 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. To find out more information and to learn how you can volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. This recording by Christian Pico at communistrevolution.org. Two tactics of social democracy in the Democratic Revolution. By Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. Preface. In a revolutionary period, it is very difficult to keep abreast of events, which provide an astonishing amount of new material for an evaluation of the tactical slogans of revolutionary parties. The present pamphlet was written before the Odessa events. We have already pointed out in the proletary, number nine, Revolution Teaches, that these events have forced even those social Democrats who created the uprising as a process theory, and who rejected propaganda for a provisional revolutionary government actually to pass over, or begin to pass over to the side of their opponents. The revolution undoubtedly teaches with a rapidity and thoroughness, which appear incredible in peaceful periods of political development. And what is particularly important, it teaches not only the leaders, but the masses as well. There is not the slightest doubt that the revolution will teach social Democratism to the masses of the workers in Russia. The revolution will confirm the program and tactics of social democracy in actual practice, by demonstrating the true nature of the various classes of society, by demonstrating the bourgeois character of our democracy, and the real aspirations of the peasantry, who, while being revolutionary in the bourgeois Democratic sense, harbor not the idea of socialization, but of a new class struggle between the peasant bourgeoisie and the rural proletariat. The old illusions of the old narodism, which are so clearly visible, for instance, in the draft program of the Socialist Revolutionary Party on the question of the development of capitalism in Russia, the question of the democratic character of our society, and the question of the significance of a complete victory of a peasant uprising. All these illusions will be mercilessly and completely blown to the winds by the revolution. For the first time it will give the various classes their real political baptism. These classes will emerge from the revolution with a definite political physiognomy, for they will have revealed themselves, not only in the programs and tactical slogans of their ideologists, but also in the open political action of the masses. Undoubtedly the revolution will teach us and will teach the masses of the people, but the question that now confronts a militant political party is, shall we be able to teach the revolution anything? Shall we be able to make use of the correctness of our social democratic doctrine, of our bond with the only thoroughly revolutionary class, the proletariat, to put a proletarian imprint on the revolution, to carry the revolution to a real and decisive victory, not in word, but in deed, and to paralyze the instability, half-heartedness and treachery of the democratic bourgeoisie. It is to this end that we must direct all our efforts, and the achievement of it will depend on the one hand, on the accuracy of our appraisal of the political situation, on the correctness of our tactical slogans, and on the other hand, on whether these slogans will be backed by the real fighting strength of the masses of the workers. All the usual, regular, current work of all the organizations and groups of our party, the work of propaganda, agitation and organization is directed towards strengthening and expanding the ties with the masses. This work is always necessary, but in a revolutionary period less than in any other can it be considered sufficient. At such a time, the working class feels an instinctive urge for open revolutionary action, and we must learn to set the aims of this action correctly, and then make these aims as widely known and understood as possible. It must not be forgotten that the current pessimism about our ties with the masses very often serves as a screen for bourgeois ideas regarding the role of the proletariat in the revolution. Undoubtedly, we still have a great deal to do to educate and organize the working class, but the whole question now is, where should the main political emphasis in this work of education and of organization be placed? On the trade unions and legally existing societies, or on an armed insurrection, on the work of creating a revolutionary army and a revolutionary government. Both serve to educate and organize the working class. Both are, of course, necessary. But the whole question now in the present revolution amounts to this. What is to be emphasized in the work of educating and organizing the working class, the former, or the latter? The outcome of the revolution depends on whether the working class will play the part of a subsidiary to the bourgeoisie, a subsidiary that is powerful in the force of its onslaught against the autocracy, but impotent politically, or whether it will play the part of leader of the people's revolution. The more intelligent representatives of the bourgeoisie are perfectly aware of this. That is precisely why the Asvabhazdinya praises akimavism, economism in social democracy, the trend which is now placing the trade unions and the legally existing societies in the forefront. That is precisely why Mr. Strue welcomes the akimavist trends in the principles of the new Iskra. That is precisely why he comes down so heavily on the detested revolutionary narrowness of the decisions of the Third Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party. It is exceptionally important at the present time for social democracy to have correct tactical slogans for leading the masses. There is nothing more dangerous in a revolutionary period than belittling the importance of tactical slogans that are sound in principle. For example, the Iskra in number 104 actually passes over to the side of its opponents in the social democratic movement, and yet at the same time disparages the importance of slogans and tactical decisions that are in front of the times and indicate the path along which the movement is proceeding with a number of failures, errors, etc. On the contrary, the working out of correct tactical decisions is of immense importance for a party which, in the spirit of the sound principles of Marxism, desires to lead the proletariat and not merely to drag at the tail of events. In the resolutions of the Third Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party and of the conference of the section which has seceded from the party, we have the most precise, most carefully thought out, and the most complete expression of tactical views, views not casually expressed by individual writers, but accepted by the responsible representatives of the social democratic proletariat. Our party is in advance of all others, for it has a precise program accepted by all. It must also set the other parties an example of strict adherence to its tactical resolutions, in contradistinction to the opportunism of the democratic bourgeoisie of the Asvabdhyjinnah and the revolutionary phrase-mongering of the socialist revolutionaries, who only during the revolution suddenly thought of coming forward with a draft of a program and of investigating for the first time whether it is a bourgeois revolution that is going on in front of their eyes. This is why we think it a most urgent task of the revolutionary social democrats to study carefully the tactical resolutions of the Third Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party and of the conference, to define what deviations there are in them from the principles of Marxism and to get a clear understanding of the concrete tasks of the social democratic proletariat in a democratic revolution. It is to this task that the present pamphlet is devoted. The testing of our tactics from the standpoint of the principles of Marxism and of the lessons of the revolution is also necessary for those who really desire to pave the way for unity of tactics as a basis for the future complete unity of the whole Russian Democratic Labor Party and not to confine themselves solely to verbal admonitions. July 1905 Chapter 1 An Urgent Political Question At the present revolutionary juncture, the question of the convocation of a popular constituent assembly is on the order of the day. Opinions are divided on the point as to how this question should be settled. Three political trends are to be observed. The czarist government admits the necessity of convening representatives of