thus would serve to compensate Germany for the colonies
lost in South Africa.

A question presents itself at once whether the Allied Powers are
better. And it must be answered instantly that neither would they
establish in Russia any Socialist society. Yet the democratic
traditions of these countries are some surety that the social
order established by them will be a democratic one. It is clear as
day that the policy of the Allied Powers is also imperialistic,
but the geographical and economic position of these countries is
such that even their own interests demand that Russia should be
able to develop somewhat freely. The problem has finally evolved
into such a state of affairs where Russia must rely on the help
either of the Allies or Germany; we must choose, as the saying
goes, "between two evils," and, things being as badly mixed as
they are, the lesser evil must be chosen frankly and openly. It
does not seem possible to get anywhere by dodging the issue.
Russia perhaps would have saved herself some time ago from this
unfortunate situation if she had understood immediately after the
February Revolution the necessity of a union between the more
democratic elements. Bolshevism undoubtedly has brought Russia a
big step toward her misfortune, from which she cannot extricate
herself on her own accord.

Thus there exists no more any purely Socialist army, and all the
fighting forces and all those who have taken to arms are fighting
for the interests of the one or the other group of the Great
Powers. The question therefore finally is only this--in the
interests of which group one wants to fight. The revolutionary
struggles in Russia and in Finland, to my mind, have clearly
established that a Socialist society cannot be brought about by
the force of arms and cannot be supported by the force of arms,
but that a Socialist order must be founded on a conscious and
living will by an overwhelming majority of the nations, which is
able to realize its will without the help of arms.

But now that the nations of the world have actually been thrown
into an armed conflict, and the war, which in itself is the
greatest crime of the world, still is raging, we must stand it. We
must, however, destroy the originator and the cause of the war,
the militarism, by its own arms, and on its ruins