donderdag 29 april 2010

Note about anti-imperialist resistance

I think that for the development of an real anti-imperialist ideology in the working class living in imperialist centres and for the theorizing of the spontaneous anti-imperialist ideology of all forms of objective resistance against imperialism (however not always subjectively or consciously reasoned or theorized), it is urgent that there will be an CONCRETE analyse of  ACTUAL imperialism. And that actual and concrete analyse -that is my opinion – has to become the base of the development of the strategy, say the program, that the real vanguard of the working class will make.
That strategy, that revolutionary program will become by agitation, propaganda, formation, education,  discussion etc..., the strategy, the program of the WHOLE working class for their revolutionary struggle against imperialism (the last possible stage of capitalism).

One can say that some organisations (who declared to be « the vanguard ») make NOT a concrete analyse (based on dialectical and historical materialism) of the actual imperialist stage of capitalism today. So they can never come to a real formulation of the tasks of the revolutionary forces in the world (of which they pretend to be a part of or even should LEAD....). It is the persisting of opportunist conceptions about applying dialectical and historical materialism that make them blind for the development of REVISIONISM in their own organisations.
Not noticing this opportunism and so not beat it led for the Workers Party of Belgium (WPB -Partij Van De Arbeid van België/PVDA) to the installing of a REVISIONIST leadership that led the former communist party to a REFORMIST party. The same dynamics happen to the KEN (ml) (Kommunistische Eenheidsbeweging Nederland - Marxist-Leninistisch - communist united movement of the Netherlands - Marxist-Leninist) they became the reformist party: Socialist Party-SP (of the Netherlands)

The self declared communist, revolutionary or Marxist organisations are often basing their strategically, political and organisational points on a Marxist-SOUNDING analyse that is made in a very GENERALISING way, using CHOSEN QUOTES of Marx or Lenin. But in their anti-imperialist and revolutionary strategy they are often ACCEPTING as a FACT, the ARTIFICIAL borders (drawn by imperialism or colonialism) and countries as “nations” IN those borders. Those borders are a result of imperialist competition dividing the world in zones of influences.
In fact those « communist » organisations are developing sometimes a nationalism (in the form of the objective of socialist revolution WITHIN those artificial “national” borders) that is MORE NARROW than the nationalism I mentioned above, because they ACCEPT a former colony, bordered by artificial colonial drawn frontiers, being a «nation» IN which the revolution has to be organised.
So are they WEAKENING real anti-imperialist resistance already from the beginning of its organising!

When the members of a communist party don't participate actively in applying dialectical and historical materialism in the basic analyses that has to be made for the development of the political and ideological line of the party, while leaving this work to leading cadres, opportunism can develop inside the party without being countered.
Democratic centralism offers in a communist party the possibility of a conscious control of the members over their leading cadres.
When serious study and discussion of the political texts of the leading cadres and a study and discussion about the effective CLASS-point out of which this text is written is neglected, when personal attempts of fundamental analysis are not been made and political guidelines are just been followed without own study and without trying to do oneself the analyse again that lies at the base of those guidelines, the development of opportunism will not been noticed.
Bourgeois elements that once entered the party, or members or cadres who change of class-position (of proletarian to bourgeois class-position) can use this existing opportunism to cover their bourgeois class-position while being member or cadre of that communist party.
When consciously a bourgeois political and ideological line is developed formulated in “Marxist-sounding” terms it is no longer opportunism but REVIONISM. With that revisionist political and ideological line (when it will be accepted by “blind” and “deaf” members) it is possible to convert that revolutionary communist party into a capitalism-protecting REFORMIST party, while many “deaf” and “blind” members are still convinced to be member of a revolutionary party.
This is what happened with the WPB. (Workers Party of Belgium – Partij Van De Arbeid van
België/PVDA, pvda.be, wpb.be, ptb.be)

I tried to analyse this teaching example of deterioration to reformism by the way of development of non-countered revisionism INSIDE a communist revolutionary organisation as the WPB WAS:

