Mr. Donald Trump according to Marxists
Why did we
keep capitalism so long?
By Daniel
Paquet dpaquet1871@gmail.com
“The
proletariat and wealth are opposites. As
such they form a whole. They are both
products of the world of private property.
The whole question is what position each of these two elements occupies
within the opposition. It does not
suffice to proclaim them two sides of one whole. Private property as private property, as
wealth, is compelled to preserve its own existence and thereby the existence of
its opposite, the proletariat. This is
the positive side of the antagonism, private property satisfied with itself.”[1]
“You all
know that the market price is the same for all commodities (e.g. including
the worker) of the same kind; however the conditions of production may differ
for the individual producers. The market
price expresses only the average amount
of social labour necessary, under the average conditions of production, to
supply the market with a certain mass of a certain article. It is calculated upon the whole lot of a
commodity of a certain description. (…)
But supply and demand must constantly tend to equilibrate each other,
although they do so only by compensating one fluctuation by another, a rise by
a fall, and vice versa.”[2]
“The
proletariat, on the other hand, is compelled to abolish itself and thereby its
conditioning opposite – private property – which makes it a proletariat. This is the
negative side of the antagonism, its disturbances within itself, private
property abolished and in the process of abolishing itself. The possessing class and the proletarian
class represent one and the same human self-alienation. But the former feels satisfied and affirmed
in this self-alienation, experiences the alienation as a sign of its own power, and possesses in it
the appearance of a human existence.”[3]
In our
century, we live under imperialism and several new questions arose for
mankind. But “the full impact of the
controversial billionaire’s white House tenancy will only begin to be felt in
the course of 2017. (…) Many will dub that date Black Friday, fearful
that Trumpism may irreparably damage international security, environmental
protection and human rights. Others will see it as a sign of welcome change. It
will be a year of living dangerously.”[4]
“After an
exceptional media campaign for months in the end there was only the choice
between pest and cholera left for the masses. (…) All this shows the farce of
the bourgeois democracy and that bourgeois parliamentarism loses its effect to
the same extent as progressive societal potential consolidates in the left
trend and uses the democratic rights in elections for a proletarian profile.
The crisis of bourgeois parliamentarism has become a general phenomenon. All over the world the masses are searching
for a societal alternative to the imperialist crisis system. The conclusion can
only consist in strengthening real alternatives all over the world. That means: priority to the construction of
strong Marxist-Leninist parties in all countries of the world, union of the
revolutionary forces in coordination and cooperation in the ICOR, the union of
the revolutionaries of the world.”[5]
“In the
pre-revolutionary period, the period of more or less peaceful development, when
the parties of the Second International were the predominant force in the
working-class movement and parliamentary forms of struggle were regarded as the
principal forms – under these conditions the Party neither had nor could have
had that great and decisive importance which it acquired afterwards, under
conditions of open revolutionary clashes.
(…) It means that the parties of
the Second International are unfit for the revolutionary struggle of the
proletariat, that they are not militant parties of the proletariat, leading the
workers to power, but election machines adapted for parliamentary elections and
parliamentary struggle. This, in fact,
explains why, in the days when the opportunists of the Second International
were in the ascendancy, it was not the party but its parliamentary group that
was the chief political organization of the proletariat. It is well known that the party at that time
was really an appendage and subsidiary of the parliamentary group. It scarcely needs proof that under such
circumstances and with such a party at the helm there could be no question of
preparing the proletariat for revolution.”[6]
War or
peace, it is still a relevant question, especially with the role played by
Daesh in Syria; and terrorism altogether.
“Exasperated
by what he sees as the US failure to isolate the jihadis in the Syrian
opposition, Putin plans with Turkey and Iran to prepare his own Syrian peace
roadmap. He wants to capitalize on his
military victory with a diplomatic triumph. (…) At this point at least, the
Gulf States, Europe and the US are excluded from the process. Moscow even said
‘almost every level of dialogue with the US is now frozen. We don’t communicate with one another, or if
we do at minimal level,’ said Putin.”[7]
Western
countries (including Canada) and USA at the helm are furious and seriously
frustrated by the result of the war that they are ready to resume just any
time. At the moment, they are hammering
a cleft between Russia and Turkey and conditioning the public opinion in their
respective country.
