Indian elections, victory for the BJP

The elections in the Republic of India have turned out to be a victory for the right-wing Hindu-nationalist; Bharatiya Janata Party ( Indian People's Party ). Led by Narendra Damodardas Modi, the BJP was able to win the elections because the Indian National Congress and the communist parties offered no socialist alternative to the BJP, who claimed to be a anti-corruption party. But the reality is different, the BJP is a right-wing neoliberal party, supported by Indian capitalists who want to see more deregulations of markets. India used to have a classic mixed economy until the late 1980's. But as stalinism collapsed the Indian National Congress adopted a neoliberal view and started with privations and deregulations. This led to the creation of a very wealthy ruling class. Poverty has declined in the last 25 years, but still 11,8% of all Indians are forced to live win-out basic human needs. Those who do not live in absolute poverty still have to struggle on low wages, which are common in India!

Supporters of capitalism blame today poverty on the previous mixed economy. Western historians claim that India used to have a planned economy. This is not true, India had a mixed economy with a large state owned sector. The state owned sector was very bureaucratic and inefficient, because it was run in a top-down way. Indian bureaucrats created a system of bureaucratic laws and only gave licences to set up business to a select few. Corruption was very high in state owned enterprises, as state-managers enriched themselves at the expense of workers and poor people. Still many poor people kept voting on the INC. Because the Indian National Congress ( INC ) was seen as the party of national liberation, much like the African National Congress of Nelson Mandela. Many felt a personal loyalty to the party of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who was murdered by a Hindu-nationalist in 1948!

The Indian People's Party or Bharatiya Janata Party was created in 1980 and has been the main right-wing Hindu-nationalist party of India. Although a Hindu-nationalist party, the BJP has proven to be more a party for big capitalists then Hindu-nationalists. Its first major victory came in 1998 when they defeated the Indian National Congress for the first time. The Indian government under BJP control followed a neoliberal course and was praised by world leaders, such as Bill Clinton of the USA and European capitalist leaders such as Tony Blair!

In 2002, a train carrying Hindu pilgrims was set on fire. Angry Hindu-nationalists blamed Muslims for this act and a wave of anti-Muslim hatred erupted. Officials claim that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed. But others say the BJP led government tried to downplay the killings. The death-toll was said to be far higher with over 2.000 Muslims murdered by angry Hindu-nationalists. Narendra Damodardas Modi was minister of chief in Gujarat when the anti-Muslim riots started. Human rights groups have claimed that his government did not work hard enough to protect the Muslim minority from angry Hindu nationalists. These nationalists were organized in a right-wing paramilitary called the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Narendra Damodardas Modi is a member of this controversial paramilitary group!

The election victory for the BJP is not new. They were able to beat the Indian National Congress before. Only their deeply unpopular capitalistic style of government made them losing elections to the INC. In order to boost their image, the BJP created the National Democratic Alliance of centre-right to right-wing parties. This alliance was supported by parts of the Hindu ruling class who favoured economic liberalism and privations of state enterprises. But not all capitalists supported the alliance of the BJP, mainly because the party is deeply Hindu-nationalist. Other parts of the Indian bourgeoisie remained close to the INC who was a fully capitalist party by 2004. Capitalism turned the elections into a media showdown, the United Progressive Alliance VS the National Democratic Alliance. In reality there is only minor differences between the two groups. Both groups supported more economic reforms to support the ruling class at the expense of workers and the poor! 

India used to have a strong communist movement. The first Communist Party of India was founded in 1925 but it lacked a strong democratic centralist organisation. In fact the first CPI was a lose coalition of communist groups with a very limited national leadership. British imperialism was very hostile to the communist party and banned the party for its revolutionary work. There were three major trials of communists in India. The British claimed the CPI wanted to deprive the ''King-Emperor'' of his sovereignty of British India, by complete separation of India from imperialistic Britain by a violent revolution. These trials gave the Indian population a first look at the ideals of communism. In the late 1920's early 1930's, the CPI followed the Stalinist doctrine and called the socialists of India to be ''social fascist''. This prevented a united front with them against the British imperialists! 

After Adolf Hitler's victory in Germany, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin ordered his communist parties to build popular fronts with the socialists and progressive members of the bourgeoisie. However it was only after 1942 that the Communist Party of India was able to operate freely. British imperialism legalized communist parties in its colonies to please the Soviets. This allowed the party to work inside the All-Indian Trade Unions and there it was able to build a strong presence!

The Republic of India was born on 26 January 1950. Communists were able to profit from the close relations India had with the Soviet-Union. Slowly workers and poor people realized that the CPI was a party that stood for them. They made the party the biggest opposition party to the ruling INC during the 1957 elections. Also the party was able to win the majority of votes in the Indian state of Kerala. The radical Communist Party of China criticized the CPI on working within the bourgeois-democratic structure of India. China and India were not close friends, because New Delhi supported Moscow against Beijing in the Sino-Soviet conflict. Also there was a border dispute which escalated into a war in 1962! 

Inside the Communist Party of India there was a huge debate over this war. Some said that the party must support the Chinese, as the conflict was a struggle between one capitalist nation and a ''socialist'' nation ( as claimed by the stalinists ). But many communists did not wanted to support the radical Chinese. The CPI was deeply divided in three groups during the debates. There was a internationalist side ( pro-China ), a nationalist side ( pro-India ) and a neutral side. The Indian government used the war with China, to arrest those internationalist communists who supported the People's Republic of China. Officially these debates were not public, the CPI was a Stalinist party and enforced bureaucratic centralism, meaning that party members were expelled if they did not enforced the opinion of the leadership. The official stand of the CPI was still pro-China, this gave the government enough reasons to arrest many communists!

