ECM 2012, Contribution of Communists People's Left – Communist Party, Italy [En.]

Contribution of comrade Marco Rizzo, Secretary General of the “COMMUNISTS PEOPLE'S LEFT – COMMUNIST PARTY” Central Committee (Italy) at the European Communist Meeting - Brussels, October 1-2, 2012

Dear comrades,

let me greet, on behalf of the Italian party “Communists People's Left – Communist Party”, the brotherly Communist Parties attending this meeting, thank its organizers and wish all the participants a fruitful work.

The further deepening of the systemic crisis of capitalism is a matter of fact. We have explained that the public debt is not the cause of the crisis, but rather the consequence of its ripening. The actual causes of the crisis are deep inside the nature of the capitalist mode of production and are the result of its contradictions outbreak. Their quantitative effects, due to cyclical crises of overproduction, the universalized competition, the fall of the profit rate, the persistent anarchy of production, have accumulated up to the extent of turning into a crushing qualitative effect, into capitalism to be no more able to restart the cycle of accumulation and expanded reproduction without an unacceptable destruction of social wealth, wars, and unbearable restrictions of salaries and social services. In other words, the capitalist mode of production has run out its historical role and, if it will not overthrown, may drag the humankind into a planetary catastrophe.

Competition among imperialist countries for the control of world resources and wealth is getting deeper and more aggressive, in the attempt to ensure an eventual restart of the accumulation cycle and a stabilization of the profit rate only for themselves. The recent war in Libya and today's armed provocations against Syria and Iran are a clear proof of that. The inter-imperialist competition, the feverish race for commercial and financial dominance is one of the main causes of the public debt, the dismantling of the social services system, the increasing impoverishment of the European peoples.

Typical inter-imperialist contradictions among countries with different economic strength are acting also inside the EU. Economically stronger countries are mercilessly plundering the weaker ones. Construing that as a conflict between North and South, as some opportunistic “left” parties pretend it to be, is false and wrong. Latitude has nothing to do with that!

The European Union is a kind of "clearing chamber" of the internal contradictions of European imperialism, where national bourgeoisies of Europe try to solve those disputes among themselves that in the past regularly led to armed conflicts, on one side, and plan the exploitation and the oppression of the peoples, on the other side. In other words, it is like a negotiation table on the repartition of wealth.

At the same time, the EU is the fig leaf used by national bourgeoisies, that bear the main responsibility for the robbing of their own peoples, to mask or legitimate their policy against the people, as if somebody else imposed it from above for some allegedly objective reasons.

The working class and the working people of Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal first are the victims of their own national bourgeoisie, and then, at the same time, of the bourgeoisie of other more powerful European countries.

The bourgeoisie of Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal are the first culprits of the crisis situation in their countries and are responsible for the mugging of their own peoples on the same level with the bourgeoisie of the European powers.!

Approaching the issue of the EU institutions as a matter of national sovereignty, as the opportunists do, is a big and serious mistake, because it removes any responsibility from the national bourgeoisie. This issue has to be correctly considered from the point of view of the class struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, on one side, and the struggle for the repartition of wealth and dominance within the imperialist bourgeoisie, on the other side.

To the logic of the "restoration of sovereignty" Communists should oppose the logic of proletarian internationalism and class solidarity, the logic of the struggle to overthrow the dominance of the bourgeoisie of any nationality and in any country.

From a coherent communist point of view no wink to the class enemy and its institutes is acceptable in terms of even a temporary freezing of the class conflict in the name of "saving the country from the crisis" which the working class is not responsible for. This way it would not the country to be saved, but only the rule of capital. On the opposite, the bourgeoisie should be pursued and nailed to its responsibility by a relentless struggle to 360 degrees, aimed at overthrowing its dominance and establishing the workers' and people's power.

This goal definitely requires a break with the international institutions of the imperialist bourgeoisie. Communists should firmly fight for their countries to leave the EU, NATO and the illegitimate Hague International Tribunal, aiming at their final dismantling, along with other tools of the imperialist oppression, the IMF and the WTO. UN have long ago turned into a body of ratification of the imperialist military aggressions masked as humanitarian interventions and also need an urgent revision of its representational and operational criteria and decision-making mechanisms.

