TYOVlENUIKKEEN KIRJASTO
L. a gue rre russo-ja pon a ise
ConsidiTallf que la gUeTTe russo'.illponaise est Iivrie pllT les couvernemellfs capifalistes des deux IlalicllS et que commc cOIlsi·
qutllce clle ameJle bcaucoup de soufJTallces poUT la ,lasse ouvTieTe du Japan It de la RU$Sic, nOlls demal/dons, nous I'Association socialisfe du Japon, allx mClllbrrs till Congres InterllatiOllal qui se rtUl/ira
a
AmsteTdam daus le mM! d'a()lit pTochain; de voteT ulle ,.isolution, tians le bllt de Its pOIIsser a fnire des dimMc/us aupris dt lmrs gouvernemenfs nspecfijs, pour meltre fill, nu$St"fot que Possible, It la glltrTe russ01"afonaise.(Associatitm socinlisfe japonaise.)
.3 Inter-national Congress of Amsterdam:
-» The Congress condemns to the fullest extent pos-sible the e8"olts of the revisionnists, which have for their object the modification of our tried and victorious policy based on the class war and the substitution, for the conquest of political power by an unceasing attack on the bourgeoisie, of a policy of concession to the established order of society.
u The consequence of such revisionist tactics would be to turn a party striving for the most speedy trans-formation possible of bourgeois society into Socialist society - a party therefole revolutionnary in the best sense of the word - into a party satisfied with the J;efolm of bourgeois society.
For this reason, the Congress, convinced,
« The Congress _ acties upon the Socialist Par-liamentary Group to use its power, increased 3S it is by the number of its members and the great accession of election who back it, to persevere in its propaganda towards the first objet of Socialism, and, in conf''lrmity with our programme, to dt-fe •• d most resolutely the interests 01 the-working class, the E'xtension and conso-lidation of political liberties in order to obtain equal
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44-rights for all; to carry on more vigorously than ever the fight against militarism, against the imperia!ist and colonial policy, against injustice, domination and exploitation of every kind, and finally to exert itself to the utmost to pt'rfect social legislation and to enable the working class to fulfit its polltical and civilising mission;
D in opposition to revisionist tendencies, that class antagonisms far from diminishing continually increase in bitterness, declares:
-• I. That the Party rejects all responsibility of any sort under the political and economic conditions based on capitalist production, and therefore can in no }Vise countenance any measure tending to maintain in power the dominant class.
~ 2. That Social Democlacy can accept no partici-pation in the government under bourgeois S9ciety, this decision being in accordance with the Kautsky reso -lution passed at the International Congress of Paris in 1900.
» The Congress farther condemns every attempt to mask the ever growing class antagonisms, in order to bring about an understanding with bourgeois partif!s.
4'
-Colonial Politics
(Holllllltl)
The International Socialist Congress at Amsterdam declares that the Social Democrats ale obliged to define their position with regard to colonial policy for the following reasons:
IS!. The historical dc\'ciopment has given to several countries colonies which are economically closely connected with the mother-country; politically they have been deprived of self-government, and having grown unaccus~omed to it, could not well be left to themselves welC it only with a view to international relations.
:2"d, Modern capitalism forces the civilised countries
to continual expansion of territory in order to fllld new markets for their products and new areas for the investment of their capitals. This policy of conquest, often accompanied by pillage and crime, having no other aim but that of ministC'ring to the capitalist's insatiable thirst for geld, and leading the nations into continually increasing military expenditure, must be made war inc{'ssantly. It is this policy which leads the nations on the road to protectionism and chauvinism. It is a continual incitement to international conflicts in all parts of-the world, while at the same time it aggra-vates the enormous burden of the proletariat and retards their emancipation.
STd. The new wants which will make themselves felt after the "iclory of the workers and from the moment of their enfranchisement, will render the possession of
r...---colonies still necessary even under the socialist govern·
ment of the future. The modern countries could not dispense with regions producing certain raw materials and tropical products, indispensable for indushy and the necessities of life. This state of things would last until such necessaries could be procured by the unforced exchange of the products of modern industry for the productions of tropical countries and indigenous labour, The Social DcmocraticParty bases its political action upon the economical development of society and upon the c1assstruggle and in conformity with its principles, its tendencies and its aim, it condemns rigorously any f'xpioitations and oppression of either individuals, classes or nations.