In 1964 the party split in two. A new Communist Party of India ( Marxist ) was born. This party was created by those communists who had supported China against the Indian government and the Soviet-Union. The CPI(M) became a anti-revisionist party, that rejected Nikita Khrushchev's criticism of Stalin. Those who remained loyal to the CPI choose to work with the Indian National Congress against the more radical CPI(M). Because of this collaboration with a capitalist party, the CPI lost most of its supporters to the CPI(M) over time. But the death of Mao Zedong and the rise of Deng Xiaoping turned the CPI(M) also into the reformist Stalinist camp. Still the CPI was not able to win back the trust of millions!

Today both the CPI and CPI(M) are part of the Left-Front and worked together to rule the state of West Bengal. But because of Stalinist degeneration, both communist parties never followed genuine socialist principals. Workers and poor people soon could no longer see the difference between, BJP, INC, CPI, CPI(M) and other political parties. West Bengal was lost to capitalist politicians because the Left-Front was never able to rule as a workers movement for socialism. Red flags and hammer & sickle are still used by both communist parties, but few workers see a socialist alternative in these parties. After so many years, the parties that claim to fight for socialism have nothing to offer. Anti-Stalinist revolutionary socialists call for the birth of a new workers party. A party that rejects the legacy of Stalin and Mao Zedong!

Although Mao Zedong had died a long time ago, his radical supporters in India build the Communist Party of India - Maoist in 2004. This party rejects both the CPI and CPI(M) and parliamentary democracy. They fight a ''People's War'' against the Indian government, no matter who rules it. Because of massive poverty, it was able to recruit more then 13.000 young boys between 2004 and 2013. Today it is estimated that 8.000 Indians are members of the banned Maoist party. 45% to 60% of their recruits are females. Young girls who flee the male dominated Indian culture, are easy target for maoists and their propaganda. Although Maoism claim to be fighting for woman rights, some say that Maoist leaders are just using these girls to fight their ''People's War''!

Revolutionary socialists reject the ''People's War'' we believe in class struggle, not guerilla struggle. A workers party is needed to fight the BJP and the INC and the degenerated communist parties. Workers need to think for themselves and not trust the propaganda of those who claim to be progressive, leftist, socialist, communist or revolutionary. The Bharatiya Janata Party has won the elections in 2014, but their politics will be deeply unpopular with the working class and the poor. Narendra Damodardas Modi will become prime minister and rule as a right-wing Hindu-nationalist. The struggle for genuine socialism and workers rule will be difficult, but necessary for Indians!

It will take a long time before India can become a genuine

socialist workers state!

Brid Smith vs Paul Murphy

The Irish political party; ''People Before Profit Alliance'' is a front organisation for the Irish; Socialist Workers Party, the sister party of the British: Socialist Workers Party of the late Tony Cliff. The PBPA was created by the SWP and other left-wing activists in October 2005 and although the party is leftist, it does not require members to be Marxists or to subscribe to a revolutionary socialist program. This makes the PBPA a typical SWP front organisation, with no clear socialist program to fight for a socialist Ireland. Now the PBPA is standing its candidate in Dublin against Paul Murphy of the Socialist Party for the European elections. Unlike the People Before Profit Alliance, the SP in Ireland has a clear socialist program and is not afraid to call for socialism. Both the SP and the PBPA used to be part of the United Left Alliance before this group was disbanded. Brid Smith of the Irish SWP and PBPA member is standing against Paul Murphy in Dublin, a very stupid move by the SWP to split the vote between Brid Smith and Paul Murphy. There is now a good change that Murphy loses his seat in the European Parliament because both Brid Smith and he are fighting on a anti-austerity platform. 

Both the Socialist Party in Ireland and the Socialist Workers Party are the biggest parties on the radical left. Even the Communist Party of Ireland is smaller then the SP and SWP. The Irish SWP was founded in 1971 and was called the Socialist Workers Movement. They supported Tony Cliff, a British anti-Stalinist revolutionary socialist and creator of the state-capitalist theocracy. Cliff believed that the USSR and China under Mao Zedong were state-capitalist in nature and not degenerated or deformed workers states!

After the collapse of the USSR and stalinism, the Socialist Workers Movement changed its name to Socialist Workers Party and became a independent political party. However unlike the Socialist Party, the SWP never calls direct for socialism or the rule of workers. Many in the SWP say that socialism was discredited by the stalinists and that fighting for socialism would mean political suicide. They follow the pattern of the ruling class, who after 1990 have said that socialism cannot work and must no longer be used by politicians to change the world!

Like the British SWP the Irish SWP has been criticized for its sectarianism and its support for Islamists. Although revolutionary socialists oppose hatred of Islam and antisemitism, we reject the idea that workers can work with Islamists. The supporters of Islamism are a danger to the working class as much as fundamentalist Christians and Zionist Jews are. Islamists want to build a Caliphate and the absolute rule of Muslims. Zionist Jews struggle to keep Israel a Jewish state, many radical Zionists hate Muslims. Because of the anti-Muslim hysteria since 9/11, many socialists have rallied to defend the rights of Muslims, but the SWP has collaborated with Islamic groups who fight for the establishment of a Islamic state. 

Now Brid Smith has been selected to run as candidate for the People Before Profit Alliance. She claims to fight against austerity which is good. But the PBPA is not running on a socialist platform, Brid Smith is not calling for the nationalization of the means of production under a democratic planned economy. She is not calling for a socialist Ireland in a socialist Europe. Paul Murphy of the Socialist Party has always fought in the European Parliament for socialism. He rejected free trade deals with corrupt Latin American states like Columbia. He stood up for Chinese and Korean workers who are exploited by European capitalists. Murphy is a very good fighter for socialism, Brid Smith should support him instead of trying to beat him!

