Moscow, Nauka Publishing House. 1976. 312 pp. The print run is 1,700. Price 1 rub. 38 kopecks.
The book by S. M. Askoldova, a senior researcher at the Institute of General History of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Candidate of Historical Sciences, is one of the few studies of specific key problems of the history of the labor movement in the United States. Political and scientific relevance of the topic chosen by the author is not necessary-
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It is necessary to add an additional argument: the poison of Gompersiism still poisons the consciousness of some American workers, weakens the trade union movement, and hinders the unity of the forces of the working class and all the detachments of the anti-monopoly democratic movement. Exposing the views and policies of the trade union elite is impossible without a deep analysis of their roots, origin and evolution. The main part of the reviewed monograph is devoted to these issues.
The author has chosen, in general, a successful and interesting approach to the disclosure of the topic, linking the presentation of the main problems with the coverage of their development at the stages of the labor movement in the United States, combining the consideration of issues of ideology with showing the general trends of the class struggle in the country. It is a pity that S. M. Askoldova was not able to clearly distinguish and characterize the periods of the working-class movement everywhere. This, in particular, applies to the years 1912-1918.
The book summarizes the development of capitalism and the labor movement in the United States in the second half of the 19th century and analyzes the process of forming the trade union ideology on the basis of numerous facts. The objective conditions and causes that led to the emergence and strengthening of gompersiism in the labor movement are revealed, the specifics of the spiritual world of the working class in the United States at the turn of two centuries are described, and the "constraints" that prevented the majority of the American proletariat from taking a broad view of the world, the development of capitalism and class conflict.
Using the example of the formation of the ideology of trade unionism, S. M. Askoldova reveals the complex interaction of general laws and historically determined features, specific features of American capitalism and the working class, which allowed S. Gompers ' business philosophy to influence the consciousness of workers. The author managed to recreate the spiritual "portrait" of a typical trade unionist, show the stereotypes of his thinking, traits and qualities that separated him from the mass of workers. The monograph convincingly suggests that the assertion of Gompersianism does not at all indicate the absence of classes and class struggle in the United States, the "disappearance" of the proletariat, which is announced by reactionary trade union bureaucrats and bourgeois historians. On the contrary, the entire history of the US labor movement proves the correctness of the Marxist-Leninist propositions about the objective nature (due to the existence of a social base, political, ideological, psychological, and other conditions for the development of the proletariat) of opportunism, and about the inevitability of a struggle between two tendencies in the US labor movement.
The idea of the struggle between the two trends runs through the book. The author traces the harmful role of the khvostist, narrow - pragmatic, egoistic ideology of trade unionism in the proletariat's struggle for its rights. S. M. Askold examines the clashes between Gompersists and socialists, supporters of independent political action, populists, the conditions of this struggle and the results, and, in general, correctly explains the reasons for the success of Gompers and his supporters. Opportunism could establish itself only because its ideological opponent, Deleonism, suffered from sectarianism, dogmatism, and isolation from the working masses. And this, in turn, allowed Gompersists to present scientific socialism and Marxism to the workers in a distorted form.
The main part of the monograph is devoted to the analysis of the main ideas of trade unionism. S. M. Askoldova identifies voluntarism, pragmatism, and "neutralism" as components of the trade unionist ideology, and demonstrates on many facts how the Gompersists, relying on these ideas, weakened and betrayed the working class. That is why the US labor movement in the last third of the nineteenth century was characterized, as Lenin put it, by the fact that "the workers dragged and are dragging themselves in politics most of all behind the bourgeoisie."1 The author introduces the reader to the discussion among American historians on the meaning of voluntarism and justifiably accepts the conclusion of progressive researchers about the illusory nature of the voluntaristic doctrine. The monograph exposes the narrow practicalism, individualism and egoism of the working elite, its confrontation with the collectivist aspirations of the working masses. The notorious" neutrality "of the workers' bureaucracy in practice turned into servility to the bourgeoisie and betrayal of the interests of the working class. The political and practical conclusion from the ideological foundations of trade unionism is "class cooperation". This naturally follows from the author's analysis of the" theoretical baggage " of Gompersists.
1 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 15, p. 235.
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There is no "portrait" of Gompers, this megalomaniac and "narcissist" almost permanent president of the American Federation of Labor (AFL). But on the other hand, its ideological evolution is carefully traced, based on a large amount of factual material, from a vain flirtation with Marxism to its assertion in double reactionary opportunism and social-chauvinism. Gompers is shown in all his guise as a demagogue, a careerist, a clever deceiver, a master of deceit and intrigue against the socialists, against all healthy elements in the working-class movement, as a staunch enemy of socialism and communism. In this connection, it is worth noting the analysis of the tactics of Gompers and the Gompersists in the labor movement itself, their maneuvers aimed at seizing the leadership of the trade unions that are part of the AFL. At the same time, the author notes the growing contradiction between the living life and dogmas of Gompersiism, which led to its defeats and crises, as well as the reasons that still determine the vitality of the ideology and practice of "the old guild, liberal-bourgeois traditions that completely weigh on the aristocracy of the working class of America"2 .
