ECM 2012, Contribution of the Communist Party of Denmark [En.]

Communist Party of Denmark

Contribution to the Conference of European Communist and Workers' Parties

Bruxelles October 1-2, 2012

The theme of our discussion has been stated: The stance of the Communist and Workers' Parties in relation to the capitalist crisis: Assimilation or rupture? followed by a short elaboration. I think the question mark will have to be taken in a rhetorical sense: For Communists, at least, there can be really no question. Capitalism will not be able to solve its own crises, or rather: What solution capitalism will be able to bring about spontaneously or by deft management, pro-people or other, will be of a strictly temporary nature; sooner or later, the crisis will be back. Neutralizing capitalism's propensity to be haunted by regularly recurring crises is not possible by administrative means inside the framework of capitalism itself. I think we agree on this.

Neither can the debt crises of certain European countries be solved by the European Union or by European or international financial institutions. Theses crises are provoked by the relations of strength inside the European or global imperial systems, resulting from a striving of the dominant powers to shift the burden of the general economic crisis onto the shoulders of the populations of weaker or dependent nations. And the very institutions which supposedly should be able to remedy these consequences of the relations of strength and dominance inside the imperial systems were created in the first place to safeguard these same unequal relations and regulate them in the interest, not of the weaker but of the stronger parties.

There should be no doubt about this. But there is.

The illusions about the European Union and its ability to solve the problems brought about by the internal contradictions of capitalism are solidly and deeply rooted within broad sectors of the European populace. We saw this very clearly at the recent Greek elections. I shall leave a more thorough interpretation of the election results to our Greek comrades, but I think I am in accordance with their analysis when I point to the hopes pinned on the possibility of negotiating better terms with the EU as a decisive factor in the electoral outcome.

These illusions have done greater damage than an unfavourable electoral outcome in Greece. They are at the very root of the European Counterrevolution. Twice in the lifetime of a single generation, competition for markets and power in capitalist Europe had sharpened tensions between the leading nations to a point, where they erupted into world wars, causing death of millions of people and every conceivable kind of misery. The peoples of Europe learnt from this experience: In large numbers they opted against capitalism and its contradictions, for socialism - so much so that capitalist competition and profit mongering was banned from half the continent. This changed the face of the world and created an atmosphere of progress and optimism, which lasted for a couple of decades and forced capitalism to an aggressive response, known as the Cold War.

There was also a kind of forward flight response: The remaining capitalist powers of Europe could no longer afford their mutual rivalry, but had to cooperate and did so initially under the leadership of the one remaining imperial world power, the USA. This was not just a matter of political reasoning, but had more profound causes: The imperial powers of Europe had lost their empires at the same time as post-war concentration and expansion of capital made the small national markets of Europe less interesting for the monopolies. The response to this was the European Union.

Now the situation was reversed. The Union created the impression that capitalism was, after all, capable of solving the problems it had itself created: Capable of peace, of progress, of growth seemingly undisturbed by crises. This illusion spread across Europe, east and west alike, and had disastrous consequences: Why choose socialism with all the difficulties, hardships and inevitable failures involved in building a new society, if indeed capitalism was able to solve its internal contradictions? For the ordinary European, the choice of socialism was no question of idealism, of suddenly seeing the light, but a matter of necessity. A necessity, which, it would appear, was no longer there.

So, the will to defend socialism in Europe collapsed. And despite the disastrous consequences of the counterrevolution, the illusions of the stability of capitalism and of the benefits of the European Union remain. How hard these illusions are to break was seen in the Greek election. The majority of Greeks, Italians, Spanish, Irish continue to look to the Union for solution of the problems created by the Union.

There is hope, though. Iceland has been through a debt crisis comparable to that of Southern Europe, caused by the hazardous speculations of the so-called Finance Vikings. When the crisis was at its peak, the rulers of the island advocated that Iceland should join the Union and adopt the Euro. This would have meant disaster for the island; Iceland would have been in a predicament even worse than that of Southern Europe today. But Union and Euro were rejected by the Icelanders, who ousted their government and failed to recognize the debt. Iceland has now overcome this particular crisis; they "only" have the general capitalist crisis to cope with.

Denmark, by referendum, joined the Union in 1972 by a comfortable majority, but rejected the Euro in 1993 by the narrowest of margins and again in 2000, now by a larger but still modest 5 % margin. Today, polls tell us that no less than 70 % of the Danes are against the Euro. The experience of Southern Europe has not been wasted on my people, and we hear surprisingly little talk from political quarters nowadays about a third referendum.

Reality speaks for itself, and sometimes it is heard. But generally, somebody has to put it into words and show the way. In concluding, I should like to concur with Comrade Papariga on the necessity of an ideological struggle inside the Left and progressive movement, even inside the labour movement, in order to unmask the illusions caused by the apparent stabilization of capitalism inside the European Union.