Does the left need a new strategy and tactics?
A conversation
between comrades
By
Daniel Paquet, dpaquet1871@gmail.com
Communist
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- Imaginary discussion between US, Canadian and South African communists,
- War between Kenya and Somalia,
- The future of Swaziland at stake.
A piece of anthology in matter of
opportunism and delusion:
“After the killing of
former Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi, some in the corporate controlled media
are extolling the overall operation as the right way for the United States to
project force overseas in the future.
We beg to
differ. We find the whole episode,
starting with the beginning of NATO intervention in March, to be very
troubling. Rather than a model to be
emulated, the operation sets very bad precedents.” (Communist Party USA, Statement on Libya, October 2011)
What
a mild way to condemn aggression, gross violation of human rights and unspeakable
intervention of US imperialism. None of
the CPUSA leaders seem revolted! What is
needed for to be outraged with such an injustice?
Is
this the right example for other communist parties? Should we, as full-fleshed “UN diplomats”,
opt for “political correctness”? We
believe that we have to be straightforward with our comrades. As we say in
French: « mieux vaut prévenir que
guérir » :
1.“The main contradiction underlying capitalism in Canada today remains the class contradiction, reflecting in the class struggle between the two main classes – the ruling capitalist class (especially its core, monopoly capital) and the working class of our country, a contradiction which can only be resolved through the revolutionary transformation of our society from capitalism to socialism.
The CPC is
imbued with a proletarian internationalist outlook, reflected in both our
struggle to achieve socialism in Canada, and in our active solidarity with
anti-imperialist and revolutionary struggles, and efforts to build socialism
around the world. A critical aspect of our internationalist responsibility is
the ideological struggle against bourgeois slanders and distortions of the
history of the international working class movement and its efforts to forge
socialism, both in the past and in the present day.” (Communist Party of Canada, August 2011, Lessons
from our History)
“Whilst
all the objective conditions are maturing for an assault on capitalism in one
of its worst crises, the subjective forces and the motive forces for an
alternative socialist struggle are indeed extremely weak. Instead the right
wing in places like Europe has turned the crisis into an offensive against the
social democratic policies, and exploiting emotive issues such as immigration,
as the main culprits for the current economic crisis and not the capitalist
system.” (- SACP)
2. “In terms of our organizational principles as a Communist Party, these are
determined by its political aims…to guide the working class to the achievement
of these aims, and to lead the people’s struggle, the Party must be founded on
firm ideological, political and organizational unity, and on the continuous
organized activity of its members in close contact with the working people,
knowing their views and needs, and able to explain Party policy. Democratic
centralism is the organizational principle which ensures this.” (- CPC)
“Some
of the lessons to be learnt during this period are the necessity to explore a
range of a combination of old and new strategies mainly involving the formation
of broad alliances, mass mobilization and mass based electoral campaigning,
combined with effective use of state power where the left forces are in, or
have access to, government. It is a struggle that for some time to come will
have to be waged on a terrain of multi-party electoral politics. It requires
new and innovative Marxist strategies.” (-SACP)
3. “Our Party supports the struggle for immediate reforms to improve the
conditions of the working class and the people under capitalism, and seeks
unity with all other forces which support and will fight for such advances; at
the same time, our Party never loses sight of the ultimate goal of socialism
nor the fact that there can
be no other course to socialism other than through the revolutionary overthrow
of the existing order. In this regard, we consider a correct
understanding of the dialectical relationship between reform and revolution to
be of paramount importance.” (-CPC)
“Whilst multi-party
democratic elections have on the whole favoured elites and the rich - something
that gave imperialism confidence to experiment with elite pacts and negotiated
transitions away from dictatorships in the late 80's into the 90's in places
like Latin America - there have now emerged new possibilities for the left to
exploit the multi-party electoral terrain, especially if effectively combined
with, and buttressed by, sustained mass mobilization.” ((Umsebenzi Online, December
2011,-SACP)
4. “In pursuing the broadest possible unity with other class and social forces
to achieve immediate advances, it is absolutely imperative for our Party to
studiously safeguard its independent role as a revolutionary party of
the working class and oppose tendencies or pressures – either from within or
without our ranks – to efface or submerge our independent role. The CPC
considers it vital that it speak directly, visibly and openly in our own name,
and engage in ideological struggle – the ‘battle of ideas’ – against
bourgeois, reformist and class collaborationist concepts that weaken, disarm
and divide the movement.” (-CPC)
Before going further, let’s just
have a glance to a “common” problem that workers from all capitalist countries
face:
“COSATU (the South African trade union movement, -Ed)
has expressed similar concerns, bases on the mountain of evidence from around
the world that Wal-Mart’s entry into the retail market leads to the closure of
rival retail stores, the procurement of goods form the cheapest source with no
regard to the wages and conditions of the workers producing them, and the
creation of a monopoly. This could lead
to a drastic further weakening of South African manufacturing industry, as more
cheap imports start to fill Massmart stores’ shelves.” (People’s
Voice – Communist Party of Canada’s paper, December 2011, p. 9)
What about Somalia?