the people, but it does not want, under any circumstances, to permit their assembly to be a popular and a constituent assembly. It seems willing to agree if we are to believe the newspaper reports on the work of the Bolegan Commission to an advisory assembly to be elected without freedom to conduct agitation and on the basis of restricted qualifications or a restricted class system. The revolutionary proletariat in as much as it is led by the Social Democratic Party demands complete transfer of power to a constituent assembly and for this purpose strives to obtain not only universal suffrage and complete freedom to conduct agitation but also the immediate overthrow of the czarist government and its replacement by a provisional revolutionary government. Finally, the liberal bourgeoisie expressing its wishes through the leaders of the so-called Constitutional Democratic Party does not demand the overthrow of the czarist government, does not advance the slogan of a provisional government and does not insist on real guarantees that the elections will be absolutely free and fair and that the assembly of representatives will be a genuinely popular and a genuinely constituent assembly. As a matter of fact, the liberal bourgeoisie which is the only serious social support of the Azvabzhenia trend is striving to effect as peaceful a deal as possible between the czar and the revolutionary people, a deal moreover that would give a maximum of power to itself the bourgeoisie and a minimum to the revolutionary people, the proletariat and the peasantry. Such is the political situation at the present time. Such are the three main political trends corresponding to the three main social forces in contemporary Russia. We have already shown on more than one occasion in the proletariat numbers three, four and five how the Azvabzhenzi use pseudo-democratic phrases to cover up their half-hearted or to put it more bluntly and plainly their treacherous, perfidious policy towards the revolution. Let us now see how the social democrats appraise the tasks of the moment. Excellent material for this purpose is provided by the two resolutions that were passed quite recently by the third congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party and by the conference of the section which had succeeded from the party. The question as to which of these resolutions more correctly appraises the political situation and more correctly defines the tactics of the revolutionary proletariat is of enormous importance and every social democrat who is anxious to fulfill his duties as a propagandist, agitator and organizer intelligently must study this question with the closest attention, leaving all irrelevant considerations entirely aside. By the party's tactics we mean the party's political conduct or the character, the direction and methods of its political activity. Tactical resolutions are adopted by party congresses in order precisely to define the political conduct of the party as a whole with regard to new tasks or in view of a new political situation. Such a new situation has been created by the revolution that has started in Russia i.e. the complete, resolute and open rupture between the overwhelming majority of the people and the czarist government. The new question concerns the practical methods to be adopted in convening a genuinely popular and genuinely constituent assembly. The theoretical question concerning such an assembly was officially settled by social democracy long ago before all other parties in its party program. Since the people have broken with the government and the masses realize the necessity of setting up a new order the party which set itself the object of overthrowing the government must necessarily consider what government to put up in place of the old deposed government. A new question concerning a provisional revolutionary government arises. In order to give a complete answer to this question, the party of the class conscious proletariat must make clear 1. The significance of a provisional revolutionary government in the revolution that is now going on and in the entire struggle of the proletariat in general 2. Its attitude towards a provisional revolutionary government 3. The precise conditions of social democratic participation in this government 4. The conditions under which pressure is to be brought to bear on this government from below i.e. in the event of there being no social democrats in it Only after all these questions are made clear will the political conduct of the party in this sphere be principled, clear, and firm. Let us now consider how the resolution of the third congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party answers these questions The following is the full text of the resolution Resolution on a provisional revolutionary government Whereas 1. Both the immediate interests of the proletariat and the interests of its struggle for the final aims of socialism require the fullest possible measure of political liberty and consequently the replacement of the autocratic form of government by a democratic republic 2. The establishment of a democratic republic in Russia is possible only as a result of a victorious popular insurrection whose organ will be a provisional revolutionary government which alone will be capable of ensuring complete freedom of agitation during the election campaign and of convening a constituent assembly that will really express the will of the people an assembly elected on the basis of universal and equal suffrage, direct elections, and secret ballot 3. Under the present social and economic order this democratic revolution in Russia will not weaken but strengthen the rule of the bourgeoisie which at a certain moment will inevitably try stopping at nothing to take away from the Russian proletariat as many of the gains of the revolutionary period as possible the third congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party resolves that A. It is necessary to disseminate among the working class a concrete idea of the most probable course of the revolution and of the necessity at a certain moment in the revolution for the appearance of a provisional revolutionary government from which the proletariat will demand the realization of all the immediate political and economic demands contained in our program the minimum program B. Subject to the relation of forces and other factors which cannot be exactly determined beforehand Representatives of our party may participate in the provisional revolutionary government for the purpose of relentless struggle against all counter revolutionary attempts and of the defense of the independent interests of the working class C. An indispensable condition for such participation is that the party should exercise strict control over its representatives and that the independence of the Social Democratic Party which is striving for a complete socialist revolution and consequently is irreconcilably hostile to all bourgeois parties should be strictly maintained D. Irrespective whether the participation of social democrats in the provisional revolutionary government prove possible or not we must propagate among the broadest masses of the proletariat the necessity for permanent pressure to be brought to bear upon the provisional government by the armed proletariat led by the Social Democratic Party for the purpose of defending, consolidating and extending the gains of the revolution End of Chapter 1 This recording is in the public domain Chapter 2 of Two Tactics of Social Democracy by Lennon Read for LibriVox.org by Christian Picot at communistrevolution.org Chapter 2 What does the Resolution of the Third Congress of the RSDLP on a provisional revolutionary government teach us? The Resolution of the Third Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party as is evident from its title is devoted wholly and exclusively to the question of a provisional revolutionary government Hence the question as to whether social democrats may participate in a provisional revolutionary government is included in it as part of the whole question On the other hand it deals only with a provisional revolutionary government and with nothing else Consequently it completely leaves out for example the question of the conquest of power in general etc Was the Congress right in eliminating this and similar questions? Undoubtedly it was right because the political situation in Russia does not at all give rise to such questions as immediate issues On the contrary the issue raised by the whole of the people at the present time is the overthrow