Page:Friedrich Engels - The Revolutionary Act - tr. Henry Kuhn (1922).pdf/7

 newspaper columns, but from the point of view of sound argument, the Socialist Labor Party, advocating the civilized, the political method, backed by the physical force of an integrally organized industrial union, had held the field against all comers. Anyone driven into a corner was usually willing to admit that we were absolutely right, but……

Then came the Russian revolution. By peculiar circumstances, which it is not necessary here to enumerate, the proletarian revolution in Russia was accomplished by an easy coup d'état, a victory backed by the workers and peasants in arms. As might have been expected, this caused all the anarchist and physical-forcists' pots throughout the whole world to boil and sizzle until the contents spluttered over into the fire. Here was a living example, a proletarian revolution, the first and only real proletarian revolution in the world carried to a successful issue. How was it done? By physical force, by military action; no further proof needed; all revolutions must be accomplished by physical violence—how else could they be revolutions at all? The political weapon was effeminate, compromising, "Mass movements," "military forces," had to be gathered and organized, even though of necessity this had to be done in secret and no hidden spot could be found for this extensive maneuver larger than a six by eight room, sub-cellars or rat-holes.

With brains made red hot by the Russian