The Party therefore declares its principles in regard to colonial policy to be as follows:
As capitalism is an inevitable stage of the economical evolution which the colonies also have to go through, it will be found necessary to permi't the development of industrilll capitalism even, when sacrifying - if need be - the ancient forms of property (communal or feudal).
But at the same time Social Democracy must oppose with all his power the demoralising influence of this capitalistic development on the colonial proletariat; and this must be done all the more, because it is not to expected that the native proletariat will be able to do much on its own behalf. Both with a view to the amelioration of the condition of the workers and in order to prevent all the advantages <lnd profits of being exported out of the colonies and impoverishing them, it will be found useful or necessary that the State should
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47-organise and-undertake such industrie1i as may be con-sidered desirable, side by side with private organisation.
This will also be found instrumental both for hasten-ing the process of the capitalistic development and for raising the social condition of the native worker.
Tt will therefore be one of the duties of Social Democracy to promote the industrial and political organisation of the proletariat in all the colonies wherever opportunity arises, to strengthen its power of resistance in its struggle against capitalism, and by raising wages obviate the danger which for the older capitalist countries would lie in the unbridled compe·
tition of cheap labour among these primitive peoples.
To educate the nallves for democratic self-govern-ment should be the principal aim of our colonial policy, the details of which should be laid down in a national programme for each colonial group according to its particular needs.
In view of these considerations the International Congress at Amsterdam is of opinion that it is the duty of the socialist pa~ties in all countries:
l't. To wage war with all the powers at their corn·
mand against the policy of capitalistic conquest;
2nd , To formulale in a programme the measures to be
fol!owe-d in the soda1i5t colonial policy, founded on_the principles contained in this resolution.
Colonial Policy -(EIIgJalld alld India)
That this meeting of the delegates of the workers of the civilised world having heard from the representa.
th'es both of England and of India how British rule, by unceasingly and ever increasingly plundering and draining away the resources of the people deliberately causes extreme impoverishment, and creates famines, plagues and starvation on an ever increasing scale for upwards of :200,000,000 of people in British territory in India, calls upon the workers of Great Britain to enforce upon their government the abandonment of the present nefarious and dishonorable system, and the establishment of self-government in the best form practicable by the Indians themselves (under British paramountry).
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49-Enilgratlon and Immigration (Argtllti1/e)
The Congress declares that II propagandll is abso·
lutely necessary in order to check the emigration artificially fostered by the governments for the benefit of the capitalist class, and to the disadvantage of the working class, which is misled by false information as to a prospeJity which does not exist.
The Congress declares that it is useful that Par·
lian1entll.ry repr~sentatives of the Party should endea·
vour to reform legislation so, that naturalised citizens in the immigration coutries can choose that citizenship which they prefer on returning to their native country.
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Declares: a) that the prime neces!lity for a successful strike on a large scale is a strong organisation and a self-imposed discipline of the working class;
iI) that the absolute I general strike " in the sense, that all workers shall at a given mom('nt.Jay down their work, would defeat its own object, because it would r{'nder all exisfence, including that of the proletariat, impossible j
and c) that the emancipation of the working class cannot be the result of any such sudden exertion of force, although on the other hand, it is quite possible that a strike which spreads o"er a lew economicallly important concerns, or over a large number of branches of tradt', may be a mf'ans of bringing about important social changes, or of opposing reactionary designs on the rights of the workers;
(II/{' the' efore warns the workers not to allow themselves
to blil taken in tow by the anarchists, with their
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-aud taIls Upoll the workers to build up their unity and power in the" class-struggle by perfecting their organi-sation, because, if the strike should appear at any time useful or necessary for the attainment of some political object, its success will entirely depend on that.
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General Strike (P. O. S. R. Frall,e)
Wherea5 it is shown b1 an impartial investigation of political and economic facts which of late years haye brought the proletariat of different countries into conflict with the various forms of capitalist exploitation;
That different nationalities in their respective Socia·
list organisations, have been led t.o use the weapon of the General Strike as the most effective means for assuring the triumph of working. class demands, as also to uphold the defence of public liberties;
Whereas, these cases are evidence how in all acute crises the instinct of the working class turns as it were spontaneously towards the General Strike, which it regards as one of the most powerful and accessible methods at its disposition.