of the autocracy and the convocation of a constituent assembly Party congresses should take up and decide not issues which this or that writer happened to touch upon opportunely or inopportunely But such as are of vital political importance by reason of the prevailing conditions and the objective course of social development Of what importance is a provisional revolutionary government in the present revolution and in the general struggle of the proletariat? The resolution of the Congress explains this by pointing at the very outset to the need for the fullest possible measure of political liberty Both from the standpoint of the immediate interests of the proletariat and from the standpoint of the final aims of socialism And complete political liberty requires that the czarist autocracy be replaced by a democratic republic as our party program has already recognized The stress laid in the congress resolution on the slogan of a democratic republic is necessary both as a matter of logic and in point of principle For it is precisely complete freedom that the proletariat as the foremost champion of democracy is striving to attain Moreover it is all the more advisable to stress this at the present time because right now the monarchists, namely the so called constitutional democratic party Or party of liberation in our country are flying the flag of democracy In order to establish a republic it is absolutely necessary to have an assembly of peoples representatives And it must be a popular elected on the basis of universal and equal suffrage, direct elections and secret ballot and a constituent assembly This too is recognized in the congress resolution further on But the resolution does not stop there In order to establish the new order that will really express the will of the people it is not enough to call a representative assembly a constituent assembly This assembly must have the authority and power to constitute Taking this into consideration the resolution of the congress does not confine itself to the formal slogan of a constituent assembly But adds the material conditions which alone will enable that assembly really to carry out its tasks Such specification of the conditions that will enable an assembly which is constituent in name to become constituent in fact is imperatively necessary Four as we have pointed out more than once the liberal bourgeoisie as represented by the constitutional monarchist party is deliberately distorting the slogan of a popular constituent assembly and reducing it to a hollow phrase The congress resolution states that a provisional revolutionary government alone One more over that will be the organ of a victorious popular insurrection can secure full freedom of agitation in the election campaign and convene an assembly that will really express the will of the people Is this postulate correct? Whoever took it into his head to dispute it would have to assert that it is possible for the czarist government not to side with the reaction That it is capable of being neutral during the elections that it will see to it that the will of the people is really expressed Such assertions are so absurd that no one would venture to defend them openly But they are being surreptitiously smuggled in under liberal colors by our liberationists Somebody must convene the constituent assembly Somebody must guarantee the freedom and fairness of the elections Somebody must invest such an assembly with full power and authority Only a revolutionary government which is the organ of the insurrection can desire this in all sincerity and be capable of doing all that is required to achieve this The czarist government will inevitably counteract this A liberal government which will come to terms with the czar and which does not rely entirely on the popular uprising cannot sincerely desire this And could not accomplish it even if it most sincerely desired to Therefore the resolution of the congress gives the only correct and entirely consistent democratic slogan But an evaluation of the significance of a provisional revolutionary government would be incomplete and false if the class nature of the democratic revolution were lost sight of The resolution therefore adds that the revolution will strengthen the rule of the bourgeoisie This is inevitable under the present i.e. capitalist social and economic system And the strengthening of the rule of the bourgeoisie over the proletariat which has secured some measure of political liberty Must inevitably lead to a desperate struggle between them for power Must lead to desperate attempts on the part of the bourgeoisie to take away from the proletariat the gains of the revolutionary period Therefore the proletariat which is fighting for democracy in front of all and at the head of all Must not for a single moment forget about the new antagonisms that are inherent in bourgeois democracy and about the new struggle Thus the section of the resolution which we have just reviewed fully appraises the significance of a provisional revolutionary government in its relation to the struggle for freedom and for a republic In its relation to a constituent assembly and in its relation to the democratic revolution which clears the ground for a new class struggle The next question is what should be the attitude of the proletariat in general towards a provisional revolutionary government The congress resolution answers this first of all by directly advising the party to spread among the working class the conviction that a provisional revolutionary government is necessary The working class must be made aware of this necessity Whereas the democratic bourgeoisie leaves the question of overthrowing the czarist government in the shade We must push it to the fore and insist on the need for a provisional revolutionary government More than that we must outline for such a government a program of action that will conform with the objective conditions of the historic period Through which we are now passing and with the aims of proletarian democracy This program is the entire minimum program of our party The program of the immediate political and economic reforms which on the one hand can be fully realized on the basis of the existing social and economic relationships And on the other hand are requisite for the next step forward for the achievement of socialism Thus the resolution fully elucidates the nature and aims of a provisional revolutionary government By its origins and fundamental nature such a government must be the organ of the popular insurrection Its formal purpose must be to serve as the instrument for convening a popular constituent assembly The substance of its activities must be to put into effect the minimum program of proletarian democracy The only program capable of safeguarding the interests of the people which has risen against the autocracy It might be argued that being only provisional a provisional government cannot carry out a constructive program which has not yet received the approval of the entire people Such an argument would merely be the sophistry of reactionaries and absolutists To abstain from carrying out a constructive program means tolerating the existence of the feudal regime of the putrid autocracy Such a regime could be tolerated only by a government of traitors to the cause of the revolution But not by a government which is the organ of a popular insurrection It would be mockery for anyone to propose that we should refrain from exercising freedom of assembly Pending the confirmation of such freedom by a constituent assembly On the plea that the constituent assembly might not confirm freedom of assembly It is equal mockery to object to the immediate execution of the minimum program by a provisional revolutionary government Finally, we will note that by making it the task of the provisional revolutionary government to put into effect the minimum program The resolution eliminated the absurd semi-anarchist ideas about putting the maximum program into effect immediately About the conquest of power for a socialist revolution The degree of economic development of Russia, an objective condition And the degree of class consciousness and organization of the broad masses of the proletariat A subjective condition inseparably connected with the objective condition Make the immediate complete emancipation of the working class impossible Only the most ignorant people can ignore the bourgeois nature of the democratic revolution which is now taking place Only the most naive optimists can forget how little as yet the masses of the workers are informed about the aims of