The Maccabaean

Is it possible to unite Nationalism with Socialism? If so, how? That is an old problem, and one of the most complicated. It has already given rise to a considerable body of literature, not a little of which has been written in Yiddish. I do not intend to give here a resume of the entire literature; I wish merely to notice a few recent publications while I indicate that not only the Jewish Socialists and Nationalists, but also the Russian Socialists parties, have begun to interest themselves in the problem, and what is more, have begun also to arrive at a correct colution.

The Russian Socialist parties, I say, and not, I must allow, the circles of the Russian Social-Democracy. This element, which has taken its entire doctrine from the German Social-Democratic party, has, on the whole, evinced little creative power in adapting the general Socialistic-Marxistic concept to the peculiar conditions of Russian life. To be sure, the Russian Social- Democrats have contributed something new to the philosophical basis of their teaching, and lately they have addressed themselves, in their program, to the agrarian question. But the problem of Nationalism seems still in their eyes as simple as before, and they believe that it requires no separate research and analysis. To this day they are convinced that “every national idea is inimical to the principles of international Socialism,” to use the words of Mme. L. Axelrod, one of the Social-Democratic writers. It is highly characteristic of the attitude of the Russian Social-Democracy towards the problem of Nationalism in general, and Jewish Nationalism in particular, that when a Social-Democratic publishing house found it necessary recently to reprint the old writings of the Social-Democratic leaders, it could discover nothing better concerning the problem of Nationalism than a

few polemics, which this Mme. Axelrod wrote, a few years previously, against the ‘Bund,’ which then still stood firmly upon its national platform. And so, at the end of the year 1906, we have come to read again some such jewels. “Accordingly, it is quite clear that Judaism is compatible with European culture only when it rejects, forever, its nationalistic belief—in other words, when it is assimilated.” Or again: “So far as language is concerned, we confess that we no not account the Jewish jargon as a kultur-sprache. Yet the Jewish proletariat, which is sincerely striving for knowledge, must have a kultur-sprache for self-development.” Ergo, we Social-Democrats are opposed to the Jewish jargon.

To hope that men who cannot understand the simple proposition that a language cannot be changed like a garment and that a eulture must be transmitted to each one in his own tongue—to hope that such men will solve the problem of Nationalism is wide of the mark. For, in order to solve a problem, it must first of a.l be correctly posited. And a correet understanding of the problem of Nationalism is to be found neither among the Social-Democrats nor among the other groups of Russian So- eialists. Now we have with us the “People’s . Socialist” party, still young and, for the time being, small. In fact, it is yet in the process of ereation; even its program is not quite formulated. In a certaın sense, it can be said that this is ıts virtue, namely,, that it does not approach every problem with a ready solution. This party is not for coereing the facts of life to the tune of “Seientific Socialiısm,” but, quite the contrary, it endeavors to pierce through every problem and to seek in it its appropriate solution—though always, of course, having in mind the Socialistice ideal. As previous.y stated, the program of this party