Food and Energy Crisis: For a Strategy for Popular Uprising

Socialists need to intervene in the mass struggles with an internationalist, anti-imperialist and revolutionary program

By Michael Pröbsting, International Secretary of the Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT), 15 September 2022, www.thecommunists.net

 

There are moments when one can breath the explosive air of evolving world history. No doubt, the turbulent and dramatic period which we are currently experiencing, is such a moment!

We are facing a comprehensive and unprecedented economic, social and political crisis all over the world. It combines economic depression, dramatically rising living costs, devastating wars, militarist chauvinism, and climate change.

The food and energy crisis are a key issue of the current period. The Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT) has therefore published a program of action dealing with this issue. In this manifesto, we summarise the key demands and tactics which we consider as urgent for the looming mass struggle. In the present article we will elaborate in more detail on a few issues. [1]

 

On the causes of the food and energy crisis

 

The starting point of our strategy is the recognition of the peculiar nature of the current phase in the world situation. The food and energy crisis does not exist in isolation but is rather closely related with the Ukraine War and the acceleration of the Great Power rivalry. However, it is important to understand the concrete relationship between these factors.

High inflation is ultimately caused by the deep crisis of the capitalist world economy which started in late 2019. [2] In such periods full of contradictions, the relationship between money, prices and commodities is thoroughly instable and distorted.

The economic depression was undoubtedly exacerbated by important political developments. These factors were, first, the draconic lockdown policy in most countries under the pretext of the pandemic – a politically motivated program of chauvinist state bonapartism which expanded the powers of the ruling class, and which limited democratic rights in an unprecedented degree. [3]

The second factor was the acceleration of the Great Power rivalry – most importantly between the U.S. and China. These developments resulted in the disruption both of production as well as trade which created a shortage of commodities.

As a result, prices of major commodities rose already dramatically long before the beginning of the Ukraine War. In late 2021, prices were about 40-60% higher than in 2019. (See Figure in the Appendix).

These developments were followed by another major political event which has driven up prices even more: the Ukraine War and the further acceleration of the Great Power rivalry. Putin’s invasion and Russia’s control of the Black Sea had devastating consequences for the Ukraine which is a major agricultural producer (16% of global grain exports). Furthermore, unprecedented Western sanctions against Russia resulted in disrupting resp. driving up of prices of Russian exports – one of the world’s most important producer and exporter of raw materials (e.g. oil, gas, fertiliser, grain etc.). [4]

In summary, the food and energy crisis are ultimately caused by the depression of the capitalist world economy. However, it has been exacerbated by political events – the Lockdown policy, the Ukraine War and the inter-imperialist rivalry.

 

Self-organisation and united front tactic

 

Socialists need to recognise the extraordinary gap between the outrage of the masses about the dramatically rising living costs, on one hand, and the crisis of leadership. As a matter of fact, the official leadership of the trade unions and other workers organisations are extremely reluctant to organise defensive battles. At best, the bureaucrats limit themselves to organise one-day strikes or demonstrations. [5]

However, it is evident that such limited protest activities can neither make the bosses accept a massive rise in payment nor can it force the capitalist governments to impose meaningful price caps. For this we need much more radical actions!

This is why socialists have to work towards the creation of committees of action in the workplaces and neighbourhoods. Such committees – which should integrate all activists as a first step and broader masses as a second step – can serve as pressure groups to force the bureaucrats to organise more radical actions than they are inclined to.

If the bureaucrats refuse to fight to the extent necessary (which can be taken for granted), such committees of action should take the struggle into their own hands. They should elect delegates and create a national coordination body.

However, as long as such committees do not exist or are not strong enough, socialists need to apply the united front tactic and call the existing leadership of the workers and popular organisations to organise the struggle against the deteriorating living conditions. [6]

 

Linking with political issues: the Ukraine War and Great Power rivalry

 

As we explained above, the Ukraine War and the acceleration of the Great Power rivalry are important factors which have worsened the food and energy crisis. The RCIT therefore opposes the typical approach of reformist and centrist forces who strive to limit the struggle to economic demands only. Surely, these opportunists will argue that it would be pragmatically better to ignore political slogans since there are huge differences on such issues while we can all agree on economic demands.

Such an argument is false and faint-hearted! First, it is impossible to ignore these political issues since they play a dominating role in the evolvement of the food and energy crisis as well as in public opinion. Furthermore, the bosses and the governments will use these events as excuse for their passivity on the food and energy crisis. They will say that they “understand our concern” but “it is not in their hands” since these are global issues beyond their sphere of influence. Western governments will also claim hypocritically that “we” (i.e. the popular masses) must be prepared to pay a price for solidarity with the Ukraine. [7]

Against this we have to explain that this is not true – the energy corporations make much profit and the governments in the EU are active participants in the sanctions policy. We tell the bosses and governments: you gain from the crisis, you are co-responsible for it – you have to pay for it!

What is, however, true is that the food and energy crisis is an international issue, and it must be solved on a global scale. Hence, it is urgent that the trade unions and other mass organisations organise an international struggle.

Finally, one should have no illusions. The main reason why the reformist bureaucrats and centrist muddleheads want to limit the struggle to economic demands is because they want to hide their political positions on the Ukraine War and the Great Power rivalry. As a matter of fact, most of them sympathise either with Russian [8] and Chinese [9] or with Western imperialism. [10]

This makes it all the more urgent that socialists intervene strongly with a consistent internationalist and anti-imperialist program. This means, as the RCIT has elaborated in its documents, to take a clear stance in defence of the Ukraine and for the defeat of Putin’s invasion. At the same time, socialists must oppose not only Russian but also Western imperialism. [11] This means, among others, that socialists must not lend any support to Western sanctions (or such of any other Great Power). [12]

 

On the strategy of popular uprising

 

Finally, socialists must take into account the specific nature of the kind of attacks and the context in which the current crisis evolves. We are in a period of capitalist decay. We face huge attacks which have a global character. Any serious struggle – even only for the defence of our living conditions – will face determined resistance by the ruling class. Such developments will provoke, rather sooner than later, the question of power. Who runs the society, who controls the economic wealth and the state apparatus?

The RCIT considers it as urgent that socialists do not avoid such questions but give a clear answer to this challenge. We need to explain that, indeed, it is necessary to overthrow the bosses and their governments! The workers and oppressed must take power in their own hands!

This is why the struggle against the food and energy crisis must be combined with a revolutionary perspective. This means, most importantly, the organising of a general strike and the preparation of a popular uprising.

Such an uprising must not be misunderstood as a putsch by a small minority. No, such nonsense would be the high road to ruin! An uprising can only succeed if it has the support of the majority of the working class and the popular masses. Hence, we advocate the strategy of popular uprising not because we call for an ultraleft adventure. But socialists need to explain patiently to workers that in order to overcome the decay of the society it is necessity to take power – by direct action and not via election (the parliament by its very nature as an aloof and corrupted institution is no instrument for working-class power).

No collective action can win without organisation. No uprising, no socialist revolution can win without organisation. And without organisation, no program for socialist transformation can be spread and neither is it possible to unite supporters of such a program for collective work!

Hence, the creation of such an organisation – a party for socialist revolution on a national as well as international scale – is the most important task of socialists today. This is why the RCIT calls all socialists, who agree with the above-outlined strategy, to join forces!

 



[1] RCIT: High Prices, No Heating: Organise for Struggle! Fight for Power! A revolutionary program of action against the food and energy crisis, 14 September 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/action-program-against-the-food-and-energy-crisis/

[2] The RCIT has analysed the crisis of the capitalist world economy in much detail. The latest documents are compiled on a special sub-page on our website: https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/collection-of-articles-on-great-depression/.

[3] The RCIT has dealt extensively with the pandemic and the COVID Counterrevolution. We have published more than 100 pamphlets, essays, articles and statements plus a book which are all compiled at a special sub-page on our website: https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/collection-of-articles-on-the-2019-corona-virus/. In particular, we draw attention to our book by Michael Pröbsting: The COVID-19 Global Counterrevolution: What It Is and How to Fight It. A Marxist analysis and strategy for the revolutionary struggle, RCIT Books, April 2020, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/the-covid-19-global-counterrevolution/.

[4] For our analysis of the relation of forces between the Great Powers since the beginning of the Ukraine War see e.g. the pamphlet by Michael Pröbsting: World Situation: In the Midst of a Global Political Tornado. Notes on global developments characterized by the Ukraine War, inter-imperialist rivalry, global energy and food crisis as well as spontaneous mass protests, 13 April 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/world-situation-april-2022/; by the same author: The G-7 Oil Price Cap: A New Stage in the Great Power Rivalry. The Cold War between the Western powers and their Eastern rivals points towards escalation, 7 September 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/the-g-7-oil-price-cap-a-new-stage-in-the-great-power-rivalry/; Western Boycott of Western Sanctions? A new report reveals that Western exports to Russia have increased in the past months despite the official policy of boycott, 20 August 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/western-boycott-of-western-sanctions/; “We are not winning”. A disillusioned balance sheet of the EU’s Foreign Minister on the West's decline in world politics, 12 July 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/borrell-we-are-not-winning/; Is Europe’s Ruling Class About to Declare a War Economy? On a programmatic article by an imperialist ideologist on the consequences of the Great Power rivalry, 7 July 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/europe/is-europe-s-ruling-class-about-to-declare-a-war-economy/; G-20: Inter-Imperialist Rivalry on the Diplomatic Terrain. What do recent developments in the G-20 tell us about Russia’s imperialist character? 23 April 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/g-20-inter-imperialist-rivalry-on-the-diplomatic-terrain/

[5] See e.g. our latest article on the strikes in Britain: Laurence Humphries: Britain: Rail Unions Announce Further Strike Action, 22 July 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/europe/britain-rail-unions-announce-further-strike-action/

[6] See on this e.g. the book by Michael Pröbsting: Marxism and the United Front Tactic Today. The Struggle for Proletarian Hegemony in the Liberation Movement and the United Front Tactic Today. On the Application of the Marxist United Front Tactic in Semi-Colonial and Imperialist Countries in the Present Period, May 2016, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/book-united-front/

[7] See on this e.g. Michael Pröbsting: NATO Leader Warns of “Civil Unrest” in Europe. Inter-imperialist rivalry between the Western powers and Russia provokes massive crisis, 9 September 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/nato-leader-warns-of-civil-unrest-in-europe/

[8] The RCIT has published numerous documents about capitalism in Russia and its rise to an imperialist power. See on this e.g. several pamphlets by Michael Pröbsting: The Peculiar Features of Russian Imperialism. A Study of Russia’s Monopolies, Capital Export and Super-Exploitation in the Light of Marxist Theory, 10 August 2021, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/the-peculiar-features-of-russian-imperialism/; by the same author: Lenin’s Theory of Imperialism and the Rise of Russia as a Great Power. On the Understanding and Misunderstanding of Today’s Inter-Imperialist Rivalry in the Light of Lenin’s Theory of Imperialism. Another Reply to Our Critics Who Deny Russia’s Imperialist Character, August 2014, http://www.thecommunists.net/theory/imperialism-theory-and-russia/; Russia as a Great Imperialist Power. The formation of Russian Monopoly Capital and its Empire – A Reply to our Critics, 18 March 2014, in: Revolutionary Communism No. 21, http://www.thecommunists.net/theory/imperialist-russia/; Russia: An Imperialist Power or a “Non-Hegemonic Empire in Gestation”? (Reply to Claudio Katz), New Politics, https://newpol.org/russia-an-imperialist-power-or-a-non-hegemonic-empire-in-gestation-a-reply-to-the-argentinean-economist-claudio-katz-an-essay-with-8-tables/; Russian Imperialism and Its Monopolies, in: New Politics Vol. XVIII No. 4, Whole Number 72, Winter 2022, https://newpol.org/issue_post/russian-imperialism-and-its-monopolies/ (the same essay has been republished by International Viewpoint, 21. April 2022, https://internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article7618); Once Again on Russian Imperialism (Reply to Critics). A rebuttal of a theory which claims that Russia is not an imperialist state but would be rather “comparable to Brazil and Iran”, 30 March 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/once-again-on-russian-imperialism-reply-to-critics/. See various other RCIT documents on this issue at a special sub-page on the RCIT’s website: https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/china-russia-as-imperialist-powers/.

