[page 43]
MIR Summer 1986: Book Re
a mass workers' party is incompatible with the amateurish and informal methods which characterise the initial period of propaganda activity. The need for a more professional approach was one of the central themes of Lenin's writings at this time. "Organising the work on a business-like footing without introducing any personal element into it, and thus ensuring that caprice or personal relations associated with the past would not influence decisions, " wrote Krupskaya, "had now become an obvious need." 38
Footnotes '. B Pares, 'A History of Russia', p 465 2. V Akimov, 'On the Dilemmas of Russian
Marxism (1885-1903)' p 209
G Zinoviev, 'History of the Bolshevik
Party, p 51 V Akimov, op cit p 223 KPSS v rezolyutsiyakh
volume I, p 16 Quoted in Istoriya KPSS, KPSS v rezolyutsiyakh
volume I, p 17 Quoted in Istoriya KPSS, volume 1, p 265 Trotsky, 'My Life' p 117 • V Akimov, op cit p 262 . See Lenin 'Collected Works, volume 4',
pp 215-221, 255-296.
Ibid pp 167-182.
The full text of the 'Credo' is reproduc
ed in Lenin's 'Collected works, volume
4pp 171-174.
Ibid p 176
Ibid p 181
Ibid pp 333-349
Trotsky, 'Political
tion, pp123-24
Lenin. 'Collected
351-356
Ibid pp 320-330
volume 1, p 260 i resheniyakh.
Works,
Spanish olume
Ibid pp 354-5 Krupskaya. 'Memories of Lenin': p 83 Trotsky, 'Lenin', Spanish edition, p 99 O Pyatnitsky: Zapiski Bol'shevika. pp51-2 Lenin's 'Collected Works' volume 17-24 Ibid, volume 6, Ibid, volume 5, Ibid, pp 22-23 Ibid, p 375 Ibid, pp 383-4 Ibid, volume 6, p 491 Trotsky, 'Stalin' p 58 Lenin' 's Collected Works 369 Ibid, p 384 (footnote)
Trotsky, 'Stalin'. p 28 Lenin. Collected Works 31-80 Ibid, p 70 Ibid, pp 75- Krupskaya,
pp
235-252 349-529
76 'Memories
Book Reviews
THIS BOOK is in fact a selection of material and commentary based upon an exhibition of American artists of American labour history. It covers 150 years of painting, photographs, and poems most of which was hitherto unknown to Western Europe. The exhibition was sponsored by NGBK (New Society for Fine Arts), and also funded in West Germany. It opened on March 13 1983 in West Berlin, on the eve of the hundredth anniversary of Karl Marx's death. More than 2000 exhibits went on display and, subsequently, on tour throughout Europe.
The title of the exhibition was taken from a book called The Other America, published in 1962, about poverty and deprivation. There was revealed the world of unemployment, class struggle and racial oppression which is the real history of America. As the introduction to the book says the exhibition was a description of "all the Americans excluded from the opulence of life on 'Dynasty' and 'Dallas'".
It is a well documented book divided into sections each of which describes events and milestones which so often inspired artists in their work. The real surprise of the material is the width and variety of art that has come out of America, since the beginning of the organised labour movement early last century.
The Other America uses hundreds of examples to punctuate the commentary text, and shows the reader how little is recognised in Europe of material which deals with the class struggle as subject matter.
For example, the painting • "The
Strike', , by Robert Koehler is today
generally considered to be the master-
'The America
the l
Other - Art and
abour movement in th
United States'
By Philip Foner and R Schultz. Published by Journeyman
Press, 1985. £7.95.
Reviewed by Steve Amor
piece of American labour painting, according to the books' authors. It is certainly a powerful piece of work. Painted in 1886, the picture is based on a strike in Pittsburg in 1877 that was called the Great Labour Uprising It was lost to the public for 60 years and was only found again after extensive searches in the 1970's. Covered in dirt and seriously damaged it was sold to its present owner "for less than what most used cars cost"
But is was the historic period following the Russian Revolution in 1905, until the late 1930's that gave birth to more widespread 'Labour art' in America. The most well known names such as Upton Sinclair, Jack London and John Reed were only the tip of a layer of artists and writers who developed political consciousness in
44
JOURNEYMAN PRESS
that period. Journals and magazines were produced from within art groups which were circulated throughout the labour movement. One such journal was "The Masses' which consistently carried socialist material from the end of the first world war and into the 1920's, with a series of notable contributors such as John Reed.
But art sponsored by workers in the labour movement, who also were participants, really took root in the 1930's. Roosevelt's 'New Deal' programme had many offshoots. 'Make- Work projects were initiated, and among those who demanded jobs were artists. In December 1933 Public Works of Art Projects were started, known as PWAP. Nearly 4,000 artists were employed on weekly salaries, and by the time the projects finished in 1943 many thousands of public works of art had been completed. The majority of these works; murals; paintings; sculptures; print designs and silk
[page 44]
screens were concerned with the labour
movement. Its history, industrial con-
ditions and working class life were
reflected.
The first president of the American
artists movement worked for PWAP,
and so, also, did Jackson Pollock
Pollock, now acknowleged as a modern
master of abstract expressionism,
worked as a stone carver for PWAP
for 8 years.
But the nature of the projects by
bringing socially conscious people
together under 'collective' conditions
led inevitably to political awareness.
'There was a close comradeship
among the artists, a respect for each
other. Recognising our obligations
we participated in all major social and
economic struggles the
day" , wrote one of the project artists.
The Artists Union later became the
United American Artists and affiliated
to the CIO (Congress of Industrial
Organisations). But the project was
seen by right wingers in the Congress
as left wing groups getting paid by the
government, and as a result political
witch-hunts on artists took place.
Demonstrations and sit-ins were used as a means of saving the projects from threats of destruction. It took a hatchet-man of the right wing to liquidate the art projects during the second world war, using a wartime quango called the War Services Programme. Thousands of works of art disappeared or were destroyed as a part of the purge.
In the post world war two period a strong current of anti-communism swept through America. In its extreme form Senator McCarthy, aided by a young lawyer named Richard M Nixon, used his Un-American Activities Committee to persecute artists and performers, film directors and writers. Famous figures like Charlie Chaplin and Paul Robeson suffered exile as a result.
In response to this witch-hunt politically conscious artists attempted to use their media, satire and graphic comment to counter smears. But the pressure was fierce. Ralph Fasanella, who describes himself as a 'Workerpainter', was forced into obscurity for 20 years due to persecution. He was 'rediscovered' by art critics in the 1970's working as a garage attendant in New York's Bronx.
But commenting on the artists movements of today, the book illustrates how the minority groups, sections of workers and community movements have sparked a renaisance of 'social' art and culture through street theatre, dance groups, community mural projects etc..
The UAW (United Auto Workers) have sponsored exhibitions and projects by their own members. As the book confirms however it is clear that
Alice Neel. Uneeda Bisquit strike, 1936, p
artists and progressive culture groups
identifying with the labour movement
are undesirable under the present
Reagan regime. The funding for such
projects has declined considerably
over the past few years.
Sections of the book examine par-
ticular areas of American labour art
that the authors feel needs
highlighting. Black artists are given
much space, as is the history of the
organised artists movement. The fascinating material shows clearly how close the artists movement has come to the organised working class, particularly in the 1930's and 1940's. The Artists Union is still affiliated to the AFL-CIO today. -
Artists were, in the main, poor and only the very privilaged few could rise out of the ordinary to achieve bourgeois reward and recognition. The mass of them remained in contact with the social and economic realities of their society. It is because they established that tradition that the 'Other America' exhibition was able to be collated.
The best expression of how the arts and the community are combined, can be seen in the largely American phenomena called Community Mural Art. This art form has been a feature in America since the 1930's, inspired in the main by the Mexican Mural Art of Diego Rivera, one time friend of Trotsky. Under the PWAP projects in the 1930's and 1940's, the government paid artists to paint large works on walls in public places. The murals were painted in post offices, schools, libraries, public buildings, etc. These were completed as part of a law which said that one per cent of the funds us-
45
34 The Other America.
ed to construct a building must be us-
ed towards "artistic enhancement" of
the building.
