Third Anniversary of the death of Harbhajan Singh Sohi ( died on 15th June 2009 ) by Indian Comrade

Democracy and Class Struggle publishes this rememberance of an Indian Comrade even though we have some political differences with him over the question of Mao Zedong Thought as opposed to Maoism.Contradictions amongst comrades must be handled differently than those with the enemy as Comrade Mao Zedong taught us.

No comrade in India made such a great contribution towards the building of the correct International  theoretical line as Comrade Harbhajan Singh Sohi.


He was a stalwart against all brands of revisionism standing up against the enemy with rock-like tenacity. He was the 1^stcomrade in India to denounce 1978 China as revisionist and condemn the Teng-Hua clique.


In this work I have compiled his writings and tributes by Communist Revolutionary groups in his memory.Let us all dip our blood in his memory today.

1.Messages from organisations

Message of Central Committee,C.P.R.C.I.(M.L.)

Comrade Harbhajan Sohi(HBS),an outstanding leader of the Communist Revolutionary camp in India which emerged in the late 1960’s ,is no more. He died in mid-June 2009,as a result of a heart attack. 


His loss was an immense loss to the Communist Revolutionary Movement  is major. And yet the legacy he has left us, in his single contributions to developing the communist revolutionary line and understanding abides.

In the late 1960’s,the Naxalbari armed uprising and its aftermath precipitated the emergence of the communist revolutionary stream in the country. The need of the hour was to establish a basically correct mass revolutionary line and re-organise the communist party on this basis. At this crucial juncture, a large section of the communist revolutionary movement went under the sway of left adventurism.


Among the important forces throughout the country which demarcated from both left adventurism and right opportunism at this juncture was the Punjab Communist Revolutionary Committee,under the leadership of Comrade HBS.It opposed the lines of individual annihilation and took the correct stands on major controversies ,such as the role of mass organizations and economic/partial struggle, the initiation and development of armed struggle, the reorganization of the party, and the leadership of the working class.

As distinct from the left sectarian line, the PCRS, in those years advanced the line of bold mass resistance to repression. By reviving and guiding the revolutionary student and youth movement to lead the heroic Moga struggle,it demonstrated the correctness of this line in practice. Later, in the face of the ruling class “JP movement” of 1974,and during the fight against.S.N.Singh’s right opportunism,the PCRC unwaveringly upheld it’s proletarian orientation. The forces under the PCRC’influence organized a giant”Sangram”rally of various revolutionary democratic sections of the masses, in which they presented the “Path for Salvation of the Crisis –ridden nation”, containing the outline of the democratic revolutionary programme. Programme in a popular form.

While thus striving to establish mass revolutionary practice through militant struggles, the PCRC made serious efforts to locate those Communist revolutionary forces who were fighting for the Communist revolutionary mass line, most importantly the Andhra Pradesh Committee of Communist Revolutionaries.(APCCR)The PCRC was independently pursuing a revolutionary line similar to that of the APCCR,and in 1976 it united with the Unity Centre of Communist Revolutionaries of India(Marxist-Leninist)through a painstaking process.

However at this juncture, just before this merger, the International Commmunist Movement suffered a tremendous blow with the death of Comrade Mao inSeptember 1976 and then seizure of power by the capitalist roader clique in China .This reversal generated great confusion among even genuine Communist REvolutionarie,of which the great majority were temporarily swayed by the deceptive tactics of the Deng-Hua clique. Just before this, the UCCRI(M.L.)suffered the major loss of Comrade T.Nagi Reddy in JULY 1976.

These challenging times brought out the true ideological strength of Comrade HBS.When the revisionist international line of China ‘s Deng Hua clique emerged in a full fledged –form with the People’s Daily article”Chairman Mao’s differentiation of the Three Worlds is a major Contribution to Marxism Leninsm”,.Comrade HBS took a stand against this line, and undertook a fresh systematic study of the strategy and tactics of the International Proletariat. document he prepared first draws on the lessons of the International communist movement in order to reiterate the principles guiding its strategy and tactics and on that basis refutes the ‘Three World Theory”of the People’s Daily.


In this period he also made a special contribution in the article “On Mao Tse Tung Thought’wherein he dealt with the distinctive contributions of Mao Tse Tung Thought with the development of Marxism-Leninism.In another document(About Internal Developments in China)he exposed the revisionist line being followed by the capitalist roader clique at the time. At the same time he did not spare the other Left Opportunist trends(Enver Hoxha and the R.C.P-U.S.A)that came to the fore under the guise of opposing the Three world Theory and the Deng clique.

Comrade HBS and the Communist revolutionary movement in Punjab faced grave tests for the following years. On the one had, splits in the UC.C.R.IM.L) were followed by a steep decline in the Communist revolutionary and revolutionary democratic mass movement in Punjab. On the other hand the rise of twin monsters of communal fascism and state repression plunged Punjab into a dark night of terror. In this light the now relatively smaller force of the U.C.C.R.I.M.L.)under Comrade HBS’s leadership adopted correct approach to the question of nationalities in India the question of the Punjabi nationality, the phenomenan of Khalistani Communal fascism, and State terrorism. It maintained the sharp edge of struggle against all reactionary form s of terror, and boldly advanced the line of mass –resistance struggle. The combined ideological-political and practical defence of the correct understanding became a rallying point for correctly-oriented Communist revolutionary forces and the revolutionary democratic mass movement in Punjab

Comrade HBS always emphasized that the various Communist revolutionary forces which are today divided into various streams, are components of the party to be re-organised. Thus, even as he stressed the need for struggle against the wrong trends in the camp in order to establish the correct line, he equally stressed the importance of upholding and projecting the unity of the whole communist revolutionary movement against the enemy class.

Equally, in polemical contention, or in post-split situations, he never stooped to personal attacks or trivialization. He used to quote Stalin’s remark that in political matters it is the reverse of military matters: we attack the enemy not at his weakest, but at it’s strongest point.

Comrade HBS played a key role in the formation of the Centre of Communist Revolutionaries of India(C.C.R.I.),a n ALL-India communist revolutionary organization. As part of the Centre of CCRI, Comrdae HBS helped to politically consolidate the existing forces within the organization around the correct trend,and played a major role in the broader unification of Communist Revolutionary forces in the form of the Communist Party Re-Organisation Centre of India-Marxist Leninist)After the Inaugural conference of the C.P.R.C.I(M.L.) in 1995,the newly elected central Committee elected Comrade HBS sa it’s secretary .He remained at this post for 14 years…In the analysis of national and International developments ,he strove strenuously to apply the dialectical materialist method: to examine the material basis of a phenomenan,it’s contradictory aspects, and it’s motion, i.e. the development of these contradictions.

Comrade HBS’S strength was the central importance he gave to Marxist –Leninist ideology.In the analysis of problems of the movement, he struggled constantly to locate the theoretical tasks that needed to be completed and the principal task to be undertaken in order to make a breakthrough in the revolutionary movement. It was on this basis of this theoretical approach that he was able to combat all major deviations that emerged during his revolutionary career.

While reorganization of the Communist Party has remained the principal task before us since the 1970’s,in the recent past Comrade HBS gave special emphasis to the building of the party organization with the perspective of re-organisation of the party as the main task in the present phase of the revolutionary movement of India.

His death is not only a grievous loss to our party organization, but a loss to the entire communist revolutionary camp and the Communist party to be re-organised. Let us pay our homage to HBS by seriously applying ourselves to the study of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse Tung Thought and to the practice of the Indian Revolution as part of world revolution.

Message from re-organising Committee,Communist League of India.

The ideological guidance provided by him to his organization on various occasions, beginning from the 1970’s upto the 1^st decade of the century, will remain inscribed on the historical pages of the Communist revolutionary movement of Punjab-whether this guidance related to the question of diversion from mass revolutionary movement, or to the question of the defence of Marxism-Leninism and conducting the movement under it’s guidance. Immediately after recognizing the ideological deviation of the Communist Party of China after the death of Comrdae Mao,co.Sohi not only raised the banner of defence of the ideology but also kept aloft the banner of the ideology against the deviation, false steps and wrong trends that were revealed from time to time among the communist revolutionary group s of India.

The literary and ideological writings of Sohi were able to inspire the element of consciousness and deep thought in hundreds of Communist in and outside Punjab and his way of illuminating the path of teams guiding communist revolutionary caravans and mass struggles will remain inscribed forever on the historical pages of communist revolutionary movement of Punjab..

He was one of the contingent of guidance –giving soldiers of the Indian Revolution Every moment of his life was dedicated to the Communist Revolutionary movement and he was bent on realizing the dream of revolution in India under the leadership of the working class.

Movements build the persons and in return persons give impetus to the movements. Comrade Sohi was not merely a person, he was the name of a movement. His individual identification was completely united with the movement.

Today, when world capitalism is advancing towards its grave, indications of emergence of widespread workers movements are apparent, and the world is entering a new phase of turmoil, in such a situation a departure of a supporter of the working class movement is a loss which to a considerable extent cannot be filled.Sohi’s loss is not only a loss for the C.P.R.C.I.(M.L.),but a big los for the entire communist revolutionary movement that cannot be filled.

He remained concerned for the unity of the communist revolutionary movement throughout his life and the only appropriate homage to him would be for all of us to persist the goal of building up a single Communist revolutionary party.

Message from Punjab State Committee(C.P.I-Maoist)

The state committee understands that Comrdae Sohi lived and died as a Communist Revolutionary. He always kept aloft the banner of Marxism-Leninsm-Mao Tse Tung Thought (now Maoism)


He characterized India not as an independent country, but as a semi-colonial and semi-feudal country. He projected the new democratic revolution, new democratic politics and its general direction against the revisionist trend of socialist revolution and revolution of nationalities. He upheld the building of a new democratic state of the united front of the for classes based on worker-peasant alliance under the leadership of the working class. 



He relied on workers,peasants,youth,students and employees for fulfilling this objective.

The State Committee of the Punjab C.P.I.(Maoist) pays a red salute to Com.Sohi and shares the grief of the party organization-the C.P.R.C.I.(M.L.),the revolutionary communist and democratic forces, and his family, particularly his wife Mohinder Kaur.


We call upon the participant of the homage paying function to transform their grief into anger and to focus their anger and hatred to build a new democratic federal state We call for the raising of the tempo of united struggles,(particularly in Lalgarh) of the uprooted peasantry etc.,against globalization and liberalization etc.

Message from Central Organising Core-Revolutionary Communist League of India

Com.Sohi was the first person in India who recognized the revisionist character of the Deng clique,which usurped state power in China after the death of Mao.

Our movement has always struggled on the questions of left terrorism and the mass line.CoM.Sohi has played an important role in giving practical shape to the mass line.As a result, a clear line of demarcation emerged between the mass line and left terrorism, which was an example to the revolutionary movement in our country. There is deep influence of left terrorism in the revolutionary movement of our country which has caused serious damage to the communist movement of our country.Com.Sohi’s efforts in this direction provide us valuable guidance to overcome this trend. Even till today his teachings combating left adventurism and the building of mass organization s are of relevance.

Other messages

“He showed the path of confronting counter revolutionary repression, relying on the masses”-Mukhtiar Poohla,editor Lal Parcham(red flag)

Harbhajan wil be known as the builder of Indian revolution”-Surjeet Lee

‘He drew a clear –cut conclusion in the light of ideology and drew a clear cut line of demarcation from revisionism.”

“He was on of those top leaders who most emphatically defended the spirit of Mao Tse Tung and Naxalbari.Not every leader has Com.Sohi’s capacity to swim with firm conviction against the tide of any wrong trend and to rebuild the scattered organization bit by bit.-Jaspal Jassi,editor Surkh Rekha

He had the quality of addressing any crisis with deep self confidence.In personal relations he always conducted himself on equal footing. Our personal relationship was that of equality. I got strength from his views,I wish that his caravan may flourish.—Mohinder Kaur(wife of Com.Sohi)

Above are the messages presented at the homage paying function for Comrdae HBS on June 26^th 2009.2500 people participated and the function began with the garlanding of the photograph of Com.Sohi.

Com.HBS’s important writings.

Hold Aloft the Invincible Banner of Mao Tse Tung Thought


 (statement published in the Proletarian Path,Organ of the cc(provisional) of the  U.C.C.R.I.(M.L.),March 1980 in commemoration of comrade Mao Tse Tung’s 86^th birthday(written by Com.HBS Aloft the invincible banner of Mao Tse Tung Thought

Today powerful forces have sprung from within the international Communist Movement to derail or deviate it from it’s established general line and principles..In this great trial and strength between Marxism Leninsm  and Opportunism, the battle around the estimation of Mao Tse Tung and Mao Tse Tung Thought is crucial. Feverish attempts are being made  in categorical as well as veiled fashion by various opportunist quarters to denigrate the name and teaching s of Com.Mao Tse Tung.Confronted with this temporarily formidable opposite, the revolutionary aspect of international communist movement is being impelled to develop nad supercede it through struggle. The gradually increasing number of genuine Marxist-Leninist parties and groups who boldly come forward against heavy odds,in defence of the glorious revolutionary practice of Mao Tse Tung and Mao Tse Tung Thought,is the manifestation of this phenomenan and a testimony to the inexhaustible vitality of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse Tung Thought.

