The World Socialist Revolution in the Conditions of Imperialist Globalisation

Ranjit Dhar Ray, Central Staff and Deputy, International Affairs Socialist Unity Centre of India

Contribution to the International Communist Seminar

"The World Socialist Revolution in the Conditions of Imperialist Globalization"

Brussels, 2-4 May 2001

Comrades and friends,

On behalf of the people of India and, our Party the Socialist Unity Centre of India, I thank the organisers for allowing me to attend and speak at this august gathering of the International Communist Seminar 2001 at Brussels. I shall dwell upon a topic which is significant as well as intricate to the revolutionary as also the democratic-minded people of the world. Clear guidelines and excellent analyses from Marxist-Leninist authorities help us find the truth on the topic, though capitalist-imperialist propaganda machinery has been able to create confusions in mass-mind, even a section of the revolutionary rank and file, helped much by the revisionist-neo-revisionist deviations. So, I must acknowledge the prudence of the organizers in including the topic as a discussion matter in the Seminar. Imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism: long back when Lenin presented this invaluable thesis, he strengthened it with his brilliant analysis. He made it clear that this highest stage also meant the sharpest contradictions within and outside the system itself. Thus the contradiction between labour and capital was at its height. As capitalism passed from its free competitive stage to the development of monopoly and then to financial oligarchy, increase in the strength of capital brought about more and more exploitation and resulting impoverishment of the toiling masses and fall in their purchasing power, bringing in its wake the internal market-crisis within the respective capitalist countries; the finance capital thus ventured out to the external market to exploit the labour force and raw material of the colonies –semi-colonies. But the process also enhanced the contradictions among the imperialists themselves to gain control over the market to tide over their crisis. It led Lenin further to propound that imperialism inevitably generates war. This simple yet elegant unveiling of truths was confirmed by the two devastating world wars, which were nothing but violent expressions of the contradictions among the leading imperialist powers of the world to win control over the world market. According to Lenin "… the war was ‘for the division of the world’, for the partition and repartition of colonies and spheres of influence of finance capital". Side by side with these contradictions within capitalism- imperialism itself, contradictions between it and the rising social order of socialism were accentuated. Even two wars did not help the imperialists to resolve their crisis. On the contrary, the mighty Soviet Union was born, led by the great proletarian leader Lenin; Peoples’ Republic of China emerged under the leadership of Mao Zedong; the Socialist Camp under the leadership of Stalin sliced off a large portion of the world from the imperialist hegemony –squeezing their market and adding further to their crisis. Emboldened by these instances and inspired by the example of socialism, surges of national liberation struggles swept through colonies and semi-colonies; the resurgent nationalist countries simply made the crisis more acute and extensive. Thus in the immediate post-War days, leave aside any resolution of its crisis, the capitalism-imperialism entered into its third intensive phase of crisis, when a boom in the morning crashed into a slump at the close of the day. At the same time the war-mongering system of capitalism-imperialism faced unprecedented rise of militant peace movement by the democratic-minded people the world over led by the mighty socialist camp. Proletarian revolution was knocking at the door of the world, so to say—as expressed Comrade Shibdas Ghosh, the founder General Secretary of our Party SUCI and one of the great Marxist-Leninist thinker of our era. History however veered in a different direction when revisionism raised its ugly head in the Soviet Union and cast its influence on the world revolutionary movement. Finally with counter-revolution in the Soviet Union and the east European socialist states and collapse of the Socialist Camp, capitalism-imperialism found a breather. The proponents of the capitalist order grabbed the opportunity, resonating the global ambience with phrases like, ‘it was the age of the end of the class struggle, the revolution, the imperialism, the cold war’; ‘ A New World Order waited to be welcome at the turn of the century’;‘ It shone with prospects of peace and prosperity, guided and controlled by globalized and liberalized market economy’. The century turned, but the reality did not. Rather with the tall claims and colourful fantasies of imperialists falling through, we now stand before an urgent task! It is imperative for the peace-loving democratic-minded people of the world, not to speak of the revolutionaries, to develop a crystal-clear ideological understanding of what happened, why it happened and what to do next. Lenin pointed out the contradictions of