Bolshevism and Stalinism in the Epoch of Imperialist World War and Proletarian Revolution (Urgeschichte)

Will Barnes

The First Study is an abridgment of first edition (1979) of Aspects of a History of Bolshevism. The Second Study reproduces Stalin and the Stalinist Era in Soviet History at its Origins (May-August 1999) in its entirety. This study dra s out the imp!ications of the first" e#hibiting a!! the conse$uences of the %o!she&i' fai!ure to internationa!i(e the re&o!ution in the months fo!!o ing )ctober 1917. A third study (Revolution and CounterRevolution in Catalonia and Spain, 1 !"#1 ! ) has been remo&ed from this te#t* +hi!e c!ear!y demonstrating the counterre&o!utionary nature of Sta!inism" it does not fa!! ithin the pur&ie of a or' hich is framed by the epoch of imperia!ist or!d ar and pro!etarian re&o!ution. ,n engaging in a crypto-Trots'yist ana!ysis of the May -ays and the .)/M" and in g!oba!!y deconte#tua!i(ing rura! anarchist co!!ecti&es" it further fa!!s be!o the !e&e! achie&ed in the first t o studies.

0ontents

First Study Bolshevi$s and Bolshevism in %&o Revolutions Historical 'otes %heoretical 'otes Second Study Stalin and the Stalinist Era in Soviet History at its Origins 1istorica! 2ote Remar$s Summation and Perspective

First Study

Bolshevi s and Bolshevism in !"o Revolutions

Introduction The Prehistory of Bolshevism, 1893 19!3 The initia! processes of the formation of the 3ussian pro!etariat as a c!ass for the most part neither coincided ith ear!y manifestations of its sub4ecti&ity nor" of course" ith its appearance on the stage of or!d-history. 3ather" this pro!etariat as ca!!ed into being as an ob4ect of capita!ist e#p!oitation" and it as ca!!ed into being by the action of the Tsarist autocracy in need of a moderni(ed mi!itary on hich to base itse!f. ,n the !atter ha!f of the 19th century" mi!itary e#penditures consumed enormous sums" and" as a ho!e" the autocracy5s annua! mi!itary budget strained the &ery nationa! economy.1 ,t as the peasantry ho bore the burden of the State budget. The 1671 !and reform" the so-ca!!ed emancipation of serfs" created a ne source of State re&enues. .easants ere compe!!ed to pay a 8redemption8 fee to !and!ords for the orst of !ands they former!y or'ed as serfs. They ere further forced to pay direct State ta#es on this ne !y o ned !and" hi!e indirect State ta#es on primiti&e imp!ements" c!othing" etc. ere introduced. To pay these ta#es" peasants ere forced to se!! their meager har&ests - product of both poor soi!s and simp!e too!s. Thereby they ere thrust into a eb of mar'et re!ations. Ta#es" on the other hand" absorbed the entirety of their cash incomes and more* From har&est to har&est peasants accumu!ated ne " !arger debts as their returns fai!ed to meet State-imposed ta# ob!igations. %ut the ta#es imposed upon the peasants cou!d hard!y generate enough re&enue to 'eep pace ith State e#penditures" especia!!y the burden of ar costs as e!! as those in&o!&ed in the mere!y maintaining an army and na&y. The response of the Finance Ministry as to borro - ha&ing e#hausted domestic credit - on foreign money mar'ets. Thus" for e#amp!e" M.9. 3eutern" Minister of Finance from 167:-1676" ac$uired !oans tota!ing one bi!!ion rub!es on foreign money mar'ets during the years 167;-167; a!one.: Summari!y* %arren !ands and primiti&e farming techni$ues assured !o producti&ity and inade$uate agricu!tura! surp!uses< ta#es on !and and on these surp!uses ere" not surprising!y" a!so inade$uate to the tas' of maintaining a modern mi!itary estab!ishment in order to pursue imperia! ambitions (and ho!d off the imperia!ist ambitions of the economica!!y more ad&anced =uropean capita!ist States). According!y" State" primari!y mi!itary" spending put enormous strains on the nationa! economy" hi!e the same e#penditures ca!!ed forth a nationa! debt" i.e." a &ery rea! dependency on foreign finance capita!. ,t as in this conte#t that the autocracy dre the appropriate !esson from the defeat inf!icted on its peasants armies by the mi!itari!y" in part because techno!ogica!!y" superior armies of the %ritish and French ru!ing c!asses in the 0rimean +ar (16;>-16;7)* =ither moderni(e the precapita!ist 8economy8 in order to mi!itari!y defend itse!f against =uropean imperia!ist aggressors ( hi!e" of course" carrying out its o n imperia! designs)" or suffer the conse$uences of future defeats. ,n 16;7" State finances ere reorgani(ed and a finance ministry created to pro&ide a center from hich moderni(ation cou!d be carried out< in 1671" as a!ready mentioned" serfdom as forma!!y abo!ished thereby further pro&iding" in the persons of poor and !and!ess peasants" the socia! base for industria!i(ation< during the si#ties" tariffs ere !o ered as a direct in&itation to foreign capita!< after 167:" rapid construction of rai! ay system" of hich the State too' comp!ete contro! in 1697" as underta'en< and" again" during the si#ties a number of other" restrictionbound socia! reforms ere introduced to ease the ay for moderni(ation.? %ut industria!i(ation did not get under ay in earnest unti! the !ast decade and a ha!f of the 19th century. =&en though by this time a steep tariff had been imposed at the frontiers to protect domestic (and especia!!y State) industries" foreign capita! poured in during this period - !arge!y ith a &ie to the cheap" unorgani(ed !abor force coming into being in 3ussia. As ho!e p!ants" bui!t and origina!!y !ocated in %e!gium" France" =ng!and and @ermany" ere
1Von

Laue, Serge Witte and the Industrialization of Russia, 32. The problem of vast military expenditures plagued Russia throughout the history of Tsarism. Trotsky ( 1905, ! notes during the se"ond half of the # th "entury $%& to '%& of (tate expenditures )ent for the army and navy* )hile in #+% , military spending "onsumed ,%.-&, some #%# million of 2,+- million rubles, of the (tate budget. 2Von Laue, Ibid, ##.#2. 3/ost importantly, these reforms in"luded the introdu"tion of self.administering rural bodies "alled 01emstvos0 and to)n "oun"ils "alled 0dumas.0

ATdismant!ed and transported to and reconstructed in 3ussia do n to the !ast nut and bo!t" foreign capita! began to ma'e its presence fe!t in 3ussia. A!ready the @erman Aud ig 9napp had gi&en impetus to the formation of a te#ti!e industry" the =ng!ishman 1.3. 1ughes to the estab!ishment of a meta!!urgica! industry in the south" the S edish 2obe! brothers had created an oi! industry in %a'u" and foreign ban'ers such as the @erman =rnst Mende!ssohn dominated the financia! affairs of the autocracy. Sti!! the State remained the center from hich de&e!opment as carried out* +ith some success it regu!ated the inf!u# of foreign capita!" stabi!i(ed the currency" and" moreo&er" as the !argest !ando ner" emp!oyer" capita! in&estor and industria! de&e!oper" in a ord the on!y effecti&e socio-economic force" in 3ussia. %y the outbrea' of the first imperia!ist or!d ar" the @reat +ar" thirty years of rapid industria! e#pansion had brought a modern" hereditary pro!etariat into being.1 , At the height of pre-re&o!utionary (economic) e#pansion in 191?" 3ussia e#hibited a number of economic and socia! pecu!iarities. 3ussia5s be!ated entry into the or!d capita!ist system sho ed up in the (ac$&ardness of its industria! output. 3ussia genera!!y ran'ed >th or ;th in basic industria! output (stee!" machine production" e!ectricity" etc.) fa!!ing far behind the %ritish" @erman and American nationa! sectors of the or!d economy.: That a basica!!y rura!" unde&e!oped society ith a mi!itary capita!ist sector as at a!! ran'ed is decei&ing* 3an'ing as not enough" since Tsarist 3ussia" after a!!" aspired to be a or!d po er. %ac' ardness" ho e&er" did not end there. ,ndustria! centers formed tiny is!ands scattered throughout a &ast countryside< industry itse!f had as its presupposition a most primiti&e agricu!tura! economy< and 3ussian or'ers constituted a numerica!!y insignificant c!ass in the midst of a sea of i!!iterate" impo&erished peasants. The fundamenta! fact of rura! e#istence as o&ercro ding. As industria! and commercia! acti&ities did !itt!e to ta'e popu!ation pressure off the !and" ob4ecti&e!y the autocracy and !and!ords guaranteed the stagnation of agricu!tura! techni$ue (through the imposition of hea&y ta#es and rent)" thus assuring !o producti&ity in the countryside. 3ura! bac' ardness had its urban counterpart in the fai!ure of an en!ightened and scientific cu!ture to ta'e ho!d in the cities and from there to hegemoni(e 3ussian society. 0enturies-o!d superstitions and practices shaped the out!oo' of the peasantry and the autocracy a!i'e" hi!e the historica! bearer of scientific cu!ture" the urban bourgeoisie" as a commercia! and industria! !atecomer and" conse$uent!y" as po!itica!!y ea'* ,t !ac'ed the traditions and confidence necessary to cu!tura! creation. /n!i'e its +estern counterparts" the 3ussian industria! pro!etariat did not ha&e a or'ing c!ass past rooted in the preindustria! (i.e." handicraft and manufacturing) eras of ear!y capita!ism. ,n other ords" the importation and penetration of foreign capita! brought ith it industria! or'-processes organi(ed in the most ad&anced manner" &i(." as !argesca!e factory production p!anned on the most modern design" and uti!i(ing the most up-to-date techni$ues and processes of production.? 0ro ded into or'p!aces under such conditions the industria! or'ing c!ass of 3ussia as" in fact" the most concentrated sector of a or!d pro!etariat.> 0onsider a brief statistica! comparison. Trots'y notes that in 169; of ;"71:"BBB @erman industria! or'ers >>C ere emp!oyed in sma!!-si(ed factories (7-;B or'er)" >7C in medium-si(ed (;1-1"BBB) and 1BC in !arge-sca!e factories (o&er 1"BBB or'ers). ,n contrast" in 19B: of 1"67?":BB 3ussian industria! or'ers 1:.;C ere emp!oyed in sma!!si(ed factories" >9C in medium-si(ed ones and an astonishing ?6.;C in !arge-sca!e factories and p!ants.; %y 191?" firms ith o&er ;BB or'ers emp!oyed ;>.;C of a!! industria! or'ers in 3ussia.7 Further note that !arge factories and p!ants" comprising !ess than ;C of a!! industria! enterprises in Tsarist 3ussia" but nonethe!ess emp!oyed about 77C
12rom

# +% to #+#3, this proletariat gre) in absolute si1e from #,,2-,%%% to 2,+3#,3%% )orkers. (.3. 4agorsky, State Control of Industry in Russia During the War, -. 25.6. Liash"henko, History of the National !ono"y of Russia, $ , $+%. 37mile Vandevelte, #hree $s%e!ts of the Russian Re&olution, 3-. 4Vandevelte, Ibid, notes that in 5etrograd the vast fa"tories and plants that made up individual enterprises employed more men on average than e8uivalent firms in the 9nited (tates. 5Trotsky, Ibid, 2#. 64agorsky, Ibid, #%.

of the country5s industria! or'ers.1 The 3ussian industria! or'ing c!ass numerica!!y three times sma!!er than the @erman c!ass had a fu!! >BC more industria! or'ers emp!oyed in !arge-sca!e enterprises in sectors of the economy" not surprising!y" direct!y re!ated to the production of armaments and mi!itary supp!ies. %y 19BB" many p!ants" such as the .etersburg Meta!!urgica! or's" )bu'ho& or's" mi!!s and factories in the St. .etersburg area" the =mi!5 Tsinde! factory and .r'hro&-Tre'hgornoi5s in Mosco " a!! emp!oyed bet een :"?BB and ;"BBB or'ers< and sti!! others" such as .uti!o& +or's in St. .etersburg" emp!oyed o&er 1B"BBB or'ers. +hi!e the 3ussian industria! pro!etariat in manufacturing" transportation and commerce numbered by 191? some ?"BBB"BBB out of a tota! popu!ation of 1;?"BBB"BBB": its numerica! insignificance did not address the $uestion of its po!itica! eight. %ecause Tsarist 3ussia as a bac' ard nation be!ated!y entering the capita!ist or!d" a nation nonethe!ess caught up in a tang!e of inter-imperia!ist ri&a!ries mo&ing this or!d head!ong to ard g!oba! conf!agration" it as a!so a nation frantica!!y see'ing to bui!d up basic industries" an arms industry" te#ti!es and a modern communications system (rai!s" te!egraph). +hi!e 3ussia !ac'ed a po!itica!!y independent and strong bourgeoisie" its pro!etariat as high!y concentrated and strategica!!y situated in a!! &ita! industria! centers" or'ed and !i&ed in the most into!erab!e conditions of dai!y e#istence" and constant!y confronted a State hich refused this c!ass recognition of e&en the most e!ementary human rights historica!!y connected to pro!etarian forms of !ife. )n such a nation under such conditions, a tiny proletariat &ould at once possess enormous political &eight and (e forced to move against autocratic social relations and the military capitalist sector em(edded in them* ,, The pecu!iarities of the de&e!opment of capita!ism in Tsarist 3ussia shou!d not be a!!o ed to obscure the rea!ity and unity of capita!ism as a or!d system. )ne of the most stri'ing features of this unity during the period 166B-1917 as the structura! identity of !eading sectors of different nationa! or'ing c!asses. +ith a &ie to the interna! organi(ation of the &arious nationa! pro!etariats as ob4ects of capita!ist e#p!oitation" there as !itt!e difference bet een industria! or'ers in St. .etersburg" Turin" @!asgo " .aris" %er!in" Dienna" 0hicago or St. Aouis.? St. .etersburg itse!f as the center of the most concentrated and ad&anced 3ussian industries" a microcosm of 3ussian industry as a ho!e and mirror of the structure of de&e!oped sectors of the or!d economy from the !ate 166Bs do n to 1917. The ma4or industries of St. .etersburg ere to found in meta! or'ing and te#ti!es. Meta! or'ing industries inc!uded machine construction" shipbui!ding and munitions" and stee! production and rai! construction" that is" a!! the industries materia!!y prere$uisite to the formation of a modern army and na&y. These industries ere dominated by !arge specia!i(ed enterprises hich" re!ati&e!y and historica!!y spea'ing" ere capita! intensi&e ith high organic capita! compositions and hich primari!y emp!oyed an e!ite of high!y s'i!!ed" specia!i(ed or'ers. 2ationa!!y forming a mere >C of the or'ing c!ass" s'i!!ed or'ers in St. .etersburg made up near!y one-ha!f of the !abor force. > Thus" ithin the nationa! economy of Tsarist 3ussia as a ho!e" a 8mass"E re!ati&e!y spea'ing" of uns'i!!ed or'ers ere preponderate. These or'ers ere found uni&ersa!!y in industries" especia!!y te#ti!es" here the uti!i(ation of primiti&e machinery dominated and" conse$uent!y" the organic composition of capita! as !o . Sti!! te#ti!e or'ers and the te#ti!e industry ere 4ust negati&e!y re!ated (as uns'i!!ed opposed to s'i!!ed or'ers and as te#ti!es other than meta! or'ing) to the mi!itary capita!ist sector* ,n producing troop c!othing" both or'ers and industry ere ob4ecti&e!y re!ated to this sector as its materia! prere$uisite. This interna! di&ision among 3ussian or'ers assumed sti!! other forms different from that based on s'i!!ed. )n the one side" s'i!!ed or'ers possessed ad&anced education (e.g." f!uency in :-? !anguages)" and as a ru!e ere
1Ri"hard

5ipes (So!ial De"o!ra!y and the St' (etersburg )abor *o&e"ent, 2, n. #!, "iting the Russian historian :. 7initskii. ;y #+#3, this per"entage had been redu"ed to -,.-* ho)ever, in the all.important metal)orking industries #'# firms (in #+#%! employed 2$,,2 # )orkers, an average of #-,- per firm. 4agorsky, Ibid. 24agorsky, Ibid, #3. 3<hris =oodey, 02a"tory <ommittees in the Russian Revolution (#+# !,0 3%.3,* and also (ergio ;ologna, 0<lass <omposition and Theory of the 5arty at the 3rigin of the >orkers.<oun"ils /ovement,0 '. ;ologna exhibits the "onne"tions . "onstituted at the levels of ob?e"tivity (stru"ture of the "lass as an ob?e"t of "apitalist exploitation!, sub?e"tivity (politi"al "omposition of the "lass! and a"tion (strike movement, insurre"tion, produ"tion of ne) so"ial forms! . bet)een leading se"tors of )hat, on the basis of these "onne"tions, "an legitimately be "hara"teri1ed as a )orld )orking "lass. ,The (oviet historian, @ulius Aetesky, "ited by Leopold Baimson, 0The 5roblem of (o"ial (tability in 9rban Russia.0 Sla&i! Re&ie+, ,-, $3-.

e#treme!y !iterate< they re$uired technica! training based on !engthy apprenticeship< and" it goes ithout saying" they ere better and more regu!ar!y paid.1 Their s'i!!s" moreo&er" a!!o ed them to form a re!ati&e!y non#alienating relation to their e+uipment and machinery, and" thereby" they e#ercised real control over and developed an understanding of the la(or processes* )n the other side" the 8mass8 of uns'i!!ed or'ers ere in&ariab!y i!!iterate" and &ery poor!y and irregu!ar!y paid. They inc!uded !arge numbers of chi!dren and omen< ere genera!!y fresh from the countryside< and" ha&ing &ery recent!y bro'en ith their serf" semi-serf or poor or !and!ess peasant past" they found their ghettoi(ed urban !ife both be i!dering and into!erab!e. -ominated by a production process o&er hich they had no contro! and of hich they understood frightfu!!y !itt!e" or'ing !ong and e#hausting hours" these 8masses8 ere concentrated primari!y into te#ti!e factories (such as Thorton5s in St. .etersburg) 'no n so!e!y for their dep!orab!e or'ing conditions. The distinction" then" bet een the uns'i!!ed masses and a numerica!!y sma!!" or'er e!ite as not superficia!. ,t ran $uite deep" cut across the c!ass" as a moment of the sub4ecti&ity of both strata" and e&en found e#pression in e&eryday speech* S'i!!ed or'ers ere emp!oyed in p!ants (-avody)" hi!e uns'i!!ed or'p!aces ere referred to as factories (fa(ri$i.* ,,, The ear!iest (166>-169>) form of or'ersF acti&ities in 3ussia consisted in study circ!es ($ru-h$i). The circ!es unified or'ers and student inte!!ectua!s (intelligenty) in a pro4ect of or'er en!ightenment ca!!ed Gpropaganda.E The circ!es ere tight!y 'nit and secreti&e due to the danger of po!ice arrest" ere confined to sma!! groups of or'ers" genera!!y inc!uded a sing!e inte!!ectua!" and ere scattered throughout industria! 3ussia. Most often inte!!ectua!s in&o!&ed in circ!e acti&ity ou!d de&e!op a program for or'ers that inc!uded a study guide and reading !ist. The program ranged from training in e!ementary arithmetic operations" reading" and riting to a history of ci&i!i(ation that inc!uded scientific study" po!itica! economy" ana!ysis of 3ussian society" and socia!ist theory. /nti! the !ate 166Bs" students engaged in the circ!es participated on an indi&idua! basis remaining unorgani(ed< or'ers" on the other hand" ha&ing a!ready organi(ed themse!&es into circ!es" thereafter began to centra!i(e their acti&ities.: %y 169B" or'ers and student inte!!ectua!s had their o n organi(ations. Throughout their e#istence" the study circ!es remained under the 4ea!ous!y guarded hegemony of or'ers. The princip!e of hegemony as in fact moti&ated by or'er suspicion of inte!!ectua!s. This distrust had a c!ass basis" i.e." as interna!!y !in'ed to a or'er te!eo!ogy that encompassed a practica! attitude $uite different from that of re&o!utionary inte!!ectua!*? Though abstract!y accepting the necessity of a distant socia!ist society" s'i!!ed or'ers sa circ!e acti&ity as a ay to escape the drudgery and hope!essness of pro!etarian e#istence through persona! cu!ti&ation based on inte!!ectua! and mora! en!ightenment" cu!ti&ation hich might !ift them out of the or'ing c!ass by opening up an opportunity of a different order of or'. )n the other hand" student inte!!ectua!s &ie ed the circ!es as a means of insti!!ing a socia!ist perspecti&e in or'ers" training propagandists" and thereby obtaining access to greater numbers and strata of or'ers. (+eF!! ta'e up the under!ying moti&es of inte!!ectua!s in .art ," be!o .) Students did not ha&e a c!ear perspecti&e on ho the circ!es ou!d achie&e the purpose they imputed to them. Much of their &agueness as grounded in imp!icit" interna! and undisputed ideo!ogica! differences. /p unti! the sp!it in 169> bet een socia! democrats and popu!ists (narodni$i)" a sp!it o&er the fate of capita!ism in 3ussia (i.e." o&er the $uestion of the agency of change) and one in hich differences ere sorted out and perspecti&es purified" both groups of inte!!ectua!s or'ed side by side ithout c!arity or ideo!ogica! dispute.
1To anti"ipate,

this dis"ussion ta"itly raises the 8uestion of the relevan"e and import of the "on"ept of a Clabor aristo"ra"yDE $s a !lass stratu", highly s.illed +or.ers in the era of i"%erialist +orld +ar and %roletarian re&olution e/hibited !ontradi!tory beha&ior' Though in, say, #+#-, Lenin may have ade8uately "hara"teri1ed a CprivilegedD stratum of the )estern 7uropean proletariat (or, for that matter, the organi1ed manufa"turing proletariat of so"ieties of "apital in the era of "old )ar so."alled!, as labor Caristo"rats,D it )as the sa"e )ell.paid, skilled stratum, largely metal)orkers )ho, "onstituting an internal !lass &anguard, spearheaded the revolutionary upheavals that s)ept Russia and 7urope from #+#' to #+23. 2:lan >ildman, #he *a.ing of a Wor.ers0 Re&olution, 2+.3%. 3To )it, )orkers had a diffi"ult time a""epting the straightfor)ardly given reasons for student presen"e sin"e, from the )orkersF standpoint, it )as hard to imagine re?e"ting a studentFs prospe"ts for )ork G a life tra?e"tory )ithout the oppressive presen"e of "apitalFs representatives, )ithout long and hard hours, and )ithout the prospe"ts of material "omforts and finan"ial se"urity G for a politi"al "ommitment to revolutioni1ing so"iety.

+hi!e students engaged in circ!e acti&ity ere representati&e of the different strata and c!asses constituting the inte!!igentsia"1 or'er participation in the circ!es as based a!most e#c!usi&e!y on the thin !ayer of s'i!!ed pro!etarians. Their position in production and the technica! training as e!! as a!ready ac$uired !iteracy a!!o ed these or'ers to de&e!op aspirations that pro4ected them beyond the immediacy of their day-to-day situations" aspirations of !ifting themse!&es out of the c!ass through persona! cu!ti&ation. Thus" the ear!iest forms of or'ersF acti&ity in 3ussia confirmed among a sma!! stratum of or'ers an a areness" a!beit !arge!y indi&idua!istic" of the possibi!ities of transcending the pro!etarian $uotidian. These forms" ho e&er" ga&e no indication of the constitution of a sub4ecti&ity informed by re&o!utionary aspirations. ,f circ!e acti&ity did not generate insight into the necessity of re&o!utionary change" this insight itse!f (as e!! as the recognition that circ!e acti&ity as reaching &ery !imited numbers of or'ers) as on!y produced by socia! democratic inte!!ectua!s against the doub!e bac'ground of an upsurge in stri'e acti&ity among the uns'i!!ed &or$er masses and the success achie&ed ith agitaitonal techni$ues by socia! democrats in .o!and and the He ish .a!e.: ,D ,n the ten years from 166> to 169?" the a&erage year!y number of stri'es came to near!y ?1< in 169>" >1 stri'es occurred" 169; sa 76" and 1697 116 stri'es. ,n the midst of a :;-?B year period of rapid industria!i(ation" the three years from 196> to 1697 itnessed the concentration of a mass of uns'i!!ed or'ers in industria! centers such as St. .etersburg" 9ie&" 9aterinos!a&" Mosco " and 2i(hni-2orgo&od among others. -uring the same period" socia! democratic groups" composed no of e#-student inte!!ectua!s" students" and a fe young socia! democratic or'ers" began to shift from propaganda to agitation" a ay from the or'er e!ite to ard the or'er-masses. The or'er-masses ere origina!!y poor and !and!ess peasants ho" under pressure of financia! ob!igation generated by the system of direct and indirect ta#es (pressures intensified by and acce!erating the e#pansion of mar'et re!ations into the countryside)" ere differentiated out of a socia!!y amorphous serf popu!ace. As !and!ess" !and-hungry tenant farmers and poor peasants" they ere en masse forced into urban industria! centers by o&ercro ding and famine in the countryside. The term 8masses8 is itse!f re&ea!ing* Ta'en o&er from c!assica! physics" it refers to the undifferentiated !e&e! of s'i!!" interchangeabi!ity ithin !abor processes" and the numerica! eight the characteri(ed the uns'i!!ed 3ussian pro!etariat. The term5s anonymity is the other side of the !i&ed rea!ity it inade$uate!y catches and fi#es* The or'ermasses toi!ed thirteen hours and more dai!y< ithout prior cu!tura! preparation" they ere sub4ected to rapid" repetiti&e machine rhythms< ages ere e#treme!y !o and irregu!ar!y paid (e.g." instead of the promised t ice month!y" sometimes as !itt!e as ? or > times year!y)< bosses" such as foremen" had the arbitrary po er to and often did impose e#cessi&e fines for count!ess petty offenses< constant harassment from the same sources characteri(ed the !imited e#changes bet een super&isory personne! and or'ers< and" heat and dust constituted a rea! attac' on or'er hea!th" not the !east because medica! faci!ities ere a!together !ac'ing" medica! care as poor and sanitary precautions ere unheard of.? +omen" ho had a !arge presence among the uns'i!!ed" found these conditions of dai!y or' particu!ar!y oppressi&e* Ioung omen" in particu!ar" e#perienced regu!ar se#ua! harassment and ere often confronted ith the choice of se#ua!!y submitting to ma!e super&isors or facing 4ob !oss. 1ousing conditions ere retched.> ,n sma!! industria! areas" such as the &i!!age of Juero (7"BBB inhabitants) near Mosco " or'ers rented at high prices shac's o!d" rotting and often near co!!apse. Se er systems and often outhouses simp!y did not e#ist for these or'ers. -iscarded rubbish" its presence and odor" as a constant feature of the dai!y en&irons. ,n !arge industria! centers" such as St. .etersburg" housing conditions ere no better. ,n the
19niversities

dre) their students primarily from the families of lando)ners, professionals and high.ranking bureau"rats. Te"hni"al s"hools (e.g., the Te"hnologi"al 6nstitute in (t. 5etersburg! dre) their students from the urban, lo)er middle "lasses, petty gentry, lo)er ranking offi"ials and the <ossa"ks. 25olish students, espe"ially those )ho settled in the )estern to)n of Vilna and )orked among Russified @e)ish "raftsmen, "ame to the larger universities, penetrated so"ial demo"rati" "ir"les and brought )ith them an understanding of agitation developed on the soil of a politi"ally more advan"ed )orking "lass movement. >ildman, Ibid, 3 . 3Theodore von Laue, 0Russian Labor bet)een 2ields and 2a"tories,0 -$.-', $3. 406bid,0 $%.$2.

.eterhof part of the city" ho&e!s ere continuous!y erected here the city s!op and garbage ere dumped to bring the ground abo&e a s amp. ,n these conditions" cho!era ran i!d year!y unti! the frost came. Most of the !arge industria! companies ere !ega!!y compe!!ed to pro&ide or'ers ith factory o ned housing ithout charge. The omen and men ma'ing up the or'er-masses ere crammed into this barrac' type housing ad4acent the factories. %edbugs" !ice" poor construction" and crude !atrines ere its genera! features. 0ro ding" in fact" as endemic to a!! forms of housing" rent free or not. %eyond this" hat as !eft for the or'er-masses in the ay of cu!ti&ation ere ta&erns. D The uns'i!!ed" or'er-masses !i&ed through and endured these conditions" but underneath fe!t in4ustices ere accumu!ating and periodica!!y e#p!oded out ard in unmediated outbursts of e!ement &io!ence. The &io!ence" destructi&e in form" inc!uded brea'ing factory indo s" smashing machines" brea'ing into administrati&e offices and destruction of furnishings and boo's therein" and the !ooting of company stores and the beating of unpopu!ar super&isory personne!. To ard the midd!e 169Bs i.e." as the concentration of or'er masses increased)" these outbursts occurred ith greater fre$uency. Socia! democrats began to ta'e notice of these acti&ities and the numbers in&o!&ed" and ere ab!e to reorient their acti&ities a ay from the study circ!es and to ma'e contact ith the !arge numbers of the uns'i!!ed. They ere he!ped by an ana!ysis de&e!oped on the most ad&anced" estern 3ussian terrain. ,n 169>" a pamph!et entit!ed O( agitatsii (On Agitation. appeared. ,t e#pounded the theoretica! basis of agitation and procedura!!y summari(ed approaches to the or'er masses. Agitation as premised on the &ie that opposition to capita! and the State are imp!icit in the conditions of the dai!y or' of the or' masses< that" conse$uent!y" !arge numbers of or'ers cou!d best be approached and recruited strict!y on the basis of those !i&ed contradictions e#perienced at the point of production. Agitationa! or' itse!f consisted in gathering detai!ed information on those abuses moti&ating an ongoing stri'e< dra ing out of these abuses a !ist of demands aimed at immediate!y ame!iorating the factory conditions responsib!e for the abuses in the first p!ace< pub!ishing these demands in handbi!!s ith e#hortations to bui!d so!idarity" not to engage in trashing of e$uipment and p!ant and to ho!d out for impro&ed or'ing conditions< and" in p!anting these handbi!!s around the factory ere stri'e action as under ay. This as" at any rate" the paradigmatic form of agitationa! or'. Thus" as a form of acti&ity aimed at the or'er masses" it raised economic demands for the impro&ement of dai!y or'ing conditions.1 ,n the three years under discussion" socia! democrats assimi!ated the doctrines propounded in O( agitatsii and refined and perfected agitationa! methods. They ere further ab!e to bui!d up a sma!! periphery of or'er committees among the or'er masses" committees directed by those s'i!!ed" socia!ist or'ers ho (a!ong ith socia! democratic inte!!ectua!s) made the turn from the circ!es to agitation. The success of this or' can be gauged by the impetus it ga&e to the stri'e a&e in the !ate nineties. %ut this success cannot be understood in terms of organi(ationa! !eadership of actua! or'ersF strugg!es. To the contrary" socia! democrats ere simp!y not in the position to be directing or organi(ing those strugg!es in the day-to-day" tactica! sense suggested by Sta!inist historiography* Their organi(ations ere scattered" sma!! and ithout rea! presence any here in the c!ass. 3ather" their G!eadership"E &a!uab!e as it as" as in an attenuated" mediated sense Gdirectiona!"E i.e." they articu!ated the !atent aspirations of or'ers" ga&e those aspirations coherent form" a!!o ing for the emergence of o&era!! sense (sens)* +hat these Mar#ists did as to c!ear!y and concise!y formu!ate the demands of stri'ing or'er< to encourage or'ers to act in an unified and discip!ined manner" hi!e constant!y pointing to their strength in and possibi!ity of &ictory through co!!ecti&e action< and" because" they did this" gradua!!y o&er time socia! democratic inte!!ectua!s assisted those or'ers they ere more c!ose!y in&o!&ed ith in de&e!oping for themse!&es a theoretica! mediation in and through hich they ere ab!e to in the !ong run raise to the !e&e! of consciousness their thorough!y antagonistic re!ation not on!y to emp!oyers but to the autocracy as e!!. ,n St. .etersburg" in particu!ar" the !oca! socia! democratic organi(ation (the /nion of Strugg!e for the =mancipation of Aabor of hich Marto& and Aenin ere !eading members) had gained considerab!e respect from or'ers for their agitaitona! or'.
12or

des"riptions of agitational )ork, )e have relied on 5ipes, Ibid, -2.$-* and, >ildman, Ibid, $#.$$, '%.

D, ,n May 1697" the go&ernor of St. .etersburg decreed a one-day paid ho!idayK in honor of the coronation of 2ico!as ,!K for or'ers emp!oyed pri&ate!y o ned factories and a three-day paid ho!iday for or'ers in State o ned factories and p!ants.1 +or'ers emp!oyed in pri&ate!y o ned factories stayed out for the entire three days be!ie&ing they ou!d get ho!iday pay for their time out. +hen refused payment" they ent out on stri'e. The a!'out" ne s of hich as con&eyed by agitators" $uic'!y spread throughout the cotton mi!!s and te#ti!e factories of the city. ,n t o days the entire industry as c!osed do n" up ard ?;"BBB or'ers ere out on stri'e. The stri'ers engaged in neither trashing their respecti&e factories nor did they e#hibit any drun'enness. 3ather" in a disp!ay of GspontaneousE sophistication and organi(ationa! s'i!!" or'ers from each factory e!ected representati&es" a hundred of hich gathered in a St. .etersburg par'.: 1ere they dre up a !ist of se&en demands headed by a ca!! for a shortened or'ing day (do n to 11L hours). The demands ere mimeographed by the /nion for Strugg!e at the or'ersF re$uest. Some money as co!!ected throughout the city" especia!!y from or'ers in meta! or'ing and machine construction ( hose so!idarity" ho e&er" did not e#tend to a sympathy stri'e)" and through socia! democratic parties in =urope. %ut the money as either too !itt!e or too !ate. The autocracy at this point unyie!ding!y attempted to star&e or'ers out< and" after t o fu!! ee's stri'ing or'ers" ithout ages and ith !imited financia! support" returned to or'. ,n Hu!y" mass arrests of stri'e !eaders ere made. .rior to their return to or'" the autocracy had promised stri'ing or'ers a re&ie of their demands. %y the end of the year no re&ie had been forthcoming" so or'ers !eft their shops again in Hanuary (1697).? The autocracy immediate!y dec!ared starting in Apri! the or'ing day ou!d be shortened nationa!!y to 11L hours. 2onethe!ess" stri'ers stayed out a fu!! ee' and on additiona! concessions. This as a ma4or c!ass &ictory. The 1697-1697 stri'es ere of historica! importance to the entire 3ussian pro!etariat for the fo!!o ing reasons* Stri'ing or'ers once and for a!! ended specu!ation as to hether or no industria! or'ers in 3ussia cou!d" in an o&er he!ming!y rura! society" p!ay a ma4or ro!e in societa! change. The autocracy" to be sure" had ta'en note of them. Stri'ing or'ers demonstrated to themse!&es and to other or'ers capacities for action and se!f-organi(ation. Their &ictory promoted recognition of the so!idarity of or'ing c!ass interests" that is" their socia! po er as a c!ass.

12or 2(o

the follo)ing, see 5ipes, Ibid, #%#.#%2. dis"iplined, this is, of "ourse, the proletariat as bourgeois intelle"tuals in the )orkersF movement )ould have it, but it is not "hara"teristi"ally proletarianH 2or )hat is far more true to type is a "lass dynami" that at on"e expresses so"ially unrestrained violen"e, up)elling and over)helming "lass anger, and an intersub?e"tive, so"ial self."ontrol. ;ourgeois intelle"tuals do not kno) this, and fear it )hen they see it (though organi" intelle"tuals inseparably bound to the )age relation understand it!H >orkers struggle )ith their a"tivity (abstra"t labor!, hate the arbitrary authority, its in"ompeten"e and petty tyranny, and hate the managers, bosses, employers and "apitalists )ho are "apri"ious, in"ompeten"e and despoti" and most of all hate them all as ea"h of us lives and feels our lives slipping a)ay in our abysmal subordination to "apitalE 6t is ine&itable that, in any revolutionary situation, )e, )orkers, )ill )re"k our vengean"e on these very real, very immediate personifi"ations of "apital. The anar"hist )orkers in ;ar"elona and its environs )ho, follo)ing the late @uly #+3$ defeat of the generalsF uprising, took re"al"itrant bosses, managers not ?ust o)ners, outside in the yards of their respe"tive )orkpla"es and shot them, are merely a )ell kno)n instan"e of this behavior, expressing the "lass dynami". ;ourgeois intelle"tuals are horrifiedE after all, the petty tyrants )hether foreman, spe"ialists or administrators so."alled are ne"essary to restart produ"tion. Thus, they displayE in an era )hen the su%%ression of +or. has be"ome the battle "ry of "ommunismE their (espe"ially those )ho deem themselves "lose to and part of the C)orkersF movementD! produ"tivist appetites. 2or the same reason, the same so"ial layer re?e"ts genuine, be"ause primordially passionate, )orker opposition to "apital, say as in the Luddites. The bourgeois intelle"tual, like layers atta"hed to the business "lasses generally, has learned to sublimate his aggressive impulsesE in the "ompulsive manner of the bourgeoisie, starting )ith the aestheti1ation of sexuality, as in a"8uisition and a""umulation, say for example of books. :s a "ompulsion, this is harmless but it has not lost its "hara"ter as su"h, as bourgeois. :mong proletarians the intersub?e"tive, so"ial dis"ipline displayed in the textual dis"ussion above is far more typi"alE the other side of the "lass dynami"E 2or )orkers exhibit personal "ompulsions only )hen they have "eased to be fundamentally proletarian, i.e., )hen their "ulture has be"ome that of "apital itself (CembourgeoismentD!. :mong bourgeois intelle"tuals, a vis"eral response of horror and disgust at elemental )orker violent renders them no different than the simple moralistsE >orkers differ from bandits or so"ial out"asts in re"ogni1ing this is the lived reality embedded in the situation of abstra"t labor, in pre"ognitively kno)ing and "oming to understand that this personal reality, this vis"eral hatred of "apitalism, has so"ial foundations, that it is underpinned by a stru"tural, ne"essary "ondition of "apitalism (exploitation, extra"tion of surplus value!, that these stru"tural foundations must be transformed, and that "apitalist development itself has produ"ed, at least in prin"iple, in us as )orkers an agen"y "apable of effe"ting that "hange. 3>ildman, Ibid, '$.''.

The &ictory of stri'ing or'ers a!so ga&e confidence to organi(ed socia! democrats and great!y enhanced their !oca! and internationa! reputation.> D,, The enormous encouragement the te#ti!e or'ersF stri'e ga&e to other 3ussian or'ers can be read off the stri'e figures for the fo!!o ing years. Throughout 1697" 1696 and 1699" the stri'e mo&ement gained ground* From 116 stri'es in 1696" to 1>; in 1697" :1; in 1696 and s!o ing do n some hat in 1699 ith 169. This s!o do n" a temporary pause in hich a different !ayer of the c!ass prepared itse!f for a $ua!itati&e reorgani(ation of acti&ity manifested in po!itica! stri'es beginning in !ate 19BB" too' p!ace in the conte#t of an economic do nturn and in the face of se&ere repression. ,n these years the secret po!ice (O$hrana)" intensified its efforts" systematica!!y see'ing out" arresting and imprisoning or e#i!ing !eadership e!ements among stri'e or'ers and socia! democrats. This as" in fact" the po!itica! response of the autocracy to the !e&e! of or'ing c!ass acti&ity achie&ed in and through the stri'e mo&ement. ,n socia! democratic circ!es" the stri'e mo&ement ga&e birth to discussion of and efforts to form a nation ide organi(ation unifying the &arious" most!y unconnected !oca! groups. The first such" unsuccessfu! effort as the Mins' conference in March 1696. ,t brought together representati&es from fi&e different organi(ations and a ne spaper. The conference set up a !oose!y structured" a!!-3ussian organi(ation and produced a manifesto" but no party p!atform. %y Hu!y" po!ice roundups had destroyed the nationa! center created at the conference" carrying out the !argest sing!e" successfu! assau!t on socia! democracy e&er e#perienced in the 3ussian mo&ement. )&er fi&e hundred of the most acti&e or'er- and inte!!ectua!-socia! democrats from a!! ma4or groups ere arrested. From the stri'e mo&ement and po!ice repression another characteristic feature of the period arose. A number of or'ers-inte!!ectua!s" genera!!y ith their roots in the s'i!!ed stratum of the c!ass and theoretica! training dating bac' to the ear!ier study circ!es" began to mo&e a ay from socia! democratic circ!es hi!e continuing to p!ay !eading ro!es (as agitators) in the a&es of stri'es as they unfo!ded. =$ua!!y dissatisfied" those remaining inside socia! democracy a!ong ith sympathetic e#-student inte!!ectua!s began to conduct an unorgani(ed and unsystematic strugg!e against the !eadership of socia! democratic groups. This strugg!e too' shape in the efforts of or'er-inte!!ectua!s to dra out and c!ear!y articu!ate the political perspective implicit in and guiding agitation from the outset. That perspecti&e as designated and has come to be 'no n as economism.:
4<ontrary

to Leninist as )ell as (talinist historiography, the 9nion of (truggle did not "all )orkers out for, plan, or dire"t the strike. Thus, in the ill.defined Leninist sense the strike )as Cspontaneous.D Aonetheless, the 9nion of (truggle did play a role, and, in the longer vie), a "ru"ial role in the strike. 2irst, the (t. 5etersburg group had distributed in the early months of # +$ a pamphlet entitled Robo!hii Den 1#he Wor.ing Day2 )hi"h gave a vivid a""ount of the relation bet)een the length of the )orking day and poor health, a""ident rates, "hild labor, lo) )ages, et". The pamphlet, moreover, expli"itly "alled for )orkers to strike to "ompel the government to "reate fa"tory la)s limiting the hours of the )orking day. (in"e some of the striking )orkers )ere familiar )ith the pamphlet, it is plausible to "on"lude the pamphlet, and thus mediately so"ial demo"rats, assisted )orkers in dra)ing up a number of their demands. (e"ond, the 9nion of (truggle distributed literature, pamphlets su"h as Rabo!hii Den, throughout the t)o )eek strike to )orkers through their strike "ommittee. The literature )as read by striking )orkers, or read out loud by a literate )orker to others, at daily gatherings the time for )hi"h )as "reated by the strike. 6n the longer vie), the 9nion of (truggle had (as did other so"ial demo"rats in similar situations! helped to prepare the ground for the strike through its "onstant agitation during the "ourse of the previous t)o years ((ee >ildman, Ibid, ',.'$!. 6n this sense the strike )as thoroughly umediated, i.e., unspontaneous. 2/ost strikingly "hara"teristi" of this form of organi1ing )ork is the detailed attention paid to )orkersI daily "on"erns, those taking shape at the point of produ"tion, spe"ifi"ally those "ountless abuses Elong hours, poor ventilation, extreme heat or "old, et"., Ethat )ere the daily "on"erns of )orkers in the sphere of e!ono"i! relations )ith employers. 2or the agitaitonal perspe"tive the very e"onomi" struggle )ould tea"h the )orker Cto stand up for his o)n interests, EJelevateK his "ourage, E JgiveK him "onfiden"e in his strength, "ons"iousness of the ne"essity of unityD (3b agitatsii, #$, "ited in >ildman, Ibid, 2!. :t stake is the formation of revolutionary sub?e"tivity. :""ording to the early thinking (# +-! of no less than Lenin, 0"lass "ons"iousness0 begins to take shape in the e"onomi" struggle itself, through generali1ation of the struggle at the point of produ"tion. CThe mass ... learn from this struggle, firstly, ho) to re"ogni1e and to examine one by one the methods of "apitalist exploitationE )orkers learn to understand the signifi"an"e and the essen"e of exploitation as a )hole, learn to understand the so"ial system based on the exploitation of labor by "apitalE in the pro"ess of this struggle the )orkers test their strength, learn to organi1e, learn to understand the need for and signifi"an"e of organi1ationE this struggle develops the )orkersI politi"al "ons"iousness. ... The )orkers struggle against the fa"tory o)ners for their daily needs automati"ally and inevitably spurs the )orkers on to think of state, politi"al 8uestions... (Colle!ted Wor.s, II, ##-!.

)perati&e in this perspecti&e is the &ie that the ob4ecti&e course of e&ents" underneath e&erything the mo&ement of capita!" dra s or'ers into a strugg!e against their o n e#p!oitation and the State supporting it. ,t ou!d be" then" $uite easy on this &ie to reduce the acti&ities of socia! democracy" as the author of O( agitatsii himse!f put it" to Gcontinuous agitation among factory or'ers on the basis of their e&eryday petty needs"E to co!!apse the programmatic e!aboration of a po!itics into the economic strugg!e" and thereafter to !ose comp!ete sight of the broader dimensions of the c!ass strugg!e" that is" the po!itica! arena of re!ations of a!! c!asses to one another and to the State as Aenin !ater put it. For re&o!utionary inte!!ectua!s" t o great crimes ere committed in ho!ding and ad&ocating this perspecti&e* First" in foregoing the or' of bui!ding a re&o!utionary organi(ation" this or' ou!d be disso!&ed into tas's set by the mass mo&ement< and" second" by !imiting agitation to demands aimed at satisfying e&eryday (economic) needs of or'ers" the pro!etariat ou!d be encouraged to !ose sight of its po!itica! character as a potentia!!y hegemonic c!ass. This as" at any rate" the &ie of the re&o!utionary inte!!igentsia" a &ie codified in /hat is to (e 0one1 and one hich comes do n to us as part of the patrimony of Aeninism. %ut this 19B: perspecti&e on the recent socia! democratic past constituted and one-sided account" a po!emic generated by the e#igencies of bui!ding an organi(ation of Gprofessiona!E re&o!utionaries" of a rea!ity that did not so faci!e!y fit AeninFs schematic categories. For most or'er inte!!ectua!s and" in fact" for most of the mo&ement in the period 1697-169" the formu!ation of economism as ine#tricab!y bound up ith and perhaps e&en primari!y a $uestion of organi(ationa! e$ua!ity and parity" of re!a#ing rigid!y fi#ed positions ithin the mo&ement* /nder conditions of i!!ega!ity and in the years of or'er and inte!!ectua! interaction" a rather detai!ed di&ision of !abor had gro n up ithin hich each group had precise" $ua!itati&e!y differing tas's in socia! democratic groups. +or'ers" hether engaged in recruitment" the securing of secret meeting p!aces" etc." a!most e#c!usi&e!y performed e#ecuti&e tas's and p!ayed at best an ad&isory ro!e &is-M-&is socia! democratic inte!!ectua!s. The !atter" hether see'ing outside financia! support" producing !iterature" ma'ing e#tra-!oca! contacts or" abo&e a!!" debated the course of action in a gi&en situation" the direction of the mo&ement and its character" he!d !eading positions and p!ayed decision ma'ing ro!es. The arrangements may ha&e been" (and if so" then mere!y de facto)" sanctioned by the conspiratoria! nature of organi(ation or' rooted in the constant threat of disruption through po!ice arrest. %ut these &ery conditions of i!!ega!ity and repression had forced or'ers to de&e!op some autonomy in re!ation to their centers. The periodic arrest of !eading socia! democratic inte!!ectua!s and or'er mi!itants put the remaining organi(ed and organi(ing or'ers in a position in hich it became imperati&e to function at inter&a!s ithout a directi&e center. Thus" by the !ate 169Bs those or'ers a!ready engaged in socia! democratic acti&ity ere prepared to assume !eading organi(ationa! positions. 1o e&er" the rabid opposition of inte!!ectua!s to any cha!!enge to their hegemonyK embodied in and shaping the &ery organi(ationa! structure of socia! democracy in 3ussianK frustrated efforts of these or'ers to o&erturn the fi#ed re!ations bet een the t o groups. ,f agitation as from the outset informed by a !atent GeconomistE perspecti&e" the dissatisfaction e#perienced by departing socia! democratic or'ers pro&ided the occasion for its e#p!icit formu!ation. For" if the ob4ecti&e course of e&ents compe!!ed or'ers to become fu!!y conscious of themse!&es as a c!ass act according!y" then hat need as there for an organi(ation of a conscious G&anguard"E i.e." hy cou!dnFt socia! democratic groups pass into the hands of or'ers themse!&es" or hy cou!dnFt or'ers themse!&es rise to a status as decisi&e components of this &anguardN /hat the intelligentsia at this point desperately re+uired &as a (ody of doctrine that &ould permit them to (eat (ac$ this challenge. Such as !arge!y the purpose of AeninFs 19B: te#tK %y 19BB" economism as a dead issue in the or'ersF mo&ement. ,ts on!y" sti!! &ery !i&e!y e#istence !ay in the interna! debates among socia! democrats. The disappearance of economism as a perspecti&e embedded in or'ersF acti&ities as not" ho e&er" fortuitous. From the fa!! of 1699 on ard economic do nturn began to ta'e the ind out of the sai!s of the stri'e mo&ement. The threat of unemp!oyment" hich massi&e !ayoffs had a!ready made a rea!ity for
The elaboration of revolutionary sub?e"tivity is spe"ified in terms of the development of 0politi"al "ons"iousness,D i.e., a)areness of the possibility and ne"essity of overthro)ing the auto"ra"y. 05oliti"al "ons"iousness0 is ?ust as ine&itable as the "onfrontation )ith the (tate, the auto"ra"y. The former flo)s from the latter, the latter de&elo%s out of the struggle against the e"%loyers4 C(preading out as it progresses, embra"ing entire industries instead of separate fa"tories, the Je"onomi"K movement "ollides )ith government authority at every step. The lessons of politi"al )isdom o""ur more fre8uently, and ea"h time their stri"t morality is stamped more for"efully into the minds of the )orkers. Thus their "lass "ons"iousness matures ...(Ibid, ##'!.

many or'ers" is gi&en e#pression in the stri'e figures for these years. The stri'e !e&e! fe!! from 169 in 1699 to 1:; in 19BB" 17> in 19B1 and 1:? in 19B:. D,,, The se&ere repression the stri'e mo&ement had pro&o'ed as genera!i(ed by the autocracy in the !ate nineties to inc!ude the entire spectrum of oppositiona! e!ements in 3ussian society. ,n 2o&ember 1697" a student demonstration in St. .etersburg as greeted by po!ice &io!ence and more than 7BB arrests. %y the 1696 academic year" student confrontation ith uni&ersity officia!s had become a near e&eryday occurrence. ,n February 1699" the rector of the uni&ersity of St. .etersburg ca!!ed in po!ice to brea' up a mass meeting of students. The po!ice forcefu!!y c!osed do n the assemb!y. ,n response" students ent out on stri'e" sent out a ca!! for support and ithin t o ee's some :;"BBB students from thirty uni&ersities" technica! schoo!s" and other simi!ar institutions 4oined the stri'e.1 The acti&ity of students as e!! as the aning stri'e mo&ement assisted in gi&ing birth to the GAiberationE mo&ement hich by 19B:" because !ibera!-democratic in aspiration" had de&e!oped an anti-autocratic content. The Aiberation mo&ement as formed on the basis of a coa!ition bet een t o groups" the urban and radica! non-socia! democratic inte!!igentsia and rura! -emstvo acti&ists. Themse!&es heterogeneous" these groups functioned as the dua! !eadership of a broad!y based a!!iance of !arge!y midd!ing socia! strataK consisting" on the one hand" of the Gc!ass!essE intelligenty (i.e." !ibera! and technica! professiona!s" hite co!!ar inte!!ectua!s and students) and" on the other hand" the G-emstvo peop!e"E that is" !ando ning sma!! nob!es and midd!e peasantsK hose unity as constituted through the pro4ect of o&erthro ing the autocracy and" though there ere differences here" estab!ishing in its p!ace a representati&e assemb!y underpinned by a democratic constitution and e!ected on the basis of uni&ersa! ma!e suffrage.: A!most e#c!usi&e!y nob!e" -emstvo acti&ists ou!d recoi! hen confronted ith each re&o!utionary turn (e.g." autumn 19B;)< yet their opposition to the autocracy as rea! enough* ,t as grounded in the impo&erishment they e#perienced under conditions of rapid industria!i(ation. The radica! inte!!igentsia as considerab!y more progressi&e" for the &ery conditions of its fu!! historica! e#istence depended upon democratic rights" &i(." on freedom of speech" assemb!y" pub!ication ithout censorship" etc." as e!! as on the possibi!ity of go&ernmenta! ser&ice and a ma4or ro!e in the formation of pub!ic opinion denied it by the autocracy. The Aiberation mo&ement de&e!oped autonomous forms of e#pression and organi(ation (e.g." the +ritersF /nion" study circ!es" pub!ic !ectures" pub!ications" ra!!ies)" and at times right do n to 19B; it o&ershado ed the or'ersF mo&ement. ,t as students ho ser&ed to cata!y(e and !aunch the former" and it as student acti&ities hich presented a medium in hich the !atter reappeared in a no&e! form. The February-March 1699 genera! stri'e of students brought sympathetic or'ers out in support in the uni&ersity to n of 9har'o&. +or'ers too' to the streets after a procession of students had been bro'en up by po!ice. Together or'ers and students refused to disperse and open!y c!ashed ith po!ice throughout the day of >(17) March. ,n Di!ma" on May -ay 1699 or'ers marched and" as in 9har'o& t o months ear!ier" sang the Marsei!!aise and shouted Gdo n ith the autocracy.E 0oup!ed ith acti&ity hose content ent beyond economic demands" a ne spirit of mi!itancy as forming inside the c!ass. Through the economic crisis as ta'ing its to!! and the stri'e mo&ement as aning" or'ers ere s!o !y" perhaps imperceptib!y and to a !arge e#tent mere!y !oca!!y" beginning to demonstrate so!idarity in their actions and to cha!!enge the po!ice and 0ossac' forces of the autocracy. ,n 9ie& in the fo!!o ing year (Apri!-May 19BB)" a thousand ba'ery or'ers ent out on stri'e and a thousand more !oca! or'ers 4oined them in support. ,n May at 2o&yi @orod (near Di!na)" a group of or'ers attac'ed a po!ice station in order to !iberate fe!!o or'ers being he!d as prisoners. )n May -ay 19BB" a !arge stri'e in 9har'o& too' p!ace in hich e#p!icit!y po!itica! demands ere c!ear!y raised. A!! these acts ere po!itica! in content< nonethe!ess" they remained !oca!i(ed occurrences genera!!y not attracting nor in&o!&ing massi&e number of or'ers. The students sti!! he!d center stage" and it too' their for ard mo&ement to bring or'ers out &isib!y as a c!ass. The autocracyFs bureaucracy" in the person of 2... %ogo!yepo& (=ducation Minister)" had reacted to the student genera! stri'e of 1699 in its typica!!y reta!iatory and stupid manner* Students e#pe!!ed for their parts in the stri'e ere
1(hmuel 2Ibid,

=alai, #he )iberation *o&e"ent in Russia, +%.+#. #2$.#2'.

drafted into the army under ne !y promu!gated GtemporaryE regu!ations.1 After another year of acti&ism" more than :BB students ere again conscripted in autumn 19BB. Students ere incensed. )n 1> (:7) February" an e#-student" .eter 9arpo&ich" assassinated %ogo!yepo&. +ithin ten days street demonstrations organi(ed by students too' p!ace in 9har'o&" 9ie&" Mosco and other uni&ersity to ns. ,n Mosco " students ere 4oined by tens of thousands of or'ers ho fought 0ossac's across barricades set up in the streets. From the !ibera! standpoint" the entire a&e of demonstrations cu!minated in St. .etersburg on > (17) March here forty thousand demonstrators" inc!uding a!! categories of students and !eading !ibera!-democratic inte!!ectua!s" ra!!ied at 9a(an S$uare to protest the GtemporaryE conscription regu!ations. 3ed f!ags and cries of Gdo n ith the autocracyE ere once again met by po!ice and 0ossac's ith bruta!ity and appro#imate!y 1";BB arrests.: This sing!e e&ent against the open!y repressi&e bac'ground of Tsarism !itera!!y !aunched the Aiberation. ,O From the or'ersF standpoint the a&e of student demonstrations did not" ho e&er" consummate itse!f in cata!y(ing the Aiberation mo&ement. 3ather" it pointed e!se here. +itnessing or'ing c!ass demonstrations and stri'es throughout the country" May -ay 19B1 as the occasion for a stri'e of meta! or'ers at the !arge St. .etersburg munitions p!ant" )bu'ho& +or's. =fforts to brea' the stri'e too' on the character of a mi!itary siege as or'ers stood firm and batt!ed po!ice. Si# ere 'i!!ed" 6B ounded and 6BB arrested in hat rapid!y became 'no n as the G)bu'ho& -efense.E Socia! democratic and or'er presses ere $uic' to spread ne s and the !esson of this e&ent* )f elementary stri$e demands &ere to (e met, and if the (lood of comrades &as not to (e shed in the streets, the autocracy &ould have to go* A!though the stri'e mo&ement as not to reco&er and go beyond its 1697 !e&e! unti! 19B?" s!o !y" !ed by the s'i!!ed pro!etariat in the !arge urban centers" ne categories of or'ers ere beginning to be dra n into a different" reoriented form of stri'e acti&ity" and on these foundations to de&e!op" e#perience" class-based a areness. From this &ie point" a part of the c!ass as beginning to gi&e e#pression to the yet incipient and inchoate impu!se of re&o!utionary sub4ecti&ity. Spring 19B1 mar'ed a turning point. Thereafter" stri'es for age increases often ca!!ed forth demands for re!ease of arrested comrades" the rescission of fines" etc." hi!e so!idarity stri'es often trans!ated themse!&es into demands for age increases or impro&ements in or'ing conditions. The rea! brea'through came" ho e&er" in !ate 19B:. ,n 3osto&" in 2o&ember" 3ussian or'ers forged a ne eapon in their strugg!e against capita!ist socia! re!ations and the autocracy. ,t as here they disco&ered the genera! stri'e.? The 3osto& genera! stri'e too' shape as a so!idarity action carried out by the cityFs industria! pro!etariat after rai! ay or'ers struc' for high ages and ame!ioration of into!erab!e or'ing conditions. The stri'e as characteri(ed by mass meetings" bringing together up ard >B"BBB peop!e" in hich socia! democrats and other spea'ers ca!!ed for the o&erthro of the autocracy. The 3osto& genera! stri'e as an economic stri$e of revolutionary significance2 3or the first time (ourgeois#democratic political li(erties including freedom of speech and assem(ly &ere &on, and there &ere not legally instituted, (ut achieved in a fait accompli manner* %hey &ere &on through proletarian activity* The stri'e generated such popu!ar sympathy that the pub!ic meetings that dre !isteners from a!! urban c!asses !asted nine fu!! days before !oca! po!ice and 0ossac's fe!t confident enough (and then on!y on orders from St. .etersburg) to attempt to smash the stri'e. The repressi&e ons!aught 'i!!ed si# and ounded t e!&e or'ers< ho e&er" it on!y dro&e rai! aymen to increase their demands. ,n part consisting of a :BC age increase and a nine-hour day" these demands ere assured idespread dissemination by socia! democratic" !iberationist and socia! re&o!utionary presses. Thereafter" they became the basic demands of a ne !y unfo!ding stri'e mo&ement. .o!itica! stri'es and demonstrations dropped off and disappeared as an economic stri'e a&e mushroomed* From 1:? in 19B: stri'es rose ;;B in 19B?. More than ?BB of these stri'es" many of them genera!" occurred throughout the spring and summer in the industria! centers and port cities of the south such as %a'u" %atum" =aterinos!a&" 9ie&" )dessa and Tif!is.

1Ibid, 2Ibid' 32or

##3.##,.

a brief a""ount of the strike, see >ildman, Ibid, 2,$.

There as !itt!e consistency in the ro!es p!ayed by !oca! socia! democratic groups in the massi&e stri'e a&e of 19B:19B?.> ,n 3osto&" the !oca! organi(ation as caught una ares but $uic'!y reco&ered" producing and successfu!!y distributing pi!es of !eaf!ets and assuming the p!atform to ma'e arm!y greeted po!itica! speeches. The a!!-3ussian pre-party formation" the )rgani(ing 0ommittee" instructed other !oca! committees to ta'e notice of and emu!ate the response to the 3osto& e&ents. %ut the ca!! produced at best mi#ed resu!ts* The genera! stri'e in )dessa (Hu!y 19B?) and the %a'u stri'e - by up ard >B"BBB oi! and rai! ay or'ers !asting a!most t o fu!! ee's (in Hune 19B?) and shutting do n a!! essentia! pub!ic ser&ices P demonstrated or'ers ere mo&ing" but the shift form Gpo!itica!E bac' to GeconomicE stri'es" some re&o!utionary in the sense of 3osto&" !eft many committees i!!-prepared or mere!y confused. ,n 2i'o!aye&" the !oca! committee formu!ated a p!an mode!ed on other recent socia! democratic responses to stri'e" but the !oca! mi!itary commander as ab!e to frustrate the pro4ect. ,n ='aterinos!a&" socia! democrats ere rapid!y out distanced by or'ers but e&entua!!y became !eaders of the stri'e. ,n 9ie&" the !oca! committee had difficu!ty deciding hether to support an GeconomicE stri'e in a Gpo!itica!E period" and as a resu!t as unab!e to gi&e any direction to the ongoing action. And in )dessa" socia! democrats shared speechma'ing ith numerous other groups at a mass meeting simi!ar to those in 3osto& nine months ear!ier" yet or'ers simp!y refused to a!!o any group to e#ercise hegemony o&er the stri'e. O The Second 0ongress of the 3S-A." hich too' p!ace in Aondon in Hu!y 19B?" as symbo!ica!!y suggesti&e of the turn re!ations of socia! democrats to 3ussian or'ers ou!d soon ta'e. At the 0ongress" 9 of ?7 sessions ere de&oted to the $uestion that precipitated the actua! party sp!it" and $uestion of the re!ation of party to c!ass - its acti&ities and organi(ation P ere not ta'en up unti! the fina! session.: This !ac' foreshado ed the most!y none#istent re!ation of socia! democrats to or'ers during the ne#t t o years" a phenomenon ha&ing its roots in the )s$ra organi(ation bui!t by Aenin" Marto& and .otreso&. +hi!e in e#i!e and against the bac'ground of the mass arrests of 16971696" Aenin had time to reconsider the period defined by agitaitona! acti&ity. 1is entire approach constituted a thoroughgoing" if not head-on criti$ue of the organi(ationa!!y emphasi(ed deficiencies of this acti&ity. 1e concei&ed the )s$ra organi(ation as a specifica!!y pre!iminary form !eading to creation of a nation ide party. -ra ing on the popu!ist tradition" he argued for a tight!y 'nit organi(ation of se!f!ess indi&idua!s" Gprofessiona!E re&o!utionaries" hose entire e#istence ou!d be consumed in e#hausting party or'. ,n his ritings of this period" especia!!y /here to Begin and /hat is to (e 0one1, Aenin stressed o&er and again the need for a high!y centra!i(ed" conspiratoria! organi(ation if stabi!ity and !eadership continuity ere to be maintained under conditions of i!!ega!ity. First issued in 19BB" )s$ra as an a!!-3ussian ne spaper hose raison d45tre !ay in carrying out a re!ent!ess strugg!e against a!! tendencies di!uting the re&o!utionary content of socia! democracy and in the e#pression of the i!! of an authoritati&e center capab!e of e!ding together dispersed !oca! organi(ations. The editoria! board of )s$ra consisted of Aenin" Marto& and .otreso& !i&ing abroad in MQnchen. Their directi&es ere carried out be agents inside 3ussia ho ere hand pic'ed on the basis of !oya!ty" dedication and adherence to the )s$ra perspecti&e. A number of agents ere !ater co-opted to form a pre-party formation" the a!!-3ussian )rgani(ing 0ommittee" hich operated under the so!e guidance of the )s$ra editoria! board. The mi!itant!y po!itica!" anti-autocratic tone set by )s$ra began to in for it a !arge fo!!o ing among radica!i(ed or'ers and socia! democratic inte!!ectua!s after the e&ents of spring 19B1. Aoca! committees" seeing the tactica! !ine of )s$ra actua!!y anticipated and i!!uminated ongoing e&ents" starting ca!!ing for and attempted to organi(e and direct po!itica! demonstrations not on!y among or'ers but a!so radica! students" the !ibera! intelligenty and -emstvo acti&ists. )s$ra editors at once began to set their p!an to GcaptureE !oca! committee !eaderships in motion. %ut it as not unti! !ate 19B: as demorali-ation set in Kdue to the e&ident fai!ure of hat became an inf!e#ib!e )s$ra inspired program of
4This

summary "an be read off the report of the dire"tor of the politi"al poli"e, Lopukhin, on so"ial demo"rati" a"tivities during the period. (ee Ibid, 2,'.2, . 27xamine the resolutions of the party <ongressH 6t )as held from , (#'! @uly to 2 @uly (#% :ugust! #+%3. The resolution C3n the Trade 9nion (truggle )as taken upon on the final day. (ee C5rogram of the R(LL5D in Resolutions and De!isions of the Co""unist (arty of the So&iet 5nion, Vol. #, ,%.-,.

po!itica! demonstrations in the face of se&ere repression and the upsurge of economic stri'es" the conse$uent un i!!ingness of !eading or'ers to continue e#ecuting the directi&es of !oca! committees" the desertion of numerous members of the periphery" e.g." students" to the ne !y formed Socia! 3e&o!utionary party" and the drying up of funds from !ibera! circ!es hich no de&oted their attention to the Aiberation mo&ement K that )s$ra agents ere ab!e to penetrate and assume contro! o&er !oca! committees. The programmatic effort to bui!d a mo&ement around po!itica! demonstrations once again transformed re!ations bet een socia! democratic inte!!ectua!s and mi!itant or'ers" !eading to the resurgence and aggra&ation of a prob!em that p!agued past phases of the mo&ement. The tension created by the prob!em" a $uestion of ho as to e#ercise hegemony o&er (socia! democrats) or ithin ( or'ers) the mo&ement" had e#isted in different forms in the study circ!e and agitaitona! periods. %ut hitherto it had bee mitigated through mediation by organi(ationa! structures such as the circ!es and or'ers committees" structures that had a!!o ed or'ers to e#ercise some autonomy and se!f-direction. The program of po!itica! demonstrationsK to the e6tent it &as organi-ed (y a rigidly centrali-ed political form" ho e&er" made these organi(ationa! structures irre!e&ant by rendering them at once impediments and superf!uous. ,nstead of the continuous contacts bet een socia! democratic inte!!ectua!s and organi(ed or'ers that ere re$uired by propaganda and" particu!ar!y" agitation" po!itica! demonstrations minimi(ed a!! contact and mere!y re$uired or'ers to distribute !iterature at appropriate" pre-determined times and p!aces. Socia! democratic or'ers" ho no !onger ere strugg!ing against committee inte!!igentsia for preeminence but in order to assume their rightfu! p!aces a!ongside party inte!!ectua!s" ere reduced to appendages of the committee contro!!ed inte!!igentsia ho itse!f as !arge!y a transmission be!t for directi&es from the center. ,t is hard!y surprising" then" that many socia! democratic or'ers abandoned the mo&ement in its )s$ra dominated form and sho ed in the economist 7u(atovist unions during the first months of 19B;.1 O, 0aught up in factiona! strife" socia! democrats ere on the e&e of the first 3ussian re&o!ution further remo&ed from the !ife of the or'ing c!ass than they had e&er been. =&en though the inte!!igentsiaFs perspecti&e on its o n socia! democratic acti&ity had pre&ented it from estab!ishing a strong presence among the 3ussian pro!etariat" the or'ersF mo&ement cou!d not ha&e been the effecti&e socia! force it as ithout the theoretica! mediations articu!ated" and the po!itica! support pro&ided" by socia! democratic inte!!ectua!s. The so!idarity of or'ers ith students" the po!itica! stri'es and actions they undertoo' in support of one another and the 19B:-19B? genera! stri'es of re&o!utionary import sure!y ou!d not ha&e occurred on the sca!e they did ithout socia!ist perspecti&es" and gi&en this the orientation to ard a conscious practice centered on changing conditions of or'" or'ers assimi!ated and interna!i(ed in and through their contact ith the socia! democratic inte!!igentsia. ,f" as =... Thompson argued" the =ng!ish or'ing c!ass as Gpresent at its o n ma'ing"E: in our &ie the same can be said ith the fo!!o ing pro&iso for 3ussian or'ers* The socia! democratic inte!!igentsia as co#present and pro&ided idea! and organi(ationa! (in action) assistance among the most ad&anced !ayers of 3ussian or'ers engaged in se!f-ma'ing as a c!ass. The historica! significance" then" of socia! democracy in the pre-19B; period !ay in the crucia! ro!e it p!ayed in the formation of a conscious" a!beit thin !ayer of socia!ist or'ers in the c!ass.? +ith the ad&antage of hindsight" it is easy to understand the centra!ity of the socia! democrats in the stri'e a&e of the !ate 169Bs and the genera! stri'es of 19B:-19B? (e#tending into 19B>) and in opposition to the per&ersion of pre-%o!she&i' 3ussian history by Sta!inist historians" it ou!d be far too faci!e to simp!y dismiss this achie&ement* The socia!ist current &as centra!" for it formed an 8oppositional culture9 to the abso!utist cu!ture of Tsarist society< and" it must be stressed that a proletarian oppositional culture as such constituted the infrastructure supporting the daily activities of &or$ers as the historical agency of change, and thus underpinned all later revolutionary advances*
16ubato&sh!hina,

so."alled after the Tsarist poli"e agent (ergei 4ubatov )ho founded them in #+%#, )as the name given to poli"e CunionsD of an Ce"onomi"D nature* that is, to trade unions under auto"rati" "onditions set up by Tsarist poli"e agents in order to take "ontrol of the )orkersF movement and "onfine it stri"tly to the most narro) of day to day issues. (ee @eremy ("hneiderman, Sergei 6ubato& and Re&olutionary *ar/is"' 2#he *a.ing of the nglish Wor.ing Class, +. 3:s Trotsky pointed out, this thin layer of so"ialist )orkers )as "omposed primarily of highly skilled metal)orkers. Thus, for example, nearly #-% of the 2-# deputies to the revolutionary 5etersburg soviet in 3"tober #+%- )ere metal)orkers. Trotsky, Ibid, 2-%.

,n retrospect" the !eaps in acti&ity" se!f-organi(ation and consciousness ta'en by or'ers fo!!o ing the dec!ine of the economic stri'e a&e of 1697-1696 constituted the out ard e#p!osion of a mo!ecu!ar cogniti&e de&e!opment" the accumu!ation of insights into their re!ation to emp!oyers and the autocracy. %ut if or'ersF contact ith socia! democratic inte!!ectua!s assisted them in de&e!oping the a areness that these insights cohered into" it as the into!erab!e conditions of their dai!y !ife that made it abso!ute!y necessary for them to understand these conditions in order to change them. %eyond this" the prehistory of %o!she&ism sho s the enormous capacity of 3ussian or'ers of this period for se!forgani(ation. ,t a!so demonstrates a non-!inearity in the de&e!opment of their consciousness as a c!ass. Mediation by socia! democratic theoretica! categories a!!o s the passage from GeconomicE to Gpo!iticsE to appear necessary under autocratic conditions" i.e." under conditions of the i!!ega!ity of or'ersF organi(ations and the conse$uent constant ith the forces of State repression. The rapid passage from Gpo!iticsE bac' to economic strugg!e aged on a ne !e&e!" that is" aged by a more conscious pro!etariat" as the !i'e!y outcome gi&en both these mediations and the !i&ed rea!ity of dai!y or'ing and !i&ing conditions. This t in negotiation mere!y pro&es the absurdity of a hard and fast distinction bet een the t o forms of strugg!e.

Part I From Sect to"ard #ass Wor$ers% Party, 19!& 19!' Throughout 19B;" particu!ar!y in the months of Hanuary-February and again from September through -ecember (i.e." in the months of fe&erish or'ing c!ass acti&ity reaching re&o!utionary proportions)" the %o!she&i' faction gre !itt!e as an organi(ation. ,t remained a sma!! group ithout inf!uence in the c!ass< ob4ecti&e!y" a sect. Forgetting the mo&ement in hich they ere rooted and abso!uti(ing their o n perspecti&e" %o!she&i's iso!ated themse!&es from re&o!utionary or'ers< in a ord" their practice as sectarian. This specific practice had its origins in po!icy concerning autonomous non-party or'ing c!ass organi(ations that sprang up during the year. -eutscher has" for e#amp!e" pointed out the so&iet as not a %o!she&i' creation< rather" %o!she&i's 8&ie ed it ith suspicion as a ri&a! to the party.E1 %ut that te!!s &ery !itt!e of the story. %o!she&i's demonstrated a basic hosti!ity to ard a!! ma4or pro!etarian organi(ations that or'ers created in 19B;" &i(." to ard the @aponist associations (Hanuary and not before)" the Shid!o&s'y 0ommission (February) as e!! as the stri'e a&e of Hanuary and February" trade unions hich began to open!y appear in the fa!!" and the so&iets dating from the same period. ,n order to e#hibit the po!itica! perspecti&e under!ying this hosti!ity" e ish to e#amine the %o!she&i' response to one of these organi(ations - by far the historica!!y most significant" name!y" the St. .etersburg So&iet of +or'ers5 -eputies. , The St. .etersburg So&iet gre up as a response to ongoing e&ents. )n 1? (:7) )ctober" Menshe&i' agitators ca!!ed together !eading mi!itants from area p!ants to form a stri'e committee. The stri'e committee as formed to gi&e direction to and genera!i(e in St. .etersburg and its en&irons a nation- ide stri'e ca!!ed for by the rai! ay union. +or'ers of the city ere as'ed to e!ect de!egates from their or'p!aces to the committee. %ut in this act the stri'e committee as a stri'e committee began to transcend itse!f" to function as an organ of the entire St. .etersburg pro!etariat" in order ords" as a nascent counci!. ,ts first po!itica! act" that is" its first act as a so&iet (counci!)" as to issue a ca!! for a genera! stri'e to force the autocracy to con&ene a constituent assemb!y. Frightened and confused" the autocracy promu!gated (16 (?1) )ctober) a constitutiona! manifesto. %ut the manifesto as mere!y a series of &ague promises ithout specification of either the form of or time!ine for the rea!i(ation of those promises. The issuance of the manifesto signified on!y a partia! &ictory* The autocracy had not been dismant!ed and retired from the historica! stage. ,nstead" it as tempori(ing" see'ing a breathing space in hich to regroup. The bourgeoisie as on!y too an#ious to accept the manifesto a face &a!ue. To ha&e age a determined fight ou!d ha&e meant bringing the other urban c!asses and poor !and-hungry peasants under its ing. =conomica!!y ea'" !ac'ing a !ong standing" tested po!itica! party and ha&ing ne&er created a hegemonic urban cu!ture" conse$uent!y !ac'ing mora! authority" the bourgeoisie ou!d not ha&e been capab!e of contro!!ing the forces it ou!d ha&e un!eashed had it sought an a!!iance ith the industria! pro!etariat and oppressed rura! strata. +ith the appearance of the manifesto" the bourgeoisie mere!y faded from the scene. ,ndustria! or'ers assumed center stage through their so&iets. So&iets" some thirty in appro#imate!y the same number of cities": sprang up in the !arge urban areas here" though ne&er constituting an o&er he!ming ma4ority of the popu!ace" the po!itica! eight of industria! or'ers as enormous. %ecause these same urban areas ere centers from hich the autocracy mi!itari!y e#ercised contro! o&er the ho!e of the country" and because the bourgeoisie as po!itica!!y co ard!y and the peasantry as at this 4uncture in 3ussian history incapab!e of de&e!oping its o n po!itica! representati&e (a peasant party)" the retreat of the autocracy temporari!y and ob4ecti&e!y created a situation in hich the pro!etariat as the on!y c!ass not on!y in a position but ith the capacity to e#ercise po er. ,n this conte#t" each action of the so&iets - the tota!ity of hich as identica! ith their se!f-formation and the constitution of or'ers as a c!ass - as a step in the direction of po!itica! hegemony" sharpened antagonisms ith the autocracy" and intensified a strugg!e of gro ing re&o!utionary proportions. ,n St. .etersburg" the So&iet passed a reso!ution on 19 )ctober (1 2o&ember) appropriating for itse!f the rights of the Tsarist censor. 1enceforth the re&o!utionary press appeared !ega!!y for the first time in 3ussian history. At the end of )ctober (ear!y 2o&ember)" martia! !a as dec!ared by the autocracy in 9ronstadt - to suppress a sai!ors5 uprising" in
16saa" 2(olomon

Leuts"her, #he (ro%het $r"ed, #2-. ("h)ar1, #he Russian Re&olution of 1905, #' (n. -!, "iting the )ork of the (oviet historian V.6. Aevsky.

.o!and" and in a number of rura! pro&inces here peasant unrest as at its height. )n the ca!! of the So&iet" St. .etersburg or'ers responded ith a po!itica! genera! stri'e unti! martia! !a as !ifted. ,n ear!y 2o&ember ().S.)" the So&iet added re&o!utionary !ega!ity to a or'ing c!ass action aimed at inning an eight-hour day* To genera!i(e the mo&ement" the So&iet encouraged or'ers to enforce the eight-hour day ithout recourse to !ega! sanction (and ithout prior arrangement ith emp!oyers) by a!'ing off the 4ob en masse after eight hours of or'.1 These actions concrete!y demonstrated the potentia! of 3ussian or'ers for hegemony as a c!ass< the So&iet" after a!!" as de facto carrying out State functions. So&iet acti&ity" to be sure" had as its presupposition the enormous respect of indi&idua! pro!etarians. This respect as u!timate!y grounded in the fact that the so&iet as a c!ass ide organ - one uniting or'ers across factory and p!ant" craft and industria! !ines" and not mere!y in the fact of its pro!etarian socia! composition. As a c!ass- ide organ" the So&iet ent beyond a!! other" pre&ious or'ing c!ass organi(ations in 3ussian history. ,, At the outset" %o!she&i' po!icy to ard the St. .etersburg So&iet must be disentang!ed from attitudes to ard Menshe&i's. At first %o!she&i's &ie ed the .etersburg So&iet as a ne Menshe&i' 8intrigue8 hose purpose as to !ay the ground or' for a broad-based non-party organi(ation. They refused to enter.: Dery soon" the %o!she&i's rea!i(ed" ho e&er" to abstain from participation in the So&iet ou!d ha&e been tantamount to comp!ete iso!ation from a re&o!utionary mass mo&ement. Thus" in mid-)ctober ().S.)" they entered the So&iet ith the intention of ho!ding its function do n to that of a stri'e committee and carrying out a strugg!e against Menshe&i' tendencies.? ,n the course of ongoing or'" much of the animosity abated. %o!she&i's pro&ed themse!&es $uite capab!e of doing day-to-day or' a!ongside other po!itica! tendencies in the So&iet. Strategica!!y though their intentions remained unchanged. %o!she&i's sti!! hoped to 'eep the !e&e! of So&iet de&e!opment to that of a stri'e committee" hi!e" of course" using it as a means to propagate their &ie s. So!omon Sch ar(" a Menshe&i' historian of the re&o!ution" cites %.2. 9nuniants ho" as a !eading .etersburg committeeman and !eader of the %o!she&i' faction inside the So&iet" formu!ated the under!ying perspecti&e of the faction &ery c!ear!y*
The .arty had to as' itse!f hether the pro!etariat ou!d emerge from the e&o!utionary storm conscious enough to rea!i(e that an independent po!itica! party as the on!y effecti&e form of organi(ation for it and the program of internationa! Socia!--emocracy as its o n c!ass program. The e#istence of the So&iet" an organi(ation po!itica!!y amorphous (from a programmatic point of &ie )" standing outside the party" cou!d be a poor asset in the future or' of ra!!ying the ho!e pro!etariat around Socia!--emocracy. /nder the impact of demagoguery Ri.e." Menshe&i' ideasS many bac' ard e!ements among the or'ers might see the So&iet as the germ of an 8independent !abor party8 as opposed to socia!ism. 'o matter ho sharp!y the So&iet5s po!icy differed from the 8,ndependents58 Ri.e." the Jubato&ists5S po!icy or ho& revolutionary &as the mood of the masses" the mere e#istence of an informa!" non-socia!ist po!itica! organi(ation of the pro!etariat cou!d !oo' !i'e something of a menace to the free de&e!opment of the c!ass mo&ement to ard Socia!-emocracy.>

.erhaps the .etersburg pro!etariat ou!d not ha&e 8emergeRdS from the re&o!utionary storm conscious enough8 to recogni(e its organi(ationa! form consisted in an 8independent po!itica! party"8 but consciousness as not" then" the issue. .etersburg or'ers ere" after a!!" 8conscious enough8 to carry out a po!itica! genera! stri'e for a 3epub!ic. The %o!she&i' concern as misp!aced" a screen for fear of !oss of contro! o&er the 8re&o!utionary storm8 on the hori(on.
12or

these events, see Trotsky, 1905, #23.# $. Ibid, #'-. >ith the ex"eptions of 5arvus and Trotsky, /ensheviks )ere "ommitted to bourgeois hegemony and, "on"omitantly, to parliamentary demo"ra"y as the ne!essary out"omes of the revolution. <onse8uently, they )ished to build a mass labor party on the )estern 7uropean model into )hi"h they )ould have dissolved the R(LL5. 6n the soviets, they say the embryo of su"h a party. This party, as the party of the extreme opposition, )ould, it )as believed, then provide the so"ial base from )hi"h the liberal bourgeoisie "ould be pressured into a real fight against Tsarism and, in the "ourse of su""essful struggle, into instituting a transitional politi"al form (a 0revolutionary provisional government0! )hi"h )ould take as its task preparation for full establishment of a parliamentary regime. 3Ibid, #'-.#''. ("h)ar1 "ites the (oviet historian 7. Lrivosheina. 4Ibid, #'+. %. Mnuniants )as a politi"al pseudonym for ;. Radin. (7mphases in the original.!
2("h)ar1,

%ut not simp!y a screen. ,deationa! e!ements" moments of a different (theoretica!) order ith in part a different &a!idity"1 ere edded to an interest in domination of the or'ers5 mo&ement. ,n this respect" the ossified categories of the 19B: ana!ysis ere decisi&e. +hat e!se is the crude antithesis of an 8independent po!itica! party8 to an 8informa!" non-socia!ist po!itica! organi(ation8 other than the organi(ationa! trans!ation of the e$ua!!y crude and fa!se!y opposed categories of socia! democratic and trade union consciousnessesN 9nuniants5 ana!ysis rested on the abstract" obfuscating" paired" and undia!ectica! categories of 8consciousness8 and 8spontaneity.E ,,, T o pecu!iar phenomena character /hat is to (e 0one1 First" it as ritten at a time hen economism" the 8opportunism8 Aenin as so eager to disp!ace" no !onger mediated practice ithin the or'ers5 mo&ement. =conomist or'ers5 acti&ity had begun to disappear in !ate 1699 and had e#hausted itse!f by no !ater than spring 19B1. Iet Aenin" fu!!y a are of its demise": rote his pamph!et in !ate 19B1 and pub!ished it in March 19B:. Second" there is the $uestion of the non#:ar6ist character of the centra! theses of /hat is to (e 0one1 The meaning of the first phenomenon is c!ear enough. Aenin as not addressing himse!f to the mo&ement as a ho!e" mere!y to its detached 8&anguard.8 /nderstood in this manner the appearance of /hat is to (e 0one1 as a decisi&e e&ent in a strugg!e for hegemony inside socia! democracy in order to be in a better position to e#ercise contro! o&er the or'ers5 mo&ement. Strict centralism as the instrument for securing and e#ercising this contro! at both !e&e!s. An e#amination of the second phenomenon i!! shed !ight on and gi&en substance to these c!aims. Summari!y" Aenin attempted to theoretica!!y underpin and !egitimi(e his organi(ationa! &ie s by grounding them on the fo!!o ing theses*
a. 2ot on!y is c!ass consciousness not achie&ed at the point of production" the pro!etariat is simp!y incapab!e of becoming conscious of itse!f as a c!ass< b. since !eft to themse!&es or'ers as a c!ass i!! conduct their strugg!es economistica!!y" strugg!es hose meaning and significance remain immanent to bourgeois society" the a areness necessary for action in accordance ith their historica! interests must be incu!cated from the outside by members of another c!ass< and" c. since socia!ist theory de&e!ops independent!y of the or'ers5 mo&ement" as a product of the acti&ity of members of that other c!ass (bourgeois inte!!ectua!s)" it is on!y through the concerted efforts of those re&o!utionary inte!!ectua!s that the pro!etariat i!! be organi(ed to cha!!enge capita!ist society as a ho!e.?

+hat has been said hereN Most stri'ing!y" the or'ing c!ass cannot achie&e a sub4ecti&ity hich is re&o!utionary. ,n Mar#ist terms its historica! mission" uni&ersa! human emancipation through the abo!ition of c!asses and the e#p!oitation of man by man" more proper!y be!ongs to a re&o!utionary !ayer of (disenfranchised) bourgeois inte!!ectua!s. The pro!etariat is not the su(;ect of history" but mere!y another historica! product and o(;ect.> As such" the or'ing c!ass has neither the capacity to contest a!! forms and manifestations of e#p!oitation and oppression nor to practica!!y reconstruct society as a ho!e on a democratic and ega!itarian basis. ,t is assimi!ated to the mass of urban and rura! petty bourgeoisies" i.e." to the midd!e c!asses and the peasantry. Ai'e the petty bourgeoisie" it is
1(ee Theoreti"al 2Lenin,

Aote #, belo). Colle!ted Wor.s, 7, 2-.3% (0:nother /assa"re0!. This arti"le appeared in Is.ra, no. -, @une #+%#. Bereafter, LeninI s Colle!ted Wor.s )ill be referred to as CW and )ill be "ited along )ith the appropriate volume and page numbers. 3Lenin goes on to remark that, 0the sphere from )hi"h alone it is possible to E Ja"hieve "lass "ons"iousnessK is the sphere of relationships of all "lasses and strata to the stateED CW, 7, ,23. Lenin may )ell in fa"t be rightH 6f, in "oming together in ex"hange, "apitalists pursue only their only egoisti" interests and ob?e"tively pit themselves against one another in the marketpla"e, it is politi"ally in the arena of the (tate that "apitalist "lass unity is forged. :""ordingly, "lass "ons"iousness, as the sense be"ome "ons"ious of the histori"al mission of )orkers as a "lass, entails re"ognition of the ne"essity of destru"tion of the (tate of the bourgeoisie. 6f this is so, su"h a)areness "an only be a"hieved in "onfrontation )ith the (tate, and its agents, as it expli"itly operate in defense or pursuit of "apitalist interests. Baving said this, )e also note it does nothing to "hange the vie) developed above. 4:s Vladimir :kimov, the ar"hetypi"al 0e"onomist,0 pointed out, the absen"e of proletarian sub?e"tivity )as in"orporated into the very language of the draft programme for the 2nd <ongress (language that, in turn, found its )ay into the <ongress resolution!. 0;ut ho) did it "ome about an orthodox (o"ial.Lemo"rati" programme, stating the basi" premises of so"ialism, did not find it ne"essary to note the !ons!iousness, re&olutionary and !lass !hara!ter of the %roletarian struggleN0 Be goes on to say exa"tly 0)hy0H 0This "annot be, and is not, an a""ident. 6t fully "orresponds to the vie) of one of the authors of the draft, "omrade Lenin, )ho regards the %roletariat as a %assi&e "ediu" in +hi!h the ba!illus of so!ialis", introdu!ed fro" +ithout, !an de&elo%'0 Vladimir $.i"o& on the Dile""as of Russian *ar/is" (05roblems of the 5rogramme0!, ##-. (7mphasis added.!

po!itica!!y characteri(ed by &aci!!ation (bet een 8a trade unionism subordinated to the bourgeoisie and the 5re&o!utionary5 consciousness gi&en to it by inte!!ectua!s81). This fo!!o s inescapab!y from Aenin5s theses" and" 4ust as inescapab!y" they are not Mar#ist. ,n fact" Aenin5 position" and particu!ar!y his &ie of a re&o!utionary !ayer of inte!!ectua!s as conscious agency and as the independent e!aborator of socia!ist theory" is much c!oser to the position of the !atter day bourgeois socia! theorist 9ar! Mannheim regarding a free-f!oating inte!!igentsia.: /hat is to (e 0one1" then" abandons the point of &ie of independent pro!etarian po!itics. ,nstead" Aenin pro4ects a re&o!utionary inte!!igentsia ie!ding together the disparate e!ements composing the 8!aboring masses8 into a fighting unit to o&erthro the autocracy. %ecause the pro!etariat does not go beyond other c!asses in society" i.e." because !i'e other oppressed c!asses it mere!y becomes increasing!y 8dissatisfied ith the e#isting order8? ithout raising this dissatisfaction to !e&e! of consciousness" because in a ord it mere!y revolts< it" thus" cannot act independent!y in re!ation to other c!asses and strata" &i(." it cannot po!itica!!y organi(e itse!f to gi&e them direction and ta'e the !ead in a strugg!e against the autocracy. The re&o!utionary inte!!igentsia has" conse$uent!y" no choice but to ie!d these disparate groups together because their differing and antagonistic c!ass interests impede the formation of any a!!iance. .o!itica!!y spea'ing" this is sort of a <aco(in populism< and" strict centra!ism is the necessary organi(ationa! outcome of the popu!ist po!itics of Aenin5s professiona! re&o!utionaries" i.e." of disenfranchised" radica!i(ed and po!itica!!y organi(ed bourgeois inte!!ectua!s. Iet striped of the pseudo-Mar#ism underpinning it" and the c!ass interest moti&ating its construction" strict centra!ism as the historica!!y most !i'e!y outcome in the face of autocratic repression. This is not" ho e&er" to assert that from an emancipatory perspecti&e" Aenin5s centra!ism had no princip!ed 4ustification< or" at !east to assert such ou!d be to engage in an ahistorica! ana!ysis of party-form. The history of the practice of Mar#ian communists itse!f e#hibits the historica! precedent of conspiratoria! organi(ation. .recedent as the Aeague of 0ommunists in France" of hich Mar# and =nge!s ere members (and for hich %he Communist :anifesto as ritten as a guiding document)" 4ust prior to the outbrea' of the 16>6 re&o!utions. There ere" in fact" forma! simi!arities bet een the )s$ra organi(ation (19B?) and the Aeague of 0ommunists (16>7). Those simi!arities inc!uded (a) e#treme centra!i(ation of (b) a sma!!" tight!y 'nit i!!ega! organi(ation hose (c) predominant !eadership as made up of bourgeois inte!!ectua!s. The $uestion of a principled 4ustification is emphatica!!y not a $uestion of an abstract" ahistorica! princip!e< and" the 4ustification has to be underta'en" not from our standpoint but" from the perspecti&e of the actors in&o!&ed. The imprisonment of 3ussian socia! democrats after the 1696 po!ice s eep suggested to these re&o!utionaries that theirs had to be a serious commitment* There cou!d be no mista'es about that commitment since" in their Hacobin &ie " the &ery prospects of re&o!utionary change" of o&erthro ing the autocracy and instituting a historica!!y progressi&e regime - as e!! as their &ery !i&es - ere at sta'e. ,n this conte#t - one of a po!ice repression hich they may ha&e confronted ithout end> if they did not act carefu!!y" it as perfect!y 4ustified to as' for rigorous organi(ationa! discip!ine. 1a&ing said this" it nonethe!ess must be insisted that /hat is to (e 0one1 as a neither Mar#ist tract nor did it ha&e particu!ar re!e&ance to the or'ers5 mo&ement encompassing socia! democracy. ,t as the re&o!utionary manifesto of a bourgeois inte!!igentsia.; ,t as precise!y the re&o!utionary !ayer of this inte!!igentsia" dec!assed and radica!i(ed" to
1:ntonio 2Marl

<arlo, 0Lenin on the 5arty,0 #elos, 18, #3. /annheim, Ideology and 5to%ia, #,3. /annheim uses the term 0relatively unatta"hed middle stratum.0 30Lraft 5rogramme of the Russian (o"ial Lemo"rati" Labor 5arty0 "ited in 7ladi"ir $.i"o& on the Dile""a of Russian *ar/is", #+,. 46t "an be said from our standpoint that 0)ithout end0 means that Tsarist so"iety "ould have literally have be"ome the so"ietal frame)ork for their entire individual existen"es had they not elaborated over t)enty years an organi1ational form e8ual to the task of assisting )orkers (and peasants! destroy the auto"ra"y. 2rom the perspe"tive of so"ial demo"rats, ho)ever, this )ould have been una""eptable. :fter all, "apitalism )as doomed by the logi" of history. 3n the other hand, these same so"ial demo"rats, or at least the Russian "omponent, )ere voluntarist in the extreme. This trun"ated synthesis of determinism and voluntarism )as a bad unity, a truly undiale"ti"al "ontradi"tion. Aeedless to say, it )as lived in good faith by these "omrades. 5Lenin, son of a "ivil bureau"rat, university graduate and la)yer, strikingly exemplifies the "lass origins and formation of the revolutionary layer of bourgeois intelle"tuals in late #+th "entury Russia. The revolutionary role of disenfran"hised bourgeois and 0petty bourgeois0 intelle"tuals must be taken seriously. 6n the Russian "ase, there )as something of a "ontradi"tion bet)een the very existen"e of bourgeois intelle"tuals and an auto"rati" so"iety, even one undergoing 0moderni1ation,0 in )hi"h they lived. :fter all, the auto"ra"y, an ana"hronism belonging to the graveyard of history, made the full histori"al existen"e of the "ivili1ed bourgeois intelle"tual impossible. This intelle"tual )as +ithout ob9e!ti&ity 1%osition in so!iety2 and +ithout future in

hom Aenin addressed himse!f" for hom /hat is to (e 0one1 articu!ated and summari(ed its po!itics" and ho as se!f-conscious!y and professiona!!y re&o!utionary.1 ,D 9nuniants5 &ie s are undisguised" e&en if unconscious" cynicism. ,f 8the most effecti&e form of organi(ation8 is not in princip!e accessib!e to or'ers 8no matter ... ho re&o!utionary ... theRirS mood"8 it is because in princip!e the achie&ement of consciousness by the c!ass is prec!uded. For most of 19B;" %o!she&i' practice &is-a-&is non-party or'er organi(ations as go&erned by an undia!ectica! and Hacobin conception of c!ass-party re!ations. According!y" there cou!d be !itt!e to!erance of non-party" i.e." autonomous (e&en if ob4ecti&e!y re&o!utionary)" or'er organi(ations" for the pro!etariat has" on this &ie " neither consciousness nor anything (ut reformist organi-ation outside of 8its8 po!itica! organ" the socia!-democratic party. ,f this dogmatic perspecti&e had no re!ation to 19B; 3ussian rea!ity" then the .etersburg !eadership of the %o!she&i' faction seemed $uite ob!i&ious to such. At a committee meeting in !ate )ctober ().S.)" %ogdano&: formu!ated the fo!!o ing proposa! hich in turn as accepted by the .etersburg 0ommittee*
.ut before the So&iet" in the name of the %o!she&i' faction" the proposa! to accept immediate!y the Socia!--emocratic program and the genera! !eadership of the .arty< and if the So&iet ... decides against it" !ea&e the So&iet.?

The proposa! as put before the So&iet. ,t recei&ed !itt!e support and as re4ected. 2e&erthe!ess" %o!she&i's did not !ea&e. Thus" the danger of a pro!etariat not 8conscious enough8 to recogni(e %o!she&i' !eadership remained. +hat as to be doneN Sch ar( cites an assessment of %o!she&i' tas's by ..2. @or(de& hich appeared as an artic!e entit!ed 8Socia!--emocracy and the So&iet of +or'ers5 -eputies8 in the officia! faction ne spaper*
,f Socia!--emocracy &igorous!y supported the +or'ers5 So&iet as the e#ecuti&e organ of the pro!etarian action" it must no no !ess &igorous!y combat a!! attempts on its part to become the po!itica! !eader of the or'ing c!ass.

@or(de& continued" the party must e#tend and conso!idate its organi(ationa! inf!uence 8to the point &here these masses &hen they rush into (attle, &ill turn to our =arty Committee, &ill say, Here are our leaders, &e need no other>?> =#cited" ambitious and se!f-congratu!atory" this nonethe!ess e#pressed the pre&ai!ing mood among .etersburg committeemen at the time of its pub!ication. Such as the perspecti&e of the .etersburg !eadership" onetime )s$ra agents and no committeemen. %o!she&i's" ho e&er" ere not mono!ithic in out!oo'. Among young non-committee agitators there as resistance to the perspecti&e on non-party organi(ations articu!ated by the !eadership. These youthfu! agitators ere often $uite ne to the party" s ept up into its ran's in the tense atmosphere prior to %!oody Sunday (9 (::) Hanuary 19B;). Though !i'e!y to be inte!!ectua!s" they ere far from entrenched in the party. Moreo&er" they ere of necessity c!oser to
#sarist so!iety. 6t )as a sub?e"tively.mediated short.step from su"h disenfran"hisement to de"lassO status, to be"oming a 0professional revolutionary.D 6n this "ontext, the fun"tion of What is to be Done: )as to "larify for these intelle"tuals their role and tasks as revolutionaries. 6t is not purely arbitrary that on the #+%2 analysis the intelle"tual, ;ua 0professional revolutionary,0 ends up the 0sub?e"t0 )hose 0mission0 is universal eman"ipationH : "osmopolitan intelle"tual formation, deta"hment and leisure (if only of limited durations! suggests a potential for the elaboration of 0"ons"iousness0... The origins of a vanguardist, stri"tly "entralist organi1ation, as the instrument of the pro?e"ted leadership of professional revolutionaries in a mass revolutionary movement, renders manifest the !ontradi!tory !lass teleology of a disenfran!hised and radi!alized layer of bourgeois intelle!tuals in their role as bearers of theory ()hi"h is the impli"it legitimi1ation offered for their hegemony!H Realization of an interest in e"an!i%ation is ine/tri!ably intert+ined +ith a %ra!ti!e of do"ination' 12rom a /arxist perspe"tive, 0professional revolutionary0 is not a "lass "ategory. The very notion of 0professional0 is unmistakably bourgeois. The histori"al possibility of be"oming a 0professional0 . an individual refle"tively "hoosing to pursue and engage in a spe"iali1ed, )ell.defined field of a"tivity in the interests of 0making a living,0 self.reali1ation, a sense of personal mission, et". . is only "onstituted )ith the emergen"e of a differentiated, individuali1ed and egoisti" sub?e"tivity, vi1., against the histori"al ba"kground of and out of the development of market relations "hara"teri1ing "apitalism. The 0professional0 is geneti"ally bound up )ith fragmented, isolated individuality, a so"ial type )hi"h in parti"ular originally marked and still marks the edu"ated stratum of the bourgeoisie. 6t is a form of life generally ina""essible to anyone of proletarian origins. 2:""ording to ("h)ar1, ;.A. Mnuniants and :.:. ;ogdanov )ere the leading 5etersburg "ommitteemen at the end of #+%-. 3("h)ar1, Ibid, # #, "iting Trotsky in a letter of 2- :ugust #+2# serving as a for)ard to 3n 3ur Re&olution' 4<ited by ("h)ar1, Ibid, # '. (7mphasis in the original.! The fa"tional ne)spaper from )hi"h this remark is taken )as No&aia 6hizn'

or'ers since their day-to-day party or' brought them into continuous contact ith or'ers and their mushrooming non-party organi(ations. ,t as against the bac'ground of these differences that Aenin returned to 3ussia (St. .etersburg) in ear!y 2o&ember 19B; ().S.). +ith him" Aenin carried a short manuscript intended for pub!ication in 'ovaia 7hi-n as a !etter to the editor.1 ,n the !etter" Aenin hesitant!y attempted to undercut the basica!!y hosti!e attitude of party committeemen to ard the so&iet. 1e suggested the so&iet might be &ie ed as a c!ass ide organi(ation that inc!uded in its ran's representati&es of a!! categories and strata of or'ers" not on!y the e#p!icit!y socia!ist tendencies. The so&iet" then" ou!d" according to Aenin" be necessary because it is the re&o!utionary organ of the c!ass as a &hole hi!e the party remained on!y a part of the c!ass" name!y" its most conscious e!ement. Thus" there shou!d be no $uestion of demanding acceptance by the so&iet of the socia! democratic program< rather" he ea'!y suggested" the party must fight to participate and be represented in a!! non-party organi(ations and" inside these organi(ations" to persuade" inf!uence and in o&er others to its perspecti&e. Further" Aenin timid!y proposed that" since the so&iet as de facto e#ercising po!itica! !eadership among or'ers" it cou!d potentia!!y ser&e as the organ of insurrection and the embryo of a pro&isiona! re&o!utionary go&ernment. The imp!ications of this no&e! position ere enormous< for" if on!y imp!icit!y" here as an admission that or'ers cou!d achie&e consciousness and re&o!utionary organi(ation outside the party. ,f on!y in part" Aenin bro'e ith a pecu!iar!y 3ussian" Hacobin conception of c!ass-party re!ations (itse!f rooted inK as a response to Kautocratic repression in the period 1696-19B1) that as in GessenceE Socia! -emocratic. 2eed!ess to say" his position put him at odds ith the .etersburg !eadership* The !etter itse!f ent unpub!ished and unre&ea!ed to the membership. +hi!e c!ear!y Aenin5s &ie s met ith fierce resistance inside the .etersburg 0ommittee": the debate in %o!she&i' circ!es around the party5s re!ation to the so&iet abated and the !udicrous demands put forth during the pre&ious month and a ha!f disappeared. ,n the months fo!!o ing Aenin5s return" the party gre rapid!y. %y mid-Apri! 19B7 ().S.)" membership of the %o!she&i' faction had risen from appro#imate!y :"BBB to near!y 1>"BBB.? 2umerica!!y" %o!she&i's ere beginning to o&ercome their iso!ation< and" dra ing the !essons of the 19B; e#perience (i.e." a!tering their organi(ationa! practice and de&e!oping a certain f!e#ibi!ity)" po!itica!!y the e&idence suggests they ere a!so !ea&ing their sectarianism behind. For e#amp!e" against not on!y !ibera! criticism but that of the right- ing of socia! democracy as e!!" %o!she&i's defended the re&o!utionary pro!etarian actions of !ate 19B;" i.e." the purely proletarian demands of St. .etersburg or'ers (6-hr day" etc.) of 2o&ember and the -ecember insurrectionary action in Mosco .> ,n other ords" %o!she&i's ere i!!ing to confront the increasing!y se&ere" repressi&e conse$uences of the defeated re&o!utionary actions of 3ussian or'ers. This stand dre po!itica!!y ad&anced or'ers to them. %ecause it seemed that by ear!y Spring 19B7 ().S.) the autocracy as po!itica!!y on!y temporarily ascendant" the situation in the first ha!f of 19B7 as sti!! considered f!uid. Another pro!etarian upsurge appeared imminent< or'ers" after a!!" ere f!oc'ing into the party. ,f o&ercoming sectarian princip!es and practices had been the condition sine +uo non for organi(ationa! gro th in this conte#t" the $uestion for us remains 8 hat specifica!!y made this gro th possib!eN8 ,t is often suggested that it as the presence of Aenin" &i(." his mora! authority in the party and his po!itica! acumen" hich persuaded %o!she&i' committeemen to accept his 2o&ember perspecti&e" transcend the narro ness of their &ision of the party and its ro!e and function in re!ation to the or'ing c!ass" thus ma'ing it possib!e to attract or'ers. %ut in the account of party gro th it might ma'e more sense" because it incorporates the broader socio-po!itica! and economic conte#t into ana!ysis" to high!ight autocratic suppression" the disarray and demise of so&iets and trade unions during the ear!y months of 19B7 and the conse$uent need of or'ers to find a medium for their acti&ity.
103ur

Tasks and the (oviet of >orkersI Leputies,0 CW, <, #+.2 . (trangely, the manus"ript of this letter )as not . a""ording to LeninIs editors (Ibid, -#+ n. #! . dis"overed until #+,#, i.e., ?ust as the ,th Russian edition of LeninIs Colle!ted Wor.s )as undergoing publi"ation and ?ust as (talin . in the darkest days of >>66 . )as "asting about for means to booster the partyFs popular appeal in the light of re"ent events at the (oviet )estern front. 2This )ould not have been the first time Lenin had differen"es )ith "ommitteemen . and over substantially the same issue. (ee the 5roto"ols for the 3rd 5arty <ongress (#+%-! reprodu"ed in ("h)art1, #he Russian Re&olution of 1905, 2#'.22%. 30J;yK the end of #+%- the ;olshevik organi1ation "ounted in its ranks not less than t)o thousand people.0 V.6. Aevsky as "ited by ("h)ar1, Ibid, #3% (n. #!. The se"ond figure, #,,%%%, is "al"ulated on the basis of those provided by Lenin, Ibid, 322. 4>ith referen"e to the armed rising of ;olshevik inspired )orkers in /os"o) in Le"ember #+%- (3.(.!, 5lekanov had de"lared (in :pril #+%$ . 3.(.! that, 0it )as )rong to take up arms.0

,n either case" the ob4ecti&e!y grounded reorientation of %o!she&i's to the c!ass as sub4ecti&e!y mediated by the una&oidab!e recognition of the indispensab!e ro!e p!ayed by non-party organi(ations (especia!!y the .etersburg So&iet) in the re&o!utionary or'ers5 upsurges and by the acute sense of %o!she&i' iso!ation" gi&en this situation" from the non-party 8masses.8 %ut more to the point" both &ie s are one-sided* The interna! !ife of as democrati(ed" or'ers ere admitted to the committees and non-sectarian po!icy to ard non-party organi(ations as adopted. %ut a!! this occurred in and as shaped by the broader socia! conte#t s'etched abo&e. ,n that conte#t" Aenin did p!ay a decisi&e ro!e in the interna! organi(ationa! transformation. ,t remains for us to go beyond mere assertions concerning his 8genius8 and comprehend hy. D The strugg!e against economism aged among socia! democrats from 19B1-19B? as a strugg!e for and against a specific organi(ationa! form" strict centra!ism. This form" to be sure" as predicated on a determinate conception of c!ass-party re!ations and" e$ua!!y important though far from manifest" on a &ision of ho the upcoming re&o!ution ou!d unfo!d. +ith a &ie to Aenin5s decisi&e ro!e in the interna! transformation of 19B7" ho e&er" the crucia! consideration is organi(ationa! form. The e#perience of the mass arrests of the !ate 169Bs" a period during hich Aenin himse!f had been e#i!ed" con&inced a number of !eading socia! democratic inte!!ectua!s of the necessity of a tight!y-'nit" conspiratoria! form of organi(ation bui!t upon the strictest centra!ism. Aenin more than anyone e!se both articu!ated this con&iction and out!ined that form in his ritings of the period.1 ,n /hat is to (e 0one1, Aenin ne&er earied of repeating that an organi(ation based on centra!ism and secrecy as essentia! if !eadership continuity and organi(ationa! stabi!ity ere to be maintained under conditions of i!!ega!ity imposed by the autocracy.: This organi(ation" hose ideo!ogica! perspecti&e as to be de&e!oped in an a!!-3ussian ne spaper ()s$ra." as to consist of a sma!! number of the most de&oted and discip!ined and untiring" in a ord" 8professiona!"8 re&o!utionaries he!d together by an uns er&ing commitment to the po!itica! !ine of )s$ra and un$uestioning obedience to the directi&es of the center. .rofessiona! re&o!utionaries ere u!timate!y to function as 8a staff of !eaders and organi(ers8 directing 8the disunited masses of the discontented" the protesting" and the dispossessed.8? %ut the immediate tas' of bui!ding an organi(ation had to" according to Aenin" come first* .rofessiona! re&o!utionaries ere to act as a net or' of agents inside 3ussia< to set up a system for the distribution of )s$ra< and thus to ma'e contacts among a!ready e#isting committees and" in the process" propagate )s$ra@s !ine" in o&er a!ready e#isting committees" and set up ne committees. The practice of Aenin5s net or' of agents as designed to f!esh out the idea of an a!!-3ussian organi(ation. +ith the conso!idation of the )s$ra organi(ation in !ate 19B:" the pre-party formation began to ta'e shape. At its summit stood the !eading bodies" the )s$ra editoria! board and the )rgani(ing 0ommittee. The former" made up of Aenin and Marto& and .otreso&" formu!ated the ideo!ogica! perspecti&e of the organi(ation< the !atter" succeeded after the 19B? 0ongress by a centra! committee" ga&e direction to and maintained contro! o&er the practica!" dai!y or' of the committees. The committees themse!&es ere headed by professiona! re&o!utionaries ho appropriate!y enough ere ca!!ed 8committeemen.8
1(ee

0>here to ;egin,0 CW, 7, #'.2,* What is to be Done:, Ibid, 3,+.-2+* and, 0Letter to a <omrade on 3ur 3rgani1ational Tasks,0 CW, 7I, 23-.-2. 2CW 1What is to be Done:2, 7, ,-2.,-3, ,-+.,$%, ,'-, ,' .,'+, , %* and esp., ,',, ,'$. 3CW (0>here to ;eginN!, 7, #+. To a"hieve this the party, as originally a mere "olle"tion of disenfran"hised intelle"tuals, must re.so"iali1ed, literally re.forming itself. This o""urs in t)o )aysH 2irst, the exe"ution of routine daily tasks ()hether "on"eption is "olle"tively self.given or elaborated solely by the 0leadership0! "onstitutes a "ertain 0administrative0 training, the development of a "apa"ity to deal )ith, manipulate and dispose of men and things. (e"ond, the elaboration and internali1ation of a "riti8ue of established so"iety, internal debate and politi"al argumentation (and )ith the ex"eption of de.politi"i1ed, bureau"rati" organi1ations, this goes on in party forms 0demo"rati"ally0 or 0stri"tly0 "entralist! form a pra"ti"e of 0leadership0 "ultivation. 6t is the vie) of this author, not one simply arrived at "ategori"ally but experientially grounded as )ell, the so"ial fun"tion of the party.form is to prepare its member for rule.

,nterna!!y a committee consisted of numerous" committee-instituted subcommittees or subgroups. These inc!uded" for e#amp!e" a printing group" a distribution 8machine8 (i.e." a net or' of indi&idua!s engaged so!e!y in the distribution of )s$ra)" sma!! propagandistic and agitationa! and student groups" a fund raising group and" here or'ers ere at a!! in&o!&ed" factory circ!es. =ach subcommittee as organi(ed around the tas' it performed and as responsib!e to a committeeman or the committee as a ho!e. Subcommittees did not o&er!ap" either in membership or tas's" and any contact among them (e.g." a propagandist spea'ing to a group of students) as a product of the initiati&e of the committee. =ach member of a subcommittee as assigned the further tas' of gi&ing a detai!ed account of his or' to the committee" hich in turn as responsib!e for co!!ection" e&a!uation" and passing on this information to the center.1 Thus" the su(committees &ere speciali-ed, their &or$ functionally determined, and their interaction e6ternally mediated (y the ne6t level up in the organi-ational hierarchy. Simi!ar!y" the or' of committees as carefu!!y super&ised" e&a!uated and directed by the )rgani(ing 0ommittee. Aenin e#p!ained*
For the centre not on!y to ad&ise" persuade" and argue (as has been the case hitherto)" but rea!!y conduct the orchestra" it is necessary to 'no e#act!y ho is p!aying hich fidd!e" and here and ho < here and ho instruction has been or is being recei&ed in p!aying each instrument< ho is p!aying out of tune K and here and hy< and ho shou!d be transferred and ho and here to" so that the discord can be remedied.:

,f the organi(ation as to function at a!! amid fragmentation of subcommittee tas's" it as necessary for there to be corre!ati&e to the !ines of authority" decision-ma'ing and direction f!o ing top do n ard - a f!o of information from the bottom up ard. Again" according to Aenin"
hi!e the greatest possi(le centrali-ation is necessary ith regard to the ideo!ogica! and practica! !eadership ..." the greatest possi(le decentrali-ation is necessary ith regard to 'eeping the .arty centre ... informed about the mo&ement.?

%he pro;ected )s$ra organi-ation &as, then, (uilt up on the (asis of a detailed division of la(or, and a multiplicity of partial, fragmented tas$s and functions carried out (y the lo&er (odies* Organi-ationally, the partial#tas$s generated function of the center &as to re#unify at the top the fragmented $no&ledge constituted piecemeal at the (ase, and on this (asis to give all#sided" i.e." organi(ationa!" po!itica!" ideo!ogica!" practica! and day-to-day" direction to the rest of the organi-ation* Aeadership of the pro;ected and real organi-ational functioned in a manner structurally identical to the very top layer of management in a contemporary capitalist firm* For ma'e no mista'e about it" the model for this form of organi-ation, one anticipated (y Aenin, is the modern capitalist firm &hose &or$#processes have (een reorgani-ed and rationali-ed on the (asis of principles of scientific management* D, ,n his preface to a co!!ection of a series of ear!y essays entit!ed 8T e!&e Iears"8 Aenin ref!ecti&e!y unco&ered and confronted the ob4ecti&e meaning of recent historica! e&ents. 3e&ie ing organi(ationa! theory - and in this conte#t fu!!y a are of the changing interna! !ife of the party (i.e." the inf!u# of committed or'ers and the e#it of nonprofessiona!!y re&o!utionary inte!!ectua!s)" Aenin historica!!y situated his 19B: pamph!et" thereby re!ati&i(ing the c!aims made in theses discussed abo&e.> 8The basic mista'e made by those ho no critici(e /hat is to (e 0one1 is to treat the pamph!et apart from its connection ith the concrete historica! situation of a definite" and no !ong past" period in the de&e!opment of our .arty.8 Any effort to read /hat is to (e 0one1 as a statement of princip!es of party organi(ation as a priori and uni&ersa!!y &a!id is to be foregone. 8/hat is to (e 0one1 is a summary of )s$ra tactics and )s$ra organi(ationa! po!icy of 19B1 and 19B:. .recise!y a 4summary4" no more and no !ess.8; 2onethe!ess"
1LeninIs

)ritings on a pro?e"ted form of pre.party organi1ation should not be "onfused )ith a des"ription of the a"tual internal stru"ture of the Is.ra organi1ation (and post.#+%3 party!. Lenin does, ho)ever, formulate the prin"iples on )hi"h the party )as originally built, even if pro?e"ted and a"tual forms did not "oin"ide. The extent to )hi"h 0life0 )as at varian"e )ith the theoristIs intentions "an be gauged from LeninIs letters of this period. (ee CW, <<<I7' 2CW, 7I (0Letter to a <omrade0!, 2-%. 3Ibid, 2, . (7mphasis in the original.! 4(ee se"tion 666, above. 50T)elve Pears,0 CW, <III, #%#.#%2. (7mphasis in the original.!

because Aenin in particu!ar (precise!y because of his stature in the party) ne&er thought it important enough to de&e!op" at !east forma!!y" an a!ternati&e" historica! theory of party organi(ation !in'ing the structure of the !atter to period-determined changing tas's (and integrating these tas's into an o&era!! perspecti&e on the meaning and purpose of re&o!utionary acti&ity)" the c!ass te!eo!ogy of a re&o!utionary inte!!igentsia ent uncha!!enged and remained !atent!y embedded in changing %o!she&i' organi(ation forms. %y ear!y Spring 19B7" the %o!she&i' faction number :>"BBB*1 ,so!ation from non-party &anguards had been !arge!y o&ercome" sectarianism !eft behind and the rea! possibi!ity of bui!ding a mass party for the first time seeming!y opened up.: ,n an ob4ecti&e conte#t in hich ad&anced or'ers f!oc'ed into the 3S-A." %o!she&i's had undergone dramatic interna! reorgani(ation. Aenin had p!ayed a decisi&e ro!e in this transformation. +ithout his inter&ention the %o!she&i's ou!d ha&e been sha'en by an interna! crisis from hich they !i'e!y ou!d not ha&e reco&ered. %ut Aenin5s greatness" deri&ing from the mora! authority accruing to him as founder of the faction and its uncha!!enged po!itica! !eader" as rooted in the origina! form and structure of %o!she&i' organi(ation. A so thorough!y rationa!i(ed organi(ation demanded a Aenin to o&ercome its fragmentary functioning and to initiate interna! reorgani(ation. +ithout such an organi(ation Aenin may e!! ha&e been another obscure historica! figure" the sub4ect of anti$uarian historiography.

1The

figure of 2,,%%% is "al"ulated on the basis of those given by <harles ;ettelheim, Class Struggles in the 5SSR, #2#, and LeninIs editors, CW, <II, --2 (n. # 2!. 2See"ingly' The balan"e of "lass for"es had shifted, the most advan"ed )orkers )ere isolated from the tired and demorali1ed proletarian and semi.proletarian 0masses,0 rea"tion had be"ome "ounterrevolution. The proper histori"al analogy )as # -2, not # , . ;ut from the ;olshevik standpoint, vi1., that of the overthro) of the auto"ra"y, this illusion )as still ob?e"tively ne"essary. /ensheviks, on the other hand, )ere )illing to a""ept the Tsarist "ari"ature of parliamentary demo"ra"y (i.e., the Luma!, be"ause bourgeois demo"ra"y )as for them from the beginning the ne"essary out"ome of the revolution. 3n this 0fertile soil,0 they )ere also )illing to li8uidate the underground organi1ation in an attempt to build a mass labor party. They did not share the illusion. >ith the e"onomi" upturn beginning in #+#%, and the evidently gro)ing "onfiden"e of )orkers expressed in and "onstituted through the massive strike )ave of #+## through #+#3, the ;olsheviks )ould have built on the eve of the imperialist )orld )ar that mass revolutionary )orkersI party. (ee Leopold Baimson, 0The 5roblem of (o"ial (tability in 9rban Russia.0 Sla&i! Re&ie+, ,-, passim.

Part II Factory (ommittees in the )ussian )evolution, 191* Among indi&idua!s ho form today5s emancipatory !eft the &ision of a socia!ism constituted from the bottom up" a 8socia!ism from be!o 8 ta'ing as its point of departure or'ers5 po er at the point of production and in the community" forms a common heritage. That a or'ers5 se!f-management pro4ect in this tota! sense as hard!y a part of the %o!she&i' conception of socia!ism cannot" ho e&er" be doubted.1 +ith the partia! e#ception of the !eft communists (1916)" %o!she&i's understood this pro!etarian pro4ect in a narro sense of 8 or'ers5 contro!"8 that is" as a transitory phenomenon !imited to the &ery initia! phase of the socia!ist transition from capita!ism to communist society. ,n the 3ussian conte#t" or'ers5 contro! as rooted in a doub!e necessity" in ha!ting the ar- rought destruction surrounding the unfo!ding re&o!ution on a!! sides and in smashing the bourgeois State (i.e." in the destruction of o!d socio-po!itica!" specifica!!y State" forms). %y fa!! 1917" or'ers and %o!she&i's a!i'e had come to &ie the factory committee mo&ement as the agency embodying reso!ution of both tas's. Factory committees" in fact" constituted the most organi(ed" po erfu! force in 3ussia at the moment of %o!she&i' ascendancy. , The ar had contradictory effects on 3ussian industry.: As in other be!!igerent nations" at the outset production as great!y stimu!ated" but foreign trade as a!so disrupted. The dependency of 3ussian industry on foreign sources for ra materia!s soon became apparent. ,t as not !ong before fue! and ra materia! shortages become acute. The inabi!ity to rene ro!!ing stoc' !eft the rai! ays in disrepair !eading to the disorgani(ation of the transport system. .rices s'yroc'eted and artime profits soared. Shortages had made a!!-too-&isib!e a characteristic feature of capita!ist industry" hat Mar# ca!!ed the 8anarchy of production"8 that is" the uncoordinated nature of re!ations bet een &arious sectors of the nationa! economy. A year after the outbrea' of the ar" State inter&ention in se&era! 'ey industries had been underta'en. %et een !ate 191; and ear!y 1917" numerous specia! bodies and agencies ere instituted in order to regu!ate prices and contro! supp!y and distribution as e!! as production in the ma4or branches of the nationa! economy. The most important of these ere the Specia! 0ounci!s of -efense and Fue! Supp!y hich ere directed out of the offices of the autocracy5s ci&i! bureaucracy. The former" the 0ounci! of -efense" regu!ated the meta!!urgica! industry" hi!e the !atter contro!!ed the distribution of coa! and petro!eum. State-contro!!ed" ad hoc committees ere set up to regu!ate industries such as !eather and te#ti!es. /nofficia! bodies contro!!ed !arge!y by !ibera!s housed in the 9adet party" the ar industries committees" ere a!so temporari!y estab!ished origina!!y in ordnance p!ants to coordinate nationa! production for the ar effort and to contro! the distribution of scare" s'i!!ed !abor. ,t is important to rea!i(e that for a!! the State inter&ention" there ere &ery fe cases of actua! nationa!i(ation. The ro!e of the specia! bodies remained chief!y administrati&e" and ineffectua!. /nofficia! bodies" funded nonethe!ess a!most e#c!usi&e!y from State coffers" ere far more effecti&e (and" in the case of the manufacture of munitions" ar industries committees ere far more producti&e). Iet" it is e$ua!!y important to recogni(e in both cases" it &as precisely various strata of the Russian (ourgeoisie &ho filled and manned these administrative posts through &hich the production and distri(ution &ere overseen. For e#amp!e" it as o ners" !ibera! and chau&inistic" of the sma!!er and medium si(ed p!ants ho" un!i'e !arger emp!oyers" suffered as a resu!t of the ear!y disorgani(ation of mar'ets conse$uent upon the ar and ho" responding 8in the interests of the nation"8 set up the ar industries committees as a means of increasing producti&ity" coordinating the output of different enterprises ithin the same branch of production and co-opting !eading" s'i!!ed or'ers.? (2onethe!ess" by !ate 1917" these committees ere dominated by @uch'o& and the 9adet party" i.e." by !arge industria!ists.) The point to be made hereN ,n a process simi!ar to and te!escoping the t o centuries it too'" e.g." =ng!ish and French" bourgeoisies to gain contro! o&er the mercanti!e and proto-capita!ist transitiona! 8economies8 of !ate feuda! =urope" the Russian (ourgeoisie had (y the moment of the 3e(ruary revolution come to master the productive life of Russian society &ithout, ho&ever, e6ercising political po&er* Though on!y in part" the economic ascendancy of the bourgeoisie accounts for the e#traordinari!y rapid
1<hris 22or

=oodey, 02a"tory <ommittees in the Russian Revolution,0 2'* and 7.B. <arr, #he =olshe&i. Re&olution, II, $3.$$, ',. )hat follo)s, see (.3. 4agorsky, State Control of Industry in Russia During the War. 3Ibid, #%3.#%,.

disso!ution of Tsarism fo!!o ing the e!ementa! and spontaneous e#p!osion of the &or$er#masses (itse!f the primari!y cause) in February 1917. The autocracy had !ong since begun to crumb!e from ithin. ,t fe!!" as Trots'y5s neat!y e#pressed it 8by sha'ing" !i'e rotten fruit.81 The period bet een February and )ctober 1917" then" must be grasped as a strugg!e bet een the t o contending c!asses capab!e of reorgani(ing the socia! tota!ity" each attempting" and in so doing becoming more or !ess conscious of this effort" to achie&e this reorgani(ation through the reconstitution of State !ife. The bourgeoisie" se!f-organi(ed po!itica!!y as 9adets and !ater acting through and ith re&o!utionary democrats (rights S3s and Menshe&i's)" fai!ed in its efforts. This fai!ure to create a stab!e State !ife" rooted in the inabi!ity to pacify the popu!ar c!asses (by reso!&ing prob!ems of food scarcity" materia! shortage" !and distribution" and by ending the ar)" can be attributed as much to the strength of the factory committee mo&ement as the cunning of the %o!she&i' &anguard organi(ed and acting as a party in e#p!oiting bourgeoisie5s aborted efforts at pacification. The fai!ure to stabi!i(e State !ife ob&ious!y did not ta'e p!ace a!! at once. February as not )ctober. There ere near!y nine inter&ening months and three pro&isiona! go&ernments through hich emp!oyers ie!ded an unstab!e po!itica! po er. %ut after February" the administrati&e contro! e#ercised by the bourgeoisie during pre&ious ar years o&er the ma4or branches of industria! production do&etai!ed ith its po!itica! ascendancy. 0onse$uent!y" pro!etarian acti&ity hich sought to e#tend its contro! o&er production" acti&ity necessitated by the industria! disorgani(ation rought by continuation of the ar" as simu!taneous!y mo&ement against the ne " unde&e!oped bourgeois State. This co!!ision course raised the $uestion of the or'ing c!ass a!ternati&e. %ut the possibi!ities for the construction of a pro!etarian order shou!d not be sought after in the unfo!ding and de&e!opment of the so&iet system< rather" tendentia!!y" it shou!d be !oo'ed for in the factory committee mo&ement. 3or, unli$e other classes in history, it is not from a(ove and over (ut only from &ithin and out of the production processes that &or$ers as a class can, if they can, rise to a hegemonic position in society*: ,, This perspecti&e on the po!itica! mediation of the ne order arising from pro!etarian practice is not fu!!y consonant ith Mar#ian theory" since for the !atter there are t o conf!icting strands of thought concerning the relation of a revolutionary proletariat to an e6isting State* The first" go&erning the conception of the transition to communist society de&e!oped in %he Communist :anifesto" ho!ds the pro!etariat can con$uer State po er" and use the !e&erage it achie&es in so doing to ma'e 8despotic inroads on the rights of property ... and on the conditions of bourgeois production.8? )n this &ie " the e#isting State is concei&ed instrumentally as an oppressi&e organ of bourgeois ru!e. ,t is to be ta'en o&er 8ready-made8 to the e#act e#tent the pro!etariat carries out measures imp!icit in the &ery dynamics of capita!ist de&e!opment" measures hose
1Leon

Trotsky, History of the Russian Re&olution, I, +. Trotsky (Ibid, $-.#% ! gives an unsurpassed des"ription of aspe"ts of this pro"ess of auto"rati" ruling "lass de"ay. 26t is "ru"ial to understand, and to understand )hy, )e speak of the fa"tory "ommittee movement and not the nas"ent soviet systemH 9nlike the 5etersburg (oviet of #+%-, )hi"h is a model of the type of proletarian organ alluded to here, the 5etrograd (oviet of #+#' )as "onstituted from outside the )orkpla"es and from the top do)n by the non.)orker 0leaders0 (right /ensheviks and (o"ialist Revolutionaries! of the first months of the revolution. These leaders la"ked any dire"t relation to the ongoing struggle or to the real )orker leaders of the 2ebruary revolution )ho, a""ording to Trotsky (Ibid, I, 2##!, at the time of this revolution )ere still in the streets. 5rovin"ial "ity soviets and rural soviets on"e formed follo)ed 5etrograd, de fa!to besto)ing a (tate signifi"an"e on the deliberations of the later. : month after the overthro) (2+ /ar"h #+#', 3.(.!, the first all.Russian "onferen"e of soviets institutionali1ed the position of 2ebruaryIs leaders by setting up an all.Russian exe"utive "ommittee )hi"h these same men dominated. :t the same time, it should be noted there is no ?ustifi"ation in assimilating the soviet system as a +hole to "ity)ide and rural regional soviet bodies. >ithin 5etrograd, for instan"e, more than a do1en distri!t and subdistri"t soviets "overed 5etrograd and its immediate surrounding. #hese soviets )ere never dominated by radi"al bourgeois intelle"tuals and the politi"al parties. 9nlike the 5etrograd (oviet and its "ounterparts else)here, moreover, they )ere "on"erned )ith those issues (food supply, labor disputes, so"ial )elfare, et".!. >hen distri"t soviets dealt )ith national 8uestions su"h as the 5rovisional =overnment attempt to disarm )orkers or reimposition of the death penalty at the front, they harbored a strong suspi"ion of the larger (oviet, and the bourgeois =overnment it by and large supported. /embership and leadership )as mu"h more "onsistently proletarian, and, as the above suggests, the distri"t soviets )ere, a""ordingly, mu"h more in tou"h )ith and attuned to moods and mood shifts of the popular masses. (ee :lexander Rabino)it"h, #he =olshe&i.s Co"e to (o+er, '-. 2. (tarting )ith lo)er level soviets, a "ase "ould "learly be made for "onstru"tion of a proletarian order on the basis of a soviet system. 3/arx and 7ngels, #he Co""unist *anifesto, +3.

aim is centra!i(ation of the means of production in the hands of or'ers organi(ed for ru!e.1 This &ie of the transition does not assign a centra! ro!e to c!ass ide or'ing c!ass organi(ations< effecting a centra!i(ation from be!o is foreign to it. ,t is" though consistent ith representational &ie s of pro!etarian re&o!utionary organi(ation* For to ta'e o&er a preconstituted (modern" if not bourgeois) State form re$uires a narro type of po!itica! organi(ation" a party" that can act on (ehalf of the c!ass as a ho!e on the terrain of that e6isting State !ife. Assumed here" then" is a separation of the State from ci&i! society": an opposition and independence of the former from the !atter< the achie&ements of a socia!ist transition are assumed to be products of this centra!i(ation from abo&e. 1ere" the pro!etariat 8organi(ed as a ru!ing c!ass8 is organi(ed into a re&o!utionary po!itica! party.? The second strand of thought is distincti&e!y anti-Statist. 3ef!ecting on the e#perience of the .aris 0ommune"> and thereby basing himse!f on the rea! historica! e#perience of the pro!etariat - generating a theoretica!!y mediated account superior to the e#perientia!!y ungrounded dia!ectic of concepts that formed the reconstruction of the :anifesto" Mar# s'etched the de&e!opment of the modern" bourgeois State. The modern" specifica!!y national-State de&e!oped out of the strugg!e of the midd!e c!asses against feuda!ism" against the seignioria! pri&i!eges of rura! !ords" to ns" corporations" c!ergy" etc." against a!! !oca! pro&incia!isms" regiona!isms and against" in a ord" a locali-ed independence. Thus" it has come to be essentia!!y characteri(ed by its unprecedented degree of centra!i(ation< and" at the same time" by the ob4ectification and a!ienation of e&ery specific interest created in and through the re!ations of socia! c!asses and by the e#pansion of its s ay and the creation of its agencies that ho!d s ay" that is" by its ob4ecti&e!y i!!usory independence from ci&i! society.; This sham independence is based on the &ery rea! e#istence and oppressi&e character of the essentia! moments of the State" name!y" its standing army" po!ice and 4udiciary" and its stratum of functionaries and bureaucrats. The !atter" in particu!ar" seeming!y constitute a separate caste pursuing their o n interests. The 8mysteriRousS" transcendent functions8 of this stratum as e!! as the 8 ho!e sham of state mysteries and state pretensions8 are" ho e&er" a mystification rooted in its a!ien ob4ecti&ity. Standing o&er and against" in opposition to and 8ma!ignant!y feeding8 upon society - thus" concei&ed on a bio!ogica! mode! of a parasitic form (a mode! that need not be interpreted scientistica!!y)" the State remains a historica!!y constituted" high!y centra!i(ed institution of bourgeois ru!e. ,t" i.e." the army" po!ice and 4udiciary" bureaucracy" etc." cannot be ta'en o&er 8ready-made"8 but must" according to Mar#" be 8smashed8 and rep!aced by a po!itica! form made up of organs such as a mi!itia" popu!ar tribuna!s" an immediate!y and popu!ar!y reca!!ab!e" unitary !egis!ature-e#ecuti&e" and hich" because or'ing c!ass energies ha&e reabsorbed these i!!usori!y independent functions" once constituted remains embedded in the &ery fabric of society. )n!y c!ass ide" or'ing c!ass po!itica! organi(ations ha&e the authority and strength to create a po!itica! mediation of this sort. The %o!she&i' party" en4oying enormous popu!ar support (by )ctober" ).S.)" but nonethe!ess functioning representationa!!y" as not this type of organi(ation.7 The $uestion" though" concerns hether factory committees ere and" more specifica!!y" if so" their character as such. ,,,RaS There is substantia! e&idence suggesting" at !east in Mosco and .etrograd" enormous price rises from summer 1917 into the first months of 1917 had more than iped age increases or'ers had on during the first t o ar
1Ibid' 2<ivil

so"iety is taken here in the /arxian, and not the Begelian, sense. That is, 0so"iety0 is "omprehended "aterialisti!ally as the )orld of daily a"tivities . )ork, edu"ation, love, et". . and the institutions embra"ing, shaped by and shaping these a"tivities . )age.labor, s"hool, family, et". . )ith prima"y a""orded )age.labor. 2or Begel, "ivil so"iety is understood as the 0system of needs,0 a mere, intrinsi"ally defi"ient moment of the "onstitutionally monar"hi"al (tate. There is no opposition of so"iety to the (tate* rather, the latter 0subsumes0 the former. BegelIs position, ho)ever, makes sense only on the assumptions of absolute idealism, >eist, as absolutes be+u?t, returning to itself through die *itte der 6eit 1>es!hi!hte2 . itself a measure, nothing else, of >eistes =e+egung' 6t is only on this presupposition that the politi"al (tate, the most perfe"t embodiment of >eist (at the histori"al moment of BegelIs des"ription!, 0subsumes0 so"iety. 3Ibid, '3, +3. 4Marl /arx, #he Ci&il War in @ran!e' 5Ibid, $ .$+, #,+.#-,. 6>e have attempted to des"ribe the relation of representational vie)s both to ;olshevism and Russian history. (ee the referen"e Bistori"al Aote 2, belo).

years (191>-191;).1 The February re&o!ution" during and immediate!y after hich factory committees sprang up" had set !oose a f!ood of economic stri'es through hich or'ers sought to ma'e up for those !osses of rea! ages.: Factory committees" as might be e#pected" ere origina!!y formed as stri'e committees or" !ess fre$uent!y" as a response to a situation in hich managers had f!ed p!ants during the re&o!ution. ? They first appeared in .etrograd in the !arge State-o ned ordnance p!ants among the high!y s'i!!ed" munitions or'ers. The mo&ement gre rapid!y in and through the stri'e a&e spreading from the capita! first to the other !arge urban centers and then into the sma!! centers in the pro&inces" from the !arge to the medium si(ed enterprises. Through the first si# months of their e#istence the committees focused primari!y on the demand that emp!oyers recogni(e them as or'ers5 bargaining agents" and on age increases and or'ing conditions-re!ated demands.> Factory committees appeared sui generis< nonethe!ess" they ere characteristica!!y re!ated to an entire tradition of 3ussian or'ers5 organi(ations created from be!o by or'ers themse!&es (e.g." the post-%!oody Sunday @aponist associations" trade unions" and so&iets a!! of 19B;). This tradition as defined" negati&e!y" in that none of these or'ers organi(ations as narro !y based in the manner of crafts< instead" they ere factory- ide and p!ant- ide ith de!egates e!ected by a!! or'ers in a gi&en enterprise.; %ecause factory committees origina!!y functioned primari!y as company- ide trade unions" a or'ers5 contro! pro4ect as at best imp!icit in the mo&ement at its beginning. 0ertain!y this pro4ect as not initia!!y genera!i(ed and it ou!d simp!y be too much to read into the nascent mo&ement a cha!!enge to capita!ist producti&e re!ations. This much can be ac'no !edged* Among pro!etarian organi(ations" the factory committees ere c!osest to - yet hard!y identica! ith - the aspirations of the or'ing c!ass as a ho!e. The significance of these committees" ho e&er" !ay in this. Among a thin stratum of or'ers" predominate!y fitters" turners and e!ectricians - the high!y s'i!!ed and specia!i(ed or'ers in the !arge State-o ned munitions p!ants here factory committees first emerged" the practice of or'ers5 contro! as de&e!oped. (The same or'ers had dominated the ar industries committees" and often out of great 3ussian chau&inist moti&es.) These or'ers had a specia! interest in running production themse!&es. That interestN First" a !ong period of apprenticeship and training (up to 7 years) enab!ed high!y s'i!!ed or'ers to ac$uire the s'i!! and re$uisite 'no !edge to master a soon-to-be obso!ete production process" to !itera!!y raise themse!&es to an understanding of production as a ho!e. Second" the e#perientia!!y grounded re!ation of these or'ers to their instruments of production as something !ess than a!ienating* Scientific reorgani(ation of !abor processes" Tay!orism" and ith it the des'i!!ing of the entire or'ing c!ass of the +est and the ho!esa!e transfer of that re$uisite 'no !edge to a ne category of managers" though c!ose at hand as not yet a part of the past. Thus" s'i!!ed or'ers" se!f-conscious!y producers" had an interest in or'ers5 contro! because they thought they cou!d run production better than the bosses.7 Third" recomposition of the 3ussian pro!etariat in the !ong run fata!!y effected the position of s'i!!ed or'ers. The hea&y demands artime production p!aced on 3ussian industry brought about much of this recomposition" a phenomenon hich as e#perienced as 8di!ution8 - one hich the s'i!!ed or'er 'ne &ery e!!. Iet this recomposition a!so had roots in a or!d ide economic upturn hich began in 3ussian in 191B and hich created a !abor shortage in the !arge industria! centers that in turn had moti&ated" especia!!y during the ar years" emp!oyers to find more effecti&e (mass) production techni$ues.
1(ee

;en?amin >ard, 0>ild (o"ialism 6n Russia,0 #2 , #,3* 5hilip /. 5ri"e, *y Re"inis!en!es of the Russian Re&olution, #3%.3#* and @ohn Reed, #en Days that Shoo. the World, 2'2.'3. J7x"ellent a""ounts of the origins of pri"e inflation, famine in the large urban areas, the Cs"issors "risisD (TrotskyFs #+23 term referring to the "ontradi"tion bet)een high industrial pri"es and the ex"essively lo) pri"es of agri"ultural produ"ts, espe"ially grains, taken together )ith s"ar"e "hara"ter of these overpri"ed manufa"tured produ"ts . a situation other)ise kno)n as the 0goods famine,0 and, in the imperialist )orld )ar "ontext, the a""ordingly nearly )orthless value of paper money paid peasants at fixed pri"es for grains!, and the utter, in!o"%rehensible no&elty of pri"e inflation to both )orkers and peasants, "an be found in (ol1henitsyn, No&e"ber 191A, ,#3.,#,, '$$.''2, '%, +,-. Aote appended :pril 2%%2.K 2>ard, 06bid,0 #3$. 34agorsky, Ibid, #',. 4>ard, 06bid,0 #3'. 506bid.0 67mile Vandevelde, #hree $s%e!ts of the Russian Re&olution, -'* =oodey, 06bid,0 3%.

