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

166V. I. LENINwords rather incompletely—hold that the state will “witheraway”, will gradually “fall asleep” after the bourgeoisie hasbeen expropriated.b) “Social-Democracy, which is, or at least should be,the educator of the masses, must now more than ever emphasiseits hostility to the state in principle.... The present warhas shown how deeply the state idea has penetrated thesouls of workers,” writes Comrade Nota-Bene. In order to“emphasise” our “hostility” to the state “in principle” wemust indeed understand it “clearly”, and it is this clarity thatour author lacks. His remark about the “state idea” isentirely muddled. It is un-Marxist and un-socialist. Thepoint is not that the “state idea” has clashed with the repudiationof the state, but that opportunist policy (i.e., theopportunist, reformist, bourgeois attitude towards the state)has clashed with revolutionary Social-Democratic policy(i.e., the revolutionary Social-Democratic attitude towardsthe bourgeois state and towards utilising it against the bourgeoisieto overthrow the bourgeoisie). These are entirelydifferent things. We hope to return to this very importantsubject in a separate article. 773) The “declaration of principles of the InternationalLeague of Socialist Youth Organisations”, published inissue No. 6 as the “Secretariat’s draft”, contains not a fewinaccuracies, and does not contain the main thing: a clearcomparison of the three fundamental trends (social-chauvinism,“Centre” and Left) now contending against each otherin the socialist movement of all countries.We repeat, these errors must be refuted and explained.At the same time we must make every effort to find points ofcontact and closer relations with youth organisations andhelp them in every way, but we must find the proper mannerof approach to them.Published in SbornikSotsial-Demokrata, No. 2December 1916Signed: N. LeninPublished according tothe Sbornik text