Dictatorship vs. Democracy (Terrorism and Communism): a reply to Karl Kantsky — Kant — John Shaqi
Dictatorship vs. Democracy (Terrorism and Communism): a reply to Karl Kantsky
Kant · en
The creation of Socialist society means the organization of the
workers on new foundations, their adaptation to those foundations, and
their labor re-education, with the one unchanging end of the increase
in the productivity of labor. The working class, under the leadership
of its vanguard, must itself re-educate itself on the foundations of
Socialism. Whoever has not understood this is ignorant of the A B C of
Socialist construction.
What methods have we, then, for the re-education of the workers?
Infinitely wider than the bourgeoisie has--and, in addition, honest,
direct, open methods, infected neither by hypocrisy nor by lies. The
bourgeoisie had to have recourse to deception, representing its labor
as free, when in reality it was not merely socially-imposed, but
actually slave labor. For it was the labor of the majority in the
interests of the minority. We, on the other hand, organize labor in
the interests of the workers themselves, and therefore we can have no
motives for hiding or masking the socially compulsory character of our
labor organization. We need the fairy stories neither of the priests,
nor of the Liberals, nor of the Kautskians. We say directly and openly
to the masses that they can save, rebuild, and bring to a flourishing
condition a Socialist country only by means of hard work,
unquestioning discipline and exactness in execution on the part of
every worker.
The chief of our resources is moral influence--propaganda not only in
word but in deed. General labor service has an obligatory character;
but this does not mean at all that it represents violence done to the
working class. If compulsory labor came up against the opposition of
the majority of the workers it would turn out a broken reed, and with
it the whole of the Soviet order. The militarization of labor, when
the workers are opposed to it, is the State slavery of Arakcheyev. The
militarization of labor by the will of the workers themselves is the
Socialist dictatorship. That compulsory labor service and the
militarization of labor do not force the will of the workers, as
"free" labor used to do, is best shown by the flourishing,
unprecedented in the history of humanity, of labor voluntarism in the
form of "Subbotniks" (Communist Saturdays). Such a phenomenon there
never was before, anywhere or at any time. By their own voluntary
labor, freely given--once a week and oftener--the workers clearly
demonstrate not only their readiness to bear the yoke of "compulsory"
labor but their eagerness to give the State besides that a certain
quantity of additional labor. The "Subbotniks" are not only a splendid
demonstration of Communist solidarity, but also the best possible
guarantee for the successful introduction of general labor service.
Such truly Communist tendencies must be shown up in their true light,
extended, and developed with the help of propaganda.