%et een Hanuary 191B and Hu!y 191>" some 7BB"BBB ne or'ers found their ay into 3ussian industry.1 These or'ers primari!y consisted of peasants from the countryside" but a!so inc!uded urban youths dra n from the no hereditary pro!etariat.: After the start of the ar in August 191>" the pace of gro th of the urban or'ing c!ass s!o ed dramatica!!y" dropping from ?BC rise during the years 191B-191>. This sma!!er" second a&e as made up of omen and minors of primari!y urban origins. (Men ere drafted" some 1; mi!!ion by Autumn 1917.) Ta'ing both a&es together and gi&en the strains the ar as p!acing on the 3ussian economy" the enormous numbers of ne pro!etarians !egitimate!y constituted a 8ne or'ing c!ass8 hich formed the socia! basis for the introduction of mass production. The impact of c!ass recomposition during the ar as e!! as the ne mass production techno!ogy as fe!t most forcefu!!y in the .etrograd meta! or'ing industries. Ma'ing up near!y 7BC of the capita!5s or'force - one $uarter of hich as emp!oyed in the Arti!!ery and 2a&y -epartments" the meta! or'ing pro!etariat of the city gre 1?>C.? The 8ne or'ers8 poured into the meta! or'ing industries" especia!!y munitions production and shipbui!ding. For meta! or'ers" especia!!y those in the State-o ned munitions p!ants of .etrograd" the !i&ed rea!ity that these figures refer bac' to as 'no n as 8di!ution.8 For them" it as a sub4ecti&e!y mediated short step from the e#perience of di!ution to becoming a member of the %o!she&i' party.> 3etrospecti&e!y" it is c!ear the introduction of mass production techno!ogy and" conse$uent!y" the reorgani(ation of the !abor processes that fo!!o ed" meant s'i!!ed or'ers ou!d disappear as a stratum of the c!ass. =ither they ere to be pushed out at the top to become trainers of the ne pro!etariat or they ou!d sin' into the army of the &or$er# masses. The or'ers5 contro! pro4ect constituted the a!ternati&e" &i(." reorgani(ed production that s'i!!ed or'ers themse!&es ou!d direct" first" through the factory committees they dominated and !ater from the summits of the ne so&iet State. %ut the practice of or'ers5 contro! itse!f actua!!y emerged on!y after s'i!!ed or'ers ere de facto confronted ith the tas's of running production" i.e." after those bosses ho did f!ee actua!!y f!ed the p!ants fo!!o ing the February re&o!ution* Thus" the moti&ation for getting production going again as the undesirabi!ity of the immediate a!ternati&e" name!y" unemp!oyab!e and !oss of draft e#emption.; ,,,RbS7 Ta'e up the $uestion of moti&ation in a broader conte#t. Actua! practice e#pressing the commitment of s'i!!ed or'ers to running production themse!&es e#tended bac' to the formation of ar industries committees during the second year of the or!d ar (191;). The committees 4oint!y functioned" a!ong the !ines of hat has since been ca!!ed 8mi#ed commissionsE (Spain" circa 19:;-19?;) and Gparticipation schemesE (%ritain since the end of the !ast imperia!ist or!d ar)" ith representati&es from both s'i!!ed or'ers and o ner representati&es ma'ing up indi&idua! committees. According to So!(henitsyn" ar industria! committees ere responsib!e for the production of munitions" especia!!y arti!!ery pieces and she!!s" in privately o ned firms in opposition to State-o ned p!ants.7 ,n this respect" the committeesF significance !ay in the fact that pri&ate!y o ned p!ants ere ab!e to produce munitions in $ua!itati&e!y greater numbers than State-o ned ones. This producti&e e#cess can be direct!y attributed to or'er in&o!&ement in the committee management of production. (,t might be noted that the prices charged to the State for these armaments ere a!so far in e#cess of those produced by State-o ned p!ants. Those prices ere one" though not the most important" source of inf!ation).6
1Leopold

Baimson, 0The 5roblem of (o"ial (tability in 9rban Russia,0 Sla&i! Re&ie+, ,-4 $3-. $3$* =oodey, 06bid,0 3#,,3. 3Baimson, 06bid,0 ,B4 #'.# , n. -3. 4:ll the largest plants in 5etrograd had both a signifi"ant metal)orkersI presen"e and )ere in one )ay or another dire"tly involved in produ"tion for the )ar effort. Thus, for example, 7ri"ksonIs, a telephone and ele"tri"al plant, made "ommuni"ations devi"es for the army and navy* Aoryi LessnerIs, engaged in ma"hine produ"tion for basi" means of produ"tion, made engines (ships, lo"omotives!* the Reno auto fa"tory produ"ed tru"ks and ?eep type vehi"les for the army* and, (estroretskIs, a )eapon manufa"turer (rifles, ammunition. et"Q!. The plants are noted by Rabino)it"h, #he =olshe&i.s Co"e to (o+er, $, #,2. 5Baimson, 06bid,0 2'. 6The bulk of the materials in this se"tion )ere appended in :pril 2%%2. 7(ol1henitsyn, No&e"ber 191A,, ,%,, +,$. 8<ompare "ostsH 2or a 30 "anon, the private firms effe"tively operated by the )ar industry (=u"khov! "ommittees got #2,%%% rubles, (tate enterprises "harged ',%%% rubles* for a /axim ma"hine gun, 2,'%% and #,3'% rubles* for a #%' millimeter shell, 3- and #- rubles* for $0 mortar
206bid,0 $3-,

2o " superproduction as more a matter of supere#p!oitation (speed-ups" mu!tip!e shifts" t enty-four hour a day production< o&ertime< Sundays or') than ad&anced organi(ation of production processes. So hat inspired s'i!!ed or'ers in ca!!ing forth the greater effort in&o!&ed in se!f-e#p!oitationN Moti&ation as Go&erdetermined"E ha&ing both materia! and idea! moments* 0ontinuation of draft e#emptions eighed hea&i!y" and" perhaps" increased income to offset ongoing rises in the costs of food and fue! as a!so important (though" this as not prob!ematic for s'i!!ed or'ers in the same ay as it as for the uns'i!!ed" pro!etarian GmassesE). ,dea!!y" the orientation to ard contro! o&er production resu!ting from ha&ing ar industry committee de!egates had" hether fu!!y foreseen or no" se!f-e#p!oitation as a conse$uence. %ut the strugg!e bet een %o!she&i's and Menshe&i's (G@&o(de&itesE) for the hearts and sou!s of s'i!!ed or'ers to support a genera! stri'e on :: Hanuary 1917 (the anni&ersary of %!ood Sunday 19B;) and to come out for a mid-2o&ember 1917 genera! stri'e in .etrograd against the o nersF !oc'out (the !atter itse!f a reprisa! for !imited political stri'es against the go&ernmentFs tria! of mutinous sai!ors)1 demonstrated among significant numbers the chau&inistic desire to materia!!y aid in defeating @erman armies in the fie!d (or" 4ust as !i'e!y" the 4ingoist fantasy of being o&errun by" a!!eged!y barbaric" @erman mi!itarism) as a centra! moti&e. Such aims raise the $uestion of the re!ation of s'i!!ed or'ers to the socia!ist parties" and" again" the ro!e of G!abor aristocraticE or'ers in this" the era of imperia!ist or!d ar and pro!etarian re&o!ution.: Ta'e the !atter first. Since s'i!!ed 3ussian or'ers did participate in 4oint committees to more efficient!y organi(e ar production" and" at a different moment in the same era" as e sha!! see" constituted an interna! c!ass &anguard in the ma'ing of a socia!ist re&o!ution" that ro!e as contradictory. ,n the case of s'i!!ed Russian or'ers" one is more !i'e!y to come do n on the side of their re&o!utionary ro!e. ,n other cases" though" such as s'i!!ed %ritish (or @erman) or'ers" hi!e the same contradiction is apparent hen &ie ed o&er time" e ou!d be much more !i'e!y to come do n on the side of their co!!aborationist ro!e. The dynamics of the de&e!opment of c!ass consciousness did not by themse!&es pro&ide (i.e." ithout inter&ention by a re&o!utionary or'ers party there as not) an ade$uate basis to reso!&e the contradiction in fa&or of a re&o!utionary turn. K? +hate&er the consciousness of particu!ar s'i!!ed or'ers or minority groups of such or'ers" co!!aboration ith the bosses as so!idified because it as e#pressed on the po!itica! p!ane" on the terrain of State !ife" through the
bombs '- and , rubles, respe"tively, Ibid. The differen"es )ere the superprofits a""ruing to munitions manufa"turers, )hi"h, a""ording to (ol1henitsyn, in terms of returns ranged from a minimum of 2%%.3%%& to as mu"h as -%%& to #%%%&. Ibid, ''%. ;asi" to inflated food "osts, the most serious problem "onfronting the urban )orking "lasses )as the pri"e of grain. 3n 2+ @uly #+#,, Tsar Ai"olas signed a de"ree granting the military full po)er not only on the battlefield but on the home front as )ell. This made it possible for the army to re8uisition foodstuffs, parti"ularly grains, and beef "attle )ithout regard to "ivilian authority, that is, to the Tsarist <oun"il of (tate, and the bureau"ra"ies subordinate to respe"tive <oun"il ministers (Ibid, 2#-!. >ith millions of men in servi"e (some #, million, though hardly all "ombat ready, by Aovember #+#$!, all of them non.produ"tive, the fa"t that military got )hat it needed resulted in the first shortages (oats! in early #+#-. The regimeFs response, in its in"arnation as the /inistry of :gri"ulture, )as, first, to establish top do)n Cfood pro"urementD through agents, Cplenipotentiaries,D that supervised both /inistry agen"ies and ad ho! private "ommittees. This "ut out the middlemen, Cbrokers, )holesales, mer"hants, the 1emstovs, "ooperatives.D (e"ond, the regime issued a de"ree (2 /ar"h #+#-! authori1ing lo"al offi"ials, primarily provin"ial governors, to restri"t exports from or even re8uisitioning )ithin their distri"ts. (7xports abroad had already been banned.! 6mmediately prohibitions appeared in the forms of roadblo"ks and "he"kpoints that )ere set up every)here (Ibid, '$$.'$'!. The results )ere "haoti"H =rain simply "ould not get from )here it )as produ"ed to )here it )as needed (it )ould ?ust sit E in railroad "ars or in peasant barns!* spe"ulation developed and 8ui"kly ran rampant* bla"k markets emerged* and bureau"rati" infighting among plenipotentiaries, other government agents, and distri"t and regional offi"ials often resulted in a failure to move grain, its rotting in pla"e, et". The "onse8uent shortages in the "ities led to de"rees fixing the pri"es of grains (Ibid, #,3.#,-!. >hile the pri"e of peasant produ"e )as fixed, industrial goods (ranging from something as simple as nails for shoeing horses to threshers! )ere not (nails had gone from t)o kope"ks a pood to forty, Ibid, $22!. ;y spring #+#', the threat of famine hung over the "ities ( Ibid, ''2!. To boot, a "lassi"al s"issors "risis had developed. 5easants responded by going on strike, i.e., to "ompli"ate the shortages produ"ed by so"ietal organi1ation, peasants )ithheld grain (Ibid, ''#.''2!.R 1Ibid, ,#3.,#,, '+%. 3$. (ympatheti" to /ensheviks, (ol1henitsynFs entire "hapter 3# (Ibid, ,% .,2,! is instru"tive in regard to this struggle. Mo1ma =vo1dev, a /enshevik and skilled )orker, )as the leader of the >orkersF =roup and leading figure among )orkers a"tively involved in the )ar industry "ommittees. 2(ee the 6ntrodu"tion, n. #$, above. 36n the ;ritish "ase, se"toral interests related to a )hole history of "ollaboration )ith employers )on out over "lass unity and a revolutionary turn* and, in the =erman "ase, organi1ational ties to the "ollaborationist (o"ial Lemo"rati" party reinfor"ed isolation ()hile those ties and isolation )ere both rooted in the CprivilegedD position of skilled )orkers vis.S.vis other )orkers!, and isolation together )ith repression, destroyed a revolutionary turn in the making. 2or both ;ritish and =erman skilled )orkers, see 5art 3, se"tion 6V and V, belo). TTTTTTTTTTTTTTT R: pood is a Russian unit of measurement e8uivalent to 3$ pounds.

organi(ation and practice of socia! democratic parties (that" in turn" co!!aborated ith bourgeois" in 3ussian" !ibera!" parties). Menshe&i's (re&o!utionary democrats) formed the c!assica! socia! democratic party in 3ussia. ,dea!!y" the Menshe&i's ere committed to a bourgeois re&o!ution" estab!ishment of a par!iamentary democracy on the estern mode! and the gro th of capita!ist production as po!itica! and materia! preconditions for de&e!opment of a socia!ist pro!etariat. ,n their &ie " to go beyond this historica! 8stage8 as suicida!" i.e." in&ited either a terroristic dictatorship to support a materia!!y untenab!e communist utopia or counterre&o!utionary monarchist restoration. Thus" for theoretica! reasons" they ere committed to the bourgeoisie" and if" the !atter as committed to the ar (i.e." to imperia!ist ar aims)" then" regard!ess of the e#tent to hich they sought a negotiated compromise peace" in fact" they ou!d (and did) hen forced to choose" choose support for the .ro&isiona! @o&ernment and its ar.1 At the same time" re&o!utionary democrats" primari!y Menshe&i's" he!d organi(ationa!!y and persona!!y an enormous animus to ard %o!she&i's that had been nurtured o&er near!y fifteen years of party strife. That the %o!she&i's around Aenin ere i!!ing at any cost to sue for peace ith the @ermans mere!y fue!ed animosities and reinforced their support for the ar. %ut re&o!utionary democrats did not" i!!y ni!!y" mere!y tai! the !ibera! bourgeoisie* The entire period bet een the t o re&o!utions" in particu!ar re&o!utionary democratic efforts to organi(e a go&ernment and then to go&ern" demonstrated" irrefutab!y in our &ie " their &ery visceral commitment to the nation underpinning an idea! commitment to a stagist theory of de&e!opment of socia!ism* .o!itica!!y" ith the e#ception of the Menshe&i' ,nternationa!ists around Hu!ius Marto&" Menshe&i's ere @reat 3ussian chau&inists. They supported the ar for reasons of nationa! pride (though" gi&en 3ussian performance in the ar" one can !egitimate!y onder 4ust hat this pride cou!d ha&e actua!!y entai!ed). ,n point of fact" re&o!utionary democrats c!aimed to be defending the mother!and against @erman imperia!ist territoria! designs. This c!aim" and the &iscera! commitment" they he!d in common ith the !ibera!s. +hat about the !ibera!sN: Aibera!sF commitment to imperia!ist or!d ar as mu!ti-determined. )utstanding among these moti&es as the e#traordinary profits that ere generated in the sa!e of munitions and armaments to the Tsarist State" and the simi!ar profits s'immed out from contro! of the procurement and distribution of food stuffs and supp!ies (through the nongo&ernmenta! 0ommittees for Food Supp!y contro!!ed by 9onona&!o&Fs and @uch'o&Fs organi(ations). Most often &oiced ere the strict!y chau&inistic ar aims" name!y" capture of 0onstantinop!e and the ad4acent !ittora! (that pro&ided access to the %osporus" the -ardane!!es" and the %!ac' Sea)" repossession of a!! 3ussia Gancient !andsE especia!!y in the south and southeast" and the accompanying desire to maintain 3ussia as a G or!d po er.E Then" there as hat e ou!d ca!! li(eral vanity" name!y" defense of 3ussian Bultur und Ceist against @erman mi!itarism.? For or'ers" then" in the end a brea' ith the bosses" po!itica!!y ith !ibera!s" and the nationa!ist commitment to imperia! ar aims" necessari!y entai!ed a brea' ith the re&o!utionary democracy. +hate&er criticisms can be !e&e!ed at %o!she&i's aside" it as on!y they ho understood this necessity. ,D )n ; March 1917 short!y after the co!!apse of the autocracy" the Menshe&i' dominated .etrograd So&iet issued a ca!! for a return to or'. .etrograd or'ers" ho e&er" ere out en masse stri'ing for an eight-hour day. %y 1B March" the So&iet inter&ened and reached agreement ith a !imited number of economica!!y significant emp!oyers (represented by the .etrograd Manufacturers Association) and thereby brought many or'ers bac' to their shops. )ther emp!oyers" though" refused to come to agreement* ,n the capita! and the pro&inces" emp!oyers continued to fight against the introduction of the eight-hour day. ,nto !ate March and throughout Apri!" fed by age re!ated issues" c!ass
1This

)as espe"ially "lear in the "ase of the @une military offensive undertaken by the 5rovisional =overnment. The offensive involved reassigning militant soldiers stationed in 5etrograd to the front. :s leading /ensheviks and (o"ialists Revolutionaries later admitted, this transfer )as ordered, ostensibly for military reasons, to diffuse the militan"y among soldiers in the "apital. (ee Rabino)it"h, Ibid, xxvi, 22 . 22orming the 5rogressive ;lo" in the fourth and fifth Lumas (#+#-.#+#$!, liberal parties "onsisted in the Madets, party of the liberal intelligentsia led by 5avel /ilyukov, the 5rogressivists G party of industrialists and lando)ners led by :lexsandre Mononvalov, and the 3"tobrists G party of industrialists, bankers, and great mer"hants (the big bourgeoisie proper! led by :. =u"hkov. Together they "ould be said to form the liberal left, "enter and right, respe"tively. 3utside of the parliamentary arena, but still mu"h apart of the )orld of liberalism, 0edu"ated so"iety,0 )as the 9nion of 4emstovs G party of the great "apitalist or "apitalisti"ally in"lined lando)ners led by a Madet, 5rin"e =eorgi Lvov. 3 5arti"ularly good on all this is (ol1henitsyn, Ibid, 2%', '%. '#, '3.

strugg!e around this demand fre$uent!y threatened to boi! o&er into massi&e stri'e action. 1 Factory committees" though" inter&ened at the !ast moment to a&ert shutdo ns. +here shorter hours ere instituted" they ere on ithout !ega! (State) sanction. ,nto May and beyond" the princip!e sti!! remained genera!!y unrecogni(ed by emp!oyers. For e#amp!e" in May the bourgeois press !aunched a campaign against the eight-hour day attempting to set so!diers at the front against or'ers" that is" against their 8e#cessi&e8 demands" their 8!a(iness"8 etc. ,n the midst of the strugg!es for an eight-hour day" age increases and recognition of the factory committees" the demand of or'ers5 contro! began to ta'e shape. An =#p!oratory 0onference of Factory 0ommittees of .etrograd +ar ,ndustries" hich had been preceded in mid-March by a meeting that inc!uded or'er de!egates from the t e!&e !argest meta! or's contro!!ed by the Arti!!ery -epartment" too' p!ace on : Apri!. 1ere" at the =#p!oratory 0onference" the concept of or'ers5 contro! recei&ed its first e#p!icit treatment*
From the Factory 0ommittee shou!d emanate a!! instructions concerning the interna! factory organi(ation ... (i.e." instructions" hours of or'" hiring and firing" ho!idays" etc.) ... The ho!e administrati&e personne! (management at a!! !e&e!s and technicians) is ta'en on ith the consent of the Factory 0ommittee ... The Factory 0ommittee contro!s manageria! acti&ity in administrati&e" economic and technica! fie!ds ... representati&es of the Factory 0ommittee must be pro&ided" for information" ith a!! officia! documents of the management" production budgets and detai!s of a!! items entering or !ea&ing the factory ... :

,f these ere at the time the most ad&anced 8terms of reference8? of the factory committee mo&ement" and indeed from the !ibertarian-socia!ist standpoint they ere" then as terms of reference they ere a!so one of the high ater mar's of the mo&ement hen seen from the standpoint of pro;ected control over the totality of production (eginning &ith the shopfloor. %y ?B May" hen the First 0onference of .etrograd Factory 0ommittees had con&ened" the or'er-%o!she&i' ma4ority - hich e#ercised o&er he!ming inf!uence and hich had been responsi(le for calling the conference in the first place - had a!ready imperceptib!y begun to shift the emphasis of the mo&ement by channe!ing it into e#p!icit confrontation ith the State (.ro&isiona! 3e&o!utionary @o&ernment) and cana!i(ing energies a&ay from the shopfloor* Thus" the reso!ution" drafted by Aenin and presented by Jino&ie& adopted by the 0onference" ca!!ed for transfer of po!itica! po er to the so&iets" estab!ishment of a or'ers5 mi!itia and uni&ersa! !abor duty" and a speedy conc!usion to the ar.> ,n this reso!ution" or'er-%o!she&i's and the party they represented did not put for ard ob4ecti&es that ere foreign to the factory pro!etariat5s committees. ,f a situation in hich or'ers too' contro! of production hi!e the bourgeoisie he!d State po er - a situation of dua! po er - ou!d ha&e been inherent!y unstab!e" it as essentia! to !in' demands for po!itica! po er to those for economic contro!. ,f or'ers ere to successfu!!y cha!!enge emp!oyers in the or'p!ace" then a confrontation ith the State ou!d ha&e" it appears" been ine&itab!e - for the de&e!opment of or'ers5 contro! o&er industry c!ear!y conf!icted ith the needs of the bourgeoisie aging through its State an imperia!ist ar. ,f ar and or'ers5 contro! ere incompatib!e" then an organi(ed" armed or'ers5 force as &ita!. And retrospecti&e!y there can be no doubt that" as e suggested abo&e" for different reasons both !ibera!s and re&o!utionary democrats ma'ing up the pro&isiona! go&ernment ere committed to continuation of the ar. ; That the !ogic of such a continuation demanded State organi(ation of industry (in order to insure rene a! of supp!ies" eaponry" etc." for a!! fronts) as a!ready apparent to members of the first .ro&isiona! @o&ernment and their supporters in the .etrograd So&iet by the time of the First 0onference. Spea'ing to factory committee de!egates" Aabor Minister M.,. S'obe!e& (Menshe&i')" argued
the regu!ation and contro! of industry is not a matter for a particu!ar c!ass. ,t is the tas' of the State. /pon the indi&idua! c!asses" especia!!y the or'ing c!ass" !ies the responsibi!ity for he!ping the State in its organi(ationa! or'.7

The Menshe&i' 0her&anin" see'ing on beha!f of the =#ecuti&e 0ommittee of the .etrograd So&iet" made the point b!unt!y*
1Vandevelte, 2<ited 3Ibid. 42rederi"k 5Trotsky,

Ibid, '-.'$* =oodey, 06bid,0 ,#. in /auri"e ;rinton, #he =olshe&i.s and Wor.ers Control, 2.

Maplan, =olshe&i. Ideology and So&iet )abor thi!s, -#. Ibid, I, 2-+.$%, 2$2.$3* :lexander Rabino)it"h, #he =olshe&i.s Co"e to (o+er, xxvi. 6<ited in ;rinton, Ibid, 3.

+e can stop the gro ing R ar roughtS catastrophe and restore economic !ife to norma! on!y by p!anned interference of the State in economic !ife.1

So" it appears" at e&ery turn 3ussian or'ers found themse!&es mo&ing head!ong to ard co!!ision ith the State. The cru# of the matter as" inseparab!y" the bourgeoisie and its ar* The armies at the fronts consumed !arge $uantities of the grains produced in the countryside. Aibera! dominated" unofficia! bodies contro!!ed the distribution of nonmi!itary bound grain at !o fi#ed prices" hi!e peasants recei&ed orth!ess currency in e#change. The peasant struc'" and the !imited supp!ies a&ai!ab!e at once secured enormous profits for its resa!e and created bread !ines in the cities. The ar created shortages of other !ife necessities" and the !ibera!sF distribution and pricing system insured unbearab!e price inf!ation that in turn cance!ed out 4ust on age increases. The enormous destruction of the ar produced fue! and ra materia! shortages" and !eft no time for repair of the rai! system or orn industria! p!ant and e$uipment. Conduct of the &ar set the State in opposition to &or$ers* +or'ers demanded an eight-hour day" the TsarFs and the !ibera!sF commitment to ar made resumption of a norma! day5s production impossib!e< as formu!ation of and demands for rea!i(ation of a or'ers5 contro! pro4ect gre " prosecution of an imperia!ist ar made State contro! of industry seem uncompromising!y necessary. ,f the commitment of the !ibera! bourgeoisie to ar as a means to ho!d off re&o!utionary change and maintain its o n contro! o&er society (by subordinating e&erything to the ar effort) and the commitment of compromiser socia!ists to patriotic defense of 8re&o!utionary democracy8 entai!ed continuation of the imperia!ist ar" then it as %o!she&i's ho most c!ear!y understood a connection that is on!y ob&ious retrospecti&e!y* An end to the ar rought disorgani(ation of the producti&e !ife of the country as contingent upon o&erturning the 8go&ernment of capita!ists8 (Aenin). At issue" then" are contemporary $uestions first of hether in itse!f the factory committee mo&ement contained" if de&e!oped" a negation of the ar" estab!ished society" and the bourgeois State. ,f it did" but on!y if it did" then its 8di&ersion8 a ay from the shopf!oor as e$ui&a!ent to defusing the mo&ement ith the greatest emancipatory potentia! at its origins. Second" this dispute concerns the $uestion of ho as to reorgani(e the socia! tota!ity" once the State had been destroyed and" indisso!ub!y !in'ed to this consideration of agency" ho it as to reorgani(ed. %oth $uestions e&entua!!y de&o!&e on the re!ation of %o!she&i' practice inside the factory committees to the tendentia! direction of the mo&ement as a ho!e. D The Second 0onference of .etrograd Factory 0ommittees" 7-1: August" ga&e more precision to the sense of or'ers5 contro! origina!!y e!aborated at the First 0onference. ,t specified 8a!! decrees of Factory 0ommittees8 ere binding on 8the factory administration as e!! as for the or'ers and emp!oyees.8 The 0onference reso!&ed committees ou!d meet regu!ar!y during or'ing hours ith members recei&ing fu!! pay on days assigned by the committees. Factory administrators ere instructed they must pro&ide funds 8for maintenance of the 0ommittees and the conduct of their affairs.8 ,t as dec!ared factory committees ere to ha&e 8contro! o&er the composition of the administration and right to dismiss a!! those ho cou!d not guarantee norma! re!ations ith the or'ers or ho ere incompetent for other reasons.8: Aenin" on the other hand" had a!ready e#p!ained"
for contro! o&er industry to be effecti&e!y carried out it must be &or$ers@ control ith a or'ers5 ma4ority in a!! !eading bodies" and the management must gi&e an account of its actions to a!! the authoritati&e or'ers organi(ations.?

,f" in contrast to the real attac$ on employer#dominated hierarchy characteri-ing the social relations of industrial production that as suggested at the Second 0onference" Aenin on beha!f of the %o!she&i's stressed the mere accounta(ility of management to or'ers5 organi(ations" it as because he presupposed the presence of re!ati&e!y autonomous managements in the enterprises from the outset. A &or$ers@ ?ma;ority,? even if ?in all leading (odies?
1<ited 2<ited

in Maplan, Ibid, --. in ;rinton, Ibid, .+. : <entral <oun"il of 2a"tory <ommittees, established on ;olshevik.)orker initiative at the 2irst <onferen"e, )as funded to free it from finan"ial dependen"e on the trade unions. 3CW, <<I7, --'. (7mphasis in the original.!

assumed these (odies &ould not strictly (e &or$ers@ organi-ations, (ut an untena(le amalgam of representatives of contradictory classes* A %o!she&i' reso!ution drafted by Aenin and passed at the First 0onference ca!!ed for" in a &ague phrase at once characteristica!!y re&ea!ing and concea!ing the ea'er sense %o!she&i's imputed to or'ers5 contro! and the different direction in hich they strained to push its practice" 8 or'er contro! ... R as toS be immediate!y de&e!oped ... into the comp!ete regu!ation of the production and distribution of goods by or'ers.81 The phrase 8comp!ete regu!ation8 is crucia!" and the same document pro&ided a g!oss on it hen dec!aring the committees 8shou!d ha&e at their disposa! a!! commercia! and ban'ing boo's as e!! as other information.8: +hat is at sta'e here is the restoration of normal and efficient production in order to ha!t economic disorgani(ation. For Aenin and the %o!she&i's" &or$ers@ control &as the central measure in a program to com(at economic dislocation* The fight against dis!ocation as indeed a decisi&e strugg!e (ho e!se cou!d or'ers assert contro! o&er production and from here o&er society" if production itse!f as simp!y a!!o ed to co!!apseN)< yet this struggle &as not lin$ed to, had nothing to do &ith, even as a nascent stage in the development of, organs through &hich &or$ers could &ield po&er over society* According!y" the narro sense imputed to or'ers5 contro! by Aenin is not accidenta!< it as simp!y that the ca!! to mere!y see the boo's disc!osed the concern to insure 8contro!" super&ision and accounting that RareS prime re$uisites for combating ReconomicS catastrophe.8? ,f specifica!!y %o!she&i' reso!utions re&ea!ed the reasonab!e intent of ha!ting economic co!!apse - but not for purposes of se!f-management but for those of discip!ining 8!abor8 and increasing its producti&ity (a moment in a !arger pro4ect aimed at the pro!etarian party5s sei(ure of political, State po er)" and gi&en ith and as a conse$uence of this orientation ou!d be efforts to !imit or'ers5 efforts to transform socia! re!ations on the shopf!oor and in the enterprises" then the potentia! hegemony of the factory committees o&er the enterprises as !ost sight of" ignored" or (most !i'e!y) merely never grasped as a possi(ility in the first place. ,f" in princip!e" the %o!she&i'-initiated 0entra! 0ounci! of Factory 0ommittees opened up the possibi!ity of coordinating the committees5 or'" the starting point for achie&ing hegemony o&er industria! production as a ho!e" Aenin" to the contrary" as suggesting a situation of dua! po er in the factories and p!ants. For %o!she&i'- or'ers and the !eadership a!i'e" the presence of factory management as e!! as their prerogati&es ou!d ha&e remained un$uestioned had the managers not de&iated from norma!" efficient administration of production. The pro4ected tas' of or'ers through their committees as to super&ise or po!ice this situation. As it became c!earer that the managements of the enterprises ou!d not stand for a factory regime of e&en !imited dua! po er" as instances of emp!oyer sabotage mu!tip!ied and became genera!i(ed" Aenin came more and more to assign factory committees the tas's of accounting and contro! to a&ert economic catastrophe. Thus" he dec!ared 8'eeping trac' of" super&ising" contro!!ing and registering e&ery sing!e capita!ist8 a necessity.> Further" he e#p!ained that"
on!y after capita!ist p!under has been cured and the de!iberate sabotage of production has been stopped i!! it be possib!e to or' for an impro&ement in !abor producti&ity" introduce uni&ersa! !abor conscription and the proper e#change of grain for manufactured goods ...;

+or'ers5 contro!" pro4ected here as the comp!ete regu!ation of production and distribution of goods by or'ers and not" say" as the beginnings of the transformation of hierarchica!!y organi(ed socia! re!ations of production" cou!d" as the economic situation orsened" on!y be achie&ed by the 8most precise and conscientious accounting"8 by 8genera!" uni&ersa! accounting and contro!" the accounting and contro! of the amount of !abor performed...8 by 8the strictest order and discip!ine8 in the sphere of production.7 /or$ers@ control had, then, come to (e identified as the self#
1Ibid, 2Ibid' 3CW, 4CW,

-#,.

<<7, 32 . <<7I, 3'. 5Ibid, $-. (ignifi"antly, Lenin, to his "redit, re"ogni1ed ta"itly re"ogni1ed the problem of the s"issors "risis, and grasped the starting point for its resolution. 6Ibid, #%,, ,#%, 2$,.2$-. The last "itation is taken from the LeninIs 0Lraft Regulations on >orkersI <ontrol0 issued in de"ree form the day after ;olsheviks took po)er.

discipline of &or$er#su(;ectivity#reduced to la(or &ithin the frame&or$ of capitalist social relations* ,nto autumn 1917" it as this perspecti&e %o!she&i'- or'ers genera!!y ere to fight for inside the factory committee mo&ement. The strugg!e for this perspecti&e bore fruit. The First A!!-3ussian 0onference of Factory 0ommittees (17-:: )ctober" ).S.) c!ear!y formu!ated the basic dimension of hat %o!she&i's intended to be the actua! practice of or'ers5 contro!.
The or'ing c!ass has much more interest in the proper and uninterrupted operation of factories ... than the capita!ist c!ass ... R.roperS distribution of ra materia!s and fue!" as e!! as the most efficient management of factories" is impossib!e ith +or'ers5 0ontro!... R)n!yS +or'ers5 0ontro! o&er capitalist enterprises" cu!ti&ating the or'ers5 conscious attitude" and ma'ing c!ear its socia! meaning" can create the conditions fa&orab!e to the de&e!opment of a firm self#discipline of la(or, and the development of all la(or@s possi(le productivity. 0ontro! on a nationa! sca!e ... must e#tend to a!! capita!ist enterprises ... and must be e!!-p!anned. RTheS economic !ife of the country - agricu!ture" industry" commerce and transport - must be sub4ect to one unified p!an.1

The basic themes" &i(." 8uninterrupted operation"8 8efficient management"8 8a firm se!f-discip!ine of !abor"8 8de&e!opment of a!! !abor5s possib!e producti&ity"8 etc." ta'en together suggest a pro;ect of rationali-ation &ithin the conte6t of capitalist productive relations, the self#management of &or$ers@ o&n e6ploitation* ,t is" of course" c!ear from the 0onference reso!ution that factory committees ere to be organs of this counci!or pro4ect. Agency" on the other hand" consisted in the stratum upon hich the %o!she&i' party (1917) as bui!t" the high!y s'i!!ed or'ers rooted in meta! or'ing among the factory pro!etariat. Se!f-conscious!y producers and sub4ecti&e!y certain they cou!d run production themse!&es" their !eadership among the &or$er#masses as crucia! to the success of the pro4ect of rationa!i(ation precise!y because it as to be carried out ithin the frame or' of the capita!ist enterprises" that is" against the co!!ecti&e i!! of the pro!etarian masses. The !atter" in contrast to s'i!!ed or'ers" had by mid-Autumn begun to underta'e an anarchist and syndica!ist transformation of producti&e re!ations. .arty !eaders and %o!she&i'- or'ers concurred in the identification of socia!ism ith this se!f-management pro4ect* Socia!ism as to be inaugurated by imposing a dictatorship of the pro!etarian party o&er a basica!!y capita!ist economy.: D, The $uestion hether %o!she&i's as a party had rea! and o&er he!ming support among the factory and p!ant pro!etariat is amp!y and affirmati&e!y ans ered by the response of or'ers to the .ro&isiona! @o&ernment5s assau!t on %o!she&i's and their organi(ations fo!!o ing the 8Hu!y days.E )n ?-> Hu!y 1917" massi&e demonstrations aimed at the o&erthro of the .ro&isiona! @o&ernment too' p!ace in .etrograd. 2umbering hea&i!y among the demonstrators ere so!diers from the &arious .etrograd garrisons and 9ronstadt sai!ors" as e!! as the most combati&e or'ers. The so!diery had unans ered grie&ances against the regime" a coa!ition of re&o!utionary democrats and bourgeois po!iticians. Most outstanding ere criticisms of the regime5s Hune rene a! of a mi!itary offensi&e against the @ermans a!ong the estern and south estern fronts (from the standpoint of =urope" the eastern front) and" in the conte#t of rene ed fighting" the high command5s unauthori(ed" de facto reimposition of the death pena!ty at the front. /nder pressure from so!diers" the %o!she&i' Mi!itary )rgani(ation" estab!ished after the February 3e&o!ution to propagandi(e for and organi(e a discip!ined" re&o!utionary current among the so!diery" too' a !eading ro!e and began mobi!i(ing for a sei(ure of po er. This ro!e as underta'en ithout 0entra! 0ommittee authori(ation. The commitment a!ready made" the party" against the better 4udgment of its !eadership and its !ongtime mi!itants ( ho ere con&inced the entire effort as premature)" as forced to put itse!f at the head of the mobi!i(ation" the ro!e of the %o!she&i's in the demonstration" as p!ain!y &isib!e as the banners carried by the sea of demonstrations bore %o!she&i' s!ogans.?
12rom 20>e

the 0Resolution of the 2a"tory.5lant <ommitteesH >orkersI <ontrol,0 "ited in Reed, Ibid, 2 .2 +. (7mphasis added.! must !o"%el the !a%italists to +or. )ithin the frame)ork of the ne) (tate organi1ation. 6t is not enough to IremoveI the "apitalists* )e must ... employ them in the ser&i!e of the ne+ state'C Lenin, Ibid, # %+. (7mphasis added.! 3Rabino)it"h, Ibid, ##, #2.#3. The death penalty had been abolished in the immediate )ake of the 2ebruary Revolution. 6t )as re.instituted for disobedien"e of orders spe"ifi"ally to advan"e or to stand and fight, and desertion.

,n response to the b!oodshed in the streets and the arri&a! on the scene of 9ronstadt sai!ors" as e!! as the refusa! of garrison units to come to the aid of an impotent go&ernment" re&o!utionary democrats in the 0entra! =#ecuti&e 0ommittees (of the A!!-3ussian 0ongress of +or'ers and So!diers So&iets and the A!!-3ussian 0ongress of .easant -eputies) sent urgent appea!s to moderate Menshe&i's and Socia!ist 3e&o!utionaries-contro!!ed army committees among troops stationed a!ong the northern front (a front" by the ay" not in&o!&ed in the current offensi&e). These committees formed detachments of !oya! so!diers ho ere rushed bac' to the capita!. Serious!y endangered" the regime for its part" ma'ing a frantic !ast resort" chau&inist appea!" began spreading rumors among garrison troops that Aenin had recei&ed money from the @erman high command and as an enemy agent.1 The charges ga&e some .etrograd stationed so!diers pause. =nough at !east that the !oya! detachments from the northern front ere ab!e to put do n a hasti!y organi(ed" i!!-prepared armed rising. The &ery ne#t day (; Hu!y)" the rightist" scanda! mongering sheets among the bourgeois press pub!ic!y denounced Aenin as a @erman spy and pro&ocateur. ,n the ee' that fo!!o ed" a crescendo of condemnations bui!t" and hi!e the moderate Menshe&i' press and e&en the !eading 9adet ne spaper honored the 0entra! =#ecuti&e 0ommittee (So&iets) re$uest not to !e&e! accusations unti! its fu!! in&estigation had been comp!eted" no one among re&o!utionary democrats" and of course among the bourgeoisie" ou!d accept the %o!she&i' defense that the demonstrations had at their origins been spontaneous. )n this count" the %o!she&i's ere dai!y pi!!oried. )utside the party itse!f" on!y Menshe&i' ,nternationa!ists around Marto&" the Aeft Socia!ist 3e&o!utionaries ( ho ere actua!!y formed in the mae!strom of the Hu!y days) and the membership of the ,nter-istrict 0ommittee ( hose most e!!-'no n personages ere Trots'y and /rits'y) came to the defense of the %o!she&i's.: )n 7 Hu!y" the .etrograd So&iet ga&e up its independent in$uiry" !ea&ing the ay open for arbitrary action by the go&ernment5s prosecutor of the .etrograd court of appea!s. ,n the days that fo!!o ed up to mid-month" the regime rounded up any %o!she&i'" as ith other !eftists and mi!itant or'ers" ho as in any ay suspected of in&o!&ement in the uprising. (Aenin ent into hiding.) The 9erens'y 0abinet issued an edict forbidding under pain of immediate arrest speech that as inf!ammatori!y directed at the go&ernment. The %o!she&i' press (at !east four dai!ies printed in .etrograd) as banned from pub!ication" and the presses sei(ed. %o!she&i' centra! head$uarters and offices ere raided" fi!es and records confiscated" and the party as e#pe!!ed from the premises (9shesin'aia Mansion). The .ro&isiona! @o&ernment issued an order to the pub!ic at !arge" patent!y aimed at or'ers" to turn in a!! eapons. The charges in the rightist and bourgeois press gre shri!!er as a counterespionage agency of the regime hurried!y re!eased partia!" fragmentary and dubious e&idence of Aenin5s and" by imp!ication" the %o!she&i's5 treachery. Shado y reactionary organi(ations (such as 1o!y 3ussia)" mi!itarist" %!ac' 1undreds fascists" and rabid!y nationa!ists began to open!y appear and organi(e" hi!e the mi!itarist right among the bourgeoisie began to coa!esce in the forum pro&ided by the State -uma.? Among the regiments garrisoned in .etrograd" %o!she&i' inf!uence dropped mar'ed!y in the immediate days fo!!o ing the aborted uprising. The regime as ab!e to brea' up some of the more high!y po!itici(ed" %o!she&i'-sympathetic regiments" sending them to the front. %ut this tactic as not genera!i(ed" !arge!y because so!diers immediate!y recogni(ed the rapid" a!most o&ernight shift in opinion in the capita! fo!!o ing the co!!apse of the uprising* The so!diery of ho!e regiments" acute!y sensiti&e (because of mi!itary !a and the death pena!ty hanging o&er them) to the charges of treason cro ding the !oca! atmosphere" at once fer&ent!y dec!ared their !oya!ty to the State. +e!! into midmonth and beyond" so!diers remained dispirited. %ut the rise of the chau&inist right" as e!! as a e!! arranted suspicion of the go&ernment (its 11 Hu!y officia! reinstitution of and fai!ure to rescind its death pena!ty decree" and the continuing offensi&e as e!! as ser&i!e dec!arations aimed at the a!!ies proc!aiming its uns er&ing commitment to the ar" a!! issues that ou!d not go a ay)" found open disp!ays of sympathy for %o!she&i's among garrison so!diery returning by the end of Hu!y. %y ear!y August" the partyFs Mi!itary )rgani(ation as reporting gro ing members in its ran's.> ,n many factories in the districts ma'ing up .etrograd" some or'ers" especia!!y those affi!iated ith the Menshe&i's and Socia!ist 3e&o!utionaries" a!so chastised or'er-%o!she&i's. This" ho e&er" as rare. Most significant!y" there
1Ibid, 2Ibid,

#3.#,. #$.2%, 2,.2-, 3#.32. 3Ibid, 2', 2+, 3#, ,3.,,, ,,.,$. 4Ibid, -2.-3, '%.'#, '-.'$.

ere no mass desertions from %o!she&i' party ran's. The rumors in the streets and the bourgeois press did !itt!e to a!ter or'ers5 a areness. They ere much more concerned ith the regime5s decree" hich they resisted" demanding that a!! eapons be turned into !ega!!y constituted authorities. A!so of importance" the rise and open acti&ity of reactionary groups great!y agitated or'ers. The status of those arrested" most a!! of hom ere or'p!ace comrades" a!so disturbed or'ers* Arrested mi!itants appeared to be !anguishing in prisons and detention" since &ery fe had gone or ere schedu!ed to be going to tria!. +ith each of these issues" the regime5s actions or !ac' of such (in the case of resurgent reaction) !eft the mass of factory and especia!!y p!ant or'ers suspicious of it. Their response as to forget past (party-based) differences and c!ose po!itica! ran's. (This pressure as ref!ected in the re&o!utionary democratic and the more honest bourgeois press as pressure as more and more successfu!!y brought upon the regime to re!ease mi!itants ho eren5t going to tria!.) This as sure!y c!ear to %o!she&i' mi!itants as reports from district committees indicated* %y mid-month" hate&er the !ingering effects of the campaign against %o!she&i's may ha&e had on the mass of or'ers" these effects had dissipated" since reports suggested mora!e as good and membership steady. %y the end of Hu!y" in fact" the party began to e#perience a membership resurgence.1 D,, +ith the e#ception of the s eeping demands formu!ated by Aenin in September 1917" the %o!she&i's did not come to po er ith an industria!-economic p!an for the transition. Some hat ironica!!y" the on!y &ie s on industria! reorgani(ation the %o!she&i' !eadership he!d ere Menshe&i'.: More pointed!y" the party !eadership had mere!y a short-term perspecti&e a!ong the !ines Aenin had !aid out* 2ationa!i(ation of the ban's and 'ey industries to 8!imit rather than suppress8 the mar'et and pri&ate property" and uti!i(ation of the s'i!!s of the bourgeois stratum of technicians" specia!ists" and managers for the purpose of capita!ist de&e!opment.? This assertion of %o!she&i' 8short-sightedness8 is supported by the a&ai!ab!e e&idence. First" capita!ist de&e!opment as a response to bac' ardness. That" of course" as not a socia!istica!!y reso!&ab!e prob!em ithin the frame or' of 3ussian society a!one. The !ong-term perspecti&e as euphemistica!!y summari(ed in the (unti! then) une!aborated phrase" 8beyond that measure" e&erything depends on internationa!i(ing the re&o!ution.E Second" capita!ist de&e!opment under State contro! ou!d ha&e" in &ie of Aenin and right- ing party !eaders" comp!emented the instituting of or'ers5 contro! in the enterprises through hich a &igi!ant factory pro!etariat ou!d super&ise and ho!d the intermediate stratum accountab!e for production on a capita!ist basis. Third" the pragmatic short-term so!ution neat!y fit ith and as inferred from Aenin5s theoretica! &ie on the character of recent" more ad&anced capita!ist de&e!opment. Aenin had been great!y impressed by the centra!i(ation of economic acti&ities" and ith it the emergence of an e!ement of p!anning" that had ta'en p!ace in @ermany prior to the imperia!ist or!d ar - a centra!i(ation that itse!f had been enormous!y acce!erated by the pace of artime production. Thus"
compu!sory syndication" i.e." compu!sory ama!gamation in associations under state control - this is hat capita!ism has prepared the ay for" this is hat has been carried out in @ermany by the Hun'ers5 state" this is hat can be easi!y carried out in 3ussia.>

Sti!!" if @ermany as 8mo&ing to ard the p!anned and organi(ed economy"E it as in the form of the domination of big capita! rea!i(ed through cooperation of the State ith the big ban's. ; Aenin ob&ious!y 'ne this* The citation abo&e

1Ibid,

$2.$$, '$, ' .'+, #. =oodey, 06bid,0 ,,. /ensheviks, ex./ensheviks and /enshevik 6nternationalists, )ho )ere involved in the trade unions and )ho "ame over to the ;olsheviks shortly before or after 3"tober, in"luded =arvi, =astev, Mammermakher and espe"ially Larin. Those ;olsheviks "losest to the (tatist /enshevik ideas on industrial reorgani1ation in"luded Lo1ovsky and Ria1anov both of )hom )ere trade union leaders. <arr, the historian of revolution as a re&olution fro" abo&e, has an extensive dis"ussion of this entire 8uestion. (ee his #he =olshe&i. Re&olution, II' 3(ee, in parti"ular, 0The 6mpending <atastrophe and Bo) to <ombat 6t,0 CW, <<7, esp. 333f. 4CW, <<7I, #% . (7mphasis in the original.! 5Puri Larin "ited by <arr, Ibid, 3-+.
2(imilarly,

c!oses ith Aenin5s assertion" 8carried out in 3ussia by the So&iets" by the pro!etarian dictatorship" and this i!! pro&ide us ith a state apparatus that i!! be uni&ersa!" up-to-date" and non-bureaucratic.81 Aenin as ab!e to reconci!e his admiration for the 8state monopo!y capita!ism8 of the 8Hun'ers5 state8 ith his ostensib!e opposition to the fetishi(ed" a!ien ob4ecti&ity of bureaucratic States on the basis of an ob4ecti&ist metaphysics of history. =#p!ication of the !atter pro&ides a c!ue to the strength of his commitment to Mar# and =nge!s5 origina! (pre-.aris 0ommune" Communist :anifesto#formu!ated) Statist &ision" and a!!o s comprehensi&e understanding of his" the dominant %o!she&i' &ision of the ro!e of factory committees in the transition. +riting in mid-September" Aenin described the 8dia!ectics8 prope!!ing history for ard*
There is no midd!e course here. The ob4ecti&e process of de&e!opment is such that it is impossi(le to ad&ance from monopo!ies (and the ar had magnified their number" ro!e and importance tenfo!d)... ,t is impossib!e to stand sti!! in history in genera!" and in artime in particu!ar. +e must either ad&ance or retreat. ,t is impossi(le in t entieth-century 3ussia" hich has on a repub!ic and democracy in a re&o!utionary ay" to go for ard ithout ad&ancing to ard socia!ism" ithout ta'ing steps to ard it (steps conditioned and determined by the !e&e! of techno!ogy and cu!tureK)... The dia!ectics of history is such that the ar" by e#traordinari!y e#pediting the transformation of monopo!y capita!ism into state monopo!y capita!ism" has there(y e#traordinari!y ad&anced man'ind to ard socia!ism. ,mperia!ist ar is the e&e of socia!ist re&o!ution. And this not on!y because the horrors of the ar gi&e rise to pro!etarian re&o!t - no re&o!t can bring about socia!ism un!ess the economic conditions for socia!ism are ripe - but because state monopo!y capita!ism is a comp!ete material preparation for socia!ism" the thresho!d of socia!ism" a rung on the !adder of history bet een hich and the rung ca!!ed socia!ism there are no intermediate rungs*:

According!y" dia!ectics entai!s a metaphysica! &ie of history* 1istory is !inear de&e!opment hich unfo!ds ithout reference to human practice. ,t de&e!ops through a necessary progression of socio-economic forms" a process that e&o!&es by stages in hich each pre&ious stage is retired by the further de&e!opment of the producti&e forces. ,n @ermany" the most ad&anced stage has been reached. At the same time" this stage is the !imit of specifica!!y capita!ist de&e!opment of producti&e forces. %ecause other ad&anced capita!isms" i.e." =ng!ish" French and American" are embryonica!!y at the !imit @erman capita!ism has matured to" the presuppositions for socia!ism on a or!d-sca!e ha&e been created. Iet in 3ussia a!one socia!ism is not possib!e* %ac' ardness" after a!!" is not a materia! premise of socia!ism" but its antithesis. A &o!itiona! e!ement enters Aenin5s ob4ecti&istic construction inasmuch as he prefers to ad&ance rather than retreat*
,n @ermany ... e ha&e 8the !ast ord8 in modern !arge-sca!e capita!ist engineering and p!anned organi(ation" su(ordinated to <un$er#(ourgeois imperialism* 0ross out the ords in ita!ics" and in RtheirS p!ace ... put ... a state" but of a different socia! type" of a different c!ass content - a Soviet state" that is" a pro!etarian state" and you i!! ha&e the sum total of the conditions necessary for socia!ism.?

The So&iet State constitutes that ad&ance* Fo!!o ing the program of %he Communist :anifesto,> the pro!etarian party in po er concentrates !arge producti&e units under State contro!" nationa!i(es and ama!gamates the ban's" etc." in other ords introduces 8state monopo!y capita!ism8 thereby speeding up de&e!opment a!ready imp!icit in the dynamics of capita!ism itse!f. The rationa!ity of the %o!she&i' commitment to Statism" specifica!!y to a centra!i(ation of production directed from abo&e" is pro&en by the ob4ecti&e !a s of socia! de&e!opment. The changing constitution of the economy" history5s materia! substratum" is that &ery dynamic prope!!ing socia! de&e!opment for ard. The pro!etarian party5s tas' is to insure this ob4ecti&e process unfo!ds as rapid!y as possib!e thus creating the materia! premises for socia!ism. Aenin5s &ision of the transition consisted" then" in a state monopo!y capita!ism de&e!oping under the atchfu!" an#ious eyes of so&iet po er" that is" of !imited inter&ention into the dynamics of a capita!ist economy by a or'ers5 State or" if you prefer" of a dictatorship of the pro!etarian party o&er a concentrated" !arge industria! 8pub!ic8 economic sector. ,f this &ision is accepted" the subordination and incorporation of factory committees" trade unions" etc." to and into the ne so&iet State necessari!y fo!!o s.
1Lenin, 2CW,

Ibid' <<7, 3$2.$3. (7mphasis in the original.! 3CW, <<7II, 33+. (7mphasis in the original.! 4(ee se"tion 66, above.

At the heart of this &ision is the mo&ement from abo&e dominating that from be!o . The !atter in a narro " cana!i(ed form (&i(." as or'ers5 contro!) as to be harnessed to the former through a !abor of %o!she&i'- or'ers. This &ision anticipated and shaped hat actua!!y emerged and hat historica!!y defined the or'ers5 re&o!ution" name!y" the contradictory unity of mo&ements from abo&e and from be!o . D,,, %o!she&i'- or'ers ere not the on!y actors in the re&o!utionary drama of 1917. ,n February" the e!ementa! upsurge of the ne pro!etariat !ed by omen te#ti!e or'ers crumb!ed the autocracy< in Hu!y" the anti-go&ernment demonstrations of (uniformed peasants and) the &or$er#masses sent the bourgeoisie ree!ing and con&inced it that the par!iamentary regime as untenab!e because a fina! confrontation as imminent< and from )ctober to February 1916" the po!itica! ascendancy of the %o!she&i's un!eashed a massi&e a&e of 8nationa!i(ations from be!o 8 that s ept the country. At e&ery e#p!osi&e moment throughout 1917" it as the acti&ity of this ne or'ing c!ass that $ua!itati&e!y deepened a!ready ongoing re&o!utionary change. ,n comparison" the interna! c!ass &anguard of %o!she&i' meta! or'ers retrospecti&e!y seems to pa!e" appears conser&ati&e and e&en inert. There as tension bet een the t o strata. The ne pro!etariat as dubbed chornora(ochie or 8b!ac' or'ers"8 i.e." racia!!y s!urred peasant !abor< its 8impatience8 the meta! or'er &anguard considered a product of a recent peasant past" as 8bac' ardness8 or an e#pression of 8indiscip!ine.8 ,f the &anguard sneered at the ne or'ers" the !atter" hen not responding hosti!e!y" responded in 'ind referring to 8the ise-guys ith their nuts and bo!ts8 and to 8meta! or'ers5 repub!ics"8 etc.1 %hese tensions, the insults and resentments &ere e6pressions of deeper conflicts grounded on different living and &or$ing conditions, life chances and social tra;ectories* The re&o!ution" of course" as supposed to change this. These antagonisms" ho e&er" shou!d not obscure the producti&e interaction of the t o strata* %oth p!ayed decisi&e ro!es in 3ussia in 1917. +ithout the bo!dness" initiati&e and spontaneity of the ne pro!etariat" there cou!d ha&e been no o&erthro of Tsarism in February. +ithout the po!itica! !eadership of the %o!she&i'- or'ers" there cou!d ha&e been no factory committee mo&ement. +ithout their fusion" the %o!she&i's cou!d not ha&e come to po er. Iet to stop here is to fo!!o the dia!ectic do n the path of occ!usion* ,t is to stand abo&e history and to &ie it retrospecti&e!y as a comp!eted process. 0onf!ict may &ery e!! ha&e been producti&e" but the fact remains that e&en as the %o!she&i's came to po er the c!ass as a ho!e as not interna!!y united. -ifferent sub4ecti&ities" and contradictory practices animated by different intents" on!y appear fused after the e&ent. Antagonism manifested itse!f in and as often constituti&e of the e&ents themse!&es. 3ecount the de&e!opments. Hanuary prices had more than doub!ed by Hu!y< thus" by mid-summer s'yroc'eting inf!ation had absorbed age increase on after the February re&o!ution.: 2egotiations by the s'i!!ed or'er-!ed factory committees" hich had pre&ious!y pre&ented many stri'es" no seemed for naught. ,ndeed" the efforts of %o!she&i' or'ers to cana!i(e the energies of the ne pro!etariat" to insti!! in it a discip!ine commensurate ith the tas' of sei(ing po er and appropriate to that of ha!ting economic dis!ocation" ere frustrated as itnessed by the massi&e anti-go&ernment demonstrations of Hune that" in turn" set the stage for the 8Hu!y days.8 Foregoing the arnings of the &anguard" the 8impatient8 &or$er#masses ga&e the bourgeoisie the e#cuse it needed. 0ries of insurrection ent up" the head-hunt began and %o!she&i's ere forced bac' underground. =mp!oyers initiated an offensi&e against the factory committees" but the !atter he!d their o n.? %eginning after the First 0onference of .etrograd Factory 0ommittees (?B May-> Hune)" the &ery rapid spread of the mo&ement as not abated. +ith 8anarchy8 in the enterprises no !onger a mere prospect but no a &irtua! rea!ity" the industria! bourgeoisie as c!ose to despair* The gro ing strength of the or'ing c!ass had to be bro'en - the shifting ba!ance of c!ass forces had to be ha!ted. The fai!ure of 9orni!o&5s coup as its !ast specifica!!y po!itico-mi!itary attempt at reso!ution of the crisis. Aea&ing the re&o!utionary democracy (0h'heid(e" Tserete!i" -an" et a!.) to pic' up the pieces of the State apparatus" emp!oyers turned to the enterprises" the source of their socia! po er" to sabotage production

1=oodey,

06bid,0 3#, 32. Ibid, $%.$2* Trotsky, Ibid, I, 3+%. 3=oodey, 06bid,0 ,2.
2Vandevelte,

and undermine the or'ing c!ass strength. They uti!i(ed their most effecti&e eapon" the !oc'out. ,n the first t o ee's of September" :;"BBB or'ers in .etrograd a!one !ost their 4obs.1 )n the other hand" price inf!ation" the desperate rationing in the cities (particu!ar!y .etrograd) and" fina!!y" the !oc'out as e!! as the defeat of 9orni!o& a!! contributed to a ne sense among the &or$er#masses that on!y a po!itica! so!ution cou!d sa&e the situation.: This rea!i(ation encouraged mi!itancy among the ne or'ers" especia!!y in response to the massi&e !ayoffs hich star'!y posed the $uestion of the continued e#istence of the committees. The pressure on the factory committees as simp!y enormous" and infused ith this ne mi!itancy the committees responded to the !oc'out by 'ic'ing out the managements.? 0onf!ict as no at a pitch" yet the !ibera!" manufacturing bourgeoisie - ithout the armed force of the State to bac' it up - cou!d not muster a counter-response beyond the !oc'out. The initiati&e passed to the or'ers. %ut there" this time" there as no repeat of the unorgani(ed and direction!ess 8uprising8 in ear!y Hu!y* ,n September" %o!she&i's on a ma4ority in the .etrograd So&iet< by ear!y )ctober" the garrisons in the city had one by one committed themse!&es to fo!!o ing the path set by the So&iet< and" in the ear!y Autumn" the countryside as !itera!!y ab!a(e ith peasant assau!ts on !arge !anded property. The %o!she&i's sei(ed po er" the &or$er#masses remained out in front of 8their8 &anguard as factory committees pro&ed to be the most potent socia! force in 3ussia. Iet" ithin four months the mo&ement had e#hausted itse!f. +hat had happenedN +hi!e the aforementioned" intra-c!ass antagonism can suggest to us a partia! account" it is e&ents themse!&es hich pro&ide the interpretati&e 'ey. ,O )n ? 2o&ember ().S.)" Aenin5s 8-raft -ecree on +or'ers5 0ontro!8 as pub!ished. %o ing to the facts a!ready created on the ground by or'ers in their factories and p!ants" and thereby !ega!!y sanctioning the acti&ity of the factory committee mo&ement" the decree ga&e tremendous impetus to the acti&ity of the ne or'ers in the committees.> ,n fact" the pressure from be!o e#p!oded out ard as a a&e of 8nationa!i(ations8 from be!o engu!fed 3ussian industry. Darious!y characteri(ed as 8socia!ism from be!o 8 or 8anarcho-syndica!ist e#tremism.E nationa!i(ation of firms found or'ers on the spot e#pe!!ing emp!oyers ho ere sabotaging production throughout !oc'outs or ho refused to cooperate ith the ne factory committee authority in the enterprises. The entire acti&e!y as comp!eted as the firms ere p!aced under tota! contro! of their respecti&e factory committees" an act carried out in the name of the ne so&iet go&ernment.; The party !eadership as" on the other hand" si!ent on the uncoordinated de&e!opment of the nationa!i(ations< its (meta! or'ing) trade unionists ere unab!e to 8discip!ine8 them. ,n the end" %o!she&i's actua!!y fue!ed the mo&ement through a dai!y pub!ic po!emic against 8reca!citrant8 industria!ist and managers. Aac'ing coordination and an acti&e!y functioning directi&e center" nationa!i(ations ere carried out o&er the heads of the &anguard ho opposed them but ere in no position to pre&ent or channe! them. ,n this form the mo&ement continued into February 1916" acce!erating economic co!!apse and creating industria! 8anarchy.8 9ap!an cites 3. Ars'y" a %o!she&i' riting in the 4ourna! of the .eop!e5s 0ommissariat of Aabor" ho described the condition of industry in these terms* 8The factory committees often" and e&en in the ma4ority of cases" adhered to the narro interests of a particu!ar enterprise. For the committee it as important that its factory functioned norma!!y" that it as
1>ard,

06bid,0 #,,.,-, and ;rinton remarks, Ibid, #2. >ard indi"ates (#,-, n. -! from /ar"h through @uly #+#', -$ firms employing #%,,3'3 )orkers "losed do)n by means of lo"kouts. Reasons given in"luded (in order of importan"e! )ere material shortages, 0ex"essive0 )orker demands, insuffi"ien"y of orders and fuel shortages. 2>ard, 06bid,0 #,2, #,'* Rabino)it"h, Ibid, #--.#- . (in"e early @uly, grain supplies rea"hing 5etrograd )ere barely a third of the government assessed minimum, and this )as )ith rationing. ;y the beginning of (eptember, those supplies had been nearly exhausted. Ibid, 3. 3This is our reading of >ard, 06bid,D #,2., . :t a <entral <ommittee meeting on #$ 3"tober (3..(.!, Vasilii (hmidt, a leader in the Trade 9nion (oviet, noted that a half million trade unionists )ould not be )illing to a"tively support the assumption of po)er by soviet organi1ations for fear of layoffs and dismissals. Rabino)it"h, Ibid, 22#. 2rom this moment of the ne) )orker massesI militan"y on, the ;olsheviks and, to a mu"h lesser extent anar"hists, "ame to the fore as "ommittee members. 2or example, by the #'.22 3"tober 2irst :ll.Russian <onferen"e of 2a"tory <ommittees, the delegate breakdo)n )as as follo)sH $ ;olsheviks, 22 (left! so"ial revolutionaries, ## anar"hists and $ /aximalists, /ensheviks and , non.party delegates. ;rinton, Ibid, #,. 4Maplan, Ibid, #2$. 55aul :vri"h, 0The ;olshevik Revolution and >orkersI <ontrol in Russian 6ndustry,0 -,.

supp!ied ith orders and funds... The factory committees adhered to their 5factory interests"5 de&e!oped their o n parochia! patriotism and !oca! pride... A competition began among the or'ers of indi&idua! factories to assure 5their o n factories5 of de!i&eries of coa! or meta!.81 The competition among factory committees for scarce fue!s and ra materia!s had a de&astating effect on inter-firm re!ations. For e#amp!e" not infre$uent!y a factory committee representing a gi&en firm charged another committee from a different firm for fue!s at e#orbitant prices.: )n sti!! other occasions" sa!es ere simp!y refused.? The situation ithin firms fared !itt!e better* Theft and pi!!age ere ma4or prob!ems< > and committees found themse!&es c!osing do n a factory here they ere unab!e to manage or" in some cases" as'ing an e&icted management to return to the firm.; The difficu!ty as that 8 or'ers5 contro!8 amounted to an anarchist attempt to rea!i(e or'ers5 o nership in a sing!e factory< or" as the Menshe&i' 0her&anin put it" 8 or'ers5 contro! has changed the masters of the factories from one ... group8 to another hi!e 8indi&idua! factories K as former!y" RremainS ... unconnected ith one another.87 Aac$ing coordination, and in this sense systematically isolated from one another, factory committees failed to lin$ different firms in the same (ranch of production and, (eyond this, the various (ranches of production themselves together* Conse+uently, all the particularly acute pro(lems of production, shortages and distri(ution resisted solution* There is not doubt" then" the factory committee mo&ement ()ctober 1917-February 1916) had a distincti&e!y anarchist and syndica!ist co!oring.7 %y Hanuary" anarcho-syndica!ists and non-party mi!itants" though sma!! in numbers" had begun to recei&e a hearing inside the committees. (This shou!d not be confused ith ha&ing a rea! impact on committee practices.) This group argued the on!y route to pro!etarian ascendancy !ay do n the road of direct action and spontaneous initiati&es. +ith conscious effort coordination cou!d and ou!d come" but from be!o . The actua! outcomes of the nationa!i(ations shou!d not b!ind us to the moment of truth embedded in the argument* The condition sine +ua non for rea!i(ation of 8se!f-managed8 socia!ism !ies in the se!f constitution of co!!ecti&e sub4ecti&ity through re&o!utionary action and &ice &ersa. That sub4ecti&ity - if a possibi!ity" then singu!ar!y pro!etarian on!y emerges" as first or'ers in p!ants" factories and as or'-groups" as groups of factories" as ho!e industries and then branches of production" and fina!!y as the c!ass as a ho!e ta'es possession of production through its o n organs" and from there the rest of society. %ut" as e stated at the outset" such is a pecu!iar!y contemporary perspecti&e on socia!ism - one mediated by the outcome of the 3ussian re&o!ution" i.e." conditiona! on our a areness of the meaning and significance of bureaucrati(ation for the possibi!ity of constructing an emancipated society.6 At any rate" this type of socia!ism as not a possibi!ity in 1917-1916 in 3ussia. ,n the first p!ace" forget the %o!she&i' po!emic (abo&e) aimed at the 8petty bourgeois8 character of the factory sei(ures* The )ctober 1917-February 1916 period as mar'ed by authentic c!ass strugg!e against emp!oyers5 sabotage. ,n the second p!ace the co!!apse of production cannot be attributed to the 8anarchy8 of or'ers5 contro! practices" though they did" of course" e#acerbate matters. 3esponsibi!ity !ay in the ?L years of &ar#&rought destruction*9 The prob!em ith the confiscations" on the

1Maplan,

Ibid, #3%. Maplan further suggests, be"ause it led to profit sharing s"hemes, )orkersI "ontrol 0seemJedK to have instilled into the )orkers a devotion to the fa"tories. 6t seemJedK to have produ"ed in the )orker an identifi"ation of the fa"tory )ith his o)n self.interest.0 Ibid, #2 .#2+. 2:vri"h, 06bid.0 3(.3. 4agorsky, )a Re%ubli;ue des so&iets, #+. 4<arr, Ibid, '%* :vri"h, 06bid.0 6t should, ho)ever, be remembered that until @anuary #+# , the (tate ;ank as )ell as the large ?oint.sto"k banks engaged in a sabotage of the ;olshevik regime by refusing to issue 0"redits and ... "ash Jto industrialists in orderK to pay )ages in fa"tories )here )orkers had taken "ontrol.0 This sabotage )as "arried out in "ollusion )ith industrialists. Maplan, Ibid, #3,.#3-. >ithout )ages, theft and pillage, like the sale of vital sto"ks, )ere often measures )orkers took out of "on"ern for sheer survival. 5Ibid' 6Maplan, Ibid, #2$. 7(ee :vri"hIs dis"ussion, 06bid,0 -3.-$. 8(imilarly, =oodey, 06bid,0 2'.2 . 90This pro"ess "annot be attributed ex"lusively, or mainly, to )orkersI "ontrol. 6t had been set in motion, long before the revolution, by su"h fa"tors as shortages of ra) materials, negle"t of ma"hinery and plant, and the general )eariness and demorali1ation begotten by the )ar. The revolution reinfor"ed all these adverse fa"tors and speeded up the pro"ess.0 Ibid, Maplan '#. :lso see fn. #22, above.

other hand" !ay in the fai!ure to generate a center to direct and guide the mo&ement. Though %o!she&i's did b!oc' the so!e effort that as made in this direction"1 this as not decisi&e. T o features shaping the e&ents of 1917 must be borne in mind. First" there as the ro!e of the &anguard" not the party or its !eadership but the !argest section of it" name!y" those %o!she&i's rooted as s'i!!ed or'ers among the factory pro!etariat. From !ate Hu!y unti! )ctober" these or'ers and not foreign e!ements (i.e." 8Aeninists8) e#ercised hegemony in the factory committees. They ga&e the mo&ement the po!itica! direction that made factory committees the crucia! factor in the ba!ance of c!ass forces after the 8Hu!y days.E Iet they ere not committed to a &ision of socia!ism from be!o . 3ather" they shared ith the party !eadership and" for that matter" the entire socia!ist mo&ement since the time of Mar#" a Statist &ision of the period of transition. Det, among Russian &or$ers they &ere the class conscious elements* Second!y" there is Aenin5s often $uoted remar' made in his April %heses* 8,t is not our immediate tas' to introduce socia!ism.8: The prob!em Aenin a!!uded to concerned the possibi!ities for socia!ism in a country in hich the o&er he!ming ma4ority of the popu!ace" petty commodity producing peasants (inc!uding poor peasants and !and!ess !aborers as e!!)" ere much more inc!ined to an indi&idua!ist redistribution of (e#propriated) !and than to the co!!ecti&ist reconstruction of socia! !ife in the countryside< in a country here not e&en the rudiments of modern urban cu!ture (e.g." !iteracy) had penetrated" and concomitant!y re!igious superstition and centuries-o!d habits of submissi&eness he!d s ay< and" in a country here materia! scarcity" not abundance" as regu!ar!y prob!ematic. The %o!she&i's" !ater i!!usions aside (such as those formed in the period of ar communism)" c!ear!y understood a socialist solution to the pro(lem of (ac$&ardness &ithin the frame&or$ of Russian society &as simply not a historical possi(ility* For %o!she&i's (up unti! 19:?)" the introduction of socialism &as contingent upon successful proletarian revolutions in one or more advanced European nations* )n the other hand" factory committee apo!ogists ignore the !arger $uestion of hether 3ussian bac' ardness cou!d ha&e supported a communist utopia. +ithout doubt" the fai!ure to assist the ne or'ers in the transformation of socia! re!ations in the or'p!ace ob4ecti&e!y functioned to conso!idate the position in po er of the party as a re&o!utionary minority o&er and against the re&o!utionary masses* 2onethe!ess" the case made against %o!she&i's is from this standpoint fundamenta!!y ahistorica!. The $uestion" then" is not hether %o!she&i's harbored a Statist pro4ect that inhibited any possibi!ity for coordinated de&e!opment of the factory committee mo&ement" de&e!opment bui!t upon from be!o . /ndoubted!y they did. 3ather" the crucia! $uestion concerns the meaning they ga&e to and the efforts they made to spread the revolution. For" in the conte#t of a successfu! or'ers5 re&o!ution in one or more ad&anced =uropean capita!ist nations" co!!ecti&e sub4ecti&ity issuing in an emancipatory practice may &ery e!! ha&e seen a ne !ife reconstituted on a much broader basis.

1(ee 2CW,

the interesting, albeit brief dis"ussion by 6saa" Leuts"her in his So&iet #rade 5nions, #.2. <<I7, 2,.

Part III +o" the )evolution "as ,ost, 1918T The disso!ution of the factory committee mo&ement coincided ith a simi!ar" if more !engthy process of disintegration o&erta'ing the so&iet system. %et een Hanuary and !ate Spring 1916" the industria! !ife of 3ussian society as para!y(ed. Aoca! so&iets ere po er!ess to pre&ent economic co!!apse< in fact" they mere!y acce!erated it. -isorgani(ation of the transport system as near!y comp!eted during this period.1 ,t e#emp!ifies the co!!apse that as occurring. 3ai! or'ers fai!ed to sho up for or' en masse, ma'ing transport at best irregu!ar. Trains" hen they ran" often ran ith neither !ights nor signa!s. After years of ar" ro!!ing stoc' as &irtua!!y dep!eted. +here it e#isted" it as put to non-rai! uses. %y Hune" rai! production as do n ;B-7BC" hi!e costs had increased 1;BC. ,n the big or'shop at So&moro" or'ers struc' against the to!! deteriorating economic conditions ere ta'ing on them* T o !ocomoti&es instead of the norma! eighteen ere produced month!y. ,n this situation parasitic socia! e!ements such as specu!ators emerged and had a fie!d day. .rofiteering and bribery ere part of and fue!ed the confusion. 3ai! or'ers did not go unaffected. Enconnected in and through their dai!y practice" !oca! so&iets on!y contributed to a orsening of the situation* @rains and fue!s being transported to !arge urban areas ere ta#ed or simp!y sei(ed" re$uisitioned or pi!!aged in route by !oca! so&iets or mi!itary re&o!utionary committees. These actions immense!y contributed to a famine condition that as de&e!oping in the cities. 3e&enue raising shared a simi!ar fate.: The centra! go&ernment" a State %o!she&i's ere desperate!y trying to reconstruct" !ac'ed re&enue sources* Aoca! so&iets" acting on their o n" 8imposed e#traordinari!y !e&ies on their ea!thier citi(ens" confiscated goods and sei(ed firms5 current accounts"E? thereby drying up a ma4or source of State re&enue. The efforts of the Finance" and Food and Supp!ies" 0ommissariats ere thus negated" rendered ineffectua! by the uncoordinated initiati&e of !oca! so&iets. Iet" the so&iet system5s decentra!i(ed character as not an inherent shortcoming. /nder different conditions or" a!ternati&e!y" ith more time to effect a centra!i(ation from be!o " decentra!i(ation may &ery ha&e not issued in a (ellum omium contra omnes* ,n the immediate sense" the prob!em as ar rought* The inabi!ity to rene ro!!ing stoc' and the conse$uent terrib!e disrepair of the rai! system" famine conditions in the urban areas" fue! scarcity" etc." &ere all disastrous products of nearly four years of &ar and" after 191;" of the manner in hich" mediately" the bourgeoisie by and !arge organi(ed the ar. ,n the end" the ar organi(ed by the !ibera!s (and" !ater" re&o!utionary democrats) drained the country5s resources" !ea&ing it e#hausted and prostrate. The ar had created a crisis of enormous proportions. ,n ear!y 1916" its to!! as c!ear!y &isib!e* ,mperia!ist ar had !eft the peasant masses" especia!!y the army" and a!! but c!ass conscious or'ers demora!i(ed. Though by !ate Hanuary co!!apse had yet to run its course" and though locally so&iets ere mass organi(ations en4oying popu!ar confidence" it did not ta'e great breath of &ision to see economic co!!apse and the disintegration of the so&iet system as a system ere on the immediate historica! agenda. %he dissolution of the factory committee movement and the uncoordinated character of the soviet system had left a po&er vacuum &hich could after Octo(er only (e filled (y those class conscious elements concentrated in the Bolshevi$ party* ,t as a &acuum hich" at any rate. %o!she&i's had fought the re&o!utionary democratic parties" and often against other pro!etarian organi(ations" to fi!!. The re&o!utionary &or$er#masses brought the %o!she&i's to po er" because out of po er it as the on!y organi(ation offering a ay out of the crisis engendered by imperia!ist ar. ,n po er" the $uestion of ar and peace pro&o'ed the first ma4or crisis the party faced. %he issue of &ar &as so critical in its ramifications for the possi(ilities of the creation
1Vi"tor 2Ibid, 3Ibid'

(erge, Dear 3ne of the Russian Re&olution, 2,#f. The follo)ing dis"ussion relies heavily on (erge. 2,2.

TTTTT R 3n 3# @anuary #+# , the ;olsheviks dis"arded the 0old style0 (3.(.! @ulian "alendar, and adopted the 0ne) style0 (A.(.! =regorian or )estern 7uropean one in use in 7urope sin"e the #$th "entury. The @ulian "alendar is #3 days behind the =regorian, so that for the first t)o )eeks of 2ebruary #+# no dates are ever given, sin"e in the areas under (oviet "ontrol the month of 2ebruary began on the #,th. 2or events designated by spe"ifi" days inside Russia up until 2ebruary #+# , or by months or periods inside Russia up until the same date )hi"h )ould vary a""ording to the t)o "alendars, 0ne) style0 =regorian dates are given parentheti"ally follo)ing the 0old style0 @ulian date. 2or events in ;ritain and on the "ontinent, the =regorian "alendar is used throughout.

of a truly international &or$ers@ movement and its successful revolutionary development, for the future character of the ne& regime, and as a test of the (asic tenets of Bolshevi$ doctrine, that it de facto sp!it and near!y destroyed the party. , Three positions ere assumed during the course of debate inside the party in the ear!y months of 1916. The first position as that of Aenin and the party right<1 it can be summari(ed as immediate and temporary peace at &hatever costs* The second position as he!d by !eft-communists hose spo'esman as %u'harin.: This position consisted in" summari!y" ad&ocacy of immediate, revolutionary &ar* Third position as Trots'y5s* ,t as essentia!!y in the nature of a sta!!ing tactic aimed at inning time to more ade$uate!y 4udge de&e!opments in the +est. ,t as a position that cou!d not be maintained once the @erman army in&aded the /'raine. Aenin" a consistent ad&ocate of peace throughout the near!y t o months of party debate" first forma!!y articu!ated his position in a series of these presented before a 6 (:1) Hanuary 1916 gathering of !eading .etrograd party functionaries.? T o !ines of inseparab!e" but ana!ytica!!y distinct argumentation are e&ident. )n the one hand" Aenin argued against &ie s under!ying gro ing sentiment among party members for aging re&o!utionary ar< and" on the other hand" he put forth &ie s on the necessity of a temporary peace. Against the ad&ocates of ar" Aenin pointed out the ca!! for peace as not an unprincip!ed stand" specifica!!y a betraya! of pro!etarian internationa!ism" as !ong as pro!etarian forces had not the strength to fight and" further" did not conc!ude secret treaties ith imperia!ist ru!ing c!asses. Thus" he noted the incorrectness of suggesting that by conc!uding peace the %o!she&i's ou!d ob4ecti&e!y a!ign themse!&es ith @erman imperia!ism. This perspecti&e yie!ded no possibi!ity of a princip!ed stand for" a!ternati&e!y" a re&o!utionary ar against the @erman bourgeoisie ou!d mean a!!iance ith the Ang!o-French imperia!ists. To cut through this fa!se opposition" Aenin maintained a &ictorious socia!ist re&o!ution cou!d not be 4udged from the standpoint of this or that imperia!ism" but so!e!y from the point of &ie of conso!idating and de&e!oping re&o!utionary gains of the ne So&iet repub!ic.> Asserting a point he ou!d return to again and again during the course of the debate" Aenin dec!ared a ar cou!d not be fought since the primari!y peasant army as utter!y e#hausted" conse$uent!y incapab!e of fighting and" moreo&er" undergoing party-initiated demobi!i(ation.; To under!ine the gra&ity of these consideration" Aenin on more than one occasion pointed to the desperate" near!y hope!ess situation at the front* For e#amp!e" he indicated So&iet forces !ac'ed e&en the horses to ithdra arti!!ery in the face of a potentia! @erman attac'" and @erman positions on the %a!tic gra&e!y endangered both 3e&a! and .etrograd.7 Aenin maintained" furthermore" that peasants ere simp!y un i!!ing to fight. To ad&ocate a ar no ou!d be suicida!" since it ou!d mean" he argued" !oss of poor peasant and broad pro!etarian support.7 According!y" any effort to age
1Mey

figures in"luded 4inoviev, (talin, and (okolnikov. @offe, Lomov, 3sinsky, (mirnov, Mretinsky, and Radek )ere leading figures. 3CW, <<7I, ,,2.,-%, and also ,-#.,-2. 4Ibid, ,,-. 5These points )ere made at ;olshevik "entral "ommittee meetings of ## (2,! @anuary #+# , #+ @anuary (# 2ebruary! #+# , # 2ebruary, and 23 2ebruary #+# . (ee #he =olshe&i.s and the 3!tober Re&olution' Central Co""ittee *inutes of the RSD)(1b2, pp. #',, # 3, 2%+, 2# . (Bereafter this volume )ill be "ited as CC *inutes'! (ee also Lenin, Ibid, CW, <<7, ,,-, ,,', and CW, <<7II, 2#, 2', ,#, ,2, ,,. 6n point of fa"t, LeninIs arguments "on"erning the ability of the army to fight )ere unprin"ipled, fashioned merely for the moment. <onsider the follo)ingH 6n @anuary, the same army, or part of it, had done no additional fighting sin"e mid.3"tober, the ;olsheviks had "ome to po)er and, in line )ith the partyIs "ommitments the army )as undergoing demobili1ation, )hi"h )ould, one might "on"lude, have led to a lifting of its spirits. There )as no reason to believe that the army )as anymore )illing to fight in 3"tober #+#' than in @anuary #+# . Pet in mid.3"tober, Lenin had been un)illing to a""ept arguments by Mamenev and 4inoviev that the peasant army )ould not stand and fight, but run, if "onfronted by =ermany in a revolutionary )ar (:lexander Rabino)it"h, #he =olshe&i.s Co"e to (o+er, #+', 2%,!. The latterIs argument )as made as a point against an insurre"tion aimed at the =olshe&i. sei1ure of po)er (as opposed to an in"lusively so"ialist government that in"luded radi"al demo"rats based on a transfer of po)er to the :ll.Russian <ongress of (oviets!. /arshaling opposing 0eviden"e0 for ea"h argument, in both "ases, LeninIs position )as determined by an ulterior end. 2irst, last, and al)ays, Lenin sought 5o)er. >illing to rule through the party (in "ontradistin"tion to, say, (talin, )ho )ould rule o&er the party, and over the bodies of masses of party members!, Lenin "ould not sit "omfortably )ith a situation he did not "ontrol. 6CC *inutes, #',. 7Ibid'
2L1er1hinsky,

ar ou!d undermine the socia! basis of the infant regime" pro&o'e the peasant masses into an o&erthro of the ne go&ernment" and bring to po er another go&ernment hich ou!d doubt!ess be forced to ma'e peace on orse terms.1 3ea!ity and ob4ecti&ity" then" consisted" for Aenin" in the !ac' of an army and peasant un i!!ingness to fight. The conc!usion" shared by the entire right- ing of the party" as" as !ong as the outbrea' of the @erman re&o!ution as indeterminate (or" a!ternati&e!y" this re&o!ution had yet to 8mature8)" hat as needed as time. A respite" during hich the young regime cou!d conso!idate itse!f" as necessary. More time as indispensab!e* Time to rea!i(e socia! reforms ( hich ou!d a!so" according to Sta!in" 8stir things up in the +est8)" time to thrott!e the 3ussian bourgeoisie" time to create an army.: A temporary peace as necessary in order to in a 8breathing space.E Against the ad&ocates of peace" %u'harin and the !eft dec!ared it as i!!usory to p!ace any hopes in the prospects of a breathing space. ,n the first p!ace" %u'harin maintained the 0entra! .o ers (@ermany" Austro-1ungary) ou!d not permit any respite. They ou!d se&er 3ussia from her coa! and grain in the /'raine as e!! as oi! in the 0aucuses.? This ou!d mean !oss of up to ha!f of the 3ussian popu!ace" and enormous numbers of the country5s sma!! pro!etariat. The producti&e !ife of the country ou!d suffer sti!! further" as much under conditions of peace as those of immediate ar. ,n the second p!ace" socia! dis!ocations created by acce!erated economic co!!apse ou!d" so the !eft argued" on!y pro&ide ferti!e soi! for gro th of 0entra! .o er imperia!ist-aided and -sponsored counterre&o!ution. There ou!d be no respite because these imperia!ists ou!d do e&erything they cou!d to thrott!e the re&o!ution.> ,n the third p!ace" articu!ating a fear Aenin a!so shared" the !eft suggested the !i'e!ihood of united imperia!ist inter&ention rendering any separate treaty meaning!ess.; For !eft-communists" then" the 8 ay out8 cou!d not be achie&ed short of immediate re&o!utionary ar. The !atter at !east opened up the &ery rea! possibi!ity of cata!y(ing or'ing c!asses abroad and in the process bringing do n imperia!ist go&ernments. 3e&o!utionary ar as a ris'" but an abso!ute!y necessary one. Aenin had argued the !ac' of an army and peasant un i!!ingness to fight reduced the prospects for aging immediate re&o!utionary ar to a pious ish. %u'harin" in particu!ar" met Aenin5s argument head on. 1e did not deny the army as e#hausted" and as for its demobi!i(ation he as not spea'ing of that 'ind of army. %u'harin asserted re&o!utionary ar ou!d initia!!y at !east 8ta'e the character of a partisan ar of f!ying detachments8 hich of necessity &ould (e constituted in the very process of struggle*7 These mobi!e detachments ou!d spring up e&ery here" decentra!i(ed" as resistance to the presence of the imperia!ist in&ader< and" as such they ou!d" according!y" be difficu!t to root out. To be sure" there ou!d be terrib!e setbac's at the outset. %ut %u'harin suggested" a 8po er of the so&iet type"8 that is one en4oying popu!ar support in 8e&ery factory and &i!!age8 cou!d stand the !oss of .etrograd and e&en Mosco .7 %u'harin" then" ne&er conceded to Aenin the un i!!ingness of peasants to fight. %u'harin (and 3ade')" on the other hand" had argued and conc!uded on a severe shoc$" i.e." the presence of the in&ader" cou!d mobi!i(e peasants dra ing them out of their !ethargy. 6 For" in party shorthand for c!ass interests in the countryside" peasants ou!d fight in order to defend their 8!and" boots and grain.E9
1Ibid, 2CW,

#',, 2%+* and Lenin, Ibid, 33 . /inutes of ## (2,! @anuary and # 2ebruary, and theses of (2#! @anuary, respe"tively. <<7I, ,,+* CC *inutes, #',.#'-. 2or (talinIs remark, see Ibid, #''. 3Leuts"her, #he (ro%het $r"ed, 3 '. Left."ommunist advo"a"y of revolutionary )ar is usually treated by the faithful as a deviation from orthodoxy, as romanti" buffoonery and, at best, as an emotive statement of moral idealism. :s )ill be sho)n belo), at its "ore it )as something more and other than these, vi1., it )as "onsistent )ith revolutionary do"trine, it )as prin"ipled and pra"ti"al, and as a position it arti"ulated dire"tion )hi"h, on"e pra"ti"ally redu"ed, embodied the best hopes, not for survival but for, strengthening and expanding the eman"ipatory prospe"ts the revolution had originally opened up. 4Ibid, 3 . :lso CC *inutes, #+#.#+2. 5(ee the theses 03n the <urrent (ituation and the >ar0 of the ;olsheviksI 5etersburg <ommittee in Ibid, #+#. 2or LeninIs similar fear, see CW, <<7II, #2%.#2#. 6@ohn 7ri"kson, #he So&iet High Co""and, 2'. 72or ;ukharinIs remarks, see Ibid. :""ording to Leuts"her (Ibid, 3 !, the loss of either "apital )as not at issue bet)een the Lenin and ;ukharin, sin"e Lenin also thought 5etrograd and even /os"o) "ould be lost )ithout fatally damaging the revolution. 8 Ibid, 3 +* and, 9ritskyIs remarks, CC *inutes, #'$. 9;ukharinIs full statement read, 05easants )ill be pulled into the fight )hen they hear, see and kno) their land, boots and grain are being taken from them.0

%u'harin understood the form of strugg!e appropriate to an industria!!y bac' ard and sti!! decentra!i(ed So&iet po er. +hen Aenin" on the other hand" dec!ared there as no army to fight" he meant %o!she&i's !ac'ed a !arge" e!!organi(ed standing army to carry on conventional &arfare* The differences ere enormous. For us" they characteristica!!y at once re&ea! and concea! the broader" under!ying differences of perspecti&e. The !eft communists argued the standpoint of internationa!ism" that is" of the possibi!ities for a brea'through to a =uropean re&o!ution. For the !eft" the very success of the 3ussian re&o!ution depended abo&e e&erything on the rapid de&e!opment of re&o!ution in the +est* G=ither the 3ussian re&o!ution... spreadRsS or it... perishResS under the pressure of imperia!ism.81 ,n the !eft &ie " immediate re&o!utionary ar ou!d rapid!y spread re&o!ution by cata!y(ing or'ing c!asses abroad a!ready mo&ing or appearing ready to mo&e. From the %o!she&i' perspecti&e on or!d ar" !eft-communists dre out the conse$uences. The ar" considered a product of inter-imperia!ist ri&a!ries" as capita!ism as a or!d-system in crisis.: From this" some among the Aeft abstract!y and mora!istica!!y deduced their internationa!ism as a commitment to re&o!utionary ar. %ut others" especia!!y %u'harin" c!ear!y grasped the fu!! imp!ications of the or!d ar* ,f the ar as an economica!!y integrated" or!d capita!ist system in crisis" then the e6plosive proletarian upsurges then ta'ing p!ace (in ear!y 1916) in %ritain" @ermany and Austro-1ungary ere" !i'e the 3ussian case" ta$en separately partial manifestations of an o(;ectively possi(le &orld &or$ing class response to the crisis, a response to the system as a ho!e in crisis and not to any gi&en nationa! economic formation(s) ithin it. ,n this conte#t %u'harin" for one" sa the conse$uences of a peace. .eace ou!d contribute enormous!y to the stabi!i(ation of the regimes in the +est" o&ercoming the imperia!ist crisis at !east temporari!y in the heart of the or!d-system. (,f so" ho as Aenin offering a breathing space to in the first p!aceN) This cou!d on!y occur at the e#pense of the re&o!utionary and socia!ist e!ements of the or'ers5 mo&ements outside 3ussia. ,t ou!d mean destruction of any but &ague and unrea!i(ab!e future chances for formation of an internationa! or'ers5 mo&ement" the e!imination of prospects of bringing do n imperia!ist ru!ing c!asses in the +est" and it ou!d prepare the ground for a fina! assau!t on 8So&iet po er.8? ,f the !eft sa the issue of ar or peace from the standpoint of the ob4ecti&e!y rea! possibi!ity of the de&e!opment of an =uropean or'ers5 mo&ement (and not" as Aenin c!aimed" from the &ie point of the preferrabi!ity of this or that imperia!ism)" Aenin5s position" though not chau&inistic" as one hich fai!ed to ta'e serious!y the conse$uences of a 3ussian peace for the formation of such a mo&ement" for the chances of the =uropean re&o!ution" and for the future of the infant So&iet regime. ,n his and the party right5s &ie " interna! conso!idation of %o!she&i' ru!e too' priority o&er the &ery rea! prospects for the a re&o!utionary brea'through by this mo&ement* .E.. RTheS preser&ation of the repub!ic that has a!ready begun the socia!ist re&o!ution is most important to us...8> Aeft-communists ere i!!ing" or so it seems" to ris' hat Aenin ou!d not.

:lso "ompare the remarks by the left, 9ritsky, and further those of ;ukharin, CC *inutes, #'$, 2% .2%+. 1Ibid, 2%+ (;ukharin is "ited here!* also, LomovIs remarks, Ibid, #''. 2The 0imperialism0 spoken of and analy1ed by ;olsheviks has very little in "ommon )ith the "ontemporary notion that goes by the same name. J(ee here in parti"ular LeninIs I"%erialis"4 #he Highest Stage of Ca%italis" and ;ukharinIs I"%erialis" and World !ono"y'K This is not redu"ible to a differen"e in histori"al situatedness. 3n the ;olshevik analysis, imperialism does not refer to a single hegemoni" national (tate (e.g., the 9nited (tates!, or to a group of su"h states (9.(., =ermany, @apan, ;ritain, 2ran"e! opposed to and exploiting a so"io.e"onomi"ally amorphous 0Third >orld0 ()ith a 0so"ialist0 or 0bureau"rati"ally so"ialist0 0(e"ond >orld0 some)here in.bet)een!. The "urrent morali1ing notion of imperialism (i! takes nationEStates and not, say, an integrated )orld "apitalist syste" as the fundamental datum of the "ontemporary )orld* and (ii! it abandons "lass analysis for a perspe"tive that is radi"ally nationalist (and (tatist!, not proletarian and so"ialist, in inspiration and out"ome. >e repeat, on the ;olshevik analysis, ho)ever, imperialism is a )orld.system, the most advan"ed form of "apitalist development, resting on the internationali1ation of "apitalist so"ial relations, i.e., on the penetration and restru"turing of pre."apitalist so"ieties by bourgeois produ"tive and market relations. :s su"h there are not different 0)orlds of development,D merely a single )orld e"onomy of )hi"h different national e"onomies are moments. There are, to be sure, polesH /etropolises exist in the developed "ore and they stru"ture the e"onomies of the ba"k)ard "ountries. ;olsheviks "onsidered national (tates and 0national interests0 euphemisms for bourgeoisies and their interests. 3n the other hand, they held "utting through the diversity of peoples )as an ob?e"tively formed )orld proletariat. 3(ee ;ukharinIs theses (espe"ially, no. $ and !, 03n the <urrent (ituation and the >ar,D adopted by the 5etersburg <ommittee on # (3#! @anuary #+# , CC *inutes, #+#.#+2. 4Lenin, CW, <<7I, ,-2.

,, %y February 1916" the c!ass conscious e!ement of the re&o!utionary mo&ement hich s ept %o!she&i's to po er as inside the party. These mi!itants numbered from :BB"BBB to :;B"BBB. Their ties to the pro!etariat as a ho!e as e!! as the &ery e#istence of this c!ass as a c!ass ere becoming tenuous* The re&o!utionary mo&ement as dissipating in the disso!ution of the factory committee mo&ement" in the approaching co!!apse of the so&iet system" in the demobi!i(ation of the army - especia!!y its re&o!utionary e!ement" and genera!!y the e#haustion rought be four years of ar. ,f the hidden energies of the peasant- and &or$er#masses ere to be once again tapped" their mo(ili-ation could only have (een a self#act rooted in a clear consciousness of an impending, catastrophic threat to their immediate, daily interests* A @erman in&asion as this threat* ,t ou!d ro!! bac' the con$uests of )ctober.1 The party cou!d ha&e functioned as a &ehic!e for heightening a areness of this threat< and a c!ear consciousness ou!d itse!f ha&e been the se&ere shoc' hich ou!d ha&e set peasants in particu!ar mo&ing against the armies of the imperia!ist in&ader. ,f the forms of the re&o!utionary mo&ement ere co!!apsing" the o(;ective possi(ility of reconstituting the social (asis of the Octo(er revolution disappeared &ith the failure to &age revolutionary &ar, and" if the construction of socia!ism as" at any rate" impossib!e in bac' ard 3ussia" this fai!ure not on!y ignored the mass se!f-acti&ity necessary to and 4ustifying the !imited steps that cou!d ha&e been ta'en in the direction of socia!ist reconstruction" but it let slip the opportunity to cataly-e &or$ers@ movements a(road* %ut as the minutes of the party debate so c!ear!y re&ea!": no one among !eft-communists as i!!ing to ta'e responsibi!ity for the conduct of the ar and" especia!!y" for the conse$uences of seeing this position through to the end (inc!uding the conse$uences ithin the party such ou!d entai!). Iet it as not the ad&ocates of re&o!utionary ar" but Aenin and the party right ing" ho stood in the minority on the ar or peace issue. .assionate!y supporting a centra! committee ma4ority fa&oring immediate re&o!utionary ar ere a ma4ority of party members in the go&erning State body - the 0ounci! of .eop!e5s 0ommissars" near!y a!! !eading party committees (most important!y" the .etrograd =#ecuti&e 0ommittee" Mosco =#ecuti&e 0ommittee and the Mosco 3egiona! %ureau" the 0entra! %ureau of Aithuanian sections" etc.)" and the o&er he!ming ma4ority of party or'ers. A!! the arguments for temporary peace aside" Aenin as ab!e to o&ercome the tremendous popu!arity of the !eft-communist position precise!y because an alternative to his peace position, fully &illing to see its position through to the end, did not e6ist* ,t is !i'e!y that had re&o!utionary ar been !aunched" it ou!d ha&e irreparab!y sp!it the party. Much of the !eft-communist un i!!ingness to assume !eadership" it seems" as based upon a areness of the ruth!ess strugg!e that ou!d ha&e had to ha&e been aged in order to suppress Aenin and the right.? /nder these conditions" it ou!d ha&e perhaps been impossib!e to age re&o!utionary ar. .erhaps not. 2onethe!ess" it is not superf!uous!y specu!ati&e to pose the $uestion of the chances of success had the party in fact
1Vi1., 2CC

a )orking "lass manned and supported government, the e"onomi" dominan"e of proletarian organi1ations, land reform, et". *inutes, #'#.2,%. 32or the most part this )as a matter of unspoken anxiety. The gravity of the situation, ho)ever, )as obvious to party members. 6t broke into the open in the statement presented to the << as a )hole by three of its left."ommunist members, namely, L1er1hinsky, @offe, and Mrestinsky, )ho had abstained and thereby allo)ed the pea"e fa"tion to form a ma?ority on the "ru"ial vote to a""ept or re?e"t =erman pea"e terms presented in ultimatum form after the invasion of the 9kraine. The statement read in partH 06f ... )e have to )age a revolutionary )ar against =erman imperialism, the Russian bourgeoisie and a se!tion of the %roletariat headed by )enin, then the Russian revolution )ill find itself in an even more dangerous position than if a pea"e is signed0 Jemphasis addedK. Ibid, 223.22,. :lso, see Leuts"herIs fas"inating dis"ussion of the fa"tions involved in this struggle, #he (ro%het $r"ed, 3 +.3+2. 9nintentionally to be sure, Leuts"her graphi"ally portrays TrotskyIs failure of nerve in the struggleH The left looked to him, as the only party member of re8uisite stature and proven leadership ability, to "hallenge Lenin. 2ully a)are and expli"itly pointing out the in"oheren"y of LeninIs position, Trotsky pla"ed his ne)ly dis"overed party "hauvinism above prin"ipleH Bis vote, too, )as de"isive in the formation of a pea"e fa"tion 0ma?ority.D This same "ommitment to the party as vanguard above and beyond prin"iple )as to haunt Trotsky throughout his lifeH 6n #+23, he refused LeninIs re8uest to ?oin in a struggle against the =eneral (e"retary . a fight that (talin "ould not have )on* from #+3#.#+33, he )affled over the 8uestion of splitting the ML5 until it )as too late . until the Aa1is )ere assured of po)er )ithout even a fight from advan"ed )orkers (a loss )hi"h marked the greatest defeat in the history of the )orkersI movement in the >est!* in #+3'.#+3 , he turned his ba"k on the remaining 3ppositional "omrades trapped in the (talinist gulag, )hile, of "ourse, making sure his honor )as vindi"ated by the Le)ey <ommission* and, in the same t)o years, he advo"ated and helped implement a poli"y inside the :meri"an (>5 aimed at "apturing the "adre of a left se"t . )hile foregoing this inter.party turmoil )ould have allo)ed the (>5 to a"tively parti"ipate in the most explosive period of industrial )orking "lass upheaval in :meri"an history (a parti"ipation that "ould have more effe"tively build the party, and allo)ing it to develop a real voi"e in the )orking "lass as the last imperialist )orld )ar began!.

been united around the !eft-communists perspecti&e. First" the debate on the ar or peace $uestion as un!i'e that surrounding the factory committee mo&ement ( hich %o!she&i's supported tactica!!y" hi!e ho!ding the mo&ement as an anarcho-syndica!ist aberration). +aging re&o!utionary ar as consistent ith %o!she&i' doctrine. ,t as &ie ed as a historica! necessity. The issue" then" as not one of princip!e" but one of timing. Aenin and the right" it i!! be reca!!ed" fa&ored a peace at hate&er costs but an immediate and temporary peace. =normous differences ou!d ha&e had to ha&e been o&ercome since the priority of 8preser&ing the repub!ic8 mean" obfuscatory discourse aside" conso!idating the party5s ho!d o&er ne State institutions. %ut the point is that unity as not in princip!e prec!uded by the nature of the issue under debate. Second" the arguments put forth on beha!f of re&o!utionary ar ere substantia!!y superior to those of the peace ad&ocates" and the chances of success" as e sha!! demonstrate" merited the ris' in&o!&ed* A revolutionary &ar could have (een &age and ?&on?, moreover, the (reathing space Aenin sought &as itself contingent upon success in immediately &aged revolutionary &ar* ,,, Aenin had based his position for peace and against immediate re&o!utionary on t o inseparab!y distinction contentions* (i) The So&iet regime !ac'ed an army" and (ii) peasants ou!d" at any rate" be un i!!ing to fight. (,f forced to do so" they ou!d re&o!t and bring do n the %o!she&i' regime.) Aenin assumed" as e noted abo&e" that an armed force ou!d ta'e the form a standing army engaged in con&entiona! combat. That" after a!!" as the type of armed force that in the face of a %o!she&i' decreed demobi!i(ation Aenin argued the regime !ac'ed. %ut this as a!so a historically specific form of armed force, one &hich characteri-es only those societies that are dominated (y highly centrali-ed, State organi-ations* )n the imperialist era, it is an essentially (ourgeois army formed as a repressive organ of a centrali-ed State constituted from a(ove* )t &as, ho&ever, inappropriate to an industrially (ac$&ard society in &hich State po&er &as still (ased on a decentrali-ed ?system? of soviets* %u'harin5s conception of mobi!e partisan units" on the other hand" c!ear!y comprehended the pre&ai!ing 8anarchy"E i.e." the decentra!i(ation and diffusion of po er. 0omprehension of the current situation together ith attention to the form of !ife under!ying those interests that ou!d compe! peasants to fight" made up those e!ements of the !eftcommunist position hich made it decisi&e!y superior to the right5s. ,f re&o!utionary ar as to ha&e been aged" then" aging it ou!d ha&e re$uired the type of armed force %u'harin and others had described. 1 %ut such a de&e!opment might ha&e created numerous centers of po er outside the party" a prospect Aenin no doubt ished to a&oid at a!! costs. %y !in'ing partisans to the party" a!ready formed 3ed @uard units cou!d ha&e pro&ide the necessary centra!i(ation and !eadership" but gi&en their numerica! insignificance peasant i!!ingness to fight as decisi&e. Aeftcommunists ere" in fact" &indicated by the subse$uent course of e&ents. ,n !ate February 1916" the @erman army in&aded the /'raine. 0ompe!!ed to ma'e $uic' grain sei(ures - to feed itse!f and the star&ing urban popu!ations of Dienna" %udapest" etc." and to ho!d off potentia! urban food riots that might cata!y(e or'ing c!ass re&o!ts - the @erman army as met e&ery step of the ay by peasant resistance<: and it as not 4ust peasant resistance* As !ate as Hu!y 1916" Trots'y in his ro!e as +ar 0ommissar issued an order aimed primari!y at 3ed @uards. Summari!y" 8the order as to impose se&ere discip!ine R&i(." death by shootingS on 3ussian partisan detachments hich threatened to disrupt the peace by se!f- i!!ed attac's on @erman troops.8? /'rainian peasants demonstrated hat !eft-communists had argued* +ar-engendered e#haustion and the resu!ting un i!!ingness to fight as o&ercome by a se&ere shoc'" i.e." by the presence of the in&ader occupying their !and and e#propriating their grains. The course of the ci&i! ar as to further pro&e on!y the se&erest shoc' (name!y" the presence of fourteen different" in&ading forces) ou!d raise the peasantry out of its ar eariness to once again
16n

a spee"h published in 5etrograd 2 Le"ember #+#' (#% @anuary #+# ! and reported in the )estern press, A.V. Mrylenko, "entral "ommittee member, a 5eopleIs <ommissar and ad ho" 0"ommander in "hief0 of the demobili1ing army, had already stated that 0the old :rmy is not in a fit state to "ope ... )ith the likely immanent imperialist atta"k, an :rmy of the 5eople, an :rmy the nu"leus of )hi"h should be the Red =uards of the )orkers ... 0 must be formed. #he #i"es, #% @anuary #+# . 9nderstanding of the relations of armed for"e to revolutionary )ar under "urrent "onditions )as diffused throughout the party. LeninIs position should be re"ogni1ed for )hat it )as, namely, a rather !rude "ystifi!ation. 20;ukharin spoke out for a )age )aged )ith mobile partisan deta"hments ()hi"h )as e/a!tly ho+ the 5.rainian %easants +ere fighting off the >er"ans2.0 7ri"kson, Ibid, 2' (emphasis added.!* also Leuts"her, Ibid, 3 , ,%#. 3Ibid, ,%#.

become a 8regu!ar so!dier.E ,ronica!!y !eft-communists ere again correct* 0orresponding to the e&o!&ing" high!y centra!i(ed form of %o!she&i' ru!e" a ne standing army as constituted as such in the &ery course of strugg!e" !itera!!y on the batt!efie!ds.1 ,f it as i!!usory to ha&e be!ie&ed a respite ou!d ha&e a!!o ed to time to rebui!t an army" it as e$ua!!y the case ith supp!y !ines and the rai! system. +here each reappeared it had nothing to do ith the period of a breathing space. To the !imited e#tent supp!y !ines ere again made operati&e and the rai! system rebui!t" each as done as the needs of the 3ed Army (itse!f in the process of formation) at the &arious fronts dictated" as these fronts themse!&es came into being" that is" in the &ery course of strugg!e. The @erman in&asion" moreo&er" made the respite doub!y i!!usory. The occupation rested from %o!she&i' ru!e ;;C of its heat" >;C of its fue! production" and 7BC of its meta! industry. : Further" a fu!! >BC of the industria! pro!etariat came under @erman contro! ith acceptance of the peace. As !eft-communists had pro4ected" these outcomes ga&e rise to terrib!e economic dis!ocation" further acce!erating the ongoing co!!apse (and enormous!y reinforcing centra!i(ing stati(ation)" and had po!itica! conse$uences hich brought %o!she&i' ru!e into $uestion.? Aenin had argued conso!idation of %o!she&i' ru!e too' precedence o&er creation of a re&o!utionary" =uropean or'ers5 mo&ement. ,t cannot" ho e&er" be serious!y argued this prioriti(ation as an outcome of an ana!ysis of either the internationa! or interna! ramifications of a peace. -id Aenin rea!!y be!ie&e a peace as a condition of 8the genera! socia!ist re&o!utionN8 (Jino&ie& at !east admitted 8a peace i!! strengthen chau&inism in @ermany and for a time ea'en the mo&ement e&ery here in the +est.8) > -id Aenin rea!!y be!ie&e it as possib!e to ithdra e&en temporari!y from an integrated or!d capita!ist systemN (The &ery notion of a breathing space is autar'ic and" conse$uent!y" un#Mar#ist.) And if it as" cou!d it ha&e been for purposes of repairing a near!y ruined rai! system" estab!ishing supp!y !ines and bui!ding on these a standing armyN A!! in the conte#t of economic co!!apse made catastrophic by !oss of unbearab!y !arge parts of the industria! and agricu!tura! basis of the 3ussian economy" and !oss of contact ith !arge numbers of c!ass conscious or'ers conse$uent upon se&ere repression by the @erman armyN And if granting a!! this as possib!e" it cou!d not ha&e been done either in the short period of ee's" or at best months" Aenin en&isioned" or ithout introducing 8deformations8 that ou!d ha&e irreparab!y pre4udiced the potentia! for a socia!ist future. +ithout the aid of the techno!ogica!!y superior +est" and conse$uent!y ithout the rea! suspension of hosti!ities; ith at !east one group of the ri&a! imperia!isms" such tas's ou!d ha&e ta'en years and the socia! costs of" say" primiti&e (re)accumu!ation ou!d ha&e insured the non-socia!ist character of the outcome. Aenin and Trots'y" so it seems" ere !oo'ing to some sort of cooperation ith the +est.7 Moreo&er" ith the signing of the peace in March 1916" a 8cessation ... of the offensi&e against capita!8 (Aenin) as decreed and the party !eadership headed by Aenin open!y pushed a perspecti&e fu!!y consonant ith its Statism" one ith a distincti&e!y capita!ist character that inc!uded emp!oyment of bourgeois managers and technica! e#perts in positions of authority in the enterprises" one-man management" 8iron8 !abor discip!ine" piece or' incenti&es" and Tay!orist methods of reorgani(ing the or' processes.7 Aed by )ssins'y and minus %u'harin" on!y !eft-communists ( ho" at any rate" ere rapid!y being margina!i(ed) continued to argue a perspecti&e on economic reconstruction consistent ith the ideas of State and Revolution" that is" for an e#panded notion of or'ers5 contro! ith a &ie to the construction of a

1(imilarly, 2(erge,

Leuts"her, Ibid, 3 +. Ibid, #+ . 3(ee se"tion V66, belo). 4CC *inutes, #' . 56.e., one )ithout territorial aggression, annexation, expropriations, or indemnities. 6=oodey, 06bid,0 ,2 and <arr, #he =olshe&i. Re&olution, II, +3.+,. 70The "essation of the offensive against "apital0 )as not a poli"y developed as an unmediated response to the )hip of ne"essity, vi1., to e"onomi" "haos, approa"hing famine, the demorali1ed response of the )orker. and peasant.masses to these unfolding "onditions, and the de"entrali1ation of the soviet system a""elerating the "ollapse. : line of a"tion, even if a response to naked ne"essity, does not develop in a theoreti"ally unmediated va"uumH The right.)ing vie) on 0se"uring the speediest possible e"onomi" revival ... to over"ome the ruin "aused by )ar0 (Lenin! )as "on"eptually mediated by a (tatist perspe"tive . that of a di"tatorship of the 0proletariat0 over a mixed e"onomy . on the transition to so"ialism, that is, by the need to "onsolidate party hegemony over the so"iety that )ould emerge from the revolution.

socia!ism from be!o .6 %ut by this time (Apri! 1916) such a perspecti&e as irre!e&ant" since the mass (ase for an emancipatory pro;ect &as rapidly and, &ith the signing of the peace, irreversi(ly, disappearing* ,D Aeft-communists had argued re&o!utionary ar cou!d cata!y(e or'ing c!asses abroad and in so doing bring do n imperia!ist regimes at the heart of the or!d system. +hat of these c!aimsN %et een mid-Hanuary and ear!y February 1916" pro!etarian mo&ements of enormous proportions emerged and then subsided in Austro-1ungary and @ermany. ,n %ritain a!so" a broad!y based and radica! or'ing c!ass mo&ement as poised to e#p!ode into e#istence. ,n Austro-1ungary"1 a se&ere inter on!y orsened a situation in hich food reser&es had been near!y e#hausted by an une#pected!y terrib!e har&est. A catastrophic food crisis as descending upon Austria and 1ungary" and outside %ohemia (rough!y contemporary 0(echos!o&a'ia) star&ation had a!ready begun. Acting months too !ate" the imperia! go&ernment reduced f!our rations on 1> Hanuary 1916 in Austria.: +or'ers5 response as immediate and spontaneous. )n 1; Hanuary" 1B"BBB or'ers demonstrated in Dienna5s industria! suburbs against the ration decree. This action spread out ard ta'ing shape as a stri'e a&e and o&ertoo' the industria! en&irons of Dienna. %y the 17th" 9;"BBB or'ers ere on stri'e in Ao er Austria" Styria" /pper Austria" Tyro!" and the industria! suburbs of %rno" the Mora&ian capita!. ,n the ma4or industria! areas" it as meta! or'ers in the armament p!ants ho prope!!ed the stri'e action for ard<? and" though the stri'e as spontaneous" &or$ers at once connected their response to the food crisis &ith the issue of peace and the tal$s at Brest#Aitovs$ bet een the %o!she&i's and the @erman high command.> Moreo&er" this e!ementa! stri'e a&e - massi&e in its proportions - ga&e birth to the most ad&anced forms of pro!etarian organi(ation" 8bringing forth ... tentati&e or'ers counci!s.8; The first day of the stri'e had" in fact" heard the ca!! for e!ections to so&iets go up. ,n 1ungary" the stri'e a&e as e&en more idespread and radica! than in Austria. %y 16 Hanuary" it had spread to %udapest. Soon the !arger part of 1ungarian industry as para!y(ed. The rai! ays" for e#amp!e" had come to a comp!ete standsti!!. +hi!e the ma4ority of %ohemian (0(ech) or'ers did not 4oin the stri'e mo&ement" 9!adno miners nonethe!ess struc' en masse* )n :: Hanuary" 1::"BBB 0(ech or'ers did" ho e&er" stage a one-day so!idarity stri'e. The action as ca!!ed" organi(ed" and directed by socia! democrats" but came at a time hen the stri'e a&e - under compu!sion or threat of mi!itary force - as beginning to ebb. Aate in the month the stri'e as brief!y re'ind!ed. A @erman po!itica! stri'e for peace connected up ith or'ers outside @ermany" spreading as far as Mora&s'a )stra&a" the mining district in northeast Mora&ia. )n 1 February" the sai!ors of the Austro-1ungarian fifth f!eet (anchored in the @u!f of 9otor) successfu!!y mutinied. The rising cu!minated in the formation of a centra! counci! of sai!ors" but as short-!i&ed !asting on!y three days.7 ,n !ate Hanuary 1916 in @ermany"7 the e#perience of ar eariness" food shortages and the anne#ationist demands of representati&es of the @erman high command6 at the peace conference brought industria! or'ers out in a mass
8(ee

the left."ommunist vie)s on the transition, 0Theses of the 5resent /oment,0 set forth in the short.lived ?ournal Fo""unist4 /hendelGnyi ahurnal e.ono"i.i' Ao. #, :pril #+# , "ited by <arr, Ibid, +. 12or this, see 4.:.;. 4eman, #he =rea.Eu% of the Habsburg "%ire, #32.#,2. 2Lates "on"erning events in :ustro.Bungary, =ermany and ;ritain are based on the =regorian "alendar. 3Lu"1ynska, Wor.ers in $r"s, 2'.2+. 44eman, Ibid, #3'. :""ording to #he #i"es (London!, from the beginning the strike )as "entered on the issue of pea"e and opposition to =erman annexations (<ourtland, Lithuania, and 5oland!. (ee the issues for 2#.2$ @anuary #+# . 5Lu"1ynska, Ibid, 2 . 64eman, Ibid, #3+, #,%.#,#. 72or the follo)ing, "onsult :.@. Ryder, #he >er"an Re&olution of 191H, ##%.##+. 86.e., Ludendorff and Bindenburg, their staffs, and immediately subordinate offi"ers )ith "ommands in the field. The high "ommand exer"ised de fa!to, "lose to absolute "ontrol over =erman so"iety, )hi"h in formally politi"al terms "ould be "hara"teri1ed as a militari1ed, "onstitutional monar"hy. This did not mean, though, that a militarist imperialism existed independently of the development of =erman "apitalism. Tied together by the sub?e"tive logi" of "on8uest and the ob?e"tive imperatives of produ"tion, ("apital export and ra)

po!itica! stri'e against the mi!itary regime5s conduct at %rest-Aito&s'. 2ationa!!y" the stri'e preparations had been primari!y organi(ed by ,ndependent Socia!ists (/S.-) and" to a !esser degree" by Spartacists< but the actua! day-today !eadership of the stri'e as principa!!y pro&ided by the O(leute" a e!!-organi(ed !eft- ing group of shop ste ards in the meta! industries in the huge industria! centers. The O(leute formed a mi!itant opposition to the officia! trade union !eadership ith hom it had bro'en ear!y in 1917 o&er precise!y the ar-re!ated $uestion of the 8ci&i! peace8 (Burgfrieden." that is" o&er the chau&inist socia!ists5 commitment to the suppression of pro!etarian c!ass interests in the 8nationa!8 interests of @ermany at ar (i.e." in the interests of the imperia!ist and mi!itarist @erman bourgeoisie). %y Hanuary 1916" the ma4ority of meta! or'ers - a po!itica!!y eighty stratum of the @erman or'ing c!ass because as in %ritain" 3ussia" etc." ar production as impossib!e ithout its cooperation - as i!!ing to ta'e its direction from the shop ste ards. The or' stoppage originated as a short-term" three day political general stri$e for peace* ,t began on :6 Hanuary in %er!in" in the doc'yards of 9ie! and 1amburg and in 2uremberg" here initia!!y it in&o!&ed some >BB"BBB or'ers. The ne#t day" it spread to Mannheim" -an(ig" MQnchen and 9U!n. From there it e#panded to sma!!er to ns and pro&inces in&o!&ing at its height appro#imate!y one mi!!ion or'ers and their fami!ies. Significant!y" though" in Aeip(ig" the 1a!!e district and -resden here !eft socia!ists ere strong" the response to the stri'e as partia! and tentati&e. At any rate" the regime responded ruth!ess!y. A state of siege as decreed" the !abor press banned" a!! stri'e meetings ere bro'en up by po!ice" and thousands of army reser&e or'ers ere ca!!ed up. Se&en !arge industria! concerns ere p!aced under mi!itary contro! and the or'ers of these firms ordered to return to or' under pena!ty of death.1 The go&ernment repression generated c!ashes bet een stri'ers and po!ice hich !ed to deaths and arrests. /ithout a sense of the broader dimensions of or'ing c!ass resistance to the ar" ith tensions bui!ding and the stri'e rapid!y approaching a point of no return" ith constant pressure from the socia! democratic chau&inists (S.-) to ca!! off the stri'e" facing se&ere go&ernment repression and after a ee' of aning support in the pro&inces" shop ste ards ended the stri'e on ? February ithout achie&ing any of their stated goa!s.: ,n %ritain"? a shop ste ards mo&ement had come into being in !ate 191;. ,t as forged in a dua! strugg!e against argenerated di!ution and the conser&ati&e craft union !eadership. Aed by re&o!utionary or'ers" the mo&ement as based among and for the most part confined to engineers" turners" and fitters in the meta! industries" particu!ar!y among armament producers. -uring Hanuary 1916" the mo&ement broadened and came ithin a breath of !in'ing the strugg!e against di!ution to that of a rapid!y gro ing anti- ar mo&ement. ,nstead" it degenerated into a sectiona! strugg!e against the conscription of s'i!!ed or'ers. )n 1> Hanuary" go&ernment representati&es introduced a mi!itary ser&ice bi!! into .ar!iament. 2ine days ear!ier" !eaders of the shop ste ards mo&ement had met and he!d a nationa! conference at hich the current food shortage and manpo er situation ere discussed. +ithout ca!!ing for nationa! action" de!egates returned to their homes to gauge the depth of or'er opposition to the conscription bi!! and the ar. ,n the ma4or centers of the shop ste ards mo&ement" sentiment ran strong!y not on!y against further conscription" but a!so e&inced an on!y retrospecti&e!y ob&ious understanding that continuation of the ar re$uired an e#tended draft. Moreo&er" in some centers s'i!!ed or'ers appeared i!!ing to precipitate nationa! action to force the go&ernment to the negotiating tab!e at %rest (for" after a!!" the origina! ca!! for peace ta!'s sent out by the %o!she&i's ere addressed to all be!!igerents). .articu!ar!y encouraging had been the unity forged bet een s'i!!ed and uns'i!!ed or'ers in centers such as Sheffie!d. From 16-:B Hanuary" on the 0!yde and in Sheffie!d but a!so in %arro " 0o&entry" =rith" Aondon" and +oo! ich" reso!utions demanding the go&ernment cease hosti!ities and negotiate peace ere passed by !oca! Trade /nion 0ounci!s of the officia! trade union mo&ement. These ere in part the product of pressure from mass meetings of the ran' and fi!e at hich mi!itant sentiment against further conscription as &oiced. The meetings had been organi(ed by the shop ste ards and ere attended by or'ers numbering in the thousands.
material sour"es!, by a national "ulture, and by similarity of origins and formation of the "lass layers that dominated both, these t)o realities )ere inseparable. Lra)ing on LudendorffIs dairies, @ohn >heeler.;ennett (Bindenburg, #3 ! has pointed out the high "ommand 0allied itself )ith the industrialists and lando)ners, and supported their )ar aims.0 6ndustrialists and lando)ners . the former not the least be"ause massive )ar profits a""rue to them, of "ourse, supported the )ar effort. 1Ryder, Ibid, #,#.#,2. 2(ee se"tion V, belo). 32or this, see @ames Binton, #he @irst Sho% Ste+ards *o&e"ent, 2--.2'2.

Iet the mo&ement co!!apsed< and it co!!apsed ithout bui!ding a strong nationa! organi(ation" ithout producing nationa! manifestations of opposition to the go&ernment5s ar po!icy" and ithout fusing ith the gro ing anti- ar mo&ement. )n :; Hanuary" !eading shop ste ards had met and abdicated responsibi!ity for the embryonic mass or'ers5 mo&ement* 2o nationa! action had been ca!!ed and thereafter the mo&ement began to dissipate. Abdication as rooted in the fai!ure to get a mandate from or'ers in and through efforts to gauge their sentiment on the ar. For here forma! ba!!ots ere ta'en" ran' and fi!e opinion as often rough!y di&ided bet een an anti- ar and a mere!y sectiona! stand. ,n these cases" shop ste ards bac'ed off instead of pro&iding a determined anti- ar !eadership< and" in other ( here it as gauged sentiment might run against anti- ar action)" no ba!!ot as ta'en. +ithout a broader sense of the =uropean character of the strugg!e against the ar" shop ste ards - fearing their efforts ou!d produce cries of treachery - hesitated to e#ercise the !eadership they a!ready practiced in their or'p!aces* 0!ass ide po!itics in the form of a or'ers5 strugg!e against an imperia!ist ar as reduced to sectiona! mi!itancy against the !oss of pri&i!ege (draft e#emption accorded the s'i!!ed). D The brief descriptions of the or'ers5 mo&ements in Austria" 1ungary" %ohemia" @ermany" and %ritain ser&e t o purposes. First" they strong!y suggest the strategy of immediate re&o!utionary ar at once anticipated and as direct!y re!ated to ongoing e&ents in 0entra! =urope and %ritain. Second" the descriptions a!so suggest the c!aim that immediate re&o!utionary ar cou!d cata!y(e or'ers5 mo&ements abroad pointed to a &ery rea! possibi!ity. The stri'e a&e in Austro-1ungary had been suppressed by either use or threat of mi!itary force. For e#amp!e" in 1ungary" the army bro'e the rai! ay stri'e and troops ere used to force 9!adno miners in %ohemia bac' to or'. ,n fact" se&en combat ready di&isions ere present in Austro-1ungary during ear!y 1916. )n the other hand" /'rainian peasants in their resistance to the in&asion managed to dra in and tied do n a mi!!ion @erman and Austrian troops see'ing grain stores for o&er three months. 1ad the %o!she&i's been i!!ing to dec!are immediate re&o!utionary ar" encourage the formation of partisan units and gi&e direction to the !atter through mobi!i(ed 3ed @uards" 0entra! .o er imperia!ists ou!d ha&e been compe!!ed to immediate!y thro more troops into the fray or face the domestic conse$uences of fai!ing to capture grains. ,n turn" this ou!d ha&e freed up or'ers in Austria" 1ungary" %ohemia" and @ermany for actions ith much !ess fear of mi!itary reta!iation. Furthermore" had the in&asion been met ith determined resistance by the So&iet regime" it is un!i'e!y any p!ausib!e number of troops cou!d ha&e been used to brea' the resistance. The @erman high command as" it shou!d be reca!!ed" committed to its !ast ma4or offensi&e of the ar on the other" estern front. +ith e&en the historica!!y gi&en passi&e peasant resistance in the countryside" a strategy of defensi&e re&o!utionary arfare e#ecuted through numerous sma!! groups of f!ying detachments of partisan units - made up of the acti&e!y resisting peasant minority !ed by 3ed @uards" the in&ading armies ou!d ha&e found themse!&es bogged do n in a nightmare of non-con&entiona! arfare. -emora!i(ation ou!d ha&e rapid!y begun to set in. 0arefu!!y propagandi(ed by %o!she&i' agitators among the !oca! ci&i!ian popu!aces" something actua!!y done ith @erman troops stationed around %rest-Aito&s' and ith prisoners of ar" these troops ou!d ha&e been hesitant to repress or'ers if ca!!ed bac' home. )n the front" demora!i(ation ou!d ha&e rea'ed ha&oc ith the design of the high command. ,n any e&ent there ere three presuppositions" none e&er actua!i(ed" upon hich re&o!utionary ar had to be based. First" as argued abo&e" party unity" not prec!uded on princip!e" as necessary. Second" gi&en unity ( ith or ithout Aenin) around the necessity of aging re&o!utionary ar" an understanding of the appropriate type of (defensi&e" non-

con&entiona!) arfare cou!d ha&e (and had in princip!e a!ready) been arri&ed at.1 Third" proper timing for a 8dec!aration8 of ar as itse!f gi&en ith the course of e&ents. -uring the course of the %rest conference" the 0entra! .o er de!egation more and more c!ear!y re&ea!ed its imperia!ist ambitions.: The accumu!ating disc!osures did not" ho e&er" simp!y confirm for %o!she&i's a perspecti&e on imperia!ist beha&ior they at any rate a!ready he!d. The peace negotiations ere conducted in pub!ic and open!y in fu!! &ie of the or!d" a condition for negotiations %o!she&i's had demanded at the outset of the peace ta!'s.? Throughout Hanuary and February 1916" the peace proceedings ere by a!! accounts centra! issues for not on!y imperia!ist mi!itary !eaders and bourgeois po!iticians" but for &anguard or'ers in =urope and %ritain. The stri'es in Hanuary in Austria" 1ungary" %ohemia" and @ermany as e!! as the stri'e action hich fai!ed to materia!i(e in %ritain ere direct!y" moti&ationa!!y connected to the increasing!y e&ident imperia!ist stand unfo!ding at %rest-Aito&s'. 3eca!! the stri'es demands. ,n @ermany" the demands ca!!ed for a !ifting of the state of siege" more and better food" !ifting of censorship and protecti&e custody" comp!ete freedom of speech" press" assemb!y and associations" abo!ition of compu!sory !abor !a s" po!itica! amnesty and organi(ation of or'ers5 counci!s to enforce acceptance of an ear!y peace.> ,n Austria (and simi!ar!y in 1ungary and %ohemia)" or'ers demanded the %rest negotiations must not run aground on territoria! c!aims< further" they demanded e$ua!ity in food supp!y distribution" genera!" e$ua! and secret ba!!oting in municipa!ities" and reinstatement of or'ers5 rights !ost to the mi!itari(ation of industry.;

1;ukharin,

at the 5arty <ongress in :pril #+#', had already outlined the problemH 0This )ar "an assume various "hara"ters. 6f )e su""eed in repairing our disrupted e"onomi" organism, )e )ill go over to the offensive. ;ut if )e "annot muster the strength to "arry on an offensive revolutionary )ar, then )e )ill "ondu"t a defensi&e revolutionary )ar0 (emphasis added!. JBo)ever, also see the ex"hange bet)een ;ukharin and 5reobra1hensky "on"erning the formerIs 0Theses on the <urrent /ovement and the >ar.0 ;ukharin read the offi"ial position that had been hammered out at the 5arty "onferen"e and 5reobra1hensky "hallenged him for a loose formulation that failed to expli"itly link the likelihood of revolutionary )ar to 0the event of the di"tatorship of the proletariat.0 ;ukharin re?e"ted 5reobra1henskyIs perspe"tive on the same ground that he )as later to "riti"i1e Lenin for standing on, namely, a "on"ern that the revolutionary party in po)er might not be strong enough to "ondu"t su"h a )ar.K Robert V. Laniels (ed.!, $ Do!u"entary History of Co""unis", 7',, #'.# . ;ukharinIs analyses )ere "onsistent )ith unfolding events so that a year later at the (eventh 5arty <ongress ((on ' /ar"h #+# ! he )as simply able to reiterate his vie)sH 0;efore us stands the prospe"t of steadily dra)ing broad ... JlayersK of the population into the struggle Jsimply throughK ... the very pro"ess of struggle...0 2rom 0;ukharinIs 0/inority Report to the (eventh 5arty <ongress,0 ' /ar"h #+# , (in Se&enth Congress of the RC(4 Stenogra%hi! Re%ort (in Russian!, /os"o), #+23! "ited and translated in Ibid, 2$.2'. That nobody "riti"i1ed left."ommunists for advo"ating )hat has "ome to be termed 0guerrilla )arfare0 is in itself "redible eviden"e they )ere not arguing for %rotra!ted struggleH >hile peasants may, industrial )orkers "annot engage in the irregular fighting it entails (nor the rural presen"e it re8uires! )ithout dis!onne!ting themselves from the plants and industrial "ommunities )hi"h are the so"ial basis of their po)er and destroying their proletarian "hara"ter, i.e., de"lassing themselves by living parasiti"ally off a peasantry, by means of theft in roving bands, et". 6n our vie), ho)ever, neither )ould large number of "lass "ons"ious )orkers have had to fun"tion as Red =uards, nor )ould the struggle have been protra"tedH The food situation in all of <entral 7urope demanded that the invading armies 8ui"kly resolve su"h a )ar in the 7ast in their favor, or resolution )ould have de"ided against <entral 5o)er ruling "lasses on the home front. 2(ee Aote Bistori"al 3, belo). 3Representative of 7nglish language ne)spapers )ere #he Ne+ Dor. #i"es and #he #i"es (London!. (ee their respe"tive issues, replete )ith often front page "overage of the daily pro"eedings in ;rest.Litovsk, for the period 22 Le"ember #+#' . 3 /ar"h #+# . :nd these bourgeois ne)spapers say nothing of the )orkers presses )hi"h had large proletarian reading audien"es in "entral 7urope. >ith a vie) spe"ifi"ally to the imperialist nations in 8uestion here, in ;ritain #he #i"es had daily "overage )ith o""asional lengthy summaries of the Trotsky.von Muhlmann dis"ussions* in Vienna, $rbeiter 6eitung, Neue @reie (resse and 7ossis!he 6eitung provided detailed reportage of the ;rest talks* and in =ermany, )hile military "ensorship should have, or so it might seem, s"reened "overage, the fourteen (#,! party ne)spapers that 6ndependent (o"ialists (9(5L! took )ith them in their split )ith the (5L defied the "ensor. :ll, in"luding the *ittelungs =latte (;erlin!, 7ol.sblatt (Balle! and )ei%ziger 7ol.szeitung, had extensive "overage. (ee Lavid >. /organ, #he So!ialist )eft and the >er"an Re&olution, passim. 2oreign /inister <ount <1ernin (head of the :ustrian delegation at ;rest! de"ried that the pea"e talks 0have taken pla"e in full vie)... Various phases of all past pea"e negotiations )hi"h )e kno) of have developed more or less behind "losed doors... >hen these various phases and these details are ea"h day telegraphed to the )orld, it is 8uite easily understood that they ... ex"ite publi" opinion.0 <ited in @udiah /agnus, Russia and >er"any at =restE)ito&s.. 4Ryder, Ibid, ##'. 5Lu"1ynska, Ibid, $% n. ,. These )ere, moreover, the diluted demands put forth after so"ial demo"rats had gained "ontrol over the strike movementU

,n %ritain" demands cou!d ha&e been put forth on the basis of those reso!utions passed by the Trade 0ounci!s in hich or'ers often dec!ared themse!&es against further compu!sory ser&ice ithout guarantees the go&ernment as prepared to negotiate on the basis of the %o!she&i'-inspired formu!ation" 8no anne#ations nor indemnities.E1 %ecause the stri'es ere po!itica! and e#hibited a c!ear a areness of the unfo!ding drama at %rest" the course of the peace conference itse!f pro&ided the appropriate moment for a 8dec!aration of ar8* That is" %o!she&i's cou!d ha&e dec!ared @erman imperia!ists pursued anne#ation instead of a 4ust peace" the dismant!ing of the So&iet regime instead of troop ithdra a! from occupied territories. They cou!d ha&e proc!aimed the 0entra! .o er peace terms ere utter!y unacceptab!e and announced the reca!! of the So&iet de!egation from the ta!'s. They cou!d ha&e f!at!y stated the armistice as at an end. They cou!d ha&e arned 0entra! .o er imperia!ists any incursion into 3ussian territory or that of friend!y nations such as the /'raine ou!d not be to!erated and ou!d be met ith determined resistance. And they cou!d ha&e ca!!ed on the pro!etariats of =urope to pre&ent 8their8 go&ernments from !aunching or aiding any attac's on the So&iet regime. Such ou!d ha&e constituted part of an unfo!ding defensi&e strategy for immediate re&o!utionary ar. ,t cou!d ha&e" moreo&er" been put forth at any time bet een the beginning of the stri'es in Austro-1ungary and those in @ermany. : ,t ou!d" then" a!most ha&e certain!y pro&ided the moti&e for materia!i(ation of the %ritish stri'e. ,n Austria" 1ungary" and %ohemia" the co!!apse of peace ta!'s ou!d ha&e ithout doubt re-ignited stri'e actions" seen or'ers5 counci!s reemerge" and (rought do&n the Ha(s(urg monarchy* ,t as" further" high!y !i'e!y a situation $ua!itati&e!y simi!ar to and perhaps more po!itica!!y ad&anced than that fo!!o ing the 3ussian February (1917) cou!d ha&e opened up.? ,n @ermany" a deepened stri'e mo&ement against the go&ernment ou!d ha&e brought forth the most sa&age repression" but not any further deterioration in the or'ing c!ass situation (not reaction nor hard!y counterre&o!ution). The high command" caught bet een t o fronts and committed to ar" as simp!y not strong enough to brea' a strong and" among significant !ayers of or'ers" po!itica!!y conscious pro!etariat. 1ad the armies of the @erman imperia!ists in&aded the /'raine after such a brea'do n of peace ta!'s - and the !ogic of the high command5s position" that is" its need for an Austrian a!!y" its o n food crisis as e!! as the sub4ecti&e !ogic of con$uest" ou!d ha&e compe!!ed it to do so" then anything short of a $uic' &ictory against partisan resistance ou!d ha&e opened crac's on the home front. ,t is a &ery rea! possibi!ity that the e&ents of 2o&ember 1916 ou!d ha&e under these conditions been pushed for ard 7-7 months. ,n %ritain" the pro4ected form of peace ta!'s co!!apse ou!d ha&e gi&en not on!y the necessary impetus to actua!i(e the stri'e mo&ement" but it ou!d ha&e created an opening in hich the anti- ar and or'ing c!ass mo&ements cou!d ha&e fused. The e#isting go&ernment cou!d not ha&e under these conditions continued fighting or months !ater entered the 3ussian 0i&i! +ar. ,f it had continued to fight" it ou!d ha&e fa!!en< > and though no %ritish February ou!d ha&e opened up" a bourgeois go&ernment committed to immediate armistice and negotiations ou!d ha&e been the on!y go&ernment hich cou!d ha&e assumed po er. A ne go&ernment coming to po er on this basis and continuing the ar ou!d ha&e pro&o'ed a crisis ith one possib!e reso!ution in the form of a %ritish February. ,n the e&ent" then" of ha&ing aged immediate re&o!utionary ar" the chances for success ere there. This is not" though" to pro4ect a 8&ictory"E for that is to spea' the !anguage of con&entiona! mi!itary arfare" that is" of con$uest" territoria! and resources gain" and the subordination of peop!es and c!asses. 2onethe!ess" success did ha&e a determinate content ith a &ie to the specific 3ussian situation of inter-spring 1916. First" it meant territoria! integrity for the ne So&iet regime as e!! as for those peop!es con$uered during the Tsarist era. ,t a!so meant for
1<f.,

e.g., the (heffield resolution "ited by Binton, Ibid, 2-'. appropriate moment )as #' (3%! @anuary #+# )hen the talks (earlier re"essed! resumed, after the 3rd :ll.Russian <ongress of (oviets had made its )ill kno)n (against =erman terms!, after ne)s of the =erman strikes had rea"hed the party and )ith detailed kno)ledge of ;ritish developments. (Litvinov )as the offi"ial ;olshevik representative to ;ritain and had been in 7ngland sin"e mid.@anuary. Mamenev )as also in London in late @anuary for the national Trade 9nion <oun"ils "onferen"e )hi"h he along )ith Litvinov attended.! 3Lu"1ynska, Ibid, 3+.,%, makes a similar evaluation. Aote the supporting eviden"e she brings to bear upon her ?udgment. 4This is patently obvious and "annot be doubted as a perusal of #he #i"es (London!, unoffi"ial organ of an united, pro.)ar ;ritish ruling "lass, )ill sho). 2rom (eptember #+#$ on)ard, #he #i"es paid daily attention to the armaments )orkers in, parti"ularly, the :malgamated (o"iety of 7ngineers and the anti.offi"ial 0rank.and.file0 movement that operated in it. Thinly "on"ealed is the overriding fear that the )ar effort )ill be subverted by "on"erted a"tion around the demand for 0an immediate armisti"e )ith a vie) to pea"e negotiations on the basis of Ino indemnities and no annexations.I0 (<ited from #he #i"es, 2+ @anuary #+# .!
2#he

those peop!es of regions such as the /'raine and 0aucuses" a rea! opportunity to put nationhood on a pro!etarian" c!ass basis and to or' out ongoing so&iet de&e!opment ithout the b!oody repression imposed by the imperia!ist in&ader. F!edg!ing So&iet repub!ics ere smashed and their mass bases decimated by in&ading armies. Second and more forma!!y" success meant a peace that as democratic and 4ust" i.e." one hich as not mere!y a mas' for territoria! aggression" anne#ation" and indemnities. ,n a!! !i'e!ihood" success and its coro!!ary" peace" ou!d ha&e made it e#traordinari!y difficu!t for +estern regimes to concerted!y pro&o'e ci&i! ar. Third and conse$uent!y" success a!so meant a rea!" i.e." non-i!!usory" breathing space. Time to thorough!y thrott!e the o!d bourgeoisie" its po!iticians and mi!itary men. Fourth" success ou!d ha&e compe!!ed the party !eadership to ree&a!uate its Hacobinism (or be s ept aside)* -ia!ecti(ation of re!ations bet een &anguard and or'er-masses" neither Statism from abo&e nor 8anarchy8 from be!o . Success ou!d ha&e meant regeneration of re&o!utionary forms f!o ing from the mass mobi!i(ation hich cou!d on!y ha&e on the success in the first p!ace. ,t a!so ou!d ha&e meant time for the mass enthusiasm a a'ened by success to shape socia! reforms and underta'e economic reconstruction" and time to construct a fighting force again bui!t on this mass enthusiasm - to aid the pro!etariats of the +est. Fina!!y" a dimension of this success itse!f ou!d ha&e been the creation of an arena in hich =uropean" especia!!y Austrian" 1ungarian" %ohemian" and @erman or'ers cou!d ha&e ta'en up the strugg!e for socia!ism. The e!ectrifying effect of a pro!etariat groping to ard socia!ism in centra! =urope on the or'ing c!asses of the rest of =urope hard!y need mentioning. ,t can" though" be pointed out the possibi!ities of techno!ogica! assistance from the +est ou!d in this e&ent ha&e been much more rea!. D, )nterrogation A prob!em. =&en if the %o!she&i's had been united around a defensi&e strategy for immediate re&o!utionary ar" you ma'e the case for actua!!y aging ar much too faci!e!y. This is" moreo&er" not 4ust a matter of capricious intent" but is structured by your historica! position in re!ation to the %o!she&i's. For you" the course of e&ents is a!ready historica!!y comp!eted" and history" at !east the first year of the re&o!ution" !ies before you fu!!y traced out" a mere ob4ect to be behe!d and described. =&en your specu!ation" hich granted cannot be crude!y dismissed as superf!uous inasmuch as it he!ps us to concreti(e an historica!!y possib!e a!ternati&e" suffers from this fau!t. This imagined 'no !edge itse!f as not fu!!y a&ai!ab!e to %o!she&i's" e&en on presuppositions of re&o!utionary arfare" to the e#tent it assumes an a areness in detai! of ongoing e&ents outside of 3ussia simp!y not accessib!e to them" and further since some of it as on!y constituted on the basis of the outcome of e&ents or through !ater re&e!ations. A response. +e agree* ,n the end" the on!y basis for e&a!uating unrea!i(ed historica! possibi!ities is the perspecti&e of history-as!i&ed" the situated and partia! standpoint of historica! actors. Ma'ing the case 8faci!e!y"8 as you say" does" ho e&er" ser&e another purpose< name!y" it pro&es" as far as counterfactua! and counter-historica! demonstrations are possib!e" a genuine alternative to Aenin5s notion of a respite actually e6isted* ,t demonstrates this" moreo&er" against the dead eight of years of obfuscatori!y moti&ated ridicu!e heaped on this a!ternati&e by 8Aeninists.8 As for specu!ation and its re!ation to the a areness of the historica! actors" %o!she&i's" the fo!!o ing is note orthy. Aeft-communists c!ear!y understood that the or!d ar as compe!!ing or'ers to mo&e against capita!ist regimes in the +est" and that once mo&ing re&o!utionary defensi&e ar ou!d ha&e had a cata!y(ing effect on these or'ers. At the !e&e! of 8fact"8 the party as a ho!e did 'no " perhaps not in great detai! but enough to achie&e ana!ytic c!arity" of the ongoing stri'e mo&ements in centra! =urope and of their character as po!itica! stri'es against the ar. 1 =ravda as rep!ete ith co&erage of these e&ents.: Aeft-communists a!so c!ear!y understood the re!ation of the
1;olsheviks

had )ell pla"ed informants in all the ma?or "apitols of 7urope. The "ase of Litvinov and Mamenev in London (see, n. #+2, above! serves as an example. 206t has happenedU The head of =erman imperialism is on the "hopping blo"kU The mailed first of the proletarian revolution is raisedU0 (ra&da headlines for # (3#! @anuary #+# .

conse$uences of a respite to the future of the So&iet regime. ,n sum" the !eft had a theoretica!!y coherent" factua!!y mediated perspecti&e on the necessity of aging immediate re&o!utionary ar. Of course, there &as a ris$< but ithout any e6 post facto description of outcomes" the coherency of the !eft5s position and that position5s ob&ious superiority on Mar#ist assumptions" hich after a!! ere a shared frame or'" o&er Aenin5s and the party right5s peace position" !eads to the intuition of the necessity of the ris'. Had the ris$ (een ta$en, there &as much more than a fighting chance for success, (ut, then, the chances for success depended upon a fight* D,, 3e&o!utionary ar had not been aged" and a regime fata!!y marred by the fai!ure to age it too' shape. )n 17 (?B) -ecember 1917" a decree ama!gamating and nationa!i(ing ban's as issued. The nationa!i(ation of industry did not" ho e&er" proceed apace. +here it did occur" it as not industry- ide< rather nationa!i(ations too' p!ace on a company by company basis as a response to specific conditions and not" say" as the outcome of a p!an for the entire economy" a p!an constituted from be!o or" for that matter" from abo&e. For e#amp!e" a !arge meta!!urgica! firm as ta'en o&er 8in &ie of the dec!aration by management of its intention to ind up the affairs of the company<8 and another 8in &ie of the company5s inabi!ity to continue operating the p!ant and of its importance to the go&ernment.81 These ere not atypica! cases. According to Mi!yutin" a !eading member of the Supreme 0ounci! of 2ationa! =conomy (Fesen$ha." 7BC of a!! nationa!i(ations in the first se&en months of the re&o!ution ere reactions to emp!oyers either deserting factories or refusing to accept or'ers5 contro!.: The !atter is the most important category* Though no re!iab!e figures e#ist" it is certain the o&er he!ming ma4ority of nationa!i(ations ere due to pressure from be!o . ,n most instances" they ere mere!y forma!i(ations of actions a!ready ta'en by indi&idua! factory committees. The ratification of the %rest treaty" signed ? March 1916" created a momentary pause - but hard!y a respite - in hich the party too' a $uite stoc' of the country5s situation. 0!ear!y" the economic dec!ine cou!d not be a!!o ed to go much further. Factory committee-initiated nationa!i(ations had not stemmed the tide of economic co!!apse< to the contrary" they had sped it up and this in turn discredited the concept and practice of or'ers5 contro!. A number of steps" ithout reference to or support from be!o " to centra!i(e direction of economic acti&ity had a!ready been ta'en. These inc!uded the ; (16) -ecember 1917 estab!ishment of a nationa! coordinating body for the economy" Fesen$ha, hich absorbed the .etrograd 0entra! 0ounci! of Factory 0ommittees (and di!uted its composition ith consu!tati&e 8e#perts8 among others)" and the :? -ecember 1917 (; Hanuary 1916) creation of simi!ar regiona! bodies subordinated to Fesen$ha* %ut a direct conse$uence of the fai!ure of the factory committees to ha!t economic co!!apse as the ear!y March 1916 institution of a system of super&ision and contro! consisting of a go&ernment commissioner" technica! and administrati&e directors" and an economic administrati&e counci! attached to and go&erning each enterprise. The counci!s ere made up of or'ers" emp!oyers" technica! staff" and trade union and !oca! so&iet representati&es. 0omposition as eighted against or'ers and their c!ass organs" a!! represented bodies ere subordinated to the counci! and the !atter to the go&ernment appointed commissioner. The top do n creation of a hierarchy of economic agencies" !i'e the !ater ho!esa!e nationa!i(ation of industry" ? as a reaction to economic 8anarchy8 o&er hich the %o!she&i's ere incapab!e of e#ercising contro!. 3esponse to famine conditions in the urban areas as effecting a simi!ar centra!i(ation of authority in the hands of the Food and Supp!ies 0ommissariat ('ar$omprod.* The great!y e#panded army - ta'ing the hea!thiest peasants from the fie!ds" the resu!tant drop in agricu!tura! production" the (re)orientation of industria! and agricu!tura! production to the needs of the front and the disorgani(ation of the transport system" a!! ta'en together had produced bread !ines and rationing in the cities by mid1917. ,n May 1917" the .ro&isiona! @o&ernment made a ha!f-hearted attempt to combat the orsening food situation by introducing a State monopo!y of grain ith de!i&ery at fi#ed prices. ,t as from this moment that the fu!! institutiona!i(ation of a b!ac' mar'et can be dated" and particu!ar!y peasant ithho!ding of grain for higher prices
1Le"rees "ited 2Ibid,

by <arr, Ibid, . + n. 2. 3Ibid, #%3.#%,. Aationali1ation of large industry )as de"reed 2 @une #+# . 6t thus put an end to any hope of "ooperation )ith (i.e., te"hnologi"al assistan"e from! the "apitalist >est.

became uni&ersa!i(ed. The %o!she&i's too' o&er the State monopo!y and inherited the prob!em of peasant resistance. The demobi!i(ation of the army in ear!y 1916 did not !ead to any impro&ement in the food situation. Famine as setting in. ,n Apri! 1916 in -iets'oye So!oe" near .etrograd" and in Smo!ens' there ere ma4or hunger riots. 1 ,n !ate Spring" Trots'y read te!egrams to a popu!ar meeting in Mosco . They stated" in part" from 82i(hni-2o&gorod pro&ince* The shops are empty" or' is going bad" shortages of ?BC of the or'ers through star&ation. Men co!!apsing at their benches8< from %ryans'" 8terrib!e morta!ity" especia!!y of chi!dren" around the factories of Ma!tso& and %ryans'" typhus is raging8< and so on. Iet" as Trots'y estab!ished" there ere :1; mi!!ion tons of reser&es in northern 0aucuses" hi!e ;C of these reser&es cou!d 'eep the !arger cities fed for a month.: 1a&ing fai!ed to support peasants against the @erman in&asion" peasants" particu!ar!y the midd!e and ea!thy peasants" cou!d not be induced not to ithho!d their grain either for higher mar'et prices or unti! paper money inf!ation subsided. The regime" ho e&er" sa in this" a socia! c!ass response to the fai!ure of go&ernmenta! aid" first" as an economic matter susceptib!e to a technica! so!ution" and" the !atter as a socia! prob!em amendab!e to coercion" one hose remedy as to be achie&ed through to the right app!ication of force. )n : Apri! 1916" recogni(ing paper money as e#traordinari!y inf!ated" the regime authori(ed barter ith the countryside. The situation" of course" sa no impro&ement. )n 1? May" drastic measures ere announced. The 0ounci! of .eop!es 0ommissars issued a decree hich immediate!y came to be 'no n as the 8food dictatorship8 decree. ,t concentrated a!! contro! o&er distribution and supp!ies into the hands of 'ar$omprod, subordinated a!! !oca! supp!y organi(ations to the !atter5s authority" and estab!ished compu!sory de!i&ery to the State of a!! e#cess grain ithhe!d by indi&idua!s. This amounted to a dec!aration of ar by the So&iet regime against a!! !andho!ding peasants" ea!thy ones ($ula$s. in particu!ar. ,t as a decree that as immediate!y imp!emented. An appea! to ad&anced or'ers to ta'e poor and !and!ess peasants in hand as made and a 8food army8 as created. Throughout the ci&i! ar and right do n to the introduction of the 2e =conomic .o!icy (2=.)" this force did the re$uisitioning.? The concentration of po er in !eading bodies under direction of the .eop!e5s 0ounci! of 0ommissars ent hand in hand ith the demise of de!egate-based democracy inside the so&iets. There ere measures that ere direct outcomes of intense c!ass strugg!e* 3estrictions on the bourgeois press (> (17) 2o&ember 1917)< the out!a ing of the !ibera! bourgeois" 9adet party (in -ecember) for anti-So&iet acti&ities" that is" for hatching conspiracies ith Tsarist army genera!s to o&erthro the So&iet regime< and the abo!ition of the 0onstituent Assemb!y (7 (:1) Hanuary 1916)" a remnant of the re&o!utionary democratic effort to introduce an acti&e" strong bourgeois par!iament into 3ussia. Then there ere those measures hich from the Bolshevi$ perspective ere compe!!ed by the force of circumstances. A po!itica! and secret po!ice" the =#traordinary 0ommission for the Strugg!e Against Sabotage and 0ounterre&o!ution (Che$a." had been formed (7 (:B) -ecember 1917) to chec' the acti&ities of 9adets" mi!itary officers" etc." acti&e!y trying to sub&ert the re&o!ution. ,n Apri! 1916" in a c!imate of go&ernment suspicion and &or$er# masses disi!!usion created by the famine" anarchist groups" especia!!y in Mosco - but a!so in .etrograd" Do!ogda" and e!se here" ere disarmed" their organi(ations disbanded" and their presses de facto barred.> ,n May" the bourgeois dai!y presses and right Socia!ist 3e&o!utionaries ere prohibited from pub!ishing for refusing to stop the printing of panic spreading rumors (e.g." for continuing to print the @ermans ere about to enter Mosco ). ,n Hune" right Socia!ist 3e&o!utionaries and Menshe&i's ere banned from participation in the so&iets. This action had been ta'en after right Socia!ist 3e&o!utionaries open!y a!!ied ith 0(ech troops hich had begun an offensi&e against the regime in the /ra!s. Menshe&i's" on the other hand" had since Apri! been agitating in factories against the go&ernment on a p!atform of the restoration of 8democracy"E i.e." the 0onstituent Assemb!y. )n 7 Hu!y 1916" !eft Socia! 3e&o!utionaries ere e#pe!!ed from the predominate!y %o!she&i' go&erning coa!ition after ta'ing responsibi!ity for the assassination of the @erman ambassador. The assassination" fo!!o ing an attempted insurrection in Mosco " as a desperate effort to pro&o'e %o!she&i's into ar ith @ermany in support of /'rainian peasants. %he loss of the left Socialist Revolutionary presence in the government, sym(oli-ing the already incurred loss of support of large
1(erge, 2Ibid,

Ibid, 2#2. 23$. 3Ibid, 2##.2#2. 4Ibid, 2#2.2#$. (ee also the note by (ergeIs editor, 5eter (edg)i"k (Ibid, 3+- n.#%!.

strata of poor and middle peasants in the &estern provinces, &as a price Bolshevi$s paid for the Brest peace* This action signa!ed" moreo&er" the end of the democracy among competing parties inside so&iet institutions. 8+ith the disappearance of po!itica! debate bet een parties representing different socia! interests through &arious shades of their opinion" So&iet institutions ... manned so!e!y by 0ommunists" no functioned in a &acuum* Since a!! the decisions ... ere no ta'en by the party" a!! they can do is gi&e them officia! rubber-stamp.81 The acti&ities and intrigues of re&o!utionary democrats coincided and ere connected ith the first stirrings of ci&i! ar. ,n mid-Apri!" Socia!ist 3e&o!utionary" Menshe&i'" and 9adet !eaders set up a 8Aeague of 3ene a!8 estab!ishing regu!ar re!ations ith the =ntente missions in Mosco . )ctobrists" party of the big bourgeoisie" soon 4oined. )n a p!atform of the historica!!y untenabi!ity of a socia!ist go&ernment in 3ussia" for a 0onstituent Assemb!y and a pro&isiona! 8-irectory8 ith dictatoria! po ers" the Aeague sought to organi(e for o&erthro of the %o!she&i's. At the same time" a former Socia!ist 3e&o!utionary terrorist" %oris Sa&in'o&" formed the c!andestine and parami!itary 8Father!and and Freedom -efense Aeague"8 recruiting monarchists" e#-Tsarist officia!s" and Socia!ist 3e&o!utionary inte!!ectua!s. %ro'en up by the Che$a in Mosco and 9a(an in !ate May 1916" Sa&in'o&5s Aeague as ab!e to organi(e an insurrection and ta'e Iaros!a&! in ear!y Hu!y.: ,n !ate May" the 0(ech Aegion" made of e!!-trained prisoners of ar and origina!!y organi(ed to fight for the nationa! mo&ements against the 1absburg =mpire" began an offensi&e against the %o!she&i's and aimed at occupying the mi!itary &acuum in the &ast region of Asian 3ussia. =ncouraged by A!!ied (=ntente) missions hich had" at any rate" p!anned the offensi&e" the Aegion5s ?B"BBB troops he!d by Hu!y the !ength of the Trans-Siberian rai! ay and the ma4or to ns in route" in Siberia" the /ra!s" and a!ong the Do!ga 3i&er.? %y mid-May" @erman army di&isions had a!ready occupied the 0rimea. ,n Hu!y" @enera! -uto&5s 0ossac's contro!!ed the countryside of the southern /ra!s region. ,n the rest of the south" Ataman 9rasno& as in command of the -on region" his 0ossac's armed by @ermany and encouraged by A!!ied imperia!ists. The entire 9uban had near!y been occupied by @enera! A!e'see&. 8,ndependent8 @eorgia as go&erned by Menshe&i's hosti!e to %o!she&i's. %a'u as occupied by the %ritish.> ,n the east" the Hapanese he!d D!adi&osto'. ,n the north" an Ang!o-French e#peditionary force !anded at Murmans' (: Hu!y). %y ear!y August" this force he!d 9em" )nega" Archange!" and Shen'urs' on the north coast. The French mi!itary mission had armed Siberian and ,ta!ian prisoners of ar and sent them north.; Fi&e months after signing the %rest peace" %o!she&i's go&erned so&iet 3ussia a!one. They ere surrounded on a!! sides" engaged in a fu!!-sca!e ci&i! ar by a de facto a!!iance of counter-re&o!utionary 3ussian forces" and @erman" Hapanese" and A!!ied imperia!ists. D,,, )nce iso!ated from or'ers5 mo&ements in the +est" the co!!apse of or'ers5 contro!" economic ruin" interna! opposition" conspiracy" and inter&ention" in other ords" a series of crises" o&ertoo' the %o!she&i' regime. The cumu!ati&e impact of these crises and" especia!!y" %o!she&i' response to them effected a dua! process inside 3ussia hose de&e!opment though not comp!ete unti! 19:1 as in out!ine discernib!e by !ate 1916. The first tendentia! de&e!opment as the process of stati(ation. )n the one hand" the !atter" stati(ation (as opposed to the process of this State5s formation)" itse!f had t o moments constituted" on the one side" in the enormous concentration of po er inside !eading State bodies and the hierarchica! organi(ation of these bodies" and" on the other side" in the e#pansion and pro!iferation of these bodies as 8technica!8 and 8administrati&e8 agencies and counci!s. )n the other hand" the process of formation of the State concerned ho this concentration of .o er de&e!oped. ,t too in&o!&ed t o aspects. )n the one side" concentration occurred through the incorporation into the State of pre&ious!y independent socia! institutions< on the other side" it de&e!oped through the specia!i(ation and fragmentation of tas's and functions of ne and o!d popu!ar organi(ations. The ne !y absorbed institutions - cooperati&es" peasant
1Ibid, 2Ibid,

2$,. 23%.23#, 2$-.2$$. 3Ibid, 232.233, 2-#.2-2, 2'3. 4Ibid, 32$.32'* #+,. 5Ibid, 2-2, 3%, n. 2,* 23,, 2'3* 2, * 2-#.

committees" trade unions" factory committees" etc." hich had been thro n up throughout 1917 by re&o!utionary c!asses to form and organi(e their practices" became e!ements of a ne State apparatus. The condition sine +uo non of the entire process of stati(ation as the ear!ier co!!apse of autonomous or'ing c!ass organi(ations< its characteristic feature as the assimi!ation of the party personne! to the State and &ice &ersa< and" its conse$uence as the emergence of a sui generis State form engu!fing and s a!!o ing up society. The second tendentia! de&e!opment inside 3ussia &isib!e at the end of 1916 as ine#tricab!y bound up ith the first" the process of stati(ation" and as both the ground and outcome of the demise of or'ing c!ass organi(ations. This de&e!opment as the destruction of the pro!etariat as a po!itica!!y conscious c!ass. As the best e!ements of the c!ass" or'er-%o!she&i's ere either absorbed into the ne !y forming State apparatus or into the 3ed Army as cadre. ,n the !atter capacity they p!ayed !eading ro!es on a!! fronts" seeing constant action. Many" too many" ere 'i!!ed. Sti!! other mi!itants p!ayed cadre ro!es in the primari!y peasant food army hich into 1919 had >B"BBB to >;"BBB members. =conomic co!!apse" hich can be read off statistics for industria! producti&ity" a!so p!ayed a !arge ro!e in a processing of dec!assing or'ers. ,n meta!!urgica! industries" coa! production fe!! from ?1.? mi!!ion tons in 191? to 1?.1 mi!!ion in 1916" iron ore production from 1"B>1 mi!!ion tons in 191? to ;7B"BBB tons in 1916" and stee! production dropped from >.7 mi!!ion tons in 191? to >>B"BBB tons in 1916.1 This e#traordinary s!ide in production thre hundreds of thousands of or'ers out of their 4obs. ,ndustria! or'ers numbering appro#imate!y ?"BBB"BBB in 1917 had dec!ined to >?C of that number in 19:1.: ,n .etrograd - heart of 83ed 3ussia"8 the number of industria! or'ers decreased from >BB"BBB to 1:B">>; from the time of the )ctober re&o!ution to 1 Apri! 1916< moreo&er" >6"91B of those 1:B">>; remaining or'ers ere unemp!oyed.? )ne has on!y to note these figures to rea!i(e ho de&astating the producti&ity dec!ine as to the 3ussian or'ing c!ass and" particu!ar!y" its &anguard. )nce out of or'" the famine forced or'ers bac' into the countryside" returned them to their peasant pasts" here food as some hat more accessib!e. The cities ere depopu!ated. Thus" .etrograd5s popu!ation fe!! from :">BB"BBB in 1917 to ;>7"BBB in August 19:B. Fo!!o ing on the hee!s of famine as disease hich 'i!!ed indiscriminate!y. %et een 1916 and 19:B" typhus" typhoid" dysentery" and cho!era too' :.7 mi!!ion !i&es.> For or'ers ho retained their 4obs enforced id!eness as a dai!y rea!ity. ,n a sing!e day in Apri! 1919" the factories of 9o!omens' had 1"976 of ;"779 emp!oyed or'ers sho up" hi!e prior to the or!d ar these factories had emp!oyed some 16"BBB or'ers.; 1a&ing nationa!i(ed !arge-sca!e industry the State 'ept or'ers on hen there as !itt!e to do. +or'ers ho had 4obs and remained in the cities too' their chances ith enormous price inf!ation. %y 1919-19:B" a or'er5s ages ere simp!y not enough to pay for food hen food as a&ai!ab!e - much of the accessib!e food as di&erted to the fronts" but a b!ac' mar'et did e#it. Star&ation as rea!. +or'ers5 theft of hate&er cou!d be ta'en out of their shops - thread to mend c!othes" and sma!! transportab!e ra materia!s or finished goods to se!! on the b!ac' mar'et to buy food - as common.7 ,n spring 1919" .etrograd sa hunger riots emanating from the or'ing c!ass $uarters. 9i!!ed at the front" absorbed into the State apparatus" depopu!ated and 'i!!ed by disease and famine" penetrated" moreo&er" by a thin !ayer of the former petty bourgeoisie that consisted in ruined shop'eepers" former students" etc." and demora!i(ed" this dec!assV mass as not the same pro!etariat that s ept the %o!she&i's to po er in 1917. ,O Appro#imate!y one year after the )ctober re&o!ution" the !onger term tendencies determining the de&e!opment of So&iet society ere a!ready unfo!ding. ,n a phrase" the dictatorship of an enormous!y popu!ar" pro!etarian party had become an iso!ated party dictatorship o&er a massified and rura!i(ed society. The actua! process in and through hich the dictatorship of as transformed into a dictatorship over as historica!!y specific* )t &as not inevita(le* ,t occurred in the first year of the re&o!ution< and it occurred under the impact of actions
1Ibid,

3-%. Barmon, 0RussiaH Bo) the Revolution >as Lost,0 ,. 306bid.0 42. Lorimer, #he (o%ulation of the So&iet 5nion, ,#. 5(erge, Ibid' 3-#. 6Vi"tor (ergeIs Con;uered City, a novel about 5etrograd in #+#+.#+2%, vividly portrays all these "onditions.
2<hris

made in response to a series of crises hose ob4ecti&e outcome as mass depo!itica!i(ation" destruction of the pro!etariat as a c!ass" and the embryonic formation of a monstrous party-State. This transformation as not a necessary product once in po er of an authoritarian party5s re!ation to the or'ing c!ass* First" because the %o!she&i's" though representati&e" nonethe!ess en4oyed massi&e" perhaps o&er he!ming popu!ar support for months fo!!o ing the )ctober re&o!ution< second" because the interna! regime of party !ife did not harden unti! e!! after Hune 1916< and" third" because autonomous or'ing c!ass organi(ations (cooperati&es" trade unions" factory committees" and so&iets) brought enormous pressure to bear on the party to respond to the needs" interests" and pro4ects of their members. There is" though" no need to be b!inded to the e#treme historicist thesis* There ere certain !ong-standing ideationa! features of %o!she&i' doctrine (e.g." a !atent Statism) hich" as ta'en-for-granted ac$uisitions passed do n as part of the Mar#ian tradition" had an authoritarian potentia! once ha&ing materia!i(ed in socia! practice. 3epresentation too as a tradition" one of 3ussian po!itics going bac' to the &ery beginnings of 3ussian socia! democracy and ear!ier" to the narodni$i - and" it might be noted" it as $ua!itati&e po!itica! ad&ance o&er Tsarist abso!utism. ,t shou!d be understood" though" that on!y from the ahistorica! perspecti&e of the e#treme and anti-authoritarian sectarian i!derness cou!d there be anything insidious or decepti&e about parta'ing in this tradition. Substitutiona!ist" and not mere!y representationa!" presuppositions ere themse!&es gi&en" moreo&er" in the &ery fusion of c!ass forces that made the )ctober re&o!ution possib!e. There is no need to fo!!o the ea!thy young intelligenty4s turn to the countryside (167Bs) to understand this. The )ctober sei(ure of po er as based on t o re&o!utions" a socia!ist one in the urban" industria! centers and a democratic one against rura!" seignioria! arrangements. The te!eo!ogies embedded in each ere $ua!itati&e!y different"1 and reso!ution of their contradictoriness !ay on!y in internationa!i(ing the first" pro!etarian re&o!ution (rendering possib!e techno!ogica! assistance to industry and" on this basis" to the countryside from the +est). At any rate" the or'er-peasant a!!iance as on sha'y ground from the outset. The argument" on the other hand" that ideationa! features of party doctrine constituted a 8!ogic of %o!she&ism8 forgets the ma4or e#-changes ith the c!ass (19B;" 1911-191?" 1917) hich changed the party. 3ef!ected upon and acted on" this accumu!ated e#perience as re-absorbed bac' into the party producing an organi(ation ith the f!e#ibi!ity to become a mass or'ers5 party" interna!!y democratic and responsi&e to popu!ar and re&o!utionary or'er moods. Moreo&er" the character of the e&ents of 1917 casts doubts on other interpretations. ,f 8re&o!ution is precise!y this state of o&erheating and fusion of society" a!ong ith the genera! mobi!i(ation of a!! socia! categories and strata" and the destruction of a!! estab!ished barriers"8 then it ou!d seem not e&en an iron !ogic cou!d ha&e he!d firm against the a&e of massi&e" unrestrained upsurge that shaped the e&ents of !917.: Iet it is !egitimate to insist the e$uation of f!e#ibi!ity ith $ua!itati&e" interna! organi(ationa! change borders on euphemism. ,f the substitutiona!ist te!eo!ogy of disenfranchised bourgeois inte!!ectua!s in end he!d s ay among party !eaders" its retrospecti&e recognition constitutes mere!y an ana!ytic point of departure. %y itse!f it e#p!ains &ery !itt!e. To comprehend ho the re&o!ution as !ost" it is necessary to grasp that this te!eo!ogy" modified by those past fruitfu! e#changes ith or'ers (e#changes hich retrospecti&e!y form pri&i!eged" re&o!utionary moments in 3ussian history)" guided a party practice that interacted ith and acce!erated the actua! historica! process of mass
1;olsheviks

as ;olsheviks never abandoned this insight. Aor )as it pe"uliar to ;olsheviks. :lready /arx, in his famous 0sa"k of potatoes0 remark, had pointed to the in"apa"ity of the peasantry to "onstitute itself as a politi"al 0sub?e"t.0 Mautsky too, in perhaps one of the best analyses of this sort ever )ritten, had dealt )ith the problem. Be )ent to its heart )hen he pointed to the very existen"e of the small farmer )hose individualism, and the tena"ity )ith )hi"h she "lings to this existen"e, oppose her to large.s"ale industrial agri"ulture and to a rural proletariat, respe"tively, the material and so"ial premises of so"ialist agri"ulture. :""ording to Mautsky, 0Vue peut opposer la petite exploitation a "es avantages de la grandeN LIa"tivitO plu "onsidOrable, les soins plus assidue du travailleur 8ui produit pour lui.mWme, a lIinverse du salarie, et la sobriOtO du petit agri"ulteur propriOtaire, 8ui dOpassO "elle mWme du travailleur agri"ole salarie.0 )a ;uestion agraire, #$%. 2<. <astoriadis, 0The Bungarian (our"e,0 #elos, ,9, ' ("itation!. Though )e had arrived at this assessment prior to en"ountering his )ork, in the best detailed study of the relation of ;olsheviks as a party to )orkers of 5etrograd in latter #+#' )ith )hi"h )e are familiar, :lexander Rabino)it"h arrived at a similar summaryH Lis"ussing the long.term as )ell as "on?un"tural reasons for ;olshevik su""ess, he adds that, further, 06 )ould emphasis the partyIs internally relatively demo"rati", tolerant, and de"entrali1ed stru"ture and method of operation, as )ell as it essentially open and mass "hara"ter0 during #+#'. #he =olshe&i.s Co"e to (o+er, 3##.

depo!itici(ation (1916). This process" in turn" stripped a substitutiona!ist te!eo!ogy of its !atency a!!o ing %o!she&i's to re-theori(e it as the dominant e!ement in their re!ation to the pro!etariat.? O The $uestion of ar or peace as the !ast strugg!e in and through hich c!ass conscious e!ements among 3ussian or'ers cou!d ha&e effecti&e!y acted to form their future through a genuine!y re&o!utionary and pro!etarian organi(ation. Thereafter" e&en this fragment of a 8sub4ect8 disappeared from the historica! stage. +hat as !eft as necessity" i.e." the feeb!e" inade$uate" and mere!y impro&ised attempts on substitutiona!ist presuppositions at a response to imperia!ist generated crises" responses shaping a ne socia! formation.

