[2]
This collection contains contributions by scientists of Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, the German Democratic Republic, Mongolia, Poland and the USSR, sums up the vast theoretical and practical experience of the fraternal parties in socialist countries in the field of inter-state relations of the new type, the MarxistLeninist principles of internationalism and the essence of socialist inter-state relations. The national and international aspects of the socialist way of life are examined, as are new trends in the influence exercised by the socialist world system on the revolutionary process. Bourgeois nationalism is anatomized and subjected to criticism.
[3] __TITLE__ Socialist Internationalism:Translated from the Russian by Barry Jones
EDITORIAL BOARD
S. Anghelov (PRB),
General editor
S. 1'etrov (PRB)
A. Szechy (HPR)
J. Kriiger (GDR)
B. Lkhamsuren (MPR)
W. Iskra (PPR)
J. Ladosz (PPR)
A. P. Butcnko (USSR)
Yu. S. Novopashin (USSR)
F. Prikryl (CSSR)
J. Kulganek (CSSR)
AUTHORS' LIST
Introduction---S. Anghelov (PRB). Chapter I: 1---A. P.
Butenko, B. V. Shuvalov; 2---A. P. Butenko; 3---A. V.
Vakhrameyev, M. Kh. Khalmukhamedov (USSR). Chapter II---
A. Virt (HPR), B. M. Pugachev (USSR). Chapter III:
1---Yu. S. Novopashin, D. M. Feldman, 2---D. M. Feldman,
3---Yu. S. Novopashin (USSR). Chapter IV: 1---F. Prikryl,
2---J. Kreichy (CSSR), 3---.4. Szechy (HPR), V. Vankov
(PRB). Chapter V: 1,2---S. Petrov (PRB), 3---A. V.
Vakhrameyev, A. O. Lapshin (URSS). Chapter VI: 1---/.
Kriiger (GDR), 1---V. Marinov (PRB), 3---/. Kriiger.
Chapter VII---/. Aroyo (PRB), W. Iskra (PPR). Chapter VIII:
I---/. Ladosz (PPR), T. I. Snigireva (USSR), 2---N. Tun,
A. Hirsche (GDR), T. I. Snigireva, 3-D. Nikolov, Y.
Serkedjiev (PRB). Chapter IX: 1---A. P. Butenko (USSR),
2---S. Anghelov (PRB), E. Stuber, G. Zapf (GDR).
Chapter X: 1---B. Doubrava, 2---/. Kulhanek, 3---B. D. Doubrava
(CSSR).
The authors have used materials provided by B. Lhamsuren (MPR), D. Gheorghiev and G. Tsonkov (PRB)
__COPYRIGHT__ £) «noJiHTH3flaT», 197910504--405 014(01)-82
- 24--82 0302010304 [5] CONTENTS INTRODUCTION............ 9 CHAPTER I. MARXIST-LENINIST TEACHING ON INTERNATIONALISM.......28 1. Marxist-Leninist Theory of Nations, National Relations and the Internationalization of Social Relations............ 28 2. Proletarian Internationalism as a Category of Marxism; the Origins and Fundamental Characteristics of Socialist Internationalism ... 56 3. Leninist Theory of the Solution of the National Question and the Practical Experience of the Socialist Countries....... 76 CHAPTER II. THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL INTERESTS OF THE SOCIALIST COUNTRIES 1. National State and International Interests Under Socialism........... 2. Combining the National and the International---a Most Important Condition for Strengthening Unity Among the Socialist Countries . 98 98 114 CHAPTER III. THE PRINCIPLES OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS OF A NEW TYPE . 130 1. The Principles Governing Relations Between the Socialist Countries........130 2. Comradely Mutual Assistance and Solidarity---- the Essence of International Relations of a New Type............143 3. Bourgeois Falsification of the Principles of Mutual Relations Between the Socialist States 156 [6] CHAPTER IV. SOCIALIST INTERNATIONALISM AND BOURGEOIS NATIONALISM . . . 174 1. Bourgeois Nationalism.........174 2. The Causes and Manifestations of Nationalism in the Socialist Countries.......188 3. The Struggle Against Nationalism and AntiCommunism----the Common Goal of the Marxist-Leninist Parties..........205 CHAPTER V. THE DEVELOPMENT OF FRATERNAL RELATIONS BETWEEN THE MARXIST-LENINIST PARTIES---THE DECISIVE FACTOR IN STRENGTHENING AND BUILDING UP THE SOCIALIST COMMUNITY ...............215 1. Marxism-Leninism---the Ideological and Theoretical Basis for Cooperation Between the Marxist-Leninist Parties........215 2. The Forms and Means of All-Round Cooperation Between the Marxist-Leninist Parties . 235 3. The Role of the Communist Parties in International Experience Gained Through the Building of Socialism...........248 CHAPTER VI. POLITICAL COOPERATION BETWEEN THE SOCIALIST COUNTRIES . 272 1. Political Relations in the World Socialist System.............272 2. The Forzns and Methods of Political Cooperation Between the Socialist States .... 285 3. Cooperation Between ths Socialist States in Consolidating the Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in International Relations . . . 302 CHAPTER VII. SOCIALIST INTERNATIONALISM AND ECONOMIC RELATIONS BETWEEN THE SOCIALIST COUNTRIES . . 319 1. Economic Internationalization Among the Socialist Countries..........319 [7] 2. Socialist Integration---a Qualitatively New Stage in Economic Cooperation...... 3. Cooperation Between the Socialist Countries and the Levelling Up of Their Economic Development............. CHAPTER VIII. SOCIALIST INTERNATIONALISM AND CULTURAL COOPERATION BETWEEN THE SOCIALIST COUNTRIES . . . 1. The International Features of the Cultural Revolution in the Socialist Countries. The Dialectics of the National and the International in the Development of Socialist Culture . 2. Marxism-Leninism---the Basis for the Formation of the World Outlook of the Peoples in the Socialist Countries........ 3. Expanding Cultural Cooperation Between the Socialist Countries.......... CHAPTER IX. SOCIALIST INTERNATIONALISM AND THE FORMATION OF THE SOCIALIST WAY OF LIFE AND THE NEW MAN............... 1. The National and International Features of the Socialist Way of Life....... 2. Socialist Internationalism and the Making of the Individual........... CHAPTER X, THE WORLD SOCIALIST SYSTEM AND THE REVOLUTIONARY PROCESS . . 1. The World Socialist System---the Determining Force in the World Revolutionary Process . 2. The World Socialist System and the Working Class in the Developed Capitalist Countries . 3. The Influence of the World Socialist System on the National Liberation Process . . . . 331 344 355 355 375 393 304 304 434 451 451 464 484 [8] ~ [9] __ALPHA_LVL1__ INTRODUCTIONThere have never been deeper or more dynamic changes in world history than those brought about by socialism which first made it possible for society to progress from the kingdom of necessity to the kingdom of freedom. Socialism is the concrete reality of the social system which now exists in a number of countries and has finally done away with the exploitation of man by man. This reality is a great boon to the whole of mankind, to all those who long for freedom, equality, independence, peace and progress.
One of the important means of ensuring the successful development of the new society today is the internationalization of experience of socialist construction. The political, economic and cultural achievements of the socialist countries have placed new tasks before the Marxist-Leninist parties and peoples of these countries and the collective discussion of these tasks is gaining increasing importance. The deep, organic and ever strengthening bonds of friendship between the parties, the states and peoples of the socialist community are grounded on the principles of Marxism-Leninism and proletarian, socialist internationalism. ``The fraternal solidarity among the socialist countries,'' declared L. I. Brezhnev, ``increases the might of each one of them, and equal economic cooperation adds enormous potentialities to each country's own resources."^^1^^
Socialist internationalism as a principle of _-_-_
~^^1^^ For Peace, Security, Cooperation and Social Progress in Europe, Berlin, June 29--30, 1976, Moscow, 1976, p. 20,
10 interstate relations between the socialist countries originates in the historic role of the working class and is founded on Marxist-Leninist theory.The historic tasks of the working class in alliance with all the other working people---that is to say the overthrow of capitalist domination and the building of a new communist society---cannot be fulfilled without knowledge of the laws of social development and reliance on Marxist-Leninist science. The scientifically grounded and dynamic ideological activity of the communist parties is the main instrument for educating the masses and drawing the working people of the world into building socialism and communism.
For this reason imperialist reaction tries primarily to discredit Marxist-Leninist ideology, weaken its influence and bring about a split in the ideological unity of the communist movement, vanguard of all anti-imperialist movements that exist today. It seeks to exploit any weak point in the ideological stance of this or that contingent of the international communist movement, making this the main area of the imperialist ideological struggle against the communist movement and the socialist countries.
Bourgeois strategists use ideological subversion against the socialist countries in a bid to sow the seeds of discord and conflict, upset their ideological, political and moral unity and generally cause them as much difficulty as possible. And the main objective of these imperialist tactics consists in causing ideological confusion and political disorganization among the working people.
