The Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) extends its warm revolutionary greetings to the Greek Communists on the 80^th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of Greece. Coinciding with the 150^th anniversary of the publication of the Communist Manifesto, it is, indeed, appropriate that these events are being observed through this international gathering discussing «The Communist Parties under the current conditions».

At the outset, the CPI (M) recalls, with the sense of internationalist pride, the glorious role of the Greek Communists during the past 80 years. Through the zigzags of history, the Greek Communists have played an important role in carrying forward the revolutionary tenets of Marxism-Leninism.

The collapse of the USSR and the dismantling of socialism in Eastern Europe are developments, which constitute a severe setback to the forces of socialism, the world over. The CPI (M) firmly believes that these developments negate neither the revolutionary and creative science of Marxism-Leninism, nor the socialist ideal. In our own modest way, we have come to the conclusion that these developments have been caused due to certain deviations from the revolutionary tenets of Marxism-Leninism and distortions in the process of building socialism. This permitted the counter-revolutionary forces, both internal and external, to act in concert to dismantle socialism.

The CPI (M) had detailed its analysis for the causes leading to these developments at its 14^th Congress in January 1992. (That resolution is being separately circulated).

The CPI (M) firmly believes that Marxism-Leninism is inherently materialistic, creative and intrinsically dialectical. It is hence supremely anti-dogmatic. It is a world-view that embraces the vision of liberation and expresses emancipatory ideals. It is a tool for understanding and analyzing the multitude of phenomena that constitute changing historical situations. It is a guide to action that programmatic objectives for the people’s struggle against all forms of exploitation subject to the necessary adaptations as required by changing historical situations.

As a creative science, Marxism-Leninism identifies the tendencies and directions of development. In doing so it provides the possibilities for popular mass intervention in these developments in the pursuit of establishing an exploitation-free society. For instance, the historical inevitability of the replacement of the exploitation-based capitalism by socialism is not automatic. The key factor that can effect such a social transformation is the correct ideological, political and organizational leadership of the growing struggles of the working class, the peasantry and all working people. When this class-consciousness is defused or blunted, the forces of counter-revolution exploit the situation to perpetuate their class rule.

It is, hence, incumbent upon all Marxist-Leninists to make a concrete analysis of the concrete conditions, both internationally and domestically, in each of our countries and on that basis to chart out the course of human liberation.

In this task, it needs to be recognized that the setback to socialism has temporarily shifted the balance of world forces in favor of imperialism. Imperialism, today, seeks to evolve a new international order – politically, economically and militarily – which would strengthen this hegemony and perpetuate the system of intense exploitation. Its features are, therefore, all to see in the new onslaught of neo-liberal economic policies, the virtual highjacking of the United Nations to suit its interests.

As Communists, we consider it our bounden duty to trace the new features of capitalism continuing the thread of analysis laid down in the Communist Manifesto, 150 years ago. The main new element in the present phase of capitalist development is the emergence of globalization of finance capital. It has specific features, in our opinion, which distinguish it from the period when Lenin analyzed imperialism. The present process is not a nation-state based finance capital engaged in struggle with rival imperialist nation-states. In a sense, it has transcended the nation-state. This, however, is not to suggest that the relevance of nation-state and its sovereignty has ceased, as some seek to argue. The tendency to form regional blocs each led by the leading economic power – integrated Europe with Germany, NAFTA led by USA and APEC by Japan – is the response of this finance capital which seeks integration and abolition of all obstacles to its movement.

It is, however, important to note that the present day finance capital is highly globally mobile sucking in finance capital from individual countries dominated by finance capital originating from the advanced countries. Further, this finance capital is pre-occupied in its search for quick speculative gains rather than its amalgamation with industrial capital leading to economic development. It, therefore, truly represents the parasite that thrives at the expense of real economic growth.

The emergence of this finance capital is an important factor that explains the relatively low growth rates accompanied by high unemployment rates in the advanced countries, what is popularly defined as ‘jobless growth’. This happens because in order to appease international speculators, there is a competitive reduction in tax rates and restrictions on the size of the fiscal deficit. In other words, governments are forced to cut back expenditures and thereby deflate both employment and domestic demand leading to lower rates of growth.

This, in turn, leads to a situation where the advanced countries turn to the third world economies and intensify exploitation. The imposition of neo-liberal policies serves this purpose of removing obstacles to the free operation of internationally mobile finance capital. In addition, it seeks to impose a new form of international division of labor, this time not through direct colonial occupation but through coercing third world economies to dove tail to imperialist interests.

