OCTOBER,1946 329 The13thDisciple ISTHEperspectiveoftheproletariansocialistrevolution utopian?IstherestillapossibilityforasuccessfulrevolutioninEurope?HastheprogramofMarxismprovento beTahcehsimefuenrad?amentalquestionsareraisedbyDwightMacdonald'sarticle, "TheRootlsMan" (PoLmcs,AprilandJuly, 1946).ThisambitiousatempttodeveloparadicaltheoreticalsysteminoppositiontoMarxism,climaxesMacdonald's curiouspoliticaldevelopment;andwemaynowsaythatnot onlyhashebrokencompletelywithMarxism,butthathehas abandonedtheperspectiveoftheproletariansocialistrevolution.ForMacdonalddeniesthepossibilityorrelevanceofmass socialactioninourtime:hissocialistbeliefisaccordinglya mereplatonicutopianassertion. WhereisonetobegininareplytoMacdonald?His40-page articleisagrab-bagofmodernconfusionism:apinchof Proudhon;awhiffofpacifism;anodtoexistentialism;abow toWilhelmReich,founderofthe"psychologyoftheorgasm"; afewscrappingsfromtheanarchists;atouchofphilosophical idealism;andalargedebttothatillustriousthinker,Paul Goodman.Anyrebutalmustconfineitselftoafewcentral themes,unlessitbelongerthanMacdonald'sarticleitself;and soIshalrestrictmyselfprimarilytothepoliticalaspectsof hisarticleswithonlyincidentaldiscussionoftheaccompany- ingsociologicalandpsychologicalbaggage. Macdonaldbegins,oddlyenough,withaquotationfrom LeonTrotsky.HequotesfromthatsectionofTrotsky'sarticle,"USSR inWar," whichposesasapossiblehistoricalalter- nativeaworldworkingclassunabletoseizepowerinthis periodofdecliningcapitalismandtherebygivingrisetoa socialimpassewhichmightresultinthe"eclipseofcivilization"andtheappearanceofanewexploitingclasssimilar totheStalinistbureaucracy.Thishistoricalpossibilityis transformedbyMacdonaldintoa"deadline"whichhas,what ismore,beenreached.Theideaofaproletariatasafighting revolutionaryclass,capableofseizingpowerhastherefore benprovenachimera;bureaucraticcollectivismratherthan Socialismisthehistoricsuccessortocapitalism.ForTrotsky yousee,gavehistoryadeadline;thedeadlinehasbeenreached, andMacdonald,amadwhobelievesincolectinghisdebts, wilnotgranthistoryanyextensions. Scientificsocialismasasystemisthereforefinished,"for ifonebasesone'ssocialistprogramoncapitalistcontradictions, andifthosecontradictionsconductonenottoSocialismbut toBureaucraticColectivism,thenonehasnorealbasisfor Socialism."Butitisstillpossibletobaseone'shopeforSocial- ismon"utopianaspirations"ofwhich"theethicaldynamic comesfromabsoluteandnon-historicalvalues,suchasTruth andJustice,ratherthanfromthecourseofhistory." TheWorkingclassIsNot"Finished" Letusfacetheissuesquarely.TheEuropeanSocialistmove- mentisatthelowestebbofitshistory;theworldworking calsshassufereddefeatsofunprecedentedmagnitude.Ifone weretoarrangeabalancesheetofvictoriesanddefeats and letitgoatthat,Macdonald'sconclusionwouldseemreason- able:thedeadlinewithouttherevolutionhasbeenreached. Yet,whatwasTrotskytalkingaboutinthearticleMac- BibliotecaGinoBianco donaldquotes?Trotskyusedthewarasapegonwhichto hanghisgeneralidea:namely,that if theproletariatproves tobecompletelywithoutrevolutionarypotentialwhichis not,letitbenoted,thesameassaying:iftherearenorevolutionsafterthe warthen theperspectiveofproletarian SocialistrevolutionwillhavebeenshowntobeilusoryTrotsky,whoalsowantedtocolecthisdebts,didnotgivehistory anydeadline. . . Istheproletariatwithoutrevolutionarypotential?Isthe revolutionarymovementhopeless?Wethinktheanswerto bothquestionsis:no.Themajorsocialimpulsionsdrivingthe workingclasstorevoltpersist;andtheworkingclassesofall countriesdorevolt.Sporadicaly,indisorganizedanddis- orientedfashionitistrue,buttheystillrevolt,eventhough doomedintheabsenceofrevolutionarySocialistleadership. WhenonerecalstherecenteventsinGreece,France,Italy andEngland,especialyagainstthebackgroundoftheterrible defeatstheworkingclasshassuffered,thenitbecomesclear thattheSocialistaspirationsoftheEuropeanproletariatre- maindeeplyrootedandthattheproblemremains(Trotskyist formulathoughthismayseemtoMacdonald)oneofdestroy- ingtheilusionthatStalinismorSocialDemocracycanbring Socialismandthenofbuildingarevolutionarypartywhich can. Isthebuildingofsuchapartydifficult,extremelydifficult inthepresentworldsituation?Ofcourseitis!Buttheexperiencesofrecenthistoryindicatethatiftheconstantlyrestive proletariat,whichhas not sunkintoastateofpermanent torpor(quitethecontrary!),canbebroughtintoaliving relationshipwithademocraticrevolutionarySocialistparty, aSocialistvictoryremainsarealpossibility. Macdonaldiswronginsoblandlyassumingthat"thecon- tradictionsofcapitalismconductonenottoSocialismbutto bureaucraticcolectivism."Thecontradictionsofcapitalism lead neither tobureaucraticcolectivismnortoSocialism.No Marxisteversaidtheydid,exceptthemock-Marxistwhom Macdonaldconstructsinordertoknockdown.Thecontradictionsofcapitalismleadtoaconstantlysharpeningsocial crisis,totheperiodMarxistsdesignateasthedeclineofcapitalism:itssocialandmoralretrogression.Theoutcomeofthis crisisisdecidedbystruggle;andbureaucraticcolectivism canariseonlyasaresultofanimpasseinwhichthesociety ofthepastisdyingandthesocietyofthefutureispowerless tobeborn. RevolutionaryMarxistsrejecttheideaofreadingoffthe workingclassasfinished,orofassertingtheimpossibilityof therevolutionarymovementmakingsizablecontactwithit. Itisn'tamateroffaith—eventhoughhere,iftheworking classwereinastateoftorporforaconsiderableperiodof time,wewouldstillonthebasisofitspastheroicandmilitanthistory,takeintoaccountthepossibilityofaresurgence beforedismissingitasreadilyasdoesMacdonald.Butthe workingclasshasnotexhibitedtorpor;ithasnotbeenqui- escent;themythicaldeadlinewhichMacdonaldatributesto Trotsky(alas!thedeadcannotdefendthemselves!)sawa periodofinternationalunrest,revolt,near-revolution.Is it necesarytogodownthelistofcountriestoprovethis?Of course,Macdonaldmaysaythattherevolutionarymovement hasnotsucceededingainingrealleadershipofanyimportant sectionoftheworkingclass;astatementwhichistrue,but whichdoesnotatempttounderstandthe reason forthisfail-
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTExMDY2NQ==