11The anti-communist centres expend particular effort on trying to show that the theory and practice of Marxism-Leninism no longer exists as an integral whole and that proletarian internationalism is obsolete and no longer meets the needs of the modern world. Bourgeois ideologists like Zbigniew Brzezinski, Joseph Bochenski, Richard Lowenthal and Raymond Aron have long asserted that Marxism is now split on national and territorial lines. They have invented ``western'' and ``eastern'' interpretations of Marxism and various ``national models" of socialism, which have nothing in common with the principles of proletarian internationalism.
All this makes it necessary to expose the real nature and content of these inventions and at the same time explain the tremendous importance of Marxism-Leninism as the international teaching for Communists of all countries.
Marxism-Leninism as a philosophical, economic, social and political doctrine is the theoretical basis for the revolutionary and transformatory work of the communist parties, a basis that has stood the test of time. It is for this reason that it is of such great importance for Communists all over the world irrespective of the complex concrete conditions in which they have to live and struggle. In this sense Marxism-Leninism is the same for all countries and peoples. It unites Communists of all nationalities and races in a single revolutionary army, which is at the vanguard of the struggle for peace, national independence, democracy and socialism.
The greatness of Marx and Engels consists 12 primarily in the fact that they revealed the fundamental laws of social development and showed that it is man who is of supreme value in the world and the only creator of his own history. They also showed that man lives and works not in isolation, but in the company of other men, i.e. within a system of objectively existing and necessary mutually interacting ties which is called society. These essential interrelationships, which are based on the production relations, determine in the final analysis the character of human history.
Having discovered that the economy is the basis upon which the political and ideological superstructure is erected Marx turned his attention to a study of the economic structure of capitalist society as it was during his time. Where bourgeois economists had seen only commodity relations Marx discovered human relations. With the discovery of surplus value Marx cut the ground completely from under the feet of the bourgeois apologists, who tried to present capitalism as the ideal social structure, in which right, justice and a general harmony of interests predominated. Bourgeois society was exposed as a gigantic system of exploitation in which the vast majority of the population were under the sway of an ever decreasing minority. Marx showed through irrefutable scientific analysis that the capitalist system, however necessary it had been historically, was essentially anti-human in the sense that man was made subordinate to objects, a mere means for the production of things. But Marx was not satisfied to simply state this truth. He gave scientific 13 grounding to the historic mission of the proletariat stating that its class struggle would inevitably lead to a socialist revolution and the dictatorship of the proletariat, which was itself a transition to the elimination of classes altogether and the creation of a classless society.
Marx and Engels laid the foundation for the doctrine of the party of the proletariat as a necessary condition for the victory of the new society, formulated the fundamentals of the strategy and tactics of the working class in the struggle for revolutionary power and determined the place of the peasant and national liberation movements in the social progress of mankind.
Such in short are some of the fundamentals of the theory of Marx and Engels, who, far from being study-bound philosophers, were revolutionaries and passionate fighters for the emancipation ol mankind. They took an active part in the revolutionary-- democratic movements in Germany and in the work of the League of Communists and were the founders of an international centre designed to strengthen unity among the proletariat in its struggle. It was Marx and Engels who wrote the programme documents of the two international proletarian organizations---the Manifesto of the Communist Party, which was adopted by the League of Communists, and the Inaugural Address of the 1st International. They showed considerable concern for the internationalist education of the new proletarian parties and the professional organizations. They waged a struggle against the attempts of the Bakuninites to undermine the international 14 unity of the proletariat under the guise of `` autonomy" and ``independence'' for the sections and federations of the International. At the same time Marx and Engels called for a careful study to be made of national characteristics and conditions, taught the class-conscious workers the need for consideration of the specifics, customs and traditions of individual countries and spoke out in favour of complete equality among the sections of the International. They believed that the forms of the international unity of the proletariat and its communist vanguard could be changed, but its essence should remain in harmony with the slogan: ``Workers of all countries, unite!'', a slogan that was clear and understandable to everyone. Marx and Engels spared neither time nor energy in bringing about their cherished dream--- the creation of an international communist movement.
Philosophy and revolution, theory and practice, humanism and the class struggle of the proletariat all have an international character. It is conditioned primarily by the place which the working class occupies in social production and its historic role. The working class is a national force in so far as it belongs to a given nation or country, wherein it becomes consolidated as a class. But, at the same time, it is also an international force in so far as it everywhere occupies an identical class position, holds identical interests and objectives, has an identical ideology ( irrespective of national, racial and cultural distinctions) and is faced by a common enemy---the international bourgeoisie. Forgetting or underestimating 15 international interests harms not only the international working-class movement, but first and foremost the national interests of the working class in a given country. ``Past experience,'' Marx wrote, ``has shown how disregard of that bond of brotherhood which ought to exist between the workmen of different countries, and incite them to stand firmly by each other in all their struggle for emancipation, will be chastised by the common discomfiture of their incoherent efforts."^^1^^
Marxism has correctly reflected the objective conditions and requirements of social development and made it possible for the working people to orientate themselves in the complex conditions of their daily life and to find the correct paths to the achievement of their aims. As life itself changes, so Marxism, being a science, must change together with it.
This approach bequeathed by Marx and Engels was taken up by Lenin and his comrades and pupils. ``We do not regard Marx's theory as something completed and inviolable,'' Lenin said, ``on the contrary, we are convinced that it has only laid the foundation stone of the science which socialists must develop in all directions if they wish to keep pace with life."^^2^^
_-_-_~^^1^^ K. Marx, ``Inaugural Address of the Working Men's International Association''. In: Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, Selected Works in three volumes, Vol. 2, 1973, p. 17 (here and elsewhere Progress Publishers, Moscow).
^^2^^ V. I. Lenin, ``Our Programme'', Collected Works, Vol. 4, 1972, pp. 211--12 (here and elsewhere Progress Publishers, Moscow).
16Lenin has gone down in history as the greatest Marxist theoretician and unsurpassed organizer of the proletarian revolution. His works and his practical activity reveal him as a man of immense theoretical understanding and perception with the ability to determine the motive forces and set out the strategy and tactics for the greatest revolution in world history.
History has borne out Lenin's idea that the task of the vanguard can only be fulfilled by a party that is guided by progressive theory, strengthens the unity of its views and actions and that can provide correct political leadership, use diverse forms and methods of the class struggle, develop democracy within its ranks and encourage the creative activity of its members. This type of party is needed not only for the seizure of power but for the building of socialism and communism.
Lenin's contribution to the theory and practice of scientific socialism raised Marxism to a higher level, a level which is rightfully known as Marxism-- Leninism. Lenin waged an uncompromizing struggle against the revisionist and dogmatist distortions of revolutionary theory. ``The Marxist doctrine is omnipotent because it is true,"^^1^^ Lenin wrote. And ideas that correctly reflect reality and the needs of social development can take root in the consciousness of the masses and become a material force. Thus the ideals of communism that had been scientifically grounded by _-_-_
~^^1^^ V. I. Lenin, ``The Three Sources and Three Component Parts of Marxism'', Collected Works, Vol, 19, 1973, p. 23.
17 Marx, Engels and Lenin gradually began to inspire more and more people until millions had risen up against the old world and communism has begun to transform from a dream into a living force of reality.The Great October Socialist Revolution ushered in a new era in the history of mankind---an era of the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism and the establishment of socialism on a world scale. It inspired the masses all over the world to take up the revolutionary struggle. As a result of the revolutionary situation which occurred during the Second World War and immediately following it, socialism was victorious in a number of countries. Imperialism became powerless to stop the irrepressible tide of liberation, and the world socialist system arose and grew strong. Under the influence of this process and as a direct result of the liberation struggle of the oppressed peoples, the imperialist colonial system collapsed and the revolutionary struggle of the working class and other progressive forces in the capitalist countries increased.
All this provides incontestable proof of the international character of Marxism-Leninism and of the fact that it truly reflects the objective conditions of the class struggle of the proletariat and the unity of its national and international interests.
Attempts by bourgeois critics and contemporary revisionists to set Marxism against Leninism and present Leninism as a purely Russian phenomenon have proved completely fruitless. Leninism is the Marxism of the present day, it is international in __PRINTERS_P_17_COMMENT__ 2---573 18 character. History has fully borne out Lenin's analysis of contemporary world development together with his definition of imperialism and his evaluation of the Great October Socialist Revolution as the beginning of the world socialist revolution and a new era in world history. The fact that the international working class and the world socialist system have become the focal point of the present era and that the national liberation movement has achieved important successes can be seen as a victory of worldhistoric importance for Marxism-Leninism.
Marxist-Leninist theory is continually being enriched by the theoretical work of the communist and workers' parties and the collective thought and creative ideas of the world communist movement. As a result of this the progressive forces of the world have now at their disposal scientific analysis of the contemporary period, the problems of peace and war and the nature, forms and trends of the world revolutionary process.
The successful development of Marxism-Leninism depends most of all on the ability to understand the essential features and the spirit of this teaching and correctly to apply it in waging a stubborn struggle against bourgeois ideology and opportunism. Historical experience has shown that Marxism is intolerant of attempts both to revise its essence and alter its spirit by bringing it into line with bourgeois ideology, and to schematize and dogmatize its tenets, thereby opening the way to oversimplification and theoretical impotence.
