Left Wing Lies - libcom.org

1、Left Wing LiesWhat a Worker Found in his Quest for a Definition of Socialismby:Ken EllisRevision #6First Complete Working Copy: March 1995Revision #5: August 2000, then uploaded onto the wwwebRevision #6: Now completePart A revised: 11-22-02Part B revised: 11-22-02Part C revised: 11-22-02Part D revi

2、sed: 01-11-03Part E revised: 02-06-03Part F revised: 02-13-03Part G revised: 02-20-03Part H revised: 03-08-03They think that just because we are poor, that we must be stupid as well, as thoughone caused the other, and as though we cannot see through their scam. - K.E.The great thing is to get the wo

3、rking class to move as a class. - EngelsRear Jacket BlurbA workers first-hand discovery of how theSocialist Labor Partyaltered the theories and quotes of Marx, Engels, and Lenin in order to mislead the lower classes into adopting ananarchist programthat had already been rejected by Marx and Engels.

4、The details of which theories were falsified, how quotes from the founders of socialism were altered, and what purposes the alterations served. HowSLPleaders squelched dissent and civilized discussion through censorship, secrecy, and a bureaucraticPartystructure; and how it provides lessfreedom of s

5、peechfor its members than the government which they claim to want toabolish. How alienation makes people susceptible to sectarian movements. Theorganizational structure of the SLPis contrasted with that of theFirst International Workingmens Association. TheMarxisttheory of the state and theParis Com

6、muneare compared tostate socialistandanarchisttheories. What Marx envisioned for monarchies, republics, and the future. What hasnt worked inMarxismandLeninism. What the lower classes can do beforemachine labor completely replaces human labor, and lots more.This book hopefully contains the proof that

7、 socialism as practiced today by a myriad number of sects, groups and parties, is little better than a pack of lies, and, for that reason, are all worthless to the working classes.Live working or die fighting.The watchword of the modern proletariat that the silk winders of Lyons inscribed upon their

8、 banner during their strike (From Marxs 1869 Report on the Basle Congress).TABLE OF CONTENTSStyles6Abbreviations and Glossary6Dedication6Acknowledgments7Preface8Foreword9Introduction10PART ONE: THE MOSTLY FOLKSY AND GOSSIPY PARTEarly Involvement12The Big Move18New York, New York19To the West, at Las

9、t22Settling In24Things to Think About25Bullshit!26The 1975National Executive Committee Session28SectionSanta Clara30A Trip Back East321976 DetroitNational Convention34The OldNEC Reports36The Disappearance of the Notes39The Significance of theNEC Reports40The Sacred Cash Cow42Startling Discoveries43T

10、heState Convention44Proletarian Democracy versus Dictatorships and Despotism47PART TWO: THEDICTATORSHIP OF THE PROLETARIATTheWorker-Peasant Alliance56AllegedPredominance of Russian Middle Classes58AllegedAbsence of the American Middle Classes62Misquoting the Founders ofSocialism63Defeating the Middl

11、e Classes66Proletarian Dictatorship.over the Peasantry?68Conditions!70Another Contradiction73Viva la Republic!73TheResolution75My Meeting with theNational Secretary77PART THREE: THE NATURE OF THE STATEA.P.sPrefaceto: Socialism: From Utopia to Science80Analysis of Arnold PetersensPreface83Recap of Fa

12、lsifications, Misrepresentations, etc.119TheSLPs Theories of the State123What to Think?124The Real Theories of the State124A Caricature ofMarxistPhilosophy125Anarchist World Outlook127Anarchyand theParty129The Aftermath131The Send Off132Unity and Separation134Psychological Conflicts136The Departure1

13、39Freedom of Informationand Censorship141Party Process145PART FOUR: PD vs. D+D REVISITEDTaxes!177ReformorRevolution?184UnionQuestions186A Fate for the State192One or Two Stages ofSocialism?198TheCommuneand the State203Economic Conditions and Political Solutions212A Swipe atUnions222Unionsare Good,Po

14、liticsBad?228The Day De LeonSaved the World236ThePartyDestructive242SLP Form and Function256Comparison to theFirst International258Partyand Power261A False Dichotomy263ProletarianEconomic Dictatorship274David vs. Goliath Revisited285Conditions, Forms and Dictatorship287Two Types ofTransition306Union

15、andPartyRelations313The Role of Force328Nowhere to Run354WarandPeace359Parting Shots366PART FIVE: CONCLUDING REMARKSEarly Roots ofAnarchy373Autonomy375Marx and Engels on Sectarianism376Anarchist World Outlook380SLPMembers382The Moral Pits386Insidious Influences387How theSLPMight Greet This Book388Wh

16、ats Next?393What Can Be Done?394APPENDICESAPPENDIX ONE:Engels on America and theSLP396APPENDIX TWO:Workmens Advocate+ Sorge-De Leon Cntrvrsy490APPENDIX THREE:Lenin and theSLP532APPENDIX FOUR:Examples ofAnarchist Ideology539INDEXESName Index548Subject Index552Organization Index571Publication Index576