3(ee

5art ,, belo).

Part IBour.eois Themes in Bolshevi$ /octrine The decimation of the pro!etariat did not simp!y mean its disappearance as an acti&e agent of change. Absorption into the State apparatus" death at the front" !oss of or'" star&ation and return to the countryside ere processes hich suggest the socio!ogica! and physica! destruction of or'ers as a c!ass (an sich.* Moreo&er" the disappearance of the 3ussian pro!etariat anticipated and as a crucia! part of a broader tendentia! de&e!opment" name!y" socia! !e&e!ing. +or'ers returning to the countryside ere greeted by peasants inc!ined to so no more than as necessary to feed their fami!ies" undoubted!y an unorgani(ed and indi&idua!istic response to the re$uisitioning. This practice in con4unction ith comp!etion of !and redistribution not on!y suppressed but undid a great dea! of socia! differentiation in the countryside. Iet at the height of the 0i&i! +ar (1919-19:B)" it sti!! as impossib!e to spea' of an undifferentiated" amorphous mass as the socia! product of this process of !e&e!ing. ,f it as nonethe!ess necessary to point to tendentia!!y" it is because of the importance of this phenomenon for the tas's the party-becoming-State immediate!y confronted. , The disenfranchisement of the big bourgeoisie and !ando ners (1917-1916)" or'ing c!ass destruction" and the ithdra a! of peasants from producti&e !ife meant the party as the on!y force in 3ussia capab!e of reorgani(ing society as a ho!e. 1ad %o!she&i's ne&er harbored a Statist pro4ect" the &ery force of these circumstances ou!d ha&e compe!!ed at !east a partia! assimi!ation of the remnants of the o!d State to the party. 0onsider the course of e&ents itse!f. Tota! mobi!i(ation for a sur&i&a! imposed by a ci&i! ar conducted in iso!ation from pro!etarian forces abroad great!y contributed to the creation and e#pansion of State contro! o&er e&ery dimension of socia! !ife. 2ationa!i(ing industry" ban's" cooperati&es" and a nationa! rai! system meant the formation of ne agencies" di&isions of agencies" counci!s" go&erning bodies" etc." to contro! and super&ise production and distribution. %o!she&i' or'ers ere neither numerous nor technica!!y or administrati&e!y competent enough to perform the tas's imp!ied in &ast!y e#tended State contro! informed by capita!ist organi(ationa! princip!es. They ere" though" needed as commissars to po!itica!!y o&ersee the or' of tens of thousands of former Tsarist officia!s and functionaries" bourgeois inte!!ectua!s" technicians" specia!ists and industria!ists"1 and o!d army officers the party !eadership deemed necessary to reconstruct the bureaucracy" ma'e the enterprises economica!!y &iab!e again and to reorgani(e the army. As e!ements of the o!d order" the en masse brought ith them the habits" attitudes and pre4udices" and practices and methods of or' of that order. The stabi!i(ation of %o!she&i' ru!e fo!!o ing the 0i&i! +ar and the institution of the 2e =conomic .o!icy (19:1) found these e!ements 4oining the party. From 1919 to 19:1 party membership trip!ed rising to 7;B"BBB.: As a resu!t" State and party apparatuses had to a considerab!e e#tent merged. Iet ear!ier the party had centra!i(ed direction of its affairs in the hands of its .o!itburo to a&oid 4ust the di!ution of po!itica! sophistication of its cadre that the massi&e presence of pre-re&o!utionary attitudes and pre4udices entai!ed. %ut this measure (and others !i'e it" e.g." the 19:: purge of :BB"BBB careerists" the creation of the position of the @enera! Secretary" etc.) as u!timate!y a feeb!e effort to combat the changes ta'ing p!ace. The %o!she&i's ere being ground up in the !ogic of de&e!opments o&er hich they had abdicated contro! ith the fai!ure to age immediate re&o!utionary ar in ear!y 1916. ,n the first p!ace" the absence of a re&o!utionary or'ing c!ass mo&ement (against hich %o!she&i's cou!d measure themse!&es and out of hich tendencies straining to ard a socia!ist future cou!d be e#p!icati&e!y mediated) meant interna! conf!icts ithin the party too' on a !ife of their o n* The eight of the apparatus pro&ided enormous !e&erage for those ho sought to e#ercise contro! o&er party affairs.
10:t

the head of many of the "enters and gla&.i sit former employers and responsible offi"ials and managers of businesses, and the unprepared visitor )ho is personally a"8uainted )ith the former "ommer"ial and industrial )orld )ould be surprised to see the former o)ners of big leather fa"tories sitting in >la&.ozh, big manufa"turers in the "entral textile organi1ations, et".0 This )as the impression of a )hite professor, "ited by <arr, )ho traveling from /os"o) had rea"hed 3msk in autumn #+#+. #he =olshe&i. Re&olution, II, # . 2Leuts"her, #he (ro%het 5nar"ed, #'. The figure of 2-%,%%% for #+#+ is indi"ative of the dilution the proletarian "omposition of the party had already undergone. 6t is not a numeri"al expression of the "ore ;olshevik.)orkers )ho made up the party in 3"tober #+#'.

,n the second p!ace" the imperati&es of sur&i&a! in the dua! conte#t of internationa! capita!ism and &is-a-&is a petty capita!ist peasantry determined the socia! ro!e and historica! function of the party-State. The 2e =conomic .o!icy (2=.) cou!d be termed a temporary retreat - as Aenin did" a concession to petty capita!ism" but it as past time ho!ding out for an =uropean (or @erman) or'ers5 re&o!ution* ,n the e&ent there as no pro!etariat to hich such an e&ent cou!d ha&e been re!ated. Moreo&er" re!ati&e to near!y non-e#istent" organi(ed and autonomous articu!ation of groups and c!asses" a State of Ae&iathanic proportions had a!ready been erected" as pri&i!eged" and entrenched. Sooner rather than !ater" the pressure of or!d capita!ism forced recognition of the tas's the chaos of ci&i! ar and destruction of the or'ing c!ass had imposed on the regime. These pressures stripped %o!she&i's of their socia!ist intentions and reduced them to a moderni(ing 8e!ite8 carrying out the tas's of primiti&e accumu!ation and e#pansion of producti&e forces" the tas's proper!y identified ith the historica! mission of the bourgeoisie. ,f the party-State emerged from the 0i&i! +ar as the on!y possib!e agency of de&e!opment" the here itha! ith hich to accomp!ish such enormous tas's ou!d on!y be found through accumu!ation at the e#pense of peasants and" as the c!ass as ob4ecti&e!y reconstituted" or'ers. The socia! formation that too' shape in this historica! process unfo!ded sui generis as State capita!ism. Against this bac'ground the party-State cou!d on!y function as an abstract e#p!oiter. %o!she&i's" those that sur&i&ed and incorporated themse!&es into the State bureaucracy" ere" on the other hand" compe!!ed to act as a surrogate bourgeoisie. )n these presuppositions" it is possib!e to see $uite ear!y on bourgeois concepts" themes" and pro4ects e!aborated in and as %o!she&i' thought. ,, ,n spring 19:B" Trots'y ga&e a series of reports P to the ?rd Trade /nion 0ongress" the 0ongress of =conomic 0ounci!s and the 2inth .arty 0ongress1 - on the prob!em of !abor organi(ation. 0apita!ist concessions (2=.) to the petty bourgeois peasantry ere to ma'e immediate imp!ementation of Trots'y5s proposa!s impossib!e* They ere not to be trans!ated into a po!icy guiding bureaucratic practice for near!y ten years.: Iet prior to the introduction of the 2e =conomic .o!icy" Trots'y5s reports c!ear!y re&ea!ed that iso!ation in a bac' ard country as the socia! premise for e!aboration of e#p!icit!y bourgeois themes" and that these emergent themes ere structuring crucia! aspects of %o!she&i' doctrine. 2oting the 0i&i! +ar as aning" Trots'y too' economic reconstruction as the basic prob!em facing the regime during the period of transition. The prob!ems of a socia!ist reconstruction of 3ussian society ere enormous and sa!&ation !ay on!y do n the road of systematic and p!anned uti!i(ation of a!! a&ai!ab!e resources. The securing of transport" grain to the cities" fue! and ra materia!s for industry" and fodder for catt!e ere the basic difficu!ties that must first be reso!&ed if the to ns ere not to disso!&e bac' into the countryside" if the foundations of future industria! e#pansion ere to be !aid" and if socia!ist construction as e&er to be more than an id!e dream.? 0onse$uent!y" a genera! State economic p!an a!!o ing the most efficient uti!i(ation and distribution of resources as necessary. The basic e!ement of this p!an socia!istica!!y characteri(ing it as to be compu!sory !abor ser&ice.> As mi!itary units unneeded for the aning fighting" but sti!! mobi!i(ed and put to or' at reconstruction tas's en masse" the !abor armies a!ready in e#istence ou!d ser&e as a mode! for compu!sory !abor. Trots'y did not" ho e&er" see' to 4ustify compu!sion in terms of the force of circumstances. An ana!ysis in terms of the historica!!y contingent character of the 4ustification for compu!sion is a!together absent and on!y occasiona!!y did
15rinted in 2Though

part as "hapter of TrotskyIs #erroris"us und Fo""unis"us, #%$.#, . the positions taken by the Left 3pposition from #+23 to #+2' on industriali1ation )ere taken over by (talin in the "risis of #+2 .#+2+ and only then in a grotes8ue and "ari"atured form, the vie)s arti"ulated by Trotsky on the 0militari1ation of labor0 "ould fairly said to have anti"ipated, not to mention to have theoreti"ally ?ustifying, (talinist pra"ti"es undertaken under the rubri" of 0"rash industriali1ation.D 3ne has to )onder if (talin for one )as not greatly impressed )ith Trotsky presentation at the Ainth 5arty <ongress. (ee the subse"tion entitled 05rimitive :""umulation0 in the (e"ond (tudy, belo). 3Trotsky, Ibid, #32. Bere, and in other pla"es, Trotsky nearly su""umbs to a narro) 0national "ommunism.0 6t )as not un"ommon, flo)ing from the pride of vi"tory against over)helming odds during the revolutionIs 0heroi" period.0 ((ee note 2+, belo).! 2e) es"aped the illusory evaluation of the prospe"ts 0)ar "ommunism0 opened up. Lenin "ertainly did not. >riting in Aov. #+#+, he asserted, 0in Russia, labor is united "ommunisti"ally insofar as, first, private o)nership of the means of produ"tion has been abolished, and, se"ondly, the proletarian state po)er is organi1ing large.s"ale produ"tion on state.o)ned land and in state.o)ned enterprises on a national s"ale ... 0 1CW, <<<, #% .#%+!. 4Trotsky, #erroris"us und Fo""unis"us, ## .

Trots'y suggest that" say" the !ethargy and numbing of the peasant masses produced by si# !ong years of arrought destruction made compu!sion ine&itab!e. 3ather" he undertoo' a theoretica! 4ustification in terms of doctrine* ,n a tight!y 'nit argument he made a &irtue of necessity and then raised the !atter to the !e&e! of princip!e. Fo!!o ing Mar#" Trots'y noted 8e&ery society in history is in its foundations a form of organi(ation of !abor"E and 8the organi(ation of !abor is essentia!!y the organi(ation of a ne society.81 3educti&e!y" he added" 8the organi(ation of !abor signifies in its turn the correct introduction of genera! !abor ser&ice.8: @enera! !abor ser&ice is doub!y !egitimi(ed ith a &ie crude!y to 8human nature8 and to the character of the transition. According!y" as a ru!e 8man stri&es to a&oid !abor"E 8man is a fair!y !a(y anima!8 hose 8!o&e of !abor8 is a product of socia! education. ? This &u!gar bourgeois pre4udice" &i(." the transformation of historica!!y specific a!ienated !abor into an eterna! donn5, as e!aborated to 4ustify the theme of State compu!sion. The !atter 8does not disappear"E according to Trots'y" 8from the arena of history" but on the contrary i!! sti!! p!ay for a significant period an e#traordinari!y important ro!e.8> Trots'y argued compu!sory !abor is uni&ersa!!y the cornerstone of economic reconstruction in the entire transitiona! period.; 1e dia!ectica!!y deduces this from a radica! conceptual opposition of compu!sory !abor ser&ice organi(ed on the basis of a sing!e economic p!an to the !ega! fiction of hired" free age-!abor" that of socia!i(ation of the means of production to bourgeois anarchy. Thus" hi!e the e#tent of physica! coercion may &ary ith the !e&e! of nationa! ea!th" genera! cu!ture" etc." the State demand of citi(en subordination on a military mode! is in&ariant. +hy a mi!itary mode!" i.e." mi!itari(ation of !aborN Trots'y he!d that the State can demand this 'ind of compu!sion because de facto it a!ready as doing so< because the 8$uestion of the !ife and death of So&iet 3ussia is present!y being sett!ed on the !abor front8<7 and" if this appea! to nationa! interest so reminiscent of bourgeois ru!ing c!asses as not ade$uate 4ustification" because de ;ure the State embodied the pro!etarian dictatorship. ,f 8e&ery pre&ious form of society as ... Rorgani(edS in the interest of a minority..." its State apparatus for oppression of the o&er he!ming ma4ority"8 then 8the first attempt in or!d history to organi(e !abor in the interests of the ma4ority itse!f87 ou!d" Trots'y asserted" 4ustify the demand for 8a!! that de&otion" discip!ine and e#ecuti&e thoroughness hich in the past on!y the army re$uired.86 That there as strenuous opposition to Trots'y5s proposa!s ithin the party (from the +or'ers5 )pposition group in particu!ar) suggests that identification of the party-State ith pro!etarian dictatorship as difficu!t to accept at face &a!ue among at !east a fe party regu!ars. )n the other hand" that he cou!d ha&e at a!! proceeded on this assumption at once pointed to the bad faith ith hich %o!she&i's ere inc!uded to operate and to the socia! &oid in hich they ere actua!!y suspended. At any rate" Trots'y5s ma4oritarian cant rings ho!!o " not unsimi!ar to the c!aims of uni&ersa!ity of any ru!ing c!ass in the bourgeois era finds itse!f compe!!ed to ma'e. Trots'y insisted on a theoretica! 4ustification for compu!sory !abor ser&ice. 8The ho!e of human history is the history of the organi(ation and education of co!!ecti&e man for !abor" ith the purpose of achieving the highest level of productivity*?9 This onto!ogica! determination of man by !abor proper!y be!onged to a period (the 19th century) hen capita!ism as sti!! ascendant" hen Mar# cou!d sti!! &ie the tota!ity of history as a history of a uni&ersa! human formation" and cou!d &ie this history uni!inear!y as a process in hich man raises himse!f out of nature. =&en for Mar#" though" the enormous e#pansion of producti&e forces is a specifica!!y bourgeois tas' and accomp!ishment< and" the concept of producti&ity as a measure of output of !abor-time is a bourgeois notion" one presupposing the actua!" dai!y abstractions carried out in capita!ist !abor-processes as e!! as the theoretica! achie&ements (especia!!y $uantification and mathemati(ation) of bourgeois theory (&i(." science). The assumption of bourgeois tas's imp!ied bourgeois forms of the organi(ation of !abor as e!!. ,n de&e!oping the practica! conse$uences of his position Trots'y proceeded ith a &engeance" a fren(y seeming!y oriented on ma'ing good a!! those decades the capita!ist +est had on bac' ard 3ussia. +here industria! bourgeoisies had on!y dreamt
1Ibid, 2Ibid,

##%. ##3. 3Ibid, ##%.###. 4Ibid, ##%. 5Ibid, ##% and, espe"ially, ##+. 6Ibid, ## . 7Ibid, ##%. 8Ibid, ## . 9Ibid, #2#. (7mphasis in the original.!

of a passi&e" doci!e and perfect!y discip!ined !abor force" Trots'y demanded the mi!itari(ation of !abor< he ca!!ed for one-man management in the enterprises< and" anticipating the de&e!opment of state capita!ism e&ery here" he insisted upon incorporation of trade unions into the State" reducing their ro!e so!e!y to that of c!ass discip!inarian. Ta'e each in turn. First" ta'e mi!itari(ation. ,mp!emented through the courage" determination and discip!ine of c!ass conscious or'er cadre" mi!itari(ation ou!d ha&e demanded the strictest obedience" top do n contro!" unsha'ab!e hierarchy" and 8comp!ete submission to ... Rthe State5sS prob!ems" tas's" regu!ations and orders.E1 The aims of mi!itari(ation ere to ha&e consisted in the most efficient distribution of human resources to the further end of increased producti&ity. As socia!ist" it ou!d ha&e differed from the mere artime 8e#periments8 in the bourgeois nations precise!y in its $ua!itati&e!y greater efficiency. Second" ta'e trade unions. According to Trots'y" trade unions of the o!d type ere irre!e&ant since they ere historica!!y constituted in 8the strugg!e for better conditions of !abor.E: The ne productional trade unions ou!d to the contrary 8no !onger ... Rha&eS the prob!ems" the methods" the discip!ine ... of the union for strugg!e of an oppressed c!ass.8? ,t ou!d be constituted through or'ing 8hand in hand ith the State8 8to organi(e the or'ing c!ass for the ends of production" to educate" discip!ine" distribute groups" retain certain categories and certain or'ers.8 > The ne type of trade union as sanctioned through its characteri(ation as the 8union of the ruling or'ing c!ass8<; that is" in terms of the un$uestioned" substitutiona!ist assumption supporting Trots'y5s entire argument. Third" ta'e one-man management. )ne-management in the enterprises as 4ustified through reference to its bourgeois &irtues (and not" say" in terms of temporary measures" a socia! necessity forced on %o!she&i's by the destruction of the best e!ements of the or'ing c!ass)" &i(." on the basis of 8uti!i(ing the technica! 'no !edge and methods accumu!ated in the past ... so that our techni$ue might not go bac' ard" but for ard.E7 The app!ication of the co!!egiate princip!e to the enterprises as sacrificed at the a!tar of techni$ue. True" but then again the s'i!!s and 'no !edge of bourgeois specia!ists" technicians" and managers ere not on!y Trots'y5s point of arri&a! but a!so his point of departure* 1e did not" for e#amp!e" argue from the standpoint of the reconstitution of the s'i!!s and 'no !edge of the pro!etariat" but a! ays from the &ie point of the ignorance of or'ers p!aced on a board to go&ern an enterprise. Trots'y did not argue this perspecti&e because he did not proceed from the standpoint of the possi(ilities for the reconstitution of the &or$ing class as agency* His entire analysis moved on a terrain oriented to&ard la(or as an o(;ect and not to&ard the proletariat as a su(;ect to (e reconstituted* From a strict!y %o!she&i' perspecti&e this may ha&e appeared !arge!y una&oidab!e. ,t ou!d ha&e" according!y" f!o ed from the historica! necessity of ci&i! ar" iso!ation" and b!oc'age-imposed bourgeois tas's. )nce these tas's ere interna!i(ed" economic reconstruction as underta'en by 8treating the popu!ace of the entire country as the reser&oir of the necessary !abor po er"E7 &i(." as an industria! reser&e army. To ha&e proceeded in the other direction ou!d ha&e entai!ed recognition of the otherness of the State" ou!d ha&e" in other ords" entailed a (rea$ &ith the fundamental, un+uestioned assumption underpinning Trots'y5s entire ana!ysis of economic reconstruction< namely, the identification of &or$ing class hegemony over Russian society &ith the Soviet State* Trots'y cou!d not ha&e made this brea'. 2either cou!d other %o!she&i's as %o!she&i's. Such a (rea$ ou!d ha&e meant collapse of the party@s raison d@Gtre* ,,, Trots'y5s substitutiona!ism as not a mere assumption and e&en !ess as it an un arranted one. ,t did" though" presuppose the decisi&e and positi&e ro!e of the party in the construction of socia!ism. This presupposition in turn as a pro4ection of the actua! ro!e of the %o!she&i's in the 0i&i! +ar" a pro4ection hich rested on the i!!usory characteri(ation of ad hoc" essentia!!y e#terna!!y-imposed ar measures as 8communist.8 The e&a!uation upgrading
1Ibid, 2Ibid,

## . ##+. 3Ibid, #,2. 4Ibid, ##+. 5Ibid, #,2. (7mphasis added.! 6Ibid, #3$. 7Ibid, #2%.

the ro!e of the party sur&i&ed the i!!usion - in part because the party sur&i&ed the 0i&i! +ar" hi!e peasants forced 8 ar communist8 measures to be dropped. According!y" a retrospecti&e ree&a!uation of the ro!e of the party in the re&o!ution (1917) as re$uired. This in turn entai!ed a shift in the criterion characteri(ing the party as pro!etarian. +e suggest that in Autumn 1917 %o!she&i's cou!d ha&e characteri(ed themse!&es as fo!!o s* 8,n a period in hich or'ers mo&e" sha'ing capita!ism to its &ery foundations" the c!ass character of our membership and the enormous popu!arity e en4oy among the broadest !ayers of or'ers testifies to the profound!y pro!etarian and re&o!utionary nature of our party.8 %ut by 19:B" this type of ana!ysis as meaning!ess* There as no po!itica!!y a!i&e or'ing c!ass against hich the party cou!d ha&e been measured. ,ts raison d@Gtre no& in rule" the pro!etarian character of the party had come to be determined by its correct ideological !ine" &i(." by its fundamental theoretical, political, and policy orientation* Trots'y5s assumption that the party-State as the !i&ing embodiment of or'ers in po er rested on the pro!etarian ideo!ogy of the party in po er. ,t as the 0ommunist ,nternationa! hich as to !egitimi(e and transmit a strict!y ideo!ogica! criterion for estab!ishing the pro!etarian nature of not 4ust parties but States a!so. %ecause it cou!d on!y be e!aborated by a bearer of consciousness" that criterion as understood in those terms. At the :nd 0omintern 0ongress (Hu!y-August 19:B)" a 0ommunist party as defined as the 8most ad&anced" c!ass conscious and therefore re&o!utionary party8 of the or'ing c!ass.1 As such" it as distinguished from a!! other pro!etarian organi(ations first and foremost by its formation as a !abor of a!!eged!y the most c!ass conscious or'ers" and on!y then by its discip!ined and centra!i(ed organi(ations" its ideo!ogica! homogeneity" and its ob4ecti&es of po er sei(ure and ru!e. 0rucia! to a 0ommunist party as precise!y that hich characteri(ed it in contradistinction from the or'ing c!ass*
The 0ommunist .arty differs from the ho!e or'ing c!ass because it has an o&era!! &ie of the ho!e historica! road of the or'ing c!ass in its tota!ity" and because at e&ery turn in this road it stri&es to defend not 4ust the interests of a sing!e group or a sing!e trade" but the interest of the or'ing c!ass in its tota!ity. ... R%ecauseS the duty of the pro!etarian party ... RisS to represent" despite e&erything" the historica! interests of the pro!etariat.:

+hi!e passage is stri'ing!y simi!ar to the one in %he Communist :anifesto on hich it as nonethe!ess mode!ed"? it suffers from the same anti-historica! and uni&ersa!i(ing perspecti&e of party-form that to this day distinguish 8Aeninist8 readings of /hat is to (e 0one1 ,n a re&o!utionary situation" one hich presumab!y this 0ongress sti!! he!d characteri(ed the period in hich it too' p!ace" such a se!f-understanding is orse that mista'en* ,t is sectarian since" as Aenin himse!f recogni(ed during the heady days fo!!o ing the February 1917 re&o!ution in 3ussia" the 8masses8 of or'ers are often out in front of the party. ,n this conte#t" reca!! that it as the anarcho-syndica!ist Augustin Souchy ho defended a re&o!utionary period-bound understanding of the :anifesto against the %o!she&i's at the :nd 0ongress* 8)ur theories shou!d be nothing more than the conscious continuation of the tendencies and forms of strugg!e that arise in the fight of the or'ing c!ass against the bourgeoisie. ... +e must ta'e notice of these tendencies and attempt to de&e!op them.8> ,ronica!!y" it as Souchy ho defended a percepti&e consistent ith the actua! practice of %o!she&i's in 1917. %ut" then" as Mar#ists the science of the %o!she&i's ne&er caught up ith their practice.
.o!itica! po er can on!y be sei(ed" organi(ed and !ed by a po!itica! party" and in no other ay. )n!y hen the pro!etariat has as a !eader an organi(ed and tested party ith e!!-mar'ed aims and a tangib!e" or'ed out programme for the ne#t measures to be ta'en not on!y at home but in foreign po!icy" i!! the con$uest of po!itica! po er not appear as an accidenta! episode but ser&e as the starting point for the permanent construction of society by the pro!etariat.;
10Theses

on the Role of the <ommunist 5arty in the 5roletarian Revolution,0 Se!ond Congress ''' (ro!eedings , I, +%. The 0Theses0 )ere authored by =regori 4inoviev. 206bid,0 +%, +#. 30The <ommunists are distinguished ... Jin thatK in the national struggles of the proletarians of different "ountries, they point out and bring to the front the "ommon interests of the entire proletariat, independently of all nationality Jand,K in the various stages of development )hi"h the struggle of the )orking "lass against the bourgeoisie has to pass through, they al)ays and every)here represent the interests of the movement as a )hole.0 /ark and 7ngels, #he Co""unist *anifesto, , . 4Se!ond Congress''' (ro!eedings, I, p. '-. ((ou"hyIs remarks )ere made at the se"ond session, 23 @uly #+2%, of <ongress.! 506bid,0 +2.

2o doubt. %ut" then" because it is a matter of the 8sei(ure of po!itica! po er"8 the acti&ity of 8re&o!utioni(ing8 society a!so only mo&es on the po!itica! terrain of the esta(lished State - regard!ess of ho that State is reconstructed. 2o doubt" because the po!itica! party is a representationa! organi(ation par e6cellence* 2o doubt" because the 8tangib!e" or'ed out programme8 summari(ed in the s!ogan 8peace" !and" bread8 on the basis of hich %o!she&i's came to po er in 1917 as first articu!ated by the or'er- and peasant-masses themse!&es" that the 8ne#t measure to be ta'en8 ith a &ie to stemming the economic chaos as deri&ed from 8Menshe&i' ideas"E that the 8measures8 ith a &ie to agrarian po!icy ere ta'en o&er in toto from the Socia!ist 3e&o!utionaries" etc. ,n other ords" the 8organi(ed and tested party8 did not find itse!f out in front of" sur&eying and dictating the course of e&ents" but as at once constituted and constituti&e of the dia!ectic that as those unfo!ding e&ents. Structured by the e#perience of ci&i! ar"1 this misreading of the e&ents of and history that as 1917 as generated by the need of a nascent ru!ing stratum" a party of <aco(ins, to !egitimi(e itse!f.
1Re"all

the double ba"kground against )hi"h the (e"ond <ongress took pla"e. 2irst, there )as the <ivil >ar. 6n the fa"e of expeditionary for"es of :meri"an, ;ritish and 2ren"h imperialists, against >hite armies supplied and trained by the same te"hnologi"ally vastly superior imperialists, in the fa"e of manufa"turing produ"tion nearly at a standstill, in the fa"e of transport and "ommuni"ations systems rebuilt only as ne) fronts "ame into being and destroyed on"e again in battle, and in the fa"e of famine and starvation among the urban population, that is, against all odds the party.(tate survived. /ere survival )as enough to engender "onfiden"e, but then there )ere also the illusory 0advan"es0 of the period, e.g., the disappearan"e of money as a universal e8uivalent, nationali1ation of all large.s"ale industry, the prohibition of private trade and suppression of the market, et". 0>ar "ommunism0 )as, of "ourse, a horrible parody of the /arxian vision of the future, e.g., instead of material abundan"e famine and starvation reigned, instead of so"ial e8uality there )as a leveling of "lass differen"es, differen"es ground do)n by generali1ed )ant, et". Pet among ;olsheviks that there )ere 0advan"es0 )as "ommonly held. (e"ondly, there )as the immediate military ba"kground. ;y the end of #+#+, the status of 5oland remained the only unsettled 8uestion of the <ivil >ar.R 6n the early months of #+2%, 5ulsudski (head of the nationalist, military party ruling 5oland! ordered 5olish troops into the 9kraine ()hi"h had "ome ba"k into (oviet hands follo)ing the Aovember #+#+ revolution in =ermany.! 3n the ba"k of stiff, partisan peasant resistan"e (re"alling events of t)o years earlier!, the Red :rmy had by early summer turned the tide. The 5olish army )as in full retreat. The party leadership ordered a mar"h on >arsa). To understand ?ust to )hat extent the experien"e, refle"ted upon and assimilated, of "ivil )ar had transformed the outlook of the party and produ"ed the psy"hology of a ruling "lass, it is ne"essary to des"ribe the debate among the party leadership around the 8uestion of taking >arsa). 6f (oviet soldiers )ere to advan"e into 5oland, Lenin and the <entral <ommittee ma?ority expe"ted they )ould be ?oined by 5olish )orkers and peasants in a 0"ivil )ar against "apitalists and landlords.D Trotsky, and L1er1hinsky, /arhklevsky and, in parti"ular, Radek . the 5olish internationalists inside the party (pre"isely those opposed to the 5olish nation.(tate! . had argued against Lenin, )arning of a resurgen"e of 5olish nationalist fervor in the fa"e of )hat ob?e"tively )ould be an in&asion' Lenin had, a""ording to Leuts"her, no s"ruples about the affairH Be, unlike Trotsky . )ho advo"ated an open, publi" de"laration stating ;olsheviks had no designs on 5olish territory or independen"e, an offer of pea"e and then, if una""epted, )ar, vie)ed it as a 0stri"tly military0 matter, that is, as hot pursuit of an aggressor into its o)n territory. 2or Lenin, to be sure, there )as more at stakeH 5oland )as a "orridor bet)een =ermany and 7uropean Russia. :fter all, =erman )orkers too "ould be "ataly1ed. :lthough they, like 5olish )orkers, )ere not moving, there )as, of "ourse, the attempted military !ou% dGItat (Mapp 5uts"h! that had been aborted by a general strike of =erman )orkers (four months earlierU!. The party leadershipIs perspe"tive had by and large be"ome one of re&olution by !on;uest, of spreading the revolution from the outside. 2or instan"e, it had "alled for a national, not a re&olutionary, )ar and as a response "hauvinist sentiments in Russia ran high. 6t had forgotten that on the other side the 5oles had been independent for less than t)o years, and this after #-% years of sub?ugation to the Tsars.RR 2inally, it might be re"alled the revolutionary )ave in 7urope had already past. TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT RThe follo)ing a""ount is dra)n from Leuts"her, #he (ro%het $r"ed, ,- f. 5ertinent material is also provided by Vi"tor (erge in his *e"oirs of a Re&olutionary, #% .#%+, ##2. RR>e simply add the ;olshevik prin"iple of self.determination of oppressed nations )as first trampled in the advan"e on >arsa) (and not three years later by (talin and 3rd?onikid1e in the 0=eorgian affair.0 2or the latter, see /oshe Le)inFs )enin0s )ast Struggle' That the party leadership "lung to an opposing vie), vi1., the vie) that revolutionary upheavals )ere still to "limax, is a measure of the extent to )hi"h the hopes ?ustifying its a"tions )ere "lothed in ex"eedingly voluntarist, revolutionary optimism, not sub?e"t to sobering, ruthlessly self. "riti"al /arxian analysis. 2urthermore, leadership tena"ity and false "ons"iousness )ere merely the other side of the belief that it "ould ?oin from above pro?e"ted upsurges from belo). Aoske and the so"ial demo"rats )ere stabili1ing an essentially bourgeois =ermany, having emas"ulated the )orkersI and soldiersI "oun"ils* in 5oland, 5ilsudski had "ome to po)er against the no) nearly defun"t )orkersI "oun"ils of >arsa)* in ;avaria and Bungary, soviet republi"s had been smashed and )orkersI organi1ations )ere being for"ed underground.

Tru!y remar'ab!e for its &o!untarism" the passage cited abo&e re&ea!s the understanding of c!ass to party re!ations %o!she&i's successfu!!y argued at the 0ongress. )n this &ie " the or'ing c!ass does not ha&e the capacity for consciousness - it a! ays remains an sich< and" it cannot create c!ass ide re&o!utionary organi(ations" smash the bourgeois State" or institute a historica!!y no&e! form of po er. ,n this respect" the 8Theses8 signify a partia! retreat behind history" that is" a partia! return to the doctrine of /hat is to (e 0one1 %ecause the !atter assertions concerning the !imitations of or'ers5 capacity for action f!e in the face of the %o!she&i's5 o n historica! e#perience" they must be grasped in terms of the substitutiona!ist perspecti&e the party had assumed. There is nothing manifest!y more substitutiona!ist and more oriented to ard the 8capture8 as opposed to the 8smashing8 of at !east decisi&e apparatuses of a 8ready-made8 State than the dec!aration that the 8con$uest of po!itica! po er8 by a non-party" pro!etarian organi(ation can on!y be an 8accidenta! episode"8 an emanation undoubted!y of the cunning of historica! 3eason. That 3eason is" according!y" incarnated in the .arty* The or'ing c!ass has neither consciousness nor re&o!utionary organi(ation outside of it. ,n other ords" the c!ass does not became a po!itica!!y conscious c!ass (fHr sich. unti! it is organi(ed into a 0ommunist party. %o!she&i's ou!d ha&e said 8unti! Rpart ofS the c!ass organi(es itse!f into a party8 (since they inconsistent!y he!d the best e!ements of the c!ass create the party and" since the party as no in practice more than e&er assumed to be a conte#t in hich members are shorn of c!ass-based !imitations" pre4udices" etc." transformed and prepared for ru!e in the ne socia! order1). Iet they ou!d ha&e remained at the !e&e! of a oefu!!y inade$uate assessment of their o n e#perience* They cou!d no !onger grasp the necessity of - in a re&o!utionary period - 8conscious!y continuing or'er tendencies8 (Souchy)" but spo'e from the standpoint of the sei(ure and e6ercise of po er (or" if you prefer" their speech as the e#pression of a i!! to po er and domination).: %y 19:B" the re&o!utionary significance of 1917 as !ost and no !onger accessib!e to %o!she&i's. Their perspecti&e s'e ed by the e#traordinary achie&ement of mere sur&i&a! in ci&i! ar against the economic and mi!itary might of a big-po er imperia!ist coa!ition" %o!she&i's had fai!ed to recogni(e the metamorphosis their &ie s and organi(ation had undergone. ,n particu!ar" in the matter of the articu!ation of the nature" character and significance of the 0ommunist party" this strugg!e had re-formed the party as a com(at organi(ation contesting ith the bourgeoisie for po er. %ut the strugg!e had destroyed the party5s f!e#ibi!ity" because it had destroyed its historica! memory. 0ommitted to the sur&i&a! of the So&iet State" it is !i'e!y that by 19:B not e&en a massi&e interna! strugg!e cou!d ha&e returned the party to a democratic prefigurement of the emancipatory future. +ith the 8Theses on the 3o!e of the 0ommunist .arty in the .ro!etarian 3e&o!ution"E the communist movement set do&n the path of <aco(inism and there(y re;oined at its Bolshevism as its origins* %y the ?rd 0ongress (Hune 19:1)" %o!she&i's had raised this entire ob4ecti&e transformation to the !e&e! of e#p!icit a areness* 8%o!she&i(ation8 of Third ,nternationa! 0ommunist parties as e&en then recogni(ed (e.g." by !eft-communists such as 9orsch" .anne'oe'" e&en %ordiga) as an euphemism for the primacy of So&iet State interests. ,D The upgrading of the historica! ro!e of the party in the socia!ist re&o!ution cou!d be e#pected to ha&e been accompanied by a simi!ar do ngrading of the historica! mission of the pro!etariat. %u'harin" in his Economics of the %ransitional =eriod ritten !arge!y as a po!emica! response to =uropean socia! democratic attac's on the So&iet regime for the re&o!ution5s destruction of 3ussian industry" achie&ed this theoretica! do ngrading and in fitting fashion* The or'ing c!ass as reduced to a term in an ob4ecti&istic dia!ectic of producti&e forces and re!ations. %u'harin argued the tendency to ard mi!itarist fusion of economic and po!itica! organi(ation (i.e." to ard State capita!ism) meant the pro!etarian assau!t against capita!ism had to be simu!taneous!y one aimed at smashing the bourgeois State and reshaping socia! re!ations of production. %ut the de-structuring of these re!ations a!so entai!ed the disorgani(ation of producti&e forces* 8For in the re&o!ution" the she!! of producti&e re!ations ... is e#p!oded" and
13n

the 8uestion of )hether a bourgeois intelle"tual party leadership organi1es the "lass vanguard or the vanguard 0"reates0 the party . and, of "ourse, there is the possibility of a 0diale"ti"0 here, but then no one at the <ongress argued for it, see the remarks by Lenin, Se!ond Congress ''' (ro!eedings, I, $ .$+. 2or the party as preparation for rule, see 5art #, above. 23n this, see Trotsky remarks at the se"ond session )hi"h read like a "all of a di"tatorship of enlightened despots. Ibid, ',.

this means" and must mean" a disturbance of the process of reproduction and conse$uent!y a!so a destruction of producti&e po ers.81 %u'harin deduced the necessity of pro!etarian re&o!ution from an ob4ecti&istic dia!ectic of producti&e forces and re!ations*
...the pro!etarian re&o!ution constitutes from the &ery point of &ie of the de&e!opment of producti&e po ers an ob4ecti&e necessity ... pro&ed by the fact that the economic she!! has become inconsistent ith the de&e!opment of the producti&e po ers. +or!d producti&e po ers are not compatib!e ith the state-nationa! structure of society" and the contradiction is 8so!&ed8 by ar. +ar itse!f becomes incompatib!e ith the e#istence of the basic producti&e force - the or'ing c!ass - and the contradiction can on!y be so!&ed ... by re&o!ution.:

)n!y the 8basic producti&e force8 (the pro!etariat) can 8sa&e8 society and on!y at the price of 8sacrifices8
hich are una&oidab!y e&o'ed by the resistance of the e#p!oded capita!ist 8she!!"E hich is personified in the capita!ist bourgeoisie.?

These 8sacrifices8 are the historica!!y ine&itab!e costs of re&o!ution and amount to 8the re&o!utionary decomposition of industry ...R"S a historica!!y ine&itab!e stage hich no amount of !amentation can escape.8> They consist in the physica! destruction of producti&e e!ements inc!uding the 8annihi!ation of or'ers"8 the 8dis$ua!ification8 of producti&e e!ements (e.g." ear and tear on machinery ithout repair)" disruption of the interdependent re!ations among sectors of the economy and unproducti&e consumption (i.e." &ast mi!itary e#penditures necessitated by ci&i! ar).; The strength of %u'harin5s Economics is its systematic and deducti&e ana!ysis. %ut this is a!so its ea'ness. ,t cannot be ascertained from the or' itse!f hether the 3ussian instance as meant essentia!!y to e#emp!ify the 8!a inherent to re&o!ution8 (i.e." the necessary co!!apse of industria! organi(ation)" or hether this !a is intended as a simp!e deduction ithout reference to historica! e&idence. %u'harin5s ob4ecti&istic ana!ysis faithfu!!y reproduced the paradigmatic form of bourgeois theory" &i(." fetishi(ed conceptua!i(ation of !a s. The attempt to e!aborate the !a s of motion of the transitiona! period !eft %u'harin unab!e to formu!ate rea! historica! mo&ement rooted in pro!etarian sub4ecti&ity. A!! that remained as to gi&en an appropriate formu!ation to the e!imination of pro!etarian agency* %u'harin appro&ing!y cited the %o!she&i' historian A. 9rit(mann*
%ut the pro!etariat differs from other producti&e forces (machines" materia!" etc.) in that it responds ith revolt to the threatening disorgani(ation. The period of the crisis is a period of the gro th of re&o!utionary re&o!t ithin the pro!etariat. %he revolution itself is nothing more than the reaction of the proletariat against the efforts of the bourgeoisie... an effort to !i$uidate the crisis hich as engendered by the capita!ist mode of production.7

0ast in the distincti&e!y scientistic !anguage of causa! ana!ysis" this description of pro!etarian 8re&o!t8 assigns to the or'ing c!ass a status hich ma'e it indistinguishab!e from other c!asses in history. A!! oppressed groups" c!asses" and peop!es ho ha&e throughout history been dri&en by conditions of their dai!y e#istence to fight against their oppressors ha&e been dri&en to revolt* 1ere the prise de conscience" in Mar#ian theory distinguishing the pro!etariat from a!! other c!asses and groups in history and the condition for achie&ement of its historica! mission"7 has been ground up in an ob4ecti&istic !ogic. This !ogic socia!!y functioned to !in' the cant of pro!etarian dictatorship to the rea!ity of the ru!ing party-State. Theoretica!!y" it pro&ided the 4ustificatory underpinnings for Trots'y5s substitutiona!ism. D Trots'y5s &ie on mi!itari(ation" trade union function" and one-man management respecti&e!y disc!osed the organi(ationa! form of rigid hierarchy" the goa! of increased producti&ity" and the method of technica! ad&ancement hich ta'en together and unified by a sing!e economic p!an ere necessary for rea!i(ation of bourgeois historica!
1Ai"olai 2Ibid' 3Ibid' 4Ibid, 5Ibid,

;ukharin, !ono"i!s of the #ransitional (eriod, #%$. (7mphasis deleted.!

-'. #%'.#%+. 6Ibid, #+ , n. +. (7mphasis added.! 6t is perversely fitting that the formulation of the elimination of the 0sub?e"t0 should be relegated to a footnote. 7(ee the dis"ussion above (5art #, se"tion 66, and fns. 2 , 2+! )here re&olt is similarly distinguished from !ons!ious re&olutionary a!tion.

tas's. 3or %rots$y, form and method do not have social content* )n other &ords, they &ere, for him, conceptually neutral &ithout practical implication for the class character of society* %his neutrality allo&ed him to assimilate the central, historical (ourgeois o(;ective in the era of this class@ ascendancy, namely constantly increasing productivity, &ithout concern for the e6ploitative and hierarchical contents of the social relations informing accumulation practices, &hile still characteri-ing the practices he proposed as socialist* )f socialist, %rots$y@s perspective nonetheless did not o&e its origins to a theory of emancipation (ut to science* 1is perspecti&e on ho& to organi(e for economic reconstruction as mere!y the other side of &hat as to be organi(ed. Aabor as an ob4ect for e#p!oitation (!abor-po er) constituted the materia! to hich neutra! technica! as to be app!ied. 2ot surprising!y" Trots'y spo'e the !anguage of the manipu!ation and administration of living la(or as ra& material for economic reconstruction. Since 8the organi(ation of the ne society can be reduced fundamenta!!y to the reorgani(ation of !abor"E a!! e!se reduces to a $uestion of proper method" &i(." to the 8correct introduction of genera! !abor ser&ice.E1 :ethod is identical &ith capitalist rationality, &ith the general shape of operations such as calculation, careful accounting and control, operations dec!ared by Aenin in an ear!ier period to form" in production" the essence of or'ers5 contro!. ,n the end the ho!e reconstruction prob!em ou!d" according to Trots'y" find its so!ution in the proper 8uti!i(ation of !abor-po er on the basis of compu!sory !abor ser&ice8 hich itse!f reduced to 8technica! methods and princip!es8 of the 8registration" mobi!i(ation" formation and transportation from one p!ace to another of !arge masses.8: D, /ti!itarian senses of techni$ue ere embedded in the precogniti&e substructure of %o!she&i' thought. ? These senses" as une#amined" instrumenta!ist assumptions" had their basis in a specific %o!she&i' tradition" that is" in the 19th century 3ussian Mar#ist assimi!ation of bourgeois theory (science) or" more precise!y" in understanding Mar#ism as science. Assimi!ation of the ready-made" ob4ecti&istic underpinnings of bourgeois theory constituted the source of those fundamenta! conceptua! mediations hich" after the disappearance of massi&e pressure from be!o and the crysta!!i(ation of %o!she&i' ru!e" ere de&e!oped as an ideo!ogica! defense of a practice of societa! domination. To determine here these ob4ecti&istic mediations ere e#p!icit!y and systematica!!y incorporated into the emancipatory and specifica!!y po!itica! moments of party doctrine" e must e#amine the socio-po!itica! conte#t of this incorporation. ,n mid-September 1917 ().S.)" %o!she&i's on a de!egate ma4ority in the .etrograd So&iet. ,n other !oca! or'ers5 so&iets e!se here" the party5s inf!uence as rapid!y gro ing. After the .etrograd garrison as on o&er (11 (:>) )ctober)" the party as assured hegemony in the capita!. ,n the midst of these de&e!opments" Aenin" in a pamph!et re&ea!ing!y entit!ed 80an the %o!she&i's 3etain State .o erN8> and pub!ished in ear!y )ctober ().S.)" addressed himse!f to $uestion concerning the party5s capacity to go&ern" $uestions put to %o!she&i's by their bourgeois and re&o!utionary-democratic distracters. Aenin too' si# criticisms formu!ated by Ma#im @or'y5s 'ovaya 7hi-n, the organ of Menshe&i' ,nternationa!ists around Marto&" as the point of departure for his response. For our purposes here" t o of those criticisms are of pressing import. 'ovaya 7hi-n stated the %o!she&i's ou!d not be ab!e to ho!d State po er (and imp!ied they shou!dn5t assume it) because 8it"8 i.e." 8the pro!etariat8 (read 8%o!she&i's8) 8 i!! not be ab!e to technica!!y !ay ho!d of the state apparatus8< and" further" because 8it i!! not be ab!e to set the apparatus in motion.E; 3eferring to his soon-to-appear pamph!et %he State and Revolution" and to Mar#5s formu!ation of the !essons of the .aris 0ommune"7 Aenin dec!ared the criticisms a!together missed the point* 8The pro!etariat cannot simp!y !ay ho!d of the ready-made state machine and use it for its o n purposes.8 ,t cannot 8set it in motion.E 8The pro!etariat must smash this machine ... smash
1Trotsky, #erroris"us 2Ibid,

und Co""unis"us, ##3. ##2. 3These passively "onstituted, pre"ategorial and taken for granted assumptions )ere t)ofold. Te"hni8ue )as pre"ognitively pro?e"ted as either, first, an instrument or, se"ond and institutionally rendered, as an administrative and organi1ational apparatus. 6n the latter "ase, te"hni8ues as hypostati1ed by ;olshevik thinking assumed the sense of one.sided externality and an indifferent, neutral medium, passivity vis.S.vis the so"ietal "ontext in )hi"h they fun"tioned and to)ard those )ho lived and a"ted 0in0 it. These meanings are ?ust as po)erfully operative, if anything even more so, in the bourgeois "ultures of the >est today as there )ere in early 2%th "entury Russia. 4CW, <<7I, '%.#3$. 5Ibid, +$. 6#he Ci&il War in @ran!e'

e&erything that is oppressi&e" routine and incorrigib!y bourgeois in the o!d state apparatus and substitute its o&n, ne apparatus. The So&iet of +or'ers5" So!diers5 and .easants5 -eputies are"8 !i'e the .aris 0ommune" 8e#act!y this Rne S apparatus.81 Fo!!o ing Mar#" Aenin re!ated ho the so&iets ere a State apparatus of a $ua!itati&e!y ne type* The po!ice and standing army of the centra!i(ed" bourgeois State are disso!&ed and se!f-defense becomes an acti&ity of the armed or'ers themse!&es< the State bureaucracy and 4udiciary !oses their a!ien ob4ecti&ity and its !ucrati&eness as pri(ed positions of po er by sub4ecting necessary functionaries to fre$uent e!ections" immediate reca!!" and paying them the sa!ary of an a&erage or'ing man< and" the sham character of par!iamentary mas$uerades are e#posed and abo!ished through the or'ers5 counci!s (so&iets) that function as a or'ing body (both !egis!ati&e and e#ecuti&e). : 1a&ing identified the so&iets as (tendentia!!y) constituting a no&e! 8state8 system of this sort" Aenin proceeded to +ualify the e#tent to hich the o!d apparatus as to be destroyed. 1e dre a distinction bet een the 8chief!y 5oppressi&e5 apparatus K the modern state possesses8 and 8an apparatus hich has e#treme!y c!ose connections ith the ban's and syndicates" an apparatus hich performs an enormous amount of accounting and registration or'...8?
This apparatus must not" and shou!d not" be smashed. ,t must be rested from contro! of the capita!ists< the capita!ists and the ires they pu!! must (e cut off, lopped off, chopped a&ay from this apparatus.>

Since this apparatus is responsib!e for 8the actua! or' of boo''eeping" contro!" registering" accounting and counting"E 8it must be e#panded" made more comprehensi&e and nation ide.E; This !ine of thought neat!y do&etai!ed ith Aenin5s &ie s of or'ers5 contro!* +or'ers5 contro! at the shopf!oor !e&e! as to form one side of a dictatorship of the pro!etariat o&er the mi#ed economy hich Aenin en&isioned ou!d characteri(e the transition. The other side" the specifica!!y State e!ement in this reformist and Statist pro4ection" as to be formed !arge!y by the 8administrati&e apparatus8* 80ountry- ide boo'-'eeping" country- ide accounting of the production and distribution of goods ... i!! be ... something in the nature of the s$eleton of socia!ist society.87 According!y" 8our tas' is mere!y to lop off hat capitalistically mutilates this e#ce!!ent apparatus" to ma'e it e&en bigger" e&en more democratic" e&en more comprehensi&e.87 Aenin@s rather scholastic distinction (et&een t&o apparatuses is e6perientially ungrounded2 )t e6ists only in and for thought (i*e*, it is ideally pro;ected as real. and is not to (e found in the practice of daily life* (,n the !anguage of Mar#ist orthodo#y" it is dogmatic and idea!istic.) But it &as precisely in the practice of daily life that the integration of the allegedly separa(le apparatuses (through personnel and their loyalties, organi-ational su(ordination to the same administrative hierarchy, and through formal similarity of structure and methods of &or$. &as nearly complete* The pro4ection of t o separab!e and distinct apparatuses rested on the assumption of a clearly delineata(le capitalist content &hich could (e detached from neutral form2 Once purged, the apparatus itself in its pristine, neutral or purely administrative form &ould have remained* %ut" as Au'acs has sho n in another conte#t"6 thought that thin's the form-content re!ation as contingent and ho!!y e#terna! - the presupposition of their pro4ected practica! detachment is characteristica!!y contemp!ati&e and reified" i.e." bourgeois. Aenin and the %o!she&i's thought the 8apparatus8 capita!ism be$ueath the pro!etariat as thingly* This reification had its conse$uences< to it" for %o!she&i's it as impossib!e that (ourgeois practices and attitudes &ere constitutive of the apparatus itself* ,n other ords" %o!she&i's (Aenin specifica!!y but a!so other 3ussian socia!ists genera!!y) concei&ed an apparatus as an instrument and not as
1CW,

<<7I, #%2. #%3.#%,. This analysis derived from /arxIs dis"ussion of the 5aris <ommune )as, of "ourse, "entral to all LeninIs ma?or politi"al tra"ts in #+#'. ;eginning )ith the $%ril #heses 1CW, <<I7, 2#.2'!, Lenin struggled to embody this analysis and the pres"riptions derived from it in the party platform (0The Task of the 5roletariat in our Revolution,0 Ibid, esp. $ .'#!. The analysis found its most developed form in #he State and Re&olution 1CW, <<72' 3Ibid, CW, <<7I, #%$. 4Ibid' 5Ibid' 6Ibid' ( 7mphasis deleted.! 7Ibid' 8=eorg Luka"s, History and Class Cons!iousness, ##-f.
2Ibid,

an institution" i.e." not as a comple6 of congealed social relations animated (y the class teleology of the (ourgeoisie and actually (orne (y individuals (themselves (ourgeois. &hose daily activities reproduced the apparatus as such* Aenin had he!d that this apparatus cou!d immediate!y be 8set in motion8 8by a sing!e decree" because the actua! or' of boo'-'eeping" contro!"8 etc." 8is performed by employees.E1 The practica! demonstration of this nonsense as e#act!y that" and an ear!y re&e!ation that %o!she&i's ere ready to ignore the anti-Statist !essons of the .aris 0ommune hen it so suited them" as short!y forthcoming. +ithin days fo!!o ing actua! %o!she&i' ascendancy" ban' emp!oyees and functionaries at the Ministries of Finance and .ub!ic +e!fare pierced this &ei! of reifications. They did so by refusing to cooperate ith the %o!she&i's in po er.: (At the .ub!ic +e!fare Ministry" the ne 0ommissar" 9o!!ontai" found these emp!oyees on stri'e.) They ere accused by being bourgeois 8agents"E but" in a roundabout ay" that as precise!y the point. D,, The theoretica! 4ustification for the practica!" re&o!utionary appropriation of the administrati&e apparatus of the bourgeois State" and ith it the e#p!icit and systematic point of entry of the essentia!!y bourgeois concept of neutra! techni$ue into the %o!she&i's5 emancipatory discourse" is" as suggested abo&e" embedded in Aenin5s reconstruction of the 8true8 Mar#ian doctrine of the State. ,t shou!d be noted" ho e&er" that this concept is not identica! ith instrumenta!ist" scientistic rationa!ity - the rationa!ity of %o!she&ism itse!f. ,t is because this rationa!ity (of hich the concept of neutra! techni$ue is a mere moment) had !ong been constituted before any of its !ater manifestations. At any rate" the reconstruction of Mar#ian doctrine underta'en by Aenin refers to that a!!eged!y most impeccab!e of emancipatory source - sacred te#t of e&ery re&o!utionary socia!ist" %he State and Revolution*? According to Aenin" the huge administrati&e apparatus ta'en o&er by and assimi!ated to the ne pro!etarian State during the transition is an achie&ement of capita!ism itse!f.
0apita!ism has created an accounting apparatus in the shape of the ban's" syndicates" posta! ser&ice" consumers5 societies" and office emp!oyees5 unions ... The big ban's are the 5state apparatus5 hich e need to bring about socia!ism" and hich e ta'e ready-made from capita!ism.>

80apita!ism has simp!ified the or' of accounting and contro!"E that or' in and through hich this apparatus is reproduced" 8has reduced it to a comparati&e!y simp!e system of (oo$#$eeping" hich any !iterate person can do.8;
RTheS de&e!opment of capita!ism ... creates the preconditions that enab!e 8a!!8 to ta'e part in the administration of the state.7

%ut this administrati&e apparatus is an achie&ement as such on!y on condition that it does not contain em(edded &ithin it social relations of domination peculiar to capitalism (i*e*, &or$place hierarchy, su(ordination, and oppression ultimately founded on e6ploitation, etc*., that is, only on condition that the apparatus is thingly, a neutral medium* 2o " it is a neutra! medium because it is a necessary product of the !ogic and de&e!opment of monopo!y capita!< because" in other ords" the apparatus is" for Aenin" an achie&ement from the standpoint of the efficient organi(ation
1Lenin, 22or

Ibid' a detailed a""ount of publi" employee strikes against the ne) regime, and its relation to the failure of ;olsheviks to understand the nature of the 0apparatus0 they sought to take over 0ready.made,0 see Theoreti"al Aote 2, belo). 36n passing )e note this )ork is a"tually an ideologi"ali1ationH 6ts theory of the (tate la"ks "on"retion, sin"e it only pra"ti"ally mediated by referen"e to the past, that is, to the 5aris <ommune (# '#!. The effort to grasp the future latent in the present, vi1., mediating analyses on ongoing, present pra"ti"es orienting revolutionaries to the future as that )hi"h is to be made, is "ompletely absent. >hen Lenin turns to an examination (0<an the ;olsheviks Retain (tate 5o)erN0! of the living present the truly, theoreti"ally abstra"t "hara"ter of #he State and Re&olution be"omes by )ay of "ontrast patently obviousH This, the former, 0pra"ti"al0 )ork renders #he State and Re&olution ideologi"ally utopian by abandoning all attempts to move beyond the alien ob?e"tivity of the (tate. 6nstead, it (Lenin! seeks po)er, moves "ompletely and 8uite "omfortably on the plane of existing state as an apparatus to be "on8uered, taken over ready.made and )ielded more or less as is. 2or an a""ount of the relations bet)een these t)o texts and a more detailed elaboration of the themes pursued here, see Theoreti"al Aote 2, belo). 4Lenin, CW, <<7I, Ibid' 5Ibid, #%'. 6CW, <<7 1#he State and Re&olution2, ,''.

of producti&e forces<7 and" because history" of course" 'no s no more efficient and gigantic organi(ation of production than capita!ism. Thus" the apparatus is ta'en o&er in the transition. ,f this practica! appropriation of the bourgeois State5s administrati&e apparatus" its constitution as an e!ement of the ne pro!etarian State" is 4ustified by reference to the unfo!ding" de&e!opment" and organi(ation of producti&e forces" it is because of the necessity that inheres in that process of de&e!opment. 3eca!! the passage cited in chapter ? abo&e*
The dia!ectics of history is such that the ar ... RhasS e#pediteRdS the transformation of monopo!y capita!ism into statemonopo!y capita!ism... RThe !atterS is a comp!ete material preparation for socia!ism" the threshold of socia!ism" a rung on the !adder of history bet een hich and the rung ca!!ed socia!ism there are no intermediate rungs*1

This stagist" ob4ecti&ist metaphysics of history rests on the be!ief that producti&e forces form an essentia! feature of human rea!ity as such< underneath e&erything" it assumes that the unfo!ding of history is the increasing comp!e#ity and the mounting technica! sophistication of production as e!! as the generation of ob4ectified and materia!i(ed cumu!ati&e !abor sa&ings" &i(." the de&e!opment of producti&e forces. This de&e!opment" moreo&er" is strict!y autonomous. .roducti&e forces" and" hence" that 8huge" administrati&e apparatus8 hich is a necessary product of their de&e!opment" are concei&ed on the mode! of neutra! techni$ue" hi!e the specifica!!y neutra! character of the !atter is circuitous!y 4ustified by the donn5 character of the former5s de&e!opment. Aenin5s 8dia!ectics of history"E as a methodo!ogica! pro4ection and idea! product mas$uerading as the rea!" is attributed to Mar#*
The great significance of Mar#5s e#p!anation is that ... he consistent!y app!ies materia!ist dia!ectics" the theory of de&e!opment.:

The 8app!ication8 refers to a scheme &u!gar!y deri&ed from 1ege!. Aenin understood the interna! connectedness of each historica! stage of de&e!opment in terms of a strict!y positive dia!ectic" that is" in terms of a necessary preser&ation and transcendence of pre&ious achie&ements (aufhe(en.. 8App!ied8 to the 8materia!8 of history" the scheme re$uires that the destruction of the bourgeois State remain incomp!ete. Accordingly, it is a formal scheme, one unmediated (y the accumulated, reflected e6perience of proletarian struggle, &hich determines that administratively organi-ational achievements (e ta$en over from capitalism. This scheme a!so generates a !ogica!!y consistent 4ustification for the Statist reconstruction %o!she&i's ere preparing to underta'e< it suggests hat 'inds of agencies" organi(ations" etc. ou!d pro&ide the actua! infrastructure of that reconstruction< and" it permitted Aenin to deduce communism as the necessary consummation of the de&e!opmenta! process ca!!ed 8history.E? %he positive dialectic renders history o(;ectivistically, and this is decisi&e" su(suming the relations of domination and su(ordination structuring the sphere of social activities, the everyday, under neutrally conceived (i*e*, domination free. processes of production* )t there(y occludes the productive activity of mystified su(;ects in favor of the pro;ection of a flat, o(;ect#li$e and pseudo#concrete daily sphere* %hus, the sphere of social activities in &hich capital does its dirty#&or$, that is, the domain &herein &e might on :ar6ist assumptions e6pect to find domination originally constituted, sei-es to have meaning for Aenin* The !oss of the e&eryday to the emancipatory pro4ect is consistent ith
7;ut

it is an a"hievement solely from this standpoint. 3$3. 2Ibid, ,'$. 36.e., it allo)ed him to impose a ready.made form on formless matter. LeninIs thought, and ;olshevism generally, suffers from a "ertain methodologi"al s"hematism akin to pathologi"al rigidity. >hile the methodologi"al issue is not de"isive, it is the most ade8uate form in )hi"h to examine this reified thinking. Aote that it re"urs problemati"ally at ea"h level of our analysis* vi1., in the medium.matter distin"tion animating the "on"ept of neutrally appli"able te"hni8ue, in the reified form. "ontent distin"tion, )ith the s"hemati" positive diale"ti", and in the opposition of politi"s and administration (belo)!. JAote appended in @anuary, 2%%#H <amillo ;erneri, a revolutionary anar"hist of 6talian origins, )ho )as murdered by <ommunists during the /ay Lays in ;ar"elona in #+3', also re"ogni1ed the obfus"atory diale"ti" of "on"epts that governed LeninFs "onstru"tion. >ith referen"e to )hat /arxists "laim is a long period of transition bet)een so"ialism and "ommunism, he suggested the stages of this evolution )ere the unhappy produ"t of a diale"ti"al mystifi"ation, of a method that allo)ed /arx, 7ngels and, follo)ing them, Lenin to de"eptively e8uivo"ate on "ertain formulations (parti"ularly that )hi"h, in taking possession of the (tate, identified the self.suppression of the proletariat )ith the abolition of "lasses and this )ith the abolition of the (tate as su"h!, to, in fa"t, metaphysi"ally engaged in a 0s"hemati1ation of the histori"al pro"ess in their love of system.0 Be "hara"teri1ed the e8uivo"ations as a metaphysi"al fantasy, 0a politi"al hypothesis of so"ial abstra"tions.0 0:bolition et extin"tion de lFOtat0 in >uerre de !lasses en s%agne, '-.'$.K
1Ibid,

Aenin5s reduction of ci&i! society" those socia!i(ing dai!y acti&ities and institutions in and through hich socia! !ife is produced and reproduced" e#c!usi&e!y to producti&e processes. As opposed to the pro!etarian re&o!ution in and through hich the bourgeois State is 8smashed"8 the 8 ithering a ay8 of the State is a historica! process of the transition to socia!ism1 in hich 8the go&ernment of persons is rep!aced by the administration of things" and the conduct of the processes of production.8: The State" according to Aenin (fo!!o ing Mar# and =nge!s)" basica!!y consists in a standing army and po!ice" bureaucracies" and a 4udiciary and" corresponding!y" other 8institutions of coercion of a!! 'inds.E? 3ising on the ground of a feuda! society destroyed by e#panding capita!ist producti&e re!ations" it is a historica!!y constituted" high!y centra!i(ed" and repressi&e organi(ation for the domination of one c!ass o&er others. (This characteri(ation con&enient!y e#c!udes those neutra!" mere!y regu!atory administrati&e bodies" e.g." a nationa! ban'" in hich capita!5s po er o&er daily life is concentrated" centra!i(ed and crysta!!i(ed" in hich" in other ords" the po er o&er !ife of a uni&ersa! abstraction is for the first time in history tru!y constituted and rea!i(ed.) )n the one hand" the State is the institutiona! frame or' for the 8go&ernment of persons8< as such" it is essentia!!y identified ith coercive, political po&er* )n the other hand" utter!y !ac'ing here is a pre-figurati&e" pro4ected concept - one based on the tendentia! direction of the de&e!opment of the .aris 0ommune and found ane in 3ussian counci!s (so&iets) - of an acti&e" political (yet non#coercive. 8 or'ing body8 of pro!etarians assemb!ed" i.e." acti&e!y arguing" persuading and deciding practica! issues of production" distribution" consumption" and !ife and death issues (peace and ar)" as e!!. The opposition of coerci&e" po!itica! po er - 8po!itics8 - to 8administration8 is centra! to Aenin5s argument. 0iting =nge!s 167? po!emic against .roudhonian anarchists" he appro&ing!y asserts*
... the State" and ith it po!itica! authority" i!! disappear as a resu!t of the coming re&o!ution" i.e." ... pub!ic functions i!! !ose their po!itica! character and become the mere administrati&e functions of atching o&er socia! interests.>

)n the one hand" the State is conf!ated ith the political as such. )n the other hand" the political is def!ated" that is" reduced solely to the assemb!y of organi(ations" agencies" and institutions (4udiciary" po!ice" prisons" etc.) e6plicitly designed to coerce" to &io!ate the sub4ecti&ity and identity of socia!!y subordinate indi&idua!s and socia! groups. ,n either case it disappears" 8 ithers a ay.E The political as State is rep!aced by the 8administration of things"E that is" by the technica! regu!ation of ob4ectified" materia!i(ed human acti&ity. Administrati&e (re)organi(ation of socia! !ife does not beget institutiona!i(ed &io!ence* ,ts essence is not determined by coerci&e po er. ,t is a form of neutral practice. ,t does not imp!icate the 8administrators8 ( hoN Mar#5s 8associated producers themse!&es8N) in a practice of domination" since a!! manifestations of the !atter are reducib!e to scientifica!!y determined e#p!oitation destined to disappear ith the abo!ition of c!asses. The 8administration of things8 is acti&ity through hich materia! abundance as the centra! premise of the communist future is reproduced and communism itse!f" as an organic community based upon rationa!!y p!anned" scienti(ed production processes" is achie&ed< it is the tru!y historica!" and hence rea!" condition of a!!-sided de&e!opment and fu!! f!o ering of indi&idua!ity< and it" coinciding ith the disappearance of the political" is the mar' of an emancipated society.;
1CW,

<<7, ,%2. $ntiEDJhring, 3 +* "ited by Lenin, Ibid, ,%#. This expression originates )ith (aint.(imon. (ee his 0(ur lIadministration et sur le government des affaires publi8ue.0 JAote appended in @anuary 2%%#H ;erneri identified the key passages from 7ngels $ntiEDJhring as follo)s H 0The proletariat takes possession of (tate po)er and transforms the means of produ"tion at first into (tate property. ;ut in this, it suppresses itself Jas proletariatK as su"h, it JtherebyK abolishes "lass differen"e and all "lass antagonisms and, follo)ing Jfrom thisK, also the (tate as su"h.0 :nd, 0the first a"t through )hi"h the (tate really affirms itself as the representative of so"iety as a )hole G the a"t of JtakingK possession of the means of produ"tion in the name of so"iety G is at the same time the last a"t of the (tate as su"h.0 Thus, 0intervention of (tate po)er in so"ial relations be"omes superfluous in one domain after another, after )hi"h it itself break ups (sFassoupit ensuite dFelle.mWme!.0 Thereafter follo)s the famous passage )hi"h reads, 0the administration of things and dire"tion of the pro"esses of produ"tion substitute themselves for the government of persons. The (tate is not IabolishedI* it +ithers a+ay.0 :""ording to ;erneri, the se"ond passage in parti"ular "ited above betrays a line of thought that signifies 0the temporal simultaneity of e"onomi" so"iali1ation and the abolition of the (tate.0 :t the same time, it also signifies, relative to the proletariat, that the out"ome of proletarian self.suppression, in the a"t of taking possession of (tate po)er Cneed not be a )orkersF (tate (Xtat prolOtaire!.0 0:bolition et extin"tion de lFOtat0 in >uerre de !lasses en s%agne, ',.'-.K 37ngels, #he 3rigin of the @a"ily, (ri&ate (ro%erty and the State, 23%* "ited by Lenin, Ibid, 3+,. 4Lenin, Ibid, ,,2. 2or the original passage, see 7ngelsI # '3 arti"le entitled 03n :uthority0 in /arx and 7ngels, Sele!ted Wor.s, I, $3+. 5/arx and 7ngels, #he >er"an Ideology, ,,.,-, ,, +#.+2, 2,2, 3#-.#$, ,3#.32, , 3.
27ngels,

The opposition of po!itics to administration does not admit of the $uestion as to hether authoritarian#hierarchical social relations of command#o(edience are, on the one side, immanent to capitalist production processes or, on the other, em(edded in the ?administrative apparatus? of the (ourgeois State, or, more significantly, &hether they, on the one side, are not inscri(ed in the very sensuous organi-ation of the productive forces of (ourgeois society or, on the other, do not form the very content of those congealed social relations that ta$en as a &hole constitute the institutions ma$ing up the (ourgeois State apparatus* Iet the opposition of po!itics to administration formed the basic frame or' out of hich genuine!y !iberatory 19th century socia!ists and anarchists thought about the State. 3ooted in the specu!ations of utopian socia!ists" especia!!y Saint-Simon"1 socia! theory resting on this opposition is characteri(ed by a false (elief in a technological path to utopia" a con&iction hich renders it suspect or" if you prefer" ideologically utopian.: This fa!se be!ief is not" ho e&er" to be found simp!y in utopian socia!ists5 specu!ation* The conceptua! antithesis of administration-po!itics can be traced bac' to the ear!iest" theoretica! formu!ations of (ourgeois political theory, and can (e comprehended as a mystified reflection on the foundations of ((ourgeois. society itself* +hether it is the effort to construct a rationa!!y deducib!e" uti!itarian mora!ity from a &ar of all against all that re$uires an abso!ute so&ereign to secure domestic tran$ui!ity (1obbes)" or unco&ered is that moment at hich uni&ersa! and pri&ati(ed indi&idua! rights to 4udge and punish &io!ations of the fundamenta! natura! right of property are contractua!!y
3n /arxian assumptions, the 0realm of freedom,D "ommunism, diale"ti"ally develops out of ne"essity through the struggle against the latter, i.e., through the "reation of 0material abundan"e.0 : thoroughly "onsistent /arxism, it )ould seem, must hold that freedom "an neither be "on"eived as a state (that as, as the 0real" of freedom0! nor as a pro"ess (that is, as the 0all.sided de&elo%"ent of individuals0!, but must be "on"eived as a"tivity, as a!ti&ity that destroys 1CnegatesC2 the gi&en to !reate an alternati&e' This "on"eption of a"tivity, though, is modeled on labor, at least in a materialist and Begelian sense ("f., e.g., :. Mo?YveIs Introdu!tion to the Reading of Hegel, "hapter #!. 6t, a""ordingly, remains tainted by the Begelian./arxist "on"ept of nature as the original medium (die *aterie! in )hi"h and through )hi"h the negating a"tion of (pirit (>eist, "ulture, man as a"tive, laboring agen"y! allo)s it, (pirit, to a"hieve "ons"iousness. 6n an eman"ipated so"iety, the %oliti!al in the sense in )hi"h it has been "ontrasted to the spe"ifi" /arxian "on"eption above, )ould mediate the "apa"ity to pose alternatives. 6t )ould not only be a presupposition of but )ould be essentially "onstitutive of a free so"iety. 6t )ould not entail an a"tive, 0negating0 relation, but like <lastresF ar"hai" "hief (belo)! )ould have its lo"us 0in0 an institution in )hi"h the sub?e"t.sub?e"t relations of spee"h (spee"hmaking, argument, persuasion! "enter a materially undivided "ommunity, raise tradition.bound norms to "riti"al a)areness and, on this basis, (re!"reate shared sub?e"tivity through the formulation of "onsensus.a"hieved goals that, in turn, inform "ommunity a"tivities. 1:ppalled by the dissolution of the so"ial bonds of human solidarity o""urring every)here market relations penetrated, and riding a )ave of tremendous optimism and hope generated by the already enormous a"hievements of early #+th "entury modern physi"al s"ien"e and by the potential for popular transformation of so"iety revealed by the 2ren"h Revolution, utopian so"ialists produ"ed this "ategorial opposition as a theoreti"al response to a ne)ly emerging industrial "ivili1ation, spe"ulatively pro?e"ting an organi" "ommunity free of institutionali1ed violen"e and based upon a synthesis of "reative and rational.s"ientifi" organi1ation of produ"tion. 3ne need only survey this literature to get a di11y sense of the abyss )hi"h, after # % years of industrial "ivili1ation, separates their hope from todayIs anti.te"hnologi"al "yni"ism and 0end of "ivili1ation0 pessimism. : brief but ex"ellent pla"e to start is (aint.(imonIs fragment referred to above, 0(ur lIadministration et sur le government des affaires publi8ue.0 2LeninIs #he State and Re&olution shares this illusion* and, of "ourse, it is ideologi"al in a mu"h more profound sense. Revie) the fate of the text. :s Lenin himself noted in 3"tober #+#', the pamphlet )as s"heduled to appear 0very shortly.0 Be had, in fa"t, been )orking on it sin"e )inter #+#$.#+#'. <uriously though #he State and Re&olution )as not published until #' (3%! Le"ember #+#', at )hi"h time ;ukharin )as preparing to employ the line of argument arti"ulated therein to support his position inside the R<5(b! <entral <ommittee (vi1., to support advo"a"y of immediate revolutionary )ar against the =erman army o""upying the 9kraine!. Lenin, interested primarily in "onsolidating ;olshevik "ontrol over (tate institutions, )ould shortly "hide ;ukharin and insist this )ork belonged to a histori"ally surpassed period, that it )as irrelevant to then "urrent "onsiderations. : year later, the "ivil )ar.)rought destru"tion of the Russian proletariat had emptied any eman"ipatory "ontent soviet type organi1ations may have had (and it )as pre"isely this argument ;olsheviks themselves made to ?ustify suppression of the #+#+ 5etrograd food riots!. ;ut it )as also a year later at the 2irst <ongress of the Third 6nternational that ;olsheviks attempted to )in over anar"hists and syndi"alists )ith large 7uropean )orking "lass follo)ings on the basis of (a! the analyses of #he State and Re&olution and (b! identifi"ation of the liberatory pro?e"tions of that do"ument )ith #+#+ Russian reality. Thus, in history #he State and Re&olution has fun"tioned ideologi"ally. The very "onstru"tion of the do"ument, moreover, exhibits ideology at )ork* that is, it masks not only the as"endan"y of ;olsheviks to po)er, but also their intent to reali1e a (tatist pro?e"t by suggesting the pra"ti"e of the 0)orking "lass organi1ed for rule0 (i.e., as a party on the model of the ;olsheviks in #+#+! )ould issue in the abolition of "lass antagonisms. #he State and Re&olution thereby "on"ealed the very role of Lenin )ho authored it and ;olsheviks )ho promulgated it.

ceded to State authority (Aoc'e)" the 8state of nature8 is concei&ed as an autonomous sphere in hich egoistic man pursues need-based ob4ecti&es oriented on ma#imi(ing pri&ate gain. From the physiocrats to Adam Smith and beyond" c!assica! po!itica! economic thought transformed the state of nature into 8society"E &i(." into spontaneous" socia!!y cohesi&e and se!f-regu!ating re!ations among pri&ate indi&idua!s identified as those eterna!!y gi&en socia! re!ations constituted out of commodity e#change and socia! !abor.1 8Society"E in this conceptua!!y pre-socia! and pre-po!itica! form" as opposed to the State hose primary purpose is to regu!ate and preser&e property (Aoc'e). The forma! dec!arations of the ne States (France and the /nited States) summari(e and sanction this entire conceptua! mo&ement* /ni&ersa!istic !a ma'es man a citi(en of po!itica! society and abo!ishes tradition-based norms go&erning communa! !ife (as e!! as that form of life itse!f)" i.e." frees man understood as a pri&ate indi&idua! from interna!i(ed constraints and thro s him into the mora!!y neutral sphere of ci&i! society !iberating him to !oo' after and pursue his o n egoistic interests.: These conceptua! antitheses" state of nature-state of society" society-State and administration-po!itics" then" constituted a historica!!y e&o!&ing ref!ection on the emergence and de&e!opment of an autonomous and se!fregu!ating because ob4ecti&istica!!y understood sphere of the community* %he formation and development of an economy, &hich is at the same time the creation of ?society,9 is the real, practical (asis of these antitheses* %heir mystified character lies in pro;ection of an eternally given, autonomous, and neutral sphere &here economic e6pansion through commodity production and e6change has dissolved the Sittlich$eit of an undivided community, or, alternatively, the reciprocated ine+uality of a divided community (ased on household (oi$os. economies, and replaced it &ith the egoistically centered, means#end rationality of the mar$et* Mar#ism is heir to this mystified tradition of ana!ysis and fa!se understanding. As such" it renders itse!f contradictory* As its telos, the re&o!utionary transformation of society entai!s the abo!ition of e#change re!ations" commodity production" ( age-)!abor based on abstract" genera!i(ed !abor" and ith a!! these historica!!y constituted rea! abstractions" the abo!ition of the economy itse!f as the se!f-regu!ating 8parasitic e#crescence8 absorbing the host" 8society"E on hich it feeds. The acti&e destruction of the economy does not !ea&e 8man8 engaged in the technica! regu!ation of ob4ectified" materia!i(ed human acti&ity< rather" it !ea&es men and omen as se!f-constituted historica! sub4ects strugg!ing to so!idify a precarious ho!d on those no demystified" ob4ectified and materia!i(ed human practices" strugg!ing to create a transparent!y intersub4ecti&e" institutiona! sphere in hich this ho!d can be achie&ed and reproduced" a sphere from hich a!! the practica! issues of socia! !ife can be reso!&ed" direct!y" not representationa!!y" strugg!ing to create a non-coerci&e" immediate!y political sphere out of hich 8society8 can achie&e se!f-organi(ation. Mar#ism is the heir to the traditions of modern estern po!itica! theory in yet another sense< name!y" to the e#tent that the t o fundamenta! assumptions under!ying the opposition of po!itics to administration" the con&ictions that the political is at bottom strict!y coerci&e po er and the good !ife is achie&ed through unfettered e#pansion of producti&e forces" are strict!y modern estern (i.e." c!assica!!y !ibera!) po!itica! assumptions. Iet it is on!y possib!e to identify the political as the representationa!!y mediated domination of one c!ass o&er others" and to conc!ude in communist society 8po!itics8 i!! be abo!ished and rep!aced by 8administration"E only if domination" scientifica!!y reduced to e#p!oitation" is narro !y understood as a technica! prob!em of o&ercoming scarcity through unimpeded e#panded producti&ity. )n!y if the tota!ity of history" 8prehistory"E is !abor in and through hich men emerge out of and master nature" mastery hose ob4ecti&e measure is the historica!!y cumu!ati&e !e&e! of de&e!oped producti&e forces" on!y then can rea! emancipated history" communism" be premised on materia! abundance and be inte!!igib!e as the ob4ecti&e!y neutra! regu!ation of !abor processes and the distribution of !abor5s products or" if you prefer" as super&ision o&er 8metabo!ic e#changes8 ith nature" in other ords" as the 8administration of things.E?
1@Zrgen 2Ibid,

Babermas, #heory and (ra!ti!e, +,.+-. ,. -. 36t )ould be illuminating to "onfront /arxism )ith the results of investigations of the pre"apitalist, ar"hai" past.R 6f there )ere (tateless yet politi"al primitive so"ieties . that is, if impoten"e of authority )as the essential "hara"teristi" of po)er in these so"ieties, if po)er, embodied in the ar"hai" "hief, nonetheless had a positive "ontent (i.e., pea"emaking, the effort to prevent the emergen"e of pronoun"ed so"ial differentiation, through orations and gift giving!, and if the i"%oten!e of %o+er !onstituted a re9e!tion of !oer!i&e %o+er be!ause the latter +as identified +ith nature and !ulture +as !on!ei&ed as the negation of both, then the retros%e!ti&ely as!ertained !ontribution of ar!hai! so!ieties to hu"an for"ation defines a !entral di"ension of the e"an!i%atory !on!e%t of hu"anity as su!h'

D,,, The rea! socia! presence of an ob4ect-!i'e or!d" at once the premise and conse$uence of constant!y e#panding commodity production on a capita!ist basis" is reproduced in the Mar#ian &ision of a communist future. This or!d is one in hich men and omen appear as mere ob4ects among other ob4ects to be manipu!ated and disposed" as ra materia! for the production of commodities. ,t is a or!d hose constitution - neither reasonab!e nor aesthetica!!y p!easurab!e - is subordinate to the !ogic of &a!ue accumu!ation. 0onse$uent!y" it a or!d in hich ob4ect!i'eness dominates sub4ecti&ity" an autonomous sub4ect (&a!ue) dominates the producti&e one" and dead !abor dominates 8!i&ing !abor"E &i(." sensuous" acti&e human beings. The e&eryday constitution of this or!d ta'es p!ace" as it ere" o&er the heads and behind the bac's of the rea! sub4ects ho" mystified" produce it dai!y through their acti&ity. ,t is a or!d stripped of e&ery $ua!itati&e determination" aesthetic" ethica!" emoti&e" and rationa!" through a process of abstraction carried dai!y in !i&ing-reduced-to-!abor processes" the &ery acti&ity conte#t in and through hich this or!d is co!!ecti&e!y produced. ,t is a or!d reproduced through scienti(ed mediatory institutions and a scientific cu!ture" a cu!ture and institutions orienting the se!f-same sub4ects to this or!d in a!! its immediacy and gi&enness. )n such a so stripped, impoverished and reified social &orld, ?techni+ue? at once appears autonomous and neutral* ,n pro4ecting such a or!d" an emancipatory &ision imp!icit in Mar#ian theory - that of the constant e#pansion and deepening of co!!ecti&e sub4ecti&ity through the po!itici(ation of socia! !ife" is reduced to a per&erse!y !iberatory" technocratic utopia in hich a portion of administrati&e humanity atches o&er the interests of the ho!e and in hich the basic structure of the bourgeois or!d is reproduced.

2rom this standpoint the ;olsheviksI a"tual, histori"al a"hievement, their "ontribution to modern (tatism, forms one of the most barbarous naturali1ations of "ulture in human history. TTTTT R(ee 5ierre <lastresI So!iety $gainst the State.

(onclusion The 0nd of Bolshevism The success of the %o!she&i' )ctober had its roots in a massi&e crisis hich e#tended bac' into the first ha!f of 1917. The crisis" hose most forcefu! and spontaneous attempt at reso!ution as the February uphea&a! that so $uic'!y shattered the autocracy" as itse!f rooted in the enormous strain the bourgeoisieFs de facto conduct of the or!d ar had p!aced on the 3ussian economy. So !ong as a basica!!y rura!" economica!!y unde&e!oped agricu!tura! society ith a sma!! but high!y concentrated mi!itary capita!ist sector remained committed to the ar" the o&er e#tension of producti&e capacities" shortages and inf!ation" and e&entua!!y co!!apse ere ine&itab!e. For or'ers" the crisis meant !ong unbearab!e hours at a superhuman pace" ages that cou!d not 'eep up ith constant!y rising prices" e#haustion" and hunger. ,t as in this crisis that %o!she&i's ere ab!e to effecti&e!y inter&ene. ,nter&ention of this sort rested on a perspecti&e hich as a !egitimate" if not the so!e" inference from c!assica! re&o!utionary theory (Mar#)* A crisis in the structure and organi(ation of the ob4ecti&e conte#t in hich or'ers !i&e and act ou!d find reso!ution in the sub4ecti&ity and practice of a re&o!utionary pro!etariat< ou!d" if you i!!" compe! or'ers to become conscious of themse!&es as a c!ass and to act according!y. 8A ne& revolution is possi(le only in conse+uence of a ne& crisis* )t is, ho&ever, ;ust as certain as this crisis.81 Mar#5s &ie " though" rested on t o tacit assumptions* First" into!erab!e conditions of or'ing c!ass !ife and acti&ity amounting to a catastrophic disruption of e&eryday e#istence necessari!y force or'ers to see' reso!ution do n the road of re&o!ution. Second" the pecu!iar nature of crisis as crisis" &i(." the transparency of socia! re!ations it creates" ma'es possib!e the re&o!utionary prise de conscience* 1o e&er" this second assumption is itse!f mediated" since a re&o!utionary re!ation of sub4ecti&ity to crisis is a! ays on!y a possibi!ity" and as such ne&er simp!y organic and necessary* Since &or$ing class interests are al&ays historically constructed, the capacity of or'ers for consciousness is doub!y mediated. +or'ers as a c!ass are historica! 8through and through8 both" ob4ecti&e!y ith a &ie to position in production" and" sub4ecti&e!y as the typica! 8empirica!8 contents of and interests under!ining the consciousness of the c!ass are formed by a socio-cu!tura!!y formation interposed bet een the ob4ecti&e outcomes of or'ers strugg!es and the !ogic of capita!. The sub4ecti&e structure of pro!etarian consciousness as sub4ecti&e!y formed i!! concern us !ater" and then on!y brief!y< here" e ish to e#amine the historica! formation of or'ing c!ass sub4ecti&ity ob4ecti&e!y" that is" through the pro!etariat5s re!ation to its acti&ity" acti&ity that itse!f is shaped by its structure as an ob4ect for capita!. , %o!she&i's e ab!e to base themse!&es on the most c!ass conscious or'ers found primari!y in the high!y socia!i(ed" concentrated meta! or'ing industries. They ra!!ied around themse!&es a !arge section of that pro!etariat hose p!ants had been bastions of socia!ism since the ear!y years of the century. Those or'ers formed the &ery core of %o!she&i' cadre bet een February and )ctober and thereafter. They ere s'i!!ed" high!y !iterate" technica!!y trained" and en4oyed a measure of rea! contro! o&er their machinery and e$uipment. ,n opposition to uns'i!!ed &or$er#masses !arge!y introduced into production by artime di!ution" this s'i!!ed stratum formed a c!ass vanguard* ,t as this &anguard hich argued the %o!she&i' perspecti&e on ongoing e&ents in the p!ants and on the streets" that too' the needs and aspirations of other or'er strata bac' to the party" that on ne or'ers to the party" that attempted to synchroni(e the actions of the &arious strata ith the party and the party ith the &arious strata< that" in other ords" made the %o!she&i' presence immediate!y fe!t in the c!ass and the !atter5s presence immediate fe!t in the party. %o!she&i' practice" then" suggests an internal class vanguard constituting an organi-ational mediation of class to party &as a necessary condition for the reali-ation of revolutionary possi(ilities generated (y the crisis* Det this politically conscious vanguard &as formed and formed itself out of a historically specific life practice, one &hich in turn &as ine6trica(ly (ound up &ith a historically specific form of capitalist technology and structure of the class as an o(;ect of e6ploitation* %he type of &or$er dialectically formed out of this life practice &as doomed to e6tinction &ith the ?technical? revolution of capital that employers achieved offensive against &or$ers every&here in the aftermath of the imperialist &orld &ar*
1Marl

/arx, Class Struggles in @ran!e, #2$. (7mphasis in the original.!

Bno&n as ?Aeninism? and initially ela(orated (y the Second Comintern Congress, the <aco(in departure from Bolshevism o(;ectively signified and theoretically fi6ed the moment at &hich, respectively, revolutionary class vanguards ceased to (e historically effective agents and the conceptual mediation of their practice called Bolshevism ceased to have historical relevancy* ,, The high!y s'i!!ed 3ussian or'ers ho p!ayed !eading ro!es in the factory committee mo&ement of 1917 ere not iso!ated figures. Though !ac'ing a craft-based conte#t of s'i!! formation and thus differing significant!y from their counterparts in the rest of the capita!ist or!d" the thin !ayer of s'i!!ed or'ers in 3ussia ere nonethe!ess members of the po!itica! &anguard of a or!d or'ing c!ass. Ma4or industria! centers dominated by simi!ar s'i!!ed strata had de&e!oped in !atter 19th century Austro-1ungary (Dienna" %udapest)" @ermany (%er!in" 1amburg)" ,ta!y (Turin)" France (.aris)" %ritain (@!asgo ) and the /nited States (0hicago" St. Aouis" and 2e Ior'). The crafts ere e#c!usi&e and or'er associations ere usua!!y occupationa!!y based. )ccupation itse!f as based upon a !engthy ;7 year apprenticeship. +or' as organi(ed into a hierarchy of apprentice" 4ourneyman" and foreman. This professiona! system as the other side of a high !e&e! of professiona!ism hich characteri(ed s'i!!ed or'ers as a socia! type.1 A uni$ue" sub4ecti&e re!ation to the means of production as de&e!oped. ,t entai!ed contro! o&er production techni$ue" o&er methods of or' and appropriate rhythms and motions of or'" direct participation in the or'p!an" and unity of conception and e#ecution. The or'er as engaged in precision or'" thorough!y e!! ac$uainted ith his too!s. ,f he no !onger produced the fina! product" he sti!! created something entire!y ne . This re!ation of contro! o&er means of production" technica! training" and the unity of design and performance insured a grasp of the production process as a ho!e. From the standpoint of the or!d-historica! de&e!opment of capita!ism" these or'ers be!ong as much to an ear!ier" manufacturing phase as they did to the ear!y and transitiona! :Bth century.: That ear!ier phase had at its heart the sma!!" often fami!y-o ned enterprise engaged in the production of an entire product. This enterprise as geographica!!y !imited" had !oca!!y accessib!e ra materia!s" and as occasiona!!y confined so!e!y to !oca! mar'ets. ,t as s a!!o ed up in the massi&e concentration of capita! hich too' p!ace bet een 167B and 191B. +hat emerged in p!ace of the sma!! enterprise as a process both premising and conc!uding an enormous e#pansion of rai! and commercia! shipping that opened up mar'ets on a tru!y internationa! sca!e that" in turn" found capita!ists in a furry to produce for these mar'ets. Technica! inno&ations ere introduced as competition for mar'ets gre .? The beginnings of mass production appeared in specific sectors. ,n %ritain" for e#amp!e" here 9BC of craft members of the Ama!gamated Society of =ngineers ere fitters or turners" ne engineering techno!ogy as diluting their s'i!!. According to Hames 1inton" a historian of the %ritish or'ers5 mo&ement" 8turret and capstan !athes and particu!ar!y the automatic &ersion of these" made it possib!e for the bu!' of the turner5s or' to be performed by a machine minder. The turner as needed on!y to set up the too!s before the machine began. A ho!e series of specia!i(ed machine too!s" grinders" mi!!ers" borers" etc." ere de&e!oped to ta'e o&er or' pre&ious!y performed on !athes... These machines ere capab!e of operation by semi-s'i!!ed or'ers.8>
1This

des"ription is based on (ergio ;ologna, 0<lass <omposition and the Theory of the 5arty,0 -.$. (0Results of the 6mmediate 5ro"ess of 5rodu"tion0 in Ca%ital, 7'I, #%#+.#%3 ! distinguishes the t)o periods pre"isely by referen"e to the a"tual relation of the )orker to the means of produ"tion. The skilled )orker, possessing materially grounded professional values, operated under the "onditions of the for"al (as opposed to the real! subsumption of labor by "apital. :lso, see Bistori"al Aote ,, belo). 3>hile the enlarged market posed the 8uestion of a transformation of produ"tion on a grand s"ale, the "ons"ious effort of "apitalIs representatives to break the figure of the skilled )orker . to divest him of kno)ledge and skill and hen"e of "ontrol over the )ork pro"esses and to invest it in themselves, motivated this te"hni"al revolution. 3n has only to listen to the other side to understand this )ith perfe"t "larity. 2or example, 0the shop )as really run by the )orkmen, and not by the bosses. JThat, of "ourse, "reated the problem )hi"h lay in theK ignoran"e of the management as to )hat really "onstituted a proper dayIs )ork. J2orK although he )as foreman of the shop, the "ombined kno)ledge and skill of the )orkers )ho )ere under him )as "ertainly ten times as great as his o)n.0R The development of an alternative te"hnology . one, though, that )ould have only enhan"ed the position of the skilled )orker, )as histori"ally possible.RR 4@ames Binton, #he @irst Sho% Ste+ards *o&e"ent, -+.
2/arx

At e&ery phase" the process of s'i!! di!ution too' &isib!e shape in the massi&e entry of uns'i!!ed e!ements into !abor forces throughout the capita!ist or!d. Thus" in France for e#amp!e" from 1661 to 19B; uns'i!!ed or'er categories in industry and transport increased from >.> to 7.> mi!!ion" a >>C rise.1 %ritain" craft unions ere a!so unab!e to e#ercise contro! o&er the entry of ne untrained or'ers. From 166B to 191>" the semi-s'i!!ed or'er category ent from BC to :BC of the or'force.: ,n 3ussia" di!ution occurred in three phases* The first from 1667 to 19B6" coinciding in part ith the &ery process of ob4ecti&e c!ass formation" sa 1.? mi!!ion ne entries" an increase of :BBC< the second from 191B to 191?" a product of rapid e#pansion riding the crest of a or!d ide boom" sa another 7BB"BBB or'ers enter the !abor force< and" the third as product of ar. -uring this period" there as a!so huge gro th in engineering re!ated sectors.? ,n @ermany bet een 19B7 and 191B" !ight machinery" precision too!s" optics" and e!ectro-mechanics de&e!oped as industries.> ,n ,ta!y from 19B7 to 191?" automobi!e and re!ated industries rapid!y e#panded. ,n the /.S." it as 1enry Ford ho in 191? introduced assem(ly line#(ased mass production into the automobi!e industry. ,t as a techno!ogica! inno&ation !itt!e noticed as the time but portentous!y conse$uent for the entire history of subse$uent capita!ist de&e!opment. The ar" on the %o!she&i' ana!ysis the resu!t of fierce inter-imperia!ist competition for mar'ets" great!y intensified and acce!erated the interre!ated processes of di!ution and techno!ogica! change. ,n 3ussia" the .etrograd !abor force rose numerica!!y ;6.;C" meta! or'ing industries 79C< in %ritain" in too!" &ehic!e" and armament production omen 8di!utees8 made up near!y ha!f of the !abor force by autumn 1917<; and in ,ta!y" in the sing!e F,AT firm a!one the !abor force increased a fantastic >BBC in the years 191>-1919.7 The con&ersion to ar-time production meant the transformation of auto production in ,ta!y and %ritain into the mass production of truc's and uti!ity &ehic!es< the enormous gro th of firms !i'e Jeiss" Aeit(" and %orsch in @ermany fi!!ing go&ernment contracts for production of aiming instruments" generators" and e!ectro-magnetic e$uipment<7 and the mushrooming of munitions p!ants in .etrograd" Dienna" %udapest" %er!in" Turn" .aris" @!asgo " and 2e Ior'" the dominant figure in a!! of hich as the s'i!!ed or'er. ,,, +hi!e intense ri&a!ries for mar'ets found !arge capita!s hiding behind their respecti&e nationa! States demanding and getting protectionist measures such as tariffs as their borders" po!itica! &anguards" sti!! hard!y conscious of themse!&es as !eaderships of nationa! sectors of a or!d or'ing c!ass" began to mo&e against the une&en introduction of ne mass production technologies. Three 8internationa! cyc!es of strugg!e"E 19B>-19B7" 1911-191? and 1917-19:B" are retrospecti&e!y ascertainab!e.6 The !ast is the most important for ob&ious historica! reasons" but a!so because it as there that a!! the threads of this ana!ysis - the unprecedented introduction of mass production techno!ogies temporari!y ha!ted during the post ar co!!apse but nonethe!ess an accomp!ished fact" di!ution" the
1:mong

2ren"h )orkers, the 8uestion of dilution is peripherally dis"ussed by ;ernard /oss, #he 3rigins of the @ren!h )abor *o&e"ent, #3. #$, 3+.,%, -+.$%. 2Binton, Ibid, - , $#. 3Binton (Ibid, 2-! indi"ates the 0engineering industry0 in =reat ;ritain in"luded shipbuilding and marine engineering, rail)ay engineering, "y"le and motor "ar industry, textile engineering industry, ele"tri"al engineering and ma"hine tools. (hipbuilding . the development of )hi"h )as a fun"tion of the needs of the ;ritish navy . )as the most important industry employing metal)orkers. 4;ologna, 06bid,0 ,. 5Binton, Ibid, $2.$3. 6/artin <lark, $ntonio >ra"s!i and the Re&olution #hat @ailed, 2'. 7;ologna, 06bid,0 ,, -. TTTTT R2rederi"k Taylor, #he (rin!i%les of S!ientifi! *anage"ent, , .,+. RRThis is the unde&elo%ed sense of the study by (teven /arglin, 0>hat the ;osses Lo,0 #3.#,. Though, it should be noted, the origins of the te"hni"al revolution, "entered on the initial demand for mass produ"tion te"hnology and o""urring in the late #+th and early 2%th "enturies, did not si"%ly or e&en %ri"arily lie in the demands of a rapidly expanding )orld marketH <apitalIs need for "ontrol over labor at the point of produ"tion, as the one "ertain means for insuring at any time )orker responsiveness to the di"tates of a""umulation, determined the form and "ontent . detailed and exa"ting "ontrol by "apital over a fragmented )ork pro"ess . of the means of produ"tion introdu"ed. 806bid,0 .

formation of a historica! agency of change and a re&o!utionary confrontation" and the !ast stand of s'i!!ed or'ers against the emp!oyers5 offensi&e - come together. Since artime production cou!d not stand e&en a short interruption (ru!ing c!asses e&ery here percei&ed their e#istence depended on their capacity to successfu!!y age ar" a necessary condition for hich as continuous production of eaponry and e$uipment destined for destruction)" s'i!!ed or'ers remained &ita! to the ar effort and mi!itari(ed ar economies. %y ar5s end" though" s'i!!ed or'ers faced !oss of c!ass specific identity* A!ternati&e!y" they confronted permanent unemp!oyment" disso!ution into the &or$er#masses or" at best" being forced out at the top of the c!ass hierarchy to become super&isors and trainers for the ne or'ers.1 Tantamount to socia! death" the introduction of mass production techno!ogies compe!!ed s'i!!ed or'ers to mo&e against the bourgeois order in production itse!f. Iet not e&en the po!itica! eight accruing to them as a conse$uence of s'i!! and 'no !edge cou!d ma'e up for their numerica! ea'ness. ,n their fight initia!!y against di!ution and for pri&i!ege (e.g." draft e#emption" age differentia!s" etc.)" s'i!!ed or'ers ere forced to at once see' an a!!iance ith the ne pro!etariat of omen" youths" and peasants (or face the !i'e!ihood of e#tinction) and to e!aborate ne socia! forms of or'p!ace organi(ation. S'i!!ed or'ers p!ayed a !eading ro!e in the counci!ar mo&ement" that is" in the creation of autonomous organs of or'ing c!ass strugg!e (e.g." factory committees in 3ussia" interna! commissions in ,ta!y" or'ers5 committees in %ritain" counci!s in @ermany" etc.). )rgani(ationa!!y independent of traditiona! socia! democratic parties and trade union bureaucracies" counci!s ere not eighted do n by the inertia" timidity" and conser&atism of these traditiona! or'er organi(ations because they ere not committed to the reformist po!itics of e&o!utionary de&e!opment into socia!ism. The counci!s ere neither chau&inistic nor oriented to ard the par!iamentarism of the bourgeois parties. ,n @ermany" for e#amp!e" the counci! mo&ement as characteristica!!y anti-po!itica!: and he!d out an e#treme antipathy to anyone ho had been in&o!&ed in bourgeois State !ife during the ar. This anti-po!itics !eft s'i!!ed or'ers dangerous!y non-cogni(ant of the inherent instabi!ity and potentia! e#p!osi&eness of a situation in hich autonomous pro!etarian organs ere inserted into a mode of production secured by the bourgeois State. 2o here" in fact" outside of 3ussia as the counci! mo&ement prepared to ma'e a fronta! assau!t on the po!itica! po er of the bourgeoisie. Sti!! the counci!s embodied a ne princip!e of pro!etarian organi(ation* They ere rooted in the dai!y !ife of the c!ass" in the p!ants and factories" and based on de!egation originating from the point of production. They ere a!so high!y democratic relative to past pro!etarian organi(ations (cooperati&es" trade unions and parties). The forms of a areness thro n up as mediations of counci!ar c!ass practices ga&e e#p!icit e#pression to the a!!-toonarro base on hich counci!s rested. )riented to ard preser&ation of the s'i!!ed or'er as a socia! type" counci!s ere productivist< that is" in the historica!!y specific conte#t of re&o!utionary counci!ar de&e!opments they ere animated by the be!ief or'ers cou!d run production on the same capitalist (asis better than emp!oyers themse!&es. This as an outcome hich might ha&e been e#pected* The s'i!!ed or'" ith his craft traditions" professiona!ism" 'no !edge" and re!ation of contro! to means of production" sa himse!f as an autonomous producer. 1is occupationa! status" his ro!e and position in production" in a ord" his ob4ecti&ity announced itse!f as an opening onto this form of a areness. 2onethe!ess" the counci!s ere re&o!utionary. As an instance of a !imited!y grounded 8se!f-management8 pro4ect" they fi#ed the !e&e! of the organic composition of capita! and thus cha!!enged the right of emp!oyers to dispose of their or' as !abor-po er and to organi(e or'-processes as they sa fit (i.e." as accumu!ation dictated). %ut they ere re&o!utionary so!e!y in this sense.? ,t as on!y in 3ussia" here s'i!!ed or'ers ere actua!!y ab!e to !in' the po!itica! direction they ga&e these organs to the re&o!utionary enthusiasm of the &or$er#masses" that or'ers as a c!ass ere ab!e to o&erthro bourgeois po!itica! ru!e. %ut it as precise!y in 3ussia" too" that counci!s > ere reduced to mere instruments and their autonomy as ground up in their assimi!ation to the ne State.

1<hris

=oodey, 02a"tory <ommittees in the Russian Revolution,0 3#. 06bid,0 $, 2-. 3;ologna, 06bid,0 #2, 2$. 4Though the Russian 0soviet0 is roughly 0"oun"il0 in 7nglish, )e are referring here to the fa"tory "ommittees as )ell as the soviets.
2;ologna,

,D =ost&ar Employers@ Offensive The end of the ar announced the beginning of a pro!onged period of open c!ass conf!ict sustained by the emp!oyers5 effort to (re)assert their contro! o&er production. This offensi&e too' retrospecti&e!y discernib!e paths. Dery brief!y" ta'e each in turn. Economic manipulation. The end of the ar signa!ed a dec!ine in the strength of s'i!!ed or'ers" first because they !ost their ar determined scarcity &a!ue and" second" because the con&ersion to peace-time production c!osed munitions p!ants thereby se&ere!y curtai!ing production in those industries such as shipbui!ding and auto that had great!y e#panded during the ar. Thousands of s'i!!ed or'ers in these sectors ere thro n out of their 4obs onto the streets. Ta'e" for e#amp!e" %ritain. +or'ers in a!! s'i!!-based sectors fought hard to ma'e up the !osses the go&ernment5s ar-time po!icy of age suppression had imposed. Stri'es" numbering 1":>1 for 1919-19:1" ere the highest for any three year period recorded in %ritish history prior to 19>B.1 The odds against them" ho e&er" ere o&er he!ming* A do nturn and then depression" in part induced by the end of the ar boom" cu!minated in a :7C unemp!oyment rate in 19:1.: 1ere" then" here or'ers organi(ations did not pose a threat to the bourgeois order" manipu!ation of the economic situation a!!o ed emp!oyers to successfu!!y reassert contro! o&er production. Social#0emocratic tempori-ing. +here organi(ationa!!y embodied" mi!itant currents among or'ers e#isted" dua! po er in production (though not at the !e&e! of State !ife) as a !i'e!y outcome. 1ere" in Austria and @ermany" sac'ings based on high unemp!oyment ere not a &iab!e a!ternati&e. +or'er &anguards ere disoriented (say" by po!icies of 0omintern parties oriented first to ard preser&ation of the So&iet State) but not significant!y ea'ened. 1ere Socia! -emocracy stepped in and fu!fi!!ed its historica! mission* %ecause of its abstract commitment to the or'ing c!ass as the medium in hich the par!iamentary ascent to the socia!ist and Statist hea&en is achie&ed" it mere!y circumscribed" bruta!!y repressing hen deemed necessary" but did not destroy counci!s and communist groupings. =olitical destruction of &or$ing class vanguards* ,n the !ong run" economic manipu!ation and reformist ascendancy did not and cou!d not" from capita!Fs standpoint" ade$uate!y so!&e the prob!em of pro!etarian assumption of contro! in production. 3eso!ution ou!d re$uire a reorgani(ation of production itse!f" and" ith it" the e!imination of s'i!!ed or'ers as a coherent" c!ass stratum. 0ontingent upon !e&e!s of organi(ation and mi!itancy" capita!Fs response ranged" minima!!y" from a ma4or c!ass confrontation and an ensuing batt!e to counterre&o!utionary destruction of or'ing c!ass organi(ations and the !ayers of mi!itants in the c!ass* ,n %ritain" the co!!apse of the 19:7 @enera! Stri'e after 4ust nine days in May" and fina! defeat of miners fo!!o ing a nine month strugg!e" effecti&e!y insured contro! o&er production passed bac' into the hands of emp!oyers. +here organi(ationa!!y or'ers currents ran to re&o!utionary" a stronger response as re$uired. ,n the /nited States" emp!oyers ere unab!e to brea' the strength of or'ers5 organi(ations through manipu!ation of the economic situation (e.g." the 1919 stee! stri'e). )rgani(ation remained strong and as offensi&e!y oriented against emp!oyer prerogati&es. Against this bac'ground" po!itica! representati&es of the bourgeois State !aunched a direct assau!t on ad&anced or'ers and their organi(ations. Thus" the .a!mer raids (1919) and tria!s that fo!!o ed destroyed the /.S. based ,ndustria! +or'ers of the +or!d (,++)" !eading to imprisonment" or to deportation from the /.S. of mi!itant" foreign born or'ers. Sti!!" here" the re-emergence of a po erfu!" ostensib!y re&o!utionari!y !ed" or'ers upsurge in the thirties ga&e rise to mass or'ers organi(ations (0,))* =n!isting the !abor aristocrat trades !eadership" direct po!itica! repression on a massi&e sca!e in the form of a redbaiting e#pu!sion of Socia!ist and reformist 0ommunist currents in American !abor unions in the !ate forties" a huge &ictory for capita!" as necessary before capita!Fs prerogati&es in production cou!d be fu!!y restored. ,n ,ta!y" @ermany" and Austria neither economic manipu!ation nor Socia! -emocratic tempori(ing constituted effecti&e responses* Though interna!!y di&ided" or'ers had achie&ed !e&e!s of organi(ation and mi!itancy seen no here e!se in the estern or!d. 1ere" in the face of an enormous economic crisis" tempori(ing on the terrain of bourgeois State institutions para!y(ed the or'ers5 mo&ement" created an impasse at a!! !e&e!s of society. 1ere" fascism as born. 1ere" capita!Fs representati&es c!ear!y recogni(ed that economic manipu!ation" e&en the technica! re&o!ution in production that ou!d fo!!o (see immediate!y be!o )" ere responses !arge!y constituted at the !e&e! of system5s
1Binton 2Ibid,

and Byman, #rade 5nions and Re&olution (London, #+'-!, #-. #,.

functiona! beha&ior.1 1ere" conscious!y" they !aunched a tota! assau!t upon or'ers organi(ations" the !ayers upon !ayers of mi!itants ho !ed them" and the oppositional culture that underlay them.: 0uring these struggles, a proletarian vanguard on a &orld#scale, one that consisted in advanced &or$ers, militants, and organi-ed revolutionaries and that too$ nearly a century to produce, &ere ?li+uidated,9 murdered en masse* %he Road to Capitalist 0omination in =roduction ,n the inter ar period" emp!oyers found yet another path to repression of or'ers5 organi(ations. Resting on the dismantling or ruin of &or$ers organi-ations, the mass murder of militants, and the destruction of a proletarian oppositional culture as the case may have (een, this &as the historically significant path (ecause it did not mere!y resu!t in a temporary so!ution" but transformed the very structure of the class creating the possi(ility of effectively depolitici-ing &or$ers ( ithout destroying them as a c!ass). +hen 1enry Ford first insta!!ed the assemb!y !ine in 191?-191> at the 1igh!and .ar' p!ant outside -etroit" he as mere!y an enterprising emp!oyer a generation ahead of his time - an emp!oyer ho" ne&erthe!ess" had hit upon the 'ey to depo!itici(ing the or'ing c!ass. %ased upon the introduction of mass production techno!ogy" this 'ey as de&e!oped through scientific reorgani(ation of the or'processes.? This reorgani(ation as ob4ecti&e!y to constitute capita!5s response" internationa!!y" to the or!d !e&e! of strugg!e reached by or'ers in the period 1917-19:B. Scienti(ing the or' process reorgani(ed the materia! aspect of pro!etarian e#istence" that is" of or'ers as ob4ects of capita!ist e#p!oitation. 3eorgani(ation as carried out on the basis of the organic recomposition of capita!" i.e." through a rise in the &a!ue and introduction of ne& type of fi#ed capita! in re!ation to &ariab!e capita! (&i(." the or'er considered as !abor-po er). %his technical revolution found its real meaning in the destruction of the organic connection of the s$illed &or$er to the technology of the &or$#process . 2e " more high!y &a!ori(ed machinery rendered the s'i!!ed or'er 8obso!ete8 by producti&ity standards. D ,t is the capitalist &anguards (Tay!or" Ford" 9eynes) ho in articu!ating the princip!es of their science of !abor a!!o us to fu!!y understand the re!ation of scientific management to the possibi!ities of consciousness among or'ers. Fredric' Tay!or" an ear!y ad&ocate and practitioner of scientific management and from hom the scientific reorgani(ation of or'-processes ta'es its name" formu!ated c!ear!y the princip!es of this pro4ect. According to Tay!or" these princip!es inc!ude separation of or'-processes from or'er s'i!!s" thereby entai!ing the assumption by management of 8ne burdens" ne duties" and responsibi!ities"E in particu!ar the estab!ishment of ... ru!es" !a s and formu!ae hich rep!ace the 4udgment of the indi&idua! or'man and hich can be effecti&e!y used on!y after ha&ing been systematica!!y recorded" inde#ed" etc.8> That separation ma'es a further one possib!e" name!y" that of e#ecution from conception* 8A!! of the p!anning hich under the o!d system as done by the or'man" as a resu!t of this persona! e#perience" must of necessity under the ne system be done by the management.8; +ith 'no !edge of the or'-processes" their functioning and interconnectness" torn from the or'er" the third and fina! step is prepared*

#Like

e"onomi" manipulation, the introdu"tion of the assembly line, harbinger and "ontent of the te"hni"al revolution to follo), )ere )hat )e have "alled systemIs fun"tional behavior. 202as"ism is not merely a system of reprisals, of brutal for"e, and of poli"e terror. 2as"ism is a parti"ular governmental system based on the uprooting of all elements of proletarian demo"ra"y )ithin bourgeois so"iety. The task of fas"ism lies not only in destroying the <ommunist vanguard but in holding the entire "lass in a state of for"ed disunity. To this end, the physi"al annihilation of the most revolutionary se"tion of all )orkers does not suffi"e. 6t is also ne"essary to smash all independent and voluntary organi1ations, to demolish all defensive bul)arks of the proletariat, and to uproot )hatever has been a"hieved during three.8uarters of a "entury by (o"ial Lemo"ra"y and the trade unions.0 Leon Trotsky, 0>hat AextN Vital Vuestions for the =erman 5roletariat0 (2' @anuary #+32!, reprinted in #he Struggle against @as!is" in >er"any (Ae) Pork, #+'#!, #,-. 3;ologna, 06bid,0 '. This "hara"teri1ation of Benry 2ord is his. ;ologna "learly understands that the te"hni"al revolution of "apital doomed the skills.based, politi"al vanguards. Be does not, ho)ever, appear to grasp the "onne"tion bet)een the mass produ"tion.based "reation of the "ass +or.er and depoliti"i1ation. 4Taylor, Ibid, 3$, 3'.3 . 5Ibid, 3 .

Manageria! !aying out in ad&ance" systematica!!y p!anned and ca!cu!ated" of each and a!! conceptua! and e#ecuti&e aspects of the or'-processes.1 :aterially these principles &ere incorporated into and animated the very sensuous construction and organi-ation of the ne&ly launched, mass production machine technology* These ere the mass production machines !arge!y introduced during the ar. They ere no !onger machines designed for indi&idua! or'ers to master" a!!o ing those or'ers to contro! the pace and tempo of the !abor processes. ?Eniversal? machines such as the pre ar !athe and turret, that is, those not fitted to any specific production schema and as such the material premise of craft mo(ility and $no&ledge, &ere replaced (y ?speciali-ed? machinery, that is, machines se+uentially arranged and connected: # each machine performing a single operation on a single aspect of a product* 2o amount of preparation" training" and apprenticeship ou!d permit an indi&idua! or'er to master this machinery. These ne machines a!!o ed for and demanded the production of a ne type of mass &or$er* %hey re+uired (and re+uire. a speciali-ed &or$er, one tied to a single, fragmented tas$ on a single machine, one &hose motions are prescri(ed (y that single machine and one &ho does not re+uire a lengthy apprenticeship (ut can (e ade+uately trained in a matter of &ee$s* Machinery arranged se$uentia!!y" functiona!!y inoperati&e in iso!ation and constructed to performed e#c!usi&e!y sing!e operations" such as that paradigmatica!!y found in continuous f!o assemb!y !ine production" ou!d necessari!y pre&ent the emergence of a non-a!ienated re!ation of or'er to her !abor. 0onsider brief!y" the logic of development that has imposed itse!f on the or'ing c!ass in the aftermath of capita!5s &ictory ith its technica! re&o!ution. .erformance of an e#traordinari!y simp!ified tas' and" corresponding!y" determination of or'er rhythms by machine motion signifies the rea! and not mere!y forma! !oss of or'er contro! o&er the or'-process. %oth in princip!e and as a matter of historica!!y estab!ished fact" the mass production" industria! or'er is no !onger ab!e to de&e!op an organic re!ation to the machines" too!s" and e$uipment ith hich she or's* -i&orce from the means of production is no comp!ete and materia!i(ed. Specia!i(ed" simp!ified" and fragmented or' means the or'er can de&e!op on!y the most abstract" content!ess sense of the tota! product she participates in the production of< meaningfu! participation in the or'p!an has been rendered impossib!e" the separation of conception from e#ecution is comp!eted< and" s'i!! is degraded and !ost" reduced to a non-descripti&e occupation category. Specia!i(ed or' has created the or'er as an ob4ecti&e!y mass &or$er (and or'ers as &or$er#masses. in the mass production industries of modern capita!ism here scientific reorgani(ation of the or'-processes has gone the furthest. The mass &or$er is as an interchangeab!e and indistinguishab!e component in the system of production. The dai!y performance of simp!e" repetiti&e" and fragmented tas's sub4ecti&e!y creates a or'er ho is indifferent to both the content and the acti&ity of or' itse!f. )b4ecti&e!y grounded" sub4ecti&e indifference constitutes the premise of reorgani(ation of or'er a areness itse!f as the condition of passi&e participation in the or'-processes. Scienti(ing these processes guarantees that from inside production or'ers cannot raise themse!&es to comprehension of society as a ho!e. Either crippled or destroyed in the years of inter&ar struggle, the scientific reorgani-ation of the &or$ process eliminated the prospects for re#emergence of s$ill#(ased, political vanguards (y socially recomposing the &or$ing class as a &hole* The s'i!!ed or'er as rendered 8obso!ete8 by a ne techno!ogy of the or'-process" one that re!egated him to the dustbin of history.?
10The

net result of the appli"ation of these prin"iples is the redu"tion of the ne"essity for thought on the part of the )orker and redu"tion of his movements to a minimum.0 Benry 2ord, *y )ife and Wor., %. 2This )hole movement, not in thought but as a!tual histori!al de&elo%"ent, has "reated "ountless layers of middle strata supervisors, foremen, lo)er level and middle managers, et". These strata, ob?e"tively similar to small o)ners . the petty bourgeoisie, sub?e"tively 0middle "lass,0 "onstitute a further, histori"ally ne) bul)ark of "apital against the possibility of proletarian.based, so"ial transformation. Binton, Ibid, -+.$%. 3Aoted added @une #++2H (tated more for"efully in terms of a theory of "ons"iousness, a histori!ally s%e!ifi! and transitory "onfiguration of produ"tive organi1ation is "ongealed in the "lassi"al formulation of the development of "ons"iousness of "lass. This formulation "learly and illi"itly generali1ed this "onfiguration, and a)areness found in"arnated in proletariat of industrial "apitalism is at best a"hieved only under those transitory "onditions spe"ifi" to that produ"tive "onfiguration. 6n point of fa"t, sub?e"tivity, that is, "hara"ter and identity, is formed by a "ultural logi" of institutions interposed bet)een the ob?e"tive out"omes of )orkers struggles and the logi" of "apital. This logi" takes shape as the meaningful "ontext of a pre"ognitive layer of intuitive insights generated in the pra"ti"al appropriation of daily life as its unfolds in the histori"ally spe"ifi", basi" so"ial institutions of "apitalist, namely, family,

D1 Counterrevolutionary 0estruction of /or$er Fanguards 0apita!5s response to the !e&e! of strugg!e achie&ed by or'ers in the re&o!utionary cyc!e that ran from 1917 through 19:1 as a response !arge!y constituted at the !e&e! of system5s functiona! beha&ior. +hen 1enry Ford inno&ated in the historica!!y significant sense" i.e." ith the introduction of continuous f!o production" he as simu!taneous!y responding to an interna!i(ed need" a compu!sion" to accumu!ate" and" dri&en by the hip of economic necessity" acting in an attempt to forge an ad&antage in re!ation to competitors in the f!edg!ing automoti&e industry. ,f" at this !e&e!" capita!5s response introduced a ne techno!ogy of production that" in turn" re$uired a ne figure" the mass or'er" on the stage of history and thereby rendered the s'i!!ed or'er figure archaic" at another" the political, !e&e! capita!5s response as constituted in a desperate" b!oody fight. This strugg!e against or'er &anguards as mean" bruta! and &icious" and crimina!!y and massi&e!y murderous. +hite Terror" especia!!y in the case (most cases) here the propertied c!asses are &ictorious" 'no s &ery fe !imits* The first fact of po!itica! terror is that the popu!ar c!asses are in a $ua!itati&e sense demographica!!y denser than those ho o n property in the mean of production. Mere!y to intimidate and reduce these c!asses to po!itica! apathy (thereby insuring capita!ist stabi!ity and" on this basis" future e#p!oitabi!ity) re$uires terror on such a massi&e sca!e that it far out eighs any atrocities attributab!e to 3ed Terror.: To this end" capita!5s counterre&o!utionary" po!itica! response introduced fascism into the or!d" and it rendered a!! pre&ious discourse concerning the pacific" persuasi&e" and mere!y argumentati&e character of bourgeois-democratic po!itics mendacious" dup!icitous" hypocritica!" and irre!e&ant. 0uring this struggle a proletarian vanguard on a &orld#scale, one that consisted in advanced &or$ers, militants, and organi-ed revolutionaries and that too$ nearly a century to produce, &ere ?li+uidated,9 murdered en masse* %oday, &e still suffer from this immeasura(le loss2 3or &hatever our differences, and ho&ever &e thin$ these men and &omen &ere mista$en, the hideous reality &e call ?our? &orld &ould have (een a far (etter place had they had the chance to reconstruct it ane&* Ai$uidation centers or" using a contemporary !ocution" the main $illing fields ere created" first" on a sma!! sca!e in @ermany in ear!y 1919 ( here and hen 3osa Au#emburg and 9ar! Aieb'nec't ere murdered" and from hich time the 3rei$orps" sanctioned and thereby rea!!y put into motion by @erman Socia! -emocracy" originated) and in the rura!" agricu!tura! regions of Tuscany ( ere fasci, 8s$uads"8 murdered tenant organi(ers)< and" then" systematica!!y in Fin!and in 1919" in fascist ,ta!y beginning in 19::" in 0hina in 19:7-19:6" in 2a(i @ermany particu!ar!y in 19?? ( here after" because successfu!" monstrous ambitions of tru!y genocida! enormity ere !atter un!eashed)" and" in Spain from Hu!y 19?7 into 19?9 (and beyond).
s"hool and "hur"h, military, and )orkpla"e. This appropriating, sub?e"tive a"tivity of humani1ation is at on"e identi"al )ith the ob?e"tive, so"ietal pro"ess of so"iali1ation and the formation of individual (personal! identities. 6t is in so"iali1ation, through a"tive assimilation of (the stru"ture of! daily life, that the 0so"io.e"onomi" stru"tures0 of so"iety are 0reprodu"ed0 in, i.e., assimilated and internali1ed as a pre.refle"tive, meaningful "omplex of opinions, beliefs, and pra"ti"al kno).ho) by, )orkers. 6t is pre"isely this 0un"ons"ious,0 i.e., pre.refle"tive, meaningful "omplex of opinions, beliefs, pra"ti"al means and kno).ho), in other )ords, barbari" 0"ommon sense,0 )hi"h fundamentally orients )orkers to their "lass, rulers and so"ietal institutionsH The norms and pre"ognitive evaluations internali1ed, behavioral models assimilated, and the life. goals appropriated )ith little and so"ially insignifi"ant variation are the norms, evaluations, models, and life.goals . rendered, in our day, more desirable by the unremitting insinuation of need by the giganti", institutional media apparatus . of the rulers. The dominant ideas in era follo)ing the last imperialist )orld )ar, are, to paraphrase /arx, the ideas of "apitalist ruling "lasses. 15repared and )ritten in 2ebruary 2%%%. 2The "ases of 2inland and (pain are instru"tiveH 6n response to a popular revolution in 2inland (@anuary #+# ! that introdu"ed plebeian. demo"rati" reforms, the 2innish bourgeoisie set up a >hite government that pursued a military strategy aimed at destroying the ne)ly emerging, demo"rati1ed (tate stru"ture and annihilating its largely )orker base. 6n the :pril./ay "ivil )ar, and in parti"ular in its aftermath, Vi"tor (erge (Dear 3ne of the Russian Re&olution, #%%.#%#! estimates over #%%,%%% )orkers )ere murdered, either outright or as a result of starvation and disease "ontra"ted in prisons and "on"entration "amps. These remarkable disparities are not, of "ourse, happenstan"e. Loubly rooted in an assessment of the numeri"al multitude of the popular "lasses, and in the anti.7nlightenment ra"ism of the old order so"ial groups that vie)s the popular "lasses, in all "ases, as subhuman or simply nonhuman (as, for instan"e, a 0ra"e apart0 or as 0vermin0 that have infe"ted and "an only "ontinue to upset established 0order0 and thus must be destroyed!, the annihilation of militant layers of the popular "lasses (espe"ially the proletariat! )as, from the perspe"tive of those "lasses in history )hose existen"e is bound up in property and rule, ne"essaryH 0#he &i!torious %ro%ertied !lasses are %erfe!tly a+are that they !an only ensure their o+n do"ination in the after"ath of a so!ial battle by infli!ting on the +or.ing !lass a bloodbath sa&age enough to enfeeble it for tens of years after+ards' :nd sin"e the "lass in 8uestion is far more numerous than the )ealthy "lasses, the number of vi"tims "ust be very great0 ((erge, Ibid, #+%. 7mphasis added!.

,n 0hina (19:7)" %u'harinist-Sta!inist idiocy, on the mode! of a t o stage re&o!ution that p!aced re!iance on an imperia!ist !ac'ey dependent (a comprador bourgeoisie) housed in the 9uomintang" had as its conse$uences the butchery of the f!o er of the 0hinese pro!etariat in 0anton" +uhan" and Shanghai. ,n @ermany (19?:-19??)" the Sta!inist 0omintern 8third period8 doctrine" itse!f po!itica!!y a form of madness or suicide" !ed the 9.- (@erman 0ommunist .arty) to b!oc ith and legitimi-e the forces of the 2a(is in a 8red-bro n8 tactica! a!!iance against 8socia! fascists"E i.e." the @erman Socia! -emocratic .arty inc!uding its mass or'ing c!ass base. This di&ided ad&anced or'ers in a ay that the bourgeoisie cou!d not e&en hope for and !ed straighta ay to 1it!er5s ascendancy. ,n Spain" a 0ommunist .arty" party of the petty bourgeoisie and dependent midd!e strata" successfu!!y murdered anarchist and anti-Sta!inist communists mi!itants and or'ers in mass" using their o n secret prisons and torture centers" and engaged in more prosaic" regu!ar assassinations" in order to ensure its dominance in the popu!ar front go&ernment and in the mi!itary command in 3epub!ican he!d territory. This entire practice as made possib!e by the aid" mat5rial (p!anes" tan's" and hand he!d eaponry) and ad&isers pro&ided a!most e#c!usi&e!y to 3epub!ican Spain by the So&iet /nion in a conte#t determined by internationa! capita!ist State po!icy of non-interference" a bac'handed method of supporting fascist Spain" hich a!!o ed indi&idua! capita!ist firms (American and %ritish) to aid the 2ationa!ist forces under Franco" and" of course" hich de facto encouraged the massi&e aid" so!diery and mat5rial of ar" pro&ided by fascist ,ta!y and @ermany to their Spanish counterparts.1 +hi!e murdering its o n sub4ecti&e!y 8Aeninist-%o!she&i's8 re&o!utionaries (thereby in part pro&ing its o n counterre&o!utionary nature)" the Sta!inist bureaucracy" e#hibiting (against the bac'ground of the or!d ide s!ump) its o n a!!eged!y re&o!utionary credentia!s through rapid de&e!opment and fu!! emp!oyment based on pernicious industria!i(ation" so ed the seeds of confusion at the most crucia!" crisis-ridden moments amongst re&o!utionary e!ements outside the So&iet /nion. This confusion as itse!f an ob4ecti&e e!ement in the destruction of or'er &anguards during the period 1916-19?6" a period that shou!d be characteri(ed" not as inter ar years of crisis but" as the general crisis of the system of capitalism as a &hole as it e6isted on a &orld scale* %his political destruction of &or$er vanguards in &ar, civil &ar, or through massive repression &as the condition for rendering capital via(le on a long#term (asis, for creating a social sta(ility ena(ling it to pursue its technical con+uest of production*: D, At its origins" %o!she&ism as theoretica!!y mediated" its birth announced by a sing!e te#t" /hat is to (e 0one1 At its end" %o!she&ism as again theoretica!!y mediated as another te#t un'no ing!y proc!aimed its disso!ution ( hi!e aspiring to hera!d its triumphant hegemoni(ation of an =uropean fie!d of acti&ity)" 8Theses on the 3o!e of the 0ommunist .arty in the .ro!etarian 3e&o!ution.E 0ircumscribing %o!she&ism as a historica! phenomenon" these te#ts" neither strict!y Mar#ist" at once re&ea! doctrina!!y summari(ed and de&e!oped %o!she&i' practice as a genuine contribution to" origina! e!aboration of" and superior re-theori(ation of Mar#ian theory" that is" as a theory of re&o!utionary organi(ation based on or'ing c!ass &anguards< and" they re&ea! this organi(ation" a 8party of a ne type"E as Hacobin. The disso!ution of %o!she&ism is c!ear" at !east retrospecti&e!y" in its =uropean ascendancy. 1ere" instead of the assertion of the primacy of pro!etarian" c!ass po!itics" the subordination of 0omintern po!icy to So&iet State interests as disc!osed" announced" and fi#ed. So&iet State interests meant" ithin 3ussia" the primacy of interests of the %o!she&i' party as a ru!ing stratum opposed to the other c!asses and strata ma'ing up the socia! order" and" ithout 3ussia" the primacy of those interests o&er needs rising from the de&e!opment of the or'ersF mo&ement internationa!!y. @uided by the te!eo!ogy of disenfranchised and radica!i(ed bourgeois inte!!ectua!s" these interests ere forged in the eighteen years of most!y iso!ated" organi(ationa! e#perience bet een the appearance of these t o te#ts* This iso!ated" organi(ationa! e#perience guaranteed the constitution of a party ith separate and distinct socia! interests" and the disappearance of 3ussian or'ers" not on!y as re&o!utionary agency but as ob4ecti&e!y formed c!ass" secured the party as a ru!ing stratum. The decision not to immediate!y age re&o!utionary ar (!ate Hanuary 1916)" a!ready demonstrated the party !eadership as un i!!ing to run the ris' of its o n potentia! submersion in the
#2or

<hina, see the subheading 0<hina0 in the (e"ond (tudy, belo)* for =ermany, see Trotsky, #he Struggle $gainst @as!is" in >er"any* and, for (pain, @a"kson, Ibid, 2'$.2+2, 333.3, , 3$#.3',, 3+2.,#2. 2The anti.eman"ipatory, "ounterrevolutionary, and "riminal "hara"ter of (talinist for"ed "olle"tivi1ation and rapid industriali1ation is dis"ussed in the se"tions entitled 05rimitive :""umulation0 and 0Lekulaki1ation0 in the (e"ond (tudy, belo).

resurgence of re&o!utionary forms that s ept it to po er" and" as e!!" in subordination of the needs of the or'ers mo&ement internationa!!y to that party in po er. ,t a!so re&ea!ed that once the 3ussian pro!etariat as ob4ecti&e!y reconstituted (through industria!i(ation)" the party ou!d insure this ou!d not occur again as agency. ,n the !onger term" though" ith the disappearance of the s'i!!ed or'er as a socia! type" the figure on hich %o!she&ism had based itse!f as a historica!!y effecti&e mo&ement (and" ith its commitment to science and Tay!ori(ed production processes" a figure that the party in po er ou!d not ob4ecti&e!y reconstitute)" %o!she&ism" too" as a theory" practice and the organi(ation of re&o!utionary c!ass &anguards" cou!d not and cannot be reconstituted.

+istorical 1otes 2ote 1 The St. .etersburg @aponist Association The St. .etersburg @aponist Association - there as a!so one in Mosco - as founded in 19B:. Though @eorgii @apon" its founder and a priest" as inconsistent!y funded by the secret po!ice" the Association shou!d not be confused ith the Jubato&ist unions. The !atter open!y sought after economic impro&ements for the or'ing c!ass &ithin the frame or' of the autocracy. ,n other ords" they ere trade unions under conditions of abso!utism. The @aponist Associations" on the other hand" ere primari!y estab!ished to 8spiritua!!y and mora!!y8 up!ift or'ers" to promote chau&inism"1 and on!y then to assist in materia! impro&ement of or'ers5 conditions. +hi!e both ere hosti!e to re&o!utionary currents" the Jubato&ist unions ere not abo&e using e#tra-!ega! methods in inning economic concessions from emp!oyers. Fo!!o ing .rince S&iatopoh!-Mirs'iiFs appointment (:7 August 19B>" ).S.) as ,nterna! Affairs Minister" se&ere repression of !ibera! and re&o!utionary tendencies as !ifted. This pre!ude to the e&ents of 19B; too' shape as a high!y charged atmosphere in hich socia! democrats" the radica! intelligenty and e&en !ibera! and -emstvo acti&ists hoped for - against the bac'ground of the mi!itary ea'ness of Tsarism re&ea!ed in the 3usso-Hapanese ar - a defeat through hich a constitutiona! democracy cou!d be introduced. ,n this setting the Aiberation mo&ement open!y reemerged. A -emstvo congress" -emstvo conferences" and a series of ban$uets too' p!ace. At a!!" demands for a constitutiona! assemb!y and uni&ersa! (ma!e) suffrage began to be timid!y raised. And in this atmosphere or'ers" though perhaps !ess noticeab!y but nonethe!ess e#periencing the same e#citement" began to pour into the @aponist Association. /p to ear!y summer 19B>" there ere mere!y t o sections of the St. .etersburg @aponist Association of Factory and .!ant +or'ers. From September 19B> through %!oody Sunday" 9 (::) Hanuary 19B;" or'ers in the thousands f!oc'ed into the Association. This inf!u# of or'ers" e#cited" resti&e and desperate" altered the AssociationFs character. From a bu! ar' of abso!utism" it as transformed into an organ of the .etersburg or'ing c!ass" the organi(ationa! form of a mass mo&ement gi&ing e#pression to the near re&o!utionary mood of the .etersburg pro!etariat. )n ? (17) Hanuary 19B;" 1:"BBB or'ers at .u!ito& +or's ent out on stri'e demanding the reinstatement of four fired or'ers. They issued a ca!! for a genera! stri'e. %y 7 (:B) Hanuary" 1>B"BBB or'ers had !eft their shops. )n 9 (::) Hanuary" :BB"BBB or'ers and their fami!ies cro ded into the .a!ace S$uare" surrounded by po!ice and so!diers and 0ossac's" demanding to see the Tsar. They ere merci!ess!y met ith &o!!ey after &o!!ey of gunfire* Four to fi&e hundred ere murdered" a thousand ounded. The 3ussian re&o!ution had begun. Short!y thereafter the autocracy had the Association shut do n. .o!ice agents re&ea!ed the stri'e ca!! had been issued from" and the stri'e itse!f organi(ed and the demands incorporated into and ma'ing up the substance of the or'ers5 8petition8 to the Tsar had been dra n up at" sections of the Association. Sha'en by the e&ents of %!oody Sunday and fee!ing the pro!etarian pressure e#erted by a massi&e stri'e a&e of Hanuary-February" the !ibera! and !ega!ist e!ements of the State bureaucracy con&inced the Tsar of the necessity of setting up a 8commission8 to in$uire into the e&ents of 9 (::) Hanuary. The Shid!o&s'y commission as soon boycotted by the or'ers de!egated (through e!ections at their respecti&e or'p!aces) to participate in its or'. As a resu!t of the boycott the 0ommission co!!apsed.: 1o e&er prior to the boycott groups of or'ers from &arious p!ants and factories had formu!ated a series of demands" conditions to be met if their de!egates ere to participate in the in$uiry. Summari!y the demands ere as fo!!o s*?
1. 3eopen the e!e&en Association sections< :. guarantee immunity for a!! or'ers discussing their need at the !oca!s<
1The

:sso"iation )as to 0a)aken and strengthen national "ons"iousness in the )orker members,0 ("h)ar1, the Russian Re&olution of 1905, 2'$, "iting the Russian historian L. MolIstov. 2or our a""ount of the =aponist :sso"iation, )e have relied heavily on ("h)ar1, Ibid, 2$'.2 ,. 22or these events, see ("h)ar1, Ibid, '-. $. 3Ibid, +.+#. :"tually, there )as more than one list of demands put forth. The points "ited here appear in ea"h of the lists reprodu"ed by ("h)ar1.

?. fu!! representation for a!! or'ers" inc!uding those in the sma!! shops< >. a!! de!egates to be present together at 0ommission meetings< ;. a!! de!egates to be granted fu!! freedom of speech and persona! immunity for anything said< 7. authori(ation to pub!ish ithout censorship debates and reso!utions of assemb!ed or'ers< and" 7. re!ease of a!! comrades ta'en prisoner in the pre&ious t o months as a sign of sincerity.

