The First Five Years of the Communist International

Following the October Revolution of 1917, a revolutionary wave swept across Europe. In this period, Leon Trotsky, along with Lenin, was pivotal in setting up the Third (Communist) International, which represented a world party of the working class. The International could not be conjured out of thin air. Much like the Bolshevik Party, it had to be built through struggle against many different tendencies and ideas. This book collects all of Trotsky’s writings and speeches related to the first five years of the Communist International. Highlighting the task he and Lenin faced in trying to educate the young communist parties of Germany, France and elsewhere, it deals with many problems that the working-class movement still comes up against today. This includes the question of the United Front, the national question, the consciousness of the working class and how it changes and much more. Today, the capitalist system faces the deepest crisis in its history. However, we are faced with the same problem Trotsky outlined in 1924: there is no mass international organisation of the working class with a clear understanding of the task at hand. Therefore, this work is not just of historical interest, but should be read as a guide to action for all workers and youth seeking a revolutionary way out of the present crisis. This edition contains a new introduction by Fred Weston, editor of Marxist.com, which outlines some of the key debates and decisions as well as an outline of the development of the International in this period.

Contents

82 chapters

• Foreword
• Introduction
• Author’s 1924 Introduction
• 1. Towards the First World Congress
• May Day and the International
• To the Spartacus League of Germany and the Communist Party of German Austria
• Order out of Chaos
• 2. The First World Congress
• Invitation to the first World Congress
• Manifesto of the Communist International to the Workers of the World
• Report on the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Red Army
• Order of the Day Number Eighty-Three to the Red Army and Navy
• 3. From the First to the Second World Congress
• To Comrades of the Spartacus League
• A Creeping Revolution
• Great Days
• En Route: Thoughts on the Progress of the Proletarian Revolution
• A Letter to Our French Comrades
• French Socialism on the Eve of Revolution
• Jean Longuet
• On the Coming Congress of the Comintern
• 4. The Second World Congress
• Speech on Comrade Zinoviev’s Report on the Role of the Party
• Manifesto of the Second World Congress
• 5. From the Second the the Third World Congress
• A Letter to a French Syndicalist about the Communist Party
• On the Policy of the KAPD
• Vergeat, Lepetit and Lefebvre
• The March Movement in Germany
• The March Revolutionary Movement in Germany
• May Day Manifesto of the ECCI
• The Unemployed and the Trade Unions
• Speech Delivered at the Second World Conference of Communist Women
• Letter to Comrade Monatte
• Letter to Comrades Cachin and Frossard
• On l’Humanité, the Central Organ of the French Party
• 6. The Third World Congress
• The Red Army to the General Staff of the Revolution
• Report on the World Economic Crisis and the New Tasks of the Communist International
• Summary Speech
• Theses on the International Situation and the Tasks of the Comintern
• Speech on the Italian Question
• Speech on Comrade Radek’s Report on ‘Tactics of the Comintern’
• Speech on Comrade Lenin’s Report: ‘Tactics of the Russian Communist Party’
• 7. From the Third to the Fourth World Congress
• The Main Lesson of the Third Congress
• Report on ‘The Balance Sheet’ of the Third Congress of the Communist International
• Summary Speech
• A School of Revolutionary Strategy
• From the ECCI to the Central Committee of the French Communist Party
• From the ECCI to the Marseilles Convention of the French Communist Party
• Speech on Comrade Zinoviev’s Report ‘The Tactics of the Communist International’ at the Eleventh Party Conference
• Summary Speech at the Eleventh Party Conference
• Flood-Tide
• Paul Levi and Some ‘Lefts’
• On the United Front
• Resolution of the ECCI on the French Communist Party
• The Communists and the Peasantry in France
• The Lessons of May Day
• From the ECCI to the Central Committee of the French Communist Party
• French Communism and the Position of Comrade Rappoport
• To Comrade Ker
• Resolution of the ECCI on the French Communist Party
• A Letter to Comrade Treint
• From the ECCI to the Seine Federation of the French Communist Party
• From the ECCI to the Paris Convention of the French Communist Party (13 September 1922)
• From the ECCI to the Paris Convention of the French Communist Party (6 October 1922)
• 8. The Fourth World Congress
• The Fifth Anniversary of the October Revolution and the Fourth World Congress of the Communist International
• Speech in Honour of the Communist International
• The New Economic Policy of Soviet Russia and the Perspectives of the World Revolution
• The Economic Situation of Soviet Russia from the Standpoint of the Socialist Revolution
• Resolution on the French Question
• A Militant Labour Programme for the French Communist Party
• Resolution of the French Commission
• 9. After the Fourth Congress
• Political Perspectives
• Report on the Fourth World Congress
• Preface to The Communist Movement in France
• Is the Slogan “The United States of Europe” a Timely One?
• Can a Counter-Revolution or a Revolution Be Made on Schedule?
• To Comrade McKay