Editorial


Dear reader,

 After a certain time since the publication of the last issue, you now have in your hands the 13th issue of the International Communist Review. We are able to resume our activity after proceeding to a necessary recomposition of the journal and solving certain issues that have arisen following the outbreak of the imperialist war in Ukraine, with the sharpening of the inter-imperialist antagonisms, the intervention of the US-NATO-EU in this region and the unacceptable military intervention of Russia on 24 February 2022. This triggered an intense debate and the sharpening of the political confrontation in the ranks of the international communist movement and in the ranks of our journal. Thus, for the correct functioning and continuation of this effort, it was deemed necessary to proceed to the further enrichment of the Founding Declaration of the "International Communist Review", on which the journal is based. After necessary consultations, the Founding Declaration was updated at the end of last year with new elements, taking into account the current international developments, and it reads as follows:

"The review should express a specific, clear-cut, ideological-political position, defending the principles of Marxism-Leninism, the need for a socialist revolution and the construction of the communist society. The framework of this review embraces the following principles:

A) Working with a strict reference to Marxism-Leninism and proletarian internationalism.

B) Accepting the leading role of the working class in the revolutionary process.

C) Defending the Leninist party principles.

D) Struggling against the international and regional imperialist institutions, i.e. NATO, the EU, the IMF etc., as well as imperialist wars, such as the one that broke out in Ukraine in 2022 between the USA-NATO-EU and capitalist Russia for the control of the markets, raw materials, and transport networks of the country. We refuse to support any side in this and similar conflicts and wars, without in any way diminishing our determination to struggle against US imperialism and NATO. Our Parties consider that imperialism cannot be reduced to the practice of an aggressive foreign policy, that it is the most reactionary and final stage of capitalism in which monopolies prevail.

E) Approaching in a friendly manner, without excluding criticism, the historical experiences of the international communist movement, starting from Paris Commune followed by the October Revolution, the Third International and the socialist experience in the USSR and in other countries. We stress that socialism is governed by principles and scientific laws, i.e. workers’ power, the socialization of the means of production, and central scientific planning. The Communist Party, under the particular conditions each time, assumes the responsibility to educate and equip the working class to tackle difficulties, delays or temporary setbacks in the construction of the new society, taking the necessary measures to consolidate and expand the socialist relations of production. Based on this, positions such as that a market socialism can be built by maintaining capitalist enterprises and mechanisms, by maintaining wage labour by owners of means of production and land, by treating labour power as a commodity and by capital’s exploitation of wage labour are rejected.

F) Struggling for socialism as the only alternative against capitalism, in a revolutionary way.

G) Rejecting participation in bourgeois governments as well as entering into cooperation and alliances with bourgeois parties. We defend the political and ideological independence of the working class.

H) Fighting against the tendencies inside the working class movement such as social democracy, any kind of opportunism, reformism, nationalism, cosmopolitanism and liberalism.

I) Struggling against fascism and its causes, against racism and xenophobia, by the side of refugees and immigrants that are uprooted by imperialist wars and the poverty caused by the capitalist system. We reject the false “anti-fascism” and the various “anti-fascist fronts” used by bourgeois and opportunist political forces to entrap workers’–people’s forces into bourgeois management, detaching fascism from the capitalist system that gives rise to it and uses it when needed.

Dear reader,

The main theme of the 13th issue is focused on imperialist war, while for the first time a second section on timely political and theoretical issues is included in the journal.

The representatives of the CPs of the ICR (Communist Party of Venezuela, Communist Party of Greece, Communist Party of the Workers of Spain, Communist Party of Mexico, Union of Communists of Ukraine, Communist Party of Turkey) contributed to the writing of this issue, while representatives of political parties (Party of Labour of Austria, Socialist Movement of Kazakhstan, New Communist Party of the Netherlands, Communist Party of Sweden), who have expressed a general agreement with the directions of the Founding Declaration of the ICR were also invited to contribute to the writing of the current issue.

The articles of the first section, on imperialist war, are the following:

An article by the CP of Mexico, Imperialist wars and the tasks of the communists, which analyzes the different positions on imperialist war within the International Communist Movement, as well as the arguments used by a number of parties to justify the war. Drawing on the Leninist theory on imperialism and imperialist alliances, as well as the historical lessons of the communist movement, particularly in the early 20th century in the context of World War I, the article seeks to examine the current wars, especially the war in Ukraine. Finally, some basic tasks are outlined and issues of strategy and tactics are raised in relation to the communists' attitude towards the imperialist war and the bourgeois governments.

