OUR BASIC PRINCIPLES

OUR BASIC PRINCIPLES

Capitalism, surely a dilapidated system, dooms billions of people to hunger, poverty, imperialist wars, unemployment, environmental pollution and massacres for the benefit of capitalists, a minority of the society. This system, in which the greed for profit is the basic dynamic, makes the world uninhabitable by a terrible alienation, racism, ethnic conflicts, oppression, violence, degeneration in addition to intense exploitation. Furthermore, contradiction between capitalism and natural life becomes deeper day to day. This system, with insatiable greed for profit, damages our world irreversibly with the natural destruction it makes. It is clear that if the chains of the capitalism are not broken, the expected end for humanity will be barbarism.
However, development of means of production has achieved a level which can warrant a world with welfare, peace, freedom and equality. When huge resources wasted for a minority of people in capitalist system, managed for general interests of society, leftovers of class society will be removed from the earth.
The dilemma of “socialism or barbarism” is a very important and bitter issue that humanity needs to deal with.

Capitalism is a Rotten System

Capitalism caused a great jump in productive forces, uncovered potentialities of human being, and gave humanity the ability to access huge power and possibilities. However, in a short period of time, capitalism put these huge devices against humanity. Humanity witnessed the huge resources created by wild exploitation of labor serving a handful of capitalists. As long as the machinery allowing capitalists to seize the surplus value created by intense exploitation of labor force of billions of proletariats runs, imperialist wars, hunger, poverty, massacre, racism, alienation, violence, corruption, selfishness become natural parts of life. During the twentieth century, humanity confronted massacres more than ever before. It has been observed that capitalists can create even Nazi Camps where millions of people have been killed. At the beginning of twenty-first century, barbarism continues ascending. Capitalist destruction threatens human existence and earth.
Contrary to the common belief, capitalism is destroyable. When class struggle caused by intense conflicts of the capitalist system becomes more radical in period of economic crisis and imperialist wars, it will hit capitalism. Internal contradictions of capitalism provide a basis for its destruction.

The Only Class Capable of Smashing Capitalism and Establishing Socialism is Proletariat

History is the history of class struggles. The structure of society being divided to classes causes class struggles and progressions resulted from this struggle. The conflict between the classes have resulted either in the destruction of all classes or the revolutionary transformation of the whole society. The core that will provide such a change develops inside the former society. Proletariat is therefore the only class able to elicit the revolutionary transformation of the capitalist societies.
Today, among all the classes standing against the bourgeoisie, only proletariat is truly revolutionary. All the other classes dissolve in favor of the modern industry and finally vanish. Proletariat, however, is the main and special product of the modern industry.
Working class having nothing else to do but to sell their labor in order to survive is in a natural struggle with capitalists aiming only to exploit the workers as much as possible. The natural conflicts mentioned are signs of big fights that are to happen at times of crisis under the capitalist system.
Proletariat takes the ability to create the classless society from capitalist relations of production. Different from ex-exploited classes, proletariat is capable of destroying the capitalist system and of acting collectively, a capability necessary to form a new society. With the development of capitalism, proletariat does not only enlarge itself quantitatively but also intensify itself as larger masses in the process of production. The capitalist process of production itself requires a strong collectivity, harmony, coordination and discipline. Any commodity produced or any service provided is the product of the collective work of proletariat. The model of production of capitalism in that the smallest mistakes result in a flawed product or a working accident forms the harmony, coordination and discipline seen in working class conflicts. In this context, proletariat is a collective class.
In the process of capitalist production, proletariat learns to organize production by firsthand experience, which naturally makes proletariat also equipped with skills of how to form the social life under the power of the working class. Proletariat feel the need to be united in the simplest form of labor rights struggle -say, for example, a pay raise-. In this manner, “either united and organized or nothing” dilemma leads the proletariat to organize everywhere in which it shows its presence: trade unions and workers’ committees etc. Other classes do not have this ability.
Another material basis that makes the proletariat the historical subject of the struggle for socialism is the vital role working class has in the capitalist production process. Proletariat is the class producing material means of existence. This feature of proletariat makes it capable of activating such enormous powers that it can smash the bourgeoisie state apparatus. This fact can be observed in the gigantic facilities that proletariat is able to activate; in revolutionary conditions where the fate of the societies are determined and the full ability of the classes becoming apparent. In such periods, all the production, factories, offices, workplaces, bureaus, weapon factories, railroads, docks, airports, means of communication and many more is under the control of the working class. A case of political mass strike paralyzes dominant classes and virtually ends their reign. Finally, with an armed sovietic uprising, the capitalist regime would be demolished once and for all.
The ruling class knows its real enemy well and tries to weaken the claim for revolution and socialism by various ideological means. In this context, it is not availing that the ruling class is yelling “proletariat is dead” against the fact that the only way of emancipation of humanity from the capitalist bog is by sovietic uprising, workers power and permanent revolution. Working class, actually, has grown in number and has gotten stronger with regard to objective power relations, let alone there is any weakening. Moreover, apparatuses that the proletariat can employ have become stronger. The total population of the proletariat at Marx’s time is even lower than total number of workers in South Korea today. The majority of world population consists of proletariat today. The phenomena used to claim that proletariat died out refers nothing but the changes in the combination of proletariat. Then workers power and world revolution are historical claims that billions of proletariats can acquire. In this sense “The proletariat have nothing to lose but their chains, they have a world to win.”

