Page:The Social General Strike - Arnold Roller (1912).djvu/12

 courage to desert, would let the people disarm them, with inner joy and false show of resistance.

The position of the working people in the Latin countries would be much more favourable, because the Labour Unions have been for years conducting a very lively anti-militarist propaganda amongst the recruits and reservists, and even in the army itself.

To obtain such a result, of course, it would be necessary to bring forward an indefatigable anti-militarist propaganda, like the French Labour Unions present. The nature of their anti-militarist propaganda has been explained in their report, "Anti-militarism and General Strike," to the Trade Unions in Dublin. This report also appeared in the German language in the Freiheit, of New York, and in other papers. It is of the utmost importance that this especially should be pointed out. For the revolutionising of the present order of society, anti-militarism and its propaganda is an absolutely necessary supplement to the General Strike.

This is the overwhelming superiority of the social revolution, which started as a peaceful General Strike, and carried the revolution over the whole country. As the spread of the revolution is a vital necessity to its victory, so is the dispersion of the military forces the cause of the army's destruction. In a short time it will become undisciplined, disarmed, and completely broken up, and by that the whole system, which rests upon the power of the army, be gone. Would it be possible that foreign Powers might intervene? No danger! It is not at all Utopian that the General Strike will be international, that it will take place in all countries at the same time.

History shows that nearly all European countries were shaken up by the revolutionary movement of 1848, although these revolutions were all of an entirely national character and often even hostile against the revolutionists of other countries.

Did not the Middle Ages, at the time of the peasant wars, see the revolts of the peasants in Germany, the Jacqueries in France, and the revolt of the "Commeros de Castilla " in Spain, all at the same time? And yet the peasants of the one country had no idea that in far distant countries their comrades were fighting for similar ideals.

To-day, however, the working people of all countries are organised and international, and fraternally shake hands over the borders of the different countries; they mutually support each other in their struggle against capitalism, and regularly consider their methods of battle in their numerous Trade Unions and party congresses.

Can we not apprehend in these circumstances that the revolution of the proletariat, the social revolution, that is, the General Strike, will be an international one? Or at least that in the most important countries revolutionary eruptions will take place at the same time? The apprehensive foreign Powers will, according to this, have enough to do at home, and will hardly think of coming to the rescue of other Powers.