These demands ere $uite e#traordinary. ,n the conte#t of an abso!utism ith a mi!itary capita!ism component" their revolutionary character as unmista'ab!e. 8=#traordinary"E too" is the fact that it as or'ers" not a !ibera! bourgeoisie" ho ere ma'ing demands for fu!! representation" free speech and assemb!y" and a free press. %ut e#traordinary for another reason a!so. The ob4ecti&e compu!sion to act" the basis of or'er grie&ances" as rooted not on!y in the dai!y confrontation ith bosses5 representati&es on the shopf!oor (e.g." foremen" super&isors)" but ith a State hose domination re$uired the suppression of or'ersF most e!ementary economic needs. The sub4ecti&e mediation of this compu!sion-onceinterna!i(ed" &i(." ca!!s for a sphere in hich or'ers cou!d free!y assemb!e" discuss their needs and or' out pro4ects" embryonica!!y constituted an aspiration to grapp!e ith prob!ems of society as a ho!e. The !oca!s ou!d ha&e functioned as a medium in and through hich a co!!ecti&e" re&o!utionary sub4ecti&ity cou!d ha&e been e!aborated. This much more is c!ear from the demands* A sphere in hich or'ers cou!d free!y assemb!e" discuss and or' out their demands" pro4ects" etc." in consu!tation ith one another" a sphere in hich de!egated or'ers cou!d report bac' to their comrades" is not an arena in hich or'-fragmented sub4ecti&ity is reintegrated (as" e.g." has historica!!y been the case ith or'ing c!ass ta&erns in the /.S.). Once having (ecome organs of a mass &or$ing class movement, the Association sections did not function as arenas in &hich la(or as a commodity &as reproduced, (ut as a sphere ?in? society (ut not ?of? it, one &hich contained elements of historical transcendence, a political mediation of daily proletarian e6istence* %he demands in part and nascently, pro;ectively ela(orating the de facto character of the Association prior to their closure, &ould under revolutionary conditions tended to&ard formation of councils*

1istorica! 2ote : .arty 3epresentation and .ro!etarian -ictatorship There is at !east one crucia! assumption that under!ines representationa! &ie s of a!! sorts" name!y" the historically constituted separation of State from society and" according!y" of a State sphere consisting in minima!!y an e#ecuti&e" an armed force and" no matter ho crude" a bureaucracy" distinct from and abo&e society" is ta'en as desirab!e and unchangeab!e or in any e&ent as gi&en. The State is not" ho e&er" as !ibera! theory ou!d ha&e it" a sui generis form une#pressi&e of any particu!ar (say" c!ass) interest< it is" rather" a high!y centra!i(ed institution concentrating armed force and embodying the interests of disparate socia! groups ho" dominating society5s producti&e institutions" find their unity" and thereby constitute themse!&es as a c!ass" in and through their contro! of the State. The State politically mediates and acti&e!y functions as the arena for the reso!ution - &io!ent!y" if need be - of socially constituted conf!icting interests of indi&idua!s and socia! groups. Since the State in the bourgeois era is essentia!!y" as distinct from its historica!!y changing functions" an institution of c!ass ru!e concentrating armed force" a specia! organi(ation a po!itica! party - is re$uired as an e#ecuti&e hich administers this force in order to insure socia! stabi!ity in the !ight of rea!i(ation of !ong-term" ru!ing c!ass interests. ,t is ob&ious!y" then" mista'en to ho!d the State is a neutral arena" an outside arbitrator of socia! conf!ict yet one abo&e and unshaped by the strugg!es ta'ing p!ace in society. Ta'ing the separation of State from society as gi&en" representationa! &ie s consist in the be!ief that an organi(ation of professiona! statesmen" re&o!utionaries" etc." as bearer of the trust of indi&idua!s or groups" c!asses or the 8masses"E or peop!es or nations" acts on their (ehalf or in their interests in their a(sence on the terrain of State-!ife. 3epresentation imp!ies the organi(ation in $uestion" a po!itica! party" acts ith the consent of those it tru!y represents" thus distinguishing representation from a!! forms of substitutiona!ism. 0onsent in turn suggests consultation" i.e." an appropriate method" often but not a! ays e!ectora! in form" of the se!ection or recognition of representati&es. 3epresentationa! &ie s ere ne&er themati(ed by 3ussian Mar#ists. Among %o!she&i's they appeared ready-made" a ta'en-for-granted perspecti&e on the party5s re!ation to the or'ing c!ass on $uestions concerning po!itica! po er during and after 19B;. ,n other ords" these &ie s did not as such come into being unti! the $uestion of po er as urgent!y posed by the re&o!utionary acti&ity of 3ussian or'ers. Iet the presuppositions on hich representationa! &ie s among %o!she&i's ere based ere e!aborated before the formation of a socia! democratic party" and !ong before the crysta!!i(ation out of this party of %o!she&i's as a group ith a distincti&e doctrinaire" po!itica!" and organi(ationa! identity. These presuppositionsN First" there as the centra!ity of socia!ist inte!!ectua!s for an emancipatory or'ing c!ass practice< and" second and corre!ati&e!y" there as the doctrine of the inabi!ity of the pro!etariat to by itse!f achie&e consciousness. Aest it be misunderstood these presuppositions ere gi&en ith !atter ha!f" 19th century 3ussian rea!ity itse!f. 0onsider 3ussia after 1671. ,n the countryside" the seignioria! pri&i!eges of !arge !ando ners and serfdom sur&i&ed" hi!e !and!ess peasants and poor tenant farmers came into being in enormous numbers fo!!o ing issuance of the 8emancipation8 decree. Aarge !ando ners carried great eight po!itica!!y" hi!e in the TsarFs administrati&e centers" 8cities"E a bourgeoisie as po!itica!!y none#istent and a tiny pro!etariat as on!y in the initia! stage of its ob4ecti&e formation. A despotic" autocratic go&ernment continued to formu!ate measures to encourage and strengthen capita!ist de&e!opment" and an inte!!igentsia" ith access to the socia!ist thought borne of or'ers5 mo&ements in estern =urope" found itse!f socia!!y and po!itica!!y superf!uous. @eorge .!e'hano& as the first to ta'e note and understand the imp!ications of 8the sur&i&a! of o!d pre-bourgeois socia! re!ationships in 3ussia.E1 1e dec!ared it as 8socia!ists ho must organi(e or'ers for the strugg!e against the bourgeois"E: but" first and foremost" against the ho!e autocratic system of society. +ho ere the 8socia!ists8N 2ot or'ers. .!e'hano& pointed to the doub!e oppression of the entire 8 or'ing popu!ation"8 suffering under the yo!' of conditions generated by primiti&e capita! accumu!ation and the 8enormous po!ice-despotic state.E? /nder these combined conditions" .!e'hano& thought it impossib!e for the or'ing c!ass to raise itse!f to the !e&e! of conscious
1=eorge

5lekhanov, 05rogram of the (o"ial.Lemo"rati" 7man"ipation of Labor =roup0 (# ,!, in Sele!ted Wor.s, I, ,%2. 07man"ipation of Labor0 )as the first Russian *ar/ist group. 6t "onsisted ex"lusively of exiled intelle"tuals, )as "entered in =eneva, and revolved around its founders, 5lekhanov, 5aul :xelrod, and Vera 4asuli"h. 2Ibid' 3Ibid'

agency. /nder these conditions" a bourgeois re&o!ution" and not a socia!ist one" as" according to .!e'hano&" on the historica! agenda. The bourgeoisie" ho e&er" a!so suffered from the insufficiency of capita!ist de&e!opment. ,t as" according!y" 8incapab!e of ta'ing the initiative in the strugg!e against abso!utism.81 Thus" 8our socia!ist inte!!igentsia has been ob!iged to head the present-day emancipation mo&ement.8: The tas's of this inte!!igentsia consisted in organi(ing industria! or'ers" preparing them for strugg!e against the autocracy and 8future bourgeois parties"E and organi(ing itse!f into 8secret groups8 !in'ed together by acceptance of a po!itica! program.? The on!y condition for the inte!!igentsia +ua socia!ist in assuming its tas's as adoption of the socia!-democratic 8standpoint of modern scientific socia!ism.E> .!e'hano&5s Mar#ism eighted hea&i!y on the second generation of socia! democrats coming into the 8mo&ement8 after 169:. Their concerns" ho e&er" ere much more 8practica!"E that is" much !ess oriented to ard the phi!osophica! e!aboration .!e'hano& engaged in. Their contribution" to hat ou!d at a !ater date simp!y by ta'en-for-granted representationa! &ie s" consisted in the embodiment in the &ery" party structure of the party of a theory of pro!etarian unconsciousness.; This contribution as origina!!y achie&ed in statutory form as the 8.rogram of the 3ussian Socia!-emocratic Aabor .arty8 at the :nd .arty 0ongress in 19B?.7 The de&e!opment of producti&e forces in bourgeois society" the 8.rogram8 notes" !eads to an impasse" to a situation of o&erproduction manifested in e&er-deepening cyc!ica! crises.7 This mo&ement dri&es the 8masses"E particu!ar!y the pro!etariat" to revolt*
RAsS a!! these contradictions hich are inherent in bourgeois society gro and de&e!op" the dissatisfaction of the toi!ing and e#p!oited masses ith the e#isting order a!so gro s< the si(e and so!idarity of the pro!etariat increases< and its strugg!e ith its e#p!oiters become more intensified.6

This description fai!s to distinguish the pro!etariat from other c!asses and strata in history ho ha&e strugg!ed against their oppression. ,nstead" it simp!y obser&es the contradictory de&e!opment of capita!ism compe!s the pro!etariat to intensify its strugg!e against capita!ists. ,ts 8si(e and so!idarity8 gro " but it does not mediate its acti&ity through the achie&ement of 8consciousness8 and &ice &ersa. The pro!etariat is understood as a product of the course of capita!ist de&e!opment hich remains such" &i(." it does not" sub4ecti&e!y - consciously" constitute itse!f as a c!ass" it ne&er transcends its ob4ecti&e formation. ,n a ord" it is mere!y capab!e of revolt* The distinction of consciously transcending ob4ecti&e formation be!ongs to bourgeois inte!!ectua!s organi(ed into a re&o!utionary party*
Socia! democracy organi(es the pro!etariat into an independent po!itica! party opposed to a!! bourgeois parties" guides a!! the manifestations of its c!ass strugg!e" !ays bare the irreconci!ab!e conf!ict bet een the interests of the e#p!oiters and the e#p!oited" and teaches the pro!etariat the historica! significance and the necessity conditions for the imminent socia! re&o!ution.9

This perspecti&e shou!d be identified as a form of Hacobinism" but not in the specific sense of the theoretica! summation of the e#perience of the e#treme party of French radica!s. The centra! feature of Hacobinism" generica!!y" is the ca!! for an organi(ed" 8conscious8 minority determined to cana!i(e the energies and rise to po er on a a&e of spontaneous mass re&o!t against an estab!ished" oppressi&e regime. %ut this organi(ed minority is not 8conscious8 in the Mar#ian sense< that is" its a&areness does not dialectically develop out of its position in production, (ut is
1Ibid' 2Ibid' 3Ibid, 4Ibid,

(7mphasis in the original.!

,%3.,%,. ,%,. 5:n a"hievement formali1ed by Lenin in What is to be DoneN 6The 5rogram )as elaborated on the basis of a draft developed in #+%2 by the Is.ra editors, a draft that itself "onstituted as abbreviated, summary redu"tion of LeninIs original formali1ation (What is to be Done:!. 2or the statutory party resolution, see 0The 5rogram of the (o"ial.Lemo"rati" Labor 5arty0 in Resolutions and De!isions of the Co""unist (arty of #he So&iet 5nion' 7' 1' #he Russian So!ial De"o!rati! )abor (arty, 1H9H E 3!tober 1918' 7Ibid, ,%. 8Ibid, ,#. 9Ibid.

generated on the dou(le ground of disenfranchisement and cultural formation or education not accessib!e to the &ast under!ying and oppressed popu!ace. )t does not have of itself the capacity to reorgani-e society ((ecause it is not directly involved in social production., and its mission is not emancipation" though this is genera!!y the ideo!ogica! discourse binding it to the re&o!ting 8masses8 and these 8masses8 to it" (ut the sei-ure of political po&er and the esta(lishment of an enlightened despotism* Hacobin po!icies" and their organi(ationa! trans!ation"1 ere suppressed under the eight of the massi&e or'ing c!ass upsurges of 19B;. They did not a!together co!!apse but ere to reemerge in a no&e!" much more refined form" one that cou!d no !onger be said to be non-pro!etarian. According to a reso!ution" passed 19 Apri! 19B; ().S.) at the ?rd .arty 0ongress": %o!she&i's considered it permissib!e 8for representatives of our party ... to ta'e part in the pro&isiona! re&o!utionary go&ernment.E? Since a &ictorious democratic re&o!ution ou!d ha&e on!y strengthened bourgeois domination" 8the bourgeoisie i!! ine&itab!y attempt at some moment to snatch a ay from the 3ussian pro!etariat the !argest possib!e part of the gains of the re&o!utionary period.8> Thus" the purpose of go&ernmenta! participation ou!d ha&e been to 8conduct a re!ent!ess strugg!e against a!! counter-re&o!utionary attempts and to upho!d the independent interests of the or'ing c!ass8< or" a!ternati&e!y and more re&ea!ing!y rendered" to
safeguard the independence of the Socia! -emocratic .arty hich stri&es for a comp!ete socia!ist re&o!ution and hence is irreconci!ab!y opposed to a!! bourgeois parties.;

The %o!she&i's a!so en&isioned action 8from be!o "E but this as pro4ected to ta'e p!ace &ithin the frame&or$ of change ?from a(ove,9 i.e." as subordinated to the action of pro&isiona! re&o!utionary go&ernment &ie ed as the rea! motor of change. Thus" action 8from be!o 8 as understood in terms of pressure on those 8abo&e.E
+e must propagandi(e among the broadest sections of the pro!etariat the idea that the pro!etariat" armed and !ed by the Socia! -emocratic .arty" must 'eep constant pressure on the pro&isiona! go&ernment ith the aim of preser&ing" conso!idating" and e#tending the gains of the re&o!ution.7

There is some 4ustification for the representationa! perspecti&e of the %o!she&i's* The scheme of a po!itica! party sei(ing po er is" after a!!" deri&ed from ear!ier bourgeois re&o!utions. (The re&o!utionary party is" in fact" a Hacobin institution.) %ut in the end a 4ustification ou!d be mista'en" a mere apo!ogy for t o reasons. First" Menshe&i's" ho ere dogmatica!!y committed to the &ie of the re&o!ution as a strict!y bourgeois - and hence" it ou!d fo!!o on this !ine of argument" to the representati&e institutions characteristic of the po!itica!!y mediated ru!e of the bourgeoisie" he!d out the possibi!ity of re&o!utionary change 8from be!o .E7 Second" Aenin himse!f characteri(ed the re&o!ution of 19B; as bourgeois but of a 8specia!8 'ind<6 moreo&er" he did not e&en consistent!y upho!d this scheme" suggesting at !east on a coup!e of occasions the re&o!utions cou!d immediate!y begin to gro o&er into a socia!ist re&o!ution.9 ,ndeed" the re&o!ution though bourgeois &as of a 8specia!8 type. To it" the or'ers5 so&iet - a c!ass ide organ direct!y based on the factory pro!etariat" &i(." a po!itica! mediation (at once !egis!ati&e and e#ecuti&e) of or'ers5 acti&ity embedded in the &ery tissue of society and an insurrectionary organ of or'ers engaged in re&o!utionary strugg!e - incarnated a criti+ue of representation (ased on the separation of State from society.

16.e.,

stri"t "entralism. <ongress )as a stri"tly ;olshevik affair. 3Ibid, $%. (7mphasis added.! The resolution is entitled 03n a 5rovisional Revolutionary =overnment.0 4Ibid' 5Ibid' 6Ibid, $#. 7:t the all.Russian <onferen"e of :pril #+%- (an ex"lusively /enshevik affair!, /ensheviks, in a resolution entitled 03n the (ei1ure of 5o)er and the 5rovisional Revolutionary =overnment,D )ent on re"ord against parti"ipation in a provisional government. Aonetheless, it )as asserted, abstention 0in no )ay ex"ludes the expedien"y of limited or episodi" sei1ures of po)er in one "ity or region or another solely for the purpose of spreading the uprising and disorgani1ing the government.0 (ee Ibid, '3. 80The vi"tory of a bourgeois revolution is impossible in our "ountry as a &i!tory of the bourgeoisie.0 CW, <7, -$. 9CW, I<, #3%, 23$.23'.
2This

A!most t e!&e years !ater Aenin hard!y made mention of the party in conscious!y ref!ecting on the so&iet e#perience. 1 %ut on the e&e of the )ctober sei(ure" it as the same Aenin ho" reiterating a statement made three months ear!ier (Hune 1917) at the A!!-3ussian 0ongress of So&iets" dec!ared*
, sti!! maintain that a po!itica! party - and the party of the ad&anced c!ass in particu!ar - ou!d ha&e no right to e#ist" ou!d be un orthy of the name of party" ou!d be a nonentity in any sense" if it refused to ta'e po er hen the opportunity offers.:

%hus, Aenin retreats from the insights achieved in reflection on the accumulated, historical e6perience of the proletariat, (ac$pedals to a position this side of the history in principle opened up (y the practical criti+ue of representation em(odied in the Commune and soviet e6periences* 3or, a party that ta$es po&er does it on the more or less ?ready#made? terrain of State#life* )t does it as an e6ecutive organ to organi-e and administer repression on the presupposition of the separation of State from society* Even if that po&er is to (e reconstituted, all the representational assumptions and practices &ill (e involved in its reconstruction*

1Referen"e 2CW,

here is to #he State and Re&olution' CW, <<7' <<7I, +%. /oisei Mharitonov, a 5etersburg <ommittee member supporting LeninIs early 3"tober "all for an immediate insurre"tion, stated in an - 3"tober <ommittee meeting 0as a politi"al party )e are aiming for po)er and 6 think )e have "ome to a time )hen )e "an reali1e this aim.0 <ited by :lexander Rabino)it"h, #he =olshe&i.s Co"e to (o+er, #++. 6saa" Leuts"her suggests Lenin (and Trotsky! 0took it for granted that the ;olsheviks, "onstituting a ma?ority in the soviets, )ould a"tually be the ruling party. Aeither ... sa) any "onfli"t bet)een (oviet "onstitutionalism and a ;olshevik di"tatorship, ?ust as "utatis "utandis, no ;ritish demo"rat sees any "onfli"t bet)een parliamentary rule and the "abinet system based on the ma?ority party0 (Leuts"her, #he (ro%het $r"ed, 2+#!. This apology misses the pointH The histori"al novelty and superiority of the "oun"ilar system )ith respe"t to parliamentary regimes lay, a""ording to its proponents, in a demo"rati" "ontent that did not merely reprodu"e but )ent )ell beyond that of bourgeois politi"al forms pre"isely be"ause it abolished the separation on )hi"h they rested, abolished a separation that transformed formal demo"rati" and abstra"t e8uality into real subordination and ine8uality.

1istorica! 2ote ? %rest =&ents1 7 (:B) 2o&. 1917 Trots'y" Foreign Affairs 0ommissar" notified =ntente and /nited States embassies that the Second 0ongress of So&iets proposa!s a truce and a peace to fo!!o . Terms of peace inc!ude a disa&o a! of intentions to anne# territories or impose indemnities. These terms are to be based 8on the princip!e of the independence of nations and of their right to determine for themse!&es the nature of their o n de&e!opment.8 Trots'y further proposes the immediate opening of peace pourparlers. 1B (:?) 2o&. 1917 Trots'y pub!ishes secret treaties found in archi&es of 3ussian Foreign )ffice. 1e announces ne go&ernment5s intention to abo!ish secret dip!omacy. 1> (:7) 2o&. 1917 =ng!ish" French" and /.S. ambassadors met at /.S. embassy and decide to ignore Trots'y5s note. =ntente and /.S. representati&es" acting separate!y" forma!!y fi!e protests ith @en. -u'honin" deposed commander of o!d Tsarist army. .rotests note that neither the =ntente nor the /.S. recogni(e the go&ernment of .eop!es 0ommissars" and charges !atter ith breach of (Aondon) agreement of ; September 191> hich committed signees not to see' separate peace. 1; (:6) 2o&. 1917 )&er signatures of Trots'y and Aenin" a ire!ess 8to all? is sent out dec!aring so&iet 8 i!!ingness to enter into peace negotiations ith the be!!igerent po ers.E 2.D. 9ry!en'o" ne !y appointed commander in chief of the army" orders 8firing to cease immediate!y and fraterni(ation to begin on a!! fronts.E @erman high command assents to commence negotiations for armistice. 17 (:9) 2o&. 1917 @erman 0hance!!or &on 1ert!ing and Austro-1ungarian Foreign Minister 0ount 0(ernin separate!y announce terms of 3ussian proposa! form a suitab!e basis for negotiation of armistice and signing of peace treaty. :: 2o&. (; -ec.) 1917 0entra! .o er de!egation" !ed by @ermany5s @en. 1offmann and inc!uding representati&es of Austro-1ungary" %u!garia and Tur'ey" conc!udes a ten-day truce ith 3ussian de!egation" !ed by 9amene& and So'o!ni'o&. Ta!'s on genera! =uropean peace suspended unti! :9 2o&ember (1: -ecember) 1917 to a!!o A!!ies (=ntente p!us /.S.) 8to define their attitude to ard the peace negotiations8 (Trots'y). : (1;) -ec. 1917 Armistice" effecti&e unti! 1 (1>) Hanuary 1916" is signed. 9 (::) -ec. 1917 Forma! negotiations for genera! peace begin. 0entra! .o er de!egation is !ed by @erman Foreign Minister &on 9ueh!mann. @en. 1offman" high command5s representati&e" de facto contro!s de!egation. ,offe !eads the So&iet de!egation. 3ussian de!egation insists on and obtains pub!icity for ta!'s and right to pub!ish protoco!s. 3ussian de!egation puts forth in detai! princip!es for basis of peace. .oint 1 dec!ares against presence of troops in occupied territories. .oint ? inc!udes statement of procedure" a referendum enfranchisement of entire popu!ation of gi&en nationa! group" for achie&ement of se!f-determination and po!itica! independence. .oint ; dec!ares for po!itica! independence of co!onies" an independence to be accomp!ished through popu!ar referendum. 0entra! .o ers de!egation accepts 3ussian terms on condition that 8a!! no participating in the ar ... ithin a suitab!e period of time ... bind themse!&es to the most precise adherence to the terms binding e&ery other nation8 (0(ernin). 0(ernin
1This

a""ount is based on the "hronology presented by @udah /agnus, Russia and >er"any at =restE)ito&s.' 6t has been "he"ked against and supplemented by the daily reports from the Ne+ Dor. #i"es and #he #i"es (London! for the period from # (#,! Aovember #+#' to 3 /ar"h #+# . 2or a detailed a""ount of the pro"eedings of the "onferen"e itself, see (ro!eedings of the =restE)ito&s. Conferen!e (ro!eedings of the =restE )ito&s. Conferen!e' 9.(. Lept. of (tate. >ashington, L.<., #+# .

a!so notes" hi!e recogni(ing princip!e embodied in .oint ;" 8the nature of the @erman co!onia! territories8 ma'es se!fdetermination 8impossib!e8 for these nationa! groups at present. -e!egations agree to re&ie issues hich" in e&ent of genera! =uropean peace" ou!d" at any rate" ha&e to form topic of separate discussion bet een the So&iets and 0entra! .o ers. 1?-1; (:7-:6) -ec. 1917 =ach de!egation puts forth draft of artic!es concerning treatment troops in occupied territories. 3ussian proposa! ca!!s for ithdra a! of 3ussian troops from Austro-1ungary" Tur'ey" and .ersia" and of 0entra! .o ers troops from .o!and" Aithuania" 0ourt!and" and portions of =stonia and Ai&onia. Fo!!o ing e&acuation" peop!es of these areas ou!d decide their po!itica! fate" i.e." continued union ith 3ussia" @ermany" or separate statehood. @erman proposa! ca!!s on 3ussian go&ernment to recogni(e peop!es of occupied territories of .o!and" Aithuania" etc." ha&e a!ready e#pressed their po!itica! i!!s" and conse$uent!y e&acuation of troops is not at issue in these cases.1 -e!egates ad4ourn to a!!o a!! be!!igerents" i.e." the A!!ies" to consider de&e!opment of peace negotiations and their entry into them. :B -ec. 1917 (: Han. 1916) Hoint session of 0entra! =#ecuti&e of So&iets" .etrograd So&iet and 0ongress of ho!e Army passes reso!ution condemning dup!icity of 0entra! .o ers stand on se!f-determination. :7 -ec. 1917 (6 Han. 1916) /.S. president +i!son out!ines fourteen point peace p!an. 2otes 0entra! .o ers5 position at %rest 8seemed susceptib!e of !ibera! interpretation unti! their specific program of practica! terms as added"E referring to !atter as terms of 8con$uest and domination.E :7 -ec. 1917 (9 Han. 1916) @enera! peace negotiations resume. 2oted that none of A!!ies made any response to in&itation to participate in ta!'s. Trots'y no !eads 3ussian de!egation. :6 -ec. 1917 (1B Han. 1916) Aarge-sca!e peace riots brea' out in @ermany. ,ndependent Socia!ists (/S-.) group in 3eichstag issues manifesto tying anne#ationist intentions re&ea!ed at %rest to mi!itari(ation of socia! !ife inside @ermany. 0a!!s on @erman or'ers to demand democratic peace" one ithout anne#ations or indemnities. :9-?B -ec. 1917 (11-1: Han. 1916) Trots'y and &on 9ueh!mann continue debate o&er se!f-determination in occupied territories. Don 9ueh!mann dec!ares 8e&acuation ... can on!y e#tend to those regions hich are sti!! parts of the State territory of that .o er ith hich peace is conc!uded. ,t does not e#tend to such regions hich" on the conc!usion of peace" no !onger form part of this State territory... The 3ussian @o&ernment ... had proc!aimed for a!! peop!es ithout e#ception !i&ing in 3ussia the right of se!f-determination... +e maintain that" in the e#ercise of this right ... in part of the regions no occupied by us" the de facto p!enipotentiary bodies representing the peop!es in $uestion ha&e a!ready e#ercised the right of se!fdetermination in the sense of separation from 3ussia.8 Don 9ueh!mann !ater adds" 8in the absence of other representati&e bodies" the e#isting bodies hich ha&e become historica!" are the presumpti&e e#pression of the peop!e5s i!!.8 Trots'y responds" 8 e fu!!y maintain our dec!aration that peop!es inhabiting 3ussian territory ha&e the right to se!fdetermination ithout outside inf!uence" e&en to the point of separation. +e cannot" ho e&er" recogni(e the app!ication of this princip!e other ise than in regard to peop!es themse!&es" and not in regard to certain pri&i!eged parts of them. +e must re4ect the &ie ... that the i!! of the occupied districts has been e#pressed by de facto p!enipotentiary bodies - because these de facto p!enipotentiary bodies cou!d not appea! to the princip!es proc!aimed by us.8 ?B -ec. 1917 (1: Han. 1916) 9amene&" reading a ritten statement prepared by the So&iet de!egation" e!aborates and forcefu!!y reiterates the position out!ined by Trots'y. @en. 1offmann" spea'ing first for 0entra! .o ers" dec!ares" 8, must ... protest against
1=erman

o""upation of these areas (or parts of them! )as "arried out and "ontinued under martial la) and military "ensorship.

the tone of these proposa!s. The 3ussian de!egation ta!'s to us as if it stood &ictorious in our countries and cou!d dictate conditions to us. , ou!d !i'e to point out that the facts are 4ust the re&erse and that the &ictorious @erman army stands in your territory.8 1 (1>) Han. 1916 0entra! .o ers de!egation set forth its position in ritten statement. Te#t re4ects So&iet conception of right to se!fdetermination asserting 8parts of nations8 and not mere!y nations as a ho!e 8can 4ust!y conc!ude independence and separation.E 0iting reasons of interna! security" it insists ithdra a! from occupied territories is impossib!e as !ong as or!d ar !asts. ,t further maintains a State can be constituted by &ote" reso!utions" etc." ta'en from or of an e!ected body. : (1;) Han. 1916 Amp!ifications and c!arifications of ritten statements of de!egations. Don 9ueh!mann states" ith regard to genera! po!itica! prere$uisites of the formation of States in @erman occupied territories" 8this" too" in great part is a mi!itary $uestion. A certain number of armed and discip!ined forces are re$uired to maintain discip!ine and pub!ic order. Some organi(ed mi!itary forces are necessary to 'eep the economic machinery of the country going.8 Since 8these organi(ed forces ... sha!! ... e#ercise no po!itica! pressure ... the presence of these forces is in no ay pre4udicia! to the freedom of the &ote.8 %ritish Aabor .arty issues address to peop!es of 3ussia and centra! =urope. Accuses 0entra! .o ers" and particu!ar!y 8mi!itarist State8 of @ermany" of refusing 8to admit the princip!e of se!f-determination and the doctrine of no anne#ation.8 ?-; (17-16) Han. 1916 -iscussions of territoria! occupation and se!f-determination continue" primari!y in form of e#tended e#changes bet een Trots'y and &on 9ue!hmann. Massi&e stri'e a&e" against ar and anne#ationist posture of 0entra! .o ers" engu!fs Austria" 1ungary" and %ohemia. ? (16) Han. 1916 @erman de!egation points out peop!es of territories in $uestion !ac' po!itica! independence and de&e!opment to decide their futures through referendum. Trots'y remar's So&iet de!egation does not share this e&a!uation. =#asperated ith !engthy discussions" @en. 1offmann pu!!s out and opens up huge mi!itary map. -ra ing a !ine ith his finger" he indicates areas @ermans intent to anne#. Trots'y dec!ares that 8the position of the Austro-@ermans is no abso!ute!y c!ear. @ermany and Austria see' to cut off more than 1;B"BBB s$uare versts from the former .o!ish 9ingdom of Aithuania" a!so the area popu!ated by the /'rainians and +hite 3ussians" and" further" they ant to cut into the territory of the Aetts and separate the is!ands popu!ated by the =stonians from the same peop!e of the main!and. +ithin this territory @ermany and Austria ish to retain their reign of mi!itary occupation... The interna! !ife of these pro&inces !ies" therefore" for an indefinite period in the hands of these .o ers. /nder such conditions any indefinite guarantee regarding the e#pression of i!! by the .o!es" Aetts and Aithuanians are on!y of an i!!usory character.8 -iscussions are bro'en off unti! 17 (:9) Han. 1916. 9 (::) Han. 1916 T o ire!ess communications" ?to all,9 are issued by %o!she&i's. )ne emphasi(es the anne#ationist intent of 0entra! .o ers< the other stresses the 0entra! .o ers refuse to gi&e any guarantee of troop e&acuation from occupied territories. %oth are aimed at the @erman" Austrian" 1ungarian" and %ohemian pro!etariats. 1:-1> (:;-:7) Han. 1916 Third A!!-3ussian 0ongress of So&iets is in session. 0ongress condemns stand of 0entra! .o ers" dec!ares against acceptance of @erman terms" but gi&es So&iet de!egation free hand in conducting negotiations. 1; (:6) Han. 1916 Massi&e po!itica! stri'e against the ar and go&ernment5s conduct at %rest erupts in %er!in (under banners of 8.eace" %read and Aiberty8).

17 (?B) Han. 1916 2egotiations resume at %rest. 19 Han (1 Feb.) 1916 %u!garian de!egation is seated among 0entra! .o ers. 3epresentati&es of 9ie& Rada" body representing that 8part of a nation"E /'raine" recogni(ed by 0entra! .o ers and accorded officia! status of de!egation by the !atter" appears. 0entra! .o er de!egation enters into separate negotiations ith /'rainian de!egation. Trots'y notes irony of Rada presence* At recent!y conc!uded Third So&iet 0ongress &arious representati&es of /'rainian peop!e" among them the 9har'o& So&iet" dec!ared for federation ith %o!she&i' go&erned 3ussia. 1e further states 8in the border regions of the former 3ussian =mpire the separatist idea is ad&ocated by those &ery groups and c!asses hich" under the o!d regime" ere obstinate supporters of centra!i(ation ... . ,f these c!asses ere to get the upper and in the present 3ussia they ou!d again become the ad&ocates of centra!i(ation.8 :: Han. (> Feb.) 1916 Don 9ueh!mann and 0(ernin !ea&e ta!'s for %er!in to confer ith the high command and 9aiser. The stri'es in @ermany are fina!!y suppressed. :> Han. (7 Feb.) 1916 0entra! .o er de!egates return and reopen separate discussions ith Rada representati&es. :7 Han. (9 Feb.) 1916 0entra! .o er de!egation and Rada representati&es sign a separate peace. This treaty gi&es @ermany and Austria access to bad!y needed /'rainian grain. :6 Han. (1B Feb.) 1916 Trots'y ma'es his famous 8no ar" no peace8 speech. ,n part" he dec!ares that 8 hi!e 3ussia as desisting from signing a forma! .eace Treaty" it dec!ared the state of ar to be ended ith @ermany" Austria-1ungary" Tur'ey" and %u!garia" simu!taneous!y gi&ing orders for the comp!ete demobi!i(ation of 3ussian forces on a!! fronts.8 This announcement" he notes" had been made by ire!ess to a!! peop!es and their go&ernments. The So&iet de!egation !ea&es %rest dec!aring negotiations are at an end. 1; Feb. 1916 1igh command reso!&es to again commence mi!itary operations inside 3ussia. Armistice of : (1;) -ecember 1917" hich according to 0entra! .o ers as &io!ated by 3ussian de!egation ith its departure" is dec!ared ended as of noon" 16 February 1916. 16 Feb. 1916 @ermany resumes mi!itary operations. Ai&onia and =stonia are soon occupied. Aarge parts of the /'raine are soon occupied. 19 Feb. 1916 0ounci! of .eop!es 0ommissars offers to immediate!y sign peace treaty. :B Feb. 1916 @erman troops in north continue their ad&ance. Ta'e 3iga and appear to threat .etrograd. Tur'ish troops !aunch offensi&e in 0aucuses. :? Feb. 1916 2e terms of a peace are con&eyed to .eop!es 0ommissars. They are much harsher and more e#acting. ? March 1916 .eace is signed on ne terms.

1istorica! 2ote > .roducti&ism The presence of a s'i!!ed !ayer of or'ers in pre-++, =uropean and 3ussian or'ing c!asses against the bac'ground of the formation of centra!i(ed" 8p!anned8 industria! production &ast!y e#panded and carried out by huge carte!s" in other ords" against the bac'ground of the emergence of modern finance capita!" pro&ided the materia! premises for the constitution of productivist ideo!ogy. As its core" producti&ism he!d there is a 8natura!8 a!!iance bet een a!! 8producers8 - entrepreneurs" managers" technicians" engineers" and or'ers - against parasitic socia! e!ements" especia!!y rentiers" financiers and ban'ers" bureaucrats" po!iticians and ru!ing e!ites. ,t further he!d 8producers8 had the capacity and se!f-discip!ine to run production themse!&es. As such" producti&ism as cu!tura!!y diffused and characteristica!!y !ess than e!!-defined" a phenomenon hose idea! rea!ity as not entire!y the e#pression of the practice and aspirations of a specific socia! c!ass. Moreo&er" on!y in countries" such as ,ta!y"1 here the rapid industria!i(ation of the period immediate!y prior to the first imperia!ist or!d ar had &isib!y transformed society" un!i'e 3ussia hose peasant-agricu!tura! economy sti!! predominated or =ng!and hose capita!ist-based industry as a!ready e!!-estab!ished" did producti&ism achie&e the c!arity and de&e!opment of an 8ideo!ogy8 in the systematic sense of a fa!se consciousness mediating the practices of ho!e socia! groups. This said" it is necessary to note among 8producers"E &i(." among an array of socia! strata" the specific socia! stratum of high!y s'i!!ed" specia!i(ed or'ers ere both bearers of and e!aborated producti&ist 8ideo!ogy.E +hi!e the reasons hy these or'ers ere se!f-conscious!y producti&ist shou!d be c!ear enough" they bear de&e!oping. The s'i!!ed stratum of =uropean and 3ussian or's ere ine#tricab!y bound up ith the pre- ar techno!ogy of the or'-processes. These or'ers e#hibited a high !e&e! of professiona! abi!ity" an abi!ity based upon (;-7) !ong years of apprenticeship and precision or' ith too!s ith hich they ere thorough!y ac$uainted. They or'ed a!ongside technicians and engineers in a!tering !abor-processes. ,n other ords" they e#ercised rea! contro! o&er producti&e techni$ue and direct!y participated in the or'p!an. This description differs significant!y from the concept of a!ienation rooted in the !abor-processes as de&e!oped in the Mar#ian tradition. The Mar#ist conception idea!!y reproduces the conditions of a!ienation e#perienced by the mass#&or$ers, the age-!aborer emp!oyed under conditions of mass production and sub4ect to" hat Mar# himse!f ca!!ed" conditions of the rea! (as opposed to forma!) subsumption of !abor by capita!.: Thus" the re!ation of the s'i!!ed or'er to the means of production as nona!ienating< the separation" though !ega!!y - that is" in terms of o nership - $uite rea!" as from the lived standpoint a categorica! obfuscation. .ossessing materia!!y-grounded professiona! &a!ues" these or'ers identified themse!&es as 8producers"E not as 8e#p!oited.E @i&en se!f-consciousness as a 8producer"E the s'i!!ed stratum of the or'ing c!asses prior to imperia!ist or!d ar as" then" in the ords of one historian 8materially most susceptib!e to a po!itica!-organi(ationa! pro4ect such as or'ers5 counci!s.E? %ecause they shared the basic producti&ist presupposition - name!y" 8producers8 cou!d run production themse!&es ithout and better than the bosses - of a counci! mo&ement< because in terms of socia! composition the counci! mo&ement as broader since it c!aimed the a!!egiance of technicians" engineers" etc.< and" because" here it as successfu!!y instituted (i.e." in 3ussia)" this mo&ement dre &or$er#masses into it" s'i!!ed or'ers ere ab!e to articu!ate the specific character of the counci!ar pro4ect" name!y" that of a se!f-managed socia!ism.

1(ee

/artin <lark, $ntonio >ra"s!i and the Re&olution #hat @ailed, +, #'.2%, $+.'#. <lark presents a brief dis"ussion of produ"tivism on )hi"h )e have dra)n. 2Marl /arx, 0Results of the 6mmediate 5ro"ess of 5rodu"tion,0 in Ca%ital, I, #%#+.#%3 . 3(ergio ;ologna, 0<lass <omposition and the Theory of the 5arty,0 -.

)n contemporary assumptions" the e#tent to hich the counci!ar pro4ect as socia!ist is moot.1 A brief discussion of t o documents that are representati&e of the mo&ement i!! ma'e this c!ear. The 83eso!ution of the Factory-.!ant 0ommittee8 (3ussia) ta'es as its point of departure a fragmentary" narro perspecti&e on the meaning and significance of the factory committee mo&ement in 3ussia* 8The or'ing-c!ass ants to see the democratic regime triumphant in the sphere of productive activity* This is best e#pressed by +or'ers5 0ontro! o&er production...8:
The organi(ation of +or'ers5 0ontro! is a manifestation of the same hea!thy acti&ity in the sphere of industria! production" as are party organi(ations in the sphere of po!itics" trade unions in emp!oyment" 0ooperati&es in the domain of consumption" and !iterary c!ubs in the sphere of cu!ture.?

A narro perspecti&e on the meaning and significance of the factory-committee mo&ement" on its potentia! as the basis of societal reconstruction" is founded upon an e$ua!!y narro &ision of the historica! mission of the pro!etariat. For 8the or'ing c!ass has much more interest in the proper and uninterrupted operation of factories ... than the capita!ist c!ass"E inasmuch as 8+or'ers5 0ontro! is (etter security in this respect for the interests of modern society" of the &hole people" than the arbitrary i!! of the o ners" ho are guided on!y by their se!fish greed for materia! profits...8> ,n this conte#t (of insuring continuing nationa! production)"; the purpose of or'ers5 contro! is to secure 8proper distribution of ra materia!s and fue!" as e!! as the most efficient management of the factories.87 The interna! regime of the factory remains unchanged precise!y to the e#tent that the o!d forms and ob4ecti&es remain unchanged*
+or'ers5 contro! o&er capitalist enterprises ... can create conditions for the fa&orab!e de&e!opment of a firm self# discipline in la(or" and the development of all la(or@s possi(le productivity*7

1ere the producti&ist orientation of s'i!!ed %o!she&i'- or'ers is most c!ear!y formu!ated* +or'ers5 contro! is the se!fdiscip!ine of !abor &ithin the frame or' of capita!ist socia! re!ations. 1ere" too" the fundamenta! concern of Mar#ian re&o!utionaries inside the or'ers5 mo&ements fo!!o ing the imperia!ist or!d ar" name!y" the de&e!opment of producti&ity - an ob&ious enough aspect of producti&ist ideo!ogy" is articu!ated ith a &ie to the ne !y emergent form of industria! organi(ation among or'ers.6 8The need to discip!ine !abor8 is" according to a historian of the ,ta!ian counci! mo&ement" 8the fundamenta! feature of 5producti&ism5.89 And though 8The .rogramme of +or'shop -e!egates"E1B the codified e#pression of the counci!ar pro4ect of the ,ta!ian pro!etarian &anguard - the s'i!!ed meta! or'ers of Turin" has a c!ear de ;ure understanding of the ro!e of the counci!s in the nascent!y unfo!ding 8communist re&o!ution"E that is" of the counci!s as the point of departure for and basis from hich the entirety of societa! reconstruction ou!d be underta'en" the pro4ected practice of the
12rom

a "ontemporary perspe"tive, the "oun"ilar pro?e"t lent itself to non.so"ialist, i.e., state "apitalist, developments as )ell as rationali1ation )ithin "apitalism. The "ontemporary vision of a 0self.managed0 so"ialism, be!ause it finds its validation in re!ent )orking "lass upheavals from belo) (Bungary #+-$, 2ran"e #+$ , 6taly #+$+.#+'%, 5ortugal #+',.#+'-! . upheavals that at on!e operated )ith assumptions "on"erning the undesirability of the bureau"rati1ed (oviet 0model0 and embryoni"ally "hallenged (oviet.type and "apitalist so"ieties in their totality, altogether fails to understand the histori"ally "onstituted assumptions upon )hi"h it rests. 6mputing "urrent "on"erns ba"k)ards into the past . "on"erns )hi"h have only been "onstituted %re!isely through a global, ideologi"ally promoted a)areness of the "onse8uen"es of bureau"ratism and (tate "apitalism, "ontemporary so"ialists ironi"ally find the paradigm for their "ommunist utopia in the narro)ly "lass.based, visionally.limited )orkersI "oun"ils that formed in the )ake of the first imperialist )orld )ar. 2Reprinted in @ohn Reed, #en Days that Shoo. the World, 2 .2+%. ((7mphasis added.!! 3Ibid, 2 . 4Ibid, 2 .2 +. (7mphasis added.! 56t is 8uite "urious that the 0Resolution,D one of the do"uments of the ;olshevik.pro"laimed so!ialist 3"tober (3.(.! . a do"ument in all likelihood a"tually dra)n up by ;olsheviks, should speak the language of the 0"ompromiser0 revolutionary demo"rats (i.e., /ensheviks!, that is, the language of a national.demo"rati" (i.e., bourgeois! revolution. Aote, for example, the itali"i1ed passages in the "itation immediately above. 6Ibid, 2 +. 7Ibid (emphasis added!. 8/ass produ"tion. 9<lark, Ibid, 2%. 10Translated and reprinted in >ra"s!i4 Sele!tions fro" the (oliti!al Writings, ##,.#2,.

counci!s is thorough!y permeated and shaped by concerns for producti&ity and discip!ine under conditions of e#p!oitation. 2othing the 8functiona! difference8 bet een the 8administration of the means of production and the masses of men"E the document grasps the &ery creation of a 8ne order8 in terms of a 8ne discip!ine.E1
Administration of ... masses of men ... has the potentia! ob4ecti&e of preparing men" bodies and concepts ... so that they may be e$uipped to rep!ace the emp!oyer5s authority in the factory and impose a ne discip!ine on socia! !ife.:

The agency of this 8administrati&e8 tas' is" of course" the high!y s'i!!ed or'er. The 8specia!i(ed categories8 of 8managers"E e.g." 8engineers" technica! super&isors" designers" departmenta! secretaries" and c!erica! staff attached to interna! administration" sa!es" accounts and au#i!iary ser&ices8 a!! ha&e a determinate 8 eight ... in ... the producti&e process.8 They i!! 8as producers8 (un!i'e emp!oyers) ha&e a ro!e" one determined precise!y by their 8 eight8 in production" to p!ay in the future order.? Those re&o!utionary or'ers - counci! de!egates" on the other hand" i!! function in a manner simi!ar to that prescribed by Aenin hen he assigned the tas's of 8accounting and contro!8 to members of factory committees.> The .rogramme states the de!egate 8must e#ercise contro!8<; &i(." he must
(a) ... ensure that e#isting or' agreements are faithfu!!y adhered to" and ... reso!&e any disputes that might arise bet een the or'force and the shop and representati&es of management ... (c) ... maintain order on the 4ob" in the face of either management pro&ocation or bad conduct on the part of dissenters ... (d) ... obtain precise inte!!igence on (i) the &a!ue of capita! emp!oyed in his o n shop< (ii) the output of his shop in re!ation to a!! 'no n costs< (iii) the possib!e increase in output that cou!d be achie&ed ...7

Furthermore" the de!egate 8shou!d study and encourage his comrades to study the bourgeois system of production and or' processes8 as e!! as 8interna! technica! inno&ations proposed by management"E and shou!d in&ite his comrades 8to accept such inno&ations ... pro&ided the inno&ation i!! resu!t in an impro&ement in the process of production"E in other ords" G i!! faci!itate or' by speeding up production.87 %ecause this program presupposes the indefinite!y continued e#istence of age-!abor and commodity production"6 it is a program not simp!y of the se!f-discip!ine of !abor but of its o n e6ploitation* The !atter is deri&ed from this submission of a!! e!se to the ob4ecti&e of increasing producti&ity on the foundation of the +uantified, a(stract, and reifying methods of capitalist production. .roducti&ist ideo!ogy be!onged to a !ong past era in hich the re&o!utionary tas'" abo&e a!! others" as the creation of the materia! premises of socia!ism on a or!d-sca!e through the massi&e e#pansion of the producti&ity of abstract !aborFs production. For it shou!d be c!ear from the foregoing that the counci!s in the historica! shape in hich they origina!!y emerged" ere" as the form of or'ing c!ass se!f-organi(ation appropriate to pursuing this tas'" to be inserted ithin the frame or' of capita!ist socia! re!ations.

1Ibid, 2Ibid,

##,. ##,.##-. 3Ibid, ## . 4#he State and Re&olution in CW, 7, <<7, 33 . :lso see CW, <<7I, 3', #%,, ,#%, 2$,.2$-. These last t)o pages reprint LeninIs 0Lraft Regulations on >orkersI <ontrol0 issued in de"ree form the day after ;olsheviks took po)er. 5:""ording to @ohn /atthe)s (translator of >ra"s!i4 Sele!tions'''!, 0it should be remembered that !ontrollo ... translated as 0"ontrol0 ... in fa"t has a different meaning in 6talian ...0 6n 0:meri"a and 7ngland I"ontrolI virtually means "ommand and statutory authority, )hereas in 6taly it means I"he"kI. Ibid, xviii. 6Ibid, #2#. 7Ibid' 8Ao)here in either do"ument is the abolition of )age labor . "apital relations mentioned mu"h less "alled for.

Theoretical 1otes 2ote 1 Da!ue Accumu!ation and 2ature -omination )nce the uni!inear or" a!ternati&e!y" the dia!ectica!!y progressi&e &ie of history is discarded" the origins of history become a contingent 8fact8< or" if you prefer" from the standpoint of its genesis history is itse!f !ogica!!y unnecessary. A brea' ith this ob4ecti&istic &ie of history further suggests that 8materia! abundance8 cannot" in princip!e" be considered a necessary condition of and moment in the creation of emancipatory socia! arrangements. History at its Origins )n the dia!ectica!!y progressi&e (or Mar#ian) &ie of history" the tota!ity of human formation" from the first act of man as man - an act of !abor through hich he sets himse!f off from anima!ity - to the socia!ist thresho!d of communism" is historica!. ,t is identica! ith man5s ascent out of and mastery o&er nature. The abandonment of this position because e&en for Mar# it is untenab!e"1 because in reconstructing history it renders archaic societies uninte!!igib!e and their retrospecti&e!y ascertainab!e contribution to human formation rea!!y absurd and !udicrous" because it guarantees an emancipated future that remains depo!itici(ed" and because in the end it identified the instrumenta! rationa!ity of bourgeois science as 3eason itse!f - means" then" history can no !onger be considered an in&ariant form and conte#t in hich e&ery type of socio-human e#istence is !i&ed out. ,t a!so means rather than a singu!ar and uni&ersa! history" there are as many di&erse histories as there are historica! societies.: Any history at its origins ou!d ha&e been a contingent fact dependent upon the introduction of innovation, and &ith it coercive po&er, into a non-historica! and archaic society. ,n the case of bourgeois society ( hose historicity" to be sure" did not emerge out of an archaic society)" history as constituted in a tru!y no&e! form. 1ere history shou!d be identified ith the acti&ity that first generated continuous change in the &ery fabric of society" ith capita!ist de&e!opment" i.e." ith that moment hen the futurity of the intention to accumu!ate rea!!y too' ho!d of the !i&ing present of estern" !ate feuda! commercia! c!asses and shaped their !ife-processes according!y. This identification is on!y accessib!e idea!!y" as a reconstruction of the past" since it is on!y retrospecti&e!y that the specific acti&ities of commercia! c!asses hich !ed in the first p!ace to the creation of a or!d mar'et as the medium of capita!ist de&e!opment can be seen. ,n the forma! sense" then" bourgeois society created or!d history* 0apita!ist de&e!opment is at once &orld#history and the formation of a or!d mar'et. ,n other ords" once bourgeois society came into being it did so on!y as a process" &i(." on!y as the creation of a eb of socia! re!ations dra ing indi&idua!s" groups" and c!asses into its e&er-e#panding mo&ement" and it came into being as a potentia! E6isten-form - produced and reproduced by those same indi&idua!s" groups" and c!asses - hose de&e!opment has a logic of its o&n, one forming indi&idua!s" groups" and c!asses. ,t is because or!d history came into being opa$ue!y (i.e." through a socia! formation hose inte!!igibi!ity consists in a !ogic constituted" so to spea'" behind the bac's and o&er the heads of the rea! sub4ects ho" mystified" produce it in their dai!y acti&ity)" that once the mystified attempt to understand it fro(e" fi#ed and onto!ogi(ed the forms of its mo&ement" it cou!d be ob4ecti&istica!!y misunderstood as essentia!!y the de&e!opment of producti&e forces. :aterial A(undance )n materia!ist assumptions" materia! abundance is a necessary premise of the communist future. This &ie can be arri&ed at in different ays. Most consistent!y (Marcuse" Sartre)" it is he!d a dia!ectic of man and surrounding or!d is origina!!y instituted in the conte#t of and moti&ated by need gi&en ith scarcity" by the brute facticity that 8there is not enough for a!!.E (This &ie " by the ay" cannot stand up to contemporary anthropo!ogica! scrutiny.) 1uman !abor is set in motion to o&ercome natura!!y gi&en scarcity through the de&e!opment of techni$ue" hi!e scarcity itse!f ma'es it ine&itab!e an indi&idua! or group i!! raise himse!f or itse!f o&er others" thus socia!!y organi(ing this facticity" to secure
1<apitalism

is histori"ally "ontingent, a "on"lusion even some of /arxIs analyses suggestH 6n the >rundrisse, /arxIs ob?e"tivisti" re"onstru"tion of history runs up against )hat he "alled the 0:siati"0 mode of produ"tion, a mode )hi"h he "ould not and did not attempt to dissolve into histori"al movement. (ee /arx, >rundrisse, , $., ', ,+3, ,+,. 29niversali1ation of "apitalist development has, nonetheless, tended to "reate history as a single and unified, and ob?e"tivisti" and anti.human (i.e., e"onomi"! pro"ess.

himse!f or itse!f against its ra&ages. ,n other ords" e&en as the rise in the !e&e! of producti&ity has o&ercome the facticity of this materia! fact (i.e." e&en as socia!!y organi(ed scarcity)" scarcity founds domination. 0on&erse!y" its o&ercoming is a pro!ogue to and necessary condition of a free society.1 For the more orthodo# ( ho" say" fo!!o %he Cerman )deology in these matters)" scarcity is ne&er named as such as the root of domination. ,nstead" it is the di&ision of !abor" and fo!!o ing from it the di&ision of society into c!asses and" conse$uent!y" the formation of an organ of c!ass oppression (the State)" ith the ascendancy of one c!ass o&er others - a!! of hich determines 8 hat is produced" ho it is produced" and ho the products are e#changed"E : hich founds domination. The di&ision of !abor" though" is an historica! necessity organi(ed to o&ercome a natura! one" i.e." one rooted in the sensuous bodi!y organi(ation of man as a being ho must satisfy needs. ,n either case" man o&ercomes a !ac' through de&e!opment of techni$ues of the mastery of nature" that is" he ascends out of nature through the de&e!opment of his producti&e forces. The !atter" as ob4ectified and materia!i(ed !abor" constitute the measure of his achie&ements and permanency - the ob4ecti&e substance of humanity bui!t up out of natura! materia!.? The continuous" unfettered de&e!opment of producti&e forces frees man from the constraints of !abor as socia!!y mediated natura! necessity (a!!o ing him to mere!y 8administer things8). Materia! abundance as a premise of the communist future finds its 4ustification in a materia!istic onto!ogy" one grounding an ob4ecti&istic &ie of history. :astery and Scarcity %ut once the Mar#ian &ie of history and" inseparab!y" materia!istic onto!ogy are bro'en ith materia! abundance mere!y becomes the necessary premise of one form and &ision of a free society. That is" gi&en origina!!y a contingency (i.e." capita!ist de&e!opment" and particu!ar!y its integration on a or!d-sca!e)" materia! abundance through nature-mastery seems to be a step do n the path to emancipation because there appears no other ay. Thus" too" it is no !onger possib!e to consider mastery o&er nature as a non-historica!!y specific category of human e#istence" i.e." as one &a!id for the tota!ity of 8prehistory.E 2ature mastery ou!d" then" ha&e a historica! !imit - a !imit !ong ago reached (i.e." once en4oyment of materia! abundance had become a possibi!ity for a!! humanity)" a !imit at hich e&en from a Mar#ist perspecti&e mastery became something other" name!y" nature domination. Det li$e the concept of productive forces, that of scarcity and its dialectical overcoming # a(undance, are hypostati-ations &ithout ontologically real ground* %he situation scarcity conceptually catches and fi6es is, at (ottom, the competitive and self#aggrandi-ing, e6change#(ased, and socially specific confrontation of egoistic su(;ectivities founding (ourgeois society* /ithout the conscious transformation of social relations of command#o(edience, the a(olition of authoritarian# hierarchical institutions (uilt up out of these relations in all decisive spheres of society, the reorgani-ation of the very sensuous character of the physical plant and e+uipment central to capitalist &or$#processes, etc*, material a(undance has no meaning for a free society* The concept of scarcity is an i!!usory" retrospecti&e pro4ection" that of materia! abundance an ideo!ogica!!y utopian" anticipatory pro4ection. %oth are constituti&e e!ements of a socia! theory hich rests on a fa!se be!ief in a techno!ogica! path to utopia.> 3irst =erspective on Emancipation The &ie of mastery as at once cu!tura!!y circumscribed and historica!!y specific is moti&ationa!!y structured by t o further concerns. ,n the end" both reduce to e!aboration of an emancipatory intent. First" once the attempted understanding of or!d-history has fro(en" fi#ed" and onto!ogi(ed the forms of its mo&ement
12or

both (artre and /ar"use 1 ros and Ci&ilization2, the over"oming of s"ar"ity )ould mean the end of 0praxis0 as 0manIs )ay to be.0 2or (artre, unlike /ar"use . )hose notion of 0manIs0 being is 0histori"al,0 this is disastrous spelling the end of 0man as su"h.0 (ee his Criti;ue de la raison diale!ti;ue, # $f, )here s"ar"ity internali1ed as 0need0 produ"es 0praxis0.as.pro?e"t. 27ngels, So!ialis"4 5to%ian and S!ientifi!, -,. 3Marel Mosik, Die Diale.ti. des Fon.reten, 23-. MosikIs vie) a"tually 8ualitatively expands this perspe"tive, sin"e it is the perspe"tive of a materialist version of S%irit 1>eist2, and thereby in"ludes spee"h and forms of thought. Bere, the for"ation of ob9e!tified, "aterialized sub9e!ti&ity is "odeled on the a!ti&ity of labor4 )abor, in turn, is a re"a.ing of nature, the %rodu!tion of "aterials that for" the built en&iron"ent, and the "utually "ediating struggles to "aster it 1nature2 and hi"self 1struggle a"ong grou%s, !lasses, %eo%les2' 4(ee 5art 6V, V66, the dis"ussion of (aint (imonism and te"hnologi"al utopianism, above.

and ith it nature-mastery as one of its essentia! moments" the mastery of nature (and ith it the entire conceptua! frame or' of Mar#ism" e.g." mode of production" forces and re!ations of production" use-&a!ue" etc.) becomes a category that fai!s to ade$uate!y conceptua!i(e the re!ation to nature in non-historica!" archaic societies" i.e." in spiritua!!y reproducing it the category &io!ates the intersub4ecti&e" !i&ed and ob4ecti&e" socia! senses of this re!ation to nature in these cu!tures. For e#amp!e" a !umber capita!ist sees in the forests he 8o ns8 not mere!y or e&en primari!y trees" but ood" that is" ra materia! for the production of e#change-&a!ues such as the use-&a!ue" a chair (or" another e#change-&a!ue" pu!p" uti!i(ed as ra materia! in the production of a astefu! use-&a!ue" paperboard)< yet an archaic agricu!tura!ist (8sedentary horticu!turist8) ho practices s!ashing and burning nonethe!ess ta'es it for granted that the forest is her home" a precognition of her surrounding or!d hich prohibits her from immediate!y seeing it as ra materia! to be e#p!oited. 2e&erthe!ess" concern ith the reconstruction of archaic societies shou!d not be ta'en for romantic yearning for a past capita!ism has made 4ust that" name!y" past. 3ather" animating this discussion is a &ision of a future free from domination the emergence of hich these societies" if on!y negati&e!y" ere organi(ed to pre&ent" domination hich capita!ism produces on a sca!e unpara!!e!ed by any past society" and hich Mar#ism ou!d ha&e us carry o&er (undoubted!y aufhe(en) into the communist future (by reducing the preconditions for a free society to the end of e#p!oitation in the technica! sense and to materia! abundance). Stated different!y" the materia!ist onto!ogy structuring the Mar#ist ana!ysis of history decides not on!y that socia!" 8mytho!ogica!"E aesthetic" etc." meanings i!! be stripped from the producti&e acti&ity hich these significations organi(e in archaic society" but a!so ma'es it necessary to concei&e a free society as one hich is essentia!!y depo!itici(ed.1 Second =erspective on Emancipation )nce the structure of nature mastery as domination is historica!!y constituted" its connection ith &a!ue accumu!ation becomes &isib!e. This further a!!o s us to see both as crucia!" inseparab!y distinct moments of the socia! pro4ect of the bourgeoisie considered or!d-historica!!y. 0onsider" on the one side" sensuous nature. This nature" appearing in history at once as its ground and as a product of a de&e!opment inseparab!e from its interaction ith socia! de&e!opment" is aesthetically ugly stuff. ,t is" in other ords" a product of domination" of hat capita!ism has made of it. %his is nature as matter, as ra& material for commodity production on a capitalist (asis* 0onceptua!!y" this is nature pro4ected and f!attened out by science* Stripped of $ua!itati&e determination and reduced to a gross abstraction" to a priori $uantifiab!e or ob4ecti&e time and e#tended space. ,t is an abstraction ithout purpose or interna! !ogic to its moments (natura naturata. and ithout inherent or defining characteristics apart from those mathematica!!y pro4ected.: 0onsider no " on the other side" omen as products of their o n passi&e participation in !abor-processes subordinated to &a!ue accumu!ation. +hi!e the abstraction of the or'er" &i(." her reduction to a mere ob4ect of capita!ist e#p!oitation" is a process hich cannot in princip!e be comp!eted (since comp!ete commodi(ation ou!d be her death" signa! the impossibi!ity of further surp!us-&a!ue e#traction" and send capita!ism as a system grinding to a ha!t)" scienti(ing the organi(ation of or' processes pushes abstraction to its !imit. From the &ery beginning of scienti(ing rationa!i(ation" Tay!orism has historica!!y meant the creation of a sub4ecti&ity emptied of or'-content. The or'er" des'i!!ed and 'no !edge of the or' processes destroyed" begins to approach the !imits of pro!etariani(ation* Sub4ecti&ity becomes indifference to or'-content and to or' itse!f as acti&ity" or' becomes pure and simp!e e#terna!!y-imposed necessity. This is the or'er for capita!" a commodity" a pure!y $uantitati&e &a!ue to be bought and uti!i(ed as ra materia! for the creation of more commodities" a cost of production" a pure!y ca!cu!ab!e e!ement of production to be manipu!ated and disposed" her humanity - sensibi!ity" affection" corporea!ity" e#perience" and ref!ection - as so much resistance to the dictates of &a!ue accumu!ation. For capita!" this is a humanity to be emptied of meaning and content" and treated as if it had neither interna! !ogic (sub4ecti&ity) nor purpose. As the accumu!ation processes push abstraction and" thus" commodi(ation to its !imits" the or' processes generated &io!ence done to the or'er becomes !ogica!!y indistinguishab!e from the form!ess form (matter) nature in
1(ee

5art 6V, se"tions V66 and V666, above. produ"tJsK0 (the natura naturata!, suggests an 0infinite produ"tivity0 1 natura naturans2 . in our vie) an infinite self.developing totality. ;ut to, say, ideally re"onstru"t the genesis and formation of nature so "on"eived neither implies a )hole animated by sub?e"tivity and teleology nor a prin"iple of intelligibility of the totality prior to or apart from its moments.
20Limited

its &io!ation by capita!ism approaches. This structura! homo!ogy is not accidenta!* Both dominated nature and mutilated &or$er su(;ectivity are products of a socially determinate, fetishi-ed, and utilitarian form of societal practice, the totality of capitalist &or$ processes grounded in the (ourgeois pro;ect of accumulation* %ut accumu!ation is as &a!ue accumu!ation is more than an intersub4ecti&e 8doing"E a c!ass acti&ity around hich the interna! !ife of the bourgeoisie is structured. To the e#tent e#change re!ations ha&e come to dominate socia! re!ations" to that e#tent &a!ue accumu!ation is the interna!" hidden yet ob4ecti&e !ogic tendentia!!y organi(ing society as a ho!e. %ecause &a!ue accumu!ation as a concept designates the unity of interre!ated" socia! processes ( hich abstract the or'er5s sensibi!ities" concerns" and indi&idua!ity" reduce her to a $uantifiab!e force to be e#erted" and ob4ectify and materia!i(e this tempora!!y measured !abor-time)" these processes and their reproduction and e#pansion create capita!ism as a system. 0apita!ism" though" is not a c!osed system. %ecause its rea! de&e!opment is prope!!ed by the e#traction of surp!us &a!ue" the strugg!e against reification (thingification) or" if you prefer" the practica! confrontation of or'-rooted" conf!icting c!ass te!eo!ogies" determines the possibi!ities for accumu!ation and its tempo as a process. Iet as !ong as the pro!etarian po!e of this strugg!e fai!s to at !east nascent!y e!aborate the a areness necessary to act to ta'e ho!d of and reorgani(e materia!i(ed ob4ectifications" the re!ations of c!asses" and" fo!!o ing from this" the ho!e of society to the e#tent it is organi(ed around production i!! remain tendentia!!y subordinate to the !ogic at the heart of the accumu!ation process. %ut &a!ue accumu!ation is a!so a !ogic that dominates the bourgeoisie ta'en separate!y as a po!e of this strugg!e (though" to be sure" it sti!! has historica!!y important moments of creati&ity). The interna!i(ation of system imperati&es and their e#terna!i(ation" hich Mar# identified as the historica! mission of the bourgeoisie" is constituti&e for its c!ass te!eo!ogy.1 2o e#pansion of producti&e forces" that mission" is not mere!y in fact but a!so in princip!e on!y achie&ed through mastery of nature< and science" hose comprehensi&e meaning and purpose is domination of nature" is the sing!e most important producti&e force of contemporary society. Thus" &a!ue accumu!ation" at once a societa! process and the immanent !ogic structuring that process" is inseparab!e form nature domination* The !ogic of accumu!ation is first and foremost a !ogic of the organi(ation of or' processes" and !abor necessari!y and intimate!y in&o!&es us ith nature. There is no detaching accumu!ation from domination* To re&erse the !atter ou!d re$uire a transformation of the &ery essence of capita!ist or' processes" o&erthro of their character as processes in &hich a(straction is accomplished* Their inseparabi!ity is c!ear!y &isib!e in e#tracti&e and construction industries" &i(." in the eco!ogica!!y disastrous unity of man and nature capita!ism has created. Ai(erating /or$, Enchaining 'ature ,f the !iberation of !abor is centra! to a free society" then !iberation ou!d not be comp!ete unti! a $ua!itati&e transformation of the practica! re!ation of !abor and" hence" society to nature had been achie&ed. )n this basis" nature cou!d not be ta'en as mere stuff" ra materia! for commodity production. ,n princip!e" the destruction of surrounding nature cou!d cease because commodity production go&erned by the !ogic of accumu!ation had ceased to be a socia!!y determinant form of human doing. 2ature" then" cou!d itse!f appear as a 8sub4ect"E i.e." e#isting ?@for its o&n sa$e,@ and in this mode" for man*9: This ne re!ation to nature" inc!uding mastery but mere!y as a su(ordinate moment" ou!d be go&erned by the intent to protect and enhance !ife< and this intent ou!d be aimed at the !iberation of natura! potentia!ities? hich" suppressed or distorted by &a!ue re!ations" might &ery e!! enhance free" human societa! arrangements. But a ne& practical relation to nature &ould entail a ne& theoretical relation to nature as &ell, that is" the a(olition of science as e ha&e 'no n it.

1/arx

treated so"ial types as mere personifi"ations of e"onomi" "ategories and, "onse8uently, inade8uately "on"eptuali1ed the relation of "ons"iousness to system imperatives by failing to treat it as an interiori1ed logi". 2Berbert /ar"use, Counterre&olution and Re&olt, $2. 3D.. die :ufgabe des /ens"hen an der Aatur in ni"hts geringerem als in der 2ortpflan1ung und :usbreitung eines 5aradieses Zber seine 7rde ... des /ens"hen ... ;eruf )ar kein geringerer, als dierse 7rde himmlis"he 2rZ"hte und =estalten hervorbringen 1u helfen ... )el"he glei"hfalls die vers"hlossenen 7rdkr[fte ni"ht nur von ihren ;anden ... l\send befreit, sondern ihnen au"h die 1um >a"hstum, 1ur ;lZte und 2ru"htbringung n\tige 7rg[n1ung gibt.0 2ran1 von ;aader, Kber die =egrJndung der thi. dur!h die (hysi!.

:ar6ism and Science, Ontology of Aa(or The Mar#ian defense of science and its achie&ements" on the other hand" !ogica!!y fo!!o s from the perspecti&e on capita!ism as not on!y a historica!!y necessary stage of human formation but" specifica!!y" as one hich is progressi&e" i.e." as forming the materia! premises upon hich communism i!! be bui!t. The achie&ements of capita!ism" in a ord" abundance" are a measure of the e#tent to hich man has ascended out of and mastered nature" that is" the degree to hich he has socia!i(ed himse!f forming ithin the 8rea!m of necessity8 in and through !abor (as natura!!y imposed" socia!!y mediated necessity) the presuppositions of the 8rea!m of freedom.E1 0apti&ated by the cu!tura! authority of science" Mar#Fs pro4ect as ambiguous" as at times he aimed at a tota! theory" not mere!y in the presentation of capita!ism as a c!osed system but in the e!aboration of historica! materia!ism as a science of human formation as such. This science is constituted out of the categoria! presuppositions of Capital (contrary to recei&ed opinion concerning the societa!!y specific" e#p!icit categories of this ana!ysis). According!y" the !abor-processes" 8independent!y of any specific socia! formation"E: are onto!ogica!!y centra!. They are 8the uni&ersa! condition of the metabo!ic interaction bet een man and nature" the e&er!asting nature-imposed condition of human e#istence ... common to a!! forms of society in hich human beings !i&e.8 ? This is not mere!y an 8abstraction8 for the 8de&e!opment of materia! production ... is the basis of a!! socia! !ife" and therefore of a!! rea! history.8> Mar# insists here that 8a!! socia! !ife8 can and must be understood from the standpoint of the !aborprocesses. Maybe so - if e&ery precapita!ist society is historica!" each containing e!ements of its o n transcendence hich e#p!ode if from ithin" and if these e!ements cry out" as it ere" for reorgani(ation a!!o ing materia! ad&ance. An empirica!!y grounded reconstruction of such a set of conditions ou!d demonstrate that history does consummate itse!f in communism. %ut once this perspecti&e is abandoned" the $uestion concerns society in hich !abor is not onto!ogica! centra!* ,t becomes one of the immanent inte!!igibi!ity of precapita!ist societies of this sort ith a &ie to their reconstructab!e contributions to a free society. Materia!istic onto!ogy" to the contrary" constitutes a gross pro4ection of the eternali-ation of capita!. Ta'e any centra! category of this onto!ogy and e#amine the conse$uence for a critica!" emancipatory theory. Ta'e use-&a!ue. The use-&a!ue is 8the product of the R!abor-S processes .." a piece of natura! materia! adapted to human needs by means of a change in its form.8; (2ote that natura! being is a!ready immediate!y grasped abstract!y as 8matter"E ra materia! for human use.) As such" the use-&a!ue is either consumed or reenters the !abor-processes as means of production. ,ts production is the condition of the reproduction of human e#istence as such" 7 and the production of any socia! or!d hatsoe&er. This insight" ho e&er" rests on the retrospecti&e and anticipatory pro4ection into the past and future of the co!!apse of socia! re!ations into &a!ue producing ones" a co!!apse carried out by the mo&ement of capita!. That is" the insight presupposes the abstraction of use-&a!ue" a product of a 8!engthy historica! process"E a reduction hich robs the use-&a!ue of those socia! significations hich prior to capita!ism organi(ed production and not &ice &ersa. ,n the end the &a!idity of the insight" and ith it the 8rationa!ity8 of the abstraction" is constituted so!e!y in the assumption of the standpoint of capita!. That" though" is precise!y the point* The use-&a!ue is 8!abor ... bound up in its ob4ect"E 8!abor RthatS has become ob4ectified"E7 ob4ectified because conscious purpose is incarnated in the 8materia! of nature.E 8Man not on!y effects a change in the form of the materia!s of nature< he a!so rea!i(es his o n purpose in those materia!s.86 2ature" then" is mere 8materia!8 in hich socia!!y sub4ecti&e intentions are inscribed< it is 8the uni&ersa! materia! for human !abor.E9
1/arx, 2/arx,

#heories of Sur%lus 7alue, III, 2-'. Ca%ital, I, 2 3. 3Ibid, 2+%. 4Ibid, 2 $ n. $. 5Ibid, 2 '. 6Ibid, 2+%. 7Ibid, 2 '. 8Ibid, 2 ,. 9Ibid' Marel Mosik 1Die Diale.ti. des Fon.reten2, in a brilliant, for"eful, and "onsistent elaboration of the materialist ontology, develops this position. Be states that, it is 0in der geganst[ndli"hen T[tigkeit des /ens"hen, die die Aatur umgestaltet und mens"hli"he ;edeutungen in das natZrli"h /aterial enpr[gt0 (Ibid, 22#!. Aature, then, exhibits itself to us in this double mannerH .D.. einerseits tritt sie als /a"ht und 3b?ektivit[t auf, die respektiert und deren =eset1e erkannt )erden mZssen, damit der /ens"h sie 1u sein =unsten ausnZt1en kann* andrerseits sin.t sie zu" blossen *aterial herab, in dem si"h die mes"hli"hen :bsi"hten realisieren0 Jemphasis addedK. Ibid, 2%2.

2ature practica!!y and socia!!y comprehended so!e!y or e&en !arge!y as 8matter8 for production is" ho e&er" hat capita!ism has made of nature. The materia!ist onto!ogy permanent!y fi#es and free(es the historica! ro!e of nature and man as !abor for capita!. %ecause &a!ue accumu!ation and nature domination are inseparab!e" it constitutes anticipatori!y and per&erse!y a theoretica! apo!ogetics for the introduction of ne forms of e#p!oitation and oppression under the guise of a theory of emancipation.

Theoretica! 2ote : Aenin and the Mar#ist Theory of the State %he =ro(lem ,n the discussion of AeninFs theory of the State abo&e" e suggested to the e#tent the State in a!! its aspects can be grasped instrumenta!!y" that is" as an Gapparatus"E it must first be comprehended in its tota!ity as the reified institutiona!i(ation of socia! re!ations of domination. As such" it is the ho!e" in its moments and as a tota!ity" hich must be smashed. Simi!ar!y" in %he State and Revolution, Aenin had himse!f asserted 8re&o!ution consists in the pro!etariat destroying the 5administrati&e apparatus5 and the ho!e state machine" rep!acing it by a ne one" made up of the armed or'ers.81 These remar's ere directed at the 8&u!garisers of Mar#ism"8 especia!!y 9ar! 9auts'y. ,n regard to 9auts'y" Aenin further noted that 8Rhis pamph!etS admits the possibi!ity of sei(ing po er ithout destroying the state machine* RThis isS the &ery thing hich Mar# in 167: Rin his ref!ections on the .aris 0ommuneS dec!ared to be 5obso!ete5 in the programme of the Communist :anifesto.8: Iet Aenin himse!f" in his 80an the %o!she&i's 3etain State .o erN8 - a pamph!et ritten in the same period (as %he State and Revolution)" dre a distinction" as e noted abo&e"? bet een the 8chief!y 5oppressi&e5 apparatus the modern state possesses8 and 8an apparatus hich has e#treme!y c!ose connections ith the ban's and syndicates K This apparatus must not ... be smashed.8 ,t 8must be e#panded" made more comprehensi&e and nation ide.8> ,t appears" then" that" ta'en together" Aenin5s contradictory assertions can a!so be 4ust!y accused of retreating to a position behind that formu!ated by Mar# and =nge!s on the basis of the 0ommunards5 e#perience. )ur position is grounded on the e#perience of bureaucrati(ation" that is" in an entire era in the de&e!opment of societies of So&iet (as e!! as ones of estern capita!ist) type. That era" of course" !ay ahead of Aenin and" by and !arge" as not a part of his e#perience. Thus" on first e#amination hat i!! seem to be a contradictory position i!! initia!!y be suggested to ha&e its foundations in the unreconci!ed re!ation of the demands of an emancipatory theory" on the one side" to the practica! e#igencies of ha!ting economic co!!apse on the other. A c!ose" detai!ed ana!ysis of %he State and Revolution; i!!" ho e&er" demonstrate that the contradiction is imp!icit in the 8True Mar#ian -octrine of the State8 itse!f. Thus" in the remainder of this essay e sha!! begin by e#amining the theoretico-po!itica! perspecti&e Aenin e!aborated to guide the party once in po er in reso!&ing the practica! prob!em of economic co!!apse as e!! as that prob!em itse!f. ,n turn" e sha!! brief!y reconstruct the traditions on hich the Mar#ian theory of the State is based and hich a!!o ed Aenin to deduce a second" separate and distinct apparatus - an 8administrati&e8 as opposed to a repressi&e one - from the neutra!" because autonomous" de&e!opment of producti&e forces" an achie&ement of capita!ism that as to be ta'en ready-made o&er as the materia! foundations in the socia!ist transition. Ta'en together" the t o accounts i!! e#hibit the aporia Aenin confronted" an impasse that remained untranscended" thereby a!!o ing the perspecti&e of emancipatory theory to be !ost sight of. %he =ractical =ro(lem # Averting Economic Collapse ,n his ritings in the period immediate!y before and after the )ctober 3e&o!ution"7 Aenin de&e!oped a theoretica! so!ution to practica! prob!em of bringing a ha!t to ongoing economic co!!apse. 3eso!ution of the prob!em centered on the 3ussian financia! system. 0onsider the institutiona! structure of finance capita! in 3ussia on the e&e of the )ctober 3e&o!ution. At its summit stood the State %an'. ,t contro!!ed the amount of currency in circu!ation" and it acted as ban'er to the go&ernment and to !arger ban's as e!!. Thereby" it a!so contro!!ed the f!o of credit. 7 ,t as" according to 0arr" 8in e&erything but
1Lenin, 2Ibid,

CW, <<7. ,+#. (7mphasis in the original.! , ,. (7mphasis in the original.! (ee our a""ount of /arx and 7ngelsI position at the time of the *anifesto, 5art 2, se"tion 66, above. 3(ee 5art 2, se"tions V6, V66, above. 4CW, <<7I, #%$. 55arti"ularly )ith a vie) to the thinking embodied in its literary sour"es, vi1., /arx and 7ngels. 60The 6mpending <atastrophe and Bo) to <ombat 6t0 ()ritten mid.(eptember #+#', published at the end of 3"tober #+#', and appearing in CW, <<7, 323.3$+!* and, 0<an the ;olsheviks Retain (tate 5o)erN0 ()ritten at the end of (eptember.beginning of 3"tober, published in 3"tober #+#', and appearing in CW, <<7I, '.#3$!. 77.B. <arr, #he =olshe&i. Re&olution, 1918E19,-' II (London, #+-2!, #33.

name a department of the go&ernment8 and it as e&en statutori!y sub4ect direct!y to the Finance Ministry. 1 %eneath the State %an' in this hierarchy stood fifty 4oint-stoc' ban's" se&en of hich accounted for o&er ha!f of the deposits in the country. The core of the 3ussian ban'ing system" this !ayer of ban's as engaged in 8genera! ban'ing business.E: The bottom !ayer of ban's consisted in Gspecia!i(ed ban's and credit institutionsE of a!! si(es from the &ery !arge to the &ery sma!!. Their business practices ere oriented to specific Gbranches of production" of commerce or to particu!ar groups of the popu!ation.E? The first t o institutiona! !ayers of the 3ussian financia! system ere centra! to the %o!she&i's because" as Aenin sa as ear!y as the first months of 1917" the Gconcentration of capita! and the gro th of ban' turno&erE had Gradica!!y RchangedS ... the significance of the ban's.E> 1e noted that Ga handfu! of monopo!ists subordinate to their i!! a!! the operations" both commercia! and industria!" of the ho!e of capita!ist society ... RTheyS are enab!ed - by means of their ban'ing connections" their current accounts and other financia! operations - first" to ascertain e#act!y the financia! position of the &arious capita!ists" then to contro! them ... by restricting or en!arging" faci!itating or hindering credit" and fina!!y to entire!y determine their fate" determine their income" depri&e them of capita!" Retc.S.F; So ho as catastrophe to be a&ertedN ,n part"7 it as to be a&oided through the nationa!i(ation of the ban's. %ecause" Gthe ban's ... are the centres of modern economic !ife" the principa! ner&e centres of the ho!e capita!ist economic system"E because Git is absurd to contro! and regu!ate de!i&eries of grain" or the production and distribution of goods genera!!y" ithout contro!!ing and regu!ated ban' operations"E the big ban's ou!d be nationa!i(ed. And hat is the signification of this nationa!i(ationN +ithout it" G... no effecti&e contro! of any 'ind o&er the indi&idua! ban's and their operations is possib!e ... because it is impossib!e to 'eep trac' of the e#treme!y comp!e#" in&o!&ed and i!y tric's that are used in dra ing up ba!ance sheets" founding fictitious enterprises and subsidiaries" Retc.S.E GR2ationa!i(ationS ... ou!d ma'e it possib!e to e#ercise rea! contro! - pro&ided" of course" a!! the other measures indicated ere carried out. )n!y by nationa!ising the ban's can the state put itse!f in a position to 'no here and ho " hence and hen ... And on!y contro! o&er the ban's" o&er the centre" o&er the pi&ot and chief mechanism of capita!ist circu!ation" ou!d ma'e it possib!e to organi(e rea! and not fictitious contro! o&er a!! economic !ife" o&er the production and distribution of stap!e goods" Retc.S.E7 According!y" contro! of the ban'ing system ou!d mean" first" the %o!she&i's cou!d pro&ide credit f!o s to insure uninterrupted production" and" ob&erse!y" they cou!d pre&ent sabotage that the great ban'ers ou!d other ise be in a position to engage in<6 and second" it ou!d mean that they cou!d 8acce!erate technica! progress"E hat finance capita! a!ready did to a certain e#tent" in a ay un'no n in the past because the !argest ban'ing monopo!ies

1Ibid' 2Ibid, 3Ibid' 4CW,

#3,.

<<II 1I"%erialis", the Highest Stage of Ca%italis"2, 2#,.2#-. 2#,.2#-. (7mphasis in the original.! 6Lenin also proposed 0nationali1ation of the syndi"ates, i.e., the largest, monopolisti" "apitalist asso"iations,0 0abolition of "ommer"ial se"re"y,D 0"ompulsory syndi"ation ... of industrialists, mer"hants and employers generally,0 and 0"ompulsory organi1ation of the population into "onsumer so"ieties.0 CW, <<7, 333. 7Ibid, 33,.33-. (7mphasis in the original.! 83f "ourse, this did not prevent the industrialists themselves, or their managements, from engaging in sabotage, say, in lo"kouts, shutdo)ns or in abandonment of enterprises. (in"e at least :pril (#+#'!, Lenin and the ;olsheviks had attempted to "anali1e proletarian movement on the ground, so to speak, into an internal plant and fa"tory supervisory regime that )ould monitor and regulate produ"tion and thereby "urtail or even eliminate the possibilities of sabotage at this level. This regime )as kno)n as 0)orkersI "ontrol.D Bo)ever, "lass struggle in the enterprises, and )ith it the pra"ti"e of )orkersI "ontrol, took an altogether different turn. (ee 5art 2, se"tions V, V66, 6], above.
5Ibid,

concentrated enormous financia! resources not to be found any here e!se.1 Thus" ith contro! of the ban'ing system" as it ere" in hand" the %o!she&i's ou!d position themse!&es to ha!t the ongoing economic co!!apse.: %he :ar6ian 0octrine of the State Fo!!o ing the Mar#ist tradition" e can distinguish the historica!!y constituted character of the bourgeois State from its simi!ar!y formed" institutiona! functions.? ,n so doing" e must recogni(e that this State essentia!!y concentrates armed force. 2o matter hat change of forms this State may undergo" the institutions of coercion (primiti&e!y an army" po!ice" prisons" net or' of 4udges and prosecutors" and a bureaucracy)" and the monopo!y of practica! &io!ence in society such institutions necessari!y entai!" remain. This concentration of force is the essentia!" historica! condition ensuring the continuity of capita!5s ru!e. )f course" a capita!ist ru!ing c!ass cannot achie&e stab!e go&ernance un!ess its e#ercises a much broader" cu!tura! hegemony much of hich is a!so secured and promoted by its State.
1CW,

<<II, 22, This te"hni"al progress )as altogether "ontingent on a pea"e . )hi"h Lenin sa), in the form of a ?ust and demo"rati" pea"e, in "onne"tion )ith the abolition of treaties of "ommer"ial se"re"y (vi1., the pro?e"ted post.)ar imperialist division of the spoils en"oded in se"ret treaties!. CW, <<7, 3$$.3$'. The pea"e Lenin envisioned )ould bring about a 0breathing spa"e,0 an illusory respite, in )hi"h e"onomi" re"onstru"tion . )ith e8ually illusory te"hni"al add from the "apitalist >est . "ould pro"eed. The disastrously real "onse8uen"es of the pursuit of the illusion are spelt out in 5art ,, se"tion V666, above. 23r so it may have seemed. Lenin held that the administrative apparatus . the banks, syndi"ates, postal servi"e, et".. "ould be taken over by proletarian for"es 0ready. made0 1CW, <<7I, #%$!. ;y )resting it from the "apitalists and subordinating it to proletarian soviets, this apparatus "ould be enlarged, demo"rati1ed, and made more "omprehensive (Ibid'!. :s 0proof,D Lenin flatly stated this apparatus "ould be 0Gset in "otionG ''' at one stro.e by a single de!ree ... 0 Bis reason for this optimism )as based on the assessment that the 0a"tual )ork of book.keeping, "ontrol, registering ... is performed by e"%loyers, the ma?ority0 of )hi"h 0lead a proletarian or semi.proletarian existen"e0 Jemphasis addedK. Ibid. These "itations are taken from 0<an the ;olsheviks Retain (tate 5o)erN0 This pamphlet appeared at the moment of the 3"tober Revolution. 6nasmu"h as it sought to illuminate this )orld.histori"al event in light of do"trine through a derivation of poli"y pres"riptions from it, this pamphlet "an be read not only as a demonstration of the pra"ti"al relevan"y of the theoreti"al exegesis of the 0true /arxian do"trine of the (tate0 . #he State and Re&olution . but also as an attempt to arti"ulate those "onditions )hi"h )ould, as a matter of "ourse, 0prove,0 or validate the truth and 0"orre"tness0 of that do"trine in the spe"ifi" histori"al situation of revolutionary Russia in autumn #+#'. >ith the ;olshevik as"ent to po)er, the banks engaged in a finan"ial boy"ott in an effort to "ripple the partyIs a"tivity. :""ording to <arr, the banks 0opened their doors only for a fe) hours a day or not at all* )ithdra)als )ere limited* and no "redits and no "ash )ere forth"oming either to meet the pressing needs of the administration or to pay )ages in fa"tories )here )orkers had taken "ontrol0 (<arr, Ibid, II, #3,. ;y 0administration0 presumably <arr meant the <oun"il of 5eopleIs <ommissars.! These anti.;olshevik a"tions )ere formulated, of "ourse, by bank o)ners or managements atta"hed to big banking "apitalists. The a"tions should have been anti"ipated, sin"e, after all, ;olsheviks had based themselves on BilferdingIs analysis of finan!e "apital, one for )hi"h this "apital did not refer ba"k to large bank o)ners as su"h but sought to "apture and fix the real histori"al movement of (monopoly! "apital. 2inan"e "apital "onsisted in the largest banking "apitals )hi"h "ontrolled and )ere involved in the operations of the industrial and "ommer"ial enterprises of a "ountry or a number of "ountries 1CW, <<II , 2#%, 2#,.2#-!. Lenin stated this "ontrol "ontrasts to the earlier, "ompetitive 0stage0 of "apitalist development in )hi"h banks had "arried 0the "urrent a""ounts of a fe) "apitalists,0 and engaged in 0a purely te"hni"al and ex"lusively auxiliary operation0 (Ibid, 2#,!, and it )as, a""ordingly, the first area from )hi"h a"tive resistant should have been expe"ted to have "ome. Aonetheless, the big bank o)ners and their managements "ould not have prolonged the boy"ott )ithout minimally the ta"it support of their 0proletarian or semi.proletarian0 employees. :s it be"ame "learer that the ;olsheviks )ould 0retain (tate po)er,D one might have expe"ted on the basis of LeninIs "hara"teri1ation that some of the bank employees )ould have broken ranks. They didnIt. :fter a formal demand (' (2%! Aovember #+#'! to the dire"tor of the (tate ;ank . nominally an institution subsumed by the ne) (oviet government . to turn over #% million rubles to finan"e operations of the <oun"il of 5eopleIs <ommissars )as refused, a dire"t appeal the follo)ing day to 0loyal0 employees failed to break the boy"ott ( Ibid, #3-!. Troops o""upied the ;ank offi"es and "ompelled "omplian"e. Aevertheless, ;olsheviks "ontinued to tread lightly )ith the big banks attempting to under"ut resistan"e by de"ree (as opposed to more armed "oer"ion!H The ;olshevik 2inan"e /inistry authori1ed the large ?oint.sto"k banks to honor all existing arrangements. Pet, the resistan"e of the (tate ;ank held up "urren"y flo)s rendering this attempt futile ( Ibid!. :fter failed negotiations (by #, (2'! Le"ember #+#'!, troops from the "apitolIs /ilitary Revolutionary <ommittee o""upied the largest private banks in 5etrograd (Ibid, #3,.#3-!. (hortly thereafter a meeting of the 7xe"utive of the :ll.Russian (oviets of >orkersI Leputies issued t)o de"rees, the first of )hi"h assimilated the large private banks to the (tate ;ank and de"lared banking itself a (tate monopoly ( Ibid, #3$!. (till the de"ree did not make the nationali1ation real, that is, pra"ti"ally effe"tive, sin"e bank employees, even )ith the old management no) expelled and the o)ners expropriated, "ontinued the boy"ott. 6t )as not until mid.@anuary #+# , that approximately -%,%%% bank employees began to )ork under the ne) regime ( Ibid, #3' n. 2!. Rather remarkable resistan"e for 0proletarians0 Lenin merely assumed )ould at on"e "ooperatively undertake the 0a""ounting and book. keeping0 at the 0foundations0 of a 0so"ialist0 so"iety. #his, then, +as ho+ the =olshe&i.s a!tually Cset in "otionC the ban.ing Ca%%aratus'L #heir a!tual %ra!ti!e suggests that the foundations of an e"an!i%ated so!iety !annot be ta.en o&er CreadyE"adeC as an a!hie&e"ent of !a%italis", but "ust be a!ti&ely laid' :"tively laying these foundations "an only o""ur, ho)ever, if those )ho 0lay0 them, in this "ase the bank employees, see the 0apparatus0 )hi"h "ir"ums"ribes their

2onethe!ess" the State essentia!!y remains centra!i(ed" armed force as a condition of genera!i(ed socia! disorder in&ariab!y demonstrates. +e may as' hether any intimations of the concept of an administrati&e apparatus - distinct and separate from a repressi&e one - can be found in (the sources from hich) %he State and Revolution (is constructed). +e ta'e the fo!!o ing e#amp!es as 4ust such. +ith reference to Mar#5s Eighteenth Brumaire" Aenin notes that 8in 1671" hen %ritain as sti!! the mode! of a pure!y capita!ist country" but ithout a mi!itarist c!i$ue and" to a considerab!e degree" ithout a bureaucracy ... RMar# cou!dS therefore e#c!ude ... %ritain" here a re&o!ution" e&en a peop!e5s re&o!ution" then seemed possib!e" and indeed as possib!e" ithout the precondition of destroying the 5ready-made state machinery.58 1e further states that 8both %ritain and America" the biggest and the !ast representati&es - in the ho!e or!d - of Ang!o-Sa#on 5!iberty5" in the sense that they had no mi!itarist c!i$ues and bureaucracy" ha&e comp!ete!y sun' into the a!!-=uropean fi!thy" b!oody morass of bureaucratic-mi!itary institutions hich subordinate e&erything to themse!&es" and suppress e&erything. Today" in %ritain and America" too" 5the precondition for e&ery rea! peop!e5s re&o!ution5 is the smashing" the destruction of the ready-made state machinery ... E1 ,n reference to the posta! ser&ice" Aenin states 8the mechanism of socia! management is here a!ready to hand. )nce e ha&e o&erthro n the capita!ists" crushed the resistance of these e#p!oiters ith the iron hand of the armed or'ers" and smashed the bureaucratic machine of the modern state" e sha!! a sp!endid!y-e$uipped mechanism" freed from the 5parasite5" a mechanism hich can &ery e!! be set going by the united or'ers themse!&es ... E: And fina!!y" in a much more ob!i$ue manner" Aenin te!!s us 8the de&e!opment of capita!ism ... creates the preconditions that enab!e rea!!y 5a!!5 to ta'e part in the administration of the state ... RSome of those preconditions are !iteracy andS the 5training and discip!ine5 of mi!!ions of or'ers by the huge" comp!e#" socia!ised apparatus of the posta! ser&ice" rai! ays" big
)orking lives as "ongealed so"ial relations of domination, as an institution of "apitalism, )hi"h they have an interest in overturning. ;olshevik a)areness never dissolved this reifi"ation. (o, )e might ask, )hat differen"e "ould it have made to bank employees to ex"hange one set of masters for anotherN (o"ial relations of "ommand.obedien"e prevailed in the banking institutions. 2or ;olsheviks, it )as a pra"ti"al 8uestion of adapting to them ()hi"h they eventually did by expropriating the o)ners, ki"king out the old management and repla"ing it )ith their o)n!. It +as not a ;uestion of altogether destroying the Ca%%aratusC in an effort to integrate !ertain of its fun!tions into a re!onstru!tion of so!iety on ne+ foundations' >ithout popular support among banking employees the latter option )as, at any rate, not available to ;olsheviks. 6t )ould have been available in prin"iple only to those )ho approa"hed bank employees )ith a "riti8ue of banking institutions )hi"h sa) in hierar"hy a form of domination not solely based on the )age relation. To our kno)ledge there is no sour"e that suggests the ;olsheviks even agitated among bank employees prior to the 3"tober Revolution. The )hole "on"ept of the "entrality of banking e"%loyees )as suggested to Lenin by a bourgeois professor . an apologist, a""ording to Lenin, for =erman imperialismH 0IThirty years ago, businessmen ... performed nine.tenths of the )ork "onne"ted )ith their business other than manual labor. :t the present time, nine.tenths of this 0brain.)ork0 is performed by e"%loyees. ;anking is in the forefront of this evolution.I0 Lenin, "iting 5rof. ("hul1e.=aevernit1, CW, <<II, 2#+.K 3Bere, the differen"e bet)een Lenin and ourselves "onsists in our respe"tive vie)s of these histori"ally formed, institutionali1ed fun"tions. >hereas in his vie), these fun"tions are ne"essary to any form of modern so"iety, "apitalist or so"ialist . hen"e, they are 0publi"0 and merely 0administrative,D in our vie) both their form and "ontent are determined by their role in the reprodu"tion of "apital. Ao) if )e hold, as Lenin does, that so"ieties of "apital are as su"h so"ially divided, that is, stru"tured by "lass "onfli"ts, then institutions )hi"h are oriented to their reprodu"tion )ill embody the imperatives of the dominant so"ial "lass, and, a""ordingly, the institutions or the (tate fun"tions embedded in them must be said to be repressive )hen "onsidered in relation to subordinate "lasses and so"ial groups. The author has looked in vain to find any passage in #he State and Re&olution as )ell as other texts of the same period )hi"h reveal that Lenin had raised himself to a level at )hi"h he "ould understand 0repression0 as anything more subtle than bodily forms of "oer"ive for"e (e.g., imprisonment, physi"al assault, et".!. Those histori"ally "onstituted, institutionali1ed fun"tions the "apitalIs (tate fulfills, at least in the "ontemporary era, are as follo)s. 2irst, the (tate guarantees, violently if ne"essary, the legal and organi1ational prin"iples of "apitalIs movement that, se"ond, it legislatively and exe"utively "onstru"ts. Third, it is the guardian and promoter of mass loyalty to "apitalist system and bourgeois so"iety as a )hole. 2ourth, the (tate regulates labor and "apital relations, and stru"tures them to systemati"ally enhan"e the reprodu"tion of "apital, in order to avoid disruption of produ"tion and so"ial "rises that might other)ise threaten its and, generally, bourgeois so"ietyIs legitima"y. 2ifth, it prote"ts itself, i.e., its "apitalists (or at least its "ore "apital! against foreign "ompetition. (ixth, the (tate "onstru"ts (some of! the material presuppositions of "apitalIs movement, espe"ially infrastru"ture su"h as high)ays, rails, "anals and hydroele"tri" plants, and institutions of finan"ial regulation su"h as a "entral bank, )hi"h are beyond the "apa"ity of any single "apital. (eventh, sin"e the =reat Lepression, it has intervened, as need arises (i.e., regularly! in the "ourse of 0e"onomi"0 a"tivity through fis"al and monetary measures to se"ure gro)th, "ushion do)nturns in the business "y"le, and more radi"ally to avoid and ameliorate "rises. (ee Ralph /iliband, #he State in Ca%italist So!iety, ''. ' Jand also see, Lavid :braham, #he Colla%se of the Wei"ar Re%ubli! (5rin"eton, #+ #!, #$. This "itation appended in #+ 2K. 1CW, <<7, ,2%.,2#. (7mphases in the original.! >hile the distin"tion Lenin has dra)n is "lear, his "hara"teri1ation of these t)o "apitalist (tates )as simply mistaken . in #+#', # '#, and # -2. 2CW, <<7, ,3#.

factories" !arge-sca!e commerce" ban'ing" etc. ... @i&en these economic preconditions" it is $uite possib!e" after the o&erthro ..." to proceed immediate!y" o&ernight" to rep!ace them in the contro! o&er production and distribution" in the or' of 'eeping account of !abor and production" by the armed or'ers ....E1 =#amine the centra! concepts around hich these !ines of thought are organi(ed. +or'ing bac' ards" ta'e" first" the e!aborate concept of a 8huge" comp!e#" socia!ised apparatus8 that creates in or'ers the 85training and discip!ine5"E understood as the abi!ity to 8e#ercise contro! o&er production and distribution8 through accounting" registering and boo'-'eeping" that a!!o s them to administer this apparatus once it has been 8ta'en o&er 5ready-made5.E This e!aborate perspecti&e has the sense of the autonomous !ogic of capita!ist de&e!opment preparing the conditions for its o n supercession" a preparation that entai!s an enormous simp!ification of the tas's in&o!&ed in basic socia! processes in and through hich society is reproduced" a preparation that concentrates these tas's in an ensemb!e of commercia! and industria! enterprises" agencies and acti&ities" in an 8apparatus.E 0onsider" second" the concept of a 8mechanism of socia! management.E A 8mechanism8 has the sense of something that gets us from 8a8 to 8b"E a means" something that is pure!y technica!" neutra!" hence non-oppressi&e and something e (can) contro!< 8socia!8 is" in Aenin" genera!!y opposed to 8pri&ate"E that hich is remo&ed from capita!ist contro! and p!aced under pro!etarian State contro! (&i(." is in the interests of 8a!!8)< and 8management8 refers to a super&isory acti&ity" to an o&erseeing of processes e#terna! to the o&erseer. Synthetica!!y" a 8mechanism of socia! management8 is an non-repressi&e pro!etarian State apparatus hich in princip!e can be 8operated8 by or'ers. Ta'e" fina!!y" the conceptua! antithesis bet een 8Ang!o-Sa#on 5!iberty58 and 8bureaucratic-mi!itary institutions.E +hate&er sense is assigned to 8!iberty8 (and in the tradition Aenin refers to it is defined negati&e!y in terms of citi(ens unburdened by standing armies and 8standing8 par!iaments" i.e." &irtua!!y representati&e institutiona!i(ed assemb!ies made of scurri!ous officia!s" careerists" bac'room operators)" it is ob&ious that repressi&e po er is po!itica!!y organi(ed and concentrated in institutions of armed force and organi(ed by functionaries (inc!uding po!iticians and mi!itary !eaders) standing abo&e and unaccountab!e to 8society"E i.e." of 8bureaucrats.E ,t is c!ear" then" that the concept of a separate" distinct 8administrati&e apparatus8 (as opposed to a repressi&e one hich essentia!!y defines the historica! character of the bourgeois State) is operati&e in Aenin5s %he State and Revolution. ,n the broader" systemic sense" the centra! distinction operati&e in these citations and imp!icit in %he State and Revolution is that bet een repression or coercion on the one side" and that hich is pub!ic or administrated on the other. ,n our discussion abo&e": e referred to this distinction in terms of a counter-positioning of 8po!itics8 to 8administration.E As e sho ed there" this distinction is deri&ed from =nge!s and" e add" can be found in any number of his or's. Aet us $uote the most characteristic formu!ation - one by the ay that Aenin a!so cited* 8The po!itica! state" and ith it po!itica! authority" i!! disappear as a resu!t of the coming re&o!ution" that is" pub!ic functions i!! !ose their po!itica! character and be transformed into the simp!e administrati&e functions of atching o&er the true interests of society.8? 3ef!ect no on the entire course of this argument. +e ha&e suggested the socia! re!ations of domination that ha&e hardened into institutions functiona!!y necessary to reproduction of the capita!ist socia! order are misunderstood by Aenin as a thing!y medium< that" in other ords" the 8administrati&e apparatus8 is non-repressi&e because it is deri&ed from the autonomous de&e!opment of the producti&e forces of capita!ism" and because this de&e!opment prepares the foundation for a socia!ist society in hich 8a!!"E that is" the o&er he!ming age-earning ma4ority of the popu!ation armed and acti&e!y organi(ed in its o n se!f-defense" can carry out those tas's (name!y" counting" registering" accounting and boo''eeping) hich Aenin suggests ou!d be in&o!&ed in monitoring or super&ising the acce!erated de&e!opment of producti&e forces once unfettered from capita!ist o nership and contro!. According!y" this de&e!opment ou!d !ead (on condition of actua!i(ation of certain measures such as the payment of an a&erage or'ing man5s ages for remaining State functionaries) through a !engthy historica! process to de-bureaucrati(ation" and - resting on the materia! abundance it generated - it ou!d pro&ide the true foundation of a !iberated society. ,t is easy to see that =nge!s supp!ied Aenin ith much of the theoretica! frame or' for the dua!istic concept of the State (8administrati&e8 as e!! as repressi&e). This 8dua!ism8 is based on =nge!s5 historica!!y non-specific &ie of the
1Ibid, 2(ee

,''.,' . (7mphases in the original.! 5art ,, se"tion V66. 32rederi"k 7ngels, 03n :uthority0 (# '3! in /arx and 7ngels, Sele!ted Wor.s, I, $3+. 2or the "itation in Lenin, see CW, <<7, ,,2. Variations upon this passage "an be found in 7ngelsI So!ialis"4 5to%ian and S!ientifi!, $+.'%, and in $ntiEDJhring, 3 +.

State" that is" on his attempt to de&e!op a scienti(ed and ob4ecti&istic theory of human origins and formation on materia!ist foundations1 - one that inc!uded a pre-historica! epoch in hich an undi&ided community as ubi$uitous" the producti&e forces-dri&en de&e!opment of materia! surp!uses" their stratification-generating appropriation and the concomitant formation of antagonistic c!asses in production" and" as a resu!t" the creation of the State. Since Mar#" on the other hand" e#p!icit!y e!aborated a historica!!y specific account of the de&e!opment of the bourgeois State in France as a de&e!opment stemming from the strugg!e of the midd!e c!asses against feuda! socia! re!ations": it ou!d seem much more difficu!t to find in him a basis - consistent ith =nge!s - for this dua!istic concept of the bourgeois State. ,n his %he Civil /ar in 3rance" Mar# re!ated that 8the unity of the nation as not to be bro'en" but ... to become a rea!ity by the destruction of the State po er... +hi!e the mere!y repressi&e organs of the o!d go&ernment po er ere to be amputated" its !egitimate functions ere to rested from an authority usurping pre-eminence o&er society itse!f ... E? The contrast here is ob&ious" and it is near!y identica! to the distinction in =nge!s bet een (repressi&e) 8po!itica! authority8 and 8simp!e administrati&e functions8 (see be!o )" as e!! as corresponding c!ose!y to Aenin5s distinction bet een repressi&e and administrati&e apparatuses. Iet in the !atter case it is not identica!* For Mar# spo'e of 8functions"E that is" norma!" characteristic if specia!i(ed acti&ities that had not recei&ed any institutiona! embodiment. ,n fact" the conceptua! mo&ement that embodies the entire description of the 0ommune underta'en by Mar# mi!itants against an institutiona! hardening of those 8!egitimate functions.E The rea! mo&ement that Mar# described as one that as bio!ogica!!y mode!ed on a body reabsorbing bac' into itse!f its once ma!ignant and no purified substances.> ,t as not a mo&ement in hich a ne 8parasitic e#crescence"E ; or an another (bigger" better) reified and instrumenta!!y grasped institution - in Aenin5s terms an apparatus" appeared ane < rather" it as one in hich a!! that is i!!usori!y ob4ecti&e" a!! that fa!se!y stands opposed and abo&e" is reintegrated. This is a subt!e but important difference. 2onethe!ess" recognition of this difference must a!so be tempered ith an a areness of Aenin5s confrontation ith historica! no&e!ty" and his !abors to assimi!ate and integrate this no&e!ty into the Mar#ian theory of the State. ,n his )mperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism, Aenin out!ined a popu!ar presentation of the de&e!opment of carte!s" and syndicates or trusts" that is" the de&e!opment of capita!ist monopo!y. The 8combination8 of !arge and sma!! capita!ist firms into sing!e gigantic" often &ertica!!y integrated enterprises as a tendentia! direction of capita!ist de&e!opment hich Mar# treated in terms of a practica! !ogic that created concentration out of free competition. %ut" un!i'e the monopo!istic rea!ity of capita!ism confronting Aenin" Mar# ne&er had to account for monopo!y as an accomp!ished fact. ,t is precise!y the determinant" ubi$uitous presence of finance capita!-contro!!ed monopo!istic industry that !ay at the foundations of Aenin5s dua!istic concept of State functions and institutions. 2or as there before Aenin as an estab!ished fact rea! pro!etarian mo&ement hich traced out for him a re&o!utionary or'ing c!ass orientation to ard these institutions from ithin them. ,n this regard" reca!! the ro!e of ban' emp!oyees in re!ations to the ne !y ascendant %o!she&i' regime. So ho ou!d Mar# ha&e responded to the historica! no&e!ty of financia! capita!N 8The ban'ing system" so far as its forma! organi(ation and centra!i(ation is concerned" is the most artificia! and most de&e!oped product turned out by the capita!ist mode of production... ,t presents indeed the form of uni&ersa! boo''eeping and of a distribution of products on a socia! sca!e" but on!y the form... RTheS socia! character of capita! is
1(ee,

for example, #he 3rigin of the @a"ily, (ri&ate (ro%erty and the Stateor $ntiEDJhring' The theoreti"al "hapter on so"ialism in the latter (part 666, "hapter 66! reads like a panegyri" to 0histori"al materialism0 rendered ob?e"tivisti"ally. 2/arx, #he ighteenth =ru"aire of )ouis =ona%arte, #2#.#22, and #he Ci&il War in @ran!e (in /arx and 7ngels, 3n the (aris Co""une!, $ . '#, esp. $ . 3#he Ci&il War in 2ran"e, '3. (7mphasis added.! 40The <ommunal <onstitution )ould have restored to the so"ial body all the for"es hitherto absorbed by the State %arasite feeding u%on, and !logging the free "o&e"ent of, so!iety.0 Ibid, ',. 0The <ommune )ould have delivered the peasant of the blood tax . transformed his present bloodEsu!.ers, the notary, advo"ate, exe"utor, and other ?udi"ial &a"%ires into salaried "ommunal agents, ele"ted by, and responsible to himself.0 Ibid, ' . The 0<ommune )as thus the true representative of all the healthy elements of 2ren"h so"iety.0 Ibid, '+ (7mphases added.! The (so"ial! body as a metaphor for 0so"iety0 has a long pedigree in bourgeois thought going ba"k to Bobbes. 6t obli8uely expresses /arxIs profound "ommitment to the traditions of modern )estern politi"al theory. <ompare the dis"ussion of the state of nature . state of so"iety distin"tion, 5art ,, se"tion V66, above. 5Ibid, '3.

promoted and fu!!y rea!i(ed by the comp!ete de&e!opment of the credit and ban'ing system. )n the other hand" this goes sti!! further. ,t p!aces at the disposa! of the industria! and commercia! capita!ists a!! the a&ai!ab!e" or e&en potentia!" capita! of society" so far as it has not been acti&e!y in&ested" so that neither the !ender not the user of such capita! are its rea! o ners or producers. This does a ay ith the pri&ate character of capita! and imp!ies in itse!f" to that e#tent" the abo!ition of capita!. %y the means of the ban'ing system the distribution of capita! as a specia! business" as a socia! function" is ta'en out of the hands of the pri&ate capita!ist and usurers... RThereS is no doubt that the credit system i!! ser&e as a po erfu! !e&er during the transition from the capita!ist mode of production to the production by means of associated !abor... .E1 1ere Mar# anticipated Aenin5s ana!ysis* The !ogic of presentation !eads one to the ban'ing system as a centra! component of a specia! apparatus that cou!d be ta'en o&er 8ready-made.E: ,n this regard" t o fina! points shou!d be made. First" the !ogic of ana!ysis of history as a process ithout sub4ecti&ity ? !eads necessari!y to the assertion of the type that capita!ist de&e!opment can forma!!y 8abo!ish8 itse!f. Second" the confrontation ith the no&e! rea!ity of finance capita!-contro!!ed" monopo!i(ed industria! capita!s is the other side of the historica! rea!ity in hich 8rea! Rpro!etarianS mo&ement8 has begun to sp!it apart" that is" a rea!ity in hich the strata ithin the or'ing c!ass di&erge in ob4ecti&e formation" !ife-chances" and ob4ecti&e!y discernib!e tra4ectories. The ob&ious $uestion as to hat this ou!d mean for a re&o!utionary organi(ation under the !eadership of a Mar# confronting the forma!!y statified specia! apparatus does not admit of an easy ans er. %ut in &ie of both these considerations" Aenin treatment of the 8True Mar#ian -octrine of the State8 appears to us as a !egitimate successor" but hard!y the on!y possib!e one" to Mar#5s treatment of the .aris 0ommune.

1/arx, 26t

Ca%ital, III, $%$.$%'. (7mphasis added.! should be noted, ho)ever, this passage )as )ritten prior to the eruption into history of the 5aris <ommune, and that, moreover, it )as part of a se"tion largely re"onstru"ted by 7ngels from the notes of /arx. (Bo)ever, as 7ngels stated in the # +, 5refa"e to this volume, the "hapter from )hi"h this "itation )as taken )as 0fully elaborated.0 Ibid, #-.! 3(ee 5art 6, se"tion 666, above.

Theoretica! 2ote ? The State in the Theory of the 0ommunist ,nternationa! ,n the aftermath of the first imperia!ist or!d ar and the midst of the 3ussian 0i&i! +ar" %o!she&i's ca!!ed for a rene a! of the or'ers5 internationa!. Meeting in Hu!y-August 19:B at the Second 0ongress of the 0ommunist ,nternationa!" they attempted to construct a or!d party as the functioning" directi&e center for the &arious nationa! parties of hat they too' to ob4ecti&e!y be an internationa! pro!etariat. Among re&o!utionaries" this too' some con&incing" since so fe of them ere 0ommunist. Aarge syndica!ists and anarcho-syndica!ists currents e#isted in France" @reat %ritain" Spain" and the /nited States. For these re&o!utionaries" the efficacy of Mar#ian theory had been re&ea!ed by the )ctober 3e&o!ution" but its &a!idity and truth as emancipatory theory had yet to be demonstrated. For them" Mar#ian theory" or rather 0ommunists as its bearers" had sti!! to con&ince the dubious" first" that a conceptua!!y coherent argument cou!d be made for abo!ishing capita!5s State" the !ocus of c!ass domination" so!e!y by resorting to the remedy of an insurrection that many feared as a putsch ithout mass support. For this purpose" %he State and Revolution as hau!ed out" reprinted" and distributed. 0ommunists a!so" and this is hat concerns us here" had" second" to assure these same re&o!utionaries that the .arty did not constitute a foreign admi#ture superimposing itse!f on the or'ing c!ass" i.e." an organi(ation of" say" bourgeois inte!!ectua!s" intend on reproducing c!ass domination in a ne conte#t. This suspicion as met ith the argument that the party as a specifiab!e part of the c!ass. E6perience and %heory The success of the )ctober 3e&o!ution pro&ided %o!she&i's ith an unsurpassab!e mora! and inte!!ectua! authority. (To be sure" that authority accrued to Aenin" founder and undisputed !eader of the %o!she&i's" more than any other person.) Among non-0ommunist re&o!utionaries" this authority faci!itated the theoretica! assimi!ation of the doctrine of the State and its abo!ition formu!ated in %he State and Revolution. At the same time" this authority created a trust that a!so permitted the rea!ity of So&iet po er circa 1919-199B to be un$uestionab!y" a!beit in a f!agrant!y fa!se manner" conceptua!!y caught and fi#ed by the same document. ,f e restrict ourse!&es to the e#perience embedded in AeninFs partyFs history" then it cou!d be reasonab!y asserted that %o!she&i's5 ana!yses ere f!e#ib!e and re!ati&e!y undogmatic.1 For e#amp!e" in his preface to a co!!ection of a series of ear!y essays entit!ed 8T e!&e Iears"8 Aenin ref!ected on his faction5s organi(ationa! theory (name!y" /hat is to (e 0one1) in !ight of the upsurge in party membership that fo!!o ed !arge!y as a conse$uence of %o!she&i' positions ta'en in regard to Tsarist repression of or'er acti&ity in the !ast t o months (2o&ember--ecember 19B;) of the first 3ussian re&o!ution. Aenin historica!!y situated his 19B: pamph!et" thereby re!ati&i(ing the c!aims made in this document. 1e stated" 8the basic mista'e made by those ho no critici(e /hat is to (e 0one1 is to treat the pamph!et apart from its connection ith the concrete historica! situation of a definite" and no !ong past" period in the de&e!opment of our .arty.8 Any effort to read /hat is to (e 0one1 as a statement of a priori and uni&ersa!!y &a!id princip!es of party organi(ation as to be foregone. 8/hat is to (e 0one1 is a summary of ,s'ra tactics and ,s'ra organi(ationa! po!icy of 19B1 and 19B:. .recise!y a 8summary"E no more and no !ess.E: The theoretica! perspecti&e on the State de&e!oped in %he State and Revolution constituted a systematic effort to first summari(e and then incorporate" beyond party history" the historica! e#perience of the .aris 0ommune into the body of Mar#ian doctrine. The effort as conscious (as can be seen in Aenin5s ear!ier pre!iminary attempts) and conscious!y historica!" that is to say" gi&en further e#perience to ref!ect on" it as sub4ect to re&ision.? The three-year sur&i&a! of So&iet po er and the 3ussian 0i&i! +ar pro&ided" it as simp!y assumed" a ea!th of e#perience that ent e!! beyond any !essons that cou!d be dra n from the rough!y se&enty days of !ife of the .aris 0ommune. As a matter of fact" according to the %o!she&i' !eader" Aenin5s c!osest comrade from 19B? to Apri! 1917 and president of
16f

)e, on the other hand, are "on"erned )ith the %hiloso%hi!al foundations of histori"al theori1ing, then )e must re"ogni1e that ;olshevik materialism (e.g. and esp., LeninIs *aterialis" and "%iri!oECriti!is"! )as naive and metaphysi"al, i.e., experientially ungrounded, epistemologi"ally untenable, and philosophi"ally in"oherent. 20T)elve Pears,0 CW, <III, #%#.#%2. (7mphasis in the original.! 3The most famous earlier attempt )as his $%ril #heses (<>, <<I7, 2#.2'* see also the editorsI note to the text of #he State and Re&olution, CW, <<7, -3,.-3-, n. #22!.

the 0ommunist ,nternationa!" @regorii Jino&ie&" had .arisian or'ers a 0ommunist .arty in 1671" the may ha&e been beaten but ou!d ha&e been much more po erfu! and made far fe er mista'es.1 %asing himse!f on the mass of pro!etarian e#perience accumu!ated since the )ctober 3e&o!ution" and articu!ating and summari(ing the co!!ecti&e isdom of the party !eadership" Jino&ie&5s 8Theses on the 3o!e of the 0ommunist .arty in the .ro!etarian 3e&o!ution8 tacit!y re&ised the doctrine of the State de&e!oped in Aenin5s %he State and Revolution. 3e&ision of this doctrine" e&en if on!y imp!icit" as not ine&itab!e. 1ad post-re&o!utionary %o!she&i' e#perience been consistent ith that of the communards" re&ision ou!d ha&e been unnecessary. 1o e&er" because their historica! foundations appeared &ast!y different to %o!she&i's" these e#periences ere deemed discontinuous. =arty and Class Jino&ie& announced" both in his opening speech to the 0ongress and in his 8Theses"8 that the basic character of the epoch" from hich a!! organi(ationa!" doctrinaire" and practica! determinations f!o " had itse!f changed. 8+e !i&e in an epoch of obstinate" bitter c!ass strugg!es...E: The epoch in hich re&o!utionaries" Jino&ie& argued" no !i&ed in is the epoch of open ci&i! ar. This epoch had a specia! character" since it as 8the epoch of the direct strugg!e for the dictatorship of the pro!etariat.E? ,t thereby disc!osed and e#hibited the fundamenta! nature of rea!ity itse!f* 8The decisi&e hour is approachingR*S> ...the or'ing c!ass faces a series of bitter strugg!es" arms in hand. ... ,t must prepare itse!f untiring!y for this strugg!e no " ithout asting a sing!e hour of &a!uab!e time.8; The o!d party organi(ation(s) had" according!y" been surpassed by e&ents. 3e&o!utionaries cou!d not 8ta'e their starting point ... from an o!d peacefu! epoch" in hich a!most a!! party or' as propaganda... Rrather their point of departure must be rooted inS an epoch of merci!ess strugg!e.87 This 8epoch ... brings a ne party of the pro!etariat into the or!d* the 0ommunist .arty.87 =ntai!ing fronta! confrontation ith dominant bourgeois socia! groups" this ne epoch demanded a transformation" that is" a militari-ation" of the party. ,f dubious comrades 8rea!!y grasped e !i&e in an epoch of obstinate" bitter c!ass strugg!es"8 they ou!d immediate!y recogni(e 8 e need a genera! staff" a centra!i(ed party.86 GKR,nS this e#treme!y difficu!t situation" e can on!y in if e are rea!!y e!! and tight!y organi(ed8<9 for 8to !ead the or'ing c!ass successfu!!y in the !ong and hard ci&i! ars that ha&e bro'en out"8 8the 0ommunist .arty must be bui!t on the basis of an iron pro!etarian centra!ism"8 it 8must create an iron mi!itary discip!ine in its o n ran's.81B The necessary aim of e&ery strugg!e in the epoch of ci&i! ar" and the conscious ob4ecti&e of the 0ommunist party" is the 8con$uest of po!itica! po er.E11 Among the masses of or'ers this aim may not be fu!!y conscious but it is ine&itab!e" since e&ery strugg!e in this epoch is necessari!y 8a po!itica! strugg!e.E 1: ,n this epoch" either the conscious &anguard !eads" and does so successfu!!y" or the c!ass faces bruta! defeat. =ither the party directs the 8!i$uidation of the o!d bourgeois state apparatus" and Rguides construction ofS its rep!acement by a ne pro!etarian state apparatus"81? or the or'ing c!ass faces +hite Terror. There can be no other ay. The ne party brought into being by the epoch of merci!ess c!ass strugg!e is a combat party mode!ed on the bourgeois army and oriented to ard insurrectionary sei(ure of po!itica! po er. As such" the party is armed" not 4ust in the strict!y mi!itary sense" but in the decisi&e strugg!e for the sou!s of the oppressed. To in o&er the masses of pro!etarians" semi-pro!etarians (e.g." rura! tenants and agricu!tura! aged
10Theses

on the Role of the <ommunist 5arty in the 5roletarian Revolution,0 #he Se!ond Congress of the Co""unist International, I (London, #+''!, - . 3pening spee"h. :lso 06bid,0 +%. 5refatory remarks to the Theses. 206bid,0 , . 3pening spee"h. 306bid,0 +2. Thesis ,. 406bid,0 +. 5refatory remarks to the Theses. 506bid.0 606bid,0 -2. 3pening spee"h. 706bid,0 +2. Thesis ,. 806bid,0 , . 3pening spee"h. 906bid,0 -,. 3pening spee"h. 1006bid,0 +$.+'. Thesis #3. 0The <ommunist 5arty should be built up on the prin"iple of the stri"test "entrali1ation, and in the epo"h of "ivil )ar it should have military dis"ipline reigning in its ranks0 (06bid,0 ++. Thesis #+.3!. 1106bid,0 +2. Thesis -. 1206bid.0 1306bid,0 +$. Thesis #%.

!aborers) and peasants" the party addresses the &ita! needs of these popu!ar strata. ,t can do so because it is programmatica!!y prepared and organi(ed. )f course" the party has its propagandists" and especia!!y its agitators. %ut they" in particu!ar the !atter since agitators crucia!!y !in' the party to the masses ho are mo&ing" are nothing ithout programmatic consciousness of unfo!ding e&ents. 1o e!se cou!d desperate men and omen be on o&erN 8,f you rea!!y ant Rto sei(e po er andS form a so&iet go&ernment" you must immediate!y ha&e a programme for this go&ernment" you must ha&e a programme on the agrarian $uestion" on foreign and domestic po!icy" you must e#p!ain to us hat your attitude is going to be to ards the midd!e peasants" ho you are going to bui!d an army" hat your programme for education is" and so forth.81 And 8since they ha&e a c!ear programme" Ror" in other ordsS since they are the most c!ear-sighted... the or'ers i!! ha&e confidence in them... hen the hour stri'es Rthey i!!S immediate!y become the !eaders of the mass mo&ement.8: A 8c!ear programme8 is a characteristic of the Aeninist party in its historica!!y different incarnations. %ut it is more than that" since it" in e#pressing the !ong-term interests of the c!ass" re&ea!s its bearers as 8far-sighted"8 that is" as the c!ass conscious e!ement or part of the or'ing c!ass. This se!f-understanding distinguishes the 0ommunist party" defining its difference from the rest of the c!ass (its grasps the 8 ho!e historica! road of the or'ing c!ass in its tota!ity... and 8defends8 ... 8the interests of the or'ing c!ass in its tota!ity8?)" underscoring its birthright to !ead and (!ater) to ru!e* 8)n!y hen the pro!etariat has as a !eader an organi(ed and tested party ith e!!-mar'ed aims and ith a tangib!e" or'ed-out programme for the ne#t measures to be ta'en not on!y at home but a!so in foreign po!icy" i!! the con$uest of po!itica! po er not appear as an accidenta! episode but ser&e as the starting point for the permanent communist construction of society by the pro!etariat.8> This no&e! organi(ation at once &a!idated and transcended the o!d %o!she&i' organi(ation (the 8party of a ne type8 from its )s$ra days). The o!d )s$ra party had based its acti&ity on the assumption that re&o!utionary a areness" 8consciousness"8 as constituted from 8outside8 the c!ass. +or'ers" as the formu!ation ent" cou!d ne&er achie&e more than a 8spontaneous8 consciousness or trade-union a areness. Thus" the or'ing c!ass cou!d ne&er constitute itse!f as anything more than an effecti&e battering ram against bourgeois domination in production. ,ts se!f-acti&ity may be crucia! to the acti&e destruction of capita!ist hegemony in the 8economy"8 but that acti&ity is not a product of conscious insight. 3ather" !i'e other c!asses and strata in history the pro!etariat is mere!y capab!e of re&o!t" and must be !ed and directed to the sei(ure of po!itica! po er. 0apita!5s mo&ement does not create in the pro!etariat an uni&ersa! c!ass forced to cha!!enge a!! forms of e#p!oitation" oppression" and domination" that dia!ectica!!y comes to consciousness in that strugg!e for this" its historica! destiny. Thus" in the era prior to the imperia!ist or!d ar" Aeninist theory substituted the party for the pro!etariat" i.e." &ie ed the party as the uni$ue bearer of that e#pansi&e consciousness. ,n p!ace of the pro!etariat" the party as compe!!ed to function as such a tribune of the peop!e. +hi!e in asserting the necessity of a combat party (and thereby forgoing the party5s basic peace era-based function as a tribune of the peop!e)" the party of this ne 8epoch8 nonethe!ess preser&ed t o centra! characteristics of the o!d Aeninist party. First" the 0ommunist party retained its ro!e as bearer of the most de&e!oped forms of c!ass a areness. This cou!d ha&e been e#pected* The theory of the 0ommunist party arose from a recognition of the decisi&e ro!e of %o!she&i's for the ho!e of the history of re&o!utionary strugg!e and ci&i! ar in 3ussia. Second" it &a!idated the o!d theory of the party in that" no in an e&en more radica! ay" it c!aimed for the party !eadership of the pro!etariat. %ut it ent beyond the o!d theory in its determination of the precise re!ation of party to c!ass. The 0ommunist party no is considered the most far-seeing" i.e." c!ass conscious" re&o!utionary" and reso!ute e!ement of the or'ing c!ass" thus a part of the or'ing c!ass" and" according!y" it is the !eading pro!etarian e!ement not 4ust prior to the con$uest of po!itica! po er but throughout the entire epoch of the socia!ist transition to communism.; This determination effects a dis4uncture bet een pro!etarian se!f-acti&ity and c!ass consciousness. -eri&ed from the e#perience of tumu!tuous socia! uphea&a!" the c!aim that this party is a mass re&o!utionary party of the pro!etariat" hence the party is part of the or'ing c!ass" as disingenuous. ,t a&oided the centra! issue* ,t as on!y during the months of Hu!y 1917 through mid-1916 that %o!she&i's formed a mass party. -uring the entire history unto
106bid,0 -#. 206bid,0 -2.

3pening remarks. 3pening remarks. 306bid,0 +%. Thesis #. 406bid,0 +3. Thesis -. 50Theses on the Role of the <ommunist 5arty in the 5roletarian Revolution,0 +$. Thesis ##.

this moment the party as !itt!e more than the organi(ation of radica!i(ed" because disenfranchised" bourgeois inte!!ectua!s.1 )n the other side of the re&o!ution" imperia!ist b!oc'age-created famine" star&ation" and urban depopu!ation< the ar rought destruction of rai! !ines" p!ant and e$uipment" and the ar created emergency hich pre&ented their repair< death at the front of the many re&o!utionary or'ers in the imperia!ist pro&o'ed and supported ci&i! ar< and" absorption of simi!ar or'ers into the State apparatus during the same period effecti&e!y reduced So&iet 3ussian output to pre-industria! !e&e!s. (Iet" the cohesi&eness" mi!itancy and a areness of the So&iet pro!etariat as not thereby destroyed. They ere b!oodi!y suppressed by party cadre in the 9ronstadt uprising.:) ,f" moreo&er" industria! co!!apse and the a!!eged Gannihi!ationE of the pro!etariat as a c!ass as such ( an sich as the foundations of the mytho!ogica! fHr sich)" ere 8sacrifices8 forming the historica!!y una&oidab!e 8costs of re&o!ution8 ... 8a historica!!y ine&itab!e stage hich no amount of !amentation can escape"8? then the brief moment at hich %o!she&i's constituted a mass pro!etarian and re&o!utionary party cannot be pri&i!eged* For its entire history ith the e#ception of that brief moment" the party" neither or'ing c!ass in composition nor a part of that c!ass" constituted a Hacobin organi(ation of re&o!utionaries or a bureaucratic organi(ation of a ru!ing stratum. =arty and State ,n either case" the identification of the party ith the emancipatory se!f-acti&ity of a c!ass consciousness pro!etariat (on hich the c!aim of Mar#ism as emancipatory theory rests) is not tenab!e. The ne pro!etariat State" moreo&er" may not in the end be capita!5s State" but its character as an apparatus of domination as not e&en in theory transformed* The ref!ected" accumu!ated e#perience of the 3ussian 0i&i! +ar not on!y superceded that of the .aris 0ommune and the 1917 re&o!ution ( ith regard to organi(ation of se!f-defense against the bourgeoisie" but a!so to the se!f" i.e." pro!etarian" organi(ation of the ne society)" the &ery concept of a $uasi-State that had !ost its a!ien" sham ob4ecti&ity and no !onger stood o&er and against the society of producers had itse!f a!so been 8transcended.E The theori(ation of the State that emerged from the 3ussian 0i&i! +ar is one in hich the party and the State are assimi!ated to one another" their functions and personne! integrated" and both are subordinate to the party !eadership. As a 8 or'ers5 state"8 the ne State created by the pro!etarian re&o!ution" the dictatorship of the pro!etariat" introduces ne forms and apparatuses into the State5s organi(ation" name!y" in descending order of importance the party" so&iets" and producers associations (trade unions).> The party is hierarchica!!y organi(ed a!ong the !ines of a strict di&ision of !abor and partia! fragmentary tas's 8according to the most precise system possib!e.E; ,t" the party !eadership" reintegrates these partia! functions and the comp!e# !abor di&ision at the top. .arty cadre permeate the State structure at e&ery !e&e! of the State apparatus" nationa!" regiona! and !oca!. This assimi!ation of the party and State to one another is not temporary" since the 0ommunist party retains its !eading" hegemoni(ing ro!e" not mere!y Gin the po!itica! and economic fie!d ... RbutS a!so in the cu!tura! fie!d"8 7 through the entire 8epoch8 of the dictatorship of the pro!etariat* 8The 0ommunist .arty does not ho e&er comp!ete!y disso!&e into the or'ing c!ass unti! communism Ri.e." the era that is announced ith the abo!ition of c!asses and the end of the State as suchS has ceased to be the ob4ect of strugg!e and the ho!e of the or'ing c!ass has become communist"E &i(." unti! that time hen the associated producers regu!ated their o n societa! e#changes ith nature and po!itica! mediations ha&e disappeared.7 ,t is in this sense" then" the 0ommunist ,nternationa!5s tacit theori(ation of the State has regressed behind Mar#5s (and !ater Aenin5s) theori(ation of the .aris 0ommune. Abo!ition of the uni$ue!y modern character of the State" as a
1Thus,

it )as stated 0the duty of the proletarian party in su"h a state of affairs Ji.e., during the imperialist )ar in )hi"h layer upon layer of )orkers supported 0their0 bourgeoisiesK )ould have to be to oppose the mood of the ma?ority and represent, despite everything, the histori"al interests of the proletariat.0 06bid,0 +#. Thesis 3. 2>e have "arefully examined these issues in the 5rologue to 0(talin and the (talinist 7ra in (oviet Bistory at its 3rigins,0 belo). 3Ai"olai ;ukharin, !ono"i!s of the #ransition (eriod, -'. 0The revolutionary de"omposition of industry0 "onsists in the physi"al destru"tion of produ"tive elements that in"ludes 0annihilation of )orkers,0 dis8ualifi"ation0 of produ"tive elements (i.e., )ear and tear on ma"hinery )ithout repair!, disruption of the interdependent relations among se"tors of the e"onomy, and unprodu"tive, "onsumption (that is, vast military expenditures ne"essitated by "ivil )ar.! Ibid, #%'.#%+. 40Theses on the Role of the <ommunist 5arty in the 5roletarian Revolution,0 +,. Thesis . 506bid,0 + . Thesis # . 606bid,0 +,. Thesis . 706bid,0 +$. Thesis ##. (7mphasis deleted.! :lso see 0Theoreti"al (our"es of ITrueF /arxist Lo"trine of the (tateI,0 above.

8pub!ic8 institution organi(ed hierarchica!!y and c!othed in a sham ob4ecti&ity and a!ien otherness that sets apart from and o&er and against indi&idua!s and society"1 as no !onger e&en the ob4ecti&e of pro!etarian re&o!ution. This can" in practice" be grasped from a simp!e consideration of a sing!e" yet decisi&e aspect of the ne So&iet State itse!f" name!y" nationa!i(ations. At the outset" nationa!i(ations of the enterprises had !arge!y been forced on %o!she&i's in po er by sei(es of p!ants and factories by factory committees.: 1o e&er" by 1919" neither the factory committees nor !oca! so&iets organi(ed the enterprises. )n %o!she&i' criterion" stemming economic co!!apse" both or'er forms had fai!ed* %et een Hanuary and !ate spring 1916" the industria! !ife of 3ussian society as para!y(ed. The debate ithin the party o&er ho to reorgani(e economic !ife no !onger concerned the super&isory regime of or'ers5 contro! Aenin had !auded the pre&ious year (1917). ,nstead" hat as argued as the hether the enterprises shou!d be structured according to the co!!egiate princip!e or by one-man management. This debate transpired before the course of the 0i&i! +ar had ground do n and dec!assed !ayers of the 3ussian pro!etariat. Aong before the Second 0ongress assemb!ed and met in !ate Hu!y 19:B" the issue had been decided in fa&or of one-man management.? ,n his %errorism and Communism" Trots'y" for e#amp!e" had 4ustified one-man management in the enterprises on the basis of 8uti!i(ing the technica! 'no !edge and methods accumu!ated in the past ... so that our techni$ue might not go bac' ard" but for ard.8> 1e preferred the s'i!!s and 'no !edge of bourgeois specia!ists" technicians" and managers (his point of arri&a! but a!so his point of departure). 1e did not" for e#amp!e" argue from the standpoint of the reconstitution of the s'i!!s and 'no !edge of a pro!etariat hose best e!ements had been destroyed in ci&i! ar" but a! ays from the &ie point of the ignorance of or'ers p!aced on a board to go&ern an enterprise.; ,t shou!d be noted that Trots'y5s essay as one of t o boo's presented to each de!egate at the 0ongress.7 Tota! mobi!i(ation for a sur&i&a! imposed by a ci&i! ar conducted in iso!ation from pro!etarian forces abroad great!y contributed to the ad hoc creation and e#pansion of State contro! o&er e&ery dimension of socia! !ife. 2ationa!i(ing industry" ban's" cooperati&es" and a nationa! rai! system meant the formation of ne agencies" di&isions of agencies" counci!s" go&erning bodies" etc." to contro! and super&ise production and distribution. %o!she&i' or'ers ere neither numerous nor technica!!y or administrati&e!y competent enough to perform the tas's imp!ied in &ast!y e#tended State contro! created in a top do n manner and specifica!!y informed by capita!ist organi(ationa! princip!es. They ere" though" needed as commissars to po!itica!!y o&ersee the or' of tens of thousands of former Tsarist officia!s and functionaries" bourgeois inte!!ectua!s" technicians" specia!ists and industria!ists"7 and o!d army officers the party !eadership deemed necessary to reconstruct the bureaucracy" ma'e the enterprises economica!!y &iab!e again" and to reorgani(e the army.
1/arx, 2(ee

#he Ci&il War in @ran!e, $ . 5art 2, se"tion 6], above. :""ording to /ilyutin ("ited by <arr, #he =olshe&i. Re&olution, II, + n. 2!, a leading member of the ne) (oviet state (upreme <oun"il of Aational 7"onomy 17esen.ha2, '%& of all nationali1ations in the first seven months of the revolution )ere rea"tions to employers either deserting fa"tories or refusing to a""ept )orkersI "ontrol. The latter is the most important "ategoryH Though no reliable figures exist, it is "ertain the over)helming ma?ority of nationali1ations )ere due to pressure from belo). 6n most instan"es, they )ere merely formali1ations of a"tions already taken by individual fa"tory "ommittees. 3Aationali1ation of large industry )as de"reed 2 @une #+# . 4#erroris"us und Co""unis"us' $ntiEFauts.y, #3$. 5Ibid' 9nderneath the top manager lay a system of supervision and "ontrol, instituted in early /ar"h #+# , "onsisting of a government "ommissioner, te"hni"al and administrative dire"tors, and an e"onomi" administrative "oun"il atta"hed to and governing ea"h enterprise. The "oun"ils )ere made up of )orkers, employers, te"hni"al staff, and trade union and lo"al soviet representatives. <omposition )as )eighted against )orkers and their "lass organs, all represented bodies )ere subordinated to the "oun"il and the latter to the government appointed "ommissioner (<arr, Ibid, #%3.#%,!. <arr notes the "ommissioner personally embodied the one.man management prin"iple. Be, in turn, )as subordinate to the party.dominated, national "oordinating body for the e"onomy, 7esen.ha, )hi"h had very early on absorbed surviving "entral "oun"ils of fa"tory "ommittees. 6#he Se!ond Congress of the Co""unist International, I, editorIs 02or)ard,0 viii. 70:t the head of many of the "enters and gla&.i sit former employers and responsible offi"ials and managers of businesses, and the unprepared visitor )ho is personally a"8uainted )ith the former "ommer"ial and industrial )orld )ould be surprised to see the former o)ners of big leather fa"tories sitting in >la&.ozh, big manufa"turers in the "entral textile organi1ations, et".0 This )as the impression of a )hite professor, "ited by <arr, )ho traveling from /os"o) had rea"hed 3msk in autumn #+#+. Ibid, # . :s elements of the "apitalist se"tor of the old order, these ex.Tsarist offi"ials, fun"tionaries, and agents brought )ith them en "asse the habits, attitudes and pre?udi"es, and pra"ti"es and methods of )ork of that order.

The ne pro!etarian State as estab!ished on the foundations of a nationa!i(ed economy. This economy of the commissars" if you i!!" as organi(ed hierarchica!!y ith a de ;ure &ie to e#c!uding" once ob4ecti&e!y reconstituted" the mass of pro!etarians. )n Mar#5s ana!ysis of the characteristic features of the modern State" the ne So&iet .o er had its a!ien otherness and sham ob4ecti&ity in common ith the o!d bourgeois State.

First Study Bolshevi s and Bolshevism in !"o Revolutions Bi2lio.raphical Sources A'imo&" D!adimir. 8.rob!ems of the .rogramme8 in Fladimir A$imov on the 0ilemma of Russian :ar6ism, 1I J#1 K!* =dited by Honathan Fran'e!. 0ambridge (=ng.)" 1979 A&rich" .au!. 8The %o!she&i' 3e&o!ution and +or'ers5 0ontro! in 3ussian ,ndustry.8 Slavic Revie&, :7" 197? %arnes" +i!!. Civil /ar and Revolution in America* St. .au!" 1999 WWWWWWWWW. G-o Money and %an'ing 1a&e a 3o!e in the TransitionNE (:BB9) %erneri" 0ami!!o. Cuerre de Classes en Espagne" 19?7P19?7. Appearing in Spartacus (.aris)" )ct-2o& 1977" SVrie %" 2X 6; %ette!heim" 0har!es. Class Struggles in the ESSR* 2e Ior'" 1977 %o!ogna" Sergio. 80!ass 0omposition and Theory of the .arty at the )rigin of the +or'ers-0ounci!s Mo&ement.8 %elos, 1?" Fa!! 197: %he Bolshevi$s and the Octo(er Revolution* Central Committee :inutes of the RS0A=((.* August 1 1L M 3e(ruary 1 1I* Aondon" 197> %rady" 3obert. %he Rationali-ation :ovement in Cerman )ndustry2 A Study in the Evolution of Economic =lanning* %er'e!ey" 19?? %rinton" Maurice. %he Bolshevi$s and /or$ers Control. Aondon" 197B %u'harin" 2ico!ai. Economics of the %ransitional =eriod* 2e Ior'" 1971 (19:B) 0ameron" 3ondo. 3rance and the Economic 0evelopment of Europe, 1IKK#1 1N* .rinceton (2H)" 1971 0ar!o" Antonio. 8Aenin on the .arty.8 %elos" 17" Fa!! 197: 0arr" =.1. %he Bolshevi$ Revolution, 1 1L#1 O!* ))* Aondon" 19;: 0astoriadis" 0orne!ius. 8The 1ungarian Source8. %elos, O , Fa!! 1977 0!ar'" Martin. Antonio Cramsci and the Revolution %hat 3ailed. @!asgo " 1977 0!astres" .ierre. Society against the State* %he Aeader as Servant and the Humane Eses of =o&er among the )ndians of the Americas* )#ford" 1977 -anie!s" 3obert D. (ed.). A 0ocumentary History of Communism* F*O, Communism and the /orld* 1ano&er (21)" 1979 -eutscher" ,saac. %he =rophet Armed* %rots$y, 1IL #1 O1* 2e Ior'" 19;> WWWWWWWWWWW. %he =rophet Enarmed* %rots$y, 1 O1#1 O * 2e Ior'" 19;9 WWWWWWWWWWW. Soviet %rade Enions. Aondon" 19;B 8-raft .rogramme of the 3ussian Socia! -emocratic Aabor .arty8 in Fladimir A$imov on the 0ilemma of Russian :ar6ism, 1I J#1 K!* =dited by Honathan Fran'e! 0ambridge (=ng.)" 1979 -uc(yns'a" ,!ona. /or$ers in Arms* %he Austrian Schut-(und and the Civil /ar of 1 !N* 2e Ior'" 1976 =nge!s" Frederic'. Anti#0Hhring2 Herr Eugene 0Hhring@s Revolution in Science* Mosco " 19;> WWWWWWWWWWWW. %he Origin of the 3amily, =rivate =roperty and the State. 2e Ior'" 197: WWWWWWWWWWWW. Socialism2 Etopian and Scientific* 2e Ior'" 197; =ric'son" Hohn. %he Soviet High Command* 2e Ior'" 197: Ford" 1enry. :y Aife and /or$* Aondon" 19:: @a!ai" Shmue!. %he Ai(eration :ovement in Russia, 1 KK#1 KJ* 0ambridge (MA)" 197? @o!dner" Aoren. G0ommunism is the Materia! 1uman 0ommunityE 1991 @oodey" 0hris. 8Factory 0ommittees in the 3ussian 3e&o!ution (1916).8 Criti+ue" > 197> Cramsci2 Selections from the =olitical /ritings, 1 1K#1 OK* =dited and trans!ated by Hohn Matthe s. 2e Ior'" 1977 1abermas" HQrgen. %heory and =ractice* %oston" 197> 1aimson" Aeopo!d. 8The .rob!em of Socia! Stabi!ity in /rban 3ussia.8 Slavic Revie&" :? (>)" 197>" and :> (1)" 197; 1armon" 0hris. 83ussia* 1o the 3e&o!ution +as Aost8 RA Socia!ist +or'ers5 .amph!etS. Aondon" 197> 1erric'" +i!!iam. Hermanos>" 2e Ior'" 1979 1i!ferding" 3udo!f. 3inance Capital. Aondon" 1961 (191B) 1inton" Hames. %he 3irst Shop Ste&ards :ovement* Aondon" 197?

