V. I.

L E N I N
cOLLEcTED WORKS

VOLUME


!ugust 191f – December 191g

From Marx to Mao

M
L
© Digital Reprints
2011
www.marx 2 mao.com

PROGRESS PUBLISHERS
MOSCOW
 CONTENTS
Page

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

THE TASKS OF REVOLUTIONARY SOCIAL-DEMOCRACY IN THE

EUROPEAN WAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
.
The Russian Social-Democrats on the European War . . . 15
Resolution of a Group of Social-Democrats . . . .
. . . . 15
THE EUROPEAN WAR AND INTERNATIONAL SOCIALISM . . . . 20
THE WAR AND RUSSIAN SOCIAL-DEMOCRACY . . . . . . . . 25
THE POSITION AND TASKS OF THE SOCIALIST INTERNATIONAL 35
LETTER TO VORWÄRTS AND WIENER ARBEITER-ZEITUNG . . . 42
KARL MARX (A Brief Biographical Sketch with an Exposition of
Marxism) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
The Marxist Doctrine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Philosophical Materialism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Dialectics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
The Materialist Conception of History . . . . . . . . . 55
The Class Struggle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Marx’s Economic Doctrine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Surplus Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Accumulation of Capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Historical Tendency of Capitalist Accumulation . . . . . 64
Average Rate of Profit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Theory of Ground Rent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Evolution of Capitalism in Agriculture . . . . . . . . . 68
Socialism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Tactics of the Class Struggle of the Proletariat . . . . . 74
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
A GERMAN VOICE ON THE WAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
iv CONTENTS

DEAD CHAUVINISM AND LIVING SOCIALISM ( How the Interna-

tional Can Be Restored ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
ON THE NATIONAL PRIDE OF THE GREAT RUSSIANS . . . . . . 102
WHAT NEXT? ( On the Tasks Confronting the Workers Parties with
Regard to Opportunism and Social-Chauvinism) . . . . . . . 107
THE KIND OF “UNITY” LARIN PROCLAIMED AT THE SWEDISH
CONGRESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
THE RUSSIAN BRAND OF SÜDEKUM . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
TO THE EDITORS OF NASHE SLOVO . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
HOW THE POLICE AND THE REACTIONARIES PROTECT THE UNITY
OF GERMAN SOCIAL - DEMOCRACY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
THE LONDON CONFERENCE . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 132
UNDER A FALSE FLAG . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 135
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 138
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 145
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 150
THE CONFERENCE OF THE R.S.D.L.P. GROUPS ABROAD . . . . . 158
The Conference’s Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
On the Character of the War . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
The “Defence of the Fatherland” Slogan . . . . . . . . . 159
The Slogans of the Revolutionary Social-Democrats . . . . . 160
Opportunism and the Collapse of the Second International . . 161
The Third International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Pacifism and the Peace Slogan . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
The Defeat of the Tsarist Monarchy . . . . . . . . . . 163
The Attitude Towards Other Parties and Groups . . . . . . 163
LETTER FROM THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE R.S.D.L.P.
TO THE EDITORS OF NASHE SLOVO . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
WHAT HAS BEEN REVEALED BY THE TRIAL OF THE RUSSIAN
SOCIAL - DEMOCRATIC LABOUR DUMA GROUP . . . . . . . . . 171
ON THE LONDON CONFERENCE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
THE SLOGAN OF CIVIL WAR ILLUSTRATED . . . . . . . . . . . 181
THE SOCIAL - CHAUVINISTS’ SOPHISMS . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
THE QUESTION OF THE UNITY OF INTERNATIONALISTS . . . . . 188
BOURGEOIS PHILANTHROPISTS AND REVOLUTIONARY SOCIAL -
DEMOCRACY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
THE COLLAPSE OF PLATONIC INTERNATIONALISM . . . . . . . 194
ON THE STRUGGLE AGAINST SOCIAL - CHAUVINISM . . . . . . . 199
 CONTENTS v

THE COLLAPSE OF THE SECOND INTERNATIONAL . . . . . . . 205

I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
VI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
VII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
VIII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
IX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
BRITISH PACIFISM AND THE BRITISH DISLIKE OF THEORY . . . 260

FROM MARX
HOW SERVILITY TO REACTION IS BLENDED WITH PLAYING AT
DEMOCRACY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
THE MAIN GERMAN OPPORTUNIST WORK ON THE WAR . . . . 270
TO MAO
THE DEFEAT OF ONE’S OWN GOVERNMENT IN THE IMPERIALIST


WAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . 275
THE STATE OF AFFAIRS IN RUSSIAN SOCIAL-DEMOCRACY . . . . 281
THE “PEACE” SLOGAN APPRAISED . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
THE QUESTION OF PEACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
SOCIALISM AND WAR ( The Attitude of the R.S.D.L.P. Towards
the War ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Preface to the First (Foreign) Edition . . . . . . . . . . 297
NOT FOR
Preface to the Second Edition . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Chapter I . The Principles of Socialism and the War of 1914-15 299
COMMERCIAL
The Attitude of Socialists Towards Wars .
. . .
. .
The Historical Types of Wars in Modern Times
. . . . 299
. . . . 299
The Difference Between Wars of Aggression and of Defence 300
DISTRIBUTION
. . . .
The War of Today Is an Imperialist War . . . .
A War Between the Biggest Slave-holders for the Maintenance
301

and Consolidation of Slavery . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302

