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| Title | The road to power, or, the constructive elements of socialism |
| Creator (LCNAF) |
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| Publisher | Literature Bureau of the Workers' International Industrial Union |
| Place of Creation (TGN) |
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| Date | 1919 |
| Subject.Topical (LCSH) |
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| Genre (AAT) |
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| Language | English |
| Type (DCMI) |
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| Original Item Extent | 33 pages: chart; 17 cm. |
| Original Item Location | HX86.D25 1919 |
| Original Item URL | http://library.uh.edu/record=b8304529~S11 |
| Original Collection | Socialist and Communist Pamphlets |
| Digital Collection | Socialist and Communist Pamphlets |
| Digital Collection URL | http://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/scpamp |
| Repository | Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries |
| Repository URL | http://libraries.uh.edu/branches/special-collections |
| Use and Reproduction | This item is in the public domain and may be used freely. |
| File Name | index.cpd |
| Title | Image 23 |
| Format (IMT) |
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| File Name | uhlib_12374394_022.jpg |
| Transcript | CONSTRUCTIVE ELEMENTS OF SOCIALISM 21 however, presupposes the existence of certain industrial organizations of the proletariat, necessary, first, to impart power to the political demand, and, secondly, to perform the act of socialization. This leads us to the function played by industrial action in the class struggle. We know that the economic power of the workers rests in the consciousness of their economic indispensability as productive agents. To organize this economic indispensability at the point of production along class-conscious lines and in accord zvith the dictates of modern economic evolution is, as already stated before, an urgent requirement of the hour, and on par with generating and accumulating proletarian economic vitality. Class-conscious Socialist organization at the point of production, that is, in the industries, is, however, essential for a twofold reason, and must be accomplished in a definite way. In the first place, such an organization or Socialist Industrial Union is an organized expression of proletarian class-consciousness in a certain industry. This organized expression announces to society that the productive facilities of this particular industry are not only socially operated, but also in control of Socialist workers, who are only waiting for the signal to supplement social production with social ownership. Of course, the form of such an organization must also be in accord with the requirements of economic evolution, and, being the product of class-conscious workers, is bound to be in line with a scientific concer)tion of capitalist production. Such a conception clearly shows the insufficiency and antiquatedness of the craft form of unionism, a form absolutely out of joint with the highly centralized character of capitalist industry. The Historical Materialist, and every scientific Socialist is a Historical Materialist, constructs and adapts his organization to meet the demands of social requirements. He studies economic and |