1929 was an important year because it witnessed one of the more spectacular reversals of US Communist policies and an intervention of the Comintern which was unparalled, even in relation to earlier Comintern interventions. These events centered around the policies of the Lovestone faction which was considered the “right danger” in the party at this time.
From the very beginning, Jay Lovestone was an important figure in the US Communist movement. He helped form the Left-Wing Section of the Socialist Party in New York when he was only 20 years old, and was elected to the Central Committee and Political Bureau of the C.P. in the same year. A long-time supporter of the Ruthenburg faction, Lovestone was the natural successor to party leadership after Ruthenburg died in March of 1927.
As would be expected, a factional struggle began between Lovestone and Foster concerning who would lead the party. After a trip to Moscow, and a Comintern resolution, it became clear that the Lovestone faction had the support of the Comintern and would therefore lead the party. The Fifth Convention of the Workers (Communist) Party legitimized Lovestone’s de facto position as head of the Party.
At this convention Lovestone declared that the “objective conditions prevailing today in the United States are not favorable for the development of a mass Communist Party and it would be a crime against the party to develop such illusions among the members if we were to say that the conditions of a mass Communist Party are favorable.” These ideas began to be used against the Lovestone group and labeled “American exceptionalism” by those with a different understanding as to the nature of the conjuncture at this time. Against this background the Great Turn occurred.
I. What initiated the “Great Turn” in the US Party? What were some of the national and international factors which les to this turn? What was the outcome of this turn for the leadership of the US party and how might these events have contributed to the state of the US Communist movement today?
II. Discuss “American exceptionalism” and the validity of this charge as it was hurled at the Lovestone group? How did Lovestone substantiate his analysis of the conjuncture in the US? In conduction with this discussion, consider Stalin’s idea of applying the “general features” of capitalism to an analysis of the conjuncture in a specific social formation. What are some of the theoretical bases of this approach and where might we see them reproduced in the current ML movement?
III, What were some the effects of this “turn” on the US party? This question should be considered in relation to the fate of Marxist theory and political, economic, and ideological practice. How are we still living through some of the affects of this turn?
American Communist and Soviet Russia, by T. Draper, pps. 278-289, 296-299, 302-03, 306-10, 377, 384-5, 398-406, 408-10, 417-19, 430.
The Crisis in the CPUSA by the Communist Party (Majority Group), pps. 8-12, 13-19, 39-44.
Optional: Open Letter of the ECCI to the Convention of the Workers (Communist) Party, pps. 54-62.