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 me, mainly in Swedish, since 1975 are available on request. Bef=FCrwortet die politische Linie von Marx, Lenin und Mao Zedong. Jedes Nummer # wird in einer oder mehreren Sprache(n) gesandt werden. Flugbl=E4tter der Reihe INFORMATIONSBLAD, von mir haupts=E4chlich in Schwedisch seit 1975 ver=F6ffentlicht, sind auf Anfrage erhaltlich. 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. Partidaria de la l=EDnea pol=EDtica de Marx, Lenin y Mao Zedong. 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. Postal address: Rolf Martens Nobelvaegen 38 S - 214 33 Malmoe SWEDEN Tel: +46 - 40 - 124832 --- from list marxism-general-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
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