Article on Revisionism
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Dear friends,
We reproduce below an article on Revisionism, which appeared in Aug-Sept 2007 issue of People's March
P.Govindan kutty
Editor, People's March
Without a Struggle against Revisionism It is Impossible to take even one Step Forward in the Revolution
{Translated from the Hindi original}
Com Kishen
In the history of International Communist Movement the emergence of Khrushchevite Revisionism in 1956 and the history of intense struggle against it, has today crossed 50 years. Yet today Revisionism is the main danger for the International Communist Movement. So in the sphere of theory, politics, ideology and methodology the main task must be to wage continuous struggle against all manifestations of revisionism and side-by-side draw clear-cut lines of demarcation between Marxism and revisionism. The 150 year history of the International Communist Movement and particularly that of the Paris Commune, Russian Revolution and Chinese Revolution, have taught us that without waging an uncompromising struggle against revisionism we cannot move even a single step forward in the Revolution. This is a universal truth.
In fact, with the very birth of Marxism revisionism, revisionist thought and revisionist methods came into existence as a contrary theory. During their lifetime itself the great Marx and Engles had to fight and defeat the contrary thoughts of Prudhonism, Bakuninism and also the idealism of Hegel. At that time all these thoughts were identified as contrary thoughts and not as revisionism. It was Bernstein who revised Marxism amid a big hue and cry, and the ideology he propounded was identified as revisionism. In fact, in the field of politics revisionism had dropped the basic foundations of Marxism i.e. of class struggle and the establishment of Socialism by smashing the capitalism through class struggle and establishing the dictatorship of the proletariat.
Of course, revisionism is an international phenomenon. The manifestation of the essence of revisionism can be summed up in the one sentence — ‘The Final goal is nothing; the immediate struggle is everything’.
Com. Lenin said that, “At the end of the 19th Century the ideological struggle of revolutionary Marxism against Revisionism was able to advance successfully towards victory in spite of the vacillations and weaknesses within the proletariat”. (Marxism & Revisionism – Lenin). When in 1917, in Russia, under the leadership of the Great Lenin the Great October Russian Socialist Revolution achieved victory; the roots of Marxism got strengthened. Because, till then, Marxism was only in the books, now it became a living reality. The Russian Revolution smashed the capitalist-imperialist system from one part of the globe and gave birth to the Socialist Society, a new system of workers & peasants rule, which is the basic concept of Marxism.
In the process of the Russian Revolution, at every stage, Comrade Lenin had to fight a fierce struggle against Revisionism at the international as well as national level — from Plekhanov, Kautsky to the whole of the Mensheviks, including Martov & Trotsky, and defeated all those revisionist and counter-revolutionary thoughts. Only then could the Russian Revolution emerge victorious.
Comrade Lenin analyzed and described imperialism as the highest stage of capitalism and about the immediate possibility of revolution in the wake of the increasing & intensive contradictions of capitalism at the stage of imperialism. Very often Comrade Lenin had identified the stage of imperialism as the eve of Revolution. On the question of imperialism and in the situation of imperialistic war what would be the responsibility of the proletariat and its communist party – Com. Lenin and Com. Stalin had to fight a fierce struggle against the ardent revisionist leaders like Bernstein and Kautsky in the second international as well as against the revisionists within their own Russian Communist Party. For fighting against the thoughts of traitor Kautsky – defend the fatherland at the time of the imperialist war, Lenin propounded new thoughts – of converting the imperialist war into a civil war; that means fighting for the victory of revolution in the respective countries by their proletariat parties. By establishing this view Com. Lenin put forth the true responsibilities of communists and smashed the revisionist theory of Kautsky during the war. Finally, in continuation of these ideas the Great Russian Revolution under the leadership of the Great Lenin and Stalin, succeeded by defeating all the conspiracies of the revisionists. And in this process Marxism reached to its second developed stage of Leninism. In the process of succeeding in the Russian Revolution, in the stage of imperialism by intensive struggle against revisionism and taking class struggle as the basis and by advancing class struggle it was required to sharpen theory and by developing Marxism to the level of Leninism this was achieved.
