First Published: 1980.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
Copyright: 1980 by New Outlook Press. Permission to reproduce any portion of this pamphlet is granted on the condition that it be attributed to: “Sooner or Later,” New Outlook Press. Anyone so doing is encouraged to send a copy to New Outlook Press.
Section A. The Danger of War and Our Political Line
1. How real is the threat of war?
2. United front with U.S. imperialism against Soviet imperialism?
3. Is revolutionary defeatism the correct Leninist tactic?
4. An analogy with the pre-World War I or the pre-World War II period?
5. Can we compare the Soviet Union with Nazi Germany?
6. What is world-wide fascism?
7. Are the CPUSA and other Soviet supporters progressive?
8. Is the West pursuing an appeasement policy like that of the 1930s?
9. Are pro-detente forces directing the Soviet Union at China as the appeasers tried to divert Germany against the Soviet Union?
10. Are there differences between this period and the 1930s?
11. How does the rise of the Third World distinguish this period from the thirties?
Section B. The United Front Against Hegemonism
1. Does the united front against hegemonism conflict with the united front against the two superpowers?
2. How can you advocate a united front with an imperialist superpower?
3. On account of its military strength, will the U.S. be the main force in the united front?
4. Won’t the U.S. try to dominate the united front and bend it to its imperialist objectives?
5. Are you calling for the united front with the U.S. too soon?
6. Is the united front against hegemonism a current reality or a desire?
1. Do you support the retention of American bases in Third World countries?
2. Is it possible to constrain the U.S. in its use of its military bases?
3. Do you support increasing the military strength of NATO?
4. What is stopping the Soviet Union from invading Western Europe now?
5. Can we support the united front against hegemonism and still oppose U.S. imperialism?
Section D. The Struggle of the U.S. Proletariat
1. Isn’t the chief responsibility of American communists to combat American imperialism?
2. Can a united front with our own bourgeoisie be reconciled with the interests of the American proletariat?
3. How is the question of defense linked with the democratic rights and economic interests of the people?
4. Is the united front against hegemonism in the United States class collaboration?
5. Is this Browderism?
6. Does the united front against hegemonism mean support for re-institution of the draft?
7. Does it mean support for an increase in the military budget?
8. How can communists support the strengthening of an army in the hands of an imperialist bourgeoisie?
9. Shouldn’t we wait until the U.S. proves it won’t use its army against the Third World and until there is mass sentiment for such a policy?
Section E. A Shift in American Politics
1. Is the growing mass reaction to Soviet hegemonism a “shift in American politics”?
2. Should communists recommend “improved” foreign policies to an imperialist superpower? Is this Kautskyism?
3. How do you link the struggle for the united front against hegemonism with the particular struggles of the American masses?
4. Which of the masses’ demands can be so linked?
5. Is it Utopian to expect the bourgeoisie to grant economic concessions when its economic strength is in decline?
6. How will the united front against hegemonism affect our trade union work?
7. Won’t free trade with Third World countries cost American workers their jobs?
8. What does the united front against hegemonism mean for our work among the oppressed nations and national minorities in the U.S.?
9. In the last analysis, isn’t it a question of “guns or butter”?
Conclusion: A Self-Criticism on Proletarian Internationalism
Appendix: Is the United Front Against Hegemonism a Strategy or a Tactic?