One of the most widespread and most painful phenomena in our public life is – a contemptuous (if not outright negative) attitude toward party affiliation.

Political loners, political adventurers, political Manilovs are inclined to renounce party affiliation and speak grandiose words about party "narrowness," "formulaic thinking," intolerance, and so forth. In reality, such words reflect merely the ridiculous and pitiful self-conceit or self-justification of intellectuals who are divorced from the masses and feel the need to cover their weakness. Serious politics can only be conducted by the masses, and a non-party mass that does not follow a strong party is a scattered mass, an unconscious mass, incapable of firmness and turning into the plaything of clever politicians, who always appear "at the right moment" from the ruling classes to exploit "convenient" opportunities.

Russia is one of the most petty bourgeois countries, with the least habit of free political activity. Therefore, and only therefore, is there widespread contempt for party affiliation among us. One of the tasks of the conscious worker in Russia (and one of his great historical merits) – systematic, persistent struggle against this contemptuous attitude.

Here is one of the latest examples of self-satisfied non-partisanship among near-party intellectuals.

Workers broadly organized collections for workers' newspapers. It is not difficult to understand that the masses, if they consciously deliberate on which newspaper should be supported, which direction should be promoted, learn ideological, principled politics through these collections.

The Liquidators, who so often slide into non-party politics, raised a well-known campaign for dividing collections equally. They were guided simply by the desire to cover their weakness, and in their haste did not even manage to think that the basis of such a campaign is precisely the principle of non-partisanship.

Life immediately exposed them. From their slogan, the life of petty bourgeois Russian society made its own slogan: equally divided all around, with Liquidators and with Populists alike!

Exposed in their political adventurism, the non-partisans who had renounced their Marxist past for dreams of something "broader" and equally unprincipled, began to squirm and equivocate. Mr. R. in No. 24 of the Liquidators' newspaper assures us that they are not at all for unity with the Populists and that such unity was allegedly "systematically preached" by the Marxists.

It is difficult to imagine a more crude distortion of truth. If Mr. R. and Company were not non-partisans, if they did not treat the history of the Marxist past in a philistine manner, they would know that it was only thanks to the Marxists (the "Pravdists") that the question of workers' relations to different parties was settled in an entirely official manner more than six years ago.{42} Only the Marxists determined with precision the class foundations of all the major parties in Russia; the Liquidators were never able to do this. Only the Marxists, of all parties in Russia, instead of a chaotic, unprincipled approach ("from case to case") to individual parties, elaborated six years ago a precise answer to the question of the essence of different "tendencies" and the attitude toward them.

The correctness of this answer has been brilliantly confirmed by history since then, in the most irrefutable manner.

In this answer it is stated precisely and clearly that the Populists are petty bourgeois democracy, with whom only "joint actions" against reaction and against liberalism are permissible.

Now Mr. R. and Company, asserting that they are against unity with the Populists, want to wriggle out of it: we are, they say, for equal division of collections between two newspapers with "mass contributions," but against this in collections "among groups of conscious sympathizers"!! (see No. 24 of the "New Workers' Newspaper").

First, life has already proven that from your propaganda for equal division flows a non-party plan. This is a fact. In the same No. 24 we read a resolution from one workers' group: equally with the Populists. As always, our non-partisans or "independents" go in one door and come out another!

Second, can a group of the conscious be called conscious if it does not know how to enlighten the masses? No, gentlemen non-partisans! The conscious will say to the masses: contribute all, unite all, but try meanwhile to understand the direction of different newspapers.

To contribute while saying "equally" – means to be non-party, unconscious, indifferent. To contribute while saying: "for such-and-such a direction" – means to be conscious and consciously participate in common action.

This ABCs, Mr. R. distorts!

In conclusion: Mr. R. and Company of the Liquidators, asserting that they are against unity with the Populists, in fact continue to pursue the line of non-party unity with them, the line of non-partisanship, deeply harmful and inadmissible for workers.

Worker democracy has repeatedly given and must henceforth give decisive rebuff to preaching of non-partisanship, which sows political stupefaction among workers and facilitates all manner of deceptions against them.

"For Truth" No. 3, October 4, 1913
Signed: Kar—ov

Printed according to the text of the newspaper "For Truth"