There are many pro-capitalist candidates in this European election. You have liberals, social liberals, social democrats, leftist nationalists, rightist nationalists, conservatives, radical Christians and old style communists ( stalinists ). The Socialist Party is fighting in both the EU parliament and the Irish Dáil Éireann ( Parliament ). Joe Higgins has been elected a member of the Dáil Éireann in 2011 and gave his seat in the European Parliament to Paul Murphy. It would be a great lose for workers if Murphy is not able to get re-elected, because Brid Smith split the anti-austerity vote. She is standing at 6% in the polls in Dublin, Paul Murphy stands at 7%. If all anti-austerity voters would vote for Murphy he would get at least 13%. But now Brid Smith is splitting this vote, reducing the chance to re-elect a genuine socialist fighter to the European parliament!

Revolutionary Socialist Media calls on Dublin workers to reject Fine Gael, Labour, Fianna Fáil and the leftist-nationalist Sinn Féin. We say vote for Paul Murphy. Brid Smith is a principal fighter against austerity, but she is not offering a socialist program. This is why a vote on Paul Murphy is a vote for a working class fighter that money cannot buy!

Dublin workers, VOTE PAUL MURPHY

Paul Murphy fighting against ''free trade deals'' with Colombia!

Afganistan, Iraq and Libya on fire thanks to American imperialism

Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya are on fire, these nations are torn apart by civil wars, all because U.S imperialism wanted to force democracy on them. The first nation to be invaded by the American imperialist machine was Afghanistan, a state in conflict since 1978. Islamic rebels were paid by the USA to fight the Stalinist atheists of the People's Democratic Party, who took control of the nation in 1978. By 1992 the Islamic rebels triumphed over the secular Afghans, but soon a civil war broke out between moderate Islamists and radical Islamists. The USA invaded Afghanistan in 2001 and gave power to the moderate Islamists who enforce Islamic dogma and theocratic laws. Iraq was controlled by the Arab-Socialist Ba'ath Party of Saddam Hussein, a brutal dictator aided by the USA to fight the Shia-Islamic Iranians. After Saddam invaded Kuwait the Americans turned against him and in 2003, the Bush government removed Saddam Hussein from power. 11 years later, Iraq is still a failed state. The infrastructure is not rebuild, there is almost no fresh drinking water and sectarian Islamic groups keep fighting each other. The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya was ruled by the Gaddafi clan since 1969. A ''terrorist'' state until 2003, Gaddafi's Libya became a strange ally of George W Bush in the fight against Islamic terrorism. In 2011, the Libyan people rose up and with NATO support drove Gaddafi out. Unfortunate the removal of Gaddafi started sectarian conflicts between many militia's who were created to fight the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. In May 2014, the State of Libya is a failed state, the most failed of all three nations affected by U.S Imperialism. Three years after the murder of Gaddafi, Libya is a very unstable nation. Americans in their stupidity believed they could bring democracy to these nations. They only succeeded in one thing. The new regimes who rule these states are pro-capitalist and have begun with privatizations and deregulation. So American imperialism still wins and the people lose!

Vietnamese nationalism

There is a conflict between two state-capitalist dictatorships. Both who claim to be socialist, but in reality are hard-core nationalist nations, who fuel ethnic hatred against each other.  The ''Socialist'' Republic of Vietnam and the ''People's'' Republic of China have never been close friends. Chinese and Vietnamese are two ethnic groups who's history of intolerance goes back long before the Cold War and stalinism. The Chinese Empire used to control northern Vietnam at different times in history, making the Chinese a occupation force. Vietnamese nationalists have always hated the Chinese. Even Ho Chi Minh allied with the French colonialists, to prevent Chinese nationalist forces from entering Vietnam in 1945. Now both nations are again in conflict, nationalists in Vietnam have attack Chinese owned shops, killed 15 ethnic Chinese. Many Vietnamese hate China because it is drilling for oil in a sea that is claimed by Vietnam. Angry Vietnamese nationalists have shown us again how dangerous nationalism is!

The struggle of Ho Chi Minh was always a nationalist one, he admitted this by saying ''it was nationalism that drove me, not communism''. This is true, because proletarian internationalism was never enforced by the leadership of the Workers Party of Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh. By 1946, the Japanese imperialists were defeated and Indochina was split in three nations. The Kingdom of Cambodia and the Kingdom of Laos became monarchist states, while Vietnam became a French puppet state with the name State of Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh and his League for the Independence of Vietnam allied themselves with the French in 1945, to prevent 200.000 Chinese nationalists from entering Vietnam to disarm the Japanese. However they soon realized that the old colonialists never wanted independence for Vietnam. So in 1946 the First Indochina War began, which lasted until 1954!

Nationalism drove the Vietnamese into the arms of Ho Chi Minh. Many young peasants joined with the Viet Minh to fight the French colonialists and their collaborators. Between 175.000 and 300.000 Vietnamese nationalists died during these nine years of conflict. The French lost 75.000 troops and the nations Cambodia and Laos 18.000. After losing so many soldiers, the French decided to abandon Indochina in 1954. But they would only leave if Cambodia and Laos remained monarchist and South Vietnam had to become a capitalist state. Ho Chi Minh agreed and although many nationalists opposed it, Vietnam was divided!

Because Ho Chi Minh agreed to split the nation, he lost the support of many radical nationalists inside the Politburo of the Workers Party of Vietnam. Although Ho became president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, he was outmatched by the radical nationalists who decided to create the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam ( NLF ). Unlike Mao Zedong in China, Ho never held absolute political power. He was portrayed as absolute leader by the propaganda of the communist party, but in reality he was very moderate in both speech and lifestyle. Still he oversaw very cruel land reforms that killed many innocent land owners. Today it is estimated that 71% of all victims were innocent and only killed because they owned land!

