Revisionism Is the Main Problem on the Road to Communist Unity

V.N. Chechentsev

On the eve of the 90^th Anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, Communists are looking back on the road that was travelled, in order to move faster forward – for the betterment for all mankind and civilization. Communists can be very proud, that the 20th Century was going forward under the flag of socialism, called upon to finally put an end to capitalism, to bring about to the fore mankind’s progress and to bring for the people a better future.

On the road to socialism and a better future for all the people stood imperialism, whose strength in the last 100 years grew, permitting it by the end of last century to temporarily dismantle socialism for its own ends on the international arena.

One of the main tasks of all progressive people is to unite their forces in order to give a death blow to imperialism and the international capital. All steps must be taken in this unified process to again raise the slogan "Workers of the World Unite" and the question that is of outmost importance is the establishing the Communist International!

It is imperative that there should be established an international organization of Communists for solidarity of actions, helping to certain sections of the working class that have been established long ago. These proposals and these demands were brought internationally many times by the Russian Communist Workers Party even in November of 1991 after the temporary demise of the Soviet Union.

In the program of the Communist Party of Greece, accepted at the 14^th Congress in May of 1996, part of which stated- " The reorganization of the world international communist movement and of getting out the present serious and tragic world situation, the need for unity of action on the bases of Marxism-Leninism and proletarian internationalism is the most important question in the struggle against the unity of capitalism."

At the yearly international meeting of Communists and workers parties held in Athens on October 9-10, 2004, on behalf of the Workers Party of Belgium, Boduin Dekkers said openly: " For the workers and for the masses there is a great need for a revolutionary organization, and all communist parties united internationally that will be successful in staging a revolution and establish a new socialist society, the only alternative to the terrorist capitalism."

But to this time, even looking all pf these meetings, conferences, adoptions of many great resolutions and statements, the question of a unified front and the establishment of an international organization still has not come into reality! Why? In this vacuum revisionism has lifted its ugly head and has practically stopped the revolutionary communist parties in uniting. As soon as the question amongst communists in the get-togethers of uniting into a viable worldwide revolutionary organization internationally, the revisionists immediately are either against the formation of an international revolutionary body, or, start to sabotage this need with the excuse that the time is still not ripe, because there are still ideological questions that must be resolved and that not every communist party has the willingness to join in this united struggle, etc.

Proletarian unity, the formation of the Communist International can be a success if there is direct explanation of the role of modern revisionism is explained and how to struggle against this enemy inside the international communist parties.

The role of revisionism is to weaken the united struggles against capitalism-imperialism in the workers movements and diminish the role and the strength of socialist ideas, and also to undermine the understanding of the strength of the workers towards accomplishing the road to socialism. Their role is to divide the international working class in their struggles against international imperialism. We must point out the fact that revisionism played a most important role in the demise of the USSR and in other Eastern European socialist countries as well.

It is one thing of formally not accepting revisionist policies, even stating that we all must fight against this menace- but it is another thing to show the concrete steps that have to be taken to defeat this cancer in the progressive movements.

The struggle against revisionism cannot be made by only making statements. You must have political knowledge of Marxism-Leninism theory – this will help to struggle and defeat revisionism that affects individuals, groups or partiers.

The most dangerous revisionism in today’s struggles is the right opportunistic revisionism. There objective reasons is the hardship of the present revolutionary struggles and they preach to give up the struggles, and they find excuses of the impossibility of class struggles and their aim is to give up their positions before the class enemy.

Another tendency amongst revisionists is that as soon as there is talk of revolutionary activity to overthrow the capitalist regime, they go on the attack that that there is another way, that you can achieve socialism by a peaceful way, without struggles and without the dictatorship of the proletariat.

This is the path of the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) G. Zyuganov, who said that: "Russia has had enough of revolutions."

This policy, this revisionism is very prevalent amongst the European communist parties – called Eurocommunism – but it is also in the communist party of Canada and USA. These parties forget the absolute truth that – You cannot call yourself a Communist if you are not a Revolutionary!

These kinds of communists devote all their work according to the principle: how not to offend the ruling class and stop any untoward reaction from them. This policy was illustrated by the French Communist Party during the revolutionary upsurge that took place in May of 1968. During the wave of workers strikes, the Communist Party of France appealed to the workers to show their "great peaceful strength".

At the present time the CPRF, pretending on their exclusive right to represent all Communists in Russia, with their unshaken policy of saying that they will get a majority of seats in the Russian Duma and that in this way they will change the capitalist system towards socialism. But already for 13 years this policy and claim by the CPRF that they are bringing the day closer of socialism was nothing but a farce. The actual results of this CPRF policy had accomplished nothing, but went a long way to discredit the Communist idea in Russia and in other countries.

This opportunistic revisionism is nothing else but a parliamentary game of pleading with the ruling class and the exploiter class to get some more crumbs from their capitalist table. This they see that they are defending the interests of the working class!

Revisionist tendencies are seen in many other communist parties in Russia. At this critical moment there is no dedicated revolutionary party of the Lenin type.

The other revisionism is of the left kind which policy denounces the leading role played by the socialist revolution in the USSR and its influence in the world revolutionary movements. Unable to ignore the tremendous role played by the USSR and real socialism achieved up to 1953, they besmirch the USSR that it is an occupying power and that it played an aggressive role in – (Hungary 1956, Czechoslovakia 1968, Afghanistan 1980) plus to so-called "repressions in the USSR" and that they as "communists "are not to blame for the crimes of the USSR! These left revisionists call the USSR an "social-imperialist" country, and compare it to US imperialism and also to be blamed for the Cold War etc.

These left revisionists see no positive aspects of the USSR since 1917 or its heroic role in saving mankind from the black plaque of fascism. This kin d of left revisionism is well spelled out in the document called "Reflections on Socialism" published by the Communist Party of the USA.

What kind of tactics must be implemented and followed by the Revolutionary Communists in the unity of all forces in an International organization? Time has come to cross the Rubicon, and start the process of unifying the forces and establishing the much needed Communist International!

In those parties where there are forces who are truly dedicated to this end, should openly state their feelings on behalf of the party for the need to establish such a unifying international force. They should also speak to their like-minded comrades and try to set up an Organizing Committee towards this end. In those parties where they are a minority, they should openly demand that their leadership state their position regarding the formation of the Communist International. The answer they will receive will show these dedicated communists whether its worthwhile being a member of such a party of revisionists or not!

The next step should be the calling of the Founding Congress, at which there can take part not only delegates, but also observers and the decisions of this Founding Congress should be accepted by a majority vote.

I am convinced, that the expertise and the dedication of revolutionary Communists, bound together in the work of the International Council for Friendship and Solidarity with Soviet People, its clear and stated policy of the resurrection of the Soviet Union, the holding of two World Congresses plus many meetings and its world-wide published organ, the Northstar Compass in English, French, Russian and Spanish editions, will be of great help to start the process of the establishment of the new Communist International.

P.S. When this article was already written, I became acquainted with the 2^nd Congress of Revolutionary Communists of France that was held in Paris. This information shows that there took place a split and this party has once and for all have broken with the revisionists in France, as well as with other revisionist parties in the world.