World Perspectives 2019: Heading Towards a Volcanic Political Eruption

Theses on the World Situation, the Perspectives for Class Struggle and the Tasks of Revolutionaries

Adopted by the International Executive Committee of the Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT) on 2 March 2019, www.thecommunists.net

Note of the Editorial Board: The following document contains 5 figures and one table. The figures can only be viewed in the pdf version of the document below for technical reasons.

CONTENTS

Introduction

General Remarks on the World Situation

World Economy: The Next Great Recession is About to Begin

Great Power Rivalry

Reactionary Offensive of the Ruling Class

Upsurge of the Class Struggle

Appendix: Great Tasks Demand Great Initiative!

Introduction

1.             The Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT) has elaborated a number of documents about the evolving world situation. [1] This analysis has enabled us to understand the dynamic of the political and economic contradictions, to foresee the fundamental lines of development, and to prepare revolutionaries to respond. It is impossible for revolutionaries to find a correct orientation in an increasingly complex world without a correct Marxist analysis. We have outlined the programmatic perspective which the RCIT proposes to the international revolutionary vanguard. We attach, as an appendix, our latest Open Letter with our 6 POINTS statement. We propose this as a platform for revolutionary organizations and activists around the world to build a Revolutionary World Party. Such a party is the key to the most important challenge in the class struggle – overcoming the crisis of leadership. This is a crisis which has condemned the working class and oppressed to a series of bitter defeats. In the following document we shall give a summary of the latest world developments and our view of prospects.

General Remarks on the World Situation

2.             The fundamental political and economic contradictions of the global capitalist order continue to shape the world situation. These fundamental lines of developments are based first and foremost on the general decay of capitalism. Such decay manifests itself in an increasing number of wars, environmental catastrophes, economic stagnation, and migratory waves of people fleeing conditions of life that have turned to hell.

3.             A recent study of the British Institute for Public Policy Research summarized the dramatic consequences of the atrocities committed by the capitalists against the planet in their reckless pursuit of riches. The authors warn that the world is heading towards “an environmental breakdown”. They report that the 20 warmest years (since records began in 1850) have been in the past 22 years, with the past four years the warmest ever recorded. Vertebrate populations have fallen by an average of 60% since the 1970s. More than 75% of the Earth’s land is substantially degraded. Since 2005 the number of floods across the world has increased by 15 times, extreme temperature events by 20 times, and wildfires sevenfold. Extinction rates have increased to between 100–1,000 times the historical ‘background rate’ of extinction. Topsoil is now being lost 10 to 40 times faster than it is being replenished by natural processes, and, since the mid-20th century, 30% of the world’s arable land has become unproductive due to erosion. 95% of the Earth’s land areas could become degraded by 2050. The study concludes: “By driving unsustainable human activity, social and economic systems are inextricably linked to environmental breakdown and so profound transformations in these systems are needed to bring human activity to within environmentally sustainable limits while providing a high quality of life to all.” [2] It is obvious that such dramatic ecological changes have massive consequences for economic and political developments and will substantially increase the danger of wars between states. [3] While the authors of the study are correct to point out the need for “profound transformations”, we consider their advocacy of green reforms within the capitalist system as illusory. It is not humanity that is responsible for the ecological disaster but the ruling classes of the Great Powers dominating the world. (See Figure 1) Only a social revolution expropriating those responsible for the current destruction of the world’s ecological systems – the global monopoly capitalist class – can ensure an environmentally sustainable future that provides a high quality of life to all and, indeed, the possibility of life itself.

Figure 1. Wealthy Nations Have Emitted the Most Co2 Emissions since the Industrial Revolution, 1751-2015 [4]

4.             In our World Perspectives documents we have pointed out an acceleration of several lines of contradiction. In particular we stressed that the world capitalist economy has not overcome its fundamental problems but has rather just delayed its explosion (by rising indebtedness, “Quantitative Easing”, etc.). Likewise, we have seen a constant acceleration of the tensions between the Great Powers – in particular since the beginning of the Trump Administration. Both these lines of contradiction – the economic crisis as well as the Great Power rivalry – are now experiencing a transformation from quantity into quality. It is evident that such an acceleration of contradiction inevitably drives the ruling classes to press ahead with their counter-revolutionary offensive that, in turn, will provoke new upsurges of the class struggle. In our book on the World Perspectives 2018, we noted: “One could say that we are in a pre-phase of capitalist breakdown, i.e. we are before a phase of catastrophic events like major wars, economic collapse and revolutionary explosions. (…) In summary, the present world situation is characterized by an increasing polarization and instability. It is pregnant with huge possibilities as well as dangers. The multitude of factors and the intertwining of conflicting forces exclude the possibility of a concrete prognosis. But the general tendency of development is absolutely clear: the old world order is breaking down and we are heading towards both devastating regional wars as well as (pre-)revolutionary waves of popular uprisings. This puts an enormous responsibility on the shoulders of all activists fighting against imperialism and capitalist exploitation!” [5] And indeed, we are exactly in the middle of this process now. A combination of a new Great Recession with the full outbreak of a Global Trade War could trigger the beginning of a new era marked by a Cold War between the imperialist rivals, economic and political crisis resulting in military tensions, wars and a series of (pre-)revolutionary and counterrevolutionary upheavals. The RCIT will mobilize its limited resources to aid revolutionaries around the world arming themselves politically for these developments.

