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WHAT IS TO BE DONE?   [Book by Lenin]
An extremely important book by Lenin which was written at the end of 1901 and which first appeared in early 1902, and whose full title was: What Is To Be Done? Burning Questions of Our Movement. This book has played an important role in the establishment of communist parties not only in Russia, but also in many other countries.

“In issue No. 12 (December [1901]) of Iskra, Lenin published his article ‘A Talk with Defenders of Economism’ which he later called a conspectus of What Is To Be Done? He wrote the Preface in February 1902 and early in March the book was published by Dietz in Stuttgart. An announcement of its publication was printed in Iskra, No. 18, March 10, 1902.
         “What Is To Be Done? played an important part in the struggle for a revolutionary Marxist party of the working class in Russia, and in the victory of the Leninist Iskra trend in the committees and organizations of the R.S.D.L.P. and at the Congress in 1903.
         “In 1902 and 1903 the book was widely distributed among the Social-Democratic organizations in Russia; it was found during police searches and arrests of Social-Democrats in Kiev, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhni-Novgorod, Kazan, Odessa and other towns.” —Note 80, Lenin Selected Works, vol. 1 (1967).

“What is to be Done is a book of key importance for the Marxist conception of the tasks of the working class party. To understand the circumstances in which it was written, and as an aid to grasping its principal points, the reader should consult the History of the C.P.S.U.(B.), Chapter I, Section 5 and Chapter II, Section 2.
         “What is to be Done was directed against those who in the early days after the establishment of a working class party in Russia taught that the workers should engage in economic struggle only, concentrating on bread-and-butter problems rather than political issues. Lenin saw in this trend the nucleus of opportunism in the working class movement, of class collaboration.
         “The ‘Economists,’ as they were called, began their campaign by demanding ‘freedom of criticism’ in the party, attacking what they called the ‘narrow political views’ of Lenin. The first chapter of What is to be Done is accordingly devoted to the question of ‘Freedom of criticism.’ Lenin shows that the ‘freedom of criticism’ demanded by the Economists means freedom to embrace bourgeois ideas instead of Marxism, and that this opens the way to collaboration with the bourgeoisie. Of course, he says, the Economists are ‘free’ to take the path of class collaboration, but not to drag the party with them.
         “Lenin shows that to confine the working class movement to economic struggle alone means to give up the political struggle and so to condemn the workers to eternal wage slavery. The Economists relied on the spontaneous movement of the workers protesting against bad economic conditions. Lenin shows that to rely in this way on spontaneity is ‘tailism’ (kvostism), i.e. it is to tail behind events, instead of giving leadership. Political knowledge cannot arise in the working class movement spontaneously, as a result of spontaneous economic struggle alone. Political knowledge, revolutionary theory, must be introduced into the working class movement. The Economists belittled the role of theory. But ‘without revolutionary theory there can be no revolutionary movement.’
         “Lenin shows that the roots of opportunist ideas and of opportunist policies in the labor movement lie in the attitude of relying on the spontaneous movement and belittling the role of theory.
         “In What is to be Done Lenin shows concretely how to combine political and economic struggle. Working class political struggle must be something much broader than mere ‘trade union politics.’ The workers must be concerned with ‘the inter-relations between all the various classes,’ and must fight against every manifestation of reaction. In advocating economic struggle alone, the Economists sank into reformism, opportunism. But the struggle for reforms must be subordinated to the struggle for for liberty and socialism.
         “In What is to be Done Lenin also deals with questions of party organization. He stresses the need for a centralized disciplined organization, for the practical and theoretical training of revolutions, for a firm Marxist theoretical basis.”
         —Readers’ Guide to the Marxist Classics, prepared and edited by Maurice Cornforth, (London: Lawrence & Wishart, 1953), pp. 47-48.

WHERE DO NEW THINGS COME FROM?
In answering this question the first essential bit of wisdom was stated by the ancient Roman materialist philosopher Lucretius: Ex nihilo nihil fit. “Nothing can be made out of nothing.” [From his great work De Rerum Natura, “The Nature of Things”.]

WHISTLE-BLOWER
A person who, in government or elsewhere, exposes a misdeed or crime, i.e., who “blows the whistle” as a referee might do during a sports event to signal a foul. Although the authorities in capitalist society claim that they want to prevent, stop and punish crimes and misdeeds, their frequent hostility towards whistle-blowers shows their real attitude. The reason for this, of course, is that most of these crimes and wrongdoings are being done by members of the ruling class itself who are victimizing the workers and masses in one way or another. These are things the ruling class would for the most part just as soon ignore or pretend do not exist at all.

“The Obama administration had waged what people across the political spectrum were calling an unprecedented war on whistle-blowers. The president, who had campaigned on a vow to have the ‘most transparent administration in history,’ specifically pledging to protect whistle-blowers, whom he hailed as ‘noble’ and ‘courageous,’ had done exactly the opposite.
         “Obama’s administration has prosecuted more government leakers under the Espionage Act of 1917—a total of seven—than all previous administrations in US history combined: in fact, more than double that total. The Espionage Act was adopted during World War I to enable Woodrow Wilson to criminalize dissent against the war, and its sanctions are severe: they include life in prison and even the death penalty.” —Glenn Greenwald, No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State (2014), p. 50.

WHITE PHOSPHORUS
White phosphorus is a form (or “allotrope”) of the element phosphorus, P₄, which ignites spontaneously upon contact with oxygen. Once ignited, it burns at very high temperatures (reaching about 815°C) and produces a thick, white, irritating smoke. It is extremely dangerous, and must be used with great care in industry.
        White phosphorus is incredibly dangerous to humans. Its waxy texture allows it to stick to skin and clothing, where it continues to burn as long as it is exposed to air, producing deep and severe thermal and chemical burns that can penetrate down to the bone. Furthermore, inhaling the dense smoke it produces can cause acute respiratory tract damage, and the chemical is highly toxic if it is absorbed into the bloodstream or ingested.
        Nevertheless, White phosphorus is used by militaries in artillery shells, mortars, and grenades to illuminate battlefields, generate dense smokescreens to conceal troop movements, and create fires. In some cases it is used in fact as a form of chemical warfare, though militaries virtually always deny that this is what they are doing. It is claimed by militaries that the use of white phosphorus is “not” chemical warfare (and hence “not” a violation of international law against chemical warfare), when it is used to provide battlefield illumination or smokescreens. Moreover, it is claimed by militaries that their use of white phosphorus is heavily restricted. Nevertheless, there have been numerous cases where the evidence seems to clearly show otherwise. “Because of the horrific nature of its burns and its indiscriminate nature, using it as an incendiary weapon in or near populated areas is widely considered a violation of international humanitarian law.” [Much of the information in this entry was provided by Google’s AI assistant, as of June 12, 2026.]

“The Israeli military has deployed white phosphorus, an incendiary substance that can be extremely harmful, over populated areas in Lebanon in its battle against Hezbollah, according to experts, aid groups and visual evidence collected by the New York Times.
         “Distinctive smoke trails from this type of munition were seen as recently as May 30 in Nabatieh, a city of roughly 40,000, in social media footage verified by The Times, which was filmed as Israeli forces captured Beaufort Castle, a landmark in the area.
         “Other verified footage showed that white phosphorus had been used in the vicinity of the coastal city of Tyre, as well as near three small towns—Qlayaa, Khiam and Yohmor—in the months since fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group, began again in March. The latest fighting erupted after Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel, following joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.
         “Once exposed to air, white phosphorus spontaneously ignites and is exceptionally difficult to extinguish.
         “Often deployed by militaries to create fires and smoke screens during combat, white phosphorus is not illegal in itself, but deploying it deliberately against civilians or in an area populated by civilians violates the international laws of war. Human rights advocates have raised concerns that civilians have been affected by the Israeli military’s use of it.
         “Israel denies using the substance in violation of those laws. It is not clear for what purpose the Israeli military used white phosphorus in these incidents....
         “Israel’s deployment of white phosphorus in populated areas has brought about scrutiny in the past....
         “Israel has also deployed white phosphorus in Gaza--in 2009, and in conflicts in Lebanon, including 1982 and 2006. In the year following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, the Israeli military used white phosphorus more than 200 times in Lebanon, according to Ahmad Beydoun, an independent researcher who built a visual database of its sightings in the country....
         “According to the World Health Organization, white phosphorus causes severe burns if it comes into contact with flesh. It can also cause respiratory and eye injuries if inhaled.
         “‘The harm that white phosphorus causes is horrific,’ said Bonnie Docherty, a senior adviser at Human Rights Watch. ‘It inflicts burns that can penetrate to the bone.’ The dense smoke it produces, she said, ‘causes severe respiratory damage, and organ failure. Wounds can reignite when bandages are removed and remnants of the substance are exposed to oxygen.’ White phosphorus can also set homes, cars, buildings, fields and other objects on fire....
         “Establishing that white phosphorus has been used intentionally against civilians can be difficult. A Human Rights Watch report in 2009 found that the Israeli military had repeatedly used these munitions over densely populated parts of Gaza. Four years later, after international pressure from rights organizations, the Israeli military announced that it would significantly reduce its use of white phosphorus.” [However, recent events in Lebanon indicate that this has not actually happened. —Ed.]
         —Sanjana Varghese, “Visual Evidence Suggests Israel’s Use of White Phosphorus in Lebanon”, New York Times, June 7, 2026.

WHITE TERROR
        1. A period in some particular place, and during some particular period, when anti-Communist political forces attack, suppress or murder Communists or revolutionaries. Episodes of White Terror have been very common in the course of many revolutions, including the Russian Revolution and the Chinese Revolution. The bourgeoisie and other reactionaries are extraordinarily vicious and murderous.
        2. [In Taiwan:] A four-decade period of political repression beginning in 1949 when Chiang Kai-shek’s Guomintang [Kuomintang or KMT] forces fled to Taiwan and began the systematic terrorization against any opposition there. Many tens of thousands of people were murdered.

“Martial law, declared on Taiwan in May 1949, continued to be in effect after the [Guomintang] central government relocated to Taiwan. It was also used as a way to suppress the political opposition and was not repealed until 38 years later in 1987. During the White Terror, as the period is known, 140,000 people were imprisoned or executed for being perceived as anti-KMT or pro-Communist. Many citizens were arrested, tortured, imprisoned and executed for their real or perceived link to the Chinese Communist Party. Since these people were mainly from the intellectual and social elite, an entire generation of political and social leaders was decimated. In 1998, a law was passed to create the ‘Compensation Foundation for Improper Verdicts’ which oversaw compensation to White Terror victims and families. President Ma Ying-jeou made an official apology in 2008, expressing hope that there would never be a tragedy similar to White Terror.” —Wikipedia article on Taiwan, as of 10/28/22. [It is not very clear how families of people who have been tortured and murdered can later ever be properly “compensated”. —Ed.]