V. I. Lenin

Source: ru:PSS/v44;es:MT
Translated: machine translation (DeepSeek) from the Russian; AI-translated.

LETTER TO THE MEMBERS OF THE POLITICAL BUREAU OF THE R.C.P.(B.) CENTRAL COMMITTEE WITH REMARKS ON THE DRAFT RESOLUTION OF THE FIRST ENLARGED PLENUM OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE COMINTERN ON PARTICIPATION IN THE CONFERENCE OF THE THREE INTERNATIONALS
Comrade Molotov (for the members of the Political Bureau)
I propose to make the following changes in the draft resolution sent by Zinoviev on the question of the Comintern’s participation in the projected conference of all the workers’ parties of the world. After the words: “unity of action of the working masses, which can be achieved immediately, despite fundamental political differences”, delete the following phrases up to the words: “that the working masses demand unity of action”. Remodel the sentence beginning with these last words as follows: “the class-conscious workers, while fully understanding these political differences, nevertheless, together with the vast majority of the workers, want and demand unity of action on the most urgent practical questions that are closest to the workers’ interests. No honest person can now doubt this”, etc.
The second change I propose is to alter and supplement the sentence beginning with the words: “removing all controversial questions from the agenda and singling out the indisputable ones” as follows: “and postponing for a certain time the most controversial and singling out the least controversial, both sides, or rather all three international associations participating in the conference, will, of course, count on the ultimate victory of their views”.
The most important change I propose is to delete the paragraph which calls the leaders of the Second and Two-and-a-Half Internationals accomplices of the world bourgeoisie. That is like using the word “gander”. It is utterly unreasonable to risk wrecking a practical matter of enormous importance for the sake of the pleasure of abusing the scoundrels once more, whom we abuse and will abuse a thousand times elsewhere. If there are still people at the session of the Enlarged Executive who have not understood that the united front tactic will help us to overthrow the leaders of the Second and Two-and-a-Half Internationals, then these people need an additional number of popular lectures and talks. It may be necessary to write a specially popular pamphlet for them and publish it, for example, in French, if the French have not yet assimilated Marxist tactics. Finally, it is better to adopt the present resolution not unanimously but by a majority vote (we shall later subject those who voted against to special, detailed and popular instruction in common sense) than to risk spoiling an important practical matter for the sake of a few political infants who will be cured of their infantile disorder tomorrow.
Lenin
Dictated by telephone
February 23, 1922