November 7, 1977, is the sixtieth anniversary of the Great October Revolution, organized by Comrade V.I. Lenin. The revolutionary people the world over are celebrating this important anniversary. With the Great October Revolution, the proletariat ascended in history as the gravedigger of capitalism and the great leader of mankind in its transition from capitalism to communism. The Great October Revolution ushered in the era we are living in, the era of imperialism and proletarian revolution. The Great October Revolution was the most important event in the life of the modern proletariat and its greatest pathfinder. With the Great October Revolution, the proletariat not only captured state power in one-sixth of the globe, but it also acquired the subjective condition necessary in its revolutionary advance. With the Great October Revolution, Leninism won decisive victory over the revisionism of the Second International and inspired the formation of the revolutionary communist parties on the world scale. Marxism-Leninism reached various parts of the world where the revolutionary theory and organization were lacking before.
The Great October Revolution was the response of the international proletariat to the imperialist world war. It is a revolutionary solution to the crisis created by the inter-imperialist world war and it is the only solution. It proved in practice the teachings of Comrade Lenin and established his revolutionary authority. The Great October Revolution showed the way out of the perpetual crisis under capitalism and it proved the thesis of Marx “1) that the existence of classes is only bound up with particular historical phases in the development of production, 2) that the class struggle necessarily leads to the dictatorship of the proletariat, 3) that this dictatorship itself only constitutes the transition to the abolition of all classes and to a classless society.” It ushered in the historic period of the transition from capitalism to communism and defined the character of our epoch. It provided answers to perpetual inter-imperialist wars and to the imperialist wars of aggression, annexation and domination. It ushered in the period of revolutionary national liberation wars and provided a great impetus to the rise of anti-colonial national liberation struggles. It defined the motive forces, the main content and allies of the proletarian revolution. It breached the front of imperialism and put imperialism into perpetual crisis.
Our era is the era of imperialism and proletarian revolution. Imperialism aggravates all the contradictions inherent in capitalism to the maximum and draws the proletariat into struggle for its overthrow in the capitalist-imperialist countries. Its policies of aggression and war, its appetite for hegemony and plunder and barbarism awakens the people of the enslaved nations into revolt against it. The inter-imperialist rivalry and scramble for influence weakens it and creates conditions for the breaking of the chain at its weakest link. Thus it brings the proletariat and the oppressed people and nations into one struggle and ushers in a period of world proletarian revolution. The international proletariat is the centre of the historic struggle for transition from capitalism to socialism, while the national liberation struggle is its reserve.
Our era at this time is also the era of imperialism and proletarian revolution. Imperialism today is headed by two superpowers, U.S. imperialism and Soviet social-imperialism. This imperialism is very weak, decadent and parasitic and is riddled with irreconcilable contradictions. It is going through its death-bed throes. The two superpowers are the greatest exploiters and oppressors of the people of the world. The two superpowers are grooming their allies and are strengthening their alliances and are feverishly preparing for war, in their intense rivalry and struggle for hegemony. There are contradictions and divisions sharpening in the alliances of the two superpowers and imperialism is going through a period of intense inter-imperialist rivalry and division.
The capitalist-revisionist world is facing the worst all-sided crisis it has ever faced since the Second World War. While preparing for war and fascizing the state apparatus and organizing the fascist groups of hooligans, it is shifting the burden of the crisis onto the backs of the working class. This is bringing the masses of the working class and other oppressed sections into struggle against the shifting of the burden of the economic crisis. Popular struggle against various aspects of imperialist activity and the struggle against capitalist exploitation and wage-slavery is deepening and broadening. Millions of working people are being brought into the struggle.
The inter-imperialist rivalry and the struggle for hegemony and the preservation of the old and new colonial order in the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America has given rise to a broad front of struggle in these countries against imperialism headed by the two superpowers. The proletarian revolution and the national liberation struggle is broadening and deepening.