[9] The RCIT has published numerous documents about capitalism in China and its transformation into a Great Power. See on this e.g. the book by Michael Pröbsting: Anti-Imperialism in the Age of Great Power Rivalry. The Factors behind the Accelerating Rivalry between the U.S., China, Russia, EU and Japan. A Critique of the Left’s Analysis and an Outline of the Marxist Perspective, RCIT Books, Vienna 2019, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/anti-imperialism-in-the-age-of-great-power-rivalry/; see also by the same author: “Chinese Imperialism and the World Economy”, an essay published in the second edition of The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Imperialism and Anti-Imperialism (edited by Immanuel Ness and Zak Cope), Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2020, https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-3-319-91206-6_179-1; China: An Imperialist Power … Or Not Yet? A Theoretical Question with Very Practical Consequences! Continuing the Debate with Esteban Mercatante and the PTS/FT on China’s class character and consequences for the revolutionary strategy, 22 January 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/china-imperialist-power-or-not-yet/; China‘s transformation into an imperialist power. A study of the economic, political and military aspects of China as a Great Power (2012), in: Revolutionary Communism No. 4, http://www.thecommunists.net/publications/revcom-number-4; How is it possible that some Marxists still Doubt that China has Become Capitalist? (A Critique of the PTS/FT), An analysis of the capitalist character of China’s State-Owned Enterprises and its political consequences, 18 September 2020, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/pts-ft-and-chinese-imperialism-2/; Unable to See the Wood for the Trees (PTS/FT and China). Eclectic empiricism and the failure of the PTS/FT to recognize the imperialist character of China, 13 August 2020, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/pts-ft-and-chinese-imperialism/; China’s Emergence as an Imperialist Power (Article in the US journal 'New Politics'), in: “New Politics”, Summer 2014 (Vol:XV-1, Whole #: 57). See many more RCIT documents at a special sub-page on the RCIT’s website: https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/china-russia-as-imperialist-powers/.

[10] The RCIT has dealt on numerous occasions with the inter-imperialist rivalry of the Great Powers. See e.g. RCIT: World Perspectives 2021-22: Entering a Pre-Revolutionary Global Situation, 22 August 2021, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/world-perspectives-2021-22/; see also our book by Michael Pröbsting: Anti-Imperialism in the Age of Great Power Rivalry. The Factors behind the Accelerating Rivalry between the U.S., China, Russia, EU and Japan. A Critique of the Left’s Analysis and an Outline of the Marxist Perspective, RCIT Books, Vienna 2019, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/anti-imperialism-in-the-age-of-great-power-rivalry/; see also the following works by the same author: “A Really Good Quarrel”. US-China Alaska Meeting: The Inter-Imperialist Cold War Continues, 23 March 2021, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/us-china-alaska-meeting-shows-continuation-of-inter-imperialist-cold-war/; Servants of Two Masters. Stalinism and the New Cold War between Imperialist Great Powers in East and West, 10 July 2021, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/servants-of-two-masters-stalinism-and-new-cold-war/; for more works on this issue see these sub-pages: https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/china-russia-as-imperialist-powers/ and https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/collection-of-articles-on-the-global-trade-war/.

[11] We refer readers to a special page on our website where more than 100 RCIT documents on the Ukraine War and the current NATO-Russia conflict are compiled: https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/compilation-of-documents-on-nato-russia-conflict/. In particular we refer to the RCIT Manifesto: Ukraine War: A Turning Point of World Historic Significance. Socialists must combine the revolutionary defense of the Ukraine against Putin’s invasion with the internationalist struggle against Russian as well as NATO and EU imperialism, 1 March 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/manifesto-ukraine-war-a-turning-point-of-world-historic-significance/

[12] For our critique of supporting imperialist sanctions see e.g. Michael Pröbsting: Ukraine War: Revolutionary Defensism and Non-Revolutionary Defensism. A comradely critique of LIT-CI which falsely combines its defence of the Ukraine with support for Western imperialist sanctions against Russia, 15 July 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/ukraine-war-revolutionary-defensism-and-non-revolutionary-defensism/; Ukraine War: Supporting Western Sanctions Is Impermissible for Socialists! Support for the Ukrainian resistance must be combined with consistent anti-imperialism (a comradely critique of LIT-CI), 1 June 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/ukraine-war-supporting-western-sanctions-is-impermissible-for-socialists/; by the same author: Can Socialists Support Imperialist Sanctions? The “Fourth International” in the tradition of Pablo and Mandel supports Western sanctions against Russia, 4 March 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/can-socialists-support-imperialist-sanctions/; Why Socialists Should Not Support Imperialist Sanctions or the United Nations. A comradely critique of a joint statement of Russian and Ukrainian socialists, 17 April 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/europe/why-socialists-should-not-support-imperialist-sanctions-or-un/

[13] United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs: The World Economic Situation and Prospects as of mid-2022, 18 May 2022, p. 3

 

 

 

* * * * *

 

Appendix

Figure: Major Commodity Prices, January 2018 to March 2022 [13]

 

 

Nahrungsmittel- und Energiekrise: Für eine Strategie des Volksaufstandes

Sozialisten müssen mit einem internationalistischen, antiimperialistischen und revolutionären Programm in die Massenproteste eingreifen

Von Michael Pröbsting, Internationaler Sekretär der Revolutionär-Kommunistischen Internationalen Tendenz (RCIT), 15. September 2022, www.thecommunists.net

 

Es gibt Momente, in denen man die explosive Luft der sich entwickelnden Weltgeschichte atmen kann. Zweifellos ist die turbulente und dramatische Zeit, die wir derzeit erleben, eine solche Situation!

Wir stehen weltweit vor einer umfassenden und beispiellosen wirtschaftlichen, sozialen und politischen Krise. Sie verbindet wirtschaftliche Depression, dramatisch steigende Lebenshaltungskosten, verheerende Kriege, militaristischen Chauvinismus und Klimawandel.

Die Nahrungsmittel- und Energiekrise sind ein zentrales Merkmal der aktuellen Periode. Die Revolutionär-Kommunistische Internationalen Tendenz (RCIT) hat daher ein Aktionsprogramm veröffentlicht, das sich mit diesem Thema befasst. In diesem Manifest fassen wir die wichtigsten Forderungen und Taktiken zusammen, die wir für den drohenden Massenkampf als dringend erachten. Im folgenden Artikel gehen wir auf einige Punkte näher ein. [1]

 

Über die Ursachen der Ernährungs- und Energiekrise

 

Ausgangspunkt unserer Strategie ist die Erkenntnis der Eigentümlichkeit der gegenwärtigen Phase der Weltlage. Die Nahrungsmittel- und Energiekrise existiert nicht isoliert, sondern ist eng mit dem Ukrainekrieg und der Beschleunigung der Rivalität zwischen den Großmächten verbunden. Es ist jedoch wichtig, die konkrete Beziehung zwischen diesen Faktoren zu verstehen.

Hohe Inflation wird letztlich durch die tiefe Krise der kapitalistischen Weltwirtschaft verursacht, die Ende 2019 begann. [2] In solchen widersprüchlichen Zeiten ist das Verhältnis von Geld, Preisen und Rohstoffen zutiefst instabil und verzerrt.

Die wirtschaftliche Depression wurde zweifellos durch wichtige politische Entwicklungen verschärft. Diese Faktoren waren zum einen die drakonische Lockdown-Politik in den meisten Ländern unter dem Vorwand der Pandemie – ein politisch motiviertes Programm des chauvinistischen Staatsbonapartismus, dass die Macht der herrschenden Klasse ausbaute und demokratische Rechte in einem beispiellosen Ausmaß einschränkte. [3]

Der zweite Faktor war die Beschleunigung der Rivalität zwischen den Großmächten – vor allem zwischen den USA und China. Diese Entwicklungen führten zu einer Unterbrechung sowohl der Produktion als auch des Handels, was zu einer Verknappung von Waren führte.

Infolgedessen stiegen die Preise wichtiger Rohstoffe bereits lange vor Beginn des Ukrainekrieges dramatisch an. Ende 2021 waren die Preise etwa 40-60 % höher als 2019. (Siehe die Abbildung im Anhang).

Auf diese Entwicklungen folgte ein weiteres politisches Großereignis, dass die Preise noch weiter in die Höhe getrieben hat: der Ukrainekrieg und die weitere Verschärfung der Rivalität zwischen den Großmächten. Putins Invasion und Russlands Kontrolle des Schwarzen Meeres hatten verheerende Folgen für die Ukraine, die ein bedeutender landwirtschaftlicher Produzent ist (16 % der weltweiten Getreideexporte). Darüber hinaus führten beispiellose westliche Sanktionen gegen Russland zu Störungen bzw. Preistreiben russischer Exporte – einer der weltweit wichtigsten Produzenten und Exporteure von Rohstoffen (z. B. Öl, Gas, Düngemittel, Getreide etc.). [4]

Zusammenfassend lässt sich sagen, dass die Lebensmittel- und Energiekrise letztendlich durch die Depression der kapitalistischen Weltwirtschaft verursacht wird. Sie wurde jedoch durch politische Ereignisse verschärft – die Lockdown-Politik, der Ukraine-Krieg und die interimperialistische Rivalität.

