The International Unites the Human Race

History does not follow a straight line

For such a long time the significant lyrics of the Internationale have reflected the revolutionary hope and enthusiasm of the working class in many countries. The International unites the human race! These words do not merely voice revolutionary enthusiasm rising up through the air, but also express an important truth. It is an indispensable condition that the working class must be successful in its struggle against capitalism in order for the humanity to achieve liberty, getting rid of the evil of exploitative and class societies. To advance this struggle and gain victory depends in turn on the level of internationalist consciousness and organization of the proletariat. Thus, building the international organization of the proletariat has been a goal the vanguard forces of the class movement have tried to realize since the 19th Century. The First International in which Marx and Engels participated was a fruit of a historical period when the revolutionary workers’ movement started to open its eyes; a first step. The experience of The Second International followed, which rose upon the workers’ movement - getting massive in Europe at that time. Though strengthening of the workers’ struggle, appearance of it on the political scene and formation of mass workers’ parties constituted a progress, the Second International adapted to the bourgeois order and thus slid towards class compromise and finally became the international organization of the bourgeois-reformist social democratic current.

The Third International (the Comintern) would come into being in an environment where the revolutionary workers’ movement reached a very high level and began to shake the world. 1917 October Revolution proved to those, for and against, how capable the proletariat was, if led by a revolutionary force. Likewise, the Comintern – the organization of the world communist movement – could be built thanks to the magnificent political impact and moral influence of the October Revolution. The Third International was the first and best case in terms of the fact that it derived its gravitational force and political authority from the victorious October Revolution. Thus the world proletariat was entering the new period which Lenin depicted as the era of proletarian revolutions armed with its revolutionary weapons.

Unfortunately, this glowing start was followed by a defeat. Since the world revolution did not advance in the developed capitalist countries, the first victorious workers’ power got locked up within a backward frame like Russia and smashed by an inner bureaucratic counter-revolution. The Bolshevik Party which led the October Revolution was killed under the heels of the ruling bureaucracy. Revolutionary substance of the Comintern was completely emptied out and finally liquidated under Stalinism. Efforts of true Bolsheviks in resisting these assaults aimed at the revolutionary positions of the world proletariat were prevented by the death directives of the bureaucracy. The leadership of the revolutionary struggle that would carry all workers and toilers of the world to a brand new future without exploitation, oppression or unjust wars was smashed and destroyed. The crisis of humanity was crystallized in the crisis of revolutionary leadership.

Against these extraordinarily disadvantageous developments, with regards to the cause of getting rid of capitalism and creating a socialist future, stood the forces and efforts trying to keep alive the revolutionary tradition of the working class. The launching of the International Left Opposition and embarking on building the Fourth International under the leadership of Trotsky were concrete examples. However, these efforts were neither enough, nor carried on in a meaningful and correct way after the death of Trotsky. The Trotskyists waging political struggle in the name of the Fourth International were not able to bring the Bolshevik-Leninist tradition up today, which Trotsky had tried to keep alive. Thus the crisis of the international leadership of the working class grew through years before various revolutionary generations.

There are subjective and objective reasons for this crisis to remain unsolved for such a long historical period aside from the weaknesses of Trotskyism. The factors to be counted among these objective reasons are the circumstances of the world after the Second Imperialist War of Division. And we can divide it into two. First is the recovery the capitalist system on the basis of the astounding advance of the rising imperialist power, the US. The attack of the US secured a tendency to develop for capitalism in many regions of the world including Europe and made it possible for the system to carry on a policy of appeasement towards the working class, particularly in the developed capitalist countries. Thus, labor movement that once expressed itself via revolutionary fires of revolt in these countries was dragged into a cycle of serious retreat and satisfaction with limited reform demands.