Salient features

Mao Tse Tung grasped and applied the science of dialectical materialism in  a masterly fashion and in the process ,greatly enriched it. 


Carrying forward Lenin’s observation that the law of Contradiction is the kernel of dialectics.


Mao Tse Tung definitely formulated that the law of Unity of opposites is the basic law of dialectics. Thus, he specified the inter-relationship of various laws of dialectics .

Consistently, upholding the principle of universality of contradiction ,he applied it to the Socialist Society and the communist party as well. 


Not only did he further develop the concept of 2 type of contradictions,i.e.antagonistic and non-antagonistic contradictions to be resolved by 2 different methods,but,more importantly,he explored the identity of these 2 opposites i.e. under certain conditions,antagonistic and non –antagonoistic contradictions undergo transformation into their opposites. 


Thus, he provided the theoretical frame for conceiving the political phenomena of formation and dissolution of united front between different class forces, and of alternating periods of milder and more acute forms of struggle in the development of socialist Society as well as communist party, under varying conditions. 


Applying it to Socialist Society, he propounded the theory of continuing revolution under the dictatorship of the Proletariat. Applying it to the Communist party,he put forth the organizational concept of ‘struggle between 2 lines”in the Communist Party,inter-linking the innr pary struggle and the class struggle in the Society.

In his analysis of the law of contradiction in things,Mao Tse Tung laid special emphasis on the study of particularity of contradiction and underlined it’s great importance for guiding the course of revolutionary practice. Exploring the problem  of particularity of contradiction, he ascertained a new dimension of contradiction, representing in its particularity the unevenness of forces that are in contradiction i.e.the uneven character of development of various contradictions,and more importantly, the mutual transformation into each other of the principal and non –principal ones.

Applying this comprehension of the particularity of contradiction to such pairs of opposites as were generally considered to be undergoing no change in the respective position sof their aspects, namely the productive forces and the relations of production,theory and practice,the economic base and superstructure.


Mao Tse Tung observed that the productive forces ,practice and economic base generally play the principal role but in certain conditions the relation sof production,theory and their superstructure in turn manifest themselves in the principal role.


Thus ,he restored the true spirit of dialectical materialist outlook in the International Communist Movement suffering from a mechanical materialist outlook in it’s viewpoint,particularly in question srelated to construction of Socialist Societyu.This provided the ideological basis of the recognition of prime necessity of revolution in the superstructure after basically completing the Socialist transformation of the economic base.The Great Proletarian Cultural revolution was the result.

Grasping the uneven and dynamic character of various contradictions in the process of development of a thing and that of the two aspects of a contradiction,Mao Tse Tung observed:although the fundamental essence of a process remains basically unchanged till the culmination of the process, marked changes have their distinctive characters or particularities representing,respectively,qualitatively different states of contradiction in their inter-relationsship..Thus ,he crystallized the concept of definite stages in a process of development of  athing.

Mao Tse Tung’s comprehension of the phenomenan of definite stages in a process of development of  athing ,that is the law of quantitative changes leading to qualitative changes.In this connection, he ascertained that ,in the process of development of  a phenomenan, along with uninterrupted quantitative changes many partial qualitative changes too take place before the final qualitative leap occurs.

Mao Tse Tung’s conceptual grasp over the law of contradiction in things,especially,the uneven and dynamic character of contradiction: the possibility under certain condition, of mutual transformation of principal and non –principal aspects of a contradiction, of partial qualitative changes permeates all his important military concepts ,which constitute the most developed form of proletarian military thought till date-the strategy and tactics of protracted Peoples War. For instance, at a strategic plane the concept of a revolutionary base area under people’s state power amidst the country-wide conter-revolutionary state power; and at a tactical plane, the concept of miniature counter-encirclements by the people’s armed force s within the overall encirclement by enemy forces, and the concept of ‘ten against one,’ in tactical operations.

Moa Tse Tung integrated the universal truth of Marxism-Leninsm with the concrete practice of the Chines revolution.In grasping and solving the complex fundamental problems of national democratic revolution of semi-colonial and semi-feudal China and of it’s transition to socialist Revolution.


Carrying forward the teachings of Leninnad Stalin on the colonial revolution,he dissected the native bourgeoisie ,studied the chrasterictics of it’s segments, drew a clear cut demarcation between the big bourgeoisie and the national bourgeoisie treating the former as a target and the latter as aformer ally of the revolution in it’s first stage preceding the Socialist Stage;concretely solved  the peasant question by providing proletarian leadership to the agrarian revolutionary movement and relying on the peasantry as a main force in the national democratic revolution:ensured the consummation of the national democratic revolution  and the transition to the Socialist Revolution by charting out a course of maintaining the independence of the proletariat as a political force, forging the worker-peasant alliance under the leadership of the proletariat, establishing the hegemony of the proletariat over all the political forces engaged in the revolution, including the national bourgeoisies,thus making it new democratic Revolution,in it’s political character.

Moa Tse Tung critically absorbed the first experience of the proletariat of building Socialismin USSR and the loss of proletarian state power there, and drew illuminating conclusions for steering the development of socialist revolution in China”In the historical period of socialism there are still classes, class contradictions and class struggle, there is he struggle between the Socialist Road and the Capitalist Road”Hence he brought forward the foremost position occupied by class contradictions in proplelling social development throughout the historical period  covered by Socialist Society, and laid down the cardinal precept that for properly appreciating and tackling problem sof the development of Socialist Society proletarian revolutionaries must proceed by taking class struggle as the key link. He stressed the great significance of thoroughgoing changes in the relations of production and the superstructure for  greatly boosting the development of productive forces during periods of revolutionary transition of society. 


He pointed out that Socialist Society being a long historical period of revolutionary transition, calls for unrelenting revolutionary effort to adapt the relation sof production to the constantly emerging requirements of the development of productive force s,and transform the superstructure to bring it in tune with the Socialist economic base, so as to consolidate and develop the latter. He further observed that as every socialist transformation in the relation sof production and the superstructure corrodes the socialist basis, influence and power of the old exploiting classes and new bourgeoius elements,it encounters frantic resistance. And, this class struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie gets intenes expression on the political front.Hence the paramount importance for political revolution.

Moa pointed out that after the smashing of the bourgeois political resistance,the chief representative s of the bourgeoisie are found to be hiding within the Communist party itself-the party persons in authority taking the Capitalist Road-against whom the sharp class struggle has to be directed. To achieve  all-round socialist revolution in ideological,political and economic spheres and to defend and consolidate the dictatorship of the proletariat,Mao exhorted the proletarian revolutionaries to rely on the revolutionary masses of the people and revolutionary mass movements bringing into full play their creative initiative and genius.

The glorious decade of the Great Proletraian Cultural Revolution lead by the proletarian revolutionaries headed by Mao Tse Tung,witnessed the practice and maturing of this theory of continuing revolution under the condition sof dictatorship of the proletariat,marking a great leap forward in the revolutionary experience and achievements of international proletariat.

We do not subscribe to the notion of infallibility of great revolutionary persons,no MARXIST DOES.Mao Tse Tung, like other great teachers of the International proletariat MARX,Engels,Lenin nad Stalin cannot be free of errors and inadequacies.But such errors and inadequacies ,if noticed,are to be alanysed ina total and historial perspective,on the basis of Marxism-Leninsm Mao Tse Tung Thought and to enrich it.Whoseover ventures to challenge the validity of MAO Tse Tung Thought, as an inalienable part of Mraxism-Leninsm must come to grips with this ideological edifice as a whole, especially his contribution s to Marxist philosophy.

Leadership of Albanian party against Mao Tse Tung Thought

The leadership of the Albanian party of Labour launched an attack on mao Tse Tung Thought in a most irresponsible manner without theoretical refutation of a single tenet of MAO Tse Tung Thought. Not only did they take 180 degrees on their own previous estimation of Mao Tse Tung Thought and his teaching without any convincing explanation or self-criticism but they also resort to gross misrepresentation of MAO Tse Tung’s views to suit the convenience of their attack.Apparently,they cross swords with Teng –hua revisionist clique but in actual fact they are proving of great help to it by conferring upon it the sought-after legitimacyas successors to the ideology and cause of Mao Tse Tung,causing confusion and diversion in the struggle of genuine MARXIST Leninists against this clique and complementing the latter’s sophisticated attempts to discredit  Mao Tse Tung thought with their wanton attacks on it.

The shallow and unfair polemical stand of the leadership of the APL.at presnt against Mao Tse Tung and Mao Tse Tung Thought is disappointing and quite out of character with it’s reputation as a principled and mature Marxist-Leninist Party  which boldly withstood tremendous pressure of modern revisionism under testing conditions in the sixties. The less said the better about the so many rag-tag organizations decked in Marxist –leninist colours ,gathering under the ‘protective umbrella’of Albanian ‘centre’and covering their political bankruptcy and renegacy to Marxism Leninism with vociferous denunciations of MAO Tse Tung and Mao Tse Tung Thought.Their presumptuous conduct reminds one of a line of MAO’S POEM”Flies lightly conspire to topple the banyan tree.”

The objectives of the Albanian leaders in presenting a distorted version of MAO Tse Tung’s views and practice apart ,their own metaphysical and mechanistic approach to the study of concrete contradictions of presnt day world is linked to their inability to grasp the dialectical materialist content of MAO Tse Tung Thought,especially Moa’s exposition and handling of the particularity of contradictions.

They reiterate the basic contradiction between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie in this era of Imperialism and Proletarian Revolution but fail to examine the various specific manifestations of this basic contradiction,at various stages of  its process of development ,in the uneven accentuation of the four fundamental contradictions of the present world and changes their inter-relationship.

They reiterate the historically ripe situation for socialist revolutions in developed capitalist countries of Europe, North Americ a,Japn.etc in the era of emergent proletarian revolution,note the increasing social discontent and turmoil under the impact of intensifying economic crisis of world imperialist system, but fail to examine these factors of the situation in connection with the state of development of conscious revolutionary factors,in other words, the specific political situation.

They reiteratye the common essential character of all Imperialist forces and also emphasise struggle particularly against the two imperialist superpowers, without laying bare the distinctive features of the latter.

They reiterate the decisive significance of hegemony of the proletariat for successful consummation of national democratic revolutions but fail to recognize the peculiar form of it’s realization in an anti-imperialist and anti-feudal revolution wherin the national bourgeoisie displays it’s capability of leading the revolution through the end but retains in some measure, revolutionary potentialities ,establishing its credibility as the staunch most consistent champion of national and democratic aspirations of the masses of the people by dint of the programmeand practice of revolutionary struggle, striving to win over and carry along all those social forces whose revolutionary potentialities are not totally exhausted.

They emphasise the revisionist nature and defection to capitalism of Soviet rulers and emphasise their military nature and grea-power-hegemonic role.Thus,in both cases ,they miss the specific state of development of a phenomenan and divert the Marxist Leninist attack from the relevant focuis.So on and so forth.

Despite the revolutionary phraseology of the documents and statements,and along with their ‘left’ opportunist positions regarding the orientation of the national democratic revolutionary movement in the East,the presnt situation and tasks of proletarian revolutionary movement in the West,the practice alos betrays serious right opportunist tendencies.For instance,their political stand on the developments in South East Asia .Criticism of revisionism  from ‘left’opportunist standpoint is by now a familiar experience for communist revolutionary movement of India.In the case of Albanian polemics ,it seems,their bombast against the Teng-Hua clique and reall attack on Mao Tse Tung thought are meant to servea s somkescree for their own retreat to right opportunist course of action.

The leadership of A.P.L. has facilitated the exposure of it’s own opportunism by it’s alloput contrived,spurious attack on Mao Tse Tung and Mao Tse Tung THoughty.Hereafter it’s capacity for causing confusion abd disruption in the International Marxist Leninist Movement ,especially the Asian contingents is considerably reduced.Still,so long as the experience of the great reversal in China ,that occurred with the defeat of proletarian revolutionary line and forces after the death of Mao Tse Tung ,is not properly summed up and placed in the overall perspective of the zig zag course of transition from capitalism to communism ,the negative approach to Mao Tse Tung’s revolutionary achievements in theory and practice shall sustain  on the traumatic effect s of this event..

Nature of Teng-Hua Revisionism and revisionist turn of current C.P.C leadership

The change of colour in socialist China ,the great bastion of the world proletariat revolution, is such a tremendous loss as many revolutionaries find it difficult to absorb and digest. n India,the leadership of many difficult to acknowledge and digest. In India, the leadership of many communist revolutionary organizations and circles, afflicted with opportunism in varying degrees and of different hues but formally upholding Mao Tse Tung Thought, are banking on the state of mind of their ranks for virtually treating the developments in China as a non-event, deliberately evading or scuttling the issue.”The picture is far from clear’,internal issue of C.P.C,”Indian revolution should be our prime concern’,”two-line struggle is going on between Teng revisionist forces and Hua’s revolutionary forces.” And “support C.P.C headed by Hua Kuo Feng with serious reservations”.

