IRMT’s May Day Message to Marksist Tutum

To the comrades of Marksist Tutum

Dear comrades

The deep crisis of the capitalist system is already more than seven years old and is set to continue. False saviours like the Chavistas in Venezuela and Syriza in Greece have predictably failed to offer any real alternative that can replace this wounded and dying beast that keeps enslaving (and even devouring) ever larger numbers of workers to stay alive. Whether using computers and robots to replace workers in the imperialist and other advanced capitalist countries, or expanding into rural India and China, all that capitalism can now achieve is the continuation and intensification of poverty, war and injustice. Despite the huge technical achievements of the past 20-25 years capitalism is still incapable of meeting the most basic needs of workers and the vast majority of humanity. Just to have enough food and adequate shelter we need to go beyond this system!

In addition to this general situation, the wider Middle East region has been through many other changes during the past few years. The capitalist classes of Turkey and Iran are two of the more prominent ‘players’ in a struggle for regional supremacy that many have compared to the ‘Great Game’ between Tsarist Russia and the British Empire. This struggle between our rulers has exposed – and will continue to expose – the increasing contradictions inside Turkish and Iranian capitalism. (And, in the specific case of Iran, ever closer co-operation with US imperialism will expose the true nature of the regime’s class character to a much wider section of workers.)

However, exposing the weaknesses of capitalism is not enough. It is our task to prepare the working class to make maximum use of these contradictions and cracks in the capitalist system. We must make organisational and theoretical preparations that will enable the working class to forge regional and international links that make it possible to overthrow the capitalist class and smash its state apparatus.

In this spirit of full realism about the current situation, and abundant optimism about building a classless society in the future, we send you our warmest May Day greetings in the hope of closer collaboration in building Bolshevik-Leninist parties in Turkey, Iran and beyond.

Long live May Day!

Long live Bolshevik-Leninism!

Long live the proletarian socialist revolution!

Iranian Revolutionary Marxists’ Tendency