On the Occasion of the 140th Anniversary of the Birth of Lenin

8/9/2019 On the Occasion of the 140th Anniversary of the Birth of Lenin

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www.FocusOnSocialism.ca

OntheOccasionofthe140thAnniversaryoftheBirthof

Lenin

DonCurrieChair

Canadians

for

Peace

and

Socialism

EditorFocusonSocialismApril22,2010


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Forty years ago the International Communist movementorganizedworldwidecelebrationsonthe100thanniversaryofthe

birth

of

Vladimir

Ilyich

Lenin

(Ulyanov)

the

great

international

Communist leaderoftheproletariatandthefounderofthefirstworkers state the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).LeninwasbornonApril22,1870atSimbirsk,asmalltownonthebanksof theVolgaRiver. Hedied inMoscowJanuary21st 1924.HisremainsareinternedintheLeninMausoleumonRedSquare.

The internationalworkingclass in1970organizedmasspubliccelebrationsofLeninsbirthandundertookadeepandcreativestudyandapplicationofhiswork. TheWorldMarxistReview organized amajor symposium attended by Communist leaders from around theworldandpublishedhundredsoftheoreticalarticles. TheUNrecognizedthesignificanceof

Leninsbirth

and

work

as

publicist,

revolutionary

organizer

and

statesman.

On theoccasionoftheLeninCentenary, theCommunistPartyofCanadaorganizedpublicmeetings,concertsandcelebrationsallacrossthecountry.

TheGeneralSecretaryoftheCommunistParty,WilliamKashtanandNationalChairman,TimBuckandalloftheProvincialleaderspreparedanddeliveredaddressesinallprovincesandmajorcities. ThiswriterrecallsspeakingatmassmeetingsatthetimeinHamilton,Londonand Toronto. The Central leadership sent the General Secretary of the YCL,Dr. CharlesMcFaddenandthenationalorganizer,DonCurrie,onmembershipandpressbuildingtoursacrossthecountry.

The refounding convention, of the Young Communist League followed those tourswithover100delegatesattendingfromallprovincesandinternationalguestsfromtheUSA. TheYCLConvention tookplace inTorontoMarch27,28,29 1970,during theLeninCentennialYear. Toringingapplause,TimBuck,NationalChairoftheCommunistPartyaddressingtheyoungdelegatesspokeofthesignificanceoftheirachievementandsaidinclosing;Letnooneor anything,undowhat youhave donehere today. The documentsof thathistoricconvention have been preserved and will be republished soon on FOS as part of thehistorical legacyoftheCommunistPartyofCanadaand inhonouroftheupcomingCentralConventionoftheYoungCommunistLeague. TheYCLConventionof1970cantrulybesaid

to

have

been

the

Lenin

Centenary

Communist

Youth

Convention.

ALeninrecruiting leaflet,writtenbytheNationalOrganizeranddesignedbygraphicartistMichael Lucas,waspublished. Ten thousand copieswere distributed across the countryappealingtorevolutionarymindedworkersandyouthto jointheCommunistParty. Manydid. The Canadian Tribune, the Communist Partys newspaper published articles on thesignificanceofLeninscontributionstothestruggleforsocialism inCanada. TheCanadian

www.FocusOnSocialism.ca 140thAnniversaryoftheBirthofLenin Page2of14


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Tribuneunder theeditorshipofW.C. (Bill)Beeching immediatelygrewbyseveralhundrednewreadersresulting fromthemembershipandpressbuildingdrivethatwasundertaken

by

all

party

organizations

inspired

by

the

Lenin

Centenary.

TimBuckauthoredhiscelebratedwork,LeninandCanadaaswellasmajorarticlesforWorldMarxist Review and Communist Viewpoint. Those articles are republished on the FOSwebsite on the occasion of Lenins 140th birth celebrations. One of Bucks noteworthyarticles inspired by Lenins teachings on the trade unions, entitled Lenin and TodaysProblems in the TradeUnionMovementwaspublished in theAugust 27th edition of theCanadianTribune. Thearticlewasaddressedtomilitanttradeunionistsofthedayandstillringswithhelpfulideasfortodaysnewgenerationofrankandfileactivists.