A serious effort, on the part of genuine Marxist-Leninists ,is needed to accomplish a thorough exposure of the counter-revolutionary line and practice of the present day C.P.C leadership top enable the vast masses of genuine revolutionaries to see and treat it as the most detestable and cunning foe of Mao Tse Tung Thought. The concentration of the ideological attack on the Teng-Hua revisionist clique of China is necessary because, one,it attempts to utilize and undermine the great prestige of Mao Tse Tung by formally accepting and caricaraturing Mao Tse Tung Thought,tow, at present broad sections of the communist revolutionary movement  of India are prone to a right opportunist swing which finds a greater booster in the class –collaborationist international line dished out by this clique.

The present day Chinese rulers ,the revisionist usurpers of proletarian state power and party leadership in China are ideologically too bankrupt to challenge the theoretical validity of Mao Tse Tung Thought and feel still politically too insecure to openly renounce it.Instead they choose for the time being, to strangle Mao Tse Tung Thought by malevolent embrace. They rob it of dialectical materialist and revolutionary content and peddle its shell stuffed with eclecticism and pragmatism.In a way,they are doing to MAO Tse Tung what the Russian revisionists did to Lenin.The latter disposed oif Lenin by reducing him to a glorified mummy6 and unleashing a proxy-attack on Stalin who faithfully defended,elaborate3d,and applied Leninsm.Similarly,the Chinese revisionists seek to dispose of MAO Tse Tung  by reducing him to a venerable icon and unleashing a proxy ayttack on the four,who faithfully applied and defended Mao Tse Tung Thought.But there is a subtle difference between the 2 situations.Wheras the Russian revisionists had a distance for about 3 decades and consequences of 2^nd World War from the time of Lenin to amend or ignore as irrelevant his teachings under the pretext of changed conditions.The Chinese revisionists are denied this esacpe route from the revolutionary legacy of Mao Tse Tung.Mao Tse Tung,til the year of his death and their counter-revolutionary coupd’etat ,used to comment on vital questions of internal and external line of China’s Socialist Revolution. That is why t5he distinguished features of their revisionism is the reversal of the established contemporary revolutionary line,principles and policies at the national as well as the International level.And,to begin with,the reversal of the correct ve3rdicts of the Great Proletrain Cultural Revolution of China.

Teng-Hua revisionism in it’s present form is the continuation and development of Chinese revisionism ,which has been engaged in firce contention with Mao Tse Tung Thought for controlling the steering of social development of China since the emergence of New China in 1949.Ever since the central thrust of the Chinese revisionists has been to stall the forward movement of the social revolution,of China on a course charted out by the proletariat,with the slogan of consolidating the obtaining stage of development of the revolution:should this stratagem fail,to sabotage the revolutionary movement in the name of ‘rectifying the excesses of revolution:should this stratagem fail too,hypocytically to hail the victories of revolution and stall the next revolutionary step  further with the plea that the revolution had already achieved it’s objectives and other tasks come to the fore:all the while sceming to corrode and reverse the previous gains of revolution.

The proletarian revolutionary aspect exerted pressure through ideologically-politically exposing and defeating the particular platform by means of which revisionism ought to gain ground at a given stage, and consolidating and extending the dictatorship of the proletariat over the bourgeoisie in all fields. Uptil the passing  away of Mao Tse  Tung and the counter –revolutionary October Coup,the struggle developed under the conditions of the dictatorship of the proletariat.Despite the relative shifts in the balance of forces between the proletarian revolutionary aspect and the bourgeois revisionist aspect of this intensely unfolding class contradiction,both within the party and the state,the former retained its principal mposition and initiative in the struggle.The latter was trounced from one –battle positionafter another was constrained to adopt a new form other than the already exposedand defeated ones.-,in order to be able to contend with the former advanced position.Now,after the October Coup,a qualitative change has taken place;the proletarian revolutionary aspect has been thrown backl to a non-principal position and the struggle is unfolding under condition sof revisionist bourgeois dictatorship[.Obviously,the nature of revolutionary pressure exerted upon the counter-0revolutionary revisionist forces has alos radically changed.Hence,under the new conditions,the Teng Hua revisionist clique can venture to march back to the once defeated revisionist positions and reverse the correct verdictys of Socialist Revolution of China.

The reversal of correct verdicts and the proletarian revolutionary line is brought about by this clique in phases through a series of shifting postures corresponding with the changing state of consolidation of it’s counter revolutionary grip over CPC and PRC since the October Coup. The typical pattern of these shifting postures has been that of taking as the point of departure, an established formulation with pinpoints the principla contradiction or the principal aspect of a contradiction but rendering it non –operative for the period at hand by laboring the non-principal aspect of a contradiction or aspects of a contradiction at par in an eclectic manner but letting the weight of the whole argument to fall in favour of the non –principal aspect and elevating it to the principal position without plainly saying so,and ultimately,substituting metaphysics for their earlier eclecticism,inflating the non –principal aspect to the point of virtual negation of the principal aspect.Take for instance,the treatment of the Cultural Revolutionand the relationship of grasping revolution and promoting production, at the hands of the Teng-Hua clique.During the first year of its revisionist usurpation upto the conclusion of the 11^th Congress of CPC,the counter-revolutionary consolidation being yet very fragile,the clique had to manouvre in the familiar fashion of the earlier periods ,that is formally accepting the verdicts of the 9^th and 10^th Congress that the Cultural Revolution was a glorious leap forward of China’s Socialist Revolution but harping on the abuses of the cultural revolution allegedly the result of the four’s harmful influenceFormally,upholding the Cultural Revolution, in other words,significance of grasping revolution,then, giving it a revisionist twist to draw the conclusion that the tasks of revolutionary transformation,having already been accomplished should give way to the urgent tasks of promoting production.Apart from being  a pretext for formally terminating the Cultural Revolution,this revisionist logic insinuated that the Cultural Revolution did not embrace did not promote production.


They propogated that during the G.P.C.R.,due to ultra-leftist policiesand interference of the Gang of four,the development of production was adversely affected in some fields and to overcome this lag and boost production,the focus of the whle workhas to be shifted to the four modernizations.The appraisal of the Cultuarl Revolution was made an open questionand the need to critically examine it and sum up its experience was stressed.Thus the correct verdict of the 2 party Congresses on the Cultural Revolutionstood suspended.During the next yaer,having passed the critical; phase of it’s counter-revolutionary consolidation,the Teng-Hua revisionist clique felt bold enough to declare the glorious decade of the Cultural Revolution to be  aperiod of veritable calamity for the economy and the peole of China.


The clique moaned that the chaos of the Cultural Revolution had thrown the economic development of China mnay years back and what had been consolidated during this decade was not the dictatorship of the proletariat over the bourgeoisie but fascist dictatorship.Revolution and productionwere made to appear to be antithetical phenomena,one developing at the cost of another.So,in the name of seeking unhindered development of production,revolutionary mass movements were prohibited,revolution was banished.In this way the Teng-Hua revisionist clique effected the reversal of the established guiding principle of Socialist Construction,’Grasp revolution and promote production.”The correct verdict on the chief exponents and the chief opponentsof the Cultural Revolution was also reversed.Now the four were labeled as bourgeois counter revolutionaries,and Teng Xiaping and Liu Shao-Chi became great proletrain revolutionaries.

The Teng-Hua revisionist clique has reversed all the verdicts of Socialist revolution of China,and the essential components of Mao’s proletarian revolutionary line Mao Tse Tung’s theory  of continuing revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat has been replaced with the theory of productive forces i.e. the theory of capitalist restoration. By pushing four modernizations  relying on foreign finance capital,t has replaced Mao Tse Tung’s line of building an advanced Socialist economy by mainly relying on China’s own potential, its resources,and the conscious dynamism of revolutionary masses of the Chinese people. Mao Tse Tung’s line on foreign affairs has been replaced, with the line of solely opposing Soviet Social Imperialism and its accomplices from narrow bourgeois nationalist considerations..They curry favour with imperialist states led by U.S Imperialism and betrayed the revolutionary movements of the peoples of the world. They have justified and prodded the war preparations s of U.S.imperialism and it’s allies ,thus opposing genuine anti war movements of the world peole led by the International proletariat. It allies itself with one of the two imperialist groupings in the name of utilizing inter-imperialist contradictions ,that is the line of capitulating to imperialism and aspiring to become a regional hegemonist power.The Teng-Hua revisionist clique has replaced MAO Tse Tung’s analysis of semi-feudal,semi-colonial countries of Asia,Africa and LATIN America and the pressing tasks of democratic revolution and national liberation at the hands of the revolutionary movements of these countries.


It projects the defence of independence and promotion of national economies in these countries, as the primary task of the revolutionary movements, instead of national and democratic revoluition.It flouts Moa Tse Tung’s celebrated thesis on the differentiation of the bourgeoisie of colonial and semi-colonial countries into two wings, that is anti-imperialist national bourgeoisie and pro-imperialist big bourgeoisie in describing the countries ruled by big bourgeoisie and feudal calluses as the main force in the struggle against imperialism and hegemonism.It flouts an important tenet of Mao Tse Tung Thought according to which the character of the phenomena is mainly determined by it’s principal aspect in describing the character of these countries  as basically anti-imperialist because of the numerical insignificance of reactionaries and agents of imperialism inhabiting these countries.

It has also reversed the correct verdict of the International Communist movement on Titoite revisionism as the counter revolutionary agency of Imperialism, and bestowed upon it’s honor of being not only  a genuine anti-imperialist force but ,more a genuine Marxist Leninist force successfully building Socialism in Yugoslavia.

Conclusion

The historical fact that every contemporary variety of opportunism was driven to an inevitable clash with Mao Tse Tung Thought and ultimately crashed against the solidity of its theoretical edifice and the efficacy of it’s political guidance, and that it is not amenable to formal acceptance and revisionist adaptation as the Chinese Revisionists are now finding to chagrin, is a veritable indicator that Mao Tse Tung Thought is the indispensable ideological weapon of the International proletariat to defeat the onslaught of opportunism against the revolutionary orientation of world proletarian revolutionary movement.

On his 86^th birthday we triumphantly wave the red flag of Comrade Mao Tse Tung and express our gratitude to the Chinese proletariat for providing us with Mao Tse Tung Thought.

The Significance of Combating International Opportunism of the Teng Hua brand

Socialist China has changed colour.A great fortress of world proletrain revolution today stands transformed into a ciatadel of neo-revisionism,a centre hostile to world revolution.The grave development has serious international repercussions.Remaining true to proletarian internationalist outlook ,we in,India ,cannot afford to adopt an attitude of unconcern or casualness towards this development.It has a profound bearing on the development of our organization and revolutionary mass movement.

We should bear in mind that every significant triumph or setback experienced by  any of the contingents of the world proletrain revolutionary movement ,and lesson sdrawn from it influence all other contingents in term sof material prospects as well as ideological clarity.Proletrain Internationalism rests on the common fundamenjtal interests,aims ,and fate of International proletariat.

Like Marxism,its opposite aspect/i.e.opportunism ,a form of bourgeois ideology in Marxist guise is alos an  International phenomenan.Although opportunism may assume particular expression in a given country which demands a corresponding treatment at the hands of Marxist-Leninists  situated there.On account of this, every opportunist trend gets nourishment from Interenational OpportunismThat is why opportunism can effectively be cobated only through concerted attack all along the front,locally as well as Internationally.The practice of consistent strugg;le against local opportunist trends equips Marxist Leninist Forcesfor discerning the concrete thrust of opportunism of any hue that comes to the fore at International level.On the other hand,the process of uncompromising struggle against the latter brings out the latent opportunist and vaccilating tendencies within the ranks of the Marxist –Leninists.

The tendency to evade bold confrontation with International opportunism is  apointer to the sagging revolutionary will of Marxist Leninist forces who exhibit o t,and it works towards undermining the very proletarian character of the concerned organization. Becaues, an organization that succumbs to this tendency would not only be turning it’s back to the obligation of proletarian Internationalism, but  also paving the ground for opportunism to flourish within its bosm and ultimately take it over.

One of the factors responsible for assisting a well-meaning Marxist-Leninist section or Organisation falling prey to this opportunist tendency is the wrong notion, entertained by the leadership, concerning the method of struggle against opoortunism.The leadership relies on a subjective assumption for justifying its course ,that it will be able to prevent the Organisation being overwhelmed by International Opportunism, even without taking aclear cut stand against the latter.that is,without involving and ideologically arming it’s ranks up tpo the primary level.

An effective struggle against opportunism requires not only the involvement of the rank and file of the organization, but still more, of the revolutionary mases led by it.This cannot be fulfilled unless the organization comes out boldly against opportunism and its chief protagonist in particular period.

