1913 photograph of the Russian royal family
Sources: webpage and Lunapic
1. THE THREE SOURCES AND THREE COMPONENT PARTS OF MARXISM.
Throughout the civilized world the teachings of Marx evoke the utmost hostility and hatred of all bourgeois science (both official and liberal) which regards Marxism as a sort of "pernicious sect." And no other attitude can be expected, for there can be no "impartial" social science in a society based on class struggle. All official and liberal science defends wage-slavery one way or another whereas Marxism declares relentless war on it. To expect science to be impartial in a wage-slave society is as foolishly naive as to expect impartiality from manufacturers on the question of whether workers' wages ought to be raised by decreasing the profits of capital.
But this is not all. The history of philosophy and that of social science shows with perfect clarity that there is nothing "sectarian" about Marxism, nothing of a hidebound, petrified doctrine sprouted away from the high road of world civilization on the move. On the contrary, the genius of Marx consists precisely in his giving answers to questions raised already by the foremost minds of mankind. His doctrine emerged as a direct and immediate continuation of their teachings in philosophy, political economy and socialism.
The Marxist doctrine is omnipotent because it is true. It is comprehensive, harmonious and provides man with an integral world outlook irreconcilable with any form of superstition, reaction or defence of bourgeois oppression. It is a legitimate successor to the best that man produced in the nineteenth century: German philosophy, English political economy and French socialism.
These three sources of Marxism are also its component parts. We shall outline them in brief.
I
The philosophy of Marxism is materialism. In the modern history of Europe, especially in France at the end of the eighteenth century when a resolute struggle was conducted against every kind of medieval rubbish or against serfdom in institutions and ideas, materialism has proven to be the only consistent philosophy true to all the teachings of natural science and hostile to superstition, cant and so forth. The enemies of democracy have therefore exerted all their efforts to "refute," undermine and defame materialism by advocating various shades of philosophical idealism that always, one way or another, amount to a defence or endorsement of religion.
Marx and Engels defended philosophical materialism in the most determined manner and explained repeatedly how every deviation from this path is profoundly erroneous. Their views are most clearly and fully expounded in two works of Engels: Ludwig Feuerbach and the End of Classical German Philosophy and Anti-Dühring, which are, like the Communist Manifesto, handbooks for every class-conscious worker.
But Marx did not stop at eighteenth-century materialism: he raised philosophy to a higher level, enriching it with the tenets of German classical philosophy, especially Hegel's logic, which nourished the materialism of Feuerbach. The main feature borrowed was dialectics, the explanation that knowledge evolves as a replica of eternally mutating matter.1 The latest discoveries of natural science—radium, electrons, the transmutation of elements—have confirmed Marx's dialectical materialism remarkably despite the teachings of bourgeois philosophers and their "new" return to old and decadent idealism.
Marx developed philosophical materialism to the full, to the analysis of human society. His historical materialism replaced the chaos and arbitrariness of previous analyses of history and politics. Historical materialism shows that a transformation of production through technological progress propels a transformation of the political structure of society (for instance, how capitalism arose out of feudalism).
Just as man's evolutive knowledge reflects the evolution of nature, so the transformation of society (i.e., its various ideas and doctrines of philosophy, religion, politics and so forth) reflects the transformation of its vital economy. Political institutions are the awning of an economic foundation. We see, for example, that the constitution of modern European states abets the domination of the bourgeoisie over the proletariat.
Marxism is a consummate materialist philosophy that provides mankind and especially the working class with powerful tools of knowledge.
II
After pointing out that an economic system is the foundation of a political superstructure, Marx devoted his greatest attention to the study of the contemporary economy. Marx's principal work, Capital, deals with modern capitalist society.
Classical political economy flourished in England, the most developed capitalist country. The works of Adam Smith and David Ricardo propounded the labour theory of value. Marx continued their work; he showed that the value of a commodity depends on the labour time spent on its production.2
Marx discovered a relation between people where bourgeois economists saw a relation between commodities. A market bonds individual producers of commodities. Money glues those bonds and homogenizes the marketplace. Capital then purchases labour as it would any other commodity of the marketplace. A wage-worker sells his labour-power to an owner of land, factories or implements of labour. The worker then spends part of his day working for his own sustenance (wages) and the rest creating surplus-value for the capitalist.3
The doctrine of surplus-value is the cornerstone of Marx's economic theory.
Capital, created by a worker's own labour, crushes him, ruins small proprietors and spawns a mass of unemployed workers.
The triumph of large-scale industrial production is plain to see, but the same phenomenon occurs in agriculture where the efficiency of large-scale mechanized agriculture ruins the small holding of a peasant toiling with primitive tools.