A creative approach to the solution of current 19 problems is what characterizes all communist parties in as much as their politics are based on the principles of Marxism-Leninism.
Unity among Communists is based on common interests and objectives and a common Marxist-- Leninist theory. There never could and never can be such a thing as ``national'' Marxism or ``national'' socialism. The real problem consists in how to apply and develop the principles of Marxism-Leninism in conformity with concrete historical conditions. The solution is provided by Marxist-Leninist science and the ability of the communist vanguard to act in conformity with the requirements of objective social laws.
Laws express what is common, essential, repetitive and identical in the limitless variety of objects, phenomena and processes. Whatever laws we consider, whether natural or social, we can see that they express precisely what is common, permanent, typical and repetitive in relations between phenomena or objects. But what is common cannot exist or be understood scientifically, if it is considered apart from what is particular and individual. Laws, as expressions of what is common, exist and are manifested not apart from or independent of individual objects or processes, but in them and through them. Thus laws must of necessity take on varied and distinctive forms and be manifested through these varied and distinctive forms. And this is particularly true of the laws of social development. A socialist revolution is characterized by universal laws and it is impossible to create a socialist society in any coun __PRINTERS_P_19_COMMENT__ 2* 20 try without following them. This of course does not mean that the specific forms and methods of building socialism are identical for all countries and all peoples. In the first place the means by which the proletariat gains state power are different as are the forms of proletarian dictatorship and the forms and growth rates of socialist construction.
The forms and methods of building socialist society vary from country to country, but they are all the forms, methods and specifics of socialist revolution. Whether state power is to be exercised by many parties or by just one, whether public ownership of the means of production is to be carried out by expropriation or by redemption or whether the restructuring of agriculture on a socialist basis is to be undertaken through one or through several forms of cooperation, all depends on the specific class, national and state characteristics of those countries that have entered on the road to socialism. One thing only is important: do these forms and methods guarantee the political domination of the working class, the leading role of the communist party and the building of a socialist society?
A correct understanding of the forms of transition to socialism is exceptionaly important for each communist party. It makes it necessary to wage a struggle on two fronts: one against the stereotyped, dogmatic application of Marxism-Leninism and the other against revisionism and national isolationism. Great harm is done to the working-class movement by those who see the building of socialism as a purely national issue, rather than a part of the general 21 struggle of the proletariat for the world-wide victory of socialism, and who neglect the experience and forms of socialist construction in other countries, while extolling their own experience and trying to foist it upon other countries and peoples. History has shown that one fonn of socialism, though highly suitable for one particular country, may be quite unsuitable for another. Consequently a wise communist party will not try to contrapose its own forms of socialist construction to those in other countries, but will seek to take skillful and creative advantage of the experience gained by other socialist countries in the successful building of socialism.
The experience of building socialism in the Soviet Union is of great importance for all peoples that have chosen the socialist path of development. For this reason the new socialist nations are studying and making creative use of the rich experience accumulated by the world's first socialist state. This is not for any reasons of obsequiousness, as the reactionary bourgeois propaganda claims, it stems rather from the very nature of the socialist system. Different countries accomplish the transition to socialism at different times and in different ways depending on their specific historical and national characteristics, but in its fundamental outlines this process is the same: the old exploiting system is broken and a new socialist system is created. The peoples of the world learn from the Soviet Union, because it has withstood all the tests of history and was the first to show the way to salvation, socialism, and because it possesses the immense potentialities to hold in check 22 the aggressive forces of imperialism and to give support to the world revolutionary process. It would be unjustified and risky for those countries that have also set out along this path of development to disregard the historical achievements of the Soviet people and spurn the disinterested aid of the Soviet Union.
Marxist-Leninist methodology requires a correct and careful approach to the relationship between the national and the international in the struggle for socialism. The unity of the national and the international in this struggle means that these two aspects of proletarian activity are inseparable from each other, unthinkable without each other and part and parcel of each other, but for all that they should not be treated as being identical. Just as there can be no part without a whole, so there can be no proletariat to wage a successful struggle without it being a national and an international force. Without struggling against, its ``own'' bourgeoisie the working class of a given country cannot fulfil its international tasks, just as without international class solidarity it is incapable of carrying out successfully its national tasks, i.e. overcoming its immediate enemy in the form of its own national bourgeoisie.
While noting the unity and concurrence of the national and the international we should, nevertheless, remember that this unity and concurrence is not in any way absolute, that it is not achieved spontaneously and immediately and that between them contradictions may arise. These latter appear largely through the objective differences in the 23 position of the working class in different countries and different nations. Capitalism is a system of inequality. By its very nature it separates peoples not only according to class, but also according to nationality and race. In such conditions contradictions may arise between, for example, the interests of the working class in the oppressor nation and those of the working class in the oppressed nation, which, although they are not antagonistic, exert a definite influence on the common struggle against capitalism.
Lenin never tired of explaining the fundamental Marxist thesis that this contradiction could only be overcome by the correct international education of the working class. And the main objective in the education of the working class in the oppressor nation should be an explanation of the need to uphold the right of the oppressed nation to self-- determination and independence, while the main objective in the education of the working class in the oppressed nation is an explanation of the need to struggle against petty nationalism and isolationism and to uphold not only the principle of political independence for each nation, but primarily the principle of the voluntary union of' nations in the struggle against imperialism and the fight for a social progress. In other words explanation of the need to look upon self-- determination not as something absolute, but as part of the common struggle of all the enslaved and exploited peoples. Without this there can be no unity between the national and international interests of the working class.
With the formation of the world socialist system 24 the dialectics of the national and the international entered a new stage and acquired new forms that were largely determined by the objective character of the world historical process of transition from capitalism to socialism.
The greater the success of each socialist country in building up the socialist system, the greater its international influence and the greater its ability to contribute to the strengthening of world socialism and the anti-imperialist forces of the world and to the development of the world revolutionary process. On the other hand, setbacks in the building of a new society and delays harm not only the interests of the individual nation, but also the interests of the world socialist system, the world revolutionary forces and proletarian internationalism.
For each individual socialist country to achieve even greater success it is necessary to do everything to promote closer economic cooperation and specialization, political unity of action and military coordination between all the socialist countries. It was to this end that the Warsaw Treaty was signed and the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance set up, both of which are manifestations of the principles of socialist internationalism in operation.
Inter-state relations within the socialist system have been built upon and must in the future still more consistently be built upon a basis of revolutionary solidarity and mutual aid as well as equality and non-intervention into each other's internal affairs. Observance of these principles in relations between the socialist countries is a most important condition 25 for rapid social progress and the harmonious combination of the national and international interests of each country in the socialist community. Apart from showing concern for the building and continuous improvement of socialist society in a given country as a national and international objective, it also requires unity, close cooperation and mutual aid with the other socialist countries and active support for those who are fighting for national and social liberation of classes and peoples. ``We all know very well,'' said Comrade Todor Zhivkov at the Berlin Conference in 1976, ``that proletarian internationalism does not mean any lessening of the importance of the principles of independence and equality among the individual socialist countries or the individual communist and workers' parties. But equality among the communist parties is expressed not only in equal and sovereign rights but also in the equality of their internationalist duties."^^1^^
The unity between the international and the national in the struggle for socialism is strengthened and developed on the basis of revolutionary MarxistLeninist theory and the joint efforts of the communist and workers' parties all over the world. The international communist movement is a major political force in the world today. Its unity and solidarity determine to a considerable extent the unity and solidarity of all forces that are fighting for social progress against imperialism. The need for unity _-_-_
~^^1^^ Conference of the Communist and Workers' Parties of Europe. Berlin, 29--30 June 1976, Moscow, 1976, p. 142 (in Russian),
26 among all Communists in the world stems also from the present international situation, when militarist circles in the West have still not given up their insane plans to ``destroy'' communism and regain their lost positions. On the other hand Communists have never before had such a historic responsibility placed upon them by their own peoples and by the whole of mankind as they have today. Thus search is required for the appropriate forms of cooperation.In this connection various opinions may be expressed as to the best way to solve the complex problems which face the communist parties in their revolutionary struggle. This to a certain extent is inevitable, for it stems from the very character of human cognition, which is not immediately able to grasp the essence of things, but tends to progress in stages towards deeper understanding. Furthermore, different countries are at different stages of the struggle and have different levels of political, economic and cultural development. All of which can give rise to different interpretations of events or issues. But differences of this kind within the framework of a common objective ought not to lead to a disruption in the unity of the international communist movement and the setting of national and international interests against each other. They can and must be overcome by a comradely exchange of opinion.
The basis for overcoming the differences and strengthening unity in the communist movement is the science of Marxism-Leninism. Communists cannot strive for unity without such a principled basis. It 27 all amounts to a question from which positions this unity will be strengthened, and from which positions the various differences in interpreting and carrying out the national and international elements in the struggle for socialism and their causes and the ways of overcoming these differences will be appraised. Whether this will be done from the standpoint of Marxism-Leninism or from some other positions. In other words, to achieve closer unity and solidarity in the communist movement and to combine correctly the national and international interests of their peoples, Communists must act on a principled basis and in conformity with the ideas of Marxism-- Leninism and proletarian internationalism.
