Issued: February 29, 2008
English Version: from the Communist Platform web site: http://kpml.no/kpml
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
Copyright: This work is in the Public Domain under the Creative Commons Common Deed. You can freely copy, distribute and display this work; as well as make derivative and commercial works. Please credit the Encyclopedia of Anti-Revisionism On-Line as your source, include the url to this work, and note any of the transcribers, editors & proofreaders above.
Publisher’s Note: This manifesto was adopted by KPml in February 2008.
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Capitalism has nothing to offer the large majority but uncertainty for tomorrow, unemployment, environmental disasters, poverty and war.
The struggle between different and irreconcilable class interests dominates social life in all capitalist countries. Society is more and more divided into two camps, where the working class and the bourgeoisie stand against one another. The struggle between these two classes is the most important contradiction in capitalist society. Other fundamental contradictions are between imperialism on the one side and the oppressed peoples and nations on the other, between capitalism and socialism and amongst the capitalist states themselves.
Capitalism in its imperialist phase also entails oppression of women, oppression of national and other minorities, racism, and exploitation of poor countries. The unequal development and rivalry amongst the imperialist states, lead necessarily to militarization and consequently new wars for redivision of the world.
Imperialism has socialized production by way of development of the means of production. Development, mass production, transport and redistribution of goods are the results of a vast collaboration that involves millions of people. At the same time the right of property and the control of the assets that are being created, is limited to a handful of mega-capitalists.
Global warming and the environmental crisis is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity. The uncontrolled exploitation and gross waste of resources typical of capitalism, is the source of this disaster. Dialectical materialism teaches us that all of nature is tightly woven together. Still, capitalism today leads to people and nature being alienated. Shortsighted hunt for profit, neglects and abuse of science under capitalism destroy the world’s environment at an accelerating speed. Science, technology and industry can be positive and beneficial to society, but private property and the priorities of the elite and the ruling class create great problems. Our answer is that the working class, the peasants and their allies must organize to overthrow those who threaten the existence of the people of the world. Only a planned socialist economy has strength to remedy a future climate catastrophe.
The working class is the only revolutionary class under capitalism. It is the historical task of the working class to put an end to capitalist exploitation and oppression. The working class finds its allies amongst other groups and strata that are oppressed by the capitalists, most importantly fishermen and peasants. Even if the intellectuals are a quite varied and unstable stratum in between the social classes, many of them can also play an important role by putting their work and knowledge in the service of the popular fights people lead for political, social and economic rights.
Capitalism knows no national boundaries. The monopolistic, or imperialist, stage of capitalism, encompasses all the world’s countries and peoples. The bourgeoisie of the different imperialist states fight for control and hegemony to exploit countries, people and resources all over the globe. The struggle of the working class is also international, even if the working class of each country first must do away with their own bourgeoisie. The capitalist state can appear in many different forms: It can be bourgeois-democratic or fascist. But the state is no matter what and always a tool for the ruling class. The capitalist state is in the last instance an instrument of force, that is being used to oppress the working class.
The most dangerous supporters of capitalism, are the various “worker’s parties” and “Marxists” that act as anti-capitalists and socialists. Opportunism, reformist social-democracy and revisionism will always try to paralyse the workers’ struggle and lead it astray and towards reconciliation with the class enemy. It is the ideological support of the bourgeoisie and has the privileged parts of the working class (the workers’ aristocracy) and certain intellectuals as its social anchor point. It is impossible to end capitalism without ending the paralyzing grip that social-democrats and opportunists have over the workers. Through analysis, propaganda, agitation and activism the communists must reveal and prevail over opportunism as an expression of bourgeois ideology in the ranks of the working class and amongst the intellectuals.
The answer to the imperialist offensives against the workers of the world and all oppressed peoples and nations, is not reform, but revolution. Another world is necessary – revolution and socialism is the solution. Imperialism cannot be reformed into a socially wholesome system and cease to be imperialism. It must be annihilated. The choice is between the workers of the world and peoples destroying imperialism, and imperialism destroying the world.??The capitalist state and imperialism will never allow socialism to peacefully arise by way of the ballot box. A peaceful transition to socialism can only be possible if the working class is armed, so that the bourgeoisie realizes that military resistance is futile. The working class must therefore prepare for the revolution to be armed. This especially goes for countries like Norway, which is subject to USA and the aggressive NATO-alliance.
A revolutionary situation arises when the economic and political crisis renders the bourgeoisie unable to govern and the workers no longer tolerate being ruled. A revolutionary situation is a prerequisite for the workers’ revolution, but it is not necessarily the same as a socialist revolution. Only a politically conscious and organized working class will be able to take advantage of such a situation and wrestle power from the bourgeoisie.
