282:"I am suspicious of 'generational' interpretations of politics, but I must confess that with regard to the Socialist Party in the thirties it is impossible to avoid at least some generational stress. The clash in style was striking. Not only did the Old Guard treat the ideas of the Militants as a repulsive sort of quasi-Bolshevism; it also found intolerable the enthusiasm of these naive young comrades, their expectation that Norman Thomas booming out the credo of 'socialism in our time' was something to be taken seriously. The youth had entered the movement in the hope of creating a new world, a new life, and now the old-timers came along, grumbling about defeats, mistakes, betrayals. Each generation spoke for its own portion of experience, and only if there had been in this country a line of socialist continuity, so that each generation would not have to start as if from the beginning might this collision have been avoided."
258:"One important difference between the Militants and their Old Guard opponents was their viewpoints on democracy. The Old Guard was composed of convinced democrats who held that socialism would advance democracy and come to America only by democratic means. The Militants' view toward democracy was in some respects similar to that of the Communists. Democracy was to them a bourgeois quality, a device adopted by the
31:
410:
within the party such as the Old Guard and the
Militants. They were a vague group of recent members, representing many shades of opinion, who were greatly dissatisfied with the slowness, the lack of activity, of the Old Guard. they were not doctrinaire Marxists; indeed, many were not Marxian at all.
219:
crowd in fighting the
Communists, in opposing the united front proposals of the Workers (Communist) Party, in splitting unions and other labor organizations and expelling progressive and left wing elements, in using gangsterism — in short, in all the methods employed by the old socialist leadership
355:
In reply to this article, the editors were critical the "anti-democratic propaganda" of "Comrade
Shapiro and the militants," noting that "Capitalism wants to suspend democracy" and therefore "it is in their interest to discredit the idea of democracy." However, "instead of defending, the militants
241:"The Militants were numerically a small group, but they were an extremely vocal one. Philosophically the Militants were Marxists, as were their Old Guard opposition. But the Militants leaned much further toward Marxism as developed by Lenin than did the Old Guard, whose favorite theoreticians were
232:
is a strange paper. In one column, Norman Thomas, who apparently gets complete charge of that column in order to 'keep him quiet,' writes with fairness as fairness is understood by a
Socialist tinged with liberalism and pacifism and prejudiced against the uncompromising forms of struggle which the
302:
allowed
Militant faction adherent Theodore Shapiro space to declaim the Militants' political position. In this article, entitled "The 'Militant' Point of View," Shapiro portrayed the Militant faction as part of an international left wing opposition movement:
423:. If the American electorate should support the Socialist Party and make it such an organization, well and good; if such a party should have to be a new organization, a national farmer-labor party, then the Socialists should go into the new organization."
372:
but from
Russian practice. That Russia is building Socialism they have no doubt; but there is no freedom in Russia, no democracy, no equality. Instead there is a dictatorship, a reign of brute terror, of suppression of free thought, free criticism, free
326:"The struggle between left wing groups and those who dominate the councils of the International is a struggle that has been inherent in the movement from its very inception. The differences between these groups are fundamental both as to the concept of
483:
sent the new publication his warm greetings at the time of its launch, although beseeching it to "steer clear of party controversy." The participation of Norman Thomas was even more direct, as he launched a regular weekly column in the pages of
463:"Journals calling themselves 'Socialist' have failed in that they have confused socialism with reform. They have in recent years lived in eternal fear of offending labor leaders, and have therefore kept silent in the face of reaction and
223:"Even a small section of the leadership, such men as Norman Thomas, have been criticizing these policies ... because they are causing a further loss of membership and a further disintegration of the Socialist Party.
356:
help discredit and disparage democracy; the wish to be super-revolutionary is likely to make them unconscious and unwilling helpers of the capitalist class in the latter's fight against democracy." The editors of
206:
Even though the
Militant faction emerged as a coherent unit in the Socialist Party late in 1930 and congealed in 1931, as early as 1926 observers were noting evidence of a fissure. Communist Party member
458:"As capitalism decays it is preparing to rivet upon the workers its open dictatorship. It is preparing to destroy even those feeble democratic institutions that it has so far allowed to exist. ...