“In
January, Trudeau ‘s government will face its greatest challenge to date: a
Trump presidency. When it comes to US
relations, few countries have as much at stake as Canada. Last year, nearly three-quarters of its
exports went to the US, while every day about 400 000 people cross the
border.”[8]
The
bourgeoisie and its mass-media dig the grave where to put the coffin of
‘communism’. It is not the first time.
“If we
maintain and strengthen the unity of our Party, if we emerge from international
difficulties as successfully as we have done up to now, if we concentrate all
our efforts on the tasks that now necessarily arise from present conditions,
there can be no doubt that we shall overcome these difficulties. All over the world the communist movement is
growing, if not as fast as those of us who measured it by wartime and immediate
post-war standards expected, at all events it is growing and is becoming sound,
solid, broad and deep. And if we, in
co-operation with the Communist Parties that now exist in all, or nearly all,
countries, soberly assess our position and are not afraid to admit our mistakes
we shall victoriously emerge from all these difficulties.“[9]
By the way,
a recent survey realized in Russia gave the following comment: “the independent
Levada Centre of pollsters showed that 53% of Russians have a positive view of
Lenin’s role in history, compared with just 27% with a negative view (20% said
they didn’t know).”[10]
Anyhow, at
the very moment, most of the people in Canada and USA expect calamity in the
house with Donald Trump; but Hillary and William Clinton did almost everything
the same thing (and probably worse) as President and Secretary of State as they
alert us to foresee. But aren’t they
hypocritical while hiding their own legacy; that would be done or not by Mr.
Trump too. In fact, if the result of the
presidential election were a surprise, we could be surprised as well by the
real policies of the new sheriff in town.
Let’s wait and see!
Oh, and
don’t forget those thousands of angry people who demonstrated in the US cities
when the results of the election have been known to all! The US people may talk again and surely
Donald Trump is aware of it. Stop now
and forever to abase them!
Communist
News
La Nouvelle Vie
Réelle
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L’Humanité in
English
[1] Tucker,
Robert C., The Marx-Engels Reader,
Alienation and Social Classes, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., New
York-London, 1978, page 133
[2] Marx, Karl,
Wages, Price and Profit, Foreign
Languages Press, Peking, 1975/Reprinted by Red Star Publishers, New York, 2014,
page 30-31
[4] The
Guardian Weekly, As Trump era begins,
global turmoil rises, A world divided, London, 16.12.16, page 10
[5] ICOR
Resolution on U.S. Presidential Election, « US presidential election
between pest and cholera », Publication of the Revolutionary organization
of Labor, USA, Boston, January-February 2017, number 100, page 8
[6] Stalin,
J.V., The Foundations of Leninism,
Foreign Languages Press, Peking, 1975, Originally printed in the People’s
Republic of China/Reprinted in the United States, 2010, page 94
[7] Wintour,
Patrick, Common ground unites Russia and
Turkey, The Guardian Weekly, 30.12.16, London, page 4
[8] Kassam,
Ashifa/Mathieu-Léger, Laurence, « Globalisation
isn’t working for many », The Guardian Weekly, London, 30.12.16, page
12
[9] Lenin, On the Organizational Principles of a
proletarian Party, Novosti Press Agency Publishing House, Moscow, 1972,
pages 316-317
[10] Walker,
Shaun, Lenin’s legacy poses a problem for Putin, The Guardian Weekly, London,
20.12.16, page 7
Very interesting and valuable article!
RépondreSupprimerYou might also find this interesting, from the CPUSA: "Marx, Trump and the republic for which we stand." http://www.cpusa.org/article/marx-trump-and-the-republic-for-which-we-stand/
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