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Debates at world Communism’s 1921 congress reveal Lenin’s International at a moment of crisis. A policy of confrontational initiatives by a resolute minority contends with the perspective of winning majority working-class support on the road to the revolutionary conquest of power. A frank debate among many currents concludes with a classic formulation of Communist strategy and tactics.
This newly translated treasure of 1,000 pages of source material, available for the first time in English, is supplemented by an analytic introduction, detailed footnotes, a glossary with 430 biographical entries, a chronology, a comprehensive index, and thirty-two appendices, many never before published in any language, portray delegates’ behind-the-scenes exchanges.
To the Masses represents the final installment in a decades long project to make available the proceedings of the congresses of the Communist International (comintern) held during Lenin’s time.
This newly translated treasure of 1,000 pages of source material, available for the first time in English, is supplemented by an analytic introduction, detailed footnotes, a glossary with 430 biographical entries, a chronology, a comprehensive index, and thirty-two appendices, many never before published in any language, portray delegates’ behind-the-scenes exchanges.
To the Masses represents the final installment in a decades long project to make available the proceedings of the congresses of the Communist International (comintern) held during Lenin’s time.
Price: $65.00
Pages: 1299
Publisher: Haymarket Books
Imprint: Haymarket Books
Series: Historical Materialism
Publication Date:
26 January 2016
Trim Size: 9.00 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9781608466351
Format: Paperback
BISACs:
POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Ideologies / Communism, Post-Communism & Socialism, Political ideologies and movements, HISTORY / Social History, HISTORY / Revolutions, Uprisings & Rebellions, HISTORY / Europe / General, Social and cultural history, Revolutions, uprisings, rebellions, European history
"Imagine a hot, hot day. You’re trekking in the heat when suddenly an azure bay comes into view. Hurriedly you peel off and dive in to the fresh water. You feel refreshed, alert to the world around you. After plunging into To the Masses, I feel something the same."
Chris Bambery, Counterfire
Praise for Toward the United Front:
"Riddell has here pulled off an immense and masterful editorial effort, comparing past publications of these proceedings in the four main languages of the Comintern English, French, German and Russian The work involved in clarifying the differences between texts, providing more accurate annotation, and correcting the misspelling of names and providing relevant biographical details is immense, and should earn the gratitude of generations of scholars for many years to come."
Alexander Marshall, Marx and Philosophy Review of Books
"We should be very grateful to John Riddell and his team of collaborators for making available, for the first time in a full English version, the minutes of the Fourth Congress of the Comintern [F]or anyone seeking to understand the history of the 20th century [Toward the United Front] will be an invaluable work of reference, and no library with pretensions to serious historical coverage should be without it "
Ian Birchall, International Socialism
Chris Bambery, Counterfire
Praise for Toward the United Front:
"Riddell has here pulled off an immense and masterful editorial effort, comparing past publications of these proceedings in the four main languages of the Comintern English, French, German and Russian The work involved in clarifying the differences between texts, providing more accurate annotation, and correcting the misspelling of names and providing relevant biographical details is immense, and should earn the gratitude of generations of scholars for many years to come."
Alexander Marshall, Marx and Philosophy Review of Books
"We should be very grateful to John Riddell and his team of collaborators for making available, for the first time in a full English version, the minutes of the Fourth Congress of the Comintern [F]or anyone seeking to understand the history of the 20th century [Toward the United Front] will be an invaluable work of reference, and no library with pretensions to serious historical coverage should be without it "
Ian Birchall, International Socialism
“A brief review cannot begin to do justice to a resource like this. It will justifiably demand the attention of generations of professional and amateur historians, socialist activists and curious general readers who want to deepen their understanding of the desperate struggle to internationalise the world’s first socialist revolution in Russia in October 1917.” –International Socialism Journal
“This is a huge volume and there is much wealth in it. For instance, a brilliant passage from Lenin on the importance of the colonial revolution, whose sharpness complements its brevity. Despite its size, it is not difficult to read. John Riddell and the publishers have done a real service in making this available to an English speaking audience. The first four congresses of the Communist International were seen as schools for revolution, schools from which you could never graduate. We always need to learn, to adjust our strategic and tactical approach, and there is so much we can learn here.” –Chris Bambery, Counterfire
"Imagine a hot, hot day. You’re trekking in the heat when suddenly an azure bay comes into view. Hurriedly you peel off and dive in to the fresh water. You feel refreshed, alert to the world around you. After plunging into To the Masses, I feel something the same."
