LATEST. DEVELOPMENTS IN THE INTERNATIONAL SITUATION
- (The. following is the text of a resolution adopted by. ‘the International Executive Committee of the Fourth International at neeting held in July.]
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“The “object of this resolution is not to examine the world situation as a whole, this having already been done in the political resolution passed at the last World Congress,* but rather to bring that resolution up.to date, in the light of the events that have taken place since the World Congress. and on this basis to see whether we have to modify our conclusions and our tasks.
The main question facing us arises from the present escalation of the Vietnam war by American imperialism. The escalation points dangerously towards an extension.of this war in the direction of a war against the People's Republic of China. Taking into account the setbacks suffered by the colonial revolution in this last . period, the most recent example of which is Ghana, we must examine whether a fundamental change in the world situation has taken. place in comparison with the preceding period. More precisely the question posed is whether the colonial revolution which started after World War II, which received an enormous impulse through the victory of the Chinese revolution and which has been.the main sector of the socialist revolution in the course of the past twenty years has exhausted its energy and entered a period of ebb and decline.
The Colonial Revolution
The almost continuous development of the colonial revolution during a period of several years was the expression of the will of the colonial masses who wanted to put an end to foreign domination of their countries-.and to their poverty, all of which stem from the economic and social underdevelopment of the colonial and semi- ~ colonial countries. The weakening of the colonial powers during and after World War II, as well as the greater weight of the workers states in the world made possible almost everywhere the conquest of political independence, as imperialism retreated either immediately or after bloody colonial wars, to indirect forms of domination enabling it to maintain the essential part of its economic position.
On the other hand, the native ruling classes then exercising political power were unable to stimulate an overall economic development of their countries, which in the end stimulated the process of permanent revolution, bringing to power, after the conquest of formal independence, bourgeois and petty-—bourgeois nation-
*See International Socialist Review, Spring 1966.
alist leaders who used the aroused mass movement and the pressure it generated to obtain more.or less important . concessions from imperialism. 4 ~ During the whole of this period the major confrontation took blade: between the old colonial powers and the colonial revolution. . With the exception of-some-Latin-American countries the great sweep of colonial revolt did not come up directly against the power of Anerican imperialism. On the contrary American policy at that time . was designed to achieve an alliance with the colonial bourgeoisie. It intervened in several of the colonial wars to pressure the old colonial powers to make concessions to the revolution; it did not hesitate to.side openly with Nasser against the British-French aggression during the Suez crisis. Its fundamental orientation was. that .of trying to canalize the colonial revolution in favor of "progressive" layers and governments which would maintain then-. selves within the framework of the world capitalist. market with the help of American. capital. Even the "neutralist" course adopted at . Bandung did not cause a fundamental change in Washington's course.
The change that has occurred followed in consequence of two experiences. On one hand the development of the Cuban revolution into a socialist revolution -- something unforeseen by Washington -has taught it the logic of permanent revolution, the danger of allowing the development. of a revolution even under the leadership of liberal and petty-bourgeois.forces running the risk of being: overthrown by the masses. The "Johnson doctrine," proclaimed at the time of the intervention in Santo Domingo, clearly means that — American imperialism will intervene militarily not only in the case where the masses led by Communist forces are advancing towards power (this decision has been theirs since the beginning of the cold war) but also where. these masses. are still under the leadership of non-communist "liberals. ae
On the other hand the incapacity of traditional nationalist leaderships that have come to power to resolve the economic and social tasks of the colonial revolution. led to a progressive loss. of support by the masses and therefore a.loss of their usefulness in the eyes of imperialism. The latter prefer the substitution :of. . open: neocolonialist agents who claim less concessions for their. services.
