Letter to Laura Lafargue, May 7, 1889

Author(s) Friedrich Engels
Written 7 May 1889


First published in English in: F. Engels, P. et L. Lafargue, Correspondance, t. II, Paris, 1956
Reproduced from the original in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 48


ENGELS TO LAURA LAFARGUE[1]

AT LE PERREUX

London, 7 May 1889

My dear Laura,

I was very glad to receive this morning the Convocation.[2] As you say, there is no time to lose, and Paul who seems boiling over with virtu- ous indignation had made me expect an interminable series of bureau- cratic difficulties and delays. Now, as there has been such quick and determined action, everything is all right. The Convocation is short and sweet, contains the needful and no more, and all the fault I can find with it is that it would have been better to state in it, that the second circular with the signatures of the foreigners, unobtainable on account of want of time, would follow. Moreover I hope that the announcement, that the Socialist League[3] had beforehand adhered to the Hague resolutions,[4] is founded upon fact and not upon a misunderstanding, as a disavowal on their part would be awkard. As to obtaining their signature, we ought to be informed of the contents of Morris' reply to Paul, so as not to be quite in the dark.

Now will you make an English translation and Paul put at the bottom: 'For the English translation, Paul Lafargue'—and will he autho- rise me to do the same with a German translation to be made by me? We will then get them printed here at once and spread them by the thousand; also forward you copies as you may require them.

The loss of time is entirely due to Liebknecht who considers himself, or would like to figure as, the centre of the international movement, and who, being cocksure of bringing about a union, allowed himself to be led by the nose by the Belgians for six or eight weeks. Even now he is certain that if only he shows himself on the scene at Paris, the union will follow. But as it is not too late now, the lost time is not lost in reality. It has rallied round to the date desired by the French the mass of foreigners who at first objected and certainly would have abstained, had the date been settled without these preliminaries and against their wishes. Nobody suffers in reality through Liebknecht 's action, but we here, who, having entered upon our campaign with uncommon success, were entirely left to our own resources, as all the letters addressed by the working men here whom we had stirred up against the Possibilist congress, were replied to in the most uncertain and vague way by Danes, Dutch, Belgians and Germans; and nobody could tell them anything about the other congress, in consequence of which they fell into the hands of Smith Headingley and Hyndman. Well, as soon as the English Convocation is out, we must begin afresh and I hope with better success.

But if Paul thinks we can cram down people's throats, here in England, the fictio juris[5] that the Possibilists are no socialists, that conse- quently their congress does not exist at all or does not count, he is strangely mistaken. He says Bonnier's letter to the Labour Elector[6] was a bêtise[7] because it did not start from that point of view. Now I am responsible for that bêtise as I wrote the letter and Bonnier only signed it. The Possibilists may be all that Paul says, and I believe him, but if he wants us to proclaim that publicly, he ought to have proved it first publicly, and before there was any question of a congress. Instead of that, our people made a conspiration du silence against themselves, left the whole wide world of publicity to the Possibilists, who anyhow were recognized as socialists by the Belgians, Dutch and Danes and some English last autumn in London[8] ; and the decree of excommunication launched by a party which even now has not a paper in Paris in which it can make itself heard, cannot and will not be accepted by the rest of the world without further proof.[9] We must speak to people here a language which they understand and to talk in the way Paul wants us to do, would be to make ourselves ridiculous and to be shown the door at every office of a paper in London. Paul knows too well that the Possibilists are a power in Paris, and though it may be very well for our Parisian friends to ignore them, we cannot do the same, nor deny the fact that there will be two rival congresses on 14 July. And if we were to tell people here that in our Congress 'ce sont les ouvriers et les socialistes de France sans distinc- tion de parti qui convoquent le congrès[10] that would not only be a bêtise but a gross untruth, as Paul knows well enough that the ouvriers de Paris, as far as they are socialists at all, are in their majority Possibilists.

Anyhow we shall here continue to work for the Congress in our own way and never mind faultfinding. I have not yet done a single act in this affair but it has been found fault with by someone. So I am quite used to that sort of thing and go on acting as I think is right.

The finest thing of it all is that three months after these two congresses Boulanger will be in all probability dictator of France, do away with parliamentarism, epurate the judges under pretext of corrup- tion, have a gouvernement à poigne[11] and a chambre pour rire,[12] and crush Marxists, Blanquists and Possibilists all together. And then, ma belle France—tu l'as voulu[13]

Six months after that we may have war—that depends entirely on Russia; she is now engaged in vast financial operations to restore her credit and cannot well go in for a fight until these are finished.[14] In that war the neutrality of Belgium and Switzerland will be the first thing that goes to smash, and if the war becomes really serious, our only chance is that the Russians be beaten and then make a revolution. The French cannot make one while allied to the Czar—that would be high treason. But if no revolution interrupts the war, if it is allowed to run its course, then that side will win which is joined by England, if England goes in for the war at all. For that side can then, with the help of England, starve out the other side by cutting off the corn supplies from abroad, which all Western Europe requires nowadays.

To-morrow there will be a deputation to the Star to protest against last Saturday's article on the Congress (Bax, Tussy, Edward)[15] which article was smuggled in, probably by Hyndman and Smith Headingly, in Massingham's absence.

Love from Nim and from

Ever yours

F E.

