In his book Might is Right, Ragnar Redbeard was merciless to Marx and his advocates…
“Socialism, Christianism, Democratism, Equalityism, are really the whining yelpings of base-bred mongrel multitudes. […] Man is part and parcel of the animal kingdom, and (notwithstanding [Karl Marx]) he CANNOT escape from the draconic ordinances that despotically govern that kingdom and environ his being like an atmosphere on every side. […] The real man must depend upon himself absolutely, determine his own ends, decide his own plan of campaign, and savagely resent any authoritarian interference (especially if it takes the form of socialistic officialism).”
Turning the other cheek comes The Communist, the official organ of the Communist Party of America. “The Lion and the Lamb” appeared in their August 9th, 1919 edition.
It is interesting to note that while The Communist doesn’t mention either Redbeard or his book, its explicit, repeated use of the phrase “Might is right” and numerous other allusions and references are to be found in that book. From “hireling” to “woe to the vanquished” to the use of “lions” and “lambs”. In Might is Right: The Authoritative Edition, Redbeard says: “Here and now is our day of torment! Here and now is our day of joy! Here and now is our opportunity—to eat or to be eaten—to be lion or lamb!” (AMiR 3.13:15)
THE LION AND THE LAMB
“Might shall make right the law of the world” – this was one of the beautiful phrases President Wilson concocted for the benefit of the unthinking. It is indeed a mouth-filling resonant sentence but it is nevertheless untrue.
“Might shall make right the law of the world” is untrue for might IS the law of the world. None but a fool or knave would contend otherwise. That Might is Right holds true in every walk of life, and no evidence can be brought to prove the contrary.
It has been true from the very beginning of time, and it requires but a scratch to disclose that beneath the thin veneer of civilization the brute still rules modern society. It is the universal law of life that the strong shall destroy the weak, that the fittest shall survive. One has to dabble but little in the realms of biology to discover that this law applies to all forms of life.
Man conquered other forms of animal life and crowned himself King of Beasts by his might. Although not endowed with natural offensive and defensive weapons, he has by cunning and mental ability succeeded in adding to his strength by the development of artificial weapons. As yet man has not succeeded in controlling the society in which he lives and has his being: its great contradictions are an unprobed mystery to the great mass of humanity.
Nor did this struggle cease with the subjection of the lower forms of life. As individuals men struggled with one another, and a society developed and groups formed, the groups struggled and always it was the strongest that survived. If a group be weak it was conquered and destroyed or enslaved by the victors. All down through the ages the sword has been the arbitrator and the cry has been: Woe to the Vanquished!
Nor has that law been altered in our time. Never in its struggle with the master class in this or any other country has the working class gained any advantage which was not due to their might. In the various labor battles throughout the country the barking voice of machine guns as they spit death and destruction gives the lie to the statement that ought but might makes right.
When out of their misery the workers arise and cast off the hateful yoke of the master class in their own country they find the ruling classes of the world, but lately at each other’s throats, allied against them. The question of Right does not enter into the decisions of the master class as to whom they shall support and whom they shall oppose. It is a question of which will best serve their economic interests and perpetuate their power. Veiling their deeds behind a screen of words, they strive with every means at their command to gain their ends. They prate of rights only to those whom they wish to use to further their aims. Mortal codes are bended and twisted to serve their needs. Mercy, pity, humanity – these mean nothing and are not considered in the hour of triumph.
True, it is not nice – but it is a fact. It is one of the bitter realities of life, and a lesson we must learn. Power is all that counts. If the workers are ever to emancipate themselves they must secure the power that comes only as the result of education and organization. The sword is still the arbiter.
When the lion and the lamb lie down together the lamb will be inside.
The only crime one can commit is to fail. Kolchak is not denounced because of the death train of Siberia, or the putting to death of men, women and children who are suspected of harboring Bolsheviki sympathies, but only because he failed. He failed because he could not marshal sufficient forces to crush the Bolsheviki. His weakness proved that he was wrong. Had he been victorious he would have been right, for the victor is always right, because back of him is the power that has made possible the victory.
“Might is Right!”
Might has been right throughout all previous history of the world; it is right today, and it will be right in all the aeons of ages that stretch before us in the unknown future. Whatever else history may hold in its bosom for mankind, we know there will be only one wrong, and that will be failure, and only one right, and that will be might.
The ruling class is beginning to recognize the fact that Bolshevism is right for Russia, because it is capable of defending itself, while it is wrong in all other countries, because it has not yet acquired sufficient power. When the workers of all countries, like those of Russia, have raised themselves to the position of the ruling class and proclaimed the Dictatorship of the Proletariat of the world, anything they do will be right, because they will have the might to enforce it.