__*_*_*__The present monograph analyzes the rich theoretical and practical experience of the fraternal parties of the socialist community countries in the development of inter-state relations of a new type.
[28] __NUMERIC_LVL1__ CHAPTER 1 __ALPHA_LVL1__ MARXIST-LENINIST TEACHINGOur era is characterized by the revolutionary transition from capitalism to socialism on an international scale. This characterization is to be seen in the radical break that has been taking place in the historically formed socio-economic and political structures and in the restructuring of the most diverse areas of social relations. Within the framework of this international process a qualitative transformation has been taking place in the social nature of the nation, national, relations and inter-state contacts and new principles of international relations have been consolidating themselves.
The only theory that offers a scientific explanation of the far-reaching changes that have been taking place in the world, that serves as a guide to action in the liberation struggle of the working class and all the other working people and that reveals the historical fates of nations and national relations is Marxism-Leninism. Adopting a materialist position in its approach to history Marxist-Leninist theory reveals the origins of the variety of the nations and nationalities of the world today, shows the lawgoverned character of the changes in their nature 29 and mutual relations and gives a scientific analysis of the causes, character and consequences of the internationalization of production and social relations as a whole, i.e. of the process whose development leads not only to a drawing together but, in the final analysis, to a merger of all nations, nationalities and ethnic groups in a future communist society.
Mankind today has only just begun to move in this direction. Having passed some considerable distance down the road of historical development, the human race now comprises a vast number of large and small communities, which either have taken or are still taking shape, in the form of either nations, nationalities or ethnic groups living in multi-- national states or nation-states, in sovereign countries or those still fighting for their own independence. There are today in the world more than one thousand nations and nationalities as well as a considerable number of national minorities, ethnic groups and tribes. More than nine-tenths of the nations, nationalities, national and ethnic groups belong to multi-national countries. The socialist states comprise some 250 large and small nations and nationalities, while in the industrially developed capitalist countries there are approximately one hundred indigenous nations and nationalities. Today a growing role in the making of history is played by the nations and nationalities of the developing states of Asia, Africa and Latin America, part of which have been drawn into the non-capitalist path of development known as socialist orientation.
30But just what exactly are all these communities that either have already been formed, or are still in the process of formation? What precisely do we mean by nations and nationalities?
A nation as a stable community of people is characterized by an historically formed community of material and cultural activity linked together through a common language and common territory as well as the distinctive features of their national character, mentality and culture.
Forming gradually over the course of long historical evolution, nations first began to make their appearance with the development of capitalism and the establishment of the economic relations that characterize it. The material and cultural attributes of each nation, its distinctive features and national awareness are the concentrated product of the activity of a succession of generations in a given social community and of the whole path of social evolution traversed in interaction with other nations.
A nationality is also an historically formed linguistic and territorial, as well as to a certain extent an economic and cultural community. Seen in its historical context, a nationality is in many respects the precursor of a nation. But the process by which a nationality becomes a nation is not the same everywhere, while the formation and development of nations and nationalities has its specifics in Western, Central and Eastern Europe, in Asia and Africa and in North and South America. For this reason the process of development is continuing even today among both nations and nationalities. More often 31 than not the objective possibilities for the economic, political and cultural development of a given nationality are limited compared to those of a given nation.
Nations and nationalities, which today comprise the overwhelming majority of mankind, are not the only forms of human community and they are far from being the earliest. Though some nationalities only became nations with the development of capitalism, these nationalities themselves were historically preceded by tribes or tribal communities which were largely based upon clan relationships among their members.
It is, however, material conditions, i.e. the level of development of productive forces and the character of production relations, that determine, on the one hand, the formation, development and transformation of a given historical community and the character of ties within this community, and, on the other, the nature of the ties which emerge between the various historically formed communities. For clan ties to be weakened in the course of tribal evolution, the development of the most important, economic ties was essential; for a nationality to become a nation, the growth of production had to overcome its narrow framework and bring about a stable division of labour and the formation of a single market, and for nations to associate with each other on a permanent basis, this association had to become a vital necessity. ``The relations of different nations among themselves,'' Marx and Engels wrote, ``depend upon the extent to which each has developed 32 its productive forces, the division of labour and internal intercourse."^^1^^
At the base of human development at all its stages lies progress in material production. It is precisely improvement in this sphere and the growth of productive forces in conditions of the large-scale industrial production that was first created by capitalism that led to the socialization of the process of production first within individual countries and then, extending beyond these borders, determined the internationalization of production on a world scale. It is this material process which lies at the root of the formation of nations and the development of stable international relations.
In considering the internationalization of production as the material basis for the development of national and international relations Marxism-- Leninism insists on seeing the essence of this process and the national relations connected with it, which class is the originator of this process and what nations and national relations are formed in the organization of this process by the various social classes. The internationalization of the process of production is the objective law in the development of largescale industrial production which manifests itself in the gradual formation of elements of a single world production. Its main motive force is the internationalization of productive forces which _-_-_
~^^1^^ Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, ``The German Ideology''. In: Karl Marx, Frederick Engels, Collected Works, Vol. 5, 1976, p. 32 (here and elsewhere Progress Publishers, Moscow).
33 signifies the fact that as the productive forces of individual countries grow they to an increasing degree acquire such a character when their creation, functioning and development are only possible and effective given the utilization of international as well as national factors and conditions. Such factors and conditions include the availability of the necessary raw and other materials, financial and labour resources, access to markets and the utilization of scientific and technological achievements.Internationalization as an objective process made its first appearance during the rise of capitalism and the formation of the bourgeois nations. Marx and Engels showed already in the nineteenth century that the development of productive forces, the growth of the economic potential of capitalist society, the deepening international division of labour and the expanding markets and the spheres for the application of capital were breaking down national isolationism and internationalizing material production and culture. This conditioned the economic and political interdependence of peoples and countries. ``The more the original isolation of the separate nationalities is destroyed by the advanced mode of production, by intercourse and by the natural division of labour between various nations arising as a result, the more history becomes world history."^^1^^
The internationalization of production has made mutual ties between nations and nationalities an _-_-_
~^^1^^ Ibid., pp. 50--51.
__PRINTERS_P_33_COMMENT__ 3---573 34 everyday part of their lives and turned national relations into an important part of public life.National relations are an essential part of modern social relations. Broadly speaking, they show the character of those ties which are formed both within each nation and nationality and between them. The former are intra-national and the latter are interethnic. Intra-national relations are relations between the various social groups in a given community. Relations of this type affect the existence and development of the given community. Inter-ethnic relations, on the other hand, are relations between nations and nationalities considered as subjects within a multi-national state or relations between the nations of different countries. Inter-ethnic relations are not identical with international relations for two reasons: first, a given country may be composed of several nations, and, secondly, international relations, as a rule, are largely conducted in the form of inter-state relations, although they don't just amount to these, since included together with inter-state and interethnic relations are inter-party connections, links between other social organizations and collectives and international tourism, etc.
The bourgeois approach to contemporary nations and their interconnections is based on a universal scheme of national development which takes no account of the socio-economic or class aspects of the social life of a given nation. They View a nation only in the abstract, as a kind of supra-class entity, and the national factor in international relations they reduce to mere nationalism and ``hegemonism'', 35 etc. This sort of view is one-sided and has no scientific grounding.
Under capitalism the productive forces are developed according to the interests of the bourgeoisie as the dominant class, which in its quest for profit exploits not only the working people of its own nation but those of other nations as well. Therefore, in capitalist society we have capitalist nations and the internationalization of production is carried out in the interests of the bourgeoisie, while national relations are based upon standards that are beneficial to the bourgeoisie.
The capitalist nations are by their nature socially and economically antagonistic. The inevitable growth of contradictions in the capitalist economy, the polarization of social relations and class political and economic interests and the transformation of the dominant imperialist bourgeoisie in such a society into the enemy not only of the workers', but of all the democratic movements and the opponent of the genuinely progressive ideals of national development constitute the laws of the dynamics of the social organism of a capitalist nation. The high degree of centralization of capital intensifies the tendency among the monopoly bourgeoisie to join forces against the working class, world socialism and the national liberation movement.
The internationalization of production and social life as a whole that has been carried out by the bourgeoisie has taken on antagonistic forms, with the working people being subjected to the omnipotence of capital, with some countries developing 36 rapidly at the expense of others and with fierce competition resulting in the decline of certain industries in countries where the local exploiters were not strong enough to withstand their powerful competitors.
Within the framework of capitalism and in full conformity with the nature of this social structure with all its social, economic and political antagonisms national relations have always been determined at all stages by the desire of the bourgeoisie to exploit not only their own people, but those in other countries as well. The history of nations and national relations in the capitalist world has always been characterized by the limitless drive for increased profits, by wars of conquest, by the creation of huge colonial empires, by the merciless suppression of national liberation movements, and by the struggle for spheres of influence and investment. The exploitation and oppression of many of the peoples of Asia, Africa and South and Central, America as cheap sources of raw materials set them back a whole epoch and delayed their development into sovereign nations.
The socio-economic relations of capitalism, characterized as they are by the exploitation of man by man, have been spread to cover all aspects of national, inter-ethnic and international relations and have led to the system of domination, subjection and inequality that exists between nations and nationalities.
As a result throughout the past and contemporary history of capitalism two questions have been urgent: the social question, or that of doing away 37 with the exploitation of man by man, and the national question, an aspect of the former, the question of liberating the oppressed nationalities and nations of the world, overcoming their backwardness and ensuring equality for all nations. It cannot be stressed enough that the national question that has been engendered by capitalism with all its concomitant vices (exploitation, backwardness and enmity and alienation among peoples) remains vitally relevant today. With the further aggravation of the capitalist contradictions the national question is now revealing new sides and taking on new forms, while the growing antagonisms of exploitative society are increasingly penetrating relations between the developed capitalist states and the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America and appearing in different countries. The unevenness of political development of various parts of the multi-national capitalist states has led to an intensification of national antagonisms and conflicts in Great Britain, Belgium, Canada and a number of other countries. Contemporary migrations have resulted in sharp frictions between people of different nationalities that live in France, the Federal Republic of Germany and Switzerland, and racial conflicts in the United States of America show no signs of abating. Bourgeois ideologists and politicians deny the social basis of the conflicts and problems that are associated with inter-ethnic relations and show considerable versatility in their bids to neutralize and disorganize the forces of the national liberation movement both within the multi-national states and throughout the world. But history has 38 shown that capitalism is unable to solve the national question.
Under socialism there is no place for the exploitation of man by man, or for the oppression of one nation by another. Here productive forces are developed under the guidance of the working class and its political vanguard, the Marxist-Leninist party, and the aim of this development is the good of the working people of all nations and nationalities. Therefore in the course of the revolutionary transition from capitalism to socialism due to the complex multi-faceted processes, a radical transformation takes place in the character of a nation, it changes from capitalist to socialist and a qualitatively different, socialist type of the internationalization of production occurs, while national relations are rebuilt on fundamentally new principles.
The experience first of the Soviet Union and later of the other socialist countries has revealed that there are certain general ways and conditions in the law-governed process that shapes socialist nations and nationalities and brings about a new type of national relations. This experience affirms that the way to freedom and genuine humanism in national relations lies through a socialist revolution, which by abolishing exploitation and oppression creates the political and economic prerequisites and conditions for the all-round development, not only of the working classes, but of nations.
The socialist nation (or nationality) that replaces the former bourgeois nation differs radically from it in respect of its economic basis, its social and class 39 structure, its intellectual make-up and its historical role. It is based on the production relations of a new, socialist mode of production and consists of friendly classes, with the leading role being played by the working class which expresses most fully the national interests of the working people as well as their international aspirations and aims. The socialist nation is characterized by the gradual development of national interests as the common interests of the nation as a whole, for they are formed on the basis of a community of the basic economic and political interests of all the classes and social groups engaged in social production. In the socialist nation national consciousness develops under the influence of an integral socialist ideology, of Marxist-Leninist ideals of the struggle for communism.
In other words, socialism changes the dialectics in the relationship between the national and the social and the national and the class. By ridding the nation of the socio-economic antagonisms engendered by capitalism, which split the capitalist nation into two,^^1^^ the new system guarantees the transition from a unity that only comes from national community to a unity that is based on the social community of the working people. The social and political aspects of this process consist in the elimination of the social and class antagonisms in the bourgeois nation and the transition to the socially homogenous _-_-_
~^^1^^ See: V. I. Lenin, ``Socialism and the Peasantry'', Collected Works, Vol. 9, 1965, p. 307.
40 structure and friendly relationship between the classes that characterize the socialist nations.The stable socio-economic foundation for the establishment of unity among the classes in each socialist nation (or nationality) is the state power seized by the working class under the guidance of the Marxist-Leninist party, the socialist mode of production and a close alliance between the working class, the cooperative peasantry and the people's intelligentsia in the interests of developing new economic and other social relations. On this basis nationalism and chauvinism become obsolete and an internationalist consciousness and friendly relations develop between the working people of various nationalities and countries.
The internationalization of production and social life as a whole under socialism is a complex and lengthy process, but it is not one that contains antagonisms, for in it there are, no nations that are trying to bring about their own development through the exploitation and oppression of others, nor are there any classes bent on the subjugation of other peoples. On the contrary, the rapid progress of all nations and nationalities and the levelling up of their social, economic and cultural development serve to guarantee the successes of each nation and each people.
As distinct from capitalist society where national relations are characterized by antagonisms, under socialism they develop on new principles, as a new type of national and international relations based on the effected right of all nations to self-determination, 41 on equality and sovereignty and on solidarity and mutual aid. These relations express the essence of the new social, economic and political structure and the socialist ideological mainstays of nations. By liquidating the exploiter classes socialism gets rid of the social and class obstacles to progressive national development and of the social sources of discord among nations and nationalities. It also gives rise to new objective factors in the sphere of economy and politics which eliminate the basis of conflict between nations, stimulate their convergence and overcoming national barriers, and contribute to a real solution to the national problem.
Today, when the essence of the present era, the era of transition from capitalism to socialism, manifests itself in the adoption by more and more countries of the socialist path of development, when mankind's past in the form of the world capitalist system can be seen side by side with mankind's future, the developing world system of socialism, the problems of national progress and national relations, far from losing their relevance, acquire new features.
In the first place the internationalization of production and of social life as a whole has reached a new stage. The scientific and technological revolution has immeasurably accelerated the internationalization of productive forces on a world scale and this has given rise in each system to analogous processes and problems such as urbanization, the growth of communications, migration and problems arising from the need for raw materials and environmental 42 control. The scientific and technological revolution has also accelerated the internationalization of intellectual life, expanded the forms of contact among nations and provided the right conditions for mutual enrichment and convergence of national cultures.
International integration is the conscious and joint attempt by a number of similar countries to adapt their independent economic and political structures to the growing internationalization of production and social life as a whole by organically coordinating and interconnecting these structures so as to form a single structure.
Within the world capitalist system internationalization and integration take on antagonistic forms, which are conditioned by private capitalist ownership of the means of production. Here the trend towards convergence of nations occasioned by these processes is continually subjected to a whole complex of counter-trends and is accompanied by sharp manifestation of nationalism, chauvinism, etc.
Taking due regard for the internationalization of economic and political life under capitalism the monopoly bourgeoisie and the leading capitalist powers create various economic and political alliances and communities and set up customs and other regional unions. These international unions meet the objective demands of economic internationalization. But in practice they frequently infringe upon the national sovereignty and national interests and rights of the weaker members.
This serves to intensify the contradictions between 43 the economically developed capitalist states, the ``strong'' and the ``weak'' nations, and between imperialism and the peoples of the developing countries. By increasing the concentration of capital internationalization under capitalism also increases the unevenness of economic and political development and encourages reactionary tendencies in imperialist politics.
Internationalization and integration within the framework of the world socialist system, however, have a fundamentally different social and economic base---social ownership of the means of production and a planned system of national economies. This brings enormous advantages to the process of internationalization in the new society.
The working class, its party and its state bodies take due account of the internationalization of economic and political life under socialism and consider that the resultant break in national isolationism brings about rapid social progress for all cooperating nations and the accumulation and increasing consolidation of common international features in various fields of international contacts and in the daily activity and social profile of peoples.
The objective process of economic and social internationalization in the socialist countries raises the integrationary role of new subjective factors. These include the growing ideological and political solidarity of the working people of the various nations and fraternal states, a solidarity that is based on a community of interests and aims in the building of socialism and communism and on a common Marxist-- 44 Leninist ideology, and the various kinds of work carried out by the communist and workers' parties, state bodies in the socialist countries and public organizations towards strengthening friendship and allround cooperation between the peoples of these countries and removing all elements of enmity, inequality and alienation from relations between them.
Of immense importance in this respect is the international economic integration that is practised by the socialist countries---members of the GMEA. This integration has regard for the objective laws of the development of productive forces and production relations in the new social formation and determines ways towards the inter-state socialization of production and the exchange of material and cultural values. Internationalization and integration strengthen the sovereignty of each state irrespective of its size, promote the growth of the scientific and industrial potential of countries and the joint utilization of natural resources, and provide extensive opportunities for the growth of productive forces, science and culture.
The processes of internationalization and integration that have taken place in the socialist countries are indissolubly linked with the establishment of socialist internationalism in relations between the socialist states, an internationalism which is based firmly on respect for national sovereignty, territorial integrity and equality of all nations.
The positive experience accrued by the multi-- national Soviet Union and the countries that make 45 up the world socialist system bear out Marx' and Engels' thesis that the liquidation of class antagonisms will result in an end to national antagonisms.
But the gradual formation of nations and national relations of this new type and the extension of interstate ties between the socialist countries have not been without their difficulties and contradictions in the form of manifestations of great-power chauvinism and local nationalism. The peoples of the socialist countries did not start to build their new societies simultaneously, and world socialism includes certain states where the new society is still not completely victorious. Furthermore, these many different nations are all at different political, economic and cultural levels. There are both objective and subjective reasons why socialist principles in national construction and in the international contacts that socialism promotes have not always been adhered to consistently. Occasionally we note a trend towards the artificial unification of national minorities that are historically separate and have different socialist homelands. This indicates failure to give priority to a social and class approach to national problems. Then again, there is the one-sided emphasis on specifically national characteristics in the development of the different socialist countries and the viewing of this development in isolation from the international tasks and requirements of social progress as well as other manifestations of national parochialism.
