"We aren't united now."
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| Saint-Simon ——— Bazard ——— Enfantin |
Count de Saint-Simon, who died by self-disembowelment in 1825 [1947-47] after losing his fortune and falling into bitter misery, presented the following theory to the world: “The working class must be elevated to the first rank in human society, since it provides it with the means to satisfy its needs and desires, whereas it now unlawfully occupies the last place. This is only possible through the devotional love of men for one another. This teaching is the new Christianity which will bring about the Kingdom of God on earth by transforming the religion of love into a religion of joy and pleasure.” His disciple [Amand] Bazard added: “Work must be emancipated from capital, and the right of inheritance of the individual must be replaced by the exclusive right of inheritance of the State, which must distribute it according to the principle that only work gives a right to property, and that each person is employed according to his ability, but each ability is rewarded according to his work.” [Barthélemy Prosper] Enfantin declared Saint-Simon as the new Messiah who united the teachings of Moses and Christ in the demand to sanctify one’s self through work and pleasure. Everything in man is holy, the flesh with its innate drives, just as the spirit is holy. Large holy families were to be founded, in which a community of women was also to take place. This laid the foundation for a split and then for the complete destruction of Saint-Simonianism.
The latter was quite well-intentioned, but it was just pure enthusiasm. It is not enough to tell people: You must have love, and if you walk in love, heaven on earth will come. Yes, as true as this is, so certain is it that no one can have love when it is demanded. Love is planted in the heart by the grace of God alone. Those who do not want to recognize the grace of God and do not want to accept it, but despise it and trample it underfoot, never have love, even if what they do is often like the act of love. [page 34]
In 1848, after Louis Philippe I's overthrow by the February Revolution, on June 23, a Communist uprising broke out in Paris [French Revolution of 1848]. More than 30,000 proletarians were armed: workers from the national workshops, escaped convicts led by deposed officers or by the heads of Communist clubs. Barricades rose up in the east of the city. They wanted to proclaim a social republic with a community of women and goods. On several flags there was an inscription: “As victors we plunder, as defeated we burn.” Bishop Affre of Paris joined the insurgents and spoke for peace, [1947-48] but was shot on a barricade. A furious and atrocious battle followed. Women poured boiling water and oil from the barricades on the soldiers. On June 26, Cavaignac had won. The dead and wounded on both sides were 5,000, 14,000 were captured, of whom 3,423 were deported. Louis Blanc had caused the misery.
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| Heine ——— Mundt ——— Gutzkow "Young Germany" |
In Germany, the real pioneers of Communism were the representatives of the so-called “Young Germany”, headed by the famous poet [Heinrich] Heine, then the novelists [Theodor] Mundt and [Karl] Gutzkow, who declared that “the rehabilitation of the flesh”, as they called it, must finally be enforced, i.e. the flesh of man must be restored to its original rights. To express this in German, man must again have the right to eat, to drink, to whore, to break marriage, and in short, to do everything his flesh desires. I am not exaggerating, it is like this: These are the principles that the aforementioned have established, even if they did not use such coarse words; for if they had used such coarse words, they would certainly not have captured the inexperienced youth. At the time when I was studying in Leipzig, they were high up on the board. They are now little more respected. But what they have sown is now bearing fruit. — Now something from the German Communists.
A certain [Wilhelm] Weitling, a tailor’s apprentice from Magdeburg, but a highly talented young man — here in America he would be called a self-made man — had not attended high schools or universities, but had acquired a not insignificant degree of education. This Weitling describes the introduction of the new order of things as he wanted it, among other things as follows:
“All promissory notes, bonds and bills of exchange shall be declared null and void in the dealings of the administrative staff, as shall all rights of inheritance… Thus all distinction between rich and poor, between lowly and noble, between the highest statesmen and officers and the lowest employees or soldiers is forever abolished… For all gold and silver in stock are to purchase food and war supplies from abroad. The use of money is abolished for the dealings of the [page 35] administration with the interior.” (Some of this has been discussed in the local Volksstimme [see p. 6 above] [1947-49] as the opinion of the editor a few days ago) [in 1878]. “All state and church goods are confiscated for the good of the community. Religious instruction in schools must be general, it must not lean towards Catholicism, Protestantism or any of the many Christian sects. *)
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*) Guaranteed Harmony and Freedom. 1842. page 243 ff.