imperialism; Marxist-Leninist authorities of the post-Lenin days elaborated and explained the subsequent concrete form of those contradictions. Have these now vanished in the blue sky? Are they not valid still today? Yes or no, what changes have followed since then? I presume we are here to probe into these queries. I shall try to present my views for you to consider. ‘With globalization and liberalization of market economy in the world in the absence of the socialist camp, there would be no war, not even trade war; trade will be free to all; it must be made free; no protectionism should be there to segregate narrow national market-interests’-- such were the thoughts aired through the phenomenally grown IT industry and electronic media. GATT, WTO etc. became the topic of daily discussion. But what was the reality, after or even when the GATT 94 was being signed? Was it not right at that moment that Sutherland, the erstwhile Secretary General of GATT 94 issued the warning : it was really the beginning of bitter trade war? Was it not a fact that before the ink on the agreement was dry, the world of imperialism split into three economic alliances-cum-power centres, with US, Japan and European Union headed by Germany, leading each respectively? Even these were not permanent, as NAFTA gave way to Free Trade Summit of Americas. What was this division for? Was it not to protect the interest of this or that imperialist, individual or regional? Soon the interests clashed, as was evident in all subsequent meetings, conferences etc. of the WTO, World Bank, IMF and so on, be it in Seattle, or Washington, Davos or Praha. In these encounters the leading imperialists agreed on certain points, say, on liberalization of services, opening of markets of developing countries, but vehemently differed on opening their own market and on various other measures. For instance, EU stood firm on not opening their agriculture or textile sectors; US was reluctant to open its shipping market; Japan its fish and forest sectors. EU wanted investment and competition policy reviewed, USA did not. Again on the Kioto Treaty to negotiate on greenhouse gases that cause global warming, the USA, the largest producer of such gases stubbornly rejected it, whereas EU was the prime mover on this.. Poorer countries too, did not fall back; they differed from the richer and more powerful ones, on issues affecting their own interests; for example, they fought in Seattle on non-trade issues, viz., linking trade with labour standards and environments. These differences and conflicts were not merely verbal; they even went to the extent of breaking down conferences ( for instance, at Seattle). Even when there was consensus, decisions were made not by vote; it meant there was backroom arm-twisting to rope in some rebellious weaker nation, if needed. What do these conflicts and differences arising every day reflect? Are they not the sharpening contradictions among the imperialists or between the more powerful capitalist-imperialists and the less powerful ones? Do they have any semblance of weakening trade wars, or do they betray the bitterness and heat to protect and enhance their own respective interests? Do not this bitterness and heat place the world on the brink of a third World War? Are not hot wars already taking place? In fact peace has turned out to be elusive in the "New World" which witnessed the prolonged sanction against the tiny but resolute socialist Cuba, the ferocious Gulf War and subsequent economic sanction against Iraq that took its toll in death, starvation, disease and misery of the population, particularly the children; the world saw the barbaric arrogant transgression of national sovereignty of Yugoslavia, ravaging bombardment on the country, intrigues and interventions to disintegrate that Balkan country into a multitude of states; the world was shocked to know that US spy planes fly as far away from their country as China Sea or over Peru, and killed a Chinese pilot and an American missionary with her baby in their planes, respectively; the world found fomentation of ethnic and racial enmity and resulting bloodbath in a series of countries in Africa, sanctions against Libya, interventions or aggressions in Haiti, Colombia , Indonesia and so on and so forth. And who were the culprits, the aggressors, the shameless perpetrators of international crime of trangressing sovereignty of nations, trampling of humanity, unleashing of reign of terror and corruption. It was none but the imperialists, headed by the most bellicose of them, the US imperialists, the so-called protagonists of peace in the New World. Furthermore, such hot wars do not remain the monopoly of bigger imperialist-capitalist countries. Wars in this or that part of Africa are the cases at hand; we in India too, have gone through these, like the Kargil War with Pakistan. Now what for are these hot wars, armed conflicts or war-like situations? Do they attest to stability, political or economic? Are not all these trade wars, armed wars, war-hysteria or war-psychosis nothing but expressions of acute crisis of capitalism-imperialism, which led Lenin to conclude that imperialism generates war ? They thrive on a militarized economy and militarization of economy is a prop