The direct confrontation between the colonial revolution and imperialism which was during the fifties a confrontation between the old colonial powers and this revolution has, since the experience of both the Cuban revolution and the Algerian conquest of independence, become more and more a global. confrontation between American imperialism and revolution. The closeness of victory of | the National Liberation Front in South Vietnam (bringing the risk . of a loss of all of Southeast Asia for imperialism); the tactical. weakening of the position of the workers states in consequence. of © transferring the Sino-Soviet conflict into state relations; theshamefully weak responses of the workers states' bureaucracies before the escalation of the imperialist aggression against Vietnam
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has led to a more resolutely offensive and aggressive policy on the part of Washington, a policy of support to the indigenous reactionary forces in the semicolonial countries. The succession of setbacks undergone by the colonial revolution can be fundamentally explained by this passing over to a general counteroffensive against the colonial revolution on the part of American imperialism in the face of mass movements without any international coordination, without an effective leadership or correct political orientation, without a leadership prepared to step in and replace the traditional nationalist leadership of the earlier stage which is now openly bankrupt. -
The initiative during this last period has entirely favored American imperialism. What objectives has it attained? What reactions have these setbacks produced in the mass movements? In no single sector of the colonial revolution which suffered a setback has the reaction been able to establish. a stable power. not even where the masses received the severest blows. Moreover nowhere in the colonial or semicolonial countries have the objective causes driving the masses to action time and again been removed.
; In Latin America it is in Brazil where the resistance and the revival of the mass movement is more difficult. Here the military junta passes from one crisis to another and can rely only on feeble support from the people. In Bolivia the attempt of the military. junta to destroy the mass movement has ended in failure. In Chile the Christian Democratic experiment of Frei clashes with the combativity of important sections of the masses (miners strike). If the Peruvian guerrillas seemed to have received grievous blows and suffered considerable losses,. and if also in Venezuela tne movement has suffered serious losses, the guerrillas ‘in Colombia and Guatemala continue their struggle with inevitable hazards, but without the governments of these countries being able to reduce considerably their capacity of action.
In Latin America the "reformist" policy of the Alliance for Progress has been exposed as bankrupt for a long time. The policy of force which has seen its greatest success in Brazil has not stabilized anything. The mass. movements continue to shake the unstable social equilibrium there. Thus although American imperialism has been able to register some very limited gains at great cost it has been unable to gain a decisive victory. Signs of regrouping and a recovery of the mass movements in several countries are beginning to appear.
‘It is in Africa that imperialism seems to have gained the most spectacular reversals of the situation. First of all we have to underline the overthrow of Ben Bella and then of Nkrumah and the temporary suppression of the left wing in Morocco. The segregationist regimes of Smith in Rhodesia and Verwoerd in South Africa are consolidating themselves. In a big section of Africa important political changes are now possible because of the extreme fragility of the old forms of rule and the steady decomposition of the old structures without anything new taking their place. To this must
be added the big weakness of the leaderships, cadres and political.. movements. In general ‘the evolution has been to the right. However, the events in Nigeria, the most important country in Africa, were first of all an attempt by the military to prevent a mass movement by attacking the feudal forces. After its initial success the new power was quickly challenged by the popular forces that continue to press their demands. In Uganda a similar attempt was made to eliminate the feudal forces. In Congo Brazzaville the attempt to eliminate the left-oriented regime failed: Moreover the fact that the revolutionary forces are far from being crushed. is shown in Algeria where Boumedienne's government was forced, Jess than one year after the coup d'état that brought it to power, to proceed toward important nationalizations. The regime continues to be submitted to the pressure of the masses principally expressed by ~ the UGTA [Union Générale des. Travailleurs Algériens].
The developments in the Near East show a maturing towards © decisive: tests in this part.of the world. The struggle between the: reactionary forces. and the progressive forces goes on in Yemen. ~The struggle. is. gaining in pintensity in Aden and in a number of — emirates of South Arabia. Iraq is still unstable and the struggle 7 of the Kurdish people continues. Finally and above ail in Syria the revolutionary movement led by the Syrian Baath party, after _purging.its right wing, has advanced a program of struggle against imperialism that is to a certain extent. anticapitalist, marked however by vacillations and conciliations bearing some similarity’ to the experience in Algeria at the time of the decrees of March 1963.
. In Asia imperialism secured its. greatest success in the =| victorious counterrevolution in Indonesia. We have given the reasons for this setback in the documents adopted at the last World Congress and the declaration made by the United Secretariat. The subsequent slaughter of hundreds of. thousands of Communists opened up new political possibilities for the new leaders. They came to agreement with the neocolonialists of Malaysia and then turned, to begging of aid from American, Japanese and West German imperialism. But: despite the significance of the new overtures, the agreement with” Malaysia remains secondary in face of the gigantic. economic ‘problems of unemployment , inflation and widespread misery existing in: Indonesia.
On the other hand the stability of the Indian subcontinent has been shaken. The divisions within the ruling Congress party have increased steadily since Nehru's death, reflecting the pressures arising from the failure to solve any of | the great problems facing India, as.well as the pressure now coming from the poor peasantry raising their. demands. 1966 saw the greatest mobilization of masses (Bengali movement against famine) that India has known since the. struggle for independence , ;
Finally in ‘that part of the world the struggle of the Vietnamese people against American imperialism is a testimony above all to the power. of revolution. despite the material weight of the. forces thrown against it. Thanks to its intervention imperialism = avoided the defeat that seemed imminent eighteen months ago. It has
no real prospects of victory and that is why the prospect of an escalation driven as far as a war against China has become an actual danger.
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The Workers States
_ The twenty-third Congress of the CPSU and the congresses of the other CP's in the Eastern European workers states confirmed and illustrated several points made in the resolution of the last World Congress of the Fourth International:
-- The general slowdown in economic growth in the past few years. So
~— The ruling bureaucracies seeking solutions in reforms of the ‘Liberman type; i.e., reforms that imply besides administrative adjustments, measures favorable to the bureaucracy at the managerial level of the enterprises.
-~ At the same time tendencies: have developed in several states for independent action separate from the other workers states both with regard to thé capitalist world ana to China (Rumania).
~~ Not only have we not seen any further | progress in "liberalization," but the twenty-third congress confirmed the line of the ruling circles of repressing even the most timid positions of the intellectuals and the university students in favor of democratic liberties. :
The end of the Khrushchev period corresponded to the end of a period in which "de-Stalinization" raised new reformist hopes concerning both material welfare and the democratization of Soviet society. Khrushchev's successors are attempting to adjust the situation on the economic level, but at the same time they attempt to tighten control politically and socially. They collide and will. continue to collide even more with the demands of the workers and with the more Polaticalized oppositional currents of intellectuals and students.
The Sino- Soviet controversy has not been taking spectacular forms during the past period, but has been developing to the advantage of the Soviet leadership. (Castro's attack against the | Chinese; the crisis within the Chinese leadership). But in this dispute the aspect of an "ideological conflict between parties" (which favored the decomposition of Stalinism) has tended to recede and give way to a full-blown "conflict between states" which brings grave consequences on the international level. It weakens the defense of. the Vietnamese revolution and encourages American imperialism to adopt. a more aggressive stance toward China.
‘In Cuba some’ serious economic problems as well as differences within the leading team have given rise to a certain bureaucratic development, of which Che Guevara's leaving and Castro's violent - attack’ against the Fourth International at the Tricontinental Conference. have been partially at least. the. objective expression. However! both. in this. conference's decisions and in the subsequent behavior of: the Fidelista leaders (Armando Hart's. speech at the twenty-third Congress of the CPSU, Castro's. speech against Frei and his: speech on May 1) it has clearly. appeared. that the. Fidelista current maintains its positions in favor of the revolutionary. road and of the socialist nature of the Latin-American revolution. In practice, in almost all Latin-American countries the followers of this current differentiate themselves from the neoreformist official CP's.
In China a serious process of purge and suppression of differences appeared and has struck successively at the cadres of the. army, the literary and scientific circles, the youth organizations and. the. party; at the present time it has culminated in the elimination of a core of leaders grouped around Peng Chen, a member of. the Political Bureau. From all evidence this is an interbureaucratic struggle, but like all conflicts within the bureaucracy in workers states without workers democracy, these necessarily reflect actual social. tensions in the country. Although we lack information about the actual content of the differences it is-highly likely that they not. only encompass problems related to internal life of the party and country (freedom of criticism for the ranks, agricultural policy, etc.) but also international policies (the tactical line toward the Soviet government; the line on the colonial revolution). The terrible defeat suffered by it in Indonesia cannot help but raise controversies within a party whose leadership shares in. large part the responsibilities of the leaders of the Indonesian Communist party in this disaster. Thé blind sectarian refusal of. a united front with the Soviet government for the defense of the Vietnamese revolution considerably weakens the positions of the” Chinese CP in Asia, and at the same time Chinese diplomacy has suffered important setbacks in Latin America (Castro's attack) and in Africa. The internal struggle has been taking place in such-a . way as if the Chinese bureaucracy would like to be on the safe: ‘side in order to crush an opposition before it adds to its strength ° through the setbacks to Mao's international policy as well as set= backs in internal politics which seem imminent.