Vietnamese nationalism rose very high when the USA replaced the French as foreign imperialists. The Americans used the Gulf of Tonkin incident to send soldiers to Vietnam. A year earlier the military of South Vietnam staged a coup that killed dictator Ngô Đình Diệm. This autocratic president took power in 1955 and led South Vietnam until the military turned against him. Many today believe that the Americans were behind the coup, as the CIA played a large role in brining the South Vietnamese military to power. After this was accomplished, the USA used the incident at the Gulf of Tonkin to send troops to the south, to fight the National Liberation Front or Viet Cong as they were called by the anticommunist media!

The USA lost more then 50.000 soldiers in Vietnam between 1964 and 1973. After many protests against the war, president Richard Nixon was forced to abandon South Vietnam. Although armed with superior weapons, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam collapsed to the might of the NLF and People's Army of Vietnam ( North Vietnam ). On 30 April 1975, soldiers from North Vietnam under NLF flag entered the southern capital of Saigon. With the capitulation of South Vietnam, both nations were reunited as the ''Socialist'' Republic of Vietnam in 1976!

For the first time in almost 100 years, Vietnam was independent both politically and economically. However the new Stalinist state was totalitarian and very bureaucratic. Like all states who base themselves on the single party system, the ruling communist party was the only party allowed to rule. Until 1988 there were other political parties active in Vietnam, but they were forced to be part of the Vietnamese Fatherland Front. Two political parties worked with Ho Chi Minh's party, the Democratic Party of Vietnam and the Socialist Party of Vietnam. But they were never allowed to criticize the ruling communist party and those who did were soon silenced!

China and Vietnam became political enemies over Cambodia. This nation used to be a monarchy until right-wing republicans created the Khmer Republic in 1970. The new republic was very unstable and challenged by the Red Khmer led by Saloth Sar or Pol Pot as he was called. Saloth Sar led the Communist Party of Kampuchea, a very closed and secretive party who's leadership believed in secrecy. By 1975 the forces of Saloth Sar were able to defeat the right-wing republican government and created Democratic Kampuchea. Saloth Sar became Brother 1 known as Pol Pot. However unlike Ho Chi Minh, Pol Pot was a radical Khmer nationalist with a deep hatred for Vietnamese. Khmer nationalism was the driving force behind the Communist Party of Kampuchea as Vietnamese nationalism was to Ho Chi Minh. Pol Pot hated the Vietnamese because of ancient racial hatred between ethnic Khmer and ethnic Vietnamese!

Mao Zedong supported Pol Pot against the moderate Stalinist government of Vietnam. When the government of the ''Socialist'' Republic of Vietnam took side in the Sino-Soviet conflict, Beijing cut off relations with Hanoi. After Mao died in 1976, his successors remained supportive to Pol Pot who started to attack Vietnamese towns and villages. Although Vietnam was able to drive the Red Khmer out, Hanoi soon had enough of Pol Pot's racism. On 25 December 1978, 120.000 Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia to end the rule of Pol Pot. What they discovered was a massacre. The Red Khmer had murdered at least 1,5 million Cambodians, some claim that 3 million died between April 1975 and December 1978!

Pol Pot fled into the jungle were he died in 1998. Vietnam installed a puppet government called the People's Republic of Kampuchea which was never recognized by the international community. Pol Pot's diplomats were allowed to remain in the United Nations until 1993, when the UN took political power in Cambodia and transformed it back to the current corrupt monarchy. Vietnam was international isolated by the United States of America and the western world. Like Cuba, an economic embargo was put in place to keep Vietnam poor. Only the Soviet-Union was able to provide some materials, but this could not help the Vietnamese economy. After only 11 years under a planned economy, the rulers of the ''Socialist'' Republic of Vietnam started with capitalist experiments!

After Vietnam invaded Cambodia, the Chinese wanted to teach the Vietnamese a lesson. On 17 February 1979, 400.000 soldiers from the People's Liberation Army entered Vietnam. However like the French and Americans, the Chinese underestimated the Vietnamese who rallied against the Chinese invader. After a month of heavy fighting, the Chinese retreated back to their borders. Although both China and Vietnam claimed victory, its became clear that that the PLA was not able to conquer Hanoi. The People's Army of Vietnam was able to hold the mighty People's Liberation Army at bay. The number of casualties is unknown as both sides use the war as propaganda. China claims to have lost only 8.000 soldiers while Vietnam said they lost 62.000 soldiers!

Both ''socialist'' nations are still led by old ethnic mistrust. China is drilling for oil in the South-Chinese Sea, causing massive anger in Vietnam. Vietnamese nationalists use the drilling as proof that China does not respect Vietnam. In May 2014, a nationalist demonstration against China ended in a rampage. Vietnamese nationalists destroyed factories and shops owned by Chinese, Taiwanese and even Koreans. The state-capitalist government of Vietnam gave these nationalists permission to demonstrate, but was unable to stop them from destroying property. The PRC claims the Vietnamese government did nothing to stop these nationalist vandals from rampaging Chinese business. 20 people have been killed including 15 ethnic Chinese. 600 nationalists have been arrested!

Chinese and Vietnamese nationalists hate each other, both use the banner of their ''socialist'' nations, two reds flags with yellow stars turned against each other in deep ethnic hatred. This ethnic hatred is fuelled by both pseudo-communist parties who rule China and Vietnam. Now that capitalism has been restored, only nationalism can legitimise the ruling party bosses. Both China and Vietnam are using nationalism as a tool to keep the population in line. These nationalist demonstrations are used as distraction from the fact that both Chinese and Vietnamese governments are deeply corrupt, unpopular and capitalistic. They still wave with red flags and sing revolutionary anthems, but those governments are not socialist nor tools of the working class!