socialism and about the methods of achieving it And we are all convinced that the emancipation of the workers can be affected only by the workers themselves A socialist revolution is out of the question unless the masses become class conscious and organized Trained and educated in open class struggle against the entire bourgeoisie In answer to the anarchist objections that we are putting off the socialist revolution, we say We are not putting it off, but we are taking the first step towards it in the only possible way along the only correct road Namely, the road of a democratic republic Whoever wants to reach socialism by a different road other than that of political democracy Will inevitably arrive at conclusions that are absurd and reactionary both in the economic and in the political sense If any workers ask us at the given moment why we should not go ahead and carry out our maximum program We shall answer by pointing out how far the masses of the democratically minded people still are from socialism How undeveloped class antagonism still are How unorganized the proletarians still are Organize hundreds of thousands of workers all over Russia Enlist the sympathy of millions for our program Try to do this without confining yourselves to high sounding but hollow anarchist phrases And you will see at once that in order to achieve this organization, in order to spread this socialist enlightenment We must achieve the fullest possible measure of democratic reforms Let us proceed further Once we are clear about the importance of a provisional revolutionary government and the attitude of the proletariat toward it The following question arises Is it permissible for us to participate in it? Action from above And if so, under what conditions? What should be our action from below? The resolution supplies precise answers to both these questions It emphatically declares that it is permissible in principle for social democrats to participate in a provisional revolutionary government During the period of a democratic revolution, the period of struggle for a republic By this declaration we once and for all dissociate ourselves both from the anarchists who answer this question in the negative on principle And from the kvostists among the social democrats like Martinov and the new Iskraists Who have tried to frighten us with the prospect of a situation wherein it might prove necessary for us to participate in such a government By this declaration the third congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party rejected once and for all the idea expressed by the new Iskra That the participation of social democrats in a provisional revolutionary government would be a variety of millerandism That it is impermissible in principle as sanctifying the bourgeois order, etc But permissibility in principle does not, of course, solve the question of practical expediency Under what conditions is this new form of struggle, the struggle from above, recognized by the party congress, expedient? It goes without saying that at the present time it is impossible to speak of concrete conditions, such as relation of forces, etc And the resolution naturally refrains from defining these conditions in advance No intelligent person would venture at the present time to prophecy anything on this subject What we can and must do is determine the nature and aim of our participation This is precisely what is done in the resolution which points out two objectives for our participation One, a relentless struggle against counter-revolutionary attempts And two, the defense of the independent interests of the working class At a time when the liberal bourgeoisie is beginning to talk assiduously about the psychology of reaction In an attempt to frighten the revolutionary people and induce it to show compliance towards the autocracy At such a time it is particularly appropriate for the party of the proletariat to call attention to the task of waging a real war against counter-revolution In the final analysis force alone settles the great problems of political liberty and the class struggle And it is our business to prepare and organize this force and to employ it actively, not only for defense, but also for attack The long reign of political reaction in Europe, which has lasted almost uninterruptedly since the days of the Paris Commune Has too greatly accustomed us to the idea that action can proceed only from below Has too greatly enured us to seeing only defensive struggles We have now undoubtedly entered a new era, a period of political upheavals and revolutions has begun In a period such as Russia is passing through at the present time, it is impermissible to confine ourselves to old, stereotyped formulae We must propagate the idea of action from above We must prepare for the most energetic, offensive action and must study the conditions for and forms of such actions The Congress resolution puts two of these conditions into the forefront One refers to the formal aspect of social democratic participation in a provisional revolutionary government Strict control by the party over its representatives The other to the very nature of such participation Never for an instant to lose sight of the aim of affecting a complete socialist revolution Having thus explained from all aspects the party's policy with regard to action from above This new, hitherto almost unprecedented method of struggle The resolution also provides for the eventuality that we shall not be able to act from above We must exercise pressure on the provisional revolutionary government from below in any case In order to be able to exercise this pressure from below, the proletariat must be armed For in a revolutionary situation, matters develop with exceptional rapidity to the stage of open civil war And must be led by the social democratic party The object of its armed pressure is that of defending, consolidating and extending the gains of the revolution I.e. those gains which from the standpoint of the interests of the proletariat Must consist in the fulfillment of the whole of our minimum program With this we conclude our brief analysis of the resolution of the Third Congress On a provisional revolutionary government As the reader can see, the resolution explains the importance of this new question The attitude of the party of the proletariat toward it And the policy the party must pursue both inside a provisional revolutionary government and outside of it Let us now consider the corresponding resolution of the conference End of Chapter 2 This recording is in the public domain Chapter 3 Of Two Tactics of Social Democracy By Lennon Read for LibriVox.org by Christian Picot at communistrevolution.org Chapter 3 What is a decisive victory of the revolution over czarism? The resolution of the conference is devoted to the question The conquest of power and participation in a provisional government As we have already pointed out, the very manner in which the question is presented betrays confusion On the one hand the question is presented in a narrow way It deals with our participation in a provisional government and not with the party's tasks in regard to a provisional revolutionary government in general On the other hand, two totally different questions are confused i.e. the question of our participation at one of the stages of the democratic revolution And the question of the socialist revolution Indeed, the conquest of power by social democracy is a socialist revolution Nor can it be anything else if we use these words in their direct and usually accepted sense If, however, we are to understand these words to mean the conquest of power for a democratic revolution and not for a socialist revolution Then what is the point in talking not only about participation in a provisional revolutionary government, but also about the conquest of power in general? Obviously our conferences were not very clear themselves as to what they should talk about, the democratic or the socialist revolution Those who have followed the literature on this question know that it was Comrade Martinov in his notorious two dictatorships who started this muddle The new Iskraists are reluctant to recall the manner in which this question was presented before January 9th in that model of a kvostist work Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that it exercised ideological influence on the conference But let us leave the title of the resolution Its contents reveal mistakes incomparably more profound and serious Here is the first part A decisive victory of the revolution over czarism may be marked either