with capitalism-imperialism to stave off their crisis. With the twentieth century technological growth, the capacity for production, that is the productive force has increased manifold. But, as already stated, acute disparity and deprivation are inevitable in capitalism; high-tech growth has brought more lay-offs, mergers, closures and unemployment; even in agriculture high-tech boom causes less work for more people. The crisis has thus merely deepened further. In fact, the severe crisis has pushed capitalist countries, big or small, weak or strong, to develop a military- industrial complex itself, in which the military, or in its name, the government, places orders to the industry and buys back the produce. So the more the pauperization of masses, the more is the market-crisis, and to overcome it the higher is the military budget, the stronger is the military-industrial complex. But it has its inherent contradictions too. Increased production of military hardwares and armaments can find only one way to keep production alive, and that is by using them in war. Thus creating war-psychosis and war- incidence is a necessary course for capitalist-imperialist countries to minimise stockpiling of arms and stagnation and thereby to artificially stimulate the economy. Even in the New World Order of the globalized and liberalized market economy, this remains a truth. Thus the Gulf War temporarily revived the US economy from the recession of the late seventies; the Yugoslavia War proved that the crisis recurred fast and was unavoidable to the imperialists, headed by the US imperialists. These also prove that in this New World Order, the imperialists have shed all semblance, all modicum of rationality, legality and humanity. They are out to ravage a country going across its sovereignty; they are heartless to bomb hospitals, schools and residences; they are cruel to the extent of destroying agricultural fields, natural environments and natural resources like oil fields etc., of the weaker countries to make them kneel down before their big brothers. This has been amply demonstrated in the recent past in all the local or regional wars waged by the imperialists, particularly the US imperialists. Equally illusive was the prosperity in the new century in the so-called New World Order. Poverty, unemployment, lay-off, closure, merger of MNCs and TNCs, swallowing of smaller ones by the bigger ones—all these bringing in their wake more loss of jobs, and finally the bubble-bursting of globalized and liberalized market economy in one country after another and slowing-down of economy with even the much-pampered, much-hyped IT industry and electronics faltering before a chasm – even the imperialists and their revisionist- neo-revisionist hirelings know it at the bottom of their heart that none of these speaks of prosperity. High-tech development, specially of the latest quarter of the last century, based particularly on IT industry and electronics, has been one of the most significant means in the process of globalization and liberalization of market economy; it has also been used as a panacea by the capitalists-imperialists to allure people. The myth is already devastatingly shattered. It is true that this hi-tech growth brought the global market closer; it increased productivity stupendously; at the same time, inherently capital-intensive, it hastened up capital concentration beyond limit. Now to the dismay of the protagonists of hi-tech, all these brought in crisis. Globalization not only makes market global; it makes poverty and unemployment global too. Thus American workers start losing jobs, as American corporates, their TNCs and MNCs find it more rewarding, in terms of superprofits, to run their industry in a developing country with cheaper raw materials and labour costs. And in the latter, on the other hand, giant corporates nullify scores of local enterprises , throwing thousands out of job and instead setting up high-tech capital-intensive industries with less labour. Undeniably productivity soared to the sky with high-tech; but side by side there was an extremely rapid concentration. Here are some figures : Richest 20% of the world enjoy 82% of the shares of exports of goods and services, middle 60% enjoy 17% and the poorest 20% just 1%; MNCs’ foreign affiliates accounted for an estimated $ 9.5 trillion in sales in 1997, up from 5% in the mid-1980s. By 1998 the top 10 companies in pesticides controlled 85% of a $31 billion global market, top 10 in telecommunications controlled 86% of a $262 billion market, in commercial seed 32% of a $23 billion industry, in pharmaceuticals 35% of $297 billion, in veterenary medicine 60% of $17 billion, in computers almost 70% of $334 billion. (Update, Sr2, January 2000). But then the question was : who was to consume this production? As concentration of capital went fast with more production, the same old story was repeated; it increased disparity, impoverishment, loss of purchasing power of the masses, hence loss of demand, more stockpiling, stagnation, inflation, economic slow-down or bubble-burst. So we now find IT sectors admitting that the e-com did not work upto the expectation, that the growth inherently bore the risk etc. etc. But capital cannot and does