After the demise of Lenin, in the process of developing socialist construction in Soviet Russia, Comrade Stalin had to fight a fierce struggle, at every step, against the revisionists and conspirators. To further the work of Socialism and Socialist construction and strengthen the dictatorship of the proletariat, Stalin had to contend at every step with reactionary conspirators and revisionists; particularly the revisionist-conspirators like Trotsky, Zeinovev, Bukharin etc. had to be fought with.
In 1953 the Great Stalin died. Only after that Khrushchev, who was sitting silent in the party since long, came to the scene with his real face. In 1956, in the twentieth Congress, Khrushchev put forth the theory of “peaceful transition”, “peaceful competition”, and “peaceful co-existence”; and later on with the theory of “the nation of whole people” Khrushchevite revisionism emerged as an elaborate line. This Khrushchevite revisionism has been identified as modern revisionism in place of the old time revisionism. There are two fundamental reasons for this:
a. There was no State Power in the hands of the earlier revisionism and revisionists. So there was no question of using & misusing the State Power. Basically, earlier revisionism was playing the role of opposing revolution in the sphere of ideology.
b. Khrushchevite revisionism emerged after the death of Com. Stalin, after acquiring control over the strongest socialist society and state power related to this, which was formed by the proletariat under the leadership of the great Lenin-Stalin. Thus, by using state power, in implementation of the anti-revolutionary theory of transition to socialism by peaceful means as a strategic principle, had a greater impact, due to control over the state.
Basically due to these two reasons Khrushchevite revisionism had been identified as modern revisionism.
After the emergence of Khrushchevite revisionism most of the divisions and splits within the various Communist parties worldwide were seen. Particularly by implementing the revisionist theory of peaceful transition to socialism as a strategy all of the revisionist parties and their leaders adopted the programme of taking part in elections as the major programme. The only goal of the peoples’ movements and peoples’ organizations organized by them was restricted to prepare MLAs, MPs and Ministers absorbed into the parliamentarian stream.
The leadership of the undivided Communist Party of India, which betrayed the great Telangana struggle, started participating in elections since 1952 and made it their only task. Khrushchevite revisionism gave this line international acceptance, which resulted in taking them further towards their destruction.
Whatever it may be, Khrushchevite revisionism, with the collaboration of imperialism, particularly US imperialism, and conspiring with it, took over soviet state power, and in the garb of socialism misused the state power to intensify its offensive. Its agent revisionist parties and their leaders in their respective countries adopted revisionist principles with more aggressiveness than ever and became the followers of the “peaceful transition to socialism” line. Socialism in words and imperialism at heart was the nature of the new Khrushchevite state, and by using state power Russia first transformed into a social imperialist or social fascist power, and then a superpower.
In the Second World War under the leadership of Comrade Stalin the Russian Red Army defeated and smashed the Nazi forces of fascist Hitler and secured a historical victory and a socialist camp emerged. And after that in 1949 under the leadership of the great Mao another world-shaking revolution happened — through the protracted peoples’ war the Chinese revolution became victorious. The line of protracted people’s war propounded by Comrade Mao became the only correct line of liberation for the people of Asia, Africa and Latin America. For establishing this line Com. Mao had to fight an intense struggle against the right and ‘left’ revisionists, like Chen-tu-shu, Li-li-shan, Wang-Ming, etc., within the Chinese Communist Party and also in the International Communist Movement, and only through such struggles could the Chinese Revolution be victorious. Com. Mao held high the flag of struggle against revisionism.
