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New Communist Party of Britain |
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New Communist Party of Britain |
Asia and Africa, and the increasing strength of the socialist world have forced a change in tactics on the part of the imperialist powers.
While not abandoning the threat and use of force or ceasing to attempt the undermining and destruction of progressive governments, imperialism is now mounting a new ideological battle against those countries where socialism is a reality.
Imperialism, terrified by the rapidly growing strength of the world movement and by its growing inability to exploit newly-freed areas of the underdeveloped world, is mounting an unprecedented ideological attack based on a capitalist class view of democracy and of human rights.
The capitalist countries are unable to find a way out of the crisis that grips their economies and therefore try to stem the tide of protest by shifting attention to the Socialist world, ignoring or playing down its achievements and concentrating instead on a handful of reactionary dissident elements.
The aim of the ruling classes of the capitalist countries and their mass media is to hide from the people the living reality under socialism of working class power, of real democracy and concrete political, social and cultural freedoms.
The deception of the people in order to maintain their position has to be intensified and this is proving to be increasingly difficult. The battle for the minds and hearts of the working people has been joined.
Freedom and democracy are not abstract terms but class concepts.
Under bourgeois democracy tangible freedoms are denied to the overwhelming majority whose destiny is controlled by the multi-national firms, local industrialists and high finance. The well-being of millions of workers is at the mercy of a handful of rich men and blind market forces which capitalist governments are unable to control.
In the socialist countries more and more people take an increasing part in the running of the country at all levels. They have equal rights for women, freedom from exploitation and want, and an education system that aims for the all-round cultural development of the individual.
The socialist system, the most humane and democratic society in history, rightly safeguards its freedoms by upholding its laws and taking action against those who attempt to undermine the people's state.
Imperialism's support for “dissidents” has been accompanied by threats against the Socialist World and a huge increase in spending on weapons of mass destruction.
Imperialist acts of aggression have resulted in the deaths of millions in Korea, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. They have tortured and murdered thousands of patriots and liberation fighters. Imperialism continues to support world Zionism, and the fascists in Southern Africa and South America.
The victories that have been won throughout the world from Cuba and Vietnam to Angola would have been unthinkable without the moral, political, economic and military support of the socialist countries—the major force for liberation and social progress in the world today.
The document of the International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties of June, 1969 stated: “It is of paramount importance for the prospects of the anti-imperialist struggle to strengthen the alliance between the socialist system, the forces of the working class movement and national liberation.. the world socialist system is the decisive force in the anti- imperialist struggle... the defence of socialism is an internationalist duty of Communists... the main link of united action of the anti-imperialist forces remains the struggle against war, for world peace, against the menace of a thermonuclear world war and mass extermination which continues to hang over mankind...”
Errors and divisions among the revolutionary forces can lead to serious set-backs. In a number of countries where socialist revolution looked possible imperialism has succeeded temporarily in regaining control through the imposition of ultra-reactionary regimes. For some time the international communist movement has suffered from disunity as a result of, amongst other things, incorrect policies followed by the leadership of the Communist Party of China under Mao Tse Tung. Now the revival of reformism in the guise of Euro-Communism creates further difficulties.
In the capitalist world today one of the most important obstacles to the growth of socialist consciousness is imperialist ideology, which is all-pervading in the mass media.
Unable to win the economic competition with socialism and forced into peaceful co-existence with the Soviet Union and her allies by their military power, imperialism has now developed new tactics of all-out ideological warfare.
In the transition from the blatant language of cold war to a more subtle approach the imperialist mass media and press have chosen, as their main area of attack, the ideological policy the socialist countries had to develop in defence against these tactics.
These tactics have been demonstrated by the events in Czechoslovakia and also by the changed attitude of some West European Communist Parties to the issue of “dissidents” and so-called “human rights”.
The successes of the liberation movements now are blows on behalf of world peace in the future, for it is only with the defeat of fascism and imperialism that a
lasting peace can be achieved. Full support for an armed struggle is thus fully compatible with the need to promote détente and disarmament on a world scale.
All the great advances have been built on international proletarian solidarity. The NCP will play its part in consolidating and developing unity of the workers throughout the world.
The real enemies of peace in the world are the governments of the NATO countries who not only support world reaction, but are constantly developing new horror weapons in an attempt to blackmail and bully world socialism and its allies. The cruise missile and the neutron bomb are the latest examples.
For three decades the Soviet Union has led the world peace movement in the struggle for disarmament and peaceful co-existence. Every major initiative has come from socialist countries. At last, unable to stonewall any longer, imperialism was forced to agree to the Helsinki Conference in 1975.