Lisbon Meeting 10-12 November 2006, Contribution of NCP of
the Netherlands
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From: New Communist Party of the Netherlands, Thursday,
January 11, 2007
http://www.ncpn.nl , mailto:manifest@wanadoo.nl
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Contribution NCPN to international meeting 2006

'Dangers and potentialities of the international situation.
The imperialist strategy and the energy issue, the peoples'
struggle and the experience of Latin America, the prospects
of socialism'

Dear comrades, this meeting means a new step in the
developments of the important exchange of ideas of
communist and workers parties that started in Athens about
one decade ago. Now we thank the Portuguese Communist Party
for their hospitality.

Some ten years have been past since the start of the
meetings. We became stronger, because we survived in
dangerous world and were growing but also we became clearer
of our weaknesses. The title of this years meeting is very
defiant. This on one hand of course is necessary because we
are internationalists and have to find answers on all
existing questions. On the other hand we need concrete
answers on concrete questions on an operational level. In
other words: The NCPN is calling for concrete common
activities, as we have decided last year.

We appreciate much the analyse made in the 'Appeal against
militarism and war, for freedom, democracy, peace and
social progress'. We do recognize this outline very much in
our country, the Netherlands, one of the countries in
Europe that has developed, implemented and introduces the
neoliberal Lisbon-agenda of 2000 most of all European
countries. If you look for our country you will see what
our enemies want to realize. After November 22, the day of
the parliamentarian elections in our country the situation
will worsen, very quick if the existing government get the
possibility to continue, less quick, but anyhow steady, if
the socialdemocrates will be involved in the new
government. All political parties in the Dutch parliament,
recently also the so called Socialist Party, identify
themselves, some more, some less, with the existing,
capitalist society. They set limits to fighting the
capitalist system and go for marginal improvements. But
under capitalist conditions no structural benefits for the
people are possible. The left opposition therefore, 'mops
with the tap open'.

Comrades, the NCPN have been set up in 1992, after the
suppression of the former CPN, with the aim of building a
communist party in the Netherlands again and establish
socialism. Exactly because of these goals the party
distinguishes itself from the other parties. The NCPN is
anticapitalist of character. Real improvements in life
conditions and conservation of achievements, for which many
generations have fought, today only can be fight for or
kept if placed in the perspective of socialism. That is not
conservative, such as the dominating power wants the people
to believe, but progressive and necessary. We do not want a
jungle in which the right of strongest and the individual
apply.

The 'global' character of the social developments and
problems in ones own country cannot be understood without
placing them within an international en regional framework.
The stage of transnational monopoly capital has given class
antagonisms a global character. This requires the
internationalisation of the struggle of communist and
workers parties and of the fight of the trade unions
against destruction of life conditions and for improvement
of labour agreements worldwide. The working people must not
believe the fairy-tales of the capitalists as if the fight
for improvement of labour agreements in one country will be
at cost of improvement of labour agreements elsewhere in
the world.

According to the NCPN international unity, cooperation on
an operational scale and solidarity between national
progressive movements are necessary and are of a high
priority. How effective these social movements are stands
or falls with a strong communist world movement. Because
the large multinational enterprises has deeply nested
themselves in all the international institutions, often
founded and controlled by themselves. More then half of the
legislation, achieved by Dutch governments, is dictated by
'Brussels' or by international institutions. The current
legislation, which increasingly restricts the privacy of
Dutch citizens, is almost entirely inspired by the fear for
terrorists, prompted by the US. There is need for an
adequate and strong progressive ideological answer to this
frightening and to the canonisation of making profit,
behaving like entrepreneurs and being rich.

According to the NCPN the struggle of the so-called
antiglobalists for a 'different world' has to develop into
an anti-imperialist struggle, aimed at a socialist future.
If not then this movement also will remain a phenomenon of
marginal importance and even worse a movement that causes
confusion on the grass root level. The Dutch peace movement
has to put the role of NATO back in the middle and has to
reject the participation to imperialist predatory
expeditions, in the name of so called 'peace missions'.
Peace cannot be enforced by imperialistic force of arms.

Comrades, in the current class society capitalists and
workers work together daily. In social labour (production
and realisation of surplus value, the buy and sale of
labour) the two classes need each other. Although the
capitalist cannot do without the worker, the worker can do
without the capitalist. That's the most important
difference. That is proved by the occupation of factories,
while the production was continued. However, the
cooperation between capitalist and worker creates
continuously irreconcilable class antagonisms. The two
classes work (necessarily) togethe r, but in fact they are
standing hostile to each other.

Both classes claim that their interest is in agreement with
the 'public interest'. In case of the capitalists this
claim is false, in view of their private interests. On the
other hand, the claim of the working class is fully
correct, from a historical and democratic point of view.
Strengthening of the entrepreneurship, as is called from
all roofs nowadays, actually means the weakening of the
position of those who depend on wage and social security.
The capitalist system stands in the way of a humane, social
just development. Capitalist can only survive by
exploitation and robbery. Therefore the slogan of the NCPN
- took over from the Belgium comrades - on the way to a
humane society is: 'First the people, not the profit'.

Communists, for their ideas, are not very popular among the
propertied class. The real people in power, the bosses of
economy, the oppressors of people, the robbers of raw
materials, those who are loaded with money or want to be
loaded, don not like communists very much. They want to
exterminate completely everything that even smells like
communism and socialism. History teaches us that they
actually do it, if they see their chance or if they are
forced to do so, because they are driven into a corner.
Though socialism has been declared officially death,
several decades ago, the hatred campaigns against
communists and communism did not lose anything of their
power, just as the attempts tot prohibit our organisations.
Day in day out lies and distortions are being poured out
over the people. The fear for communists is proportional to
the level of propaganda for the justification of the
capitalistic system and the 'free market'.