Vietnamese nationalism is used by the ''Communist'' Party of Vietnam as much as Chinese nationalism is used by the Chinese ''Communist'' Party. Both parties are supposed to oppose nationalism and ethnic hatred. But Stalinist degeneration turned the communist parties away from Marxist socialism into nationalist state-capitalism. This is the true ideology of the ''Communist'' Party of Vietnam, nationalist state-capitalism. Revolutionary socialists reject it and call Vietnamese workers to rise up and overthrow the traitorous ''Communist'' Party of Vietnam!

Vô sản toàn thế giới, liên hiệp lại!, 

vô sản các nước, đoàn kết lại!

全世界無產者聯合起來！

Vietnamese nationalists with the red flag of Vietnam

against the red flag of China, which they hate!

European elections, vote against austerity

On 22 May 2014, people across Europe are allowed to vote for the European parliament. 766 MEP's are up for re-election including the only genuine fighter for workers and poor: Paul Murphy. He replaced Joe Higgins in 2011 after Joe was elected into the Irish parliament for the Socialist Party. Murphy is a young man, but he has proven himself to be a working class fighter. His opponents call him ''outdated'' and ''dangerous'', but Paul Murphy is the only true working class vote for Irish workers. In the UK, workers should vote for the No2EU coalition. Socialists and trade unionists created this coalition in 2009 to oppose the European Union and to fight austerity. Unfortunate in other European nations, there are almost no socialist candidates to choose. Workers are left to vote either on pro-capitalist social democrats or the main parties of capitalism, including liberals, conservatives and far-fight nationalists!

The European Union is not a union of people's, but a union in serve of capitalism. In 1992, the European Community decided to create a political and economic union. Out of these talks came the European Union or EU. The treaty of Maastricht led to the birth of the EU, it also led to the creation of the euro currency. One of the obligations of the treaty for the members was to keep sound fiscal policies, with debt limited to 60% of GDP and annual deficits no greater than 3% of GDP. Only France, Denmark and Ireland held referendums on Maastricht ratification. The Danish people reject it with 51%, so Denmark was not obliged to participate in the third phase of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, meaning they did not changed their national currency to the euro in 2002!

The goals of the new union was to create a common market economy in Europe. By removing national laws on trade, the European Union became a free trade zone in which capitalists could easy transfer money, people and products. Although the EU created this common market and free trade between European nations, nothing was done to change income inequality. Workers from Southern Europe were still paid less then workers from Northern Europe. Right-wing political parties say that national governments must enforce austerity politics, in order to lure capitalist enterprises to their nations. But after Poland and Eastern Europe joined the EU, many capitalists moved their production work out of Western Europe. Workers in Poland earn an average wage of 681 euro's a month, in Romania and Bulgaria workers earn even lesser. Average wage in Romania is only 395 euro's a month. Bulgarian workers earn 330 euro's a month on average. This is why capitalists moved their production work to these cheap labour nations. A worker in the Netherlands, France and Scandinavia costs about five times the wage of a Bulgarian worker!

On the political level the European Union is not a pure democracy. Although it has a parliament, the true decision makers are concentrated into the European Commission. This commission is not elected by the European Parliament. Leader of the European Commission since 22 November 2002 is José Manuel Barroso, a former Maoist revolutionary now turned Christian conservative. Barroso acts as the face of the European Union. He is the man who enforces right-wing austerity plans on Greece and other European nations, who are in deep problems because of economic mismanagement by their ruling class and political leaders!

Revolutionary socialists reject the EU because it was created as a capitalist economic union. The European Union is portrayed as something for Europeans, but in reality it only serves businesses. Most European nations still have their own social security system which is superior in Northern Europe and almost none-existing in Eastern Europe. Workers are very good protected in Scandinavian nations, but left to the mercy of their employers in Eastern Europe. Workers in France are paid on average 2.100 euro's after taxes. Compare this to nations like Croatia were workers are paid 700 euro's. Romania and Bulgaria are the nations with the lowest average wage. Workers rights are often violated in these nations, because those governments are very pro-capitalist. After 40 years of living under Stalinist rule, many East European workers still have difficulties working under market demands. Because of low wages and poverty, many young workers choose to leave Eastern Europe to find their luck in Western European nations. East European workers face discriminated and racial hatred by West Europeans, who are mislead into thinking that East Europeans would steal their jobs!

Capitalists in Western Europe profit from Polish, Bulgarian and Romanian workers. After arriving in Western European nations, these foreign workers are then put to work under bad conditions. But the capitalist bosses do not care, they make millions of euro's while their workers are forced to work long hours for wages common in their homeland. In the Netherlands the minimum wage for 40 hours of work is 1.400 euro's a month before taxes. But many capitalists pay their foreign ''guest'' workers much less. Because many capitalist bosses use intimidation tactics and because many need money for their families, few dare to fight against the exploitation of their labour. This is classic capitalist exploitation, hiring foreign workers and paying them below the national minimum wage line, in order to increase profits!

Joe Higgins, a revolutionary socialist from Ireland fought against the capitalist bosses of GAMA Endustri. This enterprise used Turkish workers and paid them below the Irish minimum wage. He and others claimed that many Irish companies were exploiting foreign workers and in some cases, not paying overtime rates. In March 2005, Higgins and a delegation of Turkish ex-employees of GAMA Endustri, travelled to Amsterdam where they discovered that GAMA had been secreting up to 30 million euro's in unpaid wages!

This is what the European Union is allowing. Therefore we revolutionary socialists reject the European Union. We want another Europe, a socialist Europe united by workers not by capitalists. On 22 May, Irish workers must re-elected Paul Murphy for the Socialist Party in Ireland. British workers must vote on the No2EU coalition to protect workers in Britain against EU austerity. In other European nations, workers should vote on socialist/communist political parties that reject the EU. Unfortunate many right-wing nationalists are able to profit from the fact that many nations lack genuine workers parties. Social democratic and old labour parties are offering no alternatives, as they fully support the EU and José Manuel Barroso!

The far-right in France, the Netherlands and Hungary is growing. Front National ( France ), the Party for Freedom ( Netherlands ) and Jobbink ( Hungary ) benefit from the massive anger against EU enforced austerity. Because the political left-wing is not offering socialist alternative, many workers turn towards charismatic right-wing leaders like Geert Wilders ( PVV ), Marine Le Pen ( Front National ) and Gábor Vona ( Jobbik ). In the Netherlands, Islamic Moroccans are hated by the nationalists of the PVV. Wilders called recently for ''Less Moroccans'' in the Netherlands. Marine Le Pen still fights the battles of her father; Jean Marrie Le Pen, for a white dominated France. Right-wing nationalism in Hungary has grown since the collapse of the Stalinist; People's Republic of Hungary. Ethnic minorities are blamed for high crime rates and poverty, caused by capitalist exploitation of Hungarians. Jobbik supporters have shown their hatred of Jews as well, Gábor Vona called them a ''danger to national security''!

Revolutionary socialists for a socialist Europe. A Europe under control of workers councils. Some socialist political parties believe that they can build a more human and social society in their own nations, win out Europe. These parties are still mislead by the Stalinist concept of socialism in one nation. Capitalism however is internationalist and therefore socialism must be internationalist. The problem is that many socialist and communist parties are still trapped in this Stalinist believe, that you can build a fair society inside your own borders. Workers of Europe must unite under the banner of a genuine democratic; European Socialist Federation. A voluntary federation supported by a majority of all European workers. Because the current EU is not voluntary created, there were never referendums in all European nations in 1992, only France, Denmark and Ireland held referendums on the ratification of the Maastricht treaty!

On 22 May we call for a leftist socialist vote against the European Union, for a socialist Europe under the control of ordinary people not bankers and unelected commissioners. Far-right forces are gathering strength, because the left-wing is lacking socialist ideals. Ireland shows us that a genuine Socialist Party can elect its people into parliaments. Therefore Paul Murphy must be re-elected into the European parliament as a fighter for workers and young people, against capitalism and European austerity!

 REJECT THESE RIGHT-WING LEADERS! 

South African elections, VOTE WASP

National elections in South Africa, the first after the death of Nelson Mandela. His African National Congress still enjoy's the support from the majority of the working class and will likely win again. But the party is slowly losing support, because after 20 years of ANC rule the working class has not become the masters of the South African economy. ANC leaders are not popular but because of the historic struggle against Apartheid, many voters still feel loyalty to the party of Nelson Mandela. There are two new leftist opposition parties to the ruling African National Congress. The Economic Freedom Fighters and the Workers and Socialist Party. Both the EFF and the WASP fight against the capitalist system, yet both parties have a different view of socialism and the way to reach it!

When we look at the Economic Freedom Fighters and the Workers and Socialist Party, we already see a major difference. The EFF is build up like an army, its leader called ''Commander in Chief'' and his supporters wear military style uniforms. Julius Sello Malema is the ''Commander in Chief'' of the Economic Freedom Fighters. He founded this political ''movement'' in august 2013, after he was expelled from the African National Congress for his opposition to the government of Jacob Zuma. Also as leader of the ANC youth, he held radical racial viewpoints as he called for a South Africa for blacks only!

Malema is also a supporter of Robert Mugabe, the dictator of Zimbabwe. Like Mugabe, the ''Commander in Chief'' of the EFF has been called a black supremacist. In 2011, Malema was convicted of hate speech by a South African court, a proof that he cannot be trusted. Yet the Economic Freedom Fighters support their ''Commander in Chief'' unconditionally. The official ideology of the EFF is a mixture of Marxism-Leninism ( Stalinist tradition ), black nationalism, anti-imperialism and Pan-Africanism. Because so many black workers are poor, the EFF is able to recruit many young blacks. They are true believers in what Julius Sello Malema is saying. Revolutionary socialists say that Malema's EFF is not a socialist alternative. The EFF is a top-down military-style movement. Their icons are leaders ( like Mugabe ) who are no alternative for workers and poor people. Leaders who are authoritarian and dictatorial, such people are no icons for workers to look up to!

The Workers and Socialist Party was not founded by one man. It was created by mine workers and members of the Democratic Socialist Movement. After the ANC and their puppet trade unions told the police to open fire on striking mine workers, many realized that the ANC was no longer the party of the working class. Striking committees and members of the DSM decided to build a new party for workers, a party on a socialist program. The Workers and Socialist Party has selected Moses Mayekiso to be its candidate for the upcoming presidential elections. Mayekiso joined the African National Congress in 1990 and became a central committee member of the South African Communist Party ( SACP ). He was part of the welcoming committee for Nelson Mandela's 1990 release from Victor Verster prison. Mayekiso now stands in opposition to the ANC and SACP because they betrayed the original socialist principals, on which the struggle against Apartheid was founded!

For this election, the WASP stands on the following principals! 

• Scrap the ANC’s neo-liberal National Development Plan – for a democratic socialist plan of production and development!

• Nationalisation under democratic working class and community control, the mines, the banks, the commercial farms, the big factories and big businesses– compensation only in cases of proven need (e.g. small shareholders and pension investments)

• Integrate all nationalised industry into a democratic socialist plan of production whose priority is the social needs of the majority not the private wealth of the elite!