TheLeninCentenaryandEarthDayIntheleaduptotheLeninCentenaryduringthetimewhenworldwide events celebrating Lenins 100th birthday were beingorganized by the International Communist Movement, a USSenator, unknown outside theUSA, proposed the launching ofEarthDayonApril22nd 1970on thesamedayastheworldwide

celebrationsof

Lenins

birth.

The

US

senators

proposal

was

quickly taken up by the capitalist press and a year later UNapprovalwasgivenforworldwidecommemorationofEarthDayonApril22nd. Muchhasbeenwritten inaspeculativewayabout

thecoincidenceofthe launchingofEarthDayonthesamedayasthe100thanniversaryoftheLeninsbirth.

Today,40years later, thecapitalistpressaboundswithpraise forEarthDayand is fullofexhortationstothepublictosetasideallotherstrugglesandworktosavetheearthfromenvironmental disaster. We are warned by all and sundry that the world is close toextinctionduetoglobalwarmingcausedbytheaffectsofhumanactivity.

ThemediaisfloodedfromthefarlefttosuchenlightenedcapitalistsasAlGoreaddressinga message to all of humanity about the dire threat of human extinction due to globalwarming. Thewarningsareusuallyquiteindiscriminateandincludethebillionsofpoorandpovertystricken,theoppressedwomenandyouthandeventhechildren,allwithoutredressoftheirurgentimmediateneedsforcleanwater,healthcare,housing,foodandeducation.



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Themessage inthecapitalistandenvironmentalmedia is that richandpoor,workersandcapitalists, imperialistsand revolutionaries;weareall inthistogether.They repeatdaily

that

we

are

all

responsible

for

overcoming

global

warming.

It

is

our

human

activity

after

all thatmenaces theworld, from theC02emitted fromamiserablecharcoal firewarmingthemeagrefoodofan innocentearthquakevictim inHaititothehandfulofglobalprivateprofiteers. ProfiteerswhoownthebiggestglobalemittersofCO2andexploitthelabouroftheworkersforcedtoworkthereforwagestosurvive. Weareallresponsible. Moreoverthe issueofhumanactivitycausingglobalwarming, it isargued,vociferouslybyardentenvironmentalists, now transcends all other problems faced by humankind. In affecteveryoneisresponsibleandintheendnooneisaccountable.

Theenvironmental issuehasbecome thegreatclasslesscrusadeof the21stCentury.Whoneedstobotherfighting fornucleardisarmamentand toreplacecapitalismwithsocialism

whenwe

are

confronted

with

such

an

imminent

catastrophe

of

biblical

proportions?

Let

us

notbeoverly concerned aboutUSNATOwars,militarizationof the capitalist economies,globaleconomicdepression,massunemployment,povertyand racism,theexploitationofwagelabour,whentheworldisbeingdestroyedbyhumanactivity.

Whatbetterway toabsolve imperialismof itscrimes, than toattributeallof theworldsproblemstohumanactivity. Suchaludicroustautologyseemstoparalyzeallreason,evenamongtheranksofsomeCommunists. Sincewhenhasthedevelopmentoftheproductiveforcesand its impacton theenvironmentnotbeenthe resultofhumanactivity? Onecanonly imagine the scorn that Lenin would pour on such poverty stricken reasoning thatpassesforthinkinginourcontemporaryworld.

So pervasive is the campaign promoting Earth Day that even the Communist press inCanada, both themost recent issueof Spark the CPCs theoretical journal, the Fall 2009issue,and theApril 15302010 issueofPeoplesVoice, thepartysnewspaper,overlookedthe 140thAnniversaryofLeninsbirth. ThePeoplesVoicegreen issuedevoted its frontpage,aneditorialandafullpagetoEarthDayponderings,butnotasinglewordaboutthesignificanceofLenins140th.

Lenin and his contributions to the liberation of the labouringmasses of the earth fromimperialismwill outlive EarthDay and all thosewho have erroneously failed to note his

contributions

to

human

progressthat

is

not

a

concern.

What

is

a

concern

is

the

failure

of

todaysCommuniststocalluponclassconsciousworkerstorestudyLeninandtoseekhishelp in solving in their own interests the problems of the modern day class struggle,includingenvironmentalproblems.

