The Concept 'Country' and Proletarian Internationalism. - Moni Guha
3. The Concept 'Country' and Proletarian Internationalism.
3. The Concept 'Country' and Proletarian Internationalism.
Socialism, of course, will not remain confined within a single country for ever. A time will surely come when socialism will be a fact first in more than one country, then in several countries and eventually in all countries. What will be the basis of mutual relations among the socialist countries, how the socialist countries will effect the unity of the people of all individual socialist countries, effacing the concept of "my country"? This is a question of the concrete application of proletarian internationalism in contrast with bourgeois nationalism. It is necessary to deal with the concept of "country" and its relation with the working class in this connection. The Communist Manifesto emphasized that the "country" about which the bourgeois spokesmen are so fond of prating does not exist so far the proletarian class is concerned. The arena where the proletariat wages struggle is within the boundaries of national state created and ruled by the bourgeoisie. That is why the struggle of the proletariat, in semblance, not actually, is limited within the boundary of a specific national state though the proletarians have in every country one and the same interest, one and the same enemy, one and the same war- to end capitalism, to establish socialism - to wage. Only a tiny section - the bourgeoisie - has created for itself the boundary, because "though all members of the contemporary bourgeoisie have one and the same interest so far as they constitute a specific class contravene to another class, nevertheless in their relations one with another they have conflicting interests. These antagonisms arise from the economic structure of the bourgeois system". (Marx-The Poverty of Philosophy) – which goes by the name of 'Country', 'Fatherland' etc. So long the proletariat is not class conscious the national class state of the bourgeoisie is considered by them as their fatherland. Even the proletariat, when becomes conscious of itself as a class and seizes political power and establishes itself as a ruling class, it establishes that power within a specific boundary. Only in that sense, "though by no means in the bourgeois sense of the term" (Manifesto), the proletariat does retain national complexion of the state. The process of Internationalization which is already perceptible under capitalism i.e., in the world system of capitalist economy, "will efface these distinctions and contrasts even more.... The ending of class oppositions within the nations will end the mutual hostilities of the nations." (Manifesto) and eventually will obliterate the boundaries and frontiers of nations and there will emerge a single nation of humanity.
On this basis Lenin, while building socialism in one country, envisaged that world socialism can only be built up on the basis of an integrated world socialist economy regulated by the international dictatorship of the proletariat based on WORLD FEDERATION OF SOCIALIST REPUBLICS on the one hand and under the leadership of a SINGLE WORLD COMMUNIST PARTY on the other as opposed to the integrated world capitalist economy regulated by international capital. That would be the crux of proletarian internationalism in practice as and when more than one socialist country will emerge.
The overthrow of Tsarist autocracy not only unleashed a social revolution, but many national revolutions, in the course of which the Tsarist empire disintegrated into diverse national entities. Since "a whole series of nationalities in Russia" said Stalin. "Were, in fact, in a state of complete separation and in view of this, federation became a step forward.......to their drawing together, to their unity." (Wks. Vol. 5) Lenin never regarded the atomised states as useful and advantageous for the socialist unity of the whole world. The proletarian internationalism demands unity of the people on international scale uninterrupted by disintegrative pulls of separate nationalism. According to Lenin, the large centralised state of the capitalists is an immense historical step forward from the dispersal of political power in feudal times to the future socialist unity of the whole world. That was why the Bolshevik Party, while, calling the vast Tsarist empire a "prison of nations" urged the nations and nationalities not to disintegrate by forming atomised independent states, but to remain united on the basis of voluntary union with the right of secession. This voluntary union is the union of the people on the basis of federation.
Lenin said that "federation is a transitional form to complete unity of the working people of the different nations." (Colonial Theses). It meant that federation does not denote complete unity, but a step forward towards complete unity. Federation is a voluntary union of different sovereign states based on equality and independence of each state voluntarily limiting the sovereignty in the common interests of all the federated states as a whole to such an extent which will help all to advance quickly in the struggle against the common enemy - international capital. Secondly, federation is a two sided agreement of sovereign states; it is a, "union of equals" and as such, it may not always and under all circumstances, agree with other. In that case the concerned sovereign state may leave the federation and secede. Hence, according to Lenin, federation does not and cannot denote "complete unity" - yet it is a welcome step forward to complete unity.