World Economy: The Next Great Recession is About to Begin

5.             We have pointed out in our analysis of the capitalist world economy that it is marked by a tendency of decline. It is not necessary to repeat this here. We have also drawn attention to the looming next great recession. [6] In fact, it seems that this recession is about to begin now. Even the leading economists of the bourgeoisie, who usually prefer to praise the superiority of the free-market system, are forced to admit this. In the 2018 edition of the annual Economic Report of the President, the U.S. Administration officially admitted that the current business cycle is marked by the lowest average growth since the end of World War II. (See Table 1). The same declining dynamic can be seen in Figure 2 which shows the capacity utilization of U.S. Industry since 1967. The final cause of this declining dynamic, as Marxists have repeatedly pointed out, is the tendency of the profit rate to fall. This explanation, first elaborated by Karl Marx in Das Kapital, has been verified in a number of studies. (See Figure 3, 4 and 5)

Table 1. Average Annual Real GDP Growth Rates during Business Cycles, USA 1948-2017 [7]

1948:Q4-1953:Q2                               5.5%

1953:Q2-1960:Q2                               2.6%

1960:Q3-1969:Q2                               4.5%

1969:Q4-1973:Q4                               3.7%

1973:Q4-1980:Q1                               2.9%

1980:Q1-1990:Q3                               3.1%

1990:Q3-2001:Q1                               3.3%

2001:Q1-2007:Q4                               2.6%

2007:Q4-Present                                  1.4%

Figure 2. Capacity Utilization, U.S. Total Industry 1967-2018 [8]

Figure 3. World Rate of Profit and Average Rate in Core and Peripheral Countries (1869-2010) ^[9]

Figure 4. Annual Growth of Global Corporate Profits, 1998-2015 [10]

Figure 5. Rate of Profit in UK and US (Uncorrected and Corrected by including Financial Assets) [11]

6.             The stagnation tendency of the current cycle is about to transform into another Great Recession of similar or even worse magnitude as the last one on 2008/09. The IMF’s January 2019 update of its World Economic Outlook cautiously talks, in diplomatic language, about “a weakening global expansion” in which the “risks to global growth tilt to the downside.” [12] In fact, the world economy is very close to another major recession or it might have already begun. Japan’s economy contracted in the 3^rd quarter of 2018 by 2.5% and, according to economists, will contract again by 3% in the final quarter of that year. [13]

7.             China’s economy – the most important driving force of the world economy in the recent past – is also cooling down. According to reports, manufacturing activity has declined and consumer spending has shrunk. [14] A representative indicator for the fragile state of the country’s economy is the report of the China Passenger Car Association that auto sales fell 5.8% in 2018. It was the first annual decline since 1990. [15] Xiang Songzuo, a professor at Renmin University’s School of Finance and the former chief economist of the Agricultural Bank of China, one of the big four state lenders, recently told a seminar of Chinese business executives that the official growth figures are much overblown. He reported about an internal report of “a research group of an important institution” which “used two measurements. Going by the first estimate, China’s GDP growth this year was about 1.67%. And according to the other calculation, the growth rate was negative.” [16]

8.             Europe is in no better state. Germany faces its worst decline of industrial production since 2009. Its GDP declined by 0.2% in Q3 and had 0% “growth” in Q4. [17] Britain’s industrial production has also contracted for the fourth straight month in December 2018. [18] And Italy is also already in recession. In the final three months of 2018, the economy shrank by 0.2%, following a 0.1% decline in the third quarter. [19] Industrial production in the whole Euro Area also declined drastically in November and December 2018 by -3% resp. -4.2% on a year-to-year basis. [20] Russia’s gross domestic product is forecasted to grow by 1.3% in 2019. However, Russians’ real incomes dropped 0.2% in 2018. At the same time, household consumption increased 2.2% which was only possible due to a massive increase of loans to individuals by 22.4% in the same year, a record jump since 2014. [21]

9.             The U.S. economy seems to be in a better shape. However, this is partly due to one-time effects (e.g. Trump’s tax cuts for the super rich) and partly built on sand. Corporate debt has increased massively. What’s going on is, less, long term investment and, more, stock buy-back schemes designed to juice up stock prices and generate ever bigger bonus packages for top executives. As a result, over the last 10 years, the value of US corporate bonds outstanding has tripled from about US$2.5 trillion to US$7.5 trillion. Of that amount, roughly 45% is rated “BBB” – just one grade above junk. [22] Corporations are pessimistic about business prospects and, as a result, listed companies are shrinking employment. [23]

10.          Growing pessimism among the monopoly capitalists has already resulted in a massive slump at in the global stock market in the last 12 months. The world stock market capitalisation as measured by the Bloomberg WCAUWRLD index reached its all-time peak of $87.79 million on 28 January 2018. However, it bottomed at $66.02 million on 26 December 2018 – about a 25% drop in 11 months. [24]

11.          As the RCIT has repeatedly pointed out, another Great Recession was only avoided in the past years due to a massive rise of indebtedness. Global debt has grown by over 12% (or $27 trillion) since 2016. It has reached an accumulated $244 trillion (318% of GDP) in Q3 2018. ¾ of the increase of debt since 2008 was caused by the non-financial corporate sector and governments. Global corporate debt is now at a record high of 92% of GDP. [25] Obviously, such a “growth model” has more similarities with a Ponzi scheme, which must collapse sooner rather than later, than it does with any bona fide plan for economic growth and stability.