After the emergence of Khrushchevite revisionism the theoretical and ideological struggle waged by Comrade Mao against Khrushchevite revisionism and modern revisionism has come to be known as the “Great Debate”. Though, since the birth of Marxism the struggle against these opposing views, i.e. revisionism & Marxism, has continued uninterruptedly, the struggle in the form of the ‘Great Debate’ against Khrushchevite revisionism was ever more intensive than earlier ones and it proved to be a decisive Debate to draw a clear-cut line of demarcation with revisionism.
As a result of this Great Debate an intensive struggle of Marxism vs. Revisionism (the central point was the line of armed struggle and the line of the Parliamentarian way) started at the international level and in the process of the struggle a polarization of the two camps of genuine and fake Communists clearly emerged. The camp of genuine communists under the leadership of Mao became strengthened and the struggle against revisionism got ever more intensive. As a result, the ongoing-armed revolutions in some countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America became more effective.
Later on, under the leadership of Comrade Mao a complex and intensive struggle was waged within China against the line of the capitalist roaders and the Chinese Khrushchev, Liu-Shao-chi & Co. who rejected the dictatorship of proletariat and class struggle and was for restoration of capitalism. This was known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.
Through the concrete practice of the Chinese Revolution, through a active participation in the international class struggle (as the Great Debate), and an unprecedented role in the different branches of Marxism-Leninism, Comrade Mao developed Marxism-Leninism, which we see in the form of Mao’s Thought (now Maoism), to a qualitative & third stage of development of Marxism-Leninism.
In the same period in India there was an intensive debate within the undivided Communist Party. Particularly in 1962, after the incident of aggression on the then socialist China by the reactionary Indian government, the internal struggle within the party got more severe & intense. As a result of the thunderous impact of the Great Debate, the world-shaking Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution and the great peasants revolt of Naxalbari, the revisionist camp and communist revolutionary camps were clearly demarcated in India.
But after the death of Comrade Stalin, and the takeover of the Party and the State power by the traitor Khrushchev, and replacement of the dictatorship of proletariat with the dictatorship of bourgeoisie – the first socialist fatherland that was established under the leadership of the Great Lenin and Stalin collapsed. Then, immediately after the death of Comrade Mao, four revolutionary comrades were identified as the “gang of four” and through a counter-revolutionary coup-de-ta, the Teng-Hua clique changed the color of socialist China and established the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie in place of the dictatorship of the proletariat in China also. That was the fall of a powerful fort of socialism established by the C.P.C. under the leadership of the great Comrade Mao. Now not even a single country in world today is in existence having socialism as the form of a social system. The takeover of the Party & State Power and the restoration of capitalism by the disguised revisionists and reactionary elements within the party was the basic reason behind the defeat (even if temporary) of the proletariat class and socialism.
As a result of these negative incidents in the international communist movement, revisionism, revisionist thoughts, methodology and procedures got a chance to raise their head and made its impact once again. Specially, after the Teng clique changed the color of socialist China, the international communist movement had to go through one more process of splits and so the movement faced a severe set back.
But, this setback to the International Communist Movement, with revisionism once again asserting itself is not an absolute thing, if looked at from a dialectical-materialist viewpoint, but is a relative matter. Thus, if we put strong reliance on the laws of dialectical-materialism and adopt a practice according to the present objective conditions, and stand steadfastly on the line of armed struggle and protracted people’s war, put full faith on workers-peasants and the toiling masses and involve them in our every task, then only can we transform this setback into advance, thereby beating back the heightened spread of revisionism, and once again we can make Marxism as powerful as ever. Everything in the world exists according to the law of the unity of two opposite things, where the aspect of struggle is permanent and absolute and unity is temporary and relative. So, to change bad into good, unfavorable into favorable, everything is possible through struggle.
That revisionism is a principal danger, many people accept this in words, but while in practice, they fail to implement it. In the course of practice since revisionism is a principal danger, there is a need to draw a clear-cut line of demarcation with the revisionist methodology & procedures in the field of practice or procedures. If we do not do this, the result is that the struggle against revisionism remains incomplete. So, the struggle against revisionism is required to be undertaken continuously from beginning to the end, deeply and un-hesitantly, both in theory and practice (in words and in deeds). Weakening the struggle against revisionism, due to whatever reason, would means to extend help to perpetuate revisionism.