Another factor underlying the vaccilation of certain Marxist –Leninist forces in India on this practice of proletarian Internationalism. This distortionis not  arecent phenomenan .It is  one of the so many defective attribute3s inherited by the communist revolutionary movement of India from the oden day Communist Movement. The circumstances that favoured the occurrence of this distortion was the incompetence and diffidence of party leadership at national level,time and again seeking assurance of the correctness of it’s line from a greatly experienced Communist Party in power which at that time played an outstanding role in the International Communist Movement.It is quite legitimate and desirable for a Communist Party to learn from the experience of other fraternal parties,especially,the rich experience of victorious one’s.But it can properly learn only on the basis  of the own grasp of line and practice of revolution in it’s own land. Otherwise it will not be able to find it’s bearings in the dynamic reality concretely confronting it. Thta was the case, earlier,I n relation to the C.P.S U.uptil its degeneration,and ,more or less,in relation to the C.P.C,afterwards ,in the absence of International Communist Organisation.

On account of such thinking,at the time of revisionist transformation of the C.P.S .U.at the hands of the renegade Khruschev leading clique ,the minds of so many Marxist Leninists were greatly exercised by the prospect of a break with the revisionist C.P.S.U.and their revolutionary will to confront the International opportunism of Khruschevian hue was paralysedThe experience of that period of great demarcation and realignment in the International Communist Movement showed that those who vaccilated for long in drawing a clear cut line of de3marcation from Khruschev opportunism ultimately landed in the mire of revisionism The present situation is witnessing the occurrence of a similar phe3nomenan in the great struggle against the latest version of International Opportunism headed by the Teng –Hua revisionist clique of the C.P.C.

In the period of the Great Debate ,the opportunist leadership of a great many communist parties used to brandish the sword of fake proletarian Internationalism and the accusation of anti-Soviertyism to scare the Marxist Leninst ranks.into vaccilation in openly denouncing Khruschev revisionist leading clique of the C.P.S.U.

Following the footsteps of their predecessors, the opportunist leaders of many communist revolutionary groups of India are now waving the flag of fake proletarian Internationalism.

The revisionist C.P.I. and C.P.M.parties, hail the Soviet and Vietnamese agressors and denounce the just struggles of the Kampuchean and Afghan people.Real proletarian Internationalism would make us hail the anti-fascist and anti-imperailsit struggles of the Iranian peole and denounce the despotic Shah regime and its patron renegade U.S.Imperialism.Hua Kuofeng supported the Shah regime on his trip to Iran as a further demonstration to China;s unflinching support to third world regimes-in –distress. Proletarian Internationalism should make us denounce Sadat’s betrayal of the cause of Arab peoples, especially the Palestine people struggling against the Zionist state of Israel..Fake proletarian Internationalism would support Sadat’s “Camp David peace Initiative.”

Today a distinction should be made from ardent champions of Teng –Hua opportunism as the renegade S.N.Singh clique of the C.P.I.(M.L.) and certain Marxist Leninist forces who are still vacillating or duped by Teng -0Hua clique.While the former should be denounced and routed,efforts should be made to win the latter through ideological struggle.

A cursory glance at various organizations who, at  present denounce Tengt –hua opportunism, reveals that many of them ‘conceal their left opportunism under the militant posture of crossing swords with the right opportunism spearheaded by the renegade Ten-Hua clique of the C.P.C.In this spectrum there are two shades of left opportunist trends. The first one, patronized by Hardial Bians supports the Albanian Hoxhaite position,the second one is represented by the ‘mass linme’ group that advocates the line of ‘annihilation of class enemies.”The trend that openly attack sthe revolutionary practice of MAO Tse Tung should be openly refuted and defeated.However the other should be subjected to a patient ideological criticismto retrieve the progressive sections.

We must delve deep into the  mode of manifestation of Chinese revisionism under the condition sof dictatorship of the proletariat,and the causes underlying its temporary triumph over the genuine Marxist Leninist forces.

Present International Situation (October 1996)

The general feature of the present international situation is defined bythe fact that the cherished dream of the international bourgeoisie continuesto elude them--i.e., the dream of a new period of economic recovery and politicalstability of the world imperialist order.

In the self-delusion of a reactionary class, the international bourgeoisiehave underestimated the potency of two basic factors working against thematerialisation of such a dream. One, the decadence of world monopoly capitalismis at an advanced stage. Two, there exists a deepened urge among the peopleof the world to resist all oppression, after having seen the vulnerabilityof imperialism and the uplifting actual glimpses of a new world beyondimperialism.

The development of the world situation, during the two decades since RedChina changed colour, has underlined the redeeming role of these two factors,in the face of that great blow to the world proletarian revolution. Sucha fundamental occurrence as the undoing of the last fortress of the socialistsystem was bound to disturb and did disturb the momentum of world proletarianrevolution. Yet, in the subsequent period, the setting in of a general ebbin the world proletarian revolution has not taken place. Even without thearousing impact of the live socialist system, the world has been in turbulenceall these years.

  International situation essentially retains earlier character with changed  contours

For the first phase of this period, upto the collapse of Sovietsocial-imperialism and its empire, a striking interplay of two of the fundamentalcontradictions has been mostly instrumental in fuelling the turbulence:Throughout, the fierce contention for global hegemony between the two imperialistsuper powers has been raging side by side with the relentlessly unfoldingprincipal contradiction. The collapse of Soviet social-imperialism and itsempire has itself come about as a dramatic and peculiar expression of thedeepened general crisis of imperialism. At the other end of the multifariousturbulence, the birth of people's war in Peru has taken place, during thisperiod, as an outstanding affirmation of the continuing vitality of the worldproletarian revolution. (An international situation marked by general ebbin the world revolution would not be so full of revolutionary dynamism ascould throw up a people's war.)

In the current phase of this period--i.e., the phase after the collapse ofSoviet social-imperialism and its empire--the international situation essentiallyretains its earlier character, although significant changes have taken placein the movement and contours of the fundamental contradictions of the imperialistsystem. (The collapse of Soviet social-imperialism and its empire is themost prominent event of this period, owing to its international scale andglobal ramifications. It has a bearing, more or less, on all the significantchanges that have taken place recently in the movement and contours of thefundamental contradictions. In other words, it has played a major roleobjectively in shaping the specific features of the current internationalsituation. So, it is quite appropriate to treat it as the demarcating eventbetween the earlier phase and the current phase of this period.)
The relative status of the fundamental contradictions of the present-dayworld can be stated in the following concise manner. Today, the principalcontradiction between imperialism and oppressed peoples and oppressed nationsof the world is further accentuated; and the contradiction between thebourgeoisie and the proletariat in the capitalist countries is getting sharpened;whereas, the inter-imperialist contradiction has temporarily acquired a milderexpression. (After the reversals in China, Albania, etc. there is no socialiststate and social system contending with the imperialist system. Consequently,while the struggle between imperialism and socialism runs throughout thepresent era, the contradiction between socialist system and the imperialistsystem has become non-existent for the time being.)
  

  Changed complexion of inter-imperialist contradiction

The most outstanding and obvious change is there in the complexion of thefundamental inter-imperialist contradiction. Earlier, the fierce contentionfor global hegemony between the two imperialist super powers, U.S. imperialismand Soviet social-imperialism, used to be the most concentrated and acuteexpression of the fundamental inter-imperialist contradiction. With the crumblingof one of the two opposite aspects, the particular contradiction betweenthe U.S. imperialist superpower and the Soviet social-imperialist superpowerhas disappeared, thus divesting the fundamental inter-imperialist contradictionof its most acute expression. That is the main reason for the current "milderexpression". This does not mean that the fundamental inter-imperialistcontradiction is on the wane. On the contrary, it is developing under changedcircumstances and is bound to get further intensified due to the persistentcrisis of the imperialist system.
(Various imperialist powers and monopoly capitalist groups have no otherway of coping with the imperialist crisis than through striving to savethemselves at the cost of the world people as well as at the cost of eachother. So, contradictions among themselves, too, invariably tend to getintensified because of the persistent imperialist crisis, notwithstandingtheir efforts to contain this process within safe limits. All the crucialmeasures they are taking to come out of the crisis--viz., the frenzied globalrestructuring of capital; the competitive carving out of huge trade-blocs;and the ravenous accessing of third-world markets and productive assets--gotowards undoing their efforts to contain the contradiction within safe limits.)
Under the changed circumstances, the contradictions within the out-datedWestern imperialist alliance (including the Japanese imperialism) have acquiredtwo contrary tendencies. First, these contradictions have become free ofthe constraint they were under due to the over-arching contradiction betweenthe Western imperialist alliance and its social imperialist counterpart.Hence, they tend to develop with greater pace and force, and thereby frustrateall the imperialist attempts for maintaining that alliance. Second, the collapseof Soviet social-imperialism's hegemonic empire has provided the Westernimperialist powers new space for expanding their spheres of influence andaccess to markets. So long as, and to the extent, there is scope for allof them to expand into this new space, these contradictions tend to developwith less intensity or within the shell of collusion among them. However,the first of the two tendencies is stronger in the long run. The second tendencyis in the forefront only for the short initial period. The two tendencies,of course, are more pronounced in the contradiction between the U.S. imperialistsuper power and the other Western imperialist powers. Because, of all thesecontradictions, that one is most prominent.

  Transitional phase for inter-imperialist contradiction

Further, the last-mentioned contradiction is undergoing a process oftransformation. (In fact, this transformation and the unsettled place ofRussian imperialism--as a crucial military power in the incipient polarisationand realignment of imperialist powers--are the two main elements which makethe present phase a transitional phase for the inter-imperialist contradiction.)None of the other imperialist powers is in a position yet to contend, ona global scale, with U.S. imperialism. (German imperialism and Japaneseimperialism have acquired good enough economic muscle to be serious contendersfor markets. But they are lacking in a matching military prowess. It is theirimperative imperialist need to bridge this gap through rapid building upof military power. However, owing to historical and diplomatic reasons, theycan do so best only under the camouflage of some multilateral imperialistproject.) Their contention with U.S. imperialism is mainly focussed on certainspecific territorial zones. (Within the broad European zone, the immediatefocus is on the East European countries; German imperialism--in associationwith other European Union powers, mainly French imperialism--being the chiefcontender. Within the broad Asia-Pacific zone the immediate focus is on theEast Asian countries, Japanese imperialism being the chief contender. Besides,French imperialism is the chief contender in parts of Africa where it haslinks from the colonial period. Similarly British imperialism is one of theimportant contenders in the areas of its past empire, West Asia and SouthAsia in particular. Russian imperialism's contention with U.S. imperialismis mainly focussed, for the time being, on C.I.S. countries, i.e., the paststate boundaries of the Soviet Union; while it is cautiously trying to revivethe footholds in West Asia and India.)
  U.S., the weakened victor of contest with social-imperialism
On the other side, U.S. imperialism has not come out any stronger from itsfierce contest with Soviet social-imperialism. (The super power compulsionof over-stretching oneself in the contest for global hegemony took its tollfrom both of the imperialist super powers. As a result, Sovietsocial-imperialism, owing to its more brittle economic base, has been fastundone. At the same time U.S. imperialism too is grievously hurt. The U.S.economy stands degraded into a precarious state of financial distortionsand general debility. Despite its seemingly uncontested military politicalpredominance in world affairs, it is not in a position to dictate terms asearlier and is taking great care not to tread upon the toes of its imperialistcolleagues.)

It cannot do otherwise than strive generally for global hegemony and particularlyfor filling the hegemony-vacuum generated by the quick exit of Sovietsocial-imperialism from the world arena. But it is doing so as a weakenedimperialist super power. So, it has to seek (and not just command) collaborationof its imperialist colleagues, mainly because of financial and politicalrequirement. The latter have to take the same course, mainly because of militaryrequirement.

The present relative position of both the sides and the direction of itschange indicate that a major change has taken place in the relationship betweenthe U.S. imperialist super-power and the other major imperialist powers whoused to be its subordinate colleagues. Although the element of U.S. dominanceis still there in that relationship, it is no more the main aspect. (In theinter-imperialist context, U.S. imperialism's solid hegemonic gains duringthe last five years are not as spectacular as would appear from its frenziedpower-projections round the globe. And the last five years were the betterpart of the short period of time for securing optimal hegemonic gains. Bynow, it has been able just to reassert its dominant position in the Americancontinent which is its traditional stronghold. Beyond that, its only majorgain is the increased sway over most of West Asia. Meaningfully, both ofthese regions are other than the particular zones where the concerns of othermajor imperialist powers are now focused. In East Asia, U.S. imperialismhas not been able, as yet, to make any notable advance which could serveto contain the growing influence of Japanese imperialism. In East Europe,its gains are even more superficial and much dependent on the fate of N.A.T.O.as well as on U.S. imperialism's capacity to determine the decisions ofI.M.F.-World Bank concerning the East European countries. Whereas, Germanimperialism has been able to derive more impressive gains from the East Europeandevelopments. It is poised to consolidate those gains by using the leverof the European Union.)

  General tactical policy flowing from state of inter-imperialist contradiction
Thus, in the current short phase, although collusion is the dominant featureof the fundamental inter-imperialist contradiction it is not of uniform natureworldwide. The specific profile and the limits of this collusion vary regionwise,owing to the uneven pace of development of the low-intensity contention amongmajor imperialist powers in particular zones and other parts of the world.

