Our newsletter are updated monthly and are published on the 1st of every month.

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Newssheet No.5 – 2024

 

Editorial

Global Messenger sends Mayday Greetings to the workers of the world. ‘A luta continua’, the struggle continues. The imperative task is the unity of the 99%, the workers of the world, on an international scale from which they can challenge their own bourgeoisie through the national form to put an end to capitalist exploitation and to liberate mankind from servitude.

Monopoly capitalism is in the stage of Globalization where the big banks, finance capital, dominate based on the operation of the General Law of Capitalist Accumulation discovered by Karl Marx.

The stage of Globalization, which has superseded the stage of Imperialism, has a political form. It is dominated by the “International Community”, comprising of the G7 countries, which are dominated by White countries apart from Japan. It is led by US monopoly capitalism which shapes the global world economically, politically, and militarily. Opposing this ‘domination’ is the Global South and world opinion. This can be clearly seen in the Gaza war waged by Israel on the Palestinians under the guise of the Israeli war objective of eradicating Hamas. Wars prevail in the stage of Globalization. This is a ‘fallout’ from the stage of Imperialism and the Cold War during its late stage. These vestiges of Imperialism still prevail in the early period of the stage of Globalization. The workers of the world, the 99%, must be educated in the changing capitalist reality and organize accordingly.

 

Socialist Theory – “Public Ownership

Public ownership of the means of production, whether under capitalism, the transition period between capitalism and socialism, and under socialism is advocated by the International Left including Communist and Workers’ Parties.

What is “Public Ownership”? It can be defined as “State ownership” of the means of production through nationalization. Public ownership or State ownership leads to State control of production, distribution, exchange, and, in some cases, consumption. What system arises out of “Public Ownership”? The system that arises is the “State monopoly system” (Lenin’s concept).  There are no relations of production under the system of “state monopoly” because workers are characterized as “State employees”. What exists is the relation between the “State” and “State employees”. The latter is not an expression of relations of production.

Who was responsible for the ‘popularization’ of “Public Ownership” within the Left and especially in communist circles, within Communist and Workers’ Parties. It was Joseph Stalin who was responsible for the ‘popularization’ of “Public Ownership” (Stalin words) under socialism in the Soviet Union. The “State monopoly system” from Stalin onwards, at the beginning of its existence, and for a certain period led to economic growth due to industrialization and collectivization resulting in full employment within the Soviet Union. Social inequalities declined as a result. For the next fifty years the “State monopoly system” was ‘hailed’ as the ‘model’ of socialist development due to economic and social growth. “Public ownership became a byword for the International Left especially the Communist and Workers’ Parties. The Communist Parties, with their ideology of “Marxism-Leninism” {a creation of Stalin and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union} hold fast to “Public Ownership” of the means of production as the principal form of development whether under capitalism, in the transition period, and under socialism. This ‘extreme’ and ‘absolute’ position is the present position of the Communist Party of Britain in their Programme “Britain’s Road to Socialism”.

In the 1970s, the “state monopoly system” based on “Public Ownership” began to stagnate within the Soviet Union which was noted by theoreticians of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). Even though the “State monopoly system” had led to economic and social growth, especially, for example, full employment, free education, and so forth, it was beginning not to meet the needs and wants of the workers, the working class within the Soviet Union. By the early 1990s the “State monopoly” system imploded in the Soviet Union. As Joe Slovo, the late leader of the South African Communist Party (SACP), pointed out the workers had become alienated from the means of production because there were no socialist relations of production. Slovo was correct. Where he must be criticized is that he is blind to the “system” that led to such a situation. The “system” that Slovo was ‘blind’ to in his pamphlet “Has Socialism failed?” was the “State monopoly system” based on “Public Ownership” which led to the absence of socialist relations of production and alienation of the working class from engaging actively in the ‘economy’.

