Page:Marx and Engels on Revolution in America - Heinz Neumann.djvu/40

 In his letter to Sorge dated February 8, 1890, he denotes as their task "to take over through their superior theoretical insight and experience the leading role" in the masses, as events themselves drive the American proletariat forward. And he adds, in order to reassure Sorge, who fears for the preservation of the past results of the pure Marxist party:

Although Engels time and again points out that the working class can only learn from its own experiences, he is far from becoming a worshipper of spontaneity. In the same letter, he tells the American Marxists in connection with the successes of the miners' movement in 1890 in Germany:

Finally, taking up the specific conditions in America, he foresees that in the great labor party, principally composed of native workers, "the foreign element in the nation will make its influence felt through its greater mobility." This foreign element, however, comprised and comprises of necessity in America the majority of the pure Marxist party. It is just the Communists' confining themselves to the ranks of their own supporters and those who are already in whole