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will, passion, phantasy—of tens of millions, spurred on by the bitterest class war. From this there follow two very important practical conclusions; first, the revolutionary class, for the realization of its object, must be able to master all forms or aspects of social activity, without the slightest exception (completing, after the conquest of political power, sometimes with great risk and tremendous danger, what had been left undone before this conquest); secondly, that the revolutionary classes must be ready for the most rapid and unexpected substitution of one form for another.
Everyone will agree that the behavior of that army which does not prepare to master all types of weapons, all means and methods of warfare which the enemy may possess, is unwise and even criminal; but this applies even more to politics than to armies. In politics it is still less possible to foresee which means of struggle, under the varying future circumstances, will prove applicable and useful to us. If we do not possess all the means of struggle, we may suffer a heavy—at times even a decisive—defeat, if the changes in the situation of other classes which are beyond our control should make the order the day that form of activity in which we are especially weak. Possessing all the means of struggle, we surely conquer, once we represent the interests of the truly foremost, truly revolutionary class, even though circumstances may not permit us to use all the weapons most dangerous to our enemy, weapons which the more quickly deal him deadly blows.
Inexperienced revolutionaries often think that legal means of struggle are opportunist, for the bourgeoisie often (especially in "peaceful" non-revolutionary times) use such legal means to deceive and fool the workers. On the other hand they think that illegal means in the struggle are revolutionary. This is not true. What is true is that the opportunists and traitors of the working class are those parties and leaders who are unable, or who do not want ("Don't say 'I can't,' say 'I won't'") to apply illegal means to the struggle. Take, for example, such conditions as prevailed during the imperialist war of 1914-1918, when the bourgeoisie of the freest democratic countries deceived the workers with an outrageous insolence
