Collected Works of V. I. Lenin - Vol. 16 - From Marx to Mao

218V. I. LENINdeepening of Social-Democratic work would have proceededmore successfully, for then internal strife wouldnot have diverted the forces of the Party. Consequently,if we take the broadening and deepening of Social-Democraticwork to mean the immediate furthering of agitation,propaganda and economic struggle, etc., in a really Social-Democratic spirit, then in regard to this work the overcomingof the deviations of Social-Democrats from Social-Democracy is a minus, a deduction, so to speak, from “positiveactivity”, and therefore the phrase about overcomingdeviations by means of broadening, etc., is meaningless.In reality this phrase expresses a vague longing, a pious,innocent wish that there should be less internal strife amongSocial-Democrats! This phrase reflects nothing but thispious wish; it is a sigh of the so-called conciliators: Oh, ifthere were only less struggle against liquidationism andotzovism!The political importance of such “sighing” is nil, lessthan nil. If there are people in the Party who profit by “persistentlydenying” the existence of liquidators (and otzovists),they will take advantage of the “sigh” of the “conciliators”to cover up the evil. That is precisely what GolosSotsial-Demokrata does. Hence the champions of such wellmeaningand hollow phrases in resolutions are only so-called“conciliators”. In actual fact, they are the abettors of theliquidators and otzovists, in actual fact, they do not deepenSocial-Democratic work but strengthen deviations fromit; they strengthen the evil by temporarily concealing itand thereby making the cure more difficult.In order to illustrate for Comrade Yonov the significanceof this evil, I shall remind him of a passage in an articleby Comrade Yonov in Diskussionny Listok No. 1. ComradeYonov aptly compared liquidationism and otzovism to abenignant ulcer which “in the process of swelling drawsall the noxious elements from the entire organism, thuscontributing to recovery”.That’s just it. The process of swelling, which draws the“noxious elements” out of the organism, leads to recovery.And that which hampers the purification of the organismfrom such elements is harmful to it. Let Comrade Yonovponder over this helpful idea of Comrade Yonov.