The Proletarian Revolution in Russia/Part 2/Chapter 5
V
WAR AND PEACE.
I
The argument of "revolutionary defense" used by the moderates to justify participation in this imperialistic war is simply one more symptom, one of the most fundamental and striking symptoms, of the petty bourgeois tide which has been swamping almost everything. It is, indeed, the worst obstacle to the furtherance of the movement and to the success of the Russian Revolution. Whoever stops short at that point and does not dare to keep his independence, is lost to the Revolution. The masses, however, do not stop as leaders do, and they have different ways, different methods of freeing themselves.
Revolutionary defense is, on the one hand, the result of the deception practiced on the masses by the bourgeoisie, the result of the peasants' and workers' unthinking confidence; and, on the other, it is an expression of the interests and standpoint of the petite bourgeosie. The bourgeoisie deceives the people by playing upon the generous pride of the Revolution and pretending that, from a social and political point of view, the character of the war changed completely from the day when the Revolution substituted the bourgeois republic for the Czar's monarchy. And the people believed this, for a while, still being in a measure the victims of old prejudices which caused them to see in the other races of Russia mere chattel slaves of Great Russia. The perversion of the Great Russian race by the Czars, who taught it to consider other races as inferior and belonging "by right" to the Great Russians, could not be straightened out all at once.
We must make it clear to the masses that the social and political complexion of the war is not determined by the good will of certain individuals or certain groups, but by the class which conducts the war, by the class policy of which the war seems to be a product, by the alliances of capitalists, the dominant economic force in modern society, by the imperialistic character of international Capitalism, by Russia's financial and diplomatic dependence upon England and France, etc. It requires skill to make these changes clear to the masses, and none of us could do that at a stroke, without somewhat blundering in the attempt.
But such should be the trend or, rather, the real import of our propaganda, and it should not deviate a jot from it. The slightest concession we make to "revolutionary defense" is an act of treason to Socialism, an abandonment of the internationalist position, regardless of the beautiful phrases and the "practical" considerations by which we may try to justify it.
The slogan "down with the war" is fine, but just now there are other duties to assume and the masses must be approached in a different way. That slogan reminds me of another slogan, "down with the Czar," which in other days indiscreet agitators would shout in some village, after which they got thrashed.
The rank and file of the "revolutionary defense" are good, conscientious people; not as individuals, but as a group, they belong to the very class of workers and pauperized peasants which would not gain anything from annexations or the strangling of other races. They are quite different from the bourgeoisie and the intellectuals who know quite well that it is impossible to give up the idea of annexations as long as capital is allowed to rule, and who, devoid of conscience, fool the masses with high-sounding speeches and immediate promises.
The rank and file of the "revolutionary defense" looks upon the whole thing in a simple matter-of-fact way: "I, for one, have no use for annexations, I have nothing against the Germans, I am just fighting for a good cause, not for any imperialistic interests."
That is the type of man to whom we must repeat ad nauseam that it is not a question of his own personal desires, but that what is at stake is the position of the masses, their class or political position, that the important thing is the connection between the war and capitalistic interests, with their international system of banks, etc. This is the only adequate way of fighting the "revolutionary defense" group, the only way which promises results, not quick results, but actual and durable results.
II
The end of the war will not come by merely wishing it. Nor because one of the two belligerent groups wishes it. We can't put an end to the war by grounding arms.
The war cannot be ended by "an agreement between the Socialists of all nations," by "a decisive step on the part of the proletarians of all nations," by "an act of will of all the nations," etc. These words are meaningless and yet they fill every article in the papers of the "revolutionary defense" group, of the half-baked internationalist groups, and the flood of resolutions, appeals, manifestoes and statements issued by the Council of Workers and Soldiers. These phrases simply express the empty, harmless, humanitarian longings of the small bourgeois.
There is nothing more dangerous than phrases like "the nation's declaration of peace," "the steps taken by the proletariat of one nation after after another" (after the Russians it would be the Germans' turn)' etc. All of which is pure sentimentalism in the style of Louis Blanc, a part of the political game.
The war was not started by the sinister will of robber capitalists, although it is fought purely in their interests and is not enriching anybody else. The war was a consequence of the development of international Capitalism in the course of the past fifty years, of its endless connections and ramifications.
We cannot wiggle out of an imperialistic war, we cannot have a democratic peace, but only a peace imposed by violence, until we overthrow the power of Capitalism, until the powers of government pass into the hands of a different class, the proletarian class.
The Russian Revolution of March, 1917, was the first step in the transformation of the imperialistic war into a civil war. That Revolution took the first step toward putting an end to the war. Another step, however, is needed to realize the end of the war; the surrender of governmental powers to the proletariat. This will start the assault on the international "front line trenches," the trenches of capitalistic interests. It is only after storming these trenches that the proletariat will be in a position to save mankind from the horrors of war, and to secure for mankind the blessings of a durable peace.
In organizing the Councils of Workers' Delegates, the Russian Revolution has already given to the Russian proletariat the order to storm those trenches.
III
Resolution on War, passed by the General Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (Bolsheviki), May 9, 1917. All voting in favor except seven, who abstained from voting.