1inton" Hames and 1yman" 3ichard. %rade Enions and Revolution* Aondon" 197; 1obsba m" =ric. %he Age of Capital, 1INI#1ILJ* 2e Ior'" 1997 8An ,nter&ie ith 0orne!ius 0astoriadis.8 %elos, O!" Spring 197; Hac'son" @abrie!. %he Spanish Repu(lic and the Civil /ar, 1 !1#1 ! * .rinceton (2H)" 197; 9ap!an" Frederic'. Bolshevi$ )deology and Soviet Aa(or Ethics. 2e Ior'" 1976 9auts'y" 9ar!. Aa +uestion agraire* Ptude sur les tendances de l@agriculture moderne* .aris" 19BB 9ind!eberger" 0har!es. G%an'ing and ,ndustry bet een the T o +ars* An ,nternationa! 0omparisonE in Ban$s an )ndustry in the )nter&ar =eriod* Specia! ,ssue of the <ournal of European Economic History, 1?" no. : (Fa!! 196>). 9osi'" 9are!. 0iale$ti$ des Bon$reten* Eine Studie -ur =ro(lemati$ des :enschen und der /elt* Fran'furt am Main" 1971 (0(ech origina!" 197?) 9o4Y&e" A!e#andre. )ntroduction to the Reading of Hegel* Aectures on %he =henomenology of Spirit* 2e Ior'" 1979. Aapa&istas" 0ostas. G1i!ferdingFs Theory of %an'ing the Aight of Steuart and Smith"E in .au! Jaremb'a and Susanne Soederberg (eds.)" 'eo#Ai(eralism in Crisis, Accumulation and Rosa Au6em(urg4s Aegacy* =dmonton" :BB>* 171-16B Aenin" D.,. Collected /or$s. Trans!ated from the >th 3ussian edition. (Sochieneniia, 19>1-19;B). Mosco . 197B-197B Aiashchen'o" ..,. History of the 'ational Economy of Russia to the 1 1L Revolution. 2e Ior'" 19>9 Aorimer" F. %he =opulation of the Soviet Enion, History and =rospects* @ene&a" 19>7 Au'acs" @eorg. History and Class Consciousness* Studies in the :ar6ian 0ialectic* Aondon" 1971 Magnus" Hudiah. Russia and Cermany at Brest#Aitovs$* A 0ocumentary History of the=eace 'egotiations* 2e Ior'" 1919 Mannheim" 9ar!. )deology and Etopia* Aondon" 19?9 Marcuse" 1erbert. Eros and Civili-ation* 2e Ior'" 19;; WWWWWWWWWWWWWW. CounterRevolution and Revolt* %oston" 197: Marg!in" Ste&en. 8+hat the %osses -o. The )rigins and Functions of 1ierarchy in 0apita!ist .roduction"8 in Andre @or( ed.)" %he 0ivision of Aa(or2 Aa(or =rocess and Class Struggle in :odern Capitalism* 2e Ior'" 1977 Mar#" 9ar!. Capital* A Criti+ue of =olitical Economy*F*1* 1armonds orth (=ng.)" 1977 WWWWWWWW. G3esu!ts of the ,mmediate .rocess of .roduction.8 Appendi# to Capital, F*1 WWWWWWW. %he Eighteenth Brumaire of Aouis Bonaparte* 2e Ior'" 197; WWWWWWW. Crundrisse* 3oundations of the Criti+ue of =olitical Economy* 2e Ior'" 197? WWWWWWW. Class Struggles in 3rance, 1INI#1IJK* Mosco " 197: WWWWWWW. %heories of Surplus Falue, )))* Mosco " 1971 WWWWWWW. Capital* A Criti+ue of =olitical Economy* F* )))2 %he Capitalist =roduction =rocesses as a /hole* Mosco " 197: Mar#" 9ar! and =nge!s" Frederic'. %he Civil /ar in 3rance in On the =aris Commune* Mosco " 196B WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. %he Communist :anifesto. 2e Ior'" 197> WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. %he Cerman )deology* Mosco " 197> WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. Selected /or$s, ). Mosco " 19;6 Mi!iband" 3a!ph. %he State in Capitalist Society* 2e Ior', 1979 Morgan" -a&id +. %he Socialist Aeft and the Cerman Revolution. ,thaca" 197; %he 'e& Dor$ %imes" 1 2o&ember 1917 - 1; March 1916 Moss" %ernand. %he Origins of the 3rench Aa(or :ovement, 1I!K#1 1N* %he Socialism of S$illed /or$ers* %er'e!ey" 1977 .ipes" 3ichard. Social 0emocracy and the St* =eters(urg Aa(or :ovement, 1IIJ#1I L* 0ambridge (MA)" 197? .rice" M. .hi!ips. :y Reminiscences of the Russian Revolution* Aondon" 19:1 3abino itch" A!e#ander. %he Bolshevi$s Come to =o&er* %he Revolution of 1 1L in =etrograd* 2e Ior'" 1977 3eed" Hohn. %en 0ays %hat Shoo$ the /orld* 2e Ior'" 1977 Resolutions and 0ecisions of the Communist =arty of %he Soviet Enion* F* 1* %he Russian Social 0emocratic Aa(or =arty, 1I I#Octo(er 1 1L* =dited by 3a!ph =! ood. Toronto" 197>

3yder" A.H. %he Cerman Revolution of 1 1I. 0ambridge (=ng.)" 1977 Saint-Simon" 0!aude-1enri. 8Sur !5administration et sur !e go&ernment des affaires pub!i$ue8 in Opinions litteraires, philosophi+ues, et industrialles* .aris" 19:; Sartre" Hean .au!. Criti+ue dialecti+ue de la raison. .aris" 197B Schacht" 14a!mar. L" <ahre meines Ae(en* %ad +Urishofen" 19;? Schneiderman" Heremy. Sergei 7u(atov and Revolutionary :ar6ism2 %he Struggle for the /or$ing Class in %sarist Russia* ,thaca (2I)" 1977 Second Congress of the Communist )nternational* :inutes of the =roceedings, )* Trans!ated from the @erman by 3.A. Archer). Aondon" 1977 Serge" Dictor. Con+uered City* Aondon" 197; WWWWWWWWW. :emoirs of a Revolutionary, 1 K1#1 N1* Aondon" 197; WWWWWWWWW. Dear One of the Russian Revolution* 2e Ior'" 197: (19?1) WWWWWWWWW. 3rom Aenin to Stalin* 2e Ior'" 19?7 Sch ar(" So!omon. %he Russian Revolution of 1 KJ* %he /or$ers@ :ovement and the 3ormation of Bolshevism and :enshevism* 0hicago" 1977 So!(henitsyn" A!e#sandr. 'ovem(er 1 1"* %he Red /heel* ))* 2e Ior'" 1999 Tay!or" Frederic'. %he =rinciples of Scientific :anagement (1911) in the co!!ection entit!ed Scientific :anagement* 2e Ior'" 19>7 %he %imes (Aondon)" 1 2o&ember 1917 - 1; March 1916 Thompson" =... %he :a$ing of the English /or$ing Class* 2e Ior'" 1977 Trots'y" Aeon. 1 KJ* 2e Ior'" 1971 WWWWWWWWWW. %he Struggle Against 3ascism in Cermany* 2e Ior'" 1971 WWWWWWWWWW. %he Russian Revolution* ? Do!. Ann Arbor" 19;7 WWWWWWWWWW. %errorismus und Bommunismus* Anti#Bauts$y. 1amburg" 19:1. Dande&e!te" =mi!e. %hree Aspects of the Russian Revolution* 2e Ior'" n.d. &on %aader" Fran(. Q(er die BegrHndung der Ethi$ durch die .hysic. Stuttgart" 1979 (1611) &on Aaue" Theodore 1. Serge /itte and the )ndustriali-ation of Russia. 2e Ior'" 197? WWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. 83ussian Aabor %et een Fie!ds and Factories.8 California Slavic Studies, ? (197?) +ard" %en4amin. 8+i!d Socia!ism in 3ussia* The )rigins.8 California Slavic Studies" ?" 197> +hee!er-%ennett" Hohn. Hinden(urg2 %he /ooden %itan* Aondon" 19?6 +i!dman" A!an. %he :a$ing of a /or$ers4 Revolution2 Russian Social 0emocracy, 1I 1#1 KJ* 0hicago" 1977 Jagors'y" S.). Aa r5pu(li+ue des soviets. .aris" 19:1 WWWWWWWWWW. State Control of )ndustry in Russia 0uring the /ar. 2e 1a&en" 19:6 Jeman" J.A.%. %he Brea$#up of the Ha(s(urg Empire, 1 1N#1 1I* Aondon" 1971

Second Study

Stalin and the Stalinist Era in Soviet #istory at its $rigins

Aoo'ing bac'" , see nothing but ruins" on!y mountains of corpses. And , do not ish to bui!d ne .otem'in &i!!ages on these ruinsK AetFs try to te!! the truthK1

3ronstadt 4 (ounter)evolutionary Prolo.ue to the )ise of Stalin (May-Hune :BBB)

The re&o!ution is a thing of the peop!e" a popu!ar creation< the counterre&o!ution is a thing of the state.
%ierra y Ai(ertad (FA, organ)" ? Hu!y 19?7

,n Bolshevi$s and Bolshevism in %&o Revolutions, the First Study abo&e" theori(ing the situation of or'ers as a c!ass at the end of the 3ussian 0i&i! +ar" e maintained the emergence of a high!y centra!i(ed" embryonica!!y massi&e party-State in the home!and of pro!etarian re&o!ution as great!y faci!itated by destruction of the c!ass conscious !ayers of the 3ussian or'ing c!ass.: This destruction" ob!iterating the &ery corporea!-bio!ogica! foundations of the !ife of these or'ers as a re&o!utionary c!ass" as the conse$uence" so e argued" of death at the fronts" economic ruin" death due to star&ation and disease especia!!y in the cities" absorption into State apparatuses as officia!s and o&erseers of the thousands of e#-Tsarist functionaries" bureaucrats" and mi!itary officers the party !eadership deemed fit to assimi!ate into the State" and penetration by a thin !ayer of the former petty bourgeoisie (e.g." ruined shop'eepers). Fo!!o ing the Trots'yist tradition (Dictor Serge in his Aeninist-%o!she&i' period" 0hris 1armon of the %ritish Socia!ist +or'ersF .arty)" e he!d the pro!etarian residue constituted a declass5 mass" not a re&o!utionary c!ass.? +e conc!uded that" set against the bac'ground of iso!ation from pro!etarian forces abroad" this destruction of 3ussian or'ers as a c!ass (both in itse!f and for itse!f) ob4ecti&e!y compe!!ed %o!she&i's to function" hate&er their obfuscatory ideo!ogica! disc!aimers to the contrary" as a surrogate bourgeoisie" forced them to carry out those historica! tas's associated ith young bourgeois regimes" name!y" primiti&e accumu!ation and rapid e#pansion of producti&e forces.> The e&idence presented for the assertion of destruction of re&o!utionary or'ers as a c!ass in itse!f as fragmentary. ,t had t o components" one phenomeno!ogica! and the other statistica!. .henomeno!ogica!!y" e cited SergeFs descriptions of pre-industria! p!ebeian beha&ior and re&o!t* Theft" barter" hunger riots.; Statistica!!y" there ere t o centra!" cited facts< first" there as the dec!ine in the number of industria! or'ers from ? mi!!ion nationa!!y in 1917 to 1.7 mi!!ion in 19:1< second" there as the depopu!ation of .etrograd" from :.> mi!!ion in 1917 to ;>7"BBB in 19:B.7 The ba!ance of the account re!ied on the coherency of an argument K but" gi&en that this e&idence is susceptib!e to another" opposed reading" that coherency can be turned on its head. So hat e&idence does the !atter" opposing argument bring to bear on these issuesN 1o does it hang together or cohereN And" hat broader" ob4ecti&e historica! significance does it bearN %he Situation in Russia in /inter 1 O1 The first fact to note is that a !arge numbers of a stratum of an a!!eged!y once c!ass conscious pro!etariat" ca!!ed in re&o!utionary idiom G or'ers in uniformE P name!y" the sai!ors" ere for the most part unaffected by this destruction of the 3ussian or'ing c!ass. 2ot sub4ect to the same ris's in fighting" remaining !arge!y sai!ors (not absorbed into the
1#esti"ony4 #he *e"oirs of 22irst 3Ibid. 4Ibid, 5Ibid,

D"itir Shosta.o&i!h as related and edited by Solo"on 7o.o&' Ae) Pork, #+'+H 3. (tudy, 5art 3, se"tion V666, above.

5art ,, se"tion 6, above. 5art 3, se"tion V666, above. (ergeIs Dear 3ne of the Russian Re&olution and his more detailed and vivid noveli1ed a""ount, Con;uered City, form the bases of eviden"e here. 62irst (tudy, 5art 3, se"tion V666, above. The first figures relied on <hris BarmonFs pamphlet ("ited in the 2irst (tudy! and the se"ond on the population study of the (talinist historian, 2. Lorimer.

State apparatuses)" and not forced to submit to the same strains in !i&ing that the urban popu!ace of .etrograd e#perienced" this re&o!utionary !ayer as (bodi!y) a!i&e and (co!!ecti&e!y) cohesi&e. Moreo&er" their V!an remained intact" since they had not been sub4ect to the same reconstruction a!ong the hierarchica! !ines of a con&entiona!" bourgeois mi!itary organi(ation that %o!she&i's imposed on the army in reorgani(ing the mi!itias.1 According!y" they" sai!ors" had not e#perienced the same conse$uences nor the demora!i(ation that the Trots'yist apo!ogy" ignoring the ro!e of the party in a!! this" imp!ies as a product of 3ussian Gconditions.E Among the sai!ors" acceptance of e#treme %o!she&i' centra!i(ation" as e!! as its attendant conse$uences (one-man management in the enterprises" dictatoria! statism in the so&iets" etc.)" had been grudging. More important!y" in their hearts they had ne&er po!itica!!y committed to centra!ism. Among the sai!ors (as e!! as amongst other strata)" once the 0i&i! +ar began to ane in inter 19:B-19:1 (thereafter to end rapid!y)" they undertoo' a concerted effort at reconstitution of so&iet" i.e." direct or'ing c!ass" po er. And" hi!e it shou!d not re$uire restatement" it needs to be stated again and again that this direct po er as and remains the foundation" organi(ationa!!y and institutiona!!y" as e!! as the immediate e#pression of hat among Mar#ists is recogni(ed as re&o!utionary sub4ecti&ity" itse!f the condition sine +uo non for se!f-emancipation hich in this tradition is synonymous ith the practice of a !iberatory society. +ith their homeport in 9ronstadt" the sai!ors of the %a!tic F!eet formed one side of the se!f-effort to reconstruct the organi(ationa! e#pression and medium for e#pansion of re&o!utionary sub4ecti&ity" the so&iets. The other side as formed by the or'ers of .etrograd. 2o if urban depopu!ation as a socia! fact in 19:1" it as due to the &ery rea! threat of star&ation. ,!!ega! or b!ac' mar'ets e#isted" as Serge notes.: 2ot on!y did they e#ist" they ere to!erated. )r they ere to!erated at !east to summer 19:B in .etrograd hen Jino&ie&" chairman of the 2orthern 0ommune" sudden!y issued a decree forbidding any commercia! transactions.? (This is a fact that goes unmentioned in the Trots'yist apo!ogy.) This ban ithout doubt e#tended to barter simp!y because there as precious !itt!e money in circu!ation" and because the 'ey e#change it as aimed at" ne materia!s and products of the p!ants for peasant produce especia!!y f!our and potatoes" as barter.> The decree as cynica! in the e#treme* -esigned undoubted!y to insure ade$uate food to the so!diery" and not 4ust to insure it as fit to fight but to 'eep up its mora!e (i.e." to pre&ent demora!i(ation !eading to a refusa! to fight or" orse yet" a so!dier re&o!t against the %o!she&i's)" e!! enforced" it guaranteed famine ou!d become rea! in .etrograd. +e shou!d note that the regime set up mi!itia detachments at a!! roads in and out of to n as e!! as at rai! ay stations stops" here scenes of confiscations of a bag of potatoes foraged or bartered for in the surrounding countryside ere enacted. Simi!ar!y" 0he'a officia!s stood guard at factory gates to chec' or'ers for Gsto!enE goods in order to e!iminate the means to barter in the first p!ace.; Thus" e see here the regime intensifying repression ith the aim of securing its o n sur&i&a!. 3epression of this sort" that aimed at the ostensib!e socia! base of the regime" poses the $uestion" G here did the regime find its supportNE (Ans erN A base of support had a!ready formed in a nascent bureaucracy" as e!! as in !oya! army regiments and in the secret" repressi&e apparatus" the 0he'a.) Thus" this as the pro!etariat that Serge among others" and e uncritica!!y fo!!o ing him" characteri(ed as a dec!assed" demora!i(ed mass.7
16da

/ett, #he Fronstadt 5%rising, 33. /ett merely states this reorgani1ation had not been "arried out in the navy for 0purely te"hni"al reasons0 )ithout explaining those reasons. This assertion itself, ho)ever, is not disputed, say, in the Trotskyist tradition. 2Con;uered City, passim* also 2irst (tudy, 5art 3, se"tion V666, above. 3/ett, Ibid, 3-. 42ood shortages )ere so severe that )orkers fa"ed starvation. To boot, food "ould not have been afforded had it been readily available sin"e rarely paid, )orker )ages in 5etrograd )ere +& of #+#3 rates in #+2%. /ett, Ibid, 3$. 3ne "ould make the "ase that )orker thief, ubi8uitous by this time, )as fully ?ustified in light of savage exploitation expressed in the )age rates ?ust "ited. 2urthermore, the argument itself )ould have been besides the point had not the 8uestion 0thief from )homN0 immediately bring forth the ans)er 0from the )orkersI state.0 >hen taken together )ith the "on"ept of the 0party0 (both )ith regard to its role in the %roletarian re&olution and its status as the e"bodi"ent of histori!al Reason, )hi"h at any rate )as in an assba"k)ards )ay the ?ustifi"ation for this role!, the "on"ept of a 0)orkersI state0 "onstituted the legitimi1ing ideational veil thro)n over a pra"ti"e of domination. 5Ibid, 32.33. 6*e"oirs of a Re&olutionary, #2 .

2o here is the point to note about this argument* ,f the cities" especia!!y .etrograd" had become depopu!ated as or'ers ith re!ati&es returned to the countryside (and there ith to their peasant pasts) here food as some hat more accessib!e"1 Mett as correct to state Gthe authentic pro!etariat remained Rin the citiesS to the end.E: ,n other ords" the hereditary proletariat" the o&er he!ming ma4ority of hich as e demonstrated (in the First Study) ere s'i!!ed meta! or'ers" &ould have (een the furthest from their peasant roots" the !east !i'e!y to ha&e peasant re!ati&es" or" if they did ha&e" the !east !i'e!y to ha&e had any 'ind of persona! or fami!y re!ation that ou!d ha&e found them e!comed or at !east to!erated on such as return. (This is hat e mean by coherent!y turning the argument on its head.) Among the ha!f mi!!ion p!us inhabitants sti!! remaining in .etrograd as the 0i&i! +ar aned" it ma'es !itt!e sense" or on!y obfuscatory-ideo!ogica! sense" to refer to this" the authentic pro!etariat" as demora!i(ed. +hyN ,t as precise!y this pro!etariat that carried out the stri'es in !ate inter 19:1" stri'es that soon began numerous enough to be described as a stri$e &ave" a a&e that by 1 March had become practica!!y genera!i(ed.? +hen e consider the demands of these or'ers" demand that often o&er!apped ith those of the 9ronstadt sai!ors (because .etrograd or'ers first put many of the demands for ard sai!ors ere short!y thereafter to conscious!y e!aborate on)" e are not retrospecti&e!y seeing a demora!i(ed rabb!e" but a high!y po!itici(ed mo&ement ( hich" in a roundabout ay" %o!she&i's recogni(ed in their hysterica! c!aims about its counterrevolutionary character). +hat as at sta'e" then" as %o!she&i' po&er" or its abso!ute and unchec'ed nature" or again" in Trots'yFs ords" the partyFs Ghistorica! birthrightE to undivided, unopposed rule* Bronstadt =rogram The demands of .etrograd stri'ers concerned" first" food. Thus" they insisted on the reinstitution of !oca! mar'ets Rnot Gthe mar'etES" on a ithdra a! of the mi!itias ho!ding the e#its to the city" and the right to tra&e! free!y ithin a thirty mi!e radius of the city. At the same time" moreo&er" specifica!!y po!itica! demands ere formu!ated. These inc!uded abo&e a!! freedom of speech" freedom of the press" and freedom for or'ing c!ass prisoners.> These re!ati&e!y moderate demands dre a response that e#hibited hat the party had become* ,ts increasing!y rigid" anti-pro!etarian character as demonstrated by its declaration of a state of siege (out!a ing a!! meetings and gatherings" imposing mi!itary !a " i.e." summary e#ecution for &io!ators)" in the institution of special troi$as in .etrograd and its en&irons as G0ommittees of -efenseE to enforce marital la&" in putting the party as a &hole on a footing of general mo(ili-ation" by its esta(lishment and assignment of special detachments to specific destinations to e6ecute these measures" and by its arrest of stri$e leaders.; Thus" it as ith this massi&e apparatus of repression that the party greeted the first autonomous or'ersF action since ear!y 1916. 0urious" though" that the party of the pro!etariat ou!d find itse!f morta!!y threatened by stri'e action. ,n the interim" 9ronstadt sai!ors sent a de!egation to .etrograd in an effort to disco&er the truth" unmediated by the party press" about stri'ing or'ersF demands. The cre of the batt!eship =etropavlovs$ immediate!y too' up the report of the de!egates upon their return and at once formu!ated a !ist of demands aimed at the regime. This fifteen point !ist inc!uded the fo!!o ing. The sai!ors demanded immediate e!ections to" in order to rene " the so&iets. The e!ections ere to be conducted by secret ba!!ot ith free e!ectora! debate antecedent to the e!ections. The sai!ors a!so insisted on freedom of speech for or'ers" peasants" anarchists" and !eft socia!ist parties (e.g." Menshe&i' ,nternationa!ists" Aeft S3s)< the right of free assemb!y and independence (de-statification) of or'ers unions and peasant organi(ations< !iberation of a!! po!itica! prisoners of socia!ist parties" as e!! as a!! or'ers and peasants be!onging to or'ing c!ass and peasant organi(ations< estab!ishment of a commission to e#amine fi!es on a!! detainees (in prison camps)< abo!ition of po!itica! sections of the armed forces" ith no po!itica! parties to be a!!o ed state subsidies for such purposes< immediate remo&a! of mi!itia detachments b!oc'ing urban access to the countryside< e$ua!i(ation of rations for a!! categories of or'ers (e#cepting those engaged in occupationa!!y dangerous or')< e!imination of party guards in factories and p!ants" and of party combat units in a!! mi!itary formations< the right of peasants to gro crops of their choice and to
1(ee 2#he

2irst (tudy, 5art 3, se"tion V666, above. Fronstadt Rising, 3$. 3Vi"tor (erge, *e"oirs of a Re&olutionary, #2-. 4/ett, Ibid' 5Ibid, 3'.

o n their o n catt!e as a!ong as aged !abor as not emp!oyed< a!!o ance for handicraft production that did not emp!oy aged !abor< institution of mobi!e or'er contro! groups< and" proper pub!icity for these demands.1 The demands re&ea! a firm con&iction in the necessity of e$ua!ity among or'ers" and a strong desire to e!iminate party super&ision and pri&i!ege. They a!so p!ain!y raised $uestions concerning" first" the 'ind of regime or'ers intense!y anted and" second" ho re&o!utionaries" especia!!y those ho are de!egated po er (here" the %o!she&i's)" dea! ith differences amongst themse!&es.: This as a program for immediate re!ief of the food famine" and rene a! of the So&iets and the 3e&o!ution. ,t as designed to breathe !ife bac' into ossified forms that had become mechanisms of domination. Assured!y" it as counterposed to the ho!e direction of %o!she&i' practice. ,n a mass meeting of the 1st and :nd batt!eship sections of sai!ors of the %a!tic F!eet (1B"BBB men) he!d 1 March" and again at a de!egate con&ocation to rene the 9ronstadt So&iet on : March" o&er he!ming ma4orities adopted the =etropavlovs$ reso!utions in so!idarity ith the stri'ing or'ers of .etrograd. The first meeting &oted to send a de!egation to .etrograd to determine for itse!f on the ground the nature of the rea! situation (painted by 9a!inin and 9ousman as threatened by bac' ard and reactionary !ayer of the pro!etariat)" and to in&ite" reciproca!!y" or'er representati&es to come to 9ronstadt.? Facing reta!iation and forcib!e dispersa! by the party" the so&iet assemb!y set up a pro&isiona! committee" made up of !ongtime re&o!utionary sai!ors" to administer the to n and mi!itary fortress as e!! as to organi(e the se!f-defense of the !atter. 1a&ing adopted these reso!utions" the de!egates turned to detai!ed $uestions concerning ne e!ections to the so&iet. The e!ections ere designed to Gprepare the peacefu! reconstruction of the So&iet regime.E> Repression ,n response to these de&e!opments" the party ostensi(ly decided to first negotiate ith the sai!ors and" if this fai!ed" to issue an u!timatum. As a !ast resort it ou!d attac' the fortress and the batt!eships (then mired" fro(en in the ice). 2egotiations ere ne&er he!d. An anarchist offer at mediation" !ed by the Americans ith ties to the 9ronstadters" =mma @o!dman and A!e#ander %er'man" as po!ite!y refused. An u!timatum as issued o&er the signatures of Aenin and Trots'y. ,t read" according to Serge" Gsurrender" or you i!! be shot do n !i'e rabbits.E ; )b&ious!y not &ery inspiring" but it does pro&ide insight into the $ua!ity of .o!itburo personne! or" if you prefer" the 4ac'a!s ho passed as G!eadersE by the end of the 0i&i! +ar. The historica!!y actual and effecti&e party response as prepared by Jino&ie&.7
1Ibid,

3'.3 .

2;olsheviks

"ould only settle the 8uestion of ho) disagreements among revolutionaries are to be handled &iolently be"ause, "ommitted to a "on"ept of a <ommunist party as the institutional in"arnation of histori"al Reason (see belo), this se"tion!, and, a""ordingly, not merely to the partyFs suprema"y in a (oviet demo"ra"y but its monopoly on the (tate (and hen"e to a (tate raised up over and against the )orking "lasses!, they (;olsheviks! had abandoned the revolution for their self."onstitution as alien, ob?e"tive 5o)er. 3Ibid, ,#. :t the # /ar"h meeting, the vote )as unanimous )ith t)o ex"eptions, Malinin and Mousman. /ikhail 6. Malinin, president of the :ll.Russian 7xe"utive of (oviets (i.e., of the (oviet Republi"!, represented the ;olshevik leadership at Mronstadt among the sailors. A.A. Mousman (Mu1man! )as a politi"al "ommissar of the ;alti" 2leet, and, a""ording to Vi"tor (erge, also of the Red :rmy. *e"oirs of a Re&olutionary, #2$. #2'. 6roni"ally, Malinin played a "ru"ial role in the do)nfall of Trotsky (great defender of repression of the sailors! in #+2 . 5ositioning himself )ith the party right (;ukharin, Rykov, Tomsky! from the mid.t)enties on)ard, as a member of the <entral <ommittee and 5olitburo he )avered during the for"ed grain re8uisitions in #+2 , but in the end voted along )ith M. Voroshilov )ith the rest of (talinist blo" allo)ing the latter to form a ma?ority and expel the Trotsky.4inoviev @oint 3pposition in its entirety from the party. Be and :lexandra Mollontai )ere the only t)o )ell. kno)n 0old ;olsheviks0 )ho survived the purges and, to boot, outlived (talin. The #+2 "risis of the regime (and not merely the party! is explored in detail in 0The (ituation in the <ountryside on the 7ve of <olle"tivi1ation,0 belo). 4/ett, Ibid, ,2.,3. 5Ibid, #2'.#2 , #2+ (ultimatum!. :lso see Leon Trotsky, 0/ore on the (uppression of Mronstadt0 (extra"t!, $ @uly #+3 . Reprinted in #he SergeE#rots.y (a%ers, #'3.#'-, for the << de"ision to negotiate (and TrotskyIs personal role in the events!. 64inovievIs de"ree on food ex"hanges of the previous year )as one in a long series of demonstrations of his ;olshevik steel. Aever 8uite re"overing from his trea"hery in 3"tober #+#' ()hen he and Mamanev )ent publi" )ith an open statement of ;olshevik intent to "anali1e mass, revolutionary opposition to the Merensky regime along insurre"tionary lines!, he invariably, i.e., "ompulsively.pathologi"ally, sought to prove his toughness in disposing of "riti"al issues. ;ut this trea"hery (or, at least it )as obviously su"h from the vie)point of party dis"ipline!,

This response as" first" to ideo!ogica!!y sa&age the sai!ors in&erting the rea! situation in %o!she&i' accounts and representations in an effort to utter!y discredit the 9ronstadters"1 and" second" to forcefu!!y" &io!ent!y" and b!oody suppress them. ,n the pre!iminary ideo!ogica! campaign" =ravda" other ne spapers and radio broadcasts ere rep!ete ith gross distortions" fabu!ous e#aggerations" and outright !ies. ,n the end" this mendacious" obfuscatory discourse as reduced to the charge that 9ronstadt acti&ity constituted a dagger aimed at the heart of the regime" a counterre&o!utionary mobi!i(ation !ed a +hite genera!.: %ut e&en ith this constant steam of printed and broadcast in&ecti&e" the party confronted rea! difficu!ties in organi(ing an attac' on 9ronstadt. 2ot on!y did it hemorrhage members o&er the prospects of repression of the sai!ors" it as compe!!ed to reorgani(e ho!e army regiments that amounted to more than a di&ision? and to import troops from great distances in order to a&oid the serious prob!ems of fraterni(ing bet een sai!ors and so!diers or the outright (mutinous) refusa! of the !atter to fight the former.> )n!y on 7 March as the first assau!t against the sai!ors" and their supporters (numbering among them hundreds of party regu!ars)" !aunched o&er the ice. The strugg!e !asted near!y t o ee's. ,ronica!!y" hi!e b!oody fighting occurred on the ice and at the fronts around 9ronstadt" Aenin dec!ared to de!egates attending the Oth .arty 0ongress in Mosco that it as necessary to end a ho!e series of ar communist measures" centra!!y the forced grain re$uisitioning in the countryside. ,rony as consummated as the 0ongress de!egates appro&ed AeninFs temporary concessions to petty capita!ism" each and a!! of the economic measures the 9ronstadters ere demanding as e#pedients to ease the famine. Jino&ie&Fs propaganda machine had" ho e&er" a!ready insured that their &oices" soon to be dro ned in b!ood" ou!d not be heard. The fighting ended ith the &ictory of party forces. Se&era! thousand 9ronstadters escaped to Fin!and. For the most part" the resistance had been fierce" fighting occurring from fort to fort and street to street. ; Among those ho did not escape" yet sur&i&ed" a fe surrendered and ere summari!y shot. The bu!' of these men and omen ere" ho e&er" ta'en prisoner" hau!ed off to .etrograd and imprisoned here they ere !eft to the tender mercies of the 0he'a. 2ight after night for three months" they ere ta'en out in bunches from their ce!!s and e#ecuted in the e#ercise yards.7 :eaning of Bronstadt and its Relation to Bolshevi$ 0octrine ,n counterposing itse!f to a or'ing c!ass stratum engaged conscious!y in the reconstruction of So&iet democracy" the %o!she&i's re&ea!ed hat they had become" name!y" a ru!ing stratum ho had estab!ished in the State they had bui!t the ob4ecti&e!y a!ien (in the societa! sense) institutiona! foundations of both their po er o&er (the c!asses forming) society and their o n reproduction as a ru!ing stratum. %e!o e sha!! e#hibit ho this ru!ing stratum crysta!!i(ed in a bureaucracy" and ho the !atter too' on the shape of a ru!ing c!ass" a c!ass of e#p!oiters ho he!d State po er. As e sha!! see in the body of this te#t" these de&e!opments form the inner history of the rise of Sta!in. The imp!ications of these remar's" to be de&e!oped short!y" are not easy to reconci!e ith the position of those such as Serge ho" other ise disgusted ith the partyFs gross !ies and horrified by the crimina! repression that fo!!o ed suppression of the uprising" in the end supported the regime. That position" stated succinct!y" as this* @ranted the program of the sai!ors as emancipatory" it cou!d not be rea!i(ed. To the contrary" the country as e#hausted and
experien"ed by him as a failure of nerve, itself had an underlying ideational "omponent. 4inoviev never understood that toppling, and then destroying the bourgeois (tate )as the histori"ally ne"essary pre"ondition for "onstitution of a state of a ne) type, a <ommune state, i.e., an armed proletarian for"e (for purposes of repressing "ounterrevolutionary restoration! that did not gi&e rise to institutionally se%arate (o+er. 4inoviev al)ays felt, thought, and a"ted in the belief that 5o)er is unitary and un"hanging, and the aims of men in po)er, here ;olsheviks, )ould be to "ra)l over one another to exer"ise it solely and absolutely, in other )ords, to be (identified )ith! it. 6n this respe"t, Malinin, an emerging bureau"rat, and Mousman )ere also his brethren. 1(imultaneously, ;olsheviks a""ounts )ere aimed other layers of the proletariat, the peasantry as a )hole, the soldiery, )orkers internationally, and its o)n "adre as )ell. The purpose here )as to preserve the standing of the regime in the eyes of these strata, home and abroad. 2/ett, Ibid, ,3* and (erge, *e"oirs of a Re&olutionary, #2,.#32. 39nder "onditions of the <ivil >ar, these )ere most probably small divisions ground up by attrition numbering perhaps ',-%% to #%,%%% men. 4/ett, Ibid, -,.-$. 5(erge, Ibid, #3#. 6Ibid, and (erge, 0Reply to TrotskyI0(2eb. #+3+!, originally appearing in #he Ne+ International and reprinted in #he SergeE#rots.y (a%ers, #'-. #'-, )herein (erge gives an a""ount of ho) he "ame to kno) of these "riminal massa"res.

prostate. Free e!ections to the so&iets ou!d ha&e on!y opened the doors ide to the counterre&o!utionary forces of capita!ist restoration hich" an#ious!y aiting in the ings and propagandistica!!y disguising themse!&es as !iberators" ou!d ha&e been immediate!y brought to po er by a popu!ation grasping for freedom from mi!itari(ed regimentation and forced re$uisitions.1 This position" and the argument under!ying it" rested in the first p!ace on an e$ui&ocation. Hust as 0ommunists of this era identified the party ith the pro!etariat (or" on the basis of e!aborate" codified theory" ith its Gmost conscious e!ementE)" Serge and his comrades identified the sai!ors ith the anarchist and !eft S3 Ginstigators of the uprising.E %ut 4ust as the party had counterposed itse!f to" and !orded o&er" rea! or'ers in f!esh and b!ood and cou!d on!y be identified ith them ideationa!!y on the basis of a mystifying" metaphysica! and ideo!ogica! theory of an ob4ectified" institutionally em(odied consciousness" so the GinstigatorsE cou!d not be identified ith the masses of sai!ors or" more broad!y" the 9ronstadters. There is no e&idence to suggest these men and omen sought" hate&er anarchists GinstigatorsE proc!aimed necessary" a Gpurifying tempestE or a Gthird re&o!ution.E 3ather" they had t o o&erarching goa!s. First" they demanded a temporary e#pedient to !ift the threat of famine" a threat that" as e ha&e seen" as artificia!!y induced and ith a shift in priorities (hitherto go&erned by the anti-human bourgeois !ogic of rationa!i(ation) as easi!y ame!iorated.: Second" no that the 0i&i! +ar as aning and the emergency measures and corresponding centra!i(ation ere no !onger 4ustified" they set out to practica!!y rein&igorate the so&iets on a nonparty basis as direct organs of or'ing c!ass po er" hich as" after a!!" hat the sai!ors among other or'ers had gi&en so much in b!ood and treasure to estab!ish in the first p!ace. 2o did the 9ronstadters !ac' the mora!e to carry out this rein&igorationN +e can safe!y assume that men ho put their !i&es on the !ine" fought and died for the change to maintain this po er they had estab!ished" indeed possessed such mora!e. -id they !ac' the materia! resourcesN Ies" definite!y. %ut then the regime pro&ed those resources (in abstract monetary form) ere a&ai!ab!e and not !ac'ing in the country at !arge.? -id they !ac' the menN Again the ris's they too' demonstrated they ere" for a start" precise!y those men. -id they !ac' the ideasN 3ead the 9ronstadt program" hich at the time of the first party assau!t on the sai!ors as sti!! undergoing e!aboration. A 8ne& and more Socialist revolution9 &as not their goal, food together &ith Soviet democracy (i*e*, &or$er active, participatory and non#hierarchical reconstruction of councilar form. &asR ,f" as a matter of a future that ne&er had the chance to come into being" a Gne and more Socia!ist re&o!utionE had been the outcome" then so much the better for So&iet democracy" the course of history" and for us. The concept of such a re&o!ution as an ideo!ogica!!y utopian construct and stra man designed to discredit the sai!ors hi!e sa!&ing the consciences of those ho put aside their ob4ections and" in the end" supported the hyenas ho ran the party. This construct too rested on the same theoretica! foundations" that of an ob4ectified consciousness of c!ass institutiona!!y embodied in the .arty* GThe 0ommunist .arty is a part of the or'ing c!ass" and moreo&er its most ad&anced c!ass conscious and therefore its most re&o!utionary part.E> ,f the 9ronstadters acted in direct opposition to the party" the Gmost re&o!utionaryE part of the or'ing c!ass" ho cou!d they be other than ob4ecti&e!y
10The

instigators of the uprising, the anar"hists and the left (o"ial Revolutionaries, hoped for a Ithird revolutionI against the di"tatorship of the party. They )ould not see )hat )as "learly the "ase, that an exhausted nation, )hose revolutionary vanguard )as already de"imated, no longer possessed either the moral or the material resour"es, either the men or the ideas, for a ne) and more (o"ialist revolution. They )anted to release the elements of a purifying tempest, but all they "ould have a"tually have done )as to open the )ay to a "ounter.revolution, supported by peasants at the outset, )hi"h )ould have been promptly exploited by the )hite and the foreign intervention. E 6n spite of its faults and its abuses, the ;olshevik party at this ?un"ture is the great organi1ed, intelligent and reliable for"e )hi"h, despite everything deserves our "onfiden"e. The revolution has no other mainstay and is no longer "apable of a radi"al internal rene)al. This is )hat )e "on"luded, )e <ommunists of the rank and file E0 Vi"tor (erge, 02a"t and 2i"tion. Mronstadt0 (ex"erpt!. Reprinted from )e re&olution %rolItarienne, #% (eptember #+3', in #he SergeE#rots.y (a%ers, #$-. 2The anti.human and bourgeois logi" of rationali1ation found its most systemati" statement in this period in TrotskyFs analysis of labor dis"ipline and his resultant "all for laborIs militari1ation. The analysis and "all )ere propounded and made respe"tively as a series of reports to party bodies in spring #+2%. They )ere reprinted as a se"tion of his #erroris" and Co""unis". 2or a detailed "riti8ue, see 2irst (tudy, 5art ,, se"tions 66 and V, above. 36n early /ar"h, finally reali1ing the "riti"al nature of the situation on the ground, the party apportioned ten million rubles for hasty pur"hases abroad of food stuffs in order to feed populations in 5etrograd and /os"o) (/ett, Ibid, -#!, and to thereby re"o&e an i""ediate issue that generated "ass sy"%athy in the !ities for Fronstadt sailors' 40Theses on the Role of the <ommunist 5arty in the 5roletarian Revolution,0 #he Se!ond Congress of the Co""unist International' (ro!eedings of the *inutes, 7' IH +%.

counterre&o!utionariesN The 0ommunist party is the Gmost re&o!utionary partE of the or'ing c!ass because it is Gmost c!ass conscious.E ,t is Gmost c!ass consciousE because Git has an o&era!! &ie of the ho!e historica! road of the or'ing c!ass in its tota!ity.E1 According!y" Gthe pro!etariat canRnotS carry out its re&o!ution ithout ha&ing an independent po!itica! party.E )n!y such a party" Gorgani(ed and tested"E a 0ommunist party" can G!ead and organi(eE the pro!etariat to the sei(ure of po!itica! po er.: From these operati&e yet e#p!icit doctrina! assumptions" it fo!!o s that the sai!ors cou!d not ha&e" ob4ecti&e!y and historica!!y" been engaged in the construction of So&iet democracy (un!ess" of course" separate .o er is something different from and a!ien to So&iet democracy)* GThe &ictory of the uprising cou!d bring nothing but the &ictory of the counterre&o!ution" entire!y independent of the ideas the sai!ors had in their heads.E? The a(stract, mystifying, metaphysical and voluntarist (i.e." $uintessentia!!y Aeninist) nature of the theory of consciousness operative here (ecomes apparent from the moment an attempt is made to e6plicitly ela(orate it as such* This tas' as underta'en by @eorg Au'Zcs bet een 19:B and 19:?. The nature of the theory he de&e!oped as so transparent" and embarrassing to the party" that Au'Zcs" sincere!y attempting to coherent!y and systematica!!y ground the Aeninist concept of a 0ommunist party on a theory of c!ass consciousness" as hea&i!y censored by none other than the ubi$uitous!y present Jino&ie& himse!f" this time in his capacity as .resident of the =#ecuti&e 0ommittee of the 0ommunist ,nternationa!.> The Aeninist; concept of a 0ommunist party" !i'e the theory of consciousness that grounds it" i!! not stand up to critica! and historica! scrutiny.7 At this !e&e!" theory had ossified into ideo!ogy and dogma. At another crucia! !e&e!"
106bid.0 206bid,0 IH

+2. >ithout su"h a party 0the "on8uest of politi"al po)er J)illK appear as an a!!idental episode,0 a mere happenstan"e, but not 0as the starting point for the permanent "ommunist "onstru"tion of so"iety by the proletariat.0 06bid0 (emphasis added!. 3Trotsky, 0Letter to >endell Thomas0 (extra"t!, $ @uly #+3', reprinted in #he SergeE#rots.y (a%ers, #-2. TrotskyFs later remarks on the Mronstadt uprising )ere "rude mystifi"ations, ob?e"tively falsifi"ations. Lid he really believe 0the uprising )as di"tated by the desire to get privileged food rations,D or that the ideas of the sailors 0refle"ted the hostility of the ba"k)ard peasant to)ard the )orker0 and 0the hatred of the petty bourgeois for revolutionary dis"ipline0N 06bid.0 Lid he also believe 0the insurgents did not have a !ons!ious program0N (2rom 0Bue and <ry over Mronstadt, #he Ne+ International, :pril #+3 . 7xtra"ts reprinted in #he SergeE#rots.y (a%ers, #$2, #$+, respe"tively.! 2or Trotsky, "riti"isms of ;olshevik pra"ti"e at Mronstadt )ere a diversion form the "ontemporary task of developing a 0genuinely0 "ommunist (i.e., Leninist.;olshevik, ,th 6nternationalist! "urrent in (pain (and else)here! "ounterposed to the po)erful anar!hist groups (<AT, 2:6! and the anti.(talinist >orkersI 5arty for /arxist 9nity (539/!. The "riti"isms he responded to )ere "oming from anar"hists )ho, from their (panish vantage point, "ould not grasp the differen"e bet)een (talinists and ;olshevik.Leninists (see the 5rologue to CRevolution and <ounterRevolution in (pain and <atalonia,D belo)!. 3ne should re"all, in this polemi"al "ontext, TrotskyFs o+n analyses of the #+#' revolution. Regarding 0ba"k)ard peasants,0 this is )hat he had to say about sailors in the ;alti" 2leet. 0The ships of the fleet have their base in the industrial seaports to)ns )ith the great population of )orkers needed for building and repairing. /oreover, on the ships themselves, in the engineering and ma"hine "orps, there is no small number of 8ualified )orkers. E6n the revolutions and military uprisings of all "ountries the sailors have been the most explosive materials.0 Russian Re&olution, 6H 2$-. Later Trotsky "ontrasted the revolutionary "hara"ter of (sailors aboard! battleships to the more 0ba"k)ard0 destroyers and submarines. Ibid, IIH $,.$-. It +as %re!isely battleshi%s that, "ired in the i!e, dotted the lands!a%e around Fronstadt on the eastern edge of the >ulf of @inland' 46n his opening session spee"h at the <ominternFs 2ifth >orld <ongress in /os"o) in /ar"h #+2,, 4inoviev statedH 0<omrade =ra1idei, in 6taly, published a book E )hen he )as a (o"ial Lemo"rat revisionist, atta"king /arxism. This theoreti"al revisionism "annot be allo)ed to pass )ith impunity. Aeither )ill )e tolerate our Bungarian <omrade Luk^"s doing the same in the domain of philosophy and so"iology E0<ited by 2red Balliday in his 06ntrodu"tion0 to the 7nglish edition of Marl Mors"hFs *ar/is" and (hiloso%hy, #$. J:ntonio =ra1idei, member of the parliamentary fa"tion of the 6talian (o"ialist party helped found the 6talian <ommunist party follo)ing the Lovorno <onferen"e that split the 5(6 in @anuary #+2#.K Luk^"s published History and Class Cons!iousness, a truly outstanding, brilliant philosophi"al tour de for!e, in #+23. =rounding himself s8uarely on a Begelian reading of Ca%ital (as )ell as /arxFs early )orks!, he sought to do for the "on"ept of "ons"iousness ta"itly underpinning the Leninist theory of a <ommunist party )hat Begel had done for >eist in his (heno"enology' 53r ;olshevik or ;olshevik.Leninist, i.e., Trotskyist. 62or an analysis of the Leninist do"trine of a <ommunist party, see the 6V, se"tion 666, above ()herein )e demonstrate the "on"ept flies in the fa"e of the partyIs o)n histori"al experien"e, that its do"trinal "ontents on "ru"ial issues are ad ho! admixtures of re"ipes formulated e.g., by /ensheviks, and that any eman"ipatory intent is vitiated by substitutionalist presuppositions!. 6n this regard, the do"trine of a <ommunist party is a theori1ation that transposes "on"epts derived from histori"ally "ontingent "ir"umstan"es and responses (e.g., )ar "ommunist measures! into "on"epts that reveal the stru"ture of histori"ally ne!essary and ine&itable events, i.e., it is mystifyingly dogmati".

beyond its societa!!y grounded bureaucrati(ation" the party had become a 0hurch. Thus" men !i'e 9orsch and Au'Zcs" genuine!y interested in de&e!oping the theoretica! moment of re&o!utionary practice" had to be censored.1 Since much of the mystification spe ed by the party press and radio as not mere!y functiona! but conscious" it as obfuscatory and ideo!ogica!" intent on in&erting the structure for a areness of the historica!!y actua! situation on the ground* This in&ersion as desperate!y re$uired as a condition of the partyFs continued ho!d on .o er. Thus" in fact" sai!ors" and !ayers of the so!diery and .etrograd or'ers" ere the true &anguard of the pro!etariat as a c!ass. They formed a &anguard as such" and a re&o!utionary one" because their acti&ity &isib!y tended to ard a $ua!itati&e e#pansion of human freedom. Iet the sai!ors ere bruta!!y suppressed. ,n the upside do n" mis!eading" confusing and disguised discourse of the party" the !atter itse!f" as the so-ca!!ed institutiona! embodiment of this &anguard acti&ity" as re&o!utionary. Those institutions the sai!ors and or'ers ished to reconstitute as direct organs of or'ing c!ass po er" the free de&e!opment of hich as the necessary condition of an ongoing broadening (that is" a socia!ist genera!i(ation of) that po er and the condition of the e#pansion of human freedom" ere deemed counterrevolutionary. Thus" their destruction as necessary. %he historical significance of the suppression of the Bronstadt uprising, military reorgani-ation, and the su(se+uent repression of militants lay in the final counterrevolutionary destruction of soviets as the organi-ational form of direct &or$ing class po&er* At 9ronstadt (and here e a!so intend .etrograd and its immediate en&irons)" in !ate February and March 19:1" the !ast drama of the 3ussian 3e&o!ution as p!ayed out. %hese events mar$ed the definite end of the Russian Revolution, dro&ned in a (loody historical defeat (y a ne& State (Bolshevi$. =o&er*

The theory of "ons"iousness that ta"itly grounds that Leninist "on"ept of a <ommunist party (and that )as made expli"it by Luk^"s! is also problemati" for theoreti"ally immanent reasons. Luk^"s failed to elu"idate ho), in its relation to "apitalist development, the CproletariatD "an be"ome "ons"ious, sin"e on materialist assumptions 0be"oming "ons"ious0 must o""ur in a"ts of a)areness that diale!ti!ally rise fro" and issue in a pra"ti"e undertaken to reshape that developmentH <ons"iousness of "lass, stri"tly a proletarian phenomenon a""ording to Luk^"s, is self.formative. 6t is mediated by a )orld itself undergoing transformation in the intera"tion of "ons"iousness and its pra"ti"e. Ao) this "on"ept of pra"ti"e, the non.ob?e"tive G non.sub?e"tive unity of ob?e"tivity and sub?e"tivity that transforms both G a!tion that negates and transforms the given )orld in its givenness (ob?e"tivity!, is la"king in Luk^"s. (Thus, he, like Lenin, over"ame this aporia voluntaristi"ally.! 6nstead, the theory is "learly an Cidealisti"D mystifi"ation, that is, an elaboration of sub?e"tivity ("ons"iousness! for )hi"h be"oming ("lass! "ons"ious "onstitutes a transformation of the ob?e"tivity of the very ob?e"ts of this a)areness. (...0J>henK the )orker kno)s himself as a "ommodity his kno)ledge is pra"ti"al... 6n this "ons"iousness and through it the spe"ial ob?e"tive "hara"ter of labor as a "ommodity E no) a)akens and be"omes so!ial reality'0 History and Class Cons!iousness, #$+.! #his, ho+e&er, is only %ossible on !ondition that ob9e!ti&ity itself is estranged sub9e!ti&ity' ;ut in that "ase, its reintegration )ould be little more than the veiled movement of >eist. 1;ureau"rati1ation is dis"ussed in the se"tion so entitled, belo).

Part I The Stalinist 0ra in Soviet +istory

Iou 'no hat is at sta'e here. For the first time in history" a re&o!ution has not on!y con$uered po er" but a!so 'ept it. +e ha&e made our country a bastion of the ne era. ,t co&ers a si#th of the or!d and contains a tenth of the or!d5s popu!ation. +hen our 3e&o!ution had succeeded in our country" e be!ie&ed that the rest of the earth ou!d fo!!o suit. ,nstead came a a&e of reaction" hich threatened to s amp us. There ere t o currents in the .arty. )ne consisted of ad&enturers" ho anted to ris' hat e had on to promote re&o!ution abroad. Iou be!onged to them. +e recogni(ed this current to be dangerous" and ha&e !i$uidated it. The !eader of the .arty had the ider perspecti&e and the more tenacious tactics. 1e rea!i(ed that e&erything depended on sur&i&ing the period of or!d reaction and 'eeping the bastion. 1e had rea!i(ed that it might !ast ten" perhaps t enty" perhaps fifty years" unti! the or!d as ripe for a fresh a&e of re&o!ution. /nti! then e stand a!one. /nti! then e ha&e on!y one duty* not to perish. 2ot to perish. The bu! ar' must be he!d" at any price and ith any sacrifice. The !eader of the .arty recogni(ed this princip!e ith unri&a!!ed c!ear sightedness" and has consistent!y app!ied it. The po!icy of the ,nternationa! had to be subordinated to our nationa! po!icy. +hoe&er did not understand this necessity had to be destroyed. +ho!e sets of our best functionaries in =urope had to be physica!!y !i$uidated. +e did not recoi! from crushing our o n organi(ations abroad hen the interests of the %astion re$uired it. +e did not recoi! from co-operation ith the po!ice of reactionary countries in order to suppress re&o!utionary mo&ements hich came at the rong moment. +e did not recoi! from betraying our friends and compromising ith our enemies" in order to preser&e the %astion. That as the tas' hich history had gi&en us" the representati&e of the first &ictorious re&o!ution. The shortsighted" the aesthetes" the mora!ists did not understand. %ut the !eader of the 3e&o!ution understood that a!! depended on one thing* to be the better stayer.1

This essay i!! e#hibit" among other things" the aporia of a more con&entiona! Mar#ist theory of So&iet society. The prob!em is that Sta!inist So&iet society cannot straightfor ard!y be grasped in Mar#ist categories ithout rendering the resu!ting perspecti&e contradictory or absurd. This is the case particu!ar!y ith the t o more important theoretica! tendencies that emerged after 19?B. Thus" &arious %rots$yists assert a counterre&o!ution as carried out in 19:> ith the !eadership po!icy shift summari(ed by the pursuit of 8socia!ism in one country"E in 19:6 ith the fina! defeat of the Aeft )pposition" or in the years 19?7-19?6 ith the 8!i$uidation"E i.e." mass murder" of o!d guard .arty and mi!itary cadre. The difference in criteria" in the first case ideo!ogica!" in the second case programmatic" and in the third organi(ationa!" a!ready suggests confusion. ,n any case" the confusion mas's" on Mar#ist terms" that assertion of a counterrevolutionary transformation that occurred &ithout a class sei-ing po&er and &ithout the return of an old or formation of a ne& ruling class* At the other e#treme" Sta!inists themse!&es defend the formation of a socia!ist society on the foundations of the sa&age e#p!oitation of or'ers" and agricu!tura! co!!ecti&i(ation based on depopu!ation" deportation" and mass murder" a 8third re&o!ution8 carried out by a persona! despot sitting atop the dictatorship of po!ice forces (29D-). %ut if this as the case" then Sta!inist 8socia!ism8 in practice constituted a tra&esty of the Mar#ist &ision of a free society. So hat is at sta'e hereN The ans er is simp!e. ,t is the meaning of socia!ism itse!f" that is" the critica! restoration of a or'ing c!ass-based and se!f-negating re&o!utionary pro4ect aimed at the emancipatory transcendence of capita!. %egin ith comp!e# of historica! practices" e&ents and processes that formed the first and perhaps most important step in the ideo!ogica! obfuscation of this meaning. %he =arty during and in the Aftermath of Civil /ar Bureaucrati-ation
There5s no group more practica!" more cynica!" more inc!ined to reso!&e e&erything by murder than the pri&i!eged p!ebeians ho f!oat to the surface at the end of re&o!utions" hen the !a&a has hardened o&er the fire" hen e&erybody5s re&o!ution turns into the counter-re&o!ution of a fe against e&erybody. RThey don5tS ... 'no the meaning of the ord conscience" Rdon5tS ... gi&e a damn about hat K Rthey donFtS 'no " ... and R'no S ... perfect!y e!! RtheyS ... sto!e the o!d f!ags from us. ... RThey areS ferocious and base. +e ere imp!acab!e in order to change the or!d< they i!! be imp!acab!e in order to ho!d onto their !oot. +e ga&e e&erything" e&en hat asn5t ours - the b!ood of others ith our o n - for an un'no n future. They say that e&erything has been achie&ed" so that no one i!! as'
1=letkin,

RubashovIs interrogator in MoestlerIs Dar.ness at Noon'

them for anything. And for them" e&erything has been achie&ed since they ha&e e&erything. They i!! be inhuman out of co ardice.1

Abo!ished short!y after the )ctober 3e&o!ution" the .o!itica! %ureau (.o!itburo) as reinstituted at the D,,, .arty 0ongress (16-:? March 1919). ,n many respects" the disappearance of the .o!itburo as an e#pression of the e#tent to hich the party too' serious!y Aenin5s &ie " formu!ated in %he State and Revolution" of the centra!ity of the system of so&iets as the ne form of pro!etarian po er. The upgrading of so&iets and the corresponding do ngrading of the party e#hibited the efficacy of an emancipatory impu!se among party members in the immediate aftermath of the 3e&o!ution* 2ot on!y as the party hard!y mentioned in this or' of Aenin" ear!y on party members themse!&es a!ongside members of other parties (Aeft S3" Menshe&i') - manned those organs that constituted the ne state. The party" its organi(ationa! structure contro!!ed by S&erd!o&": rea!!y did not ha&e an 8administrati&e 5apparatus58* )utside the center" there ere no fu!!-time staffers" and a!most a!! !eading cadre had ta'en up posts in the ne so&iet system of go&ernment.? The 0i&i! +ar changed this re!ation. First" the !ife and death strugg!e for an embryonica!!y re&o!utionary socia! order" at first secured by massi&e uphea&a! but no cha!!enged by the imperia!ist armed and supp!ied forces of counterre&o!ution and +hite Terror" reproduced ithin o!d %o!she&i's the same understandab!e response that they had formu!ated under Tsarist conditions of i!!ega!ity" name!y" se!f-defense through centra!i(ation. Second" the ne State itse!f as de&astated. +hi!e party members he!d !eading positions inside so&iet organi(ations" the mass of or'ers and conscious peasants in the p!ants and &i!!ages" the most mi!itant of both c!asses" ere the first to &o!unteer for duty at the &arious fronts. +ithout their participation" the so&iets and so&iet-type mass organi(ations ithered. At the same time" the so&iets ere structura!!y mass-democratic and hard!y amendab!e to centra!i(ation" but not so ith the party. Third" under conditions of ci&i! ar" the %o!she&i' !eadership itse!f as not about to gi&e up the party. So" at the height of the ar" a!ong ith the reestab!ishment of the .o!itburo" a ne 0entra! 0ommittee organi(ation" the )rgani(ationa! %ureau ()rgburo)" as a!so created to accommodate the ro!e of go&erning that ci&i! ar appeared to thrust onto the party. ,ts function" un!i'e that of the .o!itburo hich as directi&e" as to designate and appoint party members ithin the organi(ation for specific assignments and positions. .arty members ere ary and hesitant to ma'e these changes" and guarantees ere made and ritten into the .arty 3u!es at the 0ongress not on!y to ma'e these organs accountab!e" but to restrict the possibi!ity of their further centra!i(ation.> ,t as not unti! the fo!!o ing spring" at the ne#t .arty 0ongress (:9 March - ; Apri! 19:B)" that the sing!e 00 secretary" 2.2. 9restins'y ho had succeeded S&erd!o&" as 4oined by t o ne !y created secretaries. These secretaries (a!! three) ere responsib!e for groups of departments ithin the 0entra! 0ommittee that ere estab!ished as ne tas's began to de&o!&e on the party ith its assumption of State functions. %y statute" the departments numbered nine" among the most important of hich ere records (3ecords and Assignments)" statistics (,nformation and Statistics)" propaganda (Agitation and .ropaganda)" and nationa! minorities. These departments often contained numerous subdepartments or bureaus. For e#amp!e" the !atter" nationa! minorities" had bureaus for He ish" =stonian" Aithuanian-%ye!orussian" @erman" 3umanian" and South S!a& sections" 4ust to name some but not a!!. The records department (Echraspred) as of specia! significance in the process of bureaucrati(ation*; )nce the names" party biographies" and current position of each party member ere determined" documented and codified" the manipu!ation of personne! by the secretaries" the )rgburo" etc." became $ua!itati&e!y easier" and it became an un$uestioned
1Ry1hik 2Pakov

to 7lkin, t)o old imprisoned Left 3ppositionists, "ir"a #+3,, in Vi"tor (ergeIs novel of 3ppositionists in exile, *idnight in the Century' /. (verdlov, longtime party member and uni8uely skilled organi1ational man, took his politi"al dire"tion from Lenin. Be died ?ust before the V666 5arty <ongress. 3Leonard ("hapiro, #he Co""unist (arty of the So&iet 5nion, 2,$.2,'. 4The <entral <ommittee, ele"ted by an annual <ongress, )as to meet on"e every t)o )eeks, )hile its members )ho )ere not members of the 5olitburo "ould sit in on its meetings ()ithout the right to vote!. Those meeting )ere to be "alled only to deal )ith situations that re8uired urgent de"isions. 6n pra"ti"e, ho)ever, this state of affairs never "ame to passH The << met ?ust six times bet)een :pril and Aovember #+#+, )hile the 5olitburo, meeting 2+ separate times, met )ith the 3rgburo on #+ o""asions, the latter meeting at least ##% times by itself. Ibid, 2,,. 506ndeed, "harges and "ounter."harges of bureau"rati1ation )ere rife in the party from #+2% on. ...J6tsK use often indi"ated an a)areness that the party had suffered a "hange, but the nature of the "hange )as little understood. 6t )as blamed on the failings of individuals ... or upon the pra"ti"e of taking de"isions individually rather than in "ommittee. 3r again, it )as e8uated )ith the Imilitari1ationI of the party, and blamed on "ivil )ar "onditions. Ao one appeared to appre"iate that Ibureau"rati1ationI flo)ed inevitably from the administrative role allotted to the party, and from the stru"ture )hi"h it adopted in order to perform this role.0 Ibid, 2- .

matter of dai!y practice. The secretaries o&ersa the or' of the 00 departments" and" decisions not important enough to refer to the )rgburo" ere decided by discussion among the secretaries. As a matter of party ru!e" any decision ta'en by the secretaries ithout ob4ection from the )rgburo as regarded as an )rgburo decision. This ongoing e!aboration of party 8administrati&e 5apparatuses58 as consummated in 19::. Sta!in had been appointed to direct a ne body ithin the 0entra! 0ommittee" that of the @enera! Secretariat. 1eaded by the party @enera! Secretary (Sta!in)" this body as designed to bring order to the pro!iferating organi(ations ithin the 00" i.e." to centra!i(e their contro! by ma'ing them responsib!e to the .o!itica! %ureau through its secretariat and not to indi&idua! departments ithin the 0entra! 0ommittee. Sta!in as se!ected to head this ne body" ith the fu!! appro&a! of Aenin" precise!y because he as crude and aggressi&e" that is" his persona! effrontery hat as deemed re$uired to ride roughshod o&er the secretaries" departments and subdepartments" and bureaus in order to force them into !ine. As @enera! Secretary" Sta!in he!d the appointments to a!! posts ithin the numerous departments of the 0entra! 0ommittee ithin his hands.1 For as the so!e party member ho concurrent!y sat on a!! four !eading party organs (00" .o!itburo" )rgburo" and Secretariat hich he headed)" he as uni$ue!y positioned to dra a!! the reins of po er in the party and State together into his hands a!one. %efore 19:?" at the center the machinery of the party had become practica!!y effecti&e.: Sti!! this !eft in $uestion the status of !oca! party organi(ations. The hierarchy of party organi(ations had this structure* At the summit stood the 0entra! 0ommittee. ,mmediate!y be!o it as the regiona! (o(last@) committees or those of nationa! parties. The order of subordination that fo!!o ed as pro&incia! (o$rug" or after 19?B gu(erniia)" district (ue-d) and rura! (volost@) committees. %eneath these stood industria! or 3ed Army ce!!s. Ai'e a number of the once autonomous nonparty organi(ations (e.g." rai! system" posta! ser&ice" the Army" etc.) that ere subordinated during the course of the 0i&i! +ar" for a number of years fo!!o ing the 3e&o!ution !oca! party organi(ations en4oyed a good dea! of independence. .arty ru!es adopted at the D,,, 0ongress" ho e&er" pro&ided the mechanisms through hich the !oca! organi(ations ere e&entua!!y subordinated to the center" and" u!timate!y" to Sta!in. 9ey officia!s of !oca! (i.e." pro&incia!" city" district) party organi(ations ere appointed from the center (00). The re!ation of the officia!s" a bureau or presidium" to the rest of the e!ected" !oca! centra! committee as one of dominance. The former ran day-to-day party affairs" and cou!d" e&en in matters of princip!e" decide. A!ready from 1919 on" the post of secretary of the centra! committee had become the dominant position ithin !oca! party organi(ations. These secretaries ere persona!!y responsib!e" a responsibi!ity forma!i(ed in regu!ar reports made" to the 0entra! 0ommittee of the party. Thus" the nationa! net or' of secretaries came to form the s'e!eta! bac'bone of the party5s administrati&e machinery" its ensemb!e of apparatuses. ? Aong before the end of the decade of the t enties" this nationa! net or' had become irre&ersib!y entrenched* 3esponsib!e to the party @enera! Secretary" these regiona! (and in some cases" nationa!) party secretaries ere 8e!ected8 to the party 0entra! 0ommittee at the center. The center (and" according!y" its @enera! Secretary) thereby secured e&en tighter contro! o&er the party apparatus. To ard the end of his !ife" Aenin became conscious that the apparatuses ere strang!ing the party* %ureaucratic centra!i(ation meant the s!o " but sure death of the o!d re&o!utionary" %o!she&i' party. ,n a manner that as typica! of his incomp!ete grasp of this process" he ad&ocated formation of contro! mechanisms starting at the party5s top to" as it ere" breath some pro!etarian and democratic !ife into it. -esigned to be tribuna!s independent of the party apparatuses" ith hea&y pro!etarian and peasant representation" they ere to dea! ith discip!inary $uestions concerning (ea!ous!y o&erbearing Gadministrati&e"E i.e." bureaucratic" beha&ior. To this end" at the party summit and
16n

his memoirs, V./. /olotov, one of three se"retaries to the <entral <ommittee in #+22, re"ounts ho) Lenin maneuvered to form an informal blo" in order to insure (talinIs ele"tion to the ne) post of =eneral (e"retary. The a"tion )as "learly a violation of the ban on fa"tions that Lenin himself had insisted on and )on party approval for at the ]th 5arty <ongress (#+2#!. Though established for a single vote, it set a pre"eden"e for those )hom )ould latter form a de fa!to fa"tion, dire"ted first against Trotsky, later against Mamenev and 4inoviev, and finally against ;ukharin, Rykov, and Tomsky, in the <entral <ommittee. /olotov )as an unre"onstru"ted (talinist. Bis memoirs seek largely to ?ustify his role in the struggles of the t)enties, and the Terror of the thirties and forties. Thus, they must be read "arefully for any self.serving, exaggerated, or merely dishonest a""ounts. Aonetheless, this spe"ifi" a""ount, be"ause it so faithfully "aptures LeninIs "hara"teristi" "unning, tri"kery, and plotting in inter.party affairs, has the ring of truth about it. *oloto& Re"e"bers, #%,.#%-, #$$. 2("hapiro, Ibid, 2-$. 3Ibid, 2,+.2-%, 2-$.2-'.

a!ongside the 0entra! 0ommittee" Aenin ad&ocated formation of a centra! contro! commission.1 At the O,th .arty 0ongress (:7 March - : Apri! 19::)" the status of this party organi(ation as forma!i(ed* %eneath the 0entra! 0ontro! 0ommission" operating at the highest party !e&e!" an entire hierarchy of simi!ar contro! commissions a!ready in e#istence ere more c!ose!y (&ertica!!y) integrated. The contro! commissions ere e!ected by party- ide assemb!ies. =!ections occurred according to the party ru!es ith a regu!ar!y defined by the meeting of these assemb!ies* 0entra! 0ontro! 0ommission e!ections too' p!ace at a!!-party 0ongresses" and those of subordinate commissions at their respecti&e !oca! party conferences. Through contro! of other party apparatuses" Sta!in as ab!e to e#tend his contro! o&er the no forma!i(ed commissions at the same O,th 0ongress* )n!y one member of the top body ho had been origina!!y e!ected on ree!ection in 19::* The rest ere apparatchi$s !oya! to the 80hief.E Thus" a ne !y formed party- ide" 8contro!8 organ had been co-opted and integrated into the structure of apparatuses dominated by the @enera! Secretary. : 2o t o para!!e! organi(ations ithin the party" the contro! commission structure and the net or' of party secretaries" cou!d be operated in tandem from the top by a sing!e person to dictate the party po!icy and discip!ine beha&ior of party cadre. This doub!e trac' of monopo!i(ing party direction and determining beha&ior ga&e Sta!in a uni$ue ad&antage in carrying his position. +hene&er he had difficu!ty ma'ing a !ine he pursued in the .o!itburo stic'"? he cou!d create for himse!f room to maneu&er by appea!ing to a hand-pic'ed" immediate!y subordinate body to e#ert pressure on this the highest party organ" since in princip!e the !atter as organi(ationa!!y an outgro th of and responsib!e to the former. Among cynics there as an e#pression for Sta!in5s use of this doub!e tract at the top that pointed to its rea! meaning and function* The !arge 0entra! 0ommittee and 0entra! 0ontro! 0ommission ere ca!!ed 8Sta!in5s .ar!iament8 to hich he regu!ar!y appea!ed hen he had difficu!ties in the .o!itburo. 80ontro!8 8super&ision"E etc." ere terms that designated rea! acti&ities in the socia! practice of party members. This practice (in a comprehensi&e sense as the tota!ity of organi(ed" indi&idua! practices) can be characteri(ed in terms of a series of systematic contrasts and oppositions that mar'ed the party5s transition from a democratic centra!ist organi(ation to a bureaucratic centra!ist one* 0oercion as opposed to argument< compu!sion in contrast to persuasion< the uti!i(ation and disposition of party personne! as manipu!ated materia! or resources as opposed to the cadre5s se!f-acti&e fu!fi!!ment of" thereby concreti(ing" the center5s directi&e< the formu!ation of po!icy at the top and its imp!ementation as uni!atera! commands at the base in contrast to consensus formation and direction emerging mediate!y from the base through 0ongresses and conferences< unmediated hierarchy of command-obedience in contrast to dia!ectici(ed re!ations of e$ua!ity and direction among base and !eadership. Their thing!y" and administrati&e or Gpure!y neutra!E $ua!ities constituted the out ard appearance of the apparatuses" i.e." surrounded them ith an aura of sham ob4ecti&ity" impenetrabi!ity" and permanence. %ut the apparatus as a ho!e as a product. 3eproduced in and through the socia! practice of un$uestioning !oya!ists" its structure as constituted in an unconscious practice congea!ing into the reified socia! re!ations that formed these institutions. 3etrospecti&e!y the transition from democratica!!y to bureaucratica!!y centra!ist organi(ation cou!d had said to ha&e been comp!eted at that (!ogica!" idea!) moment hen a!! argument aimed at persuasion and consensus formation stopped" hen uni!atera! di$tat from abo&e had not mere!y superseded but ob!iterated direction mediate!y formu!ated from be!o " hen cadre ere in actua! practice nothing more than the resources re$uired for carrying and achie&ing the 8!ine8 generated at the top. At this point" the apparatuses became a!most entire!y violent instruments of enforcing po!icy. The more regu!ar!y" consistent!y" and hea&i!y the party top !eaned on the apparatuses" in particu!ar the po!itica! po!ice" the more arbitrary and bruta!!y &io!ent they became. And at this point" their use had become ubi$uitous. This 8point8 as 19:9. %y then" a fu!!y formed regime of po!ice terror ru!ed by a persona! despot had emerged. %ut this regime did not unfo!d out of some dumb interna! essence* ,t as ine#tricab!y intert ined ith and constituted in the
16t

should noted be that inside the (oviet government proper (as opposed to the party )hi"h overlapped and permeated it!, there )as an organi1ation alongside the 5eoplesI <oun"il of <ommissars, the >orkersI and 5easantsI 6nspe"torate ("reated in the early t)enties again at LeninIs urging!, both stru"turally and fun"tionally parallel to the <entral <ontrol <ommission inside the party. ;eginning in #+2' (into #+2+, i.e., the "ru"ial period for development of (talinFs industriali1ation poli"y!, (ergei 3rd1honikid1e, a loyal (talinist, headed both bodies (vi1., the 6nspe"torate and the <<<!. 2Ibid, 2$%.2$#. 3:t the party summit, often "ombined )ith oratori"al and persuasive skills, the independen"e of thought of the longer term party leaders, at different times, Trotsky, 4inoviev, Mamenev, Rykov, Tomsky, ;ukharin, Malinin, )as (talinIs most immediately intra"table problem.

p!ay of party strugg!es" imperia!ist acti&ity abroad" and the organi(ationa! (0ommunist ,nternationa!5s) strategy and responses to the conste!!ation of internationa! e&ents. %he =arty during and in the Aftermath of Civil /ar =arty Struggles
The essentia! Aenin ... as not to be found in the creator of 2=. and in the !eader5s !ast artic!es" hich ere ... the product of eariness and sic'ness. The rea! Aenin as the man ho had had the courage to ma'e a pro!etarian re&o!ution first" and then to set about creating the ob4ecti&e conditions theoretica!!y necessary as a pre!iminary to such a re&o!ution. +hat as the )ctober re&o!ution" hat indeed is the communist party" but a mirac!eN 2o Menshe&i' cou!d e&er understand hat it meant to be a member of such a party. The essentia! characteristic of this party is that it is bounded by no !a s" it is a! ays e#tending the rea!m of the possib!e unti! nothing becomes impossib!e. 2othing is inadmissib!e for it" nothing unrea!i(ab!e.1 The incessant and be i!dering po!icy shifts" the arcane nature of the debate (its e!aborate" but !arge!y inade$uate" use!ess if not mystifying conceptua!i(ations)" and party po!icies themse!&es are inseparab!e from" and at once mas' and re&ea! the characteristics features of a strugg!e by and for .o er and must a!! be understood in terms of this strugg!e.:

Sta!in based his po er on his contro! of the apparatuses. 1e uti!i(ed the po er of appointment to attract careerists and ad&enturers ho ere dependent upon his patronage for their positions. 1e appea!ed in his formu!ations of a 8socia!ist &ision8 to a rabid nationa!ism among his most!y 3ussian appointees hi!e he introduced an anti-Semitic subte#t into party discussions. 1e baited and sought to discredit other !eading party figures through innuendo" insinuation" s!ander" and open abuse. Throughout the period of his ascendancy" he encouraged the e#p!icit!y po!itica! tendencies to canniba!i(e each other in a strugg!e o&er the direction of party and State po!icy" and maneu&ered" no against one tendency and then against the other" to assume .o er abso!ute!y. As Aenin retired from acti&e party !ife in 19::" the !eading body (.o!itburo) as manned by Aenin (pro forma member)" Sta!in" Trots'y" Jino&ie&" 9amene&" and" added in 19::" 3y'o& and Toms'y.? At the moment of his entry into the .o!itburo" Toms'y had been the !eading figure in the so&iet trade union organi(ation. 3y'o& succeeded Aenin as the chair of the 0ounci! of .eop!e5s 0ommissars" &i(." as the forma! head of state. Jino&ie& as secretary of the Aeningrad party organi(ation and chairman (president) of the =#ecuti&e 0ommittee of the 0ommunist ,nternationa! (=00,). 9amene& as chair of the Mosco So&iet" deputy chair of the 0ounci! of .eop!e5s 0ommissars" and chairman of the 0ounci! of Aabor and -efense. Sta!in" as e noted" had a base in the four !eading organs of the party. Trots'y" popu!ar among the 0ommunists in the army" among young 0ommunists and the peasantry that had fought in the 3ed Army and sur&i&ed the 0i&i! +ar" standing co-e$ua! ith Aenin among the popu!ation at !arge" had" on the other hand" no base in the party or State itse!f. For three years" Sta!in b!oc'ed ith @regorii Jino&ie& and Ae& 9amene& and their supporters" those in the Aeningrad and Mosco party organi(ations. The Trium&irate sought first to e!iminate their greatest ri&a!" Trots'y" and then the Aeft" from the party. A man of action e#hibiting rea! organi(ationa! s'i!!s" a spe!!binding orator and" at the same time" an insightfu! ana!yst and e#ceptiona! theorist" Aeon -a&ido&itch Trots'y stood head and shou!ders abo&e the other !eading !uminaries of the party.> ,n other ords" an uncomp!icated assessment ou!d find him the best man to succeed Aenin. %ut Trots'y as not uncomp!icated" since he carried a great dea! of personal ba!!ast* 1e as authoritarian" a!oof" &ain" arrogant and supreme!y se!f-confident. /n!i'e Aenin" under Trots'y5s direction" others" ho ere proud of their o&era!! ro!es in the party" feared they might not be a!!o ed to forget their mista'es* +hi!e the !egend of Trots'y - rapporteur of the
1Puri

5iatakov re"ounting to A. Valentinov )hy as a Left 3ppositionist he "apitulated and petitioned (2Q#+2 ! for readmission to the party. <ited by ("hapiro (Ibid, 3 -!. 2:nonymous. 3Lenin, paraly1ed and unable to speak throughout #+23, died 2, @anuary #+2,. ;ukharin )as ele"ted to the 5olitburo to fill LeninIs position at the ]666 5arty <ongress in @une #+2,. 46n #+3 , <.L.R. @ames "alled Trotsky the greatest 7uropean orator of the "entury. <.L.R. @ames 0(talinism and (o"ialism0 reprinted from World Re&olution, 1918E19-A (#+3'! in #he C')'R' Ma"es Reader, ##,.

19B; .etersburg So&iet in the fatefu! months of September-2o&ember" right for o&er a decade against the %o!she&i's on the crucia! $uestion of the nature of the coming re&o!ution as Aenin5s April %heses essentia!!y admitted" practica! organi(er of the )ctober 1917 sei(ure of po er" founder and bui!der of the 3ed Army - permitted him to cut a tru!y gigantic historica! figure" po er hungry men !i'e Jino&ie& and Sta!in" each in ard!y Aenin5s !egitimate heir" anted nothing better than to suppress memory of their ro!es in 1917* As a member of the 0entra! 0ommittee ho pub!ic!y opposed the )ctober sei(ure of po er (Jino&ie&" and 9amene&) or as a =ravda editor espousing a chau&inist and conci!iationist !ine &is-a-&is the bourgeois go&ernment fo!!o ing the February 3e&o!ution (Sta!in)" these men had past moments orth forgetting. The party 3ight (3y'o&" Toms'y and 9a!inin" and %u'harin ho as more c!osed a!igned ith Sta!in at this point and up to spring 19:6) opposed Trots'y and the Aeft on ideo!ogica! grounds" since they ere the biggest party cheer!eaders for the 2.=..." and be!ie&ed" at !east as !ate as the mid-t enties" that at any and a!! costs the so-ca!!ed c!ass a!!iance of the pro!etariat and the peasantry" i.e." of the regime and the $ula$s" must be preser&ed. Toms'y5s animus to ard Trots'y had a second source" considering him a persona! enemy* The enmity fo!!o ing from the trade union debates in 19:B and 19:1 in hich Trots'y ca!!ed for the 8mi!itari(ation8 of !abor as measure to effect the transition to peacetime in the aftermath of the 0i&i! +ar. For these men" something more than disagreeab!e persona! characteristics as" ho e&er" needed to pre&ent Trots'y from assuming the party5s !eadership. True" resentments among the o!d guard cou!d sure!y be brought to bear. (Trots'y had been a short-timer in the party 4oining on!y in Hu!y 1917.) %ut among a!! the non-re&o!utionary e!ements that had been s ept up into the party and the State during and after the 0i&i! +ar" something e!se as re$uired. +hi!e Sta!in" for one" cou!d count on the !oya!ty of thousands of apparatchi$s" persona!!y dependent on him for the positions" po!itica! and ideo!ogica! reasons" e&en if theoretica! incoherent" ere nonethe!ess re$uired to pierce the !egend. -uring the period of Aenin5s i!!ness and subse$uent retirement from acti&e party !ife (fo!!o ed by his death in Hanuary 19:>) do n unti! the Fourteenth .arty 0ongress (19:7)" Trots'y" in particu!ar" as the &ictim of a co&ert!y orchestrated campaign of criticism" abuse amounting to &i!e s!ander and censure aimed at demonstrating he as anti-mu-hi$.1 ,f this charge cou!d be made to stic'" it ou!d be decisi&e* Since the spring of 19:1 hen Aenin conceded" in his ca!! for institution of the 2e =conomic .o!icy" that the coercion e#ercised against the countryside as a ho!e" epitomi(ed in the forced grain re$uisitions that ere in many respects a defining moment of the heroic So&iet period of ar communism" cou!d no !onger be sustained ithout threatening the &ery &iabi!ity of the regime" it as considered an unbreachab!e truism that the stabi!ity of So&iet .o er depended upon the smych$a" the c!ass a!!iance bet een the pro!etariat in po er (i.e." the party) and the peasantry as a ho!e. The campaign against Trots'y as designed to insinuate that he as unre!iab!e because ob4ecti&e!y" no matter hat his past credentia!s and his protestations to the contrary" his perspecti&e" theories" and the po!icy that ou!d necessary f!o from them ou!d endanger the smych$a, hence" the &ery e#istence of the So&iet regime. ,n contro! of the apparatuses unified in his person and position" a machinery that he continua!!y stro&e to perfect" Sta!in" in the strugg!e against Trots'y (and under co&er of this strugg!e that against the Aeft)" !eaned hea&i!y on techni$ues that eighted de!iberati&e bodies against the Aeft (e.g." appointing or co-opting !oya! personne! to positions in bodies such as the 00" the 0entra! 0ontro! 0ommission" etc.)" pac'ing party conferences and 0ongresses" and a mi!d form of administrati&e e#i!e" i.e." transfers of oppositiona! personne! to posts in margina!" insignificant" and geographica! distance !oca!es. For our purposes" e can forego a detai!ed accounted of this strugg!e. 3ather" hat needs to be pointed out is that in the ear!y opportunities offered him" Trots'y as unab!e to
1Robert

<. Tu"ker, Stalin in (o+er, ,#, notes that (talin 0made "overt use of anti.(emitism in the fight against the Left opposition )hose ma?or figures, Trotsky and after)ard 4inoviev and Mamenev Ji.e., among the ?oint 3ppositionK, )ere @e)s.0 Be expli"ates this in terms of (talinIs attempt to identify his "ir"le )ith the partyIs Russian heritage, )hile TrotskyIs fa"tion )as not 0authenti"ally0 Russian, i.e., it )as @e)ish. (hould there be any doubt that anti.(emiti" bigotry )as operative in the "ampaign "arried out first against Trotsky, then against the ?oint 3pposition, one need only read /olotovIs remarks on this period ... for, besides being an unre"onstru"ted (talinist and mass murderer, /olotov )as an open anti.(emite. *oloto& Re"e"bers, #2%.#2#, #2$, #+2. : sampleN 0Trotsky spoke elo8uently )ith fine di"tion. ... 6f you listened "losely you "ould sense a @e)ish a""ent...0 (#2#!. ;y mid.#+2', anti.(emitism in the verbal assaults on Trotsky, though as a remnant of LeninIs lega"y still offi"ially outla)ed, had be"ome open. ("hapiro "ites a party "ell meeting in (eptember #+2' )herein the main speaker emphasi1ed 0that TrotskyIs nationality pre"luded him from being a "ommunist sin"e Iit sho)s that he must be in favor of spe"ulationI and that Trotsky and his supporters had Imade a mistake about the Russian spirit.I0 #he Co""unist (arty of So&iet 5nion, 3%+, n. #. ("hapiro notes these remarks "ould not be make )ithout higher authority. Ibid'

ta'e up this strugg!e. The first t o cases concerned notes that Aenin" hose mora! authority in the party remained e&en at the end of his !ife unsurpassed" dictated in 19:: on" first" the $uestion of nationa!ities" in particu!ar" the hea&yhanded" offensi&e manner in hich Sta!in and )rd(honi'id(e (themse!&es both @eorgians) handed re!ations ith the @eorgian party< and" second" on his succession" inc!uding a note in hich he e#p!icit!y stated Sta!in shou!d be remo&ed from his position as @enera! Secretary at the ne#t .arty 0ongress. These notes ha&e come do n to as Aenin5s 8!ast testament.E Trots'y" perhaps more concerned ith the !agging pace of industria!i(ation (the so-ca!!ed 8scissors crisis8)"1 and at any rate one ne&er too concerned about the fate of nationa!ities as nationa! groupings" did not ta'e up a strugg!e that Aenin had persona!!y re$uested of him. (,t is unc!ear hether he simp!y refused to ta'e up the strugg!e" or it as mere!y Aenin5s permanent para!ysis in March 19:? hich ended a!! possibi!ity of a 4oint fight against Sta!in. ,n any e&ent" the outcome as the same.) ,n the second case" the notes ere suppressed" by Aenin5s secretaries and his ife" 9rups'aya" and recei&ed no mention at the O,,th .arty 0ongress (17-:? Apri! 19:?). They ere on!y ob!i$ue!y discussed ( ithout pub!ication) at the O,,,th .arty 0ongress in May of the fo!!o ing year. =&en had Trots'y no !onger term prior 'no !edge of the second set of notes" successfu! pursuit of a pro4ect to insure their pub!ication and distribution at the O,,,th .arty 0ongress: (it as ithin his po er)" e&en it on!y c!andestine!y" ou!d ha&e been po!itica!!y e#p!osi&e and ou!d ha&e permanent!y cripp!ed Sta!in. Iet Trots'y said nothing of the notes at the 0ongress" and" of course" did nothing of the sort.? Trots'y5s perspecti&e on the ro!e and function of the party in re&o!utions characteri(ed as socia!ist" and in the ci&i! ars it as no assumed ou!d ine&itab!y fo!!o (and" for that matter" in the ho!e epoch of socia!ist construction that began ith the reconstruction of industry)" strong!y suggests hy he fai!ed to oppose Sta!in at this point. At the O,,,th 0ongress" Trots'y re&ea!ed &ery c!ear!y the perspecti&e that animated him. 1a&ing a!ready added fue! to an ongoing contro&ersy ith the pub!ication of a =ravda artic!e the pre&ious -ecember in hich he engaged in a not so &ei!ed attac' on the .arty5s administrati&e machinery" and" of course" the man ho stood at its summit" Trots'y5s defense of his position at the 0ongress inc!uded the remar' that 8My party right or rong ... , 'no one cannot be right against the party ... for history has not created other ays for the rea!i(ation of hat is right.8 > ,n the end" this perspecti&e" an admission of the necessity of the party machine and Sta!in5s centra!ity to it" ou!d guarantee the defeat of Trots'y" and of the de facto faction of the Aeft that supported him. (%et een 19:? and 19?7" the date" rough!y" of the fina! e!imination of those sur&i&ing oppositionists as a group in the camps and in e#i!e" Trots'y" this perspecti&e go&erning his acti&ity" consistent!y restrained his supporters in their opposition to the regime.) ,t ou!d" to be sure" a!so se&ere!y handicap him right do n to the debac!e that itnessed the 2a(i assumption of po er in hich the Sta!ini(ed @erman party (9.-) p!ayed such an ignob!e and suicida!!y di&isi&e ro!e.

12or

the 0s"issors "risis,0 see the text of 0#+2 , the Regime at the <rossroads,0 belo). 23.3# /ay #+2,. 32or the 0=eorgian affair,0 LeninIs 0testament0 and TrotskyIs role in it, see, in parti"ular, /oshe Le)in, )eninGs )ast Struggle, ''.##3, and :ppendix V66, #--.#-$. (Le)in is obviously of the opinion that Trotsky had responded affirmatively to LeninIs re8uest.! (ee also ("hapiro, Ibid, 2',ff. There )as at one instan"e, later on, in )hi"h Trotsky failed to avail himself and his supporters of the opportunity to severely damage (talin. Luring #+2-, the :meri"an, /ax 7astman, published a book, Sin!e )enin Died, in )hi"h he "orre"tly reprodu"ed lengthy ex"erpts from LeninIs 0testament.D 7astman, as ("hapiro points out, )as apparently )ell.informed either by foreign "ommunists in /os"o) or by a person or persons "lose to Trotsky. 6n (eptember #+2-, Trotsky published an arti"le in )hi"h he dis"laimed (as did Mrupskaya! 7astmanIs book, thereby 0"asting doubt on the authenti"ity of the do"ument 8uoted.D Trotsky later "laimed he had been threatened by (talin. ("hapiro, Ibid, 3%%.3%#. The 8uestion is, at this point in the struggle, ?ust )hat kind of threat "ould (talin have madeN To TrotskyIs lifeN Bardly, murdering Trotsky in #+2- )ould have "reated a firestorm in the 5artyH 6t had not yet be"ome, at least at this level (of 5olitburo members! a "ommon pra"ti"e. The "onse8uen"es of su"h an a"tion might have even threatened (talinIs position. The latter, in his maneuvering in this period, remained a "areful and "autious man. Ao, not murder. 5erhaps, Trotsky )as threatened )ith expulsion. (talin might have su""eeded in that a"tion, but again it )ould have, be!ause of the nature of the do!u"ent in dis%ute, thro)n the 5arty into su"h a turmoil that the out"ome )ould have been entirely unpredi"table. /oreover, Trotsky )as parti"ularly "on"erned lest the regime lose "redibility and standing in foreign eyes. (ILet us not do anything the imperialist bourgeoisie might use against us.I! 6f (talin did threaten Trotsky, it )as )ith expulsion. ;ut note, TrotskyIs fear )as not for his o)n person, but for the !redibility and instability of the regi"e his expulsion might "reate. That in the end is )hat led him to his repudiation of 7astman. (6t goes )ithout saying, (talin )as later able to point to this repudiation )hen and )henever Trotsky referred to LeninIs break )ith (talin at the end of his life.! 4<ited by ("hapiro, Ibid, 2 . The arti"le, entitled the 0Ae) <ourse,0 is dis"ussed in Ibid, 2 3.2 -.
2Beld

As !ong as he cou!d p!ay a ro!e on the terrain of State !ife" Trots'y" see'ing to recapture as it ere State .o er for his faction and himse!f" cou!d not concei&e of a more thorough opposition.1 As Schapiro points out" Trots'y did not gi&e a sing!e thought to the real opposition embodied at this moment in t o 0ommunist groups" +or'ers5 Truth (!arge!y inte!!ectua!s) and the +or'ers5 @roup (!arge!y pro!etarians). %oth opposed the regime" a!ternati&e!y seen as a 8ne bourgeoisie8 or pri&i!eged party bureaucrats" as e6ploiters of or'ers. The first sought to raise consciousness among or'ers in order that they themse!&es might go&ern" the second a!ong the same !ines sought re-in&igoration of So&iet democracy through ne " factory-based e!ections. %oth ere acti&e in stri'es that too' p!ace in the !atter ha!f of 19:?. A ma4ority of the 0entra! 0ommittee" and there is no reason to doubt that Trots'y as not part of this ma4ority" had no ob4ection to the emp!oyment of &io!ent measures to destroy these groups. (,n a per&erse and crimina! manner" such as proof that the party as engaged in a form of strugg!e against or'ers" resu!ting in the e#traction of surp!uses from these same or'ers.) The secret po!ice (@./:) 8!i$uidated8 these groups as e!! as" as far as e can te!!" the tiny organi(ed anarchist" ma#ima!ist" and Menshe&i' groups that sti!! operated in the factories" murdering most mi!itants and destroying their coherency as oppositiona! groups" in the autumn.? ,f" for a!! those ho cou!d not see the suppression of the 9ronstadt rising as the counterrevolutionary event (enacted by the party) that ended the re&o!ution"> and on the u!timate!y incoherent effort to capture the rea!ity of So&iet 3ussia in the t enties in Mar#ist categories" one sought a particu!ar moment in hich it cou!d be proc!aimed that a third force" the bureaucrati(ed .arty itse!f" had reared its no fu!!y formed ug!y head" had not on!y abandoned its pro!etarian stance po!itica!!y and theoretica!!y" but had a!so gone into open opposition to and crushed genuine or'ers5 organi(ations" had" in other ords" constituted itse!f as an e#p!icit!y counter#revolutionary force ho!ding State po er" it as this moment. At the end of 19:>" Trots'y" under pressure from the rest of the .o!itburo and eager not to appear as a %onaparte" i!!ing!y resigned his so!e nominal position of po er in the party as titu!ar head of the army (+ar 0ommissar). Trots'y5s ro!e in the State and the party had been margina!i(ed. 1e cou!d sti!! pub!ish" but !ac'ing any eight of his o n in the apparatus" he bided his time. Sta!in turned on Jino&ie&. 1a&ing issued in huge historica! defeats in @ermany" %u!garia" and =stonia" Jino&ie&5s 0omintern po!icies" supported inside the =00, by !ong-time companion of Aenin 9ar! 3ade'" had he!ped to discredit him. +ithin the party" the tenuousness of his faction" hose Aeningrad-based !eadership a!so inc!uded Ie&do'imo& and %a'aye&" as e#acerbated by high unemp!oyment in the cities" purges in the uni&ersities" the administrati&e repression ithin the party and State" and the destruction of party democracy the genera!i(ed a areness of hich as attested by the ongoing reemergence of i!!ega! factions.; Jino&ie&5s position in the party suffered because he" un!i'e Sta!in ho at !east up to this time carried out his manipu!ation $uiet!y underneath the din of accusations and abuse and a! ays appeared reasonab!e (e.g." offered his resignation hen high!y edited portions of Aenin5s 8testament8 ere read so!e!y to !eading party members at the O,,,th .arty 0ongress)" Jino&ie& as in the !oud &anguard of the nasty abuse and outrageous s!anders made against Trots'y" in the &anguard of cries for sanctions" i.e." repression" against the i!!ega! formations of the Aeft" etc. Jino&ie& did not cut an appea!ing figure" and" ith his po er ithin the party based so!e!y on contro! of the Aeningrad organi(ation" this strength a!one as not ade$uate to foresta!! his do nfa!!. The !atter as engineered by Sta!in at the O,Dth .arty 0ongress (16-?1 -ecember 19:;). Sta!in and his minions had" in fact" a!ready engaged in maneu&er against their ostensib!e a!!ies" Jino&ie& and 9amene&" during the early years of the strugg!e against Trots'y. A 'ey moment in this strugg!e a!so came at the O,,,th .arty 0ongress. ,n accordance ith those pub!ished ishes and recommendations of an inacti&e Aenin" made in the eighteen months before his death" the 0entra! 0ommittee as e#panded. ,n this manner" Aenin had hoped to di!ute the po er of the apparatus. Sta!in" though" used the change to ea'en a b!oc of some fifteen supporters of Jino&ie& on the 00 hi!e strengthening his o n faction. ,t as from this moment that the contraction of Jino&ie&5s po er and his base ithin the party began and continued ithout !et up. %y the time (19:7) he thre in his hat ith Trots'y and
1The

3ppositionIs struggles of the #+2%s, for all their real and mythologi"al importan"e as traditions of revolutionary /arxism, remained struggles +ithin the bureau"ra"y for "ontrol o&er the (tate, a (tate )hi"h E )ith a vie) to its ob?e"tive, so"ial fun"tion E)as already stru"turally homologous to the auto"rati" (tate of # $#.#+#$. 23bedinnennoe >la&noe (oliti!hes.oe 5%ra&ienie, 9nified (tate 5oliti"al :dministration, 9=53, "ommonly kno)n as the =59. 3("hapiro, Ibid, 2 %.2 #. 4(ee the 5rologue to this essay, above. 5Vi"tor (erge, *e"oirs of a Re&olutionary, 2#%.2##.

the Aeft" Jino&ie& en4oyed no rea! base outside of the hand-pic'ed !eaders in the factories of Aeningrad and the city party organi(ation at the top. 1a&ing !ong ago ta'en the !ead in subordinating the domestic interests of the parties of the 0ommunist ,nternationa! to the State security needs of the So&iet regime" and in centra!i(ing the ,nternationa! so that it as responsib!e so!e!y to 3ussian !eadership ( hoe&er manned those !eadership posts)" Jino&ie& had a!ready undermined the autonomy of foreign parties and thus the critica! support" and hence independence &is-a-&is the 3ussian party apparatus" hich he might ha&e other ise deri&ed from his presidency of the =00,.1 Jino&ie&5s Aeningrad organi(ation had a !arge pro!etarian component. ,ts out!oo' as" according!y" amendab!e to acceptance of a b!oc ith the Aeft )pposition inasmuch as the !atter5s emphasis on So&iet democracy and on hea&y industry at the e#pense of the peasantry sat e!! ith the Aeningraders.: Jino&ie&" pure!y an opportunist" sought" on the other hand" a b!oc in order to restore his position of authority in the party. Trots'y" fu!!y a are of the e#tent of Sta!inist contro! and no some hat more a are of the fu!! meaning of the ongoing bureaucrati(ation" accepted the offer. Aeft )ppositionists as a group acceded to Trots'y5s arguments" but many he!d their noses. Trots'y as a!so a are that by the end of 19:;" Aeningrad" the most important city in the country" as the on!y !oca! party organi(ation Sta!in did not contro!.? Formed in Apri! 19:7" ithin a coup!e more months the Hoint )pposition brought together a!! the party-based 0ommunist groups sti!! in e#istence (inc!uding Saprono&5s and Smirno&5s remnant -emocratic 0entra!ists and Sh!iapni'o&5s +or'ers5 )pposition) as the /nited )pposition.> The apparatus at the center" ho e&er" had been in Sta!in5s hands for years. To the !ess sanguine" defeat as a foregone conc!usion. At any rate" short!y fo!!o ing the end of the O,Dth .arty 0ongress" Jino&ie& !ost his position as head of the Aeningrad party.;
12or

this, see the next se"tion, 06nternational (ituation,0 belo). Ibid, 2+,. 3Ibid, 2+,.2+-. 4Ibid, 3%#.3%2. 56n @anuary #+2$. Ibid, 3%%. >e are familiar )ith t)o memoirist a""ounts of the ensuing struggles, though referring to different moments in it (@anuary, and 3"tober #+2$, respe"tively!. 2rom the (talinist side, /olotovIs a""ount "on"erns the removal of 4inoviev from his post as the Leningrad se"retary. 2rom the 3ppositionist side, (ergeIs a""ount "on"erns efforts to develop an audien"e for its program. :t the moment /olotov refers us to, demo"rati" for"s still appeared to have some life at the lo)est level of the party. /olotov, Mirov, Malinin, et alia, )ent to fa"tory "ell meetings in Leningrad, beginning )ith the smaller fa"tories, and argued the ma?ority position defined at the ]6Vth 5arty <ongress that, among other things, "ondemned 4inoviev. Resolutions of support for this position )ere taken. :s /olotov relates, the strategy )as to )in over the smaller fa"tories first, sin"e there 4inovievIs support )as )eakest. >ith this support in hand, the t)o biggest plants in Leningrad, 5ulitov >orks and the Triangle, both 4inovievist strongholds, )ere "anvassed last. Though his lieutenants )ere present, spoke to the assembled )orkers, and fought hard, 4inoviev never put in an appearan"e. The 5ulitov "ells approved the ma?ority position. There)ith, a party "onferen"e )as "alled, delegates "hosen from the fa"tories of the "ity environs, and 4inoviev )as routed. *oloto& Re"e"bers, 2#-.2#'. 7ven at the fa"tory "ell level, though, 3ppositionists )ere "onstantly harassed in the most hysteri"al manner (boos, "at"alls, shouts of 0enemies of the 5arty,0 0traitors,0 0slanderers0! in order to prevent them from getting a genuine hearing. Lebate, argument, and persuasion aimed at the formation of (a ma?ority! "onsensus, the substan!e of a demo"rati" party life, had disappearedH These efforts by lo) level party a%%arat!hi!.s )as not merely aimed at intimidating 3ppositionist speakers, )ho at any rate )ere most likely not to be s"ared off, but at inti"idating the "ass of ordinary !ard!arrying +or.ers )ho, perhaps not apatheti", attended these meetings. (erge, *e"oirs, 2#'.2#+. ((erge also provides another a""ount of these meetings. Referring to the party response as 0fas"ist pro"eedings,0 he )rote, 0party "ommittees organi1ed strong.arm gangs against us, e8uipped )ith )histles and authori1ed to strike hard* they )ere transported in tru"ks to re.enfor"e the right.thinking elements in the meetings )here )e attempted to speak.0 @ro" )enin to Stalin, -%.! ("hapiro relates that these fa"tory "ell meetings in 3"tober des"ribed by (erge )ere not only 8uite unusual for the 3pposition but, be"ause of the enormous risks to their persons the mere appearan"e at su"h meetings entailed, )ere auda"ious (("hapiro thinks them foolish, referring to their a"tion as 0a gesture of despair.0! Trotsky, 4inoviev, Mamenev, 5iatakov, (okolInikov, and 7vodokimov )ere, in fa"t, so taken ba"k by their o)n daring they published a de"laration in )hi"h they admitted to fa"tional a"tivity violating party norms, expressed remorse, "ommitted to not undertaking similar a"tivity in the future, and 0repudiated both their left.)ing supporters in the <omintern and the remnants of the >orkersI 3pposition.0 #he Co""unist (arty of the So&iet 5nion, 3%-. ("hapiro "ites do"umentary eviden"e that indi"ates these 0leaders0 sought through their de"laration to retain a modi"um of influen"e inside the party. ;ut in his ?udi"ious assessment )ith )hi"h )e "on"ur, he "on"ludes 0their a"tion ... )as both futile and dishonorable . futile, be"ause it only en"ouraged (talin to press still further against )eak and dis"redited enemies, dishonorable, be"ause it made reprisals against their supporters all more the easy to ?ustify0 (Ibid, 3%$!. Bere, on"e again, )e run into the "ontradi"tion on )hi"h all the ma?or 3ppositions )ere impaled. (in"e the apparatus stood bet)een them and a suspi"ious if not openly hostile peasantry and a demorali1ed, apatheti" )orking "lass, it )as fight on (talinIs terms or not at all. There on"e may have been or perhaps no longer )as a )ay out of this dilemma, but, at any rate, it )as not available to those )ho operated on "ommonly kno)n and understood /arxist assumptions. (ee the se"tion 0The Road Aot Taken,0 belo).
2("hapiro,

The defeat of Trots'y" the Aeft" and the Jino&ie&ist )ppositions as fina!i(ed ith their e#pu!sions in 2o&ember 19:7" and confirmed by the ODth .arty 0ongress (:-19 -ecember 19:7) the fo!!o ing month. This defeat as orchestrated* ,t as 8managed8 by 8administrati&e8 means" means that Jino&ie& had he!ped to de&e!op" that inc!uded but as not !imited to refusa! to pub!ish )pposition documents" depri&ation of the right to &ote as party de!egates" !imitation of spea'ers (among those that did spea'" a 8spontaneous"E constant stream of hissing" hec'!ing" in&ecti&e" and ridicu!e that dro ned out their &oices)" and a truncated" gross!y distorted presentation of )pposition &ie s by Sta!in himse!f. RAt the ris' of digression" the ro!e of %u'harin in the destruction of the Aeft shou!d be mentioned. This tas' is necessary to the e#tent that in better histories of the So&iet t enties" %u'harin" a fa&orite of those ho thin' an ear!y capita!ist restoration ou!d ha&e sa&ed 3ussia from its Sta!inist nightmare" is portrayed as a man embodying a broad!y based a!ternati&e to Sta!in5s program of co!!ecti&i(ation and industria!i(ation.1 %y mid-19:7" the de&e!oping agricu!tura! crisis (fa!!ing urban reser&es" fa!!ing producti&ity" reduced procurements) !ed the .o!itburo to emp!oy 8emergency measures8 in the matter of grain co!!ection (forced !oans imposed on the peasantry" pressure to step up peasant !oan" credit and ta# payments" party acti&ists sent into the countryside to ca4o!e !oca! and regiona! party organi(ations to step up co!!ections).: These efforts entai!ed increases in acts of &io!ence as e!! as in their indiscriminate and capricious nature. ,f force stood behind these efforts" the instrument of that force as the State po!ice" the @./. The emergency measures" then" great!y" if on!y temporari!y" augmented the po er of the @./. A termina!!y i!! Dyaches!a& Men(hins'y as positioned at the head of the regime5s po!itica! po!ice. Men(hins'y" no doubt ith his pri&i!eged 'no !edge of the precarious situation of the regime" fought hard in inner party circ!es to en!arge his agency5s po ers" again" no doubt" to secure the regime5s sur&i&a!. ,n this" he as no different than -(er(hins'y5s 0he'ists ho preceded him. (0!ear!y" a!! po!icemen be!ie&e the regimes they support face dire threats hich can on!y be defused through their superhuman efforts.) The means for en!arging @./ authority ere gi&en to Men(hins'y by the ongoing strugg!e to suppress the )ppositions. Such e#pansion of po er" ho e&er" re$uired crossing a !ine hitherto unbreached at !east not in a systematic" institutiona!i(ed manner. ,t ou!d re$uire @./ inter&ention into interna! party affairs" from the factory ce!!s a!! the ay up to the .o!itburo. ,t as this precedence that Men(hins'y sought in an institutiona! manner to estab!ish.? )pposed to this sort of e#pansion of @./ po!ice po ers stood the party 3ight" particu!ar!y 3y'o& and Toms'y in the .o!itburo" and Mi'hai! 9a!inin" o!d %o!she&i' and future .resident of the 3ussian 3epub!ic ( ho" in a!! critica! forums" ou!d &aci!!ate and e&entua!!y bo to Sta!in). Ai'e )rd(honi'id(e and Doroshi!o&" %u'harin" on the other hand" thought that if the )pposition" the Aeft in particu!ar" as not once and for a!! crushed" it might someday be in a position to reta!iate. (/p to spring 19:6" it shou!d be noted %u'harin as" as chief party and 0omintern ideo!ogica! and po!icy formu!ator" more c!ose!y a!!ied ith Sta!in and Mo!oto& than ith the party 3ight.) Moreo&er" %u'harin as a!so orried about the regime5s standing in and contro! o&er the ,nternationa!" an an#iety that" e might add" neat!y do&etai!ed ith fear for his position as =00, president. Specifica!!y" %u'harin as serious!y concerned that in France and @ermany" here par!iamentary e!ections ere coming up" )ppositionists groups in those countries might do e!! enough to strengthen a&ering e!ements ithin the 0omintern" hich in turn might restrict the contro! of the 3ussian party o&er the ,nternationa!. At the time the Foreign Affairs 0ommissariat (0hicherin) shared these fears. ,n !ight of these concerns" %u'harin and Min(hins'y formed a po!itica! b!oc to demand that the .o!itburo institute repressi&e measures (to begin" e#pu!sion" and from Min(hins'y5s standpoint this ou!d necessary entai! harassment and persecution) against )ppositionists. After the debac!e in 0hina" Sta!in" ho" had pre&ious!y been concerned about opinion as e#pressed dip!omatica!!y and in the foreign bourgeois press" and thus to this point on this issue as a!igned ith the 3ight" rea!i(ed that such opinion as no !onger re!e&ant.> )nce Sta!in" ith his coterie in the .o!itburo and the eight of the apparatus behind him" signed on
12or

example, (tephen <ohen, =u.harin and the =olshe&i. Re&olution (Ae) Pork, #+'3! and /oshe Le)in, Russian (easants and So&iet (o+er' 6n #+2+, ;ukharin did elaborate an alternative to (talinIs for"ed "olle"tivi1ation 0program.0 ;ut by then the Right had been defeated and did not have the )here)ithal to exe"ute this alternative. (ee the dis"ussion, 0Bistori"al :lternatives,0 belo). 2/i"hal Reiman, #he =irth of Stalinis", ,-. 2or more detailed dis"ussion of the des"ending agri"ultural "risis, see the se"tion 0#+2 , the Regime at the <rossroads,0 belo). 3Reiman, Ibid, ,$. 4(talin along )ith =eorgy <hi"herin had advo"ated loosening the regime monopoly over foreign trade as a "on"ession to "apitalists abroad to invest in (oviet industry. Ibid, 3+.

ith %u'harin and Min(hins'y the fate of )ppositionists as sea!ed. (,t shou!d be noted that the %u'harin-Min(hins'y b!oc did" in fact" open the ay for the po!itica! po!ice" a State agency and institution" to inter&ene ith impunity in party affairs.) )n the crucia! issues of the day (the 0omintern" agricu!tura! po!icy unti! 19:6" the fate of the Aeft" party democracy" etc.)" i.e." a!! those issues on the basis of hich decisions ere made ith !ong-term institutiona! ramifications" %u'harin5s position did not differ essentia!!y from that of Sta!in5s.S The defeat of the Hoint )pposition" by Sta!in" his faction (and in a!! their practice" 9agano&ich" 9iro&" Mi'oyan" Mi!yutin" Mo!oto&" )rd(honi'id(e" Doroshi!o& together ith Sta!in" did 'no ing!y function as a secret faction) and the e#treme 2.=... b!oc !ed by 3y'o&" Toms'y and 9a!inin" and supported by %u'harin" as carried out under the ideo!ogica! pretense" dissemb!ing at !east from the Sta!inist standpoint if not entire!y that of the 3ight" of the strugg!e to preser&e the or'er-peasant a!!iance upon hich the regime" it as he!d" rested. Iet ithin a year" Sta!in turned on the 3ight adopting in e#aggerated form and ith a &engeance the practice that f!o ed from the Aeft5s criti$ue of 2e =conomic .o!icy dangers. The party 3ight as defeated not simp!y because of the enormous strength that Sta!in first and foremost" Mo!oto&" et alia" deri&ed from the contro! of the party machinery (since the defeat of the 3ight" ith bases in the Mosco party organi(ation and in the economic and p!anning agencies" and representation in the .o!itburo" as not a foregone conc!usion)" strength that had increased $ua!itati&e!y ith the defeat of the Hoint )pposition* As e sha!! see be!o " by the beginning of 19:6 the situation in the countryside !arge!y demonstrated on developmental assumptions the &a!idity of the Aeft5s perspecti&e on the dangers of a pro-peasant po!icy that as not counterba!anced by the de&e!opment of hea&y industry. This situation" one hich cou!d no !onger be e#p!oited by the Aeft since it had no e#istence in the party" together ith a fai!ure of ner&e by 3y'o& and %u'harin hich e#pressed the same un i!!ingness as Trots'y to !ea&e the terrain of bureaucrati(ed party !ife" sea!ed the fate of the party 3ight.1 ,n Apri! 19:6" at a meeting of the 0entra! =#ecuti&e 0ommittee of the A!!-/nion 0ongress of So&iets" the forma! !eading go&ernmenta! body" Sta!in presented for the first time his draft of a ne agrarian !a that ou!d strip peasants of the right to use in perpetuity !and they farmed ith their o n !abor. The ne !a as intended to confine this right to those ho 4oined co!!ecti&e farms and to dispossess a!! those proc!aimed $ula$ by the e!ectora! commissions.: 3unning up against an ideo!ogica! 3ightist resistance hich he himse!f had cu!ti&ated o&er the course of se&era! years of strugg!e against Trots'y" and the Aeft and Hoint )ppositions" Sta!in $uic'!y ithdre his proposa!. %y the end of May" Sta!in as !etting it be 'no n to party cadre that he intended to pursue a ne po!icy regarding industry" a corre!ate to in&o!untary co!!ecti&i(ation that he had recommended the pre&ious month. ,n this month" Da!erian 9uibyshe&" Sta!in5s director of the Supreme 0ounci! of the 2ationa! =conomy (DS29h)" pub!ic!y suggested that increase in industria! output of 1?BC o&er the ne#t fi&e years.? This proposa! as put forth in contrast to" and as i!d!y at &ariance ith" that made by the State .!anning Agency (Cosplan) hich had historica!!y been the primary body responsib!e for economic p!anning and hich as a strongho!d of the 3ight. The Cosplan proposa! as consistent ith 2.=... assumptions" the DS29h as not. ,n other ords" the !atter c!ear!y imp!ied the !eadership faction headed by Sta!in as p!anning to rapid!y de&e!op hea&y industry. ,n a 0entra! 0ommittee meeting in ear!y Hu!y" accounts of hich ent unpub!ished at the time" intense debate centered on Sta!in5s proposa!s. ,n the meeting" he insisted it as necessary to speed up the tempo of industria!i(ation" and to do so by e#acting a tri(ute from the peasant. This e#traction as deemed temporary" so as a&oid re&ea!ing his intentions and to p!acate an opposition that a!ready furious resisted this !ine.>
9sing the <omintern as an instrument of (oviet foreign poli"y, both ;ukharin and (talin sought to maneuver among imperialist 5o)ers, strengthening relations )ith one or another or still another, to se"ure the "han"es for survival of the (oviet regime in a hostile "apitalist )orld. 2or this, and the ;ukharin.(talin engineered "ollapse of the <hinese Revolution, see the subse"tion entitled 0<hina0 in 06nternational (ituation and the <omintern,0 belo). 12or (talinIs su""essful efforts to defuse intra.party disagreement )ith his ne)ly found 0leftism0 on "olle"tivi1ation and industriali1ation, together )ith his maneuvering, that led to the defeat of the Right, see Reiman, #he =irth of Stalinis", '%ff, and (hapiro, #he Co""unist (arty of the So&iet 5nion, 3$'.3 #. The relation of agri"ulture and industry and aspe"ts of the Right struggle in late #+2 as they are tied to this relation are taken up in 0#+2 , the Regime at the <rossroads,0 belo). 2("hapiro, Ibid, 3$'. 3Ibid, 3$ . 4Ibid, 3$'.3$ * Reiman, Ibid, '2.'3* Le)in, Russian (easants and So&iet (o+er, 2'+. 0Tribute0 )as the )ord (talin used.

The Si#th 0ongress of the 0ommunist ,nternationa! as he!d in Mosco in Hu!y-August 19:6. %u'harin" ho had rep!aced Jino&ie& not on!y as head of the 3ussian de!egation but as the 0,5s .resident" drafted the 0ongress5 main reso!utions. 1e as" surprise" surprise" critici(ed by comrades from his o n de!egation" one that inc!uded none other than Sta!in himse!f. The gist of this criticism concerned the Sta!inist po!icy of b!oc'ing ith !eft- ing (ourgeois formations" particu!ar!y the Aabor .arty in %ritain and the 9oumintong in 0hina. Sta!in had been hea&i!y censored" $uite successfu!!y in e#i!e if not at home by Trots'y" for this po!icy that" in the end" as at once logical conclusion to the doctrine of 8socia!ism in one country8 and the practice of subordinating the re&o!utionary interests of ad&anced pro!etarians or!d ide to the narro security interests of the So&iet regime. This po!icy had cost pro!etarian &anguards (not parties but or'ers themse!&es) dear!y* ,n %ritain" the @enera! Stri'e of 19:7 as !ost" and in 0hina" attempted sei(ures of po er in the !eading industria! centers of the country (Shanghai and 0anton) ere crushed" the f!o er of the 0hinese pro!etariat decapitated" as Sta!in5s operati&es had or'ers disarm in the face of 0hiang 9aiShe'5s mi!itary bands. ,n the ,nternationa!" indi&idua!s ho had pre&ious!y fo!!o ed the Sta!ini(ed =0 !ine" in a rep!ay of the abusi&e 3ussian campaigns against Trots'y" no became the targets of criticism. And" in a re&ersa! that grotes$ue!y and e#aggerated!y aped the Aeft position that as no under adoption - a re&ersa! simi!ar to that hich as a!so no ta'ing p!ace inside the 3ussian party on the peasant $uestion" Sta!in ca!!ed for a brea' ith the !eft bourgeois nationa!ists and reformist or'ers5 parties" particu!ar!y" personages inside the !atter formations c!osest to the 0ommunists. Those simi!arities in po!icy re&ersa!s" so confusing to the !oya! Sta!inist cadre" ere posed pointb!an' in a =ravda editoria! short!y (16 September 19:6) after the conc!usion of the 0omintern 0ongress. The ne !ine dec!ared a fight against right ing and pro-$ula$ forces as important inside 3ussia as in the or!d at !arge.1 The Mosco organi(ation" under the !eadership of 2.A. /g!ano& ho t o years ear!ier had been insta!!ed as a Sta!inist and pro-peasant rep!acement for 9amene&" he!d to the pre&ious party !ine !ast affirmed by the ODth .arty 0ongress. Sta!in5s response" e&er 8administrati&e"E as to remo&e (11 )ctober) three of the Mosco secretary5s most important subordinates and rep!ace them ith more comp!iant apparatchi$s.: Sti!! the possibi!ity of an anti-Sta!inist ma4ority ithin the .o!itburo remained a potentia! threat both to Sta!in5s po er as e!! as to the ne po!icy* ,n the eight man organ" %u'harin" Toms'y" and 3y'o& ere so!id!y opposed" and 9a!inin and Doroshi!o& a&ered. +ith the constant demand for party unity put forth by Sta!in himse!f" and ith the tra&ai! of the e#pu!sions of the )ppositions so recent!y behind the party" another sp!it at the top as something Sta!in cou!d i!! afford - at !east not before he marsha!ed his forces and cou!d guarantee a fa&orab!e account. Thus" hen %u'harin" 3y'o& and Toms'y threatened to resign at a .o!itburo meeting in mid-autumn" Sta!in as not prepared to ca!! their b!uff.? ,nstead" he tempori(ed" putting forth a compromise that ostensib!y affirmed the o!d !ine and party unity as e!!" hi!e simu!taneous!y denouncing a right- ing 8de&iation.E Acceptance of this compromise" e#pressing the same !ac' of ner&e Trots'y suffered from" effecti&e!y sun' the chances of the 3ight to best Sta!in at the highest !e&e!s of the party.> ,n the month that fo!!o ing" he uti!i(ed the party machinery at his disposa! to remo&e /g!ano&" and purge !o er organs ithin the Mosco party organi(ations. ,n &arious party forums" Sta!in continued to push his ne !ine. %y Apri! 19:9" he as ab!e to bring %u'harin ( ho had for month been foo!ish!y confiding the contents of the ongoing .o!itburo strugg!e to the 8!eftist8 9amene& in the hope of forming a ne b!oc against Sta!in;) up before the 0entra! 0ontro! 0ommission on charges of factiona!ism. At the end of Apri!" the OD,th .arty 0onference met and endorsed Sta!in5s ne po!icy on co!!ecti&i(ation and industria!i(ation. ,n the fo!!o ing months" /g!ano& as remo&ed" in May" from his remaining top party posts< Toms'y from the !eadership of the trade unions in Hune< %u'harin from the =00, in Hu!y and the .o!itburo and 0entra! 0ommittee" &ia e#pu!sion" in 2o&ember< and" 3y'o& as simi!ar!y e#pe!!ed the fo!!o ing month. 3y'o&" unab!e to protect his supporters in the State and he!p!ess!y opposed to brea'nec' industria!i(ation resigned as head
1("hapiro, 2Reiman,

Ibid, 3'2. Ibid, +2.+,. 3Ibid, +,.+-. Pagoda, )ho as /in1hinsky deputy had assumed head of the state se"urity upon the latterIs death, also opposed (talinIs ne) poli"y, be"ause he feared a vastly a""elerated pa"e of "olle"tivi1ation )ould present se"urity problems the 3=59 "ould not "ope )ith. ("hapiro, Ibid, 3'+. 4Ibid, 3'3.3',, 3' .3'+. 5Reiman, Ibid, '3.',, ++.#%%.

of the go&ernment the fo!!o ing year. The economic and p!anning agencies of the State that 3y'o& as chairman of Sovnar$om contro!!ed ere purged. The 3ight had been bro'en.1 T o features of this contest stand out. First" ith the defeat of the 3ight those agencies in the State" and more important!y the State as a ho!e" hich had been strongho!ds of 3ight po er and po!icy formu!ation (and hich had been the !ast bastion of a!! those" nonparty 'no !edgeab!e specia!ists and former Menshe&i's as e!! as party 3ightists" opposed to Sta!in5s course) became direct!y sub4ect to the party Secretariat as Sta!in p!aced his supporters in go&ernmenta! positions. (2ominations to the appropriate bodies in the State ere mere!y pro forma.) Thus" the process and practice of (ureaucrati-ation that had begun bac' in the 0i&i! +ar short!y after S&erd!o&5s death as no " ith tota! subordination of the State to the party" completed. Second" before the beginning of 19?B" the road ahead as c!ear for imp!ementation of the program of rapid industria!i(ation and co!!ecti&i(ation5 This short summary suggests that Sta!in had no commitment to any particu!ar perspecti&e on the de&e!opment of So&iet society. ,n fact" Sta!in as" among other things" a great 3ussian chau&inist. 1e considered himse!f in the tradition of the ce!ebrated 3ussian Tsars (,&an" .eter)" sought .o er e#c!usi&e!y" and on this basis he ou!d defend mother 3ussia from its e#terna! enemies. @rasped in the terms a&ai!ab!e to him" these enemies ere the imperia!ist po ers of the +est. The means of se!f-defense ere gi&en ith the means uti!i(ed by the @reat .o ers" dip!omat cunning" po!itica! deceit" and mi!itary armament. The !atter as defined in modern" capita!ist terms" i.e." re$uired a !arge hea&y-industria! base in society in order age ar at historica!!y achie&ed !e&e!s of producti&e de&e!opment. This great danger here as that de&e!opment a!ong the !ines of the 2e =conomic .o!icy as de&e!opment at a snai!5s pace. ,n the interim" the So&iet /nion cou!d be o&er he!med by superior armaments and firepo er. Sta!in cou!d not ha&e continued his b!oc ith the 3ight indefinite!y since" constitutiona!!y" he as incapab!e of sharing .o er on a permanent basis" and since" ithin the conceptua! frame or' a&ai!ab!e to him" industria!i(ation as a necessary condition of societa! se!f-defense. 1o e&er" the arnings of the Aeft ou!d ha&e to (and did) go unheeded at !east unti! Sta!in cripp!ed (and then !atter destroyed) his po!itica! enemies (i.e." anyone e!se ho sought po er or hose theoretica! and programmatic ana!yses suggested he or they shou!d ho!d !eading party positions). 1a&ing maneu&ered for se&en years (19::19:6)" the !ast four of hich arnings abounded about the dangers of the course of po!icy pursued by the .o!itburo" Sta!in set do n the road of a crash program aimed at creating a modern economy on the basis of hea&y industry. %he =arty during and in the Aftermath of Civil /ar )nternational Situation and the Comintern
The most remote" and it ou!d seem" the most 5abstract5 disagreements" if they are thought out to the end" i!! sooner or !ater be in&ariab!y e#pressed in practice" and practice does not a!!o a sing!e theoretica! mista'e to be made ith impunity.:

,f e momentary set aside the conf!icts at the top that rac'ed the So&iet .arty beginning in 19:?" the 2e =conomy .o!icy instituted by the Oth .arty 0ongress (6-17 March 19:1) ushered in a period of stabi!i(ation do n 5ti! !ate 19:7 for the So&iet regime in its re!ation to the peasantry. The or!d situation" particu!ar!y in =urope" as in contrast $uite &o!ati!e during the same period. ,n the 3ussian party" a rather one-sided strugg!e (for the most part against Trots'y) as re!ati&e!y subdued for !ong stretches of time !arge!y because of the !eadership5s need to maintain the out ard appearance of unity. 1o e&er" the rapid changes in =urope" fought out in terms of the issues specific to the ,nternationa!"? amp!ified the 3ussian strugg!es and had the appearance of a forum for these strugg!es. )n more than one occasion" ho e&er" differences ere thrust aside* %he su(ordination of Comintern policy to the survival re+uirements of the Soviet regime formed the central motive and direction of that policy* After Aenin5s fina! incapacitation (due to a third stro'e) in March 19:?" %u'harin rep!aced him as a 3ussian de!egate to the =#ecuti&e 0ommittee of the 0omintern (=00,). At this point the 3ussian party 3ight" together ith %u'harin and Sta!in" stood four s$uare against the Aeft since in its &ie the )pposition threatened the smych$a. Thus" %u'harin entered the ,nternationa!5s =#ecuti&e 0ommittee (=0) ith the same fierce determination as Jino&ie& to
1("hapiro,

Ibid, 3'-.3 #. #+3% 6ntrodu"tion to the =erman edition of #he (er"anent Re&olution' 3The Third 6nternational is also kno)n as the <ommunist 6nternational or the <omintern for short.
2Leon Trotsky,

combat the Aeft" specifica!!y its internationa!ism ( hich as seen as threatening the regime5s po!icy of maneu&er). +hi!e" for Jino&ie&" the effort to e#c!ude Trots'y from !eadership in the 3ussian party as as an issue of po er and ho e#ercised it" the 3ight5s moti&e a!so inc!uded a desire to insure Trots'y did not find a ne forum for his 8antimu-hi$8 &ie s. (1a&ing been +ar 0ommissariat during the 0i&i! +ar" up to 19:? Trots'y had ne&er he!d a 3ussianbased assignment to the ,nternationa!.) +hi!e %u'harin had a far superior grasp of the characteristic tendencies of capita!ist de&e!opment in their most abstract form than Jino&ie&" Sta!in" or any of the other !uminaries of the 3ussian party" he as no better e$uipped than these men to dea! ith the rapid!y changing situations in the &arious countries of =urope" the significance of these changes for =urope as ho!e and in re!ation to the /nited States and the rest of the or!d" and" ith the po!icy orientations that had to be deri&ed from such ana!yses. (+ith the departure of Aenin" Trots'y for his part simp!y had no peer in the ana!ysis of t ists and turns of c!ass strugg!e in the or!d arena.) Iet" most stri'ing!y in re&ie ing the documents of the 0omintern in the period immediate!y fo!!o ing Aenin5s forced ithdra a! from acti&e po!itica! !ife" one can on!y be struc' by the apparent fact that there as !itt!e or no honest" thoroughgoing ana!ysis of =uropean de&e!opment. ,nstead" the entire orientation of the 0omintern appears to ha&e been primari!y determined by 3ussian effort to subordinate ,nternationa! po!icy to the State interests of the So&iet regime and only then by opposition to Trots'y. T o conc!usions fo!!o . First" most significant!y" the orientation of the 0omintern !eadership pro&ed to be a disaster for or'ers and the 0ommunist parties under its direction. Second" =00, proc!amations" ana!yses" forecasts" and po!icy" by and !arge appear strained and !aborious e6 post facto rationa!i(ations or simp!y co&er-ups for fai!ed pre&ious ana!yses" forecasts" and po!icy. A sea change in the re!ations bet een the 3ussian-dominated ,nternationa! !eadership and its member parties too' p!ace at the Fourth 0ongress of the 0ommunist ,nternationa! in March 19::. (Aenin" ha&ing suffered his second stro'e" had made a sing!e appearance and speech at the outset of the 0ongress.) The subordination of 0omintern po!icy to So&iet State interests that occasiona!!y emerged in the past as forma!i(ed" c!ear!y ithout Aenin5s 'no !edge" at this 0ongress. 2ear!y ithout opposition" the 0ongress made a series of organi(ationa! changes hich institutiona!i(ed this subordination. Most important!y" the 0omintern =#ecuti&e as gi&en &ast ne po ers* ,t as no a!!o ed to direct!y suppress opposition in the member parties through p!enipotentiaries carrying =0 directi&es. Member party conferences and congresses ere hereafter schedu!ed fo!!o ing 0omintern 0ongresses in order to pre&ent de!iberation o&er the ,nternationa! agenda and issues. Thus" the member parties cou!d no !onger be e#pected to debate 0omintern decisions nor to de&e!op a position to ard any of its issues. The member parties further ai&ed their right to se!ect or remo&e their o n 0ongress de!egates. .o!itica! contro! of the ,nternationa! passed into the hands of the =05s eight to e!e&en member .residium" and an )rgani(ationa! %ureau on the mode! of the 3ussian party as estab!ished as the apparatus designed to inter&ene in member party affairs.1 From the time of Aenin5s ithdra a! from po!itica! affairs to the e#pu!sion of the Aeft from the 3ussian party" the 0omintern inter&ened in three ma4or crises that shaped the internationa! situation. The first occurred in @ermany in autumn 19:?" the second as the %ritish @enera! Stri'e in 19:7" and the third as the 0hinese re&o!ution (19:;19:7). Moti&ated by interna! 3ussian party concerns" 0omintern !eadership responses to these crises created" if on!y in part" a force of e&ents that" in turn" reciproca!!y shaped the course of strugg!e inside the So&iet regime. Mediate!y" these responses if on!y in part dictated the necessity of 3ussian iso!ation from pro!etarian forces abroad (by insuring their ou!d be no pro!etariat re&o!utions in" hence" no or'ing c!ass assistance from" =urope). Thus" in a tru!y per&erse manner they &a!idated the Sta!inist doctrine of 8socia!ism in one country"E and" gi&en the corresponding iso!ation" contributed to the bruta!ity of the Sta!inist reso!ution of the interna! So&iet crisis of 19:6-19:9. Cermany Fo!!o ing the imperia!ist or!d ar" t o estab!ished facts guaranteed the crisis-ridden nature of the @erman t enties. The first as the &ictor5s peace estab!ished at Dersai!!es in 1919. %ut this on!y occurred in re!ation to the second" name!y" the aborted character of the @erman re&o!ution of 2o&ember 1916. The Dersai!!es peace terms imposed enormous" if not unbearab!e" reparations on @ermany. The fai!ure to o&erthro the ru!ing c!ass socia! groups ithin @ermany as an outcome secured by Socia! -emocratic po!itica! ascendancy. This outcome as great!y abetted by the Socia! -emocrats ith their un!eashing of the organi(ed remnants of a reactionary mi!itary corps (3rei$orps) on the most mi!itant sector of the @erman pro!etariat. The go&ernmenta!
1@ulius

;raunthal, History of the International, II, 2$#.2$3.

affirmation of the reactionary officers corps ta'en together ith the aborted re&o!ution assured that a re&anchist resurgence based on the nationa! humi!iation of Dersai!!es ou!d constitute the ra!!ying point of the midd!e stratabased vSl$ische mi!ieu (that" in turn" ou!d coa!esce around a fascist fHhrer). The dua! presence in @ermany of the organi(ed forces of the !eft (mass parties of Socia! -emocrats" ,ndependents" and 0ommunists)" and those of the fascist right against the bac'ground of the Dersai!!es treaty" as the condition sine +uo non of a socia! instabi!ity that cou!d not be mastered by the Socia! -emocratic regime. The predatory terms of the Dersai!!es peace thrust @ermany in a position simi!ar to that of the So&iet /nion. %oth faced iso!ation as internationa! pariahs. The @erman Socia! -emocratic go&ernment" fa&oring an ease in internationa! tensions (as a ay in part to reintegrate itse!f into the or!d community of capita!) and norma!i(ation of re!ations ith the So&iet regime" ho e&er" had refused to cooperati&e ith the a!!ied imperia!ist b!oc'ade of So&iet 3ussia. ,n the face of their mutua! iso!ation" on 1B Apri! 19:: the @erman Socia! -emocratic Reichs go&ernment and the So&iet regime entered into an economic and trade agreement 'no n as the 3apa!!o Treaty" a sort of 8most fa&ored nations8 arrangement. 2o " the peace reparations had not on!y p!aced enormous burdens on the @erman economy" but the Dersai!!es terms a!so dictated @erman imperia!ist mi!itary disarmament. Those pro&isions prohibited the Reichs&ehr from e#ceeding a 1BB"BBB man force" and the @erman State from engaging in the production of hea&y eaponry (tan's" aircraft" and arti!!ery) as e!! as poison gas. ,n order to circum&ent these pro&isions from the @erman side" and to" from the So&iet side" at orst neutra!i(e @ermany and at best create an a!!y in the e&ent of rene a! of imperia!ist ar against So&iet 3ussia" a secret mi!itary con&ention as appended to the treaty. The So&iet regime undertoo' to produce the eaponry and gas in So&iet factories under @erman direction" &i(." ith @erman funding and @erman engineers. The secret pro&isions a!so ga&e @ermany the right to train @erman so!diers on 3ussia soi! using the eaponry produced under the treaty terms.1 This" of course" necessitated !iaisons bet een the respecti&e mi!itary staffs (and" it shou!d be noted" that in this period a!ready the @erman high command as rife ith 8conser&ati&e-nationa!ist"E i.e." fascist" sympathi(ing officers). This secret arrangement" and in particu!ar the moti&ation from the So&iet side underpinning it" most be borne in mind ith re&ie ing the re!ations bet een the 3ussian party dominated ,nternationa! and e&ents in +eimar @ermany. ,n spring 19:1" 1einrich %rand!er had succeeded .au! Ae&i as the @erman .arty secretary. %rand!er as a man ho as faithfu! to the 0omintern !ine" and ho in due course ou!d" according!y" suffer the conse$uences. That !ine" fo!!o ing an ad&enturist putsch ('no n as the 8March Action8) organi(ed by the @erman 0ommunist .arty (9-.) in March 19:1" ca!!ed for a turn 8toK systematic re&o!utionary acti&ity in the press" meetings" trade unions" and par!iament.8: The party !ine as carried out in conte#t of the pre&ious!y mentioned" rapacious reparations (Dersai!!es peace) imposed by the great imperia!ist po ers" particu!ar!y France. )n 11 Hanuary 19:?" French and %e!gian so!diers occupied the hea&i!y industria!i(ed @erman 3uhr in order to enforce the reparations terms of the peace that @ermany had been s!o to either de!i&er (coa!) or pay (mar's). (French capita! insisted on the reparations as a means of pre&enting" by dra ing off go!d reser&es" sustained economy reco&ery in @ermany.) .assi&e resistance to the occupation dates from this moment. A crisis atmosphere bui!t. %y summer" the @erman bourgeoisie as iso!ated internationa!!y" its credit standing as orth!ess" production as at a standsti!!. ,nf!ation had impo&erished or'ers and ruined the midd!e strata. Socia! -emocratic domination of the %er!in go&ernment and the 3eichstag" fronting for @erman capita! (ut based direct!y on the mass of the industria! pro!etariat" barred the 'ind of austerity that is genera!!y imposed in order to dissipate inf!ationary spira!s. .rices continued to s'yroc'et. -espair hung in the air. Iet the 9-. did nothing* Since Hanuary (again in Apri! and then in the summer)" fo!!o ing the 0omintern !ine and against its o n !eft ing" it had carefu!!y a&oided a!! efforts to organi(e for a sei(ure of po er" dec!aring re&o!ution as not on the historica! agenda. The 0omintern maneu&ered* ,t as busy promoting a rotten" red#(ro&n (loc in defense of the e#isting socia! order of capita! against the at-the-moment-main anti-So&iet imperia!ist be!!igerent" the French bourgeoisie.?
1Ibid,

II, 2- .2$%. 0(trategy and Ta"ti"s in the 6mperialist 7po"h,0 in #he #hird International $fter )enin, +2. 3;raunthal, Ibid, II, 2',.2'-. 6n summer #+23, )hen all the "onditions )ere ripe for a revolutionary sei1ure of po)er, Radek, as a member of the 7< presidium, se"retly met )ith fas"ist and nationalist =erman leaders to propose unity against 2ran"e. Be openly spoke in defense of a Aa1i adventurer named Leo ("hlageter ()ho had been exe"uted by the 2ren"h military for sabotage! as a )ay of publi"ly posing the issue to for"e the hand of the fas"ists
2Leon Trotsky,

)n 1: August" the Socia! -emocratic go&ernment resigned. @usta& Stresemann" !eader of the @erman .eop!e5s .arty" party of big capita!" assumed office at the head of a coa!ition that inc!uded Socia! -emocrats. )n the 1Bth" in %er!in a genera! stri'e" organi(ed by neither 0ommunists nor Socia! -emocrats" had a!ready bro'e out as mint or'ers struc' and the rest of the or'ers in the city immediate!y fo!!o ed. The 0ommunists for their part ere terrified. )n the 1?th" the @erman party 00 ta'ing its cue from the =00, in Mosco instructed its members to get or'ers bac' to their benches and end the stri'e. ,n the =00," Jino&ie&5s narro hori(ons sudden!y broadened s!ight!y. 1e $uestioned e#isting po!icy and posed the possibi!ity of a re&o!utionary opening. Sta!in as horrified. 1e immediate!y fired off a !etter to the 0omintern =#ecuti&e ad&ising against a chance of course.1 The opening as dead for the time being. Stresemann ished to reorient @erman foreign po!icy to ard the +est. Specifica!!y" he sought a rapprochement ith the %ritish imperia!ists. This" of course" as in contradistinction to the understanding embodied in the 3apa!!o Treaty. ,n response" 4ust t o ee's after the @erman 00 ga&e its mi!itants instructions to do e&erything they cou!d to end the %er!in genera! stri'e" the 3ussian party !eadership as so a!armed by the potentia! threat of So&iet iso!ation signified by Stresemann5s /estpoliti$ that it did a 16B degree turn. 3e&o!utionary transformation as no on the agenda. The .o!itburo (inc!uding Trots'y) and 0omintern =#ecuti&e met to ard the end of August and !aid out a re&o!utionary agenda for @ermany. +hen the @erman representati&es to the ,nternationa! arri&ed in Mosco in ear!y September for a 0omintern session" they ere confronted ith a fait accompli. .!anning had a!ready begun. (Trots'y" for e#amp!e" sent a staff of po!itica! p!anners and mi!itary ad&isers off to %er!in in mid-September.) Trots'y and Jino&ie& assumed responsibi!ity for p!anning the insurrection" preparations that ith the @erman de!egation ent on for fi&e ee's. 0!ear!y" the ,nternationa!5s po!icies ere not determined by the interna! needs and de&e!opment of a @erman re&o!ution" but ere subordinate to the So&iet State interests hich in turn ere oriented on the foreign po!icy of the Stresemann go&ernment.: The pro4ected assau!t on the citade!s of bourgeois State po er as to begin in Sa#ony and Thuringia here the Socia! -emocratic !eft as strong!y entrenched. ,n Sa#ony" on 1: )ctober three members of the 9-. entered a coa!ition go&ernment as a minority partner to the !eft Socia!ists.? T o days !ater" 0ommunists 4oined a simi!ar coa!ition in Thuringia. At the outset" the purpose of this participation as to arm or'ers in both pro&inces in preparation for a nation ide uprising" and in an effort to sea! off reaction that dominated the southern state of %a&aria. The =00, had in ad&ance of this action unreser&ed!y urged it and in the e&ent ga&e its fu!!" enthusiastic support. ,n point of fact" arming or'ers as ne&er underta'en in the face of unbending opposition from the Socia!ist coa!ition !eader Jiegner and the ac$uiescence of the three 0ommunists ministers. 2ationa!!y" on :7 September Stresemann ca!!ed off the passi&e resistance in the teeth of an inf!ation so e#p!osi&e that it has perhaps ne&er been seen before or since any here in the capita!ist or!d.> ,n %a&aria" the state go&ernment responded to Stresemann5s action ith a dec!aration of a state of emergency. ,t reca!!ed former .rime Minister @usta& &on 9ahr" a rabid conser&ati&e ith a reputation for 8independence8 (i.e." a i!!ingness to ignore the A!!ied efforts at enforcing the mi!itary terms of the Dersai!!es peace). ,n %a&aria" as !ate as autumn 19:1 the state mi!itia had
and militarists on the 8uestion of a blo". The spee"h )as reprinted in the =erman <ommunist party paper (Rote @ahne!H :""ording to Radek himself, that spee"h 0)as prepared in the 5olitburo of the Russian <ommunist party and )as delivered to the 7xe"utive of the <ommunist 6nternational, Inot ?ust )ith the ta"it approval of the 7xe"utiveIs "hairman, but )ith his )ritten agreementI, and )as Iunanimously )el"omedI by the 7xe"utive.0 Ibid, II, 2'$.2''. <itation appears on 2''. ;raunthal "ites Radek in the inner 8uote. 2or a brief time, the blo" )as a"tually "onsummatedH Aa1is spoke at <ommunist rallies and vi"e versa, "olumns of the Rote @ahne )ere opened to fas"ists. 6t )as the Aational (o"ialist leadership (not the <ommunistsU! )ho 8uashed the allian"e in :ugust (#-th!. Ibid, II, 2''. 1(ee the textual a""ount referen"ed by n .#%2, belo). 2Ibid, II, 2'$.2 %* and, Barold 6saa"s, #he #ragedy of the Chinese Re&olution, ,#.,2. 2rom the Russian side, planning )as thorough. 2or example, ,.- million tons of )heat )as set aside and stored in 5etrograd and at points along the frontier in order to assist =erman )orkers in the event of an :llied imperialist blo"kage of =ermany follo)ing a proletarian revolution. ;raunthal, Ibid, II, 2'+.2 %. 3The three )ere party leader ;randler, ;\tt"her, and 2rit1 Be"kert. 46n Le"ember #+2%, #%% marks e8ualed #_, a year later the ratio )as #%%%H#. (till another year later (Le"ember +22!, the mark had virtually "ollapsed falling to 3-%%%H#. ;ut bet)een Le"ember #+22 and Le"ember #+23, an abyss opened up, as the ratio "limbed in Le"ember #+23 to -%,%%%,%%%,%%%H# (-% billion marks to #_!. @ohn Meegan (ed.!, $tlas of the Se!ond World War, 2 ("hart!. The truly geometri" spikes in the inflationary rate )ere the months of @anuary #+23 (2ren"h o""upation of Ruhr!, and the period of "risis from @uly through Aovember #+23. =. (torper, >er"an !ono"y, 1H80E19B04 Issues and #rends (AP, #+,%! "ited in /i"hael 2reeman, $tlas of Nazi >er"any, # .

numbered ?BB"BBB men" a c!ear &io!ation of the peace terms hich had !aid do n that the Reichs&ehr and any au#i!iary formations cou!d number on!y 1BB"BBB. Fo!!o ing the banning of the 2a(i press (FSl$ische Beo(achter) by the Reichs go&ernment and the ensuing fa!!out" a young Ado!f 1it!er made his mo&e. Supported by =rich Auddendorff ( ith .au! 1indenburg head of the @erman mi!itary and de facto ru!ers of @ermany during the imperia!ist or!d ar)" and together ith 1erbert 9riebe!" former chief of staff of the disbanded %a&arian mi!itia" 1it!er ra!!ied the &arious vSl$ische and fascist 8patriotic !eagues8 around himse!f for a march on %er!in. (Fascist 3rei$orps ere concentrated on northern %a&arian border ready to !aunch attac's into Sa#ony and Thuringia.) The march as a prete#t for a 8nationa! re&o!ution"E i.e." a po!itica! coup aimed at achie&ing the fascist !ed secession of %a&aria. )n 9 2o&ember" po!ice !oya! to the %a&arian go&ernment surrounded the assemb!ing marchers in the center of MQnchen. +hen fascist contingents opened fire the po!ice returned machine gun bursts. 1it!er" 9rieber" and other !eaders and their troops f!ed. The fascist putsch had co!!apsed.1 -uring the critica! period of !ate )ctober (:1st)" %rand!er had attended a gathering of shop ste ard" trade union" Socia!ist" and 0ommunist parties representati&es in 0hemnit(. 1e had attempted to put a reso!ution forth for a re&o!utionary sei(ure of po er. (Sea!ed instructions to the &arious 9-. !oca!s across the country ere to be sent out from 0hemnit( fo!!o ing passage of the reso!ution.) 1e ithdre the reso!ution hen it became c!ear that the &ast ma4ority of de!egates had (y this time no !onger any desire for an insurrection. The crucia! moment" August 19:?" hen the sub4ecti&e mood of the @erman industria! pro!etariat as a ho!e suggested rea! support for an armed uprising had a!ready passed.: The 0ommunist effort co!!apsed (as short!y ou!d the fascist one). Though" in 9Qstrin in eastern .russia" an army rebe!!ion as mounted and repressed in )ctober" on!y in the northern port city of 1amburg in the state of 1ano&er ere industria! or'ers mobi!i(ed. (This as due to a fai!ure to stop the carrier for 1amburg bearing the directi&es for an uprising as he !eft the 0hemnit( conference.) ,n Sa#ony" the coa!ition go&ernment !asted a!! of nine days" brea'ing do n after the %er!in 0abinet authori(ed inter&ention by the Reichs&ehr in Sa#ony and Thuringia. )stensib!y mi!itary inter&ention as aimed at suppressing 1it!er5s cohering fascistic patriotic !eagues in %a&aria" but in fact it did doub!e duty* The presence of the armed forces insured no uprising ou!d be ca!!ed nor attempted in these states of midd!e @ermany. ,so!ated" the 1amburg insurrection as easi!y suppressed by the mi!itary set in by the Stresemann5s go&ernment in %er!in.? The 0omintern response to these e&ents came at its Fifth 0ongress con&ened in Hune 19:>. The 0ongress !eadership" mas'ing its decisive ro!e in the !ost @erman opportunity" as to sing!e out the ro!e of the 9.- ministers in Sa#ony" particu!ar!y their opportunistic speeches in the Sa#on Aandtag (par!iament). %rand!er for his part as remo&ed from the party !eadership. Trots'y" on the other hand" characteri(ed the autumn e&ents as 8a c!assic e#amp!e of a missed re&o!utionary situation.E> For him" the @erman !eadership as hesitant" &aci!!ating" conceptua!!y unc!ear" and did not ma'e insurrectionary preparations. %ut Trots'y as" then" either uninformed (un!i'e!y) or dissemb!ing. +hat e!se cou!d ha&e been e#pectedN The 9.- !eadership" its party thorough!y 8bo!she&i(ed"E as" after a!!" subser&ient to the =00,. The 0omintern !eadership pursued its o n So&iet Statist interests< it as fu!! of itse!f" its po er" and concerned" to the point of during a volte face after the critica! moment for a re&o!utionary assau!t had already passed" ith the tacit So&iet-@erman a!!iance embodied in the Treaty of 3apa!!o. %his conceptua! baggage" product of the primacy of So&iet interests" had thro n an ideationa! &ei! o&er the pu!se of the @erman pro!etariat. The attenti&eness" sensiti&ity" f!e#ibi!ity and acuity re$uired to 4udge the proper moment for !aunching an assau!t on the bourgeois State ere systematica!!y prec!uded by the primacy of these interests. Trots'y" 4udging the @erman defeat to be $ua!itati&e!y more serious than either the =00, or" particu!ar!y" the 3ussian 00" stated he as 8opposed to ma'ing a scapegoat of %rand!er.E 1e fought against 8the inadmissib!e system that on!y see's to maintain the infa!!ibi!ity of the centra! !eadership by periodic remo&a!s of nationa! !eaderships" sub4ecting the !atter to sa&age persecutions and e&en e#pu!sions form the .arty.8; %ut it as precise!y this method of operation hich a!!o ed the 0omintern to become a mere ad4unct of So&iet State po!icy" a eapon" much more effecti&e than
1/artin 2Ibid' 3Ibid,

;ros1at, Hitler and the Colla%se of Wei"er >er"any, $.+* and ;raunthal, Ibid, II, 2 #.

II, 2 #.2 2. International after )enin, +2. 5Ibid, +-.

4#he #hird

the entirety of the dip!omatic corps" to be ie!ded in the strugg!e for the sur&i&a! of the regime" or those that contro!!ed it ( hich" for them" as !arge!y the same thing) as it tac'ed bet een competing great imperia!ist po ers. ,n raising issues of princip!e" Trots'y mas'ed his ro!e in the entire @erman affair. Those issues a!so thin!y &ei!ed his con&iction" one he certain!y he!d (and that in raising the issues he signa!ed to his supporters in the party)" that had he he!d the reins of po er in the =00, or the 3ussian party this ca!umnious fai!ure ou!d not ha&e occurred. 1o serious as the @erman defeatN ,n a period (that bet een the t o ars) in hich enormous historica! de&e!opments too' p!ace" the defeat of the @erman pro!etariat in 19:? as historic. The @erman 0ommunist .arty a!!o ed the Socia! -emocrats to conso!idate their ho!d on @erman or'ers" and the @erman bourgeoisie" he!p!ess in the face of an e#traordinary inf!ation" to stabi!i(e itse!f. Stresemann5s Reichs go&ernment assumed emergency !egis!ati&e po ers. ,n mid-2o&ember" a ne currency (Rentenmar$) as estab!ished" and in the fo!!o ing year the inf!ation as brought under contro!. ,n the same year (19:>)" American and %ritish capita! began f!oating !oans to @ermany ( hich ou!d tota! some :7 bi!!ion ne mar's by 19?B) that further stabi!i(ed @erman capita!. ,n 19:;" an economic ups ing got under ay. The stabi!i(ation of the @erman economy entai!ed stabi!i(ation of a!! =urope. The re&o!utionary a&e had past.1 %ut there as" perhaps" e&en more at sta'e here. At the height of the crisis in August 19:?" Sta!in" as @enera! Secretary of the 3ussian .arty" sent a !etter to Jino&ie& and %u'harin" as 3ussian members of the =00,. ,n it he rote" 8Shou!d the 0ommunists (at the gi&en stage) stri&e to sei(e po er ithout the socia! democrats" are they mature enough for thatN That" in my opinion" is the rea! $uestion. ... ,f today in @ermany the po er" so to spea'" fa!!s" and the 0ommunists sei(e ho!d of it" they i!! fa!! ith a crash. That is the 5best5 case. And at the orst" they i!! be smashed to pieces and thro n bac'.8: 1ere one detects an e#pression of Sta!in5s greatest an#iety* 5+hat if an a!ternati&e !eadership (i.e." any !eadership not based here in the So&iet /nion) comes to po er in the or!d 0ommunist mo&ementN R)t &ould cast me aside.S ,t must not happen. )n the other hand" if the @erman 0ommunists fai!" they i!! be crushed" and a!! the !e&erage e Rread* ,S ha&e achie&ed through manipu!ation of the ,nternationa! i!! be !ost as its !argest party is disso!&ed.5 The position that e find bare!y unstated in Sta!in5s !etter as not forma!i(ed" cast in the doctrina! shape of 8socia!ism in one country8 unti! rough!y a year !ater (-ecember 19:>). %ut Sta!in" as persona! embodiment of bureaucratic interests" cou!d a!ready sense the coa!escence of the apparatuses" and the impending emergence of the bureaucracy as a distincti&e socia! group. As Trots'y himse!f as !ater to sarcastica!!y comment" 8the So&iet bureaucracy had succeeded by that time in erecting their RsicS o n 5socia!ism"5 that is" in firm!y assuring their po er and e!!-being ... in one country.8? So hy shou!d it assist in constructing a potentia! a!ternati&e !eadership to the internationa! or'ers5 mo&ementN This doctrine as" ho e&er" operati&e in the e#p!icit de!iberations (of not 4ust the =00," but the party .o!itburo of hich Trots'y as a member) during summer 19:?" and" in fact" from the 3ussian side it at once moti&ated and guided the construction of the Treaty of 3apa!!o in its entirety. (+hate&er his and the Aeft )pposition5s !ater positions" in 19:? the po!icy that Trots'y he!ped to formu!ate as the !ogica! precursor of the specifica!!y Sta!in-3ightist position.) Ma# Shachtman" in his 19?7 8,ntroduction8 to the =ng!ish trans!ation and pub!ication of Trots'y5s %he %hird )nternational after Aenin" succinct!y summari(es the !ogica! chain that under!ined the position tacit!y ta'en at this point by the ho!e 3ussian party ithout e#ception. %ecause Shachtman e#presses these e!ements as c!ear!y and compact!y as can be done" e sha!! $uote him at !ength. %eginning ith the assessment or assumption that the pro!etariat of the +est i!! not or cannot come to the aid of the So&iet regime"
3ussia can bui!d socia!ism by her o n efforts" if inter&ention can be pre&ented. ,nter&ention can be pre&ented" if the or!d bourgeoisie or a decisi&e section of it is 5neutra!i(ed.5 ,nter&ention can be pre&ented" furthermore" if the pro!etarian mo&ement of the capita!ist countries" hich cannot conduct a successfu! re&o!ution in our time" is con&erted into a So&iet border patro!.
1;ros1at, 2The

Ibid, -#.-2* Meegan (ed.!, Ibid* Trotsky, Ibid, #%%.#%$, esp. #%3, #%,. "ontents of the letter )ere revealed by 4inoviev to a "ombined << and <entral <ontrol <ommission meeting in #+2'. <ited in (ha"htmanIs explanatory notes to the translation of TrotskyIs #he #hird International after )enin, 322.323, n. 2,* also appearing in ;raunthal, Ibid, II, 2' .2'+. 30Letter to the Ne+ Dor. #i"es,0 $ Le"ember #+3+.

,nter&ention can be pre&ented" if the or!d bourgeoisie does not p!unge into another ar into hich the So&iet /nion ou!d be dra n at the ris' of being destroyed. Such a or!d ar can be pre&ented" if the or'ers of the or!d fight for peace at any price ... and for the status +uo.