• For a living minimum wage of 12.500 ZAR a month ( 1.142 U.S. dollars )

• To end labour broking, make all contract workers permanent!

• To end all retrenchments; re-employ all retrenched mineworkers with experience 
recognised!

• Massive investment in mining communities to provide decent housing, electrification, sanitation, roads, recreational facilities and other basic services for all!

• Struggle for the nationalisation of 100% of the mining industry immediately and place it under democratic worker and community control integrated into a society-wide democratic socialist plan of production!

These demands are rejected by the capitalist ANC, because they would ''harm'' the competitive nature of South African capitalists. But this is exactly what the ANC has done for the last 20 years, supporting the markets over workers, supporting the old white ruling class and new black capitalists. Mine workers have rejected the government of Jacob Zuma, the current ANC leader who lives in a luxurious compound, while millions of black workers live in poverty in South Africa. 

A big problem remains the unconditional loyalty of many black workers towards the ANC. They still feel loyalty to a party who has betrayed them since 1994. Even Nelson Mandela carried out the demands of the white ruling class and the IMF between 1994 and 1999. His successor Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki was a true capitalist politician. Under Mandela the ANC government was only moderate capitalist, but Mbeki completed the transformation of the African National Congress into a bourgeois capitalist party. Although Jacob Zuma was called more leftist then Mbeki, it proofed to be another ANC election stunt. Jacob Zuma plays the role of a populist during elections, but rules as a corrupt capitalist leader!

Many whites in South Africa vote on the Democratic Alliance ( DA ). This party is founded in 2000 and came out of the Democratic Party, the liberal democratic opposition to the racist; National Party. The DA is a liberal centrist party, fully supportive of capitalism and the rule of the markets. Unlike the ANC who still claims to be a leftist people's party, the Democratic Alliance always has been a party for the bourgeoisie. Leader of the DA is Otta Helene "Helen" Zille, a white anti-Apartheid fighter and mayor of Cape Town between 2006 and 2009!

A party who split from the ANC is the Congress of the People or COPE. The party split from the ANC in 2008 and got 7,24% in the last elections. But COPE is promoting capitalism and disavowed itself from any connection to Marxist socialism. The so called Congress of the People has also indicated that it would be willing to ally itself with the Democratic Alliance, the main liberal party of South Africa. This is why they are offering no alternatives, as COPE is just as capitalist as the ANC!

The Inkatha Freedom Party is a conservative party. Founded and led since 1975, by Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the Inkatha Freedom Party rejected the leftist ANC during the struggle against Apartheid. The party allied itself with the Apartheid government, because Buthelezi was a Homeland leader and depended on the South African state and economy. His IFP and the ANC became bitter rivals during and after the end of Apartheid. Today the IFP can be called a conservative party that supports federalism!

Revolutionary socialists call for a vote on the Workers and Socialist Party. The Economic Freedom Fighters of Julius Sello Malema may attract many young and poor voters, but their top-down movement and elements of black nationalism will alienated white workers. Also Malema cannot be trusted as a revolutionary leader. He faces charges of tax evasion to the tune of 16 million ZAR after it was revealed that he was linked to companies that obtained lucrative contracts from locale governments. If the EFF takes power then South Africa will become a top-down centralized state, much like Zimbabwe. Malema may nationalize the economy, but a bureaucratic planned economy cannot work. You need workers self-management and decentralize planning. These elements are alien to Julius Sello Malema, who rules the EFF as ''Commander in Chief''.  

The Workers and Socialist Party offers a genuine democratic socialist alternative. WASP politicians ( if elected ) will live on a average workers salary and donate the rest to social movements. They will stand for a socialist South Africa, free from capitalist exploitation and poverty. Unlike the EFF we do not use ethnic nationalist rhetoric or praise dictatorial leaders. The Workers and Socialist Party is a workers party, build by mine workers and socialist activists!

We call on South African workers 
to vote on the WASP!

Capitalist greed leads to deaths

Capitalist greed is said to be part of the human way of thinking. According to those who own our media and our economy. The media ( owned by capitalists ) spread this lie since capitalism was created. Those who oppose the dogma's of greed are called ''stupid'' or ''communist scum''. When revolutionary socialists talk about the evil of capitalism, supporters of the markets react by saying that ''communist'' states killed more people then capitalism. A classic lie used to put the crimes of Stalinist governments on the shoulders of Marxists. Although stalinism killed a lot of innocent people many victims died because of economic mismanagement. We can look at the Soviet famine of 1932 caused by Stalin or Mao's Great Leap Forward. Stalinist collectivization's has indeed caused deaths, but death at the hands of capitalist greed is far more common!

In a classic capitalist state the money rules, this is called a plutocracy it defines a society or a system ruled and dominated by the small minority of the wealthiest citizens. The United States of America is a plutocracy, as all political power is centralized into two capitalist political parties. Both the Democratic Party and Republican Party fight for power. Millions of dollars are used to fight each-others opponent, but in the end both parties support the demands of Wall Street and the American capitalist class. Elections in the USA are all about show, a giant entertainment show used to portray the USA as a democracy. We see this in North Korea too, were massive propaganda is used to brainwash the people into believing their nation is socialist. In a way the Americans and North Koreans do not differ so much. Both nations are led by corrupt and greedy people!

History is filled with examples of people dying because profits were put before safety. A classic example of this is the sinking of the RMS Titanic in April 1912. The Titanic and her sister-ship the RMS Olympic were build to carry 2.200 passengers and crew. However the ship only carried lifeboats for 1.200 people. Safety regulations were outdated because ship companies like the White Star Line, Cunard Line, Hamburg-America Line and the Norddeutscher Lloyd were in a competitive race. No national government decided to update the regulations, because the transatlantic market was a huge source for profits. The owners of Titanic and Olympic also believed that more lifeboats on the boat-deck, would be a hinder for rich first class passengers. So the number lifeboats was matched to the outdated regulations. 1.500 people had to die first before the rules were changed!

