This lesson the syndicalists drew already long ago, insofar as they admonish the workers to prepare and develop themselves personally, as well as their organizations, in such a manner that when a revolution breaks out, from various economic, psychological and political reasons, it finds the workers prepared. Peculiarly enough, the syndicalists who teach this are decried and "accused" by the same bolsheviks and party communists as reformists. Thus, things are being put on their head. Instead of the bolsheviks saying to the syndicalists: "Yes, you are right; if the revolution and socialism shall not become entirely discredited before the workers, then we must strike out for this road," they say to the syndicalists that, "if revolution breaks out we will either put you in jail o<r stand you up against a wall." That is what they have done in Russia at all events, where many anarchosyndicalists have been put in jail.
They cannot entirely cut loose from this doctrine, which on one side is promulgated by the syndicalists and on the other side also by Eugen Duhring in his book "Social Salvation" many years ago, and for that reason the doctrine is smuggled into the theses of the III. International, where a great role is assigned to the trade unions in the conquest of the political power and in the economic up^building of communism. But the principal role shall, of course, be played by a political, communist party.
In spite of all this obscuration and veil-pulling it is not possible to hide the fact that the social revolution shall be so much the more successful, that is, social equality shall be the sooner realized, the better the workers are prepared for it. Whoever wants to be an adherent of the social revolution and does not set his eyes chiefly on this, but on the conquest of political power, he shows that in his innermost self he is more of a rioter, an adherent of violent phrases rather than a socialist. But such are the bolsheviks in Russia and the political communist parties in all other countries. The principal task for a real socialist or communist, if you so want to call them, lies just in preparing himself, the workers and the peasants for social equality, on the economic, the intellectual and the moral field; but he must be a syndicalist to do this.
Still another circumstance must be added, which contributed to the development of the 35 wage grades or to the fact that the bourgeoisie is better paid than the workers. This was the use of the motto: "Who does not work, neither shall he eat" as a tactical principle. As a theory this sentence is a commonplace of socialist, or, if we want to be ironical, of biblical propaganda. It is correct and just: Who does not wo<rk, neither shall he eat. But this must not be interpreted so ,as to mean, that he who has not worked before this time shall from now on get nothing to eat. The social revolution is an act of social justice, through which social injustices are done away with, and not vice versa. The social revolution must give everybody something to eat, no matter what he has done before, even if he has done nothing at all. This method is, however, to be recommended, not only from the standpoint of justice, but also from the standpoint of revolutionary tactics. That the bourgeoisie of Russia was given nothing or less to eat than others has revenged itself. When they later were needed for the organization of technical and industrial life they had become still more embittered enemies of the working class than before, through these very tactics.
From this, also, we have a lesson to1 draw: Not to support the negative tendencies, not to give free vent to instincts of revenge in ourselves or in others, but to combat them and, on the contrary, do everything to make the birth of the social revolution an act of equalization and social justice. Or, putting it in more common words : To give bread to everybody must be the first duty of the social revolution.
Workers' Insurance