Concrete anti-imperialist resistance is growing in the world, but need further analyse based on applying correctly dialectical and historical materialism.
At the same time there exist forces in the world, that organise struggle against imperialism and who based their effective resistance against imperialism on (as I see it) programs or strategy, that is not the result of real Marxist analyse, but based on historical experiences of colonial production relations of imperialism installed by force over them.
When you are looking at the regions in the world, were imperialism is using armed intervention, war and violent repression, the organisations that are the « vanguard » in the CONCRETE PRACTICE of organising the most violent attacks AGAINST these aspects of imperialism, in the PRACTICE of organising masses in resistance against these aspects of imperialism, those organisations are often NOT “self declared communist organisations”.
Their anti-imperialist ideology is not developed by dialectical and historical materialist analyse but is a kind of nationalist ideology but by the experiences of the struggle getting an anti-imperialist character. The progressive aspect of that nationalism is that that «nation» is NOT a country bordered by artificial frontiers once drawn by colonial powers DIVIDING larger popular masses that lived under equal colonial production relations sometimes putting all kind of contradictions against each other as «competitors». That by anti-colonialist struggle developed nationalism is UNIFYING large popular masses in the same fight against the colonial aspects of imperialism.
But I think by them there is sometimes a lack of scientific analyse of the actual world, of the actual situation of imperialism, which should lead to strategically, political and organisational conclusions to fight most effectively against imperialism.
Their nationalism is sometimes based on some historical and cultural conceptions formulated sometimes in religious, cultural or other metaphysical terms.

But now I think it is the moment of discussion with the REAL vanguard organisations «in the field» to develop a real anti-imperialist line. Perhaps out of such a discussion, some new real communist organisations (being the organised vanguard of the working class) can (re-)appear....
I want to make my contribution in this development of an anti-imperialist line and worked out a first analysis that can be submitted to discussion.
The different points treated (As I think to be important) are:
  • The capitalist production system functioning concrete in the finals stage of imperialism, the aspect of a socialising of the production
  • Competition is not vanishing by further monopoly-forming, but each time reappearing and sometimes aggravating into war situations. It is the FREE competition that is replaced by monopoly.
  • How is the forming and the realising of surplus value, the materialising of the level of exploitation in the imperialist stage of the capitalist production-system
  • What is the meaning of “the ownership of the means of production” (and the production itself, the production technology, the means of distribution of the production) under the final stage of imperialism (itself the ultimate stage of capitalism)
  • The question of the CONCRETE capitalist state CONFORMED to the level of development of capitalism (in it ACTUAL CONCRETE stage of imperialism
  • Imperialism sits in a fundamental crisis of overcapacity. Imperialism can only undergo the crisis, putting the weight of the crisis by the working class and the people that live under the colonialist production relations installed by imperialism and searching all kinds of temporarily «solutions» but which are all protecting the further existence of imperialism.
  • What is the concrete composition of the working class and what are her actual tasks.
  •  What are now the concrete actual tasks of the vanguard of the working-class
I tried to make my contribution by making the following analyse in the next document (in which there are links to further documents):
"Anti-imperialist united front"

donderdag 8 april 2010

Kris Merckx (PVDA/WPB), reformist since 1968: “OK, as long as my voters BELIEVE I am communist.”

Kris Merckx in “De Morgen” (a Belgian daily), Saturday 23 February 2008, in an interview:

“We (he speaks about the PVDA/WPB[1], Nico) stay on striving for a real socialist social alternative. We will never accept the capitalist system; otherwise the PVDA (WPB, Nico) has no reason of existence anymore. But it is getting urgent to become more flexible as a party. We have to dare to admit that our discourse was indeed very pure, but at the same time it had been floating to high above the heads of the working people: that cost the WPB in efficiency....
The WPB will always have her own identity and character; we may not hide our communist identity. But I am very well aware of the fact that the youth of today have not anymore an ear for Stalin or Mao. What we can accomplish here and now, that is what we bring to the people....
... (I have).... learned a lot ... of Mao, of his idea of “serving the people”. But that means also that recognizing that he has also made mistakes. It is the same for the Soviet-Union ... has unbelievable merits. But again, I admit that the repression under Stalin was too broad. And even when they are provoked by ruthless opponents, then he had the responsibility not to fall in the same trap. Let’s recognise at the same time the positive aspects as the negative aspects of Leninism and Maoism and pull the lessons out of them.....
.....Nobody can deny the merits of “Medicine For The People”. On this way we have to go further: concrete solutions for concrete points, action on the field instead of big theories.”
In fact, Kris Merckx is saying:
“The WPB has to stick to an “anti-capitalist” and “communist” profile, otherwise she can not profile herself next to other parties and above all, next to al what is so-called “left”. But in order to take care for having a voting public (in elections) for the WPB, we have to let go our van-guard character. Therefore we have to “revise” Marxism.Let’s recognise at the same time the positive aspects as the negative aspects of Leninism and Maoism and pull the lessons out of them”.And please let’s not try to work on revolution anymore! Because that is not attracting and interesting people. We have to become reformist, “movement is all, the objective is nothing” ....; so a social movement....” Medicine For The People”. “Concrete solutions for concrete points, action on the field instead of big theories.” ...”
Forty years ago Kris Merckx and Ludo Martens[2] were opposing each other with each THEIR answer on the question: How should we now organise us?
.....and Kris Merckx has NEVER given up his conceptions and convictions of forty years ago. With the help of Boudewijn Deckers and Peter Mertens and the complicity of “comrades of 1968” as Jo Cottenier and Herwig Lerouge (and helped by the “Gods-given” physical and psychical problems by Ludo Martens that made it impossible for him to react in a right way) it became possible to transform the WPB into an kind of organisation AGAINST which Ludo Martens OPPOSED already then in 1968!
Kris Merckx in Rerum nr 1, 7 September ’68:
“It is clear that revolutionaries (of what is presenting itself as such), and “reformers” impossible can cooperate from the beginning, to do study-work together: their interests but above all there point of departure and tactics are differing too much. That is the reason for my personal choice for a progressive reformist party. SVB (Studenten Vak Beweging – Student Union Movement, Nico) is in the consequence of her actual ideology revolutionary.
So there exist a need for the organisation of a party, which is trying in the same efficient and attractive way as SVB (openness, engagement, study-work and open discussion, forming of militants, action) to work out a universitary and social alternative, based on a progressive reformist attitude. Copies of our pillared Belgian political parties ... are not in any circumstances coming in question.”
Ludo Martens in Rerum nr 3:
“Comrade Merckx turns himself in the former Free Tribune into the spokesman of the silent amaze about the ardour, the activity, the study of the student-union-movement.
Some would like to transpose that same ardour and activity in a reformers-movement.
But they are forgetting that our ardour and activity are just and solely coming forth of our insight of the revolution.
Without belief in the working class and the revolution we would not in the possibility to work as we do now.
1.       We feel as our duty to make a good worked-out analyse of the late-capitalist society. An analyse made for, and on the side of, the struggling workers!
2.       We know of ourselves that we are raised and educated in a bourgeois environment. We have to transform ourselves totally – ideas, method of thinking and attitude – so that we are capable to struggle effectively together with the workers. This transformation can only come based on practice, by permanent engagement.
3.       Only scientific knowledge of the revolution can help the workers to victory. Therefore our concern to make permanently critic on our own attitude and our own theoretic analyse.
4.       Who wants to struggle at the side of the workers, has made a choice for decades. We know that we have to abdicate of all successes and prestige of the bourgeois society. We will prove in 10 years that we are worth the trust or the workers in the class-struggle.
Who are considering these four statements, has not to worry about ardour and activity. He has to choose. There exist two possible ways. He can try to walk along on the way of the workers and the people. But he can also advance to the shining glowing parliamentary seat rising high above the flock.”
…After 10 years indeed the PVDA/WPB was founded, with revolutionary ambition… and indeed with some mistakes to correct but with a majority of militants that tried to put those four statements into practice. (And were trying to correct things in a more real Marxist way than before – the contributions to this of Ludo Martens are many) Those militants are now put in minority IN the PVDA/PVDA with the flood of “new members” who are addicted to the ideology formulated here by Kris Merckx …. or were silenced as happen with Ludo Martens … or they were EXPELLED … like me.


[1] Partij Van De Arbeid van België - Workers Party of Belgium – pvda.be wpb.be.
[2]    They were, together with Boudewijn Deckers, Jo Cottenier, Herwig Lerouge and others, the founders of AMADA in 1970(“All Power To The Workers” communist party in preparation – founding in 1979 the WPB). It were mostly the former militants of the SVB that left the universitary environment and became workers on shipyards, in mines, in steel-factories and other big factories.