Proletarian Revolution and Workers’ Power

When working class breaks the political tool of capitalism, it should organize the dictatorship of the proletariat. The aim of having a world without existence of classes, borders and states cannot be achieved at one stretch. It is apparent that such kind of a social transformation, which will reverse human history, is not an event to be completed in a few days. A transition period is required for civilization to get rid of the dirt of capitalism. This transition phase is defined as the workers’ power.
The dictatorship of the proletariat can only be possible with massive, direct and militant struggle of working class itself as a vanguard of oppressed and exploited with support of them. In other words, the dictatorship of the proletariat can only be established by workers’ own action. Workers’ power cannot be established by a minority which substitutes itself with the masses. It should be organized from bottom to top by committees of workers. All the other methods, such as Jacobin, adventurist, top-down and guerrilla methods, inevitably end up with the power of a minority which in return means capitalism. As Marx stated; salvation of proletariat will be its own achievement.
When workers’ power organizes all political and social life, people who has been dispossessing will be dispossessed by proletariat. All means of production will no more be personal properties of individuals; they will belong to whole society. In this process, resistance of the former property owner classes will be demolished. Their army will be disbanded. In the meantime, revolution will arm people to defend itself and organize worker militia. All banks will be nationalized and organized as one central bank. Central external trade organ will be formed. All hidden treaties that are signed by bourgeoisie state with other capitalist countries will be annihilated and they will be declared to the world opinion. Control of economic and social life will be under inspection of soviets, a new powers political agent.
Oppression will still be a necessity during transition to communism from capitalism. However, the ones that are to be suppressed will no longer be the exploited majority; they will be the exploiter minority. Existence of state as a tool that is used to oppress one class by the other one will continue during workers’ power as well. Proletariat will use the state both to crush the resistance of exploiters and to lead peasants, petit-bourgeoisie and semi-proletariat. This will be a transitional state which is no longer a ‘real meaning’ state. Suppression of exploiter minority by waged slaves of past is a natural duty and it will be less bloody relative to the suppression of uprising of slaves, serfs and waged workers. Expansion of democracy by joining mass majority of people is parallel to disappearance of a need of a specific tool that is used for oppression.
Unlike counter-revolutionary ecole of Stalinism which defines dictatorship of proletariat as a one party dictatorship, workers’ power that is based on majority rule is an absolute must principle. Even the most developed democracy of bourgeoisie would be primitive in comparison to any kind of workers’ democracy that is established during the dictatorship of proletariat. The oppression will be directed only to those who are still trying to resurrect the old order with a counter-revolution. Direct democracy will be established as much as possible by soviet system. Developing democracy and searching ways for this development and experiencing them practically are main duties of social revolution struggle.
Workers’ state will spread direct democracy and go beyond the deficient democracy of bourgeoisie. It will leave all social activity areas (such as communication, health, culture and education) to participation and control of the citizens who have knowledge about that particular subject. All official workers’ wages including the ones who work at higher positions will be limited with the wage of an average qualified worker and any possible rise of a lifelong administrator cast will be prevented by the principle of compulsory rotation. All representatives of working class can be recalled from their work as a result of workers’ demand. Equality of citizens regardless of sex, religion, race and nationality will be guaranteed by the power of the proletariat councils. Including the opposing organizations, rights of written and visual expression of ideas by minorities, establishing political organizations and opposing media organs are guaranteed by the power of the proletariat councils. Judges will be chosen and the whole text of cases will be published. Dictatorship of the proletariat will not suppress any kind of scientific, literal, cultural or artistic movement; it will give moral and material support.
Working class that has organized itself as a ruling class cannot rule by using mechanism of the old state. Revolution should not let the new class to rule with the old machine of the state; it should cause new class to rule with the help of a new state machine after demolishing the old one. Working class has to abolish the old oppression machine, which has been used against it, in order not to loose its power that has been gained. Proletariat will abolish regular army and constabulary; and replace them with armed public (workers’ militia). Dispositions that are made by proletariat who wants to keep its power will not be limited with oppressing the old elements. Any possible rise of a new privileged ruling class inside the workers’ power will also be prevented by well organized principles. The most important examples of those principles are election of worker representatives by direct democracy, possibility to recall the elected ones from their work at any time and limiting wages of representatives with average worker wage.
During workers’ power, all parts of working class will have their own representatives and soviets, which are collections of committees that are formed by representatives from all around the country, will be the new state’s ruling organs. Representatives that represent workers in soviets will be appointed to their work by frequent elections and they could be recalled any time; so workers’ power is a regime in which every worker functions in supervision and control. It means that in this regime everyone can be a temporary bureaucrat; as a consequence, it also means that nobody can be a bureaucrat.
Dictatorship requires existence of social oppositions. If the goal is to build a classless society, dictatorship is not an aim but a tool that is used to reach this ideal goal. Dictatorship of the proletariat is a bridge between bourgeois and socialist societies. It has impermanence in its nature and its basic task is to prepare its own disappearance. Lauding dictatorship and state are destructions of Stalinism.

