Joel A Lewis Youth Against Fascism.pdf
Joel A Lewis Youth Against Fascism.pdf
Joel A Lewis Youth Against Fascism.pdf
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4<br />
UNITY OF YOUTH:<br />
FROM SECTARIANISM TO POPULISM<br />
<strong>Youth</strong> unity gives us hope that after victory we will all understand that there are no reasons<br />
for a division; that the enemy, the common enemy, is fascism and the social forces<br />
which support it.<br />
-Santiago Carrillo, 1936 1<br />
As a member of the family of progressive youth organizations, the Young Communist<br />
League aims to establish friendly and cooperative relations with all of them. It does so<br />
with no selfish purpose, but because it realizes the necessity of common action and unity<br />
of youth to defeat the menace of fascism, to preserve peace, and to realise a secure and<br />
happy future for our generation.<br />
-Carl Ross, 1939 2<br />
"Workers of the World Unite!" This simple and familiar urge for unity proved to be a<br />
daunting challenge to Marxist revolutionaries. The Communist Manifesto predicted that<br />
global capitalism would eliminate "national differences" and spurn workers into international<br />
cooperation. The outbreak of WWI desolated many of these hopes. In turn, the<br />
Zimmerwald Left sought to reinvigorate internationalism, directing its aspirations into the<br />
foundation of the Comintern. Communists lamented that unity initiatives rarely culminated<br />
in international revolution. If this was the case, what then should be the "correct"<br />
attitude of communists towards unity Should non-communist initiatives be supported<br />
Could unity and cooperation across class lines ever play a progressive role in communist<br />
politics This chapter looks at how inter-war communist youth constructed and then<br />
reconstructed concepts of class mobilization and youth unity.<br />
The Leninist Generation understood Marxist-Leninist ideology in strict class terms.<br />
According to Marxism, class struggle is the driving force of historical change and the<br />
working class is the agent of modern social advance. Revolutionary Marxists rejected<br />
any class collaboration, insisting that the "emancipation of the working class must be the<br />
work of the working class itself." 3 Lenin linked class collaboration with the "opportunism"<br />
of the Second International that had facilitated WWI. He insisted on "purging" all<br />
remnants of class collaboration from the ranks of revolutionary Marxism. 4 The<br />
Comintern sought to create new revolutionary parties, free from the "opportunism" of the<br />
Second International. Communist Parties would alone "represent the interests of the<br />
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