The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-01-09


Russkove Slovo Russian Word]) whose
"worksv | have read, or Messrs. Sokolov,
Meshkovsky, Nikitin, and others whom you
have either seen or heard. Plekhanov, as
think we have already written to you, has De-
come a chauvinist Frenchman. The Liquida-
tors are apparently in confusion. AlexinsKy
is said to be a Francophile. Kossovsky,
Bundist, Right Winger, whom have heard
lecture is Germanophile. 1t seems that tne
mean line of the entire Brussels BLOC Oh
the Messrs. Liquidators with Alexinsky ana
Plekhanov will be an adaptation to hautsky'
who is now more harmful than all OF them.
No words can describe how dangerous and
mean are his sophisms which cover up the ras-
cality of the opportunists Tin the Neue zelt
New Era y with smooth and slick phrases.
The opportunists are open evil. The Ter
man centre with Kautsky at its head, hldden
evil embellshed for diplomatic purposes and
dullng the eyes, the intelligence, and the con-
seriousness of the workers, is more dangerous
than anything else. Our task at present is
determined and open struggle against inter
national opportunism and those who shield 1t
(Kautsky). This is what we are going to DO
in the Central Organ which we shall soon issue
(probably two pages). One must exert every
effort to uphold the just hatred of the class
conscious workers for the hideous conduct OF
the Germans; one must draw from this hatred
political conclusions against opportunlsm and
against every concession to opportunlsm. ms
is an international task. 1t develops upon US;
there is nobody else. One cannot shlrk 1t. Inc
slogan of Simply" re-estabishing the Inter-
national is incorrect because the danger OF
a spineless conciatory resolution along the
line of Kautsky and Vandervelde is very, very
greatly The slogan of peace" is incorrect,
as the slogan must be: changing the national
H. oko
long time it may and will demand number
of preliminary conditions, but the work must
all be conducted along the line of such
change, in this spirit and in this direction)
Not the sabotaging of the war, not undertake
ing sporadic individual acts in this direction,
but the conducting of mass propaganda (and
not only among "civilians") that leads to the
transformation of the war into civil war. In
Russia chauvinism hides behind phrases about
La Belle France and unfortunate Belgium
chow about the Ukraine and others?), or be-
hind the popular" hatred for the Germans
land "Kaiserism''). 1t is therefore our abso-
lutte duty to struggle against those sophisms.
In order that the struggle may proceed along
a definite and clear line, one must have slo-
gan that summarizes it. This slogan is: For
us Russians, from the point of view of the in
terests of the laboring masses and the work
ing class of Russia, there can not be the
slightest doubt, absolutely no doubt whatever,
that the lesser evil would be, here and now,
the defeat of czarism in the present war; For
czarism is hundred times worse than Kaiser
ISM We do not sabotage the war, but we
struggle against chauvnism, all propaganda
and agitation being directed towards interna-
tional unification drawing together, express
ing solidarity, reaching agreements scion les
circumstances of the proletarat in the inter-
g 7 ,y1d olcn fo at~rn
both to appeal for individual acts of firing at
officers, and to allow arguments like the one
which says: We do not want to help Kaserism.
The former is deviation towards Anarchism,
the latter towards opportunism. AS to our
selves we must prepare a mass lat least
collectively action in the army not of one ma
ton alone, and conduct all the world of propa-
ganda and agitation in this direction. To
direct the work stubborn, systematic work
that may require long time) in the spirit
of Transforming the national war into civil
war-this is the whole issue. The moment for
such transformation is different question;
at present it is not clear yet. We must al
low this moment to ripen, we must system
atcally "force it to ripen."
conclude for the time being. Will write
you often. Write more often yourself
Give a detailed account of the contents Of
the Petrograd Committees leaflet.
More details of Russian voices and reac-
tions.
What is the correlation of forces among the
Petrograd fractions? Have the Liquidators
become stronger compared with us? How
much?
Is Dan free? What is his stand? How
about Chrkin, Bulkn and Co. More details
about that.
To whom and from whom have you sent the
hundred rubles?
With firm handshake.
Yours,
LENIN.
The peace slogan is in my judgment incor-
rect at the present moment. This is phis-
tines, a preachers, slogan. The proletarian
slogan must be civil war.
effectively, from the fundamental change
in the situation Of Europe, there follows such
a slogan for the epoch of mass war. The
same slogan follows from the Basic resolution.
We can neither promise" civil war nor "de-
cree it," but it is our duty to work in this
direction, if need be, for very long time.
You will find details in the article in the Gen.
trial Organ. For the time being l am just
outlining the main points of our position, so
that we may agree.
First published in the Lenin Collection, II,
1924.