S E L F - E D U C A T IO N

OF THE W ORKERS
The Cultural Task of the
S truggling P role tariat

b>

A. LUNACHARSKI
Peoples' Commissary fo r Education under the
T{ussian Socialist Federal Soviet ‘Republic.

Also a Brief Account of the Educational

W ork of the Russian Soviet Republic

P R IC E T W O P E N C E

Published by
T H E W O R K E R S ' S O C I A L I S T F E D E R A T IO N ,
400 , O L D F O R D R O A D , E . 3 . ,

U N IV E R S E o' * * R W lLK LlBKAK

UN t L l . n d / S « » C ollect,on
 S E L F -E D U C A T IO N
OF T H E WORKERS
The culturc o f the proletariat struggling to free itself is a
class culture, sharply defined, and based on strife. It is
romantic, and, from its very intensity, its form suffers, because
time does not allow a definite and pcrfect form to be elabo­
rated from its stormy and tragic substance.
Classes and nations which have reachcd their highest
development are classical in their culture. Classes striving
for self-expression are romantic, and their romanticism pos­
sesses the typical characteristics o f the “ storm and stress” ;
classes doomed to decay assume another form o f romanticism,
that o f melacholy, disenchantment, and decadence.
We must not conclude that there is no intimate relationship
between Socialist and proletarian culture because they so sub­
stantially differ from each other. We must bear in mind that
the struggle is one for an id e a l: that o f the culture o f
brotherhood and complete freedom ; o f victory over the indi­
vidualism which cripples human bein gs; and o f a communal
life based not on compulsion and the need o f man to herd
together for mere self-preservation, as it was in the past, but
on a free and natural merging o f personalities into super*
personal entities.
Not only do the very characteristics o f this ideal prescribe
definite forms o f co-operation in the midst o f the prevailing
world strife: these forms are themselves the direct outcome o f
the peculiar position occupied b y the working class in the
capitalist world order, w’hich has forced the workers to be the
best organised and most united class in the community.
No ideal can spring from a soil or seed alien to i t ; the
methods and weapons used for its attainment must be in
harmony with itself. Therefore from the struggling proletariat
we must not expect the splendour o f the harvest and the perfec­
tion o f form and unfettered grace o f victorious strength. These
w ill reveal themselves in the future. Nevertheless, we have
every reason to expect that proletarian culture, because o f its
2
 struggle, its toil, and suffering, will possess characteristics
which would probably be unthinkable in the social order o f a
triumphant Socialism.
But the question arises whether this struggling proletariat
really has a culture o f any sort Most certainly. In the first
place, it possesses in Marxism a ll that is essential— the fine
and powerful investigation o f social phenomena, the basis of
sociology and political economy, the cornerstone o f the philo­
sophic conception o f the world. In these the proletariat is
already in possession o f treasures which can bear comparison
with the most brilliant achievements o f the human brain.
Moreover, in many countries the proletariat has evinced a
remarkable organising power in the politica.1 sphere. It is
true that the dead creation o f the past still holds the new life
in its aim s; the bourgeois parliamentarianism and nationalism
has permeated the young political organism o f the proletarian
parties and o f the Workers’ International itself.
T he crisis is acute; the disease, o f which the left Social
Democrats gave warning whilst it was yet in its incubatory
period, is most virulent— indeed, many asserted that it wfould
prove fatal— but one can even now declare that it will be over­
come and utilised, and that the political organisations o f the
proletariat w ill emerge from the fearful ordeal stronger and
more influential than ever.
In the economic aspects o f the struggle, one cannot say that
the ideal o f the thinkers and tacticians o f the trade union
movement has been reached; but one must be filled with
admiration for the complicated and beautiful structure o f the
industrial and craft organisation which, though as yet incom­
plete, impresses both friend and foe.
A ll working-class organisations have undergone a wonderful
development.
The International Congress o f Stuttgart imbued the trade
union movement with Socialist ideals, and by its famous
resolution placed the movement on a level with the political
Socialist Party.
The Congress o f Copenhagen practically did the same for
the co-operative ( ? ) movement, and there was every reason to
hope that the Congress o f Vienna would emphasise the vast
importance o f the fourth form o f proletarian culture, namely,
the struggle for education.
The development o f the educational movement is seen in
the foundation o f proletarian colleges b y many Socialist
parties, the transference to Socialist organisations o f a number
3
o f schools and Sunday schools, the ever-increasing number o f
scicntific and literary Socialist clubs. The attention paid to
child welfare and the education o f the young in connection
with the organisation o f proletarian clementar. schools will
(ead to the transformation o f working-class fam ily life. The
woman must ccase to be enslaved b y the proletarian kitchen
and the proletarian nursery; the latter, we must admit, is at
present practically non-existent. 1 merely refer to the most
important o f the series o f questions with which the Socialist
proletariat has begun to grapple both theoretically and
practically.
Before the war but few Social Democrats had realised the
truth, conclusively proved by Spencer, that even the best menial
training has little influence on tne will unless it be accompanicd
by the development o f the finer human feelings. The ethical
and aesthetic education o f the workers’ children in the spirit o f
Socialist ideology is a supreme necessity.
Rosa Luxemburg is more than right when she s a y s : “ Wc
shall hardly make any progress without a clear under­
standing o f the work o f proletarian self-education.”
Comparatively little has been done in this direction, which
may be termed the sphere o f enlightenment, and in which the
creative power o f the proletariat must very clearly manifest
itself. Even before the war the need for this enlightening
self-cducation was very strongly fe lt; and work had been
started in that direction. But the war so clearly showed the
workers the shortcomings o f this most important aspect o f their
culture that, notwithstanding the wholesale waste and destruc­
tion in Europe during the past four years, we mav expect to see
in the near future a great revival o f working-class energy in
this direction.
T H E L IT E R A T U R E T R A IN .
On November ist last Lenin inaugurated the first " R e d T ra in .” which
w ill tour the towns and v illa g e s o f Soviet Russia. Prom this “ Red
T ra in ” o f Propaganda over jo,ooo pamphlet* and books were sold for
ready cash in the first seven days, and 60,000 educational books were
distributed freely to various local Soviets. The weekly » ile o f the
“ Isre stia ,” also carried on from this train , increased during the same period
by 10,000 copies. T w elve mass meetings were held at various stopping
places. T rav ellin g with the train are cinematograph operators taking
films and painters making sketches o f the life o f each town visited. The
films and sketches are exchanged in order to acquaint the people o f tho
various districts with each other’s mode o f life , habits, and dress.
F R E E R E F E R E N C E L IB R A R IE S .
B y a decree dated November 3rd, 1018, a ll private lib raries were
declared public property. Uooks kept therein can henceforward be read
and consulted by everyone.
R U S S IA N R A IL W A Y M E N A N D E D U C A T IO N .
Along the railw ay line Moscow-Kiev-Voronezh the railwaym en on their
own initiative have organised elementary and secondary schools. Books,
teaching, and meals are provided free. Homes fo r orphans have been
established.