Socialist World Revolution

Capitalism is a world system that organizes itself as dominant mode of production wherever it exists. Capitalism cannot exist peacefully with different modes of production including socialism, for a long time. Socialism that aims to be alternative to capitalism also has to be a world system. Proletarian revolution starts in the national ground, but its success is dependent on its realization on the international area. Revolution cannot stand on the attacks of imperialism for a long period unless revolution exports itself out of the national boundaries.
Capital constitution of the world market ties all the nations in such a way that the experiences any nation face with are dependent on the others. An economic crisis that breaks out in any country immediately spreads to others and finally it trends to hit the global capitalist system. In parallel to that, a revolutionary uprising happening in a country spreads in waves to the other countries. The final victory of socialism in one country is definitely impossible. The permanent victory of socialism can only be achieved by the success of socialism in the global ground. Therefore, the victory of proletarian revolution in one country is only a beginning. The fate of a successful revolution, thus the fate of humanity, is dependent on whether the revolution spreads to the other countries. The crises of capitalism are global, the revolutions happen in series. The revolutions in different countries trigger each other. World revolution is an organic and combined process that progresses through the uprising in series.
Understanding like National Socialism, socialism in one country is not only utopic but also highly reactionary. These kinds of theses, dangerous sort of reactionary perception, serve to blow the struggle away the historical claims of working class. Socialism in one country is a theory that was invented to protect the class interests of bureaucratic apparatus in Stalinist Russia. When the possibility of realization of socialism in one country is accepted, it becomes possible to believe that not only after conquering the power but also before the revolution. This will be the beginning of the dissolution throughout the social patriotism.

Communist Society

With the final victory of world revolution through the establishment of workers’ power all over the world, the humanity will reach the communist society. While there is fake and miserable democracy in the capitalist society, in the proletarian dictatorship there is true democracy for majority in which only exploiting classes are oppressed. However absolute democracy can only be achieved by communism. To the extent of its absoluteness, democracy becomes pointless. In the communist stage, democracy will already lose its formal role as form of management and penetrate into human behaviors and their way of living. In this respect democracy will dissolve through these practices.
The transition period of the worker power will be followed by the first phrase of communism, as generally known socialism. In that period, classes, commodity and money economy are removed. Abolition of state, the international victory of humanity will be realized. While basic needs are free of charge, the rewards are determined according to the labor time provided to the society.
In the communist phase, the society adopts the rule of "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs." The important point is that there is no need of revolutions for the transition from one phase to the other in post-capitalist societies.
The material basis of communism is the highly developed forces of production. Then productive labor that is not burden anymore does not need enforcement of drives. Under the permanent wealth conditions, the distribution of the necessary good for life does not require the control other than social habits.

USSR

The first proletarian dictatorship after Paris Commune was established not in the countries of developed capitalist states of Europe but in Russia through the October Revolution in 1917. Russia was a peasant country. Although the working class was quantitatively small, it gathered in the big workplaces and had a vital role in the social production in proportion to its smallness. This position of working class enabled the workers’ power in Russia. However, in Russia with such a huge amount of peasant it was apparent that the proletarian dictatorship could not stand alone for a long time. The success of revolution in Russia, a country with underdeveloped productive forces was dependent on the success of possible proletarian revolutions in Europe.
As expected, wave of revolutionary struggle broke out in a number of European countries. After the revolutionary uprisings in Hungary and Germany, the sense that the foundation of European Soviet Republic was recent, was appeared. However, in spite of the economic crisis and workers’ desire to struggle, these revolutionary uprisings were defeated in the absence of a revolutionary party that ensured them to seize the power. Such a revolutionary party would consist of most conscious section of working class and would become as strong as steel by the experiences of class struggle.
One of the most important factors that determined the fate of workers’ power in Russia was the civil war. Simultaneously with the defeat of the revolutions in Europe, counter-revolutionary White Army started a civil war against the worker state. The imperialist states aiming to destroy Soviet power in Russia not only supported the White Army but also themselves attacked the worker state from lots of front. The war was high-priced. Most developed conscious workers, the architects of the revolution, joined the Red Army firstly to defend worker state and they died in the front ranks. During the war, because of war, hunger and diseases 7 million people died. Workers in the urban had to migrate to the rural due to hunger. The rest of the workers and members of Bolshevik Party became the officials of worker state for administration. In this way the working class, the subject of the revolution was disappearing.
Bolshevik Party had to substitute itself to the working class under the conditions in which the material existence of working class was nearly removed. Ten thousands of party members became the officials of worker state and bureaucratized. In the worker state that lost the class basis relied on and the moral basis, the bureaucracy hanged on in the space. Working class that selected, controlled and removed the bureaucracy when needed atomized during the civil war. This condition provided the material basis for the bureaucracy overthrowing the worker state to become independent “privileged” power.
Worker state still alive after the civil war, faced with the another important threat: the peasant that did not want to feed the urban. New Economic Policy (NEP) included the compromises that the peasants wanted and provided opportunity for private sector to form a free market. This policy applied to increase food supply to the urban was high-priced. NEP decreased the power of working class in favor of property owner classes and strengthened bureaucracy in both party and worker state.
In NEP period, after the clarification that Bolshevik Party would continue to govern and after the price of being a party member, which had been fighting and dying in the front rank during the civil war, lessened, the Bolshevik Party faced with the flow of careerists. This provided the material basis for strengthening bureaucracy to rely on. Numerical data from 1921 shown the class composition of party: %8 factory worker, %56 state official, %8 party and trade union official, %27 army official. In 1922 only %2 of members joined the party before February 1917.
In this process, three important classes in the worker state represented themselves through three factions in the party. First one was Left Opposition of Trotsky that defended the interests of proletariat. The others were right faction of Buharin representing the interests of peasants and the center faction of Stalin representing the interests of rising bureaucracy. Working class, the basis worker state relied on, atomized. While most conscious workers, architects of revolution were destroyed by the civil war and hunger, the new and unconscious workers, taking first generation of revolutionary workers’ place, were the peasants just coming from the villages. This destroyed the ground Trotsky and Left Opposition relied on and left Trotsky powerless against the bureaucracy. The bureaucracy was strengthening its position rapidly with NEP so that the population of the bureaucracy exceeded the working class in the revolution. On the other hand, international revolutions were lost as a result of the policies of right and center factions.
Together with the completion of the destruction of Left Opposition, the bureaucracy and Stalin, the represent of them, seized the power. This refers an important break in the class struggle. The workers’ control over the means of production and social life was banned by the First Five Year Plan in 1928. According to the laws of the new regime, all control in the factories and workplaces belonged to the factory directors. Who defended the former regime would be punished severely. The workers power was destroyed by the counter-revolution of the bureaucracy that could organize itself as a class. Stalin was the most important representative of both the bureaucracy and its counter-revolution.
One of the most classical results of the counter-revolution, the destruction of the sons of the revolution occurred in Russia. Nearly all of the leadership of Bolshevik Party was murdered by the Stalinist counter-revolution. Millions of communist carrying the experience and memory of the October revolution and the tradition of Bolshevik party were murdered by Stalinist bureaucracy. The number of communists murdered by Stalinist bureaucracy is more than the sum of the communists murdered by Hitler, Mussolini and Franco. There is a river of blood formed by the blood of Bolsheviks, between Stalinism and Bolshevism.
From now on the regime was a new version of capitalism: a kind of capitalist in which bureaucracy organize itself as dominant class, bureaucratic state capitalism. It is impossible to claim that the historical gains of Russian working class were protected in such a regime that destroyed the ruling role of working class in the production, replaced the free will of workers in the production with the bureaucratic commands and seized the workers power.

