Comrades, first we would like to thank you for the invitation and the opportunity to share our views at this important meeting. We have noticed that there has been a difference of opinions concerning the nature of contemporary imperialism. It is an important task for the communist movement to discuss and clarify these issues.
We understand imperialism as a type of socio-economic formation. It is a global system of interconnected and mutually interdependent institutions: private monopolies, companies, financial institutions, states, international bodies, political organisations and networks which secure the interests of big capital and the bourgeoisie. The economic essence of imperialism is a monopoly and its features, with appropriation of resources and export of capital at its core.
A hundred years ago, in the times of Lenin, a competition between two equivalent imperialist blocks led to World War I. Most of the world was divided then between British and French colonial empires, and Germany, a new, emerging industrial power, strove for the re-division of colonial loots. Both blocks reached a similar, imperialistic stage of development of capitalism and its productive forces.
However, the features of imperialism have changed over the last century. Former imperialist competitors, such as the US, Germany, France, England and Japan have formed a new political and economic alliance. Capital and power have accumulated on the unprecedented scale with the creation of international structures such as NATO, EU, IMF, etc., which unilaterally guard the interests of the imperialist’s own monopolies. Imperialism now constitutes an integrated, centralised, single block, speaking one voice on key issues. Since the destruction of the Soviet Union, it is justified to speak about unipolar world order. Furthermore, direct colonialism has been overthrown, which has forced capitalism to apply more refined methods – economic pressure, inciting ethnic conflicts and military interventions.
The XX Century has also witnessed an appearance of the first socialist countries. In our assessment, they succeeded in realizing their main objectives. In our country, Poland, socialism brought the biggest economic, social, cultural and scientific progress in the whole history. Reaching a higher level of socialist development was hindered by the need to match the military might of the capitalist countries. This had to be done despite the lower degree of industrialisation, however it secured many years of peace. Even though counter-revolutions managed to partially destroy these achievements, the legacy of the Great October Revolution was not completely lost. Socialist relations of productions still prevail in many countries all around the world – e.g. in Cuba, DPRK and to large extent in China.
Currently we are also witnessing the formation of a new block of states in Asia, Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe. Some comrades argue that they are new competing imperialist centres. We disagree with such assessment. The development of their productive forces is far behind the “developed” countries. Their economic development measured in gross national product per capita in BRICS counties accounts for only 1/4 of the EU’s and under a 1/5 of the USA’s. This is in vast contrast to pre-World War I situation, where these indicators were equivalent for both competing blocks (roughly 1:1 ratio). This means that BRICS countries would have to expand their economies four or five times to reach the same, imperialist stage of development of the capitalist formation as Western countries. It will take decades.
Yet another feature of monopoly is its technological dominance. Western imperialism has maintained its monopoly position in the high-tech sector of world industry, including navigation satellite systems, cybersecurity and semiconductors. This unprecedented monopoly power over industrial standards is backed by patent and licencing system, with US-based corporations being the key technology owners. This advantage is being weaponised and used not only to exert pressure on countries like China, Russia or Iran, but on their own allies at the expense of their own industries.
Other countries, aware of this process are attempting to gain technological independence by developing their own technology. Time is running out for imperialism to ensure its global dominance in the sphere of technology. One more decade of peaceful development could lead to the loss of the West’s hegemonic position in technology sector. This is the main reason why imperialist centre has stepped up its aggressive acts, staging colour revolutions and inciting military conflicts, which can potentially escalate into World War III.
It is clear that the current situation is different than in 1914, when two equivalent imperialist blocks competed with each other. Now we face a single and unified imperialist centre, located in the West, which strives for complete global domination. Having exhausted the geographical extent of its expansion, imperialism has turned on its own societies. It has started to infiltrate deeply into modern societies by means of modern technology, communication and media. Whole spheres of life, previously outside of direct control now are being subjected to commodity-money relationships. As a consequence, social relations have been broken and societies have been atomised, leading to social and mental disorders. Imperialism has expanded its domination and control, but at the expense of degradation of the social component of the socio-economic formation. The decline of the West in that aspect is well evident.
As a side point, we have noted that some sections of the workers’ movement share the “progressivist” or “evolutionary” viewpoint, where every new change in imperialist relations of production and superstructure is praised as “progress” over “relics of the past”. Indeed, in the XIX century, communists and bourgeois liberals fought together against feudal tyranny for civil rights, universal suffrage, etc. However, liberal bourgeoisie, which is now a ruling social class, has long lost its progressive character. What is being presented now as a sign of the “progress” and “emancipation” is in fact nothing other than the degeneration and decline of social systems and human relations. Liberalism has become the new ideology of imperialist global domination. It is important therefore to reflect on the relation of communist ideology to liberalism in order to avoid being drawn into the trap. Communist ideology is based on the social aspect of human existence and social responsibilities, while liberalism focuses only on particular aspects of individuals.
