Declaration of 19 European Communist Youth Organizations 20 years after the counterrevolution

Our future is the new world, Communism

The Communist Youth Organizations that sign the following announcement call upon the youth of Europe, and of the whole world, on the occasion of the 20^th anniversary of the dissolution of the USSR and the overthrow of socialism.

This anniversary, from the scope of the bourgeois governments and parties, from the scope of the forces of capital, is a chance to slander socialism and its contribution, to project the capitalist “eternity” and “welfare”. These are the ones that with their applied politics have taken back all the youth's rights; they have made dozens of imperialist wars and are planning even more; they have condemned us in poverty and unemployment; they penalize communist ideology.

From our scope, the scope of the workers, of the peoples and the youth of the world, this anniversary is a chance to remember and highlight the achievements of socialism, its contribution to humanity; a chance to draw significant conclusions of the defeat in the years 1989-1991.

We address to the young people, to learn and know the truth about socialism; To tell them that our future is the new world, Socialism-Communism.

The 20th century brought the success of the Socialist October Revolution in Russia in 1917, which was the starting point for one of the greatest achievements of civilization in the history of mankind, the abolition of exploitation of man by man. After World War II, the power was conquered with the construction of socialism as a goal in a number of countries in Europe, Asia, but also the American continent, nearly 1 / 3 of the world.

In 1991 the counter-revolution interrupted the course of this first effort to build the new society. What had been won - the working class and its allies taking the power and the wealth, they produced, in their hands - despite its weaknesses had now been overthrown from above and not from the bottom.

The overthrows were counter-revolutions, that is to say a social setback, a victory for the system of class exploitation and oppression against the attempt to construct a society free of exploitation. This was confirmed in the worst way for the people, during the last 20 years.

The capitalists and the political exponents of the monopolies celebrated their class victory, a victory not only against the socialist countries and their peoples, but against the workers of all countries. This victory is temporary however, because social development never ends. The will of the peoples will make Socialism again a reality.

They promised a "perpetual" capitalist development that would supposedly bring prosperity and peace. They talked about the "end of history" and class struggle so that the peoples would reconcile. They were proved wrong. Not only did the class struggle not cease, but it is sharpened. It is the driving force of history and it will have a victorious outcome for the working class.

Capitalist barbarism can not be humanized, it must be overthrown

In the early 21st century and 20 years after the overthrows, it has been proven that not only can capitalism not satisfy the needs of the working class but it condemns the peoples to exploitation and poverty. Everything that was said by the bourgeoisie and their apologists was proved to be a lie.

The counterrevolution has made capital more aggressive, popular achievements that were won with struggles and sacrifices were wiped out; new imperialist wars broke out and the competition for the invasion and the sharing of markets became more rabid. The peoples of the socialist countries were in the midst of capitalist restoration; their living standards plummeted decades back. The peoples of other capitalist countries lost their support, the counterweight to capitalist barbarism.

The crisis currently plaguing the capitalist world leads to massive unemployment, poverty and misery for the working class, the popular stratas and their children. It demonstrates, in the clearest possible way that capitalism is a rotten, outdated system, which impedes the progress of all mankind. Its attempt to stay alive is sucking the blood out of millions of workers.

The crises are an integral part of it, because it is a system where the production does not serve the working people but the profit and the interests of the capitalist. With their sweat and the strength of their hands and brains the workers of the world, produce goods and huge wealth which is enough for them and their children to live well. This wealth is stolen from them by a handful of capitalist parasites which today call upon the peoples, in a provocative manner, to make sacrifices so that the plutocracy can be saved.

The capitalist crisis deepens in the EU and the eurozone. It is proven in practice that the EU is a transnational imperialist union, a “black coalition” of capital against the peoples. The rivalries of monopoly groups and capitalist countries in Europe and internationally are being sharpened. It is likely that this competition will result in wars which are in the nature of capitalism. We do not choose old and new imperialists, neither their coalitions, old or new. We will not become their “cannon fodder”, for them to share their markets. The struggle for the overthrow of the power of the monopolies, of the bourgeoisie in each country and under all circumstances, is a vital task for every young man and woman of the working class.

Socialism is more timely and necessary than ever

20 years now our generation is growing up under conditions of distortion of the historical truth, of anticommunism and lies. Through school textbooks, through newspapers and their channels, the capital, the bourgeoisie states and their mechanisms are trying to rewrite history. They slander the heroic contribution of millions of communists and of the workers’ power in the countries of socialist construction but also in the capitalist world for the liberation from the shackles of class exploitation. They are conducting a massive attack against an enemy who, as they say, they have beaten. This shows their fear. If the "end of history" had come, if capitalism was indeed "invincible", they would not be wasting so many forces to fight an enemy that no longer exists.

