Social Democracy – in its various shades and hues, teaches that we can "reform" the capitalist system, even at this late date, the dying stages of imperialism. This petty bourgeois reformism supports the bourgeois illusion that bourgeois politics and economics in the period of monopoly capitalism and imperialism can be separated from each other. For, if it is merely wrong political policy, then we can change the war policy to a peace policy by changing the political leadership – perhaps from Republicans to Democrats – or from Republicans-and Democrats to Social Democrats, or Labour Party or Green Party candidates, without changing the capitalist system.

And on the other side of it, if it is only wrong economic policy, then we can provide an alternative, safer methods for carrying out social production. That will persuade the capitalist economic rulers to safeguard the environment for our children and grandchildren… (but of course not change the capitalist system – Editor)

Anarchism – teaches almost the same thing. It is the other side of the coin from Reformism. The anarchists share with the social democrats the view that the bourgeois economics and bourgeois politics are separate areas of struggle, and that the road to freedom, justice and peace is not a difficult one. The petty bourgeois anarchists believe that they can change (even destroy and replace) "the system" (capitalism) while retaining their individualist ways. They see any collectivism or collective actions in any form as an enemy and refuse to place themselves under the "factory discipline" of the revolutionary collective (party) of the Leninist Party type.

Click here to return to the June 2007 index.