Nature of the revolution the anti-imperialist anti-monopol y democratic front of struggle and the transition to socialism
The Greek people will be delivered from the bonds and effects of capitalist exploitation and of imperialist oppression and dependence when the working class and their allies bring about the socialist revolution and proceed to building socialism and communism. The internal developments that have taken place in Greece and the changes in its position within the imperialist system during the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s contributed to making the material conditions for socialism in Greece mature sooner. In our time, the time of the transition from capitalism to socialism, the struggle between the classes is directed toward the resolution of the primary contradiction between capital and labour. The revolutionary change in Greece will be socialist.
The driving force of the socialist revolution will be the working class as the leading force, the semi-proletarians, poor farmers and the most oppressed urban petty bourgeois strata of the people. Young people will play an active role in the struggle to build socialism. KKE seeks to convince other sections of the middle strata that their long-term interests are not served by retaining the capitalist system. That they should stand by the forces which are fighting for the socialist transformation. Even the neutrality of these strata will contribute to the transition to socialism. During the course of building socialism, illusions about capitalism and prejudices about socialism will dissolve.
The adverse international developments, such as Greece’s closer attachment to imperialist organisations and plans, have increased the influence of the international factor on the evolution and outcome of the struggle for socialism on the level of one country alone.
The interaction between the national and international does not refute the fact that internal contradictions and conditions play a major role in the revolutionary process. The revolutionary popular movement in each country should direct its fight toward fostering socialism, thus offering its own contribution to improving the international correlation of forces.
The popular labour movement in Greece should acquire the ability to weigh, to calculate in advance and to take advantage of all the opportunities which may appear in Greece for the transition to socialism. It must take advantage of positive developments which will contribute on an international level, but it must also adapt its action to conditions of long-term struggle. At every phase, a policy must be chosen which will increase the militancy of the working class, of the popular forces, and will lead to solving the problem of power.
There is an ever more urgent need for KKE through its policy to contribute to the shaping and maturing of the subjective factor for the socialist revolution.
The anti-imperialist anti-monopoly democratic line of struggle will contribute to rallying the great majority of the people to resist and to defend their interests against the aggressiveness of big capital. This is the road which will help change the correlation of forces, help to approach and, under certain conditions, to bring about the transition to socialism. More than in previous years, this struggle is linked organically with the struggle to overthrow capitalism. It incorporates the cracks that will undermine the foundations of capitalist domination. It will create the conditions necessary for the working class and their allies to gain political power.
The maturing of the conditions for socialist revolutionary change will not be the result of one action, but of a process with ups and down and various phases, shifts and turns which will be determined by the correlation of forces, by the readiness and will of the great majority of the working class and the other strata of people, by ideological, political and organisational preparation, by the strength and preparedness of KKE, and by the degree to which the ideas of socialism and communism are revitalised.
KKE, participating in and working for the development of the unity and the militancy of the anti-imperialist, anti-monopoly democratic front, at the same time maintains its ideological, political and organisational independence. It considers its immediate practical duty to be promulgating its programme openly among the people, putting forward the need and timeliness of the socialist transformation, and working actively for these issues to be understood.
The anti-imperialist, anti-monopoly front of struggle objectively expresses a broader social base, the interests of the great majority of the people who suffer the effects of actions by the transnationals and of Greece’s membership in imperialist organisations, the interests of the working class, working farmers, the middle strata in the city, and social movements which are fighting to uphold democratic rights and to reject imperialist plans that are to the detriment of the people and of peace. It rallies the working people in the sector of culture and science who resist the sub-culture, commercialisation and manipulation.
The process of creating the Front is carried out on the grounds of the struggle over the acute problems which are of concern to the people and the country, the political and ideological confrontation with the country’s oligarchy, the multiform mechanisms of its state, and with the governments and the political forces which represent its interests or consent to serve them. The power of the Front lies in the leading role of the working class and its Party, in its unity of action, in its alliance with the social strata that fight in an anti-imperialist, anti-monopoly direction.