by the establishment of a provisional government Which will emerge from a victorious popular insurrection Or by the revolutionary initiative of a representative institution of one kind or another Which, under direct revolutionary pressure of the people, decides to set up a popular constituent assembly Thus we are told that a decisive victory of the revolution over czarism may be marked either by a victorious insurrection Or by a decision of a representative institution to set up a constituent assembly What does this mean? How are we to understand it? A decisive victory may be marked by a decision to set up a constituent assembly And such a victory is put side by side with the establishment of a provisional government Which will emerge from a victorious popular insurrection The conference failed to note that a victorious popular insurrection and the establishment of a provisional government Would signify the victory of the revolution in actual fact Whereas a decision to set up a constituent assembly would signify a victory of the revolution in words alone The conference of the Mensheviks, or new Ischraists, committed the same error that the liberals, the Azvabzhentsi, are constantly committing The Azvabzhentsi prattle about a constituent assembly and bashfully shut their eyes to the fact that power and authority remain in the hands of the czar Forgetting that in order to constitute one must possess the power to do so The conference also forgot that it is a far cry from a decision adopted by representatives, no matter who they are, to the fulfillment of that decision The conference further forgot that so long as power remained in the hands of the czar, all decisions passed by any representatives whatsoever would remain empty and miserable prattle As was the case with the decisions of the Frankfurt Parliament, famous in the history of the German Revolution of 1848 In his new Rheinische Zeitung, Marx, the representative of the revolutionary proletariat, castigated the Frankfurt liberal Azvabzhentsi With merciless sarcasm, precisely because they uttered fine words, adopted all sorts of democratic decisions, constituted all kinds of liberties While actually they left power in the hands of the king and failed to organize an armed struggle against the military forces at the disposal of the king And while the Frankfurt Azvabzhentsi were prattling, the king bided his time, consolidated his military forces, and the counter-revolution, relying on real force, utterly routed the democrats with all their fine decisions The conference put on a par with a decisive victory the very thing that lacks the essential condition of victory How was it possible for social democrats who recognized the republican program of our party to commit such an error? In order to understand this strange phenomenon, we must turn to the resolution of the third congress on the section which has seceded from the party We cite this resolution in full The congress places on record that since the time of the party's fight against economism, certain trends have survived in the RSDLP Which, in various degrees and respects, are akin to economism, and which betray a common tendency to belittle the importance of the elements of consciousness in the proletarian struggle And to subordinate it to the element of spontaneity On questions of organization, the representatives of these trends put forward in theory the organization as a process principle, which is out of harmony with methodical party work While in practice they systematically deviate from party discipline in many cases And in other cases preach to the least enlightened section of the party the idea of a wide application of the elective principle Without taking into consideration the objective conditions of Russian life, and so strive to undermine the only basis for party ties that is possible at the present time In tactical questions they betray a striving to narrow the scope of party work, declaring their opposition to the party pursuing completely independent tactics in relation to the liberal bourgeois parties Denying that it is possible and desirable for our party to assume the role of organizer in the people's insurrection, and opposing the participation of the party in a provisional democratic revolutionary government under any conditions whatsoever The congress instructs all party members everywhere to conduct an energetic ideological struggle against such partial deviations from the principles of revolutionary social democracy At the same time however it is of the opinion that persons who share such views to any degree may belong to party organizations on the indispensable condition that they recognize the party congresses and the party rules and wholly submit to party discipline This resolution refers to the fact that various trends akin to economism have survived in our party Our conferences, it is not for nothing that they are under the ideological guidance of Martinov Talk of the resolution in exactly the same way as the economists talked of the political struggle or the eight hour day The economists immediately gave currency to the theory of stages One, the struggle for rights Two, political agitation Three, political struggle Or One, a ten hour day Two, a nine hour day Three, an eight hour day The results of this tactics as a process are sufficiently well known to all Now we are invited nicely to divide the revolution two in advance into the following stages One, the czar convenes a representative body Two, this representative body decides under pressure of the people to set up a constituent assembly Three, the Mensheviks have not yet agreed among themselves as to the third stage They have forgotten that the revolutionary pressure of the people will meet with the counter-revolutionary pressure of czarism And that therefore either the decision will remain unfulfilled or the issue will be decided after all by the victory or the defeat of the popular insurrection The resolution of the conference is an exact reproduction of the following reasoning of the economists A decisive victory of the workers may be marked either by the realization of the eight hour day in a revolutionary way Or by the grant of a ten hour day and a decision to go over to a nine hour day Exactly the same It may be objected perhaps that the authors of the resolution did not mean to place the victory of an insurrection on a par with the decision of a representative institution convened by the czar That they only wanted to provide for the party's tactics in either case To this our answer would be One, the text of the resolution plainly and unambiguously describes the decision of a representative institution as a decisive victory of the revolution over czarism Perhaps that is the result of careless wording Perhaps it could be corrected after consulting the minutes But so long as it is not corrected the present wording can have only one meaning And this meaning is entirely in keeping with the Asvabdgenya line of reasoning Two, the Asvabdgenya line of reasoning into which the authors of the resolution have drifted stands out in incomparably greater relief in other literary productions of the new Ischraists For instance the organs of the Tiflis committee social democrat in the Georgian language praised by the Ischra in number 100 In the article the Zemsky Sabor and our tactics go so far as to say that the tactics which make the Zemsky Sabor the center of our activities About the convocation of which we may add nothing definite is known as yet Are more advantageous to us than the tactics of armed insurrection and the establishment of a provisional revolutionary government We shall refer to this article again further on Three, no objection can be made to a preliminary discussion of what tactics the party should adopt in the event of the victory of the revolution as well as in the event of its defeat In the event of a successful insurrection as well as in the event of the insurrection failing to develop into a serious force It is possible that the czarist government will succeed in convening a representative assembly for the purpose of coming to terms with the liberal bourgeoisie Providing for that eventuality the resolution of the third congress speaks plainly about hypocritical policy Pseudo-democracy, a travesty of popular representation, something like the so-called Zemsky Sabor The following is the text of this resolution on the attitude towards the tactics of the government on the eve of the revolution Whereas for purposes of self-preservation the government during the present revolutionary period while