This system building of the RWL and PRRWO has led them into their instability of principles in organizational matters – their Menshevik organizational line; and all this is done demagogically, in the name of being staunch, to swindle their cadres. This hypocrisy is carried out against the interest of the working class, the advanced elements around their organizations as well as their own cadres. And it is this very same hypocritical outlook that is the methodology behind their philistine explanation of the split.
To cover their opportunism, in explaining the split they would point their finger at and play with one or two overheated polemical statements which have been repudiated. They would cover up the real origin of the split: their organizational Menshevikism. We have to borrow a long quote from Lenin to make this point. Lenin said:
Like any explosion it was instantaneous, not in the sense that there had been previously no signs of such tendencies, or isolated manifestations of them, but in the sense that the political fusion of diverse tendencies, including some very remote from politics, took place almost in a flash. Hence the general public, as always is inclined to be satisfied primarily with a philistine explanation of the new split, one imputing it to the bad qualities of one or another of the leaders; the influence of life abroad, parochialism and so on and so forth. There is no doubt that the location abroad, which, due to objective conditions, became the inevitable base of operations of all the central revolutionary organizations, has left its imprint on the form of the split. There is no doubt that its form was also affected by the idiosyncrasies of the literary circle one wing of which came into the Social-Democratic movement. What we call a philistine explanation is not one that takes note of these circumstances, which can explain nothing but the form, the occasions and the “external history” of the split, but one that is based on refusal or incapacity to understand the ideological and political foundations, causes and roots of the divergence. (“Faction of Supporters of Otzovism and God-Building”, LCW, Vol.16, p.51)
System creating, linking up subjectively, focusing not on the essence of issues, but on the appearance, particular developmental factors, words, is precisely sophistry and the philistine explanation of the split given by PRRWO and RWL.
The new faction’s failure to understand these foundations is also the reason why it has resorted to the old method of camouflage, covering up tracks, denying the inseparable connection with otzovism, etc. The failure to understand these foundations causes the new faction to speculate on a philistine explanation of the split and on philistine sympathy.
Yes, WVO is a monster. It’s a hegemone. It wants to swallow everybody up, the “leading circle.” That’s what these opportunist “leaders” would have the people believe, speculating on a philistine explanation of the split, by not getting down to the fundamental question of the character of the party, political lines, one-by-one, and what the principal danger of the revolutionary wing is. They negate and play down the danger of “left” opportunism in the revolutionary wing.
“Hegemones! Hegemones!” You may think your show, your screaming and yelling, are particularly spectacular. But spectacular scenes, spectacular phrases, and spectacular slogans are all you can understand. Your understanding of the fundamentals of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse-tung Thought is precisely nil. That’s why the best you can do is to go on chattering, “They think we are stupid, but we are not.... these hegemones want to swallow us up!!!”