Manifestations of this kind, on the one hand, undermine the solidarity among the working people of 46 the socialist nations and their positive capabilities as builders of a new society, and, on the other, put a break on national development, isolating one nation from fruitful cooperation with other nations and peoples. All this shows that the task of establishing a new type of inter-state relations and of combining the national with the international is far from simple. But given that the ruling parties pursue a correct Marxist-Leninist policy there can be no objective antagonisms between the nations, peoples and states of the socialist world, even though there do exist differences and contradictions among them.
Correct solutions to the problems that arise in inter-ethnic relations and in the development of cooperation between the socialist nations require the guidance of Marxist-Leninist teaching and the principles of internationalism.
__ALPHA_LVL2__ 2. Proletarian InternationalismThe development of the revolutionary workingclass movement and the successes it has achieved in the struggle for social emancipation, national independence, democracy and socialism are indissolubly linked with the practical implementation of the principles of a scientific Marxist philosophy and of internationalism, which is its integral part. Marx' and 47 Engels' slogan: ``Workers of all countries, unite!'', which sums up in the briefest possible way a fundamentally new, internationalist world outlook and a new approach to the conditions and means for promoting a revolutionary movement, characterizes today a whole system of views and practical principles for pursuing the struggle to liberate all the working people, bring about the victory of socialism and communism and establish a new type of international relations throughout the world. History continues to affirm the immense strength of internationalism and its not only unfading, but increasingly important meaning for the world, for socialism and for the whole revolutionary working-class movement.
Internationalism is a system of views, ideological and political guidelines and practical measures taken by the international working class. It expresses the community of basic interests among workers of all countries and the need for unified struggle by the working peoples of all nations and nationalities for freedom from exploitation and for the victory of socialism and communism throughout the world. Even before Marxism internationalism made itself known in the mutual support and joint action by the working class in a number of countries in Western Europe. Since the emergence and spread of Marxism in the working-class movement and right up to the present day internationalism has been active as a multistructural category, which expresses primarily an essential feature and area of Marxist philosophy, and is also a definite policy, a principle governing the relations between the national contingents of the 48 revolutionary working-class movement. ``Bourgeois nationalism and proletarian internationalism,'' wrote Lenin, ``---these are the two irreconcilably hostile slogans that correspond to the two great class camps throughout the capitalist world, and express the two policies (nay, the two world outlooks) in the national question."^^1^^ Internationalism is an historical category: while its two interconnected aspects ( philosophy and politics) held good, the content and structure of this category as understood by MarxismLeninism have not remained unchanged. Particularly far-reaching changes took place, of course, following the establishment of socialism, the formation of the world socialist system, in the process of forming the community of fraternal states.
The multiple structure of internationalism, which signifies both part of proletarian philosophy and the principle of relations between the national contingents of the revolutionary working-class movement, requires understanding of the interconnection between these parts and of the differences between them. The former should be considered in the context of the general philosophy of the working class and the second in the framework of the practical relationships and real interaction between the national contingents of the working class and its organizations and parties. At the same time it is important to take account of the historical development of _-_-_
~^^1^^ V. I. Lenin, ``Critical Remarks on the National Question'', Collected Works, Vol. 20, 1964, p. 26.
49 internationalism and to be aware of the different shades in the categories of both proletarian and socialist internationalism.The latter circumstance is particularly relevant today, since bourgeois ideologists and opportunists in the communist movement frequently state that socialist internationalism is a kind of ``regional theory" devised to promote the selfish interests and adapted to suit the particular relations and ``discipline'' that are prevalent in the communist and workers' parties in the socialist countries. Thus the critics of socialism try to set the communist parties of the socialist countries and those of the non-socialist countries against each other, and, what is most important, endeavour to cast doubt on the gains of socialism and foist the idea upon the working class that victorious socialism has brought nothing new to the internationalist relations between the working class of different countries and between the nations and nationalities of the world. In their renunciation of this kind of falsification Marxist-Leninists hold to a belief in the international unity of ultimate goals and in a community of basic interests of the whole working-class movement both in the socialist and in the non-socialist world. They consider that socialist internationalism is not something special, or ``regional'', but rather it is the same thing as proletarian internationalism, only practised under those conditions and with that content when it functions as a principle in inter-ethnic and inter-state relations under socialism.
Proletarian internationalism developed from the __PRINTERS_P_49_COMMENT__ 4---573 50 experience of the working class and since the advent of Marxism has been functioning as part of this scientific philosophy and a principle of action linked with it. As part of the philosophy of the revolutionary proletariat, it shows up the international position of the working class and its international role in the liberation struggle. At the same time proletarian internationalism also characterizes the position of the revolutionary proletariat in the relationship of the working-class movement of different nations and countries. It is here that it becomes the most important principle in the relations between the revolutionary workers of all countries and their parties. This principle reflects and expresses the international community and identity of the fundamental interests among the proletarians of the world in their struggle against capitalism and for the victory of socialism and communism, and as such it requires unity of action by the working class of all nations and countries.
As the revolutionary working-class movement broadened and gained success proletarian internationalism began to take on new characteristics, although its essentials remained the same. As a result, proletarian internationalism as both an international philosophy and a principle in the relations between the national working-class contingents acquired an increasingly complex structure. To clarify the direction of this development we must consider how the objective foundations of proletarian internationalism and its content and structure have changed.
From the earliest beginnings of the revolutionary 51 working-class movement in the capitalist countries the objective foundations of proletarian internationalism were rooted in large-scale capitalist industry and in the internationalization of economic and social life that it gave rise to.^^1^^ They consisted in the fact that the proletariat held a similar position in all the capitalist countries, that there was a community of basic interests among all the national contingents of the working-class movement and its chief allies, the exploited working people, and that the proletariat held identical immediate objectives and long-term goals in the form of a struggle against capitalism and all forms of exploitation and oppression and a fight to win political power for the working class. ``Because the condition of the workers of all countries is the same, because their interests are the same, their enemies the same, they must also fight together, they must oppose the brotherhood of the bourgeoisie of all nations with a brotherhood of _-_-_
~^^1^^ ``The emancipation of labour,'' Marx wrote, ``is neither a local nor a national, but a social problem, embracing all countries in which modern society exists. . .'' (K. Marx, ``General Rules of the International Working Men's Association''. In: Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, Selected Works in three volumes, Vol. 2, p. 19.) ``Capitalist domination is international. That is why the workers' struggle in all countries for their emancipation is only successful if the workers fight jointly against international capital" (V. I. Lenin, ``Draft and Explanation of a Programme for the Social-Democratic Party'', Collected Works, Vol. 2, 1963, p. 109).
52 the workers of all nations."^^1^^ In the days when the revolutionary working-class movement was led by the 1st International and consisted only of the working class of the European capitalist countries and America there were numerous examples of effective proletarian solidarity and international support for the struggle of the working class of different countries, waged in the form of strikes, economic and political demands and revolutionary demonstrations by the working-class movement of the other countries.With the expansion of capitalism beyond the bounds of the European and North American continents, with the formation of a working class in the dependent countries and colonies and finally with the victory of the working class first in one country and then in several others the objective foundations of proletarian internationalism underwent certain changes. All the above-mentioned factors retained their importance as objective foundations for proletarian internationalism in the working-class movement of the capitalist countries, but in those countries with pre-capitalist forms of production or where capitalism is as yet underdeveloped, the situation is quite different. Here the objective conditions for struggle are somewhat different from those obtaining in the highly developed capitalist countries. The workers _-_-_
~^^1^^ K. Marx and F. Engels, ``On Poland''. In: Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, Collected Works, Vol. 6, 1976, p. 390.
53 of India and Britain, Pakistan and France, Nepal and the Federal Republic of Germany are faced by different kinds of enemies and different immediate objectives in their struggle, but in both the developed capitalist and the developing countries the main opponent to social progress is imperialism. In those countries where the working class brought about a socialist revolution and established their power many of the above-mentioned conditions (the domination of internationally-linked capital and the exploitation of the working class by the bourgeoisie, etc.) became a thing of the past and the international community of basic interests of the workers of the socialist countries in their struggle for the victory of socialism and communism came into prominence. But here too the main opponent of the new order remained the bourgeoisie.Therefore the main content of proletarian internationalism as an outlook in national relations and as the principle of solidarity of action by the working class of all countries in their struggle against capitalism and to achieve the ultimate aims of the workers' liberation struggle, the building of socialism and communism, remains unshaken. The difference in the conditions under which the working class carries on its activity in different countries (such as, for example, the USSR and the USA, Britain and India, Spain and Nepal) does not shake the objective international foundations of proletarian internationalism as such and, for this reason, can in no way serve as justification for any deviation from it. This very difference in conditions is, after all, the result of 54 expanding the international struggle of the working class of all countries for liberation and for the victory of socialism and communism and of the success achieved by it.