intensifying the usual measures of repression directed mainly against the class-conscious elements of the proletariat At the same time, one, tries by means of concessions and promises of reform to corrupt the working class politically and thereby to divert it from the revolutionary struggle Two, with the same object, clothes its hypocritical policy of concessions in pseudo-democratic forms Beginning with an invitation to the workers to elect their representatives to commissions and conferences And ending with the establishment of a travesty of popular representation, something like the so-called Zemsky Sabor Three, organizes the so-called Black Hundreds and incites against the revolution all those elements of the people in general who are reactionary, ignorant, or blinded by racial or religious hatred The third Congress of the RSDLP resolves to call on all party organizations A, while exposing the reactionary purpose of the government's concessions to emphasize in their propaganda and agitation the fact that, on the one hand, these concessions were granted under compulsion And, on the other, that it is absolutely impossible for the autocracy to grant reforms satisfactory to the proletariat B, taking advantage of the election campaign to explain to the workers the real significance of the government's measures And to show that it is necessary for the proletariat to convene by revolutionary means a constituent assembly on the basis of universal and equal suffrage, direct elections, and secret ballot C, to organize the proletariat for the immediate realization in a revolutionary way of the 8 hour working day and of the other immediate demands of the working class D, to organize armed resistance to the action of the Black Hundreds and generally of all reactionary elements led by the government But the whole point is that this is not said in the resolution on a provisional revolutionary government, for it has nothing to do with the provisional revolutionary government This eventuality defers the problem of the insurrection and of the establishment of a provisional revolutionary government It alters this problem, etc. The point in question now is not that all kinds of combinations are possible, that both victory and defeat are possible, that there may be direct or circuitous paths The point is that it is impermissible for a social democrat to cause confusion in the minds of the workers concerning the genuinely revolutionary path That it is impermissible to describe in the Azhvabjinnah manner as a decisive victory that which lacks the main requisite for victory It is possible that even the 8 hour day we will not get at one stroke, but only by a long and roundabout way But what would you say of a man who calls such impotence, such weakness as renders the proletariat incapable of counteracting procrastination, delays, haggling, treachery and reaction, a victory for the workers It is possible that the Russian revolution will end in an abortive constitution, as was once stated in the Period But can this justify a social democrat who on the eve of a decisive struggle would call this abortion a decisive victory over czarism? It is possible that, at the worst, not only will we not win a republic, but that even the constitution we will get will be an illusory one A constitution a la ship of But would it be pardonable for a social democrat to obscure our slogan of a republic? Of course the new Iskraists have not as yet gone so far as to obscure it But the degree to which the revolutionary spirit has fled from them The degree to which lifeless pedantry has blinded them to the militant tasks of the moment Is most vividly shown by the fact that in their resolution they, of all things, forgot to say a word about the republic It is incredible, but it is a fact All the slogans of social democracy were endorsed, repeated, explained, and presented in detail in the various resolutions of the conference Even the election of shop stewards and deputies by the workers was not forgotten But in a resolution on a provisional revolutionary government, they simply did not find occasion to mention the republic To talk of the victory of the people's insurrection, of the establishment of a provisional government, and not to indicate what relation these steps and acts have to the winning of a republic Means writing a resolution not for the guidance of the proletarian struggle, but for the purpose of hobbling along at the tail end of the proletarian movement To sum up, the first part of the resolution, one, gave no explanation whatever of the significance of a provisional revolutionary government from the standpoint of the struggle for a republic and of securing a genuinely popular and genuinely constituent assembly Two, confused the democratic consciousness of the proletariat by placing on a par with a decisive victory of the revolution over czarism, a state of affairs in which precisely the main requisite for a real victory is lacking End of Chapter 3 This recording is in the public domain Chapter 4 of Two Tactics of Social Democracy by Lennon Read for LibriVox.org by Christian Picot at communistrevolution.org Chapter 4 The Abolition of the Monarchist System and the Republic Let us pass on to the next section of the resolution In either case, such a victory will inaugurate a new phase in the revolutionary epic The task which the objective conditions of social development spontaneously raise in this new phase is the final abolition of the whole regime of social estates and of the monarchy in the process of mutual struggle among the elements of politically emancipated bourgeois society for the satisfaction of their social interests and for the direct acquisition of power Therefore, the provisional government that would undertake to carry out the tasks of this revolution, which by its historical nature is a bourgeois revolution, would also in regulating the mutual struggle of the antagonistic classes within the nation in the process of emancipation Not only have to push revolutionary development further forward, but also fight against those of its factors which threaten the foundation of the capitalist system Let us examine this section which forms an independent part of the resolution The idea underlying the above quoted arguments coincides with that stated in the third clause of the congress resolution But in comparing these parts of the two resolutions, the following radical difference at once becomes apparent The congress resolution, describing in a few words the social and economic basis of the revolution, concentrates attention entirely on the sharply defined struggle of classes for definite gains and places the militant tasks of the proletariat in the forefront The resolution of the conference in a long, nebulous and confused description of the social and economic basis of the revolution speaks very vaguely about a struggle for definite gains and leaves the militant tasks of the proletariat altogether in the shade The resolution of the conference speaks of the abolition of the old order in the process of mutual struggle among the various elements of society The congress resolution says that we, the party of the proletariat, must affect this abolition That only the establishment of a democratic republic signifies the real abolition of the old order That we must win such a republic, that we shall fight for it and for complete liberty, not only against the autocracy, but also against the bourgeoisie When it attempts, for it will surely attempt to rest our gains from us The congress resolution calls on a definite class to wage a struggle for a precisely defined immediate aim The resolution of the conference discourses on the mutual struggle of various forces One resolution expresses the psychology of active struggle, the other expresses that of the passive onlooker One resounds with the call for live action, the other is steeped in lifeless pedantry Both resolutions state that the present revolution is only our first step, which will be followed by a second But from this, one resolution draws the conclusion that we must all the more quickly make this first step All the more quickly get it over, win a republic, mercilessly crush the counter-revolution and prepare the ground for the second step The other resolution, however, oozes, so to speak, with verbose descriptions of the first step and excuse the vulgar expression Choose the cud over it The resolution of the congress takes the old and eternally new ideas of Marxism about the bourgeois nature of a democratic revolution As a preface or first premise from which it draws conclusions