and, moreover, we never had a generally recognised party organ which could "restrict" freedom. of criticism even by friendly advice); the Economists want the revolutionaries to recognise "complete equality in the movement" [Rabocheye Dyelo No. 10, p. 2 i. e., to recognise the "legitimacy" of what exists; they do not want the "ideologists" to try to "divert" the movement from the path that "is determined by the interaction of material elements and material environment" [Letter published in Iskra, No. 12]; they want recognition "for the only struggle that the workers can conduct under present conditions," which in their opinion is the struggle "which they are actually conducting at the present time" [Special Supplement to Rabochaya Mysl, p. 14]. We Revolutionary Social-Democrats, on the contrary, are dissatisfied with this submission elemental forces, i. e., bowing to what is "at the present time"; demand that the tactics that have prevailed in recent years changed; we declare that "before we can unite, and in order we may unite, we must first of all firmly and definitely draw lines of demarcation between the various groups." (See announcement of the publication of Iskra.)[1] In a word, the Germans stand for what is and reject the changes; we demand changes, and reject subservience to, and conciliation with, what is.
This "little" difference our "free" copyists of German resolutions failed to notice!
D. Engels on the Importance of the Theoretical Struggle
"Dogmatism, doctrinairism," "ossification of the party—the inevitable retribution that follows the violent strait-lacing of thought, these are the enemies against which the kindly champions of "freedom of criticism" are allying their forces in Rabocheye Dyelo. We are very glad that this question has been brought up and we would propose only to add to it another question:
Who are to be the judges?
Before us lie two publishers' announcements. One, The Programme of the Periodical Organ of the Russian Social-Democratic League—Rabocheye Dyelo (Reprint from No. I of Rabochey Dyelo), and the other, Announcement of the Resumption of Publication of Osvobozhdeniye Truda. Both are dated 1899, when
- ↑ See "Declaration by the Editorial Board of Iskra," The Iskra Period, Book I, p. 38.—Ed.
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