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He wrote this in 1842, when he did not yet dare to express his heart’s actual opinion, because if he wanted to express this, he would have said: “We do not want to have any particular religion at all, but only a general religion, only the natural religion; just as it is here in America in the non-religious free schools.” Ferdinand Lassalle, a likewise ingenious, scientifically educated Jew from Breslau, who wrote many ingeniously prepared writings to justify the Communist theory, but who died young in 1864 in a duel with a rival, is similarly portrayed. But before we go any further, a little of our German Weitling. He continues in his book: Guaranteed Harmony and Freedom (1842), as follows”
“If I did not above all want the natural equality of all, I would say with so many others: Our principle will be realized entirely on the progressive path of the Enlightenment. Yes, all good things can be realized in this way, but not the elimination of the personal interests of all those who have power and money. Where has it ever been seen that these have listened to reason? Ask history if you doubt. Its pages are filled with the notes of countless struggles of personal interest against the general interest. Through war and revolution dynasties changed, maintained and fortified themselves. Our principal will also be realized through a revolution. But the consequences will be all the more terrible the longer the present state of disorder lasts. Let us teach in times of calm and act in times of storm. As soon as the storm passes, there is no precious time to be lost with useless speeches, as there was at Hambach, but quickly — like lightning, action must be taken, quickly, like this one, must be taken one after the other, as long as the people live under the impression of the first stages of excitement.”…
Very smart. As long as the people are intoxicated, they'll go through with it. But as soon as the [1947-50] second thought comes, they become sober and no longer want to follow their fanatical, enthusiastic leaders into the fire and endanger their own lives in order to destroy thousands of other lives.
“And no truces,” Weitling continues, “no [page 36] negotiations with the enemy must be entered into, no promises made by them must be trusted. As soon as they provoke the fight, they must not be considered otherwise, for they are unreasonable animals, incapable of understanding reasonable language.”
He wants to say: “All our opponents will be given a bullet in the head or hung from the next lamppost, because they do not learn reason; they will never say that we are right and give us their money to distribute.”
“If, contrary to all suspicion,” he goes on to say, “the mighty, in order to work against the realization of our principle, want to imprison us in a prison community, … then our philosophers must let go of the terrible fireship, which alone is then capable of effectively thwarting the plans of our enemies.”
Well, then he still has a remedy when all these agitators have been put in prison: a “terrible fireship” to set the world on fire. And what is that? He continues:
“Then a morality must be preached which no one has dared to preach before and which makes any government of self-interest impossible, a morality which transforms the bloody battlefield in the streets, where the people always get the short end of the stick, into a perpetual guerrilla warfare; … a morality which will bring us whole legions of fighters whose participation we now abhor;”…
He wants to say: “Such a morality must be preached, by which those are then lured to us to help us to carry out our cause, whom we now still abhor, because they are too immoral, too foul; for their principle is: rob, steal, plunder, murder.” Therefore he continues:
“— — a morality, which leaves our opponents no other lifeline than that of our principle. … But this morality can only be taught effectively among the masses, who are swarming in our great cities and plunged into the most boundless misery, abandoned to despair.” *)
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*) ibid., p. 229-236 ff.
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When Weitling recommended those allies from the [1947-51] criminal world to the French Communists, the French were more sober. They answered him:
“Think of yourself at the head of a gang of 10,000 scoundrels, now that the time has come to act, stand up and demand that your accomplices place their robbery on the altar of reason and justice to begin the system of community! O how they will laugh at you!” —
- - - - - - - - - - - - - Continued in Part 10: - - - - - - - - - - - -
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