Ten Canons of the Proletarian Revolution: a Revolutionary Decalogue
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University of Central Florida STARS PRISM: Political & Rights Issues & Social Movements 1-1-1923 Ten canons of the proletarian revolution: A revolutionary decalogue Daniel De Leon Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/prism University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Book is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in PRISM: Political & Rights Issues & Social Movements by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Recommended Citation De Leon, Daniel, "Ten canons of the proletarian revolution: A revolutionary decalogue" (1923). PRISM: Political & Rights Issues & Social Movements. 409. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/prism/409 --' ,.\. TJ&, 4.. 1 . 1' *.. u.. ., ;,.?;. , : r, ,!,.!,,' . ,-! . ; - ..I . ;?.. , -- I:;., :< :< <- ,? - ., I, - >I' - - . .. :+:- WORKERS PARTY -6 OF U.S, mpu~tionof*psmpJwb~becn~ pd'ble by the pnmm ad- &m by kadeMorton Qrapser. * wrirm~~mtba~~rame- Uky~~tobepmpldddnqdrhmrt.Wububepr. ?rb~aPd~~of~~~ ~~eo~~:mdir$o~~chmqpb tBsd=mofkk areWritbddmdab bbntioa-dtia*yed,.lpLL. ~lrsstc,Ofthededrpd raadyieg. B* fhr Mn..thntkl-- * .- ~~i~aa-urtLL~i.ths~~ ~:uftbe~timnOftbtBdtirhMdLthe Ma-;of tbsmwasaveeoltbeJapammetatBt ~yaain+t~;delmrrar~dtkrU~ St*tsr~L~PWiua;oftbt~~4r tae hqpe,of Nak;.dwy-fmr hmr will h ~tg,~plcntrmftherrorhl;of~u~ r~~aad~ard~;mfthemwAePab fe*bdomgtase~~tbrdcr;ofdrilycbanging~ ~#tlnte~~. ThewarhgtmbyfbemmprigaqpiwtE ' ddibe, COW- unpmnhd ..p d *m hdepdat~tionrof~~~em?m Ethiopk This is the tint gwsb kddc truth dkhm mtdleamd~we.mamttocah.T!ber*rhEkhiqSa isfheintrwl~theprdlldebthnca~rodd war. It may be thpt'lh&& adItaly wilt Ibd ~e4dution~tbatwiU~tbe~lrartronn~ img immediately adbtly to bdde tbe r& of.& d B&otalolationoftbhWtanhat&Mashmt,~ porarypostpneme5k IblyhplutethF~~mer% inrrbat~andybethemewdwsr~hncrrd~ glebemthe~~to~~~ Intbis~thefateofltllman~aitlbs~ d~b&ugtbela&warwithib~thm40,~ dead *ad'wmdE?ap-d antth-&fotd&#w 'iamilit.rgw+ue*tba hronafot ~auoausc&ap*pd88k. THE NATURE AND CAUSE8 qF -MODERN WAR - To many persons, war seeme to & as if it were a larr s ofFak. InformerdapitueedtokthoPghtthatwmrmm ,- that war b a @a1 and peculiar and frightful went that . , bappena every so often, no matter what we try to do about iL Some of them, on the other hand, dudethat we auld .. ' @ rid of war 'if dywe wuld get enough pple to want to get rid of it, if we could develop a %illti, pace" among AU views of this kind are absolutely ud-s in helping j us to uader~tendwhat war is; and are therefore eqdy :. weleas in the straggle againat wa~--%hcewe amnot et*agr- -. gle etrectively agrrinet war unIess we dmtand the he, nature of war. The fht, &e very ktthing we munt know dearly aboutr . mowy at &r&. There are in the modern world & rrreat the Soviet Uqioa AQ other - 1- .. -.. r 'l idism, capitdid is contiwodj at arr. Thb b d' the esaence of ofperiali. It b not a qdnof one ktarting, then #topping, to be followed in a hade or bo by a new war. It is war all the time, ehaaging oalp b tbe fohn it take@,in the depe of violence* Coaflict at the level" continues withat iateP naption: ewnomic st-en far eoarcea of raw ~l~aterid,for '3 new markets, for new &Ids of qloitlrtion; tas and er- : change battlee ;cetion for shipping d laam ;ezplo~ ? ation to &cover new mines, oil w& laad for rubber nnd - 1 m%ee and cottan ptanhtim; and all the md. But the codkt can never remain at the purely ~comimic Bevet The rikakes are too high-failure at the ecmomic j led meam the destruction of the defeated economic group Thedore, the hancecapitalista must uEh cozwhmkly their political eemante-the goyemmeate of their Me awntrim. And the govermnmtrr am not slow to enswer. They build up their military and naval amamenta to bmt uabelievrble heights. They are ever dyto anssat w 1 Central herimgovernmenb threaten a aatiee p- wipe out 'red bandib", @topor etart a revolution, aend a flotilh of warehips or a regiment of marina, recent an %- suit to the fig", if necessary set two eount1.iee-&divh and Perajpy, fox example-flying at each dad8 throats ta settle the dispute of Stdrd .d d BWwer righb to an oil geld. At the beck and e& of h-pit& t6L 4 =-3 governmait, with the gum and &re adairpIunea,mapa c quickly b attention. That, indeed, L wbtthe gmemudr -d am for. d The 8commic cod.