  1. ↑ This letter was first published, in the language of the original (English), in F. Engels, P. et L. Lafargue, Correspondance, t. 2 (1887-1890), Paris, Ed. sociales, 1956.
  2. ↑ The circular was written with P. Lafargue's active participation so as to inform the working-class and socialist organisations of all countries about the decision of the Hague Socialist Conference (February 1889) (see note 385) and about the International Working Men's Congress due on 6 May 1889. Lafargue sent the text of the circular to Engels who approved it and translated it into German. Engels also saw about it being published in English. In German the circular was published, in the Engels translation, by the newspaper Der Sozialdemokrat on 11 May and, in Wilhelm Liebknecht's translation, by the newspaper Berliner Volksblatt on 10 May; in English, the text of the circular came cut in the form of a leaflet, published by the newspapers Labour Elector on 18 May and by Reynold's Newspaper on 19 May under the heading 'International Workmen's Congress', as well as by The Commonweal on 25 May.
  3. ↑ The Socialist League was founded in December 1884 by a group of English socialists who had withdrawn from the Social Democratic Federation (see note 62). The League's organisers included Eleanor Marx Aveling, Ernest Belfort Bax and William Morris. 'The Manifesto of the Socialist League' (see The Commonweal No.1, February 1885) stated that its members advocated 'the principles of Revolutionary International Socialism' and sought 'a change in the basis of Society ... which would destroy the distinctions of classes and nationalities'. The tasks of the League included the formation of a national socialist party, the conquest of political power through the election of socialists to local government bodies, and the promotion of the trade union and co-operative movement. In the League's early years its leaderook an active part in the working-class movement. However, in 1887 the League split into three factions (Anarchist elements, 'parliamentarists and 'anti-parliamentarists'). With sectarian tendencies growing stronger, the League gradually distanced itself from the day-to-day struggle of the British workers and finally disintegrated in 1889-90.
  4. ↑ The International Socialist Conference was held in the Hague on 28 February 1889. It was attended by representatives of the socialist movement of Germany, France, Belgium, Holland and Switzerland. The conference was convened at the suggestion of the Social Democratic faction in the German Reichstag with the aim of framing the conditions for the calling of an International Socialist Working Men's Congress in Paris. The Possibilists refused to attend the conference despite the invitation and did not recognise its decisions. The conference defined the powers of the forthcoming congress, its date and agenda. The International Working Men's Congress took place on 14 July 1889.
  5. ↑ legal fiction
  6. ↑ The Socialist League was founded in December 1884 by a group of English socialists who had withdrawn from the Social Democratic Federation (see note 62). The League's organisers included Eleanor Marx Aveling, Ernest Belfort Bax and William Morris. 'The Manifesto of the Socialist League' (see The Commonweal No.1, February 1885) stated that its members advocated 'the principles of Revolutionary International Socialism' and sought 'a change in the basis of Society ... which would destroy the distinctions of classes and nationalities'. The tasks of the League included the formation of a national socialist party, the conquest of political power through the election of socialists to local government bodies, and the promotion of the trade union and co-operative movement. In the League's early years its leaderook an active part in the working-class movement. However, in 1887 the League split into three factions (Anarchist elements, 'parliamentarists and 'anti-parliamentarists'). With sectarian tendencies growing stronger, the League gradually distanced itself from the day-to-day struggle of the British workers and finally disintegrated in 1889-90.
  7. ↑ a blunder
  8. ↑ The reference is to the London International Congress of Trades Unions held on 6-10 November 1888 at the initiative of the British trade unions. The congress involved trade union representatives of Britain, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Italy as well as French syndicates aligned with the Possibilists. Stipulating that delegates to this congress should be officially elected by respective trade unions, its organisers thereby deprived the German and Austrian. Social Democrats, as well as representatives of the French Workers' Party (the Guesdists), see note 33, of an opportunity to attend. Yet the leaders of the British trade unions failed in their attempts to foist reformist decisions on the congress and isolate it from the Socialists. The congress adopted a number of positive decisions. Thus, the workers were not to confine themselves to forming purely professional organisations - they were to unite into an independent political party as well. One of the resolutions stressed the need to press for legislative regulation of the working day and working conditions. In its most significant decision, the congress resolved to convene an International Working Men's Congress in Paris in 1889; organisation of this congress was entrusted to the Possibilists.
  9. ↑ A reference to an appeal by the Paris Chamber of Labour, urging participation in the Possibilist Congress due in the latter half of July 1889. The authors of this appeal said they were speaking on behalf of 78 trade unions of France that had allegedly agreed to take part. Bonnier's letter of 4 May 1889 to the editorial board of the newspaper Labour Elector said the authors of the appeal had abrogated the right to speak on behalf of the entire working class of France. Engels, the real author of the letter, urged the French socialists not to confine themselves to declarative statements but prove their case by deed and convince the masses by irrefutable facts.
  10. ↑ 'it is the workers and socialists of France, without distinction of party, that convene the congress'
  11. ↑ strong government
  12. ↑ mock chamber
  13. ↑ my beautiful France - that's what you wanted!
  14. ↑ In March 1889 a new external Russian loan was issued to a sum of 175 million gold roubles for the conversion of the older 5 per cent bonds.
  15. ↑ On 3 May 1889, the newspaper The Star, No. 400, published an article entitled The Paris International Congress.