‘What Is to Be Done? BURNING QUESTIONS OF OUR MOVEMENT ‘Written at the end of 1901 and-boginning of 1902, and publithed in March goa in Stuttgart, What Js to Be Done? elaborated in a comprehensive way the ideas about the party which Lenin bed broached in eadliet shorter writings, including The Tasks of the Russian Social Democrats. His polemic against “Economism," forall its,importance in the treatise, was mainly a convenient backdrop for presenting his theory of the nature, structure, snd activities of the revolutionary patty organization. In esence this work was the platform of what become known 2¢ “Bolshevism” after the party's Second Congress (1903), where the Bolehevik-Menshevik spit originate, For further interpretation ofits historical significance, sce the Introduction, pp. xxxvit- ai, above yy, the greatest proot of ing of clear domarca: by pur "Sbrom fetzr of Estas fo Macs, June 24,1852 1. Dogmatism and “Freedom of Criticism” ‘A. What Does “Freedom f Criticism” Mean? “Freedom of criticism” is undoubtedly the most fashionable slo- gan at the present time, and the one most frequently employed in the controversies between socialists and democrats in all costes At fist sight, nothing would appear to be more strange than the solenin appeals to freedom of criticism made by one of the parties to the dispute. Have voices been raised in the advanced parties against the constitutional law of the majority of European countries which guarantees freedom to science and scientific investigation? “Something must be wrong here,” will be the comment of the onlooker who has heard this fashionable slogan repeated at every tar but has not yet penetrated the essence of the disagreement among the disputants; “evidently this slogan is one of the conven- R ‘What Is to Be Done? * 13 tional phrases which, like nickpames, become legtimised by use, and become almost generic term,” In fact, itis no secret for anyone that, two trends have taken fori in present-day intemational? Social Democracy. The conllict between these trends now Bares up in a bright lame and now dies down and smoulders wider.the ashes of imposing. “truce resobi- tions." The essence of the “new” trend, which adopts a “critical” attitude towards “obsolete dogmatic” Marxism, has been clearly ‘enough presented by Bemstein and demonstrated by-Millerand SocialDemocracy must change from a party of social revolution into a democratic party of social reforms, Beristein has surrounded this political demand with a whole battery of wellattuned “new” arguments and-reasonings. Denied was the possibilty of putting socialism on a scientific basis and of demonstrating its necessity and inevitability from the point of view-of the materialist concep- tion of history. Dente was the fact of ssowing impoverishment _the process of proletarisation, and the intensification of capitalist contradictions; the very concept, “ultimate aim,” was declared to be ‘unsound, and the idea of the dictatoiship of the proletariat was sample aj Denied wai the ante in principle Between salism.and socialism. Penisd ma the theory of the lass sinig- -ale,on the alleged grounds that i cowd HOF be Applied to a strictly emocratic society governed according to the will of the majority, ete ‘Thus, the demand for @ decisive fur from revolutionary Social Democracy to bourgeois social-reformisin was accompanied by @ no less decisive tum towards bourgeois cxticism of all the funda- mental ideas of Marxism In view of the fact that this criticism of Marxism has Jong been directed fom the political platform, from university chairs, in numerous.pamphlets and in a series of learned treatises, in view of the fact that the entire younger generation of the educated classes has been systematically reared for decades on his criticism, it is not surprising that the “new critical” trend in S.tocienay, in the hhtory of modern Fabans, the French Mineral, fects 2 penne, peas Stiga tnd ins way wary como Same, “ot teste OF ie rarous {Genus win Sh sect ror as {fom Tata! become mers! Horm tbe capes tetneoy Lass Ieap and Baeencter, betwen Guest ise’ (SS tow evident the Engh14 + The Revolutionary Party and Its Tacties SocialDemocracy should spring up, all complete, like Minerva from the head of Jove. The content of this new trend did not have to grow and take shape, it was transferred bodily from bourgeois to socialist literature To proceed, If Bemstein’s theoretical criticism and political yearnings were still unclear to anyone, the French took the trouble strikingly to demonstrate the “new method.” In this instance, too, France has justified its old reputation of being “the land where, more than anywhere else, the historical class struggles were each time fought out to a decision . ..” (Engel, Introduction to Man’s Der 18 Brumaire). The French socialists have begun, not to theo- rise, but to act. The