Problems did
not really change in Africa, since its colonization. Its natural resources are the target of the
insatiable quench of Western powers. The
result are wars, such as the one in Somalia, where extremist factions seize de facto the upper-hand for years and
control a large part of the country. Neighbours
such as the Kenyan government intervened military; here are the reasons:
“Since
the collapse of the central State of Somalia in 1991, the Somali community in
Kenya has been growing significantly and many Somalis have established their
businesses there, bringing a relatively cordial relationship between the Kenyan
and Somali people. At present, Somalia is facing haunting massive economic and
political crises in which many people are dying from hunger and many more are
displaced by endless wars. Similarly, Kenya’s confusion over its war aims
emanates from, in part, the deep divisions within the elites and the fact that
key international actors have divergent strategic objectives in the Horn of
Africa that are designed to control the political decision-making processes in
these countries.
In this perspective, the invasion of Somalia by Kenya can only be understood ‘as part of a broader process of the exercise of hegemony’ where Kenya and Somalia are less significant in the overall strategic objective.
This analysis intends to explore crucial policy options for Kenya and Somalia to prevent extensive bloodshed in their pursuit of internal security and economic progress. From the US security perspective, Somalia poses a great challenge as it is considered to host multiple threats to US interest including a political vacuum that offers bases for terrorism and piracy that threatens international trade. As a result, Somalia has become the object of contradictory international policy instruments; all seeking to, simultaneously, resolve humanitarian, political, social, economic, and security issues.
In this effort, the US has effectively enlisted the support of the countries surrounding Somalia to assist the US policy towards Somalia. These are Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti where the US has been building military bases. As the US government increased its Foreign Military Financing program (FMF), the countries surrounding Somalia have also received large military financial assistance as part of counterterrorism funding according to the US Defence Department.
Kenya has, for example, received an increase of ‘roughly 15 times its previous value’ for its cooperation, and its military receives free education at military academies in the US, making sure that Kenyan forces become more effective in combat missions in Somalia. Countries that have received weapons and military training during the Cold War from the US have ‘experienced violent conflict and, in fact, many of the top US arms clients of the Cold War – Liberia, Somalia, Sudan, and Zaire (now the DRC) – have turned out to be the top basket cases of the 1990s in terms of violence, instability and economic collapse. While the Cold War strategy was to defeat communism and propping up repressive governments was a small price to pay in the minds of policy makers.”
In this perspective, the invasion of Somalia by Kenya can only be understood ‘as part of a broader process of the exercise of hegemony’ where Kenya and Somalia are less significant in the overall strategic objective.
This analysis intends to explore crucial policy options for Kenya and Somalia to prevent extensive bloodshed in their pursuit of internal security and economic progress. From the US security perspective, Somalia poses a great challenge as it is considered to host multiple threats to US interest including a political vacuum that offers bases for terrorism and piracy that threatens international trade. As a result, Somalia has become the object of contradictory international policy instruments; all seeking to, simultaneously, resolve humanitarian, political, social, economic, and security issues.
In this effort, the US has effectively enlisted the support of the countries surrounding Somalia to assist the US policy towards Somalia. These are Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti where the US has been building military bases. As the US government increased its Foreign Military Financing program (FMF), the countries surrounding Somalia have also received large military financial assistance as part of counterterrorism funding according to the US Defence Department.
Kenya has, for example, received an increase of ‘roughly 15 times its previous value’ for its cooperation, and its military receives free education at military academies in the US, making sure that Kenyan forces become more effective in combat missions in Somalia. Countries that have received weapons and military training during the Cold War from the US have ‘experienced violent conflict and, in fact, many of the top US arms clients of the Cold War – Liberia, Somalia, Sudan, and Zaire (now the DRC) – have turned out to be the top basket cases of the 1990s in terms of violence, instability and economic collapse. While the Cold War strategy was to defeat communism and propping up repressive governments was a small price to pay in the minds of policy makers.”
Is
democracy possible in Swaziland?
“The CPS believes that only a socialist democracy (not social
democracy!), where the people and their communities are power holders, where
the resources of society are devoted to ending poverty, food insecurity,
disease and lack of education – that only such a new dispensation can begin to
address the catastrophic situation of our country.
We note that
those in the pro-democracy movement to condemn us often do so while leeching
support and succor from the South African Communist Party – a party that also
advocates socialism in all countries of our region, and indeed in the world.”
(Statement
of the Communist Party of Swaziland, November 2011. We must bring down - not get into bed with
Mswati)
__________________
NOTA BENE :
Please note that this article is not an official statement endorsed by
the Communist Party. Daniel Paquet is
rather a long-time friend of the CPC.
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