Joel A Lewis Youth Against Fascism.pdf

THE LENINIST GENERATION
in the happier, brighter days of some far off tomorrow, Liebknecht's name will be honoured
and remembered." 63
Other elements of youth propaganda centred on "exposing" the treacherous nature of
social democracy. The Comintern used social democracy as a scapegoat in their early
literature to explain why communist revolutions failed outside of Russia. 64 Instead of
critiquing the revolutionary potential of "the masses," the Comintern argued social
democracy facilitated a return to the status-quo of traditional political parties, institutions
and class relations. 65 Communists insisted social democracy betrayed workers during the
post-war period of revolutions by enabling "the established order to absorb and diffuse
protest." 66
The YCI condemned the non-political role social democracy defined for "revolutionary
youth." The YCI highlighted the a-political nature of the program of the Young
Worker's International (YWI). 67 The YCI argued the Second International was consciously
directing youth into cultural pursuits to demobilize radical young workers. The
YCI mocked the YWI, dubbing it as "the International of parades and phrases" that
cloaked their betrayals of young workers through the "extensive use of revolutionary
phrases." 68 YCI publications quoted the Young Workers' International program of 1921,
using their own statements to highlight this process:
[The socialist youth's] tasks are not those of parties, trade unions or cooperative societies,
are neither political or economic, but as a cultural movement it works alongside all
of them, seeking for a new life, Socialism.... Rebirth of personality, active Socialism,
training of Socialist administrators for a future society, -- these should be the slogans of
a proletarian youth movement.... The Yong Workers’ International must leave no room
for doubt that it will not tolerate endeavors to transform the proletarian youth movement
into a political party. 69
According to the YCI, the post-war proletarian youth were a "revolutionary generation"
simply lacking "correct" leadership to direct their revolutionary struggles. Socialist
cultural initiatives distorted the necessity of youth's revolutionary struggle.
At its Fourth Congress in November, 1922 the Comintern set out a new approach to
social democracy referred to as "the United Front." 70 However, while communists
asserted that they stood for unity, they consciously facilitated greater splits within the
working-class movement. Communists used the United Front to put their movement into
greater contact with workers by initiating joint communist and socialist activities. The
goal of the United Front was to split socialist leaders from their working-class membership.
71 United Front propaganda centred on themes of working-class unity, but the YCI
openly boasted of its strategic intent:
We will show to our enemies the bourgeoisie and the social democrats that we laugh at
their endeavors, and that there shall be no peace between us until they are definitely defeated....
The united front tactics which the Young Communist International carried
through nationally and internationally, has greatly promoted the exposure of the true
character of the social democratic youth movement and accelerated the process of de-
19