support of the working class and the great majority of peasants, but also of the revolutionary enthusiasm of the army and of the majority of the people; without which enthusiasm victory over famine and war is impossible.
There could be no longer any question of resistance to the Soviets, but for their hesitations. No class will dare provoke insurrection against them, and, enlightened by the Kornilov experience, the big proprietors and capitalists will peacefully surrender power before the Soviet ultimatum. In order to overcome the capitalists' resistance to the Soviet programme it will suffice to institute a vigilant supervision by the peasants and workers over the exploiters, and to inflict such punishments as total confiscation of their possessions and short time imprisonment upon the recalcitrants.
If the Soviets seized power they could still—and it is probably the last chance—assure the peaceful development of the revolution, the peaceful election by the people of their representatives, the peaceful competition of parties in the bosom of the Soviets, the experiments of the different party programmes, and the peaceful transference of power from one party to another.
If this opportunity is not taken, civil war in its most acute form between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat is inevitable. The whole course of the revolution from April 20 down to Kornilov demonstrates this. The impending collapse of the country will accelerate the approach of this war. As far as one can judge from the facts accessible to human intelligence, this war will result in the complete victory of the working classes. It will be supported in the carrying out of the programme explained above by the poor ranks of the peasant class, but it may be extremely bitter and bloody, and cost the lives of tens of thousands of big proprietors and capitalists as well as of the officers who side with them. The proletariat will shrink from no sacrifice that will assure the safety of the revolution, a safety which can only be secured by the carrying out of the above programme. But it will sustain the Soviets by every means in its power if they grasp this last chance to secure the peaceful development of the revolution.
