Part 47 (1/2)

”The Socialist Party is a revolutionary party, but not a revolution-making party. We know that our goal can be obtained only through a revolution. We also know that it is just as little in our power to create this revolution as it is in the power of our opponents to prevent it.”[289]

The influential French Socialist, Guesde, agrees with Kautsky that a peaceful solution is highly improbable, and that the revolution must be one of an overwhelming majority of the people, not artificially created, but brought about by the ruling cla.s.ses themselves.

Of course a peaceful revolution might be accomplished gradually and by the most orderly means. If, however, these peaceful and legal means are later made illegal, or widely interfered with, if the ballot is qualified or political democracy otherwise thwarted, or if the peaceful acts of labor organizations, with the extension of government owners.h.i.+p, are looked upon as mutiny or treason,--then undoubtedly the working people will regard as enemies those who attempt to legalize such reaction, and will employ all available means to overthrow a ”government” of such a kind.

From Marx and Bebel none of the most prominent spokesmen of the international movement have doubted that the capitalists would use such violent and extreme measures as to create a world-wide counter-revolution, and began to make their preparations accordingly.

This is why, half a century ago, they pa.s.sed beyond mere ”revolutionary talk,” to ”revolutionary action.” This practical ”revolutionary evolution,” as he called it, was described by Marx (in resigning from a communist society) in 1851: ”We say to the working people, 'You will have to go through ten, fifteen, fifty years of _civil wars and wars between nations_ not only to change existing conditions, but to _change yourselves and to make yourselves worthy of political power_.'” (My italics.)

”Revolutionary evolution” means that Socialists expect, not a single crisis, but a long-drawn-out series of revolutionary, political, civil, and industrial conflicts. If we subst.i.tute for the insurrectionary civil wars of Marx's time, _i.e._ of the periods of 1848 and 1870, the _industrial_ civil wars to-day, _i.e._ the more and more widespread and successful, the more and more general, strikes that we have been witnessing since 1900, in countries so widely separated and representative as France, England, Sweden, Portugal, and Russia and Argentine Republic, Marx's view is that of the overwhelming majority of Socialists to-day.[290]

The suppression of such widespread strikes will become especially costly as ”State Socialism” brings a larger and larger proportion of the wage earners under its policy of ”efficiency wages,” so that their incomes will be considerably above the mere subsistence level. A large part of these increased wages can and doubtless will be used against capitalism.

Socialists believe that strikes will become more and more extended and protracted, until the capitalists will be forced, sooner or later, either to repressive violence, or to begin to make vital economic or political concessions that will finally insure their unconditional surrender.

Already many non-Socialist observers have firmly grasped the meaning of revolutionary Socialism. As a distinguished American editor recently remarked, ”Universal suffrage and universal education mean universal revolution; _it may be--pray G.o.d it be not--a revolution of brutality and crime_.”[291] The ruling minority have put down revolutions in the past by ”brutality and crime” under the name of martial ”law.”

Socialists have new evidences every day that similar measures will be used against them in the future, from the moment their power becomes formidable.

FOOTNOTES:

[284] Rose Luxemburg, ”Social-Reform oder Revolution.”

[285] ”La Guerre Sociale” (Paris), April 20, 1910.

[286] Kautsky, ”The Road to Power,” Chapter V.

[287] The organ of the Civic Federation, Nov. 15, 1909.

[288] ”The Road to Power,” Chapter VI.

[289] ”The Road to Power,” p. 50.

[290] A leading article of the official weekly of the German Socialist Party on the eve of the elections of 1912 gives the strongest possible evidence that the German Socialists regard the ballot primarily as a means to revolution. The article is written by Franz Mehring, the historian of the German movement, and its leading argument is to be found in the following paragraphs:--

”The more votes the Social-Democracy obtains in these elections, the more difficult it will be for the Reaction to carry out exceptional laws [referring to Bismarck's legislation practically outlawing the Socialists], and the more this miserable weapon will become for them a two-edged sword. Certainly it will come to that [anti-Socialist legislation] in the end, for no one in possession of his five senses believes that, when universal suffrage sends a Social-Democratic majority to the Reichstag, the ruling cla.s.ses will say with a polite bow: 'Go ahead, Messrs. Workingmen; you have won, now please proceed as you think best.' Sooner or later the possessing cla.s.ses will begin a desperate game, and it is as necessary for the working cla.s.ses to be prepared for this event as it would be madness for them to strengthen the position of their enemies by laying down their arms. It can only be to their advantage to gather more numerous fighting forces under their banner, even if by this means they hasten the historical process [the day when anti-Socialist laws will be pa.s.sed], and indeed precisely because of this.

”La Salle used to say to his followers in confidential talks: 'When I speak of universal suffrage you must always understand that I mean revolution.' And the Party has always conceived of universal suffrage as a means of revolutionary recruiting” (_Die Neue Zeit_, December 16, 1911).

[291] From a press interview with Mr. Henry Watterson in 1909; verified by a private letter to the author.

CHAPTER IX

THE TRANSITION TO SOCIALISM

The Socialist policy requires so complete a reversal of the policy of collectivist capitalism, that no government has taken any steps whatever in that direction. No governments and no political parties, except the Socialists, have any such steps under discussion, and finally, no governments or capitalist parties are sufficiently alarmed or confused by the menace of Socialism to be hurried or driven into a policy which would carry them a stage nearer to the very thing they are most anxious to avoid.

If we are moving towards Socialism it is due to entirely different causes: to the numerical increase, and the improved education and organization of the non-capitalist cla.s.ses, to their training in the Socialist parties and labor unions for the definite purpose of turning the capitalists (as such) out of industry and government, to the experience they have gained in political and economic struggles against overwhelmingly superior forces, to the fact that the enemy, though he can prevent them at present from gaining even a partial control over industry or government, or from seizing any strategic point of the first importance, is utterly unable to crush them, notwithstanding his greater and greater efforts to do so, and cannot prevent them from gaining on him constantly in numbers and superiority of organization.