384 THE CLASS STRUGGLE THE INVINCIBLE POWER 385 are acquainted with the causes that drove them to a revolt.
The lust for freedom and the conviction that the gifts of nature and the results of labor belong to the people and not to a few self crowned individuals pierced very deeply the hearts and souls of the Russians and Germans. No force in the world will be powerful enough to take away from the hearts and souls of the people the conviction that the time has already come when the peasant and worker shall demand and receive what is his.
Regardless of what we may think of Lenin and Liebknecht we must admit that they have performed a gigantic piece of work by deepening the revolution. They have planted in the mind of the peasant and worker the idea that something is due him, that he is a somebody in this world, that he also has a share in the immense wealth, that he also has a voice in the government, that he has something to say and what is more must be heard.
That is why the revolutionary upheavals of our time are so important. The fact that the power of government has been taken away from one class and is controlled by another class is of very little import. Control can be taken away again by a revolution from above. But it is impossible to take away the thoughts, ideas, feelings, convictions of anybody. Former revolutionists have sought political power. The present revolutionists, however, seek the souls of the people. They desire that the people shall understand just what they are doing.
The present revolutionists care very little whether the quality of this or that institution is good or bad, whether it is perfect or absolutely useless. Institutions and laws can be reformed and changed. What they want is that the people shall be convinced that their fortunes and future must be made secure by them alone and not by anybody else.
And as soon as the people shall be convinced that everything belongs to them no counter force in the world will be able to conquer them. Large armies, bayonets, cold and hot weapons of every description, yes intervention itself will not be able to subdue the sentiment of the peasants and workers that they are justified in being the owners of God earth and the possessors of the fruit of their own labor.
The revolution has become the conviction of the people. Let all those who wish to destroy the revolution by force, know and remember this: Among the ancient peoples we find a law to this effect; if two parties are quarreling regarding a certain matter in question, the verdict of the judge may be to leave the parties concerned to fight it out by themselves. The side that happens to be the stronger will naturally win.
No matter how foolish such a verdict may appear at first sight, nevertheless there is a profound meaning attached iv it.
The authors of this specific law proved themselves to be very good psychologists. Physical strength does not determine the result in a struggle but rather the conviction that one is right, This conviction is the strongest weapon in a struggle. The party that is right and is convinced that he is right will always be the victor in a struggle even though he may be physically weaker.
History is full of such examples. where a small David slew a giant Goliath. Belief and conviction are the best weapons in any struggle. remarkable incident occurred in Russia in the nineties of the last century. The entire governmental brutal force of the czar cossacks knouts and similar weapons of the czar servants was unable to overcome the peasants in one village.
The peasants were in possession of a paper from long ago showing that a certain tract of land rightfully belonged to them. They therefore considered and used this land as their property. few Russian noblemen wanted this land. They came with their servants and wanted to take possession of this land. The peasants did not permit this to take place. Bloody encounters ensued. The noblemen won their case before the various magistrates, supreme courts, and in the Senate; but this was of no avail. The peasants claimed that they have a bumaga (a legal paper or certificate) and therefore they are entitled to the land. Soldiers and Cossaks arrived in the village. The peasants were whipped, tortured, and made to undergo all sorts of sufferings; but the peasants still claimed that the land was theirs. And no power in the world was able to overcome this conviction of the simple peasants.
And who do you think were the victors? The village peasants with their oven rakes and shovels and not the soldiers and cossacks won the fight.
The present revolutionists concern themselves less with the putting into order of the various governmental branches than with the propagating of the revolutionary thought amongst the masses. In this respect they are very successful. Revolutions do not take place in the government institutions but rather in the minds of the common people. This fact should be taken into