The items presented here represent a number of materials that reflect an attitude neither directly supportive nor openly in opposition to communism. These publications reflect the positions of left-wing interests that were not explicitly aligned with Lenin and his policy of democratic centralism, but which represent a commitment to leftist politics.

Items selected here include titles such as Observations sur la tactique des socíalistes dans la lutte contre le bolchevisme (extraits d'une lettre à Martov), or Observations on the Tactics of the Socialists in the Fight Against Bolshevism (Extracts from a Letter to Martov), a French translation of a letter penned by a Menshevik activist who was staunchly opposed to Bolshevik seizure of power in Russia, and Où va le communisme? L'évolution du Parti communiste (Where is Communism Going? The Evolution of the Communist Party), a pamphlet by a French politician who had been involved in the Frontist Party, a foundational constituent of the Popular Front. The Popular Front was an alliance of left-wing movements that included the French Communist Party, and which won the May 1936 legislative elections in France.

The other pamphlet in this collection is Les deux C.G.T.: syndicalisme et communisme (The Two C.G.T.S: Syndicalism and Communism), the title being a reference to the two predominant ideological strands within the CGT, or Confédération Générale du Travail. The pamphlet stresses the importance of collaboration between the syndicalism prevalent in French labor unions with the French Communist Party, which, upon entering the Third International, adopted Lenin’s theories of democratic centralism. This collaboration, the pamphlet argues, would be necessary for the success of the workers’ revolution.