12.          The looming recession goes hand in hand with the tendency in accumulating gold reserves among emerging imperialist powers and semi-colonies. The United States, due to its specific position in the financial sector after WWII, was initially able to impose a gold standard on the global level and, later, it could maintain payments in dollars for its own debt to other states, including imperialists, without depletion of its own gold reserves. Usually, deficit spending in wars was associated with the decline of power or even revolutionary struggle (e.g. Great Britain, Germany, and Russian Empire). However, the USA was able, after defeat in Vietnam in 1975 to maintain dominance in the financial sector. Other powers like France and Japan were pushed to use dollars and failed to challenge USA as imperialist powers. The situation with China and Russia is different. Both states are pushing the world into using domestic currencies and increasing their gold reserves. The economic size of China is at such level that USA cannot simply threaten it without consequences. This is creating a precedent where USA is diminishing its finance hegemony. Moreover, it is combined with aggressive sanctions and threats by Trump administration which is an embarrassment even for traditional U.S. allies, which are determined to reduce their financial dependence on the U.S. and to use their own currencies in trade exchange.

Reactionary Offensive of the Ruling Class

26.          The RCIT has repeatedly pointed out that the ruling classes around the world are waging a reactionary offensive against the social and democratic rights of the working class and oppressed. As we have explained, the bourgeoisie is forced to become more aggressive because of the decay of the capitalist system on which its profits and power rest. An initial turning point for this counter-revolutionary offensive was the military coup of General Sisi in Egypt on 3 July 2013 – a coup that was a major setback for the unfolding Arab Revolution. Tragically, the reactionary essence of this coup was not understood by many of the reformist and centrist left (this coup was even cheered by the Stalinists, the Morenoite LIT, Alan Woods’ IMT, and, initially, also the Cliffite RS/IST as a “Second Revolution”). Another, second, turning point for this counter-revolutionary offensive was Trump’s election as U.S. President in November 2016.

27.          It would go beyond the scope of this document to deal with all the examples of this counter-revolutionary offensive of the bourgeoisie around the world. They include: Trump’s bizarre project to build a wall at the border to Mexico, the Islamophobic and anti-migrant chauvinism in Europe combined with numerous neoliberal attacks, Putin’s pension (counter-)reform, the brutal internment of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Muslim Uyghurs in concentration camps by the Chinese state, the arch-reactionary Hindu chauvinism promoted by India’s Modi government, the brutal offensive of dictatorial regimes in the Arab world (from Assad and Sisi to Saudi’s Crown Prince MBS), the pension reform of the conservative Macri government in Argentina, the ongoing suppression of petty-bourgeois Islamist guerilla movements by African dictators with the aid of imperialist powers (e.g. in Somalia, Chad, Mali) etc. As we have pointed out, the RCIT advocates the united front tactic towards reformist and populist forces in order to jointly fight against such attacks of the ruling class without lending any political support to these forces. In the following remarks we will deal with a few, illustrative flash points.

28.          Since the RCIT adopted its World Perspective document one year ago, the counter-revolutionary offensive of the bourgeoisie has continued without interruption. This reactionary assault has experienced both successes and setbacks. The most alarming reactionary development in the last 12 months was, without doubt, the electoral victory of the extreme right-wing candidate Bolsonaro in the Brazil elections. This was only possible by throwing the popular reformist ex-President Lula into prison and thereby preventing him from standing as a candidate. The regime of this admirer of military dictatorships (Bolsonaro) with extreme anti-poor, anti-women, anti-LGBT, neoliberal, pro-US and pro-Israel views will wage gigantic attacks on the social and democratic rights of the working class and oppressed of Brazil. It will go down in history as one of the most glaring examples of the bankruptcy of centrism that pseudo-Trotskyist groups like the Morenoite LIT have followed. The LIT advocated a policy of neutrality during the institutional coup carried out by the reactionary Brazilian bourgeoisie against the popular front PT government. This policy equals the criminal “Third Period” idiocy of “social fascism” during Hitler’s rise in 1929-33. The RCIT fully affirms the approach taken by its Brazilian section during this period. It advocated mass struggles against the right-wing coup and a united front tactic towards the PT-led parties and unions without lending political support to the popular front government and the reformist leaderships (which had implemented bourgeois policies during its years of reign). The strategic goal was (and remains) to help the working class break with the popular front and wage an independent struggle for socialism under the leadership of a revolutionary party. [44]

