Letter to Alexis Bardin, January 27, 1938

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Factory Papers and a Theoretical Journal

I received your large packet of factory newspapers and leaflets, etc. Indeed, this is the only suitable way for a weak organization with a small paper to approach the least educated masses while not only maintaining but continually deepening its theoretical understanding. A certain type of "democratic centralism" is necessary in the organization of written propaganda and agitation as well. You approach the workers with the simplest demands and slogans, which flow directly from life in the factory. You are not obliged to draw all the conclusions on every occasion, that is to say, in every article. Every day has its task.

But in order to do this loose, uncoordinated mass work, the party's thinking must be sufficiently centralized and it must find its daily inspiration in a laboratory where all questions, even the most complex, are analyzed and sharply focused. The Bank of France is obliged at certain times to renew its gold reserves so that the money in circulation is not debased by inflation.

I don't know what the current circulation of Lutte is, but there are tens of thousands of workers in France who are not only capable of understanding an article that takes a broader view, but who are demanding from the workers' press in-depth answers to the complex questions posed by the world situation.

Let us recall the discussion with the Molinier group on "a mass paper." The pamphlet by our poor N. Braun makes a number of excellent points on this subject. By transforming the central organ of the party into a kind of factory paper, you will never reach the masses, but you will lose your distinguishing political character, and with it your own members.

The fact that Craipeau was able to get about one-third (he himself claims 40 percent) of the party membership [at the POI's second congress in the autumn of 1937] is a disquieting symptom of political degeneration. Personally Craipeau is an excellent comrade, sincere, devoted; but I fear that he is moving more and more in the direction of Vereecken, i.e., into an impasse.

I am following the discussion in the Belgian Central Committee with great concern. As the apostle says, they strain at gnats and swallow camels. I believe that the difficulties of the Belgian section can be explained to a great extent by the lack of a French-language theoretical journal. The importance of this question cannot be overestimated. These are stormy times; the masses are restless; the most intelligent workers are seeking above all to understand what is going on. They will not be satisfied with the mere repetition of the current slogans. They must be given a complete answer. A dozen or a hundred workers of this caliber won to our general ideas can lead tens of thousands of rank-and-file workers to our movement.

None of this is in any way directed against mass work. Our work in the unions is absolutely decisive. The worst mistake committed by the Borinage comrades was in wasting their time, energy, and prestige by creating "unions" for their own satisfaction. They took their inspiration not from the experience of decades, not from the lessons of the first four congresses of the [Third] International, but from the example of a bureaucrat without program or principles, that is, Sneevliet.

Work in the reformist unions, I repeat, should come first. But in order for this work to be carried out in a truly revolutionary fashion, the party must have a good central paper and a theoretical journal. Don't you think that it would be possible for the French section together with the Belgian section (and possibly the Geneva group) to maintain a monthly theoretical journal? Is the "internationalism," which is proclaimed verbally, insufficient for such an undertaking? Moreover, it is a question of the very existence of both the French and the Belgian sections.

I do not know whether the French comrades have sufficient opportunity to follow the life of our section in the United States. They have made very remarkable progress. The level of discussion was very high and the convention ended with nearly complete agreement and with heightened authority of the leadership. I remember the hue and cry that Sneevliet raised over the entry of the Americans into the Socialist Party. He fulminated against the "Second International," opportunism, etc. Naturally, Vereecken repeated all these accusations. However, the American section is the only one that has made appreciable progress and has shown real political maturity.

Crux [Trotsky]

I just received number 4 of Quatrième Internationale. It is very cheering. But despite all the solemn promises, there is not the least hope that number 5 will appear soon. In my opinion the only way to assure its regular publication is through collaboration with the Belgians.