316 THE CLASS STRUGGLE 317 Need we point out that these anti militarists, who are the advocates of disarmament, not in the small countries, but in the large ones, are really the worst kind of opportunists? And yet, they are theoretically entirely in the right in considering armed uprisings as one of the forms of militarism and war.
From Sbornik Sotsial Demokrata, No. Printed in Switzerland, December, 1916.
APPEAL BY THE People Commissary of Education of Russia Lunacharsky, To All Who Teach a Comrades: For many decades past the best of the Intelligentsia was serving the people, and was proud of its service.
It looked upon education the awakening of knowledge among the massesmas one of its most important problems.
The best representatives of the Intelligentsia, moreover, did not consider themselves chosen wizards, bearers of a higher culture, called upon to preach to the barbarians some readymade gospel.
On the contrary, from the awakened masses they looked for creative impulse, deep rooted self dependence, creation of new, social, moral and artistic world.
Not small, indeed, was the influence of the educated on the awakening of the people on the process through which the instinctive longing of the exploited for justice, was transformed into a revolutionary consciousness and an ardent social activity.
In February of 1917, the people, as if half awake and urged on by necessity, overthrew the decayed throne and then stopped like a semi blind giant not knowing what to do next.
It entrusted its fate its triumph to worthy fighters of the Revolution to a large group of the best known names in the revolutionary world.
But among these representatives of the really intelligent masses, there prevailed two ideas: first the necessity of continuing the war and, second, the necessity of a social peace with its own bourgeoisie.