29.          Currently, the extremely right-wing and pro-US forces are trying to instigate another coup in Venezuela against the Maduro government. [45] This Bolivarian government has been in power since 1998 (under the leadership of Chavez until his death in 2013 and by Maduro since then). [46] It implements a bourgeois state-capitalist policy combined with a left-populist welfare program for the poor – a policy which is doomed to fail as it does not attempt to challenge the root of the misery, capitalist property relations. Its policy always contained anti-imperialist rhetoric but was never anti-imperialist in essence. However, its foreign policy goals clashed with the interests of the U.S. on various occasions (e.g. ALBA, Israel). At the same time, Caracas tried to keep trade relations with the U.S. In the last years, the Maduro government has increasingly become a close ally of Chinese and Russian imperialism and their foreign policy interests. It is a Bonapartist, popular front government that retains significant support among the working class and the poor and their mass organizations (as well as a minority among the capitalists called the “Boliburguesía”). This nature of the Bolivarian government, and the aspirations of the popular masses supporting it, has repeatedly provoked clashes with the traditional bourgeoisie, the right-wing middle class and U.S. imperialism including American allies in the region (e.g. Columbia and currently also Bolsonaro’s Brazilian government). Revolutionaries in Venezuela support independent struggles of the workers and oppressed defending their rights against the Bolivarian government. However, such a policy of independent class struggle remains empty phrase-mongering if it is not combined with a policy of intransigent struggle against the right-wing and pro-U.S. opposition and their coup attempts. The criminal Morenoite policy of neutrality between the popular front government of Maduro and the right-wing pro-U.S. opposition led by Guaidó is a repetition of their bankrupt abstention in Brazil. Tragically, there are even examples of close collaboration of pseudo-Trotskyist organizations with the right-wing opposition. (See e.g. the UIT section led by the former workers leader Chirino who ran the trade union FADESS jointly with leaders of the right-wing opposition MUD. [47]) Other sectors of the petty-bourgeois left opportunistically adapted to the Bolivarian popular front (like the Stalinists or the pseudo-Trotskyist IMT). The RCIT’s policy was always based on the model of the tactics of the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution in 1917 (united front with Kerenski against the coup of Kornilov while preparing the overthrow of the former). We therefore confirm our program of organizing the working class independently of the Bolivarian popular front in order to prepare a revolutionary struggle for socialist revolution. We likewise take into account that the current coup attempt by Guaidó and the U.S. is a major reactionary danger. Under these conditions revolutionaries have to implement the united front tactic with the Bolivarian forces against the coup-mongers. At the same time, the RCIT denounces the pro-capitalist and pro-China/Russia policy of the Bolivarian government.

30.          However, there have been also a number of events which demonstrate deep divisions inside the ruling class and the unbroken struggle of the popular masses against the counter-revolutionary offensive. The deep popular hatred against the arch-reactionary policy of the Trump Administration (as well as strong opposition from a majority of the ruling class) remains an important element not only for the political situation in the U.S. but also globally. This has become particularly obvious after the barbaric murder of the critical journalist Jamal Khashoggi by the Saudi regime on the 2 October 2018. [48] This atrocity at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul triggered a major backlash against the dictatorial monarchy in Riyadh – in the Arab world as well as in Europe and the U.S. The outrage about the killing of Khashoggi has become a focus for the wide-spread international rejection of the extremely reactionary foreign policy of Trump, bin Salman and Netanyahu. The repercussions of this backlash are wide-ranging and have resulted, among others, in the stalling of the Saudi war of aggression against the Yemeni people, the failure of the Saudi offensive against Qatar, and the endless delay of Trump’s so-called “Middle East peace plan”. As a result of the growing opposition against bin Salman in the U.S. Congress, the Saudi regime has started to intensify its links with Russia and China. In other words, the counter-revolutionary offensive of the Trump-Saudi-Israeli alliance has suffered a serious setback and undermined their aggression against the Yemeni people as well as against the Palestinian people. At the same time it also weakened the U.S. aggression against Iran to a certain degree. Revolutionaries will continue to unconditionally support all legitimate national liberation struggles without lending any political support to the leaderships of these struggles (e.g. the Palestinian resistance led by Hamas and others against the Zionist apartheid state, Israel; the Yemeni resistance led by the Houthis against the Saudi invasion). The RCIT also supports the struggle of the workers and oppressed in Iran against the Mullah regime while defending the country against any imperialist aggression of the United States and Israel. We denounce those pseudo-socialists who accommodate to Zionism by advocating the so-called “two-state solution” (e.g. the Stalinists and Peter Taffee’s CWI). Likewise, we condemn those who refuse to side with the Yemeni resistance against the Saudi aggressors (e.g. PTS-FT and the CWI)

31.          The counter-revolutionary offensive of the Assad regime and its Russian and Iranian masters against the heroic Syrian people is also continuing. [49] They try to strangle the last trenches of the ongoing Syrian Revolution, with the help of the Erdoğan regime, via the treacherous Astana/Sochi process. The Syrian liberation forces remain encircled in the Greater Idlib region in the north of the country. However, the Assadist-Russian-Iranian forces have not dared to invade the liberated areas in Idlib until now. Even more, the enemies of the Syrian Revolution suffered a setback when the anti-Astana/Sochi forces (led by the petty-bourgeois Islamist HTS) defeated the pro-Turkish forces among the rebels (like Zenki and Ahrar al Sham). [50] Russian imperialism, together with Assad and Teheran, is determined to attack and smash the anti-Astana forces around the HTS. At the same time, the Turkish state is putting massive pressure on the HTS leadership to accept the Astana/Sochi betrayal. The RCIT repeats its warning that the Syrian workers and poor peasants must not trust the leadership of petty-bourgeois Islamist forces who currently stand at the top of the legitimate resistance struggle against the Assad tyranny and its imperialist masters. We will continue to defend the ongoing Syrian Revolution against all enemies and side with those who refuse to capitulate. We call for the organization of the workers and oppressed in independent councils and militias. Likewise, the RCIT calls upon all workers and popular organizations throughout the world to stand in solidarity with the heroic Syrian people and its liberation fighters who have conducted a courageous struggle against the tyrannical Assad regime for the last 8 years!