467:
within the unions. In doing so they have damaged the reputation of the
Socialist movement, and have lent aid and comfort to the enemies of labor. They have failed to distinguish between the '
237:
Historian of the
Socialist Party David A. Shannon noted that the "radical doctrinaire Marxists" of the Militant faction differed in orientation and emphasis from their factional opponents:
315:
with which our party is affiliated and are, as well, protests against the astounding inertia of so-called "Socialist leaders" the world over. International militancy is a protest against "
103:. The faction emerged during 1930 and 1931 and achieved practical control of the organization in 1934. The existence of the "Militants" and the threat they represented to the
712:
215:"For some time there has been growing discontent manifested within the ranks of New York Socialists, especially among the younger elements, against the methods used by the
451:"Revolutionary socialism aims at nothing less than the transfer of power to the working class. This, and this alone, can save the workers from tyranny and starvation, from
402:. The Progressives, although more numerous than the Militants, were actually rather amorphous rather than a tightly disciplined faction, as historian David Shannon notes:
190:
Moreover, the party was nearly insolvent: its coffers empty, printing bill unpaid, and the organization nearly two years in arrears in the payment of its dues to the
419:. This party once in office would extend democracy and civil liberties, socialize basic industries, and move rapidly in the direction of what is nowadays called the
432:
In March 1935 the combined
Progressives and Militants of the Socialist Party launched a new weekly newspaper in New York City to supplant the Old Guard-dominated
253:, just as were Old Guard Socialists. In many respects the ideological differences between the Old Guard and the Militants were differences of emphasis. * * *
175:, with tens of thousands of members suspended or expelled by the National Executive Committee. An entire generation of the organization's most energetic young
116:
382:
The Militant faction made common cause in their battle with the Old Guard with another significant factional group in the Socialist Party — the so-called "
475:
and revolutionary socialism. There is need of a Socialist organ that can differentiate between reforms for the preservation of capitalism, and socialism."
447:
acting as Business Manager. The paper took direct aim at the Old Guard from the outset in declaring itself to be "the organ of revolutionary socialism":
415:
of American politics whereby there would be a party to represent labor and dirt farmers, based upon principles rather than upon thirst for office and
274:
There was also a large generational component to the division of the Marxists of the Socialist Party into "Old Guard" and "Militant" camps. Historian
553:
625:
vol. 1, no. 2 (April 15, 1932), pg. 40. The article is unsigned, with the implication that it is a joint statement of the entire editorial board.
187:. Socialist Party membership plummeted from a peak of over 104,000 paid members in April 1919 to fewer than 9,000 in the first quarter of 1928.
339:
governments, in compromising alliances with non-revolutionary parties, in their attitude on the question of war, in their naive reliance on
311:
groups throughout the western world. These movements are in effect an active protest against the inactive policies and tactics of the
145:
312:
233:
Communists advocate, and in the rest of the paper every conceivable sort of lie and slander is written about these same Communists."
191:
184:
488:
a piece called "At the Front." Other frequent contributors to the publication during its first year included Haim Kantorovitch,
119:(SDF). The Militant faction itself shattered in the aftermath of the 1935 party split with only a small core loyal to perennial
685:
120:
549:
544:
vol. 19, no. 10 (October 1930), pg. 3, which discusses a gathering of 100 young Socialist "Militants" at Camp Eden, near
107:
of the SPA caused traditional electorally oriented members to form an organized grouping of their own, known as the "
180:
149:
88:
71:
38:
launched in March 1937, was the organ of the so-called "Clarity caucus" of the Socialist Party's Militant faction.