The four major contradictions on the world scale are becoming acute and the objective conditions are ripe for revolution on the world scale. Under these conditions, the modern revisionists of various types and opportunists of all hues are taking *he road of betrayal and treachery. They are opposing the road of the Great October Revolution. They assert that the road of the Great October Revolution is not applicable to all countries. Khrushchov revisionism, one current of which is Eurocommunism, has long ago abandoned the road of the Great October Revolution. The new opportunist trend based on the anti-Leninist theory of “three worlds” is opposed to the road of the Great October Revolution.
The main character of our epoch is the transition from capitalism to communism. Lenin points out: “The transition from capitalism to Communism represents an entire historical epoch. Until this epoch has terminated, the exploiters inevitably cherish the hope of restoration, and this hope is converted into attempts at restoration.” Thus this “entire historical epoch”, the epoch of “transition from capitalism to Communism” is the epoch of proletarian revolution, the epoch of proletarian revolutionary wars and of national liberation wars, the epoch of the overthrow of capitalism and the establishment of socialism in one or several countries on the globe and the consolidation of the dictatorship of the proletariat and of building socialism, the epoch of defeating all attempts at capitalist restoration or liquidation of proletarian revolution. This is the epoch of inter-imperialist rivalry and division, the epoch of imperialist aggressive wars, and the epoch of revolt of the masses against imperialism, against capitalism and against imperialist aggression, annexation and domination and against imperialist war; in sum, the epoch of imperialism and proletarian revolution, the epoch of transition from capitalism to communism. The Great October Revolution ushered in this historical epoch.
The victory of the Great October Revolution was followed by the founding of the Communist Internationale in 1919. Comrade Stalin, the great disciple of Comrade Lenin, defended Marxism-Leninism from attacks of revisionism and opportunism of all hues and carried on socialist revolution and socialist construction in the Soviet Union while providing moral and material help to the revolutionary struggles of the proletariat by always sticking to the correct line that the Soviet Union was the liberated base area of world revolution. Several countries followed the path opened up by the Great October Revolution, won social and national liberation and the great Soviet Union stood at the head of the socialist camp that emerged right after the Second World War with the defeat of fascism and the victory of the great patriotic war of the Soviet Union and the victory of the world’s people over fascism. People’s power was born in Albania. People’s democratic revolution was crowned with victory in China. But the treachery and betrayal by Khrushchov revisionism after the death of Comrade Stalin in no way eliminated the road of the Great October Revolution. The international proletariat remains at the centre of our epoch and the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania, its liberated base area and the genuine Marxist-Leninist parties in several countries are waging irreconcilable struggle against imperialism and revisionism and opportunism of all hues. Neither the character and content of our epoch have changed, nor has socialism been eclipsed from the face of our globe. Proletarian revolution remains on the agenda and class struggle remains the motive force moving the society forward.
The proletariat and the working people in Canada face double exploitation #8211; the exploitation by the Canadian reactionary bourgeoisie and the exploitation by the foreign imperialists, especially the U.S. imperialists. The proletariat builds its revolutionary strategy on the basis of opposing this double exploitation. The stage of revolution in Canada is transition from capitalism to communism, that is the stage of overthrowing capitalism and building socialism in order to embark on the road of establishing a communist society. This transition period, the period when capitalism is replaced by socialism and the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie is replaced by the dictatorship of the proletariat, this transition period is to be brought about by a thorough-going proletarian revolution which is directed against the native bourgeoisie and the foreign U.S. imperialist bourgeoisie operating in Canada. This transition period is the period of socialist revolution and construction and the period of overthrowing imperialism and all reaction on the world scale.
In its revolutionary strategy, the proletariat does not ignore the struggle against the U.S. imperialist bourgeoisie operating in Canada and it does not ignore the struggle against the two superpowers. On the contrary, it takes this into consideration and defines its strategy by taking this into consideration. For the proletariat to win victory in Canada, it must:
1. Build a genuine Marxist-Leninist party which defends the purity of Marxism-Leninism and defends the principles of proletarian internationalism, a party which:
2. Openly proclaims that the only way imperialism can be defeated and capitalism overthrown and political power seized is by revolutionary violence. Thus this Party fights the revisions, distortions and emasculation of Marxism-Leninism by all brands of modern revisionism and opportunism of all hues.
