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

TRADE-UNION NEUTRALITY465tion”. We readily admit this, and demand the same admissionfrom you, but we shall not give up our campaign!But then Plekhanov said that it was harmful to introducepolitical differences into the unions.... Yes, Plekhanov didsay that stupid thing, and the S.R. gentlemen, naturally,were bound to pounce on it, as they always pounce on everythingleast worthy of imitation. However, we should notbe guided by Plekhanov’s words, but by the Congress resolution,which cannot be implemented without “introducingpolitical differences”. Here is a little example. The Congressresolution says that the trade unions should not be guidedby “the theory of the harmony of interests between labourand capital”. We Social-Democrats assert that the agrarianprogramme, which calls for equalised distribution of theland in a bourgeois society, is based on the theory of theharmony of interests between labour and capital.* We shallalways declare our opposition to such a difference (or evena difference with monarchist-minded workers) being madethe grounds for breaking the unity of a strike, etc., but weshall always “introduce this difference” into the workers’ranks in general, and into all workers’ unions in particular.Plekhanov’s reference to eleven parties is just as foolish.First, Russia is not the only country where there arevarious socialist parties. Secondly, Russia has only two rivalsocialist parties of any importance—the S.D. and theS.R. parties, for it is quite ridiculous to lump together allthe parties of the nationalities. Thirdly, the question ofuniting the really socialist parties is quite a special one;by dragging it in Plekhanov confuses the issue. We mustalways and everywhere stand for the alignment of the unionswith the socialist party of the working class, but the questionas to which party in any given country, among any givennationality, is really socialist and really the party of theworking class, is a special question, which is decided not byresolutions of international congresses, but by the outcomeof the struggle between the national parties.* Even some S.R.’s realise this now, and have thus taken adefinite step towards Marxism. See the very interesting new book byFirsov and Jacoby, which we shall soon discuss in detail with readersof Proletary. 165