 

Selbstorganisation und Einheitsfronttaktik

 

Sozialisten müssen die außergewöhnliche Kluft zwischen der Empörung der Massen über die dramatisch steigenden Lebenshaltungskosten einerseits und der Krise der Führung erkennen. Tatsächlich sind die offiziellen Führungen der Gewerkschaften und anderer Arbeiterorganisationen äußerst zurückhaltend darin, Verteidigungskämpfe zu organisieren. Bestenfalls beschränken sich die Bürokraten darauf, eintägige Streiks oder Demonstrationen zu organisieren. [5]

Es ist jedoch offensichtlich, dass solche begrenzten Protestaktivitäten weder die Bosse dazu bringen können, eine massive Lohnerhöhung zu akzeptieren, noch die kapitalistischen Regierungen dazu zwingen können, sinnvolle Preisobergrenzen einzuführen. Dafür brauchen wir viel radikalere Aktionen!

Deshalb müssen Sozialdemokraten auf die Schaffung von Aktionskomitees in den Betrieben und Nachbarschaften hinarbeiten. Solche Komitees – die in einem ersten Schritt alle Aktivisten und in einem zweiten Schritt breitere Massen integrieren sollten – können Druck ausüben, um die Bürokraten zu zwingen, radikalere Aktionen zu organisieren, als ihnen lieb ist.

Wenn die Bürokraten sich weigern, im notwendigen Umfang zu kämpfen (wovon man ausgehen muss), sollten solche Aktionskomitees den Kampf in ihre eigenen Hände nehmen. Sie sollten Delegierte wählen und ein nationales Koordinierungsgremium schaffen.

Solange solche Komitees jedoch nicht existieren oder nicht stark genug sind, müssen Sozialistinnen und Sozialisten die Einheitsfronttaktik anwenden und von den bestehenden Führung der Arbeiter und Volksorganisationen fordern, den Kampf gegen die sich verschlechternden Lebensbedingungen zu organisieren. [6]

 

Verknüpfung mit politischen Themen: der Ukraine-Krieg und die Großmächte-Rivalität

 

Wie wir oben erklärt haben, sind der Ukrainekrieg und die Verschärfung der Rivalität zwischen den Großmächten wichtige Faktoren, die die Nahrungsmittel- und Energiekrise verschlimmert haben. Die RCIT widersetzt sich daher dem typischen Ansatz reformistischer und zentristischer Kräfte, die bestrebt sind, den Kampf nur auf wirtschaftliche Forderungen zu beschränken. Sicherlich werden diese Opportunisten argumentieren, dass es pragmatisch besser wäre, politische Losungen zu ignorieren, da es in solchen Fragen große Meinungsverschiedenheiten gibt, während wir uns alle auf wirtschaftliche Forderungen einigen können.

Ein solches Argument ist falsch und feige! Erstens ist es unmöglich, diese politischen Themen zu ignorieren, da sie sowohl bei der Entwicklung der Nahrungsmittel- und Energiekrise als auch in der öffentlichen Meinung eine zentrale Rolle spielen. Darüberhinaus werden die Bosse und die Regierungen diese Ereignisse als Entschuldigung für ihre Passivität in Bezug auf die Nahrungsmittel- und Energiekrise benutzen. Sie werden sagen, dass sie „unsere Sorge verstehen“, aber „es liegt nicht in ihrer Hand“, da es sich um globale Probleme handelt, die außerhalb ihres Einflussbereichs liegen. Westliche Regierungen werden auch heuchlerisch behaupten, dass „wir“ (d. h. die Volksmassen) bereit sein müssten, einen Preis für die Solidarität mit der Ukraine zu zahlen. [7]

Dagegen müssen wir erklären, dass dies nicht stimmt – die Energiekonzerne machen viel Profit und die Regierungen in der EU beteiligen sich aktiv an der Sanktionspolitik. Wir sagen den Bossen und Regierungen: Ihr profitiert von der Krise, ihr seid mitverantwortlich – ihr müsst dafür bezahlen!

Wahr ist jedoch, dass die Lebensmittel- und Energiekrise ein internationales Problem ist und auf globaler Ebene gelöst werden muss. Daher ist es dringend erforderlich, dass die Gewerkschaften und andere Massenorganisationen einen internationalen Kampf organisieren.

Schließlich sollte man sich keine Illusionen machen. Der Hauptgrund, warum die reformistischen Bürokraten und zentristischen Wirrköpfe den Kampf auf wirtschaftliche Forderungen beschränken wollen, liegt darin, dass sie ihre politischen Positionen zum Ukrainekrieg und zur Rivalität der Großmächte verbergen wollen. Tatsächlich sympathisieren die meisten von ihnen entweder mit dem russischen [8] und chinesischen [9] oder mit dem westlichen Imperialismus. [10]

Umso dringlicher ist es, dass Sozialisten mit einem konsequent internationalistischen und anti-imperialistischen Programm agieren. Dies bedeutet, wie die RCIT in ihren Dokumenten ausgeführt hat, eine klare Haltung zur Verteidigung der Ukraine und für die Niederlage der Putin-Invasion einzunehmen. Gleichzeitig müssen sich Sozialisten nicht nur gegen den russischen, sondern auch gegen den westlichen Imperialismus stellen. [11] Das bedeutet unter anderem, dass Sozialisten westliche Sanktionen (oder solche irgendeiner anderen Großmacht) nicht unterstützen dürfen. [12]

 

Zur Strategie des Volksaufstandes

 

Schließlich müssen Sozialistinnen und Sozialisten die Besonderheiten der Art der Angriffe und den Zusammenhang berücksichtigen, in dem sich die aktuelle Krise entwickelt. Wir befinden uns in einer Phase des kapitalistischen Verfalls. Wir stehen vor gewaltigen Angriffen, die globalen Charakter haben. Jeder ernsthafte Kampf – auch nur für die Verteidigung unserer Lebensbedingungen – wird auf entschlossenen Widerstand der herrschenden Klasse stoßen. Solche Entwicklungen werden eher früher als später die Machtfrage aufwerfen. Wer leitet die Gesellschaft, wer kontrolliert den wirtschaftlichen Reichtum und den Staatsapparat?

Die RCIT hält es für dringend erforderlich, dass Sozialistinnen und Sozialisten solchen Fragen nicht ausweichen, sondern eine klare Antwort auf diese Herausforderung geben. Wir müssen erklären, dass es in der Tat notwendig ist, die Bosse und ihre Regierungen zu stürzen! Die Arbeiter und Unterdrückten müssen die Macht in ihre eigenen Hände nehmen!

Deshalb muss der Kampf gegen die Nahrungsmittel- und Energiekrise mit einer revolutionären Perspektive verbunden werden. Das bedeutet vor allem die Organisation eines Generalstreiks und die Vorbereitung eines Volksaufstands.

Ein solcher Aufstand darf nicht als Putsch einer kleinen Minderheit missverstanden werden. Nein, ein solcher Unsinn wäre der Weg ins Verderben! Ein Aufstand kann nur erfolgreich sein, wenn er die Unterstützung der Mehrheit der Arbeiterklasse und der Volksmassen hat. Daher befürworten wir die Strategie des Volksaufstands nicht deswegen, weil wir ein ultralinkes Abenteuer fordern. Sozialisten müssen den Arbeitern vielmehr geduldig erklären, dass es notwendig ist, die Macht zu übernehmen, um den Verfall der Gesellschaft abzuwenden – durch direkte Aktionen und nicht durch Wahlen (das Parlament ist aufgrund seines Wesens als unnahbare und korrupte Institution kein Instrument für die Macht der Arbeiterklasse).

Keine kollektive Aktion kann ohne Organisation gewinnen. Kein Aufstand, keine sozialistische Revolution kann ohne Organisation siegen. Und ohne Organisation kann kein Programm zur sozialistischen Umgestaltung verbreitet werden und es ist auch nicht möglich, Unterstützer eines solchen Programms für kollektive Arbeit zu vereinen!

Daher ist die Schaffung einer solchen Organisation – einer Partei für die sozialistische Revolution sowohl auf nationaler als auch auf internationaler Ebene – die wichtigste Aufgabe der Sozialisten heute. Deshalb ruft die RCIT alle Sozialisten, die mit der oben skizzierten Strategie einverstanden sind, dazu auf, sich zusammenzuschließen!

 



[1] RCIT: Preiserhöhungen, keine Heizung: Organisieren wir uns für den Kampf! Ein revolutionäres Aktionsprogramm gegen die Nahrungsmittel- und Energiekrise, 14. September 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/action-program-against-the-food-and-energy-crisis/#anker_1

[2] Die RCIT hat die Krise der kapitalistischen Weltwirtschaft ausführlich analysiert. Die in letzter Zeit veröffentlichten Dokumente finden sich auf einer eigenen Unterseite auf unserer Homepage: https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/collection-of-articles-on-great-depression/.

[3] Die RCIT hat die COVID-Konterrevolution von Anfang an ausführlich analysiert. Seit dem 2. Februar 2020 haben wir knapp 100 Dokumente veröffentlicht, die alle auf einer speziellen Unterseite unserer Website zusammengefasst sind: https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/collection-of-articles-on-the-2019-corona-virus/. Insbesondere verweisen wir unsere LeserInnen auf das Buch von Michael Pröbsting verweisen: The COVID-19 Global Counterrevolution: What It Is and How to Fight It. A Marxist analysis and strategy for the revolutionary struggle, RCIT Books, April 2020, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/the-covid-19-global-counterrevolution/

[4] Das RCIT hat sich bei zahlreichen Gelegenheiten mit dem Kräfteverhältnis zwischen den Großmächten seit Beginn des Ukraine-Krieges befasst. Siehe z.B. die Broschüre von Michael Pröbsting: Mitten in einem weltpolitischen Tornado. Überlegungen zu globalen Entwicklungen, die durch den Ukraine-Krieg, inner-imperialistische Rivalitäten, die globale Energie- und Nahrungsmittelkrise sowie spontane Massenproteste gekennzeichnet sind, 13. April 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/world-situation-april-2022/#anker_1; von dem Gleichen Autor: The G-7 Oil Price Cap: A New Stage in the Great Power Rivalry. The Cold War between the Western powers and their Eastern rivals points towards escalation, 7 September 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/the-g-7-oil-price-cap-a-new-stage-in-the-great-power-rivalry/; Western Boycott of Western Sanctions? A new report reveals that Western exports to Russia have increased in the past months despite the official policy of boycott, 20 August 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/western-boycott-of-western-sanctions/; “We are not winning”. A disillusioned balance sheet of the EU’s Foreign Minister on the West's decline in world politics, 12 July 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/borrell-we-are-not-winning/; Is Europe’s Ruling Class About to Declare a War Economy? On a programmatic article by an imperialist ideologist on the consequences of the Great Power rivalry, 7 July 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/europe/is-europe-s-ruling-class-about-to-declare-a-war-economy/; G-20: Inter-Imperialist Rivalry on the Diplomatic Terrain. What do recent developments in the G-20 tell us about Russia’s imperialist character? 23 April 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/g-20-inter-imperialist-rivalry-on-the-diplomatic-terrain/

[5] Siehe dazu z.B. unseren letzten Artikel zu den Streiks in Britannien: Laurence Humphries: Britain: Rail Unions Announce Further Strike Action, 22 July 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/europe/britain-rail-unions-announce-further-strike-action/

[6] Siehe dazu z.B. unser Buch von Michael Pröbsting: Marxismus und die Einheitsfronttaktik heute. Der Kampf für die proletarische Hegemonie in der Befreiungsbewegung und die Einheitsfronttaktik heute. Über die Anwendung der marxistischen Einheitsfronttaktik in den halb-kolonialen und imperialistischen Ländern in der gegenwärtigen Periode, Mai 2016, https://www.thecommunists.net/home/deutsch/einheitsfront-buch/

[7] Siehe dazu z.B. Michael Pröbsting: NATO Leader Warns of “Civil Unrest” in Europe. Inter-imperialist rivalry between the Western powers and Russia provokes massive crisis, 9 September 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/nato-leader-warns-of-civil-unrest-in-europe/

[8] Das RCIT hat zahlreiche Dokumente über den Kapitalismus in Russland und dessen Aufstieg zu einer imperialistischen Macht veröffentlicht. Siehe dazu z.B. mehrere Broschüren von Michael Pröbsting: The Peculiar Features of Russian Imperialism. Eine Studie über Russlands Monopole, Kapitalexport und Superausbeutung im Lichte der marxistischen Theorie, 10. August 2021, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/the-peculiar-features-of-russian-imperialism/; vom gleichen Autor: Lenins Theorie des Imperialismus und der Aufstieg Russlands zur Großmacht. Über das Verständnis und Missverständnis der heutigen inner-imperialistischen Rivalität im Lichte der Leninschen Imperialismustheorie. Eine weitere Antwort an unsere Kritiker, die Russlands imperialistischen Charakter leugnen, August 2014, http://www.thecommunists.net/theory/imperialism-theory-and-russia/; Russland als imperialistische Großmacht. Die Entstehung des russischen Monopolkapitals und seines Imperiums - Eine Antwort an unsere Kritiker, 18. März 2014, in: Revolutionärer Kommunismus Nr. 21, http://www.thecommunists.net/theory/imperialist-russia/; Russia: An Imperialist Power or a “Non-Hegemonic Empire in Gestation”? (Reply to Claudio Katz), New Politics, https://newpol.org/russia-an-imperialist-power-or-a-non-hegemonic-empire-in-gestation-a-reply-to-the-argentinean-economist-claudio-katz-an-essay-with-8-tables/; Russischer Imperialismus und seine Monopole, in: Neue Politik Vol. XVIII No. 4, Whole Number 72, Winter 2022, https://newpol.org/issue_post/russian-imperialism-and-its-monopolies/ (derselbe Aufsatz wurde neu veröffentlicht von International Viewpoint, 21. April 2022, https://internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article7618 ); Once Again on Russian Imperialism (Reply to Critics). Eine Widerlegung einer Theorie, die behauptet, Russland sei kein imperialistischer Staat, sondern eher "vergleichbar mit Brasilien und dem Iran", 30. März 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/once-again-on-russian-imperialism-reply-to-critics/. Siehe verschiedene andere RCIT-Dokumente zu diesem Thema auf einer speziellen Unterseite auf der Website des RCIT: https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/china-russia-as-imperialist-powers/.

[9] Das RCIT hat zahlreiche Dokumente über den Kapitalismus in China und seine Umwandlung in eine Großmacht veröffentlicht. Siehe dazu z.B. das oben erwähnte Buch von Michael Pröbsting: Anti-Imperialism in the Age of Great Power Rivalry. The Factors behind the Accelerating Rivalry between the U.S., China, Russia, EU and Japan. A Critique of the Left’s Analysis and an Outline of the Marxist Perspective, RCIT Books, Vienna 2019, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/anti-imperialism-in-the-age-of-great-power-rivalry/; siehe auch den Aufsatz desselben Autors – “Chinese Imperialism and the World Economy” – in der zweiten Ausgabe von The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Imperialism and Anti-Imperialism (herausgegeben von Immanuel Ness und Zak Cope), Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2020, https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-3-319-91206-6_179-1; China: An Imperialist Power... Or Not Yet? Eine theoretische Frage mit sehr praktischen Konsequenzen! Fortsetzung der Debatte mit Esteban Mercatante und der PTS/FT über Chinas Klassencharakter und die Konsequenzen für die revolutionäre Strategie, 22. Januar 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/china-imperialist-power-or-not-yet/; Chinas Umwandlung in eine imperialistische Macht. Eine Studie über die wirtschaftlichen, politischen und militärischen Aspekte Chinas als Großmacht (2012), in: Revolutionärer Kommunismus Nr. 4, http://www.thecommunists.net/publications/revcom-number-4; Wie ist es möglich, dass einige Marxisten immer noch daran zweifeln, dass China kapitalistisch geworden ist? (A Critique of the PTS/FT), An analysis of the capitalist character of China's State-Owned Enterprises and its political consequences, 18 September 2020, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/pts-ft-and-chinese-imperialism-2/; Unable to See the Wood for the Trees (PTS/FT and China). Eclectic empiricism and the failure of the PTS/FT to recognize the imperialist character of China, 13. August 2020, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/pts-ft-and-chinese-imperialism/; China's Emergence as an Imperialist Power (Artikel in der US-Zeitschrift "New Politics"), in: "New Politics", Sommer 2014 (Vol:XV-1, Whole #: 57). Viele weitere RCIT-Dokumente finden Sie auf einer speziellen Unterseite auf der RCIT-Website: https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/china-russia-as-imperialist-powers/.

[10] Das RCIT hat sich bei zahlreichen Gelegenheiten mit der inner-imperialistischen Rivalität der Großmächte befasst. Siehe z.B. RCIT: World Perspectives 2021-22: Entering a Pre-Revolutionary Global Situation, 22. August 2021, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/world-perspectives-2021-22/; siehe auch unser Buch von Michael Pröbsting: Anti-Imperialismus im Zeitalter der Großmachtrivalität. Die Faktoren der sich beschleunigenden Rivalität zwischen den USA, China, Russland, der EU und Japan. A Critique of the Left's Analysis and an Outline of the Marxist Perspective, RCIT Books, Wien 2019, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/anti-imperialism-in-the-age-of-great-power-rivalry/; siehe auch die folgenden Werke desselben Autors: "A Really Good Quarrel". US-China Alaska Meeting: The Inter-Imperialist Cold War Continues, 23. März 2021, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/us-china-alaska-meeting-shows-continuation-of-inter-imperialist-cold-war/; Servants of Two Masters. Stalinismus und der neue Kalte Krieg zwischen den imperialistischen Großmächten in Ost und West, 10. Juli 2021, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/servants-of-two-masters-stalinism-and-new-cold-war/; weitere Werke zu diesem Thema finden Sie auf den Unterseiten https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/china-russia-as-imperialist-powers/ und https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/collection-of-articles-on-the-global-trade-war/.

[11] Wir verweisen die Leser auf eine spezielle Seite auf unserer Website, auf der mehr als 100 RCIT-Dokumente zum aktuellen NATO-Russland-Konflikt und zum Ukraine-Krieg zusammengestellt sind: https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/compilation-of-documents-on-nato-russia-conflict/. Die wichtigsten Dokumente sind: RCIT-Manifest: Ukraine-Krieg: Ein Wendepunkt von welthistorischer Bedeutung. Sozialisten müssen die revolutionäre Verteidigung der Ukraine gegen Putins Invasion mit dem internationalistischen Kampf gegen den russischen sowie den NATO- und EU-Imperialismus verbinden, 1. März 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/manifesto-ukraine-war-a-turning-point-of-world-historic-significance/#anker_4.

[12] Zu unserer Kritik der Unterstützung imperialistischer Sanktionen siehe z.B. Michael Pröbsting: Ukraine War: Revolutionary Defensism and Non-Revolutionary Defensism. A comradely critique of LIT-CI which falsely combines its defence of the Ukraine with support for Western imperialist sanctions against Russia, 15 July 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/ukraine-war-revolutionary-defensism-and-non-revolutionary-defensism/; Ukraine War: Supporting Western Sanctions Is Impermissible for Socialists! Support for the Ukrainian resistance must be combined with consistent anti-imperialism (a comradely critique of LIT-CI), 1 June 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/ukraine-war-supporting-western-sanctions-is-impermissible-for-socialists/; by the same author: Can Socialists Support Imperialist Sanctions? The “Fourth International” in the tradition of Pablo and Mandel supports Western sanctions against Russia, 4 March 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/can-socialists-support-imperialist-sanctions/; Why Socialists Should Not Support Imperialist Sanctions or the United Nations. A comradely critique of a joint statement of Russian and Ukrainian socialists, 17 April 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/europe/why-socialists-should-not-support-imperialist-sanctions-or-un/

[13] United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs: The World Economic Situation and Prospects as of mid-2022, 18 May 2022, p. 3

 

 

* * * * *

 

Anhang

Abbildung: Preise der wichtigsten Rohstoffe, Januar 2018 bis März 2022 [13]

Crisis alimentaria y energética: por una estrategia insurreccional

Los socialistas necesitan intervenir en las luchas de masas con un programa internacionalista, antiimperialista y revolucionario

Por Michael Pröbsting, secretario internacional de la Corriente Comunista Revolucionaria Internacional (CCRI) 15 de septiembre de 2022, www.thecommunists.net

 

Hay momentos en los que se puede respirar el aire explosivo de la evolución de la historia mundial. ¡Sin duda, el período turbulento y dramático que estamos viviendo actualmente, es un momento de estas características! Nos enfrentamos a una crisis económica, social y política integral sin precedentes en todo el mundo, que combina la depresión económica, el aumento drástico del costo de vida, las guerras devastadoras, el chovinismo militarista y el cambio climático.

La crisis alimentaria y energética es un tema clave del período actual, razón por la cual, desde la Corriente Comunista Revolucionaria Internacional, CCRI, hemos publicado un programa de acción para responder a estas cuestiones. En este manifiesto, resumimos las demandas y tácticas que consideramos urgentes para la lucha de masas que se avecina. En el presente artículo elaboraremos con más detalle algunos de estos temas. [1]

 

Sobre las causas de la crisis alimentaria y energética

 

El punto de partida de nuestra estrategia es el reconocimiento del carácter peculiar de la fase actual de la situación mundial. La crisis alimentaria y energética no existe de forma aislada, sino que está estrechamente relacionada con la guerra de Ucrania y la aceleración de la rivalidad entre las grandes potencias, aunque es importante entender la relación concreta entre estos factores.