As the people – not the advanced section of the working class – the Communists – of different socialist states still harbour (after the revolution) national sentiments, feelings, apprehensions and even hatred against other nations, especially against the erstwhile oppressing nation, different socialist states can only federate voluntarily on the basis of equality, independence and sovereignty with the right of secession, if necessary. Lenin spoke of this federation as federation of world socialist states as a "transitional stage to complete unity", of the people of different nations. Complete unity of the people of different nations of the socialist states can only be achieved in the process of socialist reconstruction of society, socialization, abolition of exploitation of man by man and abolition of all classes and abolition of material and super structural bases of bourgeois and petty -bourgeois nationalism. So, it is a long way. Meanwhile, socialist state will emerge one after another. The historically determined aim of communism is complete unity of the people of the world - which is already visible in the Communists of the world - where there will remain no state boundaries and no state, humanity will be a single nation. The socialist states in this transition period must have a policy to realise this principle. That is why the dictatorship of the proletariat takes cognizance of the reality of the situation and thus recognizes and respects the equality. Independence and state sovereignty of the different socialist states and prepare the material, super structural and organizational ground for complete unity, by federating the socialist states for closer unity as a transitional stage towards complete unity.
In this connection, it must be clearly and without an iota of ambiguity, understood that behind the state apparatus of the federated socialist states the democratically centralised Communist Party remains as the guiding core - who are proletarian internationalists both in theory and practice and who are in complete unity on all issues. The members of the Communist Party are not people with national feelings, sentiments, apprehensions and hatred, but vanguard of the people of the world in complete unity (not, of course, in absolute sense) most conscious section of the working class. THE ORGANIZATIONAL PRINCIPLE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY IS NOT federalism based on equality, independence and sovereignty with the right of secession, BUT DEMOCRATIC CENTRALISM. It expresses the single will of the world proletariat. This will, according to Lenin, is one and indivisible, communists of the world articulate in one voice and there is no place of divisive voice ONCE THE DECISIONS ARE TAKEN, after full and free discussion when there was equality and independence in airing the opinion. The Communist Party is a monolithic organization. When, in 1903, voices were raised by the Bundists and others for the federal structure of the Party, Lenin held that there was only one valid class will for the workers of all nations and as such, federalism for the proletarian party cannot be tolerated. Lenin said. "We must act as a single centralised fighting organization. We must have behind us the entire proletariat without distinction of nationality and language."
Herein lies the difference between the socialist states composed of the people and the communist Party composed of the advanced section of the proletariat. The former is in the process of complete unity while the latter is already in complete unity.
Lenin not only envisaged, but also made the federation of many Soviet States a reality in the Soviet Union, first, it was R.S.F.S.R. and afterwards USSR. At the Eighth Party Congress in March, 1919, Lenin drew a clear distinction between the principle of state organization and party organization. After federalism had been approved as the method for joining new socialist states to the R.S.F.S.R., the Party in a resolution warned that this, in no way, implies that the Russian Communist Party, in turn, must be organised as a federation of independent Communist parties. – There must be one centralised communist party with One Central Committee, directing the ENTIRE WORK of the Party in all parts of the R.S.F.S.R. Furthermore, the resolution said, "At the present time Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, and Byelorussia exist as separate Soviet Republics. For the present moment these are the forms in which the state has to exist." But ALL DECISIONS OF THE RUSSIAN COMMUNIST PARTY AND DIRECTING ORGANS ARE UNCONDITIONALLY BINDING UPON ALL PARTS OF THE PARTY REGARDLESS OF THEIR NATIONAL COMPOSITION. The Central Committees of the Ukrainian, Latvian and Lithuanian parties are accorded the rights of regional Committees of the Party and are ENTIRELY SUBORDINATED TO THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE RUSSIAN COMMUNIST PARTY.
From the above, we see that taking into full account the sentiments, feelings etc. of the people of Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania and Byelorussia Lenin and the Bolshevik Party did not press for federating these separate Soviet States to R.S.F.S.R. and these states remained not only independent and sovereign but also separate. Nevertheless, Lenin did not allow the Communist Parties of these states to remain independent and sovereign. Did Lenin acted as a great nation chauvinist as the Tito-clique spoke of Stalin and which was supported by both the C.P.S.U. headed by Khrushchev and the CPC headed by Mao Tse-Tung? On the contrary, "this example alone should point up clearly the difference of attitude between the people and the vanguard of the people of any country. This is how proletarian internationalism was concretely practised by Lenin. The Ukrainian, Latvian and Lithuanian Parties did neither raise their eyebrows nor raised the question of independence and sovereignty of their parties, nor did they raise the question of equality between big and small parties.