—Chris Bambery, Counterfire
Praise for Toward the United Front:
"Riddell has here pulled off an immense and masterful editorial effort, comparing past publications of these proceedings in the four main languages of the Comintern – English, French, German and Russian … The work involved in clarifying the differences between texts, providing more accurate annotation, and correcting the misspelling of names and providing relevant biographical details is immense, and should earn the gratitude of generations of scholars for many years to come."
—Alexander Marshall, Marx and Philosophy Review of Books
"We should be very grateful to John Riddell and his team of collaborators for making available, for the first time in a full English version, the minutes of the Fourth Congress of the Comintern … [F]or anyone seeking to understand the history of the 20th century [Toward the United Front] will be an invaluable work of reference, and no library with pretensions to serious historical coverage should be without it …"
—Ian Birchall, International Socialism
—Chris Bambery, Counterfire
Praise for Toward the United Front:
"Riddell has here pulled off an immense and masterful editorial effort, comparing past publications of these proceedings in the four main languages of the Comintern – English, French, German and Russian … The work involved in clarifying the differences between texts, providing more accurate annotation, and correcting the misspelling of names and providing relevant biographical details is immense, and should earn the gratitude of generations of scholars for many years to come."
—Alexander Marshall, Marx and Philosophy Review of Books
"We should be very grateful to John Riddell and his team of collaborators for making available, for the first time in a full English version, the minutes of the Fourth Congress of the Comintern … [F]or anyone seeking to understand the history of the 20th century [Toward the United Front] will be an invaluable work of reference, and no library with pretensions to serious historical coverage should be without it …"
—Ian Birchall, International Socialism
John Riddell has translated and edited eight volumes of documents of the Communist movement in the era of the Russian revolution, such as Toward the United Front: Proceedings of the Fourth Congress of the Communist International, 1922 (Haymarket, 2013). A further volume now in preparation will complete this ambitious project.
List of Speakers
Editorial Introduction
Background to the Congress
The Third Congress
School of Strategy
About This Edition
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Preliminary Statements
Provisional Congress Agenda
Call for the Third World Congress
Invitation to the Third Congress of the Communist International
Proceedings
Session 1. Opening Session (22 June)
Session 2. World Economy – Report (23 June)
Session 3. World Economy – Discussion (24 June)
Session 4. Executive Committee Report (25 June)
Session 5. Executive Committee Report – Discussion (26 June)
Session 6. Executive Committee Report – Discussion (27 June)
Session 7. Executive Committee Report – Discussion (27 June)
Session 8. The KAPD; the Italian Question (28 June)
Session 9. Italian Question; Executive Report (29 June)
Session 10. Tactics and Strategy – Report (30 June)
Session 11. Tactics and Strategy – Discussion (1 July)
Session 12. Tactics and Strategy – Discussion (1 July)
Session 13. Tactics and Strategy – Discussion (2 July)
Session 14. Tactics and Strategy – Discussion (2 July)
Session 15. Trade Unions – Reports (3 July)
Session 16. World Economy; Trade Union Discussion (4 July)
Session 17. Russian Communist Party (5 July)
Session 18. Trade Unions – Discussion (6 July)
Session 19. Trade Unions – Discussion (7 July)
Session 20. Youth and Women’s Movements (8 July)
Session 21. Tactics and Strategy, Germany, Cooperatives (9 July)
Session 22. Cooperatives, Organisation (10 July)
Session 23. Eastern Question (12 July)