In order to survive as a social and economic system
capitalism more and more has to intensify the exploitation
of the working people. Therefore capitalism has little more
to offer to the working people on the earth than working
longer, faster and more flexible, actually for continually
decreasing wages and worse labour agreements. To increase
the exploitation capitalists need to dismantle social
services and social security. Under the mask of 'necessary
deregulation' and 'less bureaucracy' actually large amounts
of public financial resources are transferred to banks and
companies. The neo-liberal politic is aiming at a
capitalism that 'freely and undisturbed' can go its pace,
not troubled by social legislation and binding agreements
between employers and worker. The demolition of
achievements, fought for in more then 150 years of struggle
by working people, stands high on their political agenda.

Dear comrades, the ruling class is in the offensive. In
2000, in Lissabon, the leaders of the EU have, on proposal
of European entrepreneurs and with approval of the top
leaders of the unions, decided to carry out a social
economic policy that would make the European economy
competitive with those of the US and Asia, in 10 years
time. The core of this policy, packed in terms such as
'knowledge economy' and 'flexible life course', is the
demolition of social achievements, as there are: permanent
jobs, career prospects, restriction of working hours (per
day, per week as well as per life), no ongoing time table
on the job unless there is a technical reason (process
industry, 24 hours services etc.), protection against
dismissal, etc. etc.

Communist parties, weakened by mistakes in the socialist
countries, and confused about the falling apart of
socialist countries, have suffered dramatic damage by the
capitalistic offensive or have been thrown back at national
politics. But the communists are not defeated. Slowly a
regrouping and growing of self-assertion becomes visible.
Everywhere in the world communists don not give up and are
working on reinforcing their organisation, sometimes
illegal and under life-threatening circumstances, or
legally as in our country. In the interest of those people
who necessarily need an organisation of struggle, to defend
their rights and achievements and to improve their
conditions of life. Especially young people, who enter the
'labour market' as newcomers, experience an increasing
uncertainty of subsistence, due to the replacement of
steady jobs by temporary, flexible contracts and
appointment based on 'general employability' in stead of
based on a specific function.

Comrades, shamelessly displayed wealth on the one hand and
shaming poverty on the other hand are the characteristics
of the decline and hollowing out of the 'welfare state', in
which under pressure of the labour movement there was eye
for the weak and in which solidarity was not an empty word.
Demolition of social rights and securities and the
privileges of the rich become more and more visible and at
the same time justified. In order to make this decline
'acceptable' the ideological struggle of the ruling class
is intensified. In an extensive brainwashing campaign the
existing capitalist reality is defended as the only
possible social system. Doubts are being dealt with as if
they are illusions and critics of this all devouring and
destroying system are being depicted as 'old-fashioned' or
even as 'terrorist'. The worsening of labour agreements on
the other hand is presented as 'modern' and 'liberating'.
The NCPN has no faith in the occasional stories by the
government about more jobs. The NCPN wants structural
employment, no staple-jobs. The NCPN is against the return
of the day-labourer, despite the beautiful picture that is
presented about this type of employment.

But comrades, the ruling class in many countries is forced
into the defensive. According to the NCPN the seemingly
supreme capitalism, that has the major part of the world in
its clutch, is in serious trouble. As a result of worldwide
competition between capital groups, contrasts are growing,
due to the fact that there is no common enemy anymore - the
block of socialist countries - and by the rise and growing
self-confidence of countries who demand their share in the
world politics, for instance: China, India, Venezuela,
Brazil, etc.

The NCPN see better possibilities for socialism in those
growing antagonisms between capital groups, but recognises
at the same time that for a large part of the working
population socialism still not is a perspective at the
moment. THE NCPN consider it for this reason as its task in
the Netherlands, together with parts of the working class,
to develop socialist perspectives. But that will be not a
simple task. Because socialism is 'not done' at the moment
in our country.

Comrades, the recent history shows a lot of examples of
direct involvement of the capitalist power system at
attacks against democracy. The NCPN is standing against
involvement of the Netherlands and Dutch troops in
so-called 'peace operations', that means military
occupation to enforce imperialistic aims. Both negative for
the working population in the Netherlands and in the
neocolonies. The NCPN requires immediate release of all
Dutch troops and calls for initiatives of the government to
end participation in NATO.

Comrades, only more communist influence can stop the
dismantling of social achievements. Only an international
treaty of powerful communist parties with more influence
can bring about a positive development. Only for communists
the ruling class really is frightened. The recent attacks
on communism and the theory of Class Struggle are the prove
of this. International Communism is itself still is in to
weak, still too small, with still too little influence. But
that must and will change. The worldwide communist
movement, seeing the disastrous development of the warlike
imperialism has to be b reinforced with new groups from the
society. The most important challenge today is to learn to
cooperate internationally more effective and more concrete.
We have to learn better to work together. This lesson we
learn by working together in a small part of Europe. The
NCPN took the initiative to study and fight -together with
the German Communist Party (DKP), the Communist Party of
Luxemburg (KPL) and the Workers Party of Belgium - the
implementation of the Lissabon-agenda in our countries. By
doing so we discover the practical problems to overcome, if
parties will work together on a longer during period. First
lesson is real unity takes time and energy, but without
this type of real cooperation there will be no successes.
Workers of all countries unite!