PREPARATION When a great thinker, _likethe fam_ous~narchis~ Bakunin, spe~ks f evolution as destruct10n, he has m mmd the idea of authority 0 J obedience which are to be destroyed. It is for this reason that ~: said that destruction mean_sco?struction, for to destroy a false beref is indeed most constructive work. ~ut the average man, and too often even the revolutionist, thoughtlessly talks of revolution as being exclusively destructive in the physical sense of the word. That is a wrong and dangerous iew. The sooner we get rid of it the better .. v Revolution, and particularly the ~ocial revolution, is not destruction but construction. This cannot be sufficiently emphasised, and unless we clearly reali~e it, revolution will remain only destructive and thereby always a failure. Naturally revolution is accompanied by violence, but you might as well say that building a new hou~ in pla'ce of an old one is destructive because you have first to tear down the old one. Revolution is the culminating point of a certain evolutionary, process: it begins with a violent upheaval. It is the rolling up of your sleeves preparatory to starting the actual work. Indeed, consider what the social revolution is to do, what it is to accomplish, and you will perceive that it comes not to destroy but to build. What, really, is there to destroy ? The wealth of the rich? Nay, that is something we want the whole of society to enjoy. The land, the fields, the coal mines, the railroads, factories, mills, and shops. These we want not to destroy but to make useful to the entire people. The telegraphs, telephones, the means of communication and distribution-do we want to destroy them ? -No, we want them to serve the needs of all. ~hat, then, is the social revolution to destroy ? It is to take over things for the general benefit, not to destroy them. It is to reorganise conditions for the public welfare. Not to destroy is the aim of the revolution, but to reconstruct and rebuild. . . It _isfor this that preparation is needed, because the social revolut!on is no~ the Biblical Messiah who is to accomplish his mission by srple edict or order. Revolution works with the hands and brains 0 men. And these have to understand tht objects of the revolution so as to be able to carry them out. They wii! have to know what t~ want and how to achieve it. The way to achieve it will be pointed out by the objects to be attained. For the end determines 53 i::3 blloter G ro B1a'lco
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