Contribution of Comrade Pallab Sengupta, Secretary, National Council, Communist Party of India

Dear comrades,

Let me at the very outset thank the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece for hosting such an important meeting of the Communist and Workers’ Parties of the world. On behalf of the National Council of the Communist Party of India, I convey revolutionary greetings to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece and the leaders of the world Communist Parties and Workers’ Parties present here. The Communist Party of Greece deserves our revolutionary greetings as it is celebrating the centenary year of its foundation. On behalf of the National Council of the CPI and all present here I wish the Communist Party of Greece success in all its endeavours.

Dear Comrades,

This important meeting is taking place in the background of a very complex international situation. The situation is marked by deepening economic crisis, US and NATO’s aggressions in different countries in all continents, whipping up of anti-Russian sentiments, new alliance between Israel and Saudi Arabia to implement “Greater Middle East Project” as well as plan to create an Asia’s NATO like alliance and the increasing stationing of US army in the South Pacific, the Indian Ocean, the Golf and South China Sea. As a result of this, a number of regional conflicts are persistently exacerbating the situation in the region as in the cases of the Korean peninsula, Afghanistan, Iran, the Indian Sub-continent, the Gulf and the Middle East. Along with this is the aggressive role of finance capital that is not only jeopardising the social, political, democratic rights of the common people but also peace and stability the world over.

In the present international context, the responsibilities of the working class and it alliances under the leadership of the Communist and Workers parties call for playing a  vanguard role in the struggle against exploitation and imperialist war as well as for peace and socialism.

Our discussion in this regard unfolds an undulating complexity that has to be perfectly and politically comprehended. Analysis of the contemporary working class and its alliance needs necessarily be discussed together with the emergence of the neo liberal dogma combined with understanding the contemporary capitalism as imperialism, the higheest stage of capitalism. Our discussion should be based on the premise, “Without revolutionary theory there cannot be revolutionary movement”. It focuses on the need to analyse the proletarian and revolutionary character of the Communist and workers parties as the revolutionary vanguards for transformation, their ability to provide dynamism and perspective to class struggle. This exercise indeed opens up tough terrains of introspection about our understanding and the globally prevailing conflicts of perception that influence the workers movements and trade unions. The international meeting is timely and the most imperative step in the sense that the cry to prepare for a transformative struggle has definitively risen. History has established that it is the working class which alone can wage a successful war spearheaded by the political vanguard – the communist parties - to re establish the political order of socialism. 

Comrade Rosa Luxemburg in her speech at the foundation of the German Communist Party said, “Socialism will not and cannot be created by decrees; nor can it be established by any government, however socialist. Socialism must be created by the masses, by every proletarian. Where the chains of capitalism are forged, there they must be broken. Only that is socialism, and only thus can socialism be created” .This was in the year 1918.  Hundred years have passed. The world experiences an era of new barbarism, a barbarism with sophistication of the 21^st century. But while bringing about this atrocious world order, capitalism has begun to see its unending crisis. It has created its own grave diggers, the workers.

Dear Comrades,

After overthrowing feudalism, capitalism spread and expanded across the globe for few hundred years creating the working class as its grave digger. Capitalism went through cyclical crisis. Capitalism entered the stage of imperialism in the 20^th century. Finance capital is today exploiting not only workers and peasants but also the mass of petty, small and medium producers. The global financial crisis of 2008, unlike the earlier crises is proved to be distinctly different from the earlier cyclic crises. It has assumed the most brutal incarnation that spells gloom over the entire economy. As Walden Bello, a senior research fellow at the Center for South East Asian studies in Kyoto had said, “the current global downturn, the worst since the great depression 70 years ago, pounded the last nail into the coffin of globalization”.

The depth and magnitude of this crisis suggests that the accumulation of capital has reached new levels. This leads to fall in the rate of profits, lack of surplus value relative to the overall mass of capital, under production of surplus value and over accumulation of capital.

The crisis was the worst of its kind after World War 2 and the recovery process was the weakest and the most debt ridden. World is in the midst of a long depression. Global debts are on a record high. Accumulation crisis intensifies competition over profit, trade and assets. This development forces confrontation between the ruling classes of the world imperialist powers. As a result trade wars and devastating global conflicts loom large threatening to engulf the world into one of gloom and instability. Global debt has risen to record heights of 237 trillion USD in the fourth quarter of 2017 more than 70 trillion USD in 2007. As per the IMF report global debt has hit a new height of 225% of GDP exceeding the record of 213% in 2009. The all time high accumulation of capital has been hoarded into tax havens, speculative ventures, crypto currencies and subprime mortgages, making the economies unstable and volatile. Lowering of interest rates to stimulate lending of idle capital has resulted in negative interest rates in the global market increasing the sovereign debts to record high of 11.7 trillion as per the ratings of the credit agency Flitch.

Economic globalization has done the worst of damage to the world, its ecology, natural resources and to everything that matters for a life worth living. Dismal levels of increasing poverty stare at the face. Global inequality has intensified. Even when the global economy grew at the rate of 380% between 1980 and 2015, number of people living in poverty with less than 5USD per day increased by 1.1 billion making the growth indices a mockery of sorts. Plummeting values of currencies, falling interest rates, falling growth rates of the developed countries as expressed by the GDP figures etc, definitely prove the deep crisis of Capitalism.

That capitalism should be overthrown and replaced by socialism is the Marxian dictum. The working class is destined to do it. Capital while trying to bail itself out of this crisis fuelled a more noxious debt ridden economic recovery that had played a beastly havoc on the workers of the world, both that of the developed and the developing countries.

For this, the contemporary working class has to be understood in the background of the political economy that has dominated through the 21^st century. The character and culture of the 21^st century ‘proletariat’ may not appear to be one like the homogenous revolutionary group of the 20^th Century France or Russia. But it is the new working class defined variously by scholars, yet the same ‘proletariat’ that Karl Marx has defined as the ‘grave diggers’ of capitalism.

Working class has expanded, developed and grown as the single largest social group in the globe. Marx’s call of “Workers of the world unite” has become the most relevant today like never before in history. Workers responses resisting against the policy of economic globalization indicate that labour is still a social force which is central to the development of political economy and international relations. The global protests against the disastrous impact of globalization have made it easier to question the dominant model of capitalism given that it had led the world into such grave catastrophe. But the sporadic, yet strong protests across the world have not assumed the shape of political battles, not even appear to be politically contentious. This is a challenge to the communists and workers parties. It therefore becomes essential to understand the 21^st century working class to give the movement a clear and sharp class orientation.

Dear Comrades,

The Working class in different countries is coming together. Expansion and growth of the World Federation of Trade Unions, the only class oriented trade union existing in 132 countries is a testimony to international trade union expansion. Convergence between employment conditions in different parts of the world made it easier for workers from widely different backgrounds to identify with one another, potentially making global solidarity an achievable goal. Technologies that were created to facilitate mobility of capital provided workers with a means of spreading and sharing their activities across the world at a rapid speed. Today workers organizations have another task to formulate global strategy for labour. Global solidarity in this sense has become a condition for survival and it demands greater knowledge of developments in other countries. It also demands fundamental change in the strategic orientation of unions which have hitherto been centered on the nation state. Politics of globalization constitutes the terrain that can and must be contested by workers and unions if the world has to be transformed into an egalitarian society.    

A correct appreciation of the vanguard party and its indispensable role depends upon understanding the crucial importance of the subjective factors in the proletarian revolution. On a broad historical scale, and in the final accounting, economic conditions are decisive in shaping the development of society. This truth of historical materialism does not negate the fact that the political and psychological processes unfolding within the working masses more directly and immediately affect the course, the pace, and the outcome of the national and world revolution. Once the objective material preconditions for revolutionary activity by the workers have reached a certain point of maturity, their will and consciousness, expressed through the intervention of the organised vanguard, can become the key component in determining the outcome of the class struggle.

The revolutionising of the proletariat and oppressed people in general is a complex, prolonged, and contradictory affair. The vanguard party should aim at all times to reach, move, and win the broadest masses. Marxism teaches that the revolution against capitalism and the socialist reconstruction of the old world can be accomplished only through conscious, collective action by the workers themselves. The vanguard party is the highest expression and irreplaceable instrument of that class consciousness at all stages of the world revolutionary process.

In this respect all communist and workers parties should provide dynamism and orientation to the trade unions to politicize the workers. Politicalisation of the workers is a big challenge staring at the face of the communist movement. The responsibility is not taken with the due seriousness either by the trade unions or by the communist parties. This attitude should be change.

