Dear comrades,

I am not going to speak to you about the current situation in Luxembourg, since we have prepared a written information about current developments in my home country, that will be distributed to all participants of the Conference.

Instead, I would like to share with you some reflections concerning the co-operation between Communist parties.

We are of the opinion that – with a view to the present day challenges – a structured co-operation between Communist and Workers’ parties on the basis of the ideas of Marx, Engels and Lenin is becoming more than ever an objective need of today’s class struggle.

The defeat of the attempt to construct a socialist society, as well as the restoration of capitalist societies in all countries of Eastern Europe after 1990, have lead to a tremendous set back in social development. The Communist movement was split, with the result, that many Communist parties have been strongly weakened, some of them lost their ability to act and some even have to struggle for their survival.

We are aware of the fact that socialist societies in the 21st century will differ a lot from those which we knew as real existing socialism in the 20th century, just because of the fact, that the historical conditions will be totally different. But we have no right at all to neglect all previous attempts to build a socialist society – beginning from the Commune of Paris, the Socialist October Revolution up to the socialist states in Eastern Europe after 1945.

On the contrary – it is necessary to respect and analyse their historical achievements, to learn from their failures und to study the reasons for the defeat, above all the question of the development of productive forces, the question of socialist democracy and the solution of developing contradictions within a socialist society. The defeat of those attempts in Eastern Europe does not at all proof that socialism is not able to function. On the other hand there are many reasons to ask questions.

Therefore it is indispensable to make our own Marxist analysis, since the picture delivered to us by bourgeois ideology and propaganda does not serve. We do not need to proof that we were always right, but what we need is just a concept of socialism that everybody can understand. Without it we will never be able to convince the people who would like to act and who are ready to leave the capitalist society behind. We have to convince the people with the help of good arguments and show them, that another, a socialist society is possible.

Several parties have already abandoned the Marxist-Leninist theory. So they are renouncing the preconditions and means for evaluating the current stage of development of capitalism, as well as for developing applicable strategies to lead the working class out of the state of defensive and to put the question of the system on the table. Instead of strictly questioning the entire capitalist system, that has been constructed only in the interests of the big enterprises and the financial capital, instead of fighting for a social alternative – those parties are limiting themselves on the attempt of ”improving“ the existing social structures. This goes for the capitalist state on national basis as well as for the supra-national institutions of the capital as for example the European Union. Of course, there might be many reasons for wanting just a better capitalism instead of a better socialism, but there is no good reason for acting this way.

But socialism can not be achieved via reforms – the only way to socialism is the deep going change and the revolutionary overcoming of the capitalist conditions of property and power. Therefore a principal change of the relations of forces in favour of the working class and its allies is indispensable.

We are underlining this, because in our view the working class is the decisive force in the struggle against the power of capital and for socialism. This role can not be taken by any of the new forces or movements. It is the working class that due to its position inside the material production is facing the strongest effects of capitalist exploitation. The position of the working class inside the society is the precondition for taking over the most decisive role in the resistance against the capital and in the struggle for social changes.

In recent years, some former Communist and Workers’ parties have changed to the way of ”social-democratization“. As a result of this, many of their militants, but also big parts of the population became increasingly insecure and disoriented. Practically in all countries of Europe, as well as in many other countries, besides the traditional parties new left-wing groups and parties have appeared, that call themselves Communist and who want to go the way of Marxism-Leninism, despite the fact that the basic thoughts of Marx, Engels and Lenin did not yet become accepted on a broad basis.

After the defeat of the socialist societies in Europe at the end of the 20th century, in some of the old and new parties big uncertainties and confusions have appeared. The assumed victory of the capitalist system as well as the powerful bourgeois propaganda machinery are increasing those confusions day by day.

This leads to a situation that revolutionary processes and the every day class struggle suffered a serious backstroke and in many cases they are not any longer on the agenda.

But under the conditions of imperialist globalization, the class struggle becomes more and more international. This means from our point of view that it is urgently necessary to intensify the international co-operation of all anti-capitalist forces. At the same time we communists need coalition partners in trade unions, in democratic alliances and left-wing parties, so that we can more effectively fight against the destruction of democratic rights, against militarization and against social destruction. Such alliances are only effective, if the communists can participate with full rights, and they become contra-productive, if they are directed against the communists.

We are of the opinion, that a close co-operation of all Communist and Workers’ parties, who believe in the ideas of Marx, Engels and Lenin and in socialism as social alternative to the capitalist system is urgently required. This should be a kind of a common platform or network, that should not be compared with the previous 3rd International or with existing international organisations with communist participation.

We need a common working instrument

- for the sake of resisting the political and ideological influence of the capital, as well as the influence of social-democrats and of those former communist parties, who have converted into social-democratic forces;

- with the aim to analyse the current stage of development of capitalism, on the basis of the ideas of Marx, Engels and Lenin as well as of the conclusion made by the different communist parties in their respective countries – and to draw from this analysis the necessary conclusions for our common tasks;

- to be able to use those conclusions for developing a common strategy and the tactics for the activities of the communists in their respective countries;

- to analyse theoretical and practical questions of the revolutionary process and the class struggle on international, regional and national level;

- to discuss problems of principal and international importance and thus to give the national parties direct advices for the understanding of important events and new developments;

- to encourage a deeper understanding on such theoretical questions like globalization, the role of the European Union, the so-called constitutional law of the European Union, as well as on the concept of socialism, and to discuss such questions in a way that theoretical conclusions may be used as easy as possible for the ideological and political activities of our parties on international. Regional and national level;

- to take decisions on campaigns, protest and solidarity actions, to coordinate them and to give them a greater effect through their international character.

Comrades, I would like to conclude my speech with that sentence I used at the beginning:
With a view to the present day challenges, a structured co-operation between Communist and Workers’ parties on the basis of the ideas of Marx, Engels and Lenin is becoming more than ever an objective need of today’s class struggle.

To wait and see is for us no alternative.

Parti Communiste Luxembourgeois (KPL)
kpl@zlv.lu  / www.kp-l.org