The maintenance of the status +uo" of course" means 8preser&ation of the present capita!ist socia! order.E1 The doctrine" on!y tacit!y operati&e and unde&e!oped at the time of the autumn 19:? @erman crisis" ou!d be fu!!y spe!t out by time of the %ritish @enera! Stri'e in 19:7. ,t fruits ou!d be on!y begin to be rea!i(ed in 0hina in 19:6 ith the destruction of the pro!etariat of the eastern industria! regions of the country" a setbac' from hich the 0hinese pro!etariat has never reco&ered. The fu!! force of this doctrine" its practica! e#hibition in a!! its na'ed crimina!ity" ou!d be demonstrated during the Spanish 0i&i! +ar in pursuit of the 8popu!ar front8 (i.e." a po!itica! b!oc ith !ibera! or 8progressi&e8 bourgeois and reformist socia!ist e!ements). There" thugs and murderers" i.e." operati&es of the Spanish 0ommunist party" the 0omintern" and the So&iet regime itse!f" de!iberate!y and systematica!!y engaged in the mass murder of re&o!utionary mi!itants and destruction of their organi(ations hich ta'en together formed the Spanish pro!etarian &anguard. %he Aftermath in Cermany The historica! resu!t of the missed @erman opportunity as the internationa! iso!ation of the So&iet /nion from pro!etarian forces abroad. This !ed straighta ay to the ascendancy of the nationa!ist" bureaucracy inside the So&iet regime. +ithin a year" the Sta!in-%u'harin !ed b!oc ou!d conso!idate its contro! o&er the regime" and ithin the 0omintern Jino&ie& ou!d no !onger effecti&e!y 8!ead8 (a rea!ity that ou!d be forma!i(ed ith his rep!acement by %u'harin in Hanuary 19:;). Fo!!o ing the @erman debac!e" the !eading !ights of the 0omintern appeared ob!i&ious to the historica! defeat 4ust suffered. ,nstead" at the Fifth 0ongress of the 0ommunist ,nternationa!" Jino&ie& c!aimed 8 e8 had 8o&erestimated8 the situation* 8+e had e#pected the @erman re&o!ution but it did not come.8 =&ents demonstrated 8that there are sti!! too many socia! democratic sur&i&a!s !eft in the ran's of the .arty.8: Thus" the on!y recourse as to condemn %rand!er" and to get onto the ne#t order of business[? According to Jino&ie&" our 8genera! po!itica! perspecti&es remain essentia!!y as before. The situation is pregnant ith re&o!ution. ... A gigantic strugg!e is on the march...8 > ,t ou!d ta'e the 0omintern !eadership more than a year to recogni(e the stabi!i(ation that had a!ready occurred" and by then ne strugg!es &ere beginning to unfo!d. .rior to the 19:? @erman crisis" no 0ommunist party had e&er entered a coa!ition go&ernment ith either" in Aeninist terms" a bourgeois party of the or'ing c!ass (Socia! -emocracy) or another bourgeois party. To be sure" neither had the =00, e&er before ad&ocated such a tactic. The tactic as a per&ersion of the united front" a concept first de&e!oped by Aenin and Trots'y at the Third 0omintern 0ongress in Hu!y 19:1 in the aftermath of the March Action. The united front as a tactic as designed to be uti!i(ed in situations here a 0ommunist party" though a mass party" confronts a much !arger reformist party that ho!ds the a!!egiance of the bu!' of the industria! or'ing c!ass. (,t has a!so been emp!oyed in defensi&e situations hen or'ers are confronted by mass fascists organi(ations.) .roposed by 0ommunists" if agreed to" a temporary b!oc bet een parties is estab!ished. The 0ommunist party insists on its independence in fact" and must ho!d itse!f to that position. This a!!o s it to ca!! for a !ine of action that is ade$uate to the ba!ance of c!ass forces ithin and ithout society. ,f such a course is re4ected by the !arger reformist party" and the action fai!s (or e&ents the action sought to pre&ent from transpiring occur)" it is the duty of 0ommunists to point out to or'ers this fai!ure (or occurrence) is a product of the reformists5 refusa! to participate in 4oint action. The upshot is that tactic hen proper!y uti!i(ed shou!d in or'ers grouped under a reformist banner to the re&o!utionary party. =ntering a coa!ition go&ernment in Sa#ony (and Thuringia) as ostensib!y an 8app!ication8 of the united front tactic. %ut @erman 0ommunists &aci!!ated and hesitant!y operated o&er the heads of the or'ers. This practice as the product of a 0omintern !eadership caught up in the pursuit of So&iet State interests (presumed to be identica! ith the
1/ax

(ha"htman, 06ntrodu"tion0 to Ibid, xiv.xv (emphases in the original!. 22, 2, @une #+2,, "ited by Trotsky, Ibid, #%2. 3Ibid, #%%. 4(ra&da, 2, @une #+22, "ited by Trotsky, Ibid'
2(ra&da,

interests of the specific !eaders actua!!y ho!ding the reins of po er). The same scenario ou!d again be p!ayed out in %ritain rough!y a year after Fifth 0ongress. Britain At the Fifth 0ongress Jino&ie& dec!ared* 8The chief tas's of the 0ommunist ,nternationa! are no being transferred to %ritain. )nce e ha&e a 0ommunist mass .arty in %ritain e sha!! be ha!f- ay to &ictory in =urope. K 0onditions are no ripe for this.8 Thus" ith a a&e of the hand" so to spea'" Jino&ie& rote off @ermany and centra! =urope.1 )n the assumption that the ,nternationa!5s !eadership cou!d not be he!d to ha&e erred in @ermany" the =#ecuti&e 0ommittee" in !ine ith its !aying responsibi!ity for this fiasco on %rand!er5s ro!e in the Sa#ony coa!ition go&ernment" de&e!oped a tru!y bi(arre perspecti&e on the !eft ing of the reformist or'ers5 mo&ement. 0!aiming the 8!efts8 ere mere!y one ing of bourgeois .o er (fascists being the other" right ing)" the !eadership decried Socia! -emocrats as 8socia! fascists8 and issued instructions to the nationa! parties to orient a!! po!icy to ard their destruction.: ,n %ritain" the Ang!o &ersion of Socia! -emocracy" the Aabour .arty" came to po er e!ectora!!y in Hanuary 19:>. The Aabour go&ernment under the !eadership of 3amsey Mac-ona!d did rea! ser&ice to the So&iet regime. ,t persuaded the French to e&acuate the 3uhr" thereby easing internationa! tensions< in the face of determined 0onser&ati&e party opposition" it dip!omatica!!y recogni(ed the So&iet regime< the Aabor go&ernment engaged in negotiations for a So&iet !oan< and it ga&e encouragement to the %ritish Trade /nion 0ongress (T/0) to enter ta!'s aimed ith its So&iet counterparts to reunite the fragmented internationa! trade union mo&ement. For these efforts" the Aabor go&ernment as described by the Fifth 0ongress as 8the faithfu! ser&ant of 1is Ma4esty the 9ing of the empire of capita!ists.8 The Aabour go&ernment !asted a mere nine months" fa!!ing &ictim to red-baiting charges that the %ritish 0ommunist party (0.@%) p!ayed no sma!! ro!e in. ,n the nationa! e!ections that fo!!o ed Mc-ona!d5s resignation" it as succeeded by a 0onser&ati&e party go&ernment.? The ro!e the Aabour party go&ernment had actua!!y p!ayed in re!ation to the So&iet regime as one !eaders of the 0omintern and the 3ussian party had assigned to the T/0. +hi!e efforts to reunite the Amsterdam (Socia!ist) and 0ommunist ,nternationa!s fai!ed" a fai!ure !arge!y the product of the former5s suspicions of the !atter" the %ritish T/0 continued to negotiate ith the Mosco -based" 3ussian Trade /nion Federation. )n 1> Apri! 19:;" a 8.ermanent Ang!o-3ussian Trade /nion 0ommittee"E common!y 'no n as the Ang!o-3ussian 0ommittee" as estab!ished to pro&ide a forum for 4oint action aimed at unity in the internationa! trade-union mo&ement. )stensib!y the 0ommunists sa this as a means of entry from abo&e into" for purposes of actua! contro! o&er" the same mo&ement.> As a matter of practice" the committee as a maneu&er aimed at insuring that ade$uate union pressure cou!d be brought to bear on the %ritish go&ernment to neutra!i(e it in the e&ent of rene ed imperia!ist attac's on the So&iet /nion. This as one aspect of the bac'ground to the %ritish @enera! Stri'e of 19:7. The %ritish @enera! Stri'e as in the broad historica! sense the outcome of !oss of =ng!ish industria! and co!onia! hegemony in the or!d capita!ist system. %y the end of the imperia!ist or!d ar" techno!ogica!!y-based" mi!itary de&e!opments had !ed to a !oss of %ritish na&a! domination of the seas and to a simi!ar !oss of =ng!and5s insu!ar is!and situation in e&ent of ar. (The !atter as !arge!y a de&e!opment of mi!itary a&iation hich made Aondon" in particu!ar" a target for bombing.) This ne &u!nerabi!ity compe!!ed the =ng!ish ru!ing c!ass to pay more attention to the po!itica! and socia! strugg!es on the continent. The co!onia! administrations and !oca! ru!ing c!asses of the %ritish dependencies" ho e&er" continued to !oo' to the %ritish to pro&ide the type of na&a! might that ou!d defend them in the arena" for e#amp!e" of the ,ndian or .acific )ceans. Thus" as the =ng!ish capita! and its po!itica! representati&e directed themse!&es more and more to the affairs of =urope" they and their co!onia! dependencies5 interests began to di&erge. 0o!onia! independence mo&ements that ere e!! under ay before the outbrea' of the !ast imperia!ist or!d ar (19?9) threatened to further undermine =ng!ish hegemony in the or!d system. %ut !itt!e =ng!and as not 4ust under attac' here.
1<ited 2Ibid,

from the minutes of the <ongress by ;raunthal, Ibid, II, 3%#. II, 2+'.2+ . 0:t the present moment the top people among the =erman (o"ial Lemo"rats are nothing else than a )ing of the =erman 2as"ist movement in (o"ialist disguise.0 7<<6 resolution "ited in Ibid, II, 2+'. 3Ibid, II, 3%#.3%3, (3%2, "itation!. 4Ibid, II, 3%3.3%, and n.3 (3%3!.

,n 19:;" American capita!5s industria!-based" financia! might forced =ng!and off the ster!ing standard. 0ompe!!ed to a!ign its currency ith the go!d standard-based do!!ar" o&ernight =ng!ish finances ere rendered dependent upon the /S go&ernment-contro!!ed Federa! 3eser&e %an' of 2e Ior'. ,f the !atter !o ered its interest rate" so the =ng!ish =#che$uer ou!d be forced to fo!!o suit. To e#acerbate matters" the %ritish co!onies ere more and more coming to base their e#port and import transactions on the do!!ar. Fina!!y" %ritish industry as" by the end of the first imperia!ist or!d ar" bac' ard re!ati&e to both ne " more modern" American and @erman industries. @ermany" in particu!ar" ith an industria! economy that as &ertica!!y integrated had a rea! competiti&e ad&antage. (,n the /.S." on!y the !eading industries such as stee! in the 0arnegie =mpire ere simi!ar!y integrated). Thus" competiti&e!y spea'ing" the inefficiencies of %ritish industry ere high!ighted.1 After the or!d ar" the =ng!ish ru!ing c!ass more and more attempted to push off the conse$uences of industria! and co!onia! dec!ine onto %ritish or'ers. +age cuts" assau!ts on or'ing conditions" and &ictimi(ation ere a constant feature of industria! !ife from 1919 for ard" particu!ar!y in the period of 19:B-19:?.: /nemp!oyment had no !onger become a function of cyc!ica! de&e!opment" but as structura!* The 8norma!8 reser&e army of !abor had gi&en ay to the unemp!oyed as a permanent socia! stratum.? From 19:> on ard" ho e&er" %ritish or'ers e#hibited increasing signs of combati&ity. ,t as against this bac'ground" that the @enera! 0ounci!" the union !eadership of the %ritish nationa! a!!-trades organi(ation (Trade /nion 0ongress)" ca!!ed for a genera! stri'e in defense of an ongoing miners stri'e to begin > May 19:7. ,n 19:7" the @enera! 0ounci! consisted in a bureaucratic b!oc c!ose to the !i'e-minded former Aabour party go&ernment headed by 3amsey Mc-ona!d. The internationa! iso!ation of the So&iet regime had persuaded the 3ussian and 8bo!she&i(ed8 =00, !eadership that its orientation to ard the 8!eft8 reformist bureaucrats as essentia!!y correct" i.e." offered on Sta!inist-%u'harinist assumptions the best chances of defending the So&iet regime from internationa! capita!ist strangu!ation. ,n !ine ith this 8ana!ysis"E the 0omintern had fo!!o ed a po!icy of support for the Ang!o-3ussian 0ommittee. The genera! stri'e as the !argest" most so!id stri'e in the history of %ritish !abor. ,t in&o'ed an outpouring of internationa! support especia!!y among the doc' or'ers of France" @ermany" %e!gium" 1o!!and" -enmar'" and the Scandina&ian countries. The stri'ersF intent as not" though" re&o!utionary. The @enera! 0ounci! sensed this. 1a&ing entered into negotiations ith the 0onser&ati&e party go&ernment" the @enera! 0ounci! tops soon rea!i(ed that to in the stri'e ou!d re$uire nothing !ess than assau!t on State po er. A re&o!utionary mood as far and a ay the most distant sentiment to underpin their a areness.> They ca!!ed off the genera! stri'e 4ust nine days into it. The ro!e of the tiny 0ommunist party (@reat %ritain) in the run-up to and during the stri'e is moot. There is in fact e&idence to suggest that the .arty as to the right of 0omintern throughout this period.; The e&a!uation here depends upon hether or not one ho!ds the @enera! Stri'e constituted an ob4ecti&e!y re&o!utionary situation. That position cou!d be he!d by those (i.e." the =00,) ho at the same time had !itt!e desire to see a re&o!ution de&e!op. 1ere" it is important to understand 4ust ho the 0omintern e&a!uated and then acted on its re!ation to the Ang!o3ussian 0ommittee" and through it to the @enera! 0ounci! !eaders. ,n the aftermath of the genera! stri'e" the Hoint )pposition ca!!ed on the 3ussian party to instruct its de!egates to the Ang!o-3ussian 0ommittee to denounce the T/0 @enera! 0ounci! for its betraya! of stri'ing or'ers and to brea' off re!ations (thereby disso!&ing) the 0ommittee.7 ,t as important to stri'e hi!e the iron as hot* 8,t as necessary to brea' ith the @enera! 0ounci! ithout hesitation o&er the $uestion of the betraya! of the stri'e at the moment of the
1Trotsky,

Where is =ritain >oing (#+2-!, appearing in the "olle"tion )eon #rots.y on =ritain, 2+.3#, and n. 3#. (ee also @ames Binton and Ri"hard Byman, #rade 5nions and Re&olution, #,.#'. 2Ibid, #'. 3Trotsky, Ibid, 32. 4;raunthal, Ibid, II, 3%,.3%-. 5Binton and Byman, Ibid, 3-.3 . The leadership of the <5=; that dire"ted the party throughout the strike had as"ended in #+23, long before that period des"ribed by Binton and Byman in )hi"h the party )as to the right (i.e., hesitant and un)illing to engage in "onsistent revolutionary pra"ti"e! of the <omintern. This leadership (R. 5alme Lutt, Barry 5ollitt, @.R. <ampbell! had been the old ;ritish (o"ialist 5arty refor"ist, parliamentary, and ele"torally oriented leadership. The ;(5, along )ith the ;ritish Labour 5arty, had been the largest "omponent of the fusion that in #+2# "reated the <ommunist 5arty.=reat ;ritain. The right)ard turn of the <5=; "an be dated to the <omintern formal adoption of the united front ta"ti". 3riented to)ard the labor tops, the leadership that emerged in #+23 )as )eak, subservient to the <omintern, un"riti"al and nonpoliti"al, and bureau"rati".

betraya! and before the eyes of the masses. The traitors shou!d not ha&e been a!!o ed to appear as our 5a!!ies5 for a sing!e hour after the brea'ing of the stri'e.81 The 3ussian party did other ise" and to do other ise as not on!y be unprincip!ed but ran the ris' of !osing %ritish or'er support in future situations here imperia!ist %ritain menaced the So&iet regime. From the end of the genera! stri'e unti! their e#pu!sion from the party" )ppositionists ou!d use e&ery party forum sti!! a&ai!ab!e to them to demand a brea' ith the @enera! 0ounci!. %ut not on!y did Sta!in and the ho!e apparatus oppose them. There as a!so %u'harin" ho had rep!aced Jino&ie& as 0omintern president fo!!o ing the !atter5s defeat in Hanuary 19:7 and ho no formu!ated the 0omintern !ine" the theoretica! conse$uences" internationa!!y spea'ing" of the doctrine of 8socia!ism in one country.E Moreo&er" the Aeft as opposed by the 00 3ight b!oc" name!y Toms'y (head of .rofintern" the 3ed ,nternationa! of Trade /nions) and 3y'o&" ho ere adamant in retaining this re!ation. %u'harin" in particu!ar" repeated!y pro&ided differing if not contradictory rationa!i(ations for this po!icy (of continuing support for the T/0 @enera! 0ounci!). 1is arguments made e#p!icit the operati&e assumption in 3ussian party-0omintern po!icy since at !east the .o!ish crisis (March 19:1)* 1e asserted the primacy of So&iet State interests o&er the need to de&e!op re&o!utionary parties abroad in the absence of socia!ist re&o!ution in the +est. As Trots'y rehearsed %u'harin5s reasoning (apropos the Ang!o-3ussian 0ommittee5s %er!in 0onference of 11 May 19:7)" 8the capitu!ation must not be considered from the standpoint of the internationa! re&o!utionary strugg!e of the pro!etariat" but from the standpoint of a 5dip!omatic5 counteraction to the offensi&e of imperia!ism against the /SS3.8: 0ompromises" po!icy re&ersa!s" !ies and deception (to and of or'ers) might a!! be demanded if the sur&i&a! of the So&iet regime demanded such. Trots'y and the Aeft had consistent!y argued that" to the contrary" the 8friend!y re!ation8 and mutua! 8understanding8 (Toms'y) pro&ided the T/0 ith a !eft co&er for its betraya! of first the genera! stri'e and then si# months !ater the mine or'ers" that once ha&ing gone do n this road" the 3ussian party and So&iet regime ou!d themselves be sub4ect to future betraya!s" and" in the end" the @enera! 0ounci! ou!d brea' off re!ations ith their 3ussian 8partners8 at a time and o&er issues that cou!d on!y hurt" i.e." further internationa!!y iso!ate" the So&iet regime. The Aeft argued the $uestion as not one of 8 hether the internationa! re&o!utionary mo&ement of the pro!etariat is ad&antageous for a or'er5 state" but rather hether e are he!ping or obstructing it by our po!icy.8 0ontrary to the 3ussian party-0omintern !eadership assertion that it as the sur&i&a! of the /SS3 that as at sta'e in subordinating internationa! pro!etarian interests" and the !iaison ith the @enera! 0ounci! ou!d he!p ard off any imperia!ist-promoted ar danger" the Aeft retorted 8the s!ightest yie!ding to the pacifist i!!usions of the trade unionists ou!d render more difficu!t the rea! strugg!e against the ar danger and in4ure the internationa! pro!etariat as much as the /SS3.8 1a&ing abandoned his ear!ier position (as c!arified by the summer-fa!! 19:? @erman e&ents)" for Trots'y (and the Aeft)" then" the t o sets of interests ere intert ined and inseparab!e* ,t 8is precise!y the interests of this defense Rthat of the So&iet regimeS that demand of the internationa! pro!etariat not a ea'ening but a sharpening of the strugg!e against the bourgeois state. The ar danger can on!y be a&erted or postponed for the pro!etariat by the rea! danger to the bourgeoisie that the imperia!ist ar can be transformed into a ci&i! ar. ,n other ords" the ar danger does not demand a passing o&er from the re&o!utionary po!icy to a po!icy of compromise" but on the contrary" a firmer" more energetic" more irreconci!ab!e e#ecution of the re&o!utionary po!icy.8? Trots'y" in particu!ar" as scoffed at" pi!!oried" and ridicu!ed.> ,n September" that is" ithin four months" the @enera! 0ounci! recommended to the 19:7 0ongress of the T/0 that the %ritish re!ation to the Ang!o-3ussian 0ommittee be disso!&ed. The 0ongress" of course" affirmed this recommendation. ,n the interim" the 0ommunist ,nternationa! had remained silent on the @enera! 0ounci! ca!!ing off of the genera! stri'e" its desertion of the miners5 hose stri'e continued unti! 2o&ember 19:7 hen mine or'ers" ha&ing on nothing" ere forced bac' to or' by hunger< it remained silent as the 0onser&ati&e party go&ernment in the person of Austin 0hamber!ain" its Foreign Secretary" gre increasing!y hosti!e to ard the So&iet regime< and it"
60Resolution

on the =eneral (trike in ;ritain0 presented to a 5lenum of the <entral <ommittee meeting in mid.@uly #+2$. (igned by Trotsky, 4inoviev, Mamenev, 5iatakov, and Mrupskaya. Reprinted in )eon #rots.y on =ritain, 2-3.2- . 106bid,0 2-,. 20The (truggle for 5ea"e and the :nglo.Russian <ommittee0 originally published in pamphlet form in Lut"h in /ay #+2'. Reprinted in )eon #rots.y on =ritain, 2$$. 306bid,0 2'%, 2'2, 2'$. 42or examples, see 0>hat >e =ave and >hat >e =ot0 in )hi"h Trotsky "ites from the minutes a @uly #+2' ?oint plenum of the << and <entral <ontrol <ommission. (5rinted in type)ritten form and distributed by hand )ith a date of 2' (eptember #+2'. 2irst appearing abroad in 7nglish in autumn #+3,. Reprinted in )eon #rots.y on =ritain, 2 3.2+#!.

and the 3ussian party .o!itburo" remained silent as the same go&ernment transported arms to the counterre&o!utionary 2ationa!ist 9uomintang under 0hiang 9ai-she' in 0hina. The disso!ution of the Ang!o-3ussian 0ommittee as the !ogica! outcome of discarding a c!ass strugg!e perspecti&e oriented on re&o!utionary change for a necessari!y precarious a!!iance ith trade union bureaucrats. The dismay disp!ayed by the 3ussian .arty !eadership (Andreye&" Doroshi!o&" Toms'y" et alia) o&er the disso!ution of the 0ommittee pro&ed" perhaps on!y to the sub4ecti&e satisfaction of the Aeft" that" as Trots'y indicated" T/0 !eadership as politically (an$rupt, engaged in the pursuit of opportunistic illusions, had hope!ess!y sun' in the mire of its o n po!itics" and o(;ectively gave aid to the imperialist enemy.1 The fourteen months of si!ence that fo!!o ed the %ritish @enera! Stri'e and" in particu!ar" its aftermath in the 3ussian party" a!ong ith the 0hinese 3e&o!ution" mobi!i(ed and hardened" !i'e nothing e!se" Aeft )ppositionists to ards Sta!in5s bureaucratic-despotic ru!e. (To e!iminate their criticism in party circ!es" the .o!itburo ou!d short!y e#pe! )ppositionists rendering them fit for @./ persecution.) ,n turn" Sta!in" first" re&ea!ed that he himse!f as an utter and contemptib!e fai!ure as a strategist of or!d re&o!ution P a re&e!ation most star'!y manifest in these t o or!d historica! or'ing c!ass defeats": and" second" demonstrated the positions the !eadership too' ere designed !arge!y to co&er up its o n errors. 0ontrary to Sta!in" Trots'y as indeed correct* The fate of the pro!etariat internationa!!y sea!ed the fate of So&iet /nion. ,so!ation fore&er decided that the !atter cou!d mount at best the most per&erse and barbaric semb!ance of 8socia!ist8 de&e!opment. China The traditiona! basis of 0hinese !ife" consisting in the &i!!age-based unity of handicrafts and farming (interpreted in terms of and reinforced by 0onfucian forms of thought that stressed the time!essness of socia! !ife)" as transformed by imperia!ist penetration after 16?B. The centra! po er in this drama as the %ritish" ho in defense of their right to the sa!e of their most !ucrati&e commodity" opium" ent to ar to first defend and then defeat the Manchus. The defense as against the Taipings. The Manchu -ynasty" other ise tottering and too ea' to 'eep its ho!d on po er" suppressed" !arge!y ith the assistance of co!onia! armament techno!ogy and so!diery" this !ast great peasant uprising (the Taiping rising) beginning in 16;B.? Thereafter" co!onia! po ers car&ed out massi&e hun's of the 0hinese empire* France too' the !and of the 9ymers and Annam in the 167Bs" in the mid-166Bs" the %ritish sei(ed %urma" hi!e Tsarist 3ussia instituted a 8sphere of inf!uence8 in northern Manchuria. Simi!ar!y" !ate in the century (169>) the Hapanese ent to ar against the Manchus" defeating the imperia! army" and car&ed out a co!ony on the 9orean peninsu!a and estab!ished a simi!ar 8sphere8 in southern Manchuria. The ,mperia! 0ourt as mi!itari!y he!p!ess and its =mpire began to fracture a!ong territoria! !ines (!arge!y coinciding ith the imperia!ist 8spheres of inf!uence8) go&erned by mi!itaristic pro&incia! or regiona! satraps other ise 'no n as ar!ords.> The end of century sa the emergence of modern capita!ist industry in 0hina" particu!ar!y in the southeast coasta! region. Te#ti!e mi!!s (cotton and si!')" bean oi! processing factories" and iron ore and coa! production processing faci!ities ere constructed. The imperia!ist or!d ar ga&e an enormous impetus to the e#pansion of industria! production. Annu! production !eaped for ard. 0oncomitant!y" the de&e!opment of modern methods of communication and the materia!" infrastructura! presuppositions" rai! ays" te!egraphs and steamships and ban'ing as e!!" mo&ed ahead rapid!y.;
106bid,0 2 2;ritain

%, 2 2, 2 3, 2+#, 2+2. and <hina (see belo)!. 3Barold 6saa"s, #he #ragedy of the Chinese Re&olution, ,.#%. 2or a materialist explanation of the traditional basis of the immobile :siati" village, see Marl /arx, 02orms 5re"eding <apitalist 5rodu"tion,0 *ar/ ngels Colle!ted Wor.s, 7' ,H, ,%#, ,#%, ,# . Bo)ever, see the Third (tudy under the heading of CCo"unis"o )ibertarioC )here /arxFs a""ount is "riti"ally trans"ended. The "ongruen"e of the immobility of the village "ommunity and ahistori"al and timeless so"iality in <onfu"ian thought is pointed out by :kira 6riye, $!ross the (a!ifi!, '. . 46saa"s, Ibid, #2, 2%. Mymer and :nnam are the heartlands of )hat today is kno)n as <ambodia and Vietnam. 2or a detailed a""ount of "olonial and, latter, imperialist penetration here, see 2ran"is 2it1=erald, @ire in the )a.e, ,3.+-. 56saa"s, Ibid, 2#.22, 3-.

The situation as some hat simi!ar to !ate 19th century Tsarist 3ussia in that foreign capita! poured in to spur on this de&e!opment. Again" simi!ar!y" a modern pro!etariat as in the initia! process of formation. %ut there ere a!so three significant differences. First" the destabi!i(ation of Manchu po er" not 4ust ob4ecti&e!y but in terms of a !oss of the 8mandate of hea&en8 (i.e." sub4ecti&e!y" in the eyes of the mass of the popu!ace)" meant that a Statist center ou!d not guide de&e!opment. /n!i'e Tsarist 3ussia" 0hinese de&e!opment ou!d ne&er ad&ance the ambitions of an indigenous imperia!ist po er (a!beit a !esser one). ,t ou!d be contro!!ed !oc'" stoc' and barre!" so to spea'" by ri&a! great imperia!ist po ers. Second" the nati&e industria!ists" ban'ers" and a stratum of bro'ers" money!enders and specu!ators - that ta'en together constituted a comprador bourgeoisie hose !ife acti&ity as !arge!y absorbed in mediating the re!ations of e#p!oitation of foreign capita! to the under!ying peasant (and de&e!oping pro!etarian) popu!ations and in s'imming off the top of the surp!uses generate by these popu!ations - formed the socia! basis of ( hi!e contract !aborers and petty merchants !i&ing abroad pro&ided financia! support for) an origina!!y student inte!!igentsia-based" nationalist opposition to foreign penetration and contro!.1 Third" the modern 0hinese or'ing c!ass as !ess mature than its 3ussian counterpart. ,t did not e#hibit the bifurcated c!ass structure of the 3ussian pro!etariat (s'i!!ed e!ite and or'er masses). Moreo&er" as !ate as the re&o!ution of 19:;-19:7" the 0hinese or'ing c!ass as not yet a hereditary pro!etariat. ,t remained !arge!y tied to its pre-peasant past" not 4ust in the bio!ogica!persona! sense (of indi&idua! or'ers ha&ing been forced off the !and in their !ifetimes)" but ith a &ie to or'er aspirations ( or'ers5 fundamenta! orientation as on a return to the soi! as o ner-proprietors of p!ots of !and).: Simi!ar to the 3ussian situation as the fundamenta! fact of rura! bac' ardness. %ecause of the enormous si(e of the peasant popu!ation" the dimensions of the prob!em created by bac' ardness in 0hina ere" if anything" far greater. The rura! economy of 0hina had three centra! features. First" there as the prob!em of 8the increasing!y s ift concentration of !and o nership in the hands of a constant!y narro ing section of the popu!ation.8 Second" it as characteri(ed by 8the passage of tit!e in much of the !and to absentee !and!ords" go&ernment officia!s" ban's" and urban capita!ists" ho contro!!ed the commercia! capita! penetrating to the remotest &i!!ages &ia the !oca! merchants and usurers" and ho ere in turn dominated by foreign finance capita! and the regime of the or!d mar'et.8 The third feature as 8the dis!ocation and dec!ine of agricu!tura! production as a resu!t of the uneconomic use of increasing!y parce!i(ed !and" preser&ation of the most bac' ard farming methods" the harsh impositions of the !and!ord" the usurer" and the state" e#posure to the ra&ages of famine" f!ood" and drought" and ci&i! ars fought be armies s o!!en by hordes of dispossessed peasants.8? ,n this period (circa 19:B)" more than three hundred mi!!ion (?BB"BBB"BBB) peasants popu!ated rura! 0hina. As !ate as 19?7" si#ty-fi&e percent of this peasantry as either !and!ess or !and-hungry. -etai!ed studies (for 19:7) suggest that outside the thirteen percent (1?C) of the rura! popu!ation into hose hands eighty-one percent (61C) of the !and as concentrated" the poor peasantry (i.e." tenant farmers)" ho together ith rura! !aborers made up this &ast mass" occupied on a&erage .67 mo of !and.> Iet the si(e of p!ot necessary to produce the barest subsistence for a peasant fami!y from region to region a!tered bet een si# and ten mo .; 3uined by generationa!!y accumu!ated debt o ed merchants" !and!ords and usurers ( ho might e!! be the same person)" peasants ere dispossessed of their !and. They made up the bac'bone of the mi!itarist-!ed ar!ord armies" f!ed abroad to nations such as the /nited States in need of contract !aborers" and migrated to the coasta! urban areas to ta'e aged or' thereby forming the 0hinese or'ing c!ass. %y 19:7" this urban pro!etariat numbered rough!y one and one-ha!f mi!!ion emp!oyed as factory or'ers" another one and three-$uarter mi!!ion or'ing in the mines" as rai! or'ers" and on steamboats and ships. 0!ose!y !in'ed to these strata" the core of the industria! pro!etariat" ere another" rough!y" e!e&en mi!!ion or'ers emp!oyed in urban shops and urban handicraft production.7
16saa"s, 2Ibid,

Ibid, $.', #$.#', 2%.2#. 33* 2irst (tudy, 6ntrodu"tion, se"tion 6. 36saa"s, Ibid, 2-. 4 : mo) is roughly the e8uivalent of a sixth of an a"re. 5Ibid, 2,, 2-, 2$. 6Ibid, 33.

,n the conte#t of both the unfettered domination of the 0hinese economy as a ho!e by foreign capita!" the de facto fragmentation of the State and the ar-torn character of society" and the massi&e aporia of rura! bac' ardness" the 0ommunist ,nternationa! recogni(ed that a re&o!utionary so!ution to the 80hinese $uestion8 as on the historica! agenda. %ut that re&o!ution ou!d most !i'e!y be anti-imperia!ist if not out and out rabid!y nationa!ist. ,n fact" hen this $uestion as first ta'en up (19:B)" 0hina !ac'ed a 0ommunist party. (The 0hinese party as formed in Hu!y 19:1.) ,n 0hina" the 0omintern did not origina!!y e&en ma'e an attempt to fo!!o the theses on the nationa! and co!onia! $uestions !aborious or'ed out and e!aborated at the Second 0ongress (March 19:B) by Aenin. From 19:: on ard" 0omintern po!icies and 3ussian party po!itics ere united in the sing!e personage of Jino&ie&. )ne might say in the 0hinese case this !ed to a destructi&e cross-ferti!i(ation that as harmfu! to both organi(ations< that is" from the beginning the 0omintern5s 0hinese 8!ine8 as mere!y a na'ed e#pression of So&iet State interests. From the time of the 8March Action8 on ard" this had been the conscious" if not open!y pursued" direction of 0omintern po!icy.1 8The So&iet bureaucracy" thrust bac' ... from the frontiers of =urope... did not come to the =ast in search of ne pro!etarian con$uests. ,t came !oo'ing for ne a!!ies" ne bu! ar's" ne fronts on hich to b!unt the hosti!e pressure of the +estern po ers and of =ng!and in particu!ar.8: Thus" the first ear!y So&iet missions from 19:B to 19:: in 0hina !oo'ed to hate&er po erfu! mi!itaristic po!itician" in other ords" ar!ord" ou!d ser&e So&iet dip!omatic interests. These missions sought out opponents of the pro-Hapanese Anfu circ!e that go&erned in .e'ing" and not f!edg!ing re&o!utionary forces" ith hich to ma'e a dea! (mi!itary aid for a buffer against imperia!ist penetration from the =ast). ,n 19:B" hen one of those ar!ords" +u .5e!-fu" actua!!y sei(ed the .e'ing go&ernment and topp!ed the Anfu regime

#The

=erman "risis kno)n as 0/ar"h :"tion0 of #+2# largely "oin"ided )ith the first post.<ivil >ar "risis of the (oviet regimeH 9nder pressure of fa"tional disagreement )ith the Russian party, the >orkersI 3pposition (#+2%.#+2#! )as suppressed by the ]th 5arty <ongress ban on fa"tions in the very month as the outbreak of the =erman "risis. :t the same time, mass strikes o""urred in 5etersburg and sailors of the revolutionary stronghold of Mronstadt revolted )ith demands for a""ess to the "ountryside (to barter or s"rounge for food during the famine! and for a revival of (oviet demo"ra"y. ;rutally and ex"essively repressed, the sailors revolt signified the end of the Revolution, the untenability of those measures "olle"tively kno)n as )ar "ommunism, and the terrible isolation of the regime from proletariat for"es abroad and those remnant ones at home. ((ee the opening se"tion to this essay, the 5rologue, above.! The "risis at home )as met by the adoption of the Ae) 7"onomi" 5oli"y by the same <ongress. :broad, 4inoviev attempted to speed up the tempo of revolutionary development. That effort )as kno)n as the 0theory of the offensive.0(2or )hat follo)s "on"erning the 0/ar"h :"tion,0 see ;raunthal, Ibid, II, 22-.22 .! The year #+2# opened )ith the <ommunist 5arty of =ermany (ML5! under the leadership of 5aul Levi. Levi, it should be noted, )as the only independent and able leader the =ermany party had had sin"e the murders of Marl Leibkne"ht and Rosa Luxemburg (in @anuary #+#+! and Leo @ogi"hes (in /ar"h #+#+ )hile being held in prison!. 6n fa"t, he )as one of the fe) independent men )ho had stayed in a 7uropean <ommunist party follo)ing the 2nd <omintern <ongress (/ar"h #+2%! formulation of t)enty.one "onditions for entry. These "onditions, ne"essary perhaps to insure "harlatans and opportunists did not atta"h themselves to a gro)ing international movement, also had the effe"t of driving out those individuals, )hatever their politi"al persuasions (su"h as (errati in 6taly!, )ho had the experien"e, the mass re"ognition, and personal "ourage to oppose themselves in prin"ipled disagreement to the poli"y of a no).more.than.even ;olshevik.dominated <omintern. 2ollo)ing the formation of the mass party kno)n as the 6ndependents (6ndependent (o"ialist 5arty of =ermany, 9(5L! to the left of the =erman (o"ial Lemo"rats, Levi had argued in the 6nternational and party forums for a )orking relation, a united front, )ith the t)o other so"ialist parties and the =erman trade unions. 6nside the <6 7xe"utive <ommittee, he )as a""used of follo)ing a poli"y of, )hile theori1ing, 0ina"tivity.0 To this, on #- /ar"h #+2# ;ukharin in parti"ular . but )ith 4inovievIs enthusiasti" support . opposed the 0theory of the offensive.0 6n pra"ti"e this amounted to dangerous, party.led exemplary a"tions aimed at 0galvani1ing0 )orkers into sei1ing po)er. The poli"y pursued as a "onse8uen"e, insisted on in the =erman party by the 7<<6 representative for =ermany, ;ela Mun, "alled out the )orkers for a mass uprising on #+ /ar"h, an a"tion "onfined to ;erlin in )hat "learly )as not a revolutionary situation. The results of this puts"hist adventure )ere the deaths of a thousand =erman )orkers, and the imprisonment of ten thousand more* the )idening of the gap bet)een the <ommunists and (o"ial Lemo"rats, and not ?ust bet)een their respe"tive leaderships but bet)een their )orking "lass bases* the resignation of Levi from the party leadership and his subse8uent expulsion from the =erman party* and, signifi"ant in the longer term, the 0/ar"h :"tion0 "on"lusively pushed middle strata (small o)ners, professionals, et".! into the &Nl.is!he.nationalist and fas"ist "amp. /eeting at the end of /ar"h, the Third <omintern <ongress in a small private leadership session dire"ted by Lenin sub?e"ted the theory of the offensive to )ithering "riti"ism. 2or his role in the 0/ar"h :"tion0 ;ela Mun "ame in for the brunt of this "riti"ism, those "on"erning the puts"hist nature of the a"tion and the la"k of politi"al assessment of "lass for"es. LeninIs "riti"ism put an end to the offensive phase of the <ominternIs history. J(erge, *e"oirs of a Re&olutionary, #3+.#,%, notes that his )ife took stenographi" notes of this meeting )hi"h he and she later edited. Lenin, speaking throughout in 2ren"h, had "alled Mun Cles bOtiseC blunderer, fool, but (erge, or his translator 5eter (edg)i"k, asserts LeninIs meaning )as 0imbe"ile,0 i"bI!ile.! LeninIs "hara"teri1ation o""urred some ten times. ;e"ause, a""ording to (erge, Mun )as the 0symboli" figure of the Bungarian Revolution,0 it )as deleted from the re"ord.K 26saa"s, #he #ragedy of the Chinese Re&olution, ,+.

in 19:B" So&iet authorities cro ed about the changes ta'ing p!ace ... at !east unti! +u began to orient himse!f to the %ritish.1 ,t as on!y in the spring 19:1" hen Maring came to 0hina" that connections ith the on!y 0hinese nationa!ist force (Sun Iat-sen5s 9uomintang)" acti&e in the southeast of 0hina" ere estab!ished.: Fo!!o ing the defeat and e#pu!sion of his forces from 0anton by the ar!ord 0h5\n 0h5iung-ming" Sun as fina!!y ready to !isten to a!ternati&es to his po!icy of pursuing pure!y mi!itary means of obtaining po er. Maring5s inter&ention con&inced Sun. Thus" it as at this time that the 0omintern ga&e up its 8,r'uts'8 !ine" the effort to !in' up ith northern ar!ords" and began to cu!ti&ate a re!ation ith Sun and the rather !oose organi(ation he had created and headed" the 9uomintang. 2o Sun Iat-sen" former po!itica! e#i!e and president of the ineffectua! 3epub!ic formed fo!!o ing the 1911 re&o!ution" as a mi!itary conspirator and strident nationa!ist" 1an chau&inist" anti-popu!ist and anti-%o!she&i'" ho had surrounded himse!f ith the more radica! bourgeois inte!!igentsia in an organi(ation that by the end of the imperia!ist or!d ar had become steri!e. 1is fortunes had been re&i&ed by a ne current" the student !ed and initiated" or'er supported May >th Mo&ement (a huge nationa!ist and anti-Hapanese outpouring in 1919). This current fed into his organi(ation.? ,n Hanuary 19:?" Ado!ph Hoffe" a !eading So&iet dip!omat" met ith Sun. They issued a 4oint statement that recogni(ed the necessary conditions for creating socia!ism (and communism) did not RyetS e#ist in 0hina. Hoffe offered Sun So&iet support for the unification and nationa! independence of 0hina.> +hate&er Sun5s persona! reser&ations" he needed assistance. Moreo&er" amongst his entourage ere inte!!ectua!s ho found the aura surrounding the 3ussian 3e&o!ution compe!!ing* 3ussia as" !i'e 0hina" a bac' ard country that had thro n off the yo'e of imperia!ist supported" autocratic ru!e and as underta'ing an e#periment in socia! and economic de&e!opment ne to humanity. 1is ad&enturist efforts a fai!ure" Sun as not in a position to say no. 1e reached out and grabbed the 3ussian !ife!ine. A group of Sun5s supporters" inc!uding 0hiang 9ai-she' (his brother-in-!a )" ent to Mosco to study the organi(ationa!" mi!itary" and insurrectiona! techni$ues that So&iet authorities had disti!!ed from their e#perience. ,n autumn 19:?" Michae! %orodin arri&ed in 0anton as So&iet ambassador. 1e brought ith him a !arge staff of po!itica! ad&isers and mi!itary e#perts. ,n spring 19:>" on the return of 0hiang and others" the +hampoa Mi!itary Academy as founded in 0anton ith So&iet financia! assistance.; -uring his stay in 0hina" Maring had a!so been busy ith the f!edg!ing 0hinese 0ommunist party. Fo!!o ing Sun5s re4ection of the nascent party5s bid to enter into a t o party a!!iance" Maring had proposed the 0ommunists simp!y enter the 9uomintang" since it as !oose!y structured" and uti!i(e it as a medium to de&e!op a re!ation to those 0hinese peasants and or'ers ith hom Sun5s peop!e ere a!ready in contact. This proposa! had been made at the Second 0ongress of the 0hinese party in 19:: here" hether under 0omintern pressure or no is not c!ear" it as adopted. %y the time forma! dip!omatic re!ations had been estab!ished bet een the So&iet State and nationa!ist 9uomintang ( hich by no mi!itari!y contro!!ed territory in the southeast 9 angtung pro&idence inc!uding 0anton)" the officia!" binding contours of the 8entrist8 practice had been estab!ished for the 0hinese party by the 0omintern. According to ,saacs" 8the .arty as not to merge5 ith the 9uomintang nor 5fur! its o n banner5.8 %orodin con&inced Sun that the 9uomintang shou!d become a discip!ined party basing itse!f on a mass mo&ement. (Sun5s o n con&ictions a!ong these !ines ere considerab!y deepened in 2o&ember 19:? in itnessing a popu!ar mobi!i(ation repe! the 4ust returned forces of the mi!itarist 0h5\n 0h5iung-ming.) To this end" the 3ussian ad&isers and e#perts
1Ibid,

$%.$#. 6saa"s 8uotes a (oviet 2ar 7astern expert named Vilensky )ho, )riting in Iz&estia (+ 3"t. #+2%!, suggested that >u, having sei1ed the nominal government of "entral <hina )ould orient himself to)ard (oviet Russia. 2Ibid, $2. /aring )as the revolutionary no" used by Bendri"us (neevliet. (neevliet, a rail)ay man and member of the Lut"h (5L sin"e #+%2, had been a"tive, founding the first so"ialist organi1ations, in the Lut"h 7ast 6ndies until #+# at )hi"h time he )as expelled from @ava by the imperialist authorities. Be attended the (e"ond <omintern <ongress in /ar"h #+2%. Bere he played a ma?or role in the dis"ussions of the national and "olonial 8uestions intervening along lines "onsistent )ith and elaborating on LeninIs theses. ((ee #he Se!ond Congress of the Co""unist International' *inutes of the (ro!eedings, I, #%+.# ,!. 36saa"s, Ibid, #$.#', -$.$%. 4Ibid, $2.$3* ;raunthal, History of the International, II, 322.323. :.:. @offe )as later, like /aring, a Left 3ppositionist. 9nlike /aring, )ho )as a leader of the Lut"h resistan"e )ho died at the hands of the Aa1i =estapo in #+,2, @offe "ommitted sui"ide in late #+2' in a protest aimed at the regime of (talin and the expulsions of Trotsky and the Left!. 5;raunthal, Ibid, II, 323.

assisted in introducing %o!she&i' methods of agitation and propagandi(ing into Sun5s organi(ation" and in imbuing the personne! ma'ing up the 9uomintang5s armed force ith the organi(ation5s idea!s (as opposed to o!d mi!itarist notions). ,n a!! this members of the 0hinese party became the best bui!ders of the 9uomintang as a party-type organi(ation" su(merging their o&n identities and that of their party in it.1 The 9uomintang as bui!t against the doub!e bac'ground of the 19:> emergence of a mass" modern peasant mo&ement in eastern 9 angtung pro&idence and the mi!itancy and organi(ationa! de&e!opment of the 0hinese or'ing c!ass of the coasta! cities. ,n ear!y 19:;" a series of stri'es too' p!ace in the Hapanese-o ned cotton mi!!s against conditions that ri&a!ed those of =ng!ish te#ti!e factories during the ,ndustria! 3e&o!ution. The shooting of stri'ing or'ers in Tsingtao in the north" and the murder of a Shanghai or'er by a foreman" produced immediate demonstrations in the !atter city. There" on ?B May panic'ing %ritish po!ice gunned do n t e!&e or'ers. A rapid" uproarious response by Shanghai or'ers" in the great port city of foreign capita!" ga&e birth to a genera! stri'e that !oc'ed up the city. )n :? Hune" a demonstration in 0anton of students" mi!itary cadets (from the +hampoa Academy)" and or'ers as machined gunned by %ritish and French troops ho 'i!!ed ;: and ounded 117. +or'ers struc' bac' immediate!y and tota!!y ith a genera! stri'e and boycott of %ritish goods. Acti&ity in 0anton" 1ong 9ong and Shameen ere brought to a comp!ete standsti!!. +or'ers demanded impro&ement in or'ing conditions" a ban on chi!d !abor" an eight-hour or'ing day" cance!!ation of rent increases" and" synthesi(ing or'er demands ith re&o!utionary democratic ones" freedom of speech and press" and the right to &ote in se!ection of the 0hinese representati&es in the %ritish co!ony. .ic'ets" some t o thousand" formed a barrier around 1ong 9ong and Shameen to enforce the boycott. -e!egated stri'ers formed a steering body" the Stri'ers5 -e!egates5 0onference" hich in turn formed an e#ecuti&e committee that too' o&er and pro&ided for hea!th care (a hospita!)" schoo!s" food distribution" etc. Funds ere raised by specia! committees by auctioning off goods confiscated at the port. .ro!etarian courts ere set up" and tried and punished &io!ators of a ne $uasi-re&o!utionary !ega!ity (of the boycott" the ru!es under hich or'ers organs ere functioning" etc.). )utside 0anton a!ong the coast bet een the port cities" the peasants5 association cooperati&e!y carried out patro!s and secured a !ine of communication. )n the basis of this f!urry of or'ing c!ass se!f-organi(ation supported by the peasantry" the 9uomintang as ab!e to firm up its po er in 9 angtung pro&ide" and before the beginning of Hu!y to organi(e and dec!are a ne 2ationa! @o&ernment of 0hina.: At this point (that is" ith the massi&e stri'e a&e" a boycott that had !asted for se&era! months" and the embryonic emergence of the organs of or'ers5 po er)" the 0omintern shou!d ha&e re&ersed course and abandoned the po!icy summari(ed by the assertion made by the =00, as !ate as 1: Hanuary 19:? that the 8 or'ing c!ass is not yet sufficient!y differentiated as an abso!ute!y independent force.8? That it did not" that" in other ords" it continued to bind the fortunes of the young 0hinese 0ommunist party to the coattai!s of the 9uomintang" meant that its instructions ou!d in practice ine&itab!y cu!minate in a catastrophe. A!! this" of course" a!so une$ui&oca!!y suggests the primacy of So&iet State interests o&er 8unconditiona!!y maintainRingS the independent character of the pro!etarian mo&ement" be it on!y in embryo.8> ,t is c!ear that the Sta!inist apparatchi$s and the party 3ight ne&er understood that in a re&o!utionary situation in the imperia!ist epoch any fighting organi(ation of the bourgeoisie ou!d be dominated by its most right ard e!ements. ,n the 9uomintang" these ere based s$uare!y on the !and!ords and merchants a!!" in their nationa!ist opposition to the Hapanese in particu!ar" tied to the +estern imperia!ist po ers by a thousand (financia!) threads. For the So&iet /nion" its interested pursued here through the 0omintern" there cou!d" in such a situation" be no tac'ing bet een competing imperia!ist po ers through support of a bourgeois fighting organ such as the 9uomintang. The resu!t ou!d on!y be the greater iso!ation of the So&iet regime. %y the end of 19:;" the stri'e a&e that had ro!!ed o&er 0anton had had echoes in other industria! cities" most notab!y Shanghai. +hat is more significant is that or'ers struc' 0hinese as e!! as foreign capita!ists. 1o cou!d it be differentN 0onditions in nati&e factories ere often orse than those that ere foreign o ned. ,n 9 angtung
16saa"s,

Ibid, - .-+, $3.$, ($3, "itations!. 0The <ommunist party be"ame in fa"t and in essen"e, in its )ork and in the manner in )hi"h it edu"ated its o)n members, the Left.>ing a%%endage of the Muomintang0 Jemphasis addedK. Ibid, $,. 2Ibid, $'.'3. 2or )orkersI demand in the strike and boy"ott, Ibid, #%$. 3Ibid, $3. 4#he Se!ond Congress of the Co""unist International, I, # 2 ("iting from LeninIs thesis ##e of 0Theses on the Aational and <olonial Vuestion0!.

pro&ince" there had a!so been phenomena! gro th of peasant associations. These de&e!opments ou!d compe! a differentiation ithin nationa!ist 9uomintang a!ong c!ass !ines. 0hinese emp!oyers began to see more and more c!ear!y that they ere threatened by the mass mo&ement no different!y than ere foreign capita!ists. The !atter too too' note of the same phenomenon. )&ertures ere made to their 0hinese counterparts" and more b!atant forms of racist discrimination against 0hinese" insofar as they o ned capita!" began to drop a ay. The stage as set for cooperation among capita!ists of a!! hues. This ou!d find immediate organi(ationa! e#pression as the 0hinese compradors" merchants" bro'ers" and !and!ords began to assert themse!&es as the 9uomintang right.1 ,n this conte#t" it is necessary to pause to brief!y consider the emergence and ascendancy of 0hiang 9ai-she'. 0hiang had hai!ed from a e!!-to-do merchant fami!y. 1e had had forma! mi!itary training (at a mi!itary schoo! in To'yo)" and" hen the re&o!ution of 1911 bro'e out" he returned to 0anton here he 4oined the staff of a genera! ho headed one of the contending parties. 1ere" he made the ac$uaintance of ea!thy and po erfu! 0hinese merchants" and" most important!y" of Sun Iat-sen. 1e thereafter 4oined the mi!itary staff of the !atter. 0hiang had been in Mosco for si# months and returned to 0anton in Hanuary 19:>. As the on!y mi!itary man ho had studied in the 0hinese-3ussian e#change agreed to by Hoffe and Sun" he as (especia!!y as he spo'e as a radica!) !oo'ed up fa&orab!y by the 3ussian mi!itary ad&isers" and particu!ar!y by %orodin. )n return to 0anton" he as appointed mi!itary director of the +hampoa Mi!itary Academy upon its estab!ishment. Iet as one of se&era! genera!s in the 0antonese army" !ac'ing in any po!itica! authority" 0hiang 9ai-she'" ambitious and po er hungry" as sti!! a !ong ay from rea! po er. ,n August 19:;" as fortune ou!d ha&e it" a successfu! p!ot by right ing members of the 9uomintang resu!ted in the murder of Aiao 0hung-'5ia" !eader of the e#treme 9uomintang !eft. %orodin used the occasion to bring to bear on his 0hinese hosts a!! the pressure that pro&ision of 3ussian armaments" matVria!" and ad&isers ou!d a!!o him to marsha!. 1e successfu!!y forced a number of !eading right- ingers from the 0hinese organi(ation" and had +ang 0hing- ei" a 8!eftist"E made head of the 9uomintang" that is" go&ernmenta! and ci&i!ian chair of the Mi!itary 0ounci!. 0hiang as promoted to head of the army. Thus" 0hiang 9ei-she'5s initia! ascendancy began at rough!y the same time that the mass mo&ement too' off.: The 3ussian .arty !eadership as" to be sure" de!ighted ith these de&e!opments. +ith +ang" a !eader of the 8!eft"E as po!itica! head of the 0hinese nationa!ist mo&ement and 0hiang" an e#perienced mi!itary man and a 8radica!8 (i.e." one ho in see'ing po er had !earned in 3ussia the &a!ue of a mass mo&ement)" !eading the 0antonese army" the Sta!in-3ight b!oc in the .o!itburo as con&inced it had proper!y positioned itse!f to contro! the future of 0hina. %ound by need ( eapons and ad&isers)" by personne! and by ideo!ogica! commitments" and hence a!so ob!iged< ith the 0hinese 0ommunists direct!y under the thumb of the .o!itburo-contro!!ed 0omintern organi(ing the mass mo&ement on the ground< ob4ecti&e!y constrained to confront" fight" and o&ercome the imperia!ist po ers if a 0hinese nation as to become a rea!ity" the 9uomintang" directed from Mosco " ou!d form the eastern and southeastern front of So&iet 3ussia in the strugg!e against the estern imperia!ist bourgeoisies" at once a!!y" buffer" and future trading partner. Such nationa!ist i!!usions ere based on fantasy ca!cu!ations. Sta!in ou!d" at any rate" attempt a 8princip!ed8 4ustification of this a!!iance. ,t is not 4ust that he ignored fourteen years of strugg!e in the 3ussian party (3S-A.(b))" in particu!ar nine months of re&o!utionary turmoi! inside 3ussia" three years of ci&i! ar" and the ob&ious !essons of the ear!y t enties in =urope. ,t is not 4ust that in the crudity" ambitiousness" and bruta!ity Sta!in e#hibited the characteristic features of the apparatchi$" or that he as the embodiment" its 3epresentati&e" inside of the party of the emergence So&iet nationa!ist bureaucracy. ,t as a!so the case that e&en as an ostensib!e re&o!utionary" Sta!in ne&er got beyond his Menshe&ism and ne&er understood hat had happened bet een March and 2o&ember 1917. 1e had" after a!!" been one of the many .arty members stunned" 8shoc'ed8 (Mo!oto&) by Aenin5s 8Apri! Theses8 and his subse$uent efforts to get the party to abandon support for the 8re&o!utionary democracy.E ,t as" as Aenin indicated" 8impermissib!e" i!!usion-breeding8 to support such a 8go&ernment of capita!ists.E? %ut it as precise!y these peop!e Sta!in as no
16saa"s,

Ibid, ',. %. 6n :pril #+2$, for the first time (three! <hinese members )ere admitted to the (hanghai /uni"ipal <oun"il, the governing body of the area of foreign "ontrol of (hanghai other)ise kno)n as the 06nternational (ettlement.0 Ibid, %. 2Ibid, %. ,. 3CW, <<I7, 23.

committing the 0hinese party and the So&iet State to supporting* ,n bac' ard" co!onia! countries" a nationa!ist b!oc 8cou!d assume the form of a sing!e .arty of or'ers and peasants a'in to the 9uomintang.8 Meeting in March 19:7" the Si#th .!enum of the =00, described such a nationa!ist b!oc as 8re&o!utionary"E consisting in 8 or'ers" peasants" inte!!ectua!s and urban democracy Rpetty bourgeois strataS on the basis of a community of c!ass interests ... in the strugg!e against the imperia!ists and the ho!e mi!itarist-feuda! order.81 ,n the imperia!ist epoch" the contradictory character of such a b!oc" consisting of c!asses (one of hom functioned as a stand-in for the big bourgeoisie" and) ho in a re&o!utionary situation are dri&en by counterposed interests" appeared to escape these masters of theory. At the &ery moment that the 0omintern as e!ucidating the meaning of a 8re&o!utionary" nationa!ist b!oc"E 0hiang 9aishe' ga&e a practica! demonstration of hat this 8b!oc8 meant" and hom its Mosco cheer!eaders ere supporting. The rising tide of popu!ar mobi!i(ation" one hich by spring 19:7 had in&o!&ed o&er one mi!!ion 0hinese or'ers in urban stri'es and the initia! phase of a ar against !and!ords in the countryside" had forced the !arge bourgeois e!ements represented in the 9uomintang" its 8right"E to cohere. As one of their o n" they re!ied on 0hiang" and in time he ou!d !ean on them. 1a&ing the army in hand" at this 4uncture he needed contro! of the mass mo&ement" both to uti!i(e and to discip!ine it (i.e." to see that it no !onger cou!d pose a threat to his and capita!ist interests). )n :B March 19:7" at 0hiang5s directi&e the army carried out a coup. The coup as successfu!" ha&ing caught e&eryone" not the !east the 0ommunists" by surprise. ,n one stro'e" 0hiang 9ai-she' had pushed a!! his ri&a!s aside. %y the rea! significance of the coup !ay e!se here. 0onsider 4ust hat actions made it a coup in the first p!ace. 0hiang ordered the arrest of a!! po!itica! commissars attached to his army< and e&ery one of them" some fifty - most of them 0ommunists" ere arrested. So&iet mi!itary ad&isers ere deposed by being p!aced under house arrest. The 0anton-1ong 9ong 0ommittee stri'e head$uarters ere raided" arms ere sei(ed" and most of their !eading members" 0ommunists" ere arrested. The 0ommunist head of the 2a&a! %ureau" Ai 0hih-!ung" and" T\ng Den-ta" a !eading 0ommunist sympathetic 9uomintang figure heading the +hampoa Mi!itary Academy" ere arrested. +ang 0hing- ei" for one" understood the meaning of the coup" and seeing the riting on the a!!" resigned his 9uomintang and go&ernment posts. A!! in a!!" 0hiang had effecti&e!y beheaded the 0ommunist !eadership in the mass mo&ement" not to mention the fact that he had made himse!f unri&a!ed master of 0anton.: The response of the 3ussian .arty .o!itburo as to a!together suppress ne s of coup. 2ot e&en the .residium of the 0omintern5s =#ecuti&e 0ommittee as informed. +hen ne s of the coup as reported in the bourgeois press abroad" the .o!itburo-contro!!ed 0omintern press ()nprecor)" and the 0ommunist parties in the +est on instructions from Mosco " churned out denia!s mere!y reasserting no more &ehement!y the Mosco !ine. Thus" on 6 Apri!" it as stated the 8pro&ince of 9 angsi i!! short!y form a So&iet go&ernment... %he po&er of the generals, as a result of the national revolutionary movement, is (eginning to disappear. RTrue" a!as" e#cept for one genera! hose po er had mu!tip!ied.S The 9uomintang go&ernment is no proceeding to organi(e a!! district and to n administrations ithin the pro&ince of 9 angtung according to the Soviet system*8? Hust hat as being co&ered upN Most important!y" the comp!ete ban'ruptcy of the Sta!inist-%u'harinist po!icy as concea!ed. For e&en those ho ere some hat thic'headed" the co!!apse of this po!icy as made transparent by a 1; May 19:7 session of the 9uomintang 0entra! =#ecuti&e 0ommittee (0=0) ca!!ed essentia!!y to codify and conso!idate the resu!ts of the coup. Aimed at the 0hinese 0ommunist party" the 0=0 issued instructions that se&ere!y restricted the partyFs acti&ity and forma!i(ed the ro!e" as an appendage to 9uomintang" it had a! ays p!ayed in practice in the mass mo&ement. The 0hinese party as re$uired to forgo a!! criticism of Sun and his &ie s" it as re$uired to submit a !ist of its 9uomintang membership to the 0=0" its as &ast!y restricted (to a third of the members) in the municipa!" pro&incia!" and centra! steering bodies of the 9uomintang" and its members ere prohibited from ser&ing as heads of any 9uomintang or go&ernment posts. Moreo&er" instructions emanating from the 0entra! 0ommittee of the 0hinese party
1Trotsky,

the #hird International after )enin, 2#,, "iting (talinIs (roble"s of )eninis", and 6saa"s, Ibid, -, "iting the 7<<6 dire"tive Jemphasis addedK. 3ne )onders ho) for a 0militarist.feudal order,0 tied by a thousand strings to the great imperialist po)ers, a )orking "lass "ould exist at all. 26saa"s, #he #ragedy of the Chinese Re&olution, +3* ;raunthal, History of the International, II, 32,. 3<ited by 6saa"s, Ibid, +' (emphasis in the original!. 4inoviev stated that 0even the puts"h of <hiang Mai.(hek on /ar"h 2%, #+2$, )hen the Russian <ommunists )ere arrested in <hina, )as not mentioned by a single )ord in our press, and the )orkers of the 9((R, ?ust as the )hole international proletariat, kne) nothing about this event. 3nly very re"ently in /ar"h #+2', did the first arti"le appear in the revie) of the 7<<6, )hi"h lifts the "urtain a bit over )hat is happening in the Muo /in Tang.0 04inovievIs Theses on the <hinese Revolution,0 appendix to Trotsky, )essons of the Chinese Re&olution, 3,'.

ere thereafter to be first submitted to a 4oint committee of the t o parties for prior appro&a!.1 Astounding!y" the 0hinese party !eadership mere!y submitted. For its part" the 3ussian party !eadership" sti!! !i&ing ith the i!!usion that the 9uomintang had necessari!y to treat ith it" harboring fantasies of hegemoni(ing a!! of Asia through contro! of the future nationa!ist 0hinese go&ernment" and" ithout doubt" fu!!y a are that shou!d its ban'ruptcy be e#posed the sti!!not-entire!y undefeated /nited )pposition might not on!y resurrect itse!f but mount a rea! cha!!enge to bureaucratic contro! in the party" a!so accepted this de&astating b!o ithout so much as a protest.: %orodin5s response to the coup as to gi&e his b!essings to the pro4ect (the so-ca!!ed 82orthern e#pedition8) for bringing further 0hinese territory under nationa!ist contro! decided upon at the 0entra! =#ecuti&e 0ommittee session. 1e as $uoted as stating" 8the present period is one in hich the 0ommunists ou!d do coo!ie ser&ice for the 9uomintang.8? ,n the a'e of the coup" its rea! meaning as c!arified as a reactionary restoration gripped 0anton. Martia! !a as dec!ared. An a!ternati&e 8 or'ers5"E i.e." a stri'ebrea'ing and or'er terrori(ing" center composed of thugs and gangsters as estab!ished by 0hiang5s 0anton go&ernment. ,n August" regu!ations for compu!sory arbitration of !abor disputes ere promu!gated. +ith this po!itica!-go&ernment support of a proto-State" emp!oyers ere ab!e to not on!y re&erse age gains" but bring bac' the contract system hich had been partia!!y e!iminated by or'ers in the !ast year. ,n fact" a!most a!! gains made during the stri'e a&e ere repudiated by emp!oyers. The 2ationa!ist go&ernment opened negotiations ith the %ritish o&er the boycott of %ritish goods and the iso!ation of 1ong 9ong. The 2ationa!ists sought a !oan" nothing more. 3ecogni(ing or'ers interests ere no !onger an issue" the imperia!ist po er5s attitude hardened* ,n September" the %ritish began to use mi!itary force against or'ers5 pic'ets ho had a!ready been !arge!y disarmed by the 0hiang forces. )n 1B )ctober" the 0antonese go&ernment ca!!ed off the boycott and stri'e. ,n the countryside" 0hiang5s ascendancy ga&e the signa! for !aunching a counteroffensi&e against peasants and their organi(ations. 3eca!!ing the fascist s$uads (fasci) in the Tuscan countryside near!y a decade ear!ier" the most bruta! methods ere emp!oyed* %ac'ed by the threat of mi!itary force" under conditions of the brea'up of meetings and ra!!ies and mobi!i(ations" assau!ts" and murders" the peasant associations began to disintegrate.> Against this bac'ground" 0hiang 9ai-she'" !ea&ing one his !ieutenants in charge in 0anton" sp!it the 2ationa!ist army into t o ings and headed north in Hu!y 19:7. The !eft ing under the command of 8!eft8 9uomintang genera!s mo&ed on 9iangisi" 1unan" and 1upeh" pro&inces in the center-south of 0hina and direct!y north of 9 angtung" ith the industria! center of +uhan (the co!!ecti&e name gi&en to the cities of 1an'o " +uchang" and 1anyang) as its goa!. The right ing" headed by 0hiang himse!f" mo&ed north a!ong the coast into Fu'ien pro&ince. Mo&ement on 0he'iang and southern 9iangsu pro&inces" further north a!ong the ocean coast" as to fo!!o . The !atter as home to the great port city of Shanghai" hich as the aim of 0hiang5s campaign. The mere announcement" and ord spread rapid!y" of the !eft ing5s mo&ement into the centra! pro&inces un!eashed mobi!i(ations of mi!!ions of peasants and or'ers in front of 0hiang5s ad&ancing 2ationa!ist army. )n the bac' of these massi&e mobi!i(ations" the 8!eft8 9uomintang forces road a re&o!utionary a&e to &ictory after &ictory. +or'ers5 stri'es in the cities ma'ing up +uhan insured the capture of this industria! center of centra! 0hina as imperia!ist na&a! forces stationed near and about +uhan on the Iangt(e ri&er retreated in the face of the mobi!i(ations. The successes of these 8!efts8 ere cro ned in ear!y -ecember 19:7 hen" ha&ing ta'en +uhan" they dec!ared themselves the 2ationa!ist go&ernment and re!ocated that go&ernment from 0anton to 1an'o .;
16saa"s, 26n

Ibid, +-. fa"t, the left and militants at the base in the <hinese party did not take the "oup lying do)n. 6n @une, under pressure, the <entral <ommittee de"ided to put forth a resolution that the <ommunist party assume an independent position vis.a.vis the Muomintang. The Russian party leadership 8uashed the de"ision. (ee Ibid, #%3. The fa"t that the nas"ent opposition )ithin the <hinese party and the 3pposition )ith the Russian party never had kno)ledge one of the other %rior to the expulsion of 0Trotskyites0 and 04inovievites0 should be laid dire"tly, above all else, to #rots.yGs desire throughout the t+enties to %a%er o&er in all a!tual or %otential international foru"s the %rofound di&isions +ithin the Russian Co""unist %arty for fear of under"ining the So&iet regi"e' 3<ited in Ibid, #%3. 4Ibid, #%3.#%+. 2or s8uadrism, 2rank (no)den, #he @as!ist Re&olution in #us!an, 1919E19,,, #-2.#-3, and passim. 56saa"s, Ibid, ###.#2,.

/n!i'e the army in centra! 0hina" 0hiang 9ai-she'5s right ing did not attempt to mobi!i(e peasants and or'ers. )n the coast" there ou!d a!so be no ongoing 0ommunist party inspired and dominated" organi(ationa! de&e!opment of peasant associations and !abor unions as as occurring in the centra! part of the country. ,nstead" 0hiang route north as painsta'ing!y s!o * For instead of mobi!i(ing the popu!ar cause in his front" he fought pro&incia! ar!ords and bruta!!y suppressed the popu!ar c!asses in his rear. Sti!! in ad&ance of his coming there ere spontaneous mobi!i(ations. %ut 0hiang himse!f repeated the actions ta'en in the :B March coup" and thereby estab!ished a pattern that &as to endure2 :ass mo(ili-ation in advance of the army, and massive repression in the rear once the army esta(lished itself* This pattern do&etai!ed neat!y ith the perspecti&e 0hiang as putting into practice. Murderous suppression of popu!ar organi(ations ent hand in hand ith his ne !y announced (ear!y 19:7) po!icy of suppressing the 0ommunists" hi!e see'ing to a!ign himse!f ith one imperia!ist po er" in this case the Hapanese" in order to maneu&er against the other imperia!ist po ers (in particu!ar" the %ritish). )n territory a!ready con$uered by the 8!efts"E he re!ocated his capita! to 2anchang (in northern 9iangsi pro&ince) in order to continue his ha!ting ad&ance on Shanghai. 1ere in March (17th)" he disso!&ed the or'er-a!!ied" city 9uomintang branch" arrested its 0ommunist and 8!eft8 !eaders" suppressed its ne spaper" and c!osed do n unions and student associations.1 ,n response to the ad&ances of both ings of the 2ationa!ist army" beginning in )ctober 19:7 industria! and port or'ers in Shanghai and its industria! suburbs undertoo' stri'es economic and po!itica! in nature. -emands inc!uded age increases" decrease in or'ing hours" compensation for on-the-4ob in4uries" impro&ements in genera! or'ing conditions" end of corpora! punishment" termination of hosti!e foremen" reca!! of fired or'ers" and re!ease of arrested or'ers. 0arried out under i!!ega! conditions bruta!!y administered by both foreign imperia!ist and !oca! 0hinese authorities" these actions mushroomed into a stri'e a&e. )n :: February" anticipating an ad&ance on Shanghai by 0hiang5s nationa!ist forces" ?;B"BBB Shanghai or'ers ent out on a genera! stri'e ca!!ed for by the underground Shanghai @enera! Aabor /nion. Mere!y a aiting 8!iberation8 by the 2ationa!ist army" the stri'e !eaders had no announced aims of their o n. That 8!iberation8 as not forth coming. Though entire!y auspicious conditions for an ad&ance and occupation e#isted" 0hiang cut a dea! ith the garrison commander" Ai .ao-chang" an under!ing to the mi!itarist !eader (0hang Tso-!in) contro!!ing Shanghai" to stand bac' hi!e the !atter suppressed the stri'e. 0hiang hoped to find the mi!itant head of the Shanghai pro!etariat decapitated before his arri&a!. The repression as sa&age but or'ers5 organi(ations remained intact.: The main di&isions of 0hiang5s remained stationary posted a!ong the rai!s for rapid ad&ance in the e&ent such orders ere gi&en. ,ntrigues in the city among ban'ing groups" compradors" crimina! gangs (to hich 0hiang 9ai-she' as no stranger)" 0hang the northern ar!ord" and the right 2ationa!ists under 0hiang hor!ed about. +ith the 0omintern agent @. Doitins'y !eading discussions" the 0ommunists" mean hi!e" debated hether to ca!! for an insurrection. Sun ithdre . Fengtien-Shantung forces under another northern ar!ord (0hang Tsung-ch5ang) mo&ed in. 3egiments of 0hiang5s 2ationa!ist force mo&ed up. These forces negotiated" e!ements of the !atter occupying 'ey points in the cities" hi!e the main body of the former ithdre . The Shanghai @enera! Aabor /nion pushed a!! these intrigues aside rendering them irre!e&ant by ca!!ing for a simu!taneous genera! stri'e and insurrection on :1 March. Some here bet een a ha!f mi!!ion and three-$uarter mi!!ion or'ers responded. A carefu!!y p!anned insurrection unfo!ded. ,n a!! areas but one" or'ers too' the mi!itari!y occupied 'ey points" po!ice stations" mi!itary posts" communications" and rai! centers by nightfa!!. +ithin forty-eight hours" a!! of Shanghai e#cepting the ,nternationa! Sett!ement (protected by na&a! gunships and foreign troops) as in or'ers5 hands. Against this bac'ground 0hiang 9ai-she' entered Shanghai on :7 March.? 0hiang5s return to the home of his youth" e!comed by the internationa! 0ommunist press as the entry of a !iberator" as moti&ated by the desire to ma'e a dea! ith the imperia!ists. To do so" he first had to crush the mass mo&ement. The tactica! pattern had been estab!ished in 0anton" then honed in 2anchang" 9iu'iang" An'ing" and +uhu (cities ta'en in the right ing5s army northern campaign). +hi!e 0hiang5s o!d ties to merchants and ea!thy ban'ers ou!d
1Ibid,

2$.#2', #,3. Aan"hang is roughly 33% miles due south)est of (hanghai. (hanghai itself, on the other hand, is approximately ''- miles in a straight line of mar"h north of <anton. 2Ibid, #3%.#3$. 3Ibid, #3$.#,#.

come into p!ay" the crimina! under or!d as centra! to his p!an. @angs ere mobi!i(ed to brea' up the trade unions. Set up as a ri&a! union" murderers and thugs ere recogni(ed by 0hiang5s command as the !egitimate representati&e of or'ers.1 The ne 8!abor union8 gangsters engaged in 'idnappings and murder of recogni(ed or'er !eaders< and" assau!ts on the !oca! head$uarters of the Shanghai @enera! Aabor /nion" attac's aimed at brea'ing up other or'er functions and demora!i(ing their participants. 3esistance" if not massi&e and hence unsuccessfu!" as genera!!y met ith beatings and reta!iatory murders. This a!! too' p!ace against the bac'ground of martia! !a dec!ared (:6 March) by 0hiang and o&erseen by the 2ationa!ist army" and 0hiang5s e#tension of his contro! to inc!uded ci&i!ian forces. (1e appointed one of his !ieutenants to the position of commissioner of po!ice). 1e fi!!ed posts of the .ro&isiona! Municipa! @o&ernment" a 0ommunist body estab!ished in the immediate aftermath of the &ictorious Shanghai insurrection and then turned o&er to 0hiang5s 9uomintang ( ithout doing anything to satisfy mass demands)" ith his o n mi!itary subordinates. Sti!! the mass mo&ement remained far too strong to brea' ith a sma!! mi!itary force" and a cadre of armed thugs. So 0hiang marsha!ed his forces (bringing into Shanghai ne troops as they became free in the fie!d)" continued to conso!idate his contacts" and sought to reach an understanding ith the imperia!ists.: Aboard" in the citade!s of imperia!ist .o er (2e Ior'" Aondon" .aris" To'yo) predictions of an impending brea' bet een the 0ommunists and the 2ationa!ists ere printed repeated!y as the assau!ts on or'ers continued. As 0hiang 9ai-she' made his b!oody preparations to ta'e a city out of the hands of pro!etarian 8horde"E the 0omintern" and the 3ussian party" &ehement!y denied any such sp!it as on the immediate hori(on. The ,nternationa!" f!ying in the face not on!y of these ne spaper rumors but of the assessments of its o n agents in Shanghai" dec!ared 8open strugg!e is not to be !aunched at this time"E and instructed the 0hinese party to ha&e or'ers 8bury their arms.E The 0hinese party as to!d to conduct a 8campaign8 against the 8right8 ( ithout mentioning 0hiang) and ithout arms. The 0ommunist party contro!!ed @enera! Aabor /nion !i'e ise attempted to curtain the mass mo&ement by restricting stri'e actions. Criminally, follo&ing Comintern instructions, the Chinese party made no defensive preparations for a coup that e&eryone in Shanghai 'ne as soon to occur*? .repared by piecemea! attac's on !oca! 0ommunist offices in the preceding days" 0hiang5s forces struc' on :7 Apri! 19:7. ,n a straightfor ard mi!itary operation" 2ationa!ist troops attac'ed or'ing c!ass organi(ations !ocated throughout the city. =mp!oying superior eaponry" the e!ement of surprise" and massed tactics" 0hiang5s troops emerged as undisputed &ictors in the sharp" brief batt!es that fo!!o ed. =!se here in the city the gangs" posing as or'ers" ere often !ess successfu! unti! mi!itary reinforcements arri&ed. The imperia!ists a!so too' part" machinegunning or'ers ho occupied p!ants" factories or offices near the Sett!ement boundaries" and simi!ar!y attac'ing doc' or'ers from their gunboats. Sur&i&ing or'ers ere e#ecuted on the spot" some murdered by muti!ation in ancient" barbaric manners preser&ed as part of gang (secret society) heritage. )thers ere rounded up" carted a ay and e#ecuted in mass. =ssentia!!y t o days had passed and 0hiang cou!d !ay c!aim to mastery of the city. +ithin days after the coup in Shanghai" 0hiang5s so!diers carried out simi!ar assau!ts in the cities of 2ingpo" Foocho " Amoy" S ato " and 0anton. 0hiang then proceeded to estab!ish a ri&a! 2ationa!ist go&ernment in 2an'ing (on the Iangt(e ha!f ay bet een Shanghai and +uhan)" and to se&ered dip!omatic re!ations ith the So&iet /nion.> ,mmediate!y fo!!o ing the Shanghai coup" no attempt as made in Mosco to comprehend hat had occurred. There as on!y si!ence. Then a stream of in&ecti&e as cut !oose* 0hiang 9ai-she' as round!y condemned in the 0ommunist press for his 8betraya!.E A year5s orth of such 8betraya!s"E hitherto suppressed" ere no prima facie e&idence in disa&o ing a man ho right up unti! the coup had been a force for re&o!ution.; %eyond this" the pronouncements from 0omintern outrageous!y maintained that ,nternationa!5s !ine had been correct in its broad stro'es and in detai!. Sta!in" ne&er ha&ing accepted that or'ers cou!d ta'e" ho!d and e#ercise po er" mere!y shifted
16saa"s

(Ibid, #,3! "hara"teri1es this s"um as "ombining features of the post #+%- fas"isti" Russian ;la"k Bundreds groups and the 5arisian offal ("ir"a # -2! analy1ed by /arx (#he ighteenth =ru"aire of )ouis Na%oleon! as the (o"iety of Le"ember the Tenth. 26saa"s, Ibid, #,2.#,,, #-2.#-3, #$$. 3Ibid, #$2.#$-, #$'.#$ . :s late as #3 :pril, the <omintern delegation in <hina, no) headed by /.A. Roy, had )ired <hiang Mai.shek fraternal greetings. 6t asked him to maintain 0the unity of the revolutionary Jsi"K for"es0 and indi"ated it )ould 0lend all its servi"es to help the formation of a united nationalist front of all revolutionary for"es.0 <ited in Ibid, # 3. 4Ibid, #'-.# -* ;raunthal, History of the International, II, 32$. 56saa"s, Ibid, 2%%.2%#.

gears. The mass mo&ement ou!d at a!! costs (and ob&ious!y or'ers and peasants paid these mounting costs) continue to be manipu!ated from on high as a !e&er against the imperia!ist po ers of the +est. Sta!in" a bruta! tyrant ho had yet to re&ea! his co!ors" fe!t most comfortab!e dea!ing ith a man !i'e himse!f" one ho understood po er and the un$uestioned command of other human beings. Support as no to be shifted to another faction ithin the 9uomintang" the 8!efts8 ho!ed up in +uhan" and another mi!itarist ou!d simp!y be found. This" of course" meant he fa&ored a b!oc ith the nationa!ist front" the 8b!oc of four c!asses8 that inc!uded e!ements at the top of the 0hinese bourgeoisie" and that" according!y" he" and ith him" the 3ussian party and 0omintern !eadership" opposed any organi(ationa! independence for the 0hinese party and independent course of or'ers5 action. Mean hi!e" in +uhan the 2ationa!ist go&ernment as !ed by +ang 0hing- ei ho had returned from his e#i!e after the 8!efts8 had sei(ed 1an'o . +ang too as an#ious to ma'e a dea! ith a mi!itarist (in the end preferab!y 0hiang 9ai-she'). 1e as not in the !east interested in bui!ding the mass peasant (and or'ers) mo&ement(s) that had been un!eashed in centra! 0hina as the !eft ing army of 9uomintang marched north. To the contrary" he did e&erything he cou!d to suppress its (their) de&e!opment in order to oo the industria!ists" ban'ers" and compradors ho" if it as not to be the or'ers" remained the rea! po er in +uhan* The 8!efts8 ou!d demonstrate they cou!d go&ern better than 0hiang in 2an'ing. +ith 0ommunist party support" or'ers ere e&acuated from the factories and offices they occupied and these ere returned to their pre&ious o ners. Simi!ar!y" or'ers5 pic'ets ere shorn of their po!ice po ers" and" at the ris' of arrest" ere to!d not to do anything to offend foreigners ho operated concessions in +uhan. Trade unions ere stripped of the po!ice and 4udiciary po ers assumed as the mass mo&ement had geared up. @o&ernment sponsored mediation courts ere set up to 8arbitrate8 age and or'ing conditions disputes bet een emp!oyers and their or'ers. A!! in a!!" a !ess se&ere &ersion of the 0anton-Shanghai mode! as fo!!o ed in +uhan" and it as done ith the comp!ete comp!iance" nay" enthusiastic support of the 0hinese party ( hich in so doing" after a!!" as mere!y fo!!o ing 0omintern directi&es).1 ,n centra! 0hina" the ad&ance of the 2ationa!ist army had un!eashed the greatest rebe!!ion since the time of the Taipings. The +uhan go&ernment had done nothing to encourage peasants" so these men and omen seeing their chance" too' matters into their o n hands. Aand as confiscated. Tenant rents ere abo!ished.: %ut the actions of the +uhan go&ernment" in con4unction ith the Shanghai coup" great!y stiffened the resistance of the !and!ords in the countryside (and manufacturers in +uhan).? The 8!eft8 9uomintang !ine" hich in this respect as mere!y aped by Mosco and thus by the 0hinese party" had been that 5 e cannot touch the !ands of the patriotic officers in the 2ationa!ist army.5 The +uhan go&ernment ordered the peasants to desist in their actions" banned their associations from dispensing 4ustice" from &isiting 8oppressi&e8 norms on the poor" abused !and!ords. +ang 0hing- ei bitter!y denounced peasant 8e#cesses.E %ut the +uhan go&ernment as such as ineffecti&e. According!y" the 8!eft8 2ationa!ist army stepped in. The scenes that 0hiang5s 8right8 forces had &isited on the peasants of 9 angtung in the south in the pre&ious year ere no repeated here in May in centra! 0hina" first in 1upeh and then 1unan pro&inces. .easant association offices ere raided" their officers arrested" or shot. Men" omen and chi!dren ere rounded up in mass and dispatched" murdered. =#ecutions ent on for days" then ee's" beginning in the pro&incia! to ns and spreading out into the &i!!ages in the countryside. +hite Terror as set !oose on the rura! popu!ation. ,n a!! this" the 0hinese party p!ayed a despicab!e ro!e. At the Terror as un!eashed" peasant resistance began to mount. A peasant army as in the process of formation" but it had to organi(e and stri'e $uic'!y before it cou!d be dispersed. The 0ommunists ca!!ed for a de!ay" te!!ing peasant to 8 ait for the go&ernment officia!s in order to a&oid further friction.E This !eft !oose peasant detachments un-unified and sub4ect to 2ationa!ist counterattac'. 3esistance as bro'en.>
1Ibid,

2%,, 2%'.2##. temples )ere taken over and s"hools )ere established. Roads and dams )ere built. 5easants set up lo"al "ommittees to ad?udi"ate disputes. The peasant asso"iations also instituted "ooperatives in efforts to regulate grain pri"es and prevent spe"ulation. 6n "entral <hina, smoking that literal 0opiate of the people,0 opium, )as banned. (The village )ell.to.do )ho )ere "aught smoking )ere disgra"ed by being publi"ly paraded )earing dun"e "aps made out of the "ontainers used by landlords to "olle"t rents.! =irls bobbed their hair in defian"e of suffo"ating <onfu"ian traditions. 2eet )ere unbound Ibid, 22#.22-. 3:mong these landlords, there )ere those )ho had fled to Banko) and even (hanghai. They spread the aged old rumor about peasant brutality to)ard the army offi"ersI )ives, family, and relatives. 4Ibid, 22+, 233, 23,.23' (23$, "itation!.
2;uddhist

The 0hinese party" its servile and nationalist character ne&er more c!ear" had" ho e&er" mere!y carried the directi&es of the Mosco center. 1e!d in May 19:7 ( hi!e the counterre&o!utionary +hite Terror as at its height) and (according!y) he!d in strict secrecy (in 8semi-conspiratoria!8 conditions according to ,saacs) to a&oid pub!ici(ing both the ongoing e&ents in centra! 0hina and the essentia! correctness of the Aeft )pposition5s ana!ysis" the =ight .!enum of the =00, found Sta!in arguing that 8to fight no means certain defeat. To maneu&er is to gain" ith time" the possibi!ity of gro ing stronger and of fighting !ater in conditions here &ictory i!! be possib!e.81 Sta!in as perfect!y i!!ing to see the f!o er of the 0hinese popu!ar c!asses" peasantry and pro!etariat a!i'e" butchered in order not mere!y to preser&e but to ad&ance his contro! of the 3ussian party. %ut re&o!utions ha&e a !ogic a!! their o n. A !ost opportunity to turn the tide against the forces of reaction can turn into a defeat that" and after a certain point (i.e." after mass demora!i(ation sets in) this is ine&itab!e" is the engine of defeat after defeat after defeat unti! those defeats ta'en together amount to one of historic proportions. This as hat as happening in 0hina. Sta!in together ith %u'harin pressured a&ering foreign members of =00, into !ine. 1a&ing done so" he fired off a te!egram to 0omintern +uhan agents ith instructions to curb the peasant mo&ement (a!ong ith tru!y absurd demands such as rep!acing the o!d 9uomintang =#ecuti&e ith or'er and peasant e!ements" and organi(ing a re&o!utionary court to try reactionary mi!itary officers).: Sta!in" and behind him his apparatchi$ aco!ytes" sti!! c!ung magica!!y to the be!ief that the 9uomintang ou!d be compe!!ed to carry out a nationa!ist re&o!ution" i.e." unify 0hina" by opposing the imperia!ist bourgeoisies of the +est. ,t as mere!y a matter of finding the right mi!itarist ith hom to b!oc. The ne est genera! as F\ng IQ-hsiang. +hi!e 0ommunists from Mosco to +uhan put their faith in him" courted him" and p!ied him ith arms" F\ng" a northern mi!itarist" as intriguing to stri'e up a bargain ith 0hang 9ai-she'. The 8!efts8 in +uhan set the bu!' of their 2ationa!ist forces in motion" hoping ith &ague assurances from F\ng" to concentrate in the area of .e'ing" dri&e the mi!itarist 0hang 1sQeh-!iang from the ancient capita!" and thereby frighten 0hiang 9ai-she' and bring him to hee!. The 2ationa!ists defeated 0hang5s better-fed" better-e$uipped Fengtian forces in the fie!d south of .e'ing. F\ng" his forces entrenched in mountain passes" !oo'ed on. The Fengtians had been scattered" and the main di&isions of the 8!eft8 2ationa!ist army had shattered themse!&es in the process. +ith his forces comp!ete!y intact" F\ng as the arbitrator of the fate of centra! 0hina. %ut he ou!d ha&e nothing to do ith the 9uomintang 8!efts.E .referring a more po erfu! a!!y" he did a dea! ith 0hiang. This 8nationa!ist8 dea!t in&o!&ed the tota! 8e#tirpation8 of 8mi!itarism and 0ommunism"E i.e." the a!!iance entai!ed the submission of +uhan to 2an'ing on the basis of the destruction of the mass mo&ement and its ser&i!e 8!eadership.E? As head of the +uhan go&ernment" +ang 0hing- ei scurried about to do his best to p!ease this ne center-east a!ignment. A press campaign" in ad&ance of a fighting campaign" as opened against the 0ommunists. As !ate as Hune" hi!e the 8!efts8 pa&ed the ay to the 0hinese party5s e#pu!sion from the 9uomintang" the 3ussian party !eadership continued to demand of the !atter preser&ation of the 8united front8 ith those same 8!efts.E ,n 2an'ing" ho e&er" 0hiang5s genera!s ere no insisting on destruction of the trade unions. )n :B Hune" the ab4ect!y submissi&e 0entra! 0ommittee of the 0hinese party" ha&ing a!ready abandoned the peasants of centra! 0hina to their fate" met and issued a manifesto hich" carrying retreat and betraya! near!y as far as it cou!d go" offered to ithdra from the 9uomintang and at the same time suppress or'ers (reduce pic'ets" disarm or'ers" submit or'ers to the economic demands of emp!oyers). 0onsistent ith the !ogic of re&o!ution" this retreat" a concretion of the Mosco demands" on!y hetted the appetites of the mi!itarists" and behind them the capita!ists" !and!ords" and imperia!ist po ers. ,t did not foresta!! e#pu!sion of the 0ommunists from the 9uomintang" nor did it do anything to !ift the spirits of a confused and demora!i(ed party ran' and fi!e. At the end of the month" +uhan-stationed troops under a 8!eft8 9uomintang genera!" 1o 0hien" began shutting do n 0ommunist head$uarters in the three cities" c!osing trade union officers" and arresting or e#ecuting anyone ho resisted. +ithin days" the +uhan and 2an'ing go&ernments ere trading congratu!atory cab!es.>
1Ibid,

2,%, 2,, ("itation from :lbert Treint!. Treint )as a 2ren"h 7<<6 member )ith )hom 6saa"s had dis"ussed these issues in 5aris in :ugust #+3-. (ee 6saa"Fs textual note, Ibid, 2,,. 2Ibid, 23-.2,$. 3Ibid, 2-2.2-$. 4Ibid, 2$3.2$$, 2'%.

,t as at this point that the =00, changed course" &i(." tac'ed one and eighty degrees in the opposite direction. ,n a disgracefu!" ban'rupt and crimina!" tota!!y unscrupu!ous document" one fu!! of e6 post facto rationa!i(ations and se!fser&ing 4ustifications" issued 1 Hu!y" the 0omintern (%u'harin) dec!ared that 8the +uhan go&ernment is p!ayed out.E Sta!in he!d that stage at hich the 8bourgeoisie8 abandoned the re&o!ution brought forth a ne stage in hich the pro!etariat Ra demora!i(ed massS proper!y shorn of its i!!usions in a discredited ru!ing c!ass ou!d no proceed to form so&iets" independent organs of or'ing c!ass po er. 8+hat as correct during the pre&ious stage of the re&o!ution is no abso!ute!y unsuitab!e.8 %!aming the 0hinese party for the fai!ure of a!! Mosco Fs realpoliti$ intrigues hich cost 0hinese or'ers so much in b!ood and treasure" the 3ussian party !eadership no ca!!ed in the face of series of defeats of historical proportions madly, idiotically (ut calculatingly, for an insurrection*1 ,n point of fact" the 0antonese uprising as timed to coincide ith the beginning of the ODth .arty 0ongress* Sta!in" ith nothing but a series of defeats to sho for his !eadership in foreign affairs" desperate!y re$uired a triumph to a&oid tota!!y discrediting himse!f among foreign 0ommunist de!egates (not to mention that such an insurrection ou!d pro&ide an e6 post facto reason for the Aeft5s !eadership e#pu!sion).: %he Aftermath in China ,n 0anton" the 0ommunist party or its remnants arranged an insurrection. Though carefu!!y p!anned" it had abso!ute!y no mass support (to the contrary" rai! or'ers" for e#amp!e" transported troops shifted to 0anton for purposes of repression" do n the rai!s to the city)" nor the technica! means (ade$uate armaments) to successfu!!y carry out the action. ,t as a putsch reminiscent of the 19:? March Action in @ermany. ,f the defeat in +uhan had comp!eted the counterre&o!ution" the 0anton 80ommune8 (so dec!ared by the 0ommunist press) deepened the demora!i(ation of the actua! agents of change" mi!itant or'ers and peasants. The first conse$uence of the putsch as the fina! destruction in 0anton of or'ers5 organi(ations. The second conse$uence as the 0hinese 0ommunist party" hich ou!d sur&i&e the 0omintern-inspired debac!e" cou!d ne&er again raise its head as and ou!d ne&er again" e&en do n to the present day" be an ur(an &or$ers@ party. (Mao and the sur&i&ing !eadership 'ne this. +ith their remaining cadre they !eft the cities and retreated into the interior to refound the 0hinese party as a rura! based" re&o!utionary nationa!ist peasant party.) The third" fourth and fifth conse$uences re!ate not so much to the putsch but to the entire series of 0hinese defeats (0anton" Shanghai" +uhan" and 9 antung" 1upeh and 1unan pro&inces). The third conse$uence in&o!&es the fate of the )pposition inside the 3ussian party. To be sure" )ppositionists" and Trots'y abo&e a!!" ere right in their ana!yses of the course and de&e!opment of the 0hinese 3e&o!ution" in particu!ar" the abso!ute necessity of unconditiona!!y maintaining the independent character of the pro!etarian party. And" of course" )ppositionists ere right again about dire conse$uences of the fai!ure to fo!!o this" Aenin5s" prescription. %ut this much said" the Hoint )pposition (Trots'yist-Jino&ie&ist b!oc)" nonethe!ess" had &ery !itt!e actua! impact on either party po!icy during the course of the 0hinese 3e&o!ution or the party membership5s thin'ing e&en as and after the debac!e unfo!ded. The reason as singu!ar and simp!e* Sta!in contro!!ed the party apparatuses" and" in e#ercising that contro!" he effecti&e!y shut the door to a hearing of )ppositionist &ie s.?
1Ibid,

2$$.2$', )herein the de"isive se"tions of the text of the 7<<6 do"ument are "ited. 2or (talin, Ibid, 2',. :t this point, the 3pposition still had not been defeated. (talin, in other )ords, "ould not simply "ommand, but still had to "onvin"e (his bureau"rati" "oterie, supporters abroad, et".!. Bis hands on the pulse of the <hinese proletariat, the <hinese party leading these )orkers, the <omintern leading the <hinese party, the Russian party leading the <omintern, and he in "ontrol atop the Russian party, (talin )ould demonstrate his mastery of revolutionary theory and ta"ti"s to his admirers. 6saa"s identifies the sublime ideologi"al "onvi"tion underlying his positionH 0This notion )as organi" )ith (talin. 6n the "riti"al days of /ar"h #+#', before Lenin had returned to Russia, (talin had saidH I>e must bide our time until the 5rovisional =overnment exhausts itself, until the time )hen in the pro"ess of fulfilling the revolutionary program it dis"redits itself.I0 Ao) ten years later, he still speaks of 0I>uhan J)hi"hK had not yet a"hieved its highest point as a bourgeois revolutionary government and had not yet dis"redited itself in the eyes of the masses...I0 <ited in Ibid' 2This "laim )as made by Trotsky ((roble"s of the Chinese Re&olution, 2+#.2+2!. :dditional eviden"e of its validity is provided by Vi"tor (erge, @ro" )enin to Stalin, ,'. (ee also 6saa"s Ibid, 2 2, note. 32or an opposing vie), /i"hal Reiman, #he =irth of Stalinis", #+.3$. Reiman argues that by the end of @uly (#+2'! that 3pposition, through its unerring "riti"isms of 5olitburo foreign poli"y and the la"k of party demo"ra"y, had developed mass support among )orkers in /os"o), Leningrad, 6vanovo.Vo1nesnensk, the 9rals, and the Lonbass, and a strong "urrent of sympathy among rank and file party members ( Ibid, 22. 23!. ;ut note the follo)ing fa"ts. 2irst, a simple =59 operation, a mid.(eptember raid on an 3pposition printshop (0an an"ient he"tograph and some type)riters0!, )as blo)n up into patently fraudulent "harges of ties to a >hite offi"er involving a 0I"onspira"y against (oviet po)er.0

/ith the e6ceptions of the /or$ers@ Opposition and the 0emocratic Centralists, the men &ho after 1 O! &ere to (ecome Aeft Oppositionists played at the game of promoting Soviet State interests at the e6pense of revolutionary developments a(road for too long, as they similarly em(raced, tolerated, or remained silent (as the early oppositions &ere suppressed. on issues of the authoritarian character of the internal party regime for the entire early period of its constitution as such (its (ureaucrati-ation, identical &ith the formation of internal apparatuses of repression.* %hey tacitly accepted the primacy of (oth (State interests and an anti#democratic regime. for a &hole period &hile the force (the (ureaucracy of elements of the old order and ne& party careerists. underlying these realities lac$ed sufficient su(stance to oppose a determined fight for the primacy of international proletarian interests and Russian party democracy* By mid#1 OL, it &as far too late to change these realities* The fourth conse$uence as a mu!tip!ication of the internationa! iso!ation of the So&iet regime" an iso!ation so se&ere that most of the party membership right up to and inc!uding the .o!itburo thought the regime ou!d soon be at ar. Fo!!o ing the 0hiang 9ai-she'5s Shanghai coup the .o!itburo e#pectations of support coming from %ritain ere dashed. 0hiang5s anti-0ommunist in&ecti&e fo!!o ing his success con&enient!y set the stage for a fine !itt!e domestic action by 0onser&ati&e party go&erned %ritish imperia!ists. 0hiangFs coup occurred the e&ening of :7 Apri! (19:7). Fifteen days !ater (1: May)" %ritish po!ice raided the offices of the So&iet trading organi(ation. Suspicion of spying as the ostensib!e reason for the raid. 0harges ere preferred. )n :7 May" dip!omatic re!ations ith the So&iet /nion ere bro'en off. ,n September" the Trade /nion 0ongress" at the recommendation of its @enera! 0ounci!" ou!d pu!! out of" thereby 'i!!ing" the Ang!o-3ussian Trade 0ommittee. Thus" the Sta!in-%u'harin po!icy of subordinating the independence of foreign 0ommunist party organi(ations to bourgeois formations" hether !abor reformist or nationa!ist" neat!y brought together and then crump!ed the t in pi!!ars of the So&iet regime5s foreign po!icy. The fifth and fina! conse$uence as an immediate resu!t of the co!!apse of the So&iet regime5s foreign po!icy. /nder conditions of the crisis-prone imba!ances bet een industry and agricu!ture inside the So&iet /nion" this conse$uence mediate!y fo!!o ed ine#orab!y from the entire Sta!inist-%u'harinist !ine pursued in the 0omintern since 19:;. That is" iso!ation from a!! pro!etarian forces abroad (not to mention imperia!ist hosti!ity) meant no materia! aid of any sort ou!d be forthcoming* A radica! departure from a!! pre&ious po!icy ith regard to economic de&e!opment no became necessary. ,t cou!d on!y be carried out in the crimina!!y ca!!ous" bruta!" and murderous manner. Trots'y5s post-19:; insight" that the regime5s interest in sur&i&a! as necessary !in'ed to an independent" re&o!utionary pro!etarian orientation aboard and inner democratic party !ife" as a more than ade$uate assessment of the situation" but only on condition that at the heart of the regime there remained" not ithstanding a!! its bureaucratic encrustations" a re&o!utionary party. %y the time Trots'y had generated this insight" that condition no !onger condition obtained. %he Situation in the Countryside on the Eve of Collectivi-ation Revival of non#Capitalist, =roductive Activity The neg!ect of fie!ds (since peasants ere the !argest combatants in the 3ussian 0i&i! +ar) and destruction of food crops by armed forces on both sides (tramp!ed under food by masses of men" sub4ection to batt!e hence destructi&e arti!!ery" cannon" etc.)" in the conte#t of imperia!ist-imposed b!oc'ade" had produced famine and star&ation especia!!y in the to ns and but a!so in the countryside. For si# fu!!" !ong years" industry had been de&oted a!most e#c!usi&e!y to
(e"ond, these "harges )ere then used to ?ustify the expulsion of Trotsky and Vu?ovi" from the 7<<6 ( Ibid, 3#!. Third, later, in Aovember, the same "harges formed the basis on )hi"h an a""umulation of trumped up "harges )ere laid to Trotsky and 4inoviev, and used as ?ustifi"ation for expulsions from the party itself. (talin then loaded the party "onferen"es in Aovember and the Le"ember (]Vth! 5arty <ongress )ith loyalist a%%arat!hi., )ho "onfirmed the 5olitburo de"ision of expulsion. :ll and all, this adds up to a real impunity )ith )hi"h (talin as head of the apparatus "ould and did a"t. 6t also suggests )hatever support the 3pposition had, it )as thin or shallo). That support "ertainly did not prevent the "ass expulsions that shortly follo)ed, nor, parti"ular, the perse"ution of 3ppositionists (deportation to remote areas, imprisonment under "onditions of solitary "onfinement, transportation to for"ed labor "amps! that lasted until their final 0li8uidation,0 i.e., mass murder, in the late thirties. 2or la"k of a better term, ReimanIs rationalisti! a""ount grossly underrates the extent to )hi"h the party had be"ome a <hur"h, (talin its pope, as )ell as a 8uasi.sa"red hysteria other)ise kno)n as loyalty had be"ome medium in )hi"h the party operated. The )eight of the apparatus underlay these phenomena. (talin found the 3pposition annoying, but his position and po)er )as in no )ay threatened by it. :""ordingly, Reiman altogether exaggerates the 3ppositionIs "han"es, not of emerging vi"torious in the party struggle but, even surviving as a viable party element.

armaments production. There ere no manufactured amenities" not e&en necessities by the standards of the achie&ed !e&e! of 3ussian ci&i!i(ation in 1917. 0i&i! ar" fo!!o ing on the hee!s of imperia!ist or!d ar" created a society in hich producti&e acti&ity had &irtua!!y ceased and genera!i(ed ant reigned. (The !atter may e!! ha&e formed the inner meaning of 8 ar communism.E) At the same time" ci&i! ar" ta'en together ith the e#propriation of the !anded estates (inc!uding those of the greatest !and!ord" the Tsar and roya! fami!y) and peasant di&ision of !and constituting the re&o!ution in the countryside in 1917-1916" produced a !e&e!ing of socio-economic differences not on!y in the countryside but in the to ns ( hich ere tendentia!!y depopu!ated as ar too' or'ers as so!diers" the State too' them as cadre" and many remaining or'ers returned to their &i!!ages of their or their fami!y5s origin in order to a&oid the prospects of star&ation). /nder the party5s 2e =conomic .o!icy" a re&i&a! of production that had been !aid aste by the 0i&i! +ar too' p!ace. There is no need for a statistica! demonstration* The fact of a re&i&a! had occurred before 19:; is not in dispute. The rea! $uestion concerns that of the form of the socia! order that emerged from the 0i&i! +ar. This $uestion de&o!&ed upon the issue of the character of differentiation that de&e!oped in the countryside under the 2e =conomic .o!icy. ,t shou!d be stated at the outset that the character of this differentiation as at issue. The recognition" &a!idation" and ascendancy of one conceptua!i(ation (as opposed to another) became a !e&er in the strugg!e for po er in the party among contending factions. For e#amp!e" at mid-decade acceptance of the Aeft position to the effect that rura! class stratification as e&o!&ing meant assent to the &ie that capitalist socia! re!ations had penetrated and no shaped the countryside. This entai!ed further acceptance of the necessity of acce!erated industria!i(ation in order to strengthen the socia!i(ed sector" and" on that foundation" the So&iet regime. +ith this acceptance ent recognition of the tacit Aeft c!aim to !eadership. )r" again for e#amp!e" in opposition to the 3ight Sta!in in Hu!y 19:6 argued for a tri(ute on the $ula$. %ut the $ula$" the ea!thy peasant" as not" as e!! sha!! e#p!ain short!y" a class category. ,t defied definition in c!ass terms and" under conditions of the 19:6 grain and ta# co!!ections" in practice it meant e#traction of 8surp!uses8 from a ho!e range of peasants" most of ho patent!y ere not 8 ea!thy8 nor e&en 8 e!!-todo.E Thus" intending something $uite different (and hi!e mere!y stating the ob&ious - hat had been actua!!y occurring for years)" Sta!in as at once conscious!y arguing for the defeated" and no 8Sta!ini(ed"E Aeft program of rapid industria!i(ation and a broad attac' on the midd!ing as e!! as the 8 e!!-to-do8 peasant strata.1 +ith this ca&eat (concerning the re!ation of the categories of ana!ysis of the countryside to the strugg!e for po er in the party) in mind" e sha!! attempt to state hat e ta'e to ha&e been the basic situation. First" product of re&o!ution and ci&i! ar" the !e&e!ing process in the countryside as ne&er comp!ete. Though former semi-serfs" agricu!tura! aged !aborers" and tenants no had !and" it as rare!y the case that they a!so had a draught anima! and imp!ements (hoes" p!ough" etc.) and perhaps !i&estoc' ith hich to farm. )n the other hand" there ere those peasants ho had he!d !and prior to the re&o!ution" ho did possess some of the re$uisites of farming beyond mere !and" and ho sur&i&ed the 0i&i! +ar ith at !east some of this property intact. ,n the immediate aftermath of ci&i! ar" the So&iet regime as in princip!e committed to addressing some of these potentia! sources of ine$ua!ities (e.g." through credits to the poorer peasantry)" but imba!ance in the re!ations of agricu!ture and industry created a state of affairs in hich it simp!y did not ha&e the here itha! to de!i&er. (State credits ere meaning!ess if the tiny manufacturing sector cou!d not mass produce stee! p!oughs.) The second feature of this basis situation in the countryside de&e!oped after the beginning of 19:;. ,t as at this time that the regime undertoo' a further !ibera!i(ation" both economica!!y and po!itica!!y" &is-a-&is the peasantry. For our purposes" this !ibera!i(ation had t o note orthy e!ements. .erhaps most important!y for the ana!ysis ithin the party of rura! de&e!opments as the !ifting of the ban" instituted in !ate 1917" on the hiring of age-!abor in the countryside. A!ong ith the remo&a! of this restriction" the !ease of !and as sanctioned. .o!itica!!y 8administrati&e measures8 (direct compu!sion" repression) ere officia!!y abandoned e&en in the case of the e!!-to-do peasant" of hom the regime had from its inception been suspicious and of hom e sha!! say more momentari!y. =ffecti&e!y" once these decisions by the party !eadership became practica!!y institutiona!i(ed" the regime ran the &ery rea! ris' of sub4ecting itse!f as e!! as the rest of society to determination by the mar'et. 0!ear!y" though on!y incipit" socia! stratification in the countryside did acce!erate after 19:;.: ,ne#tricab!y intert ined ith persona! moti&es among hat ere operati&e!y factional !eaders as e!! as differences o&er a &ision and the &ery meaning of socia!ism" this" then" as
1(ee 2/oshe

the dis"ussion under the heading 05rimitive :""umulation,0 belo). Le)in, Russian (easants and So&iet (o+er, ,2.

hat e#cited and upset those party members not a!igned ith the bureaucratic-3ight b!oc that dominated the !eadership. ,f these t o e!ements formed the basis situation" it is much more difficu!t to concise!y and une$ui&oca!!y spea' to the &arious strata that nascent!y ere undergoing rura! differentiation. +e sha!! emp!oy the categories" inherited from Aenin" that the agencies and indi&idua!s ithin the regime itse!f uti!i(ed in their &arious research-based and po!emica! ana!yses. 3eturn to the basic situation. ,f a peasant !ac'ed imp!ements or a horse (a draught anima!) then he as forced borro or !ease them from a neighbor ho did possess them. (At the same time" he may a!so ha&e been forced to 8borro 8 seed-grain.) The t o moments define" partia!!y and inade$uate!y" t o strata of the peasantry. The first as the poor peasant ((ednya$)" the other as the e!!-to-do peasant ($ula$). +hi!e both ere proprietors or sma!! o ners" the former as said to be 8e#p!oited8 by the !atter in that he ga&e up part of his crop in the re!ation of e#change. At the same time" the (ednya$ in many" statistica!!y significant cases may ha&e been further forced to engage in agricu!tura! aged-!abor (ma'ing him a (atra$) in order to ma'e ends meet. ()nce the deduction as made for the !ease or borro ing" he may not e&en ha&e had enough to feed his fami!y. The terms of e#change &ere not e$uitab!e" but then the p!ot of !and as far too sma!! to support a peasant househo!d of fi&e e&en in the &ery best of seasons.) %ut to comp!icate matters sti!! further" or'ing another5s farm for ages as at best on!y seasona! emp!oyment and often as 4ust causa! !abor hen the demand arose. So hat as his statusN Bednya$ or (atra$N1 2o " if you i!!" consider the other side of the re!ation of e#change described abo&e. The e!!-to-do peasant in $uestion gathered the &ast bu!' of his 8 ea!th8 through re!ations of e#change* Ai'e his opposite in this re!ation" he and fami!y or'ed his o n !and and they consumed the produce. 1e a!so !eased out a horse" and a coup!e of p!oughs as e!! as seed-grain" and" perhaps" a strip of !and to different serednya$s. ()r" he may ha&e" !i'e the serednya$" rented !and from another to or' in addition to his o n.) The grain he recei&ed at har&est time in e#change" he he!d for the best price" preferring to se!! to a trader ('epman) from a not-too-distant to n ho ga&e him a far better price than the party member ho as a grain co!!ector for the State. Moreo&er" he e#p!oited no aged !abor ( or'ing his o n !and). And he as far from the e#ception. +here !abor as e#p!oited" the $ula$ did so seasona!!y or as the occasion demanded and in sma!! measure" emp!oying up to three (atra$s. So he as both a usurer and a speculator (and" on occasion" !and!ord or tenant)" but that did not him a capita!ist ma'e. ,n history" this situation has not been unusua!. ,n dynastic 0hina (regard!ess of the specific dynastic po er)" a !earned gentry e#tracted ta#es in 'ind (grain) from a" re!ati&e!y spea'ing" undifferentiated peasantry (in !ater times" a tenantcy). The ta# or" better" tribute supported the amenities of a high!y e&o!&ed imperia! ci&i!i(ation" one that" because of the centra!ity of the gentry" opposed commercia!i(ation of agricu!ture. ,n feuda! Hapan" a arrior c!ass e#tracted simi!ar ta#es in 'ind (rice) to support itse!f and its o&er!ords" as e!! as the o&er!ord of o&er!ords (=mperor). These tributary societies ere ob&ious!y not capita!ist. 2or ere usurers and specu!ators foreign to them. The difference bet een them and So&iet society in the !atter t enties as not" ho e&er" parasitic !and!ordism (since it as not significant in the !atter). The difference !ay in that So&iet society" in contrast to other non-capita!ist socia! formations" the State" beginning ith co!!ecti&i(ation" p!ayed the ro!e of !and!ordK 3eturning specifica!!y to the So&iet phenomenon" e shou!d a!so note an intermediate stratum" typified by the figure of the midd!e peasant (serednya$). 1ere again itness ambiguous socia! identity. For the So&iet regime" the serednya$ as the centra! figure in agricu!ture because the bu!' of grain surp!uses ere in his hands. Among this midd!e stratum" a !ayer of 8better off8 peasants ( -a-hitochnye) cou!d be found. 1ere there as o nership of imp!ements" generation of a surp!us that cou!d be so!d on the mar'et" hence" more than the minima! so ab!e area to support a peasant househo!d. This peasant a!so 8specu!ated.E Among this !ayer too ere peasants ho emp!oyed causa! or seasona! (atra$s.: Thus" this !ayer of the midd!e peasantry as difficu!t to distinguish from
1:""ording

to Le)in (Ibid, ,-!, resear"hers made attempts, in our vie) absurdly, to 8uantitative distinguish )aged labor and the poor peasant, e.g., if the revenues of a farm ex"eeded so many rubles the former be"ame the latter, and so on. This )as a parti"ularly futile enterprise, if for no other reason be"ause the statisti"al data )as simply too primitive to yield the kind of "al"ulations that )ould make a determination of this sort viable. Ibid, ,'. There is, ho)ever, another reason. That reasonN =e!ause the so"ial pra"ti"e of daily life did not give rise to "lear "ut distin"tions bet)een strata, as )ell as une8uivo"al relations of exploitation, it might have been ?udi"ious to look else)here for those relations that )ere de"isive for the "onstitution of so"iety. >e shall return to this point. 2Ibid, $$, $ .

the $ula$* %ut" then" not a!!" not e&en the ma4ority of serednya$s fitted this description. At the other end of the spectrum" there as a !ayer of the midd!ing peasantry ho as !itt!e better off than the (ednota - those ith a farm 4ust ade$uate in a good season to support a peasant househo!d ithout engaging in aged !abor.1 There ere a!so those ho generated a sma!! surp!us that might ha&e been put aside as a reser&e or so!d if the price as right. These midd!ing peasants ere such" serednya$s, because they had achie&ed an independent status by carefu! husbandmanship. Ai'e a!! other $ho-yaeva (heads of a peasant househo!d" the dvor)" the practice of each demonstrated he as a $ho-yain" a 8good8 because conscientious and di!igent farmer.: ,n the face of the grain crisis of 19:6" a!! party members from the e#i!ed or imprisoned Aeft to the 3ight came to accept the &ie that differentiation ithin the peasantry had produced a $ula$ hose gro ing economic strength and !eadership in the &i!!age posed a pointb!an' threat to the e#istence of the regime. +hate&er the merits of this &ie " it as a!so he!d" this time by the Aeft and the Sta!inist apparatchi$s" that the party in creating a free mar'et in commodities" inc!uding !abor" had acce!erated this de&e!opment. ,n point of fact" it as not the mar'et" functioning beyond the regime5s contro!" as much as the specific po!icies pursued by the party and State that had produced a situation in hich a grain crisis cou!d occur.? More than anything e!se" the So&iet regime through" re!ati&e!y spea'ing" its 8!arge-sca!e8 aid to the serednya$s that inc!uded credits" ta# concessions" and a!beit !imited agronomic assistance - aid thought necessary to maintain good i!! among the mass of peasants" promoted stratification and ithin this stratification the po!ari(ation of a 8 e!!to-do8 stratum at one end of the socia! sca!e.> ,n the broad sense intended by the regime" the aid as orse than use!ess" it as counterproducti&e* ,t mere!y a!!o ed serednya$s househo!ds to feed themse!&es s!ight!y better. +hi!e !audab!e in itse!f" this did not to impro&e the producti&ity" and then the mar'etabi!ity" of food crops. At the same time" ho e&er" it did a!!o a tiny !ayer of the most ambitious midd!e peasants to become $ula$s* .erhaps most damaging" it ga&e the $ula$ the confidence that his path as the right one" and it encouraged e&eryone beneath him to aspire to his status as that of a mode! farmer. +hate&er sense one ma'es out of the nascent differentiation that had de&e!oped in So&iet 3ussia as the decade of the t enties came to a c!ose" there is another manner in hich the ho!e course of de&e!opment under the 2e =conomic .o!icy can and shou!d be e#amined. +hi!e rura! differentiation aggra&ated by the 8goods famine8 and 8scissors crisis8 did occur" simultaneously a de&e!opment at the &i!!age !e&e! ith broader" societa! imp!ications as a!so &ast!y strengthened. ,n this regard" it is argued that the 3ussian &i!!age community (o(shchina); had" on the basis of Sto!pyn5s reforms" &irtua!!y disappeared by the time of the re&o!utions of 1917.7 There is e&idence to suggest this as not entire!y the
10/y

farmIs a middling.si1ed one. ... Last year 6 so)ed t)elve a"res. ... 6 o)n a yoke of oxen, a horse, a "o), a )ife, and three "hildren. 3ur )orking hands . there they are, all of themU 2rom my t)elve a"res 6 harvested ninety poods of )heat, eighteen of barley, and t)enty.three of oats. 6 needed sixty poods to feed my family, ten poods for the fo)ls, and the oats go to feed the horse. >hat is left for me to sell to the (tateN Thirty.eight poods. Re"kon one rouble ten kopeks a pood all round, and you get forty.one roubles net profit. >ell, 6 sell some fo)ls, take the du"ks to market, and get another fifteen roubles. ... >ith that amount "an 6 get boots and "lothes, buy paraffin, mat"hes, and soapN :nd doesnIt it "ost money to have a horse shoedN ... <an 6 go on living like thatN :nd thatIs all right if the harvest is poor or good. ;ut supposing )e get a failure of "ropsN Then )ho am 6N :n old manU0 Mondrat /aidannikov, at a gathering largely of poor peasants, speaking on his o)n behalf for entry into a "olle"tive farm, in /ikhail (holokhovIs Seeds of #o"orro+, '+. %. (2or (holokhov, see 0Lekulaki1ation,D n. 2+-, belo).! : pood is 3$ pounds avoirdupois. T)o thousand (2%%%! pounds is a ton avoirdupois. 2Fhoyzae&a is the plural form of .hozyain. The latter has this double senseH >hile referring to the head of a d&or, it "an also mean 0farmer0 implying 0good farmer.0 (ee Le)in, Ibid, -3%. 3(ee the dis"ussion of the 0goods famine0 and 0s"issors "risis0 in 0The Regime at the <rossroads,0 belo), at n. 2#-. 4Le)in, Ibid, '%. 59nless other)ise stated all materials for this dis"ussion of the peasant village "ommunity in the #+2%s is based on /oshe Le)in, Russian (easants and So&iet (o+er, 2-.2', -.+3. The "ir or obsh!hina "an be rendered in 7nglish as 0"ommune0 or 0village "ommunity,0 respe"tively. ;e"ause of the histori"ally so"ialist sense of 0"ommune0 in this )ork, )e shall use obsh!hina rather than "ir' Le)in, Ibid, 2$, uses the phrase 0village so"ieties0 )hi"h is a translation of sels.oe obsh!hest&o, the ?uridi"al term for the "ir' 63n the heels of the revolutionary demo"rati" demands of the #+%- Revolution (espe"ially in the months of 3"tober through Le"ember!, Tsar Ai"holas appointed a reform.minded 5rime /inister, :.5. (tolpyn, in #+%$. Late in that year (+ Aovember!, (tolpyn introdu"ed a series of agri"ultural reforms that aim of )hi"h )as to free ambitious peasants from the land tenure restrains of the traditional village "ommunity in order to "reate a "lass of strong peasant entrepreneurs. 6n other )ords, the reforms )ere designed to destroy the obsh!hina in order to promote the development of "apitalism in the Russian "ountryside.

case. At any rate" it shou!d be mere!y noted that" in !ight of the 16th-19th century history of the &i!!age community 1 as e!! as their reemergence in the 19:Bs" the re&o!utionary destruction of the great estates" and the e!imination of !anded gent!emen: and many $ula$s" the subse$uent redistribution of !and in 1917-1916 cou!d on!y ha&e been accomp!ished by the peasantry acting through their &i!!age communities.? This much as c!ear in" for e#amp!e" .o!ta&a .ro&ince" here peasants !and sei(ures" especia!!y in autumn 1917" ere ongoing* .ri&ate property in !and cou!d not be protected against the rising tide of e#propriations" and the demand for !egis!ation prohibiting a!ienation of !and and conser&ation of forests for fue! and communa! pasturage.> The o(shchina as re&i&ed precise!y because it as the institutiona! mediation re$uired to bring into being" enforce" and secure those ega!itarian re!ations" i.e." the di&ision of estates" that constituted the bourgeois re&o!ution in the countryside. /nder the 2e =conomic .o!icy the &i!!age community under ent a further re&i&a!. (Ae in says it 8too' on a miracu!ous ne !ease of !ife.E); %y 19:7" 9BC of the peasantry be!onged to the o(shchina* There ere some ?;B"BBB &i!!age communities.7 A year !ater" 8communa! o nership8 represented ho!dings that made up 9;.;C of the peasantry.7 ,ndeed" right up to the grain crisis of 19:6" the reach of the o(shchina as e#tended by the peasantry. =ffecti&e!y" the &i!!age community as the landlord" i.e." Go nedE the !and. The o(shchina o ned 8communa! gra(ings" forests and some enterprises8 such as 8mi!!s" hu!!ing-mi!!s" cheese-ma'ing estab!ishments" forges8 from hich it deri&ed income.6 ,t a!so deri&ed income from 8forests" gardens and other pieces of communa!!y-o ned property" and from the a!!ocation of ground for mar'ets and other commercia! underta'ings.8 The !and as shared among the househo!ds" the rest" 8gra(ings" forests" reser&es" etc.8 as uti!i(ed communa!!y.9 3eso!&ing a!! prob!ems re!ated to producti&e !ife of the &i!!age (i.e." !and" agricu!ture genera!!y)" the &i!!age community contro!!ed this !ife. (This as confined by studies conduct in 19:7-19:7 by the 0ommunist Academy and the +or'ers5 and .easants5 ,nspectorate.) Most important!y" the o(shchina distributed !and and a!!ocated strips" decided on
#2or

the early history of the village "ommunity, see the Third (tudy under the heading of 0The Lebate over <apitalism and Trans"enden"e of the <apitalist /ode of 5rodu"tion in Russia,0 belo). 7arly material on the obsh"hina is embedded in singularly ri"h history of the populist movement in the #+th "entury by 2ran"o Venturi. See his Roots of Re&olution, passim. 2The %o"esh!hi.i or gentry lando)ning "lass. 32or example, Trotsky (History of the Russian Re&olution, I, 3$ ! )rote, in 0Mursk provin"e there began a perse"ution of the individual settlers Ji.e., "apitalist farmers, not really .ula.sK )ho refused to return to the "ommune. 6n the hour of its great land revolution, its I I;la"k Livision,I the %easantry +anted to a!t as a single +hole' Inner distin!tions "ight %ro&e an obsta!le4 the !o""une "ust stand forth as one "an . The fight for the landlordIs land )as therefore a""ompanied by a"ts of violen"e against the separate farmer . the land individualist0 Jemphasis addedK. Later on he states, 0: soldier, <hinenov ... organi1ed a ;olshevik nu"leus of soldiers, peasant farmhands and poor peasants. The nu"leus advo"ated the "essation of rent payments and a distribution of the land among the landless. They immediately registered the landlordsI meado) lands, divided them among the villages, and mo)ed them0 (Ibid, II, 3$+!. Be further suggests that problem for the revolutionary party in spring.summer #+#', and then ho) it )as resolvedH 0=eneral so"iologi"al "onsiderations "ould not yield an a %riori de"ision as to )hether the peasantry as a )hole )as "apable of rising against the landlords or not. J>hyN ;e"ause theKE strengthening of "apitalist tenden"ies in agri"ulture during the period bet)een the t)o revolutions J#+%- and #+#'K, the dividing off of a layer of )ealthy farmers from the primitive "ommune, the extraordinary gro)th of rural "o.operation administered by )ell.off and ri"h peasants . all this made it impossible to say ... )hi"h of t)o tenden"ies )ould )eigh the most in the revolution0 (Ibid, I, 3''!. Be "on"ludes this line of thought thuslyH 0The agrarian movement from being a prophe"y be"ame a fa"t, revealing for a brief moment, but )ith extraordinary for"e, the superiority of the "aste ties of the peasantry over the "apitalisti" antagonism0 (Ibid, I, 3' !. ...0J6nK most se"tions of the "ountry the inner relations among the peasantry )ere far from rea"hing ... bitterness. The kulaks "ondu"ted themselves diplomati"ally, put on the breaks and resisted, but tried not to set themselves too sharply against the Imir.I The rank.and.file villager, on his part, ?ealously )at"hed the kulaks and )ould not let them unite )ith the landlords0 (Ibid, III, 2#!. ;e"ause Trotsky (Ibid, I, 3' * III, #+! )as so "on"erned )ith a""ounting for ho) the "lass lines )ithin the peasantry broke (I)ould the 0farmhands0 and poor peasants be )ith usNI!, he failed to refle"t on the import of his o)n a""ount. The "hoi"es of )ords (0"aste0! is misleading, but the "on"lusion, even though Trotsky dra)s it only ta"itly, is une8uivo"alH The village "ommunity had reemerged during the revolution in the "ountryside and pushed "apitalist elements, violently (persons! and institutionally ("apitalist so"ial relations! into the ba"kground. 3n the reemergen"e of the village "ommunity during and after the revolution, but )ithout the statisti"al support )e shall shortly note, see also @a"8ues <amatte, Co""unity and Co""unis" in Russia, 3 .,2. 4(ee the remarks "ited by a provin"ial land "ommittee delegate to the 5rovisional =overnmentIs Land Reform <ommittee, :lexander Rabino)it"h, #he =olshe&i.s Co"e to (o+er, ,. 5Le)in, Ibid, -. 6Ibid, 2$. 7Ibid, -. 8Ibid, 2', $. 9Ibid, $.

methods of crop rotation" organi(ed &i!!age use of forests and pastures" and en!isted ne members as e!! as dea!ing ith those ho!ding !and ithin the community ho" on occasion" opted out. 1ouseho!ds cou!d not be e#pe!!ed" and those ho opted out genera!!y had to be a group of fifteen or more ho anted out in order to form a ne community. /nder these conditions" the group cou!d !ea&e uni!atera!!y ( ithout assemb!y appro&a!). ]uestions of this nature ere as !ate as 19:6 sti!! decided by the essentia!!y pre-re&o!utionary assemb!y (s$hod@@). -ecisions ere made on a ma4ority basis. Membership inc!uded a!! dvory as e!! as those o&er eighteen years" e6cluding omen. 2on-property o ners" i.e." (atra$s and artisans (smiths" teachers" officia!s) did not ha&e &oting rights. (Thus" the &i!!age community possessed an essentia!!y patriarchal character and a strong bias to ard petty property o nership.) Assemb!ies met ith some fre$uency and" among other acti&ities (abo&e)" e!ected officia!s ho ere responsib!e for managing community affairs. The o(shchina as" for the peasant" a much more &ibrant institution than the selsovet (rura! so&iet)< ith its patriarcha! (dvor) democracy" it cro ded out the so&iet ( ith its c!ass-based democracy that e!e&ated the (ednya$) to the dismay of the party. The regime (F%s)B#S'B)1 attempted to 8right8 this situation in 19:7" by authori(ing the selsovet to ca!! &i!!age meetings in order to dea! ith $uestions outside o(shchina competence" such as municipa! administration (e.g." road and schoo!s bui!ding). ,t prec!uded s$hod@ members from &oting hi!e enfranchising artisans" (atra$s" officers" etc. This did not or'" though" as assemb!y members genera!!y too' o&er these meetings" a ta'eo&er that as historica!!y rooted in the !eadership ro!e of the o(shchina - a tradition that at this point as undoubted!y financia!!y reinforced* %ecause the o(shchina had its o n sources of re&enue" and the rura! so&iets ere rare!y funded (and if funded" poor!y)" the o(shchina assumed financia! responsibi!ity for the selsovet and paid its officia!s. Thus" the &i!!age commune dominated the so&iet" adding grist to the mi!! of party members ho maintained the mass of peasantry ere coming under the inf!uence of the $ula$s*: The (ednya$s" in particu!ar" ere strong!y attached to the &i!!age community because it pro&ided them ith some security" buffering them from their more rapacious neighbors as e!! as natura! ca!amity (e.g." drought). ,t as the -a-hitochnye and the $ula$ ho" ambitious in the bourgeois sense" ished to opt out of the o(shchina in order to form a $hutor" a farm centered by his dvor but !ocated outside the &i!!age and not sub4ect to its constraints. %ut these $hor-yain ere numerica!!y insignificant ma'ing up on!y ?.;C of the househo!ds in 19:7.? .erhaps un'no ing!y re!ating to a !ong popu!ist tradition" some So&iet officia!s" nonethe!ess" sa in the o(shchina a type of peasant co!!ecti&ism capab!e of me!ding itse!f to a broad!y based socia!ist e&o!ution. These officia!s ere !arge!y functionaries in the State" in the p!anning and economic agencies" associated ith 3y'o&" and inc!uding Agricu!ture 0ommissar A... Smirno& and 9.A. %auman. Some ere a!so !i'e!y e#-Menshe&i's" e.g." 2.2. Su'hano& (a !eft Menshe&i')" and perhaps D!adimir @. @roman. Among the !atter" their former a!!egiance ou!d in the course of time p!ay into Sta!in5s hands. The opposition of the o(shchina to capita!ism as ob4ecti&e!y grounded on its traditiona! and customary ega!itarian method of di&ision of !and* The assemb!y decided the tota! amount of !and to be shared out among each fami!y on the basis of e$ua! shares per dvor or or'er. (This as done periodica!!y" no !ess than once in e&ery three cyc!es" that is" nine years.) %ut such an a!!ocation as made up of se&era! strips hich ere often ide!y separated" or ama!gamated ith those of other peasant fami!ies. ,t as simi!ar!y the case ith the distribution of pasture!and.> According!y" ith irregu!ar and e#treme!y sma!! parce!s a!!otted to a househo!d" it as difficu!t to generate the minima! economies of sca!e that ou!d 4ustify technica! impro&ements. Moreo&er" simp!e operations to restore soi! ferti!ity" such as !aying a fie!d fa!!o for a season" ere not immediate!y &iab!e from the standpoint of the indi&idua! cu!ti&ator and his fami!y. %he suppression of technical innovation in the village community follo&ed from the tradition em(odied and al&ays conscious effort to suppress social division*; ,t as the ambitious" se!f-aggrandi(ing peasant ho as
1The

<entral 7xe"utive <ommittee (7#sIF!, ele"ted by the <ongress of (oviets, of the <oun"il of 5eopleIs <ommissars (S37N$RF3*, an a"ronym itself abbreviated SNF!, the leading body of the (tate as opposed to the party. 2Ibid, +%. Thus, for example, at the ]Vth 5arty <ongress (Le"ember #+2'! /olotov set in motion a "ampaign to bring the village "ommune to heel (Ibid!. This, ho)ever, )as only a"hieved in the final assault on the peasantry in the "olle"tivi1ation "ampaign. 3Ibid, -. 4Ibid, '. 55etr Tra"hev, )riting in # '$, enun"iated a "ommonly held populist opinion in stating the rise of so"ial differentiation )ithin the village "ommunity )ould be its ruin. Ventura, Roots of Re&olution, ,2-.

aimed at here. ,n fact" !and cou!d be subse$uent!y re-di&ided to pre&ent him from 8ma'ing any in&estment in it.E 1 ,n 19:7" the 0ommissariat of Agricu!ture" rather ineffecti&e!y in the short term" acted to re&erse this ancient method by compensating peasants hose farms ere particu!ar!y e!! farmed.: This as" then" c!ear proof of the anti#$ula$ tendency of the o(shchina in practice" in contradiction to the Soviet regime prior to 19:6" for" as e ha&e a!ready indicated" the regime5s po!icies after 19:; encouraged the gro th of the peasant e!!-to-do. Iet there ere party members both on the Aeft and especia!!y among Sta!in5s faction for hom the o(shchina as simp!y a !egacy from the past" and because it had functioned as a barrier to technica! inno&ation" an obstac!e to 8progress"E to de&e!opment on the capitalist mode!. Sta!in and Mo!oto&" in particu!ar" he!d it as a reactionary institution that needed to be destroyed since it 'ept the more 8progressi&e8 peasants in the &i!!ages from introducing better farming methods. Again" these party members he!d it as contro!!ed by the $ula$s (e.g." Mo!oto&). +hi!e this as ob&ious!y not so (the &i!!age assemb!y ere in fact" eighted hea&i!y to ard the serednya$s?)" the Sta!inist b!oc 'ne it had to destroy the &i!!age assemb!ies and ith them the o(shchina if it as e&er to e#tract tribute at the !e&e! it sought to" and if p!ans for industria!i(ation ere e&er to be rea!i(ed. %he (ureaucracy &as the deadliest of enemies to this ancient institution. This consideration a!one shou!d sensiti(e one to the possibi!ity that the contours of a very old, tri(utary and despotic societal relation had (een recreated during the '*E*=* period. Against this" the o(shchina" its patriarcha! bac' ardness not ithstanding" remained the on!y effecti&e defense of the peasantry" and, under optima! conditions (party direction and pro!etarian support from abroad)" the only actually e6isting institution on the (asis of &hich socialism in the Soviet Enion could have (een constructed* The initial crisis of 19:6 as not a product of $ula$ acti&ity. 3ather" it as the dua! outcome of the scissors crisis and the goods famine" both of hich" it must be stressed" &ere not possi(le outside the historical frame&or$ of Russian (ac$&ardness* =#acerbated by So&iet po!icy that had since 19:; acce!erated differentiation in the countryside" the regime5s respond to the crisis transformed it (the crisis) re&ea!ing the rea! dimensions of the societa! strugg!e that ou!d dominate the So&iet /nion for the entire period. Thus" the starting point for understanding hat the So&iet regime had become ere the agrarian re!ations in the countryside as they e#isted at the moment 4ust prior to co!!ecti&i(ation as it as set in motion. These re!ations ere not capita!ist" as the conceptua!!y inade$uate debates ithin the party after 19:; demonstrated. They" these relations" e6isted (elo& the most elementary historical level of capitalist development* This posed the basic prob!em to the party" around hich the debate" sometimes open!y but most!y tacit!y and hidden" s ir!ed. That prob!emN 1o as it to estab!ish the rudimentary basis for capita! accumu!ation. 3eca!! the status of $ula$* 1e as as usurer and specu!ator" but not a capita!ist. 1is ea!th !arge!y deri&ed from commercia! transactions" !ending imp!ements and !i&estoc'" and renting strips to the (ednya$s" but !itt!e in the ay of that ea!th deri&ed from emp!oyment (e#p!oitation) of aged !abor. Simi!ar!y" in the cities and to ns" traders and specu!ators - the so-ca!!ed 'epmen" formed ea!th from commercia! transactions" especia!!y through dea!ings in b!ac' mar'et grains. Such are not necessary characteristics of capita!ism - e&en in the era of forma! subsumption of !abor under capita!.> ,n the So&iet /nion" circa 19::-19:9" there as a form of 8capita!ism8 in the to ns (e#p!oitation of aged !abor (y the State)" but the dominant acti&ity as to be found some here bet een se!f-sufficiency and petty commodity production. The party-State" though it had cadres in the countryside" as !arge!y out of contact ith the predominant" re!ati&e!y independent &i!!age !ife (dvor and o(shchina). +here re!ations ere formed" they ere 8administrati&e!y8 constituted (&i(." by ay of decree and coercion) for the purposes of ta# (money and in 'ind) and grain co!!ection. )ther ise" the State po!icies ere !itt!e capab!e of mo&ing socia!istic change for ard. They tended to" rather" enrich the midd!ing" specu!ati&e" and usurious e!ements. There ere no intermediary institutions bet een the party (State) and the &i!!age. So" again" note the prob!em facing the party !eadership. 1o as it to estab!ish the
(aid suppression is interpreted by Le)in (Ibid, +#! developmentallyH 6t held do)n improvement in farming methods. Be is "orre"t, but nonetheless misses the import of the institution. 1Le)in, Ibid, '. 2Ibid' 3The fe) investigations "arried out after #+2- sho)ed that the serednya. by a slight ma?ority preferred the obsh!hina over private farming, )hile a full three of four beredyna.s supported it (by the same number the .ula.s preferred the .hutor!. Le)in, Ibid, +2. 4(ee /arx, 0Results of the 6mmediate 5rodu"tion 5ro"ess,0 #%2#, #%2', #%2 * and the third "riti8ue in our Co""unity and Ca%ital'

rudimentary basis for capita! accumu!ationN The abysma!!y 8!o !e&e! of de&e!opment8 by bourgeois standards determined the point of departure" name!y" ruth!ess e#p!oitation of the midd!ing peasantry herein most of the agricu!tura! product resided. 2o that product cou!d on!y be seen as a 8surp!us8 once sa&age practices of e#propriation" deportation" and murder had been effectuated. ,n the e&ent" once de&e!oped" the crisis effecti&e!y pitted the So&iet regime against the property#o&ning peasantry as a &hole* Aet us summari(e. 3or us, Soviet society &as a contradictory unity of modern#utopian forms and ancient, tri(utary content* /hat &e had here, ?materially? and su(stantively spea$ing, &as a modern, despotic#terroristic form of an ancient, agrarian (ureaucracy*1 %he Situation in the Countryside on the Eve of Collectivi-ation 1 OI, the Regime at the Crossroads
Hustice is not made by ini$uity" the or!d and men are not transformed by means of chains" !oud-spea'ers crying out their fa!sehoods" and &ast agencies of inte!!ectua!s paid to cram peop!e5s heads fu!! of !ies. ... the socia!ist re&o!ution ... can on!y progress by impro&ing the materia! and mora! conditions of the masses. .ersona! e!!-being" more !iberty" !ess !ies" more dignity" more respect for humanity. The socia!ism hich proceeds other ise gi&es in to a sort of inner counterre&o!ution" discredits itse!f and ris's suicide.:

,n 19:>-19:;" gross agricu!tura! production as 9.1; bi!!ion rub!es" tota! industria! production as ; bi!!ion rub!es. (3especti&e!y" these amounts constituted 71C and 71.>C of pre ar tota!s.) Mar'eted goods for agricu!ture" ho e&er" tota!ed on!y :.6;7 bi!!ion rub!es ( hereas those of industry came to >.>;B bi!!ion)" on!y 7?.?C of the pre ar tota!. ? ,n terms of the most important component of actua! agricu!tura! output (and not its monetary representation)" the grain har&est a&eraged ;7.7 mi!!ion tons from 19:: to 19:;" or 7B.7C of the pre ar tota!.> Three points shou!d be noted. First" fo!!o ing the c!ose of the 3ussian 0i&i! +ar statistica! e&idence does" in fact" suggest there had been a re&i&a! of economic acti&ity on the basis of the 2e =conomic .o!icy. Second" the differences bet een tota! agricu!tura! produce and its mar'eted amount formed the amount the peasantry ithhe!d from the mar'et. This amount as either consumed by the peasantry or produce peasants refused to se!!. Third" that difference" e#pressed as a percentage of the agricu!tura! tota! product" had c!imbed 1:.:C under the So&iet regime. .rior to the )ctober 3e&o!ution" hich from the peasant standpoint itnessed the destruction of the estates of the pomeshchi$i" the free" !ando ning peasantry constituted some ;-7 mi!!ion househo!ds. %y the mid-t enties" the same group formed :;-:7 mi!!ion househo!ds. (At the moment of the onset of co!!ecti&i(ation" a peasant househo!d is genera!!y he!d to ha&e inc!uded fi&e persons.;) These numbers ere testimony to the both to !e&e!ing effect of the e#propriation and !and redistribution that had formed the core of a bourgeois re&o!ution in the countryside. Thus" hi!e it may appear that the re&i&a! of economic acti&ity in the countryside under the So&iet regime a!!o ed the
1>e

offer the follo)ing determination for a tributary so"ial formationH : multipli"ity of village "ommunities . ea"h external to all the others . )ere generally organi1ed patriar"hally along extended family or "lan lines. The "ommunities )ere engaged in a IprimitiveI agri"ultural a"tivity )ith limited use of implements (i.e., Istagnation of te"hni"al developmentI!. <rafts a"tivities did not belong to a spatially separate sphere, namely to)ns, but )ere )ell integrated into and indistinguishable from the )hole of village life. The "ommunity held the land* )hile a bureau"rati1ed (tate organi1ation (and here, in Russia "ir"a #+2 , a politi"ally despoti" one to boot! )as its real o+ner' This (tate, nonetheless, effe"tively stood outside the life of the village "ommunities and related to them only to "olle"t taxes or tribute. The foregoing "onstitutes a departure from our "hara"teri1ation (2irst (tudy, 5art 3, se"tion V666 and 5art ,, se"tion 6, above! in )hi"h )e designated the so"ial formation that emerged from the <ivil >ar as 0(tate "apitalist.0 (tate "apitalism does not even ade8uately des"ribe Russia in the (oviet era in its mature formH #he "odern tributary for"ation des!ribed here, li.e those an!ient des%otis"s 1 gy%t, (eru2 rested on statified %ro%erty4 Ha&ing on!e and for all destroyed re"nant +or.ing !lass o%%osition in 19,-, the full !onstitution of the bureau!ra!y as a ruling !lass +as established on the foundation of the regi"eGs annihilating defeat of the %easantry and !olle!ti&izing destru!tion of the %etty !o""odity %rodu!ing for"ation' (ee also CTrotsky and the >orkersF (tateD in the CRemarks,D belo). 2Vi"tor (erge, @ro" )enin to Stalin' 3Pvegeny 5reobra1hensky, 07"onomi" Aotes 6. The =ood 2amine (#+2-!,0 3,. 7"onomi" figures, )hen given for a spe"ifi" year, al)ays involve t)o dates, e.g., #+2, and #+2-, sin"e the (oviet (tate made its annual "al"ulations on the basis of a year that began on 3"tober #. 4/oshe Le)in Russian (easants and So&iet (o+er, #'2.#'3. 2igures for (oviet produ"tion, espe"ially agri"ultural produ"tion, are often sub?e"t to dispute. (tatisti"al pre"ision often masked a pau"ity of data on )hi"h it )as based. Aonetheless, the figures presented here and )hat follo)s give a "lear pi"ture of the general tenden"y of development. 2or "aveats "on"erning (oviet statisti"al information in this period, see Le)in, Ibid, #'3, n. #'$. 55reobra1hensky (06bid,0 3-! states the rural population totaled ##$. million souls in #+2- holding that a household "onsisted in ,.- people. Ben"e, the figure 2-.2$ million of households ()hi"h is the figure given by Le)in, Ibid, #'-!.

peasantry to 'eep a !arger share of its product (&i(." !ess as so!d on the mar'et to meet State ta# ob!igations" to pay rents on !ands the poorer peasants or'ed" and !ess ent to interest to usurious $ula$s" to maintenance of orthodo# 0hurch" etc.1)" such a conc!usion ou!d be correct on!y in the abstract" that is" on!y hen the peasantry as &ie ed as an undifferentiated mass ithout regard to its numerica! e#pansion after the 3e&o!ution. Since this increase of one in eight (1:.:C increase in surp!uses ithhe!d by the peasantry) as spread out o&er fi&e times the number of househo!ds" the peasants indi&idua!!y as househo!d units and as an inc!usi&e socia! stratum ere actua!!y far poorer. -epending on the degree of rura! differentiation and stratification that too' p!ace as the decade of the t enties came to a c!ose" the poor peasantry ((ednota) and midd!ing peasants (serednya$s) may ha&e been much more impo&erished than their $ua!itati&e!y sma!!er" pre ar counterparts. Iet the serednya$s produced the bu!' of the grains in 3ussia" a fact that Sta!in and his coterie (Mo!oto&" Andree&" etc.) ere e!! a are of.: ,f e return to the figures for 19:>-19:;" e note that under the 2.=... industria! output" hi!e ha&ing a!so re&i&ed" as on!y rough!y se&enty percent of the pre ar tota!. ,f by far the !argest customer for mar'etab!e industria! goods" in particu!ar ferti!i(er and imp!ements and seed" as the peasantry" then these goods ere a!so spread out o&er a $ua!itati&e!y !arger mar'et. Such a situation !ed to a supp!y prob!em* ,ndustria! goods ere scarce" and" since the party a!!o ed mar'et determinants to pre&ai! during this period" they ere" according!y" high!y priced re!ati&e to peasant purchasing po er. The !atter as determined !arge!y on the basis of hat the State paid for grain and other agricu!tura! products. That price as e#ceeding!y !o (be!o pre ar !e&e!s) because the State itse!f" !imited by the re&enues it e#tracted from the peasantry (a !imit imposed by the !o !e&e! of agricu!tura! product)" hadn5t the here itha! (nor the desire) to pay higher prices. As a matter of po!icy" that price ou!d get much !o er after 19:;. According!y" ithout greater industrial production" hich ou!d a!!o the regime to pro&ide more industria! goods at cheaper prices to the peasantry" the constant possibi!ity of a 8scissors8 crisis" the contradiction bet een high industria! prices and the e#cessi&e!y !o prices of agricu!tura! products" ta'en together ith scarce character of these o&erpriced manufactured products" a situation other ise 'no n as the 8goods famine"E confronted the So&iet State for most of the period defined in terms of the 2e =conomic .o!icy.? %ecause these e#changes bet een to n and country" that is" bet een the party-go&erned State and the peasantry as a ho!e" operated against the peasants" they ou!d a! ays portend difficu!ties for the &au!ted smych$a* The true meaning of the scissors crisis" first e#amined by the Aeft" then" as that it posed a threat to the regime5s stabi!ity. The so!ution (as e!! as the inner meaning of the crisis) as to increase the producti&ity of the nationa!i(ed industria! sector.> ,ts bac' ardness as an a!batross around the nec' of the party. The grain har&ests of 19:;-19:7 and 19:7-19:7 a!!o ed the center-right b!oc (Sta!in-%u'harin and 3y'o&-Toms'y) in po er to g!ib!y ignore the criticism of the Aeft unti! after 19:7. ,n 19:;-19:7" this har&est !eaped for ard to 77.7 mi!!ion tons" 9>.:C of the pre ar tota!. ,n 19:7-19:7" ho e&er" it fe!! to 7?.1 mi!!ion tons (69.7C of 191? tota!)" and as essentia!!y f!at the fo!!o ing year (19:7-19:6)" coming to 7?.? mi!!ion tons or 69.6C of the pre ar tota!. ; T o years ithout increases" in fact ith a net dec!ine o&er the record post ar year grain har&est created a good dea! of uneasiness in the party. Then in 19:6-19:9" the har&est fe!! again to 71.7 mi!!ion tons (67.9C of the pre ar tota!). To e#acerbate the distress this dec!ine created" the figures for /'raine and the 2orth 0aucasus" hich ta'en together had historica!!y pro&ided more than ha!f of the peasantry5s tota! mar'etab!e grain" had fa!!en more dramatica!!y. A!though the midd!ing and poor peasantries in 19:7-19:6 produced 6BC of the grain output" on!y 11.: C of their har&ests ere so!d. Ta'en together ith the :BC of their har&ests that $ula$s so!d" on!y 1?C of tota! grain produced ent to mar'et.7
15reobra1hensky, 2Le)in,

06bid,0 3,, for for"es impinging on peasant surpluses. Ibid, 22#,2-#, 2-2, 2'$, 2 ,. 3Le)in, Ibid, #,2. The term 0s"issors0 des"ribes the visible eviden"e in a graphi" presentation Trotsky made at the ]666 5arty <ongress (/ay #+23! in )hi"h the lines representing, respe"tively, industrial and agri"ultural pri"es diverged mu"h in the shape of the "utting blades of a s"issors. The 0goods famine0 )as a "onstant problem in the t)enties, but be"ame parti"ularly intra"table in #+2' and after. /i"hael Reiman, #he =irth of Stalinis", 3'.3 . 4Ibid' 5Ibid, #'3. 6Ibid, #'$.