An article by the CP of Greece, The justification of the imperialist war is used for "pooling the wool" over the peoples' eyes, which presents the most widespread pretexts that prevail in the International Communist Movement for the justification of the imperialist war in Ukraine. An attempt is made to reveal pretexts used to obscure the imperialist character of the war, the character of the imperialist blocs in conflict, as well as to counter what is said about the anti-Nazi and anti-fascist character of the Russian invasion. The arguments put forward in the article respond from an internationalist and class perspective and contribute to the ideological struggle.

An article by the CP of the Workers of Spain, The attitude of social-democracy towards imperialist war, where the historical development of the attitude of social democracy towards the imperialist war is examined, from the beginning of the 20th century and the World War I to the present day. Reference is also made to the opportunist transformation of Communist Parties, and their social-democratization, as in the case of the parties of so-called Eurocommunism. Contemporary issues of the confrontation are addressed and the ever treacherous role of social democracy is revealed at crucial moments in recent years, as in the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, in the support for the EU and NATO military interventions, etc.

An article by the CP of Turkey, The war in Ukraine and the role of Turkey, in which a thorough analysis of the role of Turkey, as a regional power with growing imperialist ambitions, in the various military conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East is presented. Information is given on the attitude of the Turkish bourgeoisie towards the opposing sides in the war in Ukraine, as well as the economic and other agreements and dependence it has on both the US - EU and Russia.

An article by the Party of Labour of Austria, Austrian imperialism and the war in Ukraine, which examines the attitude of the Austrian bourgeoisie with regard to the conflict in Ukraine, and its attempt to maintain a seemingly neutral stance by seeking to conclude economic agreements with both sides, both with EU and NATO countries and with Russia. Some directions are given about the struggle of the communists in Austria so that the working class and its movement can intensify their struggle against the aspirations of the bourgeoisie.

An article by the New CP of the Netherlands, The imperialist war in light of international developments, which analyzes the causes of imperialist wars, using the theoretical tools of Marxist-Leninist theory. Based on the Leninist definition on imperialism and the analysis of the laws of motion of capital in capitalist societies, the roots of imperialist wars are examined over time. The changing international balance of forces in the imperialist system and the sharpening of the contradictions between the imperialist blocs and how this can lead to a generalized imperialist war are analyzed. Finally, the stance of Dutch capital, its role in the imperialist system and the attitude of the labour movement and communists in the Netherlands in the struggle against imperialist war are presented.

The articles of the second section, on timely political and theoretical issues, are the following:

An article by the CP of Sweden, On imperialism and the current situation in the world, which analyzes the question of the international imperialist system, against the background of the false division of states into "imperialist" and "capitalist" ones, utilizing the Leninist definition on imperialism. The development of imperialism as a system rather than as a separate aggressive foreign policy is presented. The position of each capitalist state in the imperialist pyramid and the factors that determine their power are addressed.

An article by the CP of Greece, Artificial Intelligence: In favour of the profits of capital or the needs of the people?, which seeks to examine modern technological developments by using the concepts and categories of Marxist theory. It examines Artificial Intelligence and its connection with the increase in the degree of exploitation of the working class. The article analyzes how new technologies are being developed and used by capital for its ever-increasing profitability, but also the criteria by which the same technologies can be utilized in socialism.

An article by the CP of Venezuela, The reactionary turn of the PSUV government and the attacks against the working class and the Communist Party of Venezuela, which, focusing on the attack on the CP of Venezuela by the social democratic ruling party PSUV, examines the development of social democracy in Venezuela over the last 25 years. It documents the bourgeois character of the so-called "progressivism" of the Venezuelan government, and examines the development of the attitude of the CP of Venezuela towards the ruling party, culminating in the confrontation of the CP of Venezuela with the anti-workers, anti-people choices of the social-democratic government and the violent anti-communist persecution it is subjected to because of this attitude.

An article by the SM of Kazakhstan, Central Asia as a new potential hotbed of conflicts and wars, which examines the situation in the Central Asian countries after the restoration of capitalism. It highlights the interference of different monopolies from various capitalist countries, especially the US, Britain, EU, Russia and China, as well as the plans of the bourgeois classes of this region. It analyses the conflicting plans for energy and commodity transport routes, which could at any time trigger violent conflicts in the region. Particular reference is made to the aspirations of the US and the EU on the one hand, and of Russia and China through the Eurasian Union on the other, to exert greater influence in Kazakhstan. Finally, the dangers for the working class of the Central Asian region of being aligned behind the different bourgeois interests are highlighted.