Global capital versus the working class

The workers of the world are being attacked by global capital. The fruits of past movements are being lost. Workers are facing severe wage-cuts, retrenchment and casualisation. They are feeling uncertainty about whether their job will be retained or not. Against the onslaught of global capital workers are waging a resistance movement in different countries. The government in France was compelled to step back due to the huge resistance movement of the workers in December 1995. In spite of the resistance movement of the workers of South Korea, Britain, Germany, France, Mexico, Australia, the progress of global capital has been retained. Till now no effective resistance movement has been waged. The movements are not aimed at the future but to retain the past.

In the face of global capital the working class is helpless on the national plane. The resistance movement should be organised to destroy global capital. For this act the working class must be organised as an international class. The task of communists is to organize workers for the aim of a borderless, classless world society. 19th century proletarian revolutionary theory must be developed and placed among the working class.

The revolutions of the 20th century could not abolish wage slavery. They only improved the condition of the slaves within wage slavery. Through the Russian and Chinese revolutions state-capital versus wage–labour was established in place of private-capital versus wage-labour. The development of capital took place within this relation but in the end, under the leadership of the international bourgeoisie, private (global) capital versus wage labour was re-established.

The 20th century revolutions were united revolutions of the working class and the petty bourgeoisie against the alliance of the bourgeoisie and the feudal lords. After the overthrow of the bourgeoisie and the landlords, the rule of the petty bourgeoisie was established. The petty bourgeoisie was transformed into a ruling class and was thereby converted into a state capitalist class. State capitalism was established in place of private capitalism and feudalism. Feudalism was totally abolished.

Just after the 2nd world war, the petty bourgeoisie of West Europe also converted to a state capitalist class. State-capital developed by using the weapon of socialism. The bourgeoisie retreated for a while. The behaviour of the Communists changed with the development of state-capital and started an alienation from the working class.

State ownership became a hindrance to the further flourishing and expansion of social production. The conflict of national ownership (state ownership) with the international production that developed began to take the shape of a conflict between the state and the people, between the ruling party and the mass, between the established leadership and the working class. In the end state ownership began to be fragmented. Private ownership again came back again but in the form of global capital. International capital converted to global capital. The global bourgeoisie was given the leadership in the conflict between the state capitalist class and the people. History at present is in the age of global capitalism.

History has followed the law of the negation of the negation to reach this stage. Owing to the first negation of private capitalism, state capitalism came into being. State or national ownership originated from the conflict between national production and private ownership. In history state ownership was seen as socialism. Private ownership again came back due to second negation -- of state ownership. The private capitalism of the past has developed into the global capitalism of today. The bourgeoisie of the past organised production on the national plane. The present bourgeoisie is organising production on the international to global plane.

With the change of capitalism, the revolutionary theory of the working class changed. 19th century revolutionary theory was negated in the 20th century. According to 19th century revolutionary theory, the socialist revolution in a single country is impossible. This revolution will take place at first in West Europe and North America simultaneously, then in other countries. The socialist revolution in the backward countries is impossible without the prior revolution of West Europe.

The 20th century revolutionary theory was that the socialist revolution will take place in one or several countries first. This revolution in a single country is possible. The socialist revolution in a backward country is possible without a West European country revolution. The Russian and Chinese revolutions took place according to this theory.

And the theory regarding the proletarian state and socialist society has been changed. According to the previous theory class division, commodity and money are not present in the socialist society. But as per the later theory these are present in socialist society. The post- revolutionary state of Russia and China has been seen as a proletarian state without any semblance with Paris Commune type of state. According to previous theory, a working class state is not possible without destroying the bureaucracy and standing army. But this is possible according to the later theory. According to previous theory, the transition to socialist society takes
place only though the dictatorship of the working class. According to the later theory, this is also takes place through democratic dictatorship of the people (proletariat and peasantry).

So it is evident that the theory of proletarian revolution has been negated. History is demanding now to return back the previous theory (the 19th century theory of proletarian revolution) in the developed form by the second negation -- of the 20th century theory. The working class has to seize power by overthrowing the global bourgeoisie. A global state of working class has to be established. This global state of a Paris Commune type will organise production worldwide to establish a borderless, classless world society.

To mean socialist ownership we are to say the common ownership of the means of production of all nations, that is, worldwide single ownership. The task of communists is to make the working class aware about the necessity of the world socialist revolution to abolish the wage-slavery, to make them aware about the inevitability of the emergence of world socialist society from the conflict between global production and private ownership. The world socialist revolution is inevitable from the contradiction of global capital versus wage-labour. And by this, the whole world will be converted into a single society where there will be no
capital or wage-labour. The emancipated human race will proceed to conquer the system after conquering the Earth.

With the help of Marxist philosophy (dialectical materialism) the revolutionary programme of the working class is to be made on the basis of the international class struggle. Proletarian socialism is to be established by the complete departure from petty bourgeois socialism. The interest of the working class is to be isolated from the interest of the state-capitalist class against global capital. In this stage of
privatisation the working class is to be separately and independently organised. The 20th century revolution implemented the economic programme of the socialist revolution of the 19th century theory but not the political programme. It failed to destroy the bureaucracy and the standing army but only organised it in a new form. After reaching state ownership and joint ownership the revolution was completed.

The foundation of both theories is the same -- the national class struggle (in form). According to both the theories, the state ownership of capital is the highest stage of capitalism. But at present the class struggle has become international in form through an embryonic form. The struggle of the workers against the multinational/transnational corporations is international. Capitalism has gone beyond state ownership and exists in the form of global capitalism. Social production has crossed national boundaries and become international. The system of production and distribution has assumed a global character. The programme of nationalisation is obsolete today. The revolutionary programme of socialisation through nationalisation has been converted into the programme of the petty bourgeois socialist revolution (the people’s democratic revolution). History has clearly notified through the non-occurrence of revolution in West Europe that the significance of the proletarian revolution is more extensive and absolutely a world
revolution.

Sankar Sarkar 2000.

Sarkar is a non -member of the WSM but SOYMB felt it worthwhile to post this article by him . It should be noted that the SPGB never abandoned what Sankar calls "the 19th century revolutionary theory" and never accepted it "negation" (Leninism). And we fully agree that the "19th century" theory is relevant today, but on a global scale.