| Author(s) | Friedrich Engels |
|---|---|
| Written | 10 February 1883 |
ENGELS TO EDUARD BERNSTEIN
IN ZURICH
London, 10 February 1883
Dear Mr Bernstein,
I respectfully confirm mine of yesterday's date[1] and herewith enclose a letter for Kautsky[2] whose old address may no longer be any good.
To come back to the stock exchange tax, there is absolutely no need for us to deny the 'immorality' and rascality of that exchange; we can even paint a really lurid picture of it as the spearhead of capitalist gain where ownership becomes directly synonymous with theft, but then go on to conclude that it is by no means in the interests of the proletariat to destroy this immaculate spearhead of the present economy; rather it should be allowed to deploy perfectly freely, so that even the most stupid can see where the present economy is taking them. We shall leave moral indignation to those who are avaricious enough to have recourse to the stock exchange without themselves being stock exchange men and who, as is only right, are cleaned out. And then if the stock exchange and 'solid business' come to blows and if the country Junkers, who also seek to dabble in securities and are inevitably fleeced, make a third in the three-sided battle between the main elements of the exploiting class, then we, the fourth, shall be the ones to laugh.
The request for an exact address with number and street applies to you as well. Otherwise I cannot send any money, which I must certainly do, inter alia, for 6 copies of the Schmidt pamphlet which Schorlemmer and I wish to send to Germany and which I ask for.
But now I must close.
Yours,
F. E.