3. Consolidates itself in the course of leading the class struggle and the struggle of the popular masses by establishing the closest possible link with the masses and organizes itself mainly in the class, and
4. Opposes all kinds of national and social chauvinism and vigorously supports the national liberation movement and utilizes all contradictions in the enemy camp in order to advance its own class aims.
The Canadian proletariat has given birth to such a Party. The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) is such a Party.
The concrete conditions in various countries may differ but the basic principles of Marxism-Leninism apply everywhere. For example, in Canada, the struggle is against imperialism (that is, the big bourgeoisie) but it is also against capitalism #8211; in fighting imperialism it overthrows capitalism and builds socialism. Otherwise the struggle against imperialism will not succeed.
In the semi-colonial and colonial countries, the struggle is also against imperialism led by the two superpowers. There the social base of imperialism is the reactionary bourgeoisie made up of bureaucrat-comprador capitalists and big landlords. There the proletariat leads the struggle against imperialism led by the two superpowers, against bureaucrat-comprador capitalism and against feudalism. The revolution there goes through two stages #8211; the new democratic stage and the socialist stage. The outcome of the struggle will be determined by which class leads the democratic revolution. So for such a country the leadership of the proletariat, the genuine Marxist-Leninist party, is as indispensable as for Canada. And there also the same general road of seizure of state power by revolutionary violence prevails.
The theoreticians of “three worlds” deny this and instead, besides masking the character of the epoch, they are also causing confusion on the motive forces and the leaders of the revolution. For them the main struggle is against “hegemonism of the two superpowers”, etc. Everything else is subordinate to it. They deny the leading role of the proletariat and deny that the road of the Great October Revolution is the road of all countries in the world irrespective of the stage of development of society.
The theoreticians of “three worlds” make a big fuss about the law of uneven development of capitalism in order to divert the proletarian revolution and the national liberation movement from the road of the Great October Revolution. They are carrying out the same activity as Khrushchov revisionism, which was responsible for the replacement of the dictatorship of the proletariat in the Soviet Union with the dictatorship of the bureaucrat-bourgeoisie and the change from the socialist system to the capitalist system. Khrushchov revisionism began with the distortion and emasculation of the theory of Marxism-Leninism in order to make it useless with the pushing of the revisionist line suited for capitalist restoration at home and capitulation and collaboration with imperialism abroad. This is precisely what the theoreticians of “three worlds” are doing.
The seizure of political power by the new bureaucrat-bourgeoisie in the land of the Soviets and the restoration of capitalism there was a great setback to the cause of the proletariat and the oppressed peoples and “nations on the world scale. The activities of the theoreticians of ”three worlds” are also doing maximum damage to the cause of the proletariat and the oppressed peoples and nations on the world scale. We must vehemently oppose Khrushchov revisionism and all its currents and opportunism of all hues including the new opportunist trend with the anti-Leninist theory of “three worlds” at its base. We must uphold the great banner of the Great October Revolution and persist on the road opened up by it in order to lead proletarian revolution to victory. Any deviation from this road is fraught with extreme danger to the proletarian revolution and the national liberation movement. Even though capitalism has been restored in the Soviet Union and the Party of Lenin and Stalin has been taken over by the revisionists and converted into a social-imperialist party, the road of the Great October Revolution remains. Our Party will continue marching on this glorious road of the Great October Revolution. Our Party will always defend Marxism-Leninism and the principles of proletarian internationalism and will continue on the path opened up by the Great October Revolution.
HAIL THE SIXTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GREAT OCTOBER REVOLUTION!
LONG LIVE MARXISM-LENINISM AND PROLETARIAN INTERNATIONALISM!
WORKERS OF ALL COUNTRIES, UNITE!