The SACP was honoured by the invitation to attend the first "Communist University of Workers and Students" in over twenty years. This event was convened by the Communist Party of Britain (CPB) from 13-15 June 2003 at the University of London. The primary aim of this "university" was to provide a platform for communists and other marxists to reflect on the current global situation, particularly in the wake of the Iraqi invasion by the US and UK governments. In our South African language, this was a political school drawing in members of the CPB, left trade unionists, independent marxists and others.
This university was convened in the wake of what were possible the biggest mass demonstrations and mobilisation in the UK and Europe in the post Second World War period. In February, the Communist Party of Britain played a leading role in mobilising and organising an estimated 2 million people to demonstrate against the war. The secretary of the Stop-the-War campaign is a leader of the CPB. So this communist university was an opportunity to reflect on these successes, and debate how communist, worker and other left parties should seek to build on this massive mobilisation towards the formation of a durable global anti-imperialist movement. The challenge posed for communist and other progressive forces at the "university", was that of seeking to weld the anti-globalisation protests and the Stop the War campaign into laying foundations for an anti-imperialist movement.
Participating in this communist university provided another important international platform to reflect together with other communists on the global situation from a consistently Marxist perspective - a very refreshing exchange in itself - and also to interact with communists from the Sudan, Iraq, Cuba, Greece, Iran, the UK, India and South Africa. The presence of senior leadership from the Iraqi Communist Party - who are already back in the country after decades of exile - provided a unique insight into developments in Iraq at the moment. It is clear that there is inevitable and growing resentment amongst the Iraqi people towards the occupation of their country. The Iraqi people are clearly rejecting manoeuvres by the US occupying army to install a puppet regime, and the Americans might get more than they bargained for.
Iraqi Communists
What is heartening is that the Iraqi Communist Party is emerging as one of the
more organised political formations in the post-Saddam Iraq, thus placing it
in an important position to impact on the transition there. At the moment, there
is chaos in Iraq, with a serious breakdown of law and order. The US seems primarily
concerned with securing oil installations and other assets important to their
imperialist designs, and leaving the rest to be policed by the army, principally
through repression. This in fact sets the scene for a very long struggle between
the US and the Iraqi people, whose outcome may in the end not favour the imperialist
agenda, unless the US embarks on even more severe repression, thus pre-empting
any emergence of a democratic order. This underlines the need for continued
mobilisation in support of the position of the Iraqi Communist Party for a national
conference on the transition, convened by the United Nations and not the US
and UK.
The British Labour Party and the failure of Blair's Third Way
The Communist University was seen by the CPB as the first step towards repositioning
and strengthening the Party in the wake of new opportunities provided by the
mobilisation around the war and growing dissatisfaction within the ranks of
the labour movement. It is clear that the CPB has a long way to go, but, as
the Chinese would say, a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first mile.
To this end, discussions and debates at the university highlighted some new
trends beginning to emerge not only in the British labour movement, but also
in the rest of Europe and the US.
It seems as if the Cold War "pact" between western governments and their labour movements is beginning to unravel for two reasons. Firstly, the neo-liberal attack on the welfare state, rolling back some of the gains and protection that the working classes in these countries had secured, is beginning to expose them to the harshest realities of the capitalist market. These include retrenchments, rising unemployment, casualisation and privatisation of basic services on an unprecedented scale. For instance, there is increasing relocation of production capacity to some of the underdeveloped countries, which has a huge negative impact on these working classes.
Secondly, now that the Soviet Union no longer exists, it seems as if the "compromise" between capital and labour that was so necessary to shield these working classes from "Soviet Communist influence" is also falling apart. Advanced capitalism needs this working class less as an ally than a producer of surplus labour. This situation seems to be leading to the replacement of the old "Cold War" leadership at the helm of many trade unions, with a younger and more radical leadership. Consequently, many communists - who before were actively marginalised and removed from senior trade union positions - are now being elected into senior positions. The emerging younger workers and leadership has less experience of trade unionism and trade union life during the cold war. This will not automatically translate into sympathy with socialism, but it provides new opportunities for socialist propaganda and education in the trade union movement. The challenge - as identified at the communist university - is how to exploit this situation in order to rebuild a left trade union movement in Europe.
