Reality
of
Imperialism
And
the
Future
of
Socialism
(Paper
presented
by
Prakash
Karat,
Member
of
the
Polit
Bureau,
CPI(M)
At
the
International
Workshop
On
the
Future
of
Socialism
in
the
21st
Century,Havana,
21
to
23
October,
1997
The
disintegration
of
the
Soviet
Union,
the
product
of
the
world's
first
socialist
revolution,
gave
rise
to
a
renewed
and
sustained
bout
of
"Marxism
is
dead"
propaganda.
A
corollary
to
such
an
offensive
is
the
reaction
that
Marxism
has
to
be
revised
in
such
a
manner
that
it
ceases
to
be
Marxist.
Both
these
trends
are
neither
new
nor
original.
In
different
periods
of
history,
in
the
course
of
the
ebb
and
tide
of
the
class
struggle,
such
ideas
have
arisen
with
varying
degrees
of
effect
and
durability.
But
the
speculation
about
the
future
of
Marxism
in
the
current
period,
in
the
last
decade
of
the
twentieth
century,
is
the
most
serious
which
the
working
class
movement
has
faced
so
far.
The
reasons
are
obvious
enough.
Seventy
four
years
after
the
October
revolution,
the
State
that
Lenin
and
the
Bolsheviks
founded
was
dismantled.
Alongwith
the
collapse
of
existing
socialism
in
Eastern
Europe,
it
changed
the
world
balance
of
forces
for
the
present,
in
favour
of
imperialism
and
world
capitalism.
From
such
a
dramatic
event,
stems
the
confidence
of
the
bourgeois
ideologues
that
Marxism
as
a
viable
worldview
and
scientific
theory
stands
discredited
and
rendered
obsolete.
Marxism
as
the
exposition
of
scientific
socialism
predates
the
October
revolution;
and
it
will
continue
to
be
a
revolutionary
theory
and
guide
to
action
after
the
demise
of
the
Soviet
Union.
The
existence
or
disappearance
of
the
Soviet
Union
does
not
invalidate
Marxism.
The
struggle
for
scientific
socialism,
which
is
the
basic
tenet
of
Marxism,
remains
the
only
alternative
to
capitalism
in
the
twentyfirst
century.
Class
struggle
as
the
motive
force
for
history
retains
it
universal
relevance.
Capitalism
today
and
in
future
too
can
be
understood
only
by
the
analysis
based
on
Marxism,
Scientific
socialism
based
on
historical
materialism
provides
the
revolutionary
framework
for
supplanting
capitalism
with
a
superior
and
exploitation
free
society.
Contemporary
capitalism
is
still
imperialism.
Notwithstanding
the
sustained
ideological
efforts
to
discard
imperialism
as
a
category
and
as
a
definition
of
world
capitalism,
imperialism
is
the
adversary
in
the
worldwide
class
struggle.
The
setbacks
to
the
socialist
system
have
altered
the
balance
of
forces
in
favour
of
imperialism
but
this
does
not
negate
the
existence
of
the
class
struggle.
The
scientific
and
technological
revolution
has
enabled
the
advanced
capitalist
countries
to
revolutionise
the
means
of
production
resulting
in
the
sharply
increased
exploitation
of
the
workers
and
greater
concentration
of
wealth
in
the
hands
of
the
upper
strata.
This
coupled
with
the
rapacious
exploitation
of
the
lesser
developed
capitalist
countries
constitute
the
vital
economic
sinews
of
imperialism.
At
the
ideological
and
cultural
level,
the
hegemony
of
the
bourgeois
classes
remains
intact
with
the
harnessing
of
the
powerful
mass
media
created
by
the
technological
revolution
to
globally
purvey
its
ideas.
It
is
this
dominance
of
the
economic,
technological
and
cultural
spheres
by
capitalism
which
provides
it
with
the
aura
of
invincibility.
Marxism
is
the
only
scientific
method
to
cut
through
to
the
kernel
of
the
predatory
and
exploitative
nature
of
world
capitalism
and
to
have
a
methodology
which
updates
the
comprehension
of
the
transformations
wrought
in
the
world
capitalist
system
in
the
last
two
quarters
of
the
twentieth
century.
Imperialism
is
not
about
to
disappear
in
the
21st
century.
The
theoretical
advance
made
by
Marxist-Leninist
analysis
of
the
growth
of
monopoly
capitalism
resulting
in
the
rise
of
modern
imperialism
has
to
be
carried
forward
to
take
stock
of
the
new
developments
in
the
last
two
decades
of
the
20th
century.
An
important
phenomenon
is
the
highly
mobile
international
finance
capital
which
shifts
from
one
part
of
the
world
to
the
other
in
search
of
quick
profits.
This
international
flow
of
capital
is
a
major
factor
for
the
intensified
exploitation
of
the
third
world
and
also
the
high
rates
of
unemployment
prevailing
in
the
advanced
capitalist
countries.
The
harmful
consequences
of
speculative
financial
flows
are
being
witnessed
currently
in
the
currency
crisis
which
has
gripped
the
South-East
countries
which
are
held
up
as
a
"model"
for
the
third
world
to
follow.
In
the
absence
of
a
countervailing
socialist
bloc,
imperialism
is
on
the
offensive
to
"roll
back"
the
limited
economic
sovereignty
of
the
third
world.
The
IMF,
World
Bank
and
WTO
being
the
trinity
which
holds
the
lesser
developed
countries
to
ransom
to
impose
the
policies
of
neo-liberalisation.
A
hallmark
of
capitalism
in
the
late
20th
century
is
that
it
has
gone
back
on
the
welfare
capitalism
which
it
touted
as
a
humane
system
which
led
to
the
theories
of
convergence
between
capitalism
and
socialism.
Neither
is
the
capitalism
of
the
contemporary
era
able
to
eliminate
high
unemployment
rates
leave
alone
provide
full
employment.
It
is
this
twin
attack
of
dismantling
the
welfare
system
and
inflicting
high
unemployment
which
is
meeting
with
resistance
and
the
intensification
of
the
class
struggle.
One
of
the
main
factors
discrediting
Marxism-Leninism
is
supposed
to
be
the
irrelevance
of
class
struggle
and
the
central
role
of
the
working
class.
The
argument
is
that
under
the
rubric
of
globalisation,
the
internationalisation
of
capital
and
the
growing
might
of
the
TNCs,
the
structural
changes
under
capitalism
have
marginalised
the
working
class
and
made
class
struggles
ineffective
within
a
nation-state.
This
myth
found
increasing
adherence
after
the
setbacks
to
socialism.
The
recent
period
has
provided
enough
evidence
to
challenge
these
false
premises
fostered
in
the
name
of
globalisation.
The
strike
struggles
of
the
French
workers
in
the
winter
of
1995
and
the
1996
general
strike
of
the
South
Korean
workers
have
graphically
illustrated
the
existence
and
vitality
of
class
struggle
and
punctured
the
myths
built
up
about
the
nature
of
late
20th
century
capitalism.
For
those
who
doubt
the
capability
of
the
working
class
and
the
relevance
of
class
struggle
against
capitalism,
the
recent
spate
of
working
class
struggles
in
Europe,
Latin
America
and
Asia
should
be
an
adequate
warning.
These
struggles,
though
of
a
defensive
nature
are
the
centre-piece
of
the
emerging
worldwide
resistance
to
the
new
offensive
of
capitalism.
No
other
class
or
intermediate
strata
have
shown
even
remotely
the
same
capacity.
The
political
impact
of
these
struggles
are
already
being
felt
in
some
of
the
countries
of
Europe
and
Latin
America.
In
India,
one
of
the
biggest
"emerging
markets"
targetted
by
the
IMF
and
the
World
Bank,
there
were
four
one
day
general
strikes
by
the
Indian
working
class
between
1991
and
1995
which
drew
in
sections
of
the
peasantry
and
other
working
people.
RENOVATING
SOCIALISM
The
first
socialist
revolution
took
place
in
an
underdeveloped
capitalist
country
where
semi-feudal
relations
still
prevailed.
Lenin
had
viewed
1917
as
a
precursor
to
the
German
revolution
and
the
world
revolution.
The
German
and
Hungarian
revolutions
of
the
1918-19
period
and
other
revolutionary
upheavals
were
crushed
by
the
bourgeoisie.
"Socialism
in
one
country"
was
a
necessity
not
the
preferred
choice.
The
travails
of
building
socialism
encircled
by
imperialism,
the
double
burden
of
eliminating
pre-capitalist
backwardness
and
catching
up
with
the
productive
levels
of
Western
capitalism
was
a
heroic
endeavour.
The
socialist
potential
was
vividly
manifested
in
the
all-round
rapid
development
of
the
productive
forces,
the
welfare
benefits
for
all
citizens
unparalleled
in
history
and
the
stupendous
struggle
to
defeat
fascism.
The
defects
were
the
birthmarks
and
part
of
the
heritage
of
the
conditions
in
which
the
first
socialist
state
was
born.
Looking
back
we
can
see
that
the
historic
achievements
of
the
Soviet
Union
in
the
early
decades
in
the
face
of
enormous
difficulties
had
blurred
the
reality
that
the
transition
to
socialism
is
a
protracted
and
complex
process.
Lenin
had
warned
at
the
outset
itself:
"We
have
only
just
taken
the
first
steps
towards
shaking
off
capitalism
altogether
and
beginning
the
transition
to
socialism.
We
do
not
know
and
we
cannot
know
how
many
stages
of
transition
to
socialism
there
will
be".
(Coll.
Works,
Vol
27
page
31)
Further
Lenin
had
stated,
"The
more
backward
the
country,
which,
owing
to
the
zigzags
of
history
has
proved
to
be
the
one
to
start
the
socialist
revolution,
the
more
is
it
difficult
for
that
country
to
pass
from
its
old
capitalist
relations
to
socialist
relations".
(Vol
27
page
89)
It
must
be
recognised
that
a
weakness
of
Marxist
theory
has
been
the
underdevelopment
of
the
creative
thought
in
study
of
existing
socialism
and
the
development
of
a
new
society
as
compared
to
its
strong
and
comprehensive
analysis
of
the
capitalist
system.
Without
going
into
a
detailed
enquiry
into
the
causes
for
the
dismantling
of
the
Soviet
Union,
the
lessons
from
it
have
to
be
grasped
so
that
a
coherent
Marxist
Leninist
understanding
provides
the
groundwork
for
future
progress.
To
enrich
Marxist-Leninist
theory
and
practice
some
of
the
salient
features
which
require
critical
study
must
be
mentioned:
(1)
Socialist
democracy:
the
institutionalisation
of
democratic
forums
and
participation
of
people
in
the
political
process
and
economic
management;
(2)
need
for
a
correct
relationship
between
the
State
and
the
Party
in
a
socialist
society;
(3)
flexibility
in
the
management
of
the
economy
and
multiplicity
of
the
forms
of
ownership
of
property
at
different
stages.
To
build
socialism
in
a
world
where
capitalism
retains
dominant
or
substantial
strength,
requires
a
theoretical
perspective
which
recognises
the
paramount
lesson
that
the
transition
to
socialism
and
the
building
of
socialism,
particularly
in
lesser
developed
capitalist
countries
is
a
more
protracted
and
complex
process
than
it
was
envisaged
under
the
impact
of
the
October
Revolution.
The
substantial
and
historic
achievements
of
socialism
in
the
Soviet
Union
should
be
drawn
upon
to
develop
the
theoretical
basis
for
seeing
the
entire
period
of
achieving
socialist
revolution
and
building
socialism
as
a
diverse
process
where
there
can
be
no
one
model.
Socialism
will
be
built
in
a
country
in
a
context
where
capitalist
relations
and
influences
will
continue
to
prevail
for
a
long
period
of
time
both
internationally
and
domestically.
In
such
a
situation
the
difficult
task
of
building
an
alternative
model
of
socialist
development
will
require
constant
raising
and
rejuvenation
of
political
consciousness
by
the
active
participation
of
the
people
at
all
stages
of
political
and
economic
development.
It
is
here
that
the
vital
importance
of
socialist
democracy
is
located.
The
sobering
and
hard
lesson
for
the
future
is
that
the
absence
of
democracy
in
any
socialist
experiment,
the
failure
to
expand
and
develop
the
potential
of
democracy
will
deform
and
distort
socialism.
The
Leninist
conception
of
a
party
which
has
been
the
instrument
for
revolutionary
seizure
of
power
and
consolidation
of
the
new
State
has
to
be
developed
in
such
a
manner
that
the
correct
relationship
between
the
State
and
the
party
is
established
in
a
socialist
society.
This
requires
ending
the
misuse
of
democratic
centralism
which
is
a
party
principle
being
extended
to
State
functioning.
It
demands
the
institutionalisation
of
democratic
forums
in
society
which
are
not
the
sole
preserve
of
the
ruling
party
and
the
need
for
pluralism
within
the
socialist
framework.
Above
all,
the
paramount
lesson
is
that
the
transition
to
socialism
and
the
building
of
socialism,
particularly
in
lesser
developed
capitalist
countries,
is
a
more
protracted
and
complex
process
than
it
was
envisaged
under
the
impact
of
the
October
revolution.
Understanding
the
prolonged
nature
of
the
transition
to
a
new
society,
a
fresh
look
at
Marxist
theoretical
work
on
economic
development.
This
requires
giving
up
the
entrenched
notion
of
public
ownership
being
equated
with
only
State
ownership.
Different
forms
of
public
ownership,
other
than
State
ownership,
are
necessary
to
prevent
bureaucraticism
and
stagnation.
The
co-existence
of
planned
and
commodity-market
sectors
will
have
to
be
constantly
updated
and
innovated.
Central
Planning
as
a
singular/centralised
model
must
give
way
to
plans
at
different
levels
and
the
vital
element
of
popular
participation.
The
coexistence
with
capitalist
forms
necessitates
the
continuous
ideological
struggle
against
the
bourgeois
ideology
it
engenders
and
its
corrupting
influences.
This
is
possible
only
if
the
revolutionary
party
does
not
confine
its
role
to
administering
the
State
and
managing
the
economy.
The
parties
in
the
Soviet
Union
and
East
Europe
played
no
role
as
independent
agencies
for
waging
ideological
struggle
and
political
work
among
the
people.
This
in
turn
is
related
to
the
lack
of
institutionalising
socialist
democracy
which
is
not
possible
by
merging
the
ideology
of
the
Party
with
the
State.
Marxist
Alternatives
In
the
"post-Soviet"
and
so-called
"post-Marxist"
era,
there
are
various
ideological
trends
and
theories
flourishing
which
deny
even
the
possibility
or
the
necessity
to
comprehend
the
world
as
a
whole.
Such
contemporary
currents
as
post-modernism
have
arisen
in
the
period
of
late
capitalism
which
has
turned
against
the
very
project
of
enlightenment
which
marked
the
early
phase
of
the
rising
bourgeoisie.
Marxism
has
to
refute
many
of
these
radical
variants
within
the
bourgeois
thought.
Theories
of
class
convergence,
disappearance
of
class
struggle
and
in
practice
class
collaboration
and
co-option
to
the
prevailing
dominant
bourgeois
ideologies
are
a
marked
feature
of
the
current
period.
The
socialist
alternative
will
have
to
be
kept
abreast
and
by
using
Marxist
theory
to
refute
the
many
radical
variants
of
bourgeois
thought.
The
record
of
social
democracy
in
the
last
decade
of
the
twentieth
century
shows
a
total
collapse
of
the
radical
vision.
Identity
politics
based
on
gender,
race
and
ethnicity
cannot
support
a
viable
socialist
project
for
the
twentyfirst
century.
The
challenge
before
Marxism-Leninism
is
to
integrate
within
the
socialist
alternative,
based
on
class
politics,
all
the
living
issues
such
as
gender,
environment
and
racial-ethnic
inequalities.
Given
the
constraints
of
the
scope
of
the
paper
and
the
length,
we
can
only
briefly
deal
with
two
of
the
issues.
In
the
conditions
of
contemporary
bourgeois
society,
the
question
of
gender
oppression
assumes
vital
importance.
This
makes
it
essential
for
Marxists
to
unravel
the
threads
linking
patriarchy
and
capitalism.
Unlike
the
decades
of
the
sixties
and
the
seventies,
when
the
feminist
movement
sought
to
address
issues
of
gender
oppression
devoid
of
class,
the
present
capitalist
offensive
with
"flexible"
employment
and
similar
measures
making
women
major
victims
has
brought
the
class
oppression
of
women
into
focus.
While
looking
at
working
women
as
an
integral
part
of
the
exploited
classes
the
social
aspects
of
gender
oppression
within
the
class
is
something
Marxist
theory
must
seriously
address.
The
world
is
faced
with
a
serious
threat
to
the
ecology
which
threatens
life
and
nature
on
the
planet.
The
ecological
problem
and
the
environmental
degradation
is
of
global
proportions
and
affects
the
future
of
humanity.
To
recognise
this
threat
is
one
thing
but
to
pose
it
as
an
issue
which
transcends
class
and
argue
for
a
theory
of
inter-dependence
with
imperialism
as
Gorbachev
did
is
another
thing
altogether.
It
is
true
that
Marxists,
particularly
in
the
third
world,
have
not
paid
sufficient
attention
to
developing
a
comprehensive
analysis
to
deal
with
the
question
of
ecology
and
environment.
At
the
same
time
it
is
wrong
to
claim
that
Marxism
precludes
a
proper
understanding
of
the
issue
of
environment
given
its
"productionist
bias".
A
careful
reading
of
Marx
and
Engels
shows
that
the
whole
basis
of
their
philosophical
understanding
was
that
man
is
part
of
nature
and
his
being
and
life
is
organically
related
to
nature.
As
Marx
wrote
in
1844
"Man
lives
from
nature
i.e.
nature
is
his
body,
and
he
must
maintain
a
continuing
dialogue
with
it
if
he
is
not
to
die.
To
say
that
man's
mental
and
physical
life
is
linked
to
nature
simply
means
that
nature
is
linked
to
itself,
for
man
is
part
of
nature".
Engels
wrote
about
how
the
division
between
town
and
country
affects
nature.
However
in
the
19th
century
Marx
and
Engels
could
not
have
envisaged
the
global
threat
to
ecology
which
developed
over
a
sustained
period
of
capitalist
development
with
its
profit
driven
plundering
of
nature.
On
the
global
scale
today
the
threat
to
the
environment
is
integrally
connected
to
the
mechanisms
of
worldwide
capitalist
exploitation.
Fidel
Castro's
speech
at
the
Rio
Summit
in
1992
is
a
brilliant
Marxist
exposition
of
the
environmental
issue
wherein
he
said
"In
essence,
the
North's
ecological
deterioration
has
been
"exported
in
large
measure
to
the
South
as
part
of
a
long
process
of
capitalist
development".
The
advanced
capitalist
countries
have
to
pay
its
"ecological
debt"
to
the
third
world.
"All
too
frequently
in
developed
capitalist
societies
it
is
clear
that
ecological
concerns
are
incompatible
with
the
profit
principle,
the
exaggerated
desire
to
consume
and
the
primary
objective
of
individual
well-being
which
are
the
essential
driving
forces
of
those
societies".
The
export
of
ecological
pollution
from
the
richer
capitalist
countries
to
the
poor
countries,
the
possession
and
control
of
genetic
resources,
the
efforts
to
control
and
check
development
of
the
third
world
countries
using
the
ecological
factor
to
make
up
for
the
lavish
consumption
and
affluent
standards
of
the
imperialist
countries
is
to
be
seen
as
part
of
the
international
class
struggle.
CONTEMPORARY
RELEVANCE
As
we
approach
the
next
century,
the
world
experienced
the
enormous
development
of
the
productive
forces,
the
successive
waves
of
the
scientific
and
technological
revolution
and
for
the
first
time
an
abundance
of
material
goods
which
can
end
want
and
deprivation
for
the
whole
of
humanity.
In
contrast
to
this
possibility,
the
bulk
of
the
world's
population
lives
in
hunger,
poverty
and
disease.
Capitalism
is
a
system
which
has
resulted
in
such
a
sharp
divide.
For
the
true
emancipation
of
humanity,
class
exploitation
and
imperialism
must
end.
The
currents
against
such
exploitation
are
reasserting
themselves
amongst
different
sections
of
the
working
people
in
various
parts
of
the
world.
As
long
as
this
struggle
for
human
emancipation
remains,
Marxism
will
provide
the
nourishing
springs
for
analysis
and
for
revolutionary
movements
to
transform
the
world.
It
is
essential
for
the
Marxists
of
the
current
generation
to
carry
forward
the
task
of
developing
Marxism
further.
Discarding
what
is
not
relevant
and
taking
on
board
what
is
new
is
a
constant
process
in
the
Marxist
method.
It
will
be
well
for
us
to
remember
what
Lenin
said,
"We
most
certainly
do
not
look
upon
the
theory
of
Marx
as
something
permanent
and
immutable;
on
the
contrary
we
remain
convinced
that
it
has
merely
laid
the
foundation
stone
of
the
science
which
socialists
must
advance
in
all
directions
if
they
want
to
keep
abreast
of
life".
It is appropriate and befitting that the Communist Party of Cuba is sponsoring this International Workshop on the Future of Socialism in the 21st Century to mark the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Che Guevara's martyrdom. For if there is anything Che's revolutionary life and work symbolised, it is the striving for perfection in theory and practice inspired by an undying optimism that socialism is the future.