The Front, in its initial stage, starts out as a coalition of mainly social forces around anti-imperialist, anti-monopoly demands and goals, around partial fronts of struggle which mobilise various sections of the working people into a united strong popular current. The more the organisation and political experience of the working class and the other popular strata and the class struggle grow, the greater the possibilities for the anti-imperialist anti-monopoly front to accomplish corresponding changes in the political correlation of forces.
KKE seeks to co-operate with the political forces that accept the need for conflict between imperialism and the transnational monopolies, that defend the rights of the working people, and the country’s popular sovereignty and independence. Collaboration may be expressed in the form of co-operation, multiple coalescences and common action on certain specific problems, on which agreement has been reached. The experience of common action will show the degree to which it can expand and collaborate on other anti-imperialist, anti-monopoly goals, and the degree to which it can then evolve into a political agreement.
KKE sees other parties not only on the basis of their proclamations, programme and goals, but also looks at how they defend the vital interests of the working people and support their struggles. Political collaborations, in order to be stable, in order to provide thrust and political dynamism to the anti-imperialist anti-monopoly front of struggle, must rest on existing social processes and coalescences, and develop the alliance between social forces. They must rely on struggles, recognising in practice the power of the popular movement. They must combat the splitting and undermining plans of the ruling class and its allies.
The Front embraces the place of work and residence. It will penetrate into key sectors so as to claim victories, to contain the counter-offensive and reaction by its class and political adversaries. It will exert influence on the armed forces and the security corps so as to weaken efforts to suppress and stifle the popular will.
In the course of the struggle and to the degree that its anti-capitalist nature deepens, it will take on the features of a revolutionary popular front organised from below and from above, capable of rallying all the broader popular masses to action. It will take on quality features higher than the mass movements and their organisations.
The organs of this front will be the headquarters of the struggle on every level, the organisers, the leaders of tough class conflicts. They will not be restricted to exerting pressure and control over the bourgeois state and the other bourgeois institutions. They will mobilise the people, so as to reverse anti-popular choices, not to bow to those above. Through the struggle they will shape new popular institutions, in conflict with the urban institutions that legalise the dictatorship of the monopolies. They will train and prepare the people to utilise all forms of struggle and to be in a position to change them rapidly, according to developments. The leading bodies of the anti-imperialist anti-monopoly popular front, the institutions engendered by the people, which appeared during the confrontation and class struggles will constitute the seeds of the new political power of the working class and its allies.
The driving force of the socialist revolution will be the working class as the leading force, the semi-proletarians, poor farmers and the most oppressed urban petty bourgeois strata of the people. Young people will play an active role in the struggle to build socialism. KKE seeks to convince other sections of the middle strata that their long-term interests are not served by retaining the capitalist system. That they should stand by the forces which are fighting for the socialist transformation. Even the neutrality of these strata will contribute to the transition to socialism. During the course of building socialism, illusions about capitalism and prejudices about socialism will dissolve.
The adverse international developments, such as Greece’s closer attachment to imperialist organisations and plans, have increased the influence of the international factor on the evolution and outcome of the struggle for socialism on the level of one country alone.
The interaction between the national and international does not refute the fact that internal contradictions and conditions play a major role in the revolutionary process. The revolutionary popular movement in each country should direct its fight toward fostering socialism, thus offering its own contribution to improving the international correlation of forces.
The popular labour movement in Greece should acquire the ability to weigh, to calculate in advance and to take advantage of all the opportunities which may appear in Greece for the transition to socialism. It must take advantage of positive developments which will contribute on an international level, but it must also adapt its action to conditions of long-term struggle. At every phase, a policy must be chosen which will increase the militancy of the working class, of the popular forces, and will lead to solving the problem of power.
There is an ever more urgent need for KKE through its policy to contribute to the shaping and maturing of the subjective factor for the socialist revolution.
The anti-imperialist anti-monopoly democratic line of struggle will contribute to rallying the great majority of the people to resist and to defend their interests against the aggressiveness of big capital. This is the road which will help change the correlation of forces, help to approach and, under certain conditions, to bring about the transition to socialism. More than in previous years, this struggle is linked organically with the struggle to overthrow capitalism. It incorporates the cracks that will undermine the foundations of capitalist domination. It will create the conditions necessary for the working class and their allies to gain political power.
