11

»| Our heritage of Marxist theory is not a collec-
:| tion of dead formulas but a precious living
“| weapon for democratic advance to be used

i dian People.

ly
if

7 uetrated the masses.

rds.

J lectual weapons.
oz

a a been bern.

and developed in the struggles of the Cana-

By STANLEY B. RYERSON

Tt is evident that the weapon of criticism cannot
ogee the place of criticism by weapons; material force
2 only be overcome by material force; but theory itself
ie-comes transformed into a material force, once it has

|| Theory never has its realization in a people unless
wi to the extent that it is the realization of that people’s

| Just as philosophy finds in the proletariat its material
apons, so the proletariat finds in philosophy its #m-

—Karl Marx: Contribution to the Critique of
Hegel’s EhiOsoPhy. of Law. Published in 1844.

4g Is just a hundred years since these words of the young
q ‘Marx were published in Paris, in the Franco-German An-
Se The article in which they Bppeared signalized the com-
tion of Marx’s transition from philosophical idealism to
sorical materialism. In the year that followed, Marx and
els together wrote the German Ideology, and the former
pned his well known Theses on Feuerbach. The science of
icking-class emancipation — Marxism, scientific socialism—

)'The tremendous meaning of Maexigea for mankind’s devel-

m@ aent can be best appreciated in the light of today’s world

‘tle for human freedom.

* RITICISM by weapons” - is
© being exercised in 1944 on
bale and with an intensity of

renee never before experi-
@2d. As the United Nations
roach the climax of the

idy task of uprooting and de-
ing the fascist powers, the
“= terial force” of the greatest
™ ocratic and progressive coali-
ever assembled in history 1s
Faged in overcoming the “ma-
“fe 21 force’ of the most power-
“Wand ruthless concentration of
(tion ever known on this
Tiss
this struggle without prece-
E the theory of Marxism,
® ized in the fighting power of
) socialist state and its Red
-y, is a vital, decisive factor.
p2ran marks the opening of
=): can become a whole new
fod of world development,
Fisely because it embodies the
erly. new relationship that is
Fessea. in joint world leader-
=> by the socialist and capital-
'iemocracies.

we ie alignment forged in an un-

j@2 edented jiberation war )pro-

fs the foundation for an un-

meredented peace. Its possi-

‘Mies can be grasped only by
“application of the principles

ie iving Marxism in a rapidly
iging world.

i'w tere is a conception of Marx-
‘“Si—a caricature of it, actually
such would reject “on prin-
=: the prospect of long-term
te ‘eful ‘development in the
ewan period. According to this
fe onception, far-reaching so-
Be |change must “inevitably” in-
oe #2 violent struggle, whatever
ca circumstances, Whatever the
"Sion of forces.

‘tually, this “theoretical” at-
i iment to a misunderstanding
ipterxism goes hand in hand
@ a blithe disregard of the
em ensity of the task that is be-

fforeibly performed today. by.
ae d democracy; the smashing
(ae principal center and base
otf teactionary violence in the
mec; the Fascist Axis. The full
jf@olmance of this task can cre-
@2¢€W Conditions of far broader
iD fiom for the solving of many,

many economic, social and politi-
cal problems—including that of
the ultimate transiticn to social-
ism.

See recently of the post-
‘ War period as one which (if
the policies of Teheran are suc-
cessfully fought for and applied)
will be characterized by a
“strengthening of democracy,”
Harl Browder answered the ques-

tion, “Ending in Wes” in these
terms:
7 “1 would not attempt to pre-

Gict the outcome of that~ period:
there is something still hidden in
the elements of history. It has
within it, one can say definitely,
the potentialities of eventually
bringing about a peaceful transi-
tion to socialism not envisaged
in this generation.”

fo appreciate properly the
Significance of this statement,
made by the outstanding Marx-
ist in America, we must under-
stand fully the Marxian teach-
ing with regard to the role of
violence in history, and the na-
ture of the struggle for Social-
ism.

