South African Communist Party
by Blade Nzimande

SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNIST PARTY
PROPOSALS FOR AN INTERNATIONAL LEFT PLATFORM

The turn of the century marks a very important moment for
left-wing forces globally. The 1990s have ended on a note
quite different from that on which they began. We have
travelled, in the space of a decade, from an extreme of
capitalist truimphalism, occasioned by the fall of the
Berlin Wall and the implosion of the old Soviet Union, to
the WTO Seattle Round.
While capitalism remains, by far, hegemonic system
internationally and within our continent and country, its
untrammelled domination is meeting with more and more
opposition. It is an opposition that comes from those who
are concerned with the profit-driven destruction of our
environment, and from those who are deeply concerned about
the casino �free market� values pervading every domain of
our lives. It is an opposition increasingly expressed by
democratic governments in the South alarmed that, in this
past decade, eighty countries have become poorer than at
the beginning of the 1990s, despite all the promises about
the new globalisation �free way�. And it is an opposition
that comes from millions around the world who have lost the
prospect of ever having a decent job. For us, the most
important lesson at the end of this decade and century is
that capitalism is incapable of addressing even the most
basic of needs for millions of ordinary people throughout
the world. Instead all indications point to worsening
poverty and disease as capitalist globalisation deepens.
Many of these forces struggling against capitalism
barbarism may not see themselves as socialists, but as the
SACP we believe that we are all fundamentally in the same
trench. We are convinced that the coming century will se
much greater moral and political unity between all forces
and individuals who hold dear the basic values of human
equality, freedom, solidarity, social progress, peace and
economic justice.
We should use this historic moment of the dawning of a new
decade and century as an opportunity to take forward these
struggles, including the elimination of gender and racially
based inequalities. In particular, the struggle to
eradicate poverty on our continent, in order to make this
century truly a century of the African working people and
the poor, a century of socialism.
We are closing this millennium with renewed signs of a
revival of left-wing forces after about a decade of
uncertainty in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet
Union. There is a growing message that is beginning to be
the biggest failure of this century. It is within this
context that we assert that the future is socialism.
In the light of all this the SACP is firmly of the view
that the six most important challenges facing the
international socialist and progressive people's movements:
the eradication of poverty
the creation of mass-based and people-driven democracies
the fight for affordable medicines for developing
countries, focusing on HIV/AIDS drugs and the broader fight
against the HIV/AIDS pandemic
the transformation of world political and economic
institutions to orientate them towards the needs and
interests of developing countries
the cancellation of the Third World Debt
Transformation of gender relations

THE ERADICATION OF POVERTY

According to a report released in June 2000 by the
International Labour Organisation (ILO World Labour Report
- Income Security and Social Protection in Changing World),
globalisation has led to job losses and increasing poverty
for people in developing countries. The report also states
the following:-
A quarter of the world's population of 6 billion lives on
less than &1 a day
During the past five years the world's poor have increased
by 200 million
In the developing world, nearly a third of the population
has no access to drinkable water
More than 40% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa and
Asia live in poverty and this proportion is rising
Out of the world's 150 million unemployed, no more than a
quarter have some unemployed benefit

In other words, poverty in the world is deepening, the gap
between the rich and the poor is widening, and the gulf
between the North and the South has become so wide that it
can truly be called a crisis for humanity. In short,
capitalism is no solution to the problems facing humanity.

THE CREATION OF MASS AND PEOPLE-DRIVEN DEMOCRACIES

The nation state is challenged by many realities, including
the sheer size and speed of international trade, the
emergence of global structures, regional economic power
blocs and the reconfiguration of local power relations. The
sovereign capacities of nation states are also
ideologically challenged by the dominant neo-liberal
ideology. However it is important to understand that nation
states remain powerful actors. Neo-liberalism seeks to
transform the nation state into a �lean and mean� apparatus
of imposing austerity measures on society and capable of
repressing the inevitable social upheavals that follow.
Critical in advancing the interests of the world's poor and
working people is the construction of powerful national
democratic developmental states in developing countries
where popular forces are influential and leading society.
Representative democracy needs to be complimented with
diverse forms of popular direct and participatory
democracy. National democratic developmental states must be
active catalysers and key strategic co-ordinators of
democratic and economic and social development objectives.
But, we also need active societies, in order to transform
and empower the very states that have to carry out this
developmental role. We need strong national democratic
states to transform society and society to transform the
state.
Central in this would be defending and extending the public
sector as the major vehicle for addressing the needs of the
poor. Privatisation and liberalisation of economies are
only serving to deepen unemployment and poverty worldwide.
Therefor the struggle for the retention and development of
publicity controlled resources is another key left-wing
platform for international solidarity today. We cannot
allow meeting the basic needs of the working people and the
poor to be subjected to the vicissitudes of the global
casino economy.
Building strong, democratic and mass based national
democratic states is important for the building of people's
power and the eventual transition to socialism.

