The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1928-11-09
The Writings
of Tolstoy and
the Bolsheviks
(Translated from the "Pravda" by
Valentine V. Konin.)
By EN-. YAROSLAVSKY.
Continued

IlOH VI his CldSS, ne discovered III
himself the power to describe in
most perfect images the dissen-
sions that rent society. He failed,
however, to find the radical solution
to the problem: what to do, in which
way to change and annihilate the
evil emanating from the rise of the
classes from merciless exploitation,
from the capitalist destruction of
teudal society, creating a new class
of the proletariat, and at the same
time letting the peasant loose, driv-
ing him to "Chitrovka," developing
in him alcoholism, prostitution,
syphilis. Tolstoy was overcome by
the clamoring contradictions of the
old Russia. In his Confessions"
dating back to 1880 Tolstoy de-
scribes how all of sudden he "felt
that my support broke down, that
have nothing to stand on, that
what l lived for is no more, that
have nothing to live for"
This was the period of the eighties
the period of the struggle of
Land and Freedom" and the "Peop-
les Freedom" when the peaceful
propagandists of the revolutionary
intelligentzia leaned against the
wall of the autocratic, police govern
ment; when the Peoples Freedom
raised banner of the monarchy
against the tsarism. The class to
which Tolstoy belonged became stili
more reactionary. Tolstoy writes
of himself at that time: 81 found in
my soul feeling which helped me
to bear it; it was the feeling of self
humiliation and submission
"Self-humiliation and submission"
this was the goal to which Tolstoy
called revolutionary Russia. In
spite of that, more and more often
there appeared in his writings mer-
CHESS criticism of the existing re-
gime, of the capitalistic contradic-
tons, of the autocratic government
of Nikolai the Stick and his follow
ers. No one else had ever given
such sharp criticism of the Greek
Orthodox Church or public religion
as Tolstoy. But when it was a ques-
ton of finding the necessary way
out, of pointing out the right path
of the struggle, Tolstoy hid the path
with his hands. Having given the
criticism of the existing land in
equality and having hoped to settle
this inequality by the introduction
of Henry Georges project, Tolstoy
hoped to avoid the revolution. Ac-
cording to Tolstoy, Henry Georges
project could have been introduced
without noise, enmity, offense, and
destruction. Tolstoy. neither wanted
to see nor did he see that the ap-
plication of Henry Georges project
would leave capitalism with all its
contradictions untouched. Tolstoy
reflects the attitude of the peasant
mass which had not yet learned to
fight for its land, but which dreamt
about receiving that land Sin a
Christian way, without noise, en-
nifty, offense or destruction" We
have seen that Tolstoy did not be-
lieve that revolution can give the
peasants their land; the idea that
the revolution can create a govern
ment which will give the peasants
the landowners land had never
entered his mind.
THE class struggle frightened Toll
: stoy; the revolution was strange
to him. At the time when Peoples
Freedom" fell under the blows of
tzarism and the new government of
the proletarian mass was rising in
the country, Tolstoy was preaching
that "all people are equal" In 1890
he wrote to a certain secretarian
that "there are no bad people," All
people are the children Of one God:
all of them are brothers, all of them
are equal, not one of them is better
than any other one. "But if all
people are equal, if there are no bad
people and all of them are brothers,
then it is understood that the class
struggle loses all it's meaning. The
hangman is equal to his victim;
the man abusing girl in the Chu-
barovsky Street is equal to the girl
he violates; for "there are no bad
people; all people are brothers; all
of them are equal, etc." But then,
why do we need moral self-perfec-
ton? Anyhow we can not become
better. There are no classes, no
victims, no hangmen, no exploiters,
or the exploited.
In 1908 Tolstoy wrote to the Hin
doc revolutionary Dassa: "Is it pos
sible that you, the son of the most
religious people with such light
faith in the significance of scientific
will reject the law of
love proclaimed by your
people? You are repeating the
stupidities instilled into you by the
of force, the enemies
Of the truth, the slaves Of at first
theology, later of science - your
European teachers
"You say that the English have
succeeded in enslaving India, be-
cause India has not resisted enough. +
But the truth lies in the opposite.
If the English have enslaved the
Hindoos, it's only because the Hin Y
zoos have always recognized force
IS the primary principle Of their
social organization Il. If the Hin