Letter to Johann Philipp Becker, April 2, 1885

Author(s) Friedrich Engels
Written 2 April 1885


First published in: F. Engels, Vergessene Briefe (Briefe Friedrich Engels' an Johann Philipp Becker), Berlin, 1920
Published in English in full for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 47


ENGELS TO JOHANN PHILIPP BECKER

IN GENEVA

London, 2 April 1885

Dear Old Man,

So that you shouldn't think you had been forgotten, I have taken out a money order for five pounds for you and trust you will get the money at once. So far I am pretty well, though not, it is true, as yet fit for active service, nor am I likely ever to be able to mount a horse again, but I am still perky enough for peacetime work. 2/3 of the second volume of Capital have been printed and the book will be appearing in some 2 months' time, while work on the third volume is well advanced. This last, which contains the final conclusions and, indeed, some quite brilliant stuff, will revolutionise economics once and for all and create a tremendous sensation.

In the meantime things are beginning to liven up again. Ferry's fall[1] opened the proceedings, now it's Gladstone's turn, and Bismarck's will follow as soon as that jackass William[2] kicks the bucket.

For us, the most favourable situation will arise when, at the moment of revolution, the most radical elements of the bourgeoisie are everywhere at the helm — Clemenceau in France, Dilke and Chamberlain in this country and Richter in Germany — so that when they have ruined themselves, the revolution will be carried out against them and not for their benefit. It looks as though this might come about, provided no premature action is taken in Paris.

As was inevitable in the circumstances of the Anti-Socialist Law,[3] a number of thoroughgoing philistines have been returned to the Reichstag by our people and are beginning to give themselves airs because they constitute a majority in the parliamentary group. We shall now have to wait and see how far they go; they can be tolerated for a time if in tow, but not when in the lead. They know that they haven't got the masses behind them, but they also know that, at the moment, the hands of the masses are very much tied. Of one thing we may be certain. If they gain the upper hand, I shall continue to cooperate up to a certain point, but beyond that it will be bonjour, messieurs.[4] Being overwhelmed with work, I cannot unfortunately go into the attack as I should like to do, but perhaps it is a good thing to allow these gentlemen a little latitude. The matter of the Steamship Subsidies[5] went off pretty smoothly on the whole, after several of them had made real fools of themselves. Now they are out for the blood of the Zurich Sozialdemokrat, which is rather more serious. For it's bad enough to be made to look a fool in the eyes of the gentlemen in the Reichstag, but in the eyes of the whole of Europe — that really is a bit thick! If Bebel were in good health, none of this would matter a great deal, but he is nervy and debilitated, on top of which he has to work himself to the bone on his family's account.

But everything will come right when old William pegs out. The Crown Prince[6] is a weak, irresolute fellow, as if destined for decapitation, his wife ambitious, with a clique of her own — in short, there will be all manner of changes that will play havoc with the existing order of things and bemuse and unsettle the civil service, while the bourgeoisie will at last be compelled to clear away some of the old lumber and play a political role — as it damned well ought. Only let the political scene at home come to life again and we shall need nothing more. But the rotten bourgeoisie has so greatly deteriorated that what it should do voluntarily and in its own interests as a class, it will do only under compulsion — the compulsion of the historical circumstances imposed upon it. And so long as the old jackass lives, it will be under no compulsion to get moving, which is why I hope that he will kick the bucket and do so in the way of nature, thus leaving his successor free to choose what stupidity to indulge in first. And with this pious wish, it being almost time for the post, I shall now conclude. Borkheim was rather less well during the winter, but has now improved again, i. e. he's much as before. Fraternal greetings,

From your old friend

F.E.

  1. ↑ The French government under the leader of the moderate Republicans Jules Ferry, who had held the post since 1883, resigned on 30 March 1885 due to an unsuccessful colonial adventure in Indochina.
  2. ↑ William I
  3. ↑ The Exceptional Law Against the Socialists (Gesetz gegen die gemeingefährlichen Bestrebungen der Sozialdemokratie — the Law against the Harmful and Dangerous Aspirations of Social Democracy) was introduced by the Bismarck government, supported by the majority in the Reichstag, on 21 October 1878 to counter the socialist and workers' movement. This law, better known as the Anti-Socialist Law, made the Social-Democratic Party of Germany illegal, banned all party and mass workers' organisations, and the socialist and workers' press; on the basis of this law socialist literature was confiscated and Social Democrats subjected to reprisals. However, during its operation the Social-Democratic Party, assisted by Marx and Engels, uprooted both reformist and anarchist elements and managed to substantially strengthen and widen its influence among the people by skilfully combining illegal and legal methods of work. Under pressure from the mass workers' movement, the Anti-Socialist Law was abrogated on 1 October 1890. For Engels' assessment of this law, see his article 'Bismarck and the German Working Men's Party' (present edition, Vol. 24, pp. 407-09).
  4. ↑ good day, gentlemen
  5. ↑ In late 1884, Bismarck, seeking to step up German colonial policy (see Note 292) demanded that the Reichstag approve annual subsidies for steamship companies to organise regular services to Eastern Asia, Australia and Africa. This demand led to disagreements within the Social-Democratic group in the Reichstag. The Left wing headed by August Bebel and Wilhelm Liebknecht came out against supporting the government's policy. The Right-wing majority in the group (Dietz, Frohme, Grillenberger, etc.) intended to vote for the subsidies under the pretext that they promoted international links. Under pressure from the majority, the parliamentary group decided to declare the subsidies issue to be of no major importance and give each member the right to vote as they thought fit (see Der Sozialdemokrat, No. 50, 11 December 1884). The sharp criticism expressed in Der Sozialdemokrat and the resolutions adopted by the party leadership led the majority of the parliamentary group to somewhat modify their attitude to the government's project when it was discussed in the Reichstag in March 1885 and to make their support conditional on the Reichstag accepting a number of the group's proposals. It was not until after the Reichstag declined to endorse the proposals made by the Social-Democratic group that they voted against the subsidies.
  6. ↑ Frederick William