Session 24. Closing Session (12 July)
List of Delegations
Theses, Resolutions, and Appeals
Theses on the World Situation and the Tasks of the Communist International
Resolution on the Report by the Executive Committee of the Communist International
Theses on Tactics and Strategy
The March Action and the Situation in the VKPD
Appeal for Max Hoelz
Theses on the Communist International and the Red International of Labour Unions
Resolution on Work in the Cooperative Movement
Theses on the Work of Communists in the Cooperatives
Theses on the Report Concerning the Policies of the Communist Party of Russia
Resolution on the Policies of the Communist Party of Russia
Theses on the Organisational Structure of the Communist Parties and the Methods and Content of their Work
Resolution on Organising the Communist International
Theses on Methods and Forms of Work of the Communist Parties among Women
Resolution on International Ties between Communist Women and the International Communist Women’s Secretariat
Resolution on Forms and Methods of Communist Work among Women
The Communist International and the Communist Youth Movement
Forward to New Work and New Struggles (ECCI Appeal)
Addendum: Amendments to the Theses on Tactics and Strategy (Not Approved)
Appendices
1. Before the Congress: The Open Letter
1a. Open Letter to German Workers’ Organisations, 8 January 1921
1b. ECCI Debate on Open Letter, 22 February
2. Before the Congress: The March Action
2a. Radek to VKPD Leaders in Berlin, 14 March
2b. VKPD Theses on March Action, 7 April
2c. Resolution by Clara Zetkin on March Action, 7 April
2d. Lenin to Zetkin and Levi on Open Letter, Livorno, and VKPD Leadership, 16 April
2e. Béla Kun Defends March Action to Lenin, 6 May
2f. Paul Levi Appeals to Third Congress, 31 May
3. The Political Struggle at the Congress: June 1921
3a. Lenin to Zinoviev on Tasks at Congress, 10 June
3b. Lenin on the Theses on Organisation, 10–11June, 9 July
3c. German Delegation to ECCI on Zetkin’s Role, 10 June
3d. German Delegation Gives Conditional Support to Draft Theses, 16 June
3e. Lenin Withdraws Harsh Language, 16 June
3f. ECCI Debate on French Communist Party and Leftism, 16-17 June
3g. Zetkin on March Action Resolution, 18 June
3h. Radek on Differences among Bolshevik Leaders, 21 June
3i. Zetkin on Discussions with Lenin
3j. Zetkin Sends Levi a Congress Update, 22 June
3k. Zetkin to Lenin on Personal Attacks, 28 June
4. The Political Struggle at the Congress: July 1921
4a. Trotsky Reports to Lenin on Congress Debate, 3 July
4b. Lenin on Šmeral and Czechoslovak Party, 6 July
4c. Lenin Reassures Hungarian Delegates, 7 July
4d. German Delegation Meets with Bolshevik Leaders, 9 July
4e. Lenin Speaks to Central European Delegates, 11 July
4f. Zetkin on Taking Leave from Lenin
4g. Lenin on His Final Meeting with Zetkin, 28 July
4h. Lenin on the Outcome of the Levi Initiative, 14 August
5. The Colonial Question 000
5a. M.N. Roy: Theses on the Eastern Question
5b. Ahmed Sultanzade: Theses on the Eastern Question
5c. Zhang Tailei: Theses on the Colonial Question
5d. Ivon Jones: The Black Question
5e. Against Repression in Palestine
Chronology
Glossary
Selected Bibliography
Index
Editorial Introduction
Background to the Congress
The Third Congress
School of Strategy
About This Edition
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Preliminary Statements
Provisional Congress Agenda
Call for the Third World Congress
Invitation to the Third Congress of the Communist International
Proceedings
Session 1. Opening Session (22 June)
Session 2. World Economy – Report (23 June)
Session 3. World Economy – Discussion (24 June)
Session 4. Executive Committee Report (25 June)
Session 5. Executive Committee Report – Discussion (26 June)
Session 6. Executive Committee Report – Discussion (27 June)
Session 7. Executive Committee Report – Discussion (27 June)
Session 8. The KAPD; the Italian Question (28 June)
