On the Slogan for a United States of Europe

This is Lenin’s first short article which discussed the question of socialism in a single country, written on August 10, 1915, in the early days of World War I and was published in Sotsial-Demokrat issue No. 44, on August 23, 1915. The Chinese translation is included in Vol. 26 of the second revised edition of Complete Works of Lenin.

The slogan advocating the “United States of Europe” was put forward many times in various forms before the World War I and was widely spread during the wartime. Lenin put forward the slogan of overthrowing the monarchical political systems of Austria, Germany and Russia through revolutions and establishing a “United States of Europe” in his “The Tasks of Revolutionary Social-Democracy in the European War” written in August-September 1914 as well as in his article “The War and Russian Social-Democracy” written in November 1914. However, in “On the Slogan for a United States of Europe” Lenin abandoned this slogan, but Karl Kautsky, Trotsky and others continued to strongly advocate the establishment of the “United States of Europe”, claiming that “imperialist powers may eliminate competition and conflicts among themselves and unite on the basis of peace. This article expounds Lenin’s opposition to the slogan of the United States of Europe and presents his assertion of “victory of socialism first in a single country”. This article expounds the tasks of the socialist revolution, the relationship between the victory of socialism first in a single country and the world revolution.

In the first part, Lenin discussed from an economic perspective the impossibility and reactionary character of the “United States of Europe” slogan under the conditions of capitalism.

First, Lenin dialectically explained the meaning of the establishment of a United States of Europe.

On the one hand, from a political aspect, the idea of establishing a “republican United States of Europe” was reasonable. Lenin pointed out that a “Republican United States of Europe” as a political slogan was completely correct, if it was linked to the overthrow of the monarchical systems of Germany, Austria and Russia, because truly democratic political reforms, especially political revolutions, would not weaken the slogan of socialist revolution under any circumstances, they would always facilitate socialist revolution. At the same time, political revolution was inevitable in socialist revolution. It was full of great political and economic shocks and was an extremely sharp class struggle.

On the other hand, based on the economic conditions of imperialism, this slogan was reactionary. First of all, Lenin pointed out that capital was already international and monopolistic. The world was already carved up by a few major power countries, that is, countries that had prospered by plundering and oppressing other nations on a large scale. China, Ottoman Turkey and Persia in Asia were targets of brutal carving up by Japan, Russia, England and France. These imperialist powers possessed a large number of colonies and semi-colonies, plundered and colonized those regions of the world with a population of nearly one billion through capital export and established their colonial governing institutions. Therefore, to establish a United States of Europe under the capitalist system was to conclude an agreement to carve up the colonies.

Secondly, under the capitalist system, the major imperialist powers have carved up the colonies according to their comparison of strength. The imbalance in their economic developments have made their comparative national strengths change. Under the capitalist system, there was no other way to restore the balance of power among the imperialists, which was often destroyed, amidst industrial crises and political wars. Japan and the U.S.A. were growing much faster than Europe. The establishment of the “United States of Europe”, as an alliance between the European capitalists, could only lead to a joint suppression on the European socialist movements, and would mean opposing Japan and the U.S.A. in favor of European major powers, and would mean a joint protection of the formerly seized colonies of the old imperialist countries of Europe.

Thirdly, Lenin pointed out that the idea of a “United States of the World” was a state form which we advocate as the voluntary and free unification of all nations which we associate with socialism and communism—and associate with the total withering away of the state, including the democracy. However, the slogan of a United States of the World would hardly be a correct one, first, because it is closely associated with socialism; second, because it may be wrongly interpreted to mean that the victory of socialism in a single country was impossible, and it may also create misconceptions as to the relations of such a proletarian country to the others. Therefore, judging from the economic conditions of imperialism, as well as, from the point of view that the advanced and civilized colonial powers exported capital and carved up the world, a United States of Europe was either impossible or reactionary under the current capitalist world order.

In the second part of the article, based on the law of uneven economic and political development of capitalist nations, Lenin clearly put forward the following arguments:

First of all, Lenin revealed that the imbalance of economic and political development was the absolute law of capitalism, and it was the first time that socialism may first win in several or even in one capitalist country alone. In this article, Lenin had not yet clearly pointed out that “one country” was referring to Russia.

Secondly, Lenin also pointed out that since the victorious proletariat in this country deprived the capitalists and organized socialist production in its own country, which would have a huge impact internationally and push other countries into the wave of socialism. Lenin suggested using force against the exploiting classes and their states; he argued that most advantageous social and political form in which the proletariat could overthrow the bourgeoisie and win power would be a democratic republic. Without the dictatorship of the proletariat—the oppressed class—it would be impossible to eliminate the classes in the society. Without the relatively long-term and tenacious struggle of the socialist republics against the backward countries, there would be no free and voluntary association of nations under a socialist federation of nations. For these reasons Lenin rejected the slogan of the “United States of Europe” and the conference of the Russian Social-Democratic Labor Party’s groups abroad made heated discussions on this question, following this conference, the editors of the Party’s central organ have come to the conclusion that the slogan for a “United States of Europe” was an erroneous one.

In this article, “uneven economic and political development is an absolute law of capitalism” was put forward for the first time. The conclusion that socialism may win victory in a few or even a single capitalist country is Lenin’s inheritance and development of Marx and Engels’ theory of “simultaneous victory” under the new historical conditions and provides theoretical support for economically and culturally backward countries to choose and follow the socialist development path.