Stalinism

In USSR, the bureaucracy, which demolished worker’s power with a counter-revolution and organized itself as the ruling class, created an ideology that was consistent with its class interests? Stalinism was introduced to workers of the entire world as Marxism and Leninism; however it was just a devastation of Marxism-Leninism. Hence having an ideological fight with Stalinism is one of the most important tasks of revolutionary Marxists.
Bureaucracy, who increased its power parallel to the degeneration of the worker’s state, constructed the theory of “socialism in one country” in 1924, such an early date. Arise of this theory, with respect to the denial of perception of world revolution and international traditions, was the outcome of the requirement for the protection of class interests of bureaucracy. Since it leaded the resurrection of worker’s power still trying to maintain its existence in Russia, spread of the revolution would cause elimination of the bureaucracy. At this point the theory of socialism in one country was the expression of the denial of the aim to spread revolutions.
One of the devastation of Stalinism carried out together with socialism in one country is nationalism and patriotism. This conception contrary to the revolutionary Marxist tradition is just the cover of class interests of bureaucracy stated as “interests of socialist motherland”, with patriotic sophistry. Besides, patriotic sophistry was not restricted with USSR, but it was spread all over the world by Stalinist parties guided by Moscow.
Party dictatorship was invented by Stalinism instead of the collective dictatorship of proletariat. Instead of a council regime in that the workers class organized the whole social and economic life from the below to the top, Stalinism enforced the hierarchy of the party bureaucracy which was based upon the command chain. With its authoritative and repressive character, Stalinism is absolutely opposed to Marxism. Fetishism of party and elitist mentality are also characteristic features of Stalinism.
Given that Stalinism reduced socialism into an economic planning and statism, it characterized the regimes in Algeria, Afghanistan, Somali, Yemen as socialism. This is an evidence of how the concept of socialism has been degenerated.

Our Tradition

Our struggle takes its roots from revolutionary Marxist tradition which has a 150-year experience of the struggle. Our organization will rise upon the revolutionary inheritance of Communist Unity, 1st International, the revolutionary era of the 2nd International, the first four congress of the 3rd International and the period of the 4th International when Trotsky was alive.
Our movement is Trotskyist. At this point it is necessary to put that Trotsky did not create a custom different than Marxism-Leninism. Trotsky, “Bolshevik-Leninist Left Opposition” and the 4th International defended the main claims and values of Marxist-Leninist tradition and left the future generations a truly revolutionary flag while trying to protect the worker’s power in Russia. This was, of course, not that easy. While fighting with imperialist capitalist system, Trotsky and his comrades had a battle against the corruption of Marxist-Leninist values, and they risked their lives at this combat. Even only this point is vital and sufficient reason for truly revolutionaries to own Trotsky. In addition to that, Trotsky systemized especially the duties of the revolutionaries of the underdeveloped countries; generalized the experiences of October Revolution and theorized the Permanent Revolution which takes its reference-point from the first four congress of the Communist International. He defended and developed the United Front tactics, analyzed fascism while drawing political conclusions from that, and he developed Marxist state theory. Trotsky determined the missions of the Bolsheviks of the entire world as to form the World Party of Proletariat with the program of the 4th International. Also he clarified the perspective of the transition programme which he established from the 3rd International. All these aspects are contributions of Trotsky to develop Marxist-Leninist tradition.
In Turkey, first revolutionaries adopted revolutionary Marxist tradition, are (until they were murdered by the national bourgeoisie) Mustafa Suphi and his comrades. However, since the 3rd International became an organ of the counter-revolutionary foreign policy of Stalinist bureaucracy, TKP (Communist Party of Turkey) rapidly degenerated, and at the end of 1920s it broke off Marxist tradition.
Although the fight of the proletariat is deprived of the revolutionary Marxist leadership in Turkey, it has radical experiences of struggle. Workers struggles such as the glorious uprising of June 15-16, Tariş struggle, worker’s combat which crushed DGM (military courts), the spring of 1989, the march of coal-miners to the capital city Ankara inspires our struggles, and they also demonstrate that there exists convenient conditions in Turkey in which revolutionary Marxism can grow up. Then, constitution of a Bolshevik leadership is the essential duty of Turkish and Kurdish Marxists.
Our revolutionary Marxist custom takes its power from the international struggles of the working class and learns from these struggles carried-out by the proletariat all over the world. Only this way, future struggles can meet with our revolutionary tradition.

