Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

Characteristics of the Centre as a Trend in International Social-Democracy{9}


Written: Written in January 1917
Published: First published in full in 1962 in Vol. 30 of the Fifth Russian edition of the Collected Works. Printed from the original.
Source: Lenin Collected Works, Progress Publishers, 1977, Moscow, Volume 41, pages 391-392.
Translated: Yuri Sdobnikov
Transcription\Markup: R. Cymbala
Copyleft: V. I. Lenin Internet Archive (www.marxists.org) © 2004 Permission is granted to copy and/or distribute this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.


In Grimm:

Characteristics of the Centre
as a trend in international Social-Democracy:

+ 1. No rupture with the social-patriots of one’s owncountry either on basic principles, or in organisation; hence 2.
+ 2. Against split.
(+—) 3. Evasiveness on the question of defence of country.
+ 4. Recognition of Zimmerwald and Kienthal—without a split with the I.S.B. and international social-patriotism.
+ 5. No break with reformism: only verbal criticism of it (“passiver Radikalismus”{1} ).
+ 6. Adoption of await-and-seeattitude (n o tactive,n o twith initiative as the Left) on the coming revolution (in connection with the presentwar).
+ (ΣΣ)
(?=§ 1) 7. ΣΣ=prettifying (and defending) social-patriotism in varying measure and by diverse means, such is thee s s e n c e(wesen) of the Centre....
+ 8. No reconstruction of the present Social-Democratic parties and trade unions, nothing like Liebknecht’s “regeneration from top to bottom”. Deferring this question.
(—) 9. Social-pacifism as programme and tactics.
+ 10. No systematic propaganda of revolution in connection with the present war.
+ 11. No preparation of organisations, etc., for such a revolution.
—α) Avanti! March 6, 1916
β) Morgan in Swiss newspaper
γ) social-pacifism
+αα) social-patriots exclusively
ββ) the young.

In putting Liebknecht and the Italian Socialist Party side by side, Grimm tends to confuse the Centre and the Left.

Grimm wants to solve a revolutionary problem (struggle against war) by reformist means
(“schwächen”, erschweren, etc.{2} ).

Indirect tax, November 4-5, 1916.

Reformist struggle against high cost of living (August 6, 1916).

Polemics against{3} (“Sozialismus tut not”{4} ).

Idem
reform-
ism
||
||
Hushing up of social-patriotism in the Swiss Social-reformist Party. Absence of struggle against it.
Idem in trade union movement (Schneeberger & Dürr).
NB [BOX END:]
[[
Question of them o m e n tof revolutionary action isconfusedwith that of systematic propaganda and agitational and organisational preparation for possibility of revolutionary action in general.

Lying, dishonest dodges with Entwaffnung{5} (cf. his own “theses”). Idem Diensterweigerung.{6}

Dodges on the question of was heisst “verweigern” die Leipziger Volkszeitung? Verzerrung der Frages e i t e n s Grütli-Verein.{7} )

NB:
Paying lip service to Zimmerwald + Kienthal and carrying on as before in fact!!
Page 13.
From the standpoint of the Centre in general it would bec o n s i s t e n tin Switzerland to stand for defence of the country!!!{8} )

Notes

{1} “Passive radicalism.”—Ed.

{2} Weakening, complication, etc.—Ed.

{3} The next word is illegible.—Ed.

{4} “Socialism is necessary.”—Ed.

{5} Disarmament.—Ed.

{6} Refusal to do military service.—Ed.

{7} What does Leipziger Volkszeitung call “refusal”? Distortion of the question o nt h ep a r tof Grütli-Verein.—Ed.

{8} Here the MS. breaks off.—Ed.

{9} This was written in connection with an article by R. Grimm, “The Majority and the Minority on the War Question”, in Berner Tagwacht Nos. 19-23 of January 23-27 and in the magazine Neues Leben in January 1917, which defended the Centrist attitude of the majority of the Swiss Social-Democratic Party p. 391