Communism and Trade Unions

Il Soviet, the organ of the Communist fraction, resumes publication.

We welcome this resumption of activity, as it will enable us to popularize the communist ideal and, at the same time, make the working class understand the difference between socialism and communism.

It would be naive to expect that the vast communist program will be unfurled before us overnight.. we, direct sympathizers, have an obligation to ask our dear Soviet friends for some of the key points of their program, both to ease our conscience and to avoid making any mistakes, for better or worse, in our direct contact with the illiterate or semi-illiterate masses.

And we ask:

1. What consideration and attitude will the new Communist Party have towards workers’ and peasants’ organizations?

2. Which of the two methods and schools will it embrace: that of the labor confederation, or that of the trade union?

3. What line will it follow in the possible dispute between capital and labor?

The consideration that prompts me to ask the above questions is a nagging doubt about the present.

Given the existing alliance between the labor confederation and the Socialist Party, and with the Communist fraction remaining in the ranks of the official Socialist Party, will it be possible to propagate a new line to the organizations without moral and political incompatibility?

Do you not believe, dear Soviet, that a decisive step must be taken to remove misunderstandings and possible conflicts between organizations and between militants of the same ranks?

Now, if organizations as constituted entities must follow the direction of the labor confederation, it is better for true communists to distance themselves from any trade union movement and embrace the adopted policy in all its consequences.

This separation of people is necessary, as we cannot continue with the eternal misunderstanding of the revolutionary in politics and the collaborator in economics.

Therefore, if the Communist Party’s clear and transparent program includes the conquest of organizations, must we break with the labor confederation pact? If we break with it, will we still have a place in the official Socialist Party?

I hope that my deeply convinced communist comrades will answer my questions, as they aim to clarify a necessary direction to embrace or reject.

ANGELO RUSSO