Page:The Proletarian Revolution in Russia - Lenin, Trotsky and Chicherin - ed. Louis C. Fraina (1918).djvu/120

 combined with a cunning desire to perpetuate the former hypocrisy.

The views of Guesde have lately been expressed by the Guesdist, Charles Dainas, who cites the former Socialist declarations of patriotic context (as does the German Social-Chauvinist David in his last pamphlet, on the defence of the fatherland), but who does not cite the Basel manifesto. About this manifesto Plekhanov is completely silent while offering up with an especially smug air, his chauvinistic commonplaces. Kautsky is like Plekhanov; in citing the Basel manifesto he skips all the revolutionary places (that is all which are substantial) very likely under the pretext of prohibition by the censor. The police and the military heads with their censorial prohibition against mentioning the revolution and the class struggle, have been very "handy" in helping the traitors of the Revolution. But perhaps the Basel manifesto presents some sort of an empty appeal, which has no definite content, neither historical nor factional—which may directly refer to this present war?

On the contrary the Basel resolution contains less than others of declamation, and more concrete substance. The Basel resolution deals specifically with the very same war which did come and especially of those same imperialisitic conflicts of Austria and Serbia because of the Balkans, of Austria and Italy because of Albania, etc., of England and Germany because of markets and colonies in general, of Russia with Turkey, etc., because of Armenia and Constantinople—that is what the resolution of Basel, foreseeing the present war, deals with specifically. Precisely of the present war between "the great Powers of Europe" the Basel resolution states that such war "can not be justified under any pretext whatsoever of national interest" !

And if now Plekhanov and Kautsky—to take only two of the typical Socialists of authority—are searching for all sorts of "national justifications" for the war, if they, with learned air and with a stock of false citations from Marx, refer for "examples" to the wars of 1813 and 1870 (Plekhanov) or 1854, 1871, 1876–77 and 1897 (Kautsky)—then, in truth, only people without a shadow of Socialistic convictions, without the least bit of Socialistic conscience, can take such proof seriously, and not style them as unmitigatied Jesuitism, hypocricy and prostitution of Socialism. Let the German "Vorstand" of the party deliver unto damnation the new magazine of Mehring and Rosa Luxembourg (Intemazionale) for its correct estimation of Kautsky. Let Vandervelde, Plekhanov, Hyndman & Co., with the help of the police of the "Triple Entente" treat