& and %or mm'' of capibf m- pndon, of tariff adexchange and armament and conrpdi- -3 tive "phitation, d a point where the attempt h made -Af to flnd a political solution of the economic d dalCOB- Y tradidione through war, open and andisguiaed: imperialist- inspired wars betwwm rubject nations; ware of aubjuptim 3 by imperialist natiom against aubject peopl~; end, hdy, 1 We world-wide war of the imperidist nationo ansong than- . : ael- ilgbtiag for the redivision of the wdd. But, kboqb 4 producing a temporary Ubnby hdng tbe bdaen -4 8 Z ". r . -23 The fdrtorg doee not end even here. For thro- . the Wdm Revolution in Ruseia, wn- withim aPantryinathdvsryingf~fmn~to~ II I uprisings to prepamtiom far hkrm&iop in tb hitt Union,andfieontinueunkiltheClnaa~is~ Thewarbetweenthemr%ing~amdthe~ - in utterly hndlable, in a far mom pfodM d - than the titanic st- between the imp&st ' '#. themehs. Xt cran never stop ahd of campme -. - Bndthisrrill~rvetodemonstnrtehowvainiafhe~~ - tlw hviet 'Union-canstad a,even for a: Bhort w* ;j fmm the imwtstraggles, in B peud~dlooialist%&b- -. &tlm* Ill ~phof ib Mt0- kdep~hifikh &vi& U* - h ' ' rtUl ramine a workhg clrrsa stak The hbcon&& b tffeenthehviet Uniow d alI theimpidatpwm,~ &- fe,is &per than that between my of the imm - L 1- -A thdven. the is 5, t - pmm The fate of So* Union W' up hextricably with the fate of the whok word TBe '--,-. = -2 - ing open impehht war wiU ita roots He . - fl? involve in the or -_ - , hthof the Soviet Union, .: .{ r;--. - .:; g.- The moral, dighue, ra& and kb1- dkph *at war must not b allowed to hide the . VT 4%di& which 8re the true %bmof Wm- %b L> w - gmed codndon ie inescapbles 3Lb- war b * dthr waidentd nor due to the evil of human na.truc.rs -reed by ood. War is d the wry of iap** ~~~asmuchrprtofcapitdh~~~~~. pesa3tofcapitaliemwitbwtwcrrLlike~da~: L:: - -without lungs. Tbfnte of eaeie-y w# 5;;?,,-<-. -bthe fate sf khe o*. a% =- - ;-- *-4;. :- -* - - '* ., . .&&$*. = -;- ur= Of rt of the hernature of a~~ it fh to to tbat thearer o y way fight aght war b fight m@& * - capitahm. Bat the only true fl& against capitdimu is the dm- tionary etruggle for worken' power. It therefore foam thnt the only psible draggle aght war is the attaggle for the workera' revolution, - Marxists mu& be absoltlteIy clear on thir point. Then is no "qae8,ten or "qdaln struggle against war. The straggle againet wlrr cannot be divorced from the day-to- day strugglee of the workew so far as, in their hbto&d implications, beled toward workem' power. No one csn uphoId capi whether directly, as an open adhexent of the capitaliuts, or indimtly, from any shade of kd or refokt po8itio-d 0&t agsinet war, became -pi- hbn meano war. Only a revolutionist an fight apbt war, because only a revoIutiOniSt takeu the rod to the over- throw of capitdim. To suppose, therefore, that rev01nfhists can work oat a common "prow qabt wa?' with man-rwohtioniste ia a fatal iI1wion. hyorganization baed upsuch a pmgram b wt merely powerless to prevent war; in prdce it acts to promote war, both becauee it main itr own way to uphold the ayatmn that bre& war, and baaeit divierts the attention of ih members from the real Qht a+ war. Them is ody oab program ajpsinst war: the program for dntion--the program of the dutionaq party of tke Workers. 'I : Tbe workem' revolution elm and will eliminate war b cause, by dhmwing eapitaliet economy end eupplanthg eapihbm with a rmidht eormmy, it will -we & cam of wer, Under aocialirm thepe dl no 1- At the ha& contradictiom that lead to war. Mai:al ecowr- aaie bmiem bad on mtiol~wlbonnaariea will JM -red. - !C%e expsmion of the mwrnn of pdueth, ander the - &p and control of society aa s whole, will pd-in ae- I 4 codme with a ratiod plan adjamted to tlse ndeof the d< . 3 m* of sooiety. riummovekhe~teoa .<%- oonmmption, mu3 bence- pedt the achWa snd emtmngB . $j 11 .w- % .7 .-- - - **-4. -A :. :~-+*'d'.+-Fl people of Germany, or France, or Italy, or Japan, or of ':. an^ other nation a& whom the home.- --- u-mmmmumt -hv w&e war, bat thatVthe real enemv of the . of.- . I, ' - - & I :. &try & the enemy at ham-th;boargeoisie and the g& . ermnent of Utheir own countr?. Thev mwt ' undwdt*nd that oq war which ''theirn Guntry &ertakes dl be r war to serve the intercata of fineme-caphl, no mat& what nobk talk about "democracy" or 'pea&' or "defend' or UcoIlective aecdty" is used to justify it. Ad thedm they must resist to the utmoik any and every conception of patriotism, cl~speace, nations1 anit?, or eupport of the government for the conduct of the war. To such mnoep- tiom must k,at sll times, opposed--straggle ogaiawt the war, stmggle to turn the war into a civil war for the defeat : of the g&rpment and the bourged~ie,and the achievement This is the dgstruggle agabt the coming imperiaJjst --, &. war : the struggle on an international scale for the vi p:a. of the workem, for a world socialist eociety. :.I w$, 7 IIL.