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

206V. I. LENINwhich in practice serve to disguise imperialist policy andimperialist peace, embellish them instead of exposing them,these two trends are taking a decisive step towards thegreatest deception of the workers, towards consolidatingthe domination in the labour movement of a bourgeoislabour policy veiled by socialist phraseology, the dominationof leaders and privileged sections of the working classthat have helped the governments and the bourgeoisie wagethis predatory imperialist war on the plea of “defendingthe fatherland”.4. Social-pacifist policy, or the policy of social-pacifistphraseology, now predominates in the socialist parties ofthe chief European countries (see Kautsky’s five pacifistarticles in the German Social-Democratic press and, appearingat the same time, the statement of the social-imperialistleaders in the Chemnitz Volksstimme that they are fullyprepared for peace and unity with the Kautskyites on abasis of pacifist phrases; the January 7, 1917 pacifist manifestoof the German Kautskyite opposition; the Longuetistsand Renaudel and Co. voting together at the French SocialistParty Congress, and Jouhaux and Merrheim, also Broutchoux,at the General Confederation of Labour Congress,for resolutions composed of misleading pacifist phrases;a similar pacifist statement by Turati on December 17,1916, and the defence of his position by the entire SocialistParty of Italy). Whatever the terms of the peace nowbeing prepared between the present, i.e., bourgeois, governmentsof both imperialist coalitions, this policy signifiesthe conversion of socialist and syndicalist (Jouhaux andMerrheim) organisations into a tool of government intrigueand secret imperialist diplomacy.5. The possible terms of the peace now being preparedby the bourgeois governments of both imperialist coalitionsare in reality determined by the altered balance offorces which the war has already produced and might stillproduce. In their basic and principal features the changesare as follows: (a) the German imperialist coalition has upto now proved much stronger than its adversary. The territoriesoccupied by German and German-allied forces areits guarantee in a new imperialist division of the worldcolonies, weak countries, finance capital’s spheres of