On behalf of our Chairman, Gus Hall and our national
committee, I bring you our warmest fraternal greetings. It is a great honor for our party
to be invited to participate. We consider this conference to be an extremely initiative.
What a truly productive way to help celebrate the 80th anniversary of the
Communist Party of Greece and the 150th anniversary of the Communist Manifesto!
The set backs to socialism removed a big working class counter weight against capitalism
and imperialism. Led by US imperialism, the ‘New World Order’ feels free to devour and
destroy everything in its path in the name of profits. The IMF and the World Bank dictate
privatization, the destruction of labor unions, cuts to social programs, and horrendous
poverty for hundreds of millions of working people the world over. So called free trade
agreements divide the world, once again, into dangerous imperialist rivalries, potentially
releasing, yet again, the capitalist dogs of war. Without the Soviet Union and a much
stronger socialist camp to counter its aggression, US imperialism once again considers
itself the world’s ‘chief of police’, ready to use bombs and troops to make the
world ‘safe’ for monopoly and transnational capitalism. This includes the continuing
use of criminal economic blockades against Cuba, Korea, Iraq, Libya and others.
One hundred and fifty years ago Marx predicted the development of monopoly capitalism when
he said the big fish eat the little fish. But, of course, he had no way of knowing just
how large the big fish could get. The gigantic mergers today dwarf whole countries in
their power and wealth. These gigantic mergers and concentrations of capital, bring with
them a new level of globalization. Indeed globalization has now emerged as a new form of
imperialism. And with the increase in mergers and globalization comes new ultra right
dangers.
As Gus Hall put it in an article in this weeks People’s Weekly World, «The latest
fascist-like political developments and the corporate merger mania are related. Global
corporations are the support bases for ultra right forces. The bigger the corporate
monopolies, the less democratic, the more anti-union, anti-labor, anti-working class they
become.»
The ‘New World order’ has not spared the US working class. The ultra-right and
corporate offensive is in full bloom.
Union busting, privatization and viscous cuts in social programs are also the corporate
and ultra right program at home. The economic and social crisis facing workers is
staggering. The declining standard of living, the destruction of public education, health
care and decent housing are accompanied by the capitalist scourge of crime and drugs.
The American working class, Black, Brown and white bear the brunt of the merge frenzies
that concentrates obscene profits and corporate power in the hands of the top 1%. These
huge monopoly merges have meant that in each month of the past six months, corporate
America has cut over 50,000 good jobs in the US – over 300,000 jobs in just six months.
Not since Reaganomics in the early 1980’s has the rate of corporate job destruction been
so high. Today a full 30% of the US workforce are now temporary workers – no pensions,
no health care, no holidays and absolutely no job security. And at the same time a new
wave of technological change is poised to throw even millions more out of work.
Along with the ultra rights’ jingoism and «America First» great power chauvinism,
comes increased racism and national chauvinism at home. The cuts in social programs, the
tremendous loss of good paying industrial jobs, have meant special hardship and
impoverishment for African American, Latino, Native American and other oppressed
people’s in the US.
But you know what? The specter of communism is no longer just haunting Europe. No, indeed.
Today the specter of communism is haunting the whole world, including the United States of
America.
Tremendous change is taking place in the US working class. The American labor movement is
shedding years of cold war class collaborationist leadership. Perhaps the starkest example
of the changes in labor is the action of the last National Convention of the AFL-CIO. By
unanimous vote, on a nation put by the leadership, the convention repealed all
anti-Communist and specific anti-Communist Party, USA clauses and language from its
national constitution.
At our January National Committee meeting, Comrade Gus Hall, put it this way, «…this
speaks volumes about the new relations between the Party and the trade union movement,
which, in turn, means new relationships with the working class. The rapid decline in
anti-communism and the gravitational pull of communist ideas and politics is not
spontaneous combustion. Our new acceptance as a party and as Communists is an expression
of the changing objective and subjective conditions in our country».
Not since our party helped to organize the basic mass production unions in the 1930’s
has the labor movement been so open to Communist participation and leadership. Twenty
years ago the United Steelworkers of America challenged Gus Hall when he stated the truth,
that he was a founder of that union. Just a year ago that same union, in a public ceremony
gave Gus Hall an award as a pioneer and founder of the steel union.
Today Communists are once again welcome in all levels of labor leadership. Once again a
strong left-center coalition in labor is fighting for militant class struggle trade
unionism in the face of capitalist crisis. Our newspaper the People’s Weekly World is
rapidly becoming a mass voice on picket lines, in union halls, and in labor’s struggles
everywhere. For the first time since the cold war 1950’s unions are buying bundles of
our paper for their members and subscriptions for their union offices.
As important and central as the changes in the labor movement are, changes in mass thought
patterns go way beyond the organized sector of the working class. The Communist Party, USA
is now recognized, even by our critics, as the fastest growing organization on the left.
Our campaign to turn our party into a mass revolutionary Communist Party is in full swing.
