People's Democracy

Onto 11th Int�l Meeting of Communist & Workers' Parties

R Arun Kumar

THE 11^th International meeting of the Communist and Workers' Parties is being held in New Delhi from 20- 22, November 2009. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Communist Party of India are co-hosting this event, which is being held for the first time in India.

The last decades of the 20^th century saw tumultuous developments and cataclysmic changes. The dismantling of socialism in the Soviet Union, the disintegration of the USSR, the collapse of the communist-led regimes in East Europe and the process of restoration of capitalism in these countries-all constitute a big reversal for socialism.

In this situation, many communist parties carried serious introspection on the basic tenets of Marxism-Leninism and their validity. Wilting under the pressure of an intense ideological offensive, many communist parties abandoned the revolutionary essence of Marxism- Leninism and embraced social democracy. During this period when the international communist movement has been thrown into disarray, there were some communist and workers' parties that believed in Marxism-Leninism as a creative science that evolves with time and not a dogma. They viewed these shortcomings and failures as not due to its inadequacies or lack of scientific method of its content. They reasoned that these shortcomings are due to the inadequacies and lack of scientific rigour on the part of those who have embraced this philosophy.

There were efforts undertaken to regroup the international communist movement and bring together all those communist and workers' parties that believed in the basic tenets of Marxism-Leninism. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) had initiated one such attempt in 1993 by organising an international seminar on the 'Contemporary World Situation and the Validity of Marxism'. Invitations were extended to 30 political parties to participate in the seminar. 21 parties including the CPI(M) and the CPI participated in the seminar, four parties unable to send their representatives, sent their contributions in the form of papers while five parties sent messages expressing their inability to participate owing to critical political conditions in their respective countries. The success of the seminar in attaining the objectives it had set before it, gave renewed confidence to the various participants, in their struggle to defend socialism and to continue to fight for the goal of socialism.

Five years hence, from 1998, the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) took up this task of organising international meetings of the communist and workers parties to exchange opinions on some of the important contemporary developments in world and share experiences. From that year onwards seven consecutive meetings were hosted by the KKE in Greece. The number of parties taking part in these meetings saw a steady increase reflecting the growing relevance and validity of Marxism.

To facilitate the smooth organisation of these meetings, a working group of international communist and workers parties was formed. This group decides on the theme of the meeting, the venue and dates apart from the parties that would take part in the meeting.

The themes of these meetings are so chosen to reflect the important contemporary developments of that particular time. The theme of the 8^th meeting thus was on the alternatives to the neo-liberal globalisation that were emerging from the Latin American continent and the relevance of socialism. Similarly the 9^th meeting, which was held coinciding with the 90^th anniversary of the Great October Revolution discussed the validity and relevance of its ideals. As a part of the agenda of that meeting, the delegates visited the Red Square in Moscow on the chilly night of the 7^th of November and commemorated the event.

As the experience of organising such meetings proved useful, there was a request to organise this meeting in different parts of the world. Accordingly, the 8th meeting was organised in Lisbon, Portugal, the 9th in Minsk, Belarus and in Moscow (to observe the 90th anniversary of the Great October Revolution), and the 10th in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The working group had decided in its meeting in February that the 11th meeting would be organised in India jointly by the CPI (M) and the CPI.

The 11^th meeting has its theme as, 'The International Capitalist Crisis, The Workers' and Peoples' Struggle, The Alternatives and the Role of the Communist and Working Class Movement'. 111 communist and workers' parties representing 87 countries are invited to take part in this meeting.

As the theme itself suggests, the meeting is going to discuss one of the severe economic crisis that had engulfed the entire globe. A draft declaration based on the theme of the meeting would be placed and this would form the basis for discussions. Based on the concrete experiences from their respective countries, the representatives of the participating parties would place their views on the current crisis. They would deliberate on the causes for this crisis, its affects on the peoples of their countries and the attacks carried on by the ruling classes during this period of crisis. The discussions would also include the response of the working class to this onslaught, the struggles they had organised and what they perceive as the way out of this crisis. This engagement between various communist parties would certainly enhance our understanding of the current phase of imperialism.

These discussions assume enormous importance in the background of the various efforts of the ruling classes in interpreting the existing reality. News reports from across the world indicate that the unemployment is rising as many industries are closing. This year alone, more than 100 banks, declaring bankruptcy have shut their doors in the United States. It is not just the financial sector but even the manufacturing sector was affected by the crisis with many manufacturing units closing out their operations. The severity of the crisis can be easily understood from the fact that the giant auto industry in US needed the state to bail it out.

Official unemployment rates in the OECD countries are varying between a low of 3 per cent and a high of 18 per cent. Spain, today has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world with 18 per cent, while South Africa has 23 per cent. Unofficial reports indicate that unemployment in the US would be around 20 per cent, contrary to the official projection of 9.7 per cent. Overall unemployment rates in the OECD countries is expected to surpass 10 per cent on the average, meaning 57 million people out of work.

Similar is the condition of poverty, economic inequalities and hunger that are increasing around the world. Recent reports indicate that more than 102 million people have newly joined the ranks of the hungry as poverty indices are rising around the world. Even in the US, poverty indices were rising as the real meridian household incomes were falling.

On the other hand, two of the giant financial institutes that had collapsed during the financial crisis have recently announced millions of dollars as bonuses to their executives. This was possible as they had feasted on the public money and earned huge profits. The ruling classes, stating that the worst is over as �shoots of growth� are appearing, are trying to push the sufferings of the people under the carpet.

Just as their perception of the existing situation is out of sync with the ground realities so are their solutions to come out of this crisis. This can be easily discerned when we see what had happened to the countries in East Europe that had adhered to the prescriptions of the IMF.

The IMF has lent billions of Euros to countries across the Central and Eastern Europe, hardest hit by the economic crisis, saying that its loans are designed to cushion the effects of reforms that countries have to undertake to recover from serious economic trouble. The specific loans to Eastern Europe were trumpeted as helping the countries involved to return to stability and solid economic growth. These loans as usual included conditions that governments must rein in public spending, resort to wage freezes and 'downsizing'. With no room for fiscal manoeuvre to boost the local economy, unemployment has also been rising.

There are reports appearing in the media that claim that the IMF is lending money to struggling countries solely to protect western banks which have recklessly invested too much in what has been revealed to be a risky region, and that local people are paying the cost with a rapidly shrinking economy which creates rising unemployment and higher taxes.

It has also been proved that the decisions of G-8 meetings (which is now expanded to G-20) failed to provide tangible benefits to the common people of this world. Their basic concern is to protect the ruling class interests and not that of the common people.

On the contrary, the discussions that would take place in the 11^th International meeting would bring peoples� issues to the forefront and offer a real alternative solution to this crisis. Thus, this meeting is taking place at a crucial juncture. This meeting provides a dais not only to discuss the existing reality but also share the experiences in transforming this reality, for the betterment of people�s livelihoods.

The meeting would conclude after the proposed draft declaration, enriched by the discussions of the participants, is taken for adoption. The 11^th international meeting, being held for the first time in Asia, thus would undoubtedly become a historic landmark in the history of the international communist movement. Marking this occasion, a public reception too is being planned in Delhi.