40. ‘Ways and Means in the Struggle against Imperialism’ (14 September 1912)

The discussion in Die Neue Zeit concerning the struggle against imperialism has already led to a result: it has sharply highlighted the existence of two opposing views on imperialism and our struggle against it. Now, it is possible to identify clearly the nature of this difference, its sources and its consequences, because only complete clarity about actually existing differences of opinion can avoid unnecessary friction and allow the Party to assess their importance. This article, in the form of a polemic against comrade Kautsky, is an attempt to describe in detail the positions that Pannekoek, Lensch and Radek have been holding for several years on the question of the struggle against imperialism. Kautsky holds the arms-race to be the expression of a policy of the propertied classes, which, although based on the interests of very influential strata of capital, is not a vital necessity for capitalism. Keywords:capitalism; imperialism