It follows from the currently dominant feature of inter-imperialist contradiction(i.e., collusion) that our general tactical policy, in the struggle againstimperialism and all reaction worldwide, should be: particularly combattingthe major imperialist powers[*], prominently U.S. imperialismwho are acting in collusion to commit aggression, intervention, andinterference against the oppressed peoples and weaker countries.
It follows from the non-uniform nature of this collusion that the specificapplication of this general tactical policy should correspond to the region-wisevariation in the profile of the collusion (as well as contention) among themajor imperialist powers. That would involve variation of tactical emphasiseither on fighting against particular imperialist power/powers or on particularpolitical issues of struggle against them. The prominent role of U.S. imperialismin this imperialist joint venture has the implication that whatever be theregion-specific focus of our tactical emphasis, U.S. imperialism, in allcases, should come under that focus.

  New sharpness in contradiction between proletariat vs. bourgeoisie in advanced  capitalist countries

Another significant change is the new intensity being acquired by the fundamentalcontradiction between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat m advanced capitalistcountries. In all the centres of crisis-ridden monopoly-capitalism, the workingclass has come under the stepped-up attack of the bourgeoisie. In its rangeand depth the current offensive of the bourgeoisie against the working classgoes beyond the usual crisis-time attack on the workers' wages and jobs.Not only is it an all-round attack on the workers' wages and jobs at thepresent moment but also a far-reaching attack on their non-wageentitlements/claims which are to be met by the capitalist employers or theState.

The capitalist employers seek to curtail or deny the workers' entitlementsother than wages by changing the character, hence terms, of the jobs. Theyare carrying out this attack under the transparent class slogan of "acquiring(or maintaining) the competitive edge" through maximum reduction of theircost of labour. The capitalist State now seeks to whittle down the workers'entitlements pertaining to the social security or welfare provisions. Thecapitalist State is carrying out this attack under its foggy class-sloganof "deficit-reduction". This combined attack is acting as a spur to impartnew dynamism to the working class struggles in the centres of world monopolycapitalism.
It is a clear symptom of the advanced stage of decay of world monopoly capitalismthat it has to attack one of the major stays of social peace in itscentres--i.e., the notion of a 'Welfare State' hitherto kept alive by someactual State measures for giving a bit of social relief to the working people.The imperialist bourgeoisie has been engaged, since World War II, in promotingthis notion as a social prospect of capitalism. The bourgeoisie was promptedto do so by the long-term political need of countering the enhanced appealof the socialist system and pacifying the revolutionary ferment among theworking masses under its rule.
Now, by putting to axe the material basis of the notion of a Welfare State,the bourgeoisie itself is fuelling social disillusionment and turmoil inthe imperialist centres. The bourgeoisie is going to face stiff working classresistance to these measures particularly in the European countries wherethe tradition of social welfare institutions is more established. The recenteruption of massive working class struggles in a number of European countries,especially the spectacular strike-action by the working class in France,gives notice of the extensive resistance to come. No doubt, this processof development of the workers' resistance to the comprehensive attack ofthe bourgeoisie will reflect the limitations of their existing mass organisationswhich are dominated by the economist-reformist readerships. However, theselimitations are not a new factor. What is new in the developing situationis the enlarged scope for the rise of proletarian revolutionary elementsand for overcoming of the limitations of the working class organisations.

  Situation in former USSR and E. Europe

Further, in the European arena, the fundamental contradiction between thebourgeoisie and the proletariat is developing with far greater intensityin the erstwhile social-capitalist countries. Evidently, in none of thecapitalist countries are the working masses experiencing more distressfuleffects of structural reorganisation of capitalism than in Russia and theEast European countries. The economic hardships which they used to sufferearlier, under the crisis-ridden social-capitalist economies, are multiplyingafter the shift to market capitalism. Now, they are deprived even of theelementary social protection of their subsistence and work which the revisionistrulers could not deny them. No wonder that their estrangement from undisguisedcapitalism is taking place so fast.

Under the unsteady conditions of economy and polity in all of these countries,the bourgeois rulers are not in a position to pacify the growing unrest amongthe working masses. The old political and trade union structures ofrevisionist-bureaucratic control have crumbled. The new structures of tradeunion bureaucracy suitable for undisguised capitalism are still being soughtto be established, in these countries. (This transitional situation of weakenedinstitutional control of the ruling classes over the working masses, offersexcellent opportunity to the proletarian revolutionary elements for gainingground among the restive masses of the workers.) Moreover, they are not onlythe direct inheritors of the revolutionary legacy of socialist revolutionand construction and the anti-fascist war of emancipation but they have alsogone through the recent political experience of defying the social-capitalistrule. The combination of all these elements in the present situation offersan unusual opportunity for the revolutionary renewal and reorganisation ofthe working class movement in these countries.
On the negative side, there has been a marked growth of reactionary nationalisttendencies and conflicts in this region since the collapse of the politicaland economic structures of social-capitalism. This phenomenon is basicallya product of the dog-fight among various segments of the reactionary bourgeoisiein each country. That is a dog-fight over their respective lots in the anarchicredivision of political power and economic resources of the country whichhas been encouraged and influenced by the major imperialist powers to theirown advantage. The working class movement in these countries has to challengeand overcome this menace of reactionary nationalism so as to be able to seizethe opportunity for its own revolutionary renewal and reorganisation. Therecent developments in erstwhile Yugoslavia where the social progress hasbeen thrown back for some years are a grim reminder of the damaging potentialof this factor.
Barring this factor, the prevailing situation of discord and conflict amongvarious factions of the bourgeoisie is contributing to the political instabilityof its rule and the political enlightenment of the working masses in eachcountry of this region.
  Principal contradiction intensifying during this phase
There are significant changes also in the movement of the principal contradictionat the international level. One, the recent multi-pronged offensive ofimperialism against the underdeveloped countries of Asia, Africa and LatinAmerica is greatly intensifying the fundamental contradiction between imperialismversus the oppressed peoples and oppressed nations of these countries. Two,this principal contradiction is unfolding itself, at present, when thereprevails an unprecedented though transient collusion of all the major imperialistpowers in their drive for further dominating and fleecing these countries.
The current imperialist offensive against the oppressed underdeveloped countriesis escalating the economic and political instability of its whole neo-colonialorder. The main burden of the stagnation and recession in the world monopolycapitalist economies is being recklessly imposed on the peoples of Asia,Africa and Latin America who are already in dire straits due to the worseningconditions of their semi-feudal semi-colonial social existence.
The politico-economic offensive of imperialism is being carried out andlegitimised through internal policy measures by the native reactionary rulersof these countries. They are obliged to proclaim themselves as guarantorsand protectors of the extortionary imperialist profits. So they are to bearthe brunt of political struggles and outbursts of their own people againstthe imperialist depredations. Moreover, the crude manner in which imperialismis making the native reactionary rulers do its bidding regarding the economicpolicy changes, further undermines their political credibility as "sovereign"rulers and quickens the process of their alienation from the people concerned.

The imperialist rulers as well as the lackey ruling classes in the oppressedcountries are not totally unaware of the political risks they are incurringby causing such large-scale dislocation of the real national economies andunemployment, expropriation, impoverishment and uprooting of huge massesof the toiling people, along with the undermining of political credibilityof the native regimes. Yet, such is the imperative imperialist need to bailout its sagging economies and to slow down the momentum of the rising socialdiscontent within its very bases that it cannot avoid taking the politicalrisks in its neo-colonial periphery. 

(The development of comprador-

bureaucraticcapitalism in underdeveloped countries has got so hooked up on the increasingdose of imperialist capital and technology import that the native reactionaryrulers are, more or less, reconciled to their reduced say even inpolicy-decisions concerning the forms, pattern and terms of that inflow.At present, the concerted imperialist pressure and their own economic compulsionsare overriding their worries about the prospect of popular political backlashagainst these drastic economic measures.)
  Political credibility of imperialism's lackeys undermined
The political credibility of the domestic rulers of the oppressed underdevelopedcountries is being undermined by the current imperialist offensive on thepolitical-military plane too. They are being treated by the dominant imperialistpowers in an openly contemptuous manner. While exerting political pressureand military blackmail against various regimes in these countries to makethem tailor their political conduct to the imperialist wishes, the imperialistspokespersons are becoming less and less bothered to hide that fact fromthe public.
The domestic rulers generally try to keep their own people in the dark aboutthe fact that they are being subjected to imperialist pressure on variousissues. They are afraid to take into confidence and involve their countrymenin tackling the imperialist pressures because public awareness and involvementwould upset their plans for surreptitious compromises or capitulations inthose matters. Thus, the revealing utterances of the imperialist spokespersonsabout what pressures are being applied or have been applied by them put theseregimes in politically embarrassing positions quite often these days. (Forinstance, U.S. imperialists recently announced that they had effectivelypressured the Indian government not to carry out its further programme fordeveloping and deploying the Agni-type missiles over the past two years.Indian rulers reaction to that utterance was that of an embarrassed silence:neither officially accepting nor refuting that fact.)
  Imperialism's dilemma in political-military dealings with lackey regimes
While the imperialist powers' ham-handed political-military dealings withthe lackey third world regimes further damage the latter's credibility, suchham-handed dealings on the other hand highlight the essential weakness ofimperialism in its political-military aims with regard to these regimes.
Imperialism needs these regimes even more than before to rule on its behalf,to put down insurgencies and revolutionary movements within their territoriesunder the turbulent conditions of the present period. It also needs to preparethese regimes for fighting local wars as proxies of rival imperialist powersor against other recalcitrant countries of the third world, and to raisemercenaries and local trained armies for the purpose.
It is important to note that the imperialist powers' reliance on third worldregimes to play military roles of imperialist design is impelled by theirpolitical unwillingness to risk their own troops for operations abroad. Thisis because of strong opposition to such commitment from wide sections oftheir populations, the well-fed among whom though see no wrong in treatingthird world populations as cannon fodder for their country's imperialistaspirations. (When these imperialist countries do commit their troops itis for rapid action and brief periods. This constraint is more pressing nowas the popular political pressures mount from within the imperialist countries.A people, angered by the unexpectedly enhanced insecurities and strippingof their economic life by their ruling classes and governments are less willingto fight in strange lands for the supposed honour and power of their country.Indeed, this explains the preponderance of those already marginalised inthe imperialist economies among the mercenary fighting forces sent abroad.)
At the same time, for imperialist powers, the arming of the third world regimesto perform their internal and external roles has been fraught with the incipientdanger that the well-armed third world regimes can become less amenable tomilitary blackmail by imperialist powers. Although third world regimes canaccess advanced armaments to a limited extent through commercial purchasesor from rival powers, imperialist powers as a whole, particularly in thepresent phase of collusion, make it a point as far as possible to limit thearming of lackey regimes to traditional weaponry.
Nevertheless, the imperialist powers are caught in the pincer, of havingto rely on lackey regimes' militarisation, but knowing that these regimesthough basically slavish are not always reliable and may even prove recalcitrantabout having also to contain their militarisation within safe limits.
For their part, third world regimes would occasionally get pushed into defianceof imperialist dictates for brief periods if they perceive their very socialbase being eroded, their class interest being damaged, and their survivalbeing in question. But for any serious and prolonged defiance, these regimesneed political material support from their own oppressed populations.
Should their populations rally around in anti-imperialist defiance, suchsupport has its own political consequences for these regimes. Since it isextended out of a strong anti-imperialist sentiment, its material operationinitiates a process of democratic mobilisation and organisation which initself poses a political threat to the lackey regimes. Besides, the morethe anti-imperialist defiance or resistance would get prolonged and acquirepopular character, the more it tends to expose to the people the essentiallycollaborative nature of their own rulers. It would thus help the people realisethat the success of the anti-imperialist struggle requires demolition ofsuch regimes themselves. In other words, it would tend to make explicit thenecessary unity between the national and the democratic tasks of their struggle.
  

  II.

  

  For the revolutionary movement, short-term hurdles, long-term advantage

While the crisis-driven imperialist offensive is sowing greater turbulencein the oppressed countries, the explosive potential of this developing situationhas yet to find full vent in the stormy waves of popular struggles againstimperialism and against the lackey domestic rulers of these countries. Atthe present moment, the turbulence in these countries is taking place generallyin a more diffused and less spectacular manner. It is so particularly owingto a combination of some factors in the current situation.
  Churning and polarisation within national democratic movements
First factor: (Contradictions among the enemies of the people beingan indirect reserve force of the revolution, as com. Stalin hasdefined them) the replacement of the fierce inter-imperialist contentionby the transient collusion among major imperialist powers is tantamount tocoming into being of a momentary deficit in the forces of revolution, inthe struggle between imperialism and the oppressed peoples. In the currentstate of relative political-military disengagement among major imperialistpowers, they have got a certain freedom of action to step upcounter-revolutionary political and military moves in their neo-colonialbackyards and to exert concerted pressure against the rebellious and therevolutionary movements of the oppressed peoples and nations.

