Proposal for a New International, What Does the Communist Party of Canada have to Say?

8/9/2019 Proposal for a New International, What Does the Communist Party of Canada have to Say?

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ProposalforaNewInternational

www.FocusOnSocialism.ca

WhatDoestheCommunistPartyofCanadahavetoSay?

By:DonCurrieChair

Canadians

for

Peace

and

Socialism

EditorFocusonSocialismFebruary15,2010


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TheproposallastNovember2009toorganizeanewinternationalhavingthesupportofleft

socialist revolutionary parties in Latin America, on the initiative of Hugo Chavez, is an

importantdevelopment

in

the

anti

imperialist

movement

urgently

in

need

of

credible

communistanalysis.

SocialistProject,aquasitrotskyistgroup,thatalso includessomewell informedwriters,as

usualisfirstoutoftheblockswiththeircommentaryonthisdevelopment.Wheretheterm

Fifth Internationalhascome from isnotclear.The stillbornFourth Internationalwasa

trotskyistorganizationthatsince its inception in1938hasfractured intoaseriesofsmaller

groups.

TheCommunistPartyofCanada(CPC)leadershiphasonceagainbeencaughtflatfooted.To

myknowledge

the

CPC

leadership

has

said

nothing

publicly

about

this

development.

If

they

havegoodinformationaboutit,intheirusualloftymanner,theykeepitasecret.Supporters

oftheCPCasusualarethelasttoknowandlefttotryandfigureoutsuchmattersasbest

wecan.

This isnot 1914on theeveofWorld

War One when the opportunist

leadershipofEuropeanmasssocialist

parties of the Second International

betrayedtheworkingclassandwent

over to the support of their

respective ruling classes and helped

their imperialist masters lead the

workers to the slaughter. The

Bolsheviks and Leninist core of

forces in working class parties

condemned the opportunist

leadershipoftheSecondInternationalforthebetrayalandundertheleadershipofLeninon

March 19th 1919 formed the Third International popularly known as the Comintern that

united allof the Communist Partiesof theworld under its leadership until dissolution in

1943.After the Soviet Union had defeated the Nazis in WW2 there followed a series of

InternationalMeetingsofCommunistandWorkersPartiesusuallyconvenedtogetherwith

CPSU Congresses and its work was published in World Marxist Review as the main

www.FocusOnSocialism.ca ProposalforaNewInternational Page2of5
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theoreticalorganofthatmovement.TheCommunistPartyofCanadaplayedan important

roleinthatwork.

Today things are different. The forces coming forward with the proposal for a Fifth

InternationalarenotCommunistPartiesbutare leftantiimperialist revolutionaryparties

someofwhichare inpowerandproclaimsocialismas theirgoal.Thesemovementsact in

solidaritywithsocialistCubaandtheBolivarianrevolutionsinVenezuelaandBoliviaandare

notovertlyanticommunist. Withinthismovementtherearealsosomepronouncedpseudo

leftist meddlers involved in the process in particular the usual claque of trotskyist and

anarchistgroupswhodonothingbutspreadconfusion.

ThesuggestionbySocialistProject that theproposedFifth

Internationalshould

be

modeled

on

the

World

Social

Forum

isanexample.It isnotonlyabsurd, it isreactionary.Bigtent

feel good talk fests is notwhat is required now. Thepetty

bourgeoisradicalsprefersuch looselyorganizedmovements

in which they have unrestricted freedom of movement to

spreadtheirdoctrineofworldrevolution. Theproposalby

SocialistProjecttobuildsocialistunityinCanadaonthebasis

of unity indiversity among leftworking class forceswith

ecosocialism as a centre piece has been around for some

timeand

continues

to

be

ignored

and

never

discussed

or

challengedbytheleadershipoftheCPC.

Ecosocialism as a theory, championed by that august

trotskyistoracleIanAngus,whonevertiresofattackingTimBuckandhismemoir,Yoursin

the Struggle has simply been ignored in the Communist press.Of course,we can only

supposethat thequestionofenvironmentalism isbetter leftto thePembina Instituteand

theenergyissuetotheLakelandInstitute.TheCPCleadershiphasverylittletosayinitsown

nameaboutthesecriticalissues.

Itis

a

grave

mistake

not

to

do

so.

