Collected Works of V. I. Lenin - Vol. 13 - From Marx to Mao

462V. I. LENINtrade-unionists at the Olympia Theatre.* The Mensheviksput forward a classically Marxist, strictly orthodox delimitationbetween the aim of the Party and that of the tradeunions. ‘The task of the S.D. Party is to establish the socialistsystem and abolish capitalist relations; the task of thetrade unions is to improve working conditions within theframework of the capitalist system, so as to secure for labouradvantageous conditions for the sale of its labourpower’;the conclusion drawn was that the trade unions arenon-partisan, and that they embrace ‘all workers of a givenoccupation’.**“The Bolsheviks argued that at the present time therecould not be a strict separation of politics from occupation,and hence drew the conclusion that ‘there must be close unitybetween the Social-Democratic Party and the trade unions,which it must lead’. Finally, the S.R.’s demanded that theunions be strictly non-partisan, in order to avoid a splitin the ranks of the proletariat, but rejected any narrowingdown of the tasks and activities of the trade unions to a limitedsphere, formulating this task as an all-out struggleagainst capital, and therefore as both an economic and apolitical struggle.”That is how Znamya Truda itself describes the facts! Andonly a person who is blind or totally incapable of thinkingcan deny that of these three viewpoints it is the one thatspeaks of close unity between the Social-Democratic Partyand the unions that “is confirmed by the Stuttgart resolution,which recommends close ties between the Party and thetrade unions”.***To confuse this perfectly clear issue, the S.R.’s in themost diverting manner, mixed up the independence of the* The meeting was attended by about fifteen hundred people.See the report in Bulleten Muzeya Sodeistviya Trudu, No. 2, November26, 1905 (quoted by Znamya Truda).** It should be said, however, that the Mensheviks’ idea of this“non-partisanship” was a rather peculiar one. Thus, their spokesmanillustrated his points in the following way: “A correct answer to thequestion of partisanship has been given in the Moscow Printers’Union, which proposes that comrades join the S.D. Party asindividuals.” (Note by Znamya Truda.)*** What the Mensheviks put forward in November 1905 wasnot orthodox but vulgar views on neutrality. Let the S.R. gentlemenremember that!