Today, when voices are heard from those alleging the difference in the life and conditions of struggle for the working class of the socialist, capitalist and developing countries that proletarian internationalism has become obsolescent and that it should either be replaced by ``regional solidarity" or dissolved in the ``general democratic cooperation" of all progressive forces, and that a ``new internationalism" without frontiers should be created, it still remains true that proletarian internationalism is essentially the ideology and practice of class solidarity among the workers and the other working people of all countries in the struggle to achieve their class aims. Today, Lenin's words are no less relevant than they were when he said: ``There is one, and only one, kind of real internationalism, and that is---working whole-heartedly for the development of the revolutionary movement and the revolutionary struggle in one's own country, and supporting (by propaganda, sympathy, and material aid) this struggle; this, and only this, line, in every country without exception."^^1^^ Proletarian internationalism remains the selfless struggle of the working class and its party for ``the utmost possible in one country for the development, _-_-_
~^^1^^ V. I. Lenin, ``The Tasks of the Proletariat in Our Revolution'', Collected Works, Vol. 24, 1974, p. 75.
55 support and awakening of the revolution in all countries".^^1^^It is obvious that it would be wrong to consider that the differences in the concrete conditions of the struggle of the working class, the expansion of the social base of proletarian internationalism and the new aspects of its content could in any way be ignored. It is also quite obvious that these differences in conditions should be considered from many angles. In particular it is important to take them into account when considering the ways by which a proletarian internationalist consciousness should be developed in the working-class movement of the capitalist and socialist countries, when considering the causes of its greater or lesser stability in the various links in the movement and the role in this process of the experience of the masses and the ideological work of the Marxist-Leninist party. It is particularly important to take account of the differences in conditions when considering the specific characteristics of proletarian internationalism: whether we are dealing with this in the case of countries where the working class has gained political power, or where it is still fighting for it, where it is opposed by the bourgeoisie of its own country or where foreign imperialism and local feudalism are its main enemies.
When world socialism consisted of just the _-_-_
~^^1^^ V. I. Lenin, ``The Proletarian Revolution and the Renegade Kautsky'', Collected Works, Vol. 28, 1965, p. 292.
56 revolutionary working-class movement in the capitalist countries (as it did in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries) proletarian internationalism amounted to the awareness of a direct community of basic interests and the immediate and ultimate objectives of the national contingents of this movement, in so far as these interests and objectives coincided, in the main, directly. Taken as the principle of solidarity of action it implied consideration for the overall situation and for the national specifics of capitalist development in a given country as well as regard for the position and organization of the working class.But as the working-class movement began to expand both in the industrially developed capitalist countries and in the rest of the world and the workers became victorious and established their power in a number of states, a certain differentiation of objectives and interests in the workers' movement was to be observed in the various countries. This was only to be expected given that the immediate interests and objectives of the working class differed according to whether it was based in a capitalist, developing and dependent or socialist country (which, of course, did nothing to affect the community of ultimate objectives among the working class of all countries). But this differentiation, once it had arisen through the expansion and successes of the working-class movement throughout the world, brought about changes in proletarian internationalism itself. It determined the objective dissimilarity of the process of understanding the essence of proletarian internationalism in 57 the various countries and regions of the world and revealed the need to take account not only of the general conditions and national specifics of capitalist development in individual countries but also of the different stages of social development in different groups of countries such as the capitalist, socialist and developing countries and the colonies. Thus it became important to determine a set of goals for the international working-class movement as a whole and to distinguish among them those of the greatest importance, since the difference in immediate objectives confronting the workers in various countries (socialist, capitalist, developing countries and the colonies) carries the objective danger that the common, basic goals of the international working-class movement might be replaced by the immediate objectives of the separate working-class movements in the various countries or regions. As a result of all this an objective dissimilarity appeared in certain aspects of the content of proletarian internationalism and in the practical activity of the various contingents of the international working-class movement that was based on it. Obviously the internationalist policies of the working class and its practical activity must be different in, say, an aggressor country and in a country that is the victim of aggression. But this kind of complexity, which has itself been conditioned by the success of the working-class movement can never mean an end to proletarian internationalism or the negation of its essence, which is the need for conscious joint struggle on the part of the working class of all 58 countries against capitalism and for the ultimate victory of communism.
The structure of proletarian internationalism as a special category is determined by its content. In so far as it is both an essential part of Marxist theory and a principle for action, an analysis of this structure must be conducted on two planes.
Seen as part of the Marxist world outlook on inter-ethnic and international relations, proletarian internationalism is an important aspect of the theory of the international position and international role of the working class in the liberation struggle against the exploitation of man by man and in the fight for the overthrow of capitalism, the establishment of socialism and the universal victory of communism. According to the stage 'of development of the international working-class movement as a whole and of its individual contingents the original content of proletarian internationalism is supplemented by a whole complex of other tenets which define proletarian internationalism concretely along two lines. First, with regard to the level of development of the whole revolutionary working-class movement. Here we consider questions that relate to the USSR (the country in which socialism was first made victorious) as the bulwark of revolutionary forces, and to the world socialist system as the decisive factor of social progress and the main achievement of the international working class. An evaluation of the importance of these phenomena affects the determination of the structure of the values and goals of the whole international working-class movement and of the 59 immediate duties of all its contingents in their daily revolutionary struggle. Secondly, with regard to the concrete conditions of struggle of individual national contingents of the international working-class movement. Here we must particularize not only the tenets that form the nucleus of proletarian internationalism, but also all the other above-mentioned tenets that form part of it and that are formulated with regard to the situation obtaining in each individual country, and the position of that country internationally.
Bourgeois and opportunist ideologists try to foist upon the present-day communist movement a concept of internationalism that proceeds only from the specific interests of the working class in individual countries or in individual regions of those countries and does not take into account the community of basic interests of the working-class movement as a whole, the need for joint defence of its achievements and ignores the totality of the specific conditions in which the communist and working-class parties of the different countries carry out their policies. Marxist-Leninists reject pseudo-internationalism of this kind that is inflamed by nationalism and regional parochialism and betrays the essence of internationalism, the principle of unity of the working class of all countries in its struggle against imperialism and for its common goals.
The practical efforts that are made by each national contingent of the working-class movement in the spirit of proletarian internationalism depend on their individual understanding both of what 60 proletarian internationalism really means and which stage of development the international revolutionary working-class movement as a whole has reached, and of their own place and role in this movement. Obviously therefore paramount importance must be given to a scientific Marxist-Leninist analysis of these problems. In connection with the work of the 1st International Marx wrote: ``Since the various sections of working men in the same country, and the working classes in different countries, are placed under different circumstances and have attained different degrees of development, it seems almost necessary that the theoretical notions, which reflect the real movement, should also diverge.
``The community of action, however, called into life by the Intern. W. Ass., the exchange of ideas facilitated by the public organs of the different national sections, and the direct debates at the General Congresses, are sure by and by to engender a common theoretical programme."^^1^^ Today great significance in solving these tasks attaches to the international and regional forums of communist and working-class parties that are to work out common positions in interpreting the actual content of proletarian internationalism and in deciding which stage the international working-class movement has reached and determining the structure of its values and the order of its priorities. But at the same time, the fact that each party is entirely independent in _-_-_
~^^1^^ The General Council of the First International 1868-- 1870, Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1974, p. 310.
61 determining its internal and foreign policy does not alter its responsibility to the international workingclass movement for its own policies, for its defence of the basic interests of the whole communist movement and for its pursuit of an internationalist policy that is suitable to the specifics of its national conditions.Seen as a principle for action, proletarian internationalism constitutes a totality of guidelines and demands stemming from an internationalist understanding of the world and realized through practical steps. Essentially proletarian internationalism is a consciously formulated and consciously excercized principle that ensures unity and interaction between the national contingents of the international working-class movement, which help the working class optimally to utilize its potentialities in the struggle to achieve its revolutionary goals.
Proletarian internationalism is an objective necessity for the international working-class movement.
The totality of concrete actions that are based on the principle of proletarian internationalism does not remain unchanged, as is only to be expected since the development of the working-class movement and its success have expanded the possibilities and increased the duties of this movement. But despite all the changes of this kind the principle of proletarian internationalism remains a principle of solidarity in the struggle of the working class of each country in the name of the interests of the international working-class movement. Implementation of the principle of proletarian internationalism always 62 depends on the national contigents of the working class and its allies among the rest of the working people. The sphere of their activity, the direction of their unified struggle and the practical forms in which the principle of proletarian internationalism is manifested are always extremely varied and changeable.
When the working-class movement only existed in the capitalist countries of Europe and North America, proletarian internationalism was seen in the united actions that were performed in defence of the common interests of the working-class movement in these capitalist countries irrespective of the national forms of its development. But today, when the international interests of the working-class movement have acquired a complex structure (as shown by the existence of the international interests of the working-class movement in the capitalist countries and the developing countries, the international interests of the integrated socialist countries and the international interests of the world socialist system) proletarian internationalism is a blanket concept embracing all forms of unified action by individual contingents of the working class in defence of the international and national interests of the revolutionary working-class movement.