The attempt to maintain a monolithic image before the. asses, the stifling of dissent by Stalinist- -type violence ‘and the frantic construction of the Mao.cult make impossible the free discussion of the actual differences and the difficult problems that the Chinese revolution faces at this stage and cannot but cause grave prejudice to the interests of the revolution.
- However, ‘the propaganda of the Chinese “leaders” against ‘the. formation of material privileges, such as those existing in the ~' Soviet Union during this internal struggle, testifies that despite the Mao cult and the avowal of Stalin there is not a pure and
simple reproduction of the dictatorship of Stalin and the pattern that developed in the USSR. China's objective position in the world, the aggressive preparations of American imperialism against her ; are in the same direction. By avoiding any declaration of solidarity with China in the face of the imperialist menace, the leaders of the Soviet bureaucracy encourage this aggression, the ultraleftism of the Chinese leaders on the question of the united front with the Kremlin and. their attempt at militarizing the whole of social life in China which is their bureaucratic attempt to secure the defenses of the revolution in the face of the threat from the Pentagon.
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The Imperialist States
The economic situation in the imperialist states has not changed fundamentally during the past period. The war in Vietnam continues to strengthen the American "boom" and at the same time weakens the stability of the dollar and the pound. It has also helped to overcome the recession in Japan. Signs are now appearing of the exhaustion of the West German "boom."
In the United States the continuation of the. escalation in Vietnam continues to provoke differences within the bourgeoisie and in their two major political parties. Certain important sections of the American bourgeoisie are aware of the fact that in the absence of a fundamental modification of the relations of force on a world scale, this escalation brings increasing hazards for American imperialism. While these differences are only tactical they make it difficult for the government to resort to a McCarthy-type repression against opposition at least on the scale of the fifties. The exis-tence of this difference in turn helps encourage the growth of a popular opposition against the war in Vietnam.
In this same period the principle new element has been the NATO crisis, made public by de Gaulle's decision to withdraw French troops from the "integrated" command. This decision is taken at a time when the situation within the capitalist world after the war has been modified on one hand because of the economic recovery in | capitalist Europe and on the other because of the lessening of the war danger in Europe in the immediate future. The NATO crisis may result in a certain reorganization of the forms of alliance in the capitalist world, adapting the relations of political-military force to the reality of the changed economic relations of force; but it is excluded, contrary to the wishful thinking of the workers state bureaucracies, that it will be dislocated let alone mean the creation of a "neutralist" Europe. The widespread "anti-American" feelings and moods can be used for certain political maneuvers within the different European states, but no European bourgeoisie can permit itself to "go it. alone," nor can the European capitalists allow the loss..of the military protection of the USA. It suffices to appraise
exactly ‘de Gaulle's policy to see: how even: he stops before certain limits’ (maintenance of the: Common Market , “keeping of French troops in* Gempeny
“The: new "developments in the internal situation in the various itiperialist countries have been many and’ ¢ontradictory.:In general they have helped encourage a politicalization of the young generation ina direction hostile to thé. reformism of the old traditional parties} this'is true both in America and in Western Europe. Even though the objective effects of this new movement are’ still-limited they have great importance for our movement and. ensure: its growth at this time. It is above all in the United States (and to a certain extent in Canada and Australia) that this politicalization has taken dimension with the development of a mass opposition against the war in Vietnam, an opposition that is growing and which begins to influence mass, currents and. essential. forces of American society (antisegregation movement as well as "liberal" fringes of the tradeunion. movenent) . oe, a > We must underline the importance of the antiwar movement in. the United States, which constitutes today one of the major centers of anti-imperialist struggle in the world and. whose strength has grown steadily during this past period. The interconnection between the colonial revolution and the. growing anti-imperialist mass force in the United States has become. evident. The antiwar movement in the United States stimulates in turn, anti-imperialist actions in other parts of: the world and radicalizing. the emancipation movement. of the American Negroes threatens the stability of bourgeois society in the United States.
