Wrt popular vs united front, imo the issue was that rather than allying with liberals to build the communist movement by pulling in their progressive elements, they worked under the liberals to support the goals and efforts of the liberal governments
was that a foregone conclusion though? I would argue that the CPUSA ended up working under the liberals, because it was an imperial core country that they were dogmatically applying Comintern strategy to. The conditions were simply very different, compared to say China, where the national Bourgeoisie were weaker, and more easily led by a working class party.
As i understand it, instead of saying “we hate fascism—which is the inevitable result of capitalism etc and thats why while we support and endorse more aid to the ussr in their struggle we do not support American/Canadian/British/etc governments aims or policies in this war and must continue and deepen our struggle against our bourgeois and their fascist policies and will work with liberals (not parties, people) on this” the cpusa said “uncritical support for the USA and international liberal bourgeois states, the great allies of the USSR in the struggle against fascism.”
The former position would prevent them from working under the liberals imo, as in, communists would still be a minority, but they would not be uncritically supporting their bourgeois states and opposing labour action.
was that a foregone conclusion though? I would argue that the CPUSA ended up working under the liberals, because it was an imperial core country that they were dogmatically applying Comintern strategy to. The conditions were simply very different, compared to say China, where the national Bourgeoisie were weaker, and more easily led by a working class party.
As i understand it, instead of saying “we hate fascism—which is the inevitable result of capitalism etc and thats why while we support and endorse more aid to the ussr in their struggle we do not support American/Canadian/British/etc governments aims or policies in this war and must continue and deepen our struggle against our bourgeois and their fascist policies and will work with liberals (not parties, people) on this” the cpusa said “uncritical support for the USA and international liberal bourgeois states, the great allies of the USSR in the struggle against fascism.”
The former position would prevent them from working under the liberals imo, as in, communists would still be a minority, but they would not be uncritically supporting their bourgeois states and opposing labour action.