ThewordsofCommunistPartyofCanadaleaderMiguelFigueroatotheopeningofthe36thCentralConventioninFebruaryhaveahollowringinlightoftheomissionofLeninfromthe


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pagesofPeoplesVoiceand the Sparkandwithin the contentof theCentralConventiondeliberationsonthismostsignificantofanniversarieswhereComradeFigueroasaid:

Ofcourse,

we

have

a

clearly

delineated

theoretical

perspective

and

world

view

MarxismLeninismwhich is reflected inourPartyprogram,ourstrategy& tactics,andourdailyworkasCommunists.WeallrememberLeninsfamousdictum:withoutrevolutionarytheory,therecanbenorevolutionarymovement.

ComradeFigeroacontinues:

thedeepeningofourown theoreticaland ideologicalgroundingandouractiveengagement in the ideologicalstruggleagainst theenemiesofsocialismand thosewho strive to revise, reform or otherwise denude MarxismLeninism of its

revolutionary

content,

is

especially

vital

at

this

time.

MarxismWithoutLeninismToday it has become fashionable, for neoMarxists to speak ofMarxismwithoutLenin. Notonly is thatwrong inprinciple, it isimpossibleinpractice. Marx,EngelsandLeninareacontinuumofthe science of dialectical and historicalmaterialism that armed

theworkers

and

their

allies

with

a

reliable

theoretical

guide

to

confrontcapitalismthroughallofitsstagesofdevelopment.

LeninisthecontinuerofMarxandEngelsteachingsonrevolutionintheeraofimperialism,thelastandfinalstageofcapitalism,the

eraofimperialistwars,proletarianandpeoplesrevolutionaryupsurges,ofthegeneralcrisisofcapitalismintheperiodofitsmostreactionarystageanddecline.

LeninguidedbyMarx,ledtheproletariattothevictoryofthesocialistrevolutionintheeraofimperialism,theerainwhichwearenowliving. Thereisntacountryintheworldthatcanundertake the transition to socialism,without studying Lenins teachings and the Soviet

experienceon

how

to

do

it

and

that

is

particularly

important

for

an

advanced

capitalist

countrylikeCanada.



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TheCommunistAttitudetoTheoryThiswriterrecallsattendingapublicmeetinginTrailBCinsupportof the Communist candidate in the last federal election.At themeeting theLabour Secretaryof theCommunistParty,nowBCProvincial leader, was asked by a veteran labour militant to

comment

on

the

significance

of

the

leadership

of

Ken

Georgetti,

currentlyPresidentoftheCanadianLabourCongress. GeorgettiisaformermillworkerfromComincoTrail.

The reply by the Communist Labour Secretary to the questionrecountedhisexperienceandinvolvementintheeffortsofa left

caucusofwhichhewaspart, toelectmilitants to the leadershipof theCLCatoneof itsconventions,notanunimportantmatter.

Inthecourseofhisremarks,theLabourSecretarysaid,amongotherthings,thathedidntknowhowmanyrungsonthe ladderofcapitalistdevelopmentremained. Hesaidthathe

wasntoverly

concerned

about

what

stage

we

were

at

in

the

development

of

capitalism.

Thiswasbecause,heargued,what isofprimaryconcern toorganized labour istheactualstruggle itselfas it isnowunfolding. Iam recalling frommemoryhis remarks that remainvivid inmymind. Iwasstruckbytheir importsince IhadpolemicizedwiththeCommunistPartyleadershippreciselyonthispointwhileexpressingtheCPSsviewsontheCAWMagnabrouhaha.

Whymentionthisincident? WhatrelevancedoesithaveforCanadaontheoccasionofthe140thAnniversaryof thebirth Lenin? It has everything todowith itbecause it reveals acertaindismissiveirritationandimpatienceborderingonscornformattersoftheory. ThatisaseriousmistakeespeciallycomingfromanexperiencedCommunistleaderatanytime.Itis

particularlyimportant

today,

however,

when

the

extreme

right

wing

is

aggressively

attacking organized labour and when the labour movement has not found the way tomobilize itsstrengthtoconfrontmonopolycapitalismandforce ittoretreat. Everyeffortmust be exerted to find a theoretical answer to that problem because without it, thepracticalsolutionswillbeblindandlagtheobjectiverealityandconditions.