Concerning the military conflict in Ukraine, we perceive it as a proxy war waged by imperialism against Russia with the objective to take over Russian natural resources and divide the country. Ukraine since the coup 2014 has been completely seized by imperialism and used as a trampoline for a war against Russia. It is clear that the large part of the responsibility for this pitiful situation lies with the Russian post-Soviet elites. Russian elites, who emerged after destruction of Soviet Union committed a crime against their own country, believing that they would be treated as equals and incorporated into the global imperialist system and supply chains, but the West was only ever interested in taking control over Russia’s natural resources and remained hostile to the existence of Russia as an independent state, regardless of its socio-economic system.
NATO countries in their hypocritical arrogance are applying double standards in the cases of Kosovo and Donbass. They are pushing for a military confrontation even under the threat of a nuclear war. USA, the world tyrant, thinks only about its own interests at the expense of their European “allies”, as evidenced by the recent economic sanctions and the destruction of Nordstream I and II. Military expenditures are skyrocketing and the threat of escalation is looming. Now the real costs of this warmongering will be foisted on the working peoples of Europe and the world, who will suffer from energetic, economic and food crises.
Our country is playing a detrimental role in this process. Since the victory of counter-revolution in 1989, the new Polish ruling classes, formed by a merger of US-backed “democratic opposition” and liberal, social-democratic wing of the former ruling workers’ party, subjugated the Polish state to the interests of imperialism. Polish workers and peasants are being groomed to be willing cannon fodder in imperialist war against Russia. Polish political elites, on the other hand, are complicit in escalation of hostilities, playing an active role in the promotion of imperialist interests in post-Soviet regions. According to our assessment, it is possible that Poland will be drawn into the war.
Comrades,
We believe that imperialism should be opposed and weakened by all possible means and we assess our positions towards various forces and events considering their relation to imperialism. Here I would like to recall a relevant section of “Foundations of Leninism” written by Stalin in 1924, where we can read:
“The struggle that the Emir of Afghanistan is waging for the independence of Afghanistan is objectively a revolutionary struggle, despite the monarchist views of the Emir and his associates, for it weakens, disintegrates and undermines imperialism; whereas the struggle waged by such "desperate" democrats and "Socialists," "revolutionaries" and republicans as, for example, Kerensky (…) during the imperialist war was a reactionary struggle, for its results was the embellishment, the strengthening, the victory, of imperialism. For the same reasons, the struggle that the Egyptians merchants and bourgeois intellectuals are waging for the independence of Egypt is objectively a revolutionary struggle, despite the bourgeois origin and bourgeois title of the leaders of Egyptian national movement, despite the fact that they are opposed to socialism; whereas the struggle that the British "Labour" Government is waging to preserve Egypt's dependent position is for the same reason a reactionary struggle, despite the proletarian origin and the proletarian title of the members of the government, despite the fact that they are "for" socialism. There is no need to mention the national movement in other, larger, colonial and dependent countries, such as India and China, every step of which along the road to liberation, even if it runs counter to the demands of formal democracy, is a steam-hammer blow at imperialism, i.e., is undoubtedly a revolutionary step.”We believe that none of these words have lost their importance. Anti-colonial and national liberation struggle are revolutionary in its character as they weaken and undermine imperialism. However, real national liberation requires realisation of social and class question. It is not enough to raise a national flag over a state building, when the country is still being controlled by imperialist financiers, rentiers and monopolies. In fact, only socialist, planned economies have proved their ability to provide real sovereignty and empowerment of the people.
Our party shares the position, that peoples have a right to choose their way of development for their countries and defend it. It is likely that emergence so called “multi-polar world” will bring new opportunities to the workers movement. Societies which enter the pathway of construction of socialist relations of production, will have more tools to combat economic sanctions by diversifying the blocks they trade with and by forming new alliances. Imperialism is in stage of decline, degeneration and ultimate crisis as it will be unable shortly to satisfy basic people’s needs or deteriorate into a global war. The breach towards the new world will come from breaking the weak links in imperialist chain by anti-imperialist and anti-colonial struggle. Socialism is the future!
