180 THE CLASS STRUGGLE THE FUTURE OF THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 181 The German Socialists are to blame for their attitude toward the Russian revolution. But the allied Socialists cannot escape blame either. Responsible officials of the International labor movement as Huysmans, Vandervelde, Branting, Thomas and others have vied with the capitalist news writers in vilifying and abusing the Bolsheviki movement, and thus they contributed very much to the weakening of the influence of the Russian Soviets abroad. At best the allied Social Democracies have been altogether indifferent. They have done little or nothing in order to induce their respective governments not to hamper the work of Russian labor. They have done little or nothing in order to make the working classes fully acquainted with the great aims and possibilities of the Russian revolutionary labor movement.
Thus the allied Socialists must be, to a very great degree, held responsible for the policy pursued by the allied governments in regard to Russia a policy which, unconsciously, did everything to strengthen pro German tendencies and German influence in Russia, and to weaken the influence of the workers Soviets which is the only element in Russia, consciously and effectively opposed to German domination. few days ago Mr. Arthur Ransome, the correspondent of the London Daily News, who is writing remarkably sympathetic accounts of the work of the Russian Socialists, expressed the hope that the Allies now, at least, would refrain from repeating the mistake they made when they allied themselves with the Ukranian Rada on the presumption that because the Rada was against the Soviets, it therefore was opposed to Germany. But this is exactly what the Allies have been doing and there is scant hope of their being able to change their minds. Since the first Bolshevik Revolution in July, 1917, the Allied and neutral press so often repeated the absurd and consciously lying story about the Bolsheviki being paid agents of Germany, that they, by and by, began to believe it themselves. Yet, by the very logic of the class struggle the Bolsheviki are the only anti German force in Russia, not because Germany is Germany, but because Germany at present is the most dangerous exponent of reactionary capitalism and ready to place itself in the service of all reactionary capitalist tendencies, the services being readily accepted in certain circles. The Allies and the neutrals supported the Ukranian Rada even to the extent of lending it millions of dollars of money but the Rada concluded an anti Ally peace treaty with Germany and is one of the most important allies of German plans in regard to Russia.
The same thing happened in Finland. The Finnish bourgeoisie was received with open arms by Scandinavia, by France, even by England, on the presumption that because they were anti Socialist they also were anti German. The outcome was the very opposite. The Finnish bourgeoisie betrayed France, and Scandinavia and England it is now inviting a German princeling to rule Finland, it is delivering the whole country into German hands. And then the Allies directly and indirectly supported every counter revolutionary movement in Russia, with the result that now these elements are the greatest allies of German control on Russian affairs. And so all along the line.
In view of the ultimate interests of every non Socialist government in the world, there is nothing illogical in the abovementioned policy. The time is rapidly approaching when the labor movement will be the enemy in the eyes of the rulers of all countries of the world, wiping out all the battle fronts of today.
But the Allies do not admit that such a condition exists now.
They are still rallying the peoples of the world against German militarism. If they are at all sincere in this regard, the policy they have ursued in Russia is the very height of illogic.
No intelligent person can deny that this policy is, perhaps, more than anything else responsible for the strong strategic position of Germany today. If the Allies had taken part in the peace deliberations at Brest Litovsk, it would have been possible to compel Germany to accept a peace without annexation and indemnities, which, at once, would have utterly destroyed the influence of the Junker element in the Teuton countries. Failure to aid the Russian workers in their work at Brest Litovsk is the very basic cause of Germany invasion of Russia.