Bolshevik Party

In all the class societies, those having economic hegemony also have intellectual hegemony. In every era, ruling ideas are determined by the ruling class. Yet, these ideas are not accepted to the same degree by everyone in the society. Life does not consist of these ideas only and experiences may contradict with these ideas. Therefore, members of the working class have an unequal and contradictory conscience. Inequality comes from the differences of class conscious of workers. Contradictory conscience comes from the fact that, on the one hand workers accept the authority of the bourgeois completely and on the other they have perceptions rejecting this hegemony. Briefly, level of consciousness among the working class is not homogenous. Unequal conscience is not only a feature of inactive times of the class struggle. Although in revolutionary conditions the majority of working class has rapid education, some parts of the class will be far beyond the others. Therefore, revolutionary party trying to raise the class conscious of all worker to its level and uniting the most conscious workers is needed. Leninist party has two main themes: being an independent organization of advanced workers that put the interests of proletariat first and having the closest relations possible with the class so that the party can practically lead every struggle that affects the class interests.
The emancipation of the working class, and finally the emancipation of all humankind are only possible if a revolutionary, internationalist, communist political organization becomes effective and powerful among the working class. Therefore, the revolutionary party, essentially a Marxist proletarian organization, should work patiently in the worker’s movement according to its long reach goals. In the long history of class struggles, a lot of revolutionary situation has been lost due to the lack of this kind of organization. Because of the key role proletariat plays in capitalist societies, spontaneous breakouts of the class can cause a revolutionary situation and sets the seizure of the power as an agenda. On the other hand, if the proletariat lack a revolutionary, communist organization, revolutionary process moves backward especially after various maneuvers of the ruling classes. The success of the revolutionary forces depends on revolutionary answers they produce to the various economic, psychological, and political factors, which are interconnected with each other. To overcome this, the most important thing is that there is an experienced Bolshevik organization which is capable of producing answers to various problems, which is equipped with Marxist ideology, which is deeply rooted in the working class.
Despite all kind of restricted opportunities, Marxists` duty is to make effort for creating the Bolshevik party. Surely, this is not a goal that can be attained in a couple of years. Impatience and hastiness in this issue is dangerous. What is needed to be done is to perform a patient and mindful work.
Revolutionary party should gather all the powers of the oppressed under the leadership of the proletariat for the common struggle against capitalism. Historically and worldwide, the main issue is the proletariat – peasant alliance under the leadership of the proletariat.
Revolutionary party should be the party of the proletariat. Party should be of proletarian type, in terms of not only including the socialist demands of the working class as a program, but also the class composition and daily activity domain. The party is open to any sincere members of other classes who are ready to discard their own class interests in order to conjoin their fates with that of the fate of proletariat.
Party is the vanguard of the working class. Yet, it is not a small number of elites outside of the class. Revolutionary party does not lead from the outside, but from the inside of the class. The leadership of the proletariat is gained by revolutionary party as being a leader to the class in praxis in the daily struggles that take place in the factory, in the working place, or in the streets and with concrete action proposals.
The boundaries of the revolutionary party must be carefully taken care of. All members should participate in activities; strict discipline and full democracy inside the party is necessary. Revolutionary party is an organization of war. Party should prepare itself for harsh class struggles, uprisings and revolts, besides the ordinary daily struggles.
Anybody cadres of the party should have the right on the orientation of the party policy. Without democracy and free discussion, there is no way of party to create the policy that provides the proletariat’s need in the literal sense and fits into the concrete situation. For this purpose, until the decision moment, an unrestricted discussion and freedom of criticism should be provided. However, revolutionary party is not a discussion club. It is discussed to have an agreement and the decision is fulfilled unitedly. Centralism in the revolutionary party is as critical as internal democracy since the party has to dispute harshly with a high-level centralist hostile, the capitalist state.
The principles of Marxism form the basis for the party, representative of the historical interests of the working class. Party never sacrifices its sovereignty to any other political organization; either it is a bourgeois, reformist or a centralist one. This attitude does not exclude any alliance, compromise, or temporary agreements with other organizations, yet the party excludes to discard the right of free critique, having separate political route and having separate organizations.

Armed Sovietic Uprising

The revolution is a must not only because the ruling class will not give up the power unless enforced to it, but also because the working class needs to be cleaned of the remnants that are accumulated by class societies during centuries. Workers’ revolutions are the times where masses of workers try to control their destiny and liberate themselves from being the objects and victims of oppression and exploitation.
Four prerequisites are necessary for revolution to eventuate: the existence of a general and deep crisis in the society; the clearly put case that proletariat cannot tolerate the vital routine of remaining unchanged; the bourgeois to lose its belief on sustainability of the current social order and to have discussions and divisions internally; and the existence of a revolutionary party. Those four conditions should be occurred together for the revolution to occur.
Revolution is not a matter of a night. It consists of strikes and demonstrations and ends up by the seizure of the power by the workers. In this process, an important point is the dissolution of the armed forces. Like in previous proletarian revolution practices, during revolution the army in hierarchic structure, which reflects the societies’ class structure, will break up and the private soldiers (or soldiers without rank), most of whom consist of poor people will stand by revolutionary’s side. Nonetheless, the break up of the army is not an easy thing. The revolutionist stability and power that the proletarians present are required to display to the soldiers that a revolution is on the way. With both the armament that workers have captured and the great power of army that has come in on working class, the government will be captured easily by proletarians.

