On Communist groups in America
It is painful to speak of the Italian Communist Groups of America and the way [illegible text] those opportunists are destroying the movement that should have stood out from all other movements claiming to represent the proletariat through its seriousness, ideology, and integrity.
Quite apart from the difficulties this movement was bound to encounter among the Italian diaspora—a group largely composed of elements that were politically amorphous and resistant to any form of class organization, a situation exacerbated by the total lack of a clear ideological direction among the various revolutionary groups—we certainly cannot remain indifferent to the way the Italian wing of our party is crumbling and degenerating. This decline stems above all from a lack of ideological principle and political integrity on the part of those who—we know not how—have unfortunately infiltrated our ranks, and who will inevitably lead—indeed, are already leading—our movement toward complete degeneration.
This danger was undoubtedly noted by the leadership of both the Italian and American parties as well—so much so that, on more than one occasion, attempts were made to remedy the situation by replacing various pontiffs, through internal maneuvering, or by reshuffling positions.
It is true that the entire American party, in the wake of the factional struggles, which were completely devoid of any ideology or political principle but were strictly opportunistic and personal in nature (see the Lovestone and Foster groups), had to suffer the consequences of this duel; but it is also true that within the Italian ranks this struggle had no other repercussions, apart from the circles of a few party officials and bureaucrats.
Our movement initiated its degeneration through the tactic of the anti-fascist united front, which placed it into contact with the most impure and sordid elements of anti-fascism, while forcing it to abandon its ideological tenets. Both in theory and in practice, this tactic places the movement at the direct service of social democrats and anarchists.
This marks the beginning of the party’s political isolation from the masses—a situation that other groups, through a clever and astute maneuver, exploit in the name of the united front and anti-fascist tolerance.
This policy continued for years, until our opponents, having reaped their own benefits from it, left the banner, the symbol of anti-fascism, to our party.
Opportunism naturally proclaimed victory, failing to see in this event a maneuver to isolate our movement from the proletariat. It persisted—and still persists—in this disastrous policy, the only result of which is the retention of certain anti-fascist leadership positions held by a host of functionaries of various stripes. The confusion and degeneration are so profound that, at the very latest rally commemorating Della Maggiora and Gortan, we were forced to endure a speech by the secretary of the Anti-Fascist Alliance—who is also a member of the Communist Party—in which he concluded that the Anti-Fascist Alliance would overthrow capitalism, and that the Alliance is the only organization that looks to the proletariat and is destined to lead it in the Italian revolution. These statements were confirmed by the party representative, who delivered a speech worthy only of a social democrat—or rather, a Slavic nationalist—to the point of disgusting even those fellow workers who, in good faith, still follow and applaud the antics [illegible text].
We do not know why the Centrist bigwig failed to denounce the betrayers of the proletariat—indeed, in our view, he appraised and defended them—and why, as is his habit, he did not place Bordiga and the Italian Left in the front rank of those responsible for the tragedy of the proletariat.
This way of presenting themselves to comrades and workers is by now notorious to everyone, and whenever they are called to account for the bureaucratic, top-down nature of their actions, or for their political and ideological correctness, one risks expulsion from the party.
The violent coercion employed against all our best comrades, a subject we shall address in a future issue of the paper, has reached such a pitch that most of them, rather than serve as blind instruments of the party bureaucracy, prefer isolation and silence; a stance unjustifiable from our point of view, yet one for which Centrist politics and its pernicious policies are responsible.
We must tell these comrades, whom we have always seen in every struggle where the danger is greatest, not to give way before the disastrous policy of centrism, but instead to hold fast to the principles upon which the party was founded and to fight ceaselessly against all opportunists of every stripe, whatever the consequences.
This will serve to ensure we are not held responsible for another disastrous defeat towards which centrist opportunism is leading the proletariat.