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

A SEPARATE PEACE127has systematically shaped its policy accordingly and hasexploited every antagonism and conflict between the GreatPowers. England has resisted these efforts longer, andwith more persistence and vigour, than Germany. From1878, when the Russian armies were approaching Constantinopleand the English fleet appeared at the Dardanellesand threatened to bombard the Russians if they daredenter “Tsargrad”,* to 1885, when Russia was on the vergeof war with England over division of the spoils in CentralAsia (Afghanistan; the Russian army’s advance into theheart of Central Asia threatened British rule in India),and down to 1902, when England concluded a treaty withJapan, in preparation for the latter’s war against Russia—throughout all these years. England was the most resoluteopponent of Russia’s predatory policies, because Russiathreatened to undermine British domination over a numberof other nations.And now? Just see what is happening in the presentwar. One loses patience with the “socialists”, who havedeserted the proletariat to go over to the bourgeoisie andtalk about Russia waging a “war of defence”, or to “savethe country” (Chkheidze). One loses patience with sentimentalKautsky and Co. and their talk of a democraticpeace, as if the present governments, or any bourgeoisgovernment for that matter, could conclude such a peace.As a matter of fact, they are enmeshed in a net of secrettreaties with each other, with their allies, and againsttheir allies. And the content of these treaties is notaccidental, it was not determined merely by “malice”, butby the whole course and development of imperialistforeign policy. Those “socialists” who hoodwink the workerswith banal phrases about nice things in general (defenceof the fatherland, democratic peace) without exposing thesecret treaties their own governments have concluded torob foreign countries—such “socialists” are downrighttraitors to socialism.The German, the English, and the Russian governmentsonly stand to gain from speeches in the socialistcamp about a nice little peace, because, firstly, they* Tsargrad is the old Russian name for Constantinople.—Ed.