Open Letter: The Time Has Come!
The global wave of workers and popular struggles demonstrate the urgent need for revolutionaries to unite in order to overcome the historic crisis of leadership!
An Open Letter from the Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT), 19.01.2020, www.thecommunists.net
We are living in a historic time full of class struggles and popular uprisings in which the ruling class tries to keep power by launching vicious reactionary attacks. Even bourgeois observers admit the pre-revolutionary dynamic of the current world political stage as they compare the present times with revolutionary periods in history like 1848 or 1968.
These developments do not come as a surprise to Marxists. The RCIT has explained repeatedly that a historic period has opened in 2008 characterized by a comprehensive crisis of the whole capitalist system. The decay of this system has provoked not only another Great Recession beginning just now – it also threatens the very existence of humanity with the dramatic climate crisis. Against the background of capitalist decay, the rivalry between the imperialist Great Powers (U.S., China, Russia, EU and Japan) inevitable accelerates. This provokes militarism and a terrifying arms-race which will ultimately provoke the danger of World War III. Furthermore, the decay of the capitalist system pushes the ruling classes to intensify their brutal attacks on the social and democratic gains of the popular masses. The inevitable resistance against this onslaught is answered by the bourgeoisie by a rampant turn towards authoritarian regimes or outright military dictatorships. Furthermore, they encourage reactionary forces spreading hatred against women as well as national and religious minorities (e.g. Islamophobia).
The vanguard of the workers and popular masses do not lack determination and courage to fight against the attacks. From Chile to Iraq, from Bolivia to Catalunya, from Lebanon to Hong Kong and from France to India – millions of workers, oppressed and youth are rising up against reactionary regimes which are trampling democratic rights and social gains. In Syria, the heroic popular masses are still continuing the struggle against the tyranny of Assad and the Russian-Iranian occupation – after nearly nine years of civil war with hundreds of thousands of martyrs! In addition, a new Intifada can begin in Palestine as well as in Kashmir at any moment with far-reaching consequences for their whole regions.
No, the masses do not lack readiness to fight for their future. What they lack is a leadership which is up to the challenges of the struggle, in other words, they lack a revolutionary leadership. It is one of the most deplorable facts of the current world situation that the revolutionary forces are weak and dispersed and often lack a clear programmatic fundament.
How can we overcome this deficit? Such a revolutionary leadership will not arise spontaneously in the struggles. Nor will it emerge as a result of a self-critical process of renewal of hardened Stalinists and reformists who are not ashamed to offer their services to the rulers in Beijing, Moscow or Brussels or who kiss the feet of serial killers like Assad and General Sisi. A new revolutionary leadership can only be the result of collective efforts of hundreds and thousands of activists, of organizations which join forces on the basis of a common program and strategy for the current period of struggle. It is only via such conscious steps to build a New International that revolutionaries can effectively fight against the treacherous reformist leaderships in parties and trade unions which serve sectors of the ruling class or one or the other imperialist power.
The RCIT has always stated that building such a Revolutionary World Party is the most important task to which we dedicate our limited forces. (For the RCIT’s program see the links at the end of this document.) However, there can be no doubt that such a great task demands the joint efforts of all revolutionaries. Hence, the RCIT appeals to revolutionary organizations and activists around the world to unite with us in jointly building such a New International with sections in each country! It is only via such an instrument that the vanguard of the workers and oppressed can remove the obstacles of the reformist traitors and centrist confusionists and open the road towards the international socialist revolution and workers and popular governments.
Comrades, it is high time to move from words to deeds! To those, who agree with us and our programmatic perspectives, we propose energetic efforts towards fusion of forces. To those, who see a lot of agreements but also some important differences, we propose to start a process of serious discussion and collaboration. If we don’t have full agreement now, we should form a bloc in order to intensify and organize such a process of rapprochement. Such a bloc should jointly confront the major turns in world politics and intervene in the global wave of class struggles. Such an approach was conducted by Lenin within the Zimmerwald Movement after 1914. It seems highly relevant for the current period as it could again advance the construction of a Revolutionary International together with new generations of fighters who are on the forefront of the global liberation struggles. Every authentic organization should be fully aware of its historic responsibility in a period like the current one. Comrades, no time must be lost to start such a process! The time to act is now!
Concretely, we propose to revolutionary organizations and activists to constitute a joint bloc to build a revolutionary leadership on the basis of the following principles.
1) Unconditional support for all class struggles and popular uprisings against neoliberal governments and authoritarian capitalist regimes (e.g. Chile, Ecuador, Haiti, Iraq, Lebanon, Iran, Hong Kong, India, France)! Solidarity with the popular struggle to bring down the Assad dictatorship and the Russian-Iranian occupiers! Down with reactionary coup d'états like in Bolivia!
2) Unconditional support for all popular struggles against national oppression and foreign occupation (e.g. Palestine, Kashmir, Syria, Afghanistan, Catalunya, East Turkestan, Chechnya)!
3) Down with sanctions and military aggression by Great Powers resp. their proxies (e.g. Iran, Venezuela, North Korea Mali, Somalia)!
4) No support for any Great Power in East and West! Down with the trade wars, arms race and proxy wars! The main enemy is at home! Against U.S., China, Russia, EU and Japan – for international unity of the workers and oppressed!
5) Since revolutionary forces are currently weak and fragmented, just workers and popular struggles usually take place under reformist, nationalist, populist or Islamist leaderships. Revolutionaries oppose any sectarian approach but advocate the most energetic participation in such mass struggles. However, while this will include various forms of practical agreements and putting demands on such forces, this must be combined with constant warning of their shortcomings and a consistent advocacy for the formation of an independent Workers’ Party as well as for the socialist program for a workers and popular government.
The RCIT calls upon all organizations and activists which broadly agree with these five principles to enter into a dialogue. This could open a process of discussion, collaborations, meetings and conferences focusing on concrete steps to form a bloc and to work towards the formation of a New International.
Comrades, Brothers and Sisters! Let us live up to the historic tasks ahead of us! There is no justification for any routine, national-centeredness and complacency! The time has come to act now and to act decisively!
Unity – Struggle – Victory!
International Secretariat of the RCIT
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The RCIT has published numerous books, pamphlets and statements outlining our analysis and programmatic perspectives. They are all available on our website www.thecommunists.net. In particular we refer to the RCIT‘s program – the “Manifesto for Revolutionary Liberation” (https://www.thecommunists.net/rcit-program-2016/) – as well as our Six Points for a Platform of Revolutionary Unity Today (https://www.thecommunists.net/rcit/6-points-for-a-platform-of-revolutionary-unity-today/).