32.          Another important development is the attempt of the SDF/YPG to accommodate with the Assad regime. While the YPG has its historic roots in the legitimate national liberation struggle of the Kurdish minority (which has been oppressed for so long in Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq), it has degenerated in the recent period into foot-soldiers of U.S. imperialism. It is currently acting as mercenaries of the U.S. army as well as oppressors of vast regions with an Arab majority population (e.g. the Deir ez-Zor Governorate). The YPG always refused to support the Syrian Revolution and collaborated repeatedly with the Assad regime. As U.S. imperialism now contemplates its withdrawal from Syria, the YPG leadership is looking to serve another master – Assad and Russian imperialism. While revolutionaries must continue defending the right of national self-determination of the Kurdish people, they cannot lend any support to the SDF/YPG which has always acted as an enemy of the Syrian Revolution and which has become a “servant of the Dollar” (and soon of the Ruble too). The RCIT denounces the shameful and uncritical cheering of the YPG by numerous Stalinist and centrist forces around the world.

33.          There is the new scramble for Africa between the imperialist powers. China and Russia are increasing their own role on the continent and are providing military and economic assistance for semi-colonial dictatorships like Bashir or al-Sisi. They are trying to use proxies in conflicts for their own benefit (e.g. Haftar in Libya). The old powers like the U.S. are determined to oppose this development and to support its own allies. Such struggles can result in proxy wars or direct wars among imperialist forces. In such situations, the legitimate struggle of African people must be combined with an anti-imperialist fight against all Great Powers and with the strategic goal of permanent revolution.

Upsurge of the Class Struggle

34.          The counter-revolutionary offensive has provoked an important upswing of the class struggle internationally. In addition to the conflicts already mentioned (Brazil, Venezuela, Syria, Palestine, Yemen), we draw attention to the following. We are observing a renewed upswing of the revolutionary process in the Middle East culminating in mass demonstrations, strikes and popular unrest in Sudan, Algeria, Tunisia, Iraq, Jordan, Iran and Lebanon. [51] Likewise, there has been an uprising in Zimbabwe in February 2019. [52] There have also been revolts in Nicaragua and Haiti. [53] In India we have seen a two day general strike with a historically high number of workers participating. In France, a spontaneous popular mass movement of mostly poor workers (the “Yellow Vests”) emerged in November 2018. Ongoing demonstrations have taken place every Saturday since then. [54] This movement, directed mainly against unemployment, high taxes and social inequality, has inspired similar developments around the globe (including Lebanon and Taiwan). Another important development has taken place in South Africa where militant trade unions around NUMSA and various left-Stalinist forces have formed the Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party – a potentially mass workers party.

35.          Finally, it is important to point out the looming defeat of U.S. imperialism in Afghanistan which has faced a popular guerilla struggle since 2001. Despite the reactionary policy of the petty-bourgeois Islamist Taliban, who is leading this resistance, such a defeat would constitute a major blow for the strongest Great Power. [55] As is characteristic of the rotten character of Stalinism and centrism, it is either siding with the imperialist puppet regime in Kabul (e.g. the Stalinist OKP allied with the pseudo-Trotskyist PO/CRFI [56]), taking a neutral position (e.g. the CWI) or simply remaining silent on this issue.

36.          While all of these struggles have specific national characteristics, they share a common feature: the masses fight heroically against the attacks of the ruling class but they do so encumbered with a confused political consciousness. This goes hand in hand with the lack of independent workers and/or popular councils, militias subordinate to those bodies and, above all, the absence of a revolutionary party.

37.          However, these weaknesses must not allow us to stand aside such mass struggles. Indeed, it is a feature of bankrupt reformism, populism and centrism to refuse support for popular mass movements of the working class and oppressed because of their “backward” consciousness. Examples of such shameful treason are the denunciation of the popular uprising in Nicaragua by Stalinists and Bolivarians as a “CIA-led conspiracy”. The same betrayal by most of the left has taken place towards the ongoing Syrian Revolution. Another example is the refusal of the Stalinist leadership of the CGT to support the “Yellow Vests” movement (a shameful act mirrored by the slanderous denunciation of the movement by the small centrist L5I group). No, revolutionaries have the responsibility to intervene in such mass movements by supporting and participating in their struggles. They have to apply the united front tactic, to criticize wrong policies, and to try winning the masses for the creation of action committees, self-defense units, and a socialist program.

38.          As we have predicted, the acceleration of the global class contradictions is throwing centrism increasingly into crisis and/or pushing organizations to the right respectively to the left. To name only the latest examples of these contradictory developments we refer to the open pro-Russian/Chinese social-imperialist stand of the PO/CRFI, the recognition of China’s imperialist character by Socialist Action (US), the explosive faction struggle which has erupted in Peter Taffee’s CWI (with Taffee being in a minority for the first time), the crisis in the Cliffite ISO (US) on supporting Bernie Sanders, etc. The RCIT reemphasizes the necessity of revolutionaries to unite on a clear international political platform as we have outlined it in our 6 POINTS. We call revolutionaries in all organizations which are dissatisfied with the confused and disorientated centrist leadership to fight for a correction of the wrong course of their organizations. We propose to get in touch with the RCIT in order to jointly advance a common strategy in building a new Revolutionary World Party.

