tion
must be preceded by a political revolution, that much preparatory
work was necessary, and that attention should be directed first to the
industrial proletariat as the most intelligent section of the masses.
On the other hand they maintained that it was a mistake to confine the
revolutionary activity to the working classes of the towns, who were
not strong enough to overturn the Autocratic Power. The agitation ought,
therefore, to be extended to the peasantry, who were quite "developed"
enough to understand at least the idea of land-nationalisation; and for
the carrying out of this part of the programme a special organisation
was created.

With so many opinions in common, it seemed at one moment as if the
Social Democrats and the Socialist-Revolutionaries might unite their
forces for a combined attack on the Government; but apart from the
mutual jealousy and hatred which so often characterise revolutionary as
well as religious sects, they were prevented from coalescing, or even
cordially co-operating, by profound differences both in doctrine and in
method.

The Social Democrats are essentially doctrinaires. Thorough-going
disciples of Karl Marx, they believed in what they consider the
immutable laws of social progress, according to which the Socialistic
ideal can be reached only through capitalism; and the intermediate
political revolution, which is to substitute the will of the people
for the Autocratic Power, must be effected by the conversion and
organisation of the industrial proletariat. With the spiritual pride of
men who feel themselves to be the incarnations or avatars of immutable
law, they are inclined to look down with something very like contempt on
mere empirics who are ignorant of scientific principles and are guided
by considerations of practical expediency. The Social-Revolutionaries
seem to them to be empirics of this kind because they reject the tenets,
or at least deny the infallibility, of the Marx school, cling to the
idea of partially resisting the overwhelming influence of capitalism in
Russia, hope that the peasantry will play at least a secondary part in
bringing about the political revolution, and are profoundly convinced
that the advent of political liberty may be greatly accelerated by
the use of terrorism. On this last point they stated their views very
frankly in a pamphlet which they published in 1902 under the title of
"Our Task" (Nasha Zadatcha). It is there said:

"One of the