Revolutionary Political Program 1^st part

Introduction

From the Marxist point of view, communism is not a “plan” that must be applied but the essential product of the historic evolution of society. The social- material circumstances define in every time, specific possibilities of the historic evolution. To give an example, the passage to communism did not exist as a possibility for the slave society, in the same way as it is impossible for us today to go back to the feudalistic mode of production. The communist perspective which is today the only feasible possibility of evolution of the human society, emerged when capitalism was born, and grew mature as the capitalist mode of production grew mature.

The realization of this historic possibility is not one to happen “automatically” but in a determinist way. That is to say, the conscious action of the respective social subject is necessary. The union of conscious revolutionaries and their joint struggle for the passage to the non- class society is action in accord with the laws of social evolution. Thanks to this action, the possibilities that figure in the contemporary social circumstances can be realized.

The formation of a revolutionary communist organization, capable of becoming the revolutionary politic vanguard, necessitates political ideological common conception, the formulation of effective political platform, gaining the support of several sections within the working class and finally, agreement as far as the program is concerned. The turn of the greatest liberating idea born by mass action and the revolutionary intellectuals’ abstraction to material power will not come true as long as there is no program proposition.

The revolutionary political program is not a guide-book covering in full detail all the questions, describing all the way from today to communism, nor an everlasting divine law for any period of time or country of the world. A program’s elements are modified with respect to the particularities and the power interrelation of each country, but also with respect to the particularities of every period of time of the class fights. The elements of the revolutionary program that are not adjusted are those that clearly define the strategic characteristics of an organization, such as its final goal, the social forces that will realize that goal, the revolutionary way that has been chosen.

In the same time, program relates these strategic characteristics to a particular working class power proposition. This power proposition, or else the workers republic program is the core of the revolutionary program. The workers republic program gives an answer to the fundamental question for every organization that wishes to have a revolutionary policy, a question posed by the working class to the left: “What would the left do if the revolution took place and the working class took power the next day? What would it ask the working class to do?” Not in the ideal circumstances of a non- class society but in a hard reality where this power has to deal with the heavy heritage left by capitalism, surrounded by the imperialist forces, confronting the resistance of the economically still sovereign classes and on the other hand, the superstition and the hesitation of popular masses and the impact of the old order on their conscience?

The fact that the revolutionary left forces are today too weak to pose the question of power in political terms does not mean that they can escape this fundamental question. Of course, formulating a complete political program necessitates the creation of a wide network in society and consequently, the respective mass participation, which is lacking for the time being. Nevertheless, if we want to be of a basic seriousness when we call the masses to follow us, we must at least present program principles so as to formulate a program plan. The formulation at least of an outline of the workers republic that we promise is of prime importance, otherwise, no one will have a reason to follow us in the deep seas in the future, even if they accompany us in the swallow waters of trade union claims.

The revolutionary political program has to give a description of the strategic goal for another organization of society, formulate a relatively complete workers republic power proposition and relate those to demands for the improvement of the working class situation as well as the situation of other strata and social categories within capitalism.

The goal of such a program is also the correlation of the working class struggle to the final goal, i.e. the revolutionary subversion of capitalism and the construction of socialism- communism, since propagating the necessity and the possibility of subverting the bourgeois power and constructing another society is not just another tactics question that we can serve or not, depending on the circumstances, but a permanent duty of communists.

“The communists believe it is not fitting them to conceal their views and their intentions. They declare out in the open that their goals can be achieved only by violently subverting the whole today status-quo.” (Marx, Engels, The Manifest of the communist party)

A revolutionary political program

1^st part

The final goal - socialism-communism

The discussion about the final goal and the characteristics of a communist society is the cornerstone of the revolutionary program. As mentioned above, the possibility of a communist society was born with capitalism. However, the idea of a society of justice, freedom, and equality is quite old, and has emerged in various forms all along the history of humanity. But it was just ideas, born out of the need of people for a better life, without the suffering of class exploitation. For a non- class society to emerge, the good willing of people and good ideas are not enough; a respective development of the production forces is necessary as well. The history of humanity, even long before capitalism prevails, has been full of insurrections, either blind revolts or insurrections guided by equality ideas, that could not manage better than the change of faction at the top of the pyramid construction of society.

In the capitalist period as well, ideological currents proclaiming the non- class society have emerged. Ignorant of the laws governing the historic evolution, all the utopian movements based on such ideas failed. The development of the production forces lead to the development of scientific knowledge and the formulation of general laws interpreting the natural and social phenomena.

Knowledge raised of the laws of movement of the historic evolution as well as of the capitalism function, as it has been formulated by scientific socialism, has formed a different situation with respect to the possibilities of the main oppressed class. This knowledge leads to the description by Marx and Engels of the “Freedom kingdom”, the real beginning of the human history, communism.

