Saturday, February 1, 1919 THE REVOLUTIONARY AGE Karl Liebknecht and the International (Extracts from an article on International Socialism written in April 1917)
HE international Socialist and working class ately represented by the so called Zimmerwald Left.
By Nicholai Lenin movements the world over have in the course It is characterized by its complete schism from the of the war split into three groups. Whoever social patriots and the centrists. It has been waging The following article gives a glimpse of how Liebunderstands their tendencies, has analyzed them closeknecht was viewed by his great contemporary in the a relentless war against its own imperialistic governly and still deserts the fight for real active internaRevolutionary Socialist movement. Writing of the men and its own imperialistic bourgeoisie. Its motto tionalism, is a weakling and a fraud.
tendencies evinced in the different countries during ruthlessly the nice and respectable social pacifista is: Our worst enemy is at home. It has fought Social patriots, that is, Socialists in words and the war and of the people who were the spokesmen chauvinists in fact, who agree to defend their fatherof these tendencies Lenin reviews the movement the phraseology, for those people who are social pacifists land in an imperialistic war and particularly in this world over and divides it into three groups. It is in in words are bourgeois pacifists in deeds: bourgeois imperialistic war. These men are our class enemies.
connection with these groups that he speaks of Lieb pacifists dream of an everlasting peace which shal They have gone over to the bourgeois camp. They knecht.
not be preceded by the overthrow of capitalist domincount among their numbers the majority of Socialist ation. They have been employing every form of leaders in every nation. Plekhanov Co. in Russia, sophistry to demonstrate the impossibility, the inopSchaidemann in Germany, Renaudel, Guesde and rically and economically, they do not represent any portunities of keeping up the proletarian class struggle Sembat in France, Bissolati Co. in Italy, Hyndman, special stratum of society; they only represent the or of starting a proletarian Social Revolution in conthe Fabians and the Laborites in England, Branting transition from the old fashioned labor movement as nection with the present war. Co. in Sweden, Troelstra and his party in Holland, it was from 1871 to 1914, which rendered inestimable The members of this group in Germany are known Stauning and his party in Denmark.
services to the proletariat through its slow, continued, as the Spartacus or International Group, to which The second group, that might be called the systematic work of organization in a large, very large Karl Liebknecht belongs. Karl Liebknecht is the best center, is hesitating between social patriotism and field, to the new movement which was objectively known representative of that tendency and of the new actual internationalism. These people swear by all necessary at the time of the first world wide war of real, proletarian international.
that is holy that they are Marxists, that they are inter Imperialism, and which has inaugurated the socialKarl Liebknecht called upon the workingmen and nationalists, that they are for peace, for exerting revolutionary era.
soldier of Germany to turn their guns upon their pressure upon the government, for presenting all sorts The main leader and representative of the center is own government. Karl Liebknecht did that openly of demands that show the desire of the nation for Karl Kautsky who dominated the Second Internafrom the tribune of parliament, the Reichstag. Then peace, they are peace propagandists and want a peace tional (from 1889 to 1914. who has been responsible he went out on Potsdamer Platz, one of the largest without annexations and they want peace with the for the complete downfall of Marxism, who has public squares in Berlin, with a batch of unlawfully social patriots. The center is for union and against showed an unheard of lack of principles and the printed proclamations to head a demonstration that any sort of schism. The center is the heaven of petty most pitiful hesitancy and betrayed the cause since shouted: Down with the government. He was bourgeois phrases of lip internationalism, of cowardly August, 1914.
arrested and sentenced to hard labor. He is now opportunism, of compromise with the social patriots. Among the centrists are Kautsky, Haase, Ledebour, serving his term in a German jail, like hundreds if The fact is that the center is not convinced of the and the so called labor group in the Reichstag; in not thousands of other real Socialists of Germany necessity of a revolution against the government of France, Longuet, Pressman and the so called minorwho have been jailed for waging war against war.
its own country: it does not preach that kind of revity; in England, Philip Snowden, Ramsay MacDonald Karl Liebknecht attacked mercilessly in his speeches olution; it does not wage an incessant fight for the and other leaders of the Independent Labor Party, and his writings not only the Plekhanovs and the Potrevolution, and it resorts to the lowest, super Marxist and a part of the British Socialist Party; Morris Hillresofs of Germany (Scheidemann, Legien, David, dodges to get out of the difficulty.
quit and many others in the United States; Turati, etc. but also the centrists of Germany, the German The social patriots are the enemies of our class, Treves, Modigliani and others in Italy, Robert Grimm Cheidses and Tseretellis, men like Kautsky, Haase, they are bourgeois in the midst of the labor moveand others in Switzerland; Victor Adler Co. in Ledebour and others.
ment. They represent layers of groups of the working Austria; the Mensheviki, Axelrod, Martov, Cheidse, Karl Liebknecht and his friend, Otto Ruhle, alone class which have been practically bought by the bourTseretelli and others in Russia.
among 110 Socialist deputies in the Reichstag, disgooisie through better wages, positions of honor, etc. It goes without saying that some individual mem regarded the party discipline, destrɔyed the harmoand which help their bourgeoisie to exploit and op bers of those groups go unconsciously from social nious union with the centrists and the chauvinists, and press smaller and weaker nations, and take part in patriotism to centerism, and vise versa. Every Marxist fought everybody. Liebknecht alone really represents the division of capitalistic spoils.
knows, however, that classes retain their character Socialism, the proletarian cause, the proletarian revThe members of the center group are routine worregardless of the free migration of people from one olution. The rest of the German Social Democracy, shippers, eaten up by the gangrene of legality, cor group to another, in spite of all the efforts which are to quote the apt words of Rosa Luxemburg, also a rupted by the parliamentary comedy, bureaucrats made to blend class or harmonize tendencies.
member and leader of the Spartacus Group, is a accustomed to nice sinecures and steady jobs. Histo The third, truly internationalist, is most accur stinking carrion. Tribute from the Far East The internet et leuried in me emelte barnet tona By Sen Katayama THE international Socialist movement has lost two tarian Socialist Revolution. We, the left wing Socialists, will never cease our protest against the crime of Rosa Luxemburg. The loss to our movement is This tribute to the man and woman who have died majority Socialism in Germany in murdering our two greatest in that it comes just at this moment. Schei that the toiling masses of the world may realise life comrades after they were arrested.
demann Co. killed the Second International by sup in its fulness, is perhaps one of the reddest of the many I, personally feel infinite sorrow at the death of porting Kaiserism and its war, they betrayed the flowers that are strewn on their graves from all over Rosa Luxemburg, because knew her intimately, cause of Socialism and the proletariat, but now they the world, for it comes from one embodying in his stayed in the Hotel Posen at Amsterdam in 1904 when have committed their greatest crime by murdering two being the reality of the International, one who in a she was there, often took our meals at the same table of our foremost leaders of the Third International. long life of struggle against great odds has always and talked together as we were, then, the left wing.
Varied reports concerning the death of our two remained true to revolutionary Socialism. It is the She interpreted my English speech at the Congress, comrades reach us through the bourgeois press, which new soul of the East crying to Karl Liebknecht and as did her comrade and co worker in Germany Klara has endeavored to discredit them, but it cannot be Rosa Luxemburg as they pass on that their sacrifice Zetkin. She translated my words into French while denied that they both were completely in the hands of has not been in vain. It is the voice of the Oriental Klara Zetkin translated into German.
Scheidemann, Ebert Co. and we can easily imagine races pledging solidarity with the Caucasian and is The Ebert government may think that murdering both were wilfully murdered by these Socialists, prophetic of the new era of the Brotherhood of the the opposing leaders, together with the support of the through their so called loyalists. The Independent SoWorkers of the World. loyal army and the bourgeois classes, will keep it in cialists of Berlin assert that Liebknecht did not power, but these very murders seal its fate and reveal attempt to escape but was killed by the soldiers esment. This being the case we can understand why it as the arch enemy of Socialism and the toiling corting him. Liebknecht, the New York Times they were mobbed.
masses. They are bound to fall before the oncoming reports, cool in facing death, smiled derisively as he We mourn our loss the more that these two brave Social Revolution directed by the mighty spirit of heard the howls of the Berlin mob, remarking to the comrades were murdered at the very moment that the Bolshevism.
soldiers on guard: They would kill Jesus Christ, power and influence of the revolutionary movement We sorrow at the loss of our great international Himself. He was very pale but otherwise showed no is about to sweep all over the European continent. comrades, but at the same time we are sure of our The loss may temporarily set back the revolution, at success in the coming Social Revolution that will esThe hotel near where Rosa Luxemburg was lyoched least in Berlin, but henceforth these two stalwarts, tablish temporarily in every nation a labor dictator and Karl Liebknecht mobbed is located in the most murdered by Scheidemann, Ebert Co. will live in ship. In this great work our comrades Karl Lieb fashionable quarter of the city, populated by the the very life of the world proletariat and lead, even knecht and Rosa Luxemburg in this mighty proclasses who feared most the Red Socialist move more successfully to the final victory of the prole alities will do ever greater and wider servire.
fear.