The year 1917 provides an in-
structive example in this regard.

Only seven weeks before the
Octoher Revolution, Lenin dis-
cussed with the utmost serious-
ness the possibility of “a peace-
ful development of the revolu-
tion —a possibility extremely
rare in history and extremely
valuable. . ‘If there is even
one chance in a hundred, the at-
tempt to achieve such a possibii-
ity would still be worth while.”
(Comprises: Selected Works,
Vol. 6). =

This possibility did not ma-
terialize because the relation of
forces which could have made it
practicable did not endure. The
forces of reaction were able to

render the peaceful development ~-

impossible. But the significant
thing is that Lenin by no means
excluded such a development
“on principle.”

Had Lenin “abandoned Marx-
ism” in entertaining such a pros-
pect? On the contrary, he was
applying Marxism in an unpre-

cedented historical Sination.
He was taking into account
“the chief and fundamental fac-
tors” involved: e
“The objective interrelation of
classes, the part they play, eco-
nomically and politically) both
outside and inside representa-
tive institutions of a given type;
the rise or fall of the revolution;
the relation between extra-parlia-
mentary and parliamentary
methods of struggle ...” (From
a Publicists Diary).
One year after
Revolution, Lenin wrote,
polemic against Kautsky:
‘lf Kautsky had wanted to
argue in a serious and honest
manner he would have asked
himself: are there historical laws
governing revolution which know
of no exception? And the reply

the October
in his

would have been: no, no such.
laws exist. These laws only ap-
ply to what is typical, to what

“ideal,”
typi-

Marx once termed the
meaning average, normal,
cal capitalism.”

HEN Marx in 1871-2 pointed
to the possibility of a peace-
ful transition to Socialism in
Englana and America, as com-
pared with the European contin-
ent, he based himself on the rela-
tive absence of militarism and
bureaucracy at that period in the
former states, and at the same
time he “very carefully took into
account the class relations that
actually existed in the majority
of continental countries in Ear-
ope in 1871.” (Lenin).
In this regard it is important
to grasp the inseparable connec-

tion between democracy and the

struggle for socialism.

Fascism, by destroying parlia-
mentary democracy and enslav-
ing nations, has made the
strugsle for the reconquest or
the defence of the gains of 1789,
716 and 1837 -the precondition
not only of further social ad-
vanee, but of national survival
itself.

The world defeat of fascism, by
removing obstacles that have
made necessary the violence of
the peoples’ war, opens up Pros-
pects of enduring peace and new
possibilities of peaceful social
change. Prospects and possibili-
ties whose realization depends on
the utter isolation, routing and
defeat of the pro-fascist forces
of reaction, at home as well as
abroad.

It is the struggle for their de-
feat that is the eSsence of anti-
fascist national unity.

The struggle for the eventual
transition to socialism is insep-

Stanley B. Ryerson

arable from the struggle that
Lenin summed up thus:

“To develop democracy to its
logical conclusion, to find the
forms for this development, to
test them by practice . taken
separately, no sort of democ-
racy will bring socialism. But in
actual life democracy will never
be ‘taken separately’; it will be
‘taken together with other
things, it will exert its influence
On economics, will —stimulate its
reformation; and in its turn it
will be influenced. by economic
development, and so on.
are the dialects of living history.”
(State and Revolution.)

a eee role of Marxism in the
Canadian labor movement
today is a vitally important one.
By bringing te it deeper clarity
and political understanding of
the nature and aims of the
people’s war, and of the meaning
of the Teheran policies of world
anti-fascist unity and national
unity, it enhances labor’s con-
tribution to the joint leadership
of the nation.

Consciousness of political re-
sponsibility for helping to shape
the direction of national affairs
is an essential element in the
growing political consciousness
of the working’ class.

It is on the sure foundation of
the great heritage of Marxism
that there has grown up in Can-
ada in the past quarter century

Such .