On the people's side, this factor has considerably narrowed down the spacefor tactical manoeuvring by the revolutionary forces vis-a-vis the imperialistpowers and their local lackeys. Thus, it is a source of difficulties forthese movements to gather momentum or advance to higher levels of theirdevelopment. But these difficulties are of a fairly short duration becausetheir source, the factor of imperialist collusion, tends to fade out withevery passing day while the growing revolutionary situation in these countriesopens up new possibilities of overcoming these difficulties and getting atthe position to take the leap forward.
Yet, in the immediate context, this unfavourable factor and the resultantdifficulties are telling upon the weak-links in these movements, promptingthe compromising tendencies to assert themselves against the radical andthe revolutionary tendencies. Consequently, these movements in general areexperiencing the sharpening of the two-road struggle which is leading, insome cases, to polarisation of forces and in some others only to discardingof the scum, i.e., a handful of intriguing elements and deserters.
Second factor: Certain contingents of the anti-imperialist movementsare now suffering from the after-effects of their past dependence on thesupport and assistance from the Soviet social-imperialism and the regimesunder its influence. That corrupting influence had even earlier corrodedthe revolutionary vitality of these bourgeois nationalist groups of varioushues by inhibiting their progress towards consistent anti-imperialist positionsand firm reliance on the toiling masses of the people. Now, when they areleft to fend for themselves in the changed international situation, theyseem to have lost their political bearings. It has become almost impossiblefor them now to survive and thrive as contingents of the anti-imperialistmovements, in their old political and operational moulds.

Two destinies await them. They may dare to take a resolute stand againstthe compromising tendencies in the movement; to spurn any kind of minimalistnational agenda put forth by these tendencies (for the purpose of strikingpolitical deals with the enemies and bartering away the cause of nationalliberation and genuine democracy); to forge closer ties with the toilingmasses as well as communist revolutionary forces; and to get themselvespolitically remoulded and strengthened in this process. This is the coursethat their militant ranks and the advanced layers of the struggling massesare pressing for.

Or, they may remain politically indecisive and confined to the old grooves,hence liable to be dragged into essentially capitulationist political settlementspushed by imperialism and its lackeys. This is the course that the vacillatingnational bourgeoisie and the revisionist elements are pressing for whereverthey are in a position to do so.
For instance, the second course has prevailed in the Azanian (South African)liberation movement where the radical nationalist forces outside the AfricanNational Congress as well as the elements inside it failed to demarcatethemselves from the treacherous act of bartering away the movement by theMandelaite and the revisionist leadership of the ANC for sharing politicalpower with the white settler-colonialist ruling class. However, in the caseof the Palestinian national liberation movement the situation is not asirretrievable in the short term as that of the Azanian liberation movement.There, the secular radical groups still have the chance to pursue the firstcourse. They have refused to be accessories to the contemptible politicalsell-out enacted by the dominant Al Fatah leadership of the PLO. But theywill have to go further than that by thoroughly repudiating it and reaffirmingthe basic objectives of the movement sooner than later if they do not wantto lose political initiative to the Islamist radical groups and let thePalestinian resistance become the latter's preserve.
Thus, under the impact of the above-stated two factors, the national democraticrevolutionary stream, on the whole, is undergoing a process of renewal throughpolitical churning, polarisation and realignment of forces, and reorganisationor reestablishment of the leadership cores. In this context, those revolutionarymovements of the oppressed peoples wherein the leadership of communistrevolutionary parties is established stand out as the most steadfast andreliable fighting fronts against imperialism and its lackeys. They are presentinga contrast to the bourgeois-led movements afflicted with political confusion,waverings and betrayals. This fact is highlighting, to the benefit of allthe struggling oppressed peoples, the crucial difference made by the classcharacter and ideology of the leadership with regard to the political staminaand perseverance of the concerned movement in keeping the flag flying.
Imperialist onslaught in the main political-economic, in collaboration withnative ruling classes.
Third factor: Political-economic invasion is constituting the mainstring of the current multi-pronged imperialist offensive against the oppressedunderdeveloped countries. The nationwide impact of the economic invasionand people's resistance to it do not occur as instantaneously and pervasivelyas would happen in the case of a military invasion by some imperialist poweror powers. It is so because the economic invasion is carried out in collaborationwith the native ruling classes without altering the semi-colonial statusof these countries (sharpening thus the internal contradictions of the oppressedcountries, too). Also because, it unfolds in a process of time and in anuneven manner. So the popular mobilisations and struggles against it alsodevelop in a process of time and in an uneven manner to acquire formidableproportions.
  Selective military interventions
Moreover, the recent acts of imperialist aggression and intervention toohave been, in the main, selectively aimed at soft targets, with limited andquickly attainable objectives. For instance, U.S. imperialist aggressionon Panama and aggression-like intervention in Haiti were, in both the cases,directed against quite weak and discredited military junta-regimes whichhad been nurtured by U.S. imperialism itself. Though these military cliqueswere forcibly dislodged from power by U.S. imperialism, as it found thempolitically inconvenient or less pliant on certain matters, yet their politicalalienation from their own peoples was so acute that they could not becomethe reference-points and rallying-centres for national reaction against theimperialist aggression.
Aggression on Iraq has been the only major case of imperialist aggressionwherein the interests of the whole nation, including the ruling classes,are under attack and the country is under a kind of partial imperialistoccupation. There, the aggressive imperialist-combine led by U.S. imperialismhas come up against such a dogged defiance by the Iraqi people as it neveranticipated. Despite the serious class weaknesses, political miscalculationsand misdeeds of the Saddam Hussein regime, the Iraqi people have found inthis regime's determined fight for survival the immediate focus of theiranti-imperialist mobilisation and resistance. (Defying the overwhelming militaryand economic odds against them, they have been courageously thwarting forthe last six years the arrogantly declared objective of the U.S. imperialismand British imperialism to bring about the fall of Saddam's regime. Theycannot deal military blows to the imperialist aggressors who continue tooperate from a safe distance. They have, nevertheless, dealt significantpolitical blows to the imperialist pillars of the so-called New World Orderby dint of their prolonged suffering and defiance. They have certainly exposedthe ruthless gangster-face of the imperialist aggressors exposed the roleof U.N.O. as the gilded tool of the dominant imperialist powers for legitimisingand facilitating their aggression on the oppressed countries, and exposedmost of the Arab reactionary rulers as servile accomplices of the imperialistaggressors. 

As a consequence of this imperialist aggression and defianceshown by the Iraqi people, a new undercurrent of opposition to the imperialistaggressors and their Arab accomplices has been generated in all the Arabcountries, particularly those who are under the rule of such Arab accomplicesof the imperialist aggressors. The bomb-explosions at the U.S. militaryfacilities in Saudi Arabia which killed 16 U.S. troops and injured many more;the brief rebellion of some villages and clashes with the police in Bahrain;widespread mass demonstrations against the austerity-measures of the Jordaniangovernment which could be suppressed only after massive police operation;rising demand for democratic political reforms in Kuwait despite stringentrepressive measures by the government to throttle it and also the growingresentment among the people against the stationing of U.S. troops there;are symptoms of the brewing turbulence even in these countries, hithertoconsidered politically dormant and safe areas of imperialist influence.)
The recent developments in Somalia have demonstrated that in present times,even a camouflaged imperialist military aggression quickly galvanises theanti-imperialist sentiment and resistance among the concerned oppressed people,provided that any nucleus of resistance is there for them to rally around.(Somalia, like some other extreme victims of imperialist loot, was firstreduced to a state of economic ruination, social disintegration, politicalanarchy and military strife among local war-lords. In the background of themass starvation and deaths of Somalian population thus brought about byimperialism itself, imperialist armies were sent there under the pretextof safeguarding the supply-lines of United Nations' humanitarian reliefprovisions meant for direct distribution to the starving Somalians. U.S.imperialism, using the United Nations' so-called relief project as a fig-leaffor covering its aggression, sought to impose a puppet regime on Somalia.In pursuit of this neo-colonial objective, it attempted to disarm the forcesof recalcitrant local war-lord general Aideed, and to arrest and humiliatehim as it had earlier humiliated general Noriega of Panama. But the use ofU.S. ground troops for carrying out raid-and-search operations in those partsof Somalia which were under Aideed's control or influence, antagonised thecivilian population. Promptly, there arose a wave of popular opposition tothe imperialist military intervention, the U.S. imperialist aggression inparticular. 

As a result of this development, the neo-colonial designs ofU.S. imperialism got foiled. More than that, it was forced to swallow itssuperpower arrogance and pull out its troops unceremoniously from Somalia,after having suffered some casualties at the hands of Aideed's poorly-armedirregular troops and the resultant hue and cry at home.)
It is evident from the experience of these cases of imperialist militaryintervention and aggression that the military-political consequences of suchacts have generally tended to upset or overturn the calculations and plansof the imperialist powers. Such acts have tended to ignite national resistanceby the victim peoples even through rallying around the native reactionaryforces in the lack of revolutionary leadership. Consequently, the aggressorimperialist forces have been left with either their shattered designs ora more volatile situation on their hands.

  Rwanda and Afghanistan

In view of the political-military pitfalls involved in direct imperialistaggression and intervention to fulfil their hegemonic designs, the imperialistpowers have to rely, in a major way, on the proxy wars among or internecinewars within the oppressed countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America. Forthat purpose aggravating the divisive issues and tensions among the oppressedcountries and among various social groups within these countries continuesto be their tested counter-revolutionary method. They cannot effectivelyuse this methods without the services of native lackey regimes and otherreactionary local forces whom they buttress financially and militarily. Thismethod of indirect imperialist military intervention is all the more harmfulfor the oppressed countries and peoples because, while it causes no lesshuman suffering and ruination than direct imperialist aggression or intervention,it shields the imperialist culprits from the wrath of the wronged peoples.

At the moment, such indirect imperialist military interventions are mainlymotivated by the requirements of neo-colonial oppression and suppressionof the oppressed peoples and nations rather than the requirements ofinter-imperialist contention. Those countries where socio-economic and statestructures have more or less crumbled due to prolonged imperialist depredationsor military invasion are today providing very fertile ground for such indirectimperialist interventions. The heightened social tensions and growingdesperation, there, among various sections and communities of the peoplemake it both conducive and necessary for the imperialist powers and theirrunning dogs to deflect the wrath of the people away from their real tormentorsand into self-destructive strife. 

Recent developments in some central Africancountries (namely Rwanda, Burundi and Zaire) and in Afghanistan present themost bloody spectacles of massive death and misery falling upon the nativepopulations because of the imperialist-induced flare-ups of internal sectarianstrife.
[In Rwanda, the human disaster has been shaped essentially by two factors.Economically, the country has been inflicted with disaster owing to the WorldBank-imposed Structural Adjustment Programme and the resultant destructionof jobs and small occupations, and owing to the crash in its export earningsas the result of the price-dip in the international market of its mainexport-item, coffee. Politically, the dominant neo-colonial power, Frenchimperialism, and its lackey regime of Hutu reactionaries have sought to divertand suppress the rising wave of popular unrest by inciting the sectarianstrife between the Hutu tribe and the minority Tutsi tribe. The death-squadsof the mercenary Hutu soldiers and militia--the "Intrahamwe"--which werepropped up financially and militarily by French imperialism, preyed uponinnocent civilians and massacred lakhs of Tutsis and also moderate Hutus.Nobody talked then of international intervention to stop that genocide. But,afterwards, when the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RFP)--the rebel armed organisationof Tutsis and moderate Hutus--was routing the government forces and advancingon the capital Kigali, French imperialism orchestrated an internationaldiplomatic and media campaign for U.N. intervention. This it did on theostensible plea of preventing possible large-scale killings of Hutus by theRPF, in the event of its victory, in revenge for the earlier massacre ofTutsis. The real motive, however, was imperialist intervention in Rwandato avert the impending fall of the lackey regime and the punishment of thenotorious mass-murderers at the hands of the RPF in p ower. As Frenchimperialism's campaign for concerted imperialist intervention under the U.N.umbrella fell through, owing to the lukewarm response of the other majorimperialist powers (particularly the U.S. imperialism), France unilaterallyproceeded to carry out its plan of military intervention. But the lackeyHutu regime collapsed too soon to benefit from the intervention by its chiefpatron. Nevertheless, about 2,000 French troops did make a short-termintervention, to provide 'safe havens' to the fleeing Hutu government andmilitary leaders, under the pretext of protecting the large number of Huturefugees who had also fled due to the fear-psychosis created by the reactionarypropaganda. These refugee camps were actually turned into prison-camps forthe civilian refugees by the armed gangs of the Hutu militia who received,on behalf of the refugees, all the "humanitarian aid" worth millions of dollars.Thus the refugee camps also became the training camps for multiplying thegangs of armed thugs to be used against the new regime. At last, these campsgot exposed for what they really were and the mercenary gangs of "Intrahamwe"were routed from the camps in and around Rwanda by RPF and fraternal Tutsirebel forces from Burundi and Zaire. Thus the developments in Rwanda andits neighbourhood have both a negative aspect as well as a positive aspectto their outcome. On the negative side, imperialism succeeded in making useof ethnic divisions and prejudices among the local people to cause a hugeman-slaughter and social calamity in Rwanda. The common masses of both theTutsi and the Hutu tribes have been the victims of this imperialist-imposeddeath and misery. Moreover, seeds have been sown for a new crop of sectarianstrife within these countries and local wars among them. Even now, the real,behind-the-scenes, culprits have not paid the political price commensuratewith the enormity of their come. On the positive side, the imperialist-backedfascistic network of Hutu reactionaries was smashed and a relatively independen tregime got established in Rwanda which is conducive to the social rehabilitationof the tormented Rwandan people. The imperialist designs of interventionwere foiled. Moreover; the turbulence has spread from Rwanda into theneighbouring countries, notably to the mineral-rich Zaire which is of primeconcern to all the imperialist powers active in Africa. The lackey Mobutu-regimeof Zaire, considered to be the bulwark of imperialist interests in CentralAfrica, is presently tottering under the blows of the advancing Tutsi army.]