Most major cities have numerous ex-
amples of mural art on show. In
Detroit, the 'Motor City', Rivera
himself painted a large wall mural
summarising life in the great industrial conurbation. Rivera also acheived notoriety in the 1930's by having his mural for the Rockefeller Centre smashed on the orders of Rockefeller himself. Rivera had painted a portrait of Lenin among the faces. It was deemed as 'not tolerable in a bourgeois hall!'
Mural art revived in the 1960's but they reflected a different mood. The Civil Rights movements and the peace struggles were the themes of the period.
By far the most wide ranging section of the books' images are those of the camera in American social history. Glimpses of life captured for a lifetime. Almost one half of The Other America examines the progress of twentieth century events through the camera.
The overall effect of the material compiled for The Other America is interesting and certainly looks at America from an original angle. In this respect the book has a real value, and certainly gives the reader a feeling of hope for the success of the struggle of the American working class against the strongest capitalist power on earth. It also clearly shows up capitalism's weaknesses; the failure to equalise society; the inability to integrate the myriad strands of ethnic groups and communities; the huge class divisions: all sowing the seeds of revolution.
[page 45]
MIR Summer 1986: Book reviews What is to be done?
By Nikolai Chernyshevsky Published by Virago, 1982 Reviewed by Bill Hopwood What Is To Be Done: is a novel which influenced Russian revolutionaries. Written in 1863 it showed the early tremors of Russian society which culminated in the earthquake which shook the world in 1917.
Nikolai Chernyshevsky, the author, was himself imprisoned for his activities against Czarism. He wrote What Is To Be Done? from the Peter and Paul fortress before he was moved to Siberia where he was exiled for nearly 20 years.
Born in 1828 his outlook was shaped by the European revolution of 1848. In contrast to many of the great Russian novelists he considered himself a materialist, he was influenced by Feurbach, and was more concerned about the town than the countryside. Lenin described him as a 'great Russian socialist'. The title of one of Lenin's critical pamphlets in building of the Bolsheviks What Is To Be Done? is a clear recognition of Chernyshevsky.
Although he died in 1889, before the Russian Social founding Democratic Labour Party, he was part of its pre-history.
Written from prison His words on the future, "Love it and work for it, for the closer you bring it, the brighter, richer and happier life will be" express the optimistic outlook of revolutionaries through out the ages. This confidence sustained him and there is no while in prison pessimism in his novel.
The main theme of the novel is the struggle of Vera Pavlovna for independence and happiness.
Her father is a servant in a rich household, and her parents main concern is making money and arranging a good marriage for her.
There is little family affection and Vera's parents constantly remind her that she is indebted to them. She is told to marry for money and not to worry about love or affection. All the women are involved in its running and the profits are divided equally. The co-operative goes beyond the work to include buying food, and social activities. The women regardless of their background work together.
Those women without family ties live together in a large house.
They also organise readings, trips to the countryside and to the theatre so that there is a rounded development of the co-op members. Chernyshevsky uses this business to show the advantages of socialist co-operation.
However this scheme, like the lives of the main characters, is an isolated island of the future in the grey sea of Czarist Russia. It was utopian to think that such examples, by reason alone, can change society. It required the struggles of millions, linked to a clear programme, in a revolution, to end Vera broadens herself through experience and struggle. Nonetheless she strives for more, in particular to include sexual satisfaction in her relationship.
She is drawn into friendship with Alexander Kirsanov, a colleague of Dmitry, who eventually leaves Vera out of respect for her feelings. Vera and Alexander get married.
The growth of this companionship is not described in a sentimental and slushy manner like a Mills and Boon story but with real doubt, guilt, sadness and upheaval before finding a new richer fulfilment.
Alexander is a doctor and Vera in a further break with convention decides The author to study medicine.
dismisses the prejudices against women. He writes "Any person who pursues their goal, in a business like fashion, whether they are dressed in men's or women's attire makes no difference: that person is simply a hardworking human being-and there's an Chernyshevsky further explains how their relationship grows, "a man loves a woman only if he is prepared to help and be beloved rise up his independent."
