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

A CARICATURE OF MARXISM67mean that we advise the labouring masses of the colonies to“separate” from the class-conscious European proletariat?Nothing of the kind. Now, as always, we stand and shallcontinue to stand for the closest association and mergingof the class-conscious workers of the advanced countrieswith the workers, peasants and slaves of all the oppressedcountries. We have always advised and shall continue toadvise all the oppressed classes in all the oppressed countries,the colonies included, not to separate from us, but toform the closest possible ties and merge with us.We demand from our governments that they quit the colonies,or, to put it in precise political terms rather than inagitational outcries—that they grant the colonies fullfreedom of secession, the genuine right to self-determination,and we ourselves are sure to implement this right, and grantthis freedom, as soon as we capture power. We demand thisfrom existing governments, and will do this when we arethe government, not in order to “recommend” secession,but, on the contrary, in order to facilitate and accelerate thedemocratic association and merging of nations. We shallexert every effort to foster association and merger with theMongolians, Persians, Indians, Egyptians. We believe it isour duty and in our interest to do this, for otherwise socialismin Europe will not be secure. We shall endeavour torender these nations, more backward and oppressed thanwe are, “disinterested cultural assistance”, to borrow thehappy expression of the Polish Social-Democrats. In otherwords, we will help them pass to the use of machinery, tothe lightening of labour, to democracy, to socialism.If we demand freedom of secession for the Mongolians,Persians, Egyptians and all other oppressed and unequalnations without exception, we do so not because we favoursecession, but only because we stand for free, voluntaryassociation and merging as distinct from forcible association.That is the only reason!And in this respect the only difference between theMongolian or Egyptian peasants and workers and theirPolish or Finnish counterparts is, in our view, that the latterare more developed, more experienced politically thanthe Great Russians, more economically prepared, etc., andfor that reason will in all likelihood very soon convince their