Part 4 - Ideological Warfare tactics of capitalists against socialism through concepts and theories
Ideological Warfare tactics of capitalists against socialism through concepts and theories
Part 4- Which Slogan Is Current and Correct?-The political
subject
“When did
the Executive Committee give orders for slogans to be modified?” ... Of
course, the modification is wrong from the standpoint of the Communist
Manifesto, but then the Communist Manifesto was written under
entirely different conditions. From the point of view of present-day
politics, however, the change is correct.” Lenin
The use of each slogan may be
seen as an innocent difference by almost everyone. I agree on that count if, and
when it is used by individuals, but when it is used by a party or
organizations that call themselves communist, it is far from being
innocent. The difference stems from the difference between the Second
Internationalists (Mensheviks) and Third Internationalists (Bolsheviks).
It is the difference between Leninism and all other revisionist factions, even
those under the mask of Leninists.
It is the manifestation of the Trotskyite perspective against the Leninist perspective on various fundamental questions, from socialist revolution to the stance on anti-imperialist wars.
Trotskyists believe in world
socialist revolution in one leap; Leninists believe in socialist revolutions in
each individual country through a long struggle. Trotskyites do not
believe in anti-imperialist wars; they see it as a “question of the past”.
Leninists believe that anti-imperialist struggles and wars are a part of
socialist struggle which give momentum to socialist struggles worldwide through
striking blows to imperialist countries. Lenin is very clear on the
subject, which does not leave any room for misunderstanding for an honest reader.
The difference between Leninists
and Trotskyite perspective crystallized during the 2nd International. That’s
why it is not a coincidence that the chauvinists of imperialist, colonialist
countries cling to the old pre-imperialist era slogan. Is this
choice of using an old slogan a new development? Not at all. It goes
back to the time when the official proceedings of the Second Congress were
published under the title Workers of the World and Oppressed Peoples,
Unite!, and to the issuance of the Communist International slogan of “‘Proletarians of all countries and oppressed peoples, unite!’”
for the peoples of the East.
The slogan was reflecting
Comintern’s formal commitment to anti‑colonial and anti‑imperialist
struggles, explicitly linking the working class of the
industrialised West with the liberation movements of the colonial,
semi-colonial countries.
Trotskyites of all shades called
the slogan as an “invention” by Lenin. The amendment, however, was
not a product of a chance thought. Beginning with the split with the Mensheviks
in 1903, and during all the years of organization at home and exile abroad,
Lenin had fought against all sorts of deviations from support for national
self-determination, both for oppressed “nations” and “nation-states”.
Lenin argued that a united
front was essential to combat imperialism, linking socialist revolution
directly with the national liberation of subjugated nations.
Unlinking the socialist revolutions from the anti-imperialist
struggles, calling every war an “inter-imperialist war” in
order not to support the anti-imperialist wars, has been the intention and
tactics of chauvinists and revisionists to conceal the subjugating and plundering
motive of the imperialists and hide the class struggle of the workers
and oppressed peoples.
Historically, the original slogan
of the communist movement, ‘Workers of the world unite’, the rallying cry and
final phrase from the Communist Manifesto, written by Marx and Engels in 1848
put forward at a time when the nascent communist movement was geographically
limited to Europe and North America, and focused almost exclusively on the
industrial working class.
Lenin’s study of global political
economy, and particularly of the dynamics of monopoly capitalism and
the emergence of modern imperialism, led him to an acute understanding of
the global applicability of Marxist thought. Lenin stated in his
work “Imperialism” that capitalism having “grown into a world system of
colonial oppression and of the financial strangulation of the
overwhelming majority of the people of the world by a handful of ‘advanced’
countries”; the capitalist class of the metropolis had become an enemy not just
to the working class in the advanced capitalist countries but to the
broad masses of the oppressed in all countries. “Imperialism is
leading to annexation, to increased national oppression, and, consequently,
also to increasing resistance.” Hence, at the second congress of the Communist
International (Comintern) in 1920, ‘Workers of the world unite’ was updated to
‘Workers and oppressed peoples of all countries, unite’ to reflect the
imperialist era.
Lenin, in his speech delivered at
a meeting of the activists of the Moscow organization of the RCP
(B), stated: “We now stand, not only as representatives of
the proletarians of all countries but as representatives of
the oppressed peoples as well. A journal of the Communist International
recently appeared under the title of Narody Vostoka. It carries the
following slogan issued by the Communist International for the
peoples of the East: “Workers of all countries and all oppressed
peoples, unite !” “When did the Executive Committee give orders for slogans
to be modified?” one of the comrades asked. Indeed, I do not remember that it
ever did. Of course, the modification is wrong from the standpoint of
the Communist Manifesto, but then the Communist Manifesto was
written under entirely different conditions. From the point of view
of present-day politics, however, the change is correct.”