Capitalism always puts profits before human safety. Alaska Airlines Flight 261 went down in January 2000, because of poor maintenance on the MD-80 aircraft. The company ordered the ground crew to limit maintenance checks, to keep the aircraft flying longer. Capitalist greed resulted in the deaths of 88 people, when a vital component of the tail broke sending the aircraft into a spiral. Had there been more maintenance checks this crash could have been prevented. But Alaska Airlines wanted to keep its profits high, so they kept the aircraft flying often!

South Korea is also a plutocracy. When we look at this Asian nation we think to see a modern democratic state, but this is just a show. Under all those modern buildings lies a system of deep political conservatism with classic capitalist greed, which puts profits before safety. Capitalists hate it when governments tell them follow safety regulations. In South Korea the government has always been on the side of those who own businesses. Since 1948, the Republic of Korea has been ruled by pro-capitalist leaders. Dictator Syngman Rhee ruled with iron fist, but was forced out of office by massive protests in 1960. South Korea then became a military dictatorship until 1987. After the end of the Cold War, the Korean ruling class allowed more freedom of speech, but only for those who supported the Republic of Korea and the capitalist system! 

Korean Air is the airliner of South Korea. Between 1970 and 1999 they lost 16 planes with the loss of over 700 lives. The airliner was very unsafe because the government of South Korea did not enforced strict safety regulations, this allowed the airliner to put profits before safety. In 1969, Korean Air became a private enterprise and was sold to the Hanjin Group, a powerful capitalist holding company. Like most Asian capitalists, the owners of Hanjin wanted nothing more but high profits. Since the government of South Korea remains a tool of them, regulations are often ignored. This led to another ship disaster, which caused the death of many school childern.

The MV Sewol was a Japanese build ferry and owned by the Cheonghaejin Marine Company, who renovated the ship in 2012. Modifications included adding extra passenger cabins on the third, fourth and fifth decks, raising the passenger capacity by 181 and increasing the weight of the ship by 239 tons. After the ship was checked by the government, it was giving the green light to start carrying passengers and cargo to the islands of southern Korea. Unfortunate the renovations caused a change in the balance of the MV Sewol. On 16 April 2014, the ship made a sudden turn to port and capsized. On board were 476 people including many school children. It took two hours for the ship to sink, however after only 30 minutes the list to port was so heavy that walking became impossible. Because the captain had ordered all passengers to their carbines, many were trapped as the ship turned over! 

293 died on 16 April 2014 as the MV Sewol capsized and sank. 174 were saved from the water by Korean Coast Guard ships and helicopters. To blame for this disaster is partly the crew, who did not ordered an evacuation until the list to port was too heavy. The captain never ordered the life-rafts to be deployed, he saved himself by leaving his ship while 300 people remained on board. Many South Koreans blame the government, because they failed to safe the children. But revolutionary socialists blame the government for allowing a ship to sail that was out of balance and overweight. The MV Sewol did not sink because she made water, she capsized because of a sudden turn to port. Ships are build not to capsize, yet the MV Sewol did capsize in a very calm sea!

Although safety regulations have been improved since the days of the military dictatorship, many say that the South Korean government is still not strict enough in enforcing these regulations. This is because the government is capitalist and supports the system of greed and exploitation. Safety regulations means more costs and more costs means less profits for the owners of businesses. Many big corporations hate regulations, because they limits their profits. If workers and their family are to die, the capitalists don't care. They only start to care when the population turns against them!

700 people died because Korean Air was unsafe between 1970 and 1999. The airline has improved its image and is now considered save. But many capitalist enterprises in South Korea care very little about safety regulations. When they are exposed they will apologize and many will beg for mercy, by then it will be too late and people will have died. So we ask, how many are to be killed? How many more lives are to be ruined before governments do what they should do, to take care of people? Unfortunate revolutionary socialists know that a capitalist government will always put the needs of the ruling class before that of the working class. Because the capitalists make money, politicians dance at their feets. Bullshit.....we workers create the wealth of this world. Yet only 85 billionaires own more money then 3,5 billion people all together. Now with the economic crisis, the capitalist governments want to deregulate more markets, giving more power to corporations and capitalist greed. This has to stop, we must put an end to capitalism and to those who put profits before everything. Socialism puts people before profits and our safety first. We need a new economic system!

But the ruling class is very smart. They use workers against workers, by brainwashing people with lies the capitalists manage to keep their right-wing politicians in power. This works very well in conservative societies like South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. Although these nations are democracies, the working class has been drilled to support capitalist rulers. It has very much to do with tolerance. Most of these societies are hostile to progressive ideals, we see this in South Korea. In the Republic of Korea ( south ), supporters of socialism still face discrimination and harassment. The conservative South Korean government has jailed many leftists and uses the National Security Law to arrest Koreans, who reject the ruling class and capitalism. These leftists are then denounced as North Korean ''sympathizers'' and ''enemies of the free democratic nation''!

The lack of workers parties also limits the class consciousness of workers. Japan has a communist party, but this party is very moderate and lacks a genuine socialist program. In South Korea, any party based on Marxist socialism is banned and Taiwan only legalized a communist party in 2008, after banning Marxist socialism for 50 years. Building socialism in strict conservative societies is difficult, because these societies lack tolerance and respect for ideals that oppose theirs. So each year we hear about people dying because of capitalist greed. As long as this outdated and unfair economic system rules this planet, many more lives will be destroyed!

Socialists fight for an alternative to capitalism!