On the Question of the Unitary Organization

That the coming organization must rise like a phoenix from the ashes, that it cannot possibly emerge from the current party and trade union quagmire, will become clear to every thinking worker over time. Those who are not yet able to come to this realization, who still hope to reform “from within”, will come to know the insurmountable difficulties that this reform activity entails, and once they have grasped the essence of the new organization, they will turn their backs on the old associations in droves. We can wait and see how these things develop. -

First of all, we must take a closer look at the questions: What does the coming organization look like? What is its inner nature, its structure? And here, I'm afraid, not only do views differ widely, but the organization is reflected in some people's minds in a somewhat peculiar way.

For example, there is the view that years of membership in the old unions should be counted towards membership in the new organization. The comrades who hold this view are therefore of the opinion that the support system should be reintroduced in the new organization.

This view must be firmly opposed. The reorganization has no support institutions, which are mainly responsible for the current state of the trade unions. They promote bureaucratism and paralyze the fighting spirit.

But we must have strike support, some will object. - No, we don't need that either. Even in peacetime, the trade unions were powerless in the face of capital, despite their full coffers. It was this powerlessness that gave rise to the evil of long-term collective agreements. If the power of the moneybags could not be overcome then, how can it be after the war, when capital has undergone such rapid development as never before? These years have brought us an enormous accumulation of capital, caused by increased concentrations and the extremely favorable war economy. What should trade union coffers mean in the face of this enormous monetary power, however well-filled they may be! At best, we could talk about creating a fund to alleviate the greatest hardship, e.g. in families with many children, in the event of future strikes. We saw at the outbreak of the war that things can work without support. The employer simply closed up shop and Brother Prolet could see how he got on.

Unfortunately, the German worker is too accustomed to the support system, and it will be a difficult task to change his nature in this respect. But we can be sure that the enormous economic crisis that will inevitably set in after the war will be our best helper. The scale of the struggles will also force the support unions to maintain the restrictions on support imposed during the war. The struggles of the future will differ from those of the past primarily in that in them the trade union and political character can no longer be separated from each other, that both merge into one.

And this means that the worker will be cured of one thing: political short-sightedness! Short-sightedness and pettiness are in the nature of the masses and have been carefully nurtured by the “educational” activities of the trade unions; moreover, the latter's neutrality (a product of their impotence) has kept a whole army of workers completely away from politics. -

One of our main tasks in the future will be to make the workers realize that political action with a view to bringing about socialism is the means of struggle that must be used to improve the situation of the working class, which will be bleak. The great goal, the transformation of the capitalist social order into a socialist one, must be the driving force behind all our actions, must float before us as a shining banner.

Now some comrades will object that we have no ideal people in our age. The idea of a unitary organization is all well and good, but sooner or later it will end up in the same mess as the old organizations. It cannot work without employees. As soon as the movement takes on a larger scale, the comrades must be permanently employed. There will again be jostling, striving and grovelling around the feeding trough, the interest politics of the employees will again create the dividing line between them and the proletarians, the bureaucratic scheme will again tie the spirit into Spanish boots, and the end of the song: we have gone round in circles and are back at the same point from which we started.

The comrades who are so skeptical about things are certainly not entirely wrong. But in the end, what was the reason for the sad state of affairs, especially in the trade unions? Was it not due to the ignorance of the masses, their laziness and lack of energy? Instead of preserving and expanding the sacred good of democracy, did they not allow the leaders to completely wrest the reins from them?

Do they not have the leadership they deserve?

This is undoubtedly the case, and here again there is a great deal of work to be done for the future: educating the masses to think and act independently. Comrades have devised entire systems for preserving democracy, i.e. true democracy, in the future organization. But all this is in vain if no other spirit enters the masses.

Above all, attention must be paid to popular writing in the organs, in daily newspapers as well as in magazines. The highest art of writing for the people lies in explaining even difficult questions and problems in an easily comprehensible way. The worker who comes home tired and worn out in the evening can no longer brood his mind, he demands lighter intellectual fare. Every comrade is well aware that the entire labor movement has sinned in this respect, and that is why the socialist teachings have not yet penetrated the masses.

But we want to learn from past mistakes!

But once the spirit has changed, there is a natural protection to prevent the tearing down of undemocratic, degenerating conditions. The masses will then take over the guardianship themselves!