9. ‘Left-Wing’ Communism in Great Britain¶
Core Argument¶
In Great Britain, the formation of a unified Communist Party remains stalled, with negotiations between the British Socialist Party, the Socialist Labour Party, the South Wales Socialist Society, and the Workers’ Socialist Federation foundering on two critical questions: participation in parliament and affiliation to the Labour Party. The ‘Lefts’—notably Sylvia Pankhurst and Comrade Gallacher—oppose both. Lenin acknowledges that Gallacher’s letter expresses a valuable revolutionary temper among workers, but insists that temper alone is insufficient for leadership. Politics is a science and an art; the proletariat must train its own class politicians. The fundamental law of revolution requires both that the exploited cannot live in the old way and that the exploiters cannot rule in the old way. Both conditions are maturing in Britain.
Lenin argues that the Lefts fail to consider whether pro-Soviet politicians should enter parliament to disintegrate it from within. He cites Lloyd George’s speech, which reveals that the bourgeoisie is uniting against Labour, and that Liberals are drifting toward Labour. Pankhurst argues the Communist Party must keep its doctrine pure and avoid compromise. Lenin counters that most British workers still follow Henderson and Snowden; Communists should participate in parliament to help the masses learn from experience that these leaders are bankrupt. Communists must therefore help Henderson defeat Lloyd George, then help workers see Henderson’s inevitable failure, to prepare for revolution.
Lenin proposes that the four weak groups unite into a single Communist Party based on Third International principles, with obligatory parliamentary participation. He suggests a compromise election agreement with the Labour Party leaders: jointly fight the Lloyd George-Conservative alliance, share parliamentary seats proportionally according to a special ballot of workers' votes, while retaining complete freedom of agitation and propaganda. If the Labour leaders accept, Communists gain by agitating among masses incensed by Lloyd George, accelerating Labour's government and subsequent mass understanding of communism. If rejected, Communists gain more by demonstrating that Labour leaders prefer ties with capitalists over worker unity. Communists would then contest only safe seats, urging voters elsewhere to back Labour against bourgeois candidates. Lenin rejects the leftist objection that this is too subtle for masses, citing Bolshevik experience in Russia: they participated in Constituent Assembly elections even as they prepared Soviet revolution. On affiliation to the Labour Party, Lenin warns against doctrinaire refusal of compromises, insisting tactics must be derived from each country's specific class relations and objective conditions.