The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-01-14
His Teachings Only Reliable
Guide in the Anti>War Fight
Show Necessity for Defeat of Own Country,
Expose Socialist Betrayers

Already then Lenin clearly de-
fined the tasks of struggle against
war even under the most difficult
conditions. Referring to the situa-
ton in Belgium, he says:
"What should the Belgian 80
cialists have done? Since they
could not accomplish a social
revolution together with the
French, etc., they had to submit
to the majority of the nation at
the present moment and go to
war. But in submitting to the
will of the slave-hoIding class,
they should have put the respon-
sib.Iity on the latter, they should
have refrained from voting for
appropriations, they should have
sent Vandervelde not on minis
teriaI journeys to the exploiters,
but to organize together with the
revolutionary establishments
of ALL countries) Illegal revOlu-
tionary propaganda in favor of a
socialist revolution and civil
war; they should have conducted
the same work in the army, ex-
perience having shown that even
in the trenches Of the fighting
armies determination Of soldier
workers Is possible. To prattle
about d.alectics and Marxism, at
the same time being unable to
combine the temporary necessity
of submission to the majority with
revolutionary work under all con-
ditions, means to mock at the
workers, to jeer at Socialism"
(Lenin, February, 1851
The workers must fight against
all Imperialism, beginning with
their own But "it Is foolish to
renomce participation in war for
ever and as a matter of principle"
For there is not only imperialist
war, but there is also the war Of
an oppressed nation for its indie
pendence, for its national existence.
Such wars are today part of the
struggle to overthrow imperialism,
and must be supported by the work.
ers of all lands. Lenin said in
1914:
"Thus, of all the belligerent
countries only the Serbs are
fighting for their national ex-
istence. Similarly, the class
conscious proletarians in India
and China cannot follow any but
the national road, as their coun-
tries have not been formed as yet
into national states. II China
had to wage an aggressive war
for this purpose, we could only
synpathize with 1t, since objec-
lively this would be progressive
war"
cTILL less is it possible for the
y workers to fight against war by
empty slogans OF peace" or by
pacifist means. Exposing pacifist
maneuvers in 1915, Lenin wrote
this historic paragraph:
This is a lesson for those
phrase-lovers who, like Trotsky,
defend, In opposition to us, the,
peace slogan, alleging among
other things that all the Left
Wingers' have united for the pur-
pose of action under this very
slogan! The government of the
Junkers has now demonstrated
the correctness Of our Berne
resolution, which said that peace
propaganda not accompanied by
a call TO revolutionary mass ac-
tons is only capable Of spread
ing illusions and of making the
proletariat a plaything in the
hands of the secret diplomacy Of
the belligerent countries (Col-
Iected Works, p. 262, Vol. xvIH.)
These are. the central, guiding
principles Of Marxism-Leninism in
the struggle against imperialist
war. They are simple and clear;
every worker is able to understand
them. Amid the confusion and
clainor of contemporary events,
and the poison-gas of chauvinism,
pacifism, and social fascism, they
furnish the dependable compass
which will guide the revolutionary
workers of America also through
the period of testing by fire which
is approaching.