as to the progressive tasks of the advanced class Which is fighting both for the democratic and for the socialist revolution The resolution of the conference does not go beyond the preface, chewing it over and over again and trying to be clever about it This is the very distinction which has long divided the Russian Marxists into two wings The moralizing and the militant wings of the old days of legal Marxism And the economic and political wings of the period of the nascent mass movement From the correct premise of Marxism concerning the deep economic roots of the class struggle in general and of the political struggle in particular The economists drew the singular conclusion that we must turn our backs on the political struggle and retard its development, narrow its scope and reduce its aims The political wing on the contrary drew a different conclusion from these same premises Namely that the deeper the roots of our struggle at the present time the more widely, the more boldly, the more resolutely and with greater initiative must we wage this struggle We have the very same controversy before us now only under different circumstances and in a different form From the premises that a democratic revolution is far from being a socialist one That the proper key lists are not by any means the only ones to be interested in it That it is deeply rooted in the inexorable needs and requirements of the whole of bourgeois society From these premises we draw the conclusion that the advanced class must formulate its democratic aims all the more boldly Express them all the more sharply and completely, put forward the direct slogan of a republic Popularize the idea that a provisional revolutionary government is needed and that it is necessary ruthlessly to crush the counterrevolution Our opponents, the new Ischraists however, deduce from these very same premises that the democratic conclusions should not be expressed fully That the slogan of a republic may be omitted from the practical slogans That we can refrain from popularizing the idea that a provisional revolutionary government is needed That a mere decision to convene a constituent assembly can be termed a decisive victory That we need not advance the task of combating counterrevolution as our active aim But that we may submerge it in a nebulous and as we shall presently see wrongly formulated Reference to a process of mutual struggle This is not the language of political leaders but of archive mummies And the more closely one examines the various formulae of the new Ischraist resolution The clearer its aforementioned basic features become We are told for instance of a process of mutual struggle among the elements of politically emancipated bourgeois society Bearing in mind the subject with which this resolution deals, a provisional revolutionary government, one asks in astonishment If you are referring to the process of mutual struggle, how can you keep silent about the elements which are politically enslaving bourgeois society? Do the conferences really imagine that because they have assumed that the revolution will be victorious, these elements have already disappeared? Such an idea would be absurd in general and would be an expression of the greatest political naivete and political shortsightedness in particular After the victory of the revolution over the counterrevolution, the latter will not disappear On the contrary, it will inevitably start a new and even more desperate struggle Since the purpose of our resolution is to analyze the tasks that will confront us when the revolution is victorious It is our duty to devote enormous attention to the tasks of repelling counterrevolutionary attacks as is done in the resolution of the congress And not submerge these immediate, urgent and vital political tasks of a militant party in general discussions on what will happen after the present revolutionary period What will happen when a politically emancipated society will already be in existence? Just as the economists, by repeating the general truism that politics are subordinated to economics, covered up their failure to understand current political tasks So the new escraists, by repeating the general truism that struggles will take place in a politically emancipated society Cover up their failure to understand the urgent revolutionary tasks of the political emancipation of this society Take the expression, the final abolition of the whole regime of social estates and the monarchy In plain language, the final abolition of the monarchist system means the establishment of a democratic republic But our good Martinov and his admirers think that this expression is far too simple and clear They insist on rendering it more profound and saying it more cleverly As a result we get, on the one hand, ridiculous and vain efforts to appear profound On the other, we get a description instead of a slogan, a sort of melancholy looking backward, instead of a stirring appeal to march forward We get the impression, not of living people eager to fight for a republic here and now But of fossilized mummies, who, subspecie eternitatis, consider the question from the standpoint of plusquam perfectum Let us proceed further The provisional government would undertake to carry out the tasks of this bourgeois revolution Here we see at once the result of the fact that our conferences have overlooked a concrete question which confronts the political leaders of the proletariat The concrete question of a provisional revolutionary government was obscured from their field of vision by the question of the future series of governments which will carry out the aims of the bourgeois revolution in general If you want to consider the question historically, the example of any European country will show you that it was a series of governments, not by any means provisional, that carried out the historical aims of the bourgeois revolution That even the governments which defeated the revolution were nonetheless forced to carry out the historical aims of that defeated revolution But what is called a provisional revolutionary government is something altogether different from what you are referring to That is the name given to the government of a revolutionary epic that directly replaces the overthrown government and rests on the insurrection of the people And not on some kind of representative institutions coming from the people A provisional revolutionary government is the organ of struggle for the immediate victory of the revolution For immediately repelling counter-revolutionary attempts and not by any means an organ for carrying out the historical aims of the bourgeois revolution in general Gentlemen, let us leave it to the future historians of a future ruskaya starina to determine exactly what aims of the bourgeois revolution we or this or that government shall have achieved There will be time enough to do that 30 years from now At present we must put forward slogans and give practical directives for the struggle for a republic and for the proletariat's most active participation in this struggle For the reasons stated, the last propositions in the section of the resolution which we have quoted above are also unsatisfactory The expression that the provisional government would have to regulate the mutual struggle among the antagonistic classes is exceedingly inapt or at any rate awkwardly put Marxists should not use such liberal, asphabgenia formulations which lead one to believe that it is possible to have governments which serve not as organs of the class struggle but as its regulators The government would not only have to push revolutionary development further forward but also fight against those of its factors which threaten the foundations of a capitalist system But it is the proletariat, the very same in whose name the resolution is speaking that constitutes this factor Instead of indicating just how the proletariat should push revolutionary development further forward at the present time, push it further than the constitutionalist bourgeois would care to go Instead of advice to prepare definite ways and means of combating the bourgeoisie when the latter turns against the conquests of the revolution We are offered a general description of a process which does not say a word about the concrete aims of our activity The new ischraist method of expressing its views reminds one of Marx's opinion in his famous theses on Führbach of the old materialism which was alien to the ideas of dialectics The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways said Marx, the point however is to change