The monograph examines the relationship between Gompersiism and bourgeois reformism. S. M. Askoldova traces the struggle of factions in the ruling circles on the issues of "workers '" policy, changes in this policy in different periods of US history. Interesting facts are given in the book to show the" iron grip " of monopolies in the fight against trade unions. The author seeks to find out the ideological kinship and differences between bourgeois reformism and reformism in the working-class movement, correctly noting their general orientation against revolutionary socialism. The book thoroughly shows the essence and significance of bourgeois - reformist concessions to the workers as a means to split the working people and weaken their pressure.
For the first time in our literature, S. M. Askoldova undertakes a study of the concept of "industrial democracy", its origins and content, convincingly proving that the essence of various variants of this "democracy" was ultimately invariably reduced to the old slogan of the opportunists about "cooperation" and "partnership" of classes. In this connection, the author makes an attempt to correlate corporatism in the Gompers program with the corporate idea of the Italian fascists, who, not without reason, saw in Gompers their ideological counterpart.
Considerable attention is paid to the role played in the trade Unionist ideology by chauvinism, racism, and nationalism inherent in the "labor aristocracy" of the United States. This problem is considered in the context of the clash of internationalist and chauvinist tendencies in the labor movement. S. M. Askoldova, drawing on new interesting material, addresses the problem of labor immigration to the United States and the attitude of gompersists to it. It shows that the" netivism " of the Gompersists was based on outright self-interest - the fear of economic competition of immigrants. Here we also find out (and on the basis of new data) the real role of immigration in the development of the class struggle of the proletariat in the United States.
Perhaps for the first time, the connection of the AFL's foreign policy course with the trade unionist ideology is considered in such a volume. Based on materials from the history of the Spanish - American and First World Wars, the attempts of the apologists of Gompersiism to justify and even glorify their betrayal of the interests of the American and international proletariat are exposed. Having traced the evolution of Gompersism from "anti-imperialism" in the 1980s to social chauvinism and anti-Sovietism in the 1920s, the author notes that this evolution was not so difficult for Gompersists, since their "anti-imperialism" was combined with "naive" expansionism, and most importantly - It was founded on protecting the selfish interests of the top American working class. Hence, the correct conclusion is drawn that the years of World War II are the time of the final transformation of the opportunism of the AFL into social chauvinism, the time of the final formation of the ideology of class cooperation as the basis of the concept of "industrial democracy" proclaimed by the Gompersists. It is only a pity that S. M. Askoldova avoided the question of the "readiness" campaign, because it was during this campaign that the Gompersists and right - wing socialists renounced pacifism. The monograph shows that Gompers ' anti-Sovietism and his frenzied struggle against revolutionary actions in the United States and around the world were the logical conclusion of the opportunistic development initiated by the anti-socialist tendencies that were revealed even at the birth of the AFL.
2 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 22, p. 231.
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The book also addresses the little-studied question of the influence (or relationship) of Gompersianism and social Christianity in our literature.
Even a cursory list of the issues covered in the book shows that this is a meaningful and useful study of the most important aspect of the history of the US labor movement. The main conclusions and assessments of the author do not raise objections. You can only make specific comments. We find it inaccurate, for example, to say that the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) was the "mainstay" of the Socialist Party of America (SPA) (p. 159); in reality, the relationship between the anarcho-syndicalist IWW and the SPA, where the center-right leadership was established, was more complex and contradictory. It can hardly be said that the Colorado strike of 1913-1914 signified a "new stage" in the American labor movement (p. 170). Rather, it ended the stage of "small civil wars" in the mining regions of the country, characteristic of the period of transition to monopoly capitalism. We also think that it is necessary to clarify the role of T. Roosevelt and W. Wilson, taking into account the American political "context" of the early twentieth century (see pages 160 and 162). The tasks of the bourgeois parties, which at the beginning of the twentieth century, according to V. I. Lenin, were formulated not quite correctly on page 159."to save capitalism by means of:.. bourgeois reforms " 3 .
The book's materials help to identify and understand the ideological, political, and socio-psychological roots of the reactionary course of the modern leadership of the trade union movement in the United States, led by J. Mini. Today, the spiritual heirs of Gompers pursue the same line of betraying the interests of the working class for the benefit of its individual privileged groups, take the same hostile position towards socialism, represented today by the world community of socialist countries, just as they persecute all the advanced, truly democratic elements in the US labor movement and beyond, continue to discriminate against Blacks, Mexicans and others in American labor unions.
3 Ibid., p. 193.
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