The existence of the USSR ruled by the Stalinist bureaucracy was the second objective factor that shaped the post-war circumstances of the world and influenced the situation of the labor movement in all countries. This modern despotic-bureaucratic regime managed to present its existence - which has nothing to do with socialism in fact - as “living socialism” thanks to its domination in the land of the October Revolution. Again thanks to the same fact, an official communist movement was created on a word scale under direct control of the Stalinist bureaucracy and true revolutionaries were mercilessly suppressed. The Stalinist system was duplicating itself worldwide in time and was blockading the labor movement and many new generations from all sides. This situation would cause confusion in the world proletariat’s understanding of socialism and drive it out of the socialist struggle, particularly in developed capitalist countries. Furthermore, workers even found “democracy” of the bourgeois order better in the face of the totalitarian structure of the USSR.

The Stalinist tradition – which cannot be considered apart from the existence of the USSR - served as a subjective factor accompanying this objective situation. Stalinism dragged many generations into a non-Marxist “socialism” by distorting their consciousness. The very existence of official communism and its dominant position within the left in many countries made the working class - and many sincere revolutionaries determined to be part of it - deviate from the correct line of struggle. Stalinism had to collapse for the world proletariat to wake up from this nightmare of the century, and for the young generations to grasp Marxism and the necessity of organized revolutionary struggle without distortion. But of course the collapse of a system that had heavily marked an era, that had a primary influence on the global balances, that had taken its place in many people’s consciousness as the representative of socialism, was quite dissimilar to waking up from a nightmare.

It is clear enough for those Marxists who do not fear admitting the truth, that Trotskyism received a blow as well as Stalinism in the turmoil during the collapse of the so-called socialist bloc. But unfortunately many Trotskyist circles amused themselves with the dream that this political earthquake would harm only the Stalinist organizations and they would become a center of gravitation without effort. These kinds of elements were incapable of transforming the big crisis into an opportunity to make a balance sheet and a renewal on the basis of revolutionary Marxism. This conservatism and carelessness, together with the adverse conditions of the period, pulled the Trotskyist circles further into the whirl of segmentation, introversion and scuffling with each other.

It actually takes quite a longer time than usually thought to overcome the shock waves of political earthquakes of this magnitude and intensity and derive correct lessons from historical developments. By the close of previous era, politically exhausted generations leave the stage; and the battle field should be ready for fresh forces. However the expected leaps do not realize immediately. There are no miraculous formulas to solve at one sweep the problems that have accumulated through years. On the contrary, many futile attempts take place over a pretty long period of transition, as always the case with the aftermath of every turmoil. This is the reality of the left movement since the collapse of the Soviet Union and alike. This kind of periods cause disillusion in petty-bourgeois elements with naïve dreams like solving questions “right now”, but cannot drive those who grasp the flow of history on Marxist grounds into pessimism.

A period of liquidation

Indeed, it is very crucial to have a historical rather than conjunctural point of view in the face of various developments in order to be optimistic on the basis of firm grounds and resist the reverse winds. As a matter of fact it has never been an easy task to create the revolutionary leadership of the proletariat. The aspiration felt and efforts made for a leadership have always been on the target for blatant repression and insidious ideological assaults of the bourgeois order. The striking aspect of our recent past is an enormous increase in the scope and intensity of the field of activity of these assaults. The world bourgeoisie has launched a gigantic ideological bombardment making use of the collapse of the so-called socialist system and reaching the remotest corners of social and individual life in order to storm the grounds of Marxism.

It is very beneficial to keep the historical memory fresh. We should not forget that in that period there were attempts to discredit the idea of revolution and organized struggle before the young generations. The bourgeoisie did its best to root out the sense of class attachment and solidarity; and to paralyze the youth. How passionately the youth has been kept away from political struggle through the sophistry of individual emancipation and sexual and psychological obsessions indoctrinated by the bourgeois ideology. On the other hand, great portion of old generations were shaped so much under the influence of Stalinism and the reality of the Soviet Union that they literally collapsed after the collapse of the so-called “real socialism”. They left the battlefield becoming either totally degenerate or exhausted. Most of the official communist parties were transformed into social democratic ones. In the case of Turkey, when the heyday of their bosses in Moscow was over, the party bureaucracy finished the job by closing the TKP[2] of so many years.