4
ED U CA TIO N A L W O RK
OF T H E RUSSIAN SOVIETS
Socialist Russia is rapidly forging ahead in educational
matters. The printing press is b u sy; scnools and libraries open
everywhere, in towns, in villages, and along railway routes.
The cinema has dropped the "cow boy ” film, and is turned to
instructive purposes. Workers are actually learning foreign
languages, during the evening, at the M inistry o f Foreign
Affairs.
A t the Congress o f Public Instruction held in Moscow,
Comrades Lunacharski and Oulianov (Mrs. Lenin) delivered
two important speeches, explaining, in general lines, the policy
o f the Soviets towards education.
L u n a c h a r s k i’ s S peech.
The Bolsheuk revolution has given prominence to the
question o f education. The people made the revolution to
conquer political j>ower, economic independence, and the free­
dom o f education. T o conquer, even at one stroke, is not
enough : one must organise.
Tne intellectuals, who gave their assistance to the Lvov
and Kerensky regime, have refused it to the Government
o f the workers and peasants They have used sabotage against
it. Nevertheless ,we have been able to do much useful work,
especially since February last. The old system o f education
has been completely abolished; the old educationists have
been dism issed; the curriculum based on “ Church and Latin ”
has been swept away. Co-education o f both sexes has been
introduced.
W hat will the “ New School ” be? It cannot, in any wav,
resemble that which the ruling class had organised for tne
“ in ferio r” working people. In order to destroy this " c la s s ’ '
education we have to adopt the principles o f “ one standard of
education for a ll,” without special privileges for any. The
people being the principal factor in the production o f com­
modities, it follows, o f necessity, that the “ new school ” must
be one that prepares the student to work. The teachers also
must be persons able to work. The motto o f the new school
must b e: “ T o live is to work.” We therefore take “ w ork”
as the starting-point o f our pedagogical system, as the chief
subject o f our teaching, aiming at the increase o f technical
knowledge. Our students must feel themselves part and parcel
o f the work o f the community. The young girls and boys
must prepare themselves to become big producers. Moreover,
we must never lose sight o f the fact that the chief aim o f educa­
tion is the knowledge o f the various forms o f human culture,
which, in its turn, includes all forms o f mental and manual
activity. The artistic and physical education must be the
fitting completion o f the technical. There must be educational
freedom and freedom tn the school. We must preserve our
ancient monuments, since these are to us the witnesses o f the
old Russian civilisation, but, at the same time, we hope to see
the birth o f an art completely in touch with the emotions o f the
modem w orld: o f an art that w ill lead us to further conquests
for liberty.
M rs. 1 e m x ’ s Speech .
Comrade Oulianov began by observing that, since the
Bolshevik revolution, there has arisen in the people an
immense desire for education, but ignorance, the dreadful
result o f the old regime, cannot disappear in a day. A vast
number o f persons, already engaged in production, cannot
return to school; hence the pressing need o f a post-scholastic
education.
We must cover the country, she explains, with a multitude
o f elementary schools for adults, fo r tne illiterate, and for the
semi-illiterate. In Soviet Russia ignorance must disappear.
W e ask everybody’s assistance in this great work. Know­
ledge and science, just like property, must not be the privilege
o f the few, but accessible to all. It is the common duty of
everybody to impart knowledge to others.
The essential thing to be remembered is that we must teach
people how' to make use o f books. The student— let us call
him the post-scholastic, the evening, or the artisan student—
must know how to use the dictionary and he must alw ays have
it handy b y him; likewise, books o f reference, encyclopaedias,
etc. We must not only give him a key to open the door, but
we must tell him where that door leads to.
Under the old reeimc, the intellectuals amongst the workers
and peasants were chiefly interested in abstract sciences, since
they opened to them new- horizons. Those, on the contrary,
who aimed at bettering their position wer^ interested solely in
the practice o f science. The effect o f the revolution has been
that practical science is o f interest now, even to the most politi­
ca lly advanced o f our workers. In order to organise produc­
tion in an efficient manner, to put in the right direction tne great
peasant communities, good technical education is necessary.
T he workers and the peasants have learned that without scien­
tific knowledge they w ill never be able to control the economic
life o f the nation. Therefore the whole character o f profes­
sional education must be changed. Form erly it aimed at
giving to the wrorker a purely mechanical proficiency; now it
must give him a larger view o f his trade, and o f its importance
-5
 and value to society. Education must also give him the
theoretical knowledge o f the various sciences that are linked
with his d a ily work, the history o f his trade, the history of
Mwork,” and o f production in the several forms o f past society.
It must tell him what part his special trade plays in the
economic evolution of tne world, and the best means of
increasing the communal production. This knowledge was not
needed when the worker was only a machine, producing for
others; it is necessary now that he is working for himself and
for the free community in which he lives.
A fter that there must be the “ Popular U niversity,” which
w ill take the place o f secondary education for the present adult
worker. In that University there will be lectures, excursions,
visits to museums, etc. Tne cinema, if properly used, can be
o f great assistance. The Commissary o f Education has just
opened a credit o f six million roubles to assist and prepare
educational films. There must be Museums o f Social Economy,
in order to spread knowledge on social and political questions.
We have callcd in specialists to assist the Government in
preparing "subject catalogues,” with short explanatory notes,
for all the circulating libraries instituted b y the Soviets, and
there will be a central buying office to feed all provincial
libraries. A rt, too, must not be lost sight o f in our post­
scholastic education. The Commissary o f Instruction has
formed a musical and a theatrical section, and one also for
decorative art; these will work jointly to assist the workers in
their efforts towards mental improvement. The theatrical
sectfon w ill shortly put w'ithin the reach o f all the plays o f
Romain Rolland.
We are also doing our utmost, continued Comrade Oulianov,
to open Peoples’ H alls, to take the place o f the churches o f the
old fegime. Above all, she said in conclusion, all these forms
o f technical, scientific, and artistic activity, to be truly popular
in their character, must be moved b y popular enthusiasm and
carried out b y the workers themselves, under their direct
control. He only can be educated who works to educate
himself. A m p ersan d .