Capital raises productivity, makes small-scale production obsolete and turns into a monopoly. Large-scale production brings hundreds of thousands and millions of workers together. Their labour is appropriated by a handful of capitalists. Meanwhile the workers hold insecure jobs, suffer the evils of overproduction or endure the consequence (war) of their employer's furious chase after international market share.
Capital makes the workers dependant but it also unrolls the great power of united labour.
Marx traced the timeline of capitalism from its embryo (individual barter) through the creation of money and marketplace to the acme of large-scale production.
And the history of all capitalist countries, old and new, demonstrates clearly the truth of the Marxist doctrine to an increasing number of workers year after year.
Capitalism has triumphed all over the world, but this triumph is a prelude to the triumph of labour over capital.4
III
When feudalism was overthrown and "free" capitalist society sprouted, it at once became apparent that this freedom entailed a new system of oppression and exploitation of the working people. Various socialist doctrines uncovered this oppression and protested immediately.
Early socialism was utopian. It criticized capitalist society, cursed it, dreamt of its destruction, envisaged a better order and endeavoured to convince the wealthy about the immorality of exploitation.
Utopian socialism could not provide a real solution. It could not explain the real nature of wage-slavery nor disclose the laws of capitalist progress nor reveal what social force could create the new society.
Meanwhile the stormy revolutions that accompanied the fall of feudalism everywhere in Europe, especially in France, revealed more and more clearly that the struggle of classes is the driving force behind all social change. Not a single victory was won over the feudal class without its desperate resistance. No capitalist country evolved on a more-or-less free and democratic basis without a life-and-death struggle between the various classes of capitalist society.
The genius of Marx lies in having been the first to deduce the lesson of world history and to apply it consistently. His deduction is the doctrine of the class struggle.
People have always been the foolish victims of deception and self-deception in politics, and they will continue to be until they learn to identify the interests of some class or other behind every moral, religious, political or social phrase, declaration or promise. Champions of reforms and improvements will be fooled by defenders of the old order until they realize that every old institution, however barbarous and rotten it seems, represents the strength of certain ruling classes. And there is only one way to smash their resistance: to discover roundabout the forces that, owing to their social rank, can and must sweep away the old and forge the new—and after the discovery is made to enlighten and organize those forces for the struggle.
Only Marx's philosophical materialism has shown the proletariat the way out of the spiritual slavery that all oppressed classes have hitherto languished in. Only Marx's political-economy theory has highlighted the true role of the proletariat under capitalism.
Independent proletarian organizations are burgeoning all over the world from America to Japan and from Sweden to South Africa. The proletariat is becoming enlightened, educated by its class struggle, ridding itself of the prejudices of bourgeois society, rallying ever tighter, rating its triumphs, steeling its forces and growing irresistibly.
2 The value of a commodity depends on the labour time spent on its production. This wheelbarrow takes four weeks to manufacture and sells for 1,051.56 EUR. This Tesla Model Y vehicle takes less than one minute to manufacture at the Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai and sells for 45,970 EUR. Therefore the wheelbarrow should sell for 1,390,132,800 EUR (1,575,383,427.83 US Dollars) in a marxist marketplace.
3 The worker then spends part of his day working for his own sustenance (wages) and the rest creating surplus-value for the capitalist. Similar circumstance to labour in a marxist state that has a currency. A wage-worker sells his labour-power to the state (the new owner of the land and factories). The worker then spends part of his day working for his own sustenance (wages) and the rest creating surplus-value for the state.
4 Capitalism has triumphed all over the world, but this triumph is a prelude to the triumph of labour over capital. Only when marxist labour can produce more material well-being than capitalism.
2. "WHO STANDS TO GAIN?"
There is a Latin tag: cui prodest? meaning, "who stands to gain?" When it is not immediately apparent which political or social groups, forces or alignments advocate certain proposals, measures, etc., one should always ask: "Who stands to gain?"
It is not important who directly advocates a particular policy, since under the present noble system of capitalism any money-bag can always "hire" or buy or enlist any number of lawyers, writers and even parliamentary deputies, professors, parsons and the like to defend any views. We live in an age of commerce when the bourgeoisie have no scruples about trading in honour or conscience. There are also simpletons who out of stupidity or by force of habit defend views prevalent in certain bourgeois circles.
Yes, indeed! In politics it is not so important who directly advocates particular views. What is important is who stands to gain from these views, proposals, measures.