They discuss sensual love as well as their independence, in fact their love is strengthened by their independence. In one passage Vera discusses the abandoning of wearing a corset. This is both a physical and mental freedom. Vera has several dreams which mark the crises of her development. One is a powerful and vivid description of womens personal and sexual role culminates in a future where the "barren desert turned into fertile land" Chernyshevsky's socialist What Is To Be Done? is a powerful book of the struggle of a woman. The style in places is odd but the character and the experiences come through. Vera's character unfolds through struggles with the tensions building to a crisis to inaugrate a new stage of her Women's struggle for emancipation Her experience is in the material world rather than the mystic world of many other Russian novelists of the 19th century.
Chernyshevsky has a deep understanding of woman's struggle for emancipation. Vera explains "Everything rests on money, whoever has money has power and freedom. Then, as long as woman lives at man's expense, she will be dependent on She rejects the stereotype role of "What is this femine nature. Is it necessary to discuss the respective merits of contralto and baritone? We are always told to remain women. Isn't that nonsense? I am going to throw off this feminity and put forth utterly masculine ideas."
Her search for liberation does not include a battle against men. She seeks the way forward with some men. The barrier is social.
Chernyshevsky explains the need for those who struggle and would win to be conscious, confident and united. "Women have always been told they are weak, and so they feel weak" He explains how in war a smaller organised group can deteat larger "These did not share this numbers.
fear and were not accustomed to surrended without a struggle. They conquered everytime."
His book is full of confidence and that confidence is vital to victory. Marxists, women and men, have a key role to win the victory that will change the "barren desert" of capitalism into a "fertile land".
[page 46]
Marxist Studies Pamphlet Series—A pocket library of Marxist Studies Pamphlet Series The Marxist Studies series of pamphlets aims to build for the reader a library of some of the major works of Marxism at the cheapest possible prices: from the writings of Trotsky, to reprints of modern Marxist classics currently unavailable, to pamphlets dealing with contemporary issues. Forthcoming titles include Will There Be A Slump?, originally written by Ted Grant in 1961, and The Chinese Revolution by Peter Taffe. Orders for the pamphlets shown should be sent to: World Socialist Books, 3/13 Hepscott Road, London E9 5HB. Add 25 per cent for postage. Cheques to World Socialist Marxist classics.
Stalinism and Bolshevism by Leon Trotsky Marxist Studies 1. Stalinism and Bolshevism by Leon Trotsky, 20 pages, 40p 3 The Rise and Fall of the Communist International By Ted Grant Marxist Studies 3. The Rise and Fall of the Communist International by Ted Grant, 45 pages, 60p Books. As a special offer buy all four titles for £3.00 post free.
2 The Spanish Revolution 1931-37 by Ted Grant and Peter Taaffe Marxist Studies 2. The Spanish Revolution, 1931-37 by Ted Grant and Peter Taaffe, 60 pages, 70p DIVIDE AND RULE by Peter Hadden Marxist Studies 4. Divide and Rule: Labour and the partition of Ireland by Peter Hadden, 95 pages, £1.40
[page 47]
Special anniversary offer... Articles published by Militant on the General Strike Militant International Review subscription we will send the two Militant publications on the General Strike advertis A special offer from World Socialist Books: these two publications at £1.20, postage ed above. Fill in the form and send to: World Socialist Books, 3/13 Hepscott Road, the General Strike ARTICLES BY Leon Trotsky Peter Taaffe Ted Grant The General Strike -A selection of articles by Leon Trotsky, Peter Taaffe and Ted Grant, 68 pages, £1.
World Socialist Books, 3/13 Hepscott Road, London E9 5HB. Subscribe now...!
Guarantee your regular copy of the Militant International Review. Take out a years As a special offer to new subscribers (UK and Ireland only) for an extra pound on your MILITANT ISSUE No. 11 AUGUST 1976 Price 30p Southern European Socialist Parties EVI Militant International Review-No 11, August 1976—includes a major 12 page article by Lynn Walsh, 'The General Strike: 1926 and now' Name.
Address.
UK/Ireland only).
JeiXISM UTC.
INTERNATIONAL Please send me a years subscription to the Militant International Review, starting with issue No 33, Autumn 1986.
I enclose (tick the appropriate amount) £4.50 (UK/Ireland).
£5.00 (Overseas.
£5.50 (Special offer to new subscribers,