Solomon Abramovich Lozovsky

“ When we consider closely Lenin's role in the labor movement of the last decades the first question that appears is, whether we Marxians ought not to revise our theory regarding the role of single individuals in history. For is it not a fact that Lenin has been a living illustration of the theory of the heroes and the masses and did he not, by the activities of his life, disprove the correctness of the materialist conception of history? We must consider this problem at the very outset in order to relieve ourselves of any false idealistic conceptions that we might entertain. ”

“ He knew how to unite around himself large masses of human beings, to draw them into a mass movement, and to lead them into struggles. He always stood at the central point of the class struggle. He was charged with energy, with faith, with absolute conviction, transmitting all this not only to those who stood close to him but also to hundreds of thousands and to millions. The international reformists speak of Lenin as the destroyer of socialism, a sectarian, an intolerant spirit, and so forth. Yes, we will admit that Lenin was the destroyer of bourgeois and petty-bourgeois parties. ”

“ If one's understanding of the most deeply buried feelings of the masses is any test of one's love for them, then who in Russia's history has surpassed Lenin in such understanding? And if one's sympathy for the sufferings of the masses, sympathy of the purest kind, of a most intense and burning nature, is any sign of one's love and devotion to the masses, then who in the life of Russia is greater in this respect than Lenin? ”

“ His tactics were always elastic, which enabled him to utilize even the slightest mistake of his opponent in order to drive a wedge into the ranks of the enemy. He never shunned responsibility, especially in decisive moments of struggle. He always knew what he wanted. The most characteristic feature of the political and moral physiognomy of Lenin, this gigantic concentration of the will of the proletariat, were his extraordinary will power and his all-inclusive spirit. ”

“ His marvelous knowledge of economics and the social sciences generally, his great analytical mind, his almost superhuman sense for detecting the deep, quiet processes that are constantly taking place within the broad masses, his flexibility of mind, his burning hatred of capitalist oppression and his iron determination to fight the bloody thing to a finish—all these qualities of Lenin take living shape under the pen of Lozovsky, who has succeeded in presenting us with a most illuminating picture of the great Strategian of the Class Struggle. ”

“ The interests of proletarian solidarity, and consequently of the proletarian class struggle, demand that we consider the national question not merely in a formal way. We must take into consideration the difference of conception and ideas between the great nation and the small nation. Nothing is so detrimental to the development and consolidation of proletarian solidarity as a sense of national injustice. Nothing calls forth such bitter reactions from the national minorities as the sense of being oppressed by our own proletarian comrades. ”

“ He had been writing and saying: "The peasantry will support either the bourgeoisie or the proletariat. The peasantry stands to gain from the proletariat much more than from the bourgeoisie. Particularly if we pursue such a policy as to disabuse the peasantry of its prejudices against the dictatorship of the proletariat." Hence his slogan: "An alliance between the proletariat and the peasantry," and the policy of winning the masses of the villages for the support of the political and economic policies of the working class. ”

“ In moments of decision the least failure to adopt energetic measures results in the working class paying with thousands of lives. Such indecision enables the enemy to collect its forces and to assume the offensive. In the whole of Lenin's activities the following passes like a red thread: Initiative, determination, ruthlessness, the pursuit of the enemy until he is destroyed, quick action and the concentration of the proletarian forces at the weakest spot of the enemy's front. ”

“ A party which does not prepare for the revolution must be considered a discussion club rather than the leader of a revolutionary class. No matter how difficult this problem is, yet all the progressive forces of the working class must be organized in order to solve this problem. Thus we see that for Lenin the revolution was always a concrete problem of the day which at times comes close to us and again moves back into the distance, depending upon the situation and the correlation of forces, but always remains the acute problem of the labor movement. ”

“ A SOBER estimate of his own and his enemies' forces was always the starting point for Lenin's political activity. Only he can be termed a real statesman who is able fearlessly to look reality in the face, who coolly estimates the forces of the opposing class, who is not dealing in mere phrases and who is able mercilessly to expose and criticize the weak sides of his own class and his own organization. ”

“ He who wants the revolution must systematically prepare for it the broad masses, who will, in the process of preparation, create the necessary organs of the struggle.
The Mensheviks were fond of ridiculing the idea of technical preparations for an armed insurrection. According to their conception the center of gravity would lie in the sphere of propaganda, of arming the minds of the workers. To this Lenin's reply was: "He who refuses technically to prepare for the insurrection ultimately rejects the insurrection itself, and transforms the program of the revolution into an empty phrase." ”

“ By the abolition of classes and the class struggle, the State will disappear, but as a result of many years of historical development and not as a result of one single act, as in the conception of the Anarchists. To bring about the situation where there are no classes in society, is possible only by means of a firm dictatorship of the working class, because it is only by means of such a dictatorship that we can break the resistance of the classes that are opposed to the proletariat. ”

“ Lenin looked upon the Communist International not as a meeting place of all kinds of independent national parties, but as an absolutely homogeneous international fighting organization. However, he always had regard for the situations of the various countries, and never presented exaggerated demands to the newly-formed Communist organizations, for he knew only too well how much effort it would require to educate politically and organizationally and to put on the right track all those new Communist Parties which had just emerged from the ranks of the Social Democracy. ”

“ To establish the principle of formal equality will not suffice. Only thru our deeds, thru the actual concessions that we make to other nationalities, which will wipe out their memories of former oppression by the old ruling classes, can we establish the necessary self-confidence. I believe that a Bolshevist or a Communist needs no further explanations. A true proletarian policy would demand of us in this sphere of activity, to be particularly careful and conciliatory, and in this given instance it would be much better to yield too much than too little to the national minorities. ”

