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Polemic on General Line of International ... - From Marx to Mao

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German socialist proletariat”, adding, “I am c<strong>on</strong>vinced thata uni<strong>on</strong> <strong>on</strong> this basis will not last a year.” 1In criticizing the Gotha Programme, <strong>Marx</strong> put forward thewell-known principle that for <strong>Marx</strong>ists “there would be nohaggling about principles”. 2Later <strong>Marx</strong> and Engels again sharply criticized the leaders<strong>of</strong> the German Party for <strong>to</strong>lerating the activities <strong>of</strong> the opportunistsinside the Party. <strong>Marx</strong> said that these opportuniststried “<strong>to</strong> replace its materialistic basis . . . by modern mythologywith its goddesses <strong>of</strong> Justice, Liberty, Equality, andFraternity” 3 and that this was a “vulgarizati<strong>on</strong> <strong>of</strong> Party andtheory”. 4 In their “Circular Letter” <strong>to</strong> the leaders <strong>of</strong> theGerman Party, <strong>Marx</strong> and Engels wrote:For almost forty years we have stressed the class struggleas the immediate driving power <strong>of</strong> his<strong>to</strong>ry, and in particularthe class struggle between bourgeoisie and proletariat asthe great lever <strong>of</strong> the modern social revoluti<strong>on</strong>; it is, therefore,impossible for us <strong>to</strong> co-operate with people who wish<strong>to</strong> expunge this class struggle from the movement. 5Founded under Engels’ influence in 1889, the Sec<strong>on</strong>d Internati<strong>on</strong>alexisted in a period when capitalism was developing“peacefully”. While <strong>Marx</strong>ism became widespread andthe Communist Manifes<strong>to</strong> became the comm<strong>on</strong> programme <strong>of</strong>tens <strong>of</strong> milli<strong>on</strong>s <strong>of</strong> workers everywhere during this period,the socialist parties in many countries blindly worshipped1“Engels <strong>to</strong> A. Bebel, March 18-28, 1875”, Selected Corresp<strong>on</strong>dence<strong>of</strong> <strong>Marx</strong> and Engels, Eng. ed., FLPH, Moscow, p. 358.2“<strong>Marx</strong> <strong>to</strong> W. Bracke, May 5, 1875”, Selected Corresp<strong>on</strong>dence <strong>of</strong> <strong>Marx</strong>and Engels, Eng. ed., FLPH, Moscow, p. 361.3“<strong>Marx</strong> <strong>to</strong> F. A. Sorge, Oc<strong>to</strong>ber 19, 1877”, Selected Corresp<strong>on</strong>dence<strong>of</strong> <strong>Marx</strong> and Engels, Eng. ed., FLPH, Moscow, p. 376.4“<strong>Marx</strong> <strong>to</strong> F. A. Sorge, September 19, 1879”, Selected Corresp<strong>on</strong>dence<strong>of</strong> <strong>Marx</strong> and Engels, Eng. ed., FLPH, Moscow, p. 396.5“<strong>Marx</strong> and Engels <strong>to</strong> A. Bebel, W. Liebknecht, W. Bracke and Others(‘Circular Letter’), September 17-18, 1879”, Selected Corresp<strong>on</strong>dence<strong>of</strong> <strong>Marx</strong> and Engels, Eng. ed., FLPH, Moscow, p. 395.309

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