10. Several Conclusions¶
Core Argument¶
The Russian bourgeois revolution of 1905 revealed a singular historical paradox: in one of the most backward capitalist countries, strikes reached an unprecedented scale—January 1905 alone saw ten times the annual average of the previous decade. This revolution demonstrated that the proletariat’s political significance far exceeded its numerical proportion, combining economic and political strikes that escalated into armed uprising, and giving birth to the Soviets as a new form of mass organisation. The 1917 revolutions extended the Soviets nationwide and secured victory for the proletarian socialist revolution, establishing their international character as the historical successor to bourgeois parliamentarianism.
The working-class movement now confronts a dual struggle: primarily against Menshevism—opportunism and social-chauvinism—and secondarily against ‘Left-wing’ communism. This struggle unfolds internationally, yet each country develops according to its specific economics, politics, culture, and national composition. The Third International has decisively defeated the Second International, but communists must recognise that a truly centralised leading centre cannot be built on stereotyped tactical rules. The unity of international tactics demands not the elimination of national distinctions but the correct modification and application of fundamental communist principles to concrete national conditions.
The proletarian vanguard has been won over ideologically, but victory requires the entire class and the broad masses to assume positions of support or sympathetic neutrality. This demands the masses’ own political experience, as confirmed in both Russia and Germany. The immediate objective is leading the broad masses to a new position, which requires liquidating Left doctrinairism. When practical mass action is concerned, one must count in millions, not thousands, and assess whether all class forces are arrayed so that revolution is ripe. Communists must master all forms of social activity and be prepared for the rapid replacement of one form by another, combining illegal and legal methods of struggle. In Britain and Western Europe, communists must utilise parliamentary elections and all aspects of public life in a new, communist way, creating non-opportunist parliamentarianism by distributing leaflets, canvassing workers’ homes, and speaking directly to the people.
Communist work among the armed forces and oppressed nationalities—Ireland, the colonies—must be tackled in a revolutionary, not reformist, fashion. The imperialist war has saturated all spheres of social life with inflammable material, creating numerous causes of conflict. Since no one knows which spark will ignite the masses, communists must stir up all spheres, even the most seemingly hopeless, to be comprehensively prepared for victory and the subsequent communist reorganisation of every aspect of life.
The Russian revolution has transformed the world. The bourgeoisie, terrified of Bolshevism, is overreacting—hounding it, creating panic, and making it the central issue in elections and public life. This helps communists by forcing the masses to appraise Bolshevism. However, the bourgeoisie focuses only on insurrection and violence, and may temporarily succeed in resisting on this terrain. This does not matter, as communism is emerging in every sphere of public life; if one channel is blocked, it will find another. Persecution only strengthens communism.
What communists lack is universal awareness of the need for maximum tactical flexibility. Leaders of the Second International—Kautsky, Bauer—understood dialectics theoretically but failed in practice, hypnotised by old forms and unable to see that old forms had acquired a new, reactionary content. Left doctrinairism—the unconditional repudiation of old forms—is also erroneous, though currently less dangerous. Communists must master all forms, old and new, and adapt tactics rapidly to any change. World revolution is developing so rapidly that there is every reason to hope for a rapid recovery from the infantile disorder of ‘Left-wing’ communism.