N EW SC H O O LS AN D U N IV E R S IT IE S .
D u rin g 19 18 the Soviet Government opened over 1,000 new elementary
schools in the ooonty o f Moscow alone, and more won Id have been opened
but for the difficulty o f finding new teachers. D aring iq iS s ix new
U niversities were established in Soviet Russia. D uring the last two hundred
years o f the old regim e there existed o n ly twelve U niversities in all Russia •
A census has been taken o f a i! children o f school age and the educa­
tional system reorganised. There w ill now be two scholastic p e rio d s: one
of five y t * r s ; another of four. The former is obligatory for everybody.
The la rg e building of the C afi-Chantant “ M axim .” a fashionable
dancing and drinking resort o f Moscow, has been commandeered, and is
now used as a popular day and evening school.
Clubs for juveniles have been formed in several quarters o f Moscow,
to withdraw the children from the dem oralising influences o f tbe streets.
OTHER W.S.F. PUBLICATIONS.
T h e B ir t h r a t e , b y E . S y lv ia P a n k h u rs t.............................. id.
M o t h e r s ’ P e n s io n s ................................................................... 2d.
A p p e a l to W o m en , b y A Retired M a jo r .......... ................ id.
T h e E x ec u t io n o f an E a s t L o n do n B o y ..................... id .
N ic h o la s I., by Leo T o ls t o y .................................................. Id.
T h e T r u t h , abo ut R u s s ia , b y A rthur R an so m c................ 4d.
r e d R u s s ia , b y Jo h n R eed ..................................................... 6d.
T h e R ed F u n e r a l in V l a d iv o s t o k , b y A . R h y s
W illiams .............................................................................. 2d.
Q u e s t io n s and A n s w e r s abo u t R u s s i a , by A lbert R h y s
W illiams ............................................................................. 4d.
I n d e pe n d e n t W o r k in g C l a s s E d u catio n , b y E d en
and Cedar Paul ................................................................... 6d.
T he S ch o o lin g of th e F uture, by E. S y lv ia
Pankhurst ............................................................................ id.

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