THE FIGHT FOR AFFORDABLE MEDICINES FOR DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES, FOCUSING ON HIV/AIDS DRUGS AND THE BROADER FIGHT
AGAIST THE HIV/AIDS PANDEMIC

Many curable and preventable diseases (such as Malaria, TB,
diarrhoea, polio, etc.) have led to the premature deaths of
millions across the world with more than 10 million people
dying from AIDS alone.
Access to treatment is essential in order to save and
improve the lives of citizens of developing countries.
People in poor countries cannot gain access to life-saving
medications because of their prices. Denying people with
access to affordable medicines in order to protect profits
or intellectual property rights, is tantamount to genocide.
All people should have a right to access to treatments in
addition to health care, employment, education, clean
water, adequate nutrition including vitamins and mineral
supplements, and housing.
In the worst affected countries of the world AIDS and other
diseases will massively increase inequality and poverty,
widening the gap between rich nations and poor nations, men
and women, as well as rich and poor. Access to treatment is
essential to promote social and economic development for
all.
Most medical research has focused on the industrialised
rich countries. The medical needs of children and women
across the world have largely been ignored. Treatment and
care needs of Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the
Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean have been
neglected. Research priorities for prevention, treatment,
care and support must reflect the needs of those who carry
the heaviest burden.

MARXIST - LENINIST RENEWAL

Whilst the above represent a broad action-based left
platform, the SACP as a Marxist-Leninist party, also
emphasises an open Marxist-Leninist socialist renewal.
Whilst breaking away from dogma and excesses committed in
the name of Marxist-Leninist, studying, learning,
developing the method, analysis and revolutionary spirit of
Marxism-Leninism and reaffirming the essence and
correctness of our rich and diverse theoretical legacy.
This also means assessing ourselves in terms of the
experiences and lessons of the last 150 years.

INTERNATIONAL ACTION

Change and development are urgent and it cannot be business
as usual. This poses anew the old challenge of the left
forces in the world, mobilisation of the working people and
the poor to challenge capitalism in both its national and
globalised form, principally the North-South wealth gap.
We want real and concrete internationalism. Therefore the
key to achieving this must be common action. And
international collaboration of the workers and oppressed
must be gradually and democratically harnessed towards our
common goal of socialism.
Therefore we call upon socialist forces in the world to
consider the following as concrete expressions of the
points made above: -
Support the Communist Party of Nepal hosted Conference on
Socialism in the 21st Century planned for November 2000.
Continue with our support and solidarity for Cuba against
US imperialism and the Cuban World Solidarity Conference to
be held in November 2000
Making every World AIDS Day, a day of international action
for access to affordable drugs, in conjunction with growing
international campaign for access to affordable drugs
The formation of regional and international poverty forums
with the participation of all forces concerned with poverty
Use International Women's Day to highlight the struggle for
transformation of gender relations and target countries,
institutions and governments which perpetuate gender
oppression
Targeting every meeting of the IMF, WTO, the World Economic
Forum and World Bank for public action and propaganda
Tracking and targeting the activities of multi-nationals
detrimental to the environment and interests of developing
countries
Tracking, monitoring, targeting, of and action against
privatisation

PRINCIPLES OF INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY AND SOCIALIST RENWAL

With the previous century's experience of communist
internationals, it is important that international
socialist work and unity should not confined to the limits
of having �one center�.
Socialist internationalism today must allow for varied and
diverse relationships between communist, socialist, workers
and other left parties and movements
Socialist internationalism today must also avoid
interference in internal affairs of each other's parties
and must be based on constructive and objective engagement
even when there are differences on perspective, strategies
and tactics
Emergence of a few international, which is desirable,
should evolve over time based on actual, experiences and
above principles.