Page Two The New International, February, 1918 Peasants and Workers be made The July Uprising By NIKOLAI LENINE No. 88 of the Isvestya of the Pan tion of the relations of the laborers to the against the capitalists, and these interests The peasants want to retain their small Russian Council of peasantse Delcpeasants. The social democratic mass are those of the vast majority of the holdings and to arrive at some place of gates there are printed a number of pro movement in Russia has been going on peasantry, equal distribution. So be it. No sensible posed laws, which are of interest in con for twenty years (if we count from the socialist will quarrel with a pauper peasnection with the agrarian question in great strikes of 1896. Throughout this Let me remind the reader of what ant on this ground. If the lands are Russia. The first division of these laws interval, passing through the two great Engels said, not long before his death, confiscated, so long as the proletarians rule deals with the general political premises, revolutions, there runs, a veritable red concerning the agrarian question. Engels in the great centers and all political power the requirements of political democracy, thread of Russian political history, this emphasized the point that nothing was is handed over to the proletariat, the rest while the second division is concerned with great question: shall the working class further removed from the minds of social will take care of itself, will be a natural the land question.
lead the peasantry forward to socialism, ists than the intention of expropriating the outcome of the power of example; The land demands of the peasantry in or shall the liberal bourgeoisie drag them smaller peasants, and that the latter should practice itself will do the teaching here.
these proposed laws, consist, first of all, back, into a conciliation with capitalism?
to see the advanatage of ma The passing of political power to the in an abolition of all private ownership The revolutionary Social Democratic chine process, socialist agriculture, by the proletariat, that is the whole thing. Then of land down to the peasant holdings. Party has all this time been fighting to force of example alone all the essential, fundamental, real points without compensation; in handing over to remove the peasants from the influence of The war has now placed before Russia, in the program of the 242 instructions become realities. And life will point out the state or the communes all parcels the cadets and has offered them, in place in a practical form, this very question which are under intensive cultivation; in of the utopian middle class view of So Of farm property there is little. Simply with what modifications this realization is likewise confiscating all live stock and im cialism, but a revolutionary proletarian confiscate it, and do not divide the to proceed. We should worry: we are highly cultivated estates.
not doctrinaires.
movables (excluding those of pesaants path to Socialism.
with small holdings. and handing them Conciliate yourselves with the rule of The peasants have begun to see this. We do not pretend that Marx or the over to the state or to the communes; in capital, for we are not yet ready for Need made them see it. The war made Marxians know every detail of the road which leads to Socialism. That would be the prohibition of hired labor; in equal Socialism, that is what the Mensheviki them see it; for the farm accessories are izing the distribution of land among the say to the peasants. In other words, they not worth taking. They must be hus folly. We know the direction of the toilers, with periodic redistributions, etc. misrepresent the abstract question of So banded. But management on a large scale road, we know what class forces will lead to it, but the concrete, practical details Among the measures proposed for the cialism as being the concrete question of means the conservation, both of labor on transition period before the convocation of whether the wounds inflicted by the war these accessories, and of many other will appear in the experience of the milthe Constituent Assembly, the peasants may be healed without taking resolute things.
lions when they tackle the job.
demanded the immediate passing of laws steps toward Socialism.
requiring the cessation of all buying and The Monarchy has been abolished.
selling of land, the abolition of laws perThe bourgeois revolution was crowned mitting sales of land to the commune, by with success, inasmuch as Russia became a democratic republic with a government persons intending to liquidate, or permitBy LEON TROTZKY ting the cutting down of forests, etc. for consisting of Cadets, Menshevists and From Petrograd period. July 25, 1917 But, in the course of three years, of the other preserves. etc. for the abrogation of the war has driven us thirty years ahead. Petrograd: how efragic Chapteet has longer be concealed. It became clear that all long term leases and the revision of has made compulsory military service uni those made for shorter periods.
versal in Europe, has led to a forced been added to the Russian Revolu the masses had once more and this time tion. Who is to blame? The Bolshe more cruelly than ever before been diA short reflection on these demands monopolization of industry and brought viki, says the man in the street, repeating vided. The impatience and the mistrust will show the absolute impossibility of the most developed nations to suffer hunger and unparalleled destruction, forcing what his newspapers tell him. The sum of the great body of workers and soldiers securing the aid of capitalists in their them to take definite steps toward Sototal of these tragic happenings is ex in Petrograd was increasing, not day by realization in fact, the impossibility of cialism.
hausted, as far as the bourgeoisie and the day, but hour by hour. These feelings.
avoiding a break with the capitalists, a Only the proletariat and the peasantry time serving poll. icians are concerned, in determined and inerciless struggle with the can overthrow the Monarchy that has the words: Arrest the ringleaders and disfor all participating indir, moy. com hopeless capitalist class, in short, a complete overbeen the fundamental declaration of our arm the masses. And the object of this organization, by an invisible setting in of throw of their rule.
class policy. And it was action is to establish revolutionary or a general cessation of the most important correct poIn fact, the confiscation of all private sition, as der. The Social Revolutionists and the branches of production, found their immeownership in land means the confiscation March, 1917, have once more confirmed.
