V. I.

Lenin

The comparison sounds like a paradox. Who does not know
that Europe is advanced and Asia backward? But the words taken for this
title contain a bitter truth.

In civilised and advanced Europe, with its highly developed machine
industry, its rich, multiform culture and its constitutions, a point in
history has been reached when the commanding bourgeoisie, fearing the
growth and increasing strength of the proletariat, comes out in support of
every thing backward, moribund and medieval. The bourgeoisie is hying out
its last days, and is joining with all obsolete and obsolescent forces in
an attempt to preserve tottering wage-slavery.

Advanced Europe is commanded by a bourgeoisie which supports everything
that is backward. The Europe of our day is advanced not thanks to,
but in spite of , the bourgeoisie, for it is only the proletariat
that is adding to the million-strong army of fighters for a better
future. It alone preserves and spreads implacable enmity towards
backwardness, savagery, privilege, slavery and the humiliation of man by
man.

In “advanced” Europe, the sole advanced class is the proletariat. As for the living bourgeoisie, it is prepared to go to any
length of savagery, brutality and crime in order to uphold dying capitalist
slavery.

And a more striking example of this decay of the entire
European bourgeoisie can scarcely be cited than the support it is lending
to reaction in Asia in furtherance of the selfish aims of the
financial manipulators and capitalist swindlers.

Everywhere in Asia a mighty democratic movement is growing, spreading
and gaining in strength. The bourgeoisie there is as yet siding with the people against
reaction. Hundreds of millions of people are awakening to life,
light and freedom. What delight this world movement is arousing in the
hearts of all class-conscious workers, who know that the path to
collectivism lies through democracy! What sympathy for young Asia imbues
all honest democrats!

And “advanced” Europe? It is plundering China and helping the foes of
democracy, the foes of freedom in China!

Here is a simple but instructive little calculation. A new Chinese loan
has been concluded against Chinese democracy:
“Europe” is for Y\"uan Shih-kai, who is preparing a military
dictatorship. Why does it support him? Because it is good business. The
loan has been concluded for about 250,000,000 rubles, at the rate of 84 to
a 100. That means that the bourgeois of “Europe” will pay the
Chinese 210,000,000 rubles, but will take from the public 225,000,000
rubles. There you have at one stroke—a clear profit of fifteen million rubles in a few weeks! It really is a “ clear ”
profit, isn’t it?

What if the Chinese people do not recognise the loan? China, after all,
is a republic, and the majority in parliament are against the
loan.

Oh, then “advanced” Europe will raise a cry about “civilisation”,
“order”, “culture” and “fatherland”! It will set the guns in
motion and, in alliance with Y\"uan Shih-kai, that adventurer, traitor and
friend of reaction, crush a republic in “backward” Asia.

All the commanders of Europe, all the European bourgeoisie are in alliance with all the forces of reaction and medievalism in China.

But all young Asia, that is, the hundreds of millions of Asian working
people, has a reliable ally in the proletariat of all civilised
countries. No force on earth can prevent its victory, which will liberate
both the peoples of Europe and the peoples of Asia.

---
Notes: