itself. Let it for once decide upon its Central Committee itself. You have the material for a very good Central Committee. But, of course, if things do not go right, we shall most certainly, however unwillingly, intervene. We shall assume full responsibility, in order to save the working class of Germany from a fight between tendencies. Social democracy, I believe, is historically lost; that will be clear in a very short time. But if crises begin again in our Party, we shall be lending it fresh blood.
Well comrades, if you think it desirable I shall now take a summary vote.
When the political resolutions are published, I propose to write a very brief introduction.
Comrade Zetkin: I have to make a statement in the name of all the members of the majority delegation.
If a vote is to be taken upon the total work of the Commission, we are prepared to vote in favour of the three theses together as one whole. The important thing for us is the fact that in the two resolutions on the trade union questions and on organisation, our point of view, the point of view of the majority of the Party, is completely expressed. Further, there is the statement of Comrade Zinoviev that he intends to write an introduction to the theses in which he will describe what in his opinion the situation is. According to his statement, the introduction will meet our point of view on two important points: firstly, the assertion, in Comrade Zinoviev's opinion, as frequently expressed, that the retreat was necessary, and, secondly, that mistakes were also made by, and great defects exist in, the so-called Left opposition. On these grounds we are prepared in the summary vote to vote in favour of the total work of the Commission. But naturally we shall at the same time retain all our views regarding the political theses.
Comrades, although we maintain our views on the political theses and, as we have stated, will explain in a written declaration why we rejected the political theses, nevertheless in the summary voting we shall vote in favour of all the theses as one whole. This we are doing from conviction that it is extremely essential, that the Party ideologically and organisationally should be a firm block, a block of granite, against which our enemies will break their heads. We need unity, harmony, and resoluteness. I can assure you that in spite of our differing opinions on certain subjects we, for our part, are prepared to exercise the strictest discipline and to support with all our might the Central Committee in leading the Party unitedly and resolutely along a clear political line.
Because we are of the opinion that it must be remembered more than ever before that the masses will bring the struggle about, and not party actions alone, however valuable and indispensable party actions are, they cannot displace mass action; we are penetrated with the consciousness of the mighty world-shattering and world-renewing power of mass actions—mass actions inspired by the highest activities of the Party as
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