In the European Communist parties the tendency toward a right-wing evolution has been accentuated. In Italy, at the congress of the Italian Communist party the center grouping adopted to all intents and purposes the political position of the right wing. ‘In France, since the Mitterrand campaign the leadership of the French Communist party has, if anything, increased the tempo of this evolution,: even if it conflicts with the attitude of its expected "allies" (censure motion against de Gaulle's policy .on NATO) in the field.of foreign politics and on domestic issues. (refusal. to .., elaborate a common program for the 1967 elections). It comes as. no. surprise then when the Finnish CP carries this evolution to the point of. participating in the bourgeois government, something which has not been seen in Europe since the Prague "coup" eighteen years . ABO. 8. - :
The evolution of the situation in Europe has had contradic-:. tory effects on the-Social Democracy. While the British Labour panty brought to power with a largely increased majority, is launching | into a policy of renewal of British capitalism at the expense of. the working class, which is beginning to show a growing resistance against such a policy (seamen's. strike) the Austrian elections put the Austrian Social Democracy into opposition .for the first time .... since the restoration of Austrian independence. This will have as a consequence the encouragement of the workers struggles despite the
resistance :of their leadership which is seeking to-confine and limit the: class struggle to their despicable parliamentary shadow boxing. In Germany after the failure of the Bad Godesberg orientation. (which envisaged accession to power through identification with the bourgeois parties) the Social Democracy has turned toward differentiation from. the bourgeois parties; :this can give a little more.elbow room for the development of the left-wing currents which have. been. _crushed- during the past several years. Meanwhile there is the serious risk. that the trade-union bureaucracy will yield without a struggle before the "emergency laws" (Nodstands-Gesetze) which would-be a serious blow to the workers movements.
IV.
_ The Balance Sheet of World .Developments
The balance sheet we can make out of the foregoing is that the colonial revolution despite the setbacks suffered in the last period is not at all exhausted and remains what it has been for the past twenty years -- the main sector of the world revolution. The defeats suffered have not been the’ result of the weakening of the combativity of the masses or the result of some modification of the objective conditions, but are due rather to the absence of a ‘qualified revolutionary leadership at a’time when American imperialism after some hesitation has taken a stance all the more aggressive since it has the advantage of the disunity of the two leading workers states. The increasing war danger does not come from a . decisive change in the relationship of forces but rather from the limited success that capitalism has had against revolution. It is this limit and especially the victorious resistance of the Vietnamese revolution that pushes capitalism onto the road toward escalation which unfortunately to date has had no vigorous and , united response. Dos
The cumulative. effect of the defeats suffered by the colonial revolution in the last period is not of such weight to neutralize the decisive influence that economic and social instability has on the mass movement. It is still in this sector where the most likely probability exists of highly explosive social and political conflicts.
However, the key to the world situation remains at present in Vietnam. It is the heroic resistance of the Vietnamese people against the imperialist aggression which largely neutralizes in the eyes of the colonial masses, the demoralizing effect of the setbacks suffered by the revolution on other fronts. It is the bogging down of the mobile forces of the American army in Vietnam which make it difficult for Yankee imperialism to intervene on a large scale on other fronts.
Up to now the setbacks ‘suffered by the colonial revolution have not at all led to a modification of the relation of forces on a world scale. But a defeat of the Vietnamese revolution by the
forces of imperialism could bring the gravest consequences. This is why the number one task of the world proletariat is the campaign to aid the Vietnamese revolution on every front and in every way.