We must reject the opportunistic position of European Left Party and firmly fight against it. The European Left Party was founded with the purpose to divide the communist movement in Europe and neutralize it, attracting its least ideologically firm part to positions of actual conciliation with the European Union. ELP is nothing but the left crutch of the European capitalism.

The European Union is the home of industrial and financial capital, built to ensure its own dominance and at its home it will not allow anyone to carry out any reform to the benefit of the people! We have to explain this simple truth to the working people for them to understand that the European Left Party is deceiving them by the illusion these European capitalist institutes would be reformable and within them a softening of their anti-people policy would be possible. Even a partial support of this lie is a help for capitalism! Therefore, we would like to address those Communist parties that participate in the ELP as "observers": there is nothing to observe! The ELP is a fig leaf of capitalism! Do not help the allies of the class enemy, do not give them the dignity of a partner, separate from them!

Regard to bourgeois national institutes, our position is equally clear and coherent: we do not believe in parliamentarism, or in the possibility of "peaceful" ways to socialism through reforms. Such illusions, peculiar to the 2nd International reformism and modern opportunism as well, are based on the false premise capitalism would be improvable and changeable from the inside to the extent it will turn into its opposite, into socialism. Our firm objection to this conception comes from our scientific Marxist-Leninist worldview and the study of the history and experience of the workers movement.

Any social-economic formation is historically determined. It arises, develops, decays and dies, carrying in its womb the embryo of the new formation that will replace it. History shows that its birth is not automatic or painless. The birth of a new formation is always traumatic. Old production relations and the correspondent legal and political superstructure, that have become an obstacle to the further development of the productive forces, are overthrown by the new emerging class which paves the way for new production relations and imposes by the use of strength the correspondent new superstructure. Of course, the old ruling class does not give its power up, but tries to resist.

Therefore, the change of ruling class requires the use of strength. History does not show different ways of revolutionary breaks. Capitalist relations of production have been forming during the decay of the feudal mode of production, but became dominant only after the revolution, headed by Cromwell in England and the Revolution of 1789 in France. Socialism arose from capitalism decomposition, but became a dominant mode of production only through the radical overthrow of the political power of the bourgeoisie by the Great October Socialist Revolution, the Chinese Revolution, the Cuban Revolution and so on. In other words, there are no historical examples of “peaceful” and non traumatic establishment of new relations of production.

We do not reject the parliamentary struggle, but according to Lenin we understand the parliament and the other bourgeois elected bodies only as a tribune that gives more opportunities to promote and spread the Party's program among the masses, and not as the main weapon in the struggle for social transformation. Where we can, we must and we want to offer communist electoral rolls, making every effort to make workers acquainted with our program and vote for our candidates.

We strongly condemn the fraudulent majoritarian electoral laws, the bipolar system, any percentage threshold, invented by the ruling class to deprive the proletariat of even the formal rights of the bourgeois democracy. Our position is to re-establish the pure proportionality electoral system on the principle "one head, one vote".

Our understanding of elections excludes any participation in “democratic” or left-centrist coalitions. Once more we would like to repeat that we are not compatible with any bourgeois, left-centrist or right-centrist, coalition as they both represent the political expression of capitalist interests.

Our participation in the elections and our presence, if our candidates would be voted, in the elected bodies of any level, but non in the government or the other business committees of the bourgeoisie, can take place only to the extent if they really help to build the Party and promote our ideological and political positions, as the access to a tribune.

We have no illusions about bourgeois institutions. We are not interested in the alchemy of coalitions with bourgeois parties, do not aim at algebraic electoral alliances, whose numbers reflect only the addition of political weakness.

The only alliance we want to develop is the social alliance of the people's strata, even of certain petty-bourgeoisie elements, proletarized by the monopolistic capital and the crisis, with the working class with the purpose to create around it a working social block, opposite to the bourgeois one, able to become the driving force of the socialist revolution in Italy.

The spine of the block, in our opinion, should be the United Work Front, a mass organization that could regroup, on the basis of a class platform, the largest number of workers, regardless of their party or trade union membership, able to develop mass struggles and to act as a transfer belt between the workers block and the Party, fulfilling at the same time the function of human reserve of the Party.

Only mass struggles, not only in the halls of parliaments, but in squares and streets, in all work places, in schools, universities and other places of culture and art production, are able to make a revolutionary situation emerge.