The Parti Ouvrier Socialistc Revolutionnaire invites the Internalional Congress of Amsterdam to suggest to all nations represented at the Congress, a systematic study of a rational and methodical olganisation of the International General Strike, which without being the only means of revolution, constitutes a weapon of emancipation, that no class·conscious Socialist has the right to misconceive or belittle.
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-Working-Class Insurance (Germal/y)
\Vhereas the workers in capitalist society are paid wages which barely suffice to meet the pression needs of life while they are at work, that they are doomed to poverty and misery when they are preYented from making\llse of their power of labour either by illness, accident, inability, old age or glut, and in the case of women by reason of pregnancy or maternity;
Whereas further every man has the right of existence, and society has an evident interest in sustaining the forces of labour, institutions should be set on foot having for their object the lemoval of misery for the workers and the avoidance of damage to the labourfng forces so caused.
This result cannot be better reached in a capitalist society than by laws establishing an effectiYe system of insurance for the workers.
The workers of all countries ought therefore to demand insurance laws by the aid of which they gain the right to sufficient means of life and help dllliog the period when it is impossible for them to avail them·
selves of their labour-power in consequence of illness, accident, incapacity, old age, pregnancy, maternity or glut.
The workers ought to demand that their insurance establishments should be under the administration of the insured themselves, and that the same condition should be given to the workers of the country and to the strangers of all nations (who may be working in the country where the im;urancc is gmnted).
Protection and Free Trade (bldtptlldtnl LaboUT POTty, Eug/alld)
That in view of the policy of the capitalist classes and the imperialist governments to divide the workers of the world from each other by tariff walls, and to protect the economic interests of the landlords, the richer classes and the monopolists by imposing import duties upon the workers' food and br creating market conditions under which husts en kartels can derive e?;:orbitant profit from the home consumers, this Con-gress, representing the wage earners of all nations,
decla~es that protection does not benefit the wage earner and that it is a barrier to international disarmament alld peace.
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55-Militarism
(IlIdtpmdmt Labollr Party of England)
That this International Congress views with grave alarm the increase in the military burdens borne by the .civilized nations of the world. declarf!S in favour of action being taken, so far as possible simultaneously and uniformly, by the Socialist and Labour groups in -their respective Parliaments in favour of demanding that all international disputes should be referred to arbitration, and that
an
armaments, military or naval,~hould be reduced with a view to their ultimate extinction, ami instructs the International Bureau to take such action as may be necessary for giving effect to this resolution.
I
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56-ClericaUsm and the Schools (Soiial Democratic Federation. Engllll/d)
In view of the redoubled and largely successful efforts that Clericalism has of late been making in various countries to obtain or extend its control over the schools of the people, the Congress declares that Clerical ism has been, and always will be, the enemy of enlighten-ment, culture and intellectual freedom, and that the encouragement giYen to it by the various bourgeois parties in the domain of education constitutes a direct infringement of the elementary right of eyel)' individual to complete freedom of conscience, and is dictated by the de-sire to stiflle the growth of emancipated thought in the mind of the youthful proletarian.
Without wishing to confuse the issue as to who is the chief enemy of the proletar~at, or to di rect socialist effort in onc channel to neglect of others, the Congress calls upon the socialist parties of the different countries to combat clerical ,influence in the schools, and to work unremittingly and without compromise for secular education, in the con~ciousn{'ss that in this, as in all other cases, the class interests of the proletariat and the ideals of freedom and culture are identical.
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57-Trade-Unionism and Politics (Fabian Society. England)
That this Congress notes with satisfaction the grow-ing disposition on the part of trade unionists to co·operate with socialists in current politics, and decla-res its utmost friendliness towards all working-class organisations. Bnt since reactionary trade union candi-dates have in certain cases been chosen, it urges upon all national and local socialist bodies the importance of maintaining their distinctively socialist policy and keeping intact their special socialist organisation.
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58-Housing of the People
(WorRmen's Natinoal HlJUsing Council. - Great Bd/alii and Ireland)
That this Congress, recognising the importance of the workers being decently and comfortably housed, hereby encourages and urges the labour and socialist organisations of every land to force their local admi·
nistrations to use such power as they already possess to .ensure this by the public provision of houses at rents, which shall represent the cost of construction and maintenance only j and to demand legislation for the improvem'!nt of such powers or for their enactment where they do not already exist.