“ Such tactics he designates as: "Unpardonable stupidity which is equivalent to offering the greatest service to the bourgeoisie." He says: "We must work wherever the masses are, criticize mercilessly the labor aristocracy which is dominated by reformism, narrow craft egotism, and the ideas of bourgeois imperialism." Lenin would emphasize time and again that without the trade unions the Soviet Government could not have maintained itself in power for more than two weeks. The trade unions are the connecting link between the masses and the proletarian vanguard. ”

“ The "realists" among the Social-Revolutionists and Mensheviks have simply missed the importance of the great change that has taken place in human life. They have even failed to notice that the masses have turned their backs on them. Lenin was the greatest statesman of our age. He has proven this standing at the helm of the greatest state in the world, by the exceptional flexibility of the Russian Communist Party, whose leader and creator he was. ”

“ He also knew as no body else did how to organize the masses lead them into struggle, always in accordance with the fundamental principle of strategy which is, that the offensive is the best defensive. Lenin never permitted the initiative to slip out of his hands. He knew that the moment the enemy seizes the initiative our battle is lost. He was always striving towards determining results, even if they were small. He pursued our class enemies to the point of their complete destruction. ”

“ When in trouble, go back to Lenin. When in doubt, consult Lenin. This should become the maxim of every worker and poor farmer in the United States. For there is no surer guide to what the oppressed masses must do to protect themselves against the conspiracies of the capitalists than the teachings and directions of Leninism. ”

“ The party leads the masses only inasmuch as it is organically united with the working class reacting to its everyday life. Without a party the working class cannot make a single step. Without a party the revolution is an empty phrase.
Theoretically this truth was recognized even by Lenin's predecessors, but it was he alone who understood how to translate into practice these theoretical propositions. The history of the Russian Social-Democracy and of the Russian Communist Party is organically bound up with the activities of Lenin. ”

“ Lenin's name will live in the world as long as toiling masses struggle against exploitation, and as long as oppressed nations and persecuted races tread the path of revolt against their masters in a fight for freedom and human equality. The motive that produced this little book is much more immediate, direct and practical than a mere wish to perpetuate the memory of a great leader. ”

“ Again the workers of the United States will be called upon by their masters to come to the defense of the honor, greatness and even freedom of America. The capitalist press of the country, these giant factories for the production of sham and camouflage to dope the working masses, will again start out on a systematic campaign to befog and befuddle the minds of the masses into the belief that "their" country is in danger of being attacked by a foreign enemy. ”

“ Together with many others he joined the labor movement, but while the others were merely passersby, utilizing it for their own purpose, Lenin remained and led the movement until his very end.
Lenin understood from the very outset the power of the new class. In his very first writings he discusses this matter and says: "The working class is the bearer of the revolution." The working class stands in the foreground and everything which hampers its development, which demoralizes its ranks, which stands in the way of its historical development, must be destroyed and removed. ”

“ Lenin was a dialectician in politics. That is, he knew how to attack, when necessary to retreat, always according to plan, to change directions, and when the situation became favorable again, to reassume the offensive, never for a second losing sight of his final aims. During the thirty years of his activities Lenin showed how changes of orientation could be effected without the Party or the class whom he represented breaking their necks, but on the contrary strengthening their fighting ability and organization. ”

“ History develops by curves and as the class struggle develops in intensity these individuals appear in the foreground and assume their greatest importance at a time when the social antagonisms reach their highest point.
Human history knows of many examples of gifted statesmen, thinkers, politicians and diplomats. But all of them up till now have been representatives of the feudal and capitalist classes. Only in the 19th century when the proletariat came to feel itself as a class do we find the reflection of its interests in the genius, Marx. Lenin is the direct successor of Marx. ”

“ The oppressed millions have gotten a very clear conception of the significance of what Lenin was doing, while the materialistic conception of history, the theory of the socialization of production, could be understood by a limited number of people. But the expropriation of land, factories, and banks, the abolition of exploitation, the annulment of debts—such propaganda by action appealed to and was understood by the widest sections of the working class. ”

“ Although Lenin knew quite well that revolutions are not made to order, that the success of a revolution demands certain deep-going historical changes, nevertheless he insisted that the problem of the revolution is not only political but also the technical organization of the revolutionary class. ”

“ Just as Marx was manoeuvring with the general factors of economic life, so was Lenin maoeuvring with the concrete forces of the class struggle. In the colorful kaleidoscope of social relations and from the complexities of the everyday events of modern life he always managed to hit upon the fundamental and most important tendencies. ”

“ Lenin was the founder of a great party, the Communist Party of Russia. He was the leader of the first successful proletarian revolution. He was for over six years the head of the first Workers' and Peasants' Government in the world. He was also the founder and recognized leader of the Communist International. For us, working class militants in the cause of labor, there is a world to learn from the experiences of Lenin as to how to educate, organize and arouse the masses to action against their capitalist exploiters. ”

“ LENIN conceived of the revolution as of something that was moving right upon us, and not as something lying in the far-off distance. Because of this he never tired of insisting that we must prepare ourselves daily for the revolution, even politically and technically. The political preparations consisted in training the masses for action thru everyday struggle. Lenin used to say: "The most important thing is to bring the masses in motion, thereby enabling them to accumulate experiences within a short period of time." The revolution confronts us directly with the problem of armed insurrection. ”