The Socialist Party and the War

...Bat the daswurtisw of the** rights would shut permanently the door to progress, i ne genuine ideologiral issue of the war is to prevent the Nsxis from establishing s permanent road block on the path to progress which would result from their destruction of «H civil rights...

...democracy has been, can be, and actually ia (win* modified in the direction of freedom...

...The war will probably speed up technical progress in medicine, engineering, and productive efficiency...

...We cannot avoid restoring the British, Dutch and French empires in the Fsr East unlets we lesve the Japanese in control of their island conquests (or unless we fight our Allies...

...Limited though it wm, this was a greater messure of democracy and freedom granted through British law than wm granted through the Native Indian rulers...

...The platform adopted demanded, "an immediate politics...

...Thus inaperiolism ss practiced by a capitalist nation with political democracy la nothing like the sort of bloody suppression of all opposition which Nssism preaches and practices...

...In the 1940 convention of the Socialist Party, the last one I attended before severing my connection with the party, the majority of the delegates, following the leadership of Norman Thomas, refused to support effective aid by our government to the countries fighting the Nasis...

...If we do not intend to lesve the Nasis in control of their East European and Balkan conquests, we have to run the riak of "Balkanising" ' parts of Europe if that is what the inhabitant* of those countries decide to do after they have been liberated and have had s chsnce to re-establish political democracy...

...Members of-the Congress Psrty actually formed and carried on the government in those province* until they resigned because India wa* put into the war by proclamation of the Viceroy...

...Bather she war kt one te piaiarv* the tools which are essentia...

...Yet just because Crest Britain haa political democracy British imperialism has been modified considerably in the direction of giving a greater measure of democracy and freedom to India...

...Such an assertion is on s par for inaccuracy with the assertion in the report by the Socialist Party's national secretary, Harry Fleischman, that "Roosevelt has been heading the swing toward reaction in the United States ever since 1937...

...Bat they evident...

...The** of m who were Mlively working for later-racial and economic democracy and also believed before Pearl Harbor taat we should be in the wm against Nasieas, seldom fell into the error of describing th* war m aa* te preserve dom*eraey...

...It ia true taat for some youra th* Sorialiat Party baa bean * fairly congenial political have* far abeelate pacifists...

...Thus the party took th* position of opposing government measures to step aid te th* Axis or te give aid te the nation* fighting th* Asia...

...This stood ef pessi miam hss bean strengthened by Prime Minbter I hsrchill's recent assertion that the war hs» become leas ideologiral ia charter...

...The worst exploited group, th* Untouchables, owe their miserable position te Hindu customs, not te th* British, and ns n result the political leadera of th* Untouchable* have bee* sup portera ef British nil...

...Under this law th* Congress Psrty pstiripated In the election for the provincial legislatures of British India and won a majority in eight out of eleven of th* provinces...

...Such a Position would only be taken by those who believe that the difference* beta—a Nssism and rapitaMat democracy were relatively unimportant...

...The Nasi* posed before all decent people the issue ef fighting or allowing the world te he mad* a very much worse place to live in...

...The Covet iiiiient of India Art passed in 1936 gave to the elected representative* of the Indian people control of their own internal affairs, such ss taxation, corporation law, civil rights, lsbor legislstion, and landlord and tenant relatiena, subject only to the restriction thai they could pass no law which discriminated against British citizens...

...Control of foreign affairs and of the armed forces was reserved to the British government however...

...Imperial teas by capitaliat de-moeraeie* baa brought te the subject peoplm some advantages in the direction of freedom and hoi do forth soundly based bene* for further each advance...

...For imperialism, by s nation which has politics...

...This I* directly due to the sjriaiMr* in a rspilslist dimil-racy of theM essential tools of pregre**, the civil aad poeitlesi rights, which under Nssism weald he dmtnyad...

...I Ik tlavsalnaaav fear limassni tsi I 1%M ^*rw BeVa**v*P**ai •favfirwBng'jvBwJy ^•"¦W^Bam •^B^nwBanmBU' BfavSp nBaBBaaasyaay...

...or more accurately, for at much collective security at H of the Senate and the majority of the people of the United States can be induced to accept...

...a e o After Pearl Btorbar the party had te support th* war unleee it teak n completely pacifi-t position...

