The Threat to the Labor Movement/Section 25
Pure Reaction Is Official S. P. Policy.
THE present position of the socialist party bureaucracy is the inevitable result of its inability and unwillingness to draw the correct conclusions relative to imperialism—the final stage of capitalism; of their denial of the role of a revolutionary party, of the necessity for the dictatorship of the working class, of their failure to understand the role of the trade unions as the rallying centers of the whole working class, of their failure to understand the methods and reasons for the struggle for immediate demands in the period of imperialism, and of their endeavor to draw a line between the masses of the Soviet Union and the proletarian state power of the Soviet Union.
The socialist bureaucracy becomes the ally of the trade union bureaucracy and, not so openly because of their better understanding of the means of fooling the masses, but just as consciously, the ally of imperialism itself.
For the struggle between right and left in the trade unions is essentially a struggle between those working class elements who feel the pressure of imperialism and those who benefit from it to some extent.
The socialist party bureaucracy has the ambition to become the intellectual expression of the trade union bureaucracy. It dreams of leading a labor party, of becoming His Majesty Morgan's loyal opposition. It will not lead workers to struggle because it thus comes into conflict with trade union officialdom and the ruling class and jeopardizes its chances of "sane and constructive leadership."
Lest some reader think the above is an exaggeration of the policy of the socialist party bureaucracy and that it still retains some integrity, I will quote from an article by David P. Berenberg, socialist party lecturer in the Rand School, published in the New Leader for Dec. 25. It is called "Until the 'Spree' Is Over."
The whole theory of betrayal and of profiting from betrayal is set forth in detail in this article. I will quote at length for the reason that rarely does one come across such a perfect sample of "socialist" thot.
Berenberg predicts a crisis and a crash. Does this lead him to the conclusion that a united front with the Communist Party and the left sections of the labor movement, will be needed to beat back the tide of reaction?
Does Berenberg even visualize the socialist party leading these struggles?