The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-03-05


- supplied in Bakunin the undertRk
er of the First supplied In Lenin the
father of the Third International. The
economic backwardness Of Russia
postponed the bourgeois revolution in
that country to time when the pro.
letarian forces of new, Commun-
list tomorrow had grown so strong
that they could relieve capitalism OF
it's function and could put the task of
development of the economic forces OF
the land into the hands of a ruling
proletarian class. Thus its economic
backwardness became the immediate
cause of Russia's political advance.
Thus the step child of revolutionary
advance became the leader Of revolu-
ton.
Second international Dies lgnobly.
THE First International was follow
| ed by the Second. Born in 1889
in Paris, that body died an ignoble
death in 1914. While the First Inter
national was mainly one Of propa-
ganda and education, the Second In.
ternational specialized in organiza-
ton. It's size was it's pride. All signs
of disagreements and principle differ
ences were covered up with cloak
of organizational unity and thus be.
came the causes of internal disinte.
grafton. A colossus it stood, waiting
for the storm destined to blow il
down Its source of strength, careful
avoidance of decisive settlement of in
ternal differences, had become it's
source of greatest weakness. Avoid
ing a clear outline of revolutionary
strategy and tactics it was bound not
to apply any revolutionary tactics in
the time of crisis: Unwilling to set
tie the question as to what to do, and
how to fight war it was destined to
do nothing at all7when war really
came-and worse than that-to do
everything in favor of the war.
Socialists Fought for Capitalists.
TOR August 1914 a world congress
| of the Second International was
to convene in Vienna. In the face of
the situation created by events in
Sarajevo this congress was sure to
use much of its time discussing the
question of war. IN 1907 at its regu.
lar congress in Stuttgart and in 1912
at it's special anti-war congress in
Basel generalizing resolutions were
adopted against war. "Imperialist war
must be answered by proletarian revo
luton" stsei
THE congress hall in Vienna in Aug.
/ 1914 was sure to resound in pro-
testations against imperialist war and
in pledges to fight against it. But
events moved fast. The delegates
from the different countries did moi
meet in a congress nall TO talk against
war, but on battlefelds9 fighting for
and in the war. WE
The parties of the Second Interna.
tional suddenly differentiated between
imperialist war and this war, and the
great" the magnificent" Second In.
ternational broke into pieces and di-
vided into its national subdivisions
each one supporting its native bour-
geoisie in the war. t.ps.
Socialists Forget Revolution.
THE exceptions to this rule we're
/ very few and far between rst
For sixty-six years the proIetarian
revolutionists had taught: "The work
ers have no fatherland. They cannot
be robbed of what they do not pos
sess." Yet in 1914 Socialists" sup
ported the fraud Of 'swar for defense. 4"
Marxism had become synonym for
the thought that the first attempt OF
capitalism to lead society back into
barbarism thru period of gigantic
imperialist wars would be. the signal
for the proletariat revolt against cap
italism. Now the first great imperial
list war had come and the Socialists
answered it, not with the slogan OF
revolution but with the slogan of
"Burgfrieden," civil peace.
LenIn Breasts the Current.
Tor decades friend and foe looked
upon the International as an in
strument Of the proletariat in the in
ternational class i struggle. Now,
when this struggle had reached its
climax the foremost theoretician of
this Second International excused
the collapse of this instrument with
the thesis, that the Second Interna-
tional is first and foremost an instru-
ment Of peace and therefore failed in
the crisis Of ware
DUT in the midst of the chaos of the
- the treacherous Second Interna
tional the banner of revolutionary
International was raised again 1.-THE
Second international is dead. vanquish
ed by opportunism .. The Third Inter
national is given the task to organize
the forces of the proletariat for the
attack against the capitalist govern
ments, for civil war against the bour-
geoisie Of all countries for political
power, for the victory Of socialism"