...Possibly Norman Thomas or some of the party members would object to tnai conclusion...

...4 stray Haitian of th* Siriahwt Party aad the doubts of ***** Alfred Bsker Lewis wss for msny yesrs s leading figure in the Socialist Psrty...

...and also refused te support a resolution for a government embargo on the war materials being shipped by ut to the Japanese...

...But the leaders warn aat complete pscifitU, to they did not oppose th* war in the way that the party under Deb*, Hillquit, ami larger opposed • miry differMt eart ot war ia If 17...

...There is a genuine possibility that this policy will be adopted...

...Th* **Mt*M* of these rights hi a paiitieal iamittiry social prearraa...

...Msynard Krueger, the national chairman, for example, assailed "prolongation ef the war on its present terms sa leading away from rather than toward a lasting peace...

...te build-lag genuine aad more parte*1 domaensey...

...These necessary tools for building a hatter one sal order are th* fundamental civil rights of fre* speech, pram .snd sttsmkry, the right te farm free labor trajaalMHiai, aad the right te hali *IMti*M after ft** discussion...

...jr still d* awl b*thrve teat tba difference between Nssism serf ef pttalitt petit-leal dsmiuatl i* important enough te be worth fighting the war to the end of unconditional aurrender...

...T he aberrations ef the Socialist Psrty would aot be important—for the party ha* lost its former influence in the lebor movement—except that ths opposition to fighting the wsr to a complete victory fits the present mood of pe**lmism among some liberal* who feel that the postwar alternative offered by the United Nations ia not good enough to justify their former—somewhat ill founded—high hope* of a perfect world after the war...

...But by far the richest men who draw their income* from India are natives of India, not British, so that exploitation of Indiana by Indians ia si so serious and in total sum much graater...

...It as that fact which makes the difference between N.sism aad even the Basiled political d«m*crary which says*, iwnaaaaaa I U^.s-^»..«*tssI— mil...

...It all sounds very much as though the Socialist Party members did not believe that there are any important differences worth fighting for between rule by the Japanese or Naxis on the one hand, and capitalist democracy on the other...

...peace offensive baaed on the offer of an armistice to the peoples of the Axit nations...

...But that in fact has been their position right along...

...And it is significant of the deep-seated dislike of collective security by the followers of Norman Thomas that this alternative was not mentioned...

...But the postwar policy to which the administration appMrt to be committed is a policy of collective security, that is, united action by peace-loving nations against future sggrestion...

...He served ss Massachusetts Secretary of the party and was a candidate for official offices...

...The existence of these rights mskes even imperialism, when prseticed by a capitaliat nation where political democracy exists, less dangerous and less evil than imperialism prseticed by a Nasi or Fascist nation or by the Japanese...

...Fee yew caamat preset ve what hst aat been fairy waa...

...But te expert progress in humsn rotation* from this or any ether war ia certainly the height of optimism...

...An economist sad sather, he is active in maay liberal rsases, serving ss s board member of the NAACP, UDA snd other organizations...

...The platform plank on th* war condemned demands for an unconditional surrender and accused the Roosevelt administration of "prolonging this war and inviting the next by underwriting with the lives of our sons the reatoration of the British, Dutch, aad French empires in the Fsr Esst, snd the Balkanisation of Europe between Moscow and London...

...The delegates, party officials, and leading candidates asserted thst they did not think the war wss worth fighting to a completely victorious conclusion...

...The only alternatives to such a political peace offensive, it said, vers an uneasy and impermanent triple alliance of the major powers or else an isolationist imperialism...

...It hss on occasion used mass suppression such as the current imprisonment of the leadera of the Congress Party, an imprisonment from which Gandhi has only been recently released and from which Nehru still suffers...

...But the issue of making the world a better place to live In ia not what the war is about...

...There is undoubtedly exploitation by the British In In India...

...t has been marred by tearful acts of brutality such as the Amntnr massacre which took place shortly after the last war...

...It is a hateful thing as imperialism always is...

...Such pessimism is without justification, for it flows from • false and unrealistic expectation that the war will result in important social progress...

...Dltll ISM imperialism in India is the outstanding ex-smple for good and evil of imperialism by s nation which has political democracy at home...