: Well then the sources speak for themselves as NJ has said Marx said that in Holland and the US Socialism would come non-violently through the ballot box...I think you'll want to differentiate between Marx and the Marxists.Actually, it was ENGELS who (controversially) said the above---see his introduction to Marx's Class Struggles in France.
: He famously said that only fools would be goaded into street fighting when the ballot box existed as an alternative when he was striving for the expulsion of the Blanquists (statists usurpers like Lenin) and Bakuninists (anarchists) from the international.
And Engels also said:
Does that mean that in the future the street fight will play no further role? Certainly not. It only means that the conditions since 1848 have become far more unfavorable for civil fights, and far more favorable for the military. A future street fight can therefore only be victorious when this unfavorable situation is compensated by other factors. Accordingly, it will occur more seldom in the beginning of a great revolution than in its further progress, and will have to be undertaken with with greater forces.(1)
Engels' introduction explicitly states that when parliamentary transformation is impossible, then the force of the masses must be applied unsparingly.
But I'm glad to see you hit those 'hallowed bibles' again, Lark! Welcome back!
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Note:
1. Engels, Introduction to Marx, Class Struggles in France, International 1930, p. 24, emphasis added.
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I'll get to that erroneous assertion about Lenin in an upcoming post!