it Similarly the new ischraists can give a tolerable description and explanation of the process of struggle which is taking place before their eyes But they are all together incapable of giving a correct slogan for this struggle Good marchers but bad leaders, they belittle the materialist conception of history by ignoring the active, leading and guiding part in history Which can and must be played by parties that understand the material prerequisites of a revolution and that have placed themselves at the head of the progressive classes End of chapter 4 This recording is in the public domain Chapter 5 of Two Tactics of Social Democracy by Lennon Read for LibriVox.org by Christian Picot at communistrevolution.org Chapter 5 How should the revolution be pushed forward? Let us quote the next section of the resolution Under such conditions social democracy must strive to maintain during the whole course of the revolution A position which will best of all secure for it the possibility of pushing the revolution forward Which will not tie the hands of social democracy in its struggle against the inconsistent and self-seeking policy of the bourgeois parties And which will preserve it from being merged into bourgeois democracy Therefore social democracy must not set itself the aim of seizing or sharing power in the provisional government But must remain the party of extreme revolutionary opposition The advice to occupy a position which best secures the possibility of pushing the revolution forward pleases us very much indeed We only wish that in addition to this good advice they had given a direct indication as to how social democracy should push the revolution further forward right now in the present political situation In a period of rumors, conjectures, talks, and schemes about the convocation of representatives of the people Can the revolution be pushed forward now by one who fails to understand the danger of the Asvabjinnah theory of compromise between the people and the czar By one who calls a mere decision to convene a constituent assembly a victory Who does not set himself the task of carrying on active propaganda for the idea that a provisional revolutionary government is necessary Or who leaves the slogan of a democratic republic in the shade Such people actually push the revolution backward Because as far as practical politics are concerned they have halted on the level of the Asvabjinnah What is the use of their recognition of a program which demands that the autocracy be replaced by a republic When in a resolution on tactics that defines the party's present and immediate tasks in the period of revolution they omit the slogan of a struggle for a republic Actually it is the position of the Asvabjinnah, the position of the constitutionalist bourgeoisie That is now characterized by the fact that the decision to convene a popular constituent assembly is considered a decisive victory While a prudent silence is maintained on the subject of a provisional revolutionary government and a republic In order to push the revolution forward, i.e. beyond the bounds to which the monarchist bourgeoisie is pushing it It is necessary actively to advance, emphasize and push to the forefront such slogans as will preclude the inconsistencies of the bourgeois democrats At the present time there are only two such slogans One, a provisional revolutionary government And two, a republic Since the slogan of a popular constituent assembly has been accepted by the monarchist bourgeoisie See the program of the Asvabjinnah League And accepted for the very purpose of conjuring away the revolution Of preventing the complete victory of the revolution And of enabling the big bourgeoisie to strike a hucksters bargain with czarism And now we see that of the two slogans which alone are capable of pushing the revolution forward The conference completely forgot the slogan of a republic And plainly put the slogan of a provisional revolutionary government on a par with the Asvabjinnah slogan of a popular constituent assembly Calling both the one and the other a, quote, decisive victory for the revolution Yes, such is the undoubted fact which we are sure will serve as a landmark for the future historian of the Russian social democratic movement The conference of social democrats held in May 1905 passed a resolution which contains fine words about the necessity of pushing the democratic revolution forward But which actually pushes it backward Which actually goes no further than the democratic slogans of the monarchist bourgeoisie The new escraists like to accuse us of ignoring the danger of the proletariat becoming dissolved in the democratic bourgeoisie We should like to see the person who would undertake to prove this charge on the basis of the text of the resolutions passed by the third congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party Our reply to our opponents is A social democratic party operating in a bourgeois society cannot take part in politics without marching in one instance or another side by side with the democratic bourgeoisie The difference between us in this respect is that we march side by side with the revolutionary and republican bourgeoisie without merging with it Whereas you march side by side with the liberal and monarchist bourgeoisie also without merging with it That is how matters stand The tactical slogans you have formulated in the name of the conference coincide with the slogans of the constitutional democratic party i.e. the party of the monarchist bourgeoisie Moreover, you did not even notice or realize this coincidence, thus actually following at the tail of the asvabjentsi The tactical slogans we have formulated in the name of the third congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party coincide with the slogans of the democratic revolutionary and republican bourgeoisie This bourgeoisie and petty bourgeoisie in Russia have not yet formed themselves into a big people's party But only a person who is utterly ignorant of what is now taking place in Russia can doubt the existence of the elements of such a party We propose to lead if the course of the great Russian revolution is successful Not only the proletariat organized by the Social Democratic Party but also this petty bourgeoisie which is capable of marching side by side with us In its resolution the conference unconsciously descends to the level of the liberal and monarchist bourgeoisie The party congress in its resolution consciously raises to its own level those elements of the revolutionary democracy that are capable of waging a struggle and not of acting as brokers Such elements are mostly to be found among the peasants In classifying the big social groups according to their political tendencies we can, without danger of serious error, identify revolutionary and republican democracy with the mass of the peasants Of course in the same sense and with the same reservations and implied conditions as we can identify the working class with social democracy In other words we can also formulate our conclusions in the following terms In a revolutionary period the conference in its national political slogans unconsciously descends to the level of the mass of the landlords The party congress in its national political slogans raises the peasant masses to the revolutionary level We challenge anyone who because of this conclusion may accuse us of evincing a penchant for paradoxes to refute the proposition that if we are not strong enough to bring the revolution to a successful conclusion If the revolution terminates in a decisive victory in the Asvabjensi sense, i.e. exclusively in the form of a representative assembly convened by the Tsar, which could be called a constituent assembly only in derision Then this will be a revolution in which the landlord and big bourgeois element will preponderate On the other hand if we are destined to live through a really great revolution, if history prevents a miscarriage this time, if we are strong enough to carry the revolution to a successful conclusion to a decisive victory Not in the Asvabjensi or the new Iskra sense of the word, then it will be a revolution in which the peasant and proletarian element will preponderate Some people may perhaps interpret our admission that such a preponderance is possible as a renunciation of the view that the impending revolution will be bourgeois in character This is very likely considering how this concept is misused in the Iskra For this reason it will not be at all superfluous to dwell on this question End of chapter 5 This recording is in the public domain