“War Is the Continuation of Politics by Other” (i . e .: Violent)
“Means” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304
The Case of Belgium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
What Russia Is Fighting For . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
What Social-Chauvinism Is . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
The Basle Manifesto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
False References to Marx and Engels . . . . . . . . . . 308
The Collapse of the Second International . . . . . . . . 309
Social-Chauvinism Is the Acme of Opportunism . . . . . . 309
Unity with the Opportunists Means an Alliance Between the
Workers and Their “Own” National Bourgeoisie, and Splitting
the International Revolutionary Working Class . . . . . 311
vi CONTENTS

“Kautskyism” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
The Marxists’ Slogan Is a Slogan of Revolutionary Social-
Democracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
The Example Set by the Fraternisation in the Trenches . . 313
The Importance of an Underground Organisation . . . . . 314
On the Defeat of One’s “Own” Government in the Impe-
rialist War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Pacifism and the Peace Slogan . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
The Right of Nations to Self-Determination . . . . . . . 316
Chapter II . Classes and Parties in Russia . . . . . . . . . 317
The Bourgeoisie and the War . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
The Working Class and the War . . . . . . . . . . . 319
The Russian Social-Democratic Labour Group in the Duma,
and the War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Chapter III. The Restoration of the International . . . . . . 323
The Method of the Social-Chauvinists and of the “Centre” . 323
The State of Affairs Among the Opposition . . . . . . . 325
The Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party and the
Third International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Chapter IV. The History of the Split, and the Present State of
Social-Democracy in Russia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
The Economists and the Old Iskra (1894-1903) . . . . . . 331
Menshevism and Bolshevism (1903-1908) . . . . . . . . . 332
Marxism and Liquidationism (1908-1914) . . . . . . . . . 333
Marxism and Social-Chauvinism (1914-1915) . . . . . . . . 334
The Present State of Affairs in the Ranks of the Russian
Social-Democrats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335
Our Party’s Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338
ON THE SLOGAN FOR A UNITED STATES OF EUROPE . . . . . 339
ON THE SLOGAN FOR THE UNITED STATES OF EUROPE. Editorial
Comment by Sotsial-Demokrat on the Manifesto on War Issued
by the Central Committee of the R . S . D . L . P . . . . . . . . 344
THE DRAFT RESOLUTION PROPOSED BY THE LEFT WING AT
ZIMMERWALD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345
THE VOICE OF AN HONEST FRENCH SOCIALIST . .
. . . . . . 349
IMPERIALISM AND SOCIALISM IN ITALY ( Note ) . .
. . . . . . 357
APPEAL ON THE WAR . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . 367
WE ARE THANKFUL FOR SUCH FRANKNESS . . .
. . . . . . 370
TO THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIALIST COMMITTEE (I . S . C . ) . . . . 372
THE DEFEAT OF RUSSIA AND THE REVOLUTIONARY CRISIS . . . 378
 CONTENTS vii

THE FIRST STEP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383

REVOLUTIONARY MARXISTS AT THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIALIST
CONFERENCE, SEPTEMBER 5-8, 1915 . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
KAUTSKY, AXELROD, AND MARTOV—TRUE INTERNATIONALISTS 394
SEVERAL THESES. Proposed by the Editors . . . . . . . . . 401
THE REVOLUTIONARY PROLETARIAT AND THE RIGHT OF
NATIONS TO SELF - DETERMINATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
ON THE TWO LINES IN THE REVOLUTION . . . . . . . . . . 415
AT THE UTTERMOST LIMIT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421
LETTER TO THE SECRETARY OF THE SOCIALIST PROPAGANDA
LEAGUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
SOCIAL-CHAUVINIST POLICY BEHIND A COVER OF INTERNA -
TIONALIST PHRASES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
OPPORTUNISM, AND THE COLLAPSE OF THE SECOND INTER -
NATIONAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455
The Life and Work of V. I. Lenin . Outstanding Dates . . . . 485

ILLUSTRATIONS

First page of Lenin’s manuscript “Karl Marx”. July-November

1914 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46-47

First page of Sotsial-Demokrat No. 40, March 29, 1915, in which

Lenin’s articles “What Has Been Revealed by the Trial of
the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Duma Group” and “On the
London Conference” were published . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
First page of Lenin’s manuscript “The Revolutionary Prole-
tariat and the Right of Nations to Self-Determination”. 1915
(in German) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
First page of Lenin’s letter to the Secretary of the Socialist
Propaganda League. November 1915 . . . . . . . . . . . . 425