Page:Grigory Zinoviev - Report of the Executive Committee of the Communist International (1921).pdf/23

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the reformists to him. Poor Serati does not know where to find the reformists of Italy.

You will remember that when Comrade Lenin addressed an open letter to Serati, demanding the expulsion of reformists, Serati wrote an article entitled "Reply to Comrade Lenin, by an Italian Communist," in which he says the following:

"Can reformists be tolerated in the ranks of the Party? Allow me to reply to this question by another question: Who is a reformist? If, as may be inferred from your letter, by reformists you mean those who strive for the co-operation of classes and for sharing the power with the bourgeoisie, who do counter-revolutionary work and are apt to become at any time the Scheidemanns and Noskes of our country, hen you are perfectly right, and I agree with you that they must be expelled."

Then Serati goes on trying to prove that Turati, Treves, etc., are not reformists. He says: "Those are the people who two months ago were asked in the name of your government by Vodovosov, one of your representatives in Italy, to exercise some pressure on Gioliti, in the name of the parliamentary section, in order to obtain some concessions."

This is Serati's method. If a question of principle is being discussed he brings in some petty gossip, talks about the money for the "Daily Herald," etc., but does not give any definite reply as to whether he is for the reformists or against them.

In an article of October 24, published in "Avanti," Serati gives some further explanations:" What then should we do? There are but two definite ways—either to get power in the legal way or to make a revolution. To get power for whom? and how? and for what? In view of the ruinous state of the country, the only result that might be obtained from the accession to power would be to shift the responsibility weighing on the bourgeoisie to the shoulders of the Socialist Party."