Session 9. Italian Question; Executive Report (29 June)
Session 10. Tactics and Strategy – Report (30 June)
Session 11. Tactics and Strategy – Discussion (1 July)
Session 12. Tactics and Strategy – Discussion (1 July)
Session 13. Tactics and Strategy – Discussion (2 July)
Session 14. Tactics and Strategy – Discussion (2 July)
Session 15. Trade Unions – Reports (3 July)
Session 16. World Economy; Trade Union Discussion (4 July)
Session 17. Russian Communist Party (5 July)
Session 18. Trade Unions – Discussion (6 July)
Session 19. Trade Unions – Discussion (7 July)
Session 20. Youth and Women’s Movements (8 July)
Session 21. Tactics and Strategy, Germany, Cooperatives (9 July)
Session 22. Cooperatives, Organisation (10 July)
Session 23. Eastern Question (12 July)
Session 24. Closing Session (12 July)
List of Delegations
Theses, Resolutions, and Appeals
Theses on the World Situation and the Tasks of the Communist International
Resolution on the Report by the Executive Committee of the Communist International
Theses on Tactics and Strategy
The March Action and the Situation in the VKPD
Appeal for Max Hoelz
Theses on the Communist International and the Red International of Labour Unions
Resolution on Work in the Cooperative Movement
Theses on the Work of Communists in the Cooperatives
Theses on the Report Concerning the Policies of the Communist Party of Russia
Resolution on the Policies of the Communist Party of Russia
Theses on the Organisational Structure of the Communist Parties and the Methods and Content of their Work
Resolution on Organising the Communist International
Theses on Methods and Forms of Work of the Communist Parties among Women
Resolution on International Ties between Communist Women and the International Communist Women’s Secretariat
Resolution on Forms and Methods of Communist Work among Women
The Communist International and the Communist Youth Movement
Forward to New Work and New Struggles (ECCI Appeal)
Addendum: Amendments to the Theses on Tactics and Strategy (Not Approved)
Appendices
1. Before the Congress: The Open Letter
1a. Open Letter to German Workers’ Organisations, 8 January 1921
1b. ECCI Debate on Open Letter, 22 February
2. Before the Congress: The March Action
2a. Radek to VKPD Leaders in Berlin, 14 March
2b. VKPD Theses on March Action, 7 April
2c. Resolution by Clara Zetkin on March Action, 7 April
2d. Lenin to Zetkin and Levi on Open Letter, Livorno, and VKPD Leadership, 16 April
2e. Béla Kun Defends March Action to Lenin, 6 May
2f. Paul Levi Appeals to Third Congress, 31 May
3. The Political Struggle at the Congress: June 1921
3a. Lenin to Zinoviev on Tasks at Congress, 10 June
3b. Lenin on the Theses on Organisation, 10–11June, 9 July
3c. German Delegation to ECCI on Zetkin’s Role, 10 June
3d. German Delegation Gives Conditional Support to Draft Theses, 16 June
3e. Lenin Withdraws Harsh Language, 16 June
3f. ECCI Debate on French Communist Party and Leftism, 16-17 June
3g. Zetkin on March Action Resolution, 18 June
3h. Radek on Differences among Bolshevik Leaders, 21 June
3i. Zetkin on Discussions with Lenin
3j. Zetkin Sends Levi a Congress Update, 22 June
3k. Zetkin to Lenin on Personal Attacks, 28 June
4. The Political Struggle at the Congress: July 1921
4a. Trotsky Reports to Lenin on Congress Debate, 3 July
4b. Lenin on Šmeral and Czechoslovak Party, 6 July
4c. Lenin Reassures Hungarian Delegates, 7 July
4d. German Delegation Meets with Bolshevik Leaders, 9 July
4e. Lenin Speaks to Central European Delegates, 11 July
4f. Zetkin on Taking Leave from Lenin
4g. Lenin on His Final Meeting with Zetkin, 28 July
4h. Lenin on the Outcome of the Levi Initiative, 14 August
5. The Colonial Question 000
5a. M.N. Roy: Theses on the Eastern Question
5b. Ahmed Sultanzade: Theses on the Eastern Question
5c. Zhang Tailei: Theses on the Colonial Question
5d. Ivon Jones: The Black Question
5e. Against Repression in Palestine
Chronology
Glossary
Selected Bibliography
Index