We, thus, have a situation where capitalism, far from solving the pressing problems facing humanity is only worsening the tragedy of a vast majority of the world’s population. The neo – liberal economic policies advanced in the name of promoting growth actually end up in promoting speculation and plunder accompanied by stagnation and retrogression in most parts of the world.

This has a direct impact on the massive increase in poverty which, according to United Nations statistics, has occurred all over the world, sharply in the third world.

We, thus, have a situation in the last decade of the 20^th century where double-digit unemployment stalks most of the advanced countries, when the former socialist countries embrace of capitalism has led to a colossal economic decline unknown in human history to the extent that population, itself, is declining in absolute terms. We have a situation when the so-called ‘miracle’ economies of South Asia have virtually crumbled leading to bankruptcy, massive unemployment and food riots. The hopes created by holding these countries as example have crumbled shattering the illusions that the third world countries could achieve prosperity under capitalism. We are in a situation where both Africa and Latin America have witnessed declining per capita incomes with millions under poverty. Famines have become the order of the day in large tracts of Africa.

In other words, despite the favorable conditions that the collapse of socialism provided, capitalism today has, once again, proved itself incapable of either solving the basic problems confronting humanity or of promising a bright future to those who follow the capitalist path.

The Communist Parties are, today, functioning under such conditions. The renewed ideological offensive against socialism, however, continues unabated. But the objective reality brings forth conditions that are favorable for the advance of socialist forces. The popular discontent that emanates from this international plunder by imperialism has to be channelised behind revolutionary popular struggles. Our experience shows that wherever the Communist Parties adhering to fundamental revolutionary tenets of Marxism-Leninism have intervened, they have succeeded in forging deeper and stronger links with the working people of their countries.

This, however, is not to suggest that the advance of the Communist forces would be automatic, as noted earlier. But the objective conditions open up possibilities which the Communists can utilize in strengthening the popular movement for ending a system based on exploitation of man by man. The responsibility of strengthening the subjective factor – the revolutionary ideological struggle led by the working class, uniting other exploited classes and its decisive intervention under the leadership of a party wedded to Marxism-Leninism – falls on our shoulders in order to utilize the objective situation and intervention to advance our movement for social emancipation.

There, however, are formidable obstacles that the current situation presents before the Communists. The potential of the growing disillusionment with capitalism is blunted by an intense ideological offensive against socialism and Marxism in the wake of the reverses to socialism. In this situation, a whole range of reactionary and fundamentalist political tendencies seek to occupy the oppositional space to the ruling parties neo-liberal economic policy. Growing unemployment and cuts in welfare expenditures in Europe have been accompanied by a growth of vicious racialism and in some cases revanchism. In the third world countries like India, the response to the miseries and humiliation imposed by global capitalism has been in the growth of fundamentalist forces. We, in India, are currently engaged in an intense political battle against such reactionary forces that seek to channel popular discontent to consolidate their sectarian and divisive political objectives. The popular discontent emanating from the intensified exploitation of global capitalism can be diverted away from revolutionary struggles against capitalism into sectarian movements that in the final analysis only strengthens the rule of Capital. We, Communists, will have to overcome such obstacles and properly channelise the popular discontent into revolutionary struggles.

Another major obstacle relates to an aspect of present day imperialism. The intense inter-imperialist rivalry that characterized the first part of this century does not manifest itself in the same form today. While these contradictions exist and are intensifying, as far as the exploitation of the third world is concerned, they appear to be acting with some degree of commonality. Under these conditions, the domestic bourgeoisie in the third world appears far more willing than before to make common cause with imperialism. Unable to withstand the ravages of international finance capital and being sucked into its vortex, the domestic bourgeoisie seeks to make the best bargain in the present situation.

Though the situation from country to country would be different and the impact of this globalization of finance capital would be felt in different degrees, the commonality that overrights such variations lies in the potential to develop a strong anti-imperialist struggle, world wide. The success of the convergence of the domestic class struggles with the internationalist anti-imperialist struggle will shape the contours of the Communist movement in the future.

The CPI (M) is confident that such exchanges between the various contingents of the international Communist movement will strengthen our common resolve to advance the cause of human emancipation and liberation.

The CPI (M) conveys its gratitude to the Communist Party of Greece for providing us this opportunity and once again conveys its warm revolutionary fraternal greetings to all representatives of the Communist Parties from all parts of the world.