Revisionism cannot remain static and come in just one form. Revisionism constantly shifts its positions and constantly like a chameleon changes its form. Revisionism that came onto the scene at the time of Lenin and Stalin is quite different from the Revisionism of today, and it will emerge in different forms in future. To oppose the Red flag by waving the red flag, to oppose the revolution in the name of revolution, to oppose Marxism-Leninism in the name of Marxism-Leninism and opposing the Mao Thought in the name of Mao’s thought or opposing Maoism in the name of Maoism – are the existing forms of revisionism. It could be called as ultra-modern revisionism.
Giving a contradictory analysis of the international situation and giving depressing analysis saying that the situation is not ripe for revolution; negating the historical and international importance of Maoism; by putting forth the question of a new situation, concrete analysis, power balance etc.; analyzing that “the situation is not mature for armed struggle”; and through manipulations advocating and adopting the parliamentary path – are all characteristics of today’s ultra-modern revisionism.
In India also, the traitors of the Telangana Movement, the leaders of the undivided Communist Party had since long abandoned the armed struggle and adopted the Parliamentary path, and since then the only task of the revisionists was to praise the parliamentary path and through participating in elections prepare their MLA, MPs and Ministers to oppose the revolution by every means and in this way to serve the exploiters — the ruling classes. But in 1967 after the outbreak of the great Naxalbari peasant revolt, by unleashing an onslaught on the movement the counter-revolutionary character of the CPM leaders got exposed in broad daylight. That was the clear-cut line of demarcation between these traitors, the newly revisionist CPI (M), and the Revolutionary Camp. Today, revisionism is so adorable for imperialism, that in West Bengal, for the last 30 years under the leadership of the gang-leader of the revisionists, the CPI (M)-led left front government is ruling its reign of terror by suppressing all democratic and revolutionary forces through their social fascist methods and playing the role of a confident agent of the comprador bureaucratic capitalists and feudalism. During the last 30 years rule of the CPI (M), it has misused the state power to organize its party organs at every level for erecting them as a powerful social fascist power, which, in the garb of Marxism, wielding red flags in their hands, are playing the role of an organized counter-revolutionary force. The situation has arisen that in some states of India it is impossible to advance the democratic and revolutionary struggle without fighting the fascist offensive of the CPI (M).
Then in 1972 after the martyrdom of Comrade C.M., in the name of rectification of the “Left” line, people like Satya Narayan Singh adopted the Rightist line and proceeded to take part in elections. Besides, the pseudo followers of Mao’s thoughts, the CPI (M-L) Liberation and an M-L party under the leadership of Kanu Sanyal had long back departed from the line of armed struggle and adopted the parliamentarian path, and plunged into the existing election game of fraud and manipulation for securing two or three seats in the parliament, assembly and panchayat elections to get crumbs from the plates of the exploiting classes, as a reward for their surrender. Playing the role of counter-revolutionaries in the field of the class struggle by launching vicious propaganda campaigns against the revolutionary struggle, to get the revolutionary activists arrested and even get them murdered – are some samples of the misdeeds committed by the Liberation. The disgruntled Kanu Sanyal has become so adorable for the exploiters-rulers that the central as well as state governments in collaboration with their police departments are printing and distributing thousands and thousands of copies of Kanu Sanyal’s statement against the CPI (Maoist) — that violence is not useful for the masses and revolution will not happen by these means. The statement distributed in Jharkhand and Bihar by the Police-Administration is a living example of this.
It is next to impossible to advance the Revolutionary movements without fighting the armed offensive unleashed by these types of revisionists. The worldwide history of revolution also gives us the same lesson.
