The toiler. [volume] (Cleveland, Ohio) 1919-1922, 1921-08-27
THE COMMUNIST SOLUTION OF THE
NATIONAL QUESTION.
By Stain in Russ ian Press Review.


tional question adopted by the Com .
munists, is fundamentally different |
from the method used by the leaders
of the Second and Second and a Half
International, by all sorts of socialist,
social-democratic, menshevik, SIR.
and other parties. 1t is most important
to emphasize four fundamental points,
as the most characteristic and dis
tinctive features of the new formula
tion of the national question, as they
draw a sharp line of distinction be-
tween the old and new comprehension
Of the national question.
The first point is the consideration
Of the national question as a part of
the general question of the liberation
of the colonies. In the epoch Of the
second International, the national
question was generally limited to
narrow circle of problems which ex-
clusively related to civilized nations"
The Irish, Tchekhs, Poles, Firms,
Serbians, Armenians, Jews, and few
other nationalities of Europe repre-
sented all the oppressed nationalitics
whose destines had any interest for
the second International. Tens and
hundreds of millions of the Asiatic
and African peoples who are subject
ed to national OPPRESSION in the most
cruel and savage form, were entirely
overlooked by the Socialists" Whites
and Blacks, "uncultured' negros and
"civilized" |" Irishmen, backward Hin
docs, and enlightened" Poles, were
not to be placed on an equal footing
1t was implicitly understood that how
ever necessary it is to wage the strug-
gle for the liberation Of the European
oppressed nationalities, it is entirely
dishonorable for respectable" social
lists to bother much about the. LIBERIA
tion of the colonies which are "in-
dispensable" for the preservation"
of civilization These so-called So
cialists could not grasp that the elimi-
nation Of national oppression in Eu-
rope is impossible without the lberas
tion of the peoples Of Asia and Africa
from the yoke Of Imperialism, as the
former is organically connected with
the latter. The communists were the
first to discover the connection of the
national question with the colonial
question. They elaborated this new
conception theoretically, and made it
the basis of their revolutionary prac.
tise. They broke down the wall that
separated the Whites and Blacks, the
cultured and "uncultured' slaves of
imperialism. This circumstance has
considerably facilitated the coordina-
tion of the struggle of the backward
colonies with the struggle of the ad-
vanced proletariat against the COM
mon foe, against imperialism.
Autonomy or Self Determination.
The second point is the substitution
Of the nebulous slogan of the right
Of nations to self lf-determination for
the clear revolutionary slogan of the
right Of every nation and colony to
achieve complete political indeperd-
ence, to form their own independent
States.
In speaking of the right Of self
determination the leaders of the sec.
ond international never limited at the
right OF complete separation; the right
of self determination was interpreted
us the right to autonomy. Such "spe-
cialists" on the national question as
Springer and Baum, went so far rs
to convert the right Of self f-determi.
nation into the right Of the oppressed
nations Of Europe to cultural auto.
nomy, i. e. the right Of establishing
their own cultural institutions, while
leaving che entire political and econo.
mic power in the hands Of the
dominant nationalities. In other words
the right Of the oppressed nations to
self-determination was converted into
the privilege Of the dominant nations
TO WELD political power, whereupon
the question of political separation
was entirely excluded. The theological
head Of the Second International,
Kautsky, fundamentally agrees with
this actually imperialistic interpreta-
ton Of self-determination as formulat-
cd by Springer and Baum. 1t is not
surprising therefore, that the i'm
perialists noticing this popularity Of
the slogan Of self-determination, have
appropriated it and made it their own.
The Imperialist war, the real aim Of
which was the enslavement Of nations,
was carried on under the banner Of
self-determination. Thus the nebulous
slogan Of self-determination was con-
verted from a weapon for the liberia
tion Of nations into weapon for re-
tanning the nations in object submits
sion to imperialism. ihe course Of
events in the entire woi ID for the last
few years, the logic Of he revolution
In Europe, and finally the growth Of
the liberntine uovements In thn solo.