La alta inflación es causada en última instancia por la profunda crisis de la economía mundial capitalista que comenzó a fines de 2019. [2] En esos períodos llenos de contradicciones, la relación entre el dinero, los precios y las mercancías es completamente inestable y distorsionada.  Sin duda, la depresión económica se vio exacerbada por importantes acontecimientos políticos. Estos factores fueron, en primer lugar, la política de confinamiento draconiano impuesto con el pretexto de la pandemia, que expresa la intención de imponer un programa signado por el bonapartismo estatal chovinista, para ampliar los poderes de la clase dominante y limitar los derechos democráticos en un grado sin precedentes. [3]

El segundo factor fue la aceleración de la rivalidad entre las grandes potencias, sobre todo entre EE. UU. y China, proceso que interrumpió, tanto de la producción como del comercio, dando lugar a una escasez de productos básicos sin precedentes. Como resultado, los precios de los principales productos básicos ya aumentaron drásticamente mucho antes del comienzo de la Guerra de Ucrania, por eso, a finales de 2021, los precios ya estaban entre un 40 % y un 60 % más altos que en 2019. (Ver figura en el Apéndice).

Estos acontecimientos fueron seguidos por otro acontecimiento político importante que hizo subir los precios aún más, la guerra de Ucrania y la aceleración de la rivalidad entre las grandes potencias. La invasión de Putin y el control del Mar Negro por parte de Rusia, tuvieron consecuencias devastadoras para Ucrania, que es un importante productor agrícola (16% de las exportaciones mundiales de cereales). Además, las sanciones occidentales sin precedentes contra Rusia, resultaron en la interrupción y el aumento de los precios de las exportaciones rusas, uno de los productores y exportadores de materias primas más importantes del mundo (por ejemplo, petróleo, gas, fertilizantes, cereales, etc.). [4]

En resumen, las crisis alimentaria y energética son causadas en última instancia por la depresión de la economía mundial capitalista. Sin embargo, se ha visto exacerbado por los acontecimientos políticos que sucedieron en este último período, como la política de confinamientos debido a la pandemia, la guerra de Ucrania y la aceleración de las rivalidades interimperialistas.

 

Autoorganización y táctica de frente único

 

En semejante contexto, los socialistas debemos reconocer la existencia de una extraordinaria brecha entre la indignación de las masas -por el aumento drástico del costo de vida- y la crisis de liderazgo. De hecho, las direcciones oficiales de la mayoría de los sindicatos y otras organizaciones obreras son extremadamente renuentes a organizar batallas defensivas. En el mejor de los casos, los burócratas se limitan a organizar huelgas o manifestaciones de un día o muy limitadas. [5]

Sin embargo, es evidente que tales actividades de protesta limitadas no pueden hacer que los patrones acepten un aumento masivo en los salarios, ni pueden obligar a los gobiernos capitalistas a que limiten los precios de la canasta básica. ¡Para esto necesitamos luchas mucho más radicalizadas! Por eso los socialistas debemos trabajar en la creación de comités de acción en los lugares de trabajo y en los barrios, comités, que deberían integrar a todos los activistas como un primer paso y, en segundo término, a un sector más amplio de las masas.

Estos comités pueden servir como grupos de presión para obligar a los burócratas a organizar acciones más radicales de las que están dispuestos a hacer, pero, si los burócratas se niegan a pelear como corresponde, (lo que se puede dar por sentado), tales comités de acción podrían y deberían tomar la lucha en sus propias manos, eligiendo delegados para crear organismos de coordinación regionales y nacionales.

Sin embargo, mientras tales comités no existan o no sean lo suficientemente fuertes, los socialistas debemos aplicar la táctica del frente único, llamando a la dirección existentes de las organizaciones obreras y populares a organizar la lucha contra el deterioro de las condiciones de vida. [6]

 

La guerra de Ucrania y la rivalidad entre las grandes potencias

 

Como explicamos anteriormente, la guerra de Ucrania y la aceleración de la rivalidad entre las grandes potencias son factores importantes, que han empeorado la crisis alimentaria y energética. La CCRI, por lo tanto, se opone al enfoque típico de las fuerzas reformistas y centristas que se esfuerzan en limitar la lucha únicamente a las reivindicaciones económicas. Seguramente, estos oportunistas argumentarán que sería pragmáticamente mejor ignorar las consignas políticas, ya que existen enormes diferencias en estos temas, mientras que todos podemos estar de acuerdo en las demandas económicas o “sindicales”.

¡Tal argumento es falso y pusilánime! En primer lugar, es imposible ignorar estos problemas políticos, ya que juegan un papel dominante en la evolución de la crisis alimentaria y energética, así como en la opinión pública. Además, los patrones y los gobiernos usarán estos eventos como excusa para su pasividad ante la crisis alimentaria y energética. Dirán que “entienden nuestra preocupación” pero que la solución de los problemas “no está en sus manos”, ya que se trata de temas globales fuera de su esfera de influencia. Los gobiernos occidentales también afirmarán hipócritamente que “nosotros” (es decir, las masas populares) debemos estar preparados para pagar un precio por la solidaridad con Ucrania. [7]

Frente a esto, tenemos que explicar que esto no es cierto, ya que las corporaciones energéticas obtienen muchas ganancias y los gobiernos de la Unión Europea son participantes activos en la política de sanciones hacia Rusia. Les decimos a los patrones y gobiernos, que como ustedes ganan con la crisis, son corresponsables de ella, por lo tanto, que ¡tienen que pagarla! Sin embargo, lo que es cierto es que la crisis alimentaria y energética es un problema internacional y debe resolverse a escala mundial. Entonces, es urgente que los sindicatos y otras organizaciones de masas organicen una lucha internacional.

Finalmente, no debemos hacernos ilusiones. La razón principal por la cual los burócratas reformistas y los estúpidos centristas quieren limitar la lucha a las demandas económicas o “sindicales”, es porque quieren ocultar sus posiciones políticas sobre la guerra de Ucrania y la rivalidad entre las grandes potencias. De hecho, la mayoría de ellos están, en los hechos, alineados con uno u otro bando, o simpatizan con Rusia [8] y China [9] o con el imperialismo occidental. [10]

Esto hace que sea aún más urgente que los socialistas intervengamos con fuerza con un programa internacionalista y antiimperialista consecuente. Esto significa, como ha elaborado la RCIT en sus documentos, tomar una postura clara en defensa de Ucrania y por la derrota de la invasión de Putin. Al mismo tiempo, los socialistas debemos oponernos no solo al imperialismo ruso sino también al imperialismo occidental. [11] Esto significa, entre otras cosas, que los socialistas no debemos prestar ningún apoyo a las sanciones occidentales (o de cualquier otra Gran Potencia). [12]

 

Sobre la estrategia insurreccional

 

Finalmente, los socialistas debemos tener en cuenta la naturaleza específica del tipo de ataques y el contexto en el que se desarrolla la crisis actual. Estamos en un período de decadencia capitalista y, por lo tanto, nos enfrentamos a enormes ataques que tienen un carácter global. Cualquier lucha seria, incluso la “simple” defensa de nuestras condiciones de vida, enfrentará una resistencia decidida por parte de la clase dominante, provocando, más temprano que tarde, una disputa por el poder, que significa poner blanco sobre negro: ¿Quién dirige la sociedad y controla la riqueza económica y el aparato estatal?

Desde la CCRI consideramos urgente que los socialistas no eludamos tales preguntas, sino que demos una respuesta clara a este desafío. ¡Hay que explicar que, efectivamente, debemos derrocar a los patrones y a sus gobiernos, que los trabajadores y oprimidos deben tomar el poder en sus propias manos! Por eso, la lucha contra la crisis alimentaria y energética debe combinarse con una perspectiva revolucionaria, lo que significa, sobre todo, la organización de una huelga general y la preparación de un levantamiento popular.

Tal levantamiento no debe malinterpretarse como un golpe de Estado de una pequeña minoría. ¡No, tales tonterías serían el camino a la ruina! Un levantamiento solo puede triunfar si cuenta con el apoyo de la mayoría de la clase obrera y de las masas populares. Por lo tanto, defendemos la estrategia del levantamiento popular, no porque llamemos a una aventura ultraizquierdista, sino todo lo contrario. Los socialistas tenemos que explicar pacientemente a los trabajadores, que, para superar la decadencia de la sociedad deben tomar el poder, mediante la acción directa y no las elecciones (el parlamento, por su propia naturaleza como institución distante y corrupta, no es un instrumento para construir el poder de la clase trabajadora).

Ninguna acción colectiva puede triunfar sin organización, ningún levantamiento, ninguna revolución socialista puede llegar a la victoria sin este requisito. ¡Y sin organización no se puede difundir ningún programa de transformación socialista, ni unir a los partidarios de tal programa de trabajo colectivo! Por lo tanto, la creación de un partido para la revolución socialista -a escala nacional e internacional- es la tarea más importante de los socialistas hoy. ¡Desde la CCRI convocamos a todos los socialistas que estén de acuerdo con la estrategia descrita anteriormente a unir fuerzas!

 

Notas

1) RCIT: High Prices, No Heating: Organise for Struggle! Fight for Power! A revolutionary program of action against the food and energy crisis, 14 September 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/action-program-against-the-food-and-energy-crisis/

2) El RCIT ha analizado con mucho detalle la crisis de la economía mundial capitalista. Los documentos más recientes se recopilan en una subpágina especial de nuestro sitio web:https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/collection-of-articles-on-great-depression/.

3) La RCIT ha tratado extensamente la pandemia y la Contrarrevolución COVID. Hemos publicado más de 100 folletos, ensayos, artículos y declaraciones, además de un libro, todos recopilados en una subpágina especial de nuestro sitio web:https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/collection-of-articles- sobre-el-corona-virus-2019/. En particular, llamamos la atención sobre nuestro libro de Michael Pröbsting: La Contrarrevolución del COVID-19: Qué es y Cómo Combatirla. Un análisis y una estrategia marxistas para la lucha revolucionaria, RCIT Books, abril de 2020, https://www.thecommunists.net/home/espa%C3%B1ol/la-contrarrevoluci%C3%B3n-del-covid-19-qu%C3%A9-es-y-c%C3%B3mo-combatirla/.

4) For our analysis of the relation of forces between the Great Powers since the beginning of the Ukraine War see e.g. the pamphlet by Michael Pröbsting: Situación mundial: en medio de un tornado político global. Notas sobre los acontecimientos mundiales caracterizados por la guerra de Ucrania, la rivalidad interimperialista, la crisis energética y alimentaria mundial, así como las protestas masivas espontáneas, 13 de abril de 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/world-situation-april-2022/#anker_3; por el mismo autor: The G-7 Oil Price Cap: A New Stage in the Great Power Rivalry. The Cold War between the Western powers and their Eastern rivals points towards escalation, 7 September 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/the-g-7-oil-price-cap-a-new-stage-in-the-great-power-rivalry/; Western Boycott of Western Sanctions? A new report reveals that Western exports to Russia have increased in the past months despite the official policy of boycott, 20 August 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/western-boycott-of-western-sanctions/; “We are not winning”. A disillusioned balance sheet of the EU’s Foreign Minister on the West's decline in world politics, 12 July 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/borrell-we-are-not-winning/; Is Europe’s Ruling Class About to Declare a War Economy? On a programmatic article by an imperialist ideologist on the consequences of the Great Power rivalry, 7 July 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/europe/is-europe-s-ruling-class-about-to-declare-a-war-economy/; G-20: Inter-Imperialist Rivalry on the Diplomatic Terrain. What do recent developments in the G-20 tell us about Russia’s imperialist character? 23 April 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/g-20-inter-imperialist-rivalry-on-the-diplomatic-terrain/

5) Ver, por ejemplo: Laurence Humphries: Britain: Rail Unions Announce Further Strike Action, 22 July 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/europe/britain-rail-unions-announce-further-strike-action/

6) Ver en esto, p. el libro de Michael Pröbsting: El marxismo y la táctica del Frente Unido hoy. La Lucha por la Hegemonía del Proletariado en el Movimiento de Liberación en los Países Semi-Coloniales e Imperialistas en el Periodo actual, RCIT 2016, https://www.thecommunists.net/home/espa%C3%B1ol/libro-el-marxismo-y-la-tactica-del-frente-unido-hoy/

7) Ver, por ejemplo: Michael Pröbsting: Líder de la OTAN advierte sobre probables rebeliones en Europa. La rivalidad interimperialista -entre las potencias occidentales y Rusia- provoca una crisis masiva, 9 de septiembre de 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/nato-leader-warns-of-civil-unrest-in-europe/#anker_1

8) La CCRI ha publicado numerosos documentos sobre el capitalismo en Rusia y su ascenso a potencia imperialista. Ver en esto, p. varios folletos de Michael Pröbsting: Las características peculiares del imperialismo ruso. Un estudio de los monopolios, la exportación de capital y la superexplotación de Rusia a la luz de la teoría marxista, 10 de agosto de 2021, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/the-peculiar-features-of-russian-imperialism/#anker_7; por el mismo autor: Lenin’s Theory of Imperialism and the Rise of Russia as a Great Power. On the Understanding and Misunderstanding of Today’s Inter-Imperialist Rivalry in the Light of Lenin’s Theory of Imperialism. Another Reply to Our Critics Who Deny Russia’s Imperialist Character, August 2014, http://www.thecommunists.net/theory/imperialism-theory-and-russia/; Russia as a Great Imperialist Power. The formation of Russian Monopoly Capital and its Empire – A Reply to our Critics, 18 March 2014, en: Revolutionary Communism No. 21, http://www.thecommunists.net/theory/imperialist-russia/; Russia: An Imperialist Power or a “Non-Hegemonic Empire in Gestation”? (respuesta a Claudio Katz), New Politics, https://newpol.org/russia-an-imperialist-power-or-a-non-hegemonic-empire-in-gestation-a-reply-to-the-argentinean-economist-claudio-katz-an-essay-with-8-tables/; El imperialismo ruso y sus monopolios, 25 de agosto de 2022, https://vientosur.info/el-imperialismo-ruso-y-sus-monopolios/; Once Again on Russian Imperialism (Reply to Critics). A rebuttal of a theory which claims that Russia is not an imperialist state but would be rather “comparable to Brazil and Iran”, 30 de marzo de 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/once-again-on-russian-imperialism-reply-to-critics/. Consulte otros documentos de la CCRI sobre este tema en una subpágina especial en el sitio web: https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/china-russia-as-imperialist-powers/

9) La CCRI ha publicado numerosos documentos sobre el capitalismo en China y su transformación en Gran Potencia. Ver en esto, p. el libro de Michael Pröbsting: Anti-imperialismo en la Era de la Rivalidad de las Grandes Potencias. Los factores detrás de la Rivalidad acelerada entre los E.U, China, Rusia, la U.E y Japón. Una crítica del análisis de la izquierda y una semblanza de la Perspectiva Marxista, RCIT Books, Vienna 2019, https://www.thecommunists.net/home/espa%C3%B1ol/libro-anti-imperialismo-en-la-era-de-la-rivalidad-de-las-grandes-potencias/; ver también del mismo autor “Chinese Imperialism and the World Economy”, an essay published in the second edition of The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Imperialism and Anti-Imperialism (edited by Immanuel Ness and Zak Cope), Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2020, https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-3-319-91206-6_179-1; China: una potencia imperialista… ¿o todavía no? ¡Una cuestión teórica con consecuencias muy prácticas! Continuando el Debate con Esteban Mercatante y el PTS/FT sobre el carácter de clase de China y sus consecuencias para la estrategia revolucionaria, 22 de enero de 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/china-imperialist-power-or-not-yet/#anker_1; China‘s transformation into an imperialist power. A study of the economic, political and military aspects of China as a Great Power (2012), in: Revolutionary Communism No. 4, https://www.thecommunists.net/publications/revcom-1-10/#anker_4; ¿Cómo es posible que algunos marxistas sigan dudando de que China se ha vuelto capitalista? (Una crítica del PTS/FT). Un análisis del carácter capitalista de las empresas estatales de China y sus consecuencias políticas, 18 de septiembre de 2020, https://www.thecommunists.net/home/espa%C3%B1ol/pts-ft-y-imperialismo-chino-2/; Incapaces de ver el bosque por ver los árboles. El empirismo ecléctico y la falla del PTS/FT en reconocer el carácter imperialista de China, 13 de agosto de 2020, https://www.thecommunists.net/home/espa%C3%B1ol/pts-ft-y-imperialismo-chino/; China’s Emergence as an Imperialist Power (Article in the US journal 'New Politics'), in: “New Politics”, verano 2014 (Vol:XV-1, Whole #: 57). Vea más documentos de la CCRI en una sub-página especial: https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/china-russia-as-imperialist-powers/.

10) La CCRI se ha ocupado en numerosas ocasiones de la rivalidad interimperialista de las Grandes Potencias. Véase, por ejemplo. CCRI: Perspectivas mundiales 2021-22: Entrando en una situación global prerrevolucionaria, 22 de agosto de 2021, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/world-perspectives-2021-22/#anker_1; véase también nuestro libro de Michael Pröbsting: Anti-imperialismo en la Era de la Rivalidad de las Grandes Potencias. Los factores detrás de la Rivalidad acelerada entre los E.U, China, Rusia, la U.E y Japón. Una crítica del análisis de la izquierda y una semblanza de la Perspectiva Marxista, RCIT Books, Vienna 2019, https://www.thecommunists.net/home/espa%C3%B1ol/libro-anti-imperialismo-en-la-era-de-la-rivalidad-de-las-grandes-potencias/; Véanse también las siguientes obras del mismo autor: "Una pelea bastante buena". Encuentro EE.UU.-China en Alaska: Continúa la Guerra Fría Interimperialista, 23 de marzo de 2021, https://www.thecommunists.net/home/espa%C3%B1ol/encuentro-ee-uu-china-en-alaska-continua-la-guerra-fr%C3%ADa-interimperialista/; Siervos de dos amos. El estalinismo y la nueva guerra fría entre las grandes potencias imperialistas de Oriente y Occidente, 10 de julio de 2021, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/servants-of-two-masters-stalinism-and-new-cold-war/#anker_9; para más trabajos sobre este tema, consulte estas subpáginas: https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/china-russia-as-imperialist-powers/ y https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/collection-of-articles-on-the-global-trade-war/.

11) Remitimos a los lectores a una página especial en nuestro sitio web donde se compilan más de 100 documentos de la CCRI sobre la guerra de Ucrania y el conflicto actual entre la OTAN y Rusia: https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/compilation-of-documents-on-nato-russia-conflict/. En particular nos referimos al Manifiesto de la CCRI: Guerra de Ucrania: Guerra de Ucrania: un punto de inflexión de importancia histórica mundial. Los socialistas deben combinar la defensa revolucionaria de Ucrania contra la invasión de Putin con la lucha internacionalista contra el imperialismo ruso, la OTAN y la UE, 1 de marzo de 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/manifesto-ukraine-war-a-turning-point-of-world-historic-significance/#anker_3

12) Ver, por ejemplo: Michael Pröbsting: Guerra de Ucrania: defensismo revolucionario y defensismo no revolucionario. Una crítica de camaradería a la LIT-CI que combina falsamente su defensa de Ucrania con el apoyo a las sanciones imperialistas occidentales contra Rusia, 15 de julio de 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/ukraine-war-revolutionary-defensism-and-non-revolutionary-defensism/#anker_1; por el mismo autor: Guerra de Ucrania: ¡Apoyar las sanciones occidentales es inadmisible para los socialistas! El apoyo a la resistencia ucraniana debe combinarse con un antiimperialismo consecuente (una crítica de camaradería a la LIT-CI), 1 de junio de 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/ukraine-war-supporting-western-sanctions-is-impermissible-for-socialists/#anker_2; Can Socialists Support Imperialist Sanctions? The “Fourth International” in the tradition of Pablo and Mandel supports Western sanctions against Russia, 4 March 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/can-socialists-support-imperialist-sanctions/; Why Socialists Should Not Support Imperialist Sanctions or the United Nations. A comradely critique of a joint statement of Russian and Ukrainian socialists, 17 April 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/europe/why-socialists-should-not-support-imperialist-sanctions-or-un/

13) United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs: The World Economic Situation and Prospects as of mid-2022, 18 May 2022, p. 3

 

Apéndice

Figura: Precios de las principales materias primas, enero de 2018 a marzo de 2022 [13]

식량·에너지 위기: 민중봉기 전략을 위하여

- 대중투쟁을 국제주의·반제국주의·혁명 강령으로 무장시켜야 한다!

 

미하엘 프뢰브스팅, 혁명적 공산주의인터내셔널 동맹 (RCIT) 국제서기, 2022 9 15, www.thecommunists.net

 

 

 

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격동하는 세계사가 내뿜는 포연을 들이마시게 되는 순간이 있다. 우리가 현재 거치고 있는 요동치는 극적인 시기가 그러한 순간이라는 데는 의심의 여지가 없다!

우리는 세계적으로 방위에 걸친 미증유의 경제적·사회적·정치적 위기에 직면해 있다. 위기는 경제공황과 물가폭등/생활비급증, 파멸적인 전쟁과 군국주의적 배외주의, 그리고 기후재난이 결합된 위기다.

가격 인상과 생활비 급등의 직접적인 도화선이 되고 있는 식량·에너지 위기 (식품·식량난, 석유·가스·전력난) 시기 핵심 사안이다. 그래서 혁명적 공산주의인터내셔널 동맹 (RCIT) 위의 격문에서 문제를 다루는 행동강령을 발표했다. 격문에서 우리는 임박해 있는 대중투쟁에 절실히 필요한 주요 요구안과 전술을 총괄 제시했다. 논설에서는 가지 쟁점에 대해 보다 자세하게 설명하겠다.[1]

 

식량·에너지 위기의 원인에 대하여

우리 전략의 출발점은 세계정세 국면의 특수성에 대한 인식이다. 식량·에너지 위기는 고립된 상태로 존재하는 것이 아니라 우크라이나 전쟁 강대국 패권경쟁 가속화와 밀접하게 관련되어 있다. 이러한 요인들 간의 구체적 관계를 이해하는 것이 중요하다.

높은 인플레와 물가폭등은 궁극적으로 2019 말에 시작된 자본주의 세계경제의 깊은 위기를 원인으로 한다.[2] 모순으로 가득 그러한 시기에 화폐, 가격과 상품 사이의 관계는 완전히 불안정하고 왜곡된다.

명백히 경제공황을 격화시킨 중요한 정치적 사태전개들이 있다. 요인들은 첫째, 팬데믹을 구실로 대부분의 나라에서 실시된 계엄령 록다운 봉쇄 정책이다. 록다운 정책은 지배계급의 권력을 확장하고 전례 없는 정도로 민주적 권리를 제한했다. 이러한 정치적 동기를 가지고 실행한 기획 프로그램으로서, 우리는 이를 배외주의적 국가 보나파르트주의라고 불러왔다[3]

번째 요인은 세계무역전쟁을 비롯한 강대국 패권경쟁 가장 중요한 것으로 · 간의 가속화다. 요인으로 인해 생산과 무역의 파탄 (“공급망 붕괴 ) 초래되었고, 다시 이것이 상품 부족을 낳았다. 결과, 우크라이나 전쟁 시작 훨씬 전부터 주요 상품 가격이 이미 급등했다. 2021 말에 가격은 2019년보다 40-60% 높았다. ( 말미에 부록으로 첨부한 그림 참조).

이러한 사태발전에 이어 가격을 훨씬 끌어올린 다른 주요 정치적 사건이 뒤따랐다. 우크라이나 전쟁과 그것을 매개로 강대국 패권쟁투의 층의 가속화다. 푸틴의 침공과 러시아의 흑해 장악은 주요 농업 생산국인 우크라이나 (세계 곡물 수출의 16% 담당) 파괴적인 결과를 가져왔다. 나아가 전례 없는 규모의 대러 서방 제재가 세계에서 가장 중요한 원자재 (석유, 가스, 비료, 곡물 ) 생산·수출국인 러시아의 수출품 가격 등귀를 초래했다.[4]

요약하자면, 식량·에너지 위기는 궁극적으로 자본주의 세계경제 공황에서 기인한다. 그러나 정치적 사건들 록다운 봉쇄 정책과 우크라이나 전쟁/ 제국주의 패권경쟁 의해 식량·에너지 위기가 더욱 악화되게 것이다.

 

자주적 조직화와 통일전선 전술

사회주의자들은 한편으로 생활비 급등에 대한 대중의 분노와, 다른 한편으로 지도력 위기 사이에 놓여 있는 간극을 인식해야 한다. 실제로, 노동조합과 밖의 노동자 조직들의 공식 지도부는 (자본의 생존권, 노동조건 공격에 대항하는) 방어전을 조직하는 것을 극도로 꺼리고 있다. 관료들은 잘해야 하루 파업이나 시위를 조직하는 그치고 있다.[5]

그러나 이러한 제한적인 항의 행동으로는 대폭적인 임금 인상을 자본이 받지 않을 없게 압박이 되지도 못하며, 자본가 정부가 의미 있는 가격상한제를 실시하도록 강제하지도 못한다는 것은 분명하다. 이를 위해서는 훨씬 급진적인 행동이 필요하다!

이것이 바로 공장·직장과 지역공동체에서 행동위원회를 만드는 사회주의자들이 힘을 쏟지 않으면 되는 이유다. 모든 활동가를 단계로 통합하고 번째 단계로 광범한 대중을 통합하는 그러한 위원회는 관료들에게 보다 급진적인 행동을 조직하도록 강제하는 압박 추동력을 있다.

관료들이 필요한 수준으로까지 싸우기를 거부하면, 때는 행동위원회가 스스로 투쟁을 떠안아야 한다. 투쟁 대표자/대의원을 선출하고 전국 단위 협력조정 기구를 만들어야 한다.

그러나 그러한 위원회가 존재하지 않거나 충분히 강력하지 않은 , 사회주의자들은 통일전선 전술을 운용하여 노동자·민중 조직들의 기존 지도부에게 생존권·노동조건 악화에 대응하는 투쟁을 조직할 것을 요구해야 한다.[6]

 

정치 현안과 연결하기: 우크라이나 전쟁과 강대국 패권경쟁

위에서 설명한 바와 같이, 우크라이나 전쟁과 강대국 패권경쟁 가속화는 식량·에너지 위기를 악화시킨 중요한 요인이다. 그러므로 RCIT 투쟁을 경제적 요구로만 제한하려 하는 전형적인 개량주의·중도주의 세력들의 접근방식에 반대한다. 물론, 이들 기회주의자들은 경제적 요구에는 우리 모두가 동의할 있는 반면 그러한 정치적 문제에 대해서는 차이가 있으므로 정치 구호는 무시하는 것이 실용적으로 낫다고 주장할 것이다.

이런 주장은 허위에다 비겁한 주장이다! 첫째, 이러한 정치 현안들은 여론에서뿐만 아니라 식량·에너지 사태의 전개에서도 지배적인 역할을 한다는 점에서 무시하는 것이 가능하지 않은 사안들이다. 나아가 자본과 정부는 사건들을 식량·에너지 위기에 대한 자신들의 수동성에 대한 핑계거리로 사용할 것이다. 자본과 정부는 우리의 우려를 이해하지만 자신들의 영향권을 넘어선 글로벌 문제라서 자신들 능력 밖에 있다고 말할 것이다. 서방 정부들은 위선적으로 "우리" ( 인민대중) 우크라이나와의 연대를 위해 대가를 치를 준비가 되어 있어야 한다고 주장할 것이다.[7]

이에 맞서 우리는 이것이 사실이 아니라는 것을 설명해야 한다. 에너지 기업들은 많은 이윤을 거두고 서방 정부들은 제재 정책에 적극적인 참여자들이라는 것을 설명해야 한다. 우리는 자본과 정부에게 말한다. 너희들이 위기로 득을 보고, 위기에 대한 책임도 너희에게 있다. 너희들이 대가를 지불해야 한다!

그러나 실제로는, 식량·에너지 위기는 국제적인 문제이며, 세계적 규모로 해결되어야 한다. 노동조합을 비롯한 대중조직들이 국제적 투쟁을 조직하는 것이 시급한 이유다.

마지막으로, 어떠한 환상도 가져서는 된다. 개량주의 관료들과 중도주의 얼간이들이 투쟁을 경제적 요구로 제한하려는 주된 이유는 우크라이나 전쟁과 강대국 패권경쟁에 대한 자신의 정치적 입장을 숨기고 싶기 때문이다. 실제로 그들 대부분은 러시아[8] 중국[9] 동조하거나, 아니면 서방 제국주의에 동조하거나[10] 이다.

이것은 사회주의자들이 일관된 국제주의·반제국주의 강령으로 강력하게 개입하는 것을 더욱 시급하게 만든다. 이는 RCIT 문건들 속에서 자세히 설명했듯이, 우크라이나 방어/ 푸틴의 침공 패배를 제창하는 명확한 태도·입장을 취한다는 것을 의미한다. 동시에 사회주의자들은 러시아 제국주의뿐만 아니라 서방 제국주의에도 반대해야 한다.[11] 이는 무엇보다도 사회주의자들이 서방의 제재에 어떠한 지지도 주어서는 된다는 것을 의미한다.[12]

 

민중봉기 전략에 대하여

끝으로, 사회주의자들은 지금의 공격이 가진 특수성 위기가 전개되는 맥락을 고려해야 한다. 우리는 자본주의의 쇠퇴기에 있다. 우리는 세계적인 성격을 가진 거대한 공격에 직면해 있다. 어떤 심각한 투쟁도, 단지 우리의 생활·노동조건을 지키는 투쟁조차도 지배계급의 거센 공격에 직면할 것이다. 그러한 상황이 조만간에 권력 문제를 불러올 것이다. 누가 사회를 운영할 것인가, 누가 경제적 부와 국가기구를 통제할 것인가?

RCIT 사회주의자들이 이러한 질문을 피하지 않고 이러한 도전에 대한 명확한 답을 주는 것이 시급하다고 생각한다. 우리는 실로, 자본가들과 그들의 정부를 타도하는 것이 필요함을 설명해야 한다. 노동자·피억압자가 권력을 쥐는 것이 필요함을 설명해야 한다!

식량·에너지 위기에 맞선 투쟁이 혁명적 전략과 결합돼야 하는 이유다. 가장 중요한 것으로, 총파업 조직 민중봉기 준비와 결합돼야 한다.

이러한 봉기가 소수자에 의한 쿠데타/정변으로 오해되어서는 된다. 아니, 그런 헛소리는 파멸로 가는 지름길이다. 봉기는 노동자계급 ·인민대중 다수자의 지지를 획득해야만 성공할 있다. 민중봉기 전략은 초좌익적 모험 요구와는 아무 관계도 없다. 그러나 사회주의자들은 사회의 쇠퇴·부후화를 극복하기 위해서는 권력을 잡아야 한다 선거가 아닌 직접행동으로 것을 노동자들에게 참을성 있게 설명하는 것이 필요하다.

어떠한 집단적 행동도 조직 없이는 승리할 없다. 어떤 봉기도, 어떤 사회주의혁명도 조직 없이는 승리할 없다. 그리고 조직 없이는, 어떤 사회주의 변혁 강령 (프로그램) 확산될 없으며, 그러한 강령의 지지자들을 집단적 작업으로 결속시키는 것도 가능하지 않다!

따라서 이러한 조직 일국적·국제적 규모의 사회주의혁명을 위한 만드는 것은 오늘 사회주의자들의 가장 중요한 임무다. 이것이 바로 RCIT 위에서 제시한 전략에 동의하는 모든 사회주의자들에게 힘을 합칠 것을 요청하는 이유다!

* * * * *

부록: 주요 상품 가격 변동, 2018 1 - 2022 3

Figure: Major Commodity Prices, January 2018 to March 2022 [13]

https://image.jimcdn.com/app/cms/image/transf/none/path/s92d78bb733e1903e/image/i021c8e8a75d16950/version/1663297001/image.png

 

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[1] RCIT: 식량·에너지 위기/ 물가폭등에 맞서 어떻게 싸울 것인가 - 임박해 있는 파국에 맞선 행동강령>, 2022 9 14, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/action-program-against-the-food-and-energy-crisis/#anker_2/

[2] RCIT 자본주의 세계경제 위기를 상세히 분석해왔다. 가장 최근 문서들이 다음 우리 웹사이트 특별 하위 페이지에 게재되어 있다. https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/collection-of-articles-on-great-depression/.

