To-day there are numerous socialists who disapprove of bolshevik rule in Russia. They are adversaries of the bolsheviks because the conditions in Russia under bolshevik rule are not socialistic. And, to be true, if we put the measuring stick of socialism or communism on Russian conditions, then it is really not difficult to find that in Russia no socialism or communism exists, and from that high observation point one can then condemn bolshevism.
We can distinguish three kinds of opponents of Bolshevism.
The first are the representatives of capitalism and the capitalist order of society. These are all the states which during the war formed the entente against Germany and Austria-Hungary and which now have united in the League of Nations, and besides there is America. Add thereto capitalist Germany. All these combat bolshevism, not because it did not bring them what they had hoped for — they were, on the contrary, enemies of bolshevism i from the start — but because they felt themselves threatened by it; they fear that a bolshevik Russia may be a constant revo^ lutionary danger to all other countries. But above everything else th?y fear a revolution in their own country, as they would then Jose their privileges, and first of all their private property, on which rests the whole social order of to-day. In addition to these general, international, capitalist interests there are special nationalistic interests. Thus, France belongs to-day to the bitterest opponents of bolshevism, because French capitalists more than all others are interested with their money in Russia. They want, under all circumstances, to get the money back that they had lent to czarist Russia. Although the bolsheviks time and again declared that they were willing to do this — 'at the start the bolsheviks cancelled all the debts of czarism — the French capitalist* are not satisfied; they also want to do business in the future witt Russia, so rich in natural resources. And this applies also to al other capitalist states. For these reasons they fight Soviet Russic with all the means at their disposition : through open or secret war and through support given to the Russian counter-revolutionaries