascist unity we neglected at the same time to build a strong Communist Party, independent and grounded in Marxism. Thus for the sake of unity we merged in a united front so successfully that we lost sight of our most important task: the building of a revolutionary party with a Marxist theory. Therefore our chief error began in the thirties and culminated in Browder’s complete revisionism.
We lost greatly due to this position, for I think that we could have doubled the party membership in the war period. However, I believe we shall emerge strengthened out of this reexamination, and virtually leap forward. All I know is that you cannot make Communists by following such an innocuous policy as has been heretofore practiced. NM will certainly have a great role in the coming period in the education at the masses for socialism.
ROBERT STEVENS,
Los Angeles, Calif.