Alan Woods launches Bolshevism - the Road to Revolution in Spain

 

The cover of the Spanish edition 
of "Bolshevism
the Road to Revolution"
The Spanish translation of Bolshevism - the Road to Revolution by Alan Woods was successfully launched last week. Over 100 copies were sold in a few days, mainly at the big Madrid book fair, where the Fundacion Federico Engels for the sixth year running had an impressive stand.

Alan spent three days signing books at the stand, but before this, on the evening of Thursday 5 June, there was an official presentation meeting. Over 130 people attended a very enthusiastic and packed meeting in the headquarters of the Madrid Federation of the Workers’ Commissions (CCOO) trade union. Since the hall normally only holds 100 people, many of those present had to bring chairs from other rooms to fit in.

The audience was a good mix of young people and older trade unionists, socialists and communists, including the veteran Communist and founder of the Workers’ Commissions, Marcelino Camacho, who sat in the front row with his wife, Josefina.

Alan spoke for over an hour in Spanish, without notes, tracing the main points of the history of the Bolshevik Party. He began with a quote from Trotsky, that in order to carry out the socialist revolution, three things are necessary: "the party, the party and once again, the party". But the party, he explained, is in the first place programme, methods, ideas and traditions, and only in the second place an organization (though this is also important) in order to carry these ideas to the working class, beginning with the most advanced elements.

Section of the meeting (Marcelino Camacho in front row)
After insisting on the key role of theory in the building of the party, Alan went on to deal with the dialectical process of the development of working class consciousness. Taking as his main example the first Russian Revolution of 1905, Alan rebuked those who constantly complain about the supposed "low level" of working class consciousness. He pointed out that at the beginning of 1905, the consciousness of the Russian workers was very backward, but it was transformed by the experience of the proletariat:

"In January 1905 the Russian working class came onto the stage of history with icons in their hands, in a peaceful demonstration, with a priest at its head, to deliver a petition to the tsar - the "little father"."When the revolutionaries attempted to distribute leaflets in favour of the overthrow of the tsar they were beaten up by the workers. But after the massacre of the 9 January, the same workers went to the Bolsheviks demanding arms.

He went on to explain that the soviets were not invented by Lenin, but were the spontaneous creation of the working class. The soviets were only extended strike committees, but developed into embryonic organs of workers power.

Alan described the desperate situation of the party after the defeat of the 1905 revolution, when thousands of workers were shot and thousands more sent to Siberia. Many young comrades committed suicide, believing that all hope was lost. The intellectuals succumbed to mystical tendencies that were combated by Lenin in his book Materialism and Empirio-Criticism.

Alan Woods speaking in Madrid
But beginning in 1911 there was anew upswing in the movement, and by 1912-14, Russia was on the verge of a new revolution. However, this was cut across by the First World War. The party was once again thrown back.

The February Revolution transformed the situation. The re-emergence of the soviets posed the question of workers power. But the war had drastically modified the class balance of forces. The soviets were controlled by the opportunists - the SRs and Mensheviks. The Bolsheviks were a small minority - only 8,000 in a country of 150 million inhabitants.

Alan sharply criticised bourgeois critics of Bolshevism like Orlando Figes, who try to present the October Revolution as a "coup" by a minority. In reality the Bolsheviks only succeeded in taking power by patient work among the masses, to gain a majority in the soviets, using flexible tactics and slogans. By September-October they had succeeded in winning over the majority and only then was the question of power posed.

He also rejected the charge that Lenin and Trotsky were men of violence. The revolution in St. Petersburg was as peaceful as a revolution can be, he said. In fact, there was almost no resistance. The bloodbath only started when 21 foreign armies of intervention invaded Soviet Russia, provoking a bloody Civil War.

The lead-off was greeted with very enthusiastic applause. In the discussion that followed, one old Communist expressed his disgust at the policies being pursued by the Party leadership and asked what had to be done. Another worker said he was from the Socialist Party (PSOE), but was delighted to be present. Many others were members of the Critical sector of the Workers’ Commissions, who expressed strong disagreement with the line of the leadership.

In his reply Alan stressed the need to build a powerful Marxist current in the mass organizations and fight to transform them. This met with the warmest approbation from those present. The meeting ended with a hearty rendition of the Internationale. Many of those present bought the book and signed up for the Fundancion Federico Engels.

Another image of the book launch meeting in Madrid
The next day, many of those who had been present came to the stand of the Fundancion Federico Engels at the book fair. This is now the only stand out of more than 400 where one can purchase Marxist books. There is a lot of interest in the ideas of Marxism, especially among young people.

In many cases parents brought their sons and daughters to the stand to encourage them to take an interest in Marxist literature. The Communist Manifesto sold particularly well. From this we see how the knot of history is being retied. The ideas that inspired the older generation continue to represent a beacon for the youth.

The success of the Fundancion Federico Engels stall did not pass unnoticed by our enemies. The organizers of the fair for the first time attempted to sabotage the stall by forbidding the comrades to sell anything that had not been published by the Foundation itself. Unfortunately for them we have already produced about 40 different titles, which continued to sell very well.

The attacks against the Spanish Marxist tendency El Militante have been intensified in the last year, and this is just the latest example. We have had comrades beaten, threatened and fined for trumped-up charges. But none of this will stop the irresistible forward march of Marxism in Spain. With every attack the will of the comrades gets stronger and our support in the workers’ movement firmer.

The publication of the new book is yet another milestone in the development of the Spanish Marxist tendency. After the marvellous success of the Spanish version of Reason in Revolt (now in its second edition), we are sure that Bolshevism - the Road to Revolution will enjoy an equal or even greater success both in Spain and Latin America, where the ideas of El Militante continue to spread and prosper.

Madrid,  June 9, 2003.

 

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