We must return to the working class, disoriented and betrayed by the opportunists, its class consciousness and its central place in society. We must help the working class to get back even its human dignity. Today, the working class attracts one minute of attention only if someone of the workers fired out slashes his wrists during a live broadcast or sets himself on fire in the street. We do not need such demonstrations of desperation and defeat, that are only able to arouse a pity's tear of some bourgeois ladies. We do not need compassion, we need a militant mood to fight, to really make — as Marx said, - “the ruling class shake at the thought of the proletarian revolution”.

We are working to develop class alliances and people's mobilization, connecting the struggle for the working class' immediate interests and daily needs with the strategic goal of overthrowing capitalism and establishing socialism.

The right to a steady and safe employment, to a decent salary and pension, to health, to housing, to education and culture, to personal and collective safety are fundamental rights of the human beings that capitalism restricts or cancels through the criminal policy of the EU and its institutes. The struggle for these rights today means fighting against the European Union with the strong conviction that Europe of peoples, solidarity and co-operation can only rise from the ashes of Europe of monopolies and banks.

Withdrawal from the EU and the euro currency system, one-sided cancellation of the debt, expropriation of monopolies and banks, workers' power, centralized planning of the economy under the control of the people. These are the goals our Party is calling on the working class to fight for, as the only way to overcome the crisis and permanently achieve its fundamental rights.

The development of the working class' social alliances and mass struggles, and the emerging of favorable conditions for the revolutionary socialist transformation of society are biunivocally linked to the existence of a strong Communist Party, able to successfully direct the class struggle and lead the working class to the fulfillment of its historical role. On one side this is the result of the effective political work of the Party, on the other side this is a condition for the further strengthening of the Party. We cannot wait for a perfectly organized on paper party before starting to work in reality. We are not allowed by times and the understanding that a communist party ceasing to fight will not strengthen, but soon turn into something else.

The party and its cadres politically and organizationally grow and become stronger with the increase of the struggle, just as the struggle grows and becomes more effective with the strengthening of the Party.

This also makes our Party different from those in Italy are talking of reconstructing the communist party and there they stop. We are not only discussing about, we are reconstructing the Communist Party in deeds and not in words, despite the enormous difficulties of this undertaking! We are reconstructing the Party by calling on the workers and the people to rally for clear and concrete goals. We are reconstructing the Party by the efforts and sacrifice of our comrades, walking in the forefront of social and trade union struggle. We are reconstructing the Party by the consistency and sincerity of those, who think what they say, say what they think and do what they say.

These considerations lead us to tell of the situation of the communist movement in Italy.

The leaders of the largest communist party of West Europe, the Italian Communist Party, bear very heavy responsibility for the consolidation of reformism, revisionism and opportunism, deviations that led to its self-disbanding and currently still exist inside the International Communist Movement. We admit it with sincere regret and self-critical spirit. We are talking of a long-term degenerative process of the ICP, started since 1944, that we still have to explore deeper.

The Party of Communist Refoundation and the Party of Italian Communists, established after the ICP self-disbanding, have clearly failed in the attempt to recreate the communist party in Italy.

Not guided by the theory and the ideology of Marxism-Leninism, which is not mentioned neither in their program (we doubt they have one, because on their sites there is even no trace of it), nor in their Statute, both parties show an almost exclusive parliamentary calling and activate only when elections.

The Party of Communist Refoundation, that openly rejected the principle of democratic centralism, definitely is not a Leninist-type party. Characterized by its extreme ideological eclecticism, in its ranks a little of everything can be found: from Buddhists and Gandhians, to generic pacifists, to anti-globalists and Trotzkysts. Certainly, among its members, there are honest and sincere comrades, but they have no possibility, from a communist position, to influence the policy of their leaders. The Party of Communist Refoundation has already publicly declared to be ready to run for elections again without the symbol of red flag with hammer and sickle as it did in 2008 inside the coalition “The Rainbow”.

The Party of Italian Communists too can hardly be considered as a Leninist-type party, despite its formal acceptance of the principle of democratic centralism. Founded in 1998 after a split from the Party of Communist Refoundation, the Party of Italian Communists has always distinguished itself 4 for its “parliamentary fever” and the lack of principles of its political behavior. It is the typical example of opportunism that, unlike revisionism, does not deny the ideological principles, but just does not apply them, doing the opposite of what declared or written.

