V. I. Lenin
Collected Works
Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1963-1970, Vol. 23 of 45
"Imperialism and the Split in Socialism"
"On the one hand, there is the tendency of the bourgeoisie and the
opportunists to convert a handful of very rich and privileged nations into
'eternal' parasites on the body of the rest of mankind, to 'rest on the
laurels' of the exploitation of Negroes, Indians, etc., keeping them in
subjection with the aid of excellent weapons of extermination provided
by modern militarism. On the other hand, there is the tendency of the
masses, who are more oppressed than before and who bear the whole
brunt of imperialist wars, to cast off this yoke and to overthrow the
bourgeoisie. It is in the struggle between these tendencies that the
history of the labour movement will now inevitably develop."