The 1990s saw the implosion and demise of the “State monopoly system” based on “Public ownership” not only in the Soviet Union but also in Eastern Europe. It did not meet the needs and wants of the working class under socialism. As Lenin pointed out:

“Theoretically speaking, state monopoly is not necessarily the best system from the standpoint of the interests of socialism…” (Tenth Congress of the R.C.P. (B), Selected Works, Vol. 3, p.517)

The words of Lenin are shown to be true with the implosion and demise of the “State monopoly system” based on “Public Ownership”, introduced by Stalin in the 1930s, in the early 1990s in the Soviet Union. The “State monopoly system” based on “Public Ownership” was consigned to the dustbin of history.

It also signified the death of the ideology of “Marxism-Leninism” which propagates “Public Ownership” of the means of production as is the case with many communist and workers’ parties. The implosion and demise of the “State monopoly system” based on “Public Ownership” saw the ‘destruction’ of “Marxism-Leninism” position that the State can act as both ‘superstructure’ and as an ‘economic base’ in socialist growth which is a distortion of the position of Scientific Socialism in the forms of “Historical Materialism” and “Materialist Dialectics” as founded by Marx. The lesson to be learnt is that the State cannot be an economic entity owning and organizing economic activity.

The Communist and Workers’ Parties like the Communist Party of Britain, the SACP, the Communist Party of the United States of America who adhere to “Marxism-Leninism” have not learnt this lesson of history as they still advocate “Public Ownership” following Stalin instead of following Marx and Lenin. These Communist and Workers’ Parties are doing a disservice to their respective working class by advocating a policy of “Public Ownership” which has been proved erroneous by the test of history, by the test of “Historical Materialism” as founded by Marx.

The concluding words of Engels are apposite to the discussion on “Public Ownership” or “State Ownership” under capitalism. He states in “Socialism: Utopian and Scientific”.

“The modern state, no matter what its form, is essentially a capitalist machine, the state of the capitalists, the ideal personification of the total national capital. The more it proceeds to the taking over of the productive forces, the more does it actually become the national capitalist, the more citizens does it exploit. The workers remain wage-workers –proletarians. The capitalist relation is not done away with. It is rather brought to a head. But brought to a head, it topples over. State-ownership of the productive forces is not the solution of the conflict, but concealed within it are the technical conditions that form the elements of that solution.”

The “solution” for Marx and Lenin was that the co-operative system is the system of socialism. In his article on socialism, “Critique of the Gotha Programme”, Marx defines socialism as “co-operative society based on common ownership”. Lenin in his article “On Co-operation” states that “The system of civilized co-operators is the system of socialism”.

The advocacy of “Public Ownership” or “State ownership” by the International left especially the Communist and Workers’ Parties is not the ‘solution’ for the working class. The working class must be educated in the Scientific Socialism principle as founded by Marx that the co-operative system is the system of socialism.

 

The Palestine Question – The role of US monopoly capitalism

The creation of the State of Israel or as its Prime Minister Netanyahu calls the “Jewish State” in the late stage of Imperialism by the victorious Imperialist powers, Britain, USA, and France in the land of Palestine has resulted in distorted social development.

The US has been responsible for this distorted development where the Jews have a “State” and the Palestinians do not have one. US monopoly capitalism and its political bourgeois representatives have been the dominant force with its unconditional and absolute support for the “Jewish State”. US monopoly capitalism has been responsible for capitalist development in the ‘entity’ known as Israel. It has influenced the bourgeois democratic political base and has supported Zionism as the dominant ideology in “Jewish society”. The present President of the USA, Biden, sees himself as a non-Jew Zionist. US monopoly capitalism has been responsible for the military development of the “Jewish State” leading to Israel becoming a nuclear armed State.

In the present “War” unleashed by the “Jewish State” on the Palestinians, the role of the USA is to support the “Jewish State” financially and militarily. It has allowed the “Jewish State” to bombard the Palestinian population under the guise of the war objective of eradicating Hamas. This position is causing problems for US monopoly capitalism as the leader of the “International Community”, comprising the G7 countries who are basically Whites apart from Japan, in relation to the Global South and world opinion.