Proletarian internationalism is far from being manifested in every joint and unified action by the progressive social forces of the world. It is important to bear in mind which classes are conducting the joint struggle and whose objectives are being aimed at. Today, when the reactionary policies of 63 imperialism meet not only with a decisive rebuff from the revolutionary working class but also with opposition from other classes, including certain groups of the bourgeoisie, attempts are still made to dilute proletarian internationalism in the joint activities of various social groups on specific problems. MarxistLeninists cannot accept the rejection of the class approach to internationalism and cannot consider any joint activity by the working class and other classes, including certain groups of the bourgeoisie, on the international arena as a manifestation of proletarian internationalism. The essential characteristic of the latter must always remain solidarity among the working class and all the working people in the name of the ultimate goals of the revolutionary working-class movement as a whole. ``The Communists are distinguished from the other working-class parties by this only: 1. In the national struggles of the proletarians of the different countries, they point out and bring to the front the common interests of the entire proletariat, independently of all nationality. 2. In the various stages of development which the struggle of the working class against the bourgeoisie has to pass through, they always and everywhere represent the interests of the movement as a whole."^^1^^ Today, these interests of the movement as a whole indisputably require the most varied forms of unified action. To be more precise, this in the first place means solidarity among all the national contingents _-_-_
~^^1^^ Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, ``Manifesto of the Communist Party''. In: Karl Marx, Frederick Engels, Collected Works, Vol. 6, p. 497.
64 of the international working-class movement in the name of the common international interests of world communism, by which is meant the world socialist system, the successes of socialism in the countries that have chosen the non-capitalist path and the international revolutionary working-class movement in all the non-socialist countries. Undoubtedly proletarian internationalism also includes all similar actions in defence of the interests of the working class and socialism in any given country. Secondly, it means solidarity among the national contingents of the working-class movement in the developed capitalist countries in the name of the international interests of the working class in a given region or its revolutionary struggle in individual countries. Thirdly, it means solidarity among the national contingents of the working-class movement in the developing countries (or regions) in defence of the international interests of the working class of a given regions or its interests in a given country. Fourthly, it means solidarity among the communist and workers' parties in the socialist countries in defence of the international interests of the working class of the non-socialist world and in defence of the interests of the working class in individual countries in the non-socialist world. ``Solidarity among the working class and among Communists of all countries in the struggle for common aims, their support for the struggle for national independence and social progress, voluntary cooperation between equal, independent fraternal parties and the organic combination of the national and international interests of 65 the working people by these parties---this is proletarian internationalism in practice. It has always been and always will be a tried and tested weapon in the hands of the communist and working-class movement."^^1^^But when it is a matter of cooperation among the socialist nations and nationalities, of solidarity among the socialist countries, and their state bodies and governments aimed at helping those of their number that are victims of aggression or subjected to increased imperialist pressure, or at achieving the objectives of the socialist world or at promoting the interethnic, inter-state or international cooperation between these countries, or at drawing them closer together or achieving their integration, proletarian internationalism comes out as socialist internationalism.
Socialist internationalism as a category in its own right came about with the conquest of political power by the working class, with the consolidation of existing socialism and the development of socialist relations between nations, nationalities and countries. From the very outset it has been a form in which proletarian internationalism has been implemented under working-class power. It expresses that part of the philosophy of the dominant working class, which characterizes its understanding of interethnic and international relations under socialism. At the same time socialist internationalism also _-_-_
~^^1^^ 60th Anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution. Decision of the CC CPSU of 31 January 1977, Moscow, 1977, p. 22 (in Russian).
__PRINTERS_P_65_COMMENT__ 5---573 66 characterizes the practical position of the working class and its Marxist-Leninist vanguard in developing relations between the nations, nationalities and countries of the socialist world. And it is in this area that socialist internationalism has always been a most important principle of relations between nations, nationalities and countries under socialism, a principle reflecting and expressing the community of basic interests of the socialist nations and countries in their struggle against capitalism and for the victory of a new social system and demanding that all these nations and countries should act in solidarity.Socialist internationalism was first developed in post-revolutionary Russia when, with the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat in the form of Soviet power, fundamentally new relations began to be formed between nations and nationalities and between independent Soviet republics. With the formation in 1922 of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics socialist internationalism was further developed through the multi-form relations between the republics and between the nations and nationalities in the Soviet state. When the new system eventually extended beyond the framework of one country and a world socialist system was formed, a new stage began in the development of socialist internationalism. New internationalist relations began to be formed not only in relations between nations and nationalities within all the socialist countries, but also between these countries.
Obviously the distinctive characteristic of socialist 67 internationalism as a particular form of proletarian internationalism consists primarily in the fact that its sphere of activity is the socialist world, the interethnic and international relations there and the understanding and formulation of the principles and norms of these relations. Here it is not a question of interaction and cooperation between the national contingents of the working class as social forces in opposition to the ruling power, but of interaction and cooperation between the national contingents of the working class, which themselves possess state power, control the economy and possess powerful material resources for implementing their policies. The principle of socialist internationalism as a distinctive form of proletarian internationalism governs relations between the working class of those countries where the workers have become the dominant class and where they control the whole life of the nation, and thereby acts not only as a regulator of relations within the international working-class movement between its separate national contingents (as, for instance, between the Soviet working class and the Hungarian working class), but also of relations between nations and countries (in this case between the USSR and Hungary) that are governed by the working class. This specific characteristic of socialist internationalism is also connected with the specific characteristics of the objective foundations of this category, its content and structure.
The objective foundations of socialist internationalism are rooted not only in the large-scale industrial production and the internationalization of 68 economic and social life that this production gives rise to, but also in the fundamentally new social relations that exist in the socialist countries. Specifically the case in point is the common character of the political system, the power of the working class, and in time, with the building of socialism, of the social and economic system; the common nature of the basic interests of the working class in power and, in time, a community of interests of the newly formed socialist nations; the common main adversary---- imperialism, so long as it continued to exist side by side with the socialist world; the common main allies ---the revolutionary forces in the non-socialist world and the community of tasks presented by the building of a new society and the ultimate goals of building communism.
It is obvious that the objective foundations of socialist internationalism largely coincide or are analogous with the objective foundations of proletarian internationalism. This is only to be expected, since the former is essentially the practical implementation of the latter in a set of new conditions, i.e. the building of a socialist and communist society. But it is precisely these new conditions that lay their specific mark on the objective foundations of socialist internationalism.
In the socialist countries the working class is not the exploited, but the dominant class. Consequently it does not have to wage daily and immediate struggle against the bourgeoisie, the exploiters, within the country, the struggle in which it had needed and constantly felt the international solidarity of the 69 working class of other countries. Of course, the working class in power is in continued receipt of support from the working class of other countries, but in many cases (like, for example, the various ``Hands off!" campaigns in support of Soviet Russia, Korea, Cuba and Vietnam) this support is of a directly tangible character, whereas at other times it is given through the mediation of parties, state bodies and international agreements. Furthermore, in the socialist countries the working class is in power and therefore to strengthen its power and achieve its ultimate aims it must take account not only of its own interests but also the interests of all the other working people of the nation it belongs to and the interests of its country as a whole. The result of this is that in the mutual relations between nations and countries it represents not simply its own class interests but also the national and state interests, which are determined by a whole totality of factors and which have far greater specificity compared with that defining the characteristics of its interests as a component part of the international workingclass movement. Then again, the working class that has won power is faced with qualitatively new international duties. Not only it alone but the whole nation must be ready for any form of solidarity with the revolutionaries of other countries and provide the peoples of these countries that are conducting a struggle for liberation with material, military and any other aid, for internationalism demands that ``a nation which is achieving victory over the bourgeoisie should be able and willing to make the greatest 70 national sacrifices for the overthrow of international capital".^^1^^
The combination of all these circumstances at a time of growing national consciousness and under pressure from hostile class forces both from within and from without presents an objective danger of deviation from internationalist policies by ruling circles of the working class after it has gained power. This danger is increased by the fact that any deviation from internationalism in the direction of national parochialism, national egoism or great-power chauvinism does not immediately or directly affect the international stability of the said country. The overall alignment of the class forces in the presence of the world socialist system is favourable to all countries that comprise that system and makes it possible to implement in any one of them a policy of national egoism without any immediate negative consequences for the international position of that country, while within the country such a policy might even lead to the temporary strengthening of the ruling nationalistically-rninded circles who gamble on the rise of national consciousness among the masses and on the temporary advantages to be gained from such a policy.
But the growth of this nationalist danger is counteracted by the objective law that governs the development of the new world---the internationalization of production and social life as a whole, which, _-_-_
~^^1^^ V. I. Lenin, ``Preliminary Draft Theses on the National and the Colonial Questions'', Collected Works, Vol. 31, 1974, p. 148.
71 given the existence and opposition of two opposing world systems, dictates the necessity for deepening the international socialist division of labour, cooperation, convergence and unity of the socialist countries on the principles of socialist internationalism. For as a result of the growth of industrial production in the socialist countries and the internationalization of productive forces, it has become increasingly evