SOCIALISTS AND WAR 99 98 THE CLASS STRUGGLE racy as such can be waged only as an integral part of our general revolutionary struggle for Socialism. Our action must be international, our way the way of the proletariat of Russia. formerly revolutionary La Monte identifying himself with militarism!
But such are the vagaries of the philosophy of despair. It inevitably leads to reaction. And in this connection a well known passage from Marx Eighteenth Brumaire is appropriate. Proletarian revolutions criticize themselves constantly; constantly interrupt themselves in their own course; come back to what seems to have been accomplished, in order to start over anew; scorn with cruel thoroughness the half measures, weaknesses and meannesses of their first attempts; seem to throw down their adversary only in order to enable him to draw fresh strength from the earth, and again to rise up against them in more gigantic stature; constantly recoil in fear before the undefined monster magnitude of their own objects until finally that situation is created which renders all retreat impossible, and the conditions themselves cry out. Hic Rhodus, hic salta! shall not waste much time on the charge that the Socialist party is pro German. That was never true of the party as a whole, simply of certain prominent members of the bureaucracy. despise their attitude as much as La Monte does. But it does not at all enter into the question as to what attitude the party should take towards America in the war. If La Monte, under the control of his philosophy of despair, had not left the party he would know that it was the radical membership that forced the bureaucracy into an aggressive anti war stand. Shall we play into the hands of this handful of pro Germans by becoming proAlly? The only effective way to fight the degrading pro Germanism of these bureaucrats is to fight for revolutionary Socialism.
The bureaucrat is pro German bceause he is pro Scheidemann.
It is the philosophy of despair that makes La Monte urge that the proper course for such American Socialists as are still affiliated with the Socialist party is to get out of it as quickly as may be and give their whole hearted support to the government of these United States in its splendid fight to make the world safe for democracy. Imagine! The philosophy of despair inevitably generates the policy of surrender. And have no doubt that after the hysteria of this war is over La Monte will regret these words, am now serving as a sergeant in the Home Guard doing my part to protect my neighbors from the violence of well meaning if feeble minded pacifists. have had experience with the contemptible acts of the Home Guard of New York City, and its citizens need to be protected from their violence. It is the Home Guard and the soldiers that deliberately provoke riots at pacifist and Socialist meetings. The peculiar feature of the Socialist that acquiesces in war is that he becomes more reactionary than the government itseif. Even Secretary of War Baker has rebuked the violence of soldiers and sailors at Socialist and pacifist meetings! But this is a minor objection.
The Home Guard is an expression of militarism; imagine the We are against this war because we do not despair. We do not despair because we know that revolutions are not made in a day and that errors and weaknesses are inevitable. The brilliant passage of Marx expresses exactly the situation to day. We have failed. come, build anew!
The task is gigantic. It means a complete reconstruction of the Socialist movement, of its theory and its practice. We shall build upon the truth of the past and discard the errors. We shall forge a new movement comprehensive, aggressive, revolutionary, a movement adapted to the new conditions of Imperialism. This new movement must be built upon the fundamentals of Socialism, purged of error and compromise; the revolutionary spirit of Marxism emphasized against the deadening practice of the Socialist Majority.
This is the great opportunity of Socialism. To despair is to accept defeat. Out of great events arises great action. There can be no faltering. All for Socialism revolutionary Socialism!