LENIN ON ORGANIZATION
having answered that question, Comrade Axelrod
has advanced only half his argument. In fact, one
or the other. Either the organized Social Democrats
regard the professor as a Social Democrat—in
which case why should he not be included in one
or other of the Social Democratic organizations?
Only by his being thus included will the “declaration”
 of the professor correspond with the truth and
not be an empty phrase (as many professorial declarations
 are) or the organized Social Democrats do
not recognize the professor as a Social Democrat
in which case it would be purposeless and dangerous
to allow him the right of bearing the honorable and
responsible name of Party member. The question
therefore amounts either to the consistent application
 of the principle of organization, or to the apothesis
 of confusion and anarchy. Shall we construct
 the Party around the already formed and
consolidated kernel of Social Democrats, such as
was created, for instance, by the Party congress,
and which must extend and multiply the Party
organizations, or are we to content ourselves with
the consoling phrase that all who lend assistance
are members of the Party? “If we accept Lenin’s
formula,” Comrade Axelrod continued, “we shall
be throwing overboard a number of persons, who,
although they cannot be directly adopted into the
organization, are nevertheless Party members.”
Comrade Axelrod is himself only too obviously
guilty of the confusion of ideas of which he accused
me; he already takes it for granted that all who

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