17、END581Excerpts from my old notebooks from the 1970s appear in quotation marks, as in: sample. Passages slightly altered for inclusion here appear in single quotation marks, as in: sample.Direct quotes fromSocialist Labor Partypublications, or from the pen of Arnold Petersen, appear inblueorpurple, d

18、epending on veracity. Mere phrases or portions of sentences appear in single quotes.Creative interpretations of the views of anarchists, theSLP, A.P., or other dubious sources, appear in single quotes, either inblueorpurple.Authorized quotes of Marx, Engels, and Lenin appear inred. Creative interpre

19、tations of their works - but true to author intent - appear inbrown.Editors andpublishers footnotes from the works of Marx, Engels, Lenin, theWorkmens Advocate, and other historical sources, appear ingreen. Undisputed material is also ingreen.Statements by individuals appear inblueorpurple.Quotation

20、 mark colorings indicate exactly who is quoting whom.Contents within parentheses ( ) were provided by the author of the sentence.Pertinent explanations fromeditorsandpublishersare often provided within brackets ingreen.Within quoted passages, my own interjections appear within fancy brackets .Ellips

21、es dots . in or near quotes indicate deleted irrelevant or superfluous text.Abbreviations and GlossaryA.P. = Arnold Petersen,National Secretaryof theSLPfrom 1913 to 1968.Bourgeois (boor-jwah) = capitalistic, referring to owners of means of production.Bourgeoisie (boor-jwah-zee) = capitalist class, o

22、wners of means of production.Capitalists = Owners of land, factories and other means of production.Communism = Mostly used in theLeninisttheoretical sense of the future administration of things, or the classless, stateless society after theproletarian dictatorshipwithers away.Executive=National Exec

23、utive Committeeof theSLP.First World = The most capitalistically, democratically, and technologically advanced countries.FI=First International Workingmens Association, 1864-1872.GC=General(orCentral)Councilof theFirst International.Ms. = Manuscript.NEC=National Executive Committeeof theSLP.NO=Natio

24、nal Officeof theSLP.NS=National Secretaryof theSLP.Organizer= Elected leader of aSection.PD vs. D+D = Proletarian Democracy versus Dictatorships and Despotism, Arnold Petersens 64-page 1931pamphletthat poorly critiquedMarxisttheory.People= current journal of theSLP, 1980 -Proletariat = The working c

25、lass, non-owners of means of production, owning only their ability to work.RSDLP=Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party.Second World = Countries between First and Third World, in terms of level of development.Section= The basic local unit of organization of theSLP.SLP = Socialist Labor Party, 1876 -

26、Socialism= occasionally used in reference to warm and fuzzySocial Democracy, but most often to Marxs first phase of communist society; thedictatorship of the proletariat; the era oftransitionto the classless, statelessadministration of things.Socialist Party = Before theSocialist Partysplit off from

27、 theSLPin 1899, theSLPwas frequently called the Socialist Party. But, the post-1899SPplays no part in this book.S-D, orSD=Social-Democratic.SIU=Socialist Industrial Unionism,programof theSLP.Third World = The least technologically and economically developed countries.WA=Workmens Advocate, the earlyS

28、LPnewspaper, 1883-1891.WP=Weekly People, a longtime journal of theSLP, 1914-80.DedicationFor a long time I wondered about to whom I should dedicate this book. But, after re-reading their letters to me, I feel that it can only be dedicated to rank-and-file workers.AcknowledgmentsFor providing the ins

29、piration to finally start writing my memoirs ofPartyexperiences, Frank Girard, editor of theDiscussion Bulletin, deserves thanks. My book had been on the back burner for far too long, and without a little stimulus, it might never have been written.Several libraries have been of great assistance. For

30、 readings and translations of German texts, and for access to their collections, theNiebyl-Proctor Librarywas most helpful. Also, theCenter for Socialist History, theWisconsinState Historical Society, theBerkeley Public Library, and the libraries at theUniversity of California at Berkeley, all earne

31、d a big thank you.Friends and kinfolk deserve thanks for being patient, understanding, tolerant and supportive in seeing me through this long task that I didnt want to let go of after finally tackling it. After the initial impetus to start writing early in 1992, what was initially intended to be no

32、more than a 25 page pamphlet grew into a book, the book grew larger and more encompassing, and it gradually avalanched into an all-absorbing activity.PrefaceIn this book, I purposely didnt use the names ofPartymembers or associates during my few years in theSocialist Labor Party. Using proper names

33、could imply that problems back then revolved around personal conflicts. Even though a certain amount of mild and civil conflict around various socialist and organizational theories occurred over the course of 1976-7, the contents of this book will prove that conflicts of interests and ideologies sou

34、ght expression in individuals.This book also cannot pretend to be an ultra-scholarly presentation ofMarxisttheories. As negations ofMarxisttheories inPartyliterature were encountered, their rebuttals by Marx, Engels and Lenin were researched and juxtaposed with theSLPtheories for the reader to compa

35、re. This book is an exploration of aPartys anarchist ideology that spanned more than a century.ForewordZeno said, Falsity must not be demonstrated as untrue because the opposite is true, but in itself. Similarly,De Leonism,Industrial Unionism, or theSLPconcept of socialism cannot be demonstrated as