Imperialism

Imperialism is not only a policy but also a stage in capitalist progress, i.e. the highest stage of the capitalism. Imperialism is a stage that leads to integration of the state and private monopolist capital due to centralization and concentration of capital during the process of capitalist progress and capital generates world-wide competition for investment, acquiring raw material and new markets as a consequence of internalization of productive forces. It is possible to conclude the following from these two tendencies. The competition between capitals morphs into conflict of nation-state’s military powers. The relation between nations is unequal. The unequal and compound progress of capitalism admits a few advanced capitalist states to reign the rest of the world because of their productive forces and military powers. During the period of imperialism, the unequal and compound progress intensified arming even more and caused wars both among imperialists and for independence for countries under the imperialist yoke.
After the systems in East Europe collapsed, Cold War era ended. Then, the world has entered into a multi-polar system, both economically and politically. The rise of sub-imperialist states had played an important role in this evolution towards multi-polarity and a world which is more inclined to crisis.
Sub-imperialism arises from the will of weak countries' wish to apply the great powers' global effectiveness on politics and military in their region. Egypt, Turkey, Israel, Iran, India, South Korea, Nigeria, Brazil and Argentina can be given as examples of sub-imperialism. The partial industrialization in underdeveloped countries and consequently formation of new stock saving centers other than the imperialist centers lie beneath the description of sub imperialism. The vast majority of the world's industrial production and military power are located in United States, Western Europe, Japan and Russia. The rise of local powers in underdeveloped countries did not destruct the political-military hierarchy which is a result of unequal distribution of economical power, but just changed it.
The world capitalist system is like a pyramid that contains all capitalist countries and generates interdependence and develops unequal and combined on the base of international division of labor. Most developed capitalist countries take their place at the top of this pyramid; middle-developed at the center and less developed at the bottom. Because of the nature of the capitalist system, these state are bound each other with reciprocal ties. In imperialist system, any state is isolated and independent from the others in terms of economical relations. A country that is not integrated to world capitalist system cannot survive. At what degree the reciprocal dependence in the relations of the states is determined according to the position of these states in the imperialist pyramid. In both developed and underdeveloped countries, the propaganda of the claim for the economical and political independence is reactionary utopia.
Third worldism, which essentially rests on petite bourgeois nationalism and developmentalism, means sacrifice of expediencies of workers movement for the benefit of national bourgeois. Who acts in terms of the claim of being oppressed by imperialism helps bourgeoisie to dominate working class struggle.

Permanent Revolution

Capitalism form itself as a worldwide hegemonic mode of production. Therefore, one cannot distinguish countries as “ready” for revolution or not. Democratic revolution cannot be expected from any kind of bourgeoisie. Because, bourgeois entering the stage of the history recently is radically different from the bourgeois two hundred years ago. It is totally unable to produce a consistent, democratic and a revolutionary solution to the cruelty that feudalism and imperialism cause. It is now a reactionary force in either advanced or underdeveloped countries. Proletariat plays the actual revolutionary role even if it is very young and small in number. Peasants that are incapable of acting independently will follow the cities. It is the proletariat that the peasants would address as leading class. Poor peasants will be allied with the proletariat in a revolutionary situation, in this respect.
It is possible that the proletariat seizes power in an underdeveloped country before an economically advanced country. In 1871, proletariat took the social administration of Paris consciously for two months. On 1917, proletariat came to power in an underdeveloped country, Russia.
In an underdeveloped country, a consistent solution of national and land problems under social and imperialist obstacles that block rapid economical development, the proletariat obliges to move beyond bourgeois private property borders. Revolution not only accomplishes the middle class’ democratic tasks but also continues to take proletarian socialist cautions. Democratic revolution is transformed into socialist revolution immediately; as a result it becomes permanent. Completion of a social revolution in national borders is unthinkable. Moreover, establishing socialism in only one country is an impossible dream. A revolution in an underdeveloped country triggers revolution in the developed countries. Also, a revolution in one country can only be completed with victories in other developed countries.
If the international character of socialist revolution is not accepted and if the struggle according to that is not created, the revolutionary struggle which is got caught in national confusion will come to nothing. In that case, the world revolution cannot be considerate without International.

National Problem and National Liberation Struggles

A nation which oppresses other nations cannot be free. That’s why revolutionary Marxists are against the oppression of the nations by others. They support struggles of oppressed nations and defense the right of oppressed nations to self- determination.
The self-determination right of oppressed nations’ means supporting demands of oppressed nation unconditionally on the national problem. The self-determination right cannot only be reduced to the establishment of national state or democratic rights. It is the decision taken by only the oppressed nation.
The support for oppressed nations’ struggle is unconditional as well as critical. Criticizing the faults of national movement does not exclude unconditional support for national movements against the state oppression.
One of the conditions of a successful fight against exploitation for proletariat is the purification from every kind of nationalism. Proletarians should be absolutely impartial in the fight for superiority between bourgeoisies of different nations. If the proletariat supports the privileges of “its own national” bourgeoisie, even slightly, this will inevitably result in distrust of the proletariat of other nations. This will weaken workers’ international class solidarity and finally divide its unity. The only class pleased of such situation will be bourgeoisie. Rejection of the self-determination right of oppressed nations means inevitably, in practice, to support the national privileges of the oppressing nations.
The acceptance of propaganda of bourgeoisie legitimizing the pressure on national struggles prevents the proletariat of oppressing nation from achieving the class consciousness. Unless having a determined and systematic struggle against these obstacles and prejudges, proletariat cannot achieve its historical claims and cannot reach freedom.
The class interests of the working class in the fight against capitalism require the solidarity and tight unity of proletarians of the all nations. These interests order the working class to struggle with the nationalist policy of each nation’s bourgeoisie severely. Therefore, if revolutionary Marxists reject the self-determination right of oppressed nations, it means that they oppose the political program of the proletariat and they lead the working class to obey the politics of the bourgeoisie.
Revolutionary Marxists attach communist character to national liberation struggles. The tendency of each national liberation struggle is to establish its own nation-state in which the requirements of its capitalist development can be satisfied. The consideration of these movements as communist refers distortion in the meaning of struggle for socialist revolution on the one hand and on the other leads the adaptation of a false perspective on the national question. The support of communists on the national liberation struggles does not result from the agreement on the ideological perspectives of these movements.
The support for the self-determination right of oppressed nations’ does not mean to support every national liberation struggle. This support results from a concrete case, more than an abstract principle, struggle against imperialism. Therefore, national struggles that oppress other nations and thus strengthen the imperialism are not supported.

