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is the most striking; sign of the collapse of the second International. It is also a most striking proof that only men who are either hopelessly vain, or who desire to preserve the old hypocritical attitude, can now believe in merely “correcting socialism,” or in a policy of "straightening its line."
When, before the war—we can almost say yesterday—Hyndman took up the defence of imperialism, every "decent" Socialist regarded him as a crank and spoke of him with undisguised contempt. Today the most prominent leaders of social democracy in all countries have sunk to Hyndman’s level, the difference between them and the latter being but one of degree and temperament. It is impossible to use parliamentary language when criticising and condemning the lack of moral courage of the men who write in the Nashe Slovo and who speak contemptuously of "Mr." Hyndman, but who pass over in silence the utterances of Comrade Kautsky. Is this attitude towards Kautsky one of veneration—or is it servility? If we are convinced that Hyndman’s crude jingoism is as false as it is dangerous, then we should be more critical and more severe in our indictment of Kautsky in so far as his subtle and clever apology for imperialism is much more ruinous than the clumsy defence put forward by Mr. Hyndman.
In a pamphlet by Charles Dumas, entitled What Kind of Peace do we Desire, the views of Guesde[1] are set forth in great detail by one of his disciples, who designates himself as the "head of Jules Guesde’s Bureau." This author naturally enough “quotes” former patriotic declarations of Socialists. Likewise, the German Socialist-jingo, David, also “quotes” imperialistic statements, in his pamphlet on National Defence, which have been uttered by Socialists. But these writers never “quote” the famous Basle manifesto. Plekhanov, too, passes over the Basle manifesto and soothes himself by quoting, with an air of self-satisfaction, disgusting jingo banalities. And Kautsky follows Plekhanov’s example. When either Kautsky or Plekhanov do quote the Basle manifesto, they omit the essential paragraphs of that historic document, which emphasises the true revolutionary position. They may probably plead that these significant passages are omitted out of deference to the censor! Thus the police and
- ↑ Jules Guesde, the pre-war leader of Revolutionary Socialism in France, who has since gone over to the imperialists and joined the government.
