First Published: The New Masses, Vol. 56, No. 4, July 24, 1945.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
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To NEW MASSES:
For your “NM Evaluates Its Course,” all but the reactionaries and our Social Democrats are devoutly thankful. A temporary tactic applied as an over-all strategy becomes as dangerous as the most idealistic rationalization of historical facts. Pure logic, like pure mathematics, is an excellent tool, but it would be difficult to point to a single important step forward in man’s progress that could be directly attributed to pure reason. Correct premises are essential; and the only way to keep them correct is to rely on the scientific approach of dialectic materialism. The harm that has been done to our movement is serious enough. That it has not been irreparable is due to the simple fact that, in practice, it has not been possible for serious Party workers to give more than lip service to Mr. Browder’s “notorious revision of Marxism.”
It has not at any point been possible to do anything demanded by the current historical situation without rationalizing the nonsense of the “revision” into sense. That is the fallacy of Browder’s position. When a Communist has to rationalize there is something terribly wrong. There is confusion among the workers; there is alienation of the sound Marxist thinkers among the professional people, who are most anxious to help us; and the door is thrown open to all manner of Bukharinist “tripe” like that of Mr. Landy on the woman question. Like my great friend, Mr. Eugene A. Cox of Lewiston, Idaho, I am pleased beyond measure at the promise of returning sanity among North American Communists. That is why I renewed my subscription to NM last week.
C.B. DARWIN,
Vancouver, B.C.