Deliberate Victory Over Imperialism

Dr Fidel Castro Ruz, Commander in Chief and President of the Republic of Cuba, is more than 80 years old. He was unable to attend the celebration of his birthday, but like a good communist, sent his apologies to the meeting. See the linked text below. “Economism” was Lenin’s word for the belief that the historical contradictions of capitalism would work towards socialism without the necessity of any political intervention on behalf of the working class. The “economists” of the end of the 19th century, such as Eduard Bernstein, author of “Evolutionary Socialism”, insisted that the working class needed only trade union (or “syndical”) organisation. Hence they were also called “syndicalists”. The same trend manifested itself during the South African liberation struggle, when it was called “workerism”. Lenin knew that human activity, by definition, requires free will or “agency”. In “What is to be done?” (1902) Lenin stated the case for the necessary revolutionary party of the working proletariat, whose job is to help the workers become a class for themselves, as well as in themselves. In short, Lenin was for freedom, and was a humanist in the full sense of the word. This was one of the beginnings of the communist parties, as we know them. “What is to be done?” continues to guide comrades who want to understand what the Party is really all about. Some years later, around the time of the outbreak of the First World War, Lenin revived and adapted the term, using it to describe a new and further development of the same idea, typified by Karl Kautsky. The “Imperialist economists”, as Lenin called them, believed that the monopolising tendency of international finance capitalism would proceed towards the day when there would only be “one big trust” (one big corporation). At that point, all that would be necessary would be a change of ownership, and socialism could be declared. Even though “Imperialist economism” is even more obviously nonsense than plain economism or workerism, yet it did split the workers’ parties at the time, which is why (more than 90 years later) we still have “Social Democrats” in the world who are not communists. The belief that the machinery of global (Imperialist) capital, if looked after, will yield a gradually “better life for all” is not only still around, it is clearly the dominant ideology among the leading cadre of the African National Congress. Joel Netshitenzhe is its most prominent and articulate defender. He is a classical “Imperialist Economist” – a new Kautsky. There is also a new trend in the South African political field, the “electoral economists”, who believe that if the SACP stands for elections, then all other good and desirable things will automatically follow. (See the link below). The SACP Johannesburg Central Branch meets on Sunday, December 3rd, in the SATAWU offices, 13th floor, Old Mutual Building, 29 Kerk Street, between Loveday and Harrison, Johannesburg. Click on these links: Message from Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz (725 words) Nascent Trend Of Imperialist Economism, Lenin, 1916 (5218 words)