%y 19:6" a precipitous fa!! in the abso!ute tota!s of mar'eted grain as one conse$uence of !e&e!ing and redistribution that ere outcomes of the bourgeois re&o!ution in the countryside. The other decisi&e conse$uence as the deepening dependence of the party on a producti&e!y ea'ened sector (that is" on agricu!tura! production ith its &ast!y increased numbers of mouths to feed coup!ed to stagnation in producti&e techni$ue). The party !eadership did not need to these figures to grasp that it confronted a serious crisis* %y the end of 19:7" grain reser&es in the to ns ere dropping at an a!arming rate.1 ,n a further ominous sign" the dec!ine as not confined to grain production. From the autumn of 19:7 to that of 19:6" !i&estoc' production had decreased. : For anyone ith an open mind" the fact that peasants ere not on!y se!!ing but 'i!!ing these anima!s meant the regime as in troub!e. Aand redistribution effected" first" by the re&o!utionary e#propriations of the peasantry in 1917-1916" and !ater" by the &i!!age community" a phenomenon ith hich e ha&e a!ready dea!t" meant not on!y that the peasant househo!ds producing grain ere numerous but a!so sma!!er. )n a&erage" the peasant househo!d that had in 191? produced ;BC of the mar'et grain but consumed 7BC of its product" no in 19:6 consumed on a&erage of 67C of its product. %efore the ar" the peasantry too' :7C of its grain to mar'et" by 19:6 that figure had been ha!&ed. ? @i&en the ubi$uitous!y primiti&e character of agricu!tura! techni$ue (a!so discussed be!o )" State procurements - the State as not the on!y but it as the !argest buyer of peasant grain - ere corresponding!y sma!!er. ,n 191?" the Tsar5s go&ernment had purchased :B.>; mi!!ion tons of grain" in 19:7-19:6 the So&iet regime5s 8purchase8 of grains ('no n as -agotov$i) from the peasants amounted to 1B.1 mi!!ion tons.> This figure itse!f had dec!ined from the 1B.7 mi!!ion tons of 19:7-19:7" and it ou!d fa!! again in 19:6-19:9 to 9.>; mi!!ion tons.; The critica! shortfa!!s in State procurement" its ha!&ing" had disastrous o&era!! conse$uences. The economic bac' ardness of the So&iet /nion" and Tsarist 3ussia before it" had assured its function as a ra materia!s supp!ier to the imperia!ist .o ers on the internationa! mar'et* @rain as its so!e significant e#port. 1a!&ing mar'etab!e grain had produced a geometric reduction in the $uantity of So&iet grain e#ports" reducing them by a factor of t enty to one. At ;C of pre ar tota!s" the regime for a!! practica! purposes had ceased to e#port its on!y rea! source of foreign earnings.7 According!y" before 19:9 the import of finished products" machinery intended for production of the means of production" had a!so ceased. This hit hard at" threatening to drastica!!y reduce" the tempo of industria! de&e!opment ( hich had been increasing since 19:7). ,n other ords" it e#acerbated the crisis. There ere other dangers a!so. ,f the shortfa!!s continued and the regime as unab!e to rea!!ocate ade$uate grain supp!ies to areas" such as /(be'istan" here industria! crops" such as cotton" ere gro n" the peasants in these areas might gi&e up on p!anting their industria! crop and go o&er to food crops. The party !eadership further great!y feared turmoi! among or'ers in the industria! centers" and discord in the army among the troops.7
1("hapiro, #he 2Le)in,

Co""unist (arty of the So&iet 5nion, 3$$. Ibid, #'3. <attle, horses, "hi"ken, and pigs )ere most important among livesto"k. Livesto"k )as signifi"ant, first, be"ause unable to pur"hase "hemi"al fertili1ers, the peasant relied on organi" ones, and se"ond, be"ause, and this refers spe"ifi"ally to horses, at the level of te"hni8ue at )hi"h Russian peasants operated, among the better off peasantry horses pulled the ploughs during so)ing season. (:mong the middling peasantry, the slo)er, less effi"ient ox )as used, and, the poor peasant )as for"ed to lease a horse from his better off neighbor!. 3Ibid, #'-.#'$. 4Ibid, #'$. Le)in gives the figures in the Russian pood. 5Ibid, #' . 6n a dis"ussion of (oviet s"ien"e, Ri"hard Le)ontin and Robert >esson (#he Diale!ti!al =iologist' <ambridge, /:, #+ -! note the "arginal !onditions of the e/isten!e of, the short gro)ing season in, the agri"ultural regions of the 9((R (#'#.#',!, in parti"ular, the spe"ifi" temperature re8uirements for )inter )heat. <iting 4hores /edvedev (#he Rise and @all of #'D' )ysen.o, A.P., #+$+! and Lavid @oravsky (#he )ysen.o $ffair, <ambridge (/:!, #+'%! on Lysenko, these authors relate that severe )inters in #+2'.#+2 and #+2 .#+2+ formed the "onditions of harvest shortages (and, )e note parentheti"ally, the alleged C.ula.C sabotage underlying the grain !risis! of the years #+2 through #+3%. Le)ontin and >esson state that 32 million a"res of )inter )heat )ere lost to the extraordinary "old (#',! during these years. 6Ibid, #''. Le)in (Ibid! su""in"tly des"ribes )hat )as at stake in the grain "olle"tionsH 06t )as the zagoto&.i )hi"h determined the nature of the relations bet)een the regime and the peasantry, the availability of food for the to)ns, and the possibility of making progress )ith plans in industriali1ation.0 ;y #+2 , the severity of the "risis )as "lear even to the party Right. Ibid, #,#. 7Ibid, 2#$. 2ear of soldiersI response be"ame espe"ially "riti"al in summer #+2 (see belo)!, after the @anuary.2ebruary and :pril.@une pro"urement "ampaigns. The assault on peasantsI persons and livelihoods these "ampaigns entailed found peasant fathers )riting their sons in the army to vent their outrage and fears on the party. Ibid, 3,#.

%ut the crisis as of the party5s o n ma'ing. ,ts respond to its star'est features" peasant ithho!ding of grain and the e#haustion of grain supp!ies in the to ns" as bruta!. Mo!oto& describes for us his mission" beginning 1 Hanuary 19:6" to the /'raine to (his ords) 8e#tort grain.E1 This fo!!o ed a 00 reso!ution to 8temporary8 resort to 8emergency measures.8 Mo!oto&" hose 8trip8 ou!d pro&ide a mode! for other party !eaders" began by purging those regiona! and !oca! party committees that e#hibited not 4ust an un i!!ingness to" but mere hesitation in carrying out the 8emergency measures.E 0rucia! as the threat to destroy the careers of the committeemen ho ou!d not cooperate" or did not cooperati&e enthusiastica!!y enough.: Then" too" regiona! and !oca! party members ere to!d that peasants ho resisted ere to be arned they stood in danger of !ega! sanctions. Artic!e 1B7 of the pena! code had been introduced in 19:7 as a measure against specu!ators. ,t pro&ided for prison sentences (?-; years) and property confiscation. A peasant ho refused to se!! grain to the State at absurd!y !o prices as to be treated as a specu!ator.? (The regime reacted to any attempt to raise prices as 8enemy pressure.E >) Thus" the !eadership5s use of this measure as designed to effecti&e!y criminali-e the peasantry as a &hole in its se!f-defense against grain e#tortion. Mo!oto& concreti(ed this practice for us. As'ed if the grain as to be gi&en up by the $ula$s" he responded 8from e&eryone ho had it. ... @rain as a!! in pri&ate hands" and the tas' as to sei(e it from them. =ach farmstead c!ung to its stoc' grain. +e fanned out to the !oca!ities to get it.8; 1e indicates ho he ca4o!ed !oca! party members to participate in the campaign around Me!itopo!" threatening and intimidating farmers in this peasant district. Then he ent off into the interior ith his guard. 8Then , ent out to the countryside" to the @ree' and /'rainian communities. , app!ied the utmost pressure to e#tort the grain. A!! 'inds of rather harsh methods of persuasion had to be app!ied. +e started ith the 'u!a'. ,f you don5t put pressure on the 'u!a'...RsicS.87 The remar' concerning these 8harsh methods8 come from a man ho" reca!!" said 8, persona!!y designated districts here 'u!a's ere to be remo&ed Ri.e." e#propriated" fo!!o ed by deportationS ... my commission did its 4ob... 87 Further on" he te!!s us that Sta!in ( ho studied his reports)" 9agano&ich and Miyo'an a!! tra&e!ed to grain producing regions on simi!ar missions" suggesting this as done regu!ar!y thereafter (and it as). 1e states" 8these dri&es ere e!! arranted then. To sur&i&e" the state needed the grain. )ther ise it ou!d crac' up - it ou!d be unab!e to maintain the army" the schoo!s" construction" the e!ements most &ita! to the state.86 +hat e#act!y did 8a!! 'inds of rather harsh methods of persuasion8 consist inN The .o!itburo5s 8emergency measures8 pro&ided for additiona! cadre" thousands" ho ere sent to the ma4or areas here co!!ections ere underta'en. These measures had a!so dictated that a body of three" the troi$a made famous by the 0he'a during the 0i&i! +ar to carry out e#tra-!ega! action" super&ise a!! cadre in&o!&ed in grain and ta# co!!ections. )n the ground" party agents usua!!y among the poor peasantry" spies and informants" re&ea!ed the stoc's of grain he!d by each peasant fami!y. The troi$a assigned the $uantities that made up the contribution to be e#tracted from each &i!!age househo!d. Members of the &i!!age ere pressured to socia!!y ostraci(e the peasant ho refused to turn o&er his 8contribution.E 1e as further" a sma!! measure" denied purchase of goods at the co-operati&e store. Mi!itia c!osed !oca! mar'ets to pre&ent the sa!e of grain to anyone other than the regime. +here !oca! mar'ets remained open" mi!itia attempted to
1*oloto& 2Le)in,

Re"e"bers, 2,# Ibid, 2#'.2# , provides an a""ount of (talinIs 0trip0 to (iberia, and the pressure he brought to bear on party members. 3Ibid, 2# .2#+. /olotov relates 0)e paid them Jthe peasantsK "ash, but of "ourse Jyes, of "ourseUK at miserably lo) pri"es.0 *oloto& Re"e"bers, 2,#. 4Le)in, Ibid, 222. 5*oloto& Re"e"bers, 2,#. 6f 0at the end of several ... progress reports Jpublished every five daysK they Jlo"al party offi"ialsK had not obtained any grain, Jthey renderedK themselves liable to be purged. 6t )as not long, therefore, before most of the "adres reali1ed the exa"t import of the dire"tivesH at all "osts, the grain must be got. #his "eant ta.ing it +here&er it !ould be found 0 Jemphasis addedK. Le)in, Ibid, 22#. 6*oloto& Re"e"bers, 2,#. 7Ibid, 2, . /olotov furthers notes that (talin studied the reports on his trip, and suggested a 0spe"ial resolution0 be passed. 02rom then on, the kulaks )ho failed to meet the 8uotas fixed for grain deliveries )ould fa"e repressive measures... H "onfis"ation of their grain and exe"ution. >hen the de"ree )as published everyone began to sense that grain pro"urement had the for"e of la). 6t greatly in"reased the pressure, and grain flo)ed in.0 Ibid, 2,2. 8Ibid, 2,3. :lbeit in another "ontext (that of the Terror, #+3'.#+3 !, /olotov related, 0of "ourse the demands originated )ith (talin, and of "ourse there )ere ex"esses, but all that )as permissible to my mind, for the sake of the main ob?e"tive . keeping state po)er.0 Ibid, 2$-.

frighten peasants ith spot chec's for !icenses norma!!y re$uired on!y by specia!i(ed traders. 3oadb!oc's ere set up by mi!itia to interdict grain mo&ements bet een &i!!ages. 1ouse to house searches" fo!!o ed by confiscations ere carried out. Summons to appear before tribuna!s here peasants suspected of ithho!ding grain ere sentenced to prison under Artic!e 1B7" and !and as e&en confiscated. %onds ere issued !oca!!y as payments for grain purchases. .ressure as stepped up to compe! peasants to pay bac' !oans that had been made in pre&ious years of the 2.=..." and to ma'e advance payments of ta#es. 2e specia!" !oca! !e&ies ere imposed.1 A!! this" 8of course"E fo!!o ed on the hee!s of the denunciations of the 8Trots'yite anti- mu-hi$8 program. For Sta!in and his coteries e&erything" e&ery form of crue! and &icious!y crimina! beha&ior" treachery" deception" and realpoliti$ manipu!ation of e&ery sort" and in the end" deportation and banishments" torture on a massi&e sca!e" and mass murder as 8permissib!e8 in as !ong as he and his faction he!d State po er. Thus" mere gross inconsistencies and po!icy re&ersa!s ere of sma!! account (one can hear Mo!oto&" ho appears to be a!ternati&e!y fierce!y defensi&e or proud and g!oating o&er his ro!e in this obscene bruta!ities" saying at any rate" 5 e contro!!ed the press" so hat possib!e difference cou!d a fe sma!! misdirected remar's ma'eN5). For e#amp!e" at the ODth .arty 0ongress" on 11 -ecember 19:7 to be e#act" Mo!oto& himse!f stated" 81e ho no proposes that e adopt a po!icy of forced !oans" of compu!sory re$uisitioning of 1;B to :BB mi!!ion poods of grain from about 1B percent of peasant househo!ds" that is" not on!y from the 'u!a's but e&en from part of the &i!!age midd!e stratum - ho e&er e!! intentioned" is an enemy of the or'ers and peasants" an enemy of the a!!iance of or'ers and peasants RSta!in" from his seat" inter4ects" 80orrect[8S" ho is pursuing a !ine !eading to destruction of the So&iet state.8 Iet on 1 Hanuary 19:6" :B days !ater" Mo!oto& set out on his 8grain e#tortion8 mission" and on 1; Hanuary 19:6" Sta!in !eft on his.: Mo!oto& response to this as on the order of they, the &ell#to#do or $ula$ (and middling. peasants, at this point should have considered themselves luc$y since 8 e had not yet !aunched the s!ogan of !i$uidating the 'u!a's as a c!ass.8? ,n fact" the year 19:6 as the turning point. The 3ight fought furious!y against Sta!inist maneu&er to effecti&e!y abo!ish the 2.=... Thus" at the top de facto factional strugg!es in the .o!itburo dictated the current !ine. .o!icy formu!ation of 8emergency measures8 had conse$uent!y the character of a series of pauses and start-ups. At the base o(last, ue-d and volost committees" ho carried out the actua! grain and ta# co!!ection campaigns" ere" ith each start up fo!!o ing a pause" fearfu! of ha&ing fa!!en behind. The resu!tN The !o er party organs consistently and &ith increasing ferocity utili-ed coercive means to insure comp!iance ith $uotas imposed by the party !eadership (center). The peasant as p!ummeted by intimidation" beatings" murder (8e#ecutions8)" and thin!y &ei!ed theft (the grain tri(ute e#acted in e#change for ridicu!ous!y !o prices that cou!d purchase !itt!e if nothing of &a!ue in the ay of manufactured ares) in order to insure co!!ection of steep" ne ta#es and grain. -uring the course of the year" the term 8 ar communism"E or a return to it" as fre$uent!y used as a description of party practices in the countryside. .easant resistance as fierce.> +e ha&e a!ready mentioned the s!aughter of !i&estoc'" but a!so unseen in a decade as the reemergence of the practice of burying (meager) stores (not surp!uses but grain to be consumed for further !i&e!ihood)" as e!! as that of the murder of party acti&ists (dumping their bodies on the sides of ruts that passed for country roads). That the party puniti&e organs cou!d not get to the bottom of these deaths" precise!y because the &i!!age assemb!ies refused to name names of indi&idua!s ho ere acting in the se!f-defense of the &i!!age communities" points to the fact" and this characteri(ation rare!y appears in the !iterature" that by mid-19:6 a civil &ar bet een the party-State and the peasantry as raging in the countryside" in the &i!!ages and sma!!er to ns. %y summer" the party !eadership as recei&ing reports of the !ooting of food from shops and distribution centers" and riots and demonstrations against the procurement campaign" c!ear!y by no a return to the forced re$uisitions
1Le)in,

Ibid, 222.22+, 2 #. The party leadership later, during a period of relaxation of the emergen"y measures, "ondemned the lo"al "adre and militia for its 0ex"esses.D 22elix <huev "iting the re"ord of the <ongress in *oloto& Re"e"bers, 2,,. 3Ibid, 2,-. /olotov, by the )ay, a""epts <huevIs figures. The latter points out that the kulak "onsisted of a mere 3.,& of the peasantry )hile those sub?e"t to repression )here in"omparably greater in number. Be defends himself by asserting the time and "ir"umstan"es simply demanded a more rapid transition to "olle"tivi1ation (Ibid, 2-#!. The point, of "ourse, is that years of maneuvering for po)er +ithout regard to the situation in the "ountryside, the needs in the to)ns, et"., )ere )hat, on assumptions of 0national0 self.defense through heavy industry. based industriali1ation, "ompelled the fero"ity of this assault on peasants and )orkers. 4Reiman, #he =irth of Stalinis", ' . #.

(prodra-versi$a) on the 0i&i! +ar mode!.1 +hi!e the concerted assau!ts on peasants ere destroying the fabric of the rura! &i!!age !ife" and &rec$ing the real chances for grain collection ade+uate to national needs, se!f-defensi&e peasant responses to rapid!y institutiona!i(ing coercion ratcheted up the demands in the party for the intensification of puniti&e measures characteri(ed in terms of a gro th of a 8 $ula$ counterre&o!utionary mo&ement.E Thus" State &io!ence in the persons of tribute (ta# and grain) co!!ectors met by peasant resistance set in motion a dynamic that reduced the actua! amounts of the co!!ections* .easants reduced so n areas" the better off or 8$ula$8 e!ements refused to !oan grain" seed" imp!ements or horses to the (ednota, ceased renting !and from them (depri&ing the !atter of a source of income) and so!d off their !i&estoc' a!! in order to a&oid being identified as 8 $ula$.E At the same time" mo&ement into co!!ecti&e farms ($ol$ho-es) rapid!y increased not out of con&iction but mere!y as means among peasants of recei&ing State funds to tide themse!&es o&er during the crisis. (To be sure" pri&ate cu!ti&ation persisted inside these farms).: Thus" grain co!!ections continued to fa!! throughout 19:6" the State5s grain reser&es disappeared" and the &io!ence of party cadre intensified. The response of the regime as not simp!y more" but massi&e!y more" &io!ence. %efore the end of 19:6"? a permanent po!itica! po!ice presence in the countryside as augmented and strengthened. (Short!y thereafter" mi!itary detachments ere added for the same repressi&e purposes).> %he &hole policy pursued in 1 OI (and thereafter. &as aimed at dramatically increasing surpluses (to support rapid heavy industriali-ation and collectivi-ation. (y means of na$ed impoverishment and enforced famine.; %y the end of the year" hate&er abrupt po!icy shifts (bac' and forth) at the top had occurred during the course of that year" the pattern of &io!ence coup!ed ith bruta!ity e#ercised against the peasantry as a ho!e had become not mere!y the norm but ubi$uitous. The o&era!! direction this &io!ence symbo!i(ed has been characteri(ed as the regime5s 8!eft8 turn.7 As e ha&e suggested" bruta!ity and &io!ence did not 4ust characteri(e the po!icy of the Sta!inist faction at the top ( hich" ha&ing defeated the 3ight" by the beginning of 19:9 as in comp!ete contro! of the party). ,n particu!ar" it as party cadre ho acted as der-himordy, and" gi&en the threat of purge from abo&e" ere dri&ing the intensifying,

1Le)in,

Russian (easants and So&iet (o+er, 2,#. 6n @uly, the regime )as temporary for"ed to ba"k do)n. ;et)een @une and :ugust, grain )as a"tually imported. 2Ibid, 2$', 2'#, 2',, 2 $. 3Ibid, 23+. 4Reiman, Ibid, #. 506t is "lear ... that )ithout "ondu"ting house.to.house sear"hes, the deta"hments of ... pro"urement agents ... "ould not have found any grain, for the peasants had no more Imarketable sto"ksI 0 (Le)in, Ibid, 2,%!. 6n other )ords, party offi"ials at the top )ere fully a)are the for"ed "olle"tions )ould result in starvation "onditions among tens of thousands of peasant households. $6n exile, the 3pposition "ompletely misunderstood (talinIs and the regimeIs 0left turn0H Trotsky 8uotes from the (ra&da arti"le of #- 2eb #+2 (unsigned but )ritten by (talin himself, see Le)in, Ibid, 23,! "alling it 0a restatement, and in part ... an almost literal reprodu"tion ... of the (latfor" of the 3%%osition presented at the 2ifteen <ongress.0 6n parti"ular, he "ites the follo)ing linesH 0I:mong a )hole number of "auses )hi"h have determined the diffi"ulties experien"ed in grain "olle"tion, it is ne"essary to single out the follo)ing. IThe village has expanded and enri"hed itself. :bove all it is the kulak )ho has expanded and enri"hed himself. Three years of good "rops have not passed )ithout leaving their mark.I0 Be goes on to sar"asti"ally note it )as only months earlier that ;ukharin, formulating the line for the leadership, )as saying 0I7nri"h yourselvesUI0 (Trotsky, #hird International after )enin, 2',.! Be notes further that, 0(ra&da also formulates the se"ond "ause, )hi"h is at bottom the fundamental reason of the grain "risis. 0 0IThe in"rease in the in"ome of the peasantry ... in the presen"e of a relative ba"k)ardness in the supply of industrial produ"ts permits the peasants in general and the kulaks in parti"ular to hoard grain.I0 (Trotsky, Ibid, 2',.2'-.! Trotsky approves of this analysis. Be goes on to say 0>hile making the reservation that the kulak is not Ithe prin"iple hoarder of grainsI the arti"le admits that he is the e"onomi" authority in the village, that Ihe has established a s"y!h.a )ith the "ity spe"ulator )ho pays higher pri"es for grain,I that Ihe Jthe kulakK has the possibility of dra)ing the middle peasant behind him.I This des"ription ... "hara"teri1es )ith pre"ision the relations existing in the village.0 1Ibid, 2'-.! The entire misapprehension is e"hoed by ("ha"htman in his 06ntrodu"tion0H 0The Russian kulak . the ri"h peasant Ja non."lass "ategoryK . )hose signifi"an"e )as persistently ridi"uled by the bureau"ra"y )hen the 3pposition urged an attitude of a"tive vigilan"e, organi1ed a vast, spontaneous strike against the (oviet regime. The government grain "olle"tors en"ountered the energeti" resistan"e of the ri"h peasants, )ho refused to surrender their surpluses at the pri"es fixed by the state. ... The )orking "lass elements in the "ountry Jon"e informedK rea"ted )ith apprehensive vigor Jbut in fa"t they )ere never informedK ... Jin the fa"e ofK the IkulaksI bloodless uprisingI. ... The mood of the proletarian masses "hanged from a"8uies"en"e in the old Right )ing "ourse into a determination to see to it that sharp measures be taken to turn the helm the other )ay. (o po)erful )as this pressure of the masses that it broke )hat had appeared for years to be the granite blo"k of the ruling bureau"ra"y. The latter split it into t)o fa"tions, the Right ... and the pseudo.Left... 0 Ibid, xx.xxi.

irreversi(le use of coercion as the means of settling agricultural policy.7 This as surest sign that the apparatus, not as an ?instrument? of violence (ut as the institutional incarnation of violence itself, dominated party life at all levels* %ut this &io!ence as in no ay e#c!usi&e!y directed at the peasantry.1 The food shortages produced by the peasants5 ithdra a! of mar'etab!e grain posed the possibi!ity of famine in the cities. (For e#amp!e" ration cards ere introduced in the cities and to ns.:) Aabor 8discip!ine8 in the factories and p!ants suffered* Absenteeism" drun'enness" refusa! to carry out 4ob responsibi!ities" and or' stoppages increased mar'ed!y.? (The situation had distinct echoes of the 0i&i! +ar hen or'ers 8sto!e8 goods they had produced to se!! or barter on underground mar'ets for food.) Simi!ar!y" a ne situation of increasing and acce!erating indiscip!ine appeared in some industries as ne or'ers" not habituated to capita!ist-type of or' rhythms - peasants from the countryside f!eeing the rura! Terror" found 4obs in urban factories.> ,n Hanuary 19:9" the party !eadership threatened ruth!ess measures. A!! the gains that had been instituted ith the re!a#ation fo!!o ing the end of the 0i&i! +ar ere re&ersed* )ne-man management in the enterprises as re-estab!ished" trade union say in and preference for factory personne! appointments ere e!iminated. Manageria! prerogati&e" in the assessment of fines" imposition of punishments" and firings - a!! prima facie characteristics of capita!ist contro! o&er production" ere instituted" courts ere en4oined from hearing or'ers5 comp!aints about the propriety of sac'ings and punishments" and the 0entra! Trade /nion 0ounci! forma!!y stated it ou!d not defend or'ers in court. The same 0ounci! instructed its !oca! bodies to insure these ne !y en!arged manageria! prerogati&es ere respected and to assist in their enforcement.; The trade unions" historica!!y" the first and !ast !ine of defense of organi(ed or'ers" ha&ing !ong ago (1916) been effecti&e!y statified" cou!d be and ere used as organi(ationa! eapons against or'ers once their moderate!y pro-pro!etarian !eadership as remo&ed. Toms'y" nationa!!y head of the trade union organi(ation" as rendered inacti&e after the =ight Trade /nion 0ongress (!ate -ecember 19:6 - ear!y Hanuary 19:9). 1e as remo&ed from his post si# months !ater. The 0ongress itse!f ratified the !udicrous" because unattainab!e" goa!s for industria!i(ation put forth by 9uibyshe&5s FS'Bh"7 thereby pa&ing the ay for a rapid increase in e#p!oitation" the typica!!y oppressi&e ay or'ers e#perience repression. The rate of e#p!oitation as ratcheted up as age increases and State-pro4ected higher !i&ing standards did not materia!i(e. ,nstead" they ere dramatica!!y !o ered as the dismant!ing of institutiona! restrictions (enumerated abo&e) became effecti&e" and as responsib!e agencies introduced further distincti&e!y capita!ist forms of !abor organi(ation* Sp!it shifts ere genera!i(ed" Sundays as a day off as e!iminated" and a day off during the ee' as a!!ocated to or'ers on the basis of the rhythms managers sought to impose on production.7 As the regime attempted to ratchet up the rate of e#p!oitation" !abor producti&ity" of course" actua!!y suffered. %y 19:9" the rationing" inf!ation" and a forced e#change rate reduced rea! ages to rough!y >BC of their 19:7 &a!ue. +or'ers" no !onger ab!e to ma'e a !i&ing at their 4obs" ere forced into theft and petty trading to put bread on their fami!iesF tab!es. An interna! passport system as introduced by the regime to pre&ent or'ers from changing 4obs in efforts to impro&e or'ing conditions and ages.6
7Derzhi"ordy, 16n

bullies, )as a "hara"teri1ation 0formerly used for the Tsarist poli"e )ho )ere noted for their brutality.0 Le)in, Ibid, 22+. the to)ns and "ities, private industrialists, traders and spe"ulators, )ere also atta"ked, mainly through imposition of a punitive rate of taxation. This spelt the beginning of a rather 8ui"k end to the Ne%"en. The "ase )as similar in both (tate poli"y and result )ith urban artisans, small petty "ommodity produ"ers )ho hitherto had helped to moderate the goods famine. Ibid, 2 %. :s Le)in su""in"tly summaries, the destru"tion of the artisan stratum, ho)ever, redounded on the regimeH C#he dual reign of shortage and s%e!ulation no+ began4 It +as destined to last for a long ti"e, and to !ost the !ountry untold losses 0 Jemphasis in originalK. Ibid, 2 #. Ao), that is, in the de"ades follo)ing the regimeIs "riminally )ild and perverse lur"h 0left)ard,0 spe"ulation )ould originate from )ithin the party itself. 2Ibid, 2,%, 2 '. 3Reiman, Ibid, 2. 3. This situation )as exa"erbated by the regimeIs response vis.a.vis )orkers to its o)n, first sho) trial kno)n as the 0(hakhty affair.0 4Ibid, ##%. 5Ibid' 6("hapiro, #he Co""unist (arty of the So&iet 5nion, 3'-.3'$. 7Reiman, Ibid, ###. 8(erge, @ro" )enin to Stalin, - . (erge notes in Aovember #+2+, 0a""ording to the offi"ial pla"ards in /os"o), the highest monthly ration for a )orker, belonging to a "ooperative0 )as 3 lb.sugar, 2 o1.tea, # lb.vegetable oil, $ lb.grits, #` lbs . ma"aroni, # lb herring and # lb household soap. Ibid, -'. These )ere starvation rations.

1o e&er" these assau!ts on or'ers5 defensi&e organs and or'ers themse!&es cou!d not be underta'en ithout some form of di&ersion that ou!d function as escape &a!&e for or'ers5 animosity that other ise might be directed to ard the regime itse!f. As !ong as the party" its !eadership and the So&iet regime a!! deri&ed their u!timate" and in sense historica!!y transcendent" !egitimi(ation from Mar#ian theory" and re!ied on or'ers (as e!! as itse!f as a bureaucracy) for mass support" the regime had to be carefu! ho it ent about intensifying e#p!oitation. -issemb!ing" the Sta!inist !eadership pursued a c!assica!!y di&ersionary strategy. ,n a ar-hysterica! atmosphere first created by the ab4ect fai!ures of the %u'harin-Sta!in !ine in the 0omintern" and the resu!tant great!y increased internationa! hosti!ity and iso!ation" an atmosphere that the Sta!inist !eadership preferred to heighten precise!y because it he!ped to mas' the interna! crisis and its origins as e!! as its o n ineptness and bruta!ity" the regime conducted its first sho tria!. .!ummeting producti&ity and indiscip!ine in the mines of the -ons %asin (-onbass) pro&ided the occasion. ,n ear!y spring 19:6" some t enty-si# engineers and technicians ere brought up on charges as 8industria! rec'ers8 in hat has since been 'no n as the 8Sha'hty tria!.E These specia!ists" it as c!aimed" ere a!so bourgeois agents. The regime uti!i(ed the tria! to scapegoat the technica! inte!!igentsia attached to the industria! enterprises for its o n incompetency.1 2e spaper accounts and party meetings fed discontent in an attempt to pit or'ers against specia!ists and technicians. (There as" or so it seemed" an additiona! benefit here" that of promoting a di&ersionary outburst of 3ussian chau&inism since some of the engineers ere @erman nationa!s. ,t bac'fired as it increased the hosti!ity of @erman 8pub!ic opinion8 and the @erman State to ard the regime. Trade re!ations ith the on!y imperia!ist po er that had not hitherto been e#ceeding!y hosti!e to ard the So&iet regime ere soured for years.) This di&ersionary effort to oppose or'ers to the specia!ists and technicians a!so bac'fired. The regime as forced to bac' off its press campaign* The technicians and specia!ists had been among the actua! agents of the party5s efforts to impose speed-ups and ne production norms" and dismant!e o!der restrictions on or'er e#p!oitation. +ith an officia! campaign !egitimi(ing or'er anger and resentment" these sentiments ere directed against them as or'ers refused to comp!y ith instructions and directi&es from the specia!ists" and others representing the administrations of the enterprises. The specia!ists" caught bet een a roc' (the or'ers) and a hard p!ace (p!ant management) and fearfu! of constant @./ monitoring" !apsed into despondency. The upshot as enormous disorder in production.: The party !eadership a!so sought to occ!ude the character of its acti&ities in the countryside" and as e!! as responsibi!ity for the gro&ing food shortages in the cities (and not 4ust the initia! situation of shortages issuing from the efforts of the peasantry as a ho!e to impro&e grain prices by ithho!ding it from the mar'et). The party press as rife ith stories that !aid the responsibi!ity for food shortages in the cities on the peasantry. .easants" and no open!y inc!uded a!ong ith the $ula$ as the serednya$" ere said not on!y to be ithho!ding grain (of hich there as said to be p!enty) but buying up f!our and bread on urban mar'ets in !arge amounts in order to feed their !i&estoc'. Stagnating or'er ages ere put at the feet of the peasant ith the c!aim that s'yroc'eting procurement prices forced the State to forego age increases.? The predictab!e or'er outpouring in party and ce!! meetings against the peasantry effecti&e!y rationa!i(ed the &icious acti&ity of the cadre in the countryside. ,t he!ped to routini(e hat" o&er the ne#t three to fi&e years" ou!d be a condition of ci&i! ar. ,n an abstract and seeming!y a!together remo&ed sense" the 8first8 causa!ity in this ci&i! ar as the 2e =conomy .o!icy* The economic and socia! foundations of the regime as it had e#isted from spring 19:1 unti! ear!y 19:9 ere crumb!ing.> Since mid-19:6 hen he had increasing!y become con&inced of the futi!ity of concessionary approach to foreign capita!" this outcome as conscious!y intended and pursued by Sta!in a!ong ith his !ieutenants.; To this end" Sta!in" Mo!oto&" et alia" used the designation 8$ula$8 to describe a!! those ho ere 8hoarding8 grain. 2o 8$ula$"E meaning the peasant e!!-to-do" as not a class category" i.e." it as" !i'e the contemporary usage of the term 8midd!e c!ass"E a category that &ague!y designated a certain !e&e! of income and consumption" but as not determined by re!ation to the means of production. The 8 ea!thy8 peasants deri&ed their income !arge!y from midd!eman acti&ities" from e#change but not from production" name!y" from !ending money at usurious rates" simi!ar!y
1Ibid,

$$* Le)in, Russian (easants and So&iet (o+er, 2$#.2$2. Ibid, 2. 2or the (hakhty trial and its "ir"umstan"es, see ReimanIs a""ount, Ibid, -'.$$. 3Ibid, ##3* Le)in, Ibid, 23+, 2,%. 4Reiman, Ibid, -. 5Ibid, $.
2Reiman,

!ending farm imp!ements (primiti&e as they may ha&e been) at simi!ar rates" and" !i'e the 'epman traders in the to ns" by specu!ating on grain sa!es. %ut they did not deri&e this 8 ea!th8 from the hire of rura! &aged !abor and its e6ploitation. The Sta!inist abandonment of c!ass categories as doub!y designed to mas' a set of facts and concea! po!icy intent* First" the e#p!oitation of aged !abor in the countryside as minima!" it c!ear!y as not determinant (i.e." did not characteri(e any e#tensi&e rura! practice). Midd!ing peasants ere 'no n to seasona!!y hire a (atra$" hi!e some 8$ula$s"E but not a!! and hard!y enough to decisi&e!y character them in c!ass terms" emp!oyed up to three (ednya$s as tenants or'ing their !and. This as the set of facts that had to be obfuscated. Second" as the campaign against the 8 ea!thy8 unfo!ded" heated up and boi!ed o&er" the further fact that 8$ula$s8 produced on!y :BC of the mar'etab!e grain" hi!e midd!ing and poor peasants produced the remained" cou!d be passed o&er in si!ence. %ecause the concept 8$ula$8 did not ha&e a c!ass content" it meaning in practice as entire ar(itrary and differed from region to region" i.e." depending upon re&enue needs the 8$ula$8 cou!d be found far do n the socia! !adder. (Thus" for these purposes" ta# co!!ectors in&ented categories such as 8better-off"E 8rich8 and 8!ess e!!-off8 $ula$s*) ,n other ords" the po!icy of bruta!" &icious" and ruth!ess tri(ute e#traction as aimed the peasantry as a &hole.1 %ut in the frame or' of the inherited discourse of the smych$a" such cou!d not be open!y stated* ,t ou!d ma'e e#p!icit to the cadre itse!f its o n contradictory a areness" and open!y disc!ose for a!! to see the ban'ruptcy of the So&iet regime. ,t ou!d discredit the socia!ist intentions of that regime" and" for those ith the ana!ytic perspicuity" it ou!d re&ea! a modern &ersion of ancient despotism mas$uerading in emancipatory disguise. ,n the face of a se&ere socio-economic crisis that the 3ight-Sta!inist b!oc had !arge!y created by its e!aboration of the 2e =conomic .o!icy during the decade" the grain and ta# co!!ections campaigns of 19:6 had pro&ided the !atter" Sta!in and his associates" ith the singu!ar issue that" against the bac'ground of increasing party and urban hosti!ity to ard the peasantry" a!!o ed them to fina!!y repress the 3ight. The defeat of the party 3ight as !arge!y identica! ith the comp!eted dismant!ing of the !ast remnants of the o!d interna! regime of a party that had once" in a historica!!y 4ustified sense" ca!!ed itse!f %o!she&i'. =!imination of the !ast )pposition from the arena of party affairs remo&ed the !ast restraints on the beha&ior of the @enera! Secretary. As the 19:6 campaigns in the countryside partia!!y demonstrated" Sta!in as about to come into his o n. %he Situation in the Countryside on the Eve of Collectivi-ation =rimitive Accumulation:
)ne feature of the history of o!d 3ussia as the continua! beatings she suffered. A!! beat her for her bac' ardness. She as beaten because to do so as profitab!e and cou!d be done ith impunity. Such is the !a of the e#p!oiters to beat the bac' ard and the ea'. Sta!in as right" saying that e are fifty to a hundred years behind +estern =urope" and if e do not c!ose this gap in fi&e to ten years e sha!! perish.?

The Sta!inist program of co!!ecti&i(ation and rapid" hea&y industria!i(ation is often characteri(ed as a parody of that of the Aeft )pposition. %ut it as the crisis conditions under hich its specific features ere formu!ated (not to mention the character of Sta!in ho as its author)" conditions that e#isted from !ate 19:6 on" that created this per&ersion. As a genera! crisis of the economy descended on So&iet society in its entirety" the Sta!inist program &as that of the Aeft )pposition. .roofN ,t as thus!y recogni(ed as such by &ast numbers of )ppositionists (not !east of hom as Ie&geny .reobra(hens'y" author of the Aeft5s economic program) as they sought to return to the party after Sta!in had begun to systematica!!y e#ecute his 8!eft turn.E Trots'y did not return to the fo!d !arge!y on grounds of the
12or

the regionally varying, arbitrary "ategories, Le)in, Ibid, 2 #. Let us "ite merely one set of examples. :""ording to Le)in, peasants )ho 0sold bottles of milk or a fe) glasses of sunflo)er seed at rail)ay stations )ere in"luded in the "ategory of those Ji.e., 0.ula.s0K liable to the individual levy. 6n the Aorth <au"asus, tax )as levied on agri"ultural in"ome )hi"h had been "lassified as exempt under a la) intended to en"ourage "ertain bran"hes of agri"ulture. ... The fa"t that a man had )ell.kept livesto"k or )ell."ultivated land, that he had a good "art or employed a nurse, or that there might be some professional sour"e of in"ome in the household (in "ase )here there )as a do"tor or a tea"her in the family! or again that he "ight, at some time in the past, have employed )age.labour, )ere all interpreted by ... tax offi"ials as indi"ations of kulak status0 Jemphasis addedK. Ibid, 2 2. 26n /arxian theory, primitive a""umulation designated the so"ietal )ealth, itself not yet existing in the form of "apital, that formed the basis for initial "apitalist development. 6n the (oviet "ase, six years into the A.7.5., this )ealth had in any real sense yet to be "reated. 32or the first remark, @oseph (talin, spee"h to the :ll.9nion <onferen"e of /anagers of (o"ialist 6ndustry, , 2eb. #+3#. The se"ond remark )as made by Via"heslav /olotov in Aovember #+'$, *oloto& Re"e"bers, 2%#.

impossibi!ity of recogni(ing ithin the party his c!aim to !eadership" not because of significant differences ith the 8ne course.E 3eca!! that Trots'y" $uoting at !ength from Sta!in5s unsigned =ravda artic!e of 1; February 19:6" stated that the artic!e as 8a restatement" and in part ... an a!most !itera! reproduction ... of the =latform of the Opposition presented at the Fifteen 0ongress.8 1^ There as" ho e&er" a homo!ogy bet een Sta!in and Trots'y as the t o !eaders of the great contending factions inside the 3ussian party after 19:? that ent far beyond the unity of their positions on this sing!e" a!beit crucia! issue. First" %rots$y &as Stalin@s theorist. This !asted as !ong as Sta!in had yet to come to grips ith the deteriorating situation in the countryside and unti! the time at hich he had fu!!y assimi!ated the Aeft5s program and" on the basis of his 19:6 e#perience" e!aborated a course of action the ou!d indicate the ay for ard" i.e." the manner of o&ercoming the crisis.: A sing!e e#amp!e i!! suffice. Ae in reca!!s that in summer 19:6 Trots'y" in interna! e#i!e in A!ma Ata" rote an ana!ysis of the situation inside the So&iet /nion for the D,th 0omintern 0ongress he!d in Mosco in Hu!y. =ntit!ed 8+hat 2o N"E the piece as" of course" suppressed" but 8Sta!in" natura!!y" read e&ery ord. ... R1eS as in agreement ith Trots'y5s reading of the situation.8? This assessment is in the strict sense ob4ecti&e" i.e." can be made repeated!y by anyone ho compares Trots'y5s ana!ysis ith the course of action Sta!in" as head of the party" undertoo'.> Second" the under!ying orientation that made Sta!in5s theoretica! appropriation of Trots'y possib!e as the identity in their perspecti&es on" if perhaps (and 4ust perhaps) not the meaning of then the road to" socia!ism. For both the singu!ar!y decisi&e criterion that rea!!y enab!ed a society as socia!ist as co!!ecti&e o nership of the means of production and a p!anned economy" &i(." a statification that a!!o ed for" so it as hoped" un!imited de&e!opment of producti&e forces.; +hat distinguished Sta!in as his fundamenta! intuition that de&e!oped on the basis of the e#perience of the grain crisis of 19:6. 1e as fu!!y a are of the unusua! manner in hich the 8 or'ers5 state8 e#tracted surp!uses from the peasants* 2ot on!y sub4ect to direct ta#ation" the peasants ere 8paying too much for manufactured goods" hose prices ere re!ati&e!y high" and ... ere losing on the prices paid for agricu!tura! produce.8 This is hat he" in the frame or' of a monied economy" corrected characteri(ed as tri(ute that the State imposed on the peasantry.7 %ut Sta!in5s radica!ism deepened as the crisis became more ubi$uitous. ,t as on!y the pressure from the 3ight that pre&ented him from pursuing his course (embodied in the First Fi&e .!an of choice" the one ith the most e#pansi&e" and ridicu!ous!y unattainab!e de&e!opmenta! ob4ecti&es) at the beginning of 19:9" and not" in the actua! e&ent" nine months !ater.7 %he essence of this course &as the fundamental insight, one &hich Stalin $ept to himself (or, (etter, shared &ith :olotov., that the e6propriation of the entire o(;ective su(stance of the petty commodity peasantry as a &hole could esta(lish the (asis for collectivi-ation of the totality of agriculture &hich, in turn, could form the foundations for rapid, heavy industriali-ation in a manner that mere tri(ute e6traction never could* By appropriating not merely the grain (ut the implements, livestoc$, land, homes, and even the personal accouterments of the property o&ning peasantry, no matter ho& little the property involved, the Soviet regime &ould ac+uire the means, on
1(ee

n. 23 , above. )as expelled from the (oviet 9nion at the beginning of #+2+. The ]V6th 5arty <ongress approved the first 2ive.Pear 5lan in :pril of the same year. 6f one tra"es out the threads that bind Trotsky to (talin, they are al)ays of this sort, that is, ideational and theoreti"al elaboration (Trotsky! that illuminates and anti"ipates a pra"ti"e ((talin! that has yet to develop. The general frame)ork for (talinist 0rapid industriali1ation0 in its entirety "ould have, in this regard, be said to have been formulated by Trotsky at the end of the Russian <ivil >ar in his proposals for the 0militari1ation of labor.0 (ee the 2irst (tudy , 5art ,, se"tion 66, above. 3Le)in, Ibid, 2-,, 2--. 0>hat Ao)N0 first appeared as the last "hapter in Trotsky, #he #hird International after )enin originally published in #+3'. 403b?e"tive0 in the stri"t sense, implied in e.g., BusserlIs Crisis (2', 33!, is said to be "hara"teristi" of ideal unities of meaning (su"h as geometri" forms! that "an be intuitively grasped and their features made expli"it. ;e"ause the "ons"ious a"tivity in and through )hi"h these operations are "arried out "an in prin"iple be infinitely repeated, and "an be "arried out by anyone, al)ays )ith identi"ally the same results, )e say su"h self.same unities, appearing and standing forth over and against us (ob9e!tu", >egenstand!, are 0ob?e"tive.0 5This is )hy Leuts"her "an portray Trotsky as the greatest revolutionary figure of the t)entieth "entury (the trilogy #he (ro%het $r"ed, 5nar"ed, and 3ut!ast! and still pay homage to (talin (Stalin' $ (oliti!al =iogra%hy!. 62rom a spee"h in @uly #+2 to a <entral <ommittee session, "ited by Le)in, Ibid, 2- . The emphasis )as (talinIs. 7The 2irst 2ive.Pear 5lan )as adopted in at the ]V6th 5arty <ongress in late :pril #+2+, "olle"tivi1ation )as systemati"ally pursued after (eptember, and 0dekulaki1ation0 first began to "ome into its o)n in late Aovember.
2Trotsky

the one hand, to fund at the outset of industriali-ation the purchase through sale of e6porta(le grain of (asic means of production, and, on the other hand, the very (asic productive forces (first the land, then implements and livestoc$. and (uilt environment (homes, home furnishings, personal ?amenities,9 etc*. &ith &hich to initially esta(lish a collectivi-ed peasantry* +e" moreo&er" submit that" as the forced co!!ecti&i(ation as initia!!y underta'en in autumn 19:9" e#p!icit e&idence to support our ana!ysis emerged. Most te!!ing Mo!oto&" riting at this time in the party theoretica! organ" Bolshevi$" ac'no !edged that though a peasant ho!ding in pri&ate property (farm" !i&estoc'" imp!ements) amounted to &ery !itt!e" that it as 8poor" sometimes do nright retched" but &hen pooled together, they ma$e an imposing sum*81 The Sta!inist faction" and Sta!in in particu!ar" had assimi!ated enough Mar#ism to 'no that no c!ass in history had e&er i!!ing gi&en up the entirety of its (persona! as e!! as pri&ate) property" that in the conte#t of Mar#ian theory" such an audacious and monstrously criminal, massive e6propriation ou!d met ith the fiercest resistance.: That is to say" as he in ard!y e!aborated this insight" he $uic'!y rea!i(ed that the forced e#i!es en masse" mass murder" and depopu!ation through famine and star&ation ou!d a!! be necessary.? 1is responseN So be it. To himse!f" Sta!in ref!ected a!ong these !ines. 5+e must underta'e" &hatever the costs, rapid" hea&y industria!i(ation in order to meet the needs of mi!itary defense of mother 3ussia. ... ,f the =ng!ish ru!ing c!asses too' a hundred and fifty years to e#propriate the poor freeho!ds and copyho!ders and to simu!taneous!y crysta!!i(e out a tiny stratum of capita!ist farmers in the countryside and a pro!etariani(ed urban mass" here e must run the entire process in re&erse (from petty commodity producers to a co!!ecti&i(ed peasantry)* Aaying the foundations for modern industry must be te!escoped. ,t can and must be achie&ed in the shortest possib!e time. 2ot a decade. A coup!e years" perhaps e&en months. =&en in 1;BB" =ng!ish de&e!opment as the furthest ad&anced in the +est. Moreo&er" the =ng!ish had co!onies to p!under" and a mass of sett!er co!onists and their system of mercanti!e re!ations to enforce that p!under. 1ere e are a bac' ard peasant country surrounded by great" industria!!y-based imperia!ist po ers. 1ere there are on!y interna!!y generated resources.5 RAccording!y" the harshest" crue!est and most bruta! &io!ence ou!d be of the essence of the matter. SuchS &io!ence ou!d ma#imi(e the chances of our success. Strategica!!y" e continue to mystify the or'ers" con&ince them that the peasantry" especia!!y the $ula$" is responsib!e for food shortages. +e5!! purge the party and state of a!! s!ac'ers" reca!citrants" and" of course" the Trots'yite and Jino&ie&ite sna'es ho are sti!! hiding behind a feigned agreement ith the genera! !ine. )" yes" e5!! gi&e them a good !ega! hearing. ... ,n the countryside" e must detach the (ednota Rthe (ednya$s as a stratumS from the serednya$s and the $ula$s* The (ednya$ i!! form the human foundation of our co!!ecti&i(ed agricu!ture* 1e i!! pro&ide the manpo er for the e#propriations" as in the prodra-versi$a campaigns during the 0i&i! +ar" and he i!! pro&ide us ith the core human materia! in our sov$ho-es*N The serednya$ i!! see there is no future in estab!ishing himse!f as an independent farmer. 1e i!! ha&e no choice but to 4oin his brother (ednya$ on our co!!ecti&e farms. 1e i!! understand the a!ternati&e ou!d be to suffer the fate of the $ula$* Those that sur&i&e and ha&e not been e#i!ed" shou!d they be foo!ish enough to refuse co!!ecti&i(ation" can !i'e the =ng!ish dispossessed freeho!der turn to the cities for or' in our ne industries.5

1<ited

in Le)in, Russian (easants and So&iet (o+er, ,$% (emphasis addedK! Le)in (Ibid'! "omments 0so far, the ideal that Imillions of so.hi ()ooden ploughs! all added together )ould make an imposing sumI had been treated as a ?okeH no) it had seriously been put for)ard at a session of the senior party organ, and )as endorsed as offi"ial do"trine.0 22or the "lassi"al /arxist vie) on the peasantry and its expropriation, see the text to 0Bistori"al :lternatives0 beginning at n. 3-%, belo). 3(imilarly Reiman (#he =irth of Stalinis", #%$! )ritesH 0(in"e (talin had a""umulated extensive experien"e during #+2 , )hen he intervened for"ibly in e"onomi" and so"ial life, he lost all respe"t for the mysteries of the e"onomi" pro"ess. Be openly expressed his "ontempt for the Ifetishism of the do"torsI robes and hidebound textbooks.I 6n his thinking, (talin put one fa"tor first, one he understood and )as familiar )ithH the I)ill of the party.I >hat "ould be done e"onomi"ally )as de"ided in a totally ne) )ay (although ... )ar "ommunism ... served as a model! . through total mobili1ation of the ma"hinery of administration and repression.0 5resumably (talin had Rykov and his planning agen"ies, in parti"ular >os%lan, in mind )hen speaking of said 0fetishism.0 4So&.hoz )as a state farm. The .ol.hoz )as a "olle"tive farm )hi"h, moreover, before #+3% admitted of different forms ranging from degrees of private o)nership to "olle"tive o)nership of all property.

%he Situation in the Countryside on the Eve of Collectivi-ation 0e$ula$i-ation

The co!!ecti&i(ation of agricu!ture in the So&iet /nion as the ma4or re&o!ution" the great economic and po!itica! crisis that determined the &ictory of socia!ism.1 The members of the $ol$ho- ha&e for t o months recei&ed no pay for their !abor" consisting of transporting ood and feed. Fifty percent of the re&enue goes to the $ol$ho- treasury" fifty percent for ta#es and rent. +hat remains for the or'ersN 2o one 'no s. The president pays himse!f se&era! f!our certificates each month and refrains from a!! physica! !abor. 8The first fe months"8 he te!!s us" 8the members of the $ol$ho- must !i&e by their o n resources.8 %ut the poor ha&e no reser&es. They ear out their c!othes at or' ithout compensation. A!! this !end credence to the 'u!a's5 assertion that a 8ne serfdom8 is being instituted.: The door opened and the brigade burst into the house. The )@./ officer in charges of the operation as in front" ho!ding a re&o!&er. 51ands up[5 Morguno& as bare!y ab!e to distinguish the frai! figure of the c!ass enemy. 1e as barefoot" earing hite dra ers and a dar' undershirt ... The !ined face f!inched" the coarse bro n hands ere tremb!ing. ... 5Aord Hesus" sa&e us" ha&e mercy on us[5 ... Members of the de'u!a'i(ation brigade ere a!ready standing at each indo " their faces stern. =#pecting something dreadfu! to happen" they a!! ere ready to rush into batt!e for their cause" for so&iet po er" for socia!ism. %ut the 'u!a'-agent Terentye& ne&er thought of resisting. 1e 'ept b!in'ing and crossing himse!f" shifting from one foot to the other" ... and sudden!y he began to sob" his ho!e body sha'en by con&u!si&e gasps. 1e as bending o&er in a pecu!iar position" shuddering" and sma!!" g!istening tears" one after another" ro!!ed do n the coarsened" eatherbeaten face. 1is ife" no !onger young" 4umped do n from the high s!eeping bench and began to ai! at the top of her &oice< the chi!dren started to cry< and a ca!f" apparent!y rather sic' and !ying beside the sto&e" added to the c!amor. Morguno& !oo'ed around" $uite horrified. 1e sa that the hut contained on!y the one room and the !arge 3ussian sto&e. ,n the front corner beneath the icons ere t o simp!e ooden benches and a crude tab!e put together from p!an's. There as no sign of a dresser" or a bed" or a chair. )n the she!&es there ere some simp!e ooden bo !s" orn by years of use" and some o!d ooden spoons. Some o&en for's and buc'ets of ater stood by the sto&e" and on the !eft against the a!!" a !arge o!d-fashion trun'. The c!ass enemy[ The representati&es of authority had a!ready informed Terentye& that he as under arrest. 1e as to be de'u!a'i(ed and deported straight a ay. A!! his possessions ou!d be confiscated. 1is fami!y ou!d fo!!o short!y" but their destination as not 'no n. 1e cou!d ta'e ith him on!y the c!othes on his bac' and a change of under ear. Terentye& tremb!ed and ept. 51o can you ca!! us 'u!a'sN +hat forN +hat ha&e , doneN5 1e got no rep!y. 3ough!y brea'ing the !oc's" they opened the trun' and the food cupboard and pu!!ed out some sort of footgear" sac'c!oth" and foodstuffs. 5+hat forN +hat ha&e , doneN5 52othing. Iou5re a 'u!a'" a 'u!a'-agent. Iou5re against the co!!ecti&e farm. Iou don5t ant to 4oin and you5re upsetting e&erything. And that a!! there is to it[5 And they started ma'ing a !ist of a!! his goods and possessions.?
1Roy

/edvedev, )et History Mudge (#+'2!, +2. >e use both the original #+'2 edition and the se"ond, revised and expanded edition that appeared in #+ +. There are substantial differen"es bet)een the t)o. To allo) the author to speak for himselfH 0:ll se"tions of the present edition have been enlarged, and the book has been fundamentally revised. This applies as )ell to the authorIs ideas and opinions. 6t is, in fa"t, a ne) book.0 This "itation appears on page xiii of the authorIs prefa"e to the #+ + edition. (in"e )e shall "ite sour"es from both editions, )e shall parentheti"ally indi"ate the edition by its date )ith ea"h "itation. /edvedevIs alternative to (talinism has be"ome "apitalist demo"ra"y, vi1., a fleeting moment in the history of the >est (although at times its ideologi"al permanen"e see"s se"ure! that rests on barbari" forms of exploitation and oppression, )hat the ;olsheviks had "alled imperialism, that often rival (talinist Russia of the thirties. /edvedev (a name used here merely to typify a position! has moved from a soft (talinist defense of a"tually existing so"ialism to ta"it advo"a"y of an ideali1ed version of demo"rati" "apitalism that, in pra"ti"e, means a""eptan"e of a"tually existing "apitalism. 6t appears unfortunately these t)o positions formed the only ones available inside the old (oviet 9nion after the rise of =oba"hev. 2Letter from "orresponden"e identified only as /.R., )ritten in :pril #+3%. <ited by Vi"tor (erge, @ro" )enin to Stalin, $%. 3Roy /edvedev (3n Stalin and Stalinis", '3.',!, "iting an unpublished novel by an author identified only :. /. That author had himself parti"ipated in the "olle"tivi1ation drive, as )ell as in the a"tual deportations, as a young )orker, one of the 2-,%%% party members sent into the "ountryside as sho"k troops, in #+3%.

3ac'ed by the interna! factiona! fight bet een the 3ight and the bureaucratic faction !ed by Sta!in" during 19:6 the So&iet regime drifted. 8=mergency measures8 as the basis for grain co!!ections ere again instituted ith s!ight!y !ess se&erity in the !ate spring (Apri! - Hune)" and once again" after the effecti&e defeat of the 3ight" in Hanuary 19:9. %y this time" Sta!in had had enough time to e!aborate the ho!e series of ref!ections e suggested abo&e. =ach pre&ious grain co!!ections campaign had ended disma!!y" e&en if g!o ing reports ere issued for party and pub!ic consumption. The conc!usion he and his coterie dre ere to them patent!y ob&ious* ,nade$uate force had been inade$uate!y organi(ed and app!ied. This is type of conc!usion Sta!in as most capab!e of dra ing" and it referred bac' to an unacceptab!e situation he and his faction fe!t sure they 'ne ho to remedy. For the grain co!!ections dri&e that began in spring 19:9" the party !eadership put together" hat today ou!d in mi!itary terms be ca!!ed" a massi&e stri'e force. (The !anguage is appropriate" since ith the resu!ts of this 8campaign"E another mi!itary term" in hand" the Sta!inists ere on the &erge of going to &ar ith the peasantry.) Typica!!y" in each region here a dri&e as !aunched they assemb!ed a or'ers5 (or students5) brigade from the to ns and cities. The regiona! party organi(ation sent in its o n acti&ists or officia!s (from the o(last on do n1)" mi!itary persona! on !ea&e" and members of the !oca! party ce!! such as youth from the $omsomol: or schoo!teachers. /n!i'e the ear!y dri&es" the spring 19:9 campaign as successfu! garnering some hat in e#cess of the re$uisitioned amounts of grain. Sta!in dre the conse$uences. First and foremost as the !esson that organi(ed" concentrated force cou!d achie&e the ends he en&isioned. This as because" second" the peasantry as not as strong" and hard!y organi(ed" as he had feared. These !essons ou!d be put to use a!most immediate!y. %eginning during the re$uisition campaigns of 19:9" especia!!y in the three to four months after Hune" sma!! $ol$hoassociations began to spring up as party acti&ists put enormous pressure on the peasants to hand o&er grain. A dramatic increase too' p!ace in the si(e of the 'o!'ho( mo&ement in this period. Some 9BB"BBB peasant househo!ds 4oined. %ut the membership had remained essentia!!y (ednya$" hi!e the $ol$ho-es themse!&es ere ithout resources" characteri(ed by !o producti&ity and" c!ear!y" he!d a tenuous grip on institutiona! !ife. %y September" the party !eadership as a are of this fact.? So as it stepped up its co!!ecti&i(ation campaign" designating areas (raion) of 8mass co!!ecti&i(ation8 (sploshnaya $olle$tivi-atsiya) here the increases in $ol$ho- formation had a!ready been most dramatic. These areas inc!uded the 2orth 0aucasus" the Ao er and Midd!e Do!ga" and the /'raine.> The compu!sion e#ercised to get the serednya$ to ;oin (see be!o ) had itnessed the midd!ing peasant se!!ing off his !i&estoc' (efore 4oining.; )n other &ords, the $ol$ho-es to date remained materially unfounded, lac$ing the means to operate. Thus" the 0entra! 0ommittee .!enum" assemb!ing 1B 2o&ember 19:9" issued a arning stating that no State assistance ou!d be forthcoming un!ess 8there is an increase in the amount of in&estment by the peasants themse!&es.87 The party !eadership as ob&ious!y orried. ,t did hat it a! ays did under Sta!in* ,t tightened the scre s. The party acti&ists ho carried out co!!ecti&i(ation campaigns ent first to the !oca!" rura! so&iets to con&ince their membership to assist in efforts to form $ol$ho-es. This argument $uic'!y ga&e ay to threats that the party ou!d discip!ine a!! those ho did not enthusiastica!!y cooperate. +ith !oca! officia!s in to " efforts ere turned on the peasants themse!&es. The methods emp!oyed ere a mi#ture of promise and intimidation. The promises" hich ere fantastic and unrea!i(ab!e" concerned the !e&e! up to hich $ol$ho- acti&ity cou!d raise the peasantry materia!!y. Aarge-sca!e farming as foreign to the 3ussian peasants e#perience" and ta!' of massi&e credits" tractors" and other machine imp!ements" !i'e!y as frightening more than anything e!se. After a!!" the peasant as being as'ed to abandon a sett!ed ay of !ife that had e#isted for generations hi!e gi&ing up his property to the $ol$ho-. ,n &ery short

1The

.rai )as the largest state unit of administration in the (oviet 9nion. >ithin the .rai )ere regional oblasts follo)ed by the o.rug, the raion and do)n to selso&et (village soviet!. 2<ommunist youth organi1ation. 3Le)in, Ibid, ,2 .,2+. 4Ibid, ,2+. 5Ibid, ,3-. 6<ited in Ibid, ,$,.

time" the party acti&ists mo&ed from indi&idua!" househo!ds or groups of indi&idua!s to attempting to enro!! entire &i!!ages into $ol$ho-es.1 Bednya$s had 4oined in huge numbers in the summer and fa!! because" in their desperate situations" the $ol$hooffered hope. %ut serednya$s remained suspicious. Thus" promises rather $uic'!y became threats - of arrest" fines" imprisonment" and deportation. %efore !ong" o$rug directi&es to those in the countryside indicated a simp!ified approach as ca!!ed for* 85Anyone ho does not 4oin is a enemy of the So&iet regime.58: At the same time" the party !eadership as pro&iding regiona! party officia!s ith more !e&erage. After September" in the areas of mass co!!ecti&i(ation" encouragement as gi&en to 8spontaneous!y8 organi(ed 8de'u!a'i(ation8 (i.e." that organi(ed by area party officia!s" not the party center). These e#propriations of a!!eged!y e!!-to-do peasant property ere uti!i(ed as a c!ub* The serednya$s ere to dra the conc!usion that rura! !ife no !onger offered them any a!ternati&e to enro!!ment in the $ol$ho-. )f course" that act entai!ed turning their property o&er to the ne !y estab!ished So&iet administrations of the co!!ecti&e farms. The party practice aimed at 8con&incing8 the midd!ing peasantry that it had no other rea! option as furious!y abetted by the party press. =ravda regu!ar!y ran artic!es in hich it dec!ared on the ho!e prob!em" ca!!ing for a mobi!i(ation of a!! a&ai!ab!e forces of the 8pro!etarian dictatorship8 against the ?$ula$ counter-offensi&e.E )n ?1 )ctober" it open!y dre a !ine across the peasant strip of !and. )n one side" the $ol$ho-" on the other the enemy* ,t announced 8appeasers" traitors" uncommitted8 ou!d not be sanctioned.? ,n the autumn" the party mobi!i(ed :;"BBB trade unionists for the 8de'u!a'i(ation8 cum co!!ecti&i(ation campaign that as de facto under ay (and more for the subse$uent co!!ecti&i(ation dri&es).> Mode!ed on the summer grain co!!ections dri&e" in this e&ent the po!itica! po!ice ere centra!!y in&o!&ed. Typica!!y" a coup!e @./ officers dre up p!an for a specific campaign area. A 8stri'e force8 or detachment as organi(ed. The @./ officers reinforced themse!&es from their o n ran's. Aoca! mi!itia ere brought in as part of the force and e#empted from a!! other responsibi!ities. And" of course" party acti&ists ere a!so members of the detachment. A!! participants ere issued arms. 0onsisting genera!!y of the t o important officia!s from the raion, inc!uding its secretary" and a !oca! @./ chief" a troi$a as set up to ta'e charge of operation The troi$a dre up !ist of 'u!a's and di&ided them up into three groups according to the 8ris's8 they posed.; To round out the detachments of party acti&ists" !oca! party officia!s (raion or o$rug)" mi!itia or @./" trade union members" in some cases units of the mi!itary" and a number of (ednya$s ere a! ays incorporated into the force and participated in a 8de'u!a'i(ing8 action. The specific" restricted areas of 8de'u!a'i(ation8 ere soon e#panded as regiona! party officers engaged in a sort of competition. Soon" too" the party !eadership proposed 8de'u!a'i(ation8 as 8a means of sett!ing the nomadic and seminomadic farmers in 0entra! Asia" the 0aucasus and other regions.87 At the same time (i.e." in the autumn)" the .o!itburo had set up an interna! commission to recommend guide!ines for the practice of 8de'u!a'i(ation.E 3eady in !atter -ecember" the guide!ines ere not instituted because" dri&en by the Sta!in" Mo!oto&" and 9agano&ich" the .o!itburo re4ected them. Sta!in" in particu!ar" refused to accept the !imitations and !ega! restrictions the commission set on the party cadre ho ere operating in the countryside. 7 Though guide!ines ou!d be issued months !ater (after the 8de'u!a'i(ation8 of 19:9-19?B had run its course)" they ou!d not be issued by a .o!itburo commission. +ithout guide!ines or restrictions" the campaign in the countryside e#hibited its rea! character* ,t as nothing !ess than an orgy of violence that could not even thinly disguise open (anditry. ,n the p!ura!" this beha&ior as
1Ibid,

,3#. in Ibid, ,$'. 3<ited in Ibid, ,-,.,--. 4Ibid, ,$3* (hapiro, #he Co""unist (arty of the So&iet 5nion, 3 . The =59 is said to have spe"ially trained these sho"k troops. Le)in, Ibid, -%%. 5Those three groups )ereH (i! the anti.(oviet resisters, )ho fate in"luded "onfis"ation, prose"ution, imprisonment or "on"entration "amp internment. Their families )ere deported, mostly to (iberia. (ome )ere senten"ed to death* (ii! those 0kulaks0 sub?e"t to "onfis"ation, and deportation to the Aorth. 6n most "ases the )hole family )as also banished* (iii! those .ula.s )ho )ere not deported. They )ere allo)ed to keep a small portion of their belongings (not property!, and )ere allo"ated 0poor land0 (i.e., marsh land or forest land!. Le)in, Ibid, ,+$. 6Ibid, ,$3. 72or example, (talin stru"k out "lauses in the do"ument that spe"ified degrees of so"iali1ation of 0 .ula.0 property. Le)in, Ibid, ,$ . The entire body of proposals put forth on 22 Le"ember )as re?e"ted by the 5olitburo. The "ommission )as told to reformulate them. Ibid, ,'$.
2<ited

!ater deemed 8e#cesses.E1 %ut ?e6cesses? &ere of the essence of the &hole practice as it unfolded in the villages across the country* At this point" the !eadership5s thin'ing on hat as happening in the rura! areas shou!d be brief!y e#p!icated because it une$ui&oca!!y indicates hat happened as not a matter of a practice gone a ry" out of contro!" but a practica! rea!i(ation fu!!y consistent ith that thin'ing. The party !eadership at the center (Mosco ) thought the $ula$@s property ou!d ser&e as an 85entrance fee58 for the (erednya$ ho had arri&ed at the $ol$ho- 8empty-handed"E a contribution to hat as 'no n as the $ol$ho-@s common and indi&isib!e fund. 8,n addition" part of the 'u!a's5 goods (their food supp!ies" c!othing" etc.) as to be used for immediate re!ief among the (ednya$s*8 @i&en this materia! impro&ement" the hope as to get the poor peasant mass to enthusiastica!!y support the regime and $ol$ho- during the campaign" as e!! as to pro&ide a ne !e&er for recruiting peasants.: )n :7 -ecember" Sta!in appeared before a conference of agrarian Mar#ists. ,n his speech to the assemb!ed de!egates" he" no doubt to their shoc'ed surprise" ca!!ed for the 8!i$uidation of the $ula$s as a c!ass.E? This as a signa! gi&en intentiona!!y" a green !ight if you i!!" to organi(ed detachments operating in the countryside to initiate un!imited e6propriations. For different reasons" the party !eadership and the acti&ists across the country anted done ith 8de'u!a'i(ation8 as $uic'!y as possib!e.> (The !eadership as singu!ar!y concerned about ho a de!ay in the onset of the so ing season might ha&e dreadfu! conse$uences at har&est time" moreo&er" undermining pro4ections made in the p!an. .arty members acting in the &i!!ages anted to rapid!y conc!ude their 8business8 to !imit the prospects of this acti&ity recei&ing pub!ic attention.) %ut Sta!in5s speech (reinforced by =ravda@s, i.e." the !eadership5s" efforts to hasten the practice)" and the desire to ha&e the deed done ith dispatch" did not produce system and a!acrity (but it did ithout doubt intensify the ferocity ith hich &io!ence as perpetrated).; ,nstead" three features imp!icit in the campaign came to dominate it. First" the practice of 8de'u!a'i(ation8 not on!y outstripped that of co!!ecti&i(ation" the former proceeded in disregard to the !atter. The priority of 8de'u!a'i(ation8 o&er co!!ecti&i(ation as 'no n as 8na'ed de'u!a'i(ation.E (3eca!!ing that" !i'e 8de'u!a'i(ation"E co!!ecti&i(ation near!y a! ays entai!ed coercion.) ,t as e#propriation carried on 8for its o n sa'e"E i.e." ithout regard to the interests or de&e!opment of the $ol$ho-.7 ,n this form" e#propriations became per&asi&e. Second" 8na'ed de'u!a'i(ation8 as practiced ubi$uitous!y" not on!y and not actua!!y for its o n sa'e but for the sa'e of the participants" specifica!!y !oca! party officia!s and the (ednya$s. .recise!y because those designated as $ula$s did not ha&e the here itha! to organi(e themse!&es beyond the &i!!age !e&e!"7 the detachments on the ground actua!!y intensified the sa&agery of their assau!ts on a!!eged!y 8 e!!-to-do8 peasants. Ai'e a predator that rea!i(es the
1Ibid,

, '., .

2Ibid, ,+- ("itations!* ("hapiro, Ibid.

Aot only had no /arxists, in parti"ular /arx and 7ngels and later Lenin, ever advo"ated expropriating the mass of )ell.to.do and middling peasants, expropriation )as al)ays a matter of private property, i.e., property in the means of produ"tion (see 0Bistori"al :lternatives0 beginning at n. 3-%, belo)!. >ith the expropriation of %ersonal property, and not ?ust homes, mind you, but "lothing and food, the (oviet regimeIs leadership organi1ed the so!ial destru"tion, )hen not the "orporeal death (i.e., mass murder!, of )hole strata of the rural popula"e. 6n )inter #+2+.#+3%, these men, ideologi"ally pseudo./arxists pursing a reign of despoti" and rea"tionary Terror, "ompleted a self.transformation (begun mu"h earlier! from bureau"rati1ed bullies, ha"ks, and sy"ophants to gangsters, that is, organi1ed thieves, thugs, and murderers. 3Ibid, ,$+. 4Ibid, , '., . 5("hapiro, Ibid' ;y the end of @anuary #+3%, (ra&da dis"ouraged a"tivists from )aiting for instru"tions from the "enter. Rather, it insisted on the display of initiative and a revolutionary spirit. Ibid, , +. These in"itements thre) a)ay all pretense at 0revolutionary0 legality. 6Ibid, , . 7Ibid, ,'#. This mu"h )as already "lear, as )e stated above, to the party leadership in summer #+2+ follo)ing the grain "olle"tion drive. The murderous resistan"e that (ra&da s"reamed about "ame to a total of #,%%2 a"ts of 0terrorism0 in all of #+2+. The bulk o""urred in the later half of the year, but then burning your o)n barn or home )as "lassified as an a"t of terrorism (after all, as the partyIs number "run"hers must have reasoned, that property )as, or )ould soon be, (tate property!. There )ere 3 , murders attributed to 0.ula.s0 in the same period. Ibid, , $. 2or a stratum of some %%,%%% householders, that amounts to patheti" 0resistan"e.D :s Le)in (Ibid, , ,! relates, this 0resistan"e0 )as the a"tivity of a terrified, be"ause doo"ed stratum.

game it sta!'s is ounded" ea'" or simp!y not a match for it" the 8de'u!a'i(ing8 detachments struc' ithout arning" and ithout any disp!ay of compassion or mercy. /sua!!y" a 8stri'e force8 came upon a 8$ula$8 and his fami!y deep in the night. ,ts !eader to!d the househo!der he as to be e#propriated as prescribed by such and such decrees. /sua!!y earing nothing but nightshirts" the 8$ula$8 fami!y as forced out of its home ithin minutes of this announcement" hi!e a!! its ho!dings ere dec!ared property of the State to be administered by such and such $ol$ho-. The fami!y as escorted by members of the detachment to a gathering p!ace in the &i!!age from hen it ou!d be deported. This as the case ere there as no resistance" here there as some animosity the pre&ious!y e#isted bet een the 8$ula$8 and !oca! members of the detachments (in hich case he as !i'e!y beaten" and occasiona!!y murdered)" and here the 8$ula$8 in $uestion as not officia!!y sub4ect to internment or death. +here a 8 $ula$8 protested he as bruta!!y beaten to insure his future comp!iance. At this point ( ith the 8$ula$8 !ed off)" the !oca! party officia!s and the (ednya$s too' o&er. The d e!!ing as !ooted for e&ery possib!e be!onging that cou!d be carried off. %y this time" the (ednya$s ere often drun'. +hat cou!d not be carried off (too !arge" too hea&y) ou!d usua!!y be pic'ed up !ater and auctioned off by the !oca! party officia!s.1 The third feature of 8de'u!a'i(ation8 as it de&e!oped after Sta!in5s signa! at the end of 19:9" as its indiscriminate character. The !ists that ere origina!!y dra n up fre$uent!y inc!uded more than an occasiona! indi&idua! and his fami!y ho did not fit the more rigorous operati&e criteria for se!ection (most important!y" that the 8 $ula$8 in $uestion as e!!-to-do). %ut after Sta!in5s dec!aration" party officia!s in region after region pronounced their area too as one of mass co!!ecti&i(ation.: As ne !ists appeared" their character became ho!!y and conscious!y indiscriminate (not 4ust a matter of the conceptua! confusion embedded in the term 8$ula$8?). At this point" often a name on a !ist appeared mere!y as a case of 8sett!ing o!d scores8 (and one can be certain that the (ednya$s had scores to sett!e against their 8$ula$8 oppressors). )r" again" a name ou!d appear because !oca! party officia!s considered a man" regard!ess of his imputed socio-economic status" 8harmfu!.E> Thus" the attac' as decisi&e!y broadened. Anyone ho had the appearance of being re!ati&e!y better off cou!d no be and as 8de$ula$i-ed.E; This arbitrary assau!t on the midd!ing mass of the peasantry ga&e the ho!e sordid" murderous affair the $ua!ity of organi-ed and (rutal (anditry. )rgani(ed banditry as" indeed" per&asi&e. Bednya$s (and (atra$s) no participated 8spontaneous!y8 and acti&e!y ithout bothering ith officia! authori(ations.7 As arbitrary 8de'u!a'i(ations8 s ept o&er the country" their tendency to ard &io!ent reprisa!s mar'ed!y increased* As the (ednya$s rushed in to indiscriminate!y a&enge o!d ounds" the other features of 8de'u!a'i(ation8 ere magnified* Forced co!!ecti&i(ation as a goa! as buried in the booty to be sought" and organi(ed banditry turned into an orgy" or to put it po!ite!y" a 8!arge-sca!e" share-out.E7 A @./ report" cited

1:pparently,

it )as a "ommon pra"ti"e to au"tion off %ri&ate 0.ula.0 property also. (ra&da (editorial, # 2ebruary #+3%! )ould have had no other reason to protest the transformation of 0dekulaki1ation0 into 0Inothing but a division of spoilsI0 ("ited in Ibid, -%2! if the personal belongings )ere simply appropriated, i.e., 0legally0 stolen, by poor peasants sin"e su"h )as at any rate the intention of the party leadership. >ith regard to the au"tion of this property, the 0IbuyerJs,K E )ithout ex"eption, J)ereK members of the solso&et0 (rural soviet!. Ibid' Bere Le)in "ites (yrtsov, "hairman of Russian republi"Is 5eople <oun"il of <ommissars, as his sour"e. The regime offered its o)n a""ount of the night s"enes Terror, romanti"i1ed pap best exemplified in /ikhail (holokhovIs #+3# novel, Seeds of #o"orro+ ((odniataya tselina literally 0virgin soil upturned0!, an ideali1ed (talinist fantasy of "olle"tivi1ation. There )e find that almost al)ays only .ula.s )ere expropriated* that by #+3% Russian standards, they )ere all filthy ri!h* upon expropriation, all )ere resettled to bad land on the edges of the villages and none )ere exiled* that deportation )as brought on by their o)n organized, "ounterrevolutionary a"tivity* that all violen"e )as .ula. instigated and urban party "adre, humanisti"ally sensitive to the logi" of violen"e and retaliation, and repelled by )anton brutally, s"rupulously observed the legal "ode regarding punitive measures (guidelines that in fa!t largely did not exist for the duration of the first 0dekulaki1ation0 "ampaign!* et"., et". :ltogether absent from (holokhovIs invention is the arbitrary nature of the expropriations, and the drunken, often reprisal.laden bednota behavior. 3f "ourse, the =59 is simply not present in the novel. 2Ibid, ,++. 2or the "ategories (submitted to lo"al troi.as in the form of se"ret instru"tions from the "enter! indi"ating of types of 0dekulaki1ation0 that )ere to be undertaken, Ibid, ,+$. 3(ee the dis"ussion in the text under the heading 0#+2 , the Regime at the <rossroads0 beginning after n. 2-', above. 4Ibid, -%#.-%2. 5<learly, any zazhiyo&hny (better off peasant! )ould be deemed .ula.P.0 Iin the absen"e of .ula.s, the zazhito!hnye are appointed as temporary a"ting kulaksI.D Le)in, Ibid, ,+2, again "iting (yrtsov. 6Ibid, ,+-. The batra., re"all, )as an agri"ultural )age.laborer, often a day or seasonal labor and often also a serednya.. 7Ibid, -%2.

by Ae in" noted that brigands of (ednya$s despoi!ed the 8$ula$s8* They 8ate dran'" and he!d drun'en orgies ... their motto R asS 5eat up" drin' up" it5s a!! ours[5E1 @uide!ines for the 8de$ula$i-ing8 e#propriations ere fina!!y promu!gated by Sovnar$om in May 19?B" but not before the : February decree that forbade 8$ula$s@8 the right to change of residences or sa!e of property ithout authori(ation. This enactment ga&e !ega! co&er to a!ready ongoing nation ide 8app!ications8 of anti- $ula$ measures.: After this decree as issued" a phenomenon of 8ideo!ogica! de'u!a'i(ation8 emerged* Anyone ho offered any sort of resistance to the troi$a and its 8stri'e8 or 8tas'8 force" as thereafter in practice sub4ect to 8de'u!a'i(ation8 and a!! it entai!ed. The entire concept" de&oid as Ae in notes of 8socio!ogica! significance"E in&o!&ed the simp!e 8!ogic8 of those ho he!d the means of force in their hands* They needed !itt!e in the ay of 84ustification8 for their acti&ity* 5Any resistance to 8de'u!a'i(ation8 is resistance to the regime5" 5a friend of the $ula$ is an enemy of the $ol$ho- and of the State5" etc. The practice of 8ideo!ogica! 8de'u!a'i(ation8 a!so &ery short!y became idespread.? The Sovnar$om decree" the intend of hich as to codify the type of pri&ate property that the regime anted to ma'e sure made its ay into the $ol$ho-es" ga&e !oca! authorities the right to modify the decree. =&en at this !ate date" the party !eadership i!!ing!y accepted conse$uences on the ground" no matter ho repu!si&e" because it anted ma'e a point - to the serednya$s in particu!ar. That pointN There as no !ife and e#istence outside the $ol$ho-.> -etached from (forced) co!!ecti&i(ation" indiscriminate!y functioning as organi(ed banditry" the 8de'u!a'i(ation8 campaign produced c!uc'ing of tongues in Mosco . Sta!in is e&en said to ha&e 8discreet!y8 disappro&ed. A period of rehabi!itation fo!!o ed" in hich ob&ious!y non-$ula$ househo!ds ere restored.; %ut this as mere!y temporary. 8-e'u!a'i(ation8 campaigns ou!d resume again in the fo!!o ing year" and sti!! again in 19?:. ,n the specific historica! conte#t in hich the Sta!inist !eadership deemed it necessary and ad&antageous to carry out the po!icy of 8de'u!a'i(ation8 (though the !eadership had !ong since suppressed and forgotten the meaning and significance of this conte#t)" !ooting" bruta!ity" and debauchery ere ine&itab!e resu!ts of the effort" from the party bureaucratic perspecti&e itse!f necessary" to in the support of the mass of poor peasants for co!!ecti&i(ation. The (ednya$s (and (atra$s) had nothing if not the appearance of the thie&es" thugs" and murderers of Mar#5s description of the ruined men" ad&enturers" drun'ards" and urban offa! ho made up Aouis 2apo!eon5s Society of -ecember 1B.7 8-e'u!a'i(ation8 as carried out by a !ayer of the rura! peasantry that had the mentalit5" e#hibited the appetites" and pursued the acti&ity of lumpenproletariat as its orst. ,n this ob4ecti&e!y historica! sense" the entire policy &ith a vie& to its (earers as crimina! in its presuppositions and outcomes. +e ha&e a!ready touched on those outcomes. The centra! presupposition as the a(andonment of the poor peasants. Since at !east 19:;" hen !ed by the %u'harinSta!in b!oc the party !ibera!i(ed the 2.=... in a manner that fa&ored po!ari(ation and gro ing stratification in the countryside at the e#pense of the (ednya$s (and to the benefit of the 8$ula$8)" the poor peasants had been !eft to their miserab!e fates. ,n practice" the party did !ess than nothing for the (ednya$s (and prior to 19:; it did &ery !itt!e for them)" hi!e ideologically it proc!aimed its peasant- or'er smych$a" resting s$uare!y on the poor peasants" as the foundations of the So&iet regime. +hy shou!d there be any surprise" then" that" dri&en by ressentiment and anger and !i&ing ithout hope for a future" the (ednota ou!d engage in !ooting and consistent acts of bruta!ityN )n the assumption that one 'no s no one better than one ho is !i'e onese!f" Sta!in too foresa this de&e!opment" since" at e point out be!o "7 he as most comfortab!e as ith the &icious" the bruta!" the murderer" and the thief. The Trots'yist criti$ue of So&iet bureaucratism asserts that the So&iet regime had the character of a deformed or degenerated or'ers5 State. At bottom" that is" in the fundamenta! historica! sense" this deformation as a product of
1Ibid' 2Ibid, 3Ibid,

,+-.,+$. ,+ . The term %o.ula!hni. (hen"hman of the .ula.! )as generally applied to those )ho, resisting 0dekulaki1ation,0 )ere obviously not .ula.' Ibid, ,+,. 6t, like the term 0"ommunist0 in the 9nited (tates after #+,$, )as employed as a term of abuse for purposes of imposing a solution in situ. 4Ibid, ,+3. 2or a list of the types of property, spe"ifi"ally farms, o)nership of )hi"h the de"ree enumerates as determinants of .ula. status, Ibid, ,+%. 5Ibid, -%2. The ne"essity of )hat in all probability amounted to a temporary 0rehabilitation0 "an be seen in from figures "ited for the villages of 5lovitsy in the 9kraine, )here $$ of ' households dekulaki1ed )ere listed as serednya.' Ibid, -%3. 6#he ighteenth =ru"aire of )ouis =ona%arte, '3 et se8. 7(ee the dis"ussion under the heading 07ssen"e of (talinism,0 belo).

the regime5s pursuit of socia!ism in one country" in the conte#t of a!! around bac' ardness. %ut the 8de'u!a'i(ation8 campaign demonstrated there as at !east one other stratum (besides the bureaucracy) ho pursued degenerate aims and as as a conse$uence deformed* ,n e#hibiting their rea! desires" appetites and ob4ecti&es" the poor peasantry as a ho!e ((ednota) e#hibited its deformation as a socia! agent. +ithout assistance from an ad&anced pro!etariat ho had a!ready carried out (or as in engaged in the practice of carrying out) a re&o!utionary transformation of an industria!!y capita!ist society abroad" this deformation too as ine&itab!e. 0eformation, in the end the necessary outcome of the leadership#precipitated failure to receive proletarian aid from a(road,1 &as a process that perversely transformed all of Soviet society*

1(ee

the dis"ussion under the heading, 0The 6nternational (ituation,0 above.

Part II Stalinism Historical Conditions Allo&ing for the Rise of a =ersonal 0espot in the Aand of the Octo(er Revolution The centra! historica! determinant of the rise of Sta!in as hat e in the te#t of the or' abo&e ca!!ed the loss of the re&o!ution. Aoss had a specific content" name!y" mass depo!itici(ation" embryonic formation of a &ast party-State" and the ascendancy of an iso!ated party dictatorship o&er a massified and rura!i(ed society. +e argued this occurred" not ine&itab!y" but through a historica!!y specific process.1 There e de!ineated t o conditions that" genera!!y spea'ing" decided the fate of the re&o!ution. The first condition" an actua!" historica! one" as counter-re&o!utionary +hite armies-generated and imperia!istsponsored and sustained civil &ar* 0riven to military aggression in the defense of the mad compulsion to accumulate, all the elements of the old order conspired and colla(orated to destroy the nascent proletarian po&er* The 3ussian 0i&i! +ar destroyed the myriad strata of the 3ussian pro!etariat outside 9ronstadt and .etrograd ( here on!y a !ayer of its core remained)" thereby producing mass depo!itici(ation and the po!itica! &acuum into hich the party chose to mo&e. To state the pro!etariat as a class as destroyed (8pro!etariat8 is a c!ass concept) conceptua!!y restates hat actua!!y transpired. 80!ass8 has a doub!e sense here* As a &iab!e corpus of or'ers capab!e of ru!e o&er the entirety of 3ussia" the 3ussian or'ing c!ass disappeared both as conscious agency" and as indi&idua!s ho" as bearers of this c!ass re!ation" constituted a body of !i&ing" practica! human beings. The !atter is" of course" the condition of the former" so that if the many strata that ga&e the 3ussian pro!etariat its mass coherency as corporea!!y annihi!ated and dec!assed" ceased to e#ist an sich, it is ob&ious that it necessari!y disappeared fHr sich* +e need mere!y enumerate the ays in hich or'ers as a group died and their c!ass cohesion as undermined in order to recognition that a decimation so e#tensi&e too' p!ace that" in a!! the industria! centers outside .etrograd ( hich itse!f as ground do n) and 9ronstadt ( here or'ers in sai!orsF uniforms remained a rea! re&o!utionary force)" the re&o!utionary pro!etariat !arge!y ceased to e#ist as such. ,n the &anguard of the defense of the ne or'ing c!ass po er" industria! or'ers en masse died at the front" due to star&ation from ar rought destruction of agricu!tura! fie!ds and imperia!ist imposed b!oc'ade (of food and medica! supp!ies)" and due to disease (typhus" cho!era). Those or'ers not in&o!&ed in the fighting often returned to the countryside to attempt to e'e out a subsistence !i&ing as the cities faced famine. -ec!assing a!so occurred further as or'ers ere assimi!ated as commissars" functionaries" and officia!s into the ne State. 2o this set of historica! circumstances did not uni!atera!!y determine the fate of the re&o!ution. At the height of the 0i&i! +ar" the %o!she&i's opted against efforts to re&ita!i(e the so&iets and" instead" undertoo' to interna!!y de&e!op the administrati&e apparatuses that ou!d a!!o the party to assume contro! and direction of the State. 3ein&igorating the so&iets ou!d ha&e been e#traordinari!y difficu!t* ,t ou!d ha&e first re$uired an in&itation to some Menshe&i's" anarchists and syndica!ists" and perhaps e&en Aeft Socia!ist 3e&o!utionaries" to (in the first and !ast cases) brea' ith discip!ine of their respecti&e parties and" to 4oin in the go&erning acti&ity of the so&iets. =&en then" the so&iets ou!d ha&e in part remained ho!!o . They cou!d not ha&e undergone a fu!!" hence genuine" re&ita!i(ation unti! after the 0i&i! +ar ended" that is" unti! after industria! production had begun to undergo reconstitution. This is in turn ou!d ha&e re$uired a commitment to industria! or'ers themse!&es - !arge strata of hich ou!d ha&e essentia!!y been a ne pro!etariat" to bring them sub4ecti&ity up to the !e&e! re$uired for participation in the !ife of the so&iets. %ut the nati&e pro!etariat !eadership as there" and thus the opportunity as a!so there" and it as greater than this !oss suggests* +e on!y need reca!! efforts of the re&o!utionary sai!ors of 9ronstadt and the residue pro!etarians of .etrograd in March 19:B to understand that not on!y did the %o!she&i' commitment not e#ist" but that %o!she&i's bound themse!&es to their ru!e" no doubt as &anguard" o&er and against these re&o!utionary e!ements.: .o er as satisfying. ,t ou!d ha&e been emotiona!!y" and theoretica!!y" traumatic to reconstitute the pro!etariat as sub4ect" to render the ho!e goa! and pro4ect of State po!icy the reconstruction the or'ing c!ass as agency (and" of course" ith it industry not on a capita!ist basis but entire!y subordinate to or'ers5 organs)" rather than as ob4ect of e#p!oitation on modern forms appropriated from capita!ism (e.g." !o ages" !ong hours" Tay!orism in production" hierarchy in or' and other organi(ationa! forms).
1(ee 2(ee

the "on"luding dis"ussion of the 2irst (tudy, 5art 3, se"tion 6], above. the 5rologue, above.

The second condition" then" that decided the fate of the re&o!ution as actua!i(ed as the first" actua! and historica! condition came to ho!d s ay. This conditiona! as ideationa!. Stee!ed in t enty years of strugg!e" demonstrati&e!y capab!e as c!ear!y indicated by its o n re&o!utionary success" the party !eadership de&e!oped a ho!e doctrine to 4ustify its ascendancy as .o er. )f particu!ar import of this doctrina! e!aboration as the e#perience of ci&i! ar. A carefu! e#amination of the documentary e&idence suggests that the !essons assimi!ated from the e#perience !ed to a reinterpretation of a!! other pre&ious e#perience in !ight of it" especia!!y the e&ents of March-2o&ember 1917. )ne feature that c!ear!y emerged against the bac'ground" i.e." the !osses" of the 3ussian 0i&i! +ar as a subt!e theoretica! 4ustification for the su(stitution of the party for the pro!etariat.1 This presupposed" in practice" the organi(ing and administering ro!e of the party in the 0i&i! +ar" hich" resting 8on the i!!usory characteri(ation of ad hoc" essentia!!y e#terna!!y-imposed ar measures as 5communist5"E: !ed to a massi&e!y inf!ated" positi&e &ie of the ro!e of the party in the construction of socia!ism. This se!f-conscious hu(ris sur&i&ed the ar" e&en as 8 ar communist8 measures ere dropped. 0entra! to the entire doctrina! e!aboration as the :nd 0ongress of the 0ommunist ,nternationa!" in particu!ar" the formu!ation of the 8Theses on the 3o!e of the 0ommunist .arty in the .ro!etarian 3e&o!ution.E? 1ere" a number of interconnected" ideationa! features of %o!she&i' doctrine came together" inc!uding the perspecti&e on the pro!etariat as ob4ect of e#p!oitation (not as potentia! agency)" the substitutiona!ist ro!e of the party" and the essentia! centra!ity of the party (counterposed to the accidenta! character of the pro!etariat) in re&o!utionary change. )n the face of it" the doctrine at once appeared coherent and an ade$uate summation of the e#perience of recent years. )n!y hen it as set a!ongside the !i&ing rea!ity of So&iet society did its ideo!ogica!" and specifica!!y substitutiona!ist functions become transparent. At some !e&e!" a consciousness of this incongruity had been achie&ed by the party !eadership. The aforementioned 0omintern 0ongress pro&ides us ith instances. )n the one hand" the de!egates assemb!ed in Mosco ere carefu!!y shie!ded from the disturbing features of city !ife" its 8star&ationrations" its arrests" its sordid prison-episodes" it bac'stage rac'eteering.E> (2o mean feat since these features ere ubi$uitous.) )n the other hand" a centra! characteristic of the party (and a ma4or theme of this essay) as it assimi!ated the State to itse!f as readi!y" if not incongruous!y apparent to the 0ongress de!egates. ,n a side room off the main ha!! of the assemb!y" Aenin animated!y discussed the progress of the 3ed Army on +arsa .; This mi!itary campaign as not that of a re&o!utionary armed forced engaged in !iberatory practice. The action" at best interpreted as hot pursuit of an aggressor into its o n territory" had the appearance of an invasion ith designs on .o!ish territory and independence" and" short of a re&o!utionary or'ers rising in +arsa to greet the 3ed Army ( hich ob&ious!y ne&er occurred)" it ou!d predictab!y (and did) gi&e rise to a resurgence of .o!ish nationa!ist fer&or. 1a&ing underta'en to recreate itse!f in order to assimi!ate the State to it" the party had dia!ectica!!y incorporated Statist practices and concerns into its o n structure. This ou!d become patent as theoretica! formu!ations increasing!y too' on the character of doctrina! incantations. Essence of Stalinism
The indictment reads as fo!!o s* ... /!yanou" 9oba5s second incarnation practica! responsibi!ity there &ery e!! may ha&e been a thousand paths !eading Sta!in a ay from Aenin" but then consider on!y three here they crossed it as D!adimir ,!yich hose principa! contribution as the (necessari!y) scientistic techno!ogy of re&o!ution it as D!adimir ,!yich ho insisted on !ocating historica! 3eason in the po!itburo (from the beginning presupposing its presence in the party) it as D!adimir ,!yich ho refused to strugg!e for re&o!utionary-!ega! sanctions against Fe!i'5s che'ists These are paths to the gu!ag.7
12irst 2Ibid. 3Ibid. :lso, 4Vi"tor

(tudy, 5art ,, se"tion 666, above.

see Theoreti"al Aote 3, above* and, the third "riti8ue of our Co""unity and Ca%ital. (erge, *e"oirs of a Re&olutionary, #%3. 5Ibid, #2'.#2 , n. 2 . 62rom the poem 0<hief :dministrators of <orre"tive Labor <amps0 by =uillaume.2ran"ois Lesti"he in his entitled "olle"tion Night of the World.

The ur$i f!ourished under the c(ars. They did e&en better under the %o!she&i's. Sta!in ca!!ed them innocents dri&en to crime by c!ass conf!ict. 0ondemn the poet" !et the de&ious doctors and rec'er engineers feed the fat 9o!yma mos$uitoes ith their b!ood" but don5t mistreat the poor thief.1

The citation from 3obin +hite5s no&e!istic thri!!er" an authoria! ref!ection on a remar' by Sta!in" is not arbitrary because it goes to the core of Sta!in5s persona!ity and" since so much of the man as embodied in the So&iet po!ity" to the heart of the regime itse!f. ,t is e!! 'no n that common crimina!s in the camps ere e!e&ated abo&e po!itica! prisoners (-e$s). Thie&es" in particu!ar" cou!d and did abuse po!itica! prisoners ith impunity" hi!e camp guards appro&ing!y !oo'ed on. ,n the first &o!ume of his 8!iterary in&estigation"E So!(henitsyn de&otes a !engthy passage to describing this" hat shou!d essentia!!y be characteri(ed as a no&e! form of crimina!ity.: Simi!ar!y" Sta!in himse!f raised crimina!s to positions of po er. The most famous case is Aa&entii %eria" chief of the secret po!ice and security apparatus from 19?6 unti! his e#ecution nine months after Sta!in5s death in 19;?. %eria had ne&er been a re&o!utionary or a Mar#ist. ,nstead" he combined in his personage the essentia! traits of a careerist and a thug" in other ords" he !ac'ed princip!ed con&ictions" as unscrupu!ous in a!! his actions ith his on!y ob4ecti&e as persona! ad&ancement and aggrandi(ement" and he as a man ho consistent!y so!&ed prob!ems or reso!&ed (career ad&ancement) difficu!ties by not mere!y &io!ent but by bruta! and &icious" not to mention i!!ega!" means.? Sta!in as arned by party members on numerous occasions that %eria as unsa&ory"> yet Sta!in insured that after 19?1 %eria as brought a!ong" to be cro ned ith the position of head of state security (29D-) in 19?6. %ut there as more* %efore %eria e&er assumed 8direction8 of the 29D-" Sta!in and his coterie had emp!oyed crimina! types in the security apparatus.; Thugs and sadists" men ho not mere!y engaged in but en4oyed bruta!ity and torture" ere" by the mid-thirties" ubi$uitous in the agencies of the secret po!ice. +hyN The ans er" in our &ie " is as simp!e as it is re&ea!ing. )n the thug, the sadist, and the murder, or to personify the issue" in Beria, Stalin sa someone he cou!d tru!y or' ith* 1e sa& a mirror, a clear reflection, of himself, and, of course, he approved of it* 0omp!ete!y in character" the common crimina! as a type as the on!y form of humanity" a degraded one to be sure" that Sta!in e&en e&inced any sympathy for.7 The determinant features of Sta!inism" of course" goes beyond persona! dispositions (though" in this case" that of the preference of crimina!s and thugs" some of this phenomenon5s essence is re&ea!ed). As our discussion of the grain and ta# co!!ections of 19:6 tacit!y suggests" Sta!inism in its most &iru!ent form as origina!!y constituted in the unity of rapid industria!i(ation in a bac' ard country and the presence of the persona! despot. Sta!inism" as a distincti&e era in So&iet history" as founded on the stati(ation of near!y a!! property in society. ,t consisted in a persona! despotism based s$uare!y on a po!ice state" that is" on organi(ed Terror in the personne! of 29D- agencies. ,t as further a form of the most concentrated" &io!ent" and murderous!y bruta!" primiti&e capita! accumu!ation" doub!y e#aggerated by a conte#t of unre!enting @reat .o er capita!ist hosti!ity and" in this conte#t" the ascendancy of a despot ho in his persona!ity concentrated the bruta!ity and &io!ence of o!d 3ussia. Stalinism and :ass :urder
RThe discussion on!y beginsS ... in as'ing hether the &io!ence ... RcommunismS e#ercises is re&o!utionary and capab!e of creating human re!ations bet een men. ... R,sS communism on the ay to creating by or!d re&o!ution a

1Robin

>hite, Siberian )ight' $ #hriller' (ol1henitsyn, #he >ulag $r!hi%elago, I, ,++.-#2. The Aa1is, of "ourse, )ent this one better by making "ommon "riminals labor prison guards. (ee Leni Pahil, #he Holo!aust' #he @ate of uro%ean Me+ry, passim, and also /edvedev (#+'2!, 2' , 2 #. 3This "hara"teri1ation is a distillation from /edvedevIs a""ount, )et History Mudge (#+ +!, ,$#.,$$. 4Ibid' 5Ibid,(#+'2!, 2 2, 2 -.2 $. 2or the systemati" "hara"ter of the sele"tion of "riminals for )ork in the AMVL, Ibid, 3%#, 3%3, 3%,. 6Lenin, if (ol1henitsyn is to be believed (No&e"ber 191A, -+#!, "o.opted (talin onto the ;olshevik <entral <ommittee solely on the strength of Roman /alinovskyIs re"ommendation. 6n this period ("ir"a #+%'.#+#3!, (talinIs "laim to fame )as 0pra"ti"al,D vi1., as the underground Moba, he had organi1ed su""essful CexpropriationsD (bank robberies that provided the party )ith badly needed funds!. /alinovsky, member of the <entral <ommittee, leader of the ;olshevik parliamentary fa"tion, agent of the 3khrana (a reality Lenin really )as never ever able to fully a""ept!, also bore a 0"riminal re"ord0 for theft. :nd so it goes round and round.
2:lexandr

c!ass!ess society in hich the causes of ar and decadence ha&e disappearedRNS ,s communism sti!! e$ua! to its human intentionsN This is the rea! $uestion.1 :ui Stroyim Bommunism>:

,n our &ie " the e#propriations" banishments and mass murder of the peasantry ere the decisi&e e&ent for the estab!ishment of Sta!inism and the Sta!inist era in So&iet history. +e sha!! confine our account to them.? %et een autumn 19:9 and the end of 19?:" one to one and ha!f mi!!ion peasants ere banished to remote areas of the So&iet /nion according to officia! figures.> Iet the 8massi&e deportation of peasant and 0ossac' fami!ies to the north as sti!! under ay in 19?: ... after the &erification of 19?1.8; (,t as this &erification upon hich officia! figures ere based.) Since the number of hat the regime may ha&e agreeab!y ca!!ed 8reca!citrant8 peasants" those that engaged in opposition to co!!ecti&i(ation" ere transported to prisons" to s!a&e !abor camps" or shot" e cannot say ho many peop!e disappeared and e&entua!!y died or ere murdered in this manner. Moreo&er" these figures do not inc!ude the hundreds of thousands of (ednya$s and serednya$s ho ere e#i!ed as 8$ula$ supporters.E7 3oy Med&ede& puts the tota! number of dispossessed 8$ula$s8 at c!ose to one mi!!ion fami!ies. (1e cites no source for this estimate.) ,f e accept the estimate" then" rough!y fi&e mi!!ion persons ere e6propriated and interna!!y e#i!ed before 19??.7 0onsidering" additiona!!y" those 8$ula$s8 e#propriated and banished in other repub!ics (other than the 3SFS3)" as e!! as those 8ideo!ogica!!y de'u!a'i(ed"E Ae in suggests the figure may be doub!e that cited abo&e[6 At Sta!in5s insistence" no e#ception as made" especia!!y for those so-ca!!ed 8 e!!-to-do8 peasants ho e#pressed a i!!ingness to submit to co!!ecti&i(ation.9 +e do not" it might be added" ha&e any ay of 'no ing ho many o!d peop!e star&ed to death in the midst of the tearfu! 4ourneys" nor ho many infants and chi!dren ere buried on the roadsides after deaths due to ma!nutrition" disease" and star&ation. +hat e can state is this* /p to 19:9" the number of peasant househo!ds had gro n ithout interruption. There ere :;"6BB"BBB such househo!ds. %ut hen co!!ecti&i(ation had fina!!y ceased in 19?7" that number did not e#ceed :B"7BB"BBB househo!ds. ,n se&en years" some ;":BB"BBB fami!ies"1B as many as t enty-fi&e mi!!ion peop!e had disappeared. 2o not a!!" perhaps not e&en the
1/auri"e 20>eIre

/erleau.5onty, Hu"anis" and #error' ;uilding <ommunismU0 (ign ubi8uitously present on (tate buildings in the thirties. 33ur a""ount here does not deal )ith the politi"al trials of 3ppositionists (Trotskyists and other, loyal old ;olsheviks!, non.party former oppositionists (Left (Rs, anar"hists, ;undists, /ensheviks, old populists, <adets!, and party "adre employed in regimeIs apparatuses* s"ientists, te"hni"ians and spe"ialists, supporters of the (tate, )ho )ere employed in the industrial enterprises, in s"ientifi" and edu"ational institutions, in agri"ultural agen"ies, in >os%lan, and in the statisti"al offi"es* and military offi"ers and "adres. Aor is it "on"erned )ith those ordinary )orkers and offi"er personnel "aught, so to speak, in the middle, arbitrarily denoun"ed for mere personal advantage or vi"tims of the exigen"ies of "onspira"y "on"o"ted by the politi"al poli"e. The repression, imprisonment, and murder of these individuals has been estimated ()ithout supporting eviden"e! at four to five million people. /edvedev, Ibid, 232 (#+'2!, ,-- (#+ +!. >e have also not taken into a""ount the "onse8uen"es of the murder of military men and )omen that amounted to destru"tion of the personally embodied national infrastru"ture of self.defense prior to the se"ond imperialist )orld )ar. Ibid (#+ +!, '-'.'-+, Resis (ed!, *oloto& Re"e"bers, #$%. (The murders here have been do"umented!. Aor have )e dealt )ith the deportation of ethni" minorities and nationalities during and after the )ar. /edvedev, Ibid, ,-# et se8 (#+ +!. 4/edvedev, Ibid (#+ +!, 233. 6n his 3n Stalin and Stalinis", /edvedev "ites those offi"ial figures for ea"h of the first t)o years. There )ere ##-,%%% .ula. families deported in #+3% and 2$-, %% in #+3#. 3n the assumption of five members per household, offi"ially, then, #.+ million people )ere deported in the first t)o years of "olle"tivi1ation. (6n this )ork, /edvedev uses the figure of $.' persons per household arriving at 2.- million people.! Ibid, ',. 6n a real sense 0doing the numbers0 "onstitutes an obs!ene and %er&erse ironyH Bere in the numbers, as in the situation they refer ba"k to, human lives are treated as some many units manipulated and disposed of. 5Ibid, 23,. 6Ibid, 233.23,. 7;ased upon figures in Ibid, 233. 8/oshe Le)in, Russian (easants and So&iet (o+er, -%'.-% . 9Ibid, 232. 10(erge, *e"oirs of a Re&olutionary, 2,'. (erge provides these figures on the basis of "al"ulations a Russian s"holar named 5rokopovi"h made from offi"ial (oviet statisti"s. Vi"tor (erge, as a militant and 3ppositionist )ho suffered imprisonment and deportation under (talin, arti"ulated a uni8ue position in the post. t)enties )orkersI movement, namely, that of a liberal and "riti"al Leninism. There is no reason to doubt the validity of (ergeIs assertions (numeri"al and other)ise!, be"ause his uni8ue position stands out against the ba"kground of su"h a pau"ity of do"umentary eviden"e in this regard available on the periods of the t)enties and thirtiesH (erge )as a highly pla"ed insider. ;e"oming a member of the Russian party in #+2#, )orking "losely )ith 4inoviev, first as a translator and as a propagandist, and

ma4ority" of these peop!e died" either by natura! causes or direct!y (murder) and indirect!y (star&ation" disease) as the resu!t of e#propriation and banishment. As !ate as the ear!y 199Bs" the remnants of sma!! communities of former deportees remained e#tant" those ho had !i&ed out their !i&es (a! ays on the edge) and e'ed out an e#istence in desperate" iso!ated conditions of the fro(en far north.1 There is a second consideration in&o!&ed here. This as famine. Famine as part and parce! of the modus operandi of Sta!inist practice. For more than eight years" parts or &irtua!!y a!! of the So&iet /nion ere sub4ect to famine as a direct conse$uence of the regime5s po!icies. As ear!y as the !atter ha!f of 19:6" ith the regime5s grain reser&es dep!eted" the decision as made to !ea&e peasant &i!!ages and ho!e regions dependent upon State pro&isioning of food (because" for e#amp!e" they gre industria! crops) to their fate. 0ases of star&ation ere reported in northeast 3ussia" the southern /'raine (a part of the breadbas'et of the /nion)" and e&en the re!ati&e!y e!!-off @erman farm communities of the Do!ga region. The conditions recurred a!! o&er again by summer of the fo!!o ing year (19:9) ith the same resu!ts" star&ation.: ,n e&ery season beginning ith the autumn of 19:6" peasants reduced their so ing areas in an effort to a&oid carrying surp!us grains that ou!d on!y be 8co!!ected"E i.e." re$uisitioned and effecti&e!y confiscated. At har&est times" the regime ou!d fa!! far short of its procurement goa!s as the grain simp!y as not present to meet annua! redistributi&e needs. 0o!!ecti&i(ation as" in part" a historica!!y specific response to this situation. )nce it as underta'en" peasants of a!! !ayers and strata of the rura! popu!ation in possession of !i&estoc' s!aughtered their catt!e to feed themse!&es" or" a!ternati&e!y" in desperate acts of resistance to the regime5s e#propriation dri&es. This drastica!!y reduced the dairy products (mi!'" butter" cheese) a&ai!ab!e for consumption" both rura! and urban" in the ensuing years. These acts" again" drastica!!y shran' the food resources a&ai!ab!e to sta&e off !ooming disaster. (%y 19??" the number of catt!e in the country as a !itt!e better than ha!f the number in 19:6.)? The e#propriations and deportations that fo!!o ed" and the massi&e de-organi(ation of rura! !ife that passed for co!!ecti&i(ation (inc!uding the party5s utter !ac' of organi(ationa! 'no !edge and understanding in organi(ing co!!ecti&e farming)" destroying the peasant economy" a!! had predictab!e conse$uences. 0atastrophe ine&itab!y fo!!o ed. 0o!!ecti&i(ation as in this o&era!! historica! sense causa!!y re!ated to the great famine of 19?:-19?>. Med&ede& states that 8mi!!ions8 perished.> 0o!!ecti&e" nationa!i(ed property and o&er!y centra!i(ed" bureaucrati(ed p!anning" the statified foundations of the So&iet regime of una!!oyed Terror" rested on the e#propriation of the means of production and persona! property of a petty commodity producing peasantry. 1istorica!!y rea!" though not po!itica!!y efficacious" a!ternati&es to this regiment of Terror had been at &arious times present.; Thus" (ecause there &as another &ay" and because Sta!in emptied the !iberatory" nineteenth century socia!ist synthesis of its emancipatory meaning and content" one can respond to Mer!eau-.onty that horrendous!y crimina! co!!ecti&i(ation po!icy rendered communism in 3ussia obscene!y une$ua! to its human intentions.7
then later an illegal agent and organi1er for the <ommunist 6nternational (#+2%.#+2$!. Be )as an 3ppositionist in Leningrad from #+2$.#+2 , undergoing expulsion, arrest, imprisonment, and release. Be lived in Leningrad and /os"o) bet)een #+2 and #+33, )here he )as follo)ed, harassed, his family )as perse"uted (his first )ifeIs in parti"ular!, all the )hile s"rounging out a living as, e.g., a translator. 6n #+33, (erge )as arrested, )ent through a lengthy interrogation (from )hi"h his understanding of AMVL methods derived!, and )as exiled to the "entral :sia interior. (6n this period, his )ife )as lost to insanity due to the perse"ution.! Luring all these periods, he )as able to maintain a""ess to party statisti"al sour"es, and )as, or "ourse, privy to the insights, analyses, rumors, and other information that only a former member of the party )ho remained inside the "ountry (i.e., retained "onta"ts! "ould 0en?oy.0 2ollo)ing a long 5aris.based "ampaign for his release against the ba"kdrop of (talinist efforts to )oe the 2ren"h 0demo"rati"0 bourgeoisie (espe"ially through the popular front!, (erge )as set free in #+3$. >ithout this "ampaign, he )ould have surely been murdered in the purges of #+3'.#+3 . 1Robert Barris, $r!hangel, #+%, 2''. 2Reiman, #he =irth of Stalinis", #%+, ###. 3("hapiro, #he Co""unist (arty of the So&iet 5nion, 3 .3 +. 4/edvedev, Ibid' (#+ +!, 2,%, provides no supporting eviden"e for this figure. (6n the #+'2 edition, Ibid, +,, the figure he provided )as 0tens of thousands.0! <huev (*oloto& Re"e"bers, 2,3! says t)elve million people perished in the great famine. /olotov disputed this but <huev insisted, )ithout "iting sour"es (though intervie)s )ere not likely venues for su"h "itations!, the figures have been substantiated. 2or "onsideration of the relation of "olle"tivi1ation to famine, (erge, #he Case of Co"rade #ulaye&, #%2.#%', 2+'.2+ * Reiman, Ibid* and (erge, *e"oirs, 2,' ()here the figure of -,%%%,%%% households referred by n. 3,$ above obviously in"ludes those )ho perished in the famines!. 5(ee the se"tion 0Bistori"al :lternatives,0 immediately belo).

Part III Was Stalinism +istorically Inevita2le6 Historical Alternatives From ithin the or'ers5 mo&ement" the Sta!inist phenomenon has spa ned a &ast critica! !iterature. %eginning ith the Menshe&i's ( hose primary dispute" based on opposition to the sei(ure of po er in )ctober 1917" as ith the %o!she&i's) and 3ussian anarchists ( ho again fundamenta!!y opposed the %o!she&i's based on the !atter5s suppression of the Ma'hno&ist armies and the 9ronstadt re&o!t)" both of hich !ater merged ith broader anti-Sta!inist stream" this critica! !iterature has se&era! highpoints hich ta'en together constitute" if you i!!" a !iterature of disi!!usionment.1 .rior to 1976" thorough!y going opposition to Sta!inist barbarism" ith perhaps a sing!e e#ception" coincided ith abandonment of the socia!ist pro4ect as such.: The French e&ents of May-Hune 1976 (and to a far !esser e#tent the .rague Spring) ere at the origins of a rene a! of a critica!" and perhaps utopian" socia!ist perspecti&e. The studentor'er mo&ements in .aris" 2antes" and other French cities pro&ided the materia!s from hich a critica! and emancipatory perspecti&e cou!d concrete!y counterpose itse!f to Sta!inist hegemoni(ation of the or'ers5 mo&ement. .rior to the May-Hune e&ents ( ith this perspecti&e further f!eshing itse!f out by de&e!oping and i!!uminating the !iberatory significance of the 1ungarian 3e&o!ution)" the criti$ue of Sta!inism !ac'ed the decisi&e !e&erage that a trenchant ana!ysis of bureaucrati(ation no pro&ided.? This !ast position" the perspecti&e of hope" is ob&ious!y our o n. For us" the criti$ue of Sta!inism de&o!&es onto the $uestion" @&hat alternative &as there to Stalinism in Russia1@ There is a good dea! of agreement from either end of the po!itica! spectrum" that" in fact" there as no a!ternati&e. Thus" ,saac -eutscher" .o!ish 0ommunist (and admirer of Trots'y)" and 3ichard .ipes" an arch-reactionary" academic estern anti-0ommunist" ha&e essentia!!y come to the same conc!usion* Sta!in as historica!!y necessary.> ,n discussions among peop!e on the Aeft" it is not uncommon" in defense of the thesis of historica! necessity" to compare the period of peasant co!!ecti&i(ation and rapid industria!i(ation ith =ng!ish capita!ism at its origins. Thus" it is suggested" had the enc!osures" spread out o&er a century and a ha!f (begun in mid-si#teenth century and rene ed ane as State po!icy under 0rom e!! in the mid-se&enteenth century)" been compressed into a decade" there might appear great simi!arities. These simi!arities ou!d e#tend e&en to the deportations. Thus" for e#amp!e" banishment under star&ation conditions to the remotest" unsett!ed areas of Siberia or to near north such as Archange!" or again to desert inner Asia" as" so it is argued" $ua!itati&e!y simi!ar to transAt!antic transportations" ith a!! its dangers and high dead to!!" to present day 2orth America and the +est ,ndies. ,ndentures on tobacco and sugar p!antations had no greater chances of sur&i&a! than the communities of peasants" ho" it is a!so argued" stood a better chance since they often maintained their &i!!age identity in the barren" ne !ands. Simi!ar comparisons ith the e#termination of nati&es in the Americas and the ens!a&ement of nati&e peop!es of the African +est coast a!! a!so heard. (For
6>e

have not treated the party, (tate, and the military proper 0purges0 (see n. 33 , above!. 6t is our vie) that (talin himself deemed it all ne"essary be!ause, in light of the diffi"ulties he had )ith the Left in late #+2' (Reiman, Ibid, #+.3$! . diffi"ulties that immediately follo)ed upon his gross failure to ade8uately assess the <hinese situation, he believed any resistan"e or opposition that remained in the party or (tate "ould form the nu"leus for a viable alternative to his rule should he again make huge blunders in the assessing the )orld situation as )orld )ar, "onsidered imminent by all )ithin the regime, approa"hed. #There is a line of development that begins )ith MoestlerIs Dar.ness at Noon (#+,2!. 6t runs through /erleau.5ontyIs $d&entures of the Diale!ti! (#+--!, These, the first novelisti" and the other histori"o.philosophi"al, are representative. :fter #+$ , this development "ontinues )ith the /aoist "um 2ren"h neo."onservative attempts (fed by (ol1ynitsyn! to lay the responsibility for (talinist horrors at the feet of the >estern philosophi"al tradition (:ndre =lu"kmannIs #he *aster #hin.ers (#+ %!!, and perhaps ends )ith the se"ond edition (#+ +!, essentially a ne) book no) )ritten from a so"ial demo"rati" perspe"tive, of /edvedevIs )et History Mudge. 6n "onne"tion )ith this literature of disillusionment, an apologeti" "urrent has appeared, best exemplified by first and foremost by TrotskyIs #he Re&olution =etrayed (#+3'!, and thereafter by /ar"useIs So&iet *ar/is" (#+--! and the first edition of /edvedevIs )et History Mudge ()ritten bet)een #+$2 and #+$ , but not published until #+'2!. 2The ex"eption )as merely partial, embodied in Tony <liffIs Russia4 $ *ar/ist $nalysis (#+-+!, and <.L.R. @amesI and Raya LunayevskayaIs 0(tate <apitalism and >orld Revolution0 (#+-%!. These )orks are the font of all third "amp Trotskyism. 3: number of novel (but a"tually very old! "urrents flo)ed from this ne) situation, beginning )ith the perspe"tive of hope typified by /ar"useIs $n ssay on )iberation (#+$ !, similarly but in a far narro)er sense, by ;ahroIs #he $lternati&e in astern uro%e (#+''!. 46saa" Leuts"her, Stalin4 $ (oliti!al =iogra%hy (Ae) Pork, #+,+!, and Ri"hard 5ipes, Russian under the =olshe&i. Regi"e (Ae) Pork, #++3!.

e#amp!e" in the 16?Bs a!one more than 1BB"BBB nati&e peop!e ere forcib!y deported from the American Southeast to the +est). 2onethe!ess" a fundamental distinguishing feature of t o compared practices resides in their respecti&e ideationa! 4ustifications* ,n =ng!and" no bones ere made about a practice oriented on profitabi!ity. ,n the So&iet /nion" ho e&er" deportation and mass murder ere carried out in the name of nationa! se!f-defense in a nation identified by a!most a!! ith socia!ism (an identification that regime did e&erything it cou!d to foster)" i.e." ith the practice of the humani(ation of the societies of the or!d. ,n the ear!y 197Bs" it as e&en popu!ar" the author reca!!s" to compare Sta!inist So&iet /nion ith Maoist 0hina. The !atter emerged more fa&orab!y. (=.g." in 0hina" there are reeducation camps" to be sure" but not s!a&e !abor camps). The counterpoint as to reca!! that 0hina as protected &is-M-&is estern imperia!ist po ers by the estab!ished presence of the So&iet /nion and" in particu!ar" the 3ed Army hich had e#hibited its might in 19>>-19>; against the /ehrmacht. Simi!ar!y" Med&ede& cites the e#amp!es of 0(echos!o&a'ia" 3umania" %u!garia" 1ungary" and the --3" here 8'u!a's ere a!!o ed to 4oin co!!ecti&e farms and pro&e their transformation by honest !abor.81 ,n this case" the re4oinder ou!d" of course" sti!! ho!d. )n!y the most ab4ect apo!ogists argue the sho tria!s of )ppositionists" and the further party" State" and mi!itary purges ere 4ustified out of necessity. 3esponsibi!ity here is both persona! (Sta!in5s and his faction5s) and anonymous (that of the careerists and apparatchi$s hose po er as a bureaucracy as fina!!y conso!idated on the basis of these murderous crimes). 2onethe!ess" this crimina!ity had nothing to do ith the ob4ecti&e possibi!ities for socia!ism under conditions of imperia!ist encirc!ement. ,n the conte#t of internationa! imperia!ist pressure" the massi&e &io!ence directed at the peasantry as a ho!e is the 'ey $uestion. ,n a!! these arguments" the first $uestion that might ha&e been posed is 5necessary for hatN5 Socia!ist de&e!opmentN There is a so!id argument that can be made to the effect that Sta!in5s terror ithout doubt held (ac$ de&e!opment.: %ut the decisi&e e!ement to grasp here is the concept of 8de&e!opment.E A!! these comparisons (bet een the So&iet /nion and capita!ist =ng!and" etc.) tacit!y presuppose that 8de&e!opment8 refers to gro th in the producti&e forces at hate&er costs to the !iberatory content of 8socia!ism.E Socia!ism as a non-capita!ist" 8a!ternati&e8 theory of nationa! gro th is" here" and in 3ussia as" tacit!y contraposed to a !iberatory perspecti&e on the possibi!ities of human emancipation as concrete!y embodied" say" in the re&i&a! of democracy of or'ers5 so&iets.? This contraposition" of course" has been effectuated by the outcomes of actua! historica! de&e!opment. ,n hat fo!!o s" e ou!d !i'e to e!aborate the rea! historica! possibi!ities for the socia!ism in the !iberatory sense ithin the actua! conte#t of imperia!ist encirc!ement that faced the So&iet regime short!y fo!!o ing up the )ctober re&o!ution. +ithin the party and So&iet regime" t o a!ternati&es to bureaucratic ru!e cohered at different times. The first as that of the Aeft )pposition. The position as most rigorous!y de&e!oped by Ie&geny .reobra(hens'y in 19:;. .reobra(hens'y identity the period of the 2e =conomic .o!icy ith the period of 8primiti&e socia!ist accumu!ation.E> ,n his &ie " t o entire!y different sectors of the economy confronted each other. These ere the socia!i(ed sector of nationa!i(ed industry and pri&ate sector of the agricu!tura!" peasant economy.; The ea'er" socia!i(ed sector had the benefit of its identification ith the State" and" gi&en this" its abi!ity to confront the fragmentary peasant sector in a unified manner. %ut these ad&antages" and those characteristics that ere theoretica!!y imputed to it (such as capacity for rationa! a!!ocation of resources" e$uitab!e distribution of socia!!y produced ea!th" etc.)" ou!d on!y accrue to it once it began to raise itse!f abo&e (in a historica! and de&e!opmenta! sense) the pri&ate" peasant sector" i.e." once it had gotten past the period of primiti&e accumu!ation that as no on!y in its ear!y stages. 7 To a&oid a
1)et

History Mudge (#+'2!, #%#. The revised edition reads 0after, >orld >ar 66, although many of the ne) so"ialist "ountries... took up the task of Ili8uidating the kulaks as a "lass,I they did so by restri"ting and s8uee1ing out the )ealthy peasants, not expropriating them totally. 6n fa"t, former kulaks and their families )ere allo)ed to ?oin "olle"tive farms under "ertain "onditions.0 Ibid' (#+ +!, 23 . 2/edvedev, Ibid(#+'2!, , ., +, -2#, -23, -$%. (imilarly, the remarks made by :lbert Resis in an editorial note to *oloto& Re"e"bers, #$3. 3(ee CTrotsky and the a>orkersF (tateD in the Remarks, belo). 4#he Ne+ !ono"i!s, #2+, n.#. (o"ialist a""umulation proper refers to surplus generated )ith a 0"onstituted so"ialist e"onomy,0 )here %ri"iti&e (or preliminary! so"ialist a""umulation 0means a""umulation in the hands of the state of material resour"es mainly or partly from sour"es lying outside the "omplex of state e"onomy,0 i.e., from the private se"tor and in the spe"ifi" Russian "ase, the petty "ommodity produ"ing peasantry. Ibid, , ("itation!, . 5Ibid, 3 .,%. 6Ibid, #, +.

rupture bet een the t o sectors ( hich in c!ass terms ou!d constitute open ar bet een the 8 or'ers5 State8 and the peasantry)" it as necessary to comp!y ith specific demands imposed as economic restraints. These ere comprehensi&e p!anning" consistent" incrementa! (annua!) gro th of the state sector that at the same time outstripped that of the pri&ate sector" and the maintenance of the correct proportiona!ity bet een components of the socia!i(ed sector as gro th occurred. Since the State had no e#terna! sources of accumu!ation (e.g." it !ac'ed co!onia! p!under as had been the case historica!!y in the capita!ist +est)"1 it ou!d necessari!y be forced to dra off surp!uses from the dominant e!ement in the pri&ate sector" in this case independent peasant farmers" in order to initiate and sustain e#pansion of the socia!i(ed sector (industria!i(ation). +hi!e .reobra(hens'y argued the e#treme ea'ness of the socia!i(ed sector of the 3ussian economy and the enormous si(e of the bac' ard" peasant sector re$uired rapid de&e!opment at the e#pense of the !atter": the primary mechanisms for hat he himse!f identified as this e6ploitation of the peasantry ere ta#ation" credit" !oans" e!imination of the merchant midd!e man ( ho dra s off surp!us in the form of a merchant5s profit) hich ou!d intensify the rate of e#traction of surp!uses from the pri&ate sector< the monopo!y on foreign trade< and" indisso!&ab!y !in'ed ith the !atter" those 8non-e$ui&a!ent e#changes"E hat in Sta!inFs hands ere ac'no !edged as tri(ute" that ere conse$uent upon the State5s abi!ity to arbitrari!y set the price of industria! goods (and hich ere made ith debased currency).? )n the face of it" .reobra(hens'y5s ana!ysis might be said to ha&e pro&ided a theoretica! 4ustification for Sta!in5s other ise bruta! and ad hoc (i.e." atheoretica! and reacti&e) po!icy beginning" rea!!y" in 19:6. This is" in our &ie " a !egitimate conc!usion that can be dra n from .reobra(hens'yFs perspecti&e. ,t as" in part" &a!idated by .reobra(hens'y5s o n return (19:9) to the party after the defeat of the 3ight. %ut there is a reason in principle hi!e his ana!ysis cou!d be captured by Sta!in* .reobra(hens'y imp!icit!y accepts the doctrine of 8socia!ism in one country"E since the dynamic e$ui!ibrium bet een the t o sectors is entire!y constituted interna!!y. ,n his doctrine there is no necessity of dependency on assistance to be pro&ided by one or more ad&anced industria! nation(s) hich itse!f (themse!&es) has (ha&e) undergone pro!etarian re&o!ution.> ,t is not enough to argue that .reobra(hens'y had formu!ated an abstract mode! of the dynamics transition to socia!ism (such as Mar# did for capita!ism in the first &o!ume of Capital). These dynamics themse!&es ou!d be different!y constituted ith different rhythms and tempos of de&e!opment (and an entire!y different time!ine for the achie&ement of fu!! socia!i(ation)" the re!ations bet een the t o sectors ou!d" in other ords" possess an entire!y different character in the case here aid as supp!ied 8e#terna!!y.E )n the Aeft" .reobra(hens'y5s &ie s ere not dominant. Trots'y" in particu!ar" he!d ith the same strong emphasis on the socia!i(ed sector a much more f!e#ib!e &ie on the necessity of acce!erated industria!i(ation. +hi!e e may specu!ate on ho Trots'y as head of the regime might ha&e responded to the grain crisis of 19:6-19:9 (and e sha!! brief!y return to this)" it c!ear he he!d a more c!assica!!y Mar#ist perspecti&e on re!ations to the peasantry. That is" he he!d the use of force against the peasantry as impermissib!e. This &ie as doub!y grounded" first" as e said in c!assica! Mar#ist assumptions concerning the re!ations of a socia!ist regime to the peasantry" and" second" in the &ie " that the construction of socia!ism as at any rate impossib!e in an industria!!y bac' ard" predominate!y agricu!tura! country re!ying so!e!y on its o n resources. These t o &ie s ere" of course" mutua!!y imp!icati&e. The c!assica! &ie had been stated by =nge!s in 169>. ,n a ce!ebrated artic!e pub!ished in 0ie 'eue 7eit"; =nge!s had indicated that e#propriation of the peasantry (not to mention deportation and mass murder hich ere simp!y unthin'ab!e) as inconsistent ith the meaning and historica! achie&ements of socia!ism.7 ,nstead" the peasantry"
1Ibid, 2Ibid,

-. #2,. 3Ibid, . +, +%.+#, +'.+ * and ++, #%2.#%3 (struggle against mer"hant "apital!* #%3.#% (monopoly on foreign trade!, ##%.### (pri"e me"hanism!. 2or the "on"eption of 0non.e8uivalent ex"hanges,0 Ibid, -.$, 2$#.2$2, 2'%.2'2. 4:lthough 5reobra1hensky asserts 0the so"ialist form "an spread only through exporting the proletarian revolution0 (Ibid, 2, n.#!, the import of his analysis de"onstrates 0so"ialism "on8uers in the "lose order of state e"onomy, )hi"h goes for)ard as a unified )hole, fused )ith the politi"al po)er, in "onditions in )hi"h free "ompetition is systemati"ally restri"ted and nearly li8uidated0 (Ibid, #3#!. 52rederi"k 7ngels, 0The 5easant Vuestion in 2ran"e and =ermany.0 Die Neue 6eit, V. 6, Ao. #%, # +,.# +-. 6(o that there is no misunderstanding, here is the key statement of the "lassi"al positionH ...0 )hen )e are in possession of state po)er )e shall not even think of for"ibly expropriating the small peasants ()hether )ith or )ithout "ompensation!, as )ell shall have to do in the "ase of the big lando)ners. 3ur task relative to the small peasant "onsists, in the first pla"e, in effe"ting a transition of his private undertaking to a "o. operative one, not for"ibly but be dint of example and the proffer of so"ial assistan"e for that purpose. :nd then of "ourse )e shall have ample

especia!!y the poorer peasants" ou!d be recipients of generous State aid (say" in the 3ussian conte#t" credits on high!y fa&orab!e terms to purchase ferti!i(ers and imp!ements" !oans at !o interest and ith f!e#ib!e terms of repayment in order to assist them on those occasions hen" for e#amp!e" inc!ement eather had produced a poor har&est" etc.) The peasantry (sma!!" independent and rura! property-o ners" farmers) ou!d be carefu!!y" and" if necessary" s!o !y mo&ed to ard more cooperati&e forms of agricu!tura! production. ,mportant!y" =nge!s notes that here midd!ing peasants !i&e among the sma!! ones" concepts that in an inade$uate" abstract sense ou!d rough!y refer to the serednya$s and (ednya$s respecti&e!y" 8his interests and &ie s i!! not differ great!y from theirs.8 1 At the same time" it is c!ear from the te#t: that he &ie s the association of midd!ing peasants ith the 8big8 ones i!! resu!t in the former adapting themse!&es to the !atter" in the 3ussian conte#t" the serednya$s adapting themse!&es to the $ula$s. 2o it as precise!y the !atter adaptation that the So&iet regime had encouraged (by and !arge unsuccessfu!!y in the material sense" successfu!!y ith a &ie to aspirations)" first" ith the !ibera!i(ation of the 2e =conomic .o!icy after 19:; (!ifting the prohibition on the use of aged !abor in the countryside" permitting the !ease of !and)" and" second" by its practica! abandonment of the (ednota. This gi&es a sense of 4ust ho far the ho!e direction of the 2.=... in its second phase had strayed from the c!assica!!y Mar#ist understanding of the peasantry. ,n this conte#t" it is orth noting further that" hi!e insisting the Socia! -emocratic party must te!! all property o ning peasants that it had no intention of preser&ing pri&ate property in !and" =nge!s a!so indicated 8most !i'e!y e sha!! be ab!e to abstain here as e!! from resorting to forcib!e e#propriation.8 To reiterate" this as the case in hich the midd!e peasantry had !arge!y (ehaviorally assimilated themse!&es to the 8big8 peasantry.? A good dea! of patience ou!d be re$uired in order to mo&e these !ayers of the peasantry into cooperati&e forms of production" but as !ong as the pro!etarian party commanded the heights of the State" this ou!d not be prob!ematic. =nge!s thought in terms of a de&e!oped" socia!i(ed agricu!tura! sector ithin the o&era!! rura! economy hich" because it too recei&ed massi&e State assistance" ou!d demonstrate to the property-o ning peasant (or" as the case might be" to the independent farmer) the superiority of co!!ecti&e agricu!ture (shorter hours of or'" more !eisure" and" according!y" access to the higher materia! and popu!ar cu!ture of the urban popu!ace)" and thereby ou!d act as a po!e of attraction to him. 2e generations born of the peasantry (or farmers) ou!d find this attraction particu!ar!y compe!!ing. ,n the end" a socia!ist regime cou!d ho!d out for a !ong time for the peasantry to &o!untari!y and i!!ing!y gi&e up its attachment to pri&ate property. =nge!s a!one as not the on!y 8authority8 ho cou!d be said to ha&e articu!ated this" the c!assica! Mar#ist &ie . Aenin" in his %heses on the Agrarian Tuestion read out at the Second 0ongress of the 0ommunist ,nternationa! (March 19:B), e!aborated the same perspecti&e in a ho!!y modern" post-re&o!utionary conte#t. (,t shou!d be noted that Aenin as not here riting as an 8authority"E but authoritatively" i.e." his theses ere the summation of the discussions and ref!ections ithin the 3ussian party in preparation for the 0ongress discussions and debates" and" moreo&er" incorporated sa!ient points of the !atter into the %heses* The %heses ere authoritati&e because they formu!ated the consensus thin'ing of the best Mar#ist minds of the era at a time hen 0ommunist thought offered a superior perspecti&e on agrarian re!ations.)> Aenin rote" 8the pro!etarian regime i!! guarantee the sma!! and midd!e peasants not on!y the retention of their !and" but a!so its increase by a!! the !and they hitherto rent (by the abo!ition of rent).8 Further" ith a &ie to the cru# of the prob!em" he stated 8the transition to co!!ecti&e agricu!ture must be managed ith much circumspection and step by step" and the proletarian state po&er must proceed (y the force of e6ample" by the pro&ision of machinery" the introduction of technica! impro&ements and e!ectrification" &ithout any violence to&ards the middle peasantry.8 Fina!!y" Aenin noted the big peasantry formed a decided enemy of the re&o!utionary
means of sho)ing to the small peasant prospe"tive advantages that must be obvious to him even today.0 3ne of those advantages, the main one, of a "ooperative effort "onsists in "reating an e"onomy of s"ale on the basis of 0large s"ale farming0 for )hi"h 0part of the labor po)er employed hitherto is rendered superfluous.0 06bid,0 ,+$. 106bid,0 ,+'. These are for"al "hara"teri1ations. >hen 7ngels speaks of 2ran"e and =ermany, the middling peasant he has in mind )as mu"h better off than the peasant )ell.to.do (.ula.! in Russia. There, )hile there )as o""asionally a truly )ealthy .ula., the .ula. population put at 3& of the peasantry simply did not "onsist in )ealthy peasant households. 3n the other side, in Russia in #+2 , it must al)ays be remembered that, in most instan"es, the real differen"e bet)een a middling peasant and a poor one )as a man )ho provide enough for his family to eat regularly and a man )ho "ould not. 206bid,0 ,+'.,+ . 306bid,0 -%%. 42or those dis"ussions, #he Se!ond Congress of the Co""unist International, II, +'.#2#.

or'ers5 regime. Measures must be immediate!y ta'en to disarm this c!ass. Iet" e&en here 8the e#propriation ... of the !arge peasants can by no means be an immediate ob4ect of the &ictorious pro!etariat" considering the !ac' of materia!" particu!ar!y of technica!-materia! and further" of the socia! conditions necessary for the socia!i(ation of such !ands.8 1e goes on to formu!ate a 8genera! ru!e"E to it" the state po er can !ea&e the 8!arge peasants in possession of their !and" confiscating it on!y in case of resistance to the go&ernment of the !abouring and e#p!oited peasants.8 1 The resistance he as referring to" ho e&er" as nothing of the order that the Sta!inists dissemb!ed about. Sta!in and his faction had radica!!y and" if one ta'es the concept of a or'er-peasant smych$a serious!y" one must say counterre&o!utionari!y" departed from the c!assica!!y Mar#ist program for the countryside. 2o " of course" the c!assica! perspecti&e" on!y made sense in the frame or' of accomp!ished pro!etarian re&o!ution in more than one ad&anced industria! nation.: Trots'y understood the meaning of this perspecti&e in depth" that is" he recogni(ed that an autar'ic conception of socia!ism fai!ed to grasp that socia!ism cou!d on!y de&e!op on the basis of the fu!!est de&e!opment of producti&e forces" that" according!y" the So&iet /nion cou!d on!y underta'e socia!ist construction on the basis of the fu!!est integration into the or!d economy" not in iso!ation from it.? Any other route to socia!ism ou!d be !aden ith massi&e &io!ence and produce a bastardi(ation of its meaning and content. The prob!em ith the Aeft )pposition5s position as neither that it !ac'ed coherency nor that it as not programmatic. %asing itse!f on a theoretica! ana!ysis of the dynamics of the re!ations of &arious sectors of the economy" and fo!!o ing from this the de&e!oping stratification in the countryside" the Aeft formu!ated a perspecti&e that far transcended anything Sta!in" and his bureaucratic-crimina! cohorts" had generated. To ca!! it" or Trots'y" 8romantic8 is not mere!y bad history" it amnesties by 4ustifying the bureaucracy5s crimina!ity.> 3ather" the prob!em ith the Aeft5s position is that it had been bypassed by e&ents* The fai!ure of the @erman re&o!ution of 19:? had effecti&e!y ended a!! chances for the foreseeab!e future of aid from a &ictorious pro!etariat empo ered by re&o!utionary success in an ad&anced capita!ist nation. So the $uestion is* Assuming the Aeft had come to po er in 19:6 (as Trots'y himse!f thought ou!d happen)" ou!d Trots'y" !eading the Aeft" ha&e initiated a course of tribute gathering not un!i'e that of the Sta!inistsN +ou!d the Aeft ha&e succumbed to the same &io!ence that animated Sta!in in the face of mass peasant resistanceN +e 'no that in 19:; Trots'y prec!uded in princip!e that type of compu!sion Sta!in pursued in co!!ecti&i(ation" because" Mar#ian theory ho!ds such impermissib!e. %ut e a!so 'no that it as the same Aeft" Trots'y inc!uded" that in 19:7 as ca!!ing for a rapid acce!eration in industria!i(ation. Ae in suggests that !e&e! of cu!ture of the Aeft genera!!y" the fu!!ness of its &ision" its cosmopo!itanism" its inte!!ectua! integrity and honesty as e!! as its insightfu!ness a!! made it
1Ibid, 2;y

II, 0Theses on the :grarian Vuestion,0 2 +.2+# Jemphases addedK. itself, a nation (not to mention a so"iali1ed rural "olle"tive, a so"iali1ed firm or entire e"onomi" se"tor! )ould be s)amped by the )orld market. >ithout a range of produ"ts to ex"hange and on this basis to fully integrate the respe"tive e"onomies, and only starting from the highest level of development ()hi"h )ould in some respe"ts shield the integrating e"onomies from the pressures of the market!, an isolated "ountry )ould be "ompelled sooner than later to submit to exigen"ies of the )orld market, to the logi" of a""umulation, if it )ere to survive. 3Trotsky, #he #hird International $fter )enin, ,3.-#. : "lear, "on"ise statement of the Trotskyist position, "an be found in /ax (ha"htmanIs 6ntrodu"tion to Ibid, xi. 4This is a ?udgment, mistaken, "ommon to even the best historians. 6n the mid.#+'%s, Barvey =oldberg, little kno)n of his to)ering stature among :meri"an historians outside the "ir"le of his students and "olleagues, )ould le"ture in a small auditorium in the Bumanities building of the 9niversity of >is"onsin (/adison!. 6t )as, 6 believe, during the late spring semester of the #+'-.#+'$ s"hool year )hen 6 sa) and heard =oldberg for the first time speaking in a "ourse on modern 7uropean history. 3n stage in front of some 3%% people, many )ho like myself )ere not students, he )ould speak )ithout voi"e amplifi"ation. (tanding, "losed in on himself, he "omposed himself for roughly 3% se"onds, then, )ithout notes or visuals aids of any kind, he laun"hed into his le"ture. 5a"ing from side to side on stage, o""asionally gesturing )ith his hands, he spoke, )ithout pause and )ithout repetitions or redundan"ies, in grammati"ally and synta"ti"ally "orre"t and "omplete senten"es. Bis presentation )as marvelously )ell.organi1ed, themati"ally "oherent, and it lasted the entire fifty.five minutes of the "lass. 3n this o""asion, =oldbergIs le"tured "on"erned the intra.Russian party struggles in the #+2%s. ;y the "lose of his le"ture, and here he "laimed to be merely expressing real histori"al movement, he had arrived at the "on"lusion these struggles )ere dominated by t)o giganti" histori"al figures, Trotsky and (talin. 2rom these struggles, =oldberg dre) further the same "on"lusion that Leuts"her (Stalin! did* namely, that in the end Trotsky )as the idealist, a romanti", the man of 3"tober, but in the fa"e of the industriali1ing tasks imposed by )orld "apitalist "onditions, no matter ho) repulsive, (talin )as the instrument of the a"hievement of these tasks. 3n three, maybe four, o""asions during the "ourse of =oldbergIs presentation, 6 )anted to ?ump in and oppose his a""ount on do"umentary and evidentiary grounds (that )ould have "ompelled, it )as "lear to me before the le"ture )as finished, another "on"lusion!. ;ut, alas, the forum )as designed to make any su"h inter?e"tion impossible. :s he finished, and the fifty.five minutes had expired (=oldbergIs timing )as truly ama1ing!, a thunderous round of applause )ent up. =oldberg took this as his "lue and 8ui"kly existed the building.

mora!!y superior in critica! situations to the petty" mean" and ruth!ess po er dri&en men of the Sta!inist stamp. 1 Maybe" but then" it as Trots'y ho &igorous!y argued for the militari-ation of !abor in the immediate aftermath of the 0i&i! +ar.: )r" again" in 19?7-19?6 in the run-up to his brea' ith Dictor Serge" it as Trots'y ho refused to honest!y dea! ith the $uestions of party responsibi!ity for the bruta!" summary" and murderous manner in hich the 9ronstadters ere dea!t ith in 19:1. For him" there as a past to be repressed because it as potentia! grist for the contemporary anti-%o!she&i' mi!!.? ,n other ords" in a minima! sense" Trots'y as not a! ays (and there are other occasions) inte!!ectua!!y honest and his &ision as not infre$uent!y !imited. More to the point" Trots'y" and the Aeft" remained the (ureaucracy in e6ile" and" confronting the grain crisis of 19:6" ou!d ha&e demonstrated that" prepared by the ho!e of pre&ious e#perience to do so and inte!!ectua!!y armed ith a theory hose !ogic broo'ed no practica! hesitation" he and the Aeft ou!d not ha&e bac'ed do n" but ou!d ha&e" sho ing their %o!she&i' stee!" underta'en a course of tribute gathering" !i'e!y ith !ess bruta!ity and a!together !ess stupidity.> %ruta!ity and stupidity are" of course" at issue. At this point" it can on!y be said that Aeft practice ou!d ha&e been simu!taneous!y simi!ar (as tribute gathering) and different (in bruta!ity) from Sta!in and his coterie. ,n this" the !atter regard" perhaps the horrors of co!!ecti&i(ation might ha&e been a&oided. %y ear!y 19:9 in the person of 2i'o!ai %u'harin" the 3ight too had e!aborated a coherent position on So&iet economic and socia! de&e!opment.; (3eca!! the September 19:7 =latform of the Enited Opposition* The 3ight" !i'e the Aeft" on!y de&e!oped the fu!! consciousness necessary for an e!aboration after its effecti&e defeat.) %u'harin recogni(ed the institution of &io!ence ou!d necessari!y resu!t from the pursuit of co!!ecti&i(ation-based" brea'nec' industria!i(ation. Thus" he started ith the reasoned con&iction that permanenti(ing coercion against the peasantry (as practiced by party cadre in the 19:6 grain co!!ections) ou!d irremediab!y pre4udice a!! prospects for genuine!y socia!ist construction. 2onethe!ess" the grain crisis had compe!!ed %u'harin to come around to accept the necessity of di&erting peasant surp!uses to the socia!i(ed sector to support industria!i(ation.7 ,f e e#p!icit!y assume that e&en at this !ate date the Aeft ou!d ha&e recoi!ed from the massi&e &io!ence the pursuit of this po!icy at a!! costs entai!ed (and this assumption" is tentati&e" is not gi&en" since a !arge number of the Aeft" ha&ing sufficient!y humb!ed themse!&es" ere accepted bac' into the party in 19:9" hi!e of these fe e&er strayed from it again)" then" ironica!!y" the respecti&e positions of 3ight and Aeft had !arge!y con&erged (a!beit ith due respect accorded to differences of emphasis).7
1Le)in, 2(ee

Russian (easants and So&iet (o+er, #,$.#,'. the 2irst (tudy, 5art ,, se"tion 66, above. 3(ee #he SergeE#rots.y (a%ers, #-%.#+#. 4;y late #+#+, there )as no longer a politi"ally signifi"ant )orking "lass to )hi"h revolutionaries "ould have related their a"tivities. ;olshevism as a histori"al phenomenon is "ir"ums"ribed by this fa"t. The 2nd <omintern <ongress, and, in parti"ular, the "ru"ial debate on the 0<ommunist0 party, at on!e theoreti"ally systemi1ed ;olshevik experien"e and marked the end of ;olshevism (by assigning to theory the role of an instrument of soviet State poli"y thereby abandoning the plane of proletarian !lass politi"s!. The 3ppositionIs struggles of the #+2%s must be understood in this "ontext, that is, as struggles +ithin the bureau"ra"y for "ontrol o&er the (tate.... 6n defense of Trotsky, in his last )ritings he de"lared should the proletariat fail to overthro) "apitalism in the event of another imperialist )orld )ar (the test of the truth of /arxism!, it )ould be ne"essary to elaborate 0a ne) IminimumI program ... for the defense of the interests of the slaves0 against "apitalist barbarity. ;ut this )as a man no) re"on"iled to having been permanently removed from po)er, moreover, one )ho )as sub?e"tively "ertain he )ould sooner than later "ome fa"e to fa"e, "ourtesy of (talin, )ith the exe"utionerIs hand. (ee Leon Trotsky, 0The 9((R in >ar0 (2# 3"t. #+3+!. Reprinted in In Defense of *ar/is", .+, + ("itation!, #,.#-. (ee also /erleau.5onty, Ibid, #-#.#-2. 50Aotes of an 7"onomist0 (3% (eptember #+2 !, hereafter 0Aotes,0 05oliti"heskoe 1avesh"hanie Lenina0 (2, @anuary #+2+!, hereafter 0Testament,0 and 0Lenin i 1ada"hi nauki v sotsialisti"heskom stroitelstve0 (2% @anuary #+2+!. 60Aotes,0 32#. 76t should be noted, ho)ever, the animosity bet)een the t)o fa"tions, going ba"k to the s"urrilous, nasty, not to mention utterly dishonest and unprin"ipled "ampaign against Trotsky that began in #+23, never abated. That said, this )as not the only "ru"ial point )ere Left and Right (or at least ;ukharin!, in opposition to the (talinists, "onverged. ;ukharin re"ogni1ed that by the end of the t)enties enormous s"ientifi" and te"hnologi"al.based produ"tive developments had been made in the so"ieties of "apital in the >est. Be "on"luded that the )orld had already entered a period of "apitalist stabili1ation. 2rom this he further inferred the ne"essity of an allian"e bet)een <ommunist and (o"ial Lemo"rats in the )orkers movements against fas"ist upsurges outside the (oviet 9nion (Le)in, Ibid, 32$!. This perspe"tive, at least superfi"ially in a""ord )ith that of Trotsky, stood in stark "ontrast to the (talini1ed <omintern line that the 0so"ial.fas"ist0 (o"ial Lemo"rats represented the greatest threat to the )orkersI movements.

