GUIDE TO THE PHILOSOPHY 1938 - 1947.pdf - Rare Books at ...

682 ETHICS AND POLITICS: THE MODERNS
The Type of Situation from which Revolutions Spring.
The events of recent years are acclaimed by modem
communists as providing a remarkable illustration of the
accuracy of Marx's predictions. Their interpretation of
recent events is on the following lines. The origin of the
world war was economic. The forces of production were
social structure remained
advancing, while the existing
unmodified, with the result that goods were produced at
such a rate that society could not absorb them. There
ensued an ever more intense competition for fresh markets,
which, under the guise of Imperialism, produced war as
its inevitable result. Lenin, for example, defines Imperialism
as "Capitalism in that stage of development in which
monopolies and financial capital have attained a preponder-
ating influence, the export of capital has acquired great
importance, the international trusts have begun the partition
of the world, and the biggest capitalist countries have
completed the division of the entire territorial globe among
themselves". At this stage the contradictions in Capitalism
lead to its overthrow, the proletarian class created by
that which
Capitalism being the force which destroys
created it. Growing ever in numbers and in the insistence
of its demands, it refuses ultimately to be satisfied with
anything less than the expropriation of the exploiters, the
social ownership of property which has hitherto been held
privately,
workers.
and the transference of power to the militant
The uprising of the proletariat is not without previous
parallels in history. In fact every class which has, at some
time or another, been dominant in society, has been
a class which the circum-
supplanted and suppressed by
stances of its own dominance have brought into existence.
But though history affords parallels to the uprising of the
proletariat, this is in one respect unique* All previous
revolutions have resulted in the suppression of a class by
a class, in the usurpation of the power of a minority by a
-
minority. But
the victory of the working class brings in
its train the emancipation of humanity. Though die