[In Afghanistan, the indirect imperialist intervention is channelled throughthe lackey military establishment of Pakistan. The purpose is to installa reactionary regime there as the protege of imperialism under the overallU.S. imperialist domination. This is being attempted in a situation wherethe Afghanistan state-system has disintegrated, the economy (particularlyagricultural) has got totally ruined, and a large part of the countrymenhave been turned into internal and external refugees (almost the whole ofthe intelligentsia too has departed). Much of that situation was the outcomeof the decade-long period of Soviet social-imperialist occupation of Afghanistanand the plucky war of national resistance against it. Yet the national injurycaused by the later developments is deeper and more painful. The brave Afghanipeople have not only been basically denied the fruit of their remarkablefeat of humbling the mighty Soviet social-imperialist aggressors but havealso been subjected to further devastation and bloodshed owing to the reactionaryand narrow outlook of the major leading factions of the resistance movement.The class-political limitations of these leading factions prevented themfrom consolidating the patriotic and democratic forces for setting up a nationalunited front government. Instead, they sidelined and suppressed the widespread,local-level, popular fighting formations of nationalist forces includingthe communist elements. Thus their class-political narrowness paved the wayfor U.S. imperialism and its Pakistani channel to promote and beef up,financially and militarily, various Islamic fundamentalist groups as contendersfor the seat of power in Afghanistan. Earlier it was the mercenary GulbadinHikmatyar outfit which was their pet war-horse; later, as that was foundineffective it was ditched by them. A far more effective force, raised, trainedand equipped in Pakistan, mainly from the Afghan refugee camps there, hasbeen launched under the name of Islamic Taliban M ilitia. Obviously, theinitial sweeping victories of the so-called Taliban militia, the seizureof the capital Kabul, and the dislodging of the Rabbani government by it,have changed the earlier balance of forces in the ongoing bloody contestfor power in Afghanistan, to the immediate advantage of the U.S. imperialist'sindirect intervention. Still, it is neither a decisive nor a durable gainfor the interventionists. It has only made the military strife more intenseand protracted. Most of the factors which favoured Taliban's initial victorieshave been drained of their potential, and some factors have turned, or begunturning, into liabilities. The element of surprise regarding their militaryoffensive and power have been lost. They have made use of common people'sdisgust and dismay over the unending strife among various warring factionsunmindful of people's sufferings and concerns by evoking the prospect ofquick termination of that strife and bringing about a single regime. Butthe act of intensification and spreading of the military conflict subsequentto Taliban's seizure of Kabul have disillusioned such people. Ironicallythough, the Taliban's initial military victories have brought about theconciliation and coalition of all the other major warring factions againstthem. One factor which underlies the emergence of the Taliban is a formidableforce is still intact. That is the support extended to them by the SunniMuslim clergy of Afghanistan. That makes them different from being a purelymercenary armed gang and a force instead that has got some native socialbase On the other hand, their fascistic pursuit of religious-cultural hegemonyover the Afghan people, particularly the non-Pashtun national/ethnic minoritiesand the Shia Muslim minority, have opened a broad front of opposition tothem. It follows from the above-mentioned alignment of social forces, actualand prospective that the Taliban cannot dislodge the troops led by the Tajikgeneral Ahmed Shah Masood and those led by the Uzbek general Abdul RasheedDostam from north and north-western Afghanistan--the territories inhabitedby the Tajik and the Uzbek national minorities, respectively. And, withoutgetting hold of these territories the U.S. imperialists' indirect interventionin Afghanistan becomes infructuous. Because, those territories provide thegeographic link with the Central Asian republics of the earlier USSR andtheir energy-resources. Through this link, the U.S. oil corporations operatingin the CIS countries can have an alternative supply line upto the IndianOcean, bypassing Russia. Without that economic incentive, Afghanistan itselfwould not be economically attractive enough for a sustained intervention.The political-military objective of creating a strong imperialist outpostin Afghanistan for exerting pressure on Iran or other neighbouring countrieswould not be realised without getting a unified State of Afghanistan undera servile regime. Thus the developments in Afghanistan also have a negativeand a positive aspect to them. The indirect imperialist intervention, throughthe services of its Pakistani lackeys and native reactionaries, is devastatingAfghanistan and causing death and misery to its people without extractingserious political cost from U.S. imperialism. However, the imperialist designsbehind the intervention have come up against heavy odds. The earlier lostopportunities for the consolidation of patriotic forces and flourishing ofthe revolutionary elements among them in a drawn-out resistance, have gota new lease of life amidst blood and tears.]

  Specific circumstances in favour of communist revolutionaries
In the period ahead, two specific circumstances are working worldwide infavour of communist revolutionary forces.

Turbulence will intensify: First, the turbulence among worldpeoples suffering and struggling against the political economic onslaughtof imperialism transferring the burden of its crisis on to the people primarilyof the third world countries. The spontaneous popular rage and unsettlementin the third world has not yet achieved its full potential through beingsystematically directed against imperialism's lackey regimes in these countries.As the phase of collusion among the major imperialist powers yields to theusual state of overt and intensified inter-imperialist contention, thisturbulence gets greater scope to express itself, and the proletarianrevolutionary forces scope to manoeuvre among enemy forces.
Moreover, as military contention and aggression by imperialist powers comemore and more into play, the turbulence increasingly tends to take ananti-imperialist form, turning into nationalist rallying under militaryaggression by imperialist powers.

This turbulence would yield its full anti-imperialist potential and acquirerevolutionary democratic direction provided it comes under the leadershipor general influence of the Communist Party. Proletarian revolutionary forceshave to work to guide the people's turbulent forces into a revolutionarydemocratic movement. They have to grasp the thrusting power of popular turbulencereplete with opportunities as well as dangers; anticipate the phase of openinter-imperialist contention in this period of acute systemic crisis forimperialism; and politically consolidate people's struggles into a concentratedplanned movement by (i) bringing under their own influence those they canand (ii) projecting others in the public in the proper perspective. In doingso they should take steps to project both kinds across regions and revolutionaryclasses.

Crumbling of revisionist worldwide network: The secondfavourable circumstance for communist revolutionaries in the present situationis the crumbling of the worldwide network of revisionism and revisionistparties, following the collapse of Soviet social imperialism, their mainstay.This circumstance removes that treacherous political alternative which pretendsto communist heritage and contests with genuine communist forces in eachcountry for the political affiliation of active elements and masses of toilingpeople.

The toiling people by their class nature need the revolutionary alternative.Instead, in the past four decades, they have been ideologically disarmedand rendered politically ineffective by local revisionist readerships actingas lackeys of social imperialism and State revisionism. The collapse of Sovietsocial imperialism and its renouncing of communism is thus a deadly blowto the support structure of world revisionism.
It is not a positive blow as was the ideological death blow dealt by theGreat Debate in the 1960s. But it does make a major material and psychologicalimpact in favour of Marxist Leninists: it forces the revisionist partiesto expose their true class-collaborationist colours. Driven now to seeksubsistence and favours from the local ruling classes and their imperialistmasters, these patries have to drop their pretensions to revolution, classrule and scientific socialism. Bereft of their ideological propaganda baggage,they necessarily become social democratic parties and groups.

Of course, revisionism as an inimical ideological trend will continue toexist within the communist revolutionary camp; but denied externalsupport-structure its challenge can henceforth be met more effectively withinthe communist revolutionary frame. (With the collapse of Soviet socialimperialism, Western imperialist powers may have triumphantly rid themselvesof an ideological-political threat from within the imperialist camp. But,in the process, they have released the potential association of billionsof toiling masses for revolutionary action and made it necessary for healthypolitical elements misled into the revisionist camp to seek out revolutionarypolitics and the proletarian revolutionary forces organised around it.)

  Imperialism unable to disentangle itself from crisis: resistance at home  and abroad

No doubt imperialism remains as a State system worldwide. But it is at thisjuncture also hopelessly on the decline--not only in that as a system itis incapable of managing the productive forces its mode has unleashed, butin that it has run out of steam even for reform and revisionism. Every attemptimperialism makes to disentangle itself from its crisis, and to manage itsinter-imperialist contention in the interests of resolving that crisis, entanglesit further still in the negative threads of that attempt.
This is so whether in relation to imperialism's national economies wherethe State and finance capital are making deep cuts into the established economicclaims and social security of the working people, or in relation to the thirdworld economies where via their lackey regimes imperialists are imposingmost monstrous terms of exploitation on the vast masses of people. Thus,in the imperialist countries, people have been hitting back with organisedresistance, and in the oppressed countries growing popular turbulence isthe rule, more organised or less so according to each country's specifichistory and situation.
It is the revolutionary possibilities and power of the turbulence unleashedby the operation of this principal contradiction (between imperialism andthe oppressed peoples), aided by growing unrest in imperialist countriesmanifesting the other fundamental contradiction (between the bourgeoisieand the proletariat in those countries) that the progressive proletarianforces need to grasp.

  Communist revolutionaries have stood their ground

Both the general features and specific circumstances in the objective situationthus give communists ample scope for revolutionary activity and revolutionaryoptimism.

The record of communist forces worldwide, too, in the period following thefall of Red China, offers ground for optimism. Communist revolutionarieshave faced major challenges to their basic revolutionary line and organisation.They have struggled hard and not capitulated. And they have defended theirorganisation in the face of fierce repression and enemy attacks. The turbulenceof world people and the exposure of the revisionist forces are in the presentsituation specific advantages for them.
However, after recognising all this, it is important to realise that themany important problems that the communist revolutionaries have been grapplingwith all through this period are persisting. In the final analysis, theseare of an ideological-political nature--whether pertaining to the arena ofthe revolutionary movement, or of the party organisation, or of the applicationof theory to comprehend complexity of the present situation, or of proletarianrevolutionary shaping themselves to meet the present challenges. And theirconcentrated expression lies in the inability of communist revolutionariesin most countries to consummate the process of Party reorganisation in theirown country. It is this which has a crucial bearing in bridging the gap thatexists today between the demands of the objective revolutionary situationand the state of the subjective forces. This is an unusual gap. And its acutenessis brought to the fore in a world situation that is developing fast and becomingmore complex.

  Certain specific tasks, vis-a-vis revisionism and within the camp, in the  present situation

In fulfilling their tasks flowing from this overall situation, communistrevolutionary forces worldwide need to steadfastly uphold theirideological-political heritage (as basically summed up by the Great Debate)which has been further validated by recent developments. They need to presson determinedly with the implementation of the revolutionary line for theirrespective countries. These will be the basic steps they can take towardsfulfilling their responsibilities as leading contingents of the internationalproletariat. Their specific tasks in the present situation are as follows.

(i) With the collapse and political exposure of revisionist state systemand international network, sections of the old parties and activists aroundthem have been seeking the correct revolutionary understanding and organisationalcontact. It is important to recognise the significance of this phenomenon.Without loosening the ideological frame of the communist revolutionary line,but maintaining flexibility in handling, it is necessary to approach theseforces with a view to carrying them in the correct direction. In this consciousprocess, communists will have to interact with these forces to sort out andwin over the genuine cadres and activists, and demarcate from those who showno sign of fundamental rethinking on revolutionary lines.