Back to basics
In confronting this challenge, debates at the "university" also focused
on the need for communists to go back to the basics. Possibilities of a radical
labour movement, the growing aggression of imperialism, and growing anti-imperialist
sentiment amongst ordinary people, all point to the need to revisit communist
strategies in the current period. To this end, there was emphasis on focusing
communists on the issue of building the widest possible alliances with progressive
forces, cadreship development of a new kind, and communist activism through
campaigns that are focused on the immediate needs of ordinary people and the
condition of the working class.
Battle of ideas
In carrying out these tasks, the area of the battle of ideas becomes key. Imperialism,
particularly after the end of the Cold War and even more so since September
11, has deepened its control over major national and global media institutions.
This means that the left generally has to devise a much more systematic strategy
to try and counter this.
The aim of capitalist and imperialist media, as we reminded ourselves at the "university", is nothing but a vehicle for the dominant ideology whose purpose is to conceal the contradictions of contemporary global society, and reproduce capitalist hegemony. To this end, there was wide canvassing of the possibility of seeking to co-ordinate and harmonise media activities and institutions in the hands of all communist and progressive forces globally. The internet, amongst other things, provides an important weapon in this regard, as well as other existing communist and left newspapers and radio outlets.
Whilst this is going to be a long and hard struggle, the "university" began to reflect the extent to which there is growing confidence once more amongst communist and other progressive forces. Perhaps this might also be an indication that we have now at least overcome the blow of the collapse of the Soviet Union and it is time to seriously start rebuilding.
Communists and Religion
Another important topic touched upon at the "university" was that
of religion and communism. Whilst reaffirming our general understanding and
characterisation of religion, the one major conclusion reached was that this
is an important site of struggle, with religion being a living material force
in our societies. More important was the conclusion that imperialism is the
biggest manipulator of religion, particularly in developing countries, in order
to advance its goals. For example, if it suits imperialism, it would sponsor
and reinforce religious fundamentalism (e.g. the mujahadeen in Afghanistan in
order to fight the Soviet Union), but at the same time would use its very own
product (right-wing fundamentalism) as an excuse to attack countries.
The US is the leading sponsor of right-wing evangelical movements, particularly in developing countries, as a way of depoliticising the mass of the people and defeating progressive movements. South Africa itself is witnessing the growth of these evangelical missions, centred around "popular" individual preachers, some of whom urge our people not to respect any worldly authority (including legitimate governments), but to respect only "God". It is clear that this is a matter that requires the attention of all progressive forces. The view at the university was the need to work with progressive religious forces (e.g. liberation theologians and religious movements), and to deepen the struggle for the separation of state and religion. This is a matter that all communist parties will have to continue sharing experiences on, as a critical site for the battle of ideas and anti-imperialist struggles.
Aluta continua
Difficult as the struggles that lie ahead will be, it is clear that the consolidation
of imperialist dominance is not without its contradictions. The Washington Consensus
has clearly failed as poverty is deepening in the world. The Blairite "third
way" is also failing, as everywhere it is nothing more other than an attempt
to give neo-liberalism a human and democratic face. There is also a resurgence
of the left in Latin and South America, its most recent expression being the
Lula victory in Brazil and growing mass movements for people's power. There
are still in existence strong communist parties in the former Soviet bloc, some
of whom are making impressive electoral gains. All these, as well as some restlessness
in the European labour movement and the struggles for the renewal of the African
continent, provide a new platform for rebuilding the communist movement. The
anti-war movement provides an immediate platform around which to launch this
rebuilding process.
The anti-war mass struggles have also managed to assist the left to break out of the post-September 11 "You are either with us or with terrorism" paradigm. These mass struggles have enabled the left to say we are neither for imperialism nor terrorism but we are for a just, equitable world order. And this is increasingly finding resonance with the mass of the people throughout the world.
We congratulate the CPB and its General Secretary, Cde Rob Griffiths for convening this communist university and providing yet another platform for communists to share experiences and ideas. Let a thousand communist universities bloom!
Source: Umsebenzi - South African Communist Party