THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1918. THE MEANING OF BOLSHEVISM.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17504, 21 December 1918, Page 6

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1918. THE MEANING OF BOLSHEVISM.

Among the many additions which the war has made to the English language the word "Bolshevism" is probably the most, significant. Already it has been incorporated into the popular vocabulary, and it is well to inquire into its origin with a view to discovering the exact meaning of the term and the scope of the movement of which it is expressive. Bolshevism is the off-shoot of one of the manv brands of Russian Socialism. The designation dates back to a split which occurred in the Social Democratic Party in 1907. The party then broke into two factions, the Bolshevists, or majoritaires, sometimes styled Maximalists, headed by the notorious Lenin; and the Menshiviki or minoritaires, or Minimalists. The Minimalists held that a revolution in Russia would be dangerous, if not impossible, unless the political and social conditions prevailing in Western Europe were first realised, in that country. The Bolshevists advocated, on the other hand, the extreme course of the immediate overthrow of all existing . institutions, even to the point of absolute anarchy, with the declared and deliberate intention of precipitating a world-rftvolution. The force and character of every new movement are largely determined by the personality of its founder, and the rapid spread of Bolshevism is a tribute to the fanatical sincerity of Lenin, aided by the ability of his colleague, the adventurer Trotsky. In Russia the Bolshevist regime seems still to be in the ascendant; and in Germany the same movement has been introduced by what is known as the Spartacus Party, headed by Herr Liebknecht. Bolshevism has made its appearance in South America; the announcement that its reign in the United States was to start last week, although justly received with ridicule, must still be regarded as an indication of the probability of the extension of the movement to that country ; and Mr Lloyd George has in somewhat exaggerated terms accused the British Labour Party of being " run" by Pacifists and Bolshevists, representatives of whom are certainly prominent in its ranks. Even fn our own dominion are to be found Labour leaders, some in Parliament, who are avowed Bolshevists, and it may hare

boen observed that Mr T. S. Weston, .addressing the annual Conference of the Employors' Federation this week, referred to tho growing inclination on the part of tho would-be popular Labour leader to " preach, if ho did not practise, Bolshevist doctrines." These tendencies and others of a similar character point to the importance of our possessing a dear idea of what Bolshevism means and of what its aims are.

Bolshevism may bo defined as that extreme expression of Socialistic communism which is directed to bringing about a universal revolution and which is reckless of either cost or consequences. Yet, as a writer in the Round Table points out, "in the idea and intention of the leaders, at any rate of Lenin, the Bolshevist regime is a genuine experiment in Socialism." This curious belief in what the march of recent events in Russia reveals as a " bizarre and revolting system" is the factor which constitutes the menace of Bolshevism. That Lenin is no ordinary man may be gathered from tho following description of him:—"Lenin—the inhuman, immoral, petty, intriguing Lenin—coldly and inexorably possessed by his single abnormal idea, regards the world-war and the destruction of Russia as mere incidents in the practical realisation of his theory. He is a remarkable product of the Russian autocracy." This statement covers the truth that Bolshevism in Russia is the heritage of autocracy and that the ruthlessness and recklessness bf the outbreak which Lenin leads is proportioned to the ruthlessness and the recklessness of the old aristocratic regime. One of the prominent principles in the Bolshevist scheme is its abrogation of nationality. All European civilisations, following that of Russia, are to be offered up and destroyed in order that the. world-revo-lution may be realised. One authority explains this by tho assertion that "nearly all the promiment Bolshevists are Jews, a race which has no nationality, and the Russian Jews were inspired by a genuine hatred of Russia, where they had always been oppressed." It is a sound conclusion, supported by ascertained results, that the anarchical principles pf Bolshevism are a danger to nations &nd to humanity, and that, so far from making a contribution to political freedom, they lead to coiTuption and coercion of the very worst type. In an informative work entitled " From Autocracy to Bolshevism" Baron P. Graevenitz writes: "Lenin and Trotsky began by proclaiming tliat they were Socialists of the newest type; but they have since thrown off the mask and have openly declared a class war against the hated bourgeoisie, even going so. far as to admit that they consider that only the poletariat has a right to power, property, or even life. They have raised the ignorant masses against the educated minority by the aid of bribes and promises, while they themselves are powerless to cope with the lawlessness and anarchy which they have spread." Absolutely unscrupulous in its methods and in the use of its weapons, Bolshevism attracts its followers by specious promises, only to victimise them as opportunity affords, and in the end the tyranny of the Bolshevist in Russia has proved more cruel and more crushing than the tyranny of the autocrat. The soldiers were promised immediate peace and relief from the dangers and horrors of war; the peasants were attracted by the pledge of landnationalisation, and the workmen by the promise of factories under labour control. The Boshevisrt doctrine of the uprising of the people against their exploiters spread like wildfire throughout the length arid breadth of Russia and with the most disastrous results. The great social experiment was carried out by armed force, and it has been productive of a continuous civil war, Accompanied by an orgy of plunder and destruction in which the worst instincts of the people have had full play. The consequent chaos and disorder, skilfully fanned by German agency, if not indeed aided by German gold, reduced Russia to the position of a pawn in the ..hands of the intriguers of Berlin. The Nemesis is seen to-day in the spread of Bolshevism within Germany herself. In every country, indeed, may be found a soil in which the seeds of this dangerous doctrine may take ready root, and from slumbering discontent and growing dissatisfaction it is but a step to open revolt. The obvious remedy is to be warned in time and not to wait until the thing has taken actual shape. As in Russia so also in Britain, .America, and other lands, influences are at work which arij. the outcome of class prejudice and class discontent, which originate Bolshevism, and which must, for the security of all sections of the people, bo held in check. As the writer in the Round Table says: " The Russian experiment was actually a practical test of our own civilisation. And as such it is a warning. This warning is coming home to us, and will be brought home to us in a variety of ways. It will be well if it can be appreciated injtellectually. . ... The lessons the Russian people have learned are lessons that we, for our own and the sake of the work before us, need to read without prejudice and with unceasing alertness."