The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-01-03
sHE TASKS OF REVOLUTIONARY SOCIAL.
DEMOCRACY IN THE EUROPEAN WAR

Resolution of Group of Social Democrats
1. The European and World War bears the
sharp mark of a bourgeois-imperialist and dy-
nastic war. A struggle for markets, for free
dom to loot foreign countries, tendency to
put an end to the revolutionary movement of
the proletariat and democracy within the sep
arate countries, tendency to fool, to disunite,
to slaughter the proletariat of all countries by
nflaming the wage slaves of one nation against
the wage slaves of the other for the benefit of
the bourgeoisie-this is the only real meaning
and significance of the war.
2 The conduct of the leaders of the German
Social-Democratic Party, the strongest and
influential party belonging to the Second In
ternationa (1S89-1914), which voted for the
military appropriations and which repeated the
bourgeois chauvinist phrases of the Prussian
Junkers and the bourgeoisie, is direct be-
trayal of Socialism Under no circumstances,
even assuming the absolute weakness of that
party and the necessity of its submitting to
the will of the bourgeois majority of the ma
ton, can the conduct of the leaders of the
German Social-Democratic Party be justified
This party has in fact adopted national
liberal policy.
3. The same condemnation is deserved by
the conduct of the leaders of the Belgian and
betrayed Socialism by entering bourgeois cab
inets.
4 The betrayal of socialism by majority
of the leaders of the Second International
18S9-1914) signifies an theological and poll
teal collapse of that International The funda-
mental reason for this collapse is the actual
prevalence in it of petty-bourgeos opportun-
ism, the bourgeois nature and the danger of
which has long been pointed out by the best
representatives of the revolutionary proletariat
of all countries. The opportunists had long
been preparing the collapse of the Second In
ternational by renouncing the socialist revolu-
ton and substituting for it bourgeois reform
ism by rejecting the class struggle, which at
certain moments necessarily turns into civil
war, and preaching instead the collaboration
Of classes; by preaching bourgeois chauvinism
and defense of the fatherand, under the cloak
of patriotism. and rejecting the elementary
truth of socialism, expressed long ago in the
Communist Manifesto, that the workers have
fatherland; by combining themselves in the
struggle against miltarism to sentimental
ohilistine point of view instead of recognizing
the. necessity of revolutionary war of the
proletarians of all countries against the bour-
geos of all countries; by making a fetish of
the necessity of utilizing bourgeois parliament
tarism and bourgeois legality forgetting that
III tunes ol crises liieSdl lorInS OF organization
and propaganda are imperative One of the
organs of international opportunism, the $50
ziaistische Monatshefte" Socialist Monthly,
which has long moved to the national-liberal
position is consistent when it celebrates its
victory over European socialism. The so-caled
centre of German socia-democracy and of
other social democratic parties has in reality
fundamentally capitulated before the opportu-
nists. It must be the task of the future Inter-
national resolutely and irrevocaby to free it.
self of this bourgeois trend in socialism.
s. Of the bourgeois and chauvinist sophisms
by which the bourgeois parties and the gov
ernments of the two chief rival nations of
the continent, the German and the French, are
fooling the masses most effectively, and which
are being slavishly repeated by both the open
and covert socialist opportunists who are trail
ing at the tail end of the bourgeosie, one must
particularly note and brand the following.