39.          It is impossible to advocate a correct line in the class struggle and to aid the workers vanguard to struggle for a socialist program without the formation of an international revolutionary organization. Only such a Marxist organization can defend and develop a revolutionary program and advance the unification of revolutionaries for the purpose of building a Revolutionary World Party. The deep crisis of leadership demonstrates that such a party is needed immediately for the working class to march forward in its struggle for liberation. In the RCIT’s Open Letter “Great Tasks Demand Great Initiative!” we have outlined a number of positions that we consider as crucial to advancing the unification of revolutionaries today. (See Appendix). We will continue in our efforts to advance the formation of a powerful international combat organization.

40.          In conclusion, all elements of the world situation point to global political and economic earthquakes ahead. Such convulsions will result in a major transformation of the world political situation. The developing Great Recession will destabilize the social fabric in all countries and accelerate the assault of each ruling class against the exploited classes. They will try to rob from the workers and oppressed even more than they have done already in preceding decades. This process will inevitably include increasing attacks on democratic rights and a tendency towards the creation of authoritarian regimes. The Great Powers will intensify their rivalry and so will a number of regional powers. In other words, the war danger will dramatically accelerate. The counter-revolutionary offensive of the ruling class has provoked and will continue to provoke mass struggles and revolutionary upheavals. In short, a phase full of military tensions and saber-rattling, class struggles, counter-revolutionary attacks, and revolutionary explosions lies ahead of us. We are heading towards a volcanic political eruption. This is the environment in which revolutionaries are tested. Only by elaborating a correct Marxist analysis and a corresponding program of struggle will revolutionaries be able to meet these massive challenges. Revolutionaries must strive to combine two tasks: on one hand, they have to support and participate in these struggles; on the other hand, they have to denounce the reformist, populist and centrist forces which are misleading the workers and oppressed. Ultimately, the most important task is to overcome division and confusion among socialists and to advance the formation of a united Revolutionary World Party!

Forward in Building the RCIT!

Forward in building the Revolutionary World Party!

Appendix

Great Tasks Demand Great Initiative!

A call to all revolutionary organizations and activists to fulfill our responsibility in this historic time!

Open Letter from the International Secretariat of the Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT), 7 January 2019, www.thecommunists.net

Comrades, Brothers and Sisters!

We are living in historic times. Everyone with open eyes can see that the imperialist world order is in severe turmoil. We are heading towards a political volcano eruption.

The stock markets are in panic, reflecting the capitalists’ fear of another, imminent Great Recession which will be even worse this time than in 2008/09.

The tensions between the imperialist Great Powers are rapidly accelerating as indicated by the looming Global Trade War, the tensions in the South China Sea, at the Russian-Ukrainian border, the new imperialist scramble for Africa, etc. President Trump’s decision to withdraw substantial numbers of U.S. troops from the Middle East and his admission that the U.S. cannot continue to be “the policeman of the world” reflect the official end of the absolute domination of the former super-power. Only a political blind can ignore that the future will be decisively shaped by the rivalry between the imperialist Great Powers – the U.S., China, the EU, Russia and Japan.

At the same time we are at the beginning of a new global wave of liberation struggles of the workers and oppressed. The current popular uprising in Sudan, the ongoing liberation struggle of the heroic Syrian people against the tyranny of Assad, the mass protests in Tunisia, Lebanon, Jordan and Iran, the steadfast Palestinian people resisting the Zionist oppressor, the powerful “Yellow Vests” movement in France which is inspiring similar movements all over the world (as far as Taiwan!), the protesting low-income workers in Hungary, the popular insurrection in Nicaragua, ... all these are powerful signs that we are facing a massive upturn of the international class struggle!

Comrades, Brothers and Sisters! No one should be surprised about these events. This is a complete confirmation of the prognoses which Marxists have repeatedly developed in the past years. We have pointed out since years that the laws of motion of class antagonism in the present historic period must inevitable result in such a development.

The Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT) says straightforwardly that each and every one of us bears a great responsibility in such a period! We have seen numerous heroic mass struggles in the past years. Remember the Arab Revolution since 2011 which has given so many martyrs! Remember the mass movements in Latin America struggling for social justice! Remember the South African miners fighting against super-exploitation! Remember the Indian workers and poor peasants launching several general strikes with the biggest number of participants in history! And these are only a few examples!

But all these impressive struggles have suffered major setbacks and terrible defeats! Why? Because the workers and oppressed have lacked an authentic revolutionary leadership! Because they have been disorientated by various bourgeois, petty-bourgeois, reformist and centrist forces! Because the workers and oppressed are misled by parties which talk about “liberation” or even “socialism” but which, in their deeds, are treacherously serving one or another imperialist Great Power or which are looking for a quick road to enter the system of capitalist power!

Comrades, Brothers and Sisters! The time has come to draw conclusions and to act! Great tasks demand great initiative! Do not wait for others, do not hope for “favorable situations” in the future! All this is nothing but a “socialist” version of resignation to fate. Such superstition is unworthy of authentic revolutionaries! Each and every one of us is obligated to exercise one's responsibility now!

It is our responsibility to free the worker and oppressed from such corrupting and bankrupt forces! It is our responsibility to provide the masses with a leadership which understands the dynamic of the world situation and which draws the consequential conclusions from this! It is our responsibility to organize the best, most dedicated fighters on the basis of a program of struggle and to unite them in a joint international organization! It is our responsibility to build a Revolutionary World Party which can replace the Stalinist, Bolivarian, reformist and pseudo-Trotskyist bankrupts! This is the only way to help the vanguard of the workers and oppressed to find the correct path of the liberation struggle!

