In the conflict within the Socialist Party over political action and industrial unionism between 1910-1913, a particular target of the Right Wing was the International Socialist Review, which it accused of advocating ‘individual violence.’ REVIEW editor Mary E. Marcy responds and insists that the REVIEW will not change its orientation.

‘Individual Violence: A Straw Man’ by Mary E. Marcy from the International Socialist Review. Vol. 13 No. 9. March, 1913.

FROM time immemorial it has been the custom of men who were afraid. to attack their enemies openly and upon their own ground, to erect a straw man, roll up their sleeves and beat him up with a great show of valor.

This is what the enemies of the REVIEW are doing. They dare not attack upon our own ground, which is industrial unionism and so they have builded a great Man of Straw, which they have called Individual Violence. Just now they have him in the ring and are pummeling him mercilessly before the cameras of their own manufacture.

Their only fear is that we will continue to teach revolutionary unionism.

The Review is, above all Socialist Party periodicals, the journal of the working class. This alone is our offense.

As opposed to Labor Partyism, we have advocated the Socialist Party.

As opposed to Fusion with capitalist parties, we have stood for No Compromise.

As opposed to middle class propaganda, we have offered proletarian literature.

Instead of Craft Division, we have taught Class Unionism.

We have ignored the leader in our desires to make the working class self-reliant. We have insisted that elected officials are to take their orders from the workers who elected them. We have demanded of them —service and not rule.

Instead of dynamite, we have urged industrial unionism.

In place of tiger fighting behind street barricades, we have taught organization and the general strike.

Against individual violence, we have made our plea for revolutionary unionism.

It profits the working class nothing to kill scab workingmen or tyrannical bosses. It would benefit them not at all if an individual smashed his machine.

But it would help them in many ways il the workers, as a class, went very slow on the job.

Class action alone counts and to have class action, we must have: Class education and class organization.

We hope the enemies of the Review will go right on killing that Straw Man, Individual Violence. It will keep them from obstructing the way when the industrialists in the Party are out with their Class Union propaganda. It will keep them from fighting us when we insist upon a working class Socialist Party instead of a fusion or labor party.

It is time for our friends to cease replying to the enemies of the Review. We don’t propose to be dragged off the main road. We are going right on teaching industrial unionism.

We will continue to educate the workers along class lines on the political and the economic field.

We are not concerned with the acts of individuals in the shops or elsewhere. We are glad to know there are individual rebels in the shops who refuse to be exploited to the limit of human endurance. But our concern is the great class war. And the main things are: No compromise on the political field, and revolutionary class unionism on the economic field! Agitate! Educate! Organize!

The International Socialist Review (ISR) was published monthly in Chicago from 1900 until 1918 by Charles H. Kerr and critically loyal to the Socialist Party of America. It is one of the essential publications in U.S. left history. During the editorship of A.M. Simons it was largely theoretical and moderate. In 1908, Charles H. Kerr took over as editor with strong influence from Mary E Marcy. The magazine became the foremost proponent of the SP’s left wing growing to tens of thousands of subscribers. It remained revolutionary in outlook and anti-militarist during World War One. It liberally used photographs and images, with news, theory, arts and organizing in its pages. It articles, reports and essays are an invaluable record of the U.S. class struggle and the development of Marxism in the decades before the Soviet experience. It was closed down in government repression in 1918.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/isr/v13n09-mar-1913-ISR-riaz-ocr.pdf