For instance Europe, the states that call themselves "civilized," are now hurdling a mad armament race. In thousands of ways, in thousands of newspapers, from thousands of pulpits, they shout and clamour about patriotism, culture, native land, peace, and progress, in order to justify new expenditures of tens and hundreds of millions of rubles for all kinds of armaments, guns, dreadnoughts, etc.
"Ladies and gentlemen," one feels like saying about all these phrases mouthed by so-called patriots, "put no faith in phrase-mongering, it is better to see who stands to gain!"
A short while ago the renowned British firm, Armstrong, Whitworth & Co, published its annual report. The firm mainly manufactures armaments of various kinds. The company published a net profit of £877,000 (about 8 million rubles), declared a 12.5% dividend! set aside about 900,000 rubles as reserve capital, and so on and so forth. That's where the millions and milliards squeezed out of the workers and peasants go. A dividend of 12.5% means capital is doubled every 8 years. And this in addition to all kinds of fees for the various managers, etc.
Armstrong in Britain, Krupp in Germany, Creusot in France, Cockerill in Belgium—how many like them are there in all the "civilized" countries? And the countless host of contractors?
These are the ones who stand to gain from the whipping up of chauvinism, from the chatter about "patriotism" (cannon patriotism), about the defence of culture (with weapons destructive of culture) and so forth!
3. HAS PRAVDA GIVEN PROOF OF BUNDIST SEPARATISM?
What proof did Pravda offer of Bundist separatism?
1) The Bund left the Party in 1903. Mr. Kosovsky's invective did nothing to disprove this fact. The Kosovskys scold because they are powerless to disprove the facts.
2) Jewish workers have joined and are still joining the Party everywhere in spite of the Bund. This poor defender of the Bund cannot say a word against that either!
3) The Bund has deliberately contravened the Party's decision on the unity in local organizations of all workers regardless of nationality, a decision taken in 1906 and given special confirmation in 1908. Mr. Kosovsky could not say a word against that!
4) The Bundist Medem admitted that Bund members had never implemented such unity at their local organizations, i.e., they had always been separatists. Again not a single objection from Mr. Kosovsky!
[...]
Pravda has proven that the Bundists are separatists. Mr. V. Kosovsky has failed to refute it.
Messrs. Kosovsky, Medem & Co are a group of liberal intellectuals who corrupt Jewish workers with bourgeois nationalism and separatism. For this reason Pravda has fought and will continue to fight the Bund.
Jewish Social-Democratic workers are joining the working-class party in spite of the Bund and against the Bund.
4. "RUSSIA WILL BE JOYOUS IN 1914"
St. Petersburg: Public demonstrations against Austria.
Russia: Compulsory military service was introduced forty years ago for all men twenty-one years old. The Army is able to field 1,100,000 soldiers.
St. Petersburg: Socialist elements of the empire celebrated the workers' holiday of May First in extraordinary fashion.1 More than a hundred and thirty thousand workers downed tools. Police mobilized to forestall disorders and to protect scabs. More than a hundred nihilists were detained after visiting factories to preach "dissolvent ideas." A planned demonstration was banned. Great precautions were taken in light of the workers' resolve to demonstrate; potent clusters of policemen were stationed near workingman centers and at strategic places. Troops are set to intervene if required. Very serious disturbances are feared.
The Czar threatened Serbia and Bulgaria with intervention if they declare war on one another.
Russia is ready to declare war on Turkey if Turkish troops enter Adrianopolis.
St. Petersburg: Forty-nine workers drowned on the Lena River when two boats capsized.
Klohinev:1 The daughter of the chief of police and a friend of hers were found decapitated on a promenade. Revolutionaries are believed to be the culprits.
St. Petersburg: A blaze broke out in a synagogue full of people.
Vilnius: The Governance Minister has given the railways leave to make unregulated purchases of coal given the tremendous shortage of this fuel.
London: A local newspaper carries the following item.
According to astrologer Mme. de Thebes our planet will be under the decisive influence of Mars during 1914, implying continuous war. England will face grave dangers especially in India. London will experience great floods. Portugal will return to a monarchy. Spain should face little danger. Austria will experience insurrections and big fires. Hungary's situation will worsen considerably, calamities everywhere. A new Pope will be elected in Rome. Germany will experience great political upheavals. Russia will be joyous in 1914 and establish peace in the Balkans. France will endure great political scandals mainly in the Parliament, but on the whole France will enjoy a very favourable year in 1914.
Kiev: Police have uncovered a clandestine network of physicians and paramedics out to help young men dodge the draft legally.
St. Petersburg: Great snowstorms ravage all of Russia, causing numerous fatalities.
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