According to the classics, the first stage of the communist society is based on the social ownership of the means of production. In this stage, classes and the principle of value have been suppressed, there are no trade and financial relations. The deadening of the working state has almost been completed. The contrast between manual and mental work has not yet been removed, but the process of its elimination has already progressed. In complete communism the development of the production forces makes possible to establish a situation described by “from anyone, according to their capacity, to anyone, according to their needs”; There is total suppression of the state, the elimination of labor division is completed, the discrimination between manual and mental work is thoroughly eliminated, politics are thoroughly eliminated, since human beings have ceased to be the object of handling and only things are to be handled while ideology is suppressed as well.

When Marx and Engels mentioned the highest mode of production, they used the term “communism”, thus distinguishing between the first phase of the communist society and the complete communism. This terminology was abandoned by the 2^nd International parties that used the term “socialism” for the new society. The Marxist terminology did not reappear until the Leninist Current used it again, after making some modifications. Thus, in the 3^rd International, the term “socialism” indicated the first phase of the communist society, while they called “communism” the new mode of production in its complete form, and this terminology has been used by communists up to date.

Consequently, socialism is not a particular stage of the social evolution but incomplete communism. Besides, it is other thing than the transitional period, the workers republic, or else, the proletariat dictatorship. The domination of socialism marking the end of the transitional period, can not be realized in one country but needs to be realized on a world- wide basis.

So that socialism prevails, the revolutionary process must be victorious world-wide or at least in the basic capitalist countries. This does not imply that the revolution in the narrow sense, that is to say meaning the conquest of power by the working class can not be realized in a country. However, unless the revolutionary process is spread to other countries, the working state is isolated and surrounded by imperialism and the movement towards communism can not be completed, since it is impossible to deaden vital functions of the working state, such as the military mechanism which is essential for defense.

Socialism and communism, regardless of the terms chosen, as they were described by Marx, Engels and Lenin is contradictory on the one hand in relation to the “socialism” described by Kaoutsky, which proposed working power plus state property plus co-operatives, and on the other, in relation to that proposed by Stalin, who dwindled socialism to working power and transitional measures. The “novelty” in Marxism carried out by Stalin, the theory of socialism in one country has played an important role in the confusion still present and the identification of socialism with the transitional period.

Defining the final goal is of prime importance for the choice of ways so as to achieve this goal as well. The views supporting a peaceful passage to socialism were the aftermath of the degradation of socialism to working power plus state property plus co- operatives or working power and transitional measures. On the contrary, the Marxist conception of socialism is closely related to the choice of a revolutionary way.

Finally, our description of the final goal determines the transitional political program, that is to say the working republic program, as it provides the criteria that appoint the transitional measures of the working power. Thus, the differences descriptions of socialism may appear of no importance, but in fact, create a huge gap between the revolutionary conception and the various versions of reformism and opportunism.

“Socialism in one country”

The position that socialism can dominate only on a world scale is clear in the classics’ writings. Until the first years after the October revolution, this conception is indisputable and is a possession of the revolutionary movement. In January 1918, in the action report of the public committees council, in the 3^rd Pan-Russian Soviet congress, Lenin declares: “I have no illusion in relation to the fact that we have just opened the transitional period to socialism, that we haven’t yet reached socialism…There is a long way to go even to the end of the transitional period from capitalism to socialism. We never deluded ourselves hoping that we can complete this period without the help of the international proletariat”.

This position goes through alterations by Stalin. We are not interested in examining the cause of such a turn at present, but it has had an impact on the discussion in the communist movement, whose results are even now visible. Except for the alteration of Lenin’s texts, Stalin main distortion concerned the 10 points of the transitional program that are cited in the Communist Manifest. He claims that completing these reforms will bring the passage to socialism, a thought which is indisputably totally wrong, (as it is going to be analyzed in the second part of this article) and that 9 out of the 10 points have been realized in the USSR and, thus it is possible for the USSR and, consequently, for every separate country to reach socialism. He bases this position on the argument that Marx and Engels lived in a time when capitalism was pre- monopolistic, and, they could not foresee the possibilities provided in imperialism, the new stage of capitalism. Based on this position, the final victory of socialism will be celebrated in 1936.

The domination of this position launched a constant drifting of the Soviet leadership and the international communist movement into more and more reformist positions. The “theory of a peaceful co- existence with imperialism” and the acceptance of the social- democratic position for a “peaceful passage to socialism” are going to follow. This course will come to an end when the ruling class of Soviet society understands it is capable of shifting into a “real” bourgeois class, and it follows the way towards the restoration of capitalism, without seeking for any pretext.