During all this period of loss of political and organizational positions, ideological ones have also been heavily damaged. Transfer of revolutionary experience between generations has not been accomplished – a few exceptions aside. The society has been exposed to a dreadful amnesia. Memory erasing apparatuses of “Big Brothers” have worked full time to make the times when the working class had played a revolutionary role in social and political life almost completely forgotten. The ruling forces have embarked on creating an amorphous society that is unaware of great events of the recent past and mentally dulled with watching the modern “gladiator fights” – resembling the Roman Empire on the eve of fall. A mobilization has been launched in order to create an intellectual atmosphere which asserts that scientific truths of Marxism – which shed light to the inner dynamics of the capitalist society – are now outdated. Even the very existence of the working class has become a point of question by the influence of bourgeois ideology and petty bourgeois denial attached to it. Thus young generations have all opened their eyes to the world under very gloomy circumstances.

The general direction of the wind in these kinds of historical periods is towards a denial of Marxism, rejection of the need for a revolutionary organization, liquidation of existing organizations; briefly a total ideological and organizational liquidation. In these periods, the bourgeoisie has its ideologists work at full capacity in order to scrape the idea of revolution off the minds of the working class. It does its best to announce that Marxism is outdated, to reduce the socialist goal to a ridiculous idea, to brainwash asserting that revolutionary revolt is doomed to failure.

Circumstances of this kind are at the same time moments of clearance within the workers’ movement. A revolutionary minority that has deeply internalized Marxism, and that believes wholeheartedly in the revolutionary mission of the proletariat goes against the tide, in order to hand the flag of struggle to the young generations. And all those occasional companions, all hesitant, coward and renegade elements who became “revolutionaries” in the earlier high tide feel regret for the years spoiled with the idea of revolution and draw new routes for themselves. All those petty-bourgeois elements – once friends of the workers, now true enemies – join the chorus of the ruling class in the new climate the bourgeoisie has created: “Marxism is dead!”, “End of history!”, “Down with the dinosaurs that cling to the idea of revolution and the endeavor to get organized for revolution”, “Farewell to the working class”, “Long live capitalism”.

Although the traces of its damages can still be seen, this dark era has been lived out and left behind. The capitalist system remained on its own after trying to present itself as something precious through discrediting the socialist system and the “spell” was broken. The capitalism that drove humanity and the world we live in to colossal disasters is now naked. Today it requires a many times stronger empire of lies to secure its survival. It’s all useless! Having invaded all corners of our planet, this empire is depositing all its poison everywhere, refuting all its arrogance. The aging and decaying capitalism is rushing everywhere like a monster living on the blood of the young. Entering the new millennium with an ever deepening system crisis, capitalism is spreading seeds of instability. Peoples of the world are burning down in the fire of recent wars of division between great imperialist powers.

It is not a promising thing for a mode of production with regards to its future that it can only live on by increasing brutality and exploitation. Capitalism has entered a phase in which it tries to survive by the scenarios of fear it produces, without providing the society with any sensible hope about the future. To tell the truth, the trash dump of history is waiting wide open to engulf capitalism, whose turn has come. The only missing element is the revolutionary broom of the world proletariat to sweep it there. That’s why the working class desperately needs Marxism and the flag of international struggle waving all over the world today.

Trap of Substitutionism!

The objective prerequisites for the proletarian revolution are today much more mature compared to yesterday. However, the subjective factor is in a very backward condition compared to the beginning of the 20th Century that gave birth to the Great October Revolution. Due to the weakness of revolutionary consciousness and revolutionary organization of the world proletariat, the idea that capitalism can be destroyed seems like an impossible hollow dream to the masses today. That’s why the world bourgeoisie can find a way out despite the capitalist system is in the grip of grave tremors. For this reason, all the rulers of the system and their smart ideologists are struggling in order to keep the young working-toiling generations away from Marxism, faith in socialism and revolutionary struggle.

