As was mentioned earlier, the new French edition of “Beginnings of a Socialist Movement in Montreal” was published with a new critical introduction and an afterword that attempted to bring it up to date and present an analysis of the present tasks of socialists. The “Critical Commentary” which follows is a translation of the bulk of the new introduction, and the section on “The Present Situation” is an adaptation of the new afterword.
We decided that it was better to publish the new introduction after the presentation of the main text, since it was, after all, a commentary on that text, “The Present Situation” is an adaptation rather than a simple translation of the new afterword because we felt that the original had left out certain facts and information that were necessary, especially for those readers outside of Montreal and Quebec, and because we felt some of its criticisms were inadequate as they stood. As a result, some of the section as we present it is written by Solidaire, some (the majority) is a direct translation, and some is translated from a document called “Serve the People: a summing up of political work in a large Montreal factory”. (This last document will almost certainly be published in full in a future issue of Solidaire.)