Necessary Clarifications Concerning the First of August

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Some comrades have taken this letter as suggesting that the Opposition ought to refuse to participate in the August 1 demonstrations. A more false and absurd interpretation is, on the whole, impossible to imagine. It is true that the text of the letter contains no concrete organizational or tactical instructions. But if allowance is made for the fact that we are dealing with different countries, in which the situation around the first of August is developing in different ways, it will be seen as natural that uniform, detailed instructions cannot be given telling each national group of the Opposition what to do and how to proceed. The letter from the Opposition editors took as its starting point the May 8 Comintern call (which we received only after long delay), and its main objective was to try to win cancellation of the adventuristic demonstrations which had been projected and whose character had been set in advance by the May 8 call. What the letter discusses is not the rejection of demonstrations in general, but the rejection of a particular kind of demonstration, which could only be a caricature of the May Day events in Berlin. The last lines of the letter state — as something taken for granted — that the Opposition will never let itself be separated from the working class as a whole, or from its vanguard in particular. For any thoughtful political person, this means that if the first of August demonstration is not called off, if it takes place in the form projected by the Comintern — which we consider incorrect — in that case, we would participate and share responsibility with the proletarian vanguard. That is the only meaning the passage could have. Why, then, do we not say so openly? Because, when you are calling for the cancellation of demonstrations of a particular kind, there is no point in explaining at length that you are willing to take part if they should be held after all. The last lines do say this — as something taken for granted — that is, as a general rule of conduct for revolutionaries, who do not, under any circumstances, become separated from the most active section of the working class.

The national groups of the Opposition can and should concretize this letter in special calls or resolutions, according to the situation which is still developing in each country but which will acquire fixed and final form as August 1 approaches.

At this point almost every Comintern party has pulled back from the line of the May 8 call and taken up some sort of indefinite position. It is therefore more important than ever, and more incumbent upon us than ever, to go on the offensive, explaining the criminal adventurism of the May 8 call and trying to make the official leadership take a completely clear stand. Certainly we can and should explain to worker Communists that we will share their fate under any circumstances. But, after all, it is not the task of the Opposition to simply participate in the actions of the masses even when they are incorrect. Rather it will to show the masses the correct path. That is what the Opposition letter does.