696:
391:
246:
100:
690:
112:
383:
545:
472:
438:
159:, leaving control of the party's name, emblems, and assets in the hand of the Regular faction headed by
211:
wrote in a September 1926 article tellingly entitled "The Socialist Party Furnishes Its 'Insurgents'":
307:"The rise of the militant group within the American Socialist Party accompanies the growth of similar
245:
and Hillquit. Yet the Militants were not Communists. They were opposed to the rigid discipline of the
295:
515:
412:
340:
493:
444:
299:
176:
92:
608:
vol. 1, no. 2 (April 15, 1932), pg. 29. This journal has been reprinted in full in book form as
497:
443:
The Managing Editor of the new 12-page publication was Bruno Fischer, with Miliitant stalwart
395:
348:
291:
156:
108:
17:
111:." In 1935 the personal and political friction between these two basic tendencies lead to an
365:
208:
278:, himself a young radical in the Socialist Party in the 1930s, later recalled this aspect:
399:
250:
172:
168:
104:
706:
489:
420:
160:
124:
96:
59:
464:
452:
387:
344:
242:
128:
47:
669:"The Socialist Call Needed to Fight 'Radio Misleaders,' Chairman Krzycki Writes,"
480:
416:
336:
275:
267:
263:
259:
195:
164:
468:
369:
327:
320:
316:
308:
153:
30:
351:
parties manifest their reformism and block the way to the Socialist goal."
16:
For the British group of socialists affiliated with the Labour Party, see
91:(SPA) who sought to steer that organization from its orientation towards
266:
that was now being abandoned by capitalists as their conflict with the
84:
407:
319:" and the deviation from the revolutionary Socialism as expounded by
565:
Bertram D. Wolfe, "The Socialist Party Furnishes Its 'Insurgents,'"
386:" led by Norman Thomas and including such important SPA leaders as
548:, in August 1930. The session was chaired by Louis Stanley of the
220:
to ruin the labor movement that they can no longer rule. * * *
364:"These comrades have learned their Socialism not from Marx and
518:
Early American Marxism website. Retrieved February 3, 2010.
249:, and they were critical of the Soviet Union's denial of
516:"Socialist Party of America Annual Membership Figures,"
115:, with the Old Guard faction leaving to establish the
286:
In an early issue of the SPA's theoretical magazine,
65:
53:
43:
604:Theodore Shapiro, "The 'Militant' Point of View,"
595:New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1985; pg. 57.
612:(New York: Greenwood Reprint Corporation, 1968).
540:See, for example, "Socialist 'Militants' Plan,"
127:remaining in the organization by the coming of
140:State of the Socialist Party in the late 1920s
8:
179:departed to join the ranks of the fledgling
23:
713:Factions of the Socialist Party of America
529:The Socialist Party of America: A History.
29:
22:
569:vol. 3, no. 214 (September 1926), pg. 6.
368:, but from Soviet Russia; not even from
343:institutions, in their hostility to the
554:Conference for Progressive Labor Action
508:
673:vol. 1, no. 1 (March 23, 1935), pg. 4.
660:vol. 1, no. 1 (March 23, 1935), pg. 4.
7:
531:New York: Macmillan, 1955; pg. 202.
360:were outspoken in their criticism:
146:1919 Emergency National Convention
14:
623:The American Socialist Quarterly,
606:The American Socialist Quarterly,
313:Labor and Socialist International
288:The American Socialist Quarterly,
202:Formation of the Militant faction
192:Labor and Socialist International
358:The American Socialist Quarterly
185:Communist Labor Party of America
645:The Socialist Party of America,
580:The Socialist Party of America,
152:saw the departure of the proto-
686:1934 Declaration of Principles
378:The Militants and their allies
1:
550:Rand School of Social Science
83:was an organized grouping of
634:"Is This Militancy?" pg. 41.
610:Socialist Review (1932-1940)
117:Social Democratic Federation
697:Socialist Appeal (New York)
171:. The victory proved to be
729:
691:Socialist Appeal (Chicago)
406:"The Progressives were no
398:, and Executive Secretary
181:Communist Party of America
150:Socialist Party of America
89:Socialist Party of America
72:Socialist Party of America
15:
28:
330:and the goal itself ...
