The United Communists of Europe is a revolutionary organisation that is trying to build a new communist party. We believe that such a party is needed in order to provide revolutionary leadership to the working class. Once a communist party has been formed in Europe, the working class will have a leadership that can guide workers across Europe to socialist revolution. Here are the basic points of unity of the United Communists of Europe:
(1) The capitalist class is the main enemy of the working class
(2) The only way to end capitalism is through a socialist revolution lead by the working class.
(3) Our goal is the seizure of state power by the working class, and the creation of a socialist state. In such a socialist state, the working class will control the government and plan production in order to meet the needs of all.
(4) Socialism--the rule of the working class--is a transitional stage to communism. The primary difference is that under socialism, the class struggle continues, while in a communist society, classes have themselves disappeared.
(5) We believe that in order for socialism to succeed, it is necessary to involve the masses--both proletarian and non-proletarian--in the planning of production and in their workplaces. We see this as a protracted process, that takes place through stages and requires significant education.
(6) We support the right of nations to self-determination for oppressed nations. National liberation requires the nationalisation of the commanding heights of the economy--fisheries, mines, oil, manufacturing, etc. Furthermore, it involves widespread industrialisation programme and the creation of diversified state-owned enterprises. The economic surplus from these industries can be used to develop the productive forces, improve infrastructure, eliminate poverty, and create the material foundation for real independence.
(7) While we offer critical support to national liberation struggles when they are led by other forces than the proletariat, we think that only the working class can bring about real independence from imperialism. We think that this is necessary, for otherwise independence will be nothing but a change of flags.
(8) We think that the principle contradiction in todays capitalism is between imperialism and the people of the developing world. We support progressive movements against imperialism, such as the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela and the Cuban Revolution. After a socialist revolution, we would call for a gradual delinking from imperialism, and the formation of close trade agreements with Venezuela, Cuba, China, and Vietnam. Every victory against imperialism puts the working class internationally in a better position to fight for socialism everywhere.
(9) We support the formation of a single, binational Palestinian state that grants democratic and civil rights to all of its inhabitants. We think that an independent Palestine will create the conditions for a socialist revolution not just in Palestine, but across the Middle East. Thus, an independent Palestine is the first stage in the long road to socialism in the region.
(10 We are pro-LGBT, anti-racist, anti-sexist, and pro-immigrant. We actively struggle against manifestations of racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, misogyny, and other forms of oppression. We want to create a socialist Europe for everyone, and promote oppressed people to positions of leadership in the government.
(11) We support the democratic movements of the popular masses to expand their democratic rights. The democratic struggle is an important aspect of the struggle against the bourgeoisie. Every democratic victory strikes a blow against the capitalist class, and creates better conditions in which to fight for socialism. There is a long tradition within Marxism of engaging and critiquing reformist movements. From the Universal Basic Income movement today to the Wages for Housework campaign in the 1970’s and as far back as the early 19th century Owenite movement, reformists have attempted to implement changes to capitalist economies which are based on the ongoing extraction of surplus value from working class people. In his analysis of Utopian Socialism, Marx objectively appraised Robert Owen’s attempt to build a community according to the principles of community and social welfare in the New Lanark cotton mills, located between Edinburgh and Glasgow. Owen’s vision of a co-operative, free society founded on mutual respect clashed irrevocably with the realities of capitalist production and social relations, largely due to the absence of a clear, class based, revolutionary method for its realisation. In contrast to various reformist approaches, the United Communists of Europe believes that only a socialist revolution led by the working class can abolish capitalism and establish new social relations.
(12) We are proletarian internationalists. Although we think it is possible to make a revolution in a single country, we think it is absolutely necessary to defeat capitalism internationally. A socialist state only becomes stronger when it gets allies, and therefore it is necessary for the working class to unite internationally. The success of the revolution is bound up with the international proletarian revolution. If we only focus on building socialism in our own country, there is a chance the revolution could suffer setbacks. Therefore, we support socialist revolution where we live, while promoting revolution abroad.
(13) We do not think a socialist revolution is possible without a revolutionary communist party. Currently, there are many different leftist groups across Europe, but no communist party. Our goal is to unite advanced workers in order to create a new, revolutionary communist party that can provide leadership to workers across Europe. We think it is important to link of working people around Europe with working people in other parts of the world.
14) In the United Communists of Europe, through our discussion groups and writings, we critique the fundamental concepts of mainstream economics. In contrast with Neoclassical economics, Marxist analysis concerns itself with the relations people set between themselves, as opposed to the Neoclassical tendency of focusing on the technical relationship between things and the process of economising. We agree with Marx that a scientifically rigorous account of the distribution process must integrate categories that conceptualise the social formations in the relevant historically specific and contingent socioeconomic context. We also engage with heterodox schools of thought from a Marxist perspective, seeking dialogue while remaining critical of reformist movements that advocate for policy changes without altering the economic foundation of society.
(15) Our ideology is Revolutionary Marxism, which is a scientific approach to social and political problems. For us, Revolutionary Marxism is a guide to action to be creatively applied rather than a dogma. The primary theorists of Marxism are Marx, Engels, and Lenin,. We also think the works of John Maclean, Amadeo Bordiga, Mao Tse-Tung, Leon Trotsky, Ho Chi Minh, Fidel Castro, Angela Davis, Louis Althusser, Paul Sweezy, Samir Amin, Albert Szymanski, and Nicos Poulantzas are tremendously helpful. Our Marxism is an open one: although we share some basic principles about Marxism and communist strategy, we are open to engaging with a variety of currents and traditions within Marxism. Thus, our organisation welcomes communists who come from a diversity of traditions. So long as a comrade is willing to engage in our theoretical practice with an open mind, they are welcome to join us.
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