In both parties a big gap can be observed between members and leaders, that often respond only to themselves and act for purely personal advantage. Furthermore, the percentage of militants on members is very low.

Both parties have participated in the second left-centrist government headed by prime-minister Prodi and, in 2006, have approved the funding of military missions for imperialist aggressions and some of the worst anti-people steps of the last years. Their complicity with bourgeois governments, the concentration of their activity only in the parliament and other institutions, their activation only on the occasion of elections, their closure in internal debates, often regarding only the redivision of seats and positions, have led both parties to the loss of any parliamentary representative. The finish was the inglorious electoral collapse of the "Rainbow", a heterogeneous alliance with undefined lefts and greens. As a paradox, they got the opposite of what they were looking for, punished by deceived and disgusted voters.

Our position on bourgeois parliamentarism, elections and alliances makes our Party very different, on a strategic point of view, from the Party of Communist Refoundation, the Party of Italian Communists and their union, the Left Federation, the unborn child summing up the weaknesses of these two parties.

A serious analysis demonstrates the left-centrist block is the force in Italy that more stubbornly and persistently represents and protects the interests of the European financial and industrial monopolistic capital, the force that has promoted this EU, so brutally striking at the working people. A serious analysis demonstrates the Democratic Party and its left-centrist allies today are the most fanatic supporters of the government, headed by the ECB and European Commission's agent, the prime-minister Monti, the most anti-people oriented government in the history of the Italian Republic, that is destroying our country's real economy, sentencing our people to poverty and carrying off even their dignity. A serious analysis demonstrates that today's social massacre is the result of the breaches, opened by the left-centrist reforms and the collaborationist retreat of the Italian General Labor Confederation, the largest trade union under the hegemony of the Democratic Party. Finally, a serious analysis demonstrates that the ideological substratum for the cancellation of the workers' rights by the minister-headhunter Fornero is inspired by the anti-workers cerebrations of the labor legal experts of the Democratic Party.

After such a serious analysis, a party that wants to be called communist should conclude that no alliance is possible with the Democratic Party and the other left-centrist social butchers. The Party of Communist Refoundation and the Party of Italian Communists came to the opposite conclusion: as they have many time stated, the alliance with the Democratic Party and the left-centrist block is strategic!

For similar reasons, communists should admit no alliances with bourgeois pseudo-left parties, such as “Italy of Worth” or “Left for Ecology and Freedom”, that are in coalition with the Democratic Party at the local level, but are looking for any kind of profitable alliance at the national level.

The rejection of the principles of Marxism-Leninism and the loss of ideological and cultural autonomy, the unconditional acceptance of parliamentarism and bourgeois legality, the alteration in the class composition have led the PCR and the PIC to an evident opportunistic deviation. Currently, they are ready to make any concession in order to get in change a well-paid seat in bourgeois institutions or directors board.

The proof is their behavior after supporting the successful referendum against the privatization of water and other public goods. In the elections of local authorities in May 2012, the PCR and the PIC, united in the Left Federation, in 23 major cities out of 26 took part in left-centrist coalitions with the Democratic Party. For the rendered service, they have been given the possibility to accommodate their representatives, paid with taxpayers' money, in the boards of different agencies, charged of starting the very privatization, despite the referendum's opposite results! The famous thirty shekels of opportunism!

Some parties, actively using their right of veto, have founded, or are participating in, outer organizations, such as the ELP, that are often in contrast with the International Communist Movement. A slow, work seems to be going on for draining and paralyzing the ICM. A part of it is already actively acting outside in co-ordination with circles, where opportunistic and revisionist parties are grouping in an organized way. The Italian Left Federation, for instance, in Europe maintains relations primarily with non-communist organizations, such as United Lefts in Spain, Die Linke in Germany, Syriza in Greece, etc.

We think we all together have to approach this problem very seriously and with the necessary strictness, strengthening the ideological cohesion of the ICM on the basis of Marxism-Leninism and developing a closer co-ordination among brotherly parties to successfully withstand the onslaught of capital and resume the proletarian counteroffensive worldwide, for Socialism, for Communism!

Workers all over the world, unite!

Long live the Socialist Revolution!

Long live the International Communist Movement!