Thousands of new members are joining our ranks through out the country. We are now
rebuilding the party in the deep South, long held as the special preserve of the most
anti-labor and racist sections of the ultra right. It has been home to the racist Ku Klux
Klan terrorists and Newt Gingrich of Georgia, dean of the fascist-like Republicans in the
US Congress.
Our party is deeply involved in the mass struggles of the people. We find ourselves
involved in mass coalitions on issues ranging from the fight for jobs and public works
projects, to the fight against police brutality, from the fight for peace and solidarity,
to the fight against racism and the fight for women’s equality, and from the fight to
save the environment from corporate pollutes to fights for affordable housing, decent
education and cheap safe mass transportation to name a few.
And in all these struggles we are recruiting new members and finding ourselves in demand
to help lead and develop the movements.
We are experimenting with many mass recruiting methods to build our party in these new
conditions. For example many of our Communist Party clubs have had great success with
setting up tables on street corners and at factory gates in cities across the country. We
sign people up on the spot. Most are working class people who have never been politically
active. But they want to know what they can do to help and they want to know about
socialism. Most, not only see the failures of capitalism, but also correctly identify the
monopoly corporations and banks as the heart of the enemy class. Our challenge is to
quickly turn them into Marxist-Leninists-to give them the tools and the science and
consolidate them in the Communist Party.
The Internet has also become a mass recruiting tool for our party. We recruit dozens a day
to the Communist Party and the Young Communist League from our World Wide Web sites and
e-mail.
We are also very proud of the Young Communist League, USA. They are one of the fastest
growing youth organizations in the US. On high school and collage campuses and in
neighborhoods across our country hundreds of new young activists are looking for a
socialist alternative – they see no future for capitalism.
What accounts for these changes? Why the decline of anti-communism and why the new
interest in socialism in the US working class? We see a wide variety of factors.
Globalization and the tremendous concentrations and mobility of capital are among the most
important. Millions of American workers know they are but a paycheck away from disaster.
Insecurity and fear of a new economic collapse and worldwide crisis lurks in the minds of
millions.
Many millions now see the monopoly corporations as anti-democratic, and as the source of
corruption and crisis. They correctly see the monopolies as the root source of
anti-working class and racist ideology. This is not yet full-blown class-consciousness,
but it is an important foundation for the development of class and socialist
consciousness.
Another factor is the new level of technology. In the early stages of the ‘chips and
robots’ revolution in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s there is little doubt that
technology gave capitalism some new reserves. But today, technology is rapidly becoming a
source of new, sharper, capitalist crisis. Workers, in all sectors of economy, see human
labor replaced by technology and automation. They also increasingly see the dangers and
limitations of technology in the hands of those motivated by greed and profits. Today US
biotechnology corporations are patenting and laying claim to DNA and other human genetic
material. Can anyone imagine a more horrible scenario than human genetic engineering in
the hands of monopoly capital? Only socialism and the full working class democracy that
comes with it can safely and rationally use the new technology for the benefit of human
kind.
The new levels of globalization, and the increasing ultra right dangers, underline the
great importance of this conference, and many more like it. The increased role of the IMF
and World Bank in dictating economic policy demand collective thought and programs on a
world scale. The latest developments in technology demand a world collective estimate of
the dangers and the economic impact. New levels of cooperation and unity are a must for
the world communist and working class movements. International solidarity, communication,
and joint action must become a greater priority.
A new level cannot be built on old methods. We have to incorporate the latest technology.
We must find the ways to use the Internet in our work.
In the recent past our party has made two modest proposals to move in this direction.
Jointly with the Communist Party of Canada we helped initiate the Rednet. It is a project
to use the Internet and email to increase communication and exchange of ideas in the world
movement. Already dozens of parties are involved. In particular party newspapers and
journals have benefited by the rapid exchange of articles, position papers and statements.
Many more parties and workers organizations need to become actively involved in using and
helping to develop the Rednet.
More importantly, Comrade Gus Hall has proposed to the international movement, that we
take steps to establish an international economics and technology commission for the world
movement. We would like to see steps taken at this conference to set up a working
committee on these matters. We also would like to see plans for meetings like this on a
yearly basis, sponsored by different parties around the world. Depending on the political
situation in the US with the ultra right in Congress, we would like to consider hosting
such a meeting. We want to also make clear that while we welcome regional meetings, we do
not see them as a substitute for world gatherings such as these.
We stand with you all in the call for greater unity and cooperation in the world movement.
We stand with you all in the call for strengthening the fight against world and US
imperialism and the monopoly corporations. Comrades, there is another important
anniversary we would like to mention. This year marks the 100th birthday of
Comrade Paul Robeson. In our party and in the world movement, Robeson was one of «the
tallest trees in the forest». He was a world figure because he championed the world fight
for peace and solidarity. He would have welcomed this world conference and the steps we
take towards rebuilding world communist unity and action with all his warmth and passion.
Thank you.