Lenin. Brief selections from "'Left Wing' Communism"

REVOLUTIONARY TACTICS OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY AFTER CAPTURING POWER
After the first Socialist revolution of the proletariat, upon the overthrow of the bour-geoisie in a country, the proletariat remains for a time weaker than the bourgeoisie, simply by virtue of the latter's far-reaching international connections, and also on account of the ceaseless and spontaneous re-birth of capitalism and the bourgeoisie, through the small producers of commodities in the country which has overthrown them. To overcome so potent an enemy is possible only through the greatest effort and by dint of the obligatory, thorough, careful, attentive and skillful utilisation of every breach, however small, between the enemies; of every clash of interests between the bourgeoisie of all countries, between various groups and species of bourgeoisie within individual countries; of every possibility, however small, of gaining an ally, even though he be temporary, shaky, unstable, unreliable and conditional. Who has not grasped this has failed to grasp one iota of Marxism and of scientific modern Socialism in general. Whoever has failed to prove in practice, during a considerable period of time and in sufficiently varied political situations, his ability to apply this truth, has not yet learned to aid the revolutionary class in its struggle for the liberation of all toiling humanity from its exploiters. All this applies equally to the period before and after the conquest of political power by the proletariat. . . .

THE TASKS OF THE REVOLUTIONARY CLASS
History in general, the history of revolutions in particular, has always been richer, more varied and variform, more vital and "cunning" than is conceived of by the best parties, by the most conscious vanguards of the most advanced classes. This is natural, for the best vanguards express the consciousness, will, passions and fancies of but tens of thousands, whereas the revolution is effected at the moment of the exceptional uplift and exertion of all the human faculties-consciousness, will, passion, phantasy-of tens of millions, spurred on by the bitterest class war. From this there follow two very important practical conclusions; first, the revolutionary class, for the realisation of its object, must be able to master all forms or aspects of social activity, without the slightest exception (completing, after the conquest of political power, sometimes with great risk and tremendous danger, what had been left undone before this conquest); secondly, that the revolutionary classes must be ready for the most rapid and unexpected substi-tution of one form or another....

REVOLUTIONARY TACTICS AND COMPROMISES
Naive and quite inexperienced persons imagine that it is sufficient to recognise the permissibility of compromise in general, and all differences between opportunism on the one hand (with which we do and must wage uncompromising war) and revolution-ary Marxism or Communism on the other will be obliterated. But for those people who do not yet know that all distinctions in nature and in society are unstable (and, to a certain extent, arbitrary), nothing will do but a long process of training, education, enlightenment, political and everyday experience. In practical questions of the policy appropriate to each separate or specific historic moment, it is important to be able to distinguish those in which are manifested the main species of inadmissible treacherous compromises, which embody opportunism detrimental to the revolutionary class, and to direct all possible efforts towards elucidating and fighting them. During the imperial-ist war, 1914-1918, between two groups of equally ruffianly and rapacious countries, such a main fundamental species of opportunism was social-chauvinism, that is, up-holding "defence of Fatherland," which, in such a war, was really equivalent to a de-fence of the plundering interests of one's own bourgeoisie. Since the war, the defence of the robber "League of Nations," the defence of direct or indirect alliance with the bourgeoisie of one's country against the revolutionary proletariat and the "soviet" movement; the defence of the bourgeois democracy and bourgeois parliamentarism against "Soviet power," such are the chief manifestations of those inadmissible and treacherous compromises, which taken in all, have given rise to an opportunism fatal to the revolutionary proletariat and its cause.

PRINCIPLES OF REVOLUTIONARY TACTICS OF COMMUNIST PARTIES UNDER GIVEN CONDITIONS
The main thing now is that the Communists of each country should, in full conscious-ness, study both the fundamental problems of the struggle with opportunism and "Left" doctrinairism, and specific peculiarities which this struggle inevitably assumes in each separate country, according to the idiosyncrasies of its politics, economics, culture, national composition (e.g., Ireland), its colonies, religious divisions, etc. Even y-where is felt an ever-widening and increasing dissatisfaction with the Second (Socialist) International, dissatisfaction due to its opportunism and its incapacity of creating a real leading centre, able to direct the international tactics of the revolutionary proletariat in the struggle for the world Soviet Republic. One must clearly realise that such a leading centre can, under no circumstances, be built after a single model, by a mechanical adjustment and equalisation of the tactical rules of the struggle. The national and State differences, now existing between peoples and countries, will continue to exist for a very long time yet, even after the realisation of the proletarian dictatorship on a world scale. Unity of international tactics in the Communist Labour movement everywhere demands, not the elimination of variety, not the abolition of national peculiarities (this at the present moment is a foolish dream), but such application of the fundamental principles of Communism-Soviet power and the dictatorship of the proletariat-as will admit of the right modification of these principles, in their adaptation and applica-tion to national and national-State differences. The principal problem of the historical moment in which all advanced (and not only the advanced) countries now find them-selves, lies here; that special national peculiarities must be studied, ascertained and grasped before concrete attempts are made in any country to solve the aspects of the single international problem, to overcome opportunism and Left doctrinairism within the working-class movement, to overthrow the bourgeoisie, and to institute a Soviet Republic and proletarian dictatorship....

THE FUNDAMENTAL CONDITIONS FOR THE VICTORY OF THE PROLETARIAN REVOLUTION
The fundamental law of revolution confirmed by all revolutions, and particularly by all three Russian revolutions of the twentieth-century, is as follows: It is not sufficient for the revolution that the exploited and oppressed masses understand the impossibility of living in the old way and demand changes: for the revolution it is necessary that the exploiters should not be able to live and rule as of old. Only when the masses do not want the old regime, and when the rulers are unable to govern them as of old, then only can the revolution succeed. This truth may be expressed in other words, revolution is impossible without an all-national crisis, affecting both the exploited and the exploiters. It follows that for the revolution it is essential, first, that a majority of the workers (or at least a majority of the conscious, thinking, politically active workers) should fully understand the necessity for a revolution, and be ready to sacrifice their lives for it; second, that the ruling class be in a state of governmental crisis which attracts even the most backward masses into politics. It is a sign of every real revolution, this rapid tenfold, or even hundredfold increase in the number of representatives of the toiling and oppressed masses, heretofore apathetic, who are able to carry on a political fight which weakens the government and facilitates its overthrow by the revolutionaries....

PLIABLE REVOLUTIONARY TACTICS-NO RIGHT OR LEFT DOCTRINAIRISM
That which has happened to Kautsky, Otto Bauer and other highly erudite Marxists, devoted to Socialism, and leaders of the Second International, could and ought to serve as a useful lesson. They fully appreciated the necessity of pliable tactics, they learned and taught to others the Marxist dialectics-and much of what they have done in that respect will remain for ever a valuable acquisition to Socialist literature. But in the application of these dialectics they made a great mistake; they showed themselves in practice to be so undialectic, and so incapable of reckoning with the rapid changes of forms and the rapid filling of old forms with new contents, that their fate is not much more enviable than that of Hyndman, Guesde and Plekhanov. The main reason for their bankruptcy was that their eyes were "fastened" upon one fixed form of the growth of the working class movement and of socialism. They forgot all about its one-sided-ness, and were afraid to perceive the sharp break which, by virtue of objective condi-tions, became unavoidable; so they continue to repeat the simple, at first glance, self-evident truth, once learned by rote: "Three are more than two." But politics resembles algebra more than arithmetic, and it is more like higher than lower mathematics. In reality all the old forms of the Socialist movement have been filled with new contents; there appears before the figures, consequently, a new sign, a "minus," and our wiseacres stubbornly continue to persuade themselves and others that "minus three" is more than "minus two!"
Communists must endeavour not to repeat the same mistake; or to speak more precisely the same mistake-committed the other way round by the Left Commu-nists-must be corrected sooner and more quickly in order to get rid of it with less pain to the organism. Not only Right but Left doctrinairism is a mistake. Of course, the mistake of the latter in Communism is at the present moment, a thousand times less dangerous and less significant than the mistake of Right doctrinairism (i.e., Social-Chauvinism and Kautskianism); but, after all, this is due to the fact that Left Commu-nism is quite a young current,) ust coming into being. For this reason the disease under certain conditions can be easily cured, and it is necessary to begin its treatment with the utmost energy.
The old forms have burst; for the contents (antiproletarian and reactionary) ob-tained an inordinate development. We now have, from the standpoint of the develop-ment of international Communism, strong, powerful contents at work for Soviet power and the proletarian dictatorship, and these can and must manifest themselves in any form, new as well as old; the new spirit can and must regenerate, conquer and subjugate all forms, not only the new but the old, not for the purpose of reconciling the new with the old forms, but to enable us to forge all forms, new and old, into a weapon for the final decisive and unswerving victory of Communism.
The Communists must strain every effort to direct the movement of the working class, and the development of society generally, along the straightest and quickest way to the universal victory of Soviet Power and the proletarian dictatorship. This truth is incontestable. But it is enough to take one little step farther-a step it would seem in the same direction-and truth is transformed into error! It is enough to say, as do the German and British "Left" Communists, that we acknowledge only one straight road, that we do not admit manoeuvres, co-operation, compromises-and this will already be a mistake, which is capable of bringing, and, in fact, has brought and is bringing, the most serious harm to Communism. Right doctrinairism has foundered on the recognition of only the old forms, and has become totally bankrupt, not having perceived the new contents. Left doctrinairism unconditionally repudiates certain old forms, failing to see that the new content is breaking its way through all and every form, that it is our duty as Communists to master them all, to learn how to supplement with the maximum rapidity, one form by another, and to adapt our tactics to all such changes, caused not by our class nor by our endeavours.
World revolution has been given a powerful impetus by the horrors, atrocities and villainies of the world imperialist war, and by the hopelessness of the position created by it. This revolution is spreading more widely and deeply with such supreme rapidity, with such splendid richness of varying forms, with such an instructive, practical refuta-tion of all doctrinairism, that there is every hope of a speedy and thorough recov-ery of the international Communist movement from the infantile disorder of "Left" Communism.