Athens Meeting 18-20 November 2005, Contribution of WCP of
Bosnia & Herzegovina
-------------------------------------------------
From: SolidNet, Thursday, December 15, 2005
http://www.rkp-bih.cjb.net , mailto:gmarkovic@rstel.net
==================================================

International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties
"Current Trends In Capitalism: Economic, Social And
Political Impact. The Communists' Alternative"
Athens, 18-20 November, 2005

Contribution of Goran Markovic, President of the Main Board
of the Workers' Communist Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina

I want to greet you on behalf of the Main Board of the
Workers' Communist Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina and to
wish you successful work on this Conference and in the
following period. I'm going to say few things about
communist alternative in near future as possible response
to current trends in capitalism.

In their political struggle communists have to face with
two problems. First, they have to present a programme of
acceptable measures for solving of immediate social,
economic and political problems in their countries and
worldwide. Secondly, they have to persuade workers and
other citizens that their programme could be fulfilled.
This is because many people think that communism is dead
and that communists can't do anything for improving their
lives.

That is why we have to expand our propaganda and political
efforts in two fields. First, we have to persuade people
that communist alternative is worth struggling and that it
can bring more democracy, justice and welfare to people
than alternatives presented by right-wingers or social
democrats. In order to achieve this goal, we have to
present such an alternative that is based on real social
problems, with which people confront in every-day living
and then to propose solution that could be reached in near
future. As you can understand from this, I'm talking about
some kind of programme of immediate socio-economic and
political measures which are still not socialist in their
content but are socialist potentially, as a point from
which people would start to gather around socialist
movement, especially around communist parties. Namely, many
communist parties through history used this method. When
they were not strong enough to start immediate and direct
struggle for socialism, they advocated for such measures,
at first social and economic in their character, that could
serve for improving of working conditions and living
standard. I see that it is the case today when trade unions
under communist influence organize massive strike and
protest actions or when communist MPs propose laws in favor
of working people.

This kind of alternative, consisted of measures for
immediate improvements for working people, could be
achieved only through mass movement dominantly influenced
by communists. If this movement succeeds in this, then
people will be assured in practice that communist proposals
are valid. It would be more important than thousands of
leaflets or crowdie party meetings. If we talk about
welfare state, which certainly is not our ultimate goal, we
must be aware that although predominantly social democratic
governments participated in its construction, sometimes
with conscious or unconscious participation of communist
parties, today almost nothing remained of it. Many social
rights achieved during period of existence of welfare state
are diminished or abolished in present time. So, workers
have to fight for them again. Social democrats, who once
built welfare state, now give their full contribution to
its demolition. So, the communists are the only force who
can lead the struggle for renewal of important corps of
social and economic rights.

Current trends in capitalism push us to reinforce efforts
to occupy leading position in some kind of broad social
front in struggle against neoliberalism. Namely, working
class is not revolutionary. On the other side, it is ready
to fight for some social and economic rights that have been
seized from it. Neoliberal offensive of capital narrowed
living conditions, changed relationship between basic
social classes respecting their social power and weakened
workers' organizations. Workers are going to work as long
as they can or must in order to meet costs of expensive
life and they are worried about their working places,
especially in circumstances of high rate of unemployment.

But neoliberal offensive did not produce negative
consequences only for living conditions of working people.
It also produced some important consequences for status and
behavior of left-wing and workers' organizations. Social
democrats are in the camp of neoliberalism. If sometimes in
the past communists could think about coalition with them,
it is impossible today. Social democratic trade unions
rarely have militant programnme and methods of struggle,
while social democratic parties when in government never
act in interest of working people. Communists have to
present alternative to such methods and behavior of social
democrats. Coalition with social democrats could be of some
use if communists could be able to oblige social democrats
to move to the left and to stop exercising neoliberal
social and economic measures in the interest of ruling
class. Today it is impossible. That is why communists
should practice tactics of rejection of possible coalitions
with social democrats.

Communist alternative at present moment should be as
follows: rejection of abolition of social and economic
rights of working people in any case, rejection of all
plans for privatizations, wherever it is possible demanding
nationalizations and expansion of rights of participation
in management. These demands could be achieved through
social front of communists and other militants who are
against this neoliberal wave no matter of their closer
ideological background. There are many workers and other
citizens who are against this neoliberal wave but who are
not communists or who are just our sympathizers. There is
no reason why we should not cooperate with them. To be
precise, this cooperation would be in most cases possible
only with rank and file left wingers, not with their
leaderships, except in some cases with socialist trade
unions. However, there are many disappointed left wingers
who belong to reformist trade unions or political parties.
They criticize their own leaders but are not ready to make
a break with them. While we don't advocate for cooperation
with these reformist leaders we can advocate for including
these disappointed rank and file militants who are ready to
fight. If communists as a whole become part of this wide
social front I think there is no danger that reformists
could make us some problems. Of course, we should not try
to achieve our hegemony in social front using bureaucratic
means. Our hegemony would be natural result of radical
methods of struggle and clear and firm proposals. I don't
think that this social front has to be formal organization.
In some cases it could be, but basically it has to be only
coordination body and umbrella structure for wide range of
already existing organizations (trade unions, student'
organizations, etc.).

We see that communist MPs are in minority in all
parliaments and that they can't lead productive and
successful struggle for working people's rights through
mechanism of parliamentary system. Voters see this and that
is why in some countries they do not want to vote
communists or they do it lesser than before. If communists
want to increase their influence and share of votes they
have to prove that their struggle against neoliberalism is
not mere propaganda and that it gives concrete results. I
don't think there is another way for reaching this goal but
through extra parliamentary means of struggle, which means
dominant orientation for presentation of communist
alternative programme through social front under communist
influence.

Communist alternative at present moment has to be clearly
defined, consisted of concrete measures for such economic
and social policy which is directed at improving living and
working conditions and without compromises with ruling
class. So, basic motto of communist alternative programme
should be: "For working people's rights, with no
compromises".

There is no reason why communists have to hide their basic
goals and socialism particularly. But we have to explain
what happened to those societies that claimed to be
socialist. It is necessary if we want to attach people to
us and to give it perspective of struggle. Today it is more
than ever possible to combine explanation of all
contradictions and evils of capitalism with socialist
perspective. Necessary prerequisite for this is persuasion
that socialism is not past. There are two ways for making
this persuasion probable. The first one is achieving good
results in realizing alternative programme of social and
economic measures what is necessary for making confidence
in communists. The second one is critical analysis of
self-proclaimed socialist societies because people will not
come with us if we don't have convincing arguments for
contradictions and bad sides of Soviet type societies.