Page:Karl Marx The Man and His Work.pdf/107

Rh The question of Socialist tactics belongs to the Constructive Department of Socialism. It is a a question which is generally raised unwillingly and mostly considered not worthy of serious discussion. To many Socialists, and they are generally of the calibre who have not mastered the fundamental prerequisites underscored above, the tactics of the Socialist movement are not determined by the conscious efforts of the Socialists, but are more or less the products of chance. And when we study the tactics employed by the different state and local organizations of the Socialist Party in this country, and notice the different conceptions responsible for the same—conceptions that, in many cases, go as far apart as day and night—then we must conclude: that this melting pot of tactics, this tactical hash, is only conceivable and possible in an organization whose members have as yet developed no unity of opinion as to the aim and historic mission of Socialism. A proper conception of the social significance of Capitalism, coupled with a knowledge of the economic structure or capitalist production, is bound to equip every worker with a proper understanding of the role played, or to be played by the Socialist movement in present society. Such an understanding will necessarily and instinctively stimulate the imagination, and create a vision of the goal of the Socialist movement in the mind of every proletarian. The historic role and status, and the goal of the Socialist movement being given, the determination of the proper tactics and methods to be employed in the struggle for industrial liberty now becomes imperative and a burning question.

The Constructive Department of Socialism is that branch of Socialist philosophy which occupies itself with the methods and forms of organization to be employed by the workers in their struggle against the exploiters for the Industrial Republic. It is the logical supplement to the two theoretical systems touched upon above; Marxian Economics and Historical Materialism