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man Left Wing was published anonymously, for instance, in the Berner Tagwacht on May 31st, 1915. It is a new party, a really revolutionary Socialist Democratic Workers' Party that is in the act of growing and becoming strong, and not the old, rotten National-Liberal Party of Legien, Suedekum, Kautsky, Haase, Scheidmann and Co.[1]
Hence, Monitor, the opportunist, let out a profound historical truth in the Conservative Preussiche Jahrbuecher when he declared it would do no harm to the opportunists (he should have said "to the bourgeoisie") if the Social Democracy of to-day moved further to the Right, since in that case the workers would forsake it. The opportunists (and the bourgeoisie) need the present Social Democratic Party, which includes both Right and Left wings, and which is officially represented by Kautsky, who knows how to reconcile everything in the world by fluent and "thoroughly Marxist" phrases. In words he advocates Socialism and revolutionary action on the part of the workers, but in deeds he is in favour of Suedekum's tactics, that is to say, of joining the bourgeoisie at any serious crisis. We say at any crisis, for not only in cases of war, but also in every case when a serious political strike is on both "feudal" Germany and "free parliamentary" England or France will immediately introduce martial law under one name or the other.
From this follows the reply to the question put above: "How are we to combat Socialist-Jingoism?" The latter is opportunism which has become ripe, strong, and impudent, during the long, comparatively "peaceful" era of capitalism. It is so will defined its ideological and political theories and has so linked itself up with the bourgeoisie and the governments that we cannot tolerate such a current inside S.D. Workers' parties. One can put up with thin, weak soles for walking on the civilised pavements of a small provin-
- ↑ What happened before the historical voting of the 4th of August is very characteristic. The official party covered the incident with the veil of hypocricy, saying that the majority had decided to vote and had voted unanimously for the credits. But in the paper, Die Internationale, Stroebel exposed this hypocricy and stated the truth. In the S.D. party there were two groups, which both came with their ultimata ready, that is to say, with fractional or dissenting decisions. One group, the opportunists, comprising about 30 men, decided to vote for the credits come what may; the other group-those of the Left, comprising about 15 men—had decided, but less resolutely, to vote against the credits. When the Centre, or the "Swamp." which has no firm position, sided with the opportunists those of the Left suffered a crushing defeat and … submitted! Unity in German Social-Democracy is a hollow sham which in practice inevitably means submission to opportunist ultimata.
