Page:Otto Wilhelm Kuusinen - The Finnish Revolution (1919).pdf/9

 it. In the Social-Democratic group of the Diet, the majority was evidently so hostile to the revolutionary currents that it could be said to be with the bourgeoisie rather than with the proletariat. On the other hand the Right Socialist leaders in the territorial organisations wanted to have recourse to a sort of revolution, a kind of revolutionary general strike, to obtain the majority in the Government.

Acting in conjunction with them the Council of our Party (the Labour Commission) formed a Central Revolutionary Council which, especially after the S.-D. members of the Diet had given their adhesion—at first they were openly hostile to revolution—was good enough at making speeches on revolution, but impotent to carry out truly revolutionary policy. This Committee decided to begin by supporting the proclamation for a general strike. At a congress of representatives of the territorial organisation which bad just met, it was decided to call a general strike embracing the whole country. Was this strike to mean revolution, or simply a demonstration in support of the demands put forward in the strike manifesto? No decision was taken, for we were not at one on this point.

The general strike spread throughout. the country. Our "Central Revolutionary Council" discussed the question of going further. We, who without reason have been called "Marxists," did not wish to do so, and the "revolutionaries" of the territorial organisation did not wish to go forward without us.

In not desiring to go as far as revolution, we Social-Democrats of the Centre were, in a way, acting consistently with our point of view, imbued, as this had been for many years, with Socialist activity. We were in fact Social-Democrats and not Marxists. Our Social-Democratic point of view was: (1), Peaceful, continuous, but not revolutionary class-war, and at the same time (2), an independent class-war, seeking no alliance with the bourgeoisie. These two points of view decided our tactics.

(1). We did not believe in revolution; we did not trust it, nor did we call for it. This, when all is said, is characteristic of Social-Democracy.

Social-Democracy is in principle a working-class movement, which organises and moulds the workers for the class-struggle (legal, bourgeois and parliamentary). It is true that