‘The Cant of Parliamentarianism’ by Anton Pannekoek from Truth (Duluth). Vol. 3 No. 39. September 24, 1920.

The question of democracy appears to be a great and debatable one. By the word “democracy” is understood a people’s governing power: the people should be governed by themselves. No one should have the right to govern them. They ought to have a free will to decide their fate.

If the above principles are taken as a basis, and applied to present-day society, then in reality they cannot be translated into practice. There is no people in the world today (except the Russian people) which has the right to decide its fate, because humanity is divided into two classes. The exploiters and the workers are ranged against each other in a bitter struggle. These two classes have no common interests, or if they have they are secondary ones. Therefore they cannot have a common will. If, abiding by the principles of the old democracy, they have representatives in Parliament according to their numbers, will it be possible for them to govern the country in co-operation?

When we speak of the people we have in mind the poor, the masses of the people, as distinct from the rich, the minority. And those people, the workers–the proletarians ought to govern themselves. Proletarians everywhere appear in a majority. Therefore proletarian interests should be decisive. The proletarians only should rule society. The interests of the bourgeoisie should be ignored. Reformers tell us that in bourgeoisie society the interest of the workers are partly considered. But we, having before us two opposing objects, can pursue only one of them. I have criticised before, as I do now, the principle of universal suffrage. A man who does not work, but lives from his capital, is a parasite on the community. He should not have equal voice with the worker, whose work supports the community. This is a perfectly ethical consideration. But it may be said further, our aim being to establish society on a Socialist basis, is so much against the interests of the bourgeoisie that they will obstruct in every possible way the building of the new society. And, building a house, may we accept as assistants people whose object it is not to help forward but to impede the work? If the masses of the people once clearly understand that to establish society on a Socialistic basis they must exploit their political power, ty will put aside any idea of cooperation with the bourgeoisie. There will then be no question of the Interests of capital. This, practically speaking, is not a formal “democracy,” but in reality it is the highest, the best democracy–the workers’ democracy–defending the everyday interests of the great masses. This is the order which was named by Marx “Proletarian Dictatorship,” which formerly was called Communism, and is now called Bolshevism. The beginning of this order was the Paris Commune of 1871. What is happening now in Russia remind us of the Paris Commune in a more developed form. The Workers’ Delegates Councils (the Soviets) in the towns, and the Peasants’ Councils in the villages, are the elements from which is created the Soviet Government.

Town Councils are elected by the town Workers’ Councils. Factory Workers’ Councils of one branch of industry elect Boards of Administration for their branch of production. Congresses of all Councils from time to time decide the general policy.

Special congresses meet to consider questions of production, education, food transport, health protection. To these the local Councils send their specialist members in order to derive mutual benefit from the experience of others and consult as to the best plan or future action.

The Russian people have built this moving apparatus to aid, them in successfully building the new order of society. This apparatus is the organ of the proletarian dictatorship: the bourgeoisie, have no hand in it. They are automatically thrown out of the country’s governing organs.

No; for the bourgeoisie there is no place in this organisation, The reason lies in the fact that the governing apparatus is at the same time the Government, which relies not only on the people, but on their work as well. He who does no work takes away the right to have any influence in the nation’s fate. A director or manager of a factory, who agree to continue his work as technical instructor (under the control of the Workers’ Council) may have an equal share with any other worker in running the factory. All members of such councils are bound to the working masses, who periodically elect, exchange, and replace them by others, and in this way prevent the creation of a new bureaucracy. This can be fully realised thanks to great determination to learn and to teach others. Knowledge thus ceases to be the monopoly of a few Individuals.

Examining this, it is possible to see clearly a real people’s Government, and to realise how then the most democratic Parliament cannot give expression to the people’s governing power. Such a Parliament can establish nothing but Parliamentary government. Parliamentarians, once in four years, or let us even say once in a year, have to gain the confidence of the people. With beautiful speeches, promises, and programmes, they get a majority of votes on their side, and then they are masters. Not being directly under the influence of the people, they influence only one another. During their Parliamentary period they make long speeches and enact laws. They look all-powerful, but only from the top; in reality the governmental power lies in the hands of the office-bearers and bureaucrats. The latter, and not the government, govern the people. In the most democratic republics, distribution of administrative power is nothing but camouflage to conceal the real state of affairs from the people. The masses are told that they govern themselves, but in reality the Government is one of capital.

In the French, American, and Swiss democracies the people are under the reign of capital and are exploited by it. Notwithstanding the right to vote, the masses remain powerless and unable to better their conditions. They are oppressed by machinery consisting of Parliamentary Government and bureaucrats. Only from time to time, during an election, may the people make their influence felt. And then they are I deceived by clever speeches and programmes which can only partly be realised.

And even if the Parliamentarians are anxious to give attention to the will of the people, they very soon sink into the Parliamentary pool: party discipline, side-scene rummaging, intrigues, and chattering. Parliamentary government, consisting of Party leaders, establishes itself independently of the people’s will. But so far as the power of the Government is concerned, it is powerless against the strong organisation of the State bureaucracy, against administrative power which regards the people as foreigners in a conquered country The continued existence of parliament is the professional politicians’ watchword, and in their speeches they always insist on the necessity of that institution. They fear Bolshevism, for its coming threatens their reign. When it comes it will be necessary for them to do some kind of useful work instead of to make long speeches. Hence their opposition to Bolshevism.

Truth emerged from the The Duluth Labor Leader, a weekly English language publication of the Scandinavian local of the Socialist Party in Duluth, Minnesota and began on May Day, 1917 as a Left Wing alternative to the Duluth Labor World. The paper was aligned to both the SP and the IWW leading to the paper being closed down in the first big anti-IWW raids in September, 1917. The paper was reborn as Truth, with the Duluth Scandinavian Socialists joining the Communist Labor Party of America in 1919. Shortly after the editor, Jack Carney, was arrested and convicted of espionage in 1920. Truth continued to publish with a new editor J.O. Bentall until 1923 as an unofficial paper of the CP.

PDF of issue: https://www.mnhs.org/newspapers/lccn/sn89081142/1920-09-24/ed-1/seq-1