The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-02-19
By KARL RADEK

AHNcS H0FC u IcSLs lHey are
very tired" Such was Lenin's de-
clsive argument He saw before him
the real Russian worker, as he was
in the winter of 1921, and he felt
what was possible and what was not
possible.
Not Blind to Reality.
Marx, in the introduction to his
Clltique of Political Economy, states
that slstory only sets itself such
tasks as it can fulfill. This means.
In other words that only he who
grasps what tasks are historically
capable of fulfilment at a given mo-
ment, and who does not fight for
the desired, but for the possible can
become the instrument of history.
Lenin's greatness lies in the fact
that he never permits himself TO
be blinded to reality when it is in
process Of Transformation. bv any
preconceived formula, and that he
has the courage to throw yesterdays
formula overheard as soon as it dis
turbs his grasp of this reality. Be-
fore our seizure Of power, we issued
as revolutionary internationalists the
slogan of the peoples peace against
the governments peace. And sud
denly we found ourselves in the 90
sition, of q Workers Government
surrounded by peoples that had not
yet succeeded in overthrowing their
capitalist governments. "How can
we conclude peace with the Hohen-
zollern government ?" was a ques-
ton put by many comrades. Lenin
answered mischieviously: "You are
worse than hens. A hen cannot make
up its mind to step over circle
drawn around it with chalk. But
it can at least justify itself by the
assertion that this circle was drawn
by strange hand. But we have
drawn up our formula with our own
hands, and now you see the formula
only, and not the reality. Our for
mula of peace to be concluded by the
peoples, has for its object the awak-
enlng Of the masses against the mil
itary and capitalist government. Now
you want US to go to ruin, and to
let the capitalist governments carry
off the victory in the name Of our
revolutionary formula.
Lenin's greatness lies in his aim.
ing at goals arising out Of realities.
In this reality he sees a powerful
steed which will carry him tn bia
goal, and he trusts himself to Il
but he never abandons himself to
his dreams. This is not all. His
genius contains another trait: After
he has set himself a certain goaI
ne seeks for the means leading 10
TINS goal thru reality; he is not con-
tent with having fixed his aim. he
thinks out concretely and completely
everything necessary for the attain
ment of that aim. He does not mere
~ work out a plan of campaion.
but the whole organization Of the
campaign at the same time. Our
organizers, who are organizers onIv
nave often laughed at Lenin as an
organizer. Anyone seeing how III
yltch works at home, in his room. or
at the Council of Peoples, Commits
sars. might think it impossible to
md worse organizer. Not onIv
mas he no staff Of secretaries to
prepare his material, but up to now
he has never even learned tn die
tate to a stenographer, and gazes
at the pen he is writing with, some
thing like Mujik from the Don dis
trict gazes at the first motor-car he
sees. But show us in the whole
Party one single individual CAPABLE
Of realizing within decades this CEN
trail idea on the reform Of our bu-
reaucratic apparatus, altho this re-
form is invitable if we do not want
the Mujik, indignant against Official
dom, to begin to howl. We all know
our bureaucratic apparatus, we all
cry out against the scandalous state
OF affairs named by comrade StekIov
tchief editor of the Izvestia), with
all the delicacy Of a semi-officiaI or
gan: slight defects of Soviet mech
anism-" But which one of the party
leaders puts himself the question:
The new economic policy has created
a fresh basis for an alliance between
prOletarat and peasantrv. hox, 49,