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Thelabourmovementatatimeofsevererecessionandmassunemploymentisfindinggreatdifficultyingettinguntrackedandtoexertitstremendouspowertogaintheinitiative in

labour

political

action.

What

impedes

independent

political

action

by

organized

labour

is

the

deep running negative influence that springs from of reformist ideology. It spreads theillusionamongworkersthatcapitalismisstillcapableofreform. Reformistsperpetuatethechimerathatprogressivedevelopmentintheeraofimperialismisstillpossible. Theysay allthatisrequiredoftheworkingclassisapatientandpassivewaitinguponevents.

The leadersofthelabourmovementmiredinbureaucraticmanagementofthemovement,accord scant time or thought to the objective reality of the level of current capitalistdevelopmentand its impactontheworkingclassand itsdevelopment. Thatmustchange.Thecurrentstageofthedevelopmentofcapitalism isnotwhere itwas40yearsago. Theworkingclassisstillthedecisiveforcewithintherelationsofproduction,butthecondition

ofits

existence

within

those

relations

has

changed.

The

industrial

working

class

as

a

proportionoftheworkingclassaswhole isdeclining innumbersasbasic industryandthemanufacturing sectors of the economy decline. Bourgeois economists shrug at such adevelopment.Whatisunimportantforthemiscriticalforworkers.

New conditions demand that that organized labour rethink and regroup. It requiresorganizedlabourtobegintograspthefactthatnewstrugglesandnewdemandsarecalledfor. Capitalism in the historical sense, and also in the immediate sense, is a spent forceincapableofproviding theworkingclasswithfullemploymentandsatisfying itseconomicandsocialneeds. LabourmusttakeupthechallengetodaystartingwiththesameadviceitwasgivenbyTimBuckin1970whenhesaid:Gonearethedayswhenitwasenoughtobe:Agin

(against

ed

these

are

Tims

words)

collaboration

with

the

bosses.

Central to that task is todiscusswhatkindofgovernment isneeded thatwillensure therestoration and expansion of Canadas basic and manufacturing industries. Theenvironmentalists do not set themselves such a task. In fact some even applaud thedisappearanceofindustrialdevelopmentdeclaringittobeunsustainableinthemodernera.TheCommunistshavenotdoneagoodjobonconfrontingthatvisionofthecountry. Infact,theCommunistPartyhasuncriticallyadoptedmostoftheenvironmentalprogram,aligningitsown formalenergyprogramwith theenvironmentalists. Thisadoptionstands instarkcontrast to the Communist Partys demand for expansionofmanufacturing, health care,

housing,education

it

cannot

be

done

without

an

expansion

of

all

energy

sources.

That

is

theweaknessthat CPSseesinthetreatmentoftheenergy issueinthelatestissueofSparkandaboutwhichwewillbecommentingfurtherinthefuture.

Confidence inan indepthunderstandingof thehistoricalstageweare living through,theformsof itsdevelopmentand tohaveaconsistentlyworkingclassstanceonall issues, iswhatdeterminesthesenseofoptimismandurgencywithwhichorganizedlabour,withthe


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helpof theCommunists, takesupanddevelops thenew strategiesof struggle in the21stCentury. Suchnewstrategiesmust includethediscussionofthenecessityforsocialism in

Canada.

That

is

unavoidable.

What

the

Communists

have

not

done

well

or

at

all

is

to

come

togripswithhowthatdiscussionistobepromotedfirstofalltothemilitantrankandfileoforganizedlabour.

TohaveafirmgraspofwhatallofthatentailsforCommunistsandlabourmilitants,allthosewhodeclarethemselvestobesocialists,cannotbeignored. Leninhadmuchtosayonthismatterandwefailtostudyhisadviceatourperil. Therearesomecluesinhiswritingsfrom1917up tohisdeath in1924andweneedtoreturntothemandseekhisadvice inthe21stCentury.

TaxInKindandRungsintheLadderofCapitalismInhiswork,Tax InKind,obligatory reading foranyworker thatwantstoknowaboutthedifficultiesofconsolidatingthevictoryofworkerspowerinRussianafterWW1,andaftertheBolshevikshad ledtheworkingclasstopower inOctober1917,Leninmadereference to another of his famous works, The Impending

Catastropheand

How

to

Combat

It

1917.

Lenin at the time was arguing passionately, tirelessly andpatiently for the workers and peasants to understand theimportanceofarevivalofstatecapitalismtobringaboutarevival

oflargescaleindustryandtotransformRussiafromapeasanteconomytoanindustrializedsocialisteconomy. ThequotethatfollowsisfromVolume32CollectedWorkspage336.

Weprovide Leninsquote in full so asnot to lose the significanceof the idea that LeninpresentedtotheBolsheviksandtheworkersandpeasantsofRussiainApril21,1921andthatcontinues to have profound significance for our struggles today in April 2010. Lenin

counselled;

InordertoconvincethereaderthatthisisnotthefirsttimeIhavegiventhishighappreciationofstatecapitalismandthatIgaveitbeforetheBolsheviksseizedpower,Itakethelibertyofquotingthefollowingpassagefrommypamphlet,TheImpendingCatastropheandHowToCombatIt,writteninSeptember1917.



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Try to substitute the Junkercapitalist state for the landownercapitalist state, arevolutionarydemocraticstate.ie.,astatewhichinarevolutionarywayabolishesall

privileges

and

does

not

fear

to

introduce

the

fullest

democracy

in

a

revolutionary

way.Youwillfindthat,givenareallyrevolutionarydemocraticstate,statemonopolycapitalisminevitablyandunavoidablyimpliesasteptowardssocialism

For socialism is merely the next step forward from state monopoly capitalistmonopoly

Statemonopoly capitalism is a complete material preparationfor socialism, thethresholdofsocialism,a rungon the ladderofhistorybetweenwhichand the rungcalledsocialismtherearenointermediaterungs.Pages27and28.(ouremphasisanditalicsDC)

ThisisthepointthattheLabourSecretaryoftheCommunistPartymissedinhisremarksinTrailduringthelastfederalelection. ItisimportanttounderstandthatCanadaisattherungontheladderofhistoryofthedevelopmentofcapitalisminourcountry,betweenwhichandtherungcalledsocialismtherearenot intermediaterungs. That istheprofound ideathatseparates Communists from all neoMarxists, from all reformists, from all anarchists,trotskyistsandlatterdayenvironmentalisttheorists,whetherradicalornot,whobelieveforonereasonoranother,thatcapitalismisnottheproblemandisstillcapableofprogressivehistoricaldevelopment.

Atallcosts,thecapitalistsandthepettybourgeoisradicalswhopleadwiththemtoreform,

demandthat

workers

be

consigned

a

dependent

subordinate

role

in

this

discussion.

Workersarecounsellednottoenterthediscussionwithanindependentworkingclassview.Workersaretobedutifulhelpersinresolvingthelatestcontradictionofcapitalism,sinceitisasserteditiswithoutquestion,intheirintereststodoso. Thematteroftheirexploitationatthepointofproductionwillhave towaitabetterday. It isastounding that thisadvice isofferedtotheworkingclassbythosewhoclaimtobeMarxistsandsomeevenwhoclaimtobeLeninists.

LeninspenthisentirelifecombatingsuchneoMarxistsandfriendsoflabour.

What has all of this to dowith Lenin and the Soviet experienceof building socialism as

outlinedin

Volumes

30,

31

and

32

of

Lenins

Collected

Works,

extending

from

1917

to

his

death in 1924? Perhapsabetterway topose thequestion is;what is thepurposeof theorchestrated global anticommunist campaign that is being unfolded by the propagandamillsof corporatepower inanattempt todisproveanddiscredit Leninandhis teachingsduringtheperiodoftherevolutionaryvictoryoftheproletariatoverthecombinednationalandinternationalforcesofimperialism?


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Ofcourse ithas todo firstofallwithcoveringup thecrimesof imperialismand itsmostcriminalformNazismthatreacheditmostdepravedforminthehorrorsofWW2. Thenubof

this

anti

communist

campaign

is

to

assert

that

imperialism

is

invincible

and

all

powerful

and

thatinspiteofitscrimesthereisnothingbetterforthelabouringmassestodothantohopethat imperialismwill reform itself as the environmentalists and the reformistspleadwiththemtodo. Therefore it ispointlesstostudytheexperienceofthe internationalworkingclassinattemptingtowinpowerandbuildasocietyofpeaceandsocialismandrestorethehealthoftheplanet.

That iswhatpreoccupies thepettybourgeois radicalsand keeps them awake in a frenzyponderinghow tobemore cleverand convincing inoffering imperialism advice to ceasebeingsowicked. Thesepettybourgeois forces,swingbackand forthbetweencapitalismandtheworkingclass,caughtinaconstantdespairarisingfromthefactthattheyhavebeen

castout

by

capitalism,

and

dont

want

to

join

the

working

class.

Such

revolutionaries

are

deeplydisappointed that theworkingclass let themdownanddidnotwin the revolutionwhentheyfirstdiscoveredit. Suchpettybourgeoisforcesfloodtheinternetwithaplethoraofwebsites slicinganddicingand reconstructingone theoryafteranother toexplain thefailuresofsocialismandhowtheycouldhavefixedthemandhowtheycanfixcapitalism.

SomuchhasbeensaidbysuchneoMarxistsabouttheallegedfailuresofsocialismandtheimportanceofavoidingamechanicalapplicationoftheSovietexperiencetothestruggleforsocialismtoday,somethingLeninhimselfwarnedagainst,thatthependulumhasswung inthe opposite direction of declaring that nothing in the Soviet experience is universallyapplicable to the struggle for socialism today. Sadly sometimes even the Communistsindulge

in

this

pointless

and

unseemly

sport.

TheSovietexperience, including thecausesof thecounterrevolution that resulted in theoverthrowofSovietpower,containsmanyvital lessonsforworkingclassstruggles today.Thatistrueforalloftherevolutionaryhistoricalexperienceoftheinternationalproletariat.Therewere universal lessons to be learned from the Paris Commune, the 1905 RussianRevolution,theOctoberRevolutionof1917,theemergenceoftheEuropeansocialistsystemofstatesandallsubsequentrevolutionsthathaveoccurredsince.

The revolutionary struggle for socialism goes forward in spite of all attempts to stop it

because

it

is

necessary

and

it

is

law

governed.

The

struggle

for

socialism

in

the

era

of

the

finalstageofcapitalism,itsmoribund imperialiststage isepochal. ThetaskofmoderndayCanadian Leninist revolutionaries is to study the objective laws of revolutionarydevelopment thatarecommon toallof the revolutionsof themoderneraandcreativelyapplythemtoCanadianreality.


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TheStruggleforSocialisminAdvancedCapitalistImperialistStatesLet us take one example from that experience that hasimportance for Canada today. CCPA Monitor, as reported inPeoples Voice of April 1530, 2010 states that half millionCanadian industrial and manufacturing workers were

permanentlydisplaced

from

the

work

place

in

the

current

depressionandthereisnoimmediateprospectofthemregainingthosejobs. ThePeoplesVoicecorrectlyreportsthisfinding. Thatisas itshouldbe. But is itenough? It isneverenoughfortheaCommunistpapertopublishthefindingsofoneofthebetterleft

socialdemocraticthinktankswithoutcomment.

Do the Communists accept the bleak assessment of CCPA that the permanent loss ofindustrial and manufacturing jobs is irreversible? We dont and we cant and still callourselvesMarxistsandLeninists.WhatdidLeninhavetosayinhiswork,TheTaxInKindon the vital importance of largescale production? Lenin said theworkers government

couldnot

advance

to

socialism

without

large

scale

production.

The

country

had

just

emergedfromthestateofwarcommunismwheregrainhadtobeappropriatedfromthepeasants, evenwhen they did not have enough for themselves, in exchange forpaper (promisetorepay)tofeedthestarvingworkersandthearmy. ThatwasWarCommunism.Astheinterventionistandcounterrevolutionaryarmiesweredefeated,itwasthenpossibleto tax the peasants in kind for a portion of their grain production and permit them toexchangegrainsurplusesforcommoditiesproducedinfactoriesbytheworkers,ineffect,atemporaryrevivalofcapitalism. Leninwasbluntonthispointanddidnotcoverupthefactthatwherethereiscommodityproductionandexchangethereiscapitalism.

Lenin

upheld

this

important

temporary

concession

to

capitalism

and

in

addition

said

the

socialist governmentwould invite foreign concessionaires (foreign capital) to developoilandforestryandminingtopavethewayforarevivaloflargescaleindustryinRussia. Leninsaidthiswouldbeaformofstatecapitalismandso longastheworkersheldpowertheycoulddictateandcontrolthetermsofitsdevelopment.Whatwascriticalwastounderstandthatsocialismwasnotpossiblewithoutlargescaleproduction. Thefirststepinthatprocesswastheelectrificationoftheentirecountry.



12/14


TheSovietUnionwentoninthedecadesthatfollowedtobuildsocialismfirstonthebasisoftheconstructionofheavy industryand thenwitha rapidexpansionofmanufacturingand

the

collectivization

of

agriculture

with

both

collective

and

state

farms.

Had

the

Bolsheviks

givenintothepettybourgeoisviewsthataboundedatthetime,thatatemporaryrevivalofcapitalismdidnotservesocialism,capitalismwouldnothavebeentemporarilyrevived inacontrolledandplannedwayunderthepoweroftheproletariangovernment. ItwouldhavebeenrevivedspontaneouslyanduncontrollablybythemarketthatwouldarisefirstamongthemassesofpeasantrywiththerichestamongthemsimplydisplacingtheformerCzaristlandownersandbecomingthenewoppressorsofthepoorpeasantsineffectandnewclassofcapitalistlandowners. Thesamethingwouldhavehappenedinindustrywiththeforeigncapitaltakingoverandreturningworkerstotheirpreviousstatusaswageslaves.

In fighting forhis views, Lenin engaged in apolemicwithBukharinwhodidnot support

Leninsadvice

to

the

Party

and

the

country.

Lenin

said

to

Buhkarin;

Marx

was

profoundly

rightwhenhetaughttheworkerstheimportanceoflargescaleproduction,preciselyforthereasonoffacilitatingthetransitiontosocialism.LeninthenwentontorefertoMarxsviewthat byway of exception itmight be possible to buy out the ruling class of Britain tofacilitate the transition to socialism in Britain, because Britain at the time was a highlydevelopedadvancedcapitalistindustrializedstatewithalargeworkingclass.

Sowhat is the lesson in allof thishistory forCanada today?Canada is faradvanced andoverly ripe as a developed monopoly finance capitalist system where the completepreparationforthetransitiontosocialismexists. Manyoptionsexistfortheworkingclasstotransformthestatemonopolysystem intoarevolutionarystateheadedbytheworkingclass

that

would

enable

the

people

of

Canada

to

rebuild

our

ruined

industries,

expand

our

manufacturing,rebuildthecountryoneastwestandnorthlinesanddoitinsuchawayastopreservetheenvironmentandprovidegoodjobsforallwhowanttowork.

The Communists must begin this discussion on much higher level than presently. TheCommunistPartymustsaybluntly toallof thedemocratic forceswhowantchange, thattheycannotgetitthroughthetwooldlinepartiesoftheprofitsystemorforthatmatterthereformistNDP.Itcannothappenbecausenoneofthepartiesdaretochallengethepowerofmonopolyoverthestate.

The

Canadian

capitalist

class

has

abandoned

the

defence

of

Canadian

sovereignty,

adopting

acosmopolitanviewofitsplaceinglobalcapitalism. ThatisafurtherevolutionofCanadiancapitalism to itsmost reactionary stage. It isadeparture from the 19thCenturyvisionofcapitalistdevelopmentoftheFathersofConfederationofaneastwestdevelopmentofourcountrythatrequiredthedevelopmentofbasiclargescaleindustryandmanufacturingandmodernagriculture to serve thehomemarketandexport surpluses to theworld. Todayfinancecapitalhasabandonedevenapretenceofthat19thcenturyvisionofCanadaasan


13/14


independent capitalist state and isworking to integrate itmore closely into theG8, theleading capitalist states as an imperialist power driven by finance capital and its global

ambitions.

ThemoderndayCanadianfinancecapitalistshavenothingtooffertheworkingclass. Theyareindifferenttothedeindustrializationofbasicproduction. TheyacceleratetheselloutofCanadasenergyandnaturalresourceswithoutregardtoCanadasfutureeconomicneeds.Theypromotecorporateagricultureanddonothingastheruraleconomysinksintopoverty.Theyhaveabandonedthehomemarkettoforeign importsandspendalloftheirtimeandresourcesonfreemarketswiththeEU,theUSA,andreactionaryregimessuchasColumbiawheretheycan importcheapandselldearattheexpenseofCanadian jobs.Theyarepreoccupiedwiththeexportoffinancecapitaltomarketswheretheytakeadvantageofcheaplabourandappropriateresourcesthatdonotbelongtothem. Their interest inthe inflow

andoutflow

of

finance

capital

is

only

concerned

with

whether

or

not

it

makes

a

profit

for

the

banks,largebondholdersandlargeinvestorsandtheirhangersonofwealth,privilegeandparasitism. Themerger of finance capitalwith the state department of finance is nowalmosttotalwithbigcapitaladvisingthegovernmentonallmattersoffiscalandbudgetarydecisions.

TheerawhentheCanadiancapitalistclass,thatwasamenabletopressurefromthepeopleandorganizedlabourtoinstituteprogressivestatecapitalistreformsbasedontheprincipleofuniversalitysuchaspublichealthcare,universalpensionplans,publiceducation,crowncorporationstofacilitateeastwesttransportation,alleviateregionalunderdevelopmentandprovideRandDfor farmers,and topromote throughCMHCsomepublichousing isover.Today

the

ruling

class

has

turned

on

the

people

and

their

aspirations

and

achievements

in

a

waythatcanonlybedescribedasamoral,predatoryandvicious. Anentirelynewtypeofgovernance is needed for Canadians, and that type of governance can only be to placemonopoly under control and through publicownership and control embark and plannedeconomic restoration of Canadian basic industry and manufacturing and all of theinfrastructure including in the first place the repatriation of ownership from foreigndominanceandcontrolallofCanadasenergyresources.

ThedescentoftherulingelitesofCanadatotheroleofpredatorsontheirowncountryanditspeople is expressed in the abject surrenderofCanadian foreign andmilitarypolicy to

unelectedforeign

entities

such

as

NATO,

NORAD

and

NORTHCOM

that

effectively

places

Canadian military doctrines in subordination to the US Military High Command. Thecapitalist class has opted for a program ofmilitarization as the foundation of Canadasforeign policy, and the active participation in USNATO wars as its practice. Canadiancapitalism today iswholly reactionaryandmustbe replaced ifCanada is to survive asanindependentstateandadvancetosocialism. Theprocessof itsreplacement iswhatmust


14/14


preoccupy the Communists and all of the advanced revolutionary andmilitant forces oflabourandpeoplesmovements.

Thatis

the

significance

of

Leninism

in

our

day.

We

are

standing

on

the

last

rung

in

the

ladder

of the development of capitalism beyond which there is only socialism. That realitydemandsarethinkingofthetypesofprograms,slogans,propagandaandagitationthatwilladvance thecauseof theworkingclassandunderlineconstantly theurgencyofall thoseprogrammaticdemandsthattheexpresstheneedforsocialism.

WeinCPSbelievethatisaworkinprogress. TheCommunistPartyhasmuchtodo. Thefirstthing itmust do is to raise up through a public discussion of new Canadian reality thetheoreticalleveloftheentirepartymembership,itssupporters,andinparticularthemilitantrankand fileoforganized labourtograspthesignificanceofthechanges inoureconomy

andto

act

accordingly.

We inCPSpropose that theway todo that is for theCommunistParty to inviteallof itssupporterswithan specialappeal tomilitantsand the youth in the labourmovement, toorganizeatwoyeardiscussionoftheCommunistPartyProgramofthePathtoSocialisminCanada in the 21st Century that should become the main theoretical work of the Partyleadingtoitsnextconventionmarkingits90thAnniversary.

CPSwillnotwaitforthat invitation,because it isourviewthatsuchwork isnecessaryandthattheprogram,theworkoftheCommunistsmustbemadealsothecreativeworkoftheentireworkingclass.Weintendtodoourpartbyathoroughstudyandreviewofthehistory

ofthe

development

of

the

Communist

Program

for

Canada

and

to

publish

our

views.

MuchremainstobedoneandweneedLeninshelptodoit.

Documents

On the Occasion of the 140th Anniversary of the Birth of Lenin