From International Press Correspondence, Vol. 3 No. 49, 12 July 1923, pp. 492–493.
Transcribed & marked up by Einde O’Callaghan for the Marxists’ Internet Archive.
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June 18, 1923
In one of his articles Comrade Tranmael reproaches the Communist International with two defects inherited from the Second International – opportunism and centralism. We know the history of the Comintern to be one of relentless crusade against opportunism. We also know that the Second International collapsed because of decentralisation, of which fact comrade Tranmael is well aware. Comrade Tranmael apparently has a different conception of centralism than we have. And this is probably the consequence of his traditions of the fight against the old Trade Union bureaucracy. He is afraid of dualism and of the contrast between the membership and bureaucracy, and he is to a certain extent right when calling attention to the danger. This is provided for in the theses of the Third Congress, where it says: “Even the revolutionary labour movement inevitably inherits this tendency of formalism and bureaucratism from the bourgeois environment, up to a certain point. These contrasts must be combated by the Communist Party by persistent work of political organisation and education, and by many improvements and provisions”. By democratic centralism we mean the association of centralism with proletarian democracy, the unification of the struggle. The relative limits of centralisation must be extended as far as required by revolutionary activity. The slogan of the World Party raised by the Fourth Congress is not a new thing. It is as old as the Communist International itself. This World Party has not yet come, it is our goal, and we may discuss the way to ensure its quickest achievement, but not question the slogan itself. It is a difficult thing to create a World Party. We only have the beginning of it. The history of the formation of this Party has been chiefly the history of intervention in so-called internal affairs of affiliated parties. These interventions have, rarely satisfied all concerned, but after the first unavoidable conflicts, there remained something very solid, which enabled all these parties to learn something about the importance of coordination. This gives rise to truly united fighting and to a deep-rooted confidence of the parties in the Executive, which means much more than the mere adherence to the Comintern. It is true that the leadership is still to a great extent, in the hands of Russian comrades, but this is due not only to their Russian, but also to their International experiences.
Let us take the latest intervention in the Internal affairs of the American Party. After a few months the two factions, which were hitherto at loggerheads, informed us that at last they had created a united Party, thanks to the intervention of the Executive. The peculiar circumstances in Scandinavia do not absolve Scandinavian comrades of their duties; they only suggest the starting point, but by no means a different policy. According to reports from the representative of the Executive in Norway, only a small section of the membership is active there. It is therefore a question of arousing them all to greater activity. Comrade Tranmael asks for guarantees against opportunism. The best guarantee is, on the one hand, the actions of the bourgeoisie, and, on the other hand, the Communist preparations for the overthrow of the bourgeoisie. The situation is more difficult in Sweden, where a small Communist Party is opposed by a great Social-Democratic Party, but I must say that the Communist Party has a large following, particularly in the Trade Unions. Also in that country it is most important to increase the activity of the members. We must particularly criticise the attitude of the leaders of the Swedish Party towards the Youth League. Comrade Hoeglund should remain true to his traditions as the champion of the Communist Youth Movement by creating at the present moment better relations between the Youth and the Party. The criticisms of Comrades Tranmael and Hoeglund put them at the parting of the ways. I conclude with the wish that at this Congress Tranmael and Scheflo will shake hands and resolve to build together our Communist Party in order to lead the working class to victory.
Last updated on 2 September 2022