Women Problem

Oppression of women appeared, in a certain period of the history, with the division of the society into classes and will only disappear with the destruction of the class societies. Contrary to feminist ideology claiming that the reason of the oppression of the women is men, Marxism points out the reason of oppression of women as the system.
The oppression of women results from the family unit serving the reproduction of the labor force. Therefore, the oppression of women will be ended only through the socialization of housework and child care. Capitalism as a profit oriented system is not, and also cannot, afford the sources for socialization of the reproduction. This duty can only be succeed by a socialist revolution.

Together with the establishment of workers’ power, housework, cooking and child care will be carried out of the family unit; family will not be a social unit of the reproduction of labor force. Housework and child care will be socialized by common refectory, crèche and laundry. Moreover, the equality of women and men will be achieved in all sphere of the society and salaries will be equalized. Every practice oppressing women will be ended. Abortion will be free for who wants and divorce will become easier. Adultery and homosexuality will not be a crime anymore, parental leave will be provided how long it is wanted and the distinction between children from a marriage and born out of wedlock will be abolished. Ideological heritage of capitalism including sexism will not be disappeared just after the revolution. However, through the abolition of its material basis will be easy to destroy this heritage.
Since communist society will abolish private property and educate children socially, the relationship with partners will become a private issue that the society cannot interfere. Therefore, the existence of binary basis that binds wife to husband, children to parents through the property relations will be destroyed from now on.
In capitalism, family is not only a unity of reproduction and consumption, but also an ideological weapon for the system. Considering that nearly half population of the working class is women, sexism, an evidence of women’s secondary social position is one of the most important dominant ideas to divide the unity of proletariat and prevent their collective struggle. Therefore, women problem is not a secondary problem. According to revolutionary Marxists, it is a central problem as much as national problem, imperialist wars, and seizure of power.

Although revolutionary Marxists know that final liberation of women is possible after the socialist revolution, they have a fight against sexism and practices serving the oppression of women even under capitalism. Marxists also fight ideologically against feminism showing as if all the women have common interests and diverting the anger of female workers to male workers.

Fascism and the Struggle against Fascism

Fascism, which finds its mass base from petty-bourgeoisie, is a right wing extremist, radical movement organized independently from police force of a state. In fact, petty bourgeoisie-based fascist movements are tongs of the monopolistic capitalists. In order to prevent the resurrection of class struggle, fascism establishes its program on destruction of workers’ organizations, social reforms and extermination of all the democratic rights.
When the capitalist system is far away from crisis and during the periods of existence of weak social opposition, fascist movements are put aside for possible emergent duties; during the periods of resurrection of revolutionary movements they are commissioned again. Major functions of fascism are oppressing all the autonomous workers’ organizations, including the most reformists one or class-collaborationist one; breaking the worker class into disconnected pieces; dissolving and intimidating the class. Therefore, the rest of the workers’ movement becomes small illegal groups which cannot affect the social and economic life of country. “Fascism is a specific means of mobilizing and organizing the petty bourgeoisie in the social interests of finance capital.”
Fascism comes to power with the support of petty-bourgeoisie used against the worker class and democratic associations. However, fascism in power is not the power of petty-bourgeoisie. On the contrary, it is the cruel dictatorship of monopolistic capital. By means of fascist dictatorship, capitalists are saved from a danger of revolution and also catch the chance of rescuing from the economic crisis which they are inside. Fascist dictatorships provide this with an intensive discipline and exploitation of labor.
Another feature of fascist movements is widespread terror against masses and development by using violence, getting the different ideas to cower in fear, improving hierarchy. It needs street movements and street force to control the districts, schools etc. in order to organize petty-bourgeoisie masses which are unorganized and distant to collective lifestyle.
For the struggle against fascism, it must be acted with true methods. Stalinist popular front tactics recommend collaboration with moderate bourgeoisie against fascism by declaring that some parts of the bourgeoisie are progressive. On the one part, there are chauvinist monopolists; on the other part, “moderates”. This tactic which means fundamentally class-collaboration is the inversion of truth. Capitalists as a class, without any division inside the class, want to stop rising revolutionary waves by force of fascist movements. Again, during the period of fascist dictatorships, capitalists boost the industrial discipline and labor exploitation, reduce wages and acquire extreme profits by rescuing from crisis.
Dimitrov’s tactics of popular front formed with the moderate capitalists, blurred the basic Marxist arguments and caused to be practiced many policies meaning of betrayal to worker class by the official communist parties all over the world. Official communist parties prevented the strikes of workers due not to frighten their allies, bourgeoisie parties. Therefore, radical class struggle of worker class, the only way of stopping the fascism, was prevented by the Stalinist “communist” parties. The main aim of Dimitrov’s thesis was not guiding to worker class with concrete analysis of concrete circumstances, its aim was preparing theoretical materials for the foreign policy of Stalinist Russia.
If we can accumulate all workers only under our flag and we can immediately exceed social democrat parties, unions, and all reformist elements, of course this would be wonderful. However, political conscious of class does not mature methodically and systematically; even at the times of revolutions in which all the processes developed with leaps, deep intrinsic separations remain. At the same time, need for an organization over the parties and covering all the class become urgent. United front is established for providing the solidarity of communist and social democrat workers. For changing he ideas of reformist workers, unrolling the betrayals of their leadership and gathering masses in struggle under our flag, united front policy is sine qua non.
Bloc is created only for practical mass struggle. Propaganda must be based on clear principles and a definite program. Communists must not make a concession about their organizational independency and freely propaganda rights; in other words they must walk separately but hit together. The role of the united front policy is separating people wanting to struggle from the others not wanting to struggle; pushing forward the people who wobble; bringing appeaser directors into disrepute in the eyes of workers and consequently increasing the force for the struggle of the class.
The struggle against fascism must be started from today, not at the time when fascist forces have able to assumption to power if bourgeoisie wants. In order to leave no chance for bourgeoisie to prefer fascist forces at the times of crisis or deepening of class struggle, from now on fascists must be extinguished from all the places where they are. There must be no allowance even for expressing the fascist ideologies which declare the downtrodden of society as scapegoats and get a chance to grow up with using the fury against downtrodden in society. In the struggle against fascism, methods of arousing masses must be focused on.