The present war, on the part of all the belligerents, is an imperialistic war, that is, it is fought by capitalists for the division of spoils through their domination of the world, for markets, for financial capital, for the suppression of backward nations, etc. Each day of war enriches the financial and industrial bourgeoisie and impoverishes and weakens the powers of the proletariat and the peasantry of all the belligerents, and later of the neutral countries. In Russia the prolongation of the war involves also a grave danger to the Revolution and its further development.
The passing of government authority, in Russia, into the hands of the Provisional Government, that is, the government of the landholders and capitalists, did not and could not alter the character and significance of Russian participation in the war.
This fact became particularly apparent when the new government not only did not publish the secret treaties concluded between the late Czar and the capitalist governments of England, France, etc., but even formally confirmed these secret treaties, which promised Russian capitalists a free hand in China, Persia, Turkey, Austria, etc., without consulting the Russian people. The concealment of these treaties from the Russian people completely deceived them as to the true character of the war.
For this reason the proletarian party can support neither the present war nor the present government, nor its loans, without breaking completely with internationalism, that is, with the fraternal solidarity of the workers of all lands in their struggle under the yoke of Capitalism.
No confidence is to be placed in the promises of the present government to renounce annexations, that is, conquests of foreign territory, or in the promise to renounce forcible retention within the confines of Russia of this or that nationality. For in the first place, since capitalists are bound together by the thousand threads of banking capital, they cannot renounce annexations in the present war, as they have not renounced the profits on the billions invested in loans, in concessions, in war industries, etc. And, in the second place, the new government, having, in order to deceive the people, renounced annexations, then proceeded to state, through the mouth of Milyukov (Moscow, April 22, 191 7), that it had no intentions of renouncing annexations and to confirm in the note to the Allied governments and in the elucidation of the note, the aggressive character of its policy. In warning the people against the empty promises of capitalists the Conference takes pains to point out the necessity of a sharp distinction between a renunciation of annexations in words and a renunciation of annexations in fact, that is, the immediate publication and abrogation of the secret treaties for conquest, and the immediate granting to all nationalities of the right to determine whether they wish to become independent governments or to become part of any other state.
The so-called "revolutionary defense," which in Russia has taken possession of all the nationalist parties (national-Socialists, Laborites, Social-Revolutionists, etc.), as well as the opportunist party of the Social Democratic Mensheviki (Organizing Committee, Tseretelli, Cheidse, etc.), as well as the majority of the non-partisan revolutionists, embodies in itself, by reason of its class position, on the one hand the interests and the standpoint of the wealthier peasantry and a part of the small landlords, who, like the capitalists, draw a profit from their domination over the weaker nationalities; and, on the other hand, the "revolutionary defense" is the outcome of the deception by the capitalists of part of the proletariat and semi-proletariat of the cities and villages who, by their class position, have no interest in the profits of the captalists and in the waging of an imperialistic war.
The Conference declares that any form of "revolutionary defense" is completely intolerable and would actually mean a total break with the principles of Socialism and internationalism. As for the "defensive" tendencies present among the great masses, our party will struggle against these tendencies by ceaselessly emphasizing the truth that any attitude of uncritiral confidence in the government of the capitalists at the present movement is one of the greatest obstructions to an early conclusion of the war.
As for the most important question of the manner of concluding as soon as possible the present capitalist war, not by an imposed peace, but by a truly democratic peace, the Conference recognizes and declares the following:
This war cannot be ended by a refusal of the soldiers of one side only to continue the war, by a simple cessation of warlike activities on tho part of one of the warring groups only. The Conference reiterates its protests against the low intrigues circulated by the capitalists against our party, with the object of spreading the impression that we are in favor of a separate peace with Germany. We consider the German capitalists to be the same band of robbers as the capitalists of Russia, England, France, etc., and Emperor Wilhelm to be the same crowned bandit as Nicholas II and the monarchs of England, Italy, Rumania and the rest.
Our party will explain to the people with patience and preciseness the truth that war is always bound up indissolubly with the policies of certain definite classes, that this war may only be terminated by a democratic peace if the governing powers of at least some of the belligerent countries are handed over to the class of the proletariat and semi-proletariat, who are really capable of putting an end to the bondage of Capitalism.
The revolutionary class, having taken into its hands the governing power in Russia, would inaugurate a series of measures to abolish the economic rule of capitalists, as well as of measures to bring about their complete political sterilization and would immediately and frankly offer to all peoples a democratic peace on the basis of a definite relinquishment of every possible form of annexation and indemnity. Such measures, and such an open offer would create a perfect understanding between the workers of the belligerent countries and would inevitably lead to an uprising of the proletariat against such imperialistic governments as might resist the peace offered them under the above conditions.
Until the revolutionary class in Russia shall have taken over the entire authority of the government, our party will consistently support those proletarian parties and groups in foreign countries as are already, during the continuance of the war, fighting against their own imperialistic government and their own bourgeoisie. Particularly, our party will encourage any incipient fraternization of the masses of soldiers at the front of all the belligerent countries, with the object of transforming this vague and instinctive expression of solidarity of the oppressed into a class conscious movement, with as much organization as is feasible, for the taking over of all the powers of government in all the belligerent countries by the revolutionary proletariat.