not sit idle. As stagnation, inflation and the corollaries bring industries to a grinding halt, to a recession, capital finds its own way of survival in speculation. As it may appear, that remains the easiest way to earn fabulous profit without any responsibility and commitment to industry, market, demand, worker or the society even. With rapid concentration following high-tech growth, the immensely powerful capital of the capitalist-imperialist world plunged into the business of speculation. And we know the result. On March 24 last, the US stock market lost three trillion dollar in values, more than the entire gross domestic product of India, the latter a country fairly firmly set among the developing countries; we can well imagine the picture with respect to much poorer countries of Africa and Latin America. And mind that, this took place in a globalized market. Hence the loss shook up the whole world. London, Tokyo, Berlin, Hong Kong creaked under the weight of running feet ; there was a universal stampede. So this is the crisis and contradictions hi-tech supported globalization and liberalization have pushed imperialism into. Once capitalism brought mankind out of the shackles of feudalism. In this course of history, capital grew from usurer’s capital to its mercantile form and then to industrial as well as banking capital. Nowhere in this course, did capital lose its exploitative essence. But even then, during its early stages of growth, it helped society to develop; it provided jobs for the social beings; it fulfilled some commitments to society and its progress. But in this era of imperialism and particularly today, when phenomenal growth and acute crisis have brought in unprecedented recession, the capital assumes a global usurious role, though distinct from the earlier one -- transgressing national limits and without any social commitment. Herein lies a dangerous aspect of the crisis, that develops a tremendous contradiction between a heartless, socially or nationally unattached, utterly non-commital imperialism and the humanity longing to survive and develop on the wealth of civilization so far acquired. This aspect of crisis is manifested in the global imperialist onslaught on culture, an attack that is headed , virtually single-handedly by the US imperialists. As UNDP reported in 1999, ‘The single largest export industry for the US is not aircraft or automobiles, it is entertainment… Hollywood films grossed more than $30 billion worldwide in 1997’. And what is that culture, which the US imperialists export? It is the putrid, obnoxious brand of culture stinking with vulgarity, sex, violence, meaningless excitement, aimless desperateness, utter selfishness and unashamed social callousness, that has permeated into the life of the masses the world over. It is the culture that dehumanizes mankind creating the ground ripe for fascism to grow. For fascism, built on the base of ruthless exploitation of crisis-ridden capitalism-imperialism, requires to rob the masses of all shades of rationality, morality and humanity as also to inject them with narrow selfishness, mechanical approach to life and blind faith and allegiance, with a view to paving the way for exploitation to continue unquestioned, unabated and unopposed. Added to these are the imperialist designs and intrigues of fomenting racialism, communalism, ethnic violence etc. bringing disunity to the masses, of fanning up national jingoism and fundamentalism and so on, that act as ideological vehicles to bring in fascism itself. In these ways the imperialists, particularly the US imperialists have unleashed a severe attack on the toiling people of all countries, including theirs, to disarm them ideologically-culturally and morally to ensure their rule and exploitation to continue. But the contradiction between progress and reaction cannot be eliminated by any sweet will, even of the all powerful imperialists. Globalization of market economy is nothing but vigourous all-out expression of the cosmopolitan character of capitalism in its stage of imperialism, that Lenin envisaged long back. In its present day form, the more the market is globalized, the more it leads to globalization of poverty, hunger, ruination, privation, on one hand, and amassing of huge wealth and profit by the MNCs, TNCs and corporate sectors on the other. All these lead also to further sharpening of class contradictions between exploiters and exploited, between the capitalist-imperialists on one hand and the vast majority of toiling masses on the other. This is already evident in massive protest demonstrations in different parts of the world, from Seattle to Davos, from Nice to Seoul. Here the demonstrators, cutting across the boundaries of countries, creed or status protest against the meetings of the WTO, World Bank etc., raising slogans and demands against globalization, liberalization, privatization of service sectors and other industries; there they rise against the anti-people, anti-worker policies of this or that government. The latest of these was the impressive militant anti-capitalist, anti-globalization demonstration at Quebec City before the Free Trade Summit of the Americas, led by the US President. The self-proclaimed leader of the world, the