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

A SEPARATE PEACE133who maintained that the defeat of tsarism, its completemilitary smash-up, is, “in all cases”, the lesser evil, willhave been proved correct. For history never stands still;it continues its forward movement during this war too.And if the European proletariat cannot advance to socialismnow, cannot cast off the social-chauvinist and Kautskyiteyoke in the course of this first great imperialistwar, then East Europe and Asia can advance to democracywith seven-league strides only if tsarism is utterly smashedand deprived of all possibility to pursue its semi-feudaltype imperialist policy.The war will kill and destroy everything weak, socialchauvinismand Kautskyism included. An imperialistpeace would further accentuate these weaknesses, show themup in a still more despicable and abhorrent light.Sotsial-Demokrat No. 56,November 6, 1916Published according tothe Sotsial-Demokrat text