Ever since the emergence of the Proletariat movement, the bourgeoisie has indulged, theoretically as well as ideologically in making the workers corrupt so that the workers’ movement could remain under the interests of the bourgeois class and the revolutionary struggles of the masses of the country could become weakened and diverted.
With this objective the bourgeois ideological trend adopts different forms at different times, sometime it may be rightist or sometime “Left” deviationist. The history of development and emergence of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism remains the history of acute struggle against these trends of bourgeois ideology, whether it may be rightist trends or “Leftist” trends. It is the duty of the genuine Marxist-Leninist-Maoists not to be afraid of and run away from the challenges posed by the bourgeois ideological trends but to follow the ways adopted by great Comrade Marx, Engles, Lenin, Stalin and Mao, that means whenever there is an attack on the theory, basic line and policy by bourgeois ideology and revisionist ideology then this attack and offensive has to be smashed and to ensure the road of victory for the struggles led by the proletariat class, oppressed classes and castes. The long history of struggle between Marxism and revisionism shows us that some pseudo communist parties had completely become revisionists in their essence and form. For example the famous European parties of Italy, France etc. and the CPI and CPI (M) in India. Some parties have already decayed as socialist fascist powers and some parties are forcing their revisionist line and procedures more aggressively and some are dangling somewhere in between.
But even any genuine communist party will also have the existence of opposite thoughts to Marxism in the form of revisionist, bourgeois and petty bourgeois trends. One also sees the existence of revisionism in our party. Though it is not a principal form, but manifestations of revisionism, bourgeois and petty bourgeois thoughts exist. Particularly, it takes the expression of economism, militant economism, legalism, spontaneity etc. exist within us and within our party. Besides these we also have the expression of sectarianism, subjectivism and dogmatism in ourselves and we also notice a lack of modesty and courtesy within us. Besides this, we also have individualism, bureaucratic trends and ego within us, which are posing hurdles in unifying and strengthening the newly formed party.
In fact we have both Marxism and Revisionism. If we say revisionism, it means both the forms, right opportunist and ‘Left’ deviations, exist in the party. Though the principal aspect is Marxism, expressions of revisionism exist in the form of a secondary aspect. So, on the one hand we have to take part in the real class struggle and class war to strengthen us like steel, while on the other hand it is essential to wage a continuous struggle against the revisionist expressions that exist within ourselves. And this process is not required for a short or limited period but it must be a continuous process.
We have to staunchly stay with the saying of Comrade Lenin that, “the question of state power is the basic question for every revolution” and it is our duty to advance the class struggle and establish the dictatorship of proletariat and also we have to steadily stand by the saying of Comrade Mao that “snatching political power through armed struggle, settling the issues through war are the central task and supreme form of revolution.” Along with this we must have to try to adopt the maxim of – practice Marxism not revisionism; be open and aboveboard; do not conspire and split but unify – in our revolutionary practical life.
The founder leaders and teachers of our party Com. C.M. and Com.K.C. had waged an uncompromising struggle against the revisionism of the CPI and CPI (M) and had drawn a clear line of demarcation with revisionism and succeeded in establishing the line of protracted peoples war as directed by Comrade Mao. In continuity of that struggle in the reflection of this practice was the great Naxalbari peasants’ revolt under the leadership of Com. C. M. proved to be a “Spring Thunder” in the struggle against revisionism. How the uncompromising struggle against revisionism is advanced and how revisionism is smashed – we have to learn from the teachings of Com. C. M. and Com. K. C. and we have to firmly follow these teachings.
Let’s, stand firmly on the principles of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism; participate in the revolutionary class struggle and the ongoing agrarian revolutionary guerrilla war with full activeness. Fasten the task of building base areas and building the people’s armed forces. Wage struggle against revisionism and its concrete manifestations, in words and in deeds. Remember that without waging struggle against revisionism it is not possible for revolution to advance a single step forward.
The Author is a senior politburo member of the CPI (Maoist)
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