The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-07-28

and petty bourgeoisie who are de-
Tending their privileged positions,
their right" to the crumbs of pro-
fits which their" national bour-
geoisie receives from robbing other
nations, from the advantages Of its
position as a great nation.
The theological and political con-
tents of opportunism and social
chauvinism is the same: class col
liberation instead of class struggle;
remuneration of revolutionary means
of struggle; aiding zones" own gov
eminent in its difficulties instead of
taking advantage of its difficulties to
work for revolution. If we take
all European countries as a whole,
If we look not at individual persons
(however authoritative, it ap-
pears that the opportunist theology
has become the mainstay of So
cial-chauvinism, whereas from the
camp of the revolutionist we hear
almost everywhere more or less
consistent protests against it.
The Slogan of Marxists is the
Slogan OF Revolutionary Social
Democracy"
The war has undoubtedly created
the acutest crisis and has incredi-
bly, intensified the sufferings of the
masses. The reactionary character
of this war, the shameless lie of
the bourgeoisie Of all countries
which covers its predatory aims
with national" theology, all this in
evitably creates, on the basis of an
objective revolutionary situation,
revolutionary sentiments in the
masses. Our duty is to help make
these sentiments conscious, to
deepen them and give them form.
The only correct expression of this
task is the slogan Turn the i'm
perialist war into civil war" All
consistent class struggle in time of
war, all mass actions" earnestly
conducted must inevitably lead to
this. We cannot know whether in
the first or in the second imperislist
war between the great nations,
whether during or after it, strong
revolutionary movement will flare
up: Whatever the case may be, 1t
is our absolute duty Systematically
and unf1inchingly to work in that
particular direction.
The Basic Manifesto directly re-
fers to the example OF the Paris
Commune, i. e., to turning a war
between governments into civil
war. Half q century ago, the
proletariat was too weak; objective
conditions for Socialism had not
ripened yet; a coordination and CO.
operation of the revolutionary move
ments in all the belligerent countries
could not take place; the fact that
a section of the Paris workers was
captivated by national theology"
TRADITIONS of 1922 vas its petty
bourgeois weakness noted at the
time by Marx, and one of the rea-
sons for the collapse of the Com
mune. Now, half century later,
all the conditions that weakened
the revolution a-e no more. At the
present time it is unforgivable for
Socialist to countenance reputation
of activities in the spirit of the
Paris Communards.
Defeat of zones Own" Govern
ment in Imperialist War
The advocates of victory of zones
own" government in the present
war, as we'll as the advocates of the
slogan Neither victory nor defeat"
proceed equally from The standpoint
of social-chauvinisn. A revolution
airy class in reactionary war can
not help wishing the defeat of its
government, it cannot fail to see the
connection between the govern
ment's military reverses and the in
creased opportunity for overthrow
ing it. Only a bourgeois who be-
lieyes that the war started by the
governments will necessarily end as
a war between governments, and
who wishes it to be so, finds "fidic-
ulous" or absurd" the idea that the
Socialists of all the belligerent
countries should express their wish
that all their" governments be de-
feated. On the contrary such ex-
preston would coincide with the
hidden thoughts of every class
conscious worker, and would lie
along the line of our activity which
tends to turn the imperialist war
into civil war.
An earnest anti-war propaganda
by section of the English. German
and Russian Socialists would UNI
doubtedly weaken the military
strength of the respective govern
ments but such propaganda would
be to the credit of the Socialists
The Socialists must explain to the
masses that there is no salvation
for them outside of g revolutionary
overthrow of their governments
and that the difficulties of those
governments in the present war
must be taken advantage Of for just
this purpose.
At the time this was written,
the term Social Democracy still
designated the international labor
movement including the Bo,she-
viks, since there had not yet taken
place the historic split Of the reyo-
luticnary elements frosn the cppcr-
fupiSyr1 of fl,a Coc.olief CoaonI II