The maturing of the conditions for socialist revolutionary change will not be the result of one action, but of a process with ups and down and various phases, shifts and turns which will be determined by the correlation of forces, by the readiness and will of the great majority of the working class and the other strata of people, by ideological, political and organisational preparation, by the strength and preparedness of KKE, and by the degree to which the ideas of socialism and communism are revitalised.
KKE, participating in and working for the development of the unity and the militancy of the anti-imperialist, anti-monopoly democratic front, at the same time maintains its ideological, political and organisational independence. It considers its immediate practical duty to be promulgating its programme openly among the people, putting forward the need and timeliness of the socialist transformation, and working actively for these issues to be understood.
The anti-imperialist, anti-monopoly front of struggle objectively expresses a broader social base, the interests of the great majority of the people who suffer the effects of actions by the transnationals and of Greece’s membership in imperialist organisations, the interests of the working class, working farmers, the middle strata in the city, and social movements which are fighting to uphold democratic rights and to reject imperialist plans that are to the detriment of the people and of peace. It rallies the working people in the sector of culture and science who resist the sub-culture, commercialisation and manipulation.
The process of creating the Front is carried out on the grounds of the struggle over the acute problems which are of concern to the people and the country, the political and ideological confrontation with the country’s oligarchy, the multiform mechanisms of its state, and with the governments and the political forces which represent its interests or consent to serve them. The power of the Front lies in the leading role of the working class and its Party, in its unity of action, in its alliance with the social strata that fight in an anti-imperialist, anti-monopoly direction.
The Front, in its initial stage, starts out as a coalition of mainly social forces around anti-imperialist, anti-monopoly demands and goals, around partial fronts of struggle which mobilise various sections of the working people into a united strong popular current. The more the organisation and political experience of the working class and the other popular strata and the class struggle grow, the greater the possibilities for the anti-imperialist anti-monopoly front to accomplish corresponding changes in the political correlation of forces.
KKE seeks to co-operate with the political forces that accept the need for conflict between imperialism and the transnational monopolies, that defend the rights of the working people, and the country’s popular sovereignty and independence. Collaboration may be expressed in the form of co-operation, multiple coalescences and common action on certain specific problems, on which agreement has been reached. The experience of common action will show the degree to which it can expand and collaborate on other anti-imperialist, anti-monopoly goals, and the degree to which it can then evolve into a political agreement.
KKE sees other parties not only on the basis of their proclamations, programme and goals, but also looks at how they defend the vital interests of the working people and support their struggles. Political collaborations, in order to be stable, in order to provide thrust and political dynamism to the anti-imperialist anti-monopoly front of struggle, must rest on existing social processes and coalescences, and develop the alliance between social forces. They must rely on struggles, recognising in practice the power of the popular movement. They must combat the splitting and undermining plans of the ruling class and its allies.
The Front embraces the place of work and residence. It will penetrate into key sectors so as to claim victories, to contain the counter-offensive and reaction by its class and political adversaries. It will exert influence on the armed forces and the security corps so as to weaken efforts to suppress and stifle the popular will.
In the course of the struggle and to the degree that its anti-capitalist nature deepens, it will take on the features of a revolutionary popular front organised from below and from above, capable of rallying all the broader popular masses to action. It will take on quality features higher than the mass movements and their organisations.
The organs of this front will be the headquarters of the struggle on every level, the organisers, the leaders of tough class conflicts. They will not be restricted to exerting pressure and control over the bourgeois state and the other bourgeois institutions. They will mobilise the people, so as to reverse anti-popular choices, not to bow to those above. Through the struggle they will shape new popular institutions, in conflict with the urban institutions that legalise the dictatorship of the monopolies. They will train and prepare the people to utilise all forms of struggle and to be in a position to change them rapidly, according to developments. The leading bodies of the anti-imperialist anti-monopoly popular front, the institutions engendered by the people, which appeared during the confrontation and class struggles will constitute the seeds of the new political power of the working class and its allies.
e-mail:cpg@int.kke.gr