Lenin’s modification of the
original "Workers of the world, unite!" slogan to encompass
the colonial and oppressed populations, recognizing them as key
allies in the fight against global capital.
His adaptation of the Marxist
slogan, "Workers and the oppressed people of the world,
unite!", served as a rallying cry against imperialism and
capitalism. It expanded the focus from just industrial workers to
include colonized and oppressed peoples globally, emphasizing shared
struggle and international solidarity for victory. He aimed to unite
the global industrial proletariat with national liberation movements in
colonized countries, arguing that this broader alliance was essential
to defeating imperialism and achieving a socialist victory. Lenin realized
that in the age of monopoly capitalism, workers' freedom from oppression
was linked directly to the liberation of colonies and subjugated nations. The
slogan was a deliberate expansion of the 2nd Comintern Congress to include
fighting against racism and all forms of class/national exploitation. He
believed this unity would prevent workers in "oppressor
nations" from becoming blinded by national chauvinism, forcing them to
support the right of self-determination for oppressed nations.
Lenin recognized that hundreds of
millions of oppressed people in the East (e.g., China, India) were rapidly
being drawn into the revolutionary struggle against imperialism. He underlined
the need of workers in the imperialist countries to see their own
self-interest in allying with the peoples of oppressed nations. He
noted that the exploiters of those countries were the same exploiters
of workers in oppressor nations. Seeing the need to end that shared
exploitation, he called for changing the slogan “Workers of
the world unite” to “Workers and oppressed peoples of the world unite.”
The call was designed to unite
the international proletariat with anti-colonial movements. It is
utilized by socialist movements to call for unity against capitalist
inequality.
Stalin summed this up
by noting that Lenin's change solidified the unity of the proletarian
and national liberation movements into a single anti-imperialist front.
Ho Chi Minh, in
his essay “The Path Which Led Me To Leninism,” described his
years in Paris in the early 1920s, participating in the debates between the
Leninists and the social chauvinists, stating:
“If you do not
condemn colonialism, if you do not side with the colonial people, what
kind of revolution are you waging?” … At first, patriotism, not yet
communism, led me to have confidence in Lenin, in the Third International. Step
by step, along the struggle, by studying Marxism-Leninism parallel with
participation in practical activities, I gradually came upon the fact
that only socialism and communism can liberate the oppressed nations and
the working people throughout the world from slavery.”
The Chinese communists have
played a crucial role in developing Lenin’s ideas of anti-imperialism
and applying them in practice. The overthrow of imperialist domination
and the construction of socialism in China, Korea and Vietnam represented a profound
shift of the revolutionary centre of gravity in the world. The radical
governments emerging in the Sahel today, in the era of a multipolar world order, represent continuation and deepening of this process.
It is not a coincidence that
most - if not all- of the use of the old slogan is seen in
imperialist and ex-colonial capitalist countries by the chauvinists of those
countries with pseudo “revolutionary communist” parties. This catchy
name “Revolutionary Communist” used by the chauvinists (mostly of
the US and West) is mushrooming in so many countries. It is like the
NED (National Endowment for Democracy), a civilian branch of the CIA, working in a “communist” mask. That is why it is
not a coincidence that they are against a multipolar world
order and are proponents of a unipolar world order.
Let's summarize: it is no
coincidence that all the criticism of socialist, socialist oriented
countries, countries waging anti-imperialist struggles, is propagated by these
chauvinists and Trotskyites of various shades. Deep down, the
underlying message is: “there cannot be a socialism within one
country”; anti-imperialist wars are a thing of the past; if a
“socialist country” is poor (they always disregard the imperialist blockades
and sanctions ), that “proves” socialism cannot be succeeded in one country; if
the “socialist country” is developed and rich, it is because that
country is “capitalist,” not "socialist"- the message is
clear: no socialist country can be successful, no anti-imperialist
struggle can be victorious.
As a conclusion, the preference
of the slogan by the parties and organizations to be used is not
coincidental but ideologically driven. Leninists use the
modified, "present-day slogan" “Workers of the World and
Oppressed Peoples, Unite!”, while Trotskyites, all other revisionists, and
chauvinists would prefer to use the old slogan “Workers of the
World, Unite!”. Like in most questions, they either live in the era of Marx and
Engels (era of bourgeois democratic revolution) for their
theoretical assessments, or they consciously ignore the imperialist
era and Lenin’s assessments for the new era.
We have established the
revolutionary subject: the workers and oppressed peoples, united against
imperialism. The slogan 'Workers of the World and Oppressed Peoples, Unite!'
reflects this unity. But the ultra-left and Trotskyites do not stop at
rejecting the slogan. They also deny the revolutionary character of the wars
waged by these oppressed peoples. They claim that 'anti-imperialist wars are a
thing of the past' — that in the epoch of imperialism, there can be no more
national wars. This is the second weapon: the denial of national liberation. We
turn now to the Marxist-Leninist position on anti-imperialist wars.
