Introduction to the American Edition
The American edition of Germany: from Revolution to Counter-Revolution is very welcome. I was originally asked to write this brief work after giving a series of lectures on the German Revolution of 1918-23 at a Young Socialist Summer Camp in 1988. It was to coincide with the republication of Out of the Night by Jan Valtin, alias Richard Krebs, a fascinating semi-autobiograhical book about this tumultuous period. This book was originally published in the USA in 1941 and became a best-seller. While it was intended as “anti-communist” propaganda, the book reveals much about the real situation including important insights into the Communist movement of that period and its activities, and is certainly a book that should be read today by all activists.
Another reason for producing the present work was the scarcity of material in the English language about this important subject, and especially of material providing a Marxist analysis. It is only in the last few years that we have had the publication in English of Pierre Broue’s monumental book The German Revolution 1917-1923, which is extremely detailed and covers nearly 1,000 pages. It is without doubt the best book on this period, which I reviewed for www.marxist.com in late 2006. While my brief study covers a lengthier period up to the coming to power of Hitler, I hope it will serve to stimulate further reading and be a stepping stone to Trotsky’s writings and Broue’s classic work.
The writings on the rise of fascism by Leon Trotsky, contained in The Struggle Against Fascism in Germany and available on www.marxists.org, are among the most important of his works. They trace the situation as it unfolded between 1931 and 1933 and put forward not only a powerful analysis, but a programme of action, of a united front between the Communists and Socialists, to block the road of fascist reaction. Unfortunately, Trotsky’s advice went unheeded, and the criminal divisions in the workers’ movement, fostered by the Stalinists, led to the victory of Hitler.
In addition, since the current work was first written, there have been big changes which have served to cut across the perspective offered in its conclusion. In 1989-91 we witnessed the collapse of Stalinism as the old bureaucracy deserted to capitalism. After a long delay, this was a confirmation of Trotsky’s perspective that the bureaucracy would pave the way for capitalist restoration. This led to a massive ideological offensive by the the bourgeoisie against socialism, revolution and Marxism. “We have won!” announced the Wall Street Journal in its banner headlines. This coincided with a boom in the world economy and a massive onslaught against the working class. Globalization was the battle cry. This situation served to push up the rate of profit everywhere. Added to this was financial deregulation, privatization, the opening of markets and the expansion of cheap credit, which allowed the system to go beyond its limits and prolonged the life of the capitalist boom.
This situation has now come to an end with the biggest world economic crisis since the 1930s. This collapse has ushered in a new stormy period, one of upheaval, instability and convulsion on a world scale. The weak recovery can only be regarded as a prelude to a further slump in the next few years. Austerity has been the programme of all governments who are intent on making the working class pay for the crisis of capitalism. This has resulted in mass movements in Europe and revolution in the Middle East. A new period of radicalization is taking place. It marks the opening shots of the new world revolution.
Of course, this is an uneven process. In the United States, the hatred against the bankers is tied up with growing disillusionment with the Obama administration. The demand for real change among Americans, which was the key issue in the election of Obama, has been betrayed. Given the lack of a bold lead by the labour leaders and the absence a Labour Party, this has led to a swing back to the Republicans and the growth of the Tea Party. The Tea Party reflects this impasse and the growing polarization of American society.
Ever since the war, the ruling class has rested upon the Republicans and Democrats to defend their interests. However, in the future, with the formation of a Labour Party and the deepening crisis of US capitalism, sections will look towards a more authoritarian solution. The organizations of the working class will become incompatible with the continuation of capitalism. As a “movement,” backed by reactionary sections of big business, the Tea Party could be used to divide the workers on lines of racism and xenophobia. But this is the music of the future and is by no means a foregone conclusion. Before then, the US will experience an even greater shift to the left and the American working class will have many opportunities to fight back against the cuts and attacks and to transform society.
But it would be a mistake to think that “Democracy” has truly deep roots in the United States. Democracy is just one form of government to defend the interests of the capitalists. As the class struggle sharpens, sections of the ruling class will toy with reaction to deal with the working class. In the 1930s, as the workers occupied the factories and millions poured into the trade unions, a section of the ruling class looked to Father Charles Coughlin’s incipient fascist movement. The need for an American fascist movement was cut across by the Second World War and the need to protect the interests of US imperialism. This meant stopping Hitler by means of an “anti-fascist” war for “democracy.” This meant abandoning any support for those like Coughlin and his supporters – for the time being.
But it would be a mistake to “cry wolf” at every turn about the imminent rise of fascism. We must study this history in order to understand not only what fascism is and how to fight it, but what it is not. Otherwise, we may be caught off guard if and when the real thing rears its head.
The true lesson of Germany in the 1920s and 30s is that it was only after the repeated failure of the workers’ organisations to offer a solution and take power that the middle classes were driven to such extremes of despair. Under such conditions, the ruling class can lean on these layers of society to support reaction. However, before this were to happen again in Germany or in a country like the USA, the working class will have many opportunities to resolve the crisis in its own interests. This poses the need to transform the organisations of the working class into real weapons that can carry out the historic aim of the socialist transformation of society. In the words of Trotsky, the crisis of mankind is the crisis of (revolutionary) leadership. This can only be resolved by the building of a powerful Marxist tendency in the United States and internationally. That is the urgent task of the Workers International League and the International Marxist Tendency.