US imperialists do no longer find a red carpet welcome for their crass arrogance; on the other hand, as happened in Greece, their much-hyped President had to arrive under the cover of night and leave the airport stealthily by a bypass. Iraq, the victim of war-mongering policies of the US imperialists wins wider support in its favour, to lift sanction against it. The NATO, led by the US, earned the hatred of peace-loving people of the world. Opinion against US domination rises every day, being particularly evident in the field of culture. Imposition of Yankee culture that creates cultural depravity, sex-trafficking, violence to an alarming limit, at the cost of rich treasures of national heritage and culture of different countries, has given rise to severe reactions among saner people of all sections of the society. The objective situation is thus rife for an anti-capitalist revolutionary change; the rising class contradictions can only be resolved through accomplishing socialist revolution; what is lacking, is the subjective preparation. The time is now ripe for us to realize that the task of socialist revolution can be achieved only by releasing an intense ideological struggle against all confusing propaganda of the capitalists-imperialists that try to allure people to an imaginary bright future as also against revisionism and neo-revisionism that acted as a poison from within the revolutionary movement and corroded the socialist economy slowly but surely. Thus we must realize that the crisis and contradiction associated with the stupendous technological growth can only be resolved by freeing the productive system from the motive of reaping maximum profit and by establishing in its place a socialist economy, the object of production of which will be to meet the material need and cultural satisfaction of the people. Thus realizing the necessity of socialist revolution is the prime task, if we really wish to free the high-tech growth from stagnation and recession and use it for the benefit of the majority of people all over the world; the urgency of this task must not be undermined in any way. We should also make it a point that however sincerely we may look ahead for a healthy culture, fighting the obnoxious brand of imperialist culture, we cannot attain our goal, without releasing an ideological, cultural movement on the strength of a higher culture-philosophy and outlook of life of greater nobility. Marxism-Leninism remains that philosophy and the culture on its basis, the avowed form, which alone can imbue the toiling masses with the strength of cultural-moral-ethical values that can resist any and every kind of imperialist cultural onslaught. However hoarse the reactionaries may cry, the dismantling of the Socialist camp does not prove in any way that Marxism has become invalid today. Rather the debacle itself proves that only Marxism-Leninism, and not any brand of revisionist- neo-revisionist deviations, is the only weapon to save and emancipate mankind from all sorts of exploitation-- political, economic, social and cultural. The sharpening contradictions of the present day in all walks of life can only be resolved in this way of developing class struggles on the strength of Marxism-Leninism. I must add one more vital point to end my deliberations. In this so-called New World the imperialists, particularly the US imperialists hanker for a global hegemony. But, as I have briefly indicated earlier, the crisis and contradictions they have plunged into, have brought forth surges of resentment, protest, even resistance in different parts of the globe, against the policies and measures related to the globalized and liberalized market economy. Here we should note that each country of this capitalist-imperialist world is a link in the chain that puts shackle of exploitation on the mankind. Each link needs be torn apart, as also the shackle broken. Thus we must wage our struggle against the exploitative system of each country, big or small; at the same time we must coordinate all the anti-imperialist struggles and build up the broadest possible unity of toiling people, with communists at the core, to develop a militant global wave of anti-imperialist peace movement. Only in this way, can we build up a massive contingent of struggling people to stand against the monstrous minority of the capitalists-imperialists. History has proven time and again that people armed with noble ideology, culture, and morality as well as organized on a correct base political line, is an invincible force that builds history itself. Capitalism-imperialism may be enjoying sunshine for a while; but the inherent contradictions of their system is dragging them to their grave. Lenin termed imperialism not only as the highest stage of capitalism; he did not fail to indicate that it is also the moribund stage, shivering with its crisis and contradictions. What we need is to realize and muster our own strength, to recognize the enemies within and without. History will again be ours. Thank you !

  Long live Socialist Revolution! Long Live Marxism-Leninism !

Contribution to the International Communist Seminar

"The World Socialist Revolution in the Conditions of Imperialist Globalization"

Brussels, 2-4 May 2001