Comrades, Brothers and Sisters! In order to meet the great tasks ahead, we must overcome routine, national-centeredness and complacency! We must join forces now in order to advance building a Revolutionary World Party with sections in each country! Such a party should be based on a program of struggle for the period ahead, a program which combines each and every struggle with the strategic goal – for the socialist world revolution!

In the last one and a half years the RCIT has intensified its efforts to expand and deepen its collaboration with other revolutionary forces. Today we have sections, activists and fraternal organizations in 18 countries all over the world. Last year, we have launched joint statements on crucial world events (see e.g. May Day 2018 Statement, https://www.thecommunists.net/rcit/may-day-2018-joint-statement/; Warmongering in the Middle East, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/africa-and-middle-east/joint-statement-warmongering-in-the-middle-east/; Global Trade War: No to Great Power Jingoism in West and East! https://www.thecommunists.net/rcit/joint-statement-on-the-looming-global-trade-war/). Our comrades are spreading the ideas of revolutionary socialism and are actively participating in the class struggles (see e.g. various reports on our activities on a special subpage of the RCIT website, https://www.thecommunists.net/rcit/activities-on-the-ground/, as well as on various websites of the RCIT sections).

We are aware that these are still only modest achievements compared with the big tasks ahead. But it is a beginning and it helps us to be better prepared for the tumultuous world situation ahead! It is urgent that we join forces together – by practical collaboration, discussion and clarification of possible differences, etc. – in order to move forward together and to build revolutionary unity on an international level.

Comrades, Brothers and Sisters! We have no time to lose! The coming months and years will inevitable provoke gigantic battles and political volcano eruptions! It is urgent that revolutionaries around the world achieve a higher level of unity. Below we reissue a slightly actualized version of the RCIT’s Six Points for a Platform of Revolutionary Unity Today which we published in February 2018. This is our proposal for a joint program of struggle in the current period. However, we are open to discuss any amendments or alternative platforms. We call all revolutionary organizations and activists around the world to contact us and to jointly elaborate plans for closer international collaboration! If you have proposals and suggestions for joint international campaigns in solidarity with liberation struggles, we welcome you to contact us! Please inform us about YOUR campaigns, YOUR ideas and initiatives for revolutionary unity! We plan to organize an international Skype conference of all those who agree on such joint work.

Comrades, Brothers and Sisters! Great tasks demand great initiative! Let us jointly tackle the great tasks of the year 2019! Let us join forces to march forward!

Unity – Struggle – Victory!

* * * * *

Six Points for a Platform of Revolutionary Unity Today

A Proposal from the Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT)

We are living in a world of rapidly accelerating contradictions and sudden turns. As capitalism is decaying, the capitalist robbers try to raise their wealth by aggressively attacking the working class and the oppressed, by increasingly destroying the environment and, at the same time, by aggravating their rivalry against each other. The survival of humanity is endangered with the uncontrolled climate change and the accelerating rivalry between the Great Powers which creates the danger of an imperialist World War III. This is why we say that the alternative is “Socialism or Stone Age!”

This dramatic situation makes the organized struggle for socialism more necessary than ever. This means that the working class and the oppressed must have a party dedicated to the international struggle for a socialist future!

In our opinion, it is highly urgent that revolutionaries all over the world immediately start collaborating in laying the foundations for a principled unification, so that we drive forward the process of creating a new Revolutionary World Party with stronger forces. The starting point for the creation of such a party has to be agreement on the most important issues of the global class struggle. The Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT) considers the following issues as such programmatic keystones in the present political phase:

1) Recognition of the Accelerating Rivalry between the Imperialist Great Powers – the US, EU, Japan, Russia and China

It is only possible to understand the driving dynamic of the present period of capitalist crisis and to take a correct position if one recognizes the imperialist character not only of the US, EU and Japan but also of the new emerging powers, Russia and China. Only on such a basis is it possible to arrive at the only correct, anti-imperialist program on this issue – proletarian internationalism and revolutionary defeatism, i.e., the perspective of consistent struggle of the working class independent of and against all imperialist powers. This means that revolutionaries refuse to lend support to any Great Power in inter-imperialist conflicts under the slogan “The main enemy is at home!”

A similar approach is necessary when India enters into a conflict with imperialist China, as India – a non-imperialist regional power – acts under such circumstances as a proxy for US imperialism.

Those who fail to recognize the reactionary and imperialist character of these Great Powers will inevitable fail to take a consistent anti-imperialist, i.e. Marxist, line and will end up, consciously or unconsciously, supporting one or the other imperialist camp as a “lesser evil”.

2) Consistent Struggle against Imperialism and for the Liberation of the Oppressed People

Revolutionaries stand for the defeat of imperialist states and their proxies in any conflict with forces representing oppressed people and for the military victory of the latter without, at the same time, giving any political support to the non-revolutionary leadership of the oppressed (e.g., petty-bourgeois Islamists, nationalists). This is true both in domestic conflicts (e.g., against an oppressed nation like the Chechen people in Russia or the East Turkestanis/Uyghurs in China) as well as in wars abroad (e.g., North Korea, Afghanistan, Syria, Mali, Somalia). Such an approach is not only valid in the countries of the South but also in cases of national oppression and discrimination inside the old imperialist states (e.g. Blacks and Native Americans in the U.S.; Catalonia’s struggle for independence against the imperialist Spanish State.)

