Contribution to the 15^th International Communist Seminar
"Present and past experiences in the international communist movement".
Brussels, 5- 7 May 2006
www.icsbrussels.org , ics[at]icsbrussels.org

The European Socialism Post-Capitalist.

Socialist Alliance Party from Romania

More than 150 years ago, before the advent of the modern working class, socialism existed in an immature "utopian" form. Great thinkers like Robert Owen, Saint Simon and Fourier outlined socialist alternatives to capitalism. They were bitter critics of the system, but their alternatives, enclaves within the sea of capitalism, could not work.

With the development of the working class, more advanced socialist thinking emerged. One of the leading theorists of the British Chartist movement, Bronterre O'Brien, wrote:

"The history of mankind shows that from the beginning of the world, the rich of all countries have been in a permanent state of conspiracy to keep down the poor of all countries, because the poverty of the poor man is essential to the riches of the rich man. All the crimes and superstitions of human nature have their origin in this cannibal warfare of riches against poverty. The desire of one man to live on the fruits of another's labour is the original sin of the world."

The miseries of the working class were not due simply to the malice of the capitalist, but the automatic operation of the capitalist system itself. It is not a question of "good" and "bad" capitalists. It is the economic laws of capitalism which dictate to big business (and governments), and not the other way round.

However, it was Marx and Engels who went on to develop these ideas and place socialism on a scientific basis applying the method of dialectical materialism in their analysis of all things. The present "globalisation" was analysed by them more than 150 years ago. They explained that while men and women make history, they do so in circumstances not of their own choosing. While the economic circumstances are decisive, they are not the only determining factors in history. There is a complex reciprocating interactions between economic, social and political events. They attempt to understand the "driving forces of the driving forces" behind the actions of men and women. Marx wrote: "The emancipation of the working class is the task of the working class itself".

Over the last 100 years, the working class has tried again and again to eliminate capitalism, but only in 1917 it succeed to overpass from feudalism to socialism.

After the second war the socialism was extended in Central-East Europe area, in Asia and in Caribbean area. As a conclusion we can tell that all this countries more or less overpass from the feudalism to socialism. What kind of socialism was developed in this countries we can call today, < a post feudalist socialism>. This <post feudalism socialism> developed an <industrial feudalism> and based his existence by a < representative democracy>. On the former socialist countries the owner of the production means was the <socialist state > which replaced < the feudal owner in agriculture and the capitalist owner in factories>.

Albert Einstein in his study called< Why Socialism > is mentioning: <In such an economy, the means of production are owned by society itself and are utilized in a planned fashion. A planed economy, which adjust production to the needs of community, could distribute the work to be done among all those able to work and would guarantee a livelihood to every man, woman and child. The education of the individual, in addition to promoting his own innate abilities, would attempt to develop in him a sense of responsibility for his fellow men in place of the glorification of power and success in our present society.

Nevertheless, it is necessary to remember that a planned economy is not yet socialism. A planed economy as such may be accompanied by the complete enslavement of the individual. The achievement of socialism require the solution of some extremely difficult socio- politico problems>

What difference was between Albert Einstein definition of a socialist society and the real socialism from the former socialist countries. ?

The main difference consist in fact that was not realized an <industrial democracy> in which the means of production to be owned by society itself not by the socialist state and the excessive planned economy in some period of time stopped the productivity and the creative initiative of the individual.

With all this deficiencies, this < post feudalism socialism> proved the viability of socialism theory, respectively that can be realized an society based by equality and social justice in which the social protection was realized by assuring a work place for all members of the society and which guaranteed a livelihood to every man, woman and child and free educations and health system and dwellings for all members of the socialist society.

On 1989 with the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the strategists of Capital launched an unprecedented ideological offensive against socialism and Marxism. For them, capitalism had won forever and the system what had collapsed was not socialism, but a system of bureaucratic rules, called by most of them <Stalinism >.

This is the reason for what some members and observers of the Party of European Left or other different left parties, still have reserves regarding the final goal of our common present struggle which in our opinion can not be other than an <post capitalist socialist Europe> an <Europe of real Social Justice> not a <Social Europe> as is mentioned in all documents of the social democrat parties and the central - right parties.

