Letter to the Members of the Plenum, January 31, 1935

Add a subpage to this text

Read the help page for usage.

 

A Proposal to Co-opt Dubois into the Plenum

To the Members of the Plenum

Dear Comrades:

By this letter I make a formal proposal to co-opt Comrade Dubois into the plenum. These are my reasons:

Comrade Dubois is a very experienced comrade with a past of struggle and of experience. He adhered to us in a difficult situation, which is a mark of revolutionary sincerity. The cadres of experienced comrades that we possess are not numerous. It is necessary to know how to utilize them. It is necessary to reinforce the plenum by a comrade who will surely be able to contribute an individual note to our discussions and an effective collaboration. Comrade Dubois knows the movement in different countries and commands three languages. His knowledge of the Anglo-Saxon movement and of the English language will be of great use to us.

What objections can be made? Comrade Dubois "does not collaborate systematically in any of our sections." That is correct. But I believe that the fault lies much more with the sections than with Comrade Dubois. The German leadership did not want to have either Parabellum [Arkadi Maslow] or Dubois. Bauer accused them of having wrong ideas on the permanent revolution, etc. The German leadership supported Bauer in this affair. We saw later on the firmness in principle of Bauer himself. It is quite possible that there are different nuances in our conceptions. But do we want an absolute monolithism? Certain doctrinal divergences may prevent collaboration when they translate themselves in an irreconcilable manner in political activity. It is the common experience that will finally judge. But on the condition that this experience be made.

We cannot impose collaboration with Comrades Parabellum and Dubois upon our German section. But we cannot, as an international organization, tolerate being deprived of a collaboration that we deem useful and necessary.

Comrade Dubois has been and remains against the entry of the League into the SFIO. This is regrettable. But in this question too it is experience that will have the last word. Because of this political difference, Dubois did not separate himself from us like Bauer and did not declare war upon us by basing himself against us upon the sterile opportunists of the SAP.

Nobody proposes to hand over the leadership to Comrades Parabellum and Dubois. It is only a question of introducing one of them, notably Dubois, into the plenum. Let us suppose for a minute that the collaboration proves to be a failure. We shall be enriched by one more experience and we shall pass over to the next point on the agenda. How else can one make the selection of leading comrades without putting qualified comrades to the test?

In this domain as in all others, more initiative and flexibility are necessary, even a little audacity. We are already too much threatened by routine and the spirit of the closed circle.

I beg you, dear comrades, to reflect on this question and to express your vote as soon as possible.

Crux [Leon Trotsky]