Socialism is the power of the working class. This class sets up its own state and reclaims the people’s property from the capitalists. There will be an end to the right for some to exploit other people’s labour and to claim possession of what society has produced. There will be an end to “democracy” for the wealthy. The socialist state will oppress the old oppressors by force to secure democracy for the working majority (the dictatorship of the proletariat).??Socialism knows no unemployment or economic crises. Planned economy secures social and sensible use of the resources. Production will be planned on the basis of what serves society, not what yields the most profit. The producers themselves, the workers, will decide what to produce and how – not “the market”.
Especially the socialist Soviet Union in the time of Lenin and Stalin proved that socialism can become concrete reality, and that socialism as a system gives the workers rights, cultural benefits, free public services and political power. The first socialist countries also showed us that the struggle to develop socialism is hard and long, because socialism must be built on the ruins of capitalism and therefore in many way will be marred by the negative heritage of the old society. From all previous attempts at socialism we learn important lessons, both positive and negative, that can be used when defining our policy. For communists it is no matter what a duty to defend socialist progress against the revisionist history imposed by the bourgeoisie and against the anti-communist smear-campaign by imperialism to erase the historic successes from the collective mind of the working class.??The classless society is the final goal for communists. Only in the later phase of the communist society, when the classes and the state have ceased to exist, can people attain full and unlimited freedom. Only then the principle “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” can be fully realised.??Socialism – the dictatorship of the proletariat – is a historically necessary transitional society on the road to communism. Socialism does not mean the end to class struggle, but the escalation of that struggle. Remnants of the bourgeoisie and their ideology must be defeated. Especially, the struggle against modern revisionism, i.e. varied distortions of Marxism that give concessions to imperialism and prepare the ground for a new bourgeoisie, must be paramount throughout the socialist phase. The triumph of revisionism and the gradual return to capitalism in the earlier socialist countries teaches us valuable lessons and the struggle against opportunism and revisionism must continue with even greater force under socialist rule.??Whether socialism triumphs or ultimately is defeated, depends on the historical and materialistic starting point, on the consciousness of the working class, on its moral strength and will to succeed – and on the the new regime’s ability to uphold its authority and to avoid losing momentum in transforming society. It will most importantly depend on the workers’ communist party retaining its colour.
Marxism-Leninism is the scientific platform for the communists. “Leninism is Marxism in the era of imperialism and the proletarian revolution. More accurately; Leninism is the theory and tactics for the proletarian revolution in general, the theory and tactics of the dictatorship of the proletariat in particular.” (J. V Stalin)
Its theoretical analyses and conclusions are still valid, and will continue to be so as long as imperialism exists. Marxism-Leninism is not a dogma, but a science in continuous development. It is a world outlook, a method for analysis and a guideline for action.
Communist Platform (ML) aims to unite communists in Norway. In a situation where the Norwegian workers are without a communist party, we see it as our duty to to what we can to reestablish the class party, to create a communist alternative. We invite all revolutionaries who have not abandoned their Marxist-Leninist conviction to take part in the coming work to unite and reestablish the communist party.
We are united around the concept of the necessity of a Marxist-Leninist vanguard party built on democratic centralism. And we are united around the necessity of a party which exclusively builds on the theory of the working class, scientific socialism, not on a eclectic collection of ideological tendencies of various class origins. The Norwegian working class needs such a party, and we would neglect our duty as communists if we would not do our best to reestablish it. We will overcome prejudices, differences of opinion and tactical differences which stem from coming from different traditions, and we will build solid ideological unity through common action and common studies. Only in this way can we build a genuine unity, by working together and exchanging views with the aim of bring our unity to a continuously higher level.
The task of the communist party is to make the working class conscious of its historical role and to develop leaders within and from this class – to prepare for the revolution. The communist party has no interests that are not also the interests of the working class. It is not an election alliance or a mass party. Communists must always be in and take part in the class struggle, and aim to organize the most conscious and the best of the workers as communists. Communists take active part in the struggle for reforms under capitalism, and engage in all popular struggles which undermine the position of imperialism and its institutions, like the EU, NATO and the Norwegian imperialist bourgeoisie, but they never lose sight of their strategic goal.
The communists are internationalists and conceive their struggle as part of the struggle of the international communist movement. We give priority to collaboration and relations with the Marxist-Leninist parties and movements that share our view on class struggle and the need to coordinate communists on a global scale.
February 29, 2008