democratically more highly developed political conditions in France have permitted them to put “Berasteinism into practice” immediately, with all its conseqnences. Millerand has famished an excellent example of practical Berateinism; not with- ‘out reason did Bemstein and Vollmar tush so zeglously to defend and laud him, Indeed, if SociaLDemocracy. in assence, is mecely a patty of reform and mast be bold enough to admit this openly, then not only has a socialist the right to join a bourgeois cabinet, but he must always strive to do so. If democracy, in essence, means the, sabolition of class domination, then why should not a socialist mini- ster charm the whole Bourgesis world by orations on class collabo- ration? Why should he aot remain in the. cabinet even after the shooting down of workers by, gendarmes has exposed, for the hun- dredth and thousandth time, the real nature of the democratic collaboration of classes? Why should he not personally take part in greeting the tsar, for whom the French socialists now have no other ‘name than hero of the gellows, knout, and exile (knouteur, pen- deur et déportateur)? And the reward for this utter humiliation and selfdegradation of socialism in the face of the whole worl, for the ‘orzuption of the socialist consciousness of the working masses— the only basis that can guarantee our victory—the reward for this is pompous projects for miserable reforms, so miserable in fact that ‘much more has been obtained from bourgeois governments! He who does not deliberately close his eyes cannot fail to see that the new “critical” trend in socialism is nothing more nor less than a now variety of opportunism. And if we judge people, not by the glittering uniforms they don or by the high-sounding zppella- tions they give themselves, but by their actions and by what they actually advocate, it will be clea that “freedom of criticism” means freedom for an opportunist trend in Social- Democracy, freedom to convert Social-Democracy into a democratic party of reform, free- dom to intuaduce Bourges ides and genie eloment-into so cialis “Freedom” is grand word, but under the banner of freedom for -not onl ‘What Is to Be Done? + 15 industry the most predatory wars were waged, under the banner of freedom. of labons, thé working people were robbed. The modem ase of the term “feedom of enticim” contains the same inherent falschood. Those who are really convinced that they have made progress in science would not demand freedom for the new views to continue side by side with the old, but the substitution of the new views for the old. The ery heard today, “Long live freedom of is too strongly reminiscent of the fable of the empty ‘We are marching in a compact group along a precipitous and dificult path, firmly holding each other by the hand. We are sur- rounded on all sides by enemies, and we have to advance almost constently under their fre, We have combined, by a freely adopted decision, for the purpose of fighting the eneiny, and not of retreating into the neighbouring marsh, the inhabitants of which, from the very ontset, have reproached us with having separated ‘outsehes into an exclusive group and with having chosea the path of struggle instead. of the path of conciliation. And now some among us begin to cry out: Let us go into the maishl And when we begin to shame them, they retort: What backward people you are! ‘Are you not ashamed! to deny us the liberty to invite you to take a better toad! Oh, yes, gentlemen! You are free not only to invite us, bat to go yourselves wherever you will, even into the manh. In fact, we think that the marsh is your proper place, and we are prepared to render you every assistance to get there. Orly let go of ‘our hangs, don't clutch at us and don’t besmirch the grand word freedom, for we too are “free” to go where we please, free to fight ly against the marsh, but also against those who are turning towards the marsh! B. The New Advocates of “Freedom of Criticism” Now, this slogan (“freedom of criticism”) has in recent times been solemnly advenced by Rabocheye Dyeto (No, 10), organ of the Union of Russian SocialDemocrats Abroad not as 4 theoteti- 2.The Union of Rusian SosiatDerno- erchtionay sivas for seca was fiat Abrond wus found in 103 on tbe premature It ndaderelopsd Rusa tod init’ ottte Bruscipton ot Labour fea Marx shold therefore, cians Emr raion al membre enaty fo he peso ag cepa de group's programe, {be workela te thei Bight or ceononis ‘he tine Congres othe RSDP, benef) They taftaed to igpoe De (quasian™ Sect bemcraic Labour Marita of the Fst Congr bacate ‘arty bid in Merch WE, recnedM'detaed. Re ‘winng tpi feUhign as ie Party's represematveberty to be the immedi Taf the nd iatr ne-Union hese amine Seih Derweat {sy the “Renwomia” ako Known a At he Std Congres of the {Be "Youne" Cite Becooons® Mad tat RSDP, to 10d, Veomnoalves ot