Lenin CW-Vol. 23.pdf - From Marx to Mao

94THE “DISARMAMENT” SLOGANIn a number of countries, mostly small and not involvedin the present war—Sweden, Norway, Holland and Switzerland,for example—there have been voices in favour of replacingthe old Social-Democratic minimum-programmedemand for a “militia”, or the “armed nation” by a new demand:“disarmament”. An editorial article in favour ofdisarmament appeared in No. 3 of Jugend-Internationale(The Youth International), organ of the internationalyouth organisation. In R. Grimm’s “theses” on the militaryquestion drawn up for the Swiss Social-DemocraticParty Congress we find a concession to the “disarmament”idea. In the Swiss magazine Neues Leben (New Life) for1915, Roland-Holst, while ostensibly advocating “conciliation”between the two demands, actually makes thesame concession. Issue No. 2 of Vorbote (The Herald),organ of the International Left, carried an articleby the Dutch Marxist Wijnkoop in defence of the oldarmed-nation demand. The Scandinavian Lefts, as isevident from the articles printed below, accept “disarmament”,though at times they admit that it contains anelement of pacifism.” 49Let us take a closer look at the position of the disarmamentadvocates.IOne of the principal premises advanced, although notalways definitely expressed, in favour of disarmament isthis: we are opposed to war, to all war in general, andthe demand for disarmament is the most definite, clear andunambiguous expression of this point of view.