Guide to the Future

a Marxist workers’ movement.
The abor-Progressive Party,
embodying that heritage and
carrying the moyement forward,
is grappling with the task of
strengthening Marxist thought
and action in the labor and
people’s movement.

‘The report of Tim Buck, LPP
national leader, to the national
eommittee of the party, publish-
ed this week under the title:
“Canada’s Choice — Unity or
Chaos,” is a striking example of
the type of contribution Marx-
istS are making to democratic
unity in Canada, for the winning
of the war and of the peace.

This contribution will be de-
veloped and applied by the whole
Wabor-Progressive Party to the™
extent that Marxist theory is
mastered as a guide to struggle
for the nation’s needs.

The classtes of living, creative
Marxism provide a § scientific
foundation for an understanding
ef our country’s past and cf the
present tasks of labor. Not only
do they provide the general und-
erstanding of the nature of capi-
talism, of imperialism, of the na-~
tional question, of the state and
of socialism; their allusions to
Canada illuminate problems of
our development the study of
which has scarcely been com-
menced.

For instance, Marx’s reference
to the British North American
colonies and wage-labor, in the
last chapter of Vol. I of Capital;
Engels’ comment in 1891, in con-
nection with the Marxian teach-
ing of the state: “How selfgov-
ernment is to be organized and
how we can manage without a
bureaucracy has been shown by
America and the first French
Republic, and is being shown
even today by Australia, Canada
end the other English colonies’:
and lLenin’s reference in his
study of imperialism . to the
Dominions’ transition from
colonial dependency—these are
just a few. examples. -

This heritage is a precious’
weapon for democratic, working-
elass struggle. It is a living

weapon, no collection of dead
formulas. Used in a living way,
it helps immeasurably im chart-
ing the course of struggle that
lies before us the struggle for
the victory of world democracy
over fascism, for the building of
a world in which enduring peace
and untrammelled democracy.
will make - possible an era of
peaceful and -far-reaching social

“change.

France Fights in Soviet Skies

NE of the leading aces of
the eastern European skies
is a slightly built 26-year-old
Parisian, Lt. Marcel Albert, who
has shot down 26 German planes
for certain. Dozens of others
have been credited to him as
probables since a little group of
French pilots under the banner
of Gen. Charles de Gaulle were
mustered into the - Normandy
squadron in the Soviet Union on
Bastille Day last year.

After the battle of France, Al-
bert and two other pilots were
transferred to North Africa. They
were faithful to Vichy’s orders
until a day in October, 1941,
when, taking off from Oran,
they turned their trio of pursuit
planes jout over the Mediter-
ranean on a mission of their own
devising.

They were off to Gibraltar,
praying the British anti-aireraft
on the Rock wouldn’t shoot them

down. They wanted to enroll
under De Gaulle and the Cross
of Lorraine to carry on the cause
against the Germans.

They had no prearranged sig-
nals, but they reckoned that if
they came into Gibraltar with
the fiaps of their landing gear
down the British would get the
idea. The British did.

Taken to England, these three
joined the Royal Air Force in
several sweeps across the Chan-
nel and noticed that the villagers
and peasants in their own France
waved greetings te them as they
Swooped past.

Later they were shipped to a
De Gaulle squadron in French
Equatorial Africa, and trom
there, 15 months ago, they went
to the Soviet Union.

i)
ILCTING Soviet-built fighters
they already had several
vietories to their credit before

the formal mustering in of their
little squadron, which the num-
bered 17, on the French na-
tional holiday.

That day the Russians arrang-
ed a little fete for them, but one
of their number failed to return
on time from a mission, and
gloom descended on the group
as they imagined another of
those little ‘crosses—now ;scat-
tered singly over wide parts of
the Soviet Union—which bear
the words “Mort pour la France
en territoire Sovietique,’ each
with a little tricolor stuck in
its mound of alien earth.

But just before the postponed
toasting began a Russian soldier
telephoned that the missing
pilot had been found, and that
before he had been forced tec
land he had shot down a Focke
Wulfe. It was only the first of
seores of Nazis downed.