For avoiding any reserve on this direction is necessary as the Party of European Left to clarify by his ideological activity the real meaning of the <post feudalist socialism> with his advantages and his limits and to promote with efficiency the new theory of <the post capitalist socialism >.

The leading twentieth century social philosopher in the US, John Dewey, pointed out that until <the industrial feudalism> will be replaced by <industrial democracy>, politics will remain <the shadow cast by big business over society >.

Analysing the economic and social experience accumulated by the <Chinese Socialism> we can observe that at present Communist Party of China declare that the Chinese economy is a< joint economy > (in which coexist the private property with public property). Under this way the Peoples Republic of China is accumulating the necessary capitalist experience which fault from the first stage of socialism, respectively from <the post feudalist socialism>. This new stage of development permits to the Peoples Republic of China to make concrete steps on the future for achieving a new level of development of socialism respectively <the post capitalist socialism society>.

As a base conclusion:

The <post capitalist socialism> is promoting higher values than <the post feudalist socialism>. <The post capitalist socialism> will replace <the industrial feudalism> with <the industrial democracy > and <the representative democracy> with <the participative democracy >.

On the same time the passing from <the post feudalist socialist economy> to <the post capitalist socialist economy> require as a dialectic necessary to the countries economy to cross through an <joint economy> before to become a real <post capitalist socialist economy >.

This is the reason for what in all countries from Europe in which < the post feudalism socialist economy> was replaced, in the last 16 years ,with a <primitive capitalist economy> the civil societies , the social forums and the left, workers and communist parties have to militate for an <market social joint economy> not for a < market social economy >.

On the Political Theses of the Party of European Left is mentioned at art.40 that: If we defend the labour, social or environmental rights, companies will go to other countries where these rights don’t exist. It’s the delocalisation blackmail and is unacceptable.That’s the reason why we have to impel the creation of a New European Public Space in which we can defend labour and social rights convergence. Delocalization only can be faced from social struggle, public intervention and restructuring productive activity with workers participation.This theoretical <New European Public Space> mentioned into the Political Theses can be implemented in practice only by promoting a <Joint Economy> at the level of all European and World countries, capable to struggle with the delocalizations promoted by the multinational companies and to promote a real restructuring productive activity with workers participation as a base for creating an < industrial democracy>

This necessity results also from the fact that while the forces militating for socialism on the last decade were isolated, the ground was being prepared for a titanic shift to the left.

This is the result of the pauperization of all world peoples. On 1820, for example, the gap between the richest and the poorest countries was three to one. By 1950 it had risen to 35 to one. Today it is 74 to one. Within nations, the class divide between rich and poor has never been greater. In the United States, the citadel of world capitalism, since 1979, the median family income have risen by 18% but the income of the top 1% has gone up by 200%.

Not surprisingly, therefore, that a political personality as President Hugo Chavez has moved further and further to the left. Earlier this year, President Chavez raised the need to study and re-examine socialism. "I’am convinced," he said, "and I think that this conviction will be for the rest of my life, that the path to a new, better and possible world, is not capitalism, the path is socialism, that is the path: socialism. Over the last period he has consistently reiterated this point and has stimulated discussion about socialism not only in Venezuela, but everywhere. "We want socialism of the 21st century", he said, and stated the choice was between "Socialism or Barbarism". It is these ideas which now terrify the international bourgeoisie, starting with the Washington gang, so convinced that socialism was dead and buried long ago.

But like other victories for justice and freedom over the centuries, that will not happen by itself. One of the clearest lessons of history, including recent history, is that < the rights are not granted; they are won. The rest is up to us >

For this reason at present is an imperative necessity as to the neo-liberal globalization of capital based by wars and neo-colonialism to be opposed an globalized force of all the social movements ,civil societies ,left , workers and communist parties from Europe and all over the world for promoting the peace, stability, equality, development, mutual advantageous cooperation and common prosperity, in an multi polar World.

With friendship and solidarity

Constantin Cretu

Vice- President of Socialsit Alliance Party from Romania

President of the Association for International Friendship, Solidarity, Understanding and Cooperation Carpathians Genius from Romania.

Bucharest: 27^th April 2006