Sta!in" it might be reca!!ed" had sought to pro&ide a theoretica! co&er for the campaign against the e!!-to-do and midd!ing peasantries ith" on strict!y Mar#ist assumptions" the absurd assertion that c!ass strugg!e intensified and gre sharper as the country came c!oser to rea!i(ing socia!ism. ,n contradistinction from and ta'ing aim at him" %u'harin he!d that po!icy must be oriented on the assumption that c!ass strugg!e ou!d decrease in intensity as the country actua!!y mo&ed to ard socia!ism.1 A measure of ho far po!icy strayed from this perspecti&e ou!d be re&ea!ed in the degree to hich peasants de&e!oped" maintained" and then e#panded their confidence in the So&iet regime. ,n this conte#t" he dre the appropriate conc!usion from the c!assica! Mar#ist position" one Aenin had uphe!d" concerning efforts to premature!y app!y rigorous 0ommunist princip!es in the countryside.: ,nstead" the materia! basis for such an 8app!ication8 ou!d ha&e been constructed through hat he ca!!ed 8cooperati&e commodity circu!ation.E? This meant" among other things" that peasant surp!uses ou!d be de!i&ered o&er to the State by means of ta# po!icy and the price mechanism. %ut to stop here missed the dia!ectica! dependency of industry and agricu!ture on one another. Thus" constructing the materia! foundations for rea!i(ation of 0ommunist princip!es in the countryside a!so meant that State resources shou!d be put into increasing peasant production" especia!!y that of the poor peasants.> Thus" one emphasis in the e#pansion of industry ou!d" for e#amp!e" be on chemica! ferti!i(ers. ,n this conte#t" it ou!d be important to dramatica!!y mu!tip!y the number of agronomists that consu!ted ith peasants" so to spea'" in the fie!ds. This ou!d re$uire" of course" di&erting resources for training agronomists. %ut that" for %u'harin fo!!o ing Aenin" in turn as part of a much !arge pro4ect of significant!y !ifting the cu!tura! !e&e! (of hich scientific farming is considered a decisi&e aspect) of the peasantry. %u'harin he!d peasants ou!d thereby be !ead to ard socia!ism because it as 8in their o n best interests.E According!y" the predominate!y pri&ate character of agricu!tura! production ou!d not change in the near future. +hat surp!uses ou!d be dra n off in this manner shou!d be in&ested" not in state or co!!ecti&e farms" but in hea&y industries (e.g." stee! production) as e!! as agricu!tura!!y re!ated industries (e.g." chemica! ferti!i(er production).; %u'harin" !i'e the Aeft" no stressed the ro!e of State p!anning.7 From this he inferred t o sets of conse$uences from the necessity for coherence in o&era!! p!anning. The first in&o!&ed the integrated nature of a p!anned economy. /n!i'e under capita!ism" here an error by one firm is cance!!ed out by the insightfu! practice in capita!ist terms (e.g." introduction of ne forms of efficiency in production) of another firm" in a p!anned economy an error at the top (or e&en e!se here) cou!d affect ho!e industries hose ra materia!s and production (ra materia!s" finished goods) are organi(ed each in !ight of the others. The irrationa!ity of the 8anarchy of production8 of capita!ism cou!d" in other ords" be matched by o&ercentra!i(ation in a p!anned economy.7 This" no doubt" as aimed direct!y at" among other things" the Sta!inists5 (9uibyshe&5s and FS'Bh5s) predi!ection for pro4ecting unrea!i(ab!y !arge gro th rates. At the same time" %u'harin as ab!e to see" second!y" that if p!anning as carefu!!y coordinated" and carried out honest!y" and rigorous!y" ne efficiencies cou!d be created in the socia!i(ed sector itse!f.6 This ou!d sure!y entai! prospects for the reduction of the price of industria! goods that" hi!e maintaining an e#change disparity fa&orab!e to the regime" ou!d stimu!ate peasant purchases. This ou!d" in turn" further stimu!ate gro th of the socia!i(ed sector.

10Aotes,0

3%', and 0Testament0 "ited by Le)in, Ibid, 32'. ;ukharin, a""ording to Mamenev re"ounting of their late #+2 .early #+2+ dis"ussions, "orre"tly "hara"teri1ed (talinIs position as 0idioti"0 and demonstrative of 0total ignoran"e.0 <ited in (erge, @ro" )enin to Stalin, +%. 2or (talinIs 0position, CTrotsky and the a>orkersF (tateD in the Remarks, belo). 20Testament0 "ited in Le)in, Ibid, 32', 32 . (ee the dis"ussion of 7ngelsI and LeninIs vie) in this regard immediately above beginning at n. 3$$. 30Testament0 "ited in Le)in, Ibid, 32 . 40Aotes,0 3#%. 6t )ould have also been fitting for ;ukharin to "all for (he didnFt! reintrodu"ing the )aged labor ban in the "ountryside, and a return to the prohibition on the leasing of land. The latter measure )ould have ne"essarily been "oupled )ith in"reased aid to the poor peasants. To be sure, su"h a "ourse )ould have presupposed that the regime )as )illing to plo) ba"k some on the earning "aptured from the sale of surpluses into the agri"ultural se"tor. That, in turn, meant industriali1ation simply "ould not pro"eed at an a""elerated pa"e. ;ut, then, all this )as perfe"tly "onsistent )ith ;ukharinIs perspe"tive. 50Testament0 "ited by Le)in, Ibid, 32 . 60Aotes,0 3%$, 3%', 32%.32#. 706bid,0 32 , and 0Lenin i 1ada"hi nauki...0 "ited by Le)in, Ibid, 33%. 80Aotes,0 32'.

%ecause he" !i'e the 3ight in its entirety" opposed an acce!eration in the rate of industria!i(ation"1 %u'harin as a!so ab!e to argue that e#pansion of the socia!i(ed sector itse!f may hit upper !imits" for e#amp!e" in in&estment in machinery to be used as means of production. The fact of shortages of" say" construction materia!s" meta!" etc." a!ready indicated that demand as o&erstretched and" that according!y" the rate of industria!i(ation as being pushed at an unsustainab!e tempo.: ,n turn" or'ing bac' ards" this meant that the surp!uses drained off from the agricu!tura! sector ere unnecessari!y high" that" as as ob&ious!y the case" the peasantry as being pushed far too hard (right up against the a!!)" ith t o resu!ts. First" the rea! danger e#isted of a 8natura!i(ation8 of the peasant economy" that is" of a retreat to among the mass of the peasantry to practices aimed so!e!y at se!f-sufficiency< ? and" second the industria!i(ation po!icy as engendering resistance that threatened the stabi!ity of the So&iet regime. ,n this conte#t" %u'harin stated open!y the fears of foreign threat to the So&iet regime ere e#aggerated.> ,n his &ie " the fu!! confidence of the peasantry in the regime ou!d pro&ide the best bu! ar' against hate&er foreign entang!ements the regime had to confront. ,n&erse!y" disruption of the or'er-peasant smych$a or!d itse!f significant!y threaten the party and the So&iet regime" especia!!y in time of ar. Thus" %u'harin neither he!d out ho!d for nor sa the necessity for pro!etarian aid from abroad for the construction of socia!ism at home. 1e and the rest of the 3ight in this respect did not differ from the Sta!inists. %ut hi!e the Sta!in and his faction" and behind them the party cadre and the specifica!!y po!ice-repressi&e organs" ere gearing up for an annihi!ating assau!t on ho!e !ayers of the peasantry" the 3ight operated ith an abiding faith that the peasantry5s rea! interests ou!d !ead it necessari!y to socia!ism. Among Mar#ists" the peasantry is genera!!y understood as the historica! bearer of rura! indi&idua!ism" the carrier of petty bourgeois attitudes in the countryside. This indi&idua!ism as rea! among 3ussian peasants" ma'e no mista'e about it.; %ut in 3ussia there as a!so a different" po erfu! tradition from those of estern =urope. That tradition as that of the &i!!age community (o(shchina).7 Ae in states" ithout identifying anyone" in 19:6 there ere peop!e in party ho ou!d ha&e based the socia!ist pro4ect on the o(shchina.7 3obert Tuc'er refers to the .arty 3ight5s 8tendency to adapt .arty po!icy to a traditiona! 3ussian institution" the &i!!age commune" and its do np!aying of or!d re&o!utionK86 +hi!e stating the 3ight represented a 8moderate %o!she&i' nationa!ism"E he a!so notes that in the conte#t of the t enties this orientation (to ard the o(shchina) as pub!ic!y esche ed. 8,n pri&ate" ho e&er" some members of the 3ight spo'e different!y. 3y'o& to!d his American 4ourna!ist friend" 3es ic'" that 5if e" a bac' ard peop!e" stop p!aying at or!d re&o!ution and start organi(ing our nationa! !ife on the pattern of our traditiona! mir" the capita!ist or!d i!! no cause to fear us.589 3y'o&5s &ie as consistent ith the tradition of popu!ist support for the o(shchina based on opposition to =uropean conditions. ,n contradistinction to estern =urope (i.e." France and =ng!and)" here the !iberation of serfs had !ed to a proletariani-ation that as synonymous ith s$ua!or" impo&erishment" and pauperi(ation that de&e!oped a!ongside" in con4unction ith and as a resu!t of capita!ist concentration" the co!!ecti&ist tendencies among the 3ussian
106bid,0 32$. 206bid,0 3#+, 306bid,0 3#$. 4

322, 3,-.32-.

Le)in, Ibid, #,#, 32$.32'. revolutionIs, and later on the A.7.5.Is, only purpose )as to give him land. >hether the land belonged to =od or the "ommunity, (never the (tate, rather this arrangement, the a"tually existing obsh!hina and not (tate o)nership, formed the peasantsI notion of nationali1ation!, )hatever, this, here, )as his farm. ;eyond the fa"t that he )ished to be a .hozyain and, in this "ontext, to better himself and his lot, little else matter. Be may have resented the .ula., but he also admired him as a su""essful farmer. :t the same time, and 8uite "onsistently, he looked do)n on and despised the bednya., one )ho deserved his station sin"e he did not have the desire to improve himself and his "ondition. Le)in, Ibid, 2'. :lso, note Ber1enIs "omment that 0the so"ial religion of the Russian people "onsists in re"ognition of the inalienable right of every member of the obsh!hina to possess a determined part of the land.0 Letter to =aribaldi, 23 Aovember # $3. <ited in 2ran"o Venturi, Roots of Re&olution, #2 . 6(ee the se"tion 0Revival of non.<apitalist 5rodu"tive :"tivity,D above. 7>e have attempted to identify them in the "on"luding dis"ussion to the se"tion "ited in the previous footnote. 8Robert Tu"ker, Stalin in (o+er, 3+. 9Ibid' Rykov stood in the Russian populist intelle"tual tradition, a true heir of A.=. <hernyskevsky. Venturi )rites the latterIs o)n e"onomi" vision "entered on the 0the Russian obsh!hina, freely developed along (o"ialist lines, in a (tate Jsi"K prepared to a"t on its behalf.0 Venturi, Ibid, #$'.
5The

peasantry ere he!d out by the popu!ists as forming the foundations on hich a socia!ism that (ypassed capita!ist de&e!opment cou!d be constructed.1 This &ie had one enormous ad&antage. )n it" the raising of a socia!ist society (form) as dia!ectica!!y estab!ished on the foundations (contents) of an e#isting (3ussian) rea!ity" the &i!!age community. This a!one made it unassai!ab!y superior to the Sta!inist 8perspecti&e8 ith penchant for the abso!ute &io!ence demanded in the imposition of a foreign form on content. /nfortunate!y" this &ie as ine#tricab!y intert ined ith a romantic nationa!ism that" among some of its proponents" amounted to !itt!e more than reactionary ad&ocacy of capita!ist de&e!opment in agricu!ture. Tuc'er cites another 8prominent moderate"E Abe! Ienu'id(e" as saying that 8 hen or!d re&o!ution fai!ed to materia!i(e" 5it as up to us to uncoo' the $as$a*58 1e e#p!icated" stating the party itse!f had 8to ma'e far-reaching concessions to pri&ate enterprise in industry as e!! as agricu!ture.8: ,n !ate 19:7" %u'harin" a!ong ith other members of the 3ight in the 0entra! 0ommittee" together ith the Foreign Affairs 0ommissariat (@eorgy 0hicherin) and !eading dip!omatic corps members (Ma#im Ait&ino&" Anato!y Aunarchars'y) had supported efforts to dismant!e the foreign trade monopo!y. ,n fact" from mid-19:7 through summer of 19:6" concessions ere actua!!y offered to attract foreign capita! and foreign specia!ists. These inc!uded the ta'eo&er of not on!y operations of State run sma!! businesses but a!so !arge-sca!e enterprises in 'ey industria! branches" the ta'eo&er of municipa! &entures in numerous cities" and faci!itation of foreign profitabi!ity by deregu!ation of concessionary acti&ity.? These proposa!s and actions did not ha&e the !oo' of a socialist a!ternati&e. At this stage" in the conte6t of the Sta!inist assau!t on the peasantry during the 19:6 grain and ta# co!!ections" the 3ight did actua!!y represent a tendency aimed at the restoration of capitalism. 1ad concessions been pursued to their end" and it is c!ear that by 19:9 %u'harin had a!ready abandoned that position" it as possib!e that the 8$ula$"E a term signifying here an inter-strata peasant a!!iance constituted in se!f-defense against party and regime repression" cou!d become the battering ram behind hich stood a!! the imperia!ist-supported e#-monarchist and bourgeois forces for return to capita!ism. The so!e historica! a!ternati&es ere not" ho e&er" the specter of co!!ecti&i(ation or a restoration of capita!ism. The position of the 3ight" some of hom ere enthusiastic supporters of the peasant &i!!age community" as not on this count &iab!e. ,t re$uired the perspecti&e borne by its arch party enemy" the Aeft" that of the internationa! support from ad&anced" re&o!utionary pro!etarian forces abroad. 2onethe!ess" it is a(surd to frame the +uestion in terms of a choice (et&een capitalist restoration and a collectivi-ation holocaust. This is the choice of those that fai! to recogni(e that the &hole situation in 1 OI#1 O &as the singular product, in the conte6t of (ac$&ardness, of the relentless drive of an anti#socialist faction (end on pursuit of the aggrandi-ement of its o&n po&er* %he situation in 1 OI#1 O &as created as a means to secure that po&er* )t &as only &hen the violence, (rutality, and viciousness failed that +ualitatively more of the same in the form of collectivi-ation &as put on the agenda* /ithout even going over to capitalism and &ithout engaging in &ar &ith the imperialist po&ers, even in 1 OI#1 O , there &ere &ithout dou(t more humane, and far more effective methods to not only collect grain (ut to underta$e an initial sociali-ation of agriculture*>
1Venturi, 2Tu"ker,

Ibid, $, '* , 3-, -%, #-%, #$'. Ibid, 3+.,%. Rykov and Penukid1e are "ited by Tu"ker from >illiam Res)i"k, I Drea"t Re&olution (<hi"ago, #+-2!, 2--, #$,. 3Reiman, #he =irth of Stalinis", 3+, ,+, '-.'$. 4>e, of "ourse, a""ept ;ukharinIs argument that the )ar danger )as grossly overrated (see the text at n. 3'', above!. 6t )as largely hysteria generated by regime to "over its o)n errors, mis?udgments and blunders. 3ur vie) is hindsight, but then ;ukharinIs )as not. >ith regard to alternatives, pra"ti"ally speaking, an experimental and su""essful /T( (/a"hine and Tra"tor (tation! had been set up in the 0(hev"henko0 so&.hoz in #+2'. ;y #+2 , thirteen /a"hine and Tra"tor <olumns (/T<! had been established. These rural, experimental forms operated in "on?un"tion )ith grain "o.operatives, and in #+2 set up fifty.one 0simple produ"ersI asso"iations.0 ;y the end of #+2+, the number of /T< had "limbed to sixty.t)o, operating )ith over 2%%% tra"tors and "ontra"ting )ith over ,%% asso"iations )hi"h "overed a million he"tares. Le)in, Ibid, 3$3.3$-. The experimental forms )ere the nu"leus around )hi"h a more humane (even if some "ompulsion )as re8uired! "olle"tivi1ation "ould have, albeit more slo)ly, developed. Theoreti"ally, the perspe"tive for this development had already been laid out by >os%lan in the early months of #+2+. Ibid, 3,$.3-3. 3f "ourse, (talin had no interest in the >os%lan perspe"tive. The latter organi1ation )as one that he )ould, more to the point, soon purge of 0right deviationists.0 ;ut the proposition (that short of going over to "apitalism, as late as #+2 .#+2 , there )ere effe"tively better, more humane )ays to "olle"t grain and begin the so"iali1ation of agri"ulture! is largely vindi"ated. The out"ome "ertainly )ould not have been so"ialist, )ould have been 0deformed,0 but then again it )ould not have rested on mass expropriation, deportation, famine and mass murder.

Assuming internationa! support from ad&anced" re&o!utionary pro!etarian forces abroad" the perspecti&e of ta'ing the &i!!age community as a starting point for socia!ist construction in 3ussia as that of Mar# himse!f to ard the end of his !ife as his drafts of !etters to Dera Jasu!ich demonstrate. 1 %ut this perspecti&e had itse!f ne&er been articu!ated in 3ussia. The S!a&ophi! tendency in 3ussian popu!ism as far too strong to be mere!y set aside. : ,t ou!d ha&e re$uired an e#p!icit endorsement from Mar# ( ho ou!d ha&e had to o&ercome his o n doubts and fu!!y committed to the perspecti&e of the possibi!ity" on the basis noted here" of a leap o&er the capita!ist mode of production)" for an a!ternati&e tendency to ha&e emerged. At the same time" such an endorsement ou!d ha&e !arge!y neutra!i(ed the 3ussian Mar#ists5 po!emica! trashing of the popu!ists ith regard to course of capita!ist e&o!ution inside 3ussia (administered on the basis of the actua! de&e!opment of capita!ism in 3ussia e&inced in the stri'e mo&ement beginning in the mid-169Bs). The resu!tant synthesis of Mar#ist and popu!ists perspecti&es cou!d" then" ha&e e#posed the moti&ationa! e!!-springs of Socia! -emocratic action" resting on the contradictory desire to participate in (8!ead8) an emancipatory practice hi!e e#ercising (8en!ightened8) po er o&er it" and thereby def!ated the ro!e of the ob4ectified encrustments of these moti&es in ideationa! heritage of %o!she&ism. =$ua!!y important!y" the rea! patriarchal !imitations of the o(shchina as e!! as its actua! ine$ua!ities (in the distribution of ta# burdens inside the &i!!age community?) cou!d ha&e been e#posed and a correcti&e figured into organi(ationa! po!icy &is-a-&is the &i!!age community. 2one of this is by ay of degrading the fact that" !i'e the Aeft" the 3ight embodied a real historical alternative. %oth Aeft and 3ight formu!ated much more coherent positions" ones thought out and a!igned ith the actua! direction of historica! de&e!opment" than the crimina!!y ad hoc position Sta!in and his faction cobb!ed together in their $uest for domination of party" State" and society.> %oth factions ere defeated (y the &eight of the apparatus (and not by shortcomings in their positions)" gi&en" if you i!!" 3ussian bac' ardness" by the fai!ure to address the prob!ems it ga&e rise to at an ear!y date. Again" each faction incarnated a rea!" historica! a!ternati&e" but at the same time they ere not historically efficacious alternatives" i.e." ere not supported by an organi(ed c!ass po er ade$uate to the tas' of ma'ing them actua!. For an a!ternati&e on this order" e ha&e to go bac' to Hanuary - February 1916. %he Road 'ot %a$en ,n the t enties" the Aeft abstract!y counterposed peasant po!icy-induced" industria! stagnation to gro th of nationa! producti&e forces ithout &or$ing class democracy. The )pposition did not spea' of the re&i&a! of the democracy of or'ers5 so&iets and" on this (asis" the de&e!opment of the producti&e forces of society. (2or" note" did the Aeft see in or'ing c!ass democracy as embodied in a system of counci!s the concrete pursuit of human emancipation.) A re&i&a! of party democracy as a!! the rage among )ppositionists (inc!uding after 19:6 the 3ight). Aeft and 3ight ere &ictim of their o n" ear!ier mystifying occ!usion first de&e!oped in the 0i&i! +ar* The identity of the party and the pro!etariat had no become an operative" substitutiona!ist and ideo!ogica! assumption.; The party !eaders of the &arious )ppositions" Aeft" Jino&ie&ist and by 19:9 e&en the 3ight" a!! recogni(ed the precariousness of their respecti&e situations rested upon a fundamenta! contradiction* The irreducib!e fact that the party apparatus as a!! that stood bet een them and a suspicious peasantry and an apathetic pro!etariat" neither of hich fe!t it had any !onger term interests in the sur&i&a! of the regime. .ush at Sta!in too hard and the bureaucrati(ed structure that he he!d together 4ust might come tumb!ing do n.
1(ee

the # # drafts of a letter of response to Vera 4asuli"h, reprinted in Teodor (hanin, )ate *ar/ and the Russian Road, and also <amatteIs remarks on /arx, Co""unity and Co""unis", 2%.2,. 2(ee, e.g., the # '' program of 6e"lya i 7olyn, "ited from in Venturi, Ibid, $##.$#2. 3Ibid, '$. 4/i"hal Reiman, #he =irth of Stalinis", ##', has )ritten,0J6nK order to surmount Jthe "risisK E all possible forms of oppression )ere in"reased substantially, )hi"h undermined the essential gains of the 3"tober revolution, its very meaning and substan"e.0 :propos this, he also notes 0(talinIs e"onomi" and so"ial "on"epts ... sank to a level of thinking "ommon to any exploitative system that is not for"ed to allo) for the "orre"tive effe"t of publi" resistan"e to government a"tion. This )as a "omplete break )ith the meaning and essen"e of the so"ial do"trine of so"ialism.0 Ibid, $. 5There )ere men and )omen in the party )ho as early as #+2% had insisted on the prima"y of )orkersI demo"ra"y, e.g., :leksandr (hliapnikov of the >orkersI 3pposition and Timofei (apronov and Vladimir (mirnov of the Lemo"rati" <entralists. ;ut they )ere suppressed, not merely by the nas"ent party bureau"rati" tenden"y but both by those )ho )ould later figure in the Right and Left (i.e., Trotskyist and @oint! 3ppositions.

The remedy that each )pposition in its turn proposed as the re4u&enation of party democracy. ,n this manner" each hoped to counteract the banefu! eight of the apparatuses contro!!ed by Sta!in. ,n point of fact" this as the manner that each )pposition sought to come to grips ith the suffocating phenomenon of the bureaucrati(ation of the party. %ut this remedy as a measure of 4ust ho far behind themse!&es )ppositionists had !eft the party as it as constituted in 1917* .ouring itse!f into e&ery pour of State-!ife" the party as entire!y out of touch ith the dai!y concerns that made up the content of the !i&es of the or'ing c!ass it substituted itse!f for. ,n the countryside" its cadre tied to the selsovet had no fee! for the !ife of the &i!!age peasantry (a !ife hich as in e&ery important respect carried on in and by the o(shchina)" but instead re!ated to it 8administrati&e!y"E !arge!y by decree or coercion. The So&iet regime as in e&ery sense a State as Mar# had described it in his 8-rafts8 for the ana!ysis of the .aris 0ommune* Armed ith its o n repressi&e apparatus (party contro! commissions" the po!itica! po!ice" a standing army" a stratum of functionaries and bureaucrats constituting a separate caste pursuing its o n interests)" it as an a!ien ob4ecti&ity" iso!ated from and parasitica!!y feeding off the !ife forces of society.1 Ade$uate responses to or'-based" dai!y concerns of the or'ers (and peasants) ou!d ha&e formed the basis (content) of a ithering criti$ue of bureaucrati(ation-grounded State priorities. Apart from this" no amount of party democracy ou!d sur&i&e the ener&ating effects of the eight of the apparatuses. )&ercoming iso!ation from the 8broad masses8 as the condition sine +uo non for the re&ita!i(ation of party democracy" and ith it de-bureaucrati(ation. The option for (de-bureaucrati(ation) as !ost t ice. A second time hen" as the 0i&i! +ar came to a c!ose" the party chose to concentrate its 8pro!etarian8 po!icy on the getting industry going again in the narro est sense. ,n our terms" this mean focusing on the o(;ective reconstruction of the or'ing c!ass as an ob4ect to the e6clusion of its reconstitution as agency (&i(." sub4ecti&e reconstitution of the s'i!!s and 'no !edge of the or'ers as the basis for pro!etarian contro! of production).: The first time occurred at the height of the 0i&i! +ar hen the party !eadership made the initia! choice to (ureaucrati-e the party as a means to assume contro! o&er the State.? 1ad the party !eadership not made this choice (against the better 4udgment of party cadre ho ere reassured on!y ith strict regu!ations estab!ished as party ru!es to pre&ent precise!y hat did in fact happen)" the party ou!d ha&e been forced to reconstitute the So&iets as a system (i.e." to recreate the possibi!ity of the re&i&a! of a 0ommune-state and a!!o the !atter an e#istence independent of the party). That" ho e&er" ou!d ha&e entai!ed a commitment to a mu!ti-party soviet democracy (because by themse!&es the %o!she&i's simp!y did not ha&e the personne! to effecti&e!y man the so&iets as 0i&i! +ar !osses mounted). 1ad this route been ta'en the road to party democracy sti!! ou!d not ha&e been ide open. Fo!!o ing the end of the 0i&i! +ar" finding that road ou!d ha&e re$uired a decision not on!y to reconstitute the pro!etariat as agency" but a further commitment to base this decision s$uare!y and simu!taneous!y on the re&i&a!" i.e." depatriacha!i(ing and socia!ist de&e!opment" of the o(shchina> ( hich ou!d ha&e further entai!ed a re&o!utionary and non-Statist reorientation to the 0omintern). Such coup!ed decisions ou!d ha&e been more !i'e!y since they ou!d ha&e been Soviet decisions and ou!d not simp!y ha&e been made by the party of %o!she&i's. =&en if an ob4ecti&e!y a!ien State as formed" through a hardening and ossifying (&i(." bureaucrati(ing) of So&iets into a mere formal system of po er" and such sti!! as a possib!e outcome under conditions of the destruction of ob4ecti&e substance brought about by si# years of ar" the party cou!d ha&e gone into opposition. ,t ou!d ha&e thereby retained its re&o!utionary 8purity"E e&en if it ou!d ha&e been persecuted (and do n the road the strugg!e against pressure emanating from bureaucrati(ing tendencies in a nascent State itse!f may ha&e produced this). The fate of the %o!she&i' party might" in this e&ent" e!! ha&e been that of the Aeft )pposition. %ut" then" e&en in this case of high tragedy" the meaning" historica! significance and goa!s of socia!ism ou!d not ha&e been debauched and irreparab!y discredited by Sta!inism.; The party !eadership as not" ho e&er" about to ma'e any of these choices or decisions. For it done so ou!d ha&e been to discard its 8historica! birthright8 (Trots'y)" that is" the right to unimpeded ru!e. To brea' ith one of the &ery
1Marl

/arx, #he Ci&il War in @ran!e, #,+.#-,. the 2irst (tudy, 5art ,, se"tion 66 ("losing remarks!, above. 3(ee the se"tion 0;ureau"rati1ation,0 above. 4This )ould have, it might be added, demanded a real "ommitment to the alignment )ith the Left (Rs. ;ut that presupposes that ba"k in #+# , ;olsheviks had obligated themselves to fight a defensive revolutionary )ar. 5The <omintern too in this event )ould have remained autonomous in relation to the Russian (tate.
2<ompare

e!!-springs under!ying the party5s e#istence cou!d not ha&e easi!y accomp!ished. The decision to forego this birthright cou!d on!y ha&e been made under the enormous pressure from e&ents. ,t ou!d ha&e had to be made in a situation in hich the contradictory character of the inner !eanings of the re&o!utionary party of %o!she&i's ere !aid bare. %here &as only one such occasion in the history of the party after &hich it came to po&er* As a genuine!y re&o!utionary organi(ation" it pointb!an' confronted the party5s abiding interest in ru!e ith its internationa!ist commitment. ,f re&o!utionary ar had been fought beginning in Hanuary-February 1916" in the socia! and historica! (=uropean) conte#t in hich" as e ha&e demonstrated" there as a fighting chance of success (dependent" of course" on a fight)" the party ou!d ne&er ha&e been !ater ab!e to monopo!i(e the ne !y forming State.1 +hat as at sta'e in tapping the hidden energies of the peasant- and or'er-masses in aging a re&o!utionary defensi&e ar as the ob4ecti&e possibi!ity of reconstituting the socia! basis of the )ctober re&o!ution hich as rapid!y dissipating and hich disappeared ith the fai!ure to age re&o!utionary ar.: The danger" from Aenin5s standpoint" as that the party in functioning as a &ehic!e for heightening a areness of these 8masses8 in preparation for aging re&o!utionary defensi&e ar ou!d ha&e !ost its ho!d on po er in the doub!y massi&e upsurge (home and abroad) that ou!d ha&e fo!!o ed* ,t might ha&e been forced to share po er at home or !ost it to a re&o!utionary !eadership emerging from pro!etarian forces in an industria!!y most ad&anced country abroad. ,n Hanuary-February 1916" this opportunity as !ost" as e ha&e sho n" because !eft-0ommunists" representing the mass of party cadre" ere un i!!ing to ta'e on a section of the party headed by Aenin ( hose main" a Statist, 8argument8 it i!! be reca!!ed" as the insistence on the primacy of preser&ing an e#isting socia!ist repub!ic o&er that of the potentia! of a re&o!utionary o&erthro in the citade!s of imperia!ist .o er by =uropean or'ers5 mo&ements) as &ell as the imperia!ist bourgeoisie of the +est.? ,n other ords" the !eft-communists5 refusa! as not based upon principle" but the fear of an outcome.> 0onscious of it or not" the decision not to age re&o!utionary ar haunted the party" i.e." it effecti&e!y decided for it its bureaucrati(ed fate.

1:nd

it )ould have been indeed a diffi"ult de"isionH 0#he issue of +ar +as so !riti!al in its ra"ifi!ations for the %ossibilities of the !reation of a truly international +or.ersG "o&e"ent and its su!!essful re&olutionary de&elo%"ent, for the future !hara!ter of the ne+ regi"e, and as a test of the basis tenets of =olshe&i. do!trine, that it de fa!to split and nearly destroyed the party.0 2rom the 2irst (tudy, 5art 3 (opening remarks!, above. 22irst (tudy, 5art 3, se"tion 66, above. 3Ibid, and n. #$3. 4#rots.y )as the single man )ho "ould have assumed leadership of the party in the event of revolutionary defensive )ar. Left <ommunists looked to him in this role. >hen he failed to assume it, by stepping aside ("asting his vote )ith the pea"e fa"tion! in deferen"e to Lenin, though basi!ally a!!e%ting the left Co""unist %osition, three 0lefts0 (L1er1hinsky, 6offe and Mrestinsky! felt "ompelled to abstain allo)ing the pea"e fa"tion to form a ma?ority. (ee Ibid'

)emar$s Anti-,mperia!ist +ars of 2ationa! Aiberation" Trots'y and the G+or'ersF State"E and .o!itica! 3e&o!utions and G-eformed +or'ersF StatesE Historical Summation2 Anti#)mperialist /ars of 'ational Ai(eration Since the !ate-nineteenth century" the domination of imperia!ist regimes in the or!d economy has made it impossib!e for a!! but a handfu! of states (@ermany and Hapan) to underta'e an independent Gmoderni(ation"E i.e." capita!ist industria!i(ation. (Though said Gmoderni(ationE is sti!! possib!e" e.g." the case of 9orea in the south" it is oefu!!y dependent" i.e." cannot ithstand" e.g." financia!" pressure e#erted from the imperia!ist citade!s.) ,n rura! and agrarian and" according!y" industria!!y" bac' ard countries" nati&e bourgeoisie ha&e re&ea!ed themse!&es to be economica!!y ea' and socia!!y insignificant* 1a&ing sp!it off from the rapacious!y e#p!oitati&e !ando ning c!ass of the countryside and usua!!y assuming a comprador status (i.e." merchant or trader dependency upon a regiona!!y dominant imperia!ist .o er)" they ha&e been incapab!e of supporting an urban cu!ture" inte!!ectua!!y hegemoni(ing society and" on this basis" de&e!oping an independent po!itica! party ith the mora! authority to !ead in a strugg!e for economica!!y grounded" nationa! independence< or" at any rate" they stand more fearfu! of !oss of contro! o&er the forces that ou!d be un!eashed in ha&ing sought an a!!iance ith tiny industria! pro!etariats and genera!!y massi&e" oppressed peasant strata" than in brea'ing the bond of their (financia!!y !ucrati&e) dependency. ,n their stead" petty bourgeois inte!!igentsias often to be found among impo&erished !and!ord fami!ies or in professions unattached to co!onia! administrations" their nati&ist sensibi!ities mora!!y offended by the pretentiousness" arrogance and racism" and e#p!oitati&e practices of the reigning co!onia! or imperia!ist .o er" ha&e become rabid!y nationalistic and radica!i(ed. %asing themse!&es on the mass of oppressed peasant strata" they ha&e at no sma!! ris' put themse!&es at the heart of spontaneous opposition to the parasitic !and!ordism in the rura! areas. Fo!!o ing a !engthy history of setbac's and gains in hich they ha&e come to grasp the re$uirements of rura!-based socia! transformation (first and foremost" !and reform)" they ha&e cohered armed re&o!utionary organi(ation" a peasant army. They ha&e cha!!enged imperia!ist .o er on the basis of rura! gueri!!a arfare" and ha&e e&entua!!y cata!y(ed a re&o!utionary mo&ement. Their success has been predicated upon destruction of the o!d army and po!ice (i.e." the foundations of the old colonial State) and has a!!o ed them to carry out" in the historica! sense" bourgeoisdemocratic" or better" nationa!-democratic" tas's.1 /p against co!onia! and imperia!ist po ers that" in the conte#t of an economica!!y integrated capita!ist or!d" refuse to part ith GtheirE dependencies for fear of !oss of ra materia!s and three- ay trade that in&o!&es the e#port of capita! (not to mention" the !oss of great .o er prestige and nationa! shame that" cu!tura!!y and psycho!ogica!!y spea'ing" ha&e underpinned this &ast!y ine$uitab!e re!ation)" these petty bourgeois" re&o!utionary !eaderships ha&e been forced to e#propriate foreign capita!ist enterprises in the urban areas and (!ayers of) the rura! !and!ords to estab!ish statified property as a bu! ar' of se!f-defense in the era of high imperia!ism so that they might Gmoderni(e"E i.e." estab!ish the industria! basis for nationa! de&e!opment. This is the form bourgeois democratic" i.e." nationa!" re&o!utions ta'e in the era that opened ith the end of the !ast imperia!ist or!d ar. ,t is important to note that these ars of nationa! !iberation" and the re&o!utionary mo&ements that supported them" ha&e been underta'en !arge!y ithout pro!etarian support" and sometimes in dead!y opposition to a or'ing c!ass strugg!e against imperia!ist .o er.: GModerni(ationE essentia!!y has meant creating capita!ist industry" and has necessari!y entai!ed e#tracting surp!uses from" first and foremost" the peasantry (and !ater the pro!etariat) to fund industria! de&e!opment e&en if" after the !ast imperia!ist or!d ar" So&iet aid has been a&ai!ab!e. 2o this surp!us e#traction or" more b!unt!y" primiti&e accumu!ation" has ne&er been possib!e ithout" first" pro!etariani(ing peasant strata" and second!y" in this era" ithout
1Bistori"ally,

these tasks have in"luded a division of the land that establishes private peasant proprietorship and a free market in labor (proletariani1ation!* separation of "hur"h and state* institution of a politi"al form that se"ures freedom of the press, spee"h and assembly, and religious pra"ti"es* and, national autonomy on the basis of a freely developing, industrially "apitalist e"onomy. 6n the imperialist era, these tasks have the basi" meaning of establishing national independen"e by expulsion of the o""upying "olonial 5o)er, freeing the peasantry form the yolk of 0feudal0 or landlord tyranny (i.e., exorbitant rents!, and land redistribution. 26n Vietnam in (eptember #+,-, for example, the Viet /inh savagely suppressed the militant (aigon )orkers and their organi1ations in advan"e of the ;ritish o""upation that follo)ed the "ollapse of @apanese "olonialism. The ;ritish, )el"omed by the Viet /inh, reintrodu"ed the 2ren"h "olonialists, )hi"h in turn lengthened the struggle by a de"ade.

a!ienating these ne or'ers and demonstrab!y bureaucrati(ing the ne state apparatus resting on nationa!i(ed property. %ecause the industria!i(ation pro4ects of these regimes in&o!&e reproduction of essentia!!y capita!ist forms of domination in the !abor process (bureaucratic contro! of industria! or' by cadre of the party dominating the regime" Tay!orist methods of or' organi(ation" etc.)" and because the property is statified" e characteri(e them as state capita!ist. ()n!y those committed" as party organi(ations of bureaucrats in e#i!e" to recapturing or" orse" estab!ishing regimes on the basis of the ready#made institutions of statified property regard!ess of pro!etarian support" cou!d see in such regimes 8&or$ers9 states" GdeformedE or other ise.) As industria!i(ation proceeds" these regimes begin to !ose domestic support* ,t may sti!! en4oy popu!arity among some peasant strata" but it is other ise caught and increasing!y s$uee(ed by the enormous pressure (e.g." puniti&e terms of trade" !imited access to capita!" and" in the e#treme cases" embargo" support to interna! mi!itary opposition" etc.) emanating from hosti!e imperia!ist po ers in the capita!ist metropo!ises and the gro ing mi!itancy of its emerging pro!etariat. They ha&e become increasing!y unstab!e" and those that ha&e been ea'est in their origina! support (as in eastern =urope here regimes of the So&iet type ere estab!ished on the point of 3ed Army bayonets) or" a!ternati&e!y" that ha&e proceeded the furthest do n the path of industria!i(ation (as in 0hina)" ha&e either co!!apsed and ha&e undergone pri&ate capita!ist restoration or appear ready to do so. The emergence of these regimes" nationalist and not proletarian internationalist in orientation" constitutes a !i&ing refutation of the Trots'yist theory of permanent re&o!ution. Trots'y he!d that the indigenous bourgeoisies of the bac' ard countries" numerica!!y sma!! and economica!!y ea'" are too timid to carry out a democratic re&o!ution. As resistance to imperia!ist oppression and e#p!oitation increased among the peasantry and a tiny pro!etariat" on!y the !atter had the production-based organi(ation" discip!ine" and cu!ture to underta'e re&o!utionary !eadership" and" once ha&ing started do n this path" it ou!d be compe!!ed to assert its o n needs ma'ing demands that ent beyond the bounds of a democratic re&o!ution* The !atter ou!d rapid!y Ggro o&erE into a socia!ist re&o!ution. The c!assica! mode! rested on both 3ussian re&o!utions (19B;" 1917). Iet the re&o!utionary parties that instituted these state capita!ist regimes successfu!!y carried out the nationa! re&o!ution (i.e." a bourgeois democratic re&o!ution in the era of imperia!ism) ithout resting on a pro!etarian a#is ( ithout either the e#istence of a re&o!utionary or'ers party" or'ing c!ass mass organi(ations" or both). They" and the regimes themse!&es" are petty bourgeois" e&en if radica!i(ed (i.e." e#treme!y nationa!ist)" ith a &ie to the c!ass composition of their !eadership and membership" and their ideo!ogica! orientation. And they are repressi&e!y statist and capita!ist in their po!icies they imp!ement. The co!!apse of So&iet po er (and .o er of this type) has made it e#ceeding!y difficu!t for the remaining regimes ith this c!ass character to sur&i&e* They more and more are forced by the pressures of the or!d mar'et (!ac' of capita! to further industria!i(ation) to submit to pri&ate capita!ist penetration. )n!y those (0uba and 2orth 9orea) that" origina!!y" undertoo' the most thoroughgoing re&o!utionary transformation on the basis of the deepest popu!ar support" ha&e managed to maintain their specific historica! character as a regime intact. The epoch of imperia!ist ars and pro!etarian re&o!utions ended !ong ago" and the co!!apse of So&iet po er has a!so brought to c!osure the period of ars of nationa! !iberation based on anti-imperia!ist uprisings. %rots$y and the ?/or$ers@ State? Trots'y identified a society by the c!ass that dominates it. The domination of this c!ass is" for him" embodied in the State. 1e e!icited forma! criteria for determining the character of the regime that ru!es through it (the State). Thus decisi&e for a or'ers5 State is its co!!ecti&i(ed property forms" economic p!anning" and state monopo!y of foreign trade. The $uestion that immediate!y poses itse!f ith regard to the So&iet regime is* 50an a State form hich comp!ete!y dispossesses or'ers sti!! be a or'ers5 StateN5 According to Trots'y" the ans er is yes. 0!ear!y" Trots'y re4ected" though perhaps no here e#p!icit!y" Aenin5s 1917 !iberatory formu!ation. According!y" there is no need for or'ers5 contro! o&er production and rising from here o&er society through a 8&ast or'ers5 commune8 $ua State form (Aenin" cited by Serge).1 Iet Trots'y5s &ie s ere not substantia!!y simi!ar to those of Sta!in. (The
1Vi"tor

(erge, @ro" )enin to Stalin' Ae) Pork, #+3'H --. 0>e shall see the progressive )ithering a)ay of the state, and the (oviet (tate )ill not be a state like the others, but a vast )orkersI "ommune. ...0

!atter !udicrous!y proc!aimed the intensification of c!ass strugg!e as society increasing!y neared socia!ism).1 ,nstead" Trots'y5s perspecti&e arose from the e#perience of ci&i! ar" and the 8 ar communist8 party !eadership5s responses to imperia!ist efforts to strang!e the infant So&iet regime. Ai'e so much of the party thin'ing in this period" his &ie s of the State ere crysta!!i(ed by the !eadership5s ad hoc responses to hat it correct!y characteri(ed as historica!!y necessary. This distinction is crucia!* The ferocious imperia!ist assau!t on or'ers5 .o er embodied in the nascent So&iet State as a historica!!y ine&itab!e response of capita! to a ma4or breech in its internationa! perimeter defenses. %ut the %o!she&i' !eadership5s responses to the imperia!ists5 b!oc'ade and the !atterFs materia!" financia!" and human support to the +hite armies ere" in turn" reactions designed to meet pressing" immediate needs. +ar communist measures ere dictated by the e#igencies of ci&i! ar< they ere not theoretica!!y deri&ed e!ements of a doctrina!!y grounded program for the ear!y phases of the transition to socia!ism. /n!i'e the doctrina! positions formu!ated by Aenin in 1917 (GAetters from Afar"E GApri! ThesesE)" the programmatic deri&ation of this position put forth by Aenin at the Apri! 1917 .arty 0onference" and the theoretica! synthesis of this perspecti&e de&e!oped in the summer (%he State and Revolution)" ar communist measures had nothing of this character. Iet the party !eadership" di((ying ith its re&o!utionary ()ctober) success and" in particu!ar" the consciousness that its Mar#ist commitments had a!!o it to 8scientifica!!y8 anticipate and prepare this success" genuine!y be!ie&ed it embodied historica! 3eason" that" indubitab!y" ar communist measures had the same theoretica!!y grounded" programmatic status. According!y" these %o!she&i's (among hom Trots'y must be numbered) he!d that their attenuated theoretica! 4ustifications of the practice of this period not on!y had the status of e#perientia!!y founded doctrine" but" because for the first time this ne !y ac$uired doctrine i!!uminated the ho!e era fo!!o ing upon a pro!etarian re&o!ution" this theoretica! e!aboration superceded those circumscribed by the moment of the re&o!utionary sei(ure of po er. Trots'y he!d onto this con&iction right on do n to the end of his !ife. )ur ana!ysis here has no here more re!e&ance than in the criti$ue of Trots'y5s determination of a 8 or'ers5 State"E specifica!!y in his effort to essentia!!y distinguish its pro!etarian character. Ai'e Aenin5s" his forma!istic (and undia!ectica!) thought is on e#hibit* The situation in hich the youthfu! So&iet regime had found itse!f - engaged in a !ife and death strugg!e to ho!d po er in ci&i! ar as it as hemmed in by counter-re&o!utionary +hite armies on a!! sides - as not mere!y ana!ogous to the situation of the bac' ard" iso!ated country of the !ate t enties and thirties hich" ha&ing undergone a pro!etarian re&o!ution" as surrounded by industria!!y-based great imperia!ist po ers. The situations ere homo!ogous< there as a thoroughgoing forma! identity. ,n both cases" imperia!ists5 hosti!ity originated in opposition to co!!ecti&i(ed property forms" the p!an and foreign trade monopo!y a!! resting on e#propriation of the bourgeois c!asses. These ere decisi&e.: The materia! distinction bet een the t o phases (ear!y and mature) of the same State form mere!y meant the !atter had undergone deformation* ,t has degenerated. 8-egeneration8 is as much as Trots'y i!! grant to the criticism that the So&iet regime circa 19?7-19?7 (&i(." as he rites %he Revolution Betrayed) has undergone such substantia! change that its ear!y embodiment of or'ers5 .o er is no !onger recogni(ab!e. 0o!!ecti&i(ed" i.e." statified" property" economic p!anning" and the foreign trade monopo!y ere forms go&erning the producti&e !ife of So&iet society that shaped that society in its tota!ity. Iet hi!e society (content) has undergone 8deformation"E its !eading c!ass or ru!ing 8stratum8 has 8degenerated8 - into a 8bureaucracy.E ,t is of the essence of 8degeneration8 in and of society that the under!ying forms determining the 8socia! structure8 remained unchanged" i.e." had not themse!&es been affected by this 8degeneration.E Iet statified property" p!anning and monopo!y of foreign trade are both (!ogica!!y) possib!e and (psycho!ogica!!y) concei&ab!e forms that might under!ine a &ery different 8socia! structure.E? As a matter of fact" on these criteria neither the .aris 0ommune _nor the %o!she&i'-guided pro!etarian dictatorship before !ate 1916 ere 8 or'ers5 States.E> %ut co!!ecti&e property forms" etc." neither a or'ers5 State nor socia!ist society ma'e. Ancient despotisms such as the
1(ee

the (e"ond (tudy, 0Bistori"al :lternatives,0 above. nationali1ation of the land, the means of industrial produ"tion, transport and ex"hange, together )ith the monopoly of foreign trade, "onstitutes the basis of the (oviet so"ial stru"ture. Through these relations, the nature of the (oviet 9nion as a proletarian state is for us basi"ally defined.0 Leon Trotsky, #he Re&olution =etrayed' Ae) Pork, #+3'H -2. 3(ee, for example, Tony <liff, Russia' $ *ar/ist $nalysis' London, #+-+H +,.+-. 4Ibid, #33.
20The

pre-1omeric ci&i!i(ation of 0rete"1 .haraonic =gypt": and the ,nca =mpire? a!! rested on statified property forms. These forms ere" in an attenuated sense" on!y the out ard forms" but hard!y the substance of a socia!ist construction. For this abstract formu!ation mas'ed some &ery bourgeois acti&ities in production" i.e." one-man management and unassai!ab!e manageria! prerogati&es (assessment of fines" imposition of punishments" uncontestab!e firings)" and or'p!ace hierarchy e#pressed in the absence of or'er contro! o&er norms" tempos and rhythms in production (not to mention piece rates" the battery of technicians" specia!ists" foremen" and managers" etc." a!! of hom immediate!y contro! production at its point of origins).> These forms are necessary moments in circuits in hich capita! is actua!!y constituted as capita!" and characteristics of capita!ist e#p!oitation. ,n fact" these forms ere ta'en o&er ready-made ith the intent to emu!ate capita!ist methods of or'p!ace organi(ation. -ia!ectica! thought constitutes itse!f in the effort to grasp and e#p!icate the contours of rea! mo&ement" to catch" fi#" and theoretica!!y reproduce and anticipate the structures (socia! re!ations" institutions" socia! formations" etc) that at once emerge from and shape the dai!y acti&ity of human beings. -ia!ectica! !ogic is constituted as an idea! forma!i(ation of the re!ations among the abiding structures that recur in this mo&ement. Thus" in dia!ectica! !ogic it is recogni(ed that idea!!y" for thought" form can be abstracted from content. %ut it a!so recogni(es that in the practice of dai!y !ife form and content are inseparab!e because they penetrate one another. (Simi!ar!y" dia!ectica! thin'ing recogni(ed the necessity of re4oining form and content hen idea! ana!ysis refers us bac' to rea!" practica! situations.) 2e forms can emerge from changes in content" and form can" of course" ith great &io!ence to content be imposed on it (as in the paradigmatic Sta!inist case of enforced rura! co!!ecti&i(ation and urban industria!i(ation" form" imposed on 3ussian peasant acti&ity" content). Transformation of forms necessary imp!ies prior changes in content" and changes in content i!! sooner or !ater necessitate no&e! forms. ,n dai!y !ife" form cannot be mechanica!!y counterposed to content. ,f the substance of dai!y !ife undergoes change" 8degeneration"E the forms i!! not maintain their origina! pristine character. More precise!y" based on statified property" a or'ers5 State ithout or'ers5 contro! in production and pro!etarian democracy in the State (i.e." a regime essentia!!y formed in and through a system of or'er dominated counci!s" a 8&ast or'ers5 commune8) is a 4uridica! abstraction" dia!ectica!!y meaning!ess because contradictori!y and obfuscatory. +ou!d" fo!!o ing Trots'y" a reform of the bureaucracy that rendered or'ers paramount in the 8 or'ers5 State8 retain the po!itica! po!ice (@./)" the standing army ith its intense!y hierarchica! forms" and the bureaucracy itse!fN )r fo!!o ing Mar#-Aenin" ou!d such a reform end in the re&o!utionary reconstruction of the State" its transformation into a democratic system of so&iets supported by a peop!e5s mi!itia based on the destruction of the bureaucratic State machineN; To as' the $uestion is !arge!y to pro&ide its ans er. +e ha&e described Trots'y5s inabi!ity to escape the di!emma of a strugg!e against Sta!in hi!e remaining on the terrain of the party-State as a!ready constituted ( ithout" for e#amp!e" ma'ing any effort to ta'e his case to the or'ers" to or'ers and peasants in uniform" and to the mass of peasants ho fought in and sur&i&ed the 0i&i! +ar). Trots'y5s theoretica! perspecti&e on the So&iet State as seam!ess!y integrated ith his )ppositiona! practice* 1is commitment to the forma!istic determination of a or'ers5 State as the theoretica! side of his po!itica! commitment to the primacy of So&iet State interests incarnated in his refusa! to" as !ong as he remained a member of the party (and beyond)" to ta'e his strugg!e outside the confines of that organi(ation.7
1/oses 2Benri

2inley, arly >ree!e' #he =ronze and $r!hai! $ges (Ae) Pork, #+ #!. 2rankfurt, Fingshi% and the >ods (<hi"ago, #+' !. 3:lfred /etrbux, #he History of (eru (Ae) Pork, #+$+!. 4(ee the (e"ond (tudy, 0#+2 , the Regime at the <rossroads,0 belo). 5<liff, Ibid, #3-. 6(ee, 05arty (truggles,0 belo). (ha"htman, in his Trotskyist phase, stated the development of modern industry in ?ust six years 0demonstrated for histori"al eternity the indisputable superiority of so"ialist methods of organi1ation over "apitalist methods.0 (/ax (ha"htman, 6ntrodu"tion to Leon Trotsky, #he #hird International $fter )enin, xi.! Bere again, !a%italist "ethods of the organization of %rodu!tion do not a so!ialist C"ethodC "a.e' This abstra"tion of a theory of development is "ompletely "ongruent and theoreti"ally "onsistent )ith TrotskyIs perspe"tive on a 0)orkersI (tate.0 That is, the prima"y of the produ"tive for"es as essentially "hara"teristi" of the meaning of ((oviet! so"ialism "onstituted one more theoreti"al thrust that took aim at that meaningH 6t abandoned the perspe"tive of liberation, or, on the bourgeois model (implying bourgeois histori"al tasks!, "onfused a strategy for development (largely in the periphery of the "apitalist )orld system! )ith a theory of hu"an e"an!i%ation' 3n this, see 5art ,, se"tion 6, and se"tion 66, above, and the 6ntrodu"tion to our Co""unity and Ca%ital.

%heoretical Assessment (1.2 =olitical Revolutions The concept of a political re&o!ution" found in the ritings of Mar# and =nge!s here it is counterposed to a thoroughgoing social re&o!ution" as origina!!y e!aborated (and in this sense used by %o!she&i's) to designate a transformation at the !e&e! of State institutions ithout change in the basic structure of society* =#p!icit!y and e#c!usi&e!y de&e!oped in the e#amination of bourgeois democratic societies" and thus presupposing the rea!!y separate!y e#isting institutions of State and economy (ci&i! society) hich specifica!!y characteri(ed these societies" the concept po!emica!!y distinguished a change in capita!5s representati&es" and_or a change in the institutions (e.g." par!iaments" 8independent8 4udiciaries" etc.) hich representationa!!y mediated capita!5s domination and through hich its representati&es operated" from the &ery abo!ition of capita!" that is" from a transformation of basic socia! producti&e re!ations. RForma!!y spea'ing"S in the narro est sense" a pa!ace coup is" according!y" a po!itica! re&o!ution and" in the broad sense" the destruction of par!iamentary institutions and ci&i! !iberties constitutes the same Rthough in fact" the !atter ou!d be po!itica!!y counterre&o!utionaryS. The Trots'yist use of this se!f-same concept is not on!y i!!icit" it is a!so theoretica!!y incoherent* 1o e&er" e characteri(e the socia! regimes of eastern =urope (and in particu!ar the So&iet /nion)" as e.g." 8deformed or'ers5 States"E State capita!ist"E or e&en 8socia!ist8 (and" corresponding!y" ho e&er one e&a!uates the !eading State stratum" e.g." 8bureaucrats"E a 8ru!ing c!ass"E or as 8genuine or'er !eaders8)" it is indisputab!e these societies are mar'ed by the disappearance of the institutiona! distinction bet een State and economy RandS the s a!!o ing up of the !atter by the former through the absorption of a!! hitherto historica!!y e#isting mediatory institutions (separate or independent par!iaments" !oca! go&ernments" trade unions" etc.). ,f the party-State organi(es and !itera!!y mans ( ith its o n cadre these once autonomous institutions e&en if that independence as 8ob4ecti&e!y i!!usory8) and if further and in particu!ar the p!an cements State contro! o&er and absorption of the economy (and hence abo!ishes their separateness) by e!iminating the mar'et hich created the economy at once as a separate sphere and as an autonomous regu!ator of a!! socia! !ife" hat sense does it" then" ma'e to spea' of a 8po!itica!8 re&o!ution in the regimes eastern =urope (and the So&iet /nion)N Theoretica!!y and historica!!y" it ma'es no sense. To as' the pro!etariats of these societies to carry out a mere 8po!itica!8 re&o!ution is not on!y nonsense" it is a pious ish born of rea!" ideo!ogica!!y (i.e." obfuscatori!y) moti&ated b!indness to historica! e&idence* @ermany 19;?" 1ungary 19;7" .o!and 19;7" 197B" 1977 and today irrefutab!y demonstrate that" since no independent institutions mediate c!ass strugg!e" any or'ing c!ass action is mo&ement against the State" compe!s or'ers to confront the ru!ing bureaucracy. 8=conomic8 issues" e.g." age demands" s!o do ns" protests against the imposition of production norms" etc." are immediate!y trans!ated into 8po!itica!8 issues" i.e." into a threat to the regime5s hegemony ( hi!e 8po!itica!8 issues ha&e immediate 8economic8 conse$uences).1 )n Eastern Europe (and the Soviet Enion. a &or$ing class ?political? revolution has no practical meaning* %heoretical Assessment (O.2 State Capitalism and 0eformed 8/or$ers4 States9 +e designate societies of the So&iet type as 8state capita!ist8 ith a &ie to (a) the social relations of production. First" the organi(ation of !abor processes in the factories are conscious!y mode!ed on and reproduce in their detai!s Tay!ori(ed (scientific) forms of organi(ation that re&o!&e around the use of se$uentia!!y arranged" seria!i(ed" and specia!i(ed machines and machine comp!e#es in order to produce in the manner of continuous f!o (assemb!y !ine)
16.e.,

immediately entails transformation of the 0e"onomi" stru"ture of so"iety,0 the vaunted 0so"ial relations of produ"tion.0 This is "lear from the #+-$ Bungarian Revolution (see ;ill LomaxIs Hungary 195A!H >orkers in the plants and fa"tories ki"ked out 5arty managements, dismantled existing 0representative0 organs run by a"tive <ommunist party members, demo"rati"ally ele"ted rotating delegates to "onstitute "oun"ils )ithin plants, and then in turn formed "ity.)ide )orkersI "oun"ils. The authoritarian, 0one man management0 born of (oviet )ar "ommunism (a histori"al "ontingent foundation not a prin"ipled, ?ustified one! "rumbled immediately and the entire stru"ture of produ"tion began to be repla"ed by a demo"rati"ally "reated one from the ground up. The (tatified envelopment of the 0e"onomy,0 a"hieved in the persons of 5arty a"tivists, )as shattered, a 0(tate0 of the 0<ommune.type0 (Lenin! in the form of a national stru"ture of )orkersI "oun"ils "onstituted from belo), one absorbing polity and e"onomy, )as emerging E prior to the final appearan"e of (oviet tanks. >hen )e suggest politi"al and e"onomi" transformations are inseparable and indistinguishable, )e mean the entire reality of nationalized %ro%erty !annot e/ist institutionally a%art fro" and !ontrol by the to% layer of (arty leadershi% (plant managers, e"onomi" agen"y heads, <entral <ommittee, and 5olitburo!. >hen the one began to dissolve so did the other.

production. Second" one-man (as opposed to or'er counci!-based) management in the enterprises is not mere!y the predominant but the so!e form of operation. +ith it" e necessari!y find an e!aborate hierarchy of persona!i(ed functions (fi!!ed by party members) that mediate from top to bottom a!! decisions regarding product" product content" or' tempos and rhythms" and that" it goes ithout saying" are at once imposed from abo&e and structured by the machine comp!e#. Thus" the structure of modern capitalism is em(edded in the la(or processes of societies of the Soviet type* The specific forms of e#p!oitation of aged-!abor in societies of the So&iet type" though based on a(straction (because abstraction of the or'er is based upon the organi(ation and methods of or' in the !abor processes)" do not produce value. Sti!! (b) the !ogic of accumu!ation (and the !a of &a!ue) that" in capita!ist societies produces &a!ue" is mediate!y operati&e in So&iet type societies because" first" they are re!ent!ess sub4ect to imperia!ist pressures and those emanating from the or!d mar'et since they" starting from a !o er !e&e! of producti&e de&e!opment" in part depend upon import of ad&anced machinery and e$uipment manufactured in the capita!ist metropo!ises< and second" they" ha&e" in their !ife and death strugg!e ith pri&ate capita!ism" transposed it into their organi(ation of !abor by adopting capita!ist methods of production (abo&e)" and by adopting themse!&es to the goa!s of this production (be!o ) Societies of the So&iet type" indirect!y sub4ect to the !ogic of accumu!ation" are not in the strict sense capita!ist" i.e." the centra! determination of socia! re!ations of production is not itse!f generated through competition among pri&ate capita!s. These societies shou!d be grasped (c) functionally by ay of ana!ogy* The great cities of the high Midd!e Age in the +est (F!orence" Mi!an" @enoa" Denice)" ith their urban cu!tures and petty commodity production" stood in the re!ation to the &ast and rura! 8feuda!8 hinter!and of =urope as a necessary moment of a tota! socia! formation ( herein they engaged in !u#ury production to meet the e#panding needs of the great !anded !ords and magnates). So" in a $ua!itati&e!y simi!ar manner" ci&i! ar" together ith the inner !ogic of %o!she&i' ru!e and pressure from the or!d mar'et" created" first in 3ussia (then mutatis mutandis !ater in eastern =urope" 9orea" 0hina" Dietnam" and 0uba)" a 8component8 and mirror other of actua!!y e#isting capita!ism (i) onto hich has been pro4ected systemic ine$uity and in4ustice" e&i!" pro&iding" against the bac'ground of societies rift ith c!ass tension" a di&ersionary" unifying enemy< and" (ii) hich afforded a rationa!e 4ustifying a type of e#penditure (mi!itary 9eynesianism) that" under conditions of o&erproduction mediated by a Gfictitious accumu!ationE of sorts (financia! bubb!es)" absorbs e#cess production and permits e#panded reproduction. Societies of the Soviet type have (een systemically a part of the capitalist &orld and cannot e6ist apart from it* As e indicated in the First Study (.art >" section ,) abo&e" the pressure of or!d capita!ism through its mar'et and its mi!itary a!!iances compe!!ed the %o!she&i's in po er to systematica!!y underta'e bourgeois tas's" specifica!!y primiti&e accumu!ation and de&e!opment of producti&e forces. %o!she&i's themse!&es recogni-ed the necessity of pursuing these tas's" assimi!ated and interna!i(ed them" i.e." sought to theoretica!!y !egitimati(e and programmatica!!y order them" and then to systematica!!y carry them out (though unti! 19:9" they ere a! ays para!y(ed by interna! differences). ,n this functional conte#t" the State assumed the ro!e of pri&ate capita!s as a ho!e* (d) %he State operated as an a(stract e6ploiter in relation to &or$ers as the Bolshevi$s as a party similarly assumed the role of a surrogate (ourgeoisie* And the case is the same for a!! regimes and societies of the So&iet type. 3i&eted by interna! contradictions in production" economica!!y bac' ard and under enormous pressure of a!! sorts emanating from the imperia!ist po ers" headed by &ena! and ea' Sta!inist !eaderships that see' on!y accommodation ith the imp!acab!e imperia!ist enemy" in a strict sense" these regimes ha&e no future* Either societies of the Soviet type &ill (e dismantled (y a ne& historically progressive a6is, or they &ill (e rea(sor(ed (ac$ into &orld capitalism< at any rate" the destruction of &orld capitalism &ould necessarily mean the collapse of societies of the Soviet type* +hi!e e are uns er&ing!y critica! of their interna! societa! organi(ation and these regimes" it is necessary to defend the peop!es under these regimes (those that remain)" especia!!y their or'ers" against the be!!igerent depredations of imperia!ist .o ers. +hi!e it shou!d not be forgotten that many of these regimes issued from genuine emancipatory strugg!es against capita!ism" there can be no $uestion of sympathy for regimes that ha&e 8granted8 their peop!es materia!!y based gains. Furthermore" as the co!!apse of the So&iet /nion has demonstrated" such co!!apse on!y em(oldens American imperia!ists particu!ar!y< the !atter ha&e intensified repression at home" and become more predatory" and $ua!itati&e!y more mi!itari!y be!!igerent and aggressi&e in the or!d at !arge. The point is that capital"

and ith it the entire structure of State and society that has been erected around it" is the enemy. %he main enemy is at home*

Second Study Stalin and the Stalinist Era in Soviet #istory at its $rigins Bi2lio.raphical Sources Anderson" .erry. =assages from Anti+uity to 3eudalism* Aondon" 197> %a'unin" Mi'hai!. Statism and Anarchism* Trans!ated and edited by Marsha!! S. Shat(. 0ambridge (=ng.)" 199B (167?) %ahro" 3udo!f. %he Alternative in Eastern Europe* Aondon" 1961 %!um" Herome. Aord and =easant in Rural Russia* .rinceton" 1971 %rauntha!" Hu!ius. History of the )nternational, F* ))* 2e Ior'" 1977 %renan" @era!d. %he Spanish Aa(yrinth* %he Social and =olitical Bac$ground of the Spanish Civil /ar* 0ambridge (=ng.)" 19>?. %o!!oten" %runett. %he Spanish Revolution* %he Aeft and the Struggle for =o&er in the Spanish Civil /ar* 0hape! 1i!!" 1979 %or'enau" Fran(. %he Spanish Coc$pit* An Eye#/itness Account of the =olitical and Social Conflicts of the Spanish Civil /ar* Ann Arbor (M,)" 197? (19?7). %ros(at" Martin. Hitler and the Collapse of /eimar Cermany* 2e Ior'" 1969 0amatte" Hac$ues. Community and Communism in Russia* Aondon" 1976 0arr" =.1. %he Bolshevi$ Revolution, 1 1L#1 O!* ))* Aondon" 19;: 0arr" 3aymond. Spain, 1IKI#1 ! * )#ford (=ng.)" 1977 -estiche" @ui!!aume-Francois. 'ight of the /orld. .ri&ate!y printed" 196B -eutscher" ,saac. Stalin2 A =olitical Biography* 2e Ior'" 19>9 =nge!s" Frederic'. 8The .easant ]uestion in France and @ermany8 0ie 'eue 7eit" D. ," 2o. 1B" 169>-169;. 3eprinted in :ar6#Engels Collected /or$s, :7* Mosco " 199B Fit(@era!d" Francis. 3ire in the Aa$e* %he Fietnamese and the Americans in Fietnam* 2e Ior'" 197?. Freeman" Michae!. Atlas of 'a-i Cermany. 2e Ior'" 1967 1arris" 3obert. Archangel. 2e Ior'" 1996 1err" 3ichard. %he Eighteenth Century Revolution in Spain" .rinceton (2H)" 19;6 1inton" Hames and 3ichard 1yman. %rade Enions and Revolution2 %he )ndustrial =olitics of the Early British Communist =arty* Aondon" 197; 1usser!" =dmund. %he Crisis of European Science* =&anston (,A)" 197B ,riye" A'ira. Across the =acific* An )nner History of American M East Asian Relations* 2e Ior'" 1977 ,saacs" 1aro!d. %he %ragedy of the Chinese Revolution* Stanford (0A)" 1971 Hac'son" @abrie!. %he Spanish Repu(lic and the Civil +ar. .rinceton (2H)" 197; Hames" 0.A.3. 8Sta!in and Socia!ism8 (19?7) in %he C*A*R* <ames Reader. )#ford (=ng.)" 199: 9eegan" Hohn (ed.). %he %imes Atlas of the Second /orld /ar* 2e Ior'" 199> 9oest!er" Arthur. 0ar$ness at 'oon* 2e Ior'" 1976 (19>1) 9orsch" 9ar!. :ar6ism and =hilosophy. 2e Ior'" 197B (19:?) Aangdon--a&ies" Hohn. Behind the Spanish Barricades* 2e Ior', 19?7 Aenin" D.,. Collected /or$s, Trans!ated from the >th 3ussian edition (Sochieneniia,19>1-19;B). Mosco " 197B-197B Ae&a!" @aston. Collectives in the Spanish Revolution* Trans!ated from the French" Espagne li(ertaire (.aris" 1971)" by Dernon 3ichard. Aondon" 197;. Ae in" Moshe. Aenin@s Aast Struggle* 2e Ior'" 1976 WWWWWWWWWW. Russian =easants and Soviet =o&er. Ay!esburg (=ng.)" 1976 Ayashchen'o" .eter ,* History of the 'ational Economy in Russia to the 1 1L Revolution* 2e Ior'" 19>9 Mar#" 9ar!. 8Forms .receding 0apita!ist .roduction8" :ar6#Engels Collected /or$s, D. :6* Mosco " 1967. WWWWWWW. %he Eighteenth Brumaire of Aouis Bonaparte* 2e Ior'" 197; Med&ede&" 3oy. Aet History <udge* %he Origins and Conse+uences of Stalinism* 2e Ior'" 197: (first edition). Second edition (re&ised and e#panded)" 1969 WWWWWWWWWW. On Stalin and Stalinism* )#ford (=ng.)" 1979

Mer!eau-.onty" Maurice. Humanism and %error* %oston" 1979 R19>7S Mett" ,da. %he Bronstadt Eprising* Aondon" 1977 :olotov Remem(ers* )nside Bremlin =olitics* Conversations &ith 3eli6 Chuev* =dited" introduced and noted by A!bert 3esis. 0hicago" 199? .ipes" 3ichard. Russian under the Bolshevi$ Regime. 2e Ior'" 199? .reobra(hens'y" Ie&geny. 8=conomic 2otes ,. The @ood Famine. (19:;)8 ,n %he Crisis of Soviet )ndustriali-ation* Selected Essays* =dited and introduced by -ona!d A Fit(er. +hite .!ains (2I)" 1979 WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. %he 'e& Economics (19:;). )#ford" 197; 3eiman" Micha!. %he Birth of Stalinism* %he ESSR on the Eve of the ?Secon Revolution?* %!oomington (,2)" 1967. 3ichards" Dernon. Aessons of the Spanish Revolution* Aondon" 197; (19;?) Schapiro" Aeonard. %he Communist =arty of the Soviet Enion* Aondon" 197B %he Second Congress of the Communist )nternational* :inutes of the =roceedings* : Do!s. Aondon" 1977 (Mosco " 19:1) %he Serge#%rots$y Correspondence* =dited by =.H. 0otteri!!. Aondon" 199> Serge" Dictor. :idnight of the Century* Aondon 196B (19?9) WWWWWWWWW. :emoirs of a Revolutionary, 1 K1#1 N1* Aondon" 197; WWWWWWWWW. Dear One of the Russian Revolution 2e Ior'" 197: (19?1) WWWWWWWWW. Birth of Our =o&er. Aondon" 1976 (19?B) WWWWWWWWW. %he Case of Comrade %ulayev* 2e Ior'" 19;B WWWWWWWWW. 8,deas and Facts< 9ronstadt 19:1 - Against the Sectarian Spirit P %o!she&ism and Anarchism8 ()ctober 19?7). .artia!!y reprinted in =.H. 0otteri!! (ed.)" %he Serge#%rots$y Correspondence* Aondon" 199> WWWWWWWWW. 3rom Aenin to Stalin* 2e Ior'" 19?7 Sho!o'ho&" Mi'hai!. Seeds of %omorro&* 2e Ior'" 19?; Shanin" Teodor. %he A&$&ard Class* 2e Ior'" 197: WWWWWWWWWW. Aate :ar6 and the Russian Road* 2e Ior'" 196? S$ocpol, %heda* States and Social Revolutions* 0ambridge (=ng.)" 1979 Sno den" Fran'. %he 3ascist Revolution in %uscan, 1 1 #1 OO* 0ambridge (=ng.)"1969 So!(henitsyn" A!e#sandr. %he Culag Archipelago, )* 2e Ior'" 197? WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. 'ovem(er 1 1"* %he Red /heel* ))* 2e Ior'" 1999 Trots'y" Aeon. Aeon %rots$y on Britain* 2e Ior'" 197? WWWWWWWWWW. 8Aetter to the 'e& Dor$ %imes8" 7 -ecember 19?9. 3eprinted in the /ritings of Aeon %rots$y (1 ! # 1 NK.* 2e Ior'" 197? WWWWWWWWWW. History of the Russian Revolution* ? &o!s. Aondon" 197; WWWWWWWWWW. Results and =rospects in =ermanent Revolution and Results and =rospects* 2e Ior'" 197; WWWWWWWWWW. )n 0efense of :ar6ism* 2e Ior'" 19>: WWWWWWWWWW. %he %hird )nternational After Aenin* 2e Ior'" 19?7 WWWWWWWWWW. =ro(lems of the Chinese Revolution* 2e Ior'" 19?: Tuc'er" 3obert 0. Stalin in =o&er* %he Revolution from A(ove, 1 OI#1 N1* 2e Ior'" 199B Denturi" Franco. Roots of Revolution* A History of the =opulist and Socialist :ovements in 'ineteenth Century Russia* 0hicago" 197B (19;:) +hite" 3obin. Si(erian Aight* A %hriller* 2e Ior'" 1997 Iahi!" Aeni. %he Holocaust* %he 3ate of European <e&ry. 2e Ior'" 199B

Summation and Perspective Summation %he 0e(ate over Capitalism and %ranscendence of the Capitalist :ode of =roduction in Russia Composition, Structure and Consciousness of the =roletariat in the %&ilight Era of 3ormal 0omination 0onsidered abstract!y" structura!!y and socia!!y" the pro!etariats of the +est had a dua! structure from" say" 167: do n to 1917* A mass of uns'i!!ed or'ers" !arge!y i!!iterate of peasant and often immigrant bac'grounds" made up of peasants" youths and omen" !o and irregu!ar!y paid" ere counterposed to" but or'ed ith (or under" as the case may ha&e been)" a sma!! e!ite of s'i!!ed or'ers" high!y !iterate (often f!uent in three to four !anguages)" technica!!y sophisticated and e!!-paid. The !atter" s'i!!ed stratum" concentrated in meta! or'ing industries" cou!d be found in the far estern reaches of the de&e!oped capita!ist or!d" in St. Aouis" 0hicago and 2e Ior'" to its far eastern reaches" in .etersburg" and at a!! the ma4or great industria! centers in-bet een" for e#amp!e" in @!asgo and Aondon" .aris" Mi!an" %er!in" Dienna and %udapest. This s'i!!ed stratumFs &a!ue in production rested on its thorough ac$uaintance ith and mastery of specia!i(ed machines (turrets" !athes" etc.)" a mastery that pro&ided it ith contro! o&er production and a!together mystified the bosses and their production super&isors. (Frederic' Tay!or inferred the necessity of Gscientific managementE of production from precise!y this situation.) The same s'i!!ed or'ers formed the basis of the %o!she&i' party (and =uropean socia! democratic organi(ations as they sp!it to the !eft in the a'e of the 3ussian 3e&o!ution)< and" it as these or'ers as a c!ass stratum ho actua!!y produced the so&iets" counci!s" factory committees and commissions" etc." as the foundations" potentia! (@ermany" ,ta!y) or actua! (3ussia) P a!beit producti&ist" of a ne socia! order. For this" they may be designated as a c!ass &anguard. 1ere" it is important to reca!! that their &anguard status as in part mediated to them by those internationa!ists ho in the imperia!ist or!d ar sa " some more c!ear!y (Aenin) others !ess" the chance of re&o!utionary brea'through* For the s'i!!ed stratum ith deferments in hand" unti! !ate 1917 at !east the ar as !arge!y a strugg!e against di!ution* The ar in its o n ay constituted a forced march to ard Gmoderni(ation"E that is" in order to boost production of the materia!s of ar ( eapons" ammunition" truc's" ships" etc.) ru!ing c!asses e&ery here introduced mass production techni$ues" production in hich specia!i(ed machines !in'ed together in a continuous f!o (i.e." as an assemb!y !ine) rep!aced uni&ersa! machines. Se$uentia!!y arranged" tended by a machine-minder (the mass or'er soca!!ed)" specia!i(ed machines ere the materia! premise of fragmentary tas's that Tay!or theori(ed in his treatise on scientific management. S'i!! as not re!e&ant to their mastery" and the s'i!!ed or'er as a figure in production as threatened ith e#tinction at the same time as ne masses of ra pro!etariats ere recruited to tend the machines. 1 S'i!!ed or'ers e#perienced this as di!ution of s'i!!. (Today" e ca!! it c!ass recomposition.) The perspecti&e of a re&o!utionary transformation" ending the or!d ar by turning it on the bourgeoisie" pro&ided these or'ers ith the theoretica! mediations to assert themse!&es creati&e!y in the production of no&e! socia! forms" counci!s" and pro&ed their producti&ist assumptions had a! ays been right in the first p!ace* They cou!d run production better than and ithout the bosses. So far" so good. %ut" no " if e e#amine the other side of this c!ass structure" that ne pro!etariat composed !arge!y of youths" omen and peasants (a!! rea!ities hich o&er!apped)" and if e !oo' to their ro!e in that gigantic cyc!e of c!ass strugg!e" 1917-19:B" e begin to see something $uite different. First" here they ere absent (in terms of a ro!e)" the re&o!utions fai!ed< second" here they ere present (3ussia)" they succeeded. These so-ca!!ed or'ermasses" pro&ided the enthusiasm" impatience and the numbers that compe!!ed in !arge measure a re&o!utionary transformation* They pushed themse!&es for ard as an actua! &anguard against the more conser&ati&e instincts of GtheE &anguard (not the %o!she&i's" but s'i!!ed or'ers) at e&ery decisi&e point in the 3ussian re&o!utionary GprocessE (i.e." constituting those moments as such as decisi&e points)* ,t as the omen te#ti!e or'ers ho in !ate February first hit the streets en masse" stayed there and energi(ed a mass mo&ement that from .etrograd brought do n the autocracy< it as the or'er-masses ho cou!d not be 'ept off the streets in ear!y Hu!y and irre&ersib!y po!ari(ed a
1Re"all

the 2irst (tudy, 5art 66, )herein )e noted that )artime dilution "ould be grasped from the situation in 5etrogradH There, $%& of the "ityFs )orkers )ere employed in metal)orking, over a 8uarter of them in the Aavy and :rtillery Lepartments. ;y #+#', the metal)orking proletariat in"reased by #3,& as ne) )orkers poured into tend those ne) ma"hines.

conf!ict that to that point might" 4ust might" ha&e found a socia! democratic reso!ution< and" it as the or'er-masses ho" fo!!o ing mass !ayoffs in the first t o ee's of September P a emp!oyer !oc'out" recogni(ed the &ery e#istence of their factory committees ere endangered" remo&ed s'i!!ed or'ers from the committee !eaderships and 'ic'ed the managements out of the factory" a ne mi!itancy to hich the emp!oyers ere unab!e to muster an effecti&e response and hich thereby set the stage for the %o!she&i' GinsurrectionE of !ate )ctober. A!ong the ay" it might be noted" the .etrograd garrison" consisting !arge!y of peasants in uniform" as on o&er to the %o!she&i's (and" it shou!d be noted" Trots'yFs oratory as mere!y epiphenomena! here< it as the c!ass strugg!e in the factories and p!ants that the so!diers !oo'ed to" and the outcome the or'ers-masses ere imposing that on them o&er). So 4ust hy did the huge" uns'i!!ed or'er stratum function as a cata!yst as e&ery decisi&e turn deepening the re&o!utionN +hat as there about itN 2ote that uns'i!!ed or'ers had recent peasant pasts ( hi!e so!diers ere not on!y peasant in origins" but in out!oo' a!so). ,t not peasant status as such" but on!y a specific form that concerns us* 2ot a!! peasants ere (are) rura! (petty) bourgeois. Some peasant forms of !ife and acti&ity ere (are) communa!. ,n estern 3ussia" in a (one direct!y north of the %!ac' Sea (!arge!y encompassing present day /'raine" %e!arus" and estern 3ussia south and east of Mosco and north of 9a(a'hstan)" the &i!!age community (o(shchina) as the dominant socia! form. Mar#" recogni(ing this !ate in his !ife (to hich some of his !etters and noteboo's are testimony)" thought the communa! and ega!itarian traditions of the o(shchina pro&ided a peasant-based means for" as it ere" 8!eaping8 o&er the capita!ist mode of production in order to create a socia!ist society. This !eap re$uired c!ear!y enough the destruction of the Tsarist" or abso!utist" State. (,t as that State" after a!!" that sponsored a capita!ist mi!itary sector if not capita!ist de&e!opment* ,t had at once" ending serfdom" forced peasants into a eb of mar'et re!ations in order to generate re&enues and in&ited foreign capita!ists to in&est in p!ant and e$uipment in order to e#p!oit !ayers of peasants ho" unab!e to meet no&e! financia! ob!igations" ere sudden!y pro!etariani(ed.) Thus" it as in this (one that ne pro!etarians sti!! carried ithin themse!&es a customary (communa! and peasant) form of life, the basis of hich e sha!! describe be!o " that &as viscerally opposed to capital. This (one" ho e&er" as not !imited to Tsarist 3ussia* ,n the peripheries of the =uropean capita!ist system simi!ar situations obtained* 0ommuna! traditions e#isted more or !ess (usua!!y !ess) intact among peop!es ho" !ac'ing the re$uisite tota! comportment" precogniti&e orientation" ($uantitati&e) tempora! rhythms" and or' Gdiscip!ineE to step into the GmodernE or!d" ere confronted by great empires (or once great ones" Tsarist" Austro-1ungarian" Spanish) engaged in !and reform in order to create the aged !abor to man a mi!itary capita!ist sector necessary to pursue territoria! aggrandi(ement in competition ith the great imperia!ist po ers of the +est. %he Historical Situation in %sarist Russia Tsarist 3ussia presented the anoma!y of a socia! formation hose constituent producti&e forms ere not integrated" hence 8de&e!oped8 contradictori!y" and hose dynamic form as not its dominant one.1 The dynamic form as the capita!ism of the !arge urban to ns (i.e." .etersburg" Mosco " 9ie&" etc.) after 166;. ,t as not dominate" e.g." not because the thirty years do n to first imperia!ist or!d ar simp!y did not form a !engthy enough period in hich the countryside cou!d be transformed. ,nstead" capita!ism in Tsarist 3ussia as ne&er based on the de&e!opment of an interna! mar'et* 0apita!ism came to 3ussia 8from the outside"E as organi(ed by the autocracy and de&e!oped e#c!usi&e!y through in&estment by foreign capita!. 0onfronted by the hosti!e capita!ist States of the +est" and beginning from a $ua!itati&e!y !o er !e&e! of economic de&e!opment": the autocracy created the conditions for a restricted capita!ist de&e!opment in order to arm" transport" and c!othe its mi!itary. /n!i'e capita!ist agricu!ture hich f!ourished in the %a!tic pro&inces and the estern /'raine" &i(." on the estern periphery of =uropean 3ussia"? the dominant form of producti&e acti&ity in Tsarist 3ussia as tributary. Tributary forms characteri(ed not mere!y the massi&e rura! geography of )!d 3ussia" but a!so much of the rura! eastern
1>ith

regard to a so"ial formation )e "ounterpose its "onstituent 0produ"tive formsD to Cmodes of produ"tion,0 sin"e the former dos not imply the same metaphysi"al "ommitment to a unilinear notion of histori"al development as the "on"ept of a 0mode of produ"tion.0 2Leon Trotsky, Results and (ros%e!ts, #'2.#',. 3Theda (ko"pol, States and So!ial Re&olutions, #3%.

regions of =uropean 3ussia. Moreo&er" hi!e the ro!e in 3ussian history of the regions east of the /ra!s proper!y be!ongs to the So&iet period" tributary re!ations o&er!aid the acti&ities of pre-agricu!tura! hunting bands" horticu!tura!ists and pastora!ists of Siberia and centra! Asia inasmuch as the Tsars by &irtue of con$uest (irregu!ar!y) e#acted tribute from these socia! groups. At the center of this tributary form as the peasant !and commune (o(shchina or mir).1 The commune had an ancient history" !i'e!y dating from at !east the 1>th century.: +hi!e information is !imited and irregu!ar" it appears that &arying communa! forms appeared and disappeared for centuries. They ere ca!!ed into being by the despotic Tsarist State (in the course of its historica! formation) as an institutiona! mediation of its mi!itari!y moti&ated demand for surp!uses" by seignioria! and feuda! !ords for simi!ar reasons" and through the action of peasants themse!&es. ,n the 16th century" the &i!!age commune began to appear ith some regu!arity. %y the end of the century and throughout the ne#t (19th century)" the communa! structure of &i!!age !ife appears to ha&e strengthened and to ha&e been genera!i(ed" that is" appeared more or !ess ithout regard to region in the estern Tsarist =mpire and in )!d 3ussia. The commune grouped together a!! &i!!age househo!ds. Members met informa!!y" discussed issues of !and" ta#es and &i!!age !ife" and e!ected their o n officia!s. )n!y ma!e househo!ders? had the right to &ote. )ften a simp!e ma4ority ou!d carry a decision" though on a!! important issues a t o-thirds ma4ority as necessary" and" it seems" all members participated in the discussion. The most important or' that faced the commune as the periodic redistribution of !and. +hi!e partia! redistributions ere made constant!y (e.g." for estab!ishment of the homestead of a ne !y married coup!e)" these genera! repartitions" hose fre$uency &aried i!d!y (in some communes occurring as often as e&ery si# years) had" it appears" t o primary purposes* )n the one hand" they ere designed to meet Stateimposed ta# ob!igations" and" on the other hand" they ere a response to the redistributi&e demands for socia! 4ustice" understood rough!y in terms of e$ua!ity of ho!dings" among poorer peasants. The co!!ection of this tribute" hether in 'ind or" fo!!o ing emancipation (&i(." as capita!ist socia! re!ations began to penetrate the countryside)"> in money-form" e#hibits the structure of the re!ation hich bound the peasantry to the autocracy" the impact of the tribute on the &ery formation of the commune" and the o&era!! ro!e of the commune in this tributary form in hich producti&e acti&ity as carried out. First" e!ected officia!s ere sort of a functiona! 8transmission be!t8 bet een autocratic demands (for surp!us" in hate&er form) and the peasantry* =!ected officia!s in each commune ere responsib!e for co!!ection of ta# ob!igations. Second" as noted abo&e" communes often came into being as either a means to meet Tsarist demands for surp!us or ere initiated by the autocracy itse!f as an institutiona! mediation of the need to e#tract surp!us. Third" these &ery demands hich (partia!!y) created (some) &i!!age communes" and functioned acti&e!y in the reproduction of a!! communes" simu!taneous!y b!oc'ed the de&e!opment of capita!ism in rura! 3ussia. That is" the presence and rea!ity of the communes" and particu!ar!y the poor peasants ithin them" insured that the type of !and tenure characteristic of the de&e!opment of capita!ism in agricu!ture" one based on a c!ass of e!!-to-do peasants ith !arge ho!dings de&e!oped out the e#propriation of sma!!er peasant fami!ies and their ho!dings and" fo!!o ing e#propriation" on the proletariani-ation of those sma!! peasants" did not de&e!op in genera!i(ed form throughout 3ussia. ,ronica!!y" this b!oc'age (of capita!ist de&e!opment) as dia!ectica!!y reinforced by the demands of a State hich sought enhance surp!us e#traction (by instituting capita!ist socia! re!ations)" precise!y for the purpose of bui!ding a mi!itary capita!ist sector* For the greater the demands on the peasantry for tribute (i.e." the more surp!us the State consumed)" the !ess surp!us as a&ai!ab!e for formation ithin the &i!!age of a c!ass of capita!ist farmers ($ula$s)" the more genera! !e&e!ing ithin the commune" the !ess strength the e!!-to-do peasants possessed to resist the demands for redistribution.; Stated different!y" the surp!uses e#tracted by the autocracy ent immediate!y to payments for !oans from the capita!ist financiers of %er!in" .aris" Aondon and
1;y

the time of the eman"ipation of the serfs (# $#!, one in"omplete survey sho)s approximately three.8uarters of all rural settlements )ere villages, and their inhabitants members of a "ommune. @erome ;lum, )ord and (easant in Rural Russia, -%,.-%-, -% . 22or the follo)ing dis"ussion, 6 have relied on ;lum, Ibid, -#%.-23. 3Vi1., male heads of households. 2or )hat follo)s, see Ibid, -2,.-2', unless other)ise indi"ated. 4The # $# land reform, the so."alled Ceman"ipation of serfs,D "reated a ne) sour"e of (tate revenues. 5easants )ere for"ed to pay a CredemptionD fee to landlords for the )orst of lands they formerly )orked as serfs* they )ere further "ompelled to pay dire"t ((tate! taxes on lands o)ned* and indire"t ((tate! taxes on (primitive! implements, "lothing, et"., )ere introdu"ed. Thus, peasants )ere for"ed into a )eb of market relations by means of the sale of their harvests to pay taxes. These taxes, on the other hand, absorbed the entirety of their "ash in"omes and moreH 2rom harvest to harvest peasants a""umulated ne), larger debts.

Amsterdam" payments for !oans to moderni(e the Tsarist mi!itary in order to meet the threat posed by the +estern capita!ist po ers" payments hich ere made at usurious interests rates and hich prodded the autocracy to e#tract greater surp!uses from the peasantry" e#traction hich he!d do n the possibi!ities of differentiation ithin the countryside hich prec!uded the de&e!opment of capita!ist socia! re!ations therein" etc.1 %he 0e(ate in Russia, and the Commune in the Capitalist =eriphery %y no !ater than mid-nineteenth century" the 3ussian popu!ist mo&ement had fu!!y arri&ed at the con&iction of the necessity of the re&o!utionary transcendence of capita!ism on the basis of the &i!!age community (o(shchina). Transcendence may" in fact" ha&e been a misnomer since 3ussian society had on!y undergone !imited penetration by capita!ist socia! re!ations. %ut in estern =urope the popu!ists did ha&e a mode! of the genera! po!ari(ation of ne !y created ea!th and the horrors of pro!etariani(ation that a!! costs they ished to a&oid. According" e might more ade$uate!y state that the communa! and ega!itarian traditions of the o(shchina pro&ided a peasant-based means for" as it ere" 8!eaping8 o&er the capita!ist mode of production in order to create a socia!ist society. This !eap re$uired c!ear!y enough the destruction of the Tsarist" or abso!utist" State. ,t as the State" after a!!" that had at once" ending serfdom" forced peasants into a eb of mar'et re!ations in order to generate re&enues" and in&ited foreign capita!ists to in&est in p!ant and e$uipment in order to e#p!oit !ayers of peasants" unab!e to meet no&e! financia! ob!igations" ho ere sudden!y pro!etariani(ed* The Tsarist State promoted a !imited" state-contro!!ed mi!itary capita!ist sector in order to moderni(e its army and na&y for the sa'e of both competing on the batt!efie!d ith the techno!ogica!!y superior" imperia!ist po ers of the +est and pursuing its o n territoria!!y aggrandi(ing designs. ,f the popu!ists thought fu!! capita!ist de&e!opment in 3ussia cou!d be a&oided" Socia! -emocrats" beginning ith @eorge .!e'hano&" argued other ise. +hat the Socia! -emocratic position as articu!ated by .!e'hano& reduced to" in our &ie " as an assertion of the historica! necessity of the de&e!opment of capita!ism in 3ussia. -ecreed by the !a s of historica! de&e!opment" i.e." deduced from the scheme of a materia!ist phi!osophy of history" no amount of
5<amatte

also grasps that the "ommune blo"ked the road to "apitalist development, and he develops this insight in expli"it opposition to LeninIs position (to )hi"h )e shall return!. Ibid, 3,.3-. Trotsky appeared to have understood the "ommune, spe"ifi"ally, blo"ked the development of "apitalist relations in the "ountryside, but he seems to have thought (tolypinIs reforms (Aovember #+%$!, )hi"h )ere an 0explosive "apitalist shell dire"ted against the "ommune0 that 0s"rapJpedK peasant "ommunes in order to broaden "apitalist development,0 dissolved this blo"kage. Trotsky, #he Russian Re&olution, IH - .-+, #%-, 3$- ("itations appear on - and #%-, respe"tively!. /arxIs understanding )as "onsiderably less dogmati", i.e., less "ommitted to an unilinear "on"eption of so"ietal development and, a""ordingly, to the ne"essity of "apitalism as an universal 0stage0 of human history. Thus, less )illing to see in an effort at "apitali1ation of agri"ulture its a"tually unfolding, /arxIs # # drafts of a letter of response to Vera 4asuli"h (published in Teodor (hanin, #he )ate *ar/ and the Russian Road, and also <amatteIs remarks on /arx, Ibid, 2%.2,! exhibit this hesitation. Lenin, on the other hand, like Trotsky, originally underrated the role of the "ommune (though not that of the peasantry as for"e, vi1., as a battering ram to be dire"ted against the Tsarist fortress!. Though very late in his life Lenin )as to reverse his estimation of the thoroughgoing penetration of "apitalist so"ial relations in the "ountryside, nonetheless from his earliest )ork ( #he De&elo%"ent of Ca%italis" in Russia, )hi"h made him evermore the party expert on the 0peasant 8uestion0 and agrarian relations! do)n until #+2%, he held out for the prima"y of "apitalism in Russia (in"orre"t! and, on the basis of a proletarian revolution in one or more advan"ed 7uropean nation, for the real possibly of so"ialism in Russia ("orre"t!. This perspe"tive, asserting the prima"y of "apitalist development in Russia on the basis of an extremely limited penetration of "apitalist so"ial relations into the "ountryside, "annot be upheld in part be"ause it )as a theoreti"ally abstra"t, anti"ipatory pro?e"tion (i.e., a 0dedu"tion0 from an universalist s"heme of histori"al development!, and in part be"ause it failed to a""ount for the leveling that o""urred during the "ourse of imperialist )orld )ar. 6f it )as "oherent, then extensive rural differentiation at the time of the 3"tober Revolution should have resulted in the rapid gro)th of small private holdings independent of any village.based (i.e., "ommunal! redistribution, it should have allo)ed ;olsheviks to su""essfully pursue their efforts to separate out the poor peasants and mobili1e them in the food armies against .ula. elements during the <ivil >ar, et". 6n all "ases, these theoreti"ally pro?e"ted out"omes did not "ome to pass. The perspe"tive )asnIt "oherent. 3n the out"omes, see (haninIs #he $+.+ard Class, "hapter , esp. #,$.#-2. 3n the prima"y of the "ommune, see Ibid, #-%. #-2* <amatte, Ibid, 33.3-* and the thro)a)ay line in 5eter 6. Lyash"henko, History of the National !ono"y in Russia to the 1918 Re&olution, '3,, referring to the period #+%%.#+#3. (0:gri"ulture in general had not "ompletely outgro)n the effe"ts of the old three.field system )ithin its exaggerated grain planting, restri"ted fodder."rop a"reage, and small 8uantities of livesto"k.0! The 0old three.field system,0 et". is a te"hni"al des"ription of the method by )hi"h "ommune members "ustomarily and pra"ti"ally inhibited the "reation of the "onditions for a""umulation of lands, hen"e, )ealth, and )ith it polari1ed so"ial differentiation, )ithin the village. The point is thisH 6f the "ommune )as still viable do)n to #+#', then )e "annot speak of the "apitalism as the dominant mode of produ"tion in the Tsarist empire. 1The bad diale"ti" is neatly summari1ed by Trotsky, Ibid, I,# #.# 2.

!amentation cou!d change this unfo!ding rea!ity. +ith capita!ism ou!d come a pro!etariat" and it a!one ou!d form the historica! agency of the transcendence of this mode of production. %y the time the second generation of Socia! -emocrats (Aenin" Marto&" etc.) had come of age in the re&o!utionary mo&ement in the mid-nineties" the debate had !arge!y been sett!ed in fa&or of the Socia! -emocratic position. %ut it as not !ogica!!y compe!!ing presentation of the argument hich had on it" but a series of socia! facts. First" there as the presence of a &ibrant" acti&e or'ing c!ass in the He ish .a!e of estern 3ussia among hom agitationa! techni$ues first used in the Tsarist empire ere born< second" there as the gro th of an industria! pro!etariat in the capita!ist mi!itary sector in o!d 3ussia< and third" a!ong ith this gro th ere sporadic stri'es hich" ta'en together ith increasing numbers of spontaneous" e!ementari!y &io!ent stri'es among a ne !y forming te#ti!e pro!etariat" had compe!!ed the autocracy to stand up and ta'e notice. The ideationa! features of Socia! -emocratic position ere not" ho e&er" unconnected to these socia! facts< rather the !atter &a!idated the former* Mar#ism as understood here as a practica!!y reducib!e theory (i.e." a perspecti&e that con4oined ana!ysis to the pro4ection of e&ents and that thereby recei&ed &a!idation hen these e&ents transpired in practice). +hat the debate itse!f as about" though" as on!y ostensib!y a $uestion of urban" or'er-based socia!ism as opposed to peasant socia!ism. At bottom" the debate as not about the type of re&o!ution 3ussia ou!d undergone" but a $uestion of &ho &ould lead the re&o!utionary mo&ement" the popu!ist or Socia! -emocratic intelligentsy* %ecause the argument as o&er ho ou!d e#ercise hegemony inside the re&o!utionary mo&ement" the re!ation bet een peasant socia!ism and the transcendence of the capita!ist mode of production cou!d not become &isib!e much !ess be raised by Socia! -emocrats. ,n this respect" because it admitted of no a!ternati&e account of unfo!ding de&e!opments" according!y of no a!ternati&e or shared !eadership" a dogmatic theoretica! perspecti&e ser&ed the Socia! -emocratic inte!!igentsia e!!.1 A fu!! airing of the re!ation bet een or'ers and peasants in re!ation to the transcendence of capita!ism in 3ussia cou!d on!y ta'e p!ace outside the debate in 3ussia. +hi!e !i&ing in =urope" Mi'hai! %a'unin" Mar#Fs great antagonist inside the First ,nternationa!" had initia!!y underta'en an e#amination of the prob!ematic ith respect to the &i!!age community in 3ussia. 3ussian society" !i'e Spain" faced a re&o!utionary denouncement because capita!ist penetration had thro n a traditiona!!y stagnant cu!ture and society into turmoi!" transforming property forms and re!ations" dispossessing and pro!etariani(ing peasants" and radica!i(ing inte!!ectua!s. %a'unin found three moments of the actua!!y e#isting o(shchina (mir) that cou!d contribute mighti!y to a historica!!y progressi&e" re&o!utionary transformation of 3ussian society. These moments ere" first" a con&iction that all the !and" the !and as such" be!onged to the peop!e< second" that it be!onged to the community and not to indi&idua!s< and" third" the community" no matter ho 8primiti&e8 its techni$ue and !o its 8standard of !i&ing"E as se!f-sufficient" not 4ust producti&e!y but a!so administrati&e!y. According to %a'unin" this !ast feature p!aced the o(shchina in a patent!y hosti!e re!ation to the State.: At the same time" ho e&er" the 3ussian &i!!age community e#hibited characteristics" three in number corresponding to the positi&e moments enumerated abo&e" that or'ed in the opposite direction" inhibiting re&o!utionary mo&ement" that mora!!ysocia!!y !imited it and accounted in these terms (and not in 8economic8 terms) for its (ac$&ardness. These characteristics ere its patriarcha!ism" its absorption by the community of the indi&idua!" and its faith in the Tsar. The peasantsF touching faith in the imaginary Tsar-father and the strangu!ation of the indi&idua! by the mir ere themse!&es products of the domination of the head of the fami!y o&er the househo!d" a domination that in&o!&ed not on!y the radica! denia! of any indi&idua! and persona! rights" but one through hich the State maintained its hegemony. .atriarcha!ism" not near!y the same" massi&e impediment to change in Spain" as the fundamenta! prob!em of the 3ussian &i!!age community.? The situation of the o(shchina as predicated on the State-sponsored penetration of capita! into a society !ac'ing de&e!opment. ,n the peripheries of the =uropean capita!ist system simi!ar situations obtained* 0ommuna! traditions
1LeninIs

"ontribution to the debate, #he De&elo%"ent of Ca%italis" in Russia (CW, III! published in # +$ after the debate had already "on"luded, ostensibly sought to statisti"ally buttress the orthodox (o"ial Lemo"rati" position. 6t effe"tively provided him )ith "redentials as a theoreti"ian )ithin the revolutionary movement, parti"ularly on the agrarian 8uestion, "redentials that )ould shortly support his "laim to organi1ational leadership as the pre.party formation took shape. 2;akunin, Statis" and $nar!his", 2%-.2%$* also see 2ran"o Venturi, Roots of Re&olution, ,3$. 3;akunin, Ibid, 2%$.2#2* Venturi, Ibid' ;akuninFs analysis of the village "ommunity is penetrating, unromanti1ed, and superior.

e#isted more or !ess (usua!!y !ess) intact among peop!es ho" !ac'ing the re$uisite tota! comportment" precogniti&e orientation and or' Gdiscip!ineE to step into the GmodernE or!d" ere confronted by the once great Tsarist" Austro1ungarian and Spanish empires engaged in !and reform. .recise!y because this as the case" %a'unin he!d it as in these peripheries here re&o!utionary transformations ou!d occur. (,n this respect" he as right against Mar# ho he!d that such change cou!d on!y come in the most ad&anced centers of capita!ist de&e!opment.) A geographica! arc beginning in 3ussia" s inging est ard through S!a&ic countries of south(eastern) =urope" mo&ing further est ard" through 1ungary and (southern) ,ta!y" and ending in Spain - out!ined those areas here capita! had 4ust begun its penetration or" in our (and Mar#5s) terms" here peasant communities fierce!y resisted pro!etariani(ation and the brea'up of the &i!!age commune conse$uent on the forma! subsumption of !abor under capita!. For %a'unin" the peasants ho peop!ed the areas described by this arc e#hibited the greatest potentia! for rebe!!ion against the !ifedestroying centra!i(ing Statism" housed in that country itse!f circumscribed by this arc" @ermany.1 %ut %a'unin as on!y right in part< first" because" he he!d out for a 8peasant socia!ism8 as opposed to an 8urban socia!ism.E: Iet the t&o could not (e separated* As e ha&e demonstrated in the first study abo&e" though it as in the capita!ist periphery that re&o!ution occurred" it as !ed by a s'i!!ed pro!etariat ho" !i&ing and acting in conditions hich ob4ecti&e!y constituted the most ad&anced terms of de&e!opment in the capita!ist or!d" in the end imposed its forms of no&e! se!f-organi(ation" the counci!" on society. %a'unin" second" did not see that the re&o!utionary change that did come came on!y after peasants had undergone pro!etariani(ation" that is" as a ne pro!etariat ith its peasant traditions fused ith an o!der" s'i!!ed !ayer of or'ers.? ,n 3ussia" ho e&er" the attempt to base a socia!ist pro4ect direct!y on the o(shchina itse!f as ine#tricab!y bound to the party 3ight5s strugg!e against Sta!in at the end of the t enties" and hence doomed to fai!ure. ,n Spain" this fai!ure as not fated. ,n Spain" the agrarian situation as much more comp!icated than in 3ussia (or in 3ussia as e ha&e presented it here)" for the potentia! of the &i!!age community as greatest on!y in the South (=stremadura" Anda!usia) and the =ast (Aragon" 0ata!onia on!y in part" Murcia and Da!encia). ,n the bu!' of the 2orth (%as$ue pro&inces and 2a&arre) e#c!uding @a!icia and Asturias ( here" in part at !east" some sort of !and division ou!d ha&e to be en&isioned)" the $uestion of peasant proprietorship" and e#isting sma!! o ners ho did $uite e!! than' you" had to be confronted. And in 0ata!onia itse!f" the pecu!iar condition of the ine farmers" sharecroppers (me--adria on the ,ta!ian mode!) or ra(assaires" hi!e admitting of a re&o!utionary so!ution" as not conduci&e to a sett!ement based on the &i!!age community. Sti!! so!ution of the 8agrarian $uestion"E hich as the centra! prob!em of o&ercoming the traditiona! forces of conser&ati&e reaction (0hurch" army" monarchists) and counterre&o!ution (Sta!inists" 3epub!ican petty bourgeoisie)" remained the 'ey to" as it ere" !eaping o&er the capita!ist mode of production* %he agrarian +uestion constituted the fundamental, historically unresolved pro(lem that (rought on the Spanish revolution, and an emancipatory pro4ect !in'ing a socia!ist pro!etariat to the specifica!!y communa! and ega!itarian traditions of the &i!!age community as the only perspective grounded upon practice in dai!y !ife that cou!d ha&e mo&ed Spain" and ith it" the rest of the or!d as a ho!e beyond capita! in the era of the transition from the forma! to the rea! domination of capita! o&er !abor. So brief!y consider the situation in Spain.
1K;akunin,

Ibid, $.', #', 2$.33 3+, ,3-.,$, #%' for the peripheral ar". ;akuninIs entire essay is a sometime anti.(emiti", angry, and "austi" polemi" aimed at unmasking and denoun"ing, in the )ake of the 2ran"o. 5russian )ar and the bloody defeat of the 5aris <ommune, the ne) emergent and "onsummately evil hegemony of =erman statism over 7urope. :lso 2ran"o Venturi, Ibid, ,3,. The era of the for"al subsu"%tion of labor under !a%ital involves a lengthy histori"al pro"ess in )hi"h mer"hants merely take over existing labor pro"esses (e.g., peasant or guild produ"tion! )ith the proviso, of "ourse, that labor, )hile 0free,0 is no longer independent (in those "ases )here it had been!. 6n this sense, politi"ally mediated %ersonal relations of domination and dependen"y (as in the "ases of slaves or serfs! disappear. Though a ne) form of suprema"y and subordination develops in the )ork pro"ess, it at first appears that domination and dependen"y have been dissolved into a %urely finan!ial relation (i.e., a 0freely0 engaged transa"tion bet)een "ommodities 0o)ners,0 namely, proprietors of means and instruments of labor, on the one side, and the "apa"ity to labor, on the other!. ;e"ause these relations in produ"tion entail the mere for"al exer"ise of "ontrol by a 0"apitalist0 over labor, these relations are "ompatible )ith any number of forms of outright politi"al.(tatist domination of underlying populations. 6n the >est, those forms )ere most often based on absolute kingly 5o)er. Aonetheless, these relations in produ"tion exhibit a revolutionary "hara"ter, albeit limitedH <apitalist takeover of the )ork pro"ess rips every type of obfus"atory veil, patriar"hal, politi"al or religious, from the exploitation of labor. 2Venturi, Ibid 3(ee the 2irst (tudy, 5art 66, above.

%he Fillage Community in Spanish Rural Aife /n!i'e 3ussia here at the time of the re&o!ution (1917)" the remnant forms of the o(shchina at once e#hibited re&o!utionary communa! and reactionary features (e$ua!ity among househo!ders and patriarchy in &i!!age and househo!d organi(ation)" in Spain" simi!ar" and a!together stronger" &i!!age community traditions ere not only far more suited to a re&o!utionary" ega!itarian transformation< (ased on the village community, the very real prospects of emancipaciUn integral (comunismo li(ertario. in the countryside ta$en together &ith proletarian revolution in the cities (especially Barcelona. made capitalist development the true detour* ,n Spain" the community as inseparab!e from common !ands. %rief!y" consider each in turn. 1istorica!!y" the &i!!age community as singu!ar!y characteristic of Spain in its entirety. .rior to the eighteenth century" the &i!!age or to n as go&erned by an assemb!y of a!! adu!t ma!es" 'no n as the conce;o a(ierto. (=#cept in 2a&arre" it is un!i'e!y that from the eighteenth century on ard the ma!es on!y character of the traditiona! assemb!y persisted). The methos of the assemb!y as a genuine debate in hich tas's" prob!ems" grie&ances of the &i!!age or to n ere discussed or aired" and in and through hich municipa! officers" co!!ecti&e!y 'no n as the ca(ildo" ere e!ected.1 Socia!!y" this Gprimiti&e!yE: democratic feature of &i!!age !ife pushed the community in an ega!itarian direction" as e sha!! see in our discussion of the periodic di&ision of common !ands. The &i!!age community had its foundations in common !ands that at once ere rented" indi&idua!!y appropriated and co!!ecti&e!y or'ed. The community in this form" that is" as a unitary structure of &i!!age or to n in hich the inhabitants !i&ed and common !ands ere co!!ecti&e!y appropriated" he!d s ay do n to the !ate 16?Bs ,t as sti!! &ita! in !arge parts of Spain at the turn of the century" and in significant areas sur&i&ed do n to the 0i&i! +ar. ,n =ng!and of the fifteen and si#teenth centuries" the commons as a condition of the reproduction of non-capita!ist (though indi&idua!ist) peasants as indi&idua!s (or indi&idua! fami!ies). They pro&ided fue! ( ood) that as gathered and !i&estoc' pasturage for separate peasant fami!ies. The 'ind of appropriation a!so e#isted in Spain. For e#amp!e" &i!!age carpenters ac$uired the bu!' of their ood from the &i!!age commons< and" Gmu!eteersE gra(ed and 'ept most of their anima!s on commons !ands.? %eyond indi&idua! appropriation" in Spain" un!i'e in =ng!and" a portion of the commons as communa!!y p!anted" cared for" and har&ested" in a ord" &or$ed co!!ecti&e!y. 1ence" in Spain the commons" as the term imp!ies" ere the precondition for a communa! and ega!itarian !ife. ,n this sense" it as" e&en here the peasantry did not achie&e proprietorship but ere instead a tenantcy (and ere in this narro " yet materia!!y significant" sense unfree)" the community re!ated to the commons as sort of a co!!ecti&e freeho!d that as or'ed communa!!y. 2o the &i!!age community and common !ands at their origins ere bound together. ,t is !i'e!y that both had their origins in the historica!!y shifting indeterminate !ands" a Gfrontier"E bet een 0hristian and Moorish rea!ms" particu!ar!y 0asti!e and Moorish ,beria in the tenth through thirteenth centuries. ,t shou!d be noted that ith the e#ception of the tiny north centra! 9ingdom of Asturias" there as no part of ,beria that as not sub4ect as one time to Mos!em su(erainty. Thus" after the tenth century as the Grecon$uest G got under ay in earnest" this GfrontierE mo&ed s!o !y south ard unti! the fina! con$uest of Moorish territory" @ranada" in 1>9:. This indeterminate !and" ho e&er" as not on!y not fi#ed" but bet een the t o po ers (for the most part" 0asti!e and the reigning ,s!amic po er)" it e#isted as a &ast depopu!ated e#tent. ,t as in !arge measure depopu!ated as a resu!t of the suppression of the rebe!!ions of Moorish popu!ations after 0asti!ian con$uest.> ,n this (one in f!u#" this Gno manFs !andE ( despo(lados) bet een hosti!e po ers" communities are !i'e!y to ha&e formed in one of t o ays. The first direct!y in&o!&ed the 0asti!ian State" or nob!es as indi&idua! members of the 0asti!ian ru!ing c!ass. 1ere !and as granted to groups of bonded" 0hristian men in order to insure these !ands ere repopu!ated. ,n our &ie " t o reasons for this concern stand out. First" 0asti!ian !ords anted 0hristian communities interposed bet een themse!&es and the Moors" both as a border and as a region that" hence more popu!ated" they cou!d go&ern and e#p!oit. Second" the same !ords had mi!itary concerns about hat e might ca!! their !ines of supp!y. The entire period of Grecon$uest8 a!ternated bet een periods of ar in hich territory as fought for and p!undered" and periods of peace in hich a negotiated
1=erald ;renan, =erald. #he S%anish )abyrinth, 2%#, note A.
26n 3

the sense of original, primary, or basi". Raymond <arr, S%ain, 1H0HE19-9, 2'3, n. #. 45erry :nderson, (assages fro" $nti;uity to @eudalis", #'%.

treaty a!!o ed for recuperation and preparation for another" !ater period of ar. ,n ar" there ere great distances bet een home and the fie!ds of batt!e" and food and forage had to be had. 0hristian communities interspersed bet een 0asti!ian and Moorish po er cou!d pro&ide such. ,n this case ( here !and as turned o&er by 0asti!ian !ords)" the !and grants in&o!&ed t o 'inds of agreement binding the communities to 0asti!e. These ere Geither a carta pue(la (or carta de po(laciUn" as it as ca!!ed)" hich as a simp!e contract made by the !ord of a manor ith the community" or e!se a fuero municipal" hich carried ith it certain 4urisdictiona! and se!f-go&erning pri&i!eges that re$uired the assent of the 9ing.E1 There as a second manner in hich communities !i'e!y e&o!&ed in these depopu!ated (ones. ,n the centuries !ong strugg!e bet een &arying Moorish po ers and 0asti!e both continua!!y ens!a&ed inhabitants of the otherFs !ands. 0ommunities may ha&e formed" perhaps composed of indi&idua!s ho had enough of being a target for the other and had !eft the (one of one side. Such communities ou!d ha&e he!d !itt!e or no a!!egiance to either side. They ou!d ha&e attempted to find a geographica!!y-topo!ogica!!y she!tered area in hich to !ife. They ou!d ha&e been necessari!y free" and food ou!d ha&e been raised in garden p!ots. ,f the community as !arger (and numbers ou!d ha&e been needed to assure sur&i&a!)" or' ou!d ha&e been together on common !ands ( here rainfa!! might ha&e been a !itt!e more predictab!e or near a source of ater" a ri&er" or desert spring) to insure security of se!&es and anima!s from a marauding nob!e and his force" 4ust as !i&ing together in a p!ace" perhaps secured by the !oca! topo!ogy" ou!d ha&e been in a !oca!e distinct from the fie!ds here crops to reproduce the community ere gro n. At a !ater date" communities of this 'ind ou!d ha&e been recogni(ed and communa! proprietorship in !and confirmed. ,n either manner in hich communities e&o!&ed" e can see they ere ine#tricab!y bound to communa! !ands. 2o " as in Tsarist 3ussia" e 'no that in Spain there ere peasants ho" re!ati&e to one another" did e!! and others ho did poor!y. This e can infer from inter&ention of the &i!!age assemb!y that recurrent!y transformed tenure in re!ation to the commons. The &i!!age communities practiced a sorteo periUdico de las tierras de la(or" a periodic di&ision by !ot of the arab!e" common !ands in the possession of the communities. This period as in !arge parts of Spain indeterminate or unfi#ed" the sortition occurred as the need arose" and the lands &ere divided among the communities@ poorer mem(ers. As !ate as the 177Bs" this traditiona! GsystemE of di&ision of the !and (reparto) as sti!! practiced in many parts of the country ha&ing come do n from ear!ier centuries.: Thus" for e#amp!e" in the eighteenth century in the &a!!eys of the .yrenees in Aragon and 0ata!onia" as e!! as further est (Aragon) on the s!opes of the 0antabrians" here the primary producti&e acti&ity as shepherding" peasants o ned on!y their homes and gardens. The to ns retained pasturage that as di&ided and distributed by !ot annually and thus gi&en o&er to pri&ate usage in the summer" hi!e the rest of the year pastures ere de&oted to common usage.? %efore tracing out in the &ery briefest fashion an idea! reconstruction of the history of the &i!!age community and its fate under nineteenth century Aibera! regimes" se&era! remar's are in order. +ith the e#ception of areas of the 2orth (especia!!y 2a&arre)" the &i!!age communities and to ns ( hich shou!d be subsumed under the notion of the &i!!age community as mere!y a much !arger type) ere not at a!! mere ham!ets. (=&en in 2a&arre here this form of community predominated" the ham!et as based on a !arge" non-nuc!ear fami!y.) ,n the south" demographica!!y dense to ns hose inhabitants numbered on a&erage from 6"BBB to :;"BBB e#isted. >
1;renan, 2The

Ibid, 33 . other form of division, not to be found in the histori"al pra"ti"e of the village "ommunities (as a part of )hi"h ;renan indis"riminately "lassifies it!, )as initiated by the (tate. ;eginning )ith the suppression of /oris"osI rebellions after #-%%, spe"ifi"ally after the subse8uent depopulation of the :lpu?arras (a mountainous region in :ndalusia )ithin both =ranada and :lmerca provin"es! in #-'#, the <astilian monar"hy resettled bonded men on 0unalienable, indivisible and una""umulative holdings0 (!otos! at fixed rent paid to the (tate. ;renan, Ibid, #2+ Aote 2. 36n the eighteenth "entury provin"es of (alaman"a, ;urgos, Aavarre, :ragon, and espe"ially Leon, )here farming )as the primary a"tivity, fields )ere divided, again by lot, at intervals as little as t)o years. Ri"hard Berr, #he ighteenth Century Re&olution in S%ain, #%3. 4Buge to)ns, a heritage of Roman 6beria, existed in the south in this era for the same reasons, prote"tions against invading armies, bandits and marauders, as they did in that earlier epo"h. 0>e drove out into the "ountry. Little "aval"ades of men and )omen on muleba"k passed us. These s"attered )orkers live miles and miles from the s"enes of their labour. (o deeply in their blood lies the memory of the days )hen all this "ountry )as frontier bet)een /oors and <hristians that even no) they huddled together in the to)n rather than risk the isolation of the endless fields. 2ive and then miles out of <a"eres they must go every day and ba"k again at night Jon muleba"kK, be"ause five hundred years ago isolation from the herd meant death at the hands of a marauder.0 (@ohn Langdon.Lavies, =ehind the S%anish =arri!ades, 2,.2-. @ohn Langdon romanti"i1es. 6t is far more likely the nineteenth "entury tradition of banditry, appropriated and supported by the for"es of rural lordship and the small to)n 0po)erful ones,D survived in degenerate formsH The bra!eros he sa) in #+3$ )ere afraid, not of five hundred year old ghosts but, of very real, very "ontemporary

+ithin the !arger &i!!age or to n" an e#tensi&e di&ision of !abor cou!d be found. Smiths" carpenters" and tai!ors" as e!! as handicrafts (e.g." !eather or'ing) re!ated to acti&ities carried-on on the commons (gra(ing of sheep or catt!e) cou!d a!! be found. ,n Spain" the historica! separation" and then counterposition" of to n to country that characteristica!!y e&o!&ed in estern =urope rea!!y ne&er de&e!oped. The c!assica! contradiction bet een to n and country in the era of nascent capita!ism (the era of the forma! subsumption of !abor under capita!)" and the accompanying prob!ems of socia!ist reconstruction" identified by Mar# and =nge!s1 and dramatica!!y e#perienced by the %o!she&i's" ne&er rea!!y e#isted in Spain and ou!d not" for the anarchists as e!! sha!! see" be prob!ematic. Aet us return to the fate of the &i!!age community in Spanish rura! !ife. =stab!ished &i!!age communities in the once depopu!ated (ones of the 0asti!ian center under ent corruption. ,n time" seignioria! !ords came to see the ad&antages of direct contro! o&er the &i!!ages. They got themse!&es e!ected to municipa! offices" and in many cases ere ab!e o&er time to transform these into hereditary positions. These !ords persuaded the !ord of !ords" the 0asti!ian 9ing" to appoint specia! offices to the municipa!ities (corregiodores) that" once instituted" appointment to hich remained the prerogati&e of the 9ing. The democratic assemb!ies s!o !y ithered" meeting infre$uent!y and then on!y to e!ect municipa! officia!s. Aater sti!!" by the eighteenth century" municipa! transformations of this sort ere the dominant tendency* 0ommuna! !ands ere monopo!i(ed especia!!y in the south by the e!!-to-do members of a &i!!age or to n" for purpose of gra(ing sheep or catt!e ( hich at the same time !ed to a per&asi&e abandonment of agricu!tura! practices). Monopo!istic practices forced peasant &i!!agers off the !and. (,t is from this time that the formation of a rura! pro!etariat can be dated.) Se!f-aggrandi(ement by !oca! ru!ing groups organi(ed by the personage of the !oca! boss" the caci+ue" continued do n into the t entieth century.: Simi!ar to the contro! e#ercised by the !oca! groups" headed by a caci+ue and 'no n as the Gpo erfu! ones"E &i!!age communities and municipa!ities a!so faced massi&e infringement on their !ands by the great sheep !ords. )rgani(ed into the :esta" besides the great nob!es and mi!itary orders by mid-eighteenth century this Ggui!dE a!so inc!uded monasteries. At this historica! 4unction" these groups constituted the most po erfu! ru!ing c!ass force in Spain outside the roya! coterie. 2o it as precise!y the :esta that" since the time of ,sabe!!e and Fernando" had been fa&ored by the 0ro n o&er the &i!!age peasantry in a strugg!e to obtain inter pasturage in the south (=stremadura" Aa Mancha" Anda!usia)* ,t as on the !ands of the commons that the great !ords e#tended their gra(ing ho!dings.? (/nder the en!ightened despotic regime of 0ar!os ,,," the possessionary rights of the :esta ere fina!!y abo!ished in 1767.> This" ta'en together ith the dec!ine in or!d mar'et demand for oo! P especia!!y ith the enormous and rising demand for cotton in the !ater eighteenth century" !ed to a ea'ening of the 0asti!ian rura! o!igarchy that prepared it for its nineteenth century assimi!ation to the nouveau riche rentier bourgeoisie.) Again" return to the &i!!age community. The eruption of ar" or the be!!igerent inter&ention of an =uropean po er" ou!d periodica!!y reacti&ate the &i!!age and to n assemb!ies. This as most &isib!y the case in the ar of Spanish ,ndependence" a ar against a 2apo!eonic in&ader" hich began in 16B6. As described abo&e" caught bet een a 2apo!eonic army of occupation and fear of a popu!ar" p!ebian rising" the !ando ning nobi!ity and the court choose to subordinate themse!&es to %onaparteFs brother" Hoseph. The fai!ure to ta'e up this strugg!e first created the space in hich Aibera!s cou!d p!ay a ro!e in Spanish history a!! of proportion to the numerica! and socia! eight. Aibera!s first came to po er in 16?; in the strugg!e of ,sabe! and the mi!itary against 0ar!ist reaction. ,n order to support the ar effort in the face of a ban'rupt treasury" the Aibera! premier" Mendi(Zba!" pursued a course that as at any rate ideo!ogica!!y appea!ing* 1e attached the entai!ed estates (mayora-gos)" those of the 0hurch" as e!! as the common !ands of the &i!!age communities. 2o t o type of communa! !and had historica!!y e#isted in Spain. The first ere the tierras comunes (or conce;iles). These ere the common !ands ( ood!ands and aste!ands" montes y (aldVos) that e&ery &i!!age member used (either indi&idua!!y or co!!ecti&e!y appropriated)" rare!y rented. The second type as 'no n as the (ienes de propVo (or tierras de propios)" !ands that ere !et out or rented. The
marauders. 1#he >er"any Ideology' 2;renan, Ibid, #%', 2%#.2%2, note A* Berr, #he ighteenth Century Re&olution in S%ain, #%,, #% .#%+. 3Ibid, ###.##2. Berr, Ibid, +-.+$, provides elements of an a""ount of the histori"al "onstitution of the <astilian rural oligar"hy as it had developed do)n to the end of the eighteenth "entury. 4Ibid, ##'.

re&enues deri&ed from these !eases a!!o ed the community to pay its municipa! e#penses. @i&en the ega!itarian orientation and practices of the communities" the re&enues often ent to pay for the sa!aries of a schoo!teacher" doctor" or some other ser&ice. Though at this time the best !ands" and those nearest the &i!!ages and to ns in&ariab!y as possessed by the 0hurch or nob!es" t o-thirds of the !and be!onged to the &i!!age communities (e&en if the caci+ues monopo!i(ed the best of them for !i&estoc' pasturage).1 Aibera! decreed !a s of 16?7" 16;?" 16;;" and 16;7 attached the (ienes de propVo" that is" the re&enue producing !ands of the &i!!ages and to ns" and any other !ands not c!aimed by the &i!!ages for immediate use.: ,t re$uires !itt!e insight to recogni(e that the sa!e of these !ands" hich as $uite successfu!" immeasurab!y hurt the &i!!age communities. These sa!es a!so pro&ided the foundation" discussed abo&e" for the fusion of a nouveau riche to n bourgeoisie and the o!d aristocratic !ando ning c!ass" that once mutua!!y assimi!ated came to by the end of the nineteenth century to constitute the actua! ru!ing c!ass of Spain. The decrees that a!ienated communa! !ands and opened them up to purchase by a rising" urban midd!e c!ass" hi!e ob&ious!y consistent ith !ibera! doctrine" ere" as one might e#pect" resented by the peasantry and fierce!y resisted into the t entieth century. ,n fact" in a historica!!y efficacious sense" !ibera! reforms" once they became rea! (that is" ith the sa!e of the !ands)" recreated the c!ass re!ations of Spanish society* 2e forms of c!ass organi(ations and se!f-defense came into being into a historica!!y ne po!ari(ation. )n the one side" the &i!!ages and the mass of the to n peasantry" and the ne !y forming industria! pro!etariat stood together ith the anarchists and their e&o!&ing mass organi(ations. )n the other side" counterposed to this a!ignment as the ne !y forming or re&ita!i(ed !ando ning ru!ing c!ass" ith it o!d" decadent aristocratic e!ement no fusing ith the ne absentee bourgeoisie" that together ith 0hurch and army formed a c!ass b!oc that through contro! of the State hegemoni(ed Spanish society. Ain'ed by sentiment and practice" the urban petty bourgeoisie" and a tiny stratum of moderate!y e!!-off" ne !y !ando ning peasants often engaged in the e#p!oitation of rura!" !and!ess !aborers" formed a subordinate moment of this b!oc. ,deo!ogica!!y the 0hurch" and" as its mai!ed fist" the army a!ong ith that other monarchica! apparatus of repression (guardia civil)" not on!y guaranteed the c!ass po er of this b!oc" but the b!oc through its grip on a State formed in utter!y uninhibited fashion in its o n image made a tra&esty of !ibera!" repub!ican and socia!ist dreams of progress and de&e!opment. The rea!!y ne e!ement in the monarchica! StateFs repressi&e apparatus as the guardia civil* The guard as ostensib!y formed to e#tirpate peasant brigandage (itse!f a product of the monopo!i(ation of !and by the great !ando ners). %y design dra n from outside the districts here it as stationed" e!!-housed and e!!-fed in barrac's constructed to iso!ate it from the &i!!agers" neat!y uniformed and often horsed (the better to !ord o&er peasants)" prohibited from marrying amongst the community" the guardia as in socia!!y fu!!est sense an army of occupation set do n in rura! Spain" fastened on to the peasantry to secure this ne& class reality, in particu!ar" to suppress resistance to o&nership transfer of communal lands. This as a no ho!ds barred strugg!e" beginning in 16;; ith the first of many peasant risings" in hich the guard emerged as the most barbaric of forces. ? This raging c!ass ar continued right do n to the 0i&i! +ar* ,t can e!! be said that" ta'en cumu!ati&e!y" the repression ith hich each strugg!e as responded to ga&e rise to the e#p!osi&e contradictions that erupted in ci&i! ar. )&er and against the guardia stood the anarchists. They preached the dignity of !abor and the rea! e$ua!ity of men in a society here agricu!tura! acti&ities (as opposed to !i&estoc' herding and" of course" e#p!oitation of !abor on the !and) ere deemed by the e!!to-do to be degrading. (This as a society" after a!!" here !and!ords" their o&erseers" and the poderosos genera!!y treated peasants as domestic anima!s.)> They and their organi(ations emerged during the course of this strugg!e as the only !ine of defense of the peasantry and &i!!age community against the dai!y depredation of the guardia" and the
1<arr,

Ibid, 2'3* ;renan, Ibid, #%'* Berr, Ibid, +%. Ibid, #%'. 6n # -3, a la) )as ena"ted that banned the derrotas on private lands. (The derrotas )as a "ustomary pra"ti"e by )hi"h the "ommunity flo"ks and herds had gra1ing a""ess to the "orn stubble after the harvest.! The la) of # /ay # --, transferred )hatever remained of the bienes de %ro%Qo to (tate o)nership, put it up for sale, and set the pro"eeds aside in a (tate fund that, before the <ivil >ar, had already greatly depre"iated. Ibid, #%-.#%$ n.#, #%' n. 3, #%+ n. #. 3 2or a fuller treatment, of the guard, see ;renan, Ibid, #-$f* also see the brief remark by Vi"tor (erge, =irth of 3ur (o+er, ,2, #. 4=abriel @a"kson, #he S%anish Re%ubli! and the Ci&il >ar, , $. The %oderosos rarely presented a pretty "olle"tive personality. >here the guardia !i&il )as unavailable, they "onsistently employed to)n gangs and allied )ith brigands to "ontrol the muni"ipal properties they monopoli1ed or to prote"t the property they o)ned. <arr, Ibid, -'.
2;renan,

bruta! and bruta!i(ing e#p!oitation it defended. %y the 167Bs" the !argest parts of the (ienes de propVo in =stremadura and parts of Aragon had been a!ienated. ,n Aeon and )!d 0asti!e" !arge parts of the commons sti!! remained intact. (,n Aeon" some thirty percent of the communa! !ands remained.) Simi!ar!y" in the pastora! regions of the north such as Asturias" and 2a&arre here they formed gra(ing !and (and here communa! forests e#isted)" sa!es had not significant!y a!tered the map of these !ands. ,n the centra! tab!e!and" especia!!y around To!edo" the commons had &irtua!!y disappeared. ,n the Anda!usian south" much the same cou!d be said.1 Aibera! a!ienation and distribution of communa! !ands had" to be sure" a banefu! conse$uences for the &i!!age community" though here the !atter remained intact the commons !i'e ise sur&i&ed. ,n those cases here the beneficiaries of communa! !ands ere sheepherders or mu!eteers" the distribution of the commons as often effected by purchasers from ithin the community.: ,n genera!" here the a!ienation of communa! !and as e#tensi&e and thoroughgoing it appears to ha&e resu!ted in $ua!itati&e!y increased c!ass differentiation. Thus" a!ongside latifundia o ned by great men" operated by an o&erseer and a tiny staff" and" opposite these men" the mass of impo&erished agricu!tura! pro!etariat" a stratum of prosperous" sma!! proprietors emerged and de&e!oped (especia!!y in the center) a!ongside an en!arged tenantcy hose standing ranged from the most odious!y oppression (@a!icia) to something approaching prosperity (2a&arre).? Iet" e&en as the 0i&i! +ar unfo!ded" the &i!!age community" a!beit to the !imited e#tent 4ust de!ineated" sur&i&ed and e&en prospered.> T o instances at opposite ends of the socia! spectrum can be brief!y cited. Hohn Aangdon presents a brief portrait of a &irtua!!y communist community" the fishing &i!!age of .ort de !a Si!&a. 1ere" the co!!ecti&ist traditions not on!y sur&i&ed but determined the entire structure of community !ife as a ho!e. .ort de !a Si!&a as organi(ed around common o&nership of the 8means of production"E here nets" boats" a curing factory" storehouse and a refrigeration p!ant" and o!i&e gro&es and an o!i&e oi! refinery< a sociali-ed distri(utional net&or$ for consumption of the end-products of the sphere of production (inc!uding truc's for transporting curried and fro(en fish" and a store here necessities ere purchased)" common o&nership of cultural institutions (inc!uding the cafV and hote!" a theatre and assemb!y ha!!)< and a sociali-ed communal safety net (accident" death" and !oss of damage to boat insurances). Moreo&er" the &i!!age community as go&erned through democratic control based on meetings of an assemb!y that inc!uded a!! acti&e members of the community.; The other instance as to be found in 2a&arre. 1ere" in pastora! community of Ans`" shepherds had a !ong tradition" the !egacy of past generations" of the municipa! e#istence herein the basis ser&ices (and many more) rested on communa! !ands. The !ands" e#c!uding houses and gardens of the &i!!age" ere he!d in common. A doctor" barber ( ho" it appears" as &ery important in Spain)" a smithy" a chemist shop" and a &eterinary surgeon ere a!! supported from municipa! re&enues. The community had a cooperati&e store" hich" among others" shared out seed at no e#pense annua!!y. The &i!!age as 0ar!ist and 0atho!ic" and possessed a priest ho as popu!ar among the &i!!agers.7 Thus" at one end of the po!itica! spectrum" e see a 0ata!an community (.ort de !a Si!&a) that is in a rea! sense communist" and at the other end" a reactionary communa!i(ed municipa!ity (Ans`) in 2a&arre. ,n an indirect ay" this points to the impasse that faced !ibera! attempts to introduce capita!ist socia! re!ations into the Spanish countryside and created" !ong before the term became fashionab!e in the ear!y t entieth century" SpainFs &ersion of the Gagrarian prob!em.E
1<arr,

Ibid, 2'3 n. 3* ;renan, Ibid, +-, #%+. The "ontinuing viability of "ommunal lands in the north )as parti"ularly important in =ali"ia. Bere the largely dairy farming "ommunity, already driven to the dit"h by rent.ra"king and the pra"ti"e of minute estate division ("inifundis"!, depended for its limited )ell.being on extensive muni"ipal "ommons, the existen"e of )hi"h not only, as <arr notes, 0helped the poor but put a limit on the land hunger of the ri"her peasants.0 Ibid, '. 2Ibid, 2',. 3This is our reading of <arr, Ibid, 2',.2'-. 4<arr, Ibid, 2',, suggests that in many parts of (pain at the time of publi"ation of his )ork (#+$$! 0muni"ipalities still possessJedK extensive "ommons.0 5Langdon.Lavies, Ibid, -#.-3. :s )itnessed by the right to present grievan"es in assembly, this )as a substantively demo"rati" "ommunity. 6<ited by ;renan, Ibid, 33$.33'.

Aet us attempt to forma!!y summari(e this agrarian prob!em" be$ueathed Spain as its !ibera! patrimony (a heritage created by the e#tensi&e destruction of the &i!!age community" especia!!y its common !ands)" at the moment of the outbrea' of the 0i&i! +ar. ,n 19?7" t enty-fi&e mi!!ion sou!s inhabited Spain. )f these" o&er t o-thirds (si#ty-eight percent) !i&ed in the countryside. The e#tent of rura! !ife is on!y tru!y seen" ho e&er" hen it is recogni(ed that a fu!! se&enty percent of industry as concentrated in 0ata!onia a!one.1 SpainFs agrarian prob!em cou!d not be so!&ed in the Gc!assica!E manner by a rush Gfor ardE a!ong the !ines of capita!ist de&e!opment" if for no other reasons (and there ere many) that it !ac'ed the basic resources or ra materia!s for !arge-sca!e industria! transformation. ,t is not 4ust that from the historica!!y !ibera! (and Mar#ist) standpoint of the desira(ility of capita!ist de&e!opment that in some regions" such as =stremadura here communa! !ands be!onging to the &i!!ages and to ns remained &ast in e#tent" the presence of the commons" contributing &isib!y to an Gindependence and dignityE that characteri(ed the peasant demeanor": at the same time b!oc'ed achie&ement of a !e&e! of agricu!tura! producti&ity commensurate ith capita!ist de&e!opment. The ho!e system of socia! re!ations" and in particu!ar the a!!iance of c!asses bui!t around the ea!thy absentee !ando ners in the center that brought together the monarchy (and after it the 3epub!ic)" the 0hurch" the army and the 3epub!ican po!itica! parties" as designed and functioned to push the peasant (and or'er) masses to the a!!. The manner of the e#p!oitation of these peasant masses to hich this b!oc of c!asses as irre&ocab!y committed (a form of a pre-industria!" seignioria! surp!us e#traction) prec!uded capita!ist de&e!opment* These c!asses" and their institutions of contro! and po er" beginning and ending ith the State" had ne&er (outside the t o periods of !ibera! go&ernance in the nineteenth century) been interested in Gde&e!opingE their !ands and estates. Iet" t o-thirds of a!! !and as in the hands of t o percent of !ando ners" hi!e more than three-$uarters of the Spanish popu!ace o ned a !itt!e more than an eighth (1?.7C) of the !and. )f the !atter" a fu!! ha!f of these" near!y forty percent of the inhabitants" o ned !ess than an acre per head P hard!y enough under Spanish conditions outside the north center and east to sustain a fami!y.? /nder the conditions of a !arge!y dry c!imate described ear!ier" an indi&idua!istic di&ision of the !and in the %o!she&i' manner as not &iab!e. (Aibera!s a!ready had attempted on Spanish terrain such a di&ision. ,ts resu!ts cou!d be seen in reali-ed form as the creation of a de&e!opmenta!!y insignificant stratum of re!ati&e!y prosperous sma!! farmers" hich did nothing to reso!&e" mere!y e#acerbated" the under!ying prob!ems.) Short of capita!ist de&e!opment or" a!ternati&e!y" ithout ta'ing the &i!!age community ith its communa! !ands as the pi&ota! point for a re&o!utionary communist effort to genuine!y so!&e these prob!ems" the on!y reso!ution ou!d be a ne historica! cyc!e of se&ere repression and intensified impo&erishment. This as a cyc!e that ou!d unfo!d ith the 2ationa!ist &ictory in the 0i&i! +ar.

1Vernon Ri"hards, 2<arr,

)essons of the S%anish Re&olution, + . Ibid, 2-. 3Ri"hards, Ibid, + .++. Ri"hards "ontinues in 0the three provin"es of 7stremadura, :ndalusia and La /an"ha alone, ',%%% proprietors, the greater part of them absentees, possessJedK more than #- million a"res.0

7 Perspective on the (ommunist 08perience 'ine %heses 1. The strugg!e brought on by the first imperia!ist or!d ar occurred at a historica! and socia! moment in hich the ancient regimes of =urope" a!!ied to bourgeoisies" sti!! had much more than a mere tenuous ho!d on po er. 3eca!! the situations in @ermany" Austro-1ungary" 3ussia" ,ta!y and Spain here those regimes ho!ding po er ere a!! based on great !anded !ords (e.g." Hun'ers" the Tsarist and 0asti!ian nobi!ities). ,n producti&e terms" forms of rea! domination ere inseparab!e intert ined ith those of forma! domination" that !atter predominating" do n to the Spanish 0i&i! +ar (and beyond). ,n perspecti&e and in practice" for (oth sides" that strugg!e itse!f as a !ife and death fight for and against communism. 1o e&er" that strugg!e as mediated" first" by its p!ace in the geography of capita!ism. )utside @ermany (19161919)" no so-ca!!ed Gsocia!istE re&o!ution too' p!ace in an industria!!y ad&anced nation. That strugg!e has been" moreo&er" mediated for us" second" by its conse$uences or" if you prefer" by our e#perience of bureaucrati(ation. Against the fai!ure to produce an emancipatory outcome" it is this e#perience that at once compe!s and permits us to fashion a different perspecti&e. :. 0ircumscribed in terms of some of its best-'no n theoretica! formu!ations" the entirety of the 0ommunist e#perience beginning ith %he Communist :anifesto and Gending"E so to spea'" ith %he 0eath Agony of Capitalism constitutes" from the standpoint of the e#perience of bureaucrati(ation" a formu!ation of the conditions for the fu!! de&e!opment of capita!ism (fu!!" in the sense of inaugurating the rea! subsumption of !abor under capita!). The efforts of re&o!utionaries (disenfranchised and radica!i(ed" organi(ed bourgeois inte!!ectua!s) are directed to ard capture of State po er for purpose of using it as an engine of destruction of remnant pre-capita!ist forms and of rapid capita!ist de&e!opment (program of the :anifesto as e!! as AeninFs G0an the %o!she&i's 3etain State .o erNE)" first and foremost re&o!utioni(ing" by introducing socia! re!ations of capita!ist production (rea! domination) into" agricu!ture. 0entra! 0ommunist party cadres constitute" as it ere" as a surrogate bourgeoisie engaged in a massi&e effort of industria!i(ation" in the de&e!opment of producti&e forces. The body of doctrine associated ith this e#perience (i.e." as its theori(ation and summation" e.g." GTheses on the 2ationa! ]uestionE and GTheses on the Agrarian ]uestionE as promu!gated by the 0ominternFs Second 0ongress) is designed to form a theoretica!!y-reduced practica! guide to the sei(ure of .o er" as a pro!egomena to rea!i(ation of the aforementioned massi&e effort. ?. This doctrine is entire!y consistent ith the socia! practice of or'er &anguards" i.e." their efforts to restart capita!ist production on a counci!ar basis ithout the bosses< ith the po!icy and practice of re&o!utionary parties aimed at o&ercoming b!oc'ages in production< and ith theori(ations of capita!ist de&e!opment and crisis. These theori(ations ere consistent it an era (t i!ight of forma! domination) in hich the premises of communism understood in terms of the production of materia! abundance had not been fu!!y formed. A!! ere cut from the same c!oth" a!! consistent ith the centra! assumption of the age. The centra! assumption at each !e&e! enumerated as producti&ist" and it is no accident that this assumption de&o!&ed from a &ie for hich de&e!opment of the producti&e forces is seen as the dri&ing force of history. >. A!! of Mar# as refracted through Aenin (or" if you prefer" the 3ussian 3e&o!ution)" no matter ho ob!i$ue!y" be!ongs to the same e#perience< the body of doctrine themati(ing that e#perience and the period (era" epoch" hate&er)" in a term" a!! of it be!ongs to same historical universe.

=&en though they appear a!together remote from this e#perience" as high!y mediated" high order theori(ations" that refraction a!so inc!udes the theories of crisis and periodi(ation (e.g." decadence theory) that are efforts to conceptua!!y capture and fi# a rea!ity that itse!f has been transcended by the mo&ement of capita!. ;. This is patent!y manifest in a theory that is $uintessentia!!y product of this era and circumscribed by it. As a theory of capita!ist dec!ine decadence theory basica!!y proposes that" as a system of socia! re!ations" capita!ism" ha&ing matured about the time of the first imperia!ist or!d ar" has e&en since been in dec!ine. 1a&ing achie&ed a start!ing socia!i(ation of producti&e re!ations" it can no !onger de&e!op those producti&e forces" or" at !east" their de&e!opment is consumed in the pursuit of short-term profitabi!ity" in unproducti&e e#penditures" and in ar and the destruction of ob4ecti&e substance (materia!i(ed producti&e forces and bui!t en&ironment). This perspecti&e" proper!y associated ith Trots'yists beginning ith the Fourth ,nternationa!" asserts not on!y the primacy of producti&e forces but their autonomy in determining the course of historica! de&e!opment as e!!. According!y" consciousness of c!ass has no ro!e here" or here it (consciousness) does" it is a $uestion of !eadership (or fai!ed !eadership" hence" citing Trots'y" GThe historica! crisis of man'ind is reduced to the crisis of the re&o!utionary !eadershipE). The &o!untarist ro!e of !eadership is the other side of and" in the e#p!anation of concrete historica! conte#ts" necessari!y re$uired by the autonomy of producti&e forces. At the same time" the ro!e of !eadership (a thro bac' to the pre-Trots'y )s$ra days of the party" to the Aeninist &ie of consciousness formu!ated in /hat is to (e 0one1) is an assertion of the centra!ity of radica!i(ed" organi(ed bourgeois inte!!ectua!s in the or'ersF mo&ement. ,t is 4ustification for their intent to assume po er on the morning after the re&o!ution" and for their ro!e as s!a&e dri&ers ho" insuring or'ers are sub4ect to capita!ist norms in production" i!! $ua!itati&e!y increase their producti&ity o&er and again in the a!!-out dri&e to de&e!op producti&e forces. As a theory" this perspecti&e is most proper!y the inte!!ectua! patrimony of the nationa!ist petty bourgeoisie of the capita!ist periphery. 7. The tacit re4ection of a theory of c!ass consciousness (and" thus" of the se!f-emancipation of the or'ing c!ass in hich it" in abo!ishing capita!" abo!ishes itse!f as such as e!!) is gi&en ith the assertion of primacy of !eadership. %ut the centra!ity of !eadership is meaning!ess if capita!ism as a system of socia! re!ations does not itse!f tend to imp!ode on itse!f. +hi!e the ine&itab!e crisis of the system is not the same as its automatic brea'do n (if it as there ou!d be no need for !eadership" nor no possibi!ity of its fai!ure)" capita!ist dec!ine demands the system as a ho!e tend to ard a fata! crisis (as opposed to the system actua!!y de&e!oping cyc!ica!!y through rapid e#pansion and se&ere contraction). %o the e6tent it is articu!ated in the form of a systemic cu!-de-sac" inc!uding the possibi!ity though not the necessity of co!!apse" the theory of capita!ist crisis is a product of and circumscribed by the same era to hich the theory of dec!ine (decadence) be!ongs. 7. The concept of c!ass consciousness is the one theoretica! de&e!opment rooted in the 0ommunist e#perience hich at the same time goes beyond it. This brings us to Au'Zcs" hose prob!ematic e sha!! mere!y out!ine. Au'Zcs did not start ith a (fu!!y de&e!oped) theory of consciousness of c!ass (as opposed to e#hibiting ho it is constituted)" then find himse!f forced by its inade$uacies to turn to the concept of the 0ommunist party as a theoretica! de&ice reso!&ing those prob!ems. ,nstead" his prob!ems ere t ofo!d. First" he as confronted ith the rea!ity of the 3ussian 3e&o!ution and" in particu!ar" the sur&i&a! of the party and State that re&o!ution ga&e birth to in the face of imperia!ist generated ci&i! ar" and" on this basis" he as confronted ith the rea! and imagined ro!e of the party in both. Second" he understood the concept of c!ass consciousness in terms of the most ad&anced theoretica! coordinates of the age" the 1ege!ian heritage. Thus" seeing his prob!em through the prism of the 3ussian 3e&o!ution and its a!!eged success" Au'Zcs stressed moments of this theory of consciousness (e.g." the &arious gradations and !e&e!s GinE a areness) that permitted him

to argue that the party" as part of the c!ass" formed its most determined" programmatica!!y ad&anced and far-sighted e!ement. This as the manner in hich he reso!&ed the first prob!em. ,n e#hibiting ho this consciousness is formed (e.g." the meaning and significance of !abor as a commodity become se!f-conscious)" he uti!i(ed a strategy in hich he basica!!y attempted to out-1ege! 1ege!" so that" for him" becoming (c!ass) conscious in and of itse!f constitutes a transformation of the ob4ecti&ity of ob4ects of this consciousness ( hich is on!y possib!e if consciousness is se!f-enc!osed" and this transformation is the mo&ement of consciousness ithin itse!f on the mode! of Ceist). This as the manner in hich he reso!&ed the second prob!em. The theory of c!ass consciousness remains to be fu!!y de&e!oped. As an e!ement of our patrimony" it i!! in some respects be necessary to counterpose its ro!e" function and significance in re&o!utionary change to theories of decadence and crisis. 6. End of an Era Summary =erspective ,n 191>" not to mention 19BB" the actua!!y e#isting capitalist or!d as in the t i!ight of the era of forma! subsumption (and rea! domination e#isted on!y in the most ad&anced capita!ist sectors" such as autos" and there far" far from uniform!y). At that moment" it is debatab!e that e&en forma! subsumption as determinant for communities of a geographica!!y &ast and demographica!!y far denser GperipheryE< hi!e the GcenterE as made up of =urope" =uropean 3ussia and the /nited States" that is" there &as no 8internationa!E pro!etariat. 1a&ing made a re&o!utionary brea'through (from 3ussia to =urope)" ou!d" in this epoch of imperia!ist or!d ar and pro!etarian re&o!ution" the =uropean" first and foremost the @erman and 3ussian" pro!etariat ha&e possessed the !e&erage to raise the or!d to socia!ismN The $uestion has no easy ans er. 0!ear!y" though" resting on a producti&ist &ision of socia!ism" the GchoicesE made by communists and pro!etarians ho !i&ed through this era (1917-19:1)" GchoosingE movement fu!! thrott!e ahead into real domination (a forced march to moderni(ation)" put them at odds ith todayFs !eft communists. K 1istorica!!y demonstrab!e through an ana!ysis of socia! forms" the forma! domination of capita! e#tends o&er portions of the or!d do n e&en to this &ery day. ,n this regard" the date of about 19;B can be fi#ed as the ans er to the $uestion concerning the point at hich a re&o!utionary pro!etariat cou!d ha&e !e&eraged the or!d to socia!ism" that moment in hich rea! domination had become effecti&e!y actua! in !arge parts of the or!d" capita!ist producti&ity great enough" to transform the or!d according to the o!d Mar#ist dream of uni&ersa! abundance. )f course that abundance" it shou!d be noted" ou!d ha&e been an abstract!y genera!i(ed and bureaucratica!!y a!!ocated" techno!ogica!!y manufactured sort produced according to producti&ist princip!es. 9. The !ast cyc!e of or'ing c!ass strugg!e against capita! reached a highpoint ith the co!ossa! e#p!osion of acti&ity center on France in May 1976. This cyc!e e#tended into the se&enties in the /.S. ( i!dcats) and course" in ,ta!y. ,n its highest achie&ements" it constituted a practical rupture &ith the theories, tactics and organi-ations rooted in the Communist e6perience irrespective of &hether Bolshevi$s or council communists &ere its point of departure* The Situationists theori(ed this fracture and ho to en!arge it. They ere the organic inte!!igentsia of the on!y mass" if f!eeting!y brief" pro!etarian mo&ement in history that" on the &ery basis of the achie&ed !e&e!s of abundance" tendentia!!y bro'e not on!y ith the o!d producti&ism but ith the &ery commodification of socia! !ife in a!! its dimensions" not on!y in production" distribution" but in consumption" and in p!ay and cu!ture in the broadest senseK From this moment for ard" the strugg!e for communism must ta'e its point of departure from the SituationistsF theori(ation" specifica!!y" in terms of the suppression of &or$R Today or'ers" here in the /nited States as e!! as e!se here" are" hen engaged in strugg!e against capita!" primari!y in&o!&ed in defensi&e fights. /nderstanding the achie&ements of or'ers in that !ast cyc!e of strugg!e and its theori(ation is a crucia! moment in mo&ing todayFs strugg!es beyond a fight in its current defensi&e form.