Iurge

anyone

who

has

a

tittle

of

interest

in

the

energy

issue and its centrality to the future of our country to go to the news section of

www.focusonsocialism.ca and catch up on what is happening on the energy file in our

country. It isnotaprettypictureanddemandsoururgentcollectiveresponse ifwedo,as

weproclaimwedo,lovethiscountryandcareaboutitsfuture.

http://www.focusonsocialism.ca/http://www.focusonsocialism.ca/


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There youwill find all of the schemesof finance capitalwith theblessingof theHarper

GovernmenttodraintheenergylifebloodofourcountrytotheUSAandalongwithitthe

jobsof

millions

of

Canadians.

At

the

same

time

go

to

the

Publications

section

of

www.focusonsocialism.caand finda letter fromTimBuck toDonCurrie from 1967where

Buckoutlinedinhisexemplaryvisionarystylewhatcouldbedoneifthenaturalresourcesof

thewestandinparticularitswaterandenergyresourcesweredevelopedintheinterestsof

Canadaand itspeople.Thereyouwill findanexampleofwhatrealCommunist leadership

shouldbeinourtimeandhowtospeaktoworkersaboutit.

Thesedevelopmentsunderline,onceagain,theextremelylowleveloftheoreticalworkand

theweakideologicalpartisanshipforthefundamentalideasofMarxismLeninisminCanada.

TheresponsibilityforthatsituationlieswiththepresentleadershipoftheCPCthathasdone

nothing to distinguish its specific position from that of the social radicals on a range of

crucialissues.

Anarticle, "OrganizedLabourand thePoliticsofClassStruggleToday",appearingon the

home page of Focus On Socialism addressed to the CPC before its recent Convention,

discusses theurgencyofengaging inpolemicswithall formsof social radicalism,pseudo

socialisttheoriesandtoformulateaneconomicprogramofunityforthemassmovements

ofthepeople.IfyouhaventreaditIwouldaskyoutoconsiderdoingsoandtoforwardany

[email protected].

Whyisthisimportantnow?AcaseinpointistherecentarticleappearinginGeorgiaStraight

byDerrickOKeefeCoChairoftheCanadianPeaceAlliancewhowiththebestofintentions,

drawscomparisonsbetweenthe lawfulactionsoftheSovietUnionincomingtotheaidof

thepeopleofAfghanistanin1980andthecurrentsurgeofUSNATOimperialistforcesinthe

present day unlawful aggression in Afghanistan. OKeefes article has been widely

distributedtoCPAmembersandaffiliates.The itemmakesconcessionstodiscreditedcold

warcomparisonsbetweentheSovietUnionandUSimperialism.

CPShasrespondedtotheCPAcochairassertions

I mention this because Derrick OKeefe is a militant fighter for peace. He works with

communistsinthepeacemovement.Hereistherub.Dowetakeissuewithhisconcessions

toantiSovietismandthediscreditedcoldwarTwoSuperPowertheorybehindwhichthe

pseudoleftofthatperiodtriedtospananticommunismandantiimperialism,ordoweletit

slipbecauseitisabitofastickywicket.Anticommunismofyesteryearwasproimperialism
http://www.focusonsocialism.ca/http://focusonsocialism.ca/upload/CPS-Buck-Letter-to-DC-January-29-1967.pdfhttp://focusonsocialism.ca/upload/CPS-Buck-Letter-to-DC-January-29-1967.pdfhttp://focusonsocialism.ca/upload/CPS-Buck-Letter-to-DC-January-29-1967.pdfhttp://focusonsocialism.ca/upload/CPS-Buck-Letter-to-DC-January-29-1967.pdfhttp://focusonsocialism.ca/upload/CPS-Buck-Letter-to-DC-January-29-1967.pdfhttp://focusonsocialism.ca/upload/CPS-Buck-Letter-to-DC-January-29-1967.pdfhttp://focusonsocialism.ca/upload/CPS-Buck-Letter-to-DC-January-29-1967.pdfhttp://focusonsocialism.ca/upload/CPS-Buck-Letter-to-DC-January-29-1967.pdfhttp://focusonsocialism.ca/upload/CPS-Buck-Letter-to-DC-January-29-1967.pdfhttp://focusonsocialism.ca/upload/CPS-Buck-Letter-to-DC-January-29-1967.pdfhttp://focusonsocialism.ca/upload/CPS-Buck-Letter-to-DC-January-29-1967.pdfhttp://focusonsocialism.ca/upload/CPS-Buck-Letter-to-DC-January-29-1967.pdfhttp://focusonsocialism.ca/upload/CPS-Buck-Letter-to-DC-January-29-1967.pdfhttp://focusonsocialism.ca/upload/CPS-Buck-Letter-to-DC-January-29-1967.pdfhttp://focusonsocialism.ca/random.asp?ID=266http://focusonsocialism.ca/random.asp?ID=266http://focusonsocialism.ca/random.asp?ID=266http://focusonsocialism.ca/random.asp?ID=266http://focusonsocialism.ca/random.asp?ID=266http://focusonsocialism.ca/random.asp?ID=266http://focusonsocialism.ca/random.asp?ID=266http://focusonsocialism.ca/random.asp?ID=266http://focusonsocialism.ca/random.asp?ID=266http://focusonsocialism.ca/random.asp?ID=266http://focusonsocialism.ca/random.asp?ID=266http://focusonsocialism.ca/random.asp?ID=266http://focusonsocialism.ca/random.asp?ID=266http://focusonsocialism.ca/random.asp?ID=266http://focusonsocialism.ca/random.asp?ID=266http://focusonsocialism.ca/random.asp?ID=266http://focusonsocialism.ca/random.asp?ID=266mailto:[email protected]://www.straight.com/node/288436http://www.straight.com/node/288436http://www.straight.com/node/288436http://www.straight.com/node/288436http://www.straight.com/node/288436http://www.straight.com/node/288436http://www.straight.com/node/288436http://www.straight.com/node/288436http://www.straight.com/node/288436http://www.straight.com/node/288436http://www.straight.com/node/288436http://www.straight.com/node/288436http://www.straight.com/node/288436http://www.straight.com/node/288436http://www.straight.com/node/288436http://www.straight.com/node/288436http://www.straight.com/node/288436http://www.straight.com/node/288436http://www.straight.com/node/288436http://www.straight.com/node/288436http://www.straight.com/node/288436mailto:[email protected]://focusonsocialism.ca/random.asp?ID=266http://focusonsocialism.ca/upload/CPS-Buck-Letter-to-DC-January-29-1967.pdfhttp://www.focusonsocialism.ca/


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and remains so today. How do we deal with it?

That iswhat theCPC leadershippointedlyavoids

discussing.

TheIMCWPisbeginningtoprovideanswerstothe

problem of confronting the wrong positions of

socialdemocracyandsocial radicalsofallstripes.

The(IMCWP)hasnowcompleted11Internationalmeetingstodevelopaunifiedlineandto

reestablish the supremacy of the ideas of Marxism Leninism within the international

workingclassandpeoplesrevolutionarymovements.Greatprogress isbeingmadeonre

establishing the fundamentals of Leninism in the era of imperialism in particular how to

conduct thestruggle forsocialism innonrevolutionarysituationsanduniteallof theanti

imperialistforces.

There isnoorganized structure to the IMCWPmovementexcept through themediumof

Solidnet. Amoreadvancedorganizationstructuremaybeunderdiscussion.Undoubtedlyit

willemergeatacertainconjunctureofbothurgencyandneedandgrowingorganizational

strength.Thereisnodoubtinmymindthatitwilleventuallyhappen.

TheCPCcannotmoveforward,regardlessofallof

the omnibus resolutions it produces, all of the

hosannas,ifthereisnotacorrespondingriseinthe

levelofitstheoreticalandideologicalworkandby

its independent effort begins to provide for the

advancedworking classactivistsof theorganized

labour, farmer,peaceanddemocraticmovements

ofourcountry,relevantandtimelycommunistanalysisintherealmofthestruggleofideas.

We inCPSsaywithoutfear,that isnotbeingdoneadequatelyandmustbeaddressedand

urgently.ComradelyDon

Currie

Chair,CanadiansforPeaceandSocialism

http://solidnet.org/http://solidnet.org/

Documents

Proposal for a New International, What Does the Communist Party of Canada have to Say?