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

114V. I. LENINthey are the pivot of the tactics in the labour movementthat are dictated by the objective conditions of theimperialist era.Here, too, Kautsky has tried to “befog the issue” andsubstitute for Marxism sentimental conciliation with theopportunists. Arguing against the avowed and naïve socialimperialists(men like Lensch) who justify Germany’sparticipation in the war as a means of destroying England’smonopoly, Kautsky “corrects” this obvious falsehood byanother equally obvious falsehood. Instead of a cynicalfalsehood he employs a suave falsehood! The industrialmonopoly of England, he says, has long ago been broken,has long ago been destroyed, and there is nothing left todestroy.Why is this argument false?Because, firstly, it overlooks England’s colonialmonopoly. Yet Engels, as we have seen, pointed to thisvery clearly as early as 1882, thirty-four years ago!Although England’s industrial monopoly may have beendestroyed, her colonial monopoly not only remains, buthas become extremely accentuated, for the whole world isalready divided up! By means of this suave lie Kautskysmuggles in the bourgeois pacifist and opportunistphilistineidea that “there is nothing to fight about”. On thecontrary not only have the capitalists something to fightabout now, but they cannot help fighting if they want topreserve capitalism, for without a forcible redivision ofcolonies the new imperialist countries cannot obtain theprivileges enjoyed by the older (and weaker) imperialistpowers.Secondly, why does England’s monopoly explain the(temporary) victory of opportunism in England? Becausemonopoly yields superprofits, i.e., a surplus of profitsover and above the capitalist profits that are normal andcustomary all over the world. The capitalists can devotea part (and not a small one, at that!) of these superprofitsto bribe their own workers, to create something likean alliance (recall the celebrated “alliances” described bythe Webbs of English trade unions and employers) betweenthe workers of the given nation and their capitalistsagainst the other countries. England’s industrial monopoly