INTERNASYONALISMO

Many sincere revolutionaries in the Philippines ask if there is still hope for the proletarian revolution. This question reflects their serious observations that the Left have MISTAKES in their ‘revolution’. Others have so much confident that their ideologies will certainly bring the working class to communism. Although they have different ideologies, they have common belief that ‘genuine’ bourgeois democracy and freedom and the state (‘workers’ state’ or ‘people’s state’) are the only way towards communism.

The proletariat has only two powerful weapons to overthrow capitalism and the state in the whole world: (1) class consciousness and (2) class solidarity in the international level.

These two fundamental principles sharpen the two weapons of the proletariat:

Internationalism. Workers have no country. Their class interests are not compatible with national interests. National interests are bourgeoisies’ interests. If in the 19th century there were cases that the proletariat supported the bourgeoisie in building new nations, it is only because that the latter then was a progressive class with its interest of complete annihilation of feudalism in any part of the globe, and most of all, capitalism was in its ascendant phase. This was changed fundamentally in the 20th century, with the explosion of the first imperialist war: capitalism entered in its decadent phase and all bourgeois factions became totally reactionary in all countries (backward or advance).

The principle of internationalism also mean that all class struggles are mainly founded on the international situation and served the advancement of world revolution not with any particular national situation or interests. Thus, internationalism is building a centralized international communist party.
Most of all, internationalism is the world socialist revolution. Socialism is international or its nothing.

Independent working class movement. In any situation or circumstances, workers movement must be independent with other class movements. Since the proletariat has the historical mission to abolish all forms of exploitation and oppression and it is the only revolutionary class in capitalist society, it is necessary that at all times its interests should prevail than the other classes. Even in the ascendant stage of capitalism, in the epoch that the bourgeois class was still progressive, the great communist leaders like Marx, Engels, Lenin, Luxemburg and others always reminded us that the workers movement must be independent.

The two weapons and two principles are also in recognition that the current objective conditions are: (1) capitalism is in its decadent epoch since 1914 and (2) the only proletarian program in the whole world, in each country is the communist revolution because the condition is ripe, it has material basis, it is a necessity and a possibility to be won. It means that the minimum program of a communist party and the proletarian movement is already obsolete because struggle for reforms is not possible in the epoch of capitalism’s decline. The only current program is the maximum program – the communist program.

But the dying capitalism will not give up. It will do all to prevent and divert the resurging international proletarian struggles against the rotten system and for communism. They made barricades with the help of all varieties of Leftism – Maoists, Stalinists, Trotskyists, ‘Leninists’ and Anarchists – attempting to fortify the barricades.

In order to advance the revolutionary movement and to win the communist revolution it is necessary that the proletariat destroy first the barricades using its weapons and fundamental Marxist principles. If the class can’t destroy them, decadent capitalism in its stage of decomposition will lead us to unprecedented barbarism and wars that possibly would completely ruin the planet. Thus, the working class has very heavy responsibilities to fulfill its historic mission.

The barricades that must be cast away and be destroyed by the working class are the mystifications and illusions that are poisoning its consciousness. These are the 5 types of mystifications and illusions preventing the advancement of the communist revolution:

Democracy and nationalism. Under decadent capitalism, whatever types of democracy (‘elitist democracy’, ‘direct democracy’, ‘participatory democracy’, ‘liberal democracy’ or ‘people’s democracy’) are bourgeois democracy. Democracy is only the other side of bourgeois dictatorship, while the other side of its face is ‘one-man rule’, fascist dictatorship or military dictatorship. Whatever type of nationalism – national democracy, patriotism, ‘anti-imperialism’, or ‘rights of nations for self-determination’ in the epoch of capitalist decadence, are absolutely part of imperialist antagonisms and wars. It is proven not only in theory but in practice of the last 70 years that all ‘national democratic revolutions’, ‘wars for national liberation’ are forms of imperialist wars and not the way toward socialism.

Parliamentarism. In the current epoch where the most powerful branch of the state is the executive not the parliaments of whatever type of bourgeois governments, any participation in parliament by the revolutionaries and the proletariat is a step backward not forward. Participation in parliament is completely opportunistic and reformist tactic despite the very radical language of those who participated in it. If in 19th century, in general, workers participation in parliaments using the tactic of ‘revolutionary parliamentarism’ was correct in order that the class could organized and strengthened itself, Marx and others always warn the dangers of participation in it. But in our epoch, this tactic of the past becomes a chains entangling the proletariat and bringing them to reformism. Participation in bourgeois parliament did not and will not weaken the state but instead it acted like sprinkling perfumes on a system in state of decomposition.