Among the workers states one can see the first signs of a political renewal after ten years of relative stabilization, the. "§@e-Stalinization"; that is to say, the policy of self-defense of . the bureaucracy by means of limited reforms. Finally, in the. imperialist states, though the economic level and social.stability . have not shown any fundamental. damage there can also be seen signs of political renewal which promise much for the future. vo
With regard to the preceding years, when the colonial revo-. lution in particular had the most spectacular success it is the problem of leadership and of an International that show themselves. as the imperative necessity, to insure victories. The Vietnamese war at present stresses this need even more in face of the single leadership of imperialism (only contested in a small and limited “way) while the world's revolutionary mass movements suffer the burden and monstrous handicap of rival state leaderships in the | USSR and China to say nothing of the opportunist political orientation.of the traditional organizations including the mass CP's. under pro-Mao leadership. — oe
The imperative necessity to make up for this terrible lack breaks through with varying consciousness and intensity in mass movements and even in various centrist currents; this explains the origin of the Tricontinental Conference of Havana (January 1966) | whose object was to find the means to coordinate the efforts and | struggles of the peoples who are at present directly at grips with. world imperialism. rae
The conference at Havana revealed the difficulties on the road towards a coordination of the struggles on an international scale, showing the weight of the state apparatus of. the workers states and of the petty-bourgeois forces still leading the anti-~ — imperialist movement in most semicolonial and colonial countries. It confirmed once more how illusory is the hope to see these state bureaucracies and petty-bourgeois forces take a correct political position "under the pressure of the masses and the objective conditions." It confirmed that the revolutionary victories snatched from the enemy by surprise thanks to ‘objective conditions so favorable | that they could accomplish this even without a revolutionary “Marxist leadership represent an exception and not the rule and that the building of a new revolutionary leadership is the most important task of our epoch.
‘Finally, the main lesson that can be drawn from the latest vicissitudes of the world revolution confirms the message that the Fourth International has advanced since its foundation to the revolutionary vanguard; there is no lasting definitive victory against capital on an international scale without the building of a new revolutionary Marxist International.
Our Tasks
The conclusions of this analysis are evident; revolutionary Marxists must concentrate their efforts at the present stage on defense of-the Vietnamese revolution and on organization of maximum effective aid to this revolution. To secure the victory of this revolution; to check the aggression of American imperialism is the surest way of discouraging the most aggressive forces of this imperialism which dream of a-preventive attack against the Chinese nuclear centers. It is also the surest way of giving to new revolu- ‘tions in other parts of the world the possibility of consolidating without being forced immediately to face the certainty of a military intervention of Yankee: -imperialisn. _
This concentration of efforts implies in particular:
(1) The éontinuation of the efforts of revolutionary Marxists to involve in the struggle against the war of aggression of. imperialism ' in Vietnam the largest possible mobilization of the workers and “ anti-imperialist movements on the basis of a united front without exclusion and with every organization maintaining its right of... criticism within the united front.
(2) The © attempt to create everywhere where ‘they are not..yet “in existence ad hoc organizations of struggle against the war of aggression of American imperialism and of defense of the Vietnamese revolution, organizations able to respond immediately to new stages of the escalation as for example the recent: bombing of Hanoi: and: Haiphong. ae
(3) The attempt to involve progressively. in the struggle against the war of aggression the organized forces of the workers movement and particularly the trade-union movement on the basis | of a genuine:united front without any confusion of: program with. reformists, neoreformists,- Khrushchevites, Maoists, etc., but with a concentration of effort on the part of all militant forces in the _ Struggle against imperialist aggression. ;
(4) The attempt to: internationalize the. struggle against the
imperialist war of aggression, beginning with the countries or the movements which because of the similarity of objective conditions make possible such an effective international (above all the students “on a world scale and the youth organizations on a European scale).
(5) A strong denunciation of the shameful role played in the war by the workers bureaucracies; particularly a reformist bureaucracy like the British, which act as shameful agents of American imperialism;’ the Soviet bureaucracy which gives limited aid and | cannot find it possible to respond to the escalation even with the responses of its old leader Khrushchev. They are: the only ‘ones who have the technical means that would enable the heroic Vietnamese
fighters to stop the imperialist aggression; the Chinese bureaucracy whose refusal of a united front with the USSR for the defense of the: Vietnamese revolution makes the deception of the Kremlin much easier and. accentuates the purely verbal character of its denunciations of the "Soviet-American plot" against the colonial revolution.
Our primary slogans today:
_-+ For-a united front on a world scale of all forces of the workers and anti-imperialist movements against the American aggression in Vietnam.
‘For the defense of the Vietnamese revolution.
For maximum aid to this revolution.
Full. Text of Correspondence: