One hundred years after the First World War, only the proletarian revolution can avoid capitalism to plunge the world to the abyss

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In 1914, the struggle for a redivision of the world among imperialist powers led Europe to the disaster, with 19 million deaths on every continent. The world working class, which had no interest in that war, was the only force that could avoid or shorten the carnage. But the main parties of the 2nd Workers’ International capitulated to their respective bourgeoisie and did not call the workers – contrary to the decisions of the international – for the revolutionary struggle to prevent the war; instead they sent them to the massacre with social-patriotic catchwords. In the workers’ movement only a minority, led by the Bolshevik party, did not succumb to social-patriotism and laid the foundations for the October 1917 successful revolution in Russia and for the workers’ 3rd International in March 1919.

The isolation of the Russian Revolution allowed the state bureaucracy taking power in 1924 in the name of “Socialism in One country”, which provoked the degeneration of the International Communist. As well as the labour and social-democrat did before, the Stalinist leaders submitted to the bourgeoisie and betrayed the revolution: in China in 1927, in Germany in 1933, in France in 1936, in Spain in 1936 and 1937.

The fight against Stalinism, social-patriotism and the Popular Front within the 3rd International led to the emergence of the 4th International in 1938. But it never took a lead in the masses. Quite the contrary, its own leadership gave up the Marxist program under pressure from Stalinism at the peak of its influence after the 2nd World War.

For lack of a world party of the socialist revolution, youth and workers struggles in imperialist countries, in subject capitalist countries, in countries with collectivized economy never had a revolutionary leadership. For lack of a communist and internationalist party, the bureaucracies in the degenerate workers’ states succeeded in crushing the proletarian revolts which threatened them as soon as 1953 (in East Germany), they military fought against each other as soon as 1978 (attack of Vietnam by Cambodia, of Vietnam by China) and they restored capitalism as soon as 1989 (in Eastern Europe, in Russia, in China…).

Most of bourgeois nationalist parties in oppressed countries and most of reformist workers’ parties denied socialism (confused with the partial state control on the national economy, while it is emancipation of the workers by themselves). The former Stalinists, the social-democrats and the Labourists seem satisfied with denouncing the finance, just like if it could be separated from declining capitalism. The unions’ leaderships fight long and hard against general strike and they are part of the capitalist attacks. The former leaders of the Castroite and Maoist guerillas have transformed into governments leaders (Brazil, Nepal, Nicaragua, Uruguay…) or into drug traffickers (Colombia…). In Chile, the “socialist” Party and the “communist” Party, without having drawn any lesson from the 1973 military coup of the bourgeoisie, rule again for capitalism and they are still funding the criminal bourgeois army. In Austria and in Germany, the “socialist” party is managing capitalism with the Christian-democrat parties. In Italy, the defrocked Stalinists merged into the Democratic Party. The French “Socialist” Party is destroying what the workers owned in the past and it is sending colonial troops in Mali and in Centrafrique. The Cuban “communist” Party started restoring capitalism. The Chinese “communist” party became the capitalists’ party which bans all workers’ independent organization. The South-African “communist” Party and the bourgeois ANC massacred the striking miners in South Africa in 2012. In early 2014, Hun Sen the former Polpotist ordered to shoot at garment workers in Cambodia. The Egyptian “communist” Party is supporting the military dictatorship and the Lebanese “communist” Party is supporting the “Party of God” (Hezbollah)…

The centrist, semi reformist organizations do not fare better: the Grantist IMT and the Mandelist “4th International” idolized the late Chavez in Venezuela. Both Healyst “4th Internationals” support the torturer bourgeois Assad in Syria. The Cliffist RS from Egypt ranged between two factions of the bourgeoisie, the Muslim Brothers and the Army Staff, both being anti-workers. The Morenist IWU-FI and the IWL-FI approved of the putsch in Ukraine (“a democratic victory that enlightens the path for the people all over the world” IWL-FI, 3rd March).

In the late 20th century, the world bourgeoisie and its agents exulted: they explained that capitalism was eternal and that every attempt from the oppressed and the exploited for overthrowing it was fatally flawed. But the reality is that capitalism damages environment, inflicts humanity crisis after crisis, fuels religious and ethnic conflicts, increases the number of boarders. The putrefaction of capitalism, the betrayals of Stalinism, the weaknesses of the national bourgeoisies in Latin America, in Asia and in Africa have even produced the rise of religious fundamentalism which divides the workers and defends private ownership and (Islamist, Christian, Buddhist, Hindouist…) patriarchy. Where they took power (in Arabia, Qatar, Iran, Gaza, Egypt…) the Islamists have shown their ability in persecuting the revolutionaries, the unionists, the women, the young people, the artists and the homosexuals, but also their inability in providing the development, in overthrowing imperialism and Zionism. Racist parties (Tea Party, FN, UKIP…) and Nazi parties (Golden Dawn, Jobbick, Svoboda…) reappear in old bourgeois democracies (United States, France, UK…), in the dominated states in the EU (Hungary, Greece…) and in the states arising from the bursting of the break-up of the Soviet Union: in Russia they are tolerated; in Ukraine they are seated in the government supported by the United States and by the European Union.

Like before 1914 and before 1939, imperialist blocks are taking shape, with old imperialist powers on the one hand (US, Germany, Japan…) and newcomers which are obliged to fight against the formers in order to create their own dominance area on the other hand (China, Russia…). Military conflicts developed between great powers through proxy gangs.

Under the rule of the bourgeoisie, of the owner of the means of production, the productive forces tend to transform into destructive forces. Instead of satisfying and expanding the needs, of ensuring progress, of improving the civilization, the regime of private ownership and of profit not only leads to the exploitation of the largest number of people but also to mass unemployment, to the poverty for billions people, to amazing military expenditure, to obscurantism, to clericalism and to chauvinism, to forced displacements of people, to accelerating global warming, to the irreversible destruction of animal and vegetal species, to pollution…

Yet a world resistance to imperialism and to its barbarian consequences exists. The social and international revolution led by the exploited and by the oppressed can overthrow capitalism through insurrection and expropriation of the capitalist groups, save the planet and ensure the development of all with the councils’ democratic powers. To make it happen, the rural and urban workers must give confidence neither to any of the fraction of the bourgeoisie (Russian or American, civil or military, national or foreign…) nor to the “reformists” and to the “centrists” who lock them in bad choice and are always submitted to the exploiters. The vanguard, both on the world scale and in each country, must group together in order to build a new communist international and a workers’ revolutionary party in every state.

May 1 2014
Permanent Revolution collective (France, Austria, Peru)