Dear Comrades,

Now coming to India the economic globalization has had a profound impact on Indian sub continent. By virtue of being a developing economy with the largest section of population considered as the middle class, Indian market is devoured by the profit hungry corporate. Globalisation, did open up new avenues for newer kind of jobs. But increasing informalisation of the formal economy has produced only precarious jobs.

This is because the political economy of the ruling parties in India has reduced the sovereign India to surrender at the altar of capitalist barbarism. Polices in India are made to fit the designs of the corporate greed. ‘Flexibility’ of labour, ‘ease of doing businesses the driving catch phrases to attract foreign capital. Labour laws are sought to be amended according to the wants of business. Crony capitalism rules the roost. Workers are left to the mercy or no mercy of the employers. Precarious work with no fixed wages or working conditions has made the Indian working class of around 500 million in the lurch. The present government of Bharathiya Janata Party with Narendra Modi as Prime Minister has in the real sense turned India into a land of corporate brutality.

The silver lining in the otherwise gloomy picture is the unprecedented unity of all the Central Trade Unions and the major industry level trade unions. This united platform representing more than 50% of the work force in India have been consistently protesting against the anti worker policies of the government. The government is adamant and hardly heeds to the cry of the workers. But the unity of the trade unions is amazing and unfettered. The united struggle intensifies undeterred. This united platform has vowed to oust the present government in the forthcoming elections in the early half of 2019.  CTUs are preparing for two days’ strike on 8^th & 9^th January 2019 while preparing for which the trade unions are determined to reach out to the masses to awaken them to the political task. Communist parties in India and all the other democratic forces have extended their support to the strike. 

We also wish to mention here the upsurge of the nationwide peasant’s movement is in India. The millions of peasants along with the vast numbers of Tribal people are in the streets against the present government’s anti-farmer, pro-corporate agricultural policies demanding remuneration price of their products, against rising cost of production, waiver of loans, tribal people rights for land and forest and against the corporatization of agriculture.

Also the growing urban middle classes and small entrepreneurs are fast getting disillusioned with the rightwing reactionary policies of the government, such as on demonetization, GST, health, education, etc. The educated and uneducated youth are angry about lack of education facilities and unemployment.

All these movements are now converging into a mighty mass movement of all sections of Indian people. It will have very positive impact in our struggle for change in upcoming parliamentary election 2019.

Dear Comrades,

Indian communists and especially the Communist Party of India are in the forefront unleashing mass struggles to defeat the designs of imperialist circles and their henchmen in our country. The general public and the working masses no doubt have created history in the developing countries including ours to arrest the accelerated onward march of those anti-people, anti-democratic forces. In our country the ruling clique is using all divisive tactics so that the people’s attention from the real socio-economic issues can be diverted.

Our 23rd Party congress has stated that “the victory of BJP on 2014 Lok sabha election was not a democratic change of government of one bourgeois outfit by another. It marked a definite right-ward shift in politics. As the corporate capital has staked everything for the victory of Narendra Modi led NDA alliance that was actively and aggressively backed by RSS and its entire Parivar, the new government clearly represents the combination of the interests of Corporate and Financa Capital, right wing ideology coupled with the worst form of majoritarianism and communalism with fascistic tendencies”. The present government is posing serious threat to the secular-democratic set-up of our country.

As the right wing forces devise covert and overt means to win over the masses and thereafter implement their anti-democratic and anti-people hidden agenda, the ideological issues become more significant. A determined offensive on the ideological front needs to be re-launched with added vigour against the pernicious influence of reformism making earnest attempts to disseminate among the masses the dynamic laws of social advancement, democratic freedom and scientific socialism.

The CPI is also in the forefront in struggle against imperialism for peace. We believe that our struggle for emancipation cannot be achieved without linking our mass and class struggle for peace and social justice. 

Dear Comrades,

Last one year we have celebrated the 100^th anniversary of the October Socialist Revolution in dignified manner highlighting the scientific theory of Marxism-Leninism. Marxism-Leninism is a great integral revolutionary doctrine, the lodestar of the working class and working people of the whole world at all stages of their great battle for peace, freedom and a better life, for the establishment of the most just society.

In the light of above understanding our entire struggle particularly class struggle should be to strengthen to achieve peace and radical changes in our respective societies for Socialism.

Once again let me congratulate the comrades of Communist Party of Greece for organizing this important meeting.

Thank you.