(ii) Communists need to remember, however, that while the internationalrevisionist network is being dismantled and internationally organised revisionismis a spent force, revisionism as an ideological trend remains a main dangerto communism though its form is now different. The basic content of revisionismnow appears mainly in the form of opening up settled questions and issues.These are posed as if to give self-critical answers. However, these questionsare posed incorrectly, close to the way the imperialists are posing themto confuse and demoralise the world communist following. The fight withrevisionism is thus no less tough within the camp. (One such debate concernsthe collapse of the Soviet social-imperialist superpower, posed as a problemof socialism; whereas, it is an established fact in the communist revolutionarycamp that this superpower was imperialist, that it was among the main enemiesof world people, that it developed after the return of capitalism in theSoviet Union, and that its collapse pertains to the problems faced by imperialistpowers and the crisis of imperialism in general and social-imperialism inparticular.) Combatting this new form of revisionism, through a systematicideological- political exposure of what is in fact being done under coverof concern for communist rethinking on questions, is an important and continuingtask.
(iii) Imperialism has always strained to demoralise the advanced sectionsin the world revolutionary movement. One way it does this is to falsely project"failures" of socialism, to project socialism as an inhuman and inefficientsystem. Now it is trying to project the advantage to the U.S. superpowerdue to the collapse of the other, Soviet, superpower as a victory of thecapitalist system over the socialist, as if imperialism is now stronger.Whereas the fact is that social-imperialism's collapse is a positive circumstancefor the development of world revolution and a landmark in the progressivecrisis of imperialism and its decline. Fighting such false pessimism steadfastly,with correct and truthful projections of world events, is a continuing taskfor communist forces worldwide. It is part of the fight against imperialism.It is necessary to properly handle such falsely grounded pessimism too whenit enters as a wrong understanding within communist organisation.
(iv) Within the communist movement, there normally exists a tendency amongsome sections towards wrong thinking and wrong practice. If consolidatedthis exists as a deviation or a wrong line. Educating against wrong thinkingand practice, and conducting relentless struggle against a deviation or awrong line while trying to win over the genuine cadre who can be rectifiedis the normal practice of communists. Today there is a severe and sustainedattack against communists in the international arena. There is a concerteddrive by the imperialist powers to marginalise communists in the public mindworldwide. In these circumstances, and especially in view of the concernsof the struggling masses, it is imperative that we take particular care tojoin forces against the enemy and to deal with other sections of the campas fraternal forces (barring those sections from whom we wish to make a cleardemarcation ideologically-politically, as belonging outside the communistcamp). We should make the form of the public debate such that it goes beforethe masses as concretely posed issues and fraternal exchanges comprehensibleas differences among basically like-minded forces who are committed to promotethe interests of the broad mass of people and the glorious cause ofrevolutionaries.
(v) With communist organisations and parties of other countries, similarly,it is necessary when the enemy is attempting to isolate and fragment theworld communist movement, to make special efforts to institute suitable formsof contact, communication, and exchanges internationally, so that a basisis laid for a process of proletarian international coming together ideologicallyand in political solidarity. It is necessary today, more than ever, to identifywith struggles of the oppressed people worldwide, particularly strugglesled by communists in other countries, to support them, and to project themin the course of revolutionary activity.
(vi) To do all this, communist revolutionaries have to apply themselves withsingular zeal to consummate the process of Party reorganisation by developingthe basis and creating the conditions for it.


  

  APPENDIX: ECONOMIC PROFILE OF THE INTERNATIONAL SITUATION

  

  (January 1996. The following note was prepared as background material for  the above Resolution.) 

  World in recession

The imperialist crisis continues to darken in the nineties even as imperialistcountries have been at pains to herald every break in the dark clouds ofrecession as the start of a sunny future.

Imperialist institutions themselves acknowledge that Africa, after the decadesof decline, is doomed in the foreseeable future to further decline. LatinAmerica, which suffered negative growth and brutal cuts in living standardsin the 1980s, was promised recovery in the 1990s; instead, fresh crises (Mexico,Argentina, etc) herald further retrogression. Most dramatically, in Russia,a third of the population has sunk below the poverty line, 30 per cent ofthe work force are unemployed/underemployed, and real incomes plummeted 43per cent between 1991 and 1993, and continue to fall. Despite West Europeaninvestments in East Europe, the working people there are not much betteroff. All the South Asian economies are on IMF medicine with only stagflation,decline in production, rapid unemployment and price-rise, and heighteneddebt-servicing to show for their efforts.
In the strongholds of finance capital, too, the picture is bleak. The U.S.,it was declared, had emerged from a recession in 1994. But the growth rateof 3.1 per cent in 1994 is projected to 2 per cent or lower in 1996. Thepopulation below the U.S. poverty line, which rose from 32.4 million (13per cent) in 1989 to 39.3 million (15.1 per cent) in 1993, continues to risedespite the "recovery". Concentration of wealth and inequality of incomeare growing even more acute. Germany, thought to be the most vital Europeaneconomy, is facing declining growth and soaring unemployment (10 per centofficially, much higher unofficially). Japan, once considered the soundestof the industrial economies, has been trapped at near-zero growth for thelast few years, and the country's official Economic Planning Agency has stoppedusing the term "economic recovery" in its official assessments of the economy'sprospects.

The only region able to show considerable growth is East Asia. But even here,China is almost exploding with social contradictions, its working populationin a miserable condition. As for the other East Asian economies, they arethoroughly dependent on exporting to the recession-hit industrialised world,so their growth is not sustainable in the long-term.
The most profound symptom of the crisis (although imperialist spokesmen denyit that status) is the rate of unemployment. Even though official figuresare high--10 per cent in Germany (15 per cent in East Germany; 23 per centin Spain, 17 per cent in Ireland, 12 per cent in France, 9.7 per cent inBelgium, etc.--they understate the reality. First, they do not include thehuge numbers who, finding no jobs, give up hunting for them. Secondly, theyinclude as "employed" all those who have been forced to acceptpart-time/temporary/below-minimum-wage employment. It is estimated that 40per cent of the new jobs created in the U.S. in 1994 were temporary/"fake".Most significantly, unlike in the past, even as production picks up in individualcountries or firms, employment proper continues to go down (in 1994, whenthe U.S. was claimed to have emerged from the recession, there were 516,000lay-offs). The proportion of long-term unemployment has risen steadily. Itis now estimated that merely to keep unemployment from growing, a minimumof 2.5 per cent growth of GDP is required each year.

  Attempted solution of 1980s: Debt-expansion

In the 1980s the imperialist countries tried to pump aggregate demand intheir economies by fuelling a massive expansion of debt (consumer, corporateand national). However, given the underlying long-term recessionary trends,credit turned to seeking not the uncertain returns from manufacturing activitybut instead to speculative activity in shares, bonds, foreign exchange,commodities, and real estate. By the end of the decade a wave of consumer,corporate and bank bankruptcies signalled the crisis of the "bubble economy".

  Increased extraction from third world

The nineties thus began with a backlog of such a failed solution to theimperialist crisis. In addition, around that time, when the third world regimeshad been unable to service their debts (with the rise in U.S. interest ratessucking the capital away and constricting their scope for borrowing afreshto repay the earlier debt), the imperialist powers used the occasion to imposefresh terms on the crisis-ridden debtors. On the one hand standards of livingdeteriorated further, and on the other the imperialist countries got furtherscope to manipulate third world economic structures, policies and regimesto extract huge benefits for themselves.
The collapse of the Soviet social imperialist super power, and its replacementby the (far weaker) Russian imperialism, gave other imperialist countriesnot only greater elbow room to concentrate on the third world and East Europeancountries but also gave them the hope of further markets and windfall gainsin the erstwhile USSR. (However, in the past four years these hopes havebeen belied as the Russian economy and polity could not stabilise at all.)

  Contradictory pulls of solutions attempted

In the nineties, the imperialist economies have been plagued by inexorablyrising unemployment, an underlying failure of real net investment to pickup, chronic imbalances in external payments among the major imperialisteconomies, and consequent speculative volatility of such magnitude as canthrow the real economy (of production and employment) out of gear. Each problemcalls forth a set of policies that, in a market economy, contradict the policiesneeded to solve another problem. (For example, when the U.S. tries to reduceunemployment by boosting demand through reduction of interest rates thisleads to inflation; and thus, the widening of its external deficits, whichin turn exert upward pressure on the interest rates. The attempt to tackleinflation by various methods of wage suppression leads to restricted demand,and in turn to failure of investment--i.e., to recession. Similar contradictorypulls, as operate in its internal measures for tackling the economic problems,accompany its external measures too, as would be seen, for instance, whilediscussing some consequences of its trade bloc with Canada and Mexico.)

  Desperate measures to loot third world

The triple weapon of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB),and the new-born World Trade Organisation (WTO), are being used to exacteven more acute and sweeping measures from the third world. While these economiesare being forced open with the lever of their debt crisis, the ideologicalgloss being given to such prying open is the "comparative costs advantage"theory of the 19th century vintage. Under that theory, free trade worldwideis supposed to lead to the more efficient international division of labour.(It has long since been established that such "free trade" necessarily worksto accentuate the immense structural advantage of the countries with alreadymore advanced modes of production.)
Trade, loans and foreign direct investment on expropriative terms are amongthe major ways of looting the third world. These have now been joined byfast-moving speculative capital flows. These hot-money flows attempt to avoidtying up capital in uncertain long-term ventures. Even the type of foreigndirect investment being made by transnational corporations in the third worldtodayattempts to eliminate the risks involved in any longer term cycleof realization of surplus value by realising the surplus at the very start:For example, by grossly over-valuing machinery exports to the subsidiaryand by requiring a guaranteed high rate of return, the investment is recoveredright away (such as by Enron). This is also achieved by cannibalising atthrow-away terms, the existing productive base of the public sectorof the third world. Or, by obtaining at similar throw-away ratesalreadyproven or explored natural resources (minerals, oil, etc).
It is part of the desperation of the imperialist countries that they areprepared to take the political risks of savagely prying open the economiesof third world countries. The increasingly predatory, chaos-generating andsuppressive role of foreign capital in the third world is thus an indicatorof its uncertainty.

  Trade blocs

Finance capital has also accelerated resort to two other methods of shoringup its economies. First, despite the much-trumpeted creation of the WTOsupposedly to eliminate all barriers to free trade and so boost the worldeconomy, the major imperialist powers are hectically engaged in buildingtrade blocs. The European Union (EU) and the North American Free TradeAssociation (NAFTA) are already on the scene and others are in the offingas in the Asia Pacific region. However, trade blocs are essentiallyself-protective, restrictive formations, not engines of sustained expansion.Moreover, given the unevenness/inequalities among the partners of these blocs,they have generated their own crises. A large number of production unitsunder NAFTA have shifted out of the U.S. to exploit sweated Mexican labour,reduce the cost of production and thus regain the competitive edge ininternational trade. But this solution by American transnational corporationsis boomeranging on the U.S. economy via its impact on rates of U.S. unemploymentand the U.S.'s sluggish domestic demand. The attempt by various countriesto fall in line with the Maastricth terms in the EU has sharpened visiblythe contradiction between labour and capital throughout Europe.

  Technological "revolutions", narrow base

Similarly, a second method resorted to is the boost to investment by thetechnological "revolution" in electronics. This is a double-edged weapon.Unbacked by consumer demand (consequent to expanded employment and real incomesof the vast majority), the heavy net investments in this industry have hadto depend on the rapid dumping of earlier goods, in favour of the next generationof goods, by rich clienteles. There is thus a tendency for such investmentto peter out as it bases itself on a pinnacle in society. It has moreoverled to more labour being rendered surplus.

  Ecological devastation by imperialism.

Engels had described the animal kingdom's consumption, unmindful of the needsof regeneration, as the "predatory economy"; but desperate profit-seekingby imperialism has resulted in far worse ecological damage. And the damageto the globe could be irreparable in the coming half century unless it isarrested by the revolution of the world people.

  Diversion and suppression

Imperialist culture, blared out through electronic mass media, has been pryingopen such barriers as remain to its global sweep. Its values of brashconsumerism, individualism and competitiveness and its sapping of collectivehuman values, self-expression and self-assertion have a significant impacton middle sections in the third world. However, the basic sections in thethird world particularly the vast rural masses, are relatively protectedfrom this onslaught by their very lack of access to such media and by thepress of their real conditions.
Unable to warp people's view of their own condition, imperialism requiresthe thwarting of their aspirations to organise. This is to be accomplishedby a variety of means. These include significantly the smashing of whateverorganisation exists among the working class (its legal rights, its militantreaderships, its genuine/potential forms). From the other end, the samerequirement is to be fulfilled by introducing a plethora of foreign-financed"activist" NGOs to give a human mask to imperialism's monstrous face.
  Continuing mess

Still after all the pulling and pushing to redeem itself, and for that todevastate the democratic aspirations of the world people, imperialism isin an economic mess. Conflict among imperialists over the protection of eachimperialist power's "own industry" is thus a continuing concern of each.The USA is still the biggest economy in the world (two and a half times biggerthan Japan and producing a quarter of the world's goods and services withjust 5 per cent of the world's population). It has not been as yet replacedas the crucial market for international exports. It is a military super power,unlike Japan and Germany. Even so, its consistent massive balance of paymentsdeficits (particularly with Japan and East Asia) and the waning sway of thedollar are dramatic symptoms of its economy's underlying long-term weaknessesand decline. These have been the source of considerable friction as eachtries to pry open further the other's domestic market.
In a situation of uncertainty in the sphere of production and investment,reduction of political and technological barriers to capital flows throughoutthe world, and massive capital flows to the deficit-ridden U.S., imperialistcountries have been unable to control the volatility of capital movementsand stabilise their economies.

Recent evidence of the frenzied state of capital markets includes the collapseof the Mexican peso, collapse of Barings Bank, and the recent 30 per centcollapse and equally dramatic recovery of the U.S. dollar. These, in turn,are symptoms of the present fragility and anxiety of finance capital itself.