The present examination of Bolshevism was written by Kautsky in the latter part of 1918, and published in Vienna. Soon after the outbreak of the German political revolution of a year ago, about one-half of the matter contained in “The Dictatorship of the Proletariat” was issued by a Berlin publisher under the title, “Democracy or Dictatorship.”
The Russian Bolsheviks have had the most difficult task ever placed in human hands, and though it is yet too early to pass a final judgment upon their success or failure, the evidence at present available points to the conclusion that they have accomplished wonderful achievements. Lenin himself is the first to admit that they have made mistakes. It could not be otherwise. In his letter to the Hungarian Communists he warns them not to attempt to copy too closely the methods which have been adopted in Russia. Socialism will learn as much from the failures as from the successes of these first efforts to establish Socialism in a great community.
The forms of government and administration most suitable for a period of transition, and in economic and political conditions so different from those which exist in the Western countries, cannot be accepted without question as the most appropriate and effective for other countries and for other circumstances. The readiness with which some British Socialists have embraced the idea of the Soviet form of government as being the new democracy and capable of universal adoption shows a lack of appreciation of the difference between what may be expedient as a temporary measure and what is best for stable conditions.