It is quite clear that, the bourgeoisie will be capable of somehow reaching a new capitalist equilibrium, no matter how big and serious the problems are, as long as the working class refrains from revolutionary struggle. But at what cost? The history of capitalism shows us that, as the crisis of the system deepens and widens, a new capitalist equilibrium can only be reached at the cost of new division wars, making working masses slaughter one another, an increase in exploitation and oppression, resurrection of fascism and racism, a total degeneration and madness in society. Therefore there is no way out of danger by staying away from struggle in such historical periods of tremor. On the contrary, the bombs of the imperialist powers fall on the head of the poor who spend their lives in the fruitless struggle of everyday life. All kinds of evils caused by capitalism haunt the worker who finds revolutionary struggle risky and thinks he is saving his children and himself by staying behind the walls of his home. It is quite clear that the working masses can drain out the source of danger and change the flow of history in their favor only in case that they embark on struggle.

There has appeared a big void in the field of revolutionary politics due to the lack of organization of the working class – which is the only power capable of changing the world in a revolutionary manner – and this is the gravest problem of our time. This void has never been, can never be, and will never be filled in by other “dynamic” forces. Those who assert that revolutionary movement of the proletariat is an illusion which belongs to past, that a modern power able to impede barbarism should be sought in alternative movements are terribly wrong. The only dynamic power that can put an end to the capitalist system of exploitation today is the revolutionary proletariat, just like yesterday. Unless it takes its place in the field of struggle with all its organized forces, no other social dynamic can shake the foundations of capitalism.

It is in fact quite a good development that the number of young people against capitalism increases as we see in the “anti-capitalist movement” and the others. There’s nothing wrong with the fact that young generations do not stay totally inert and try to perform a series of actions worldwide in the face of the assaults of the imperialist forces against various nations, humanity and nature. The problem arises when one begins to attribute importance beyond their might to those movements, instead of trying to pull them to the correct line by criticizing their deficient and flawed sides.

It is not correct to despise the potentials of young opposing forces that do not go beyond petty-bourgeois leftist understanding. But it would also be politically fatal, if the revolutionary mission of the proletariat is attributed to them. We should put the blame on those pretending to be Marxists who try to build a new political style upon this inadequate opposition, rather than young people who try to express their discontent with capitalism in a way, though insufficient.

For instance, there are attempts at portraying certain formations like “the European Social Forum” as a central force in the making of contemporary revolutionary organization, even the workers’ international. However, the basic political laws flowing from the mechanism of the capitalist system have not changed a bit! This kind of formations and actions are doomed to burn out in their temporary flame without the revolutionary leadership of the working class.

The history of the 20th century has proved that the working class bears a magnificent potential that can put an end to the conditions of capitalist exploitation. But this gigantic potential is at rest as long as the class is unorganized. Under these circumstances, the bourgeoisie sees the working class merely as an object to be exploited. Indeed the workers themselves share this view when they are not organized. And the petty bourgeois elements lose their faith in the proletariat and begin to overrate their “revolutionary potential”. Since Marxists assert that the working class possesses an immanent power that can change the world, they are seen as lunatics beating the air by the majority of society in this kind of conjunctures. But once the working class organizes and steps forward as the political vanguard force everybody – from the bourgeoisie to the intelligentsia and society – will be obliged to notice this power. As a matter of fact, it is only then the truths of Marxism take their place in the eyes of society – both for supporters and dissidents.

We have left an extremely adverse and dark period behind; however the proletariat has been able to recover almost nowhere in the world. Thus, trying to become a true Marxist, organizing one’s whole life according to this end is regarded as “a marginal effort”. But it is known that this kind of environments have occurred many times throughout history. And they have produced “Marxists” that adapt to “rationality” of the majority of society. The rule is valid today. These people will be eager to join and follow the most worthless bourgeois and petty-bourgeois opposition.