Unionism. All types of unions (Rightist or Leftist) are instruments of the state in the epoch of decadent capitalism. They are only bargaining the capitalists on how and what level the exploitation should be implemented upon the workers. Their mobilizations and radical languages are only to hide the truth that they are the state police inside the workplaces. If in 19th century unions were truly organizations of the proletariat, in the 20th century up to now they are the counter-revolutionary organs inside the workers movement.

United front or Frontism. It is a counter-revolutionary tactic doing alliances with a fraction of the bourgeois class at a time when the agenda is to destroy the state and the workers must seize political power. It would not strengthen the independent working class movement in whatever way but the opposite: the class enemy would only influence or control the proletarian movement. Whatever type of united front — in the name of anti-fascism, anti-dictatorship o anti-imperialist — to any fraction of the class enemy is a tactic for defeat.

‘Socialism in one country’ or ‘State socialism’. ‘Socialism in one country’ is treachery to the fundamental principle of Marxism – internationalism. This has no other meaning than dictatorship of the bourgeoisie in the name of the state under the facade of ‘socialism’. Socialism cannot be obtained through the state but on the contrary, the level of realization of socialism can be measure on the level of the withering away of the state and the abolition of all national boundaries. ‘State socialism’ is an attempt to save the rotten capitalist system. Socialism can only be achieved through the workers councils with centralized character internationally. While transitional states in the transition period are inevitable, they are not the means for the dictatorship of the working class but must be over them.

The organs of struggle under capitalist decadence are the workers assemblies and councils (where all ‘types’ of workers – regular, contractual, unionists, non-unionist, private or public), be it to resist the policies and abuses of the management in one factory and the state or for its revolutionary overthrow. These organs are independent and not controlled nor influenced by the unions or any bourgeois parties (Rightist or Leftist). They will appear in the midst of struggles and disappear in times of reflux. They will only become ‘permanent’ in times of revolutionary offensive and after the final overthrow of bourgeois rule. The only permanent organizations are the organizations of revolutionaries centralized in international level.

The nature of current struggles is inevitably political. It means that they are directly link in the question of seizing political power. Capitalist class or the state would temporarily retreat or stop their attacks if there is a threat that they would be overthrown by the proletariat. They would not retreat or stop if the seat of power is only threatened or seize by the other fraction of the class enemy.

In relation to this, workers struggles (defensive or offensive, economic or political) need to be generalize and centralize. In other words, they should be territorial in scope – town, city, province or higher level under the control of the workers councils. Factory or community level of struggles controlled by the unions or any permanent organizations is almost certain of defeat or would tend toward unfavorable compromises.

Workers assemblies and councils bring the workers and humanity to communism and not the state or the substitionism of the party. The role of the international communist party or the organizations of revolutionaries is to hasten the conditions that the class could develop its class consciousness to organized itself and hold in its own hands the direction of its struggles.

In summary, international proletarian revolution would only be victorious if the whole class completely understand (not only the revolutionaries) the lessons of more than 200 years of class struggles against capitalism. However, their understanding could only be hasten if the communist organizations would tirelessly explain to their class the historical lessons of class struggles; if the bogus communists and sham meaning of socialism and communism are finally exposed in front of the workers.

As Marxists, we know that the great communist leaders made mistakes in the past; mistakes that were made because of many limitations to understand the changes class struggles and objective conditions went through. However, it must be clear to the new generation of revolutionaries that there is complete difference between mistakes on the one hand and treachery and revisionism on the other. Lenin, Trotsky, Luxemburg, Gorter, Pannekoek, and others, despite of their mistakes remain genuine communist internationalists until they die. But the current Maoists, Trotskyists, instead of defending the revolutionary and communist positions of the latter, they went to the camp of the class enemy. The most important for the new generation of the proletariat is to understand their mistakes and in what historical context they made the mistakes, and most importantly how to avoid the mistakes in the past.

On the other hand, Mao and Stalin and their ideologies have nothing to do with Marxism and proletarian internationalism. From top to bottom they belong to the enemy camp. The Stalinists assertion that ‘Marxism-Leninism’ is the ‘ideology’ of the proletariat in the era of imperialism or the Maoists declaration that ‘Maoism’ is the ‘acme’ of ‘Marxism-Leninism’ in the current period are a great insult to Marxism and Lenin itself.

INTERNASYONALISMO, September 2007

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