Proletariat Internationalism and the Struggle against Social Patriotism

If the world did not split into nation-states or national identities, there is any problem like internationalism. For growing, capitalism needs borders guarded by duties that protect capitalists from the devastating rivalry of other capitalists. Inside the borders, the capitalist inside these borders are privileged. Multinational corporations also connect tightly with nation-states. For instance, these nation-states are the USA for General Motors, England for BP, Germany for Volkswagen, and Japan for Toyota. These companies are more effective in these countries than in the other countries. In substance, these nation-states exist for guarding interests of these companies.
At the last of the 18th century and at the most of the 19th century, rising bourgeoisie with trading and new production techniques destroyed feudal empires which became obstacle for every innovation and instead of them, substitute the national markets called nation-states. Before this process, there was not any concept like patriotism; people expressed themselves with religious identities, not with national identities. In brief, concepts like patriotism, nationalism were put forward with the invention of nation-states and settled with the victory of bourgeoisie over feudalism.
The history is the history of class struggles and in the capitalism, this struggle continues between the worker and the bourgeoisie. Between these two classes, the sides of the class struggle, there are irreconcilable class contradictions. In capitalist system consisted of classes which have contradictory interests, these interest can never be common with the concepts such as nation state, denomination etc. Therefore, ideological claims like patriotism, social-patriotism, and nationalism cover irreconcilable class conflicts and tow class struggle of workers back to the bourgeoisie.
Capitalism is a world system. The consequences of actions of worker class are universal since capitalist countries are not isolated from each other. Workers from one country are seen as threat for capitalists from all countries. Hence workers of that country need active support of other countries. This support has to continue after the workers of one country overthrow their capitalists and establish their governments since capitalists are determined not to keep socialism alive. Workers’ power cannot progress to communism under the permanent threat of capitalism, this is impossible economically. State cannot disappear under the threat of capitalism, it conversely become strong.
Internationalist attitude expresses itself urgently about Kurdish national problem in Turkey which cost with the lives of thousands of people. If Turkish proletariat will be faithful to its class interests, it must not support the chauvinist, offensive and denier policies of Turkish bourgeoisie about the national problem. If the workers of oppressor nation do not recognize the self-determination right of oppressed nations, they will live under the hegemony of their patrons. This also must not be forgotten that the self-determination right of oppressed nations firstly contains respect to the choice of oppressed nations about themselves. Revolutionaries must give support to national movement unconditionally but critically, they must try to protect them against every type of chauvinist attacks. Internationalist attitude about the national problem act as turnsole as an expression of political radicalism in Turkey. Revolutionary Marxists always have to show the most responsible stance on this issue.

Imperialist War and Revolutionary Marxist Answer

Danger of imperialist war looms on the horizon many years before the outbreak of war. Worker class must immediately begin to act for class sisters and brothers in their own country and in the other countries. However, we cannot wait occurrence of this automatically.
If the imperialist war cannot be prevented, the mission of the communist vanguard of the worker class is to want the defeat of their own government in war. Otherwise, worker class bows in front of their national bourgeoisie, remains silently to the protection of privileges of major states and consequently revolutionary proletariat become disintegrated in all the countries. Imperialist wars cause different countries’ workers to break each other; divide the unity of working class; benumb them with national nonsense; give opportunities for the capitalists to deprive workers of their acquisitions, to militarize and terrorize the society. The bourgeoisie achieving victory on the war will become more powerful against its own worker class. In that case, worker class will become under the influence of chauvinist and nationalist ideas of ruler class and fall into a vulnerable situation. The worker class of other side also must want to defeat of own government. Only, the weakness of its own bourgeoisie can get workers closer to the revolution. If the worker class honestly wants its salvation, firstly it must overthrow their own capitalists. For that, worker class must know to benefit from the destruction created by the imperialist war, because imperialist wars weaken the capitalist class and its state apparatus, they can provide seeming powerful just for a while. Then, the necessity is the conversion of the imperialist war into a civil war. Because imperialist wars are the complete and total depressions of capitalist society and there is no more convenient time to take the power. War is the most beneficial gift of the bourgeoisie for the revolution.