File spoon-archives/marxism-general.archive/marxism-general_1996/96-12-29.013, message 46


Date: Thu, 26 Dec 1996 13:31:34 +0100 (MET)
From: rolf.martens-AT-mailbox.swipnet.se (Rolf Martens)
Subject: M-G: UNITE! Info #25en: 2/2 Lenin on guerilla warfare, 1906


UNITE! Info #25en: 2/2 Lenin on guerilla warfare, 1906
[Posted: 26.12.96]

[Continued from part 1/2]

A Marxist bases himself on class struggle, and not social
peace. In certain periods of acute economic and political
crises the class struggle ripens into a direct civil war, i.e.
into armed struggle between two sections of the people.
In such periods a Marxist is *obliged* to take the stand of
civil war. Any moral condemnation of civil war would be
absolutely impermissible from the standpoint of Marxism.

In a period of civil war the ideal party of the proletariat is
a *fighting party*. This is absolutely incontrovertible. We
are quite prepared to grant that it is possible to argue and
prove the *inexpediency* from the standpoint of civil war of
particular forms of civil war at any particular moment. We
fully admit criticism of diverse forms of civil war from the
standpoint of *military expediency* and absolutely agree
that in *this* question it is the Social-Democratic workers
who must have the final say.

But we absolutely demand in the name of the principles of
Marxism that an analysis of the conditions of civil war
should not be evaded by hackneyed and stereotyped talk
about anarchism, Blanquism and terrorism, and that
senseless methods of guerilla activities adopted by some
organisation or other of the Polish Socialist Party at some
moment or other should not be used as a bogey when
discussing the question of the partcipation of the Social-
Democratic Party as such in guerilla warfare in general.
...........

When I see Social-Democrats proudly and smugly declaring
"we are not anarchists, thieves, robbers, we are superior to
all this, we reject guerilla warfare", - I ask myself: Do these
people realise what they are saying? Armed clashes between the
Black-Hundred government and the population are taking place
all over the country. This is an absolutely inevitable
phenomenon at the present stage of develpoment of the revolution.

The population is spontaneously and in an unorganised way -
and for that very reason often in unfortunate and *undesirable*
forms - reacting to this phenomenon also by armed conflicts
and attacks. I can understand us refraining from Party
leadership of *this* spontaneous struggle in a particular place
or at a particular time because of the weakness and
unpreparedness of our organisation. I realise that this
question must be settled by the local practical workers, and
that the remoulding of weak and unprepared organisations is
no easy matter.

But when I see a Social-Democratic theoretician or publicist
not displaying regret over this unpreparedness, but rather a
proud smugness and a self-exalted tendency to repeat phrases
learned by rote in early youth about anarchism, Blanquism and
terrorism, I am hurt by this degradation of the most
revolutionary doctrine in the world.
..........

IV.

The forms of struggle in the Russian revolution are
distinguished by their colossal variety compared with the
bourgeois revolutions in Europe. Kautsky partly foretold this
in 1902 when he said that the future revolution (with the
exception *perhaps* of Russia, he added) might be not so much
a struggle of the people against the government as a struggle
between two sections of people. In Russia we undoubtedly see
a wider development of this *latter* struggle than in the
bourgeois revolutions in the West.
...........

It is absolutely natural and inevitable that the uprising should
assume the higher and more complex form of a prolonged civil war
embracing the whole country, i.e., an armed struggle between two
sections of the people. Such a war cannot be concieved otherwise
than as a series of  a few big engagements at comparatively long
intervals and a large number of small encounters during these
intervals.

That being so - and it is undoubtedly so - the Social-Democrats
must absolutely make it their duty to create organisations best
adapted to lead the masses in these big engagements and, as far
as possible, in these small encounters as well.
..............

We are far from the thought of regarding a concrete assessment
of particular guerilla actions as indicative of a *trend* in
Social-Democracy. But we do regard it as our duty to help as
far as possible to arrive at a correct *theoretical* assessment
of the new forms of struggle engendered by practical life. We do
regard it as our duty relentelessly to combat stereotypes and
prejudices which hamper the class-conscious workers in correctly
presenting a new and difficult problem and in correctly
approaching its solution.

/Published according to the *Proletary* text/

[So far the excerpts from Lenin's article "Guerilla
Warfare", 1906]

UNITE! / VEREINIGT EUCH! / UNISSEZ-VOUS! / =A1UNIOS! /
F=D6RENA ER! Info en/de/fr/es/se series:

Advocates the political line of Marx, Lenin and Mao Zedong.
Each item # will be posted in one or more language(s).
Leaflets in the INFORMATIONSBLAD series published by
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Bef=FCrwortet die politische Linie von Marx, Lenin und Mao
Zedong. Jedes Nummer # wird in einer oder mehreren
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INFORMATIONSBLAD, von mir haupts=E4chlich in Schwedisch
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Avocate de la ligne politique de Marx, Lénine et Mao Zedong.
Chaque numéro # sera envoyé en une ou plusieurs langue(s).
Volantes de la série INFORMATIONSBLAD, publiée par moi
principalement en suédois depuis 1975, sont accessibles sur
demande. 

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Cado n=FAmero # sera enviado en una o varias lengua(s).
Se pueden conseguir a la demanda volantes de la serie
INFORMATIONSBLAD, publicada por me principalmente
en sueco desde 1975.

F=F6respr=E5kar Marx', Lenins och Mao Zedongs politiska linje.
Varje nummer # kommer att s=E4ndas p=E5 ett eller flera spr=E5k.
Flygblad i serien INFORMATIONSBLAD, publicerad av mig
huvudsakligen p=E5 svenska sedan 1975, kan f=E5s p=E5 beg=E4ran. 

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Rolf Martens
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Tel: +46 - 40 - 124832



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