[3] RCIT 팬데믹과 코로나 반혁명을 광범위에 걸쳐 다루었다. 우리가 발표한 100 편의 팜플렛과 논문, 기사, 성명, 책자가 다음 우리 웹사이트 특별 하위 페이지에 게재되어 있다. https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/collection-of-articles-on-the-2019-corona-virus/. 특히 다음을 보라. 미하엘 프뢰브스팅, <<코로나19 글로벌 반혁명: 그것은 무엇이고, 그것에 맞서 어떻게 싸울 것인가>>, 2020 4, https://blog.wrpkorea.org/2022/06/19.html/.

[4] 우크라이나 전쟁 개전 이후 강대국들 역관계에 대한 우리의 분석으로는, 다음 팜플렛을 보라. 미하엘 프뢰브스팅, <세계정세: 글로벌 정치 토네이도의 한가운데서 - 우크라이나 전쟁/ 제국주의 세력권 쟁탈전/ 세계 에너지·식량 위기/ 자생적 대중항쟁 , 정세 발전에 관한 노트>, 2022 4 13, https://blog.wrpkorea.org/2022/05/blog-post_97.html?q=%EC%A0%95%EC%B9%98%EC%A0%81+%ED%86%A0%EB%84%A4%EC%9D%B4%EB%8F%84/; 같은 저자: The G-7 Oil Price Cap: A New Stage in the Great Power Rivalry. The Cold War between the Western powers and their Eastern rivals points towards escalation, 7 September 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/the-g-7-oil-price-cap-a-new-stage-in-the-great-power-rivalry/; Western Boycott of Western Sanctions? A new report reveals that Western exports to Russia have increased in the past months despite the official policy of boycott, 20 August 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/western-boycott-of-western-sanctions/; “We are not winning”. A disillusioned balance sheet of the EU’s Foreign Minister on the West's decline in world politics, 12 July 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/borrell-we-are-not-winning/; Is Europe’s Ruling Class About to Declare a War Economy? On a programmatic article by an imperialist ideologist on the consequences of the Great Power rivalry, 7 July 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/europe/is-europe-s-ruling-class-about-to-declare-a-war-economy/; <G-20: 외교 지형에서의 제국주의 패권경쟁 - 최근 G20에서의 사태발전은 러시아의 제국주의성에 대해 우리에게 무엇을 말해주는가?>, 2022 4 23, https://blog.wrpkorea.org/2022/06/g-20.html?q=G20+%EC%99%B8%EA%B5%90%EB%AC%B4%EB%8C%80%EC%97%90/

[5] 영국 파업에 관한 우리의 가장 최근 기사를 보라. Laurence Humphries: Britain: Rail Unions Announce Further Strike Action, 22 July 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/europe/britain-rail-unions-announce-further-strike-action/

[6] 이에 대해서는 다음 책을 보라. Michael Pröbsting: Marxism and the United Front Tactic Today. The Struggle for Proletarian Hegemony in the Liberation Movement and the United Front Tactic Today. On the Application of the Marxist United Front Tactic in Semi-Colonial and Imperialist Countries in the Present Period, May 2016, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/book-united-front/

[7] 이에 대해서는 다음을 보라. 미하엘 프뢰브스팅, <나토 수장이 유럽에서 소요 사태 경고하다 - 서방 열강과 러시아 제국주의 패권경쟁이 거대한 사회·정치적 위기를 불러왔다>, 2022 9 9, https://blog.wrpkorea.org/2022/09/blog-post_28.html?q=G20+%EC%99%B8%EA%B5%90%EB%AC%B4%EB%8C%80%EC%97%90/

[8] 우리는 러시아 자본주의와 러시아의 제국주의 강대국 부상에 대한 많은 문서를 발표했다. 다음을 보라. 미하엘 프뢰브스팅, <러시아 제국주의의 특색> https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/the-peculiar-features-of-russian-imperialism/#anker_6; 노동자혁명당(), <레닌 제국주의론 관점에서 러시아 제국주의의 특색>, 2021 10, https://blog.wrpkorea.org/2022/05/blog-post_61.html; Michael Pröbsting: Lenin’s Theory of Imperialism and the Rise of Russia as a Great Power. On the Understanding and Misunderstanding of Today’s Inter-Imperialist Rivalry in the Light of Lenin’s Theory of Imperialism. Another Reply to Our Critics Who Deny Russia’s Imperialist Character, August 2014, http://www.thecommunists.net/theory/imperialism-theory-and-russia/; Russia as a Great Imperialist Power. The formation of Russian Monopoly Capital and its Empire A Reply to our Critics, 18 March 2014, in: Revolutionary Communism No. 21, http://www.thecommunists.net/theory/imperialist-russia/; Russian Imperialism and Its Monopolies, in: New Politics Vol. XVIII No. 4, Whole Number 72, Winter 2022, https://newpol.org/issue_post/russian-imperialism-and-its-monopolies/ ( 논문은 다음 잡지에도 실렸다. International Viewpoint, 21. April 2022, https://internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article7618); Once Again on Russian Imperialism (Reply to Critics). A rebuttal of a theory which claims that Russia is not an imperialist state but would be rather “comparable to Brazil and Iran”, 30 March 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/once-again-on-russian-imperialism-reply-to-critics/. 문제에 관한 여러 다른 RCIT 문서들이 다음의 RCIT 웹사이트 상의 별도 하위 페이지에 있다. https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/china-russia-as-imperialist-powers/.

[9] RCIT 중국 자본주의와 중국의 강대국 부상에 관한 많은 문서를 발표했다. 이에 대해서는 다음을 보라. 위에서 언급한 Michael Pröbsting: <<강대국 패권쟁투 시대에 반제국주의>> https://www.thecommunists.net/home/%ED%95%9C%EA%B5%AD%EC%96%B4/book-anti-imperialism-in-the-age-of-great-power-rivalry/; 같은 저자의 다음 논문들도 보라. the second edition of The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Imperialism and Anti-Imperialism (edited by Immanuel Ness and Zak Cope), Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2020, https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-3-319-91206-6_179-1; China: An Imperialist Power Or Not Yet? A Theoretical Question with Very Practical Consequences! Continuing the Debate with Esteban Mercatante and the PTS/FT on China’s class character and consequences for the revolutionary strategy, 22 January 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/china-imperialist-power-or-not-yet/; China‘s transformation into an imperialist power. A study of the economic, political and military aspects of China as a Great Power (2012), in: Revolutionary Communism No. 4, http://www.thecommunists.net/publications/revcom-number-4; How is it possible that some Marxists still Doubt that China has Become Capitalist? (A Critique of the PTS/FT), An analysis of the capitalist character of China’s State-Owned Enterprises and its political consequences, 18 September 2020, https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/pts-ft-and-chinese-imperialism-2/; < 나무만 보고 숲은 보는: PTS/FT 중국 사회성격 토론> https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/pts-ft-and-chinese-imperialism/#anker_1; China’s Emergence as an Imperialist Power (Article in the US journal 'New Politics'), in: “New Politics”, Summer 2014 (Vol:XV-1, Whole #: 57). See many more RCIT documents at a special sub-page on the RCIT’s website: https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/china-russia-as-imperialist-powers/.

[10] RCIT 강대국들의 제국주의 패권 경쟁을 여러 차례 다루었다. 예를 들어 다음을 보라. <세계 정세전망 2021-22: 혁명적 세계정세 진입> https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/world-perspectives-2021-22/#anker_14; 다음도 보라. RCIT: <다가오는 제국주의 대만 전쟁 - · 강대국 모두에 대항하는 혁명적 패전주의> https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/the-coming-inter-imperialist-war-on-taiwan/#anker_2; <오커스 조약의 의미 - 미국이 중국과의 제국주의 냉전을 고조시키고 EU 자극하다> https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/the-meaning-of-the-aukus-pact/#anker_3/; <러시아가 흑해에서 영국 군함에 경고사격하고. 영국은 사태를 부인, 축소하려 하다> https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/russia-fires-warning-shots-against-uk-warship-in-black-sea/#anker_1/; 다음 책도 보라. Michael Pröbsting: <<강대국 패권쟁투 시대에 반제국주의>> https://www.thecommunists.net/home/%ED%95%9C%EA%B5%AD%EC%96%B4/book-anti-imperialism-in-the-age-of-great-power-rivalry/; 다음 팜플렛도 보라. Michael Pröbsting: <제국주의 냉전은 어떻게 바이든 하에서도 계속되고 있나> https://www.thecommunists.net/home/%ED%95%9C%EA%B5%AD%EC%96%B4/us-china-cold-war-continues-after-alaska-meeting/; < 주인을 섬기는 시종 - 스탈린주의와 제국주의 신냉전> https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/servants-of-two-masters-stalinism-and-new-cold-war/#anker_10; 문제에 관한 많은 문서들을 다음 링크로 들어가서 있다.: https://www.thecommunists.net/theory/china-russia-as-imperialist-powers/ https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/collection-of-articles-on-the-global-trade-war/.

[11] 우크라이나 전쟁과 나토-러시아 분쟁에 관한 120 편의 RCIT 문서가 다음의 우리 웹사이트 특별 페이지에 수록되어 있다. https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/compilation-of-documents-on-nato-russia-conflict/. 가장 중요한 다음 문서들을 보라. < [RCIT 선언문] 우크라이나 전쟁: 세계사적 의의를 갖는 전환점에서 사회주의자들의 임무> https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/manifesto-ukraine-war-a-turning-point-of-world-historic-significance/#anker_1

[12] 제국주의 제재를 지지하는 것에 대한 우리의 비판으로는 다음을 보라. Michael Pröbsting: Ukraine War: Revolutionary Defensism and Non-Revolutionary Defensism. A comradely critique of LIT-CI which falsely combines its defence of the Ukraine with support for Western imperialist sanctions against Russia, 15 July 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/ukraine-war-revolutionary-defensism-and-non-revolutionary-defensism/; Ukraine War: Supporting Western Sanctions Is Impermissible for Socialists! Support for the Ukrainian resistance must be combined with consistent anti-imperialism (a comradely critique of LIT-CI), 1 June 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/ukraine-war-supporting-western-sanctions-is-impermissible-for-socialists/; Can Socialists Support Imperialist Sanctions? The “Fourth International” in the tradition of Pablo and Mandel supports Western sanctions against Russia, 4 March 2022, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/global/can-socialists-support-imperialist-sanctions/; <절박하다고 제국주의 제재나 유엔 개입을 요구하는 것에 대해: 사회주의자들은 이에 대해 반대하는가?>, 2022 4 17, https://blog.wrpkorea.org/2022/06/blog-post_47.html/

[13] United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs: The World Economic Situation and Prospects as of mid-2022, 18 May 2022, p. 3