London, 4 April 1885 

Dear Bebel, 

Since you happen to be at home now and I, too, am granting my- 
self a bit of a holiday, I shall take advantage of the opportunity to re- 
mind you of my existence. 

So those gentlemen who form the majority of the parliamentary 
group are intent on setting themselves up as a ‘power’ to judge by 
their statement in today’s Sozialdemokrat.37* The endeavour as such 
is feeble, and is basically an admission of their own ineptitude. “We 
are,’ they say, ‘annoyed by the paper’s attitude; it conflicts with ours, 
we are to be held responsible for an opinion that is the opposite of our 
own, and we really don’t know what to do about it. Are we not to be 
pitied?’ But it is their first step towards the establishment of the petty 

bourgeoisie as the dominant, official element in the party, and the re- 
legation of the proletariat to the status of one that is barely tolerated. 
How far along this road they will dare to travel remains to be seen. If 
they gain control of the Sozialdemokrat, it will no longer be possible 
for me to vindicate the party abroad through thick and thin as single- 
mindedly as I have always done. And their committee of inquiry 
would seem to betray a certain desire to take over the organ. Come to 
that, their main grievance would seem to lie in having been com- 
pelled in the end to vote against the Steamship Bill upon which they 
had set their hearts. 

For the rest, things in general are going very well. The year 1885 
has got off to an excellent start. In France, Ferry topples, colonial pol- 
icy, dictated by stock-market speculators, collapses, *’? new elections 
in the offing consequent upon new electoral legislation. 7° In Paris, 
what’s more, a state of ferment, provoked by the rapacity and ineffi- 
ciency of the ruling middle class and exacerbated by the infamies of 
the police (everything they do, however base, is condoned, provided 
they keep the masses at bay); we can only hope that things won’t 
come to a head there in the form of attempted coups. If they take 
a peaceful course, radicalism —i.e. Clemenceau— is bound to come 
to the helm before very long. Should he come to power peacefully and 
not as the result of rioting, and thus be compelled to keep his promises 
and put his radical panacée into practice, the Parisian workers will 
quickly be cured of their belief in radicalism. In addition, there will 
be the new elections consequent upon the new electoral legislation, 
and thus stagnation will again give way to activity. 

In England, with her thoroughly effete government, *7° there will 
also be new elections consequent upon the new electoral legisla- 
tion. 79° And in Germany, a change of monarch that may occur any 
day now and which, in a country as chockful of traditions as Prussia- 
Germany, always ushers in a new period of activity; in short, things 
will begin to liven up everywhere, and this on the economic basis of 
universal and incurable overproduction, a state of affairs that is 
gradually leading up to an acute crisis. 

Kautsky has just arrived with a long letter from Ede about his con- 
flict with the parliamentary group. I have told Kautsky that in my 
view it was in fact Ede’s duty to let the party at large have their say in 
the paper, and that the parliamentary group has no right to prevent 
this. If he adopts this standpoint, the group won’t be able to touch 

him. Secondly, he mustn’t let the group press him into posing the 
cardinal question; to be rid of him is exactly what the chaps are after, 
and he could do them no greater service. In the third place, he should 
not take upon himself responsibility for other people’s articles unless 
he reserves the right to name them. You know whom I mean and who 
it was that wrote most of the articles about the steamship affair — the 
ones that so enraged the majority and for which Ede appears to have 
assumed responsibility. 777 After all, he has long had to do battle with 
the petty-bourgeois lot; now the struggle has simply assumed a differ- 
ent form, but the cause is still the same and, like you, I think it im- 
probable that these gentlemen will take things to extremes, much 
though they would like to exploit the position the Anti-Socialist 
Law 3? affords them, namely immunity to official and genuine oppo- 
sition or criticism on the part of their voters. 

The matter would, in my view, take a smoother course were the So- 
zialdemokrat to discard the official character that has been attached 
to it. Though not undesirable at one time, this no longer serves any 
purpose. Whether and how such a thing can be done, you will know 
better than I. 

25 sheets (out of 38) of Capital, Book II have been printed. 
Book III is in hand. It is quite extraordinarily brilliant. This com- 
plete reversal of all previous economics is truly astounding. Our the- 
ory is thereby provided for the first time with an unassailable basis 
while we ourselves are enabled to hold our own successfully against 
all comers. Directly it appears, the philistines in the party will again 
be dealt a blow that will give them something to think about. For it 
will again bring general economic questions to the forefront of the 
controversy. 

Time for the post. Unless I send this off, it won’t leave till Monday 
and, perhaps, no longer find you at home. My warm regards, then, 
and mind you keep well and look after yourself; we don’t just need 
a Bebel, but a Bebel sound in wind and limb. 

a 

Your 
FE,