36、false simply because it varies so much fromMarxism, but, rather,De Leonismmust be shown to be false within itself, i.e., it has to be shown to be internally contradictory and inconsistent, which is a major goal of this book. IfDe Leonismcan be shown to be false within itself, and if itsnegations can

37、 be negated, then an ordinary understanding ofDe Leonismmay be replaced with an understanding of a higher type, one that acknowledgesDe Leonisms internal inconsistencies.Some people might find the many references to revolutionary violence disturbing, but it was important to place its many references

38、 in their proper contexts. Violence occurred while overthrowing some absolute monarchies, and while liberating some colonies, but violence is not necessary for social progress in democracies. Those who advocate violence as a catalyst for social change have been unconscionably misguided.This book sta

39、rted out with a rather limited scope, but after it developed beyond a certain point, I began to realize that theSLPhad distorted more of theMarxisttheories, and in a more insidious way, than what I had originally suspected. Since this book is application specific to theSLP, workers involved in other

40、 movements may have their own webs of lies to unravel. If this book has helped to clarify any issue, it will not have been written in vain.IntroductionIn 1972, I got involved with theSocialist Labor Party, commonly known as theSLP, one of the oldest political parties in the United States, with roots

41、 going back to 1876. At a political protest rally of some sort outside of Boston City Hall in 1972, I chanced to pick up aWeekly Peoplenewspaper, or perhaps anSLP leaflet, as well as literature from other organizations. When I took it home to digest it all, theSLPs seemingly scholarly approach and a

42、ppearance of being well grounded in history impressed me enough to want to follow up and learn more about socialism from theSLP.To give the reader a perspective on why anyone would want to learn anything about socialism, a little of my background might be in order. While growing up near the coast of

43、 Buzzards Bay in Massachusetts, I became conscious at the age of 11 of a feeling of alienation, which worsened during my adolescence. After three years of Mechanical Engineering studies at a respectable college, I dropped out due to a profound lack of motivation. While struggling to figure out what

44、was wrong, I read psychological texts, and before long convinced myself that my entire problem was caused by a deep neurosis. The texts led me to believe that my case was hopeless, especially without psychoanalysis, which I couldnt afford. I wallowed in sufficient misery for a while to finally get m

45、yself sent off to an analyst anyway, who lectured to me and prescribed pills which I didnt really want to take, and the first radical I met easily convinced me to stop taking them. A year of listening to an analysts repetitive boring lecture finally inspired me to quit psychoanalysis altogether, tho

46、ugh against the analysts advice.Not long after quitting the psychotropics, I also accidentally stumbled on a technique to deal with negative feelings, which consisted of trying to feel them to extremes, or to amplify them, and to listen to what came out of the ensuing silence. Years later, I became

47、aware that other analysts had already used this technique in their practices. After a number of such sessions, which finally ended in a sense of inner peace, I felt as though that particular kind of work on myself had been completed, though I didnt feel as though everything was perfect.After studyin

48、g more psychology for a while in hopes of finding out why everything was the way it was, I began to detect different schools of thought in psychology, and the more I dug into them, the more I began to appreciate the radical psychologists. From there I moved on to appreciate sociology and then to rad

49、ical sociologists and finally, to psychologists who espoused socialism. Dr. Franz Fanons classic book Wretched of the Earth told of Algerians who seemed driven to despair from living in a society with enormous differences in wealth between different economic classes, but when Algeria liberated itsel

50、f from French colonial domination in the early 50s, a lot of mental illnesses suddenly cleared up by themselves, and people were not being committed, or did not commit themselves into mental institutions, at anywhere near the usual rate. From this revelation, I jumped into the camp of the socialists

51、 overnight and nearly stopped paying attention to psychology altogether. Fanons book was one more nail in the coffin of the belief thatpsychological understanding alone could be the simple answer to all of my problems, as well as to the problems of others.I then developed an interest in whether ther

52、e were any general laws to describe the direction that society takes, where we have been as a society, where we were going, and what socialism really was.As my curiosity about socialism developed, I felt frustrated over not being able to find a satisfactory definition, so I eventually did something

53、I never thought I would have the guts to do, which was to break with a previous prejudice against people who stood on street corners and handed out leaflets. I began a search for representatives of the socialist ideal, which is what took me to that demonstration outside Boston City Hall. When I fini

54、shed reading what I had gotten there, perhaps it was the simple socialist message and the sense of deep historical roots that appealed to me, but having little to lose, I decided to see what I could learn at the advertisedSLP study class.In retrospect, my experience with theSLPwas, in a sense, a rep

55、eat of my experience with psychology. I became infatuated with the first bit of socialist truth at the age of 30 as I had with the first bit of psychological truth I discovered at the age of 21. A more careful analysis brought out the differences between classical and the radical psychology, and on the other hand, between the various shades of socialism. An educational process occurred in both cases.With that brief introduction, lets proceed to the period of my active involvement with theParty.PART ONE: THE MOSTLY FOLKSY AND GOSSIPY PARTEarly In