Likewise, revolutionaries have to fight for Open Borders in the imperialist countries and for full equality for national minorities and for migrants (e.g. citizenship rights, language, equal wages).

Furthermore, revolutionaries refuse to lend support to one imperialist camp against another in any given conflict (e.g., Brexit vs. EU; Clinton vs. Trump).

Those who fail to support the popular struggles against oppression, referring to their bad leaderships as an excuse, desert the class struggle as it concretely takes place today and hence leave the camp of the working class and oppressed.

3) Continuing the Revolutionary Struggle in the Middle East and North Africa against Reactionary Dictatorships, Imperialism and Zionism

The mass popular uprisings in Palestine, Tunisia, Iran, Syria, Egypt, Yemen, Sudan and other countries have been the most important and progressive class struggle development so far since the beginning of the new historic period in 2008. True, given the lack of a revolutionary leadership, the masses have suffered a number of terrible defeats – like the coup d’état of General al-Sisi in Egypt in July 2013, or the ongoing slaughter of the Syrian people at the hands of Assad and his foreign backers. However, the revolutionary process is continuing. This is reflected in the ongoing popular resistance in Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Egypt, etc as well as its spreading to new countries like Tunisia, Iran, Sudan and Morocco. The Palestinian and international mass movement provoked by Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital opens a new chapter of the revolutionary struggle against the imperialist powers and against the Zionist Apartheid state and for the creation of a single Palestinian state from the river to the sea (a “Free, Red Palestine”). The spontaneous popular uprisings in Tunisia as well as in Iran against the capitalist regime show that the revolutionary wave in the Middle East might be revived and spreads even to non-Arab countries. Authentic revolutionary forces must give unconditional support to these popular struggles against dictatorships and reactionary forces, without giving any political support to their non-revolutionary leaderships (e.g., petty-bourgeois Islamists and nationalists).

Those “socialists” who have failed to support the Arab Revolution since 2011 or who declare it as already finished and defeated, prove to be socialists and democrats only in words but not in deeds.

Revolutionaries oppose any reactionary war between regional power (e.g. Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, etc.). They will determine their revolutionary tactics in any given war by analyzing the concrete character of the war and its political background as well as the role of imperialist powers (in particular the U.S., Russia, China) in it.

4) Revolutionary Struggle against Reactionary Attacks on Democratic Rights

Revolutionaries can only serve the interests of the working class and the oppressed if they are able to recognize the class enemy and to mobilize against it. Thus they must consistently fight against all reactionary dictatorships and corrupt and authoritarian pseudo-democracies (e.g. Syria, Togo, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe), against all forms of national and racial oppression (e.g. indigenous people in Latin America, Rohingya in Myanmar, African slaves in Libya), against all coup d’états (e.g. Egypt 2013, Thailand 2014, Brazil 2016) and against all authoritarian attacks (e.g. state of emergency in France since 2015).

All those who fail to recognize and to fight against these reactionary attacks but rather support them or take a neutral position, are traitors of the working class. Between them and us is a line of blood!

5) Application of the United Front Tactic in all Mass Struggles

Revolutionaries oppose all forms of sectarianism which refuses participation in mass struggles under the pretext of their non-revolutionary leaderships. Instead they apply the united front tactic in the struggles of the workers and peasants led by reformist or populist forces (e.g., trade unions, mass organizations of the peasants and the urban poor, but also political parties like PT, CUT, MST in Brazil; CGT, CTA, FIT in Argentina; Islamists in Egypt; rebels in Syria; EFF in South Africa; SYRIZA in Greece before 2015, PODEMOS, Basque and Catalan nationalists in the Spanish State). Such an orientation must be combined with a consistent struggle against all forms of popular-frontism and petty-bourgeois populism, and for the breaking of workers and peasants away from these non-revolutionary leaderships and to advance the formation of an independent and revolutionary Workers’ Party.

Those who fail to apply the united front tactic in such mass struggles, render their support for these struggles to an abstract statement without any concrete meaning.

6) Start Building a Revolutionary World Party Now!

The struggle for repelling the reactionary offensive of the ruling class and for the liberation of the working class and the oppressed can only succeed if it is combined with the struggle for the socialist revolution. This means nothing less than taking power by the working class and the oppressed and the overthrow and expropriation of the capitalist class so that the road towards socialism will be opened. History teaches us that all struggles of the masses for liberation will ultimately end in failure if they are not led by a revolutionary party. Such a party should organize the most politically conscious and dedicated fighters of the working class and oppressed, it must be free of any bureaucratic degeneration; and it must exist as an international party in order to avoid the dangers of national-centeredness.

Hence we call upon all organizations and activists which honestly strive towards the creation of a new Revolutionary World Party to join forces on the basis of these programmatic keystones. Concretely, the RCIT proposes that revolutionaries constitute a Joint Contact Committee in order to politically prepare and organize an International Conference which will discuss concrete steps to advance the formation of a Revolutionary World Party. The RCIT is committed to serious discussions and the closest possible collaboration with all forces who share such an outlook.

* * * * *

The Revolutionary Communist International Tendency has sections and activists in Nigeria, Zambia, Kenya, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Israel / Occupied Palestine, Brazil, Mexico, Britain, Germany, and Austria. Furthermore, the RCIT has fraternal relations with organizations in Kenya, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Russia and Turkey.

Footnotes