| Author(s) | Friedrich Engels |
|---|---|
| Written | 13 September 1882 |
ENGELS TO EDUARD BERNSTEIN
IN ZURICH
London, 13 September 1882
Dear Mr Bernstein,
Nothing came of working at the seaside resort of Yarmouth —
5 people in one room, including my niece[2] and her 4-month-old baby, made it impossible to do anything, and work was dissipated in pleasure and the consumption of excellent Pilsener beer. But tomor- row I go into action, and there'll be no respite until the pamphlet is finished.
Your suggestion re a preface on Bismarckian socialism is quite all right so far as it goes, and up to a point accords with what I myself want. But this stuff could not be dealt with in a preface; it would make it far too long. Besides, I could do with more material on acci- dent insurance, etc., especially the proposed legislation, without which I cannot manage.
I have been turning the matter over in my mind for a long time, and I can well see that something ought to be written about it. I now propose to write (for the Sozialdemokrat) a series of articles (each of which would constitute an independent whole) on the kind of bogus socialism now proliferating in Germany — a series which could subse- quently be published in pamphlet form.[3] First part: Bismarckian socialism. 1. Protective tariffs. 2. Nationalisation of railways. 3. To- bacco monopoly. 4. Workmen's insurance. But for this I should have to have:
ad[4] 2, a stock-exchange list giving the prices of the recently national- ised railways (Berg. Mark., Berlin-Görlitz, Berlin-Stettin, Märkisch- Posen) shortly before nationalisation and, wherever possible, the price paid by the state for these railways;
ad 4, the Bill as submitted to the Reichstag by Bismarck. If you can procure these things for me, I shall have sufficient mate- rial.
To this, I would, however, append a second part in which I would criticise a number of woolly ideas enfranchised by Lassalle and still echoed now and again by our people — e. g. the 'iron law of wages',[5]
'the full return to the labourer' (not labourers) 'for work performed', etc. To make a clean sweep here is even more necessary than it would be in respect of the first part, and if this annoys some of those Lassallean 'leaders' who have unfortunately come to be accepted,[6]
so much the better. Hence I do in fact regard the second part as the more important one.
On the other hand, there's no knowing whether it mightn't just suit the book of certain persons if St Ferdinand[7] were to be subjected to this kind of unbiassed criticism. It might be said, should anything of the sort appear in the party organ, that it was an attempt to provoke a split in the party and a breach of the long-standing compact with the Lassalleans. In which case the whole thing might be brought out in pamphlet form as soon as it was finished, without prior publication in the Sozialdemokrat.
So either the whole thing appears in the Sozialdemokrat, and subse- quently as a pamphlet,
or it appears straight away as a pamphlet, or, for the time being, does not get written at all.
Voilà mon cas.[8] Well, you choose what you would prefer and, if ne- cessary, consult one or two others. But once something has been settled, there must be no going back on it. I cannot expose myself to another dose of the unpleasantness occasioned by Most's protests against the Diihring.[9]
Incidentally, some very nice preparatory work relating to Bis- marckery and attendant phenomena has already been done in two articles in the Sozialdemokrat on the possible repeal of the Anti- Socialist Law. I assume they are by Bebel; if not, the party can congratulate itself upon possessing another chap who is so splendidly capable of getting to the root of the matter and disregarding all considerations of a secondary nature, and this in a style at once so straightforward and lucid. The articles are first-rate.
What you say by way of an excuse for the flabbiness of various peo- ple in Germany is something I have already told myself on more than one occasion. Yet again and again we find the same old German want of character and backbone, coupled with the urge to play the role — vis-à-vis the philistine, not the worker — of a worthy, respectable citi- zen who is a very far cry from the dangerous ogre he is made out to be. These always turn out to be people who consider their modicum of education absolutely essential if the worker is not to emancipate himself but rather be liberated by them. In their eyes, the emancipa- tion of the working class is attainable only through your eddicated mediocrity; how could the poor, helpless, uneddicated workers hope to achieve it on their own account?
I wrote to Kautsky yesterday. He tells me he has found some quite
passable doctores philosophiae[10] there. If they really are passable, they would be most welcome.
Adolf Beust will be able to sing you the tune of 'The Vicar of Bray'.[11]
Kindest regards.
Yours,
F.E.