Though in March 1919, Lenin agreed to the existence of Ukraine etc, as separate states, in December 1919, he urged Ukraine to federate with the R.S.F.S.R. so as to provide the toilers of the whole world with an example of a really firm union of workers and peasants of different nations struggling for Soviet power and THE CREATION OF A WORLD FEDERATED SOCIALIST REPUBLIC. This time the Ukrainian people readily agreed to federate with the R.S.F.S.R.
In December , 1922 again, Stalin, when discussing the treaty that would soon create the USSR, said, that the new Union state will have another decisive step towards the amalgamation of toilers of the whole world into A WORLD SOCIALIST REPUBLIC. Similarly, the Programme of the Sixth Congress of the Communist International in 1928, advanced the slogan of A FEDERATION OF SOVIET REPUBLICS OF advanced countries and colonies THAT HAVE FALLEN AWAY OR ARE FALLING AWAY FROM THE IMPERIALIST SYSTEM. The various states 'the Comintern programme continued' will JOIN THE GROWING FEDERATION OF SOVIET REPUBLICS AND THUS enter the general system of world proletarian dictatorship. The programme also visualised that at a certain time "the federation of these Republics has FINALLY BEEN TRANSFORMED INTO A WORLD UNION OF SOCIALIST REPUBLIC uniting the whole mankind under the hegemony of the world proletariat ORGANISED AS A STATE."
The rules adopted at the Sixth Congress of the Communist International reiterated that The Communist International -- the International workers Association is union of Communist Parties in various Countries; IT IS A WORLD COMMUNIST PARTY. (International Press Correspondence, Vol. 8, no. 84, November 29, 1928.)
How can the above aim of world federation of the socialist Republics as a transitional stage to complete unity of the people of all the nations be realised in life? Lenin, taking experience from the Soviet movement enriched the Marxist doctrine of the proletarian Party in conformity with the needs of the epoch of proletarian revolution and set up the Third (Communist) International in March, 1919. Lenin never regarded the Republic of Soviets AS AN END IN ITSELF" said Stalin. He always looked on it as an essential link (Stalin's emphasis) for facilitating the victory of the working people of the whole world over capitalism. Lenin knew that this was the only right conception, both from the international standpoint and from the standpoint of preserving the Republic of Soviets itself. Lenin knew that this alone could fire the hearts of the working people of the whole world with determination to fight the decisive battle for their emancipation. This is why, on the morrow of the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat, he, the greatest genius, who has led the proletariat, laid the foundations of the workers' international. This is why he never tired of extending and strengthening the union of the working people of the whole world – the Communist International." (Works, vol. 6)
The most important features of the organizational principles of the Communist International were evolved by Lenin so that the proletarian internationalism can be expressed most concretely in day to day life – not only in words – and with the aim of smooth working of the WORLD FEDERATION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS. These principles were: (a) democratic centralism in each Party to ensure, unity of will with action, on the part of the national contingents of the Communist Parties; (b) internationalism 'including international discipline i.e., DEMOCRATIC CENTRALISM IN THE INTERNATIONAL SPHERE expressing monolithism and oneness of the aim and action of the international proletariat; and (c) the designation of the Parties of the Communist International was changed to signify and emphasise that they were not national Communist Parties but national contingents of the World Party e.g. not the country’s Communist Party. Each party desirous of joining the Communist International should bear the following name: Communist Party of such and such a country, section of the Third (Communist) International. The question of renaming of a Party is not only a formal one but is a political question of great importance. (Condition 17 of the 21 Conditions for the affiliations). The Condition No 16 said, All the resolutions of the Congress of the Communist International, as well as the resolutions of the Executive Committee are binding for all parties joining Communist International. But at the same time the Communist International said in the same Condition No 16, "At the same time the Communist International and the Executive Committee are naturally bound in every form of their activity to consider the variety of conditions under which the different parties have to work and struggle, and generally binding resolution should be passed only on such question upon which such resolutions are possible.
Consequently, proletarian internationalism did no longer remain an abstract and empty high-sounding phrase and catch-world like that of the Second International. It was made concrete and lively. Submission to the international discipline of international democratic centralism of ECCI (Executive Committee of the Communist International) subordinating the interests of individual sections of the Communist Party was the concrete and living expression and manifestation of proletarian internationalism. Behind the World Federation of Socialist Republics, the Communist International remaining as the guiding core will unite the people of different nations, through the transitional stage to complete unity. Federation of Socialist States of different nations and the Communist International were the two pillars of proletarian internationalism, conceived by Lenin, Stalin and the Communist International.
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