They say that the victory of capitalism demonstrated the failure of socialism.
History has proven that no socio-economic system has been established once and for all. This is shown by the history of the dominance of capitalism. The development of the productive forces and the social character of the work are incompatible with any economic system where the minority rules of the majority. The setback, however, has a temporary character in social development. The wheel of history does not stop. Our period is the period of transition from capitalism to socialism, and this does not change due to the temporary victory of the counterrevolution, or due to the negative correlation of forces, which is changing.

 The necessity of socialism emerges from the sharpening of the contradictions of capitalism itself. It derives from the fact that in the imperialist stage of capitalist development, characterized by the dominance of the monopolies, the material conditions necessary to make the transition to a higher socio-economic system have fully matured.

Capitalism has socialized production on an unprecedented scale; however, it has privatized the profits resulting from this production. The means of production, the products of social work are private, capitalist ownership. This contradiction is the matrix of all the crisis phenomena of modern capitalist societies: Unemployment and poverty which explode when economic crises occur.

This contradiction also shows the way out: The abolition of private ownership of the means of production, starting with the concentrated means, their socialization and planned use in social production, for the satisfaction of the social needs, central planning of the economy by the revolutionary socialist workers’ power, workers' control.

Whatever was written in blood, can not be erased by dirty ink

The working class, particularly the youth of workers’ families should study the experiences of the socialist construction in the 20th century. They must learn about its tremendous contribution for the people but also draw conclusions from the reasons which led to its overthrow.

The truth is that despite any problems, the faults, the deviations from the principles of the socialist construction, the socialist system, which was formed, demonstrated its superiority, the enormous advantages for the lives of workers and youth.

The abolition of capitalist relations of production freed man from the shackles of wage slavery; it paved the way for the production and development of science in order to satisfy the people's needs. Thus, the right to work for all was secured, free public healthcare and education, provision of affordable services from the state, housing, access to intellectual and cultural creation.

Free time was guaranteed for the workers for rest and for their participation in the workers' power and in the management of the production units. A higher level of democracy was developed with the representative participation of the employees in power and in the management of production, the opportunity for them to elect and recall workers' representatives who were in the organs of power.

Social Security was the first priority care of the socialist state. The socialist power laid the groundwork for the elimination of the inequality of women. It ensured, in practice, the social nature of motherhood, the social care for the child.

These are gains which were secured decades ago in the socialist countries, which now seem as an elusive dream for workers and young people in the capitalist world.

The Soviet Union and the world socialist system constituted the only real counterweight to imperialist aggression. The role that the Soviet Union played in the Antifascist Victory of the Peoples was decisive. Over 20 million Soviet citizens gave their lives for the socialist homeland and the Antifascist Victory, about 10 million more were disabled or injured, and there were of course enormous material destructions.

 The new attack will be victorious

The counterrevolution in the USSR did not come from imperialist military intervention, but from “the inside and from above”.

In the course of construction wrong choices were made, laws of the development of the new system were violated, new measures were implemented, which were foreign to the socialist economy.

The counter-revolutionary overthrows do not change the character of the era.

The 21st century is the century of a new rise of the global revolutionary movement and a new series of social revolutions.

Two paths open before the peoples: the maintaining, with endless sacrifices of the people, of the rotten system of the bourgeois power and capitalist ownership or the struggle for a revolutionary overthrow of capitalism for the workers' power, for socialism-communism.

Between the capitalist and the socialist – communist socioeconomic formation, there is no other formation, no other system. The power will be either that of the workers or that of the capitalists.

The construction of the so-called "21st century socialism" or “democratic socialism” denies the workers' power, the socialization of the means of production and central planning. It has nothing to do with scientific socialism. It is a tool of the system for the manipulation of the peoples, for the stopping of class struggle.

The people are those who will have the last word!

The young working men and women, the young people of the popular stratas can not expect anything from the old, outdated historical capitalist system, which is now in its last imperialist stage. Their future for a better life, for the satisfaction of their needs is related to their participation and contribution to the development of class struggle, the overthrow of capitalist barbarism, the construction of the new, socialist system.

Ahead of us are big class struggles.

The forthcoming revolutions will be those of Socialism.

KJO Austria
COMAC Belgium
YCL Britain
KSM Czech Republic
YCL Georgia
SDAJ Germany
KNE Greece
Left Front - Communist Youth Alliance Hungary
Conolly Youth Movement Ireland
Communist Youth of Luxembourg
CJB Netherlands
UNGKOM Norway
KMP Poland
RKSM(B) Russia
SKOJ Serbia
CJC Spain
UJCE Spain
SKU Sweden
Youth TKP Turkey