392:Albert Sprague Coolidge
101:revolutionary socialism
656:"The Socialist Call,"
593:Socialism and America.
479:SPA National Chairman
477:
428:Split of the Old Guard
425:
375:
353:
341:bourgeois 'democratic'
284:
272:
235:
621:"Is This Militancy?"
546:Cold Spring, New York
449:
417:political opportunism
404:
362:
335:"In their support of
305:
280:
270:became more intense."
239:
213:
113:organizational split
671:The Socialist Call,
658:The Socialist Call,
486:The Socialist Call,
247:Third International
67:Parent organization
25:
527:David A. Shannon,
439:The Socialist Call
300:David P. Berenberg
93:electoral politics
567:The Daily Worker,
498:McAlister Coleman
411:Their goal was a
396:Darlington Hoopes
349:Social Democratic
292:Haim Kantorovitch
157:Left Wing Section
109:Old Guard faction
77:
76:
18:Militant tendency
720:
674:
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209:Bertram D. Wolfe
81:Militant faction
33:
26:
24:Militant faction
728:
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457:
456:
430:
400:Clarence Senior
380:
345:Soviet Republic
332:
331:
325:
324:
255:
254:
251:civil liberties
225:
224:
222:
221:
204:
169:Morris Hillquit
142:
137:
68:
56:
39:
21:
12:
11:
5:
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649:
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614:
597:
584:
571:
558:
533:
520:
507:
505:
502:
434:The New Leader
429:
426:
379:
376:
296:Anna Bercowitz
262:to defeat the
230:The New Leader
203:
200:
141:
138:
136:
133:
105:political line
75:
74:
69:
66:
63:
62:
57:
54:
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50:
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41:
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13:
10:
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631:
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591:Irving Howe,
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581:
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547:
543:
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534:
530:
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503:
501:
499:
495:
491:
490:Samuel DeWitt
487:
482:
476:
474:
470:
466:
461:
455:and war. ...
454:
448:
446:
442:
440:
435:
427:
424:
422:
421:welfare state
418:
414:
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170:
166:
162:
161:Adolph Germer
158:
155:
151:
147:
139:
134:
132:
130:
126:
125:Norman Thomas
122:
118:
114:
110:
106:
102:
98:
97:direct action
94:
90:
86:
82:
73:
70:
64:
61:
60:Norman Thomas
58:
52:
49:
46:
42:
37:
32:
27:
19:
670:
665:
657:
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639:
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622:
617:
609:
605:
600:
592:
587:
582:pp. 211-213.
579:
574:
566:
561:
541:
536:
528:
523:
511:
485:
478:
465:racketeering
462:
453:wage-slavery
450:
437:
433:
431:
405:
388:Devere Allen
384:Progressives
381:
363:
357:
354:
334:
306:
287:
285:
281:
273:
257:
243:Karl Kautsky
240:
236:
229:
227:
216:
214:
205:
189:
143:
129:World War II
121:Presidential
95:and towards
80:
78:
48:Devere Allen
35:
699:, 1937-1941
693:, 1935-1937
494:Herbert Zam
481:Leo Krzycki
445:Jack Altman
413:realignment
337:reactionary
276:Irving Howe
268:proletariat
264:aristocracy
260:bourgeoisie
196:Switzerland
165:James Oneal
542:Labor Age,
469:liberalism
123:candidate
55:Key people
643:Shannon,
578:Shannon,
504:Footnotes
473:Roosevelt
328:Socialism
317:reformism
309:left wing
177:activists
154:communist
707:Category
680:See also
647:pg. 213.
552:and the
373:living."
290:editors
85:Marxists
36:Clarity,
217:Forward
173:Pyrrhic
148:of the
135:History
87:in the
496:, and
408:caucus
366:Engels
298:, and
167:, and
44:Leader
471:' of
370:Lenin
321:Marx
183:and
144:The
99:and
79:The
194:in
709::
500:.
492:,
436:—
394:,
390:,
347:,
294:,
198:.
163:,
131:.
556:.
441:.
323:.
228:"
20:.
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