The Global South and world opinion are coming to the view that the position of the USA reeks of double standards or hypocrisy. Wars in the present stage of Globalization have exposed the position of US monopoly capitalism. US monopoly capitalism is increasingly viewed as complicit in “plausible” genocide in Gaza with its unwavering support for the Zionist “Jewish State” and its military operations. US monopoly capitalism is faced with the contradiction of supporting the Zionist Agenda whilst calling for humanitarian assistance and a ceasefire in Gaza. US monopoly capitalism call for a two state solution rings hollow with its support for Israel and the need for the latter’s agreement on the matter. This is illustrated with its record of voting – its use of the veto – at the United Nations Security Council on the question of Palestine in favour of the Zionist “Jewish State”.

US monopoly capitalism because of its use of wars is not a beacon of “Democracy” which it professes as leader of the “International Community”. The “War” in Gaza has exposed this truth for the Global South and world opinion. This is leading to a changing “balance of forces” within global capitalism in the stage of Globalization which is leading to the ‘questioning’ of US monopoly capitalism as leader of the “International Community”.

 

South Africa – “Freedom Day”

It is thirty years since the April 27th, 1994, democratic breakthrough in South Africa which signaled the end of Apartheid. It was a political breakthrough. The past thirty years have been characterized by the South African Communist Party (SACP) as a two-stage process of the National Democratic Revolution of South Africa. The first stage is on a capitalist basis and the second stage is a socialist oriented one. For the SACP this is the ‘principled’ “Marxist-Leninist” position.

The working class and the peoples of South Africa are celebrating this breakthrough of political democracy, of political ‘emancipation’. They have not reached ‘economic emancipation’, the transformation of capitalism into socialism. Important gains have been made in the last thirty years, but economic emancipation has not been reached. The second stage of the National Democratic Revolution has not been reached yet.

The National Democratic Revolution still proceeds because of monopoly capitalism in South Africa with finance capital, the big banks, being the dominant force. Wage slavery, the wage relation, is still the basis for the working class and the peoples of South Africa. The present first stage of the National Democratic Revolution on a capitalist basis cannot address the economic conditions of the working class and its economic emancipation.

The “Marxist-Leninist” SACP is more concerned with its ‘theoretical’ position of the two-stage National Democratic Revolution rather than addressing the economic conditions of the working class under capitalism and whether it is ‘ripe’ for socialism. This is because it has a flawed concept of a socialist-oriented state. The SACP takes its understanding of ‘socialism’ from China and Vietnam without ‘criticisms’ of the latter’s development. This is because they are ignorant of Marx and Lenin’s position on Socialism which is the position of Scientific Socialism – the ideology of Global Messenger. The buzzword for the SACP, for one of its leaders, David Masondo, is the “developmental state”. This ‘notion’ has its origins in bourgeois economic theory which is now been used by “Marxist-Leninists” like Masondo to address the South African situation and its ‘applicability’, in the second stage of the National Democratic Revolution, the socialist oriented one, in the transition period between capitalism and socialism. In essence, and simply put, it accords an economic role for the State in the transition period from capitalism to socialism. This is a distortion of the ‘base-superstructure’ principle of Scientific Socialism discovered by Marx. The State cannot be accorded an economic role as it leads to the system of “state monopoly” (Lenin’s concept) which Lenin pointed out was not the best system from the standpoint of the interests of socialism.

The confusion and the resulting obscurantism that the SACP suffers from its understanding of the State and socialism in relation to the second stage of the National Democratic Revolution is ‘retarding’ the struggle of the working class in South Africa for economic freedom, for economic emancipation, for socialism.

The two-stage National Democratic Revolution is a twentieth century concept developed by Lenin. In the second decade of the twenty first century, it has been shown in South Africa after thirty years that it is outdated and outmoded and that the conditions of the working class in the and the transformation of capitalism into socialism takes priority rather than “Marxist-Leninist” principle. “Concrete analysis of a concrete situation” is necessary to benefit the working class in South Africa rather than proceeding from the basis of a theoretical construct, from a theoretical ‘principle’, of “Marxism-Leninism”.