V. I. Lenin

Source: ru:PSS/v31;es:MT
Translated: machine translation (DeepSeek) from the Russian; AI-translated.

Comrades, the question of revising the Party Programme stands as follows: the section was given a preliminary draft of changes in the principled part of the Programme and in some of the fundamental points of the political part. The Programme must be revised in its entirety, because its complete obsolescence was pointed out in Party circles long before the war. As a result, it turned out that there is no hope of discussing a draft for changing the entire Programme as a whole. On the other hand, it was recognised by everyone in the section that a revision of the Programme is absolutely necessary, and on a whole series of questions it is possible and necessary to indicate the direction in which this revision should be carried out. We therefore drew up the following draft resolution, which I shall read to you with brief comments. We refrain from presenting precisely formulated theses at the moment, and merely indicate the direction in which the revision should be made.

(Reads the resolution.)

“The Conference recognises the necessity of revising the Party Programme in the following direction:

1) An appraisal of imperialism and the epoch of imperialist wars in connection with the impending socialist revolution; a struggle against the distortion of Marxism by the so-called defencists, who have forgotten Marx’s slogan: ‘The workers have no country.’{153}”

This is so clear that it requires no comment. Indeed, the policy of our Party has advanced far and has practically already taken the position which this formulation proposes.

“2) The correction of the propositions and paragraphs on the state in the spirit of the demand, not for a bourgeois-parliamentary republic, but for a democratic proletarian-peasant republic (i.e., a state of the type without a police force, without a standing army, without a privileged bureaucracy).”

Other formulations of this point were also suggested. One referred to the experience of the Paris Commune and to the experience of the seventies and eighties, but such a formulation is unsatisfactory and too general; another spoke of a republic of Soviets of Workers’, Soldiers’ and Peasants’ Deputies, but this formulation, too, was recognised by the majority of comrades as unsatisfactory. A formulation is necessary, because the point is not what the institution is called, but what the political character and system of these institutions are. In speaking of a proletarian-peasant republic, we indicate its social content and political character.

“3) The removal or correction of obsolete parts of the political programme.”

Our general political activity in the Soviets of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies has already practically followed this path; that is why there can hardly be any doubt that the alteration of the Programme on this point and the precise formulation of the stage at which the revolution has found our Party cannot give rise to disagreements.

“4) The revision of a number of points in the political minimum programme in the sense of a more precise indication of more consistent democratic demands.

5) The complete revision, in very many places, of the obsolete economic part of the minimum programme and of the points relating to public education.”

The main thing is that these points are obsolete: the trade union movement has outstripped them.

“6) The revision of the agrarian programme in conformity with the adopted resolution on the agrarian question.

7) The insertion of a demand for the nationalisation of a number of syndicates most prepared for this, etc.”

A cautious formulation has been chosen here, which may be narrowed or broadened depending on what projects appear in the press.

“8) The addition of a characterisation of the main trends of contemporary socialism.”

Such an addition was made in the *Communist Manifesto*.

“The Conference instructs the Central Committee to draw up, on these bases, a draft of the Party Programme within two months, for submission of this draft for approval by a Party congress. The Conference calls upon all organisations and all members of the Party to discuss the drafts of the Programme, to correct them, and to work out counter-drafts.”

It was pointed out that it would be desirable to create a literature on this question and a scientific organ, but there are no people or funds for this. Such is the resolution which will help towards a speedy revision of the Programme. It will also be sent abroad so that our comrades, the internationalists there, may take part in the revision of the Programme which our Party has undertaken on the basis of the experience of the world war.