Let everybody go his own way. The point is to increase the number of elements willing to undertake the task of claiming Marxism without diluting or distorting it. It is clear that all problems of class movement – from tiny ones to complex ones like building a new International – can be solved by efforts of class forces that has internalized the revolutionary mission of the proletariat and that behave accordingly. No to an appeal for substituting a Marxism in inverted commas for Marxism, “new social dynamics” for the revolutionary movement of the proletariat, “social forums” without class colors for a genuine Workers’ International!

There is no individual salvation

As the history of capitalism shows, the class struggle proceeds with deep ebbs and flows. Sometimes the bourgeoisie and other times the proletariat makes a huge historical move and forces its opponent to retreat. Thus, this history contains periods of tragic regress as well as those of general social awakening. Bourgeoisie, as the ruling class of the capitalist order, has a more advantageous position, for utilizing the opportunities. The working class on the other hand, can make use of the opportunities for exercising a fatal blow to the capitalist order of exploitation if and only if it is gathered under a serious and revolutionary leadership and equipped with revolutionary consciousness.

The capitalist system led the working class many times to revolutionary situation since it is condemned to proceed with deep crises. And it will. The point is this: Will the proletariat be ready for these decisive moments of history? If not, the opportunity will be wasted and it may take a long reactionary period for it to reappear. This lesson of history is particularly crucial in these days, after a deep dark period of two decades. It is highly probable that this stormy era of capitalism will provide new historical opportunities for the world proletariat. Thus, it becomes a burning question day by day to win the young working generations over to correct ideas and a correct conception of struggle.

Lessons of historical experience show that the revolutionary working class and the revolutionary youth must be attracted to an internationalist line of struggle from the first day. From Marx and Engels to Lenin, Trotsky and other revolutionary leaders, this line is based on an understanding of world revolution. History clearly shows that the nationalist socialism - which stands on the opposite - takes (and can take) us to nowhere but capitalism. Marxist revolutionary understanding has nothing in common with national narrow-mindedness. The emancipation of the proletariat can be realized on a world scale, not a national one. For this reason, the revolutionary struggle must depend on an international programme and be organized on an international level.

Since capitalism proceeds only through increasing globalization and forming a world system, bourgeoisies of different nations cannot survive without constituting international unions – despite the rivalry among them. The interests of the workers – who share similar living conditions all over the world and whose freeing from capitalism depends on a struggle on a world scale - require much more fusion on an international level. A nationalist line of struggle with a perception of political organization that lacks international perspective cannot carry the working class - thus the humanity – to a new world and a free future.

These are not abstract truths but facts insistently defended and tried to be realized by communists before the hammer of the Stalinist rule crushed the world communist movement. It was true internationalism, and not nationalism, that marked the revolutionary party and programme conception of the proletariat, until the Stalinist rule spoiled socialism by reducing it to a kind of statism and national development. The international organization of the proletariat was more than merely a platform of information or solidarity where national parties would meet now and then; it was the revolutionary party of the proletariat. Organizations conducted by communists on a national scale in different countries that constitute the Internationale were various sections of the World Party. The Third Internationale initiated in Lenin’s time was the organization of the world revolution.

There have been crucial cracks, ruptures and erosions in the understanding of international organization since Lenin’s time. To tell the truth, the world proletariat has been precluded from an international organization for a long time. There are though, tens of ‘International Committee’s that claim to be based on the Fourth International or define themselves in other terms and follow diverse political lines. Briefly, the crisis in the leadership existed along with those structures unable to solve it for years. That is, the question of the International and theses and debates on its solution did not fall from the sky. These are realities with a long history. Still we can talk about a new tendency to develop today; this is the rise in the diversity and number of political circles and groups that attach importance to the question of International. The need for a new International is being uttered more loudly everyday by various groups from political organizations that are extensions of Stalinism to the centrists and different Trotskyist circles.

However, it would be wrong to daydream that the solution will be easy having in mind this posing of the crucial problem. First, it is clear that political tendencies without an ideological unity will in the end built different formations. Moreover, a real environment of despair and chaos may prevail for a certain period, as we go through in every important question that has not been solved and become gangrenous for years. Since, as it is known well, settled opinions are more persistent than the conditions that had once created them. The long shadow of past errors falls on the efforts for adopting a correct line on the question of international organization, and will do so for some time. This is somewhat inevitable. No new and correct beginning falls from the sky; it can only be the product of a long and toilsome struggle.

Those who do not conceive the issue in this way will either find the time consumed extremely tedious and as a total waste of some opportunities, or the troublesome road to the solution will seem totally meaningless to them. But no problem of the class movement can be solved with a sway of the hand, after so many accumulated crises. We should be patient and also be able to make progress towards revolutionary targets without losing time. This is a matter of organizational style and petty-bourgeois socialists (with their tendency to suddenly rise and then fall with the same pace) have never in history managed this. And they never will.

It is also very important to differentiate false signs of revival that are extensions of the old period from the birth pangs of the new, if one does not want to fall into great errors on the points at hand. History has never witnessed that those taking the false signs as real and consuming themselves in fruitless search of unity could be the midwives of new births. The Kurucesme Debates after the collapse of the Soviet Union and experiences following them is a very vivid example for this fact.

One cannot be a revolutionary without sweat

We need not be fortunetellers to guess that it is no easy task to resolve the question of international leadership of the proletariat, after examining the concrete conditions of our time. But being not easy does not mean being impossible. Of course, there are indispensable conditions for making progress towards a solution. At every stage, we should draw a thorough balance sheet, make the efforts to find out the correct way on crucial organizational and theoretical points continuous, and not be content with easy formulas that are good only for rescuing the day. One cannot become a revolutionary without showing a continuous effort and toiling for solutions to problems. Those who cannot bear new troubles and seek comfort in the organizational routinism should not gossip about building international organization of the proletariat. It takes us nowhere to cling to Stalinism or to head towards the easy way -but a dead end- of centrism instead of trying to really learn and internalize revolutionary Marxism, or boosting: “We’re already from the Trotskyist tradition, we have nothing to correct”. Certainly, this analysis is not limited to political circles in Turkey; this line of attitude can be found in almost every country.

There have always been differing currents and therefore various socialist organizations in the workers’ movement throughout history; this will also be the case in the future. Division is in conformity with the nature of things when there is fundamental divergence of opinion and different conceptions of organization. Revolutionary leadership of the working class cannot be built on unprincipled unions. It is not a good thing to split into pieces without any substantial reason and thus form tens of sects, but it doesn’t take us anywhere to cry for unity when one feels desperate. Sects are not transformed into bigger and sounder political structures in this way. The miserable plight of socialist circles in Turkey and other countries is obvious. While they fail to find a way out even for their own sake, they keep boasting with the claim that they can unite others. It is in fact the destiny of all sects to oscillate between a stubborn sectarianism and a mild unity-seeking and try to survive with this kind of schizophrenic ebbs and flows.

We should not be in error on one point. A small circle does not necessarily mean a sect. It would be highly incorrect to identify the sects of different caliber that ossify upon their own misconceptions with small structures that try to go along the line of revolutionary Marxism, embedded within the working class. While considering the latter, we should be very careful not to reduce historical experience into useless models. True, the Bolsheviks led by Lenin were a small political group before the revolution. We should not forget, however, that the birth of the Bolshevik line was based on the potential to obtain the unity of many political nuclei on important theoretical and organizational problems, rather than a self-styled claim of leadership. When it was thought that a programmatical and organizational unity was achieved, harsh laws of revolution made a split necessary in a short time. The Bolshevik organization was built in a toilsome struggle that led to a departure from the Mensheviks, who were in the same party. And this took place in a gigantic country like Russia and along with flames of revolution burning one after another. The heat of the class struggle accelerated splits and regroupments that would serve getting stronger and various re-gatherings were witnessed on this basis.

The basic truths illuminated by this historical experience have not changed a bit to date. However, the concrete conditions are not the same yet. That great fire has not been burned yet to drive the vanguard elements of the working class to the same road, eliminate the unhealthy, and fuse the fit forces in a pot. For this reason, a great regroupment that can effect the present day and future has not been realized yet, despite the enormous turmoil created by the collapse of the Soviet Union. Much has been talked about a unity or a split. But to tell the truth, the collapse of a system widely taken as “socialism” for so long has deeply affected and dreadfully stunned almost every group from Stalinists to Trotskyists. Therefore the condition of many political circles that claim to have managed a restructuring has not in fact based upon a healthy construction and healthy choices. 

Great majority of political structures formed in a period of general weakness under blows of a general wave of reaction and collapse are products of wavering political preferences and states of mind of the period, rather than sources of hope for the future. No need to mention the caravan of renegades. Some of the groups boarded at reformism and put an end to a seemingly revolutionary past. Some began departing from Stalinism, but arrived at centrism due to opportunist political calculations. The centrist spectrum has widened as the political slide from Stalinism towards revolutionary Marxism (or vice versa) stopped at the center. These kinds of developments are the fruits of deep turmoil that liquidate the old. We see how a political “equilibrium” that may seem stable to some while it is lived through day by day, turns out to be highly unstable and transitory when viewed from a wider historical perspective. A whole spectrum of political organizations and regroupments that seem to have gained a more or less stability for some time are candidates for instantly turning upside down when a series of new developments occur. When we enter a new period of revolutionary rise, oscillations to the right and left will be more aggravated. Therefore, it would be quite erroneous to take the current political scene as given and draw finished conclusions based upon this on many important questions including the question of international leadership.

New regroupments are needed on an international level and there is no doubt that we will witness an increased vitality in this field. On the other hand, it is clear that never in history the truth has prevailed, unless new circumstances and new forces arise to provide the ground that makes possible solving problems. Needless to say, new circumstances and new forces do not rise from the minds of individuals but only from the genuine flames of class struggles on a world scale. We should not forget that all the efforts of Marxist leaders in the beginning of the 20th century would not result in the Communist International, had there not been those great events that shake the world balances, revolutionary earthquakes, and finally 1917 October Revolution. What about today? However disappointing the subjective factors may seem, the cloudy period capitalism enters is pregnant with new turmoil, new surprises and new formations in every field.

The most important task of the day appears to be serving for a shaking up and revival that takes its power from the revolutionary Marxism in the class movement, on a national and international level, It is crystal-clear that only elements with a firm theoretical background, determination and revolutionary passion and enthusiasm can accomplish such a task. Political circles that have lost their enthusiasm, that repeat themselves, that do not make any self-criticism may survive on the basis of routinism, but has anyone ever seen they have launched a new leap forward? The revolutionary struggle of the proletariat needs vigorous forces and dynamism of the youth. In addition, a new leap on an international level will turn into a hollow dream unless a genuine effort for a revolutionary revival of the workers’ movements in many countries. For the forces of such a leap do not wait in heavens for the day to come down to earth. Not any problem of the working class has ever been resolved by “waiting for Godot”. As to an International the solution lies in tireless struggle for this cause.  

[1]   This line from the Internationale is slightly different in the Turkish version. It goes something like: “Through the International will come the liberation of the human race!”

[2]   TKP (Türkiye Komünist Partisi) used to be the official illegal communist party in Turkey, which no more exists. The one which controversially uses the same name today is a different organization.