months of February and Mensheviki. in arresting and disarming the diate political expression in the slogan: of hundreds of millions of bank capital, Only the proletariat, leading on the Bolsheviki, are preparing to establish or All power to the Soviets! The retirewith which these lands, for the most part, der. There is only one question: What ment of the Cadets and the definite proof poorest peasants (the semi proletariat, as kind of order, and for whom?
are mortgaged. Is such a measure conof the internal bankruptcy of the Provithey are called in our program) may sional Government convinced the masses ceivable unless the revolutionary plan, by terminate the war with a democratic The Revolution aroused great hopes in the aid of revolutionary methods, shall peace, may heal its wounds, and may un the masses. Among the masses of Petro the right as opposed to the official leaders still more thoroughly that they were in break down the opposition of the capital dertake the steps toward Socialism that grad, who played a leading role in the of the Soviets.
ists? Besides, we are here touching the have become absolutely unavoidable and Revolution, these hopes and expectations Social Revolutionists and the Mensheviki The vacillations of the most centralized form of capital, which non postponable. That is the clear de were cherished with exceptional earnest simply added oil to the flames. The deis bank capital, and which is bound by mand of our class policy at present. ness. It was the task of the Social Demo mands, almost persecutions, addressed to a million threads with all the important The course of history, accelerated by cratic Party to transform these hopes and centers of the capitalist system of this the Petrograd garrison, requiring them to the war, has made such huge strides for expectations into clearly defined political inaugurate an ofensive, had a similar efgreat nation, which can be defeated only ward, that the ancient slogans have been programs, to direct the revolutionary im fect.
by the equally well organized power of filled with a new content For instance: patience of the masses in the channel of a An explosion became inevitable.
All parties, including the Bolsheviki, took the proletariat of the cities. The prohibition of hired labor was planful political action. The Revolu every step to prevent the masses from makMoreover, there is the matter of hand merely an empty phrase of the petit bour tion was brought face to face with the ing the demonstration of July 3rd (N.
ing over the highly cultivated estates to geois intellectual. Millions of impover question of state power. We, as well as 16. but the masses did demonstrate, and the state. Is it not clear that the only ished peasants, in 242 instructions, dethe Bolshevik organiation, stood for a with weapons in their hands, moreover. state which is capable of taking them clare that they want to attack the problem handing over of all powers to the Central All the agitators, all the district repreover and actually administering them in of abolishing hired labor, but do not know of sentatives, declared on the evening of the interest of the toilers, and not for the Workers and Peasants Delegates. The July 3rd (N. 16. that the July 4th good of the chinovnikes (officials) and of how to go about it. But we know how.
We know it can only be done by cooperaupper classes, and among them we must (N. 17) demonstration, since the the capitalists themselves, must necessarily tion with the workers, under their lead, include the Social Revolutionists and the question of power remained unsettled, was be a proletarian revolutionary state?
and not in agreement with the capMensheviki, exhorted the masses to sup bound to take place, and that no measThe confiscation of stud farms, etc. italists.
port the Milyukov Guchkov government. ures could hold back the people. That and then of all cattle and immovables, Up to the last moment, that is, up to the Only the revolutionary proletariat can these measures are not only increasingly is the only reason why the Bolshevik time when these more distinctly imperial Party, and with it our organization, decrushing blows against private ownership actually carry out the above plan of the istic figures of the first Provisional Govof the means of production. They are cided not to stand aloof and wash its impoverished peasants, which they present ernment resigned, both the above men hands of the consequences, but to do steps toward Socialism, for the passing in the 242 instructions. For the revolutioned parties were firmly united with the everything in its power to change the July over of this property into its exclusive tionary proletariat is actually going about government all along the line. Only after 4th (N. 17) affair into a peaceful mass utilization by the state or the communes, the task of abolishing hired labor, and by the reconstruction of the government did demonstration. No other was the meaning makes absolutely necessary a huge Social the only real approach, namely, by over the masses learn from their own newsistic system of agriculture, or, at least, a throwing capitalism, and not by forbid papers that they had not been told the Socialistic regulation of its functioning. ding the hiring of labor. The revolu whole truth, that they had been deceived.
But, how about the prohibition of tionary proletariat is actually going to They were then told that they must trust bloody conflicts would arise. It would gangs, that hired labor? This is an empty phrase, confiscate the lands, the property on them, the new coalition government.
the helpless, unconsciously naive hope of the agriculturale corporationant which is rengeluhienary Social Democracy a predicted the masses of any political guida deprive see how impossible it is not to permit Here is the change to be made in the fer essentially from the cold that it would and to leave them, by refusing to get hired labor in the country, if it is to conoutline of the workers appeal to the peasnot make any concessions to the Revolu them, to their own fate. But we, being tinue to be permitted in the cities. in ant: We, the workers, want to give you, tion and would again betray the hopes the Workers Party, neither could nor short, that the prohibition of hired labor and do give you, that which the impoverof the masses.
can never be nothing else than a step to ished peasantry wants and seeks, without After two months of a policy of weak to join in with the masses and to stick to ward Socialism.
always knowing where to find it. We, ness, of demands for confidence, of verThis brings us to the fundamental ques the workers, are defending our interests of the July 4th appeal. It was of course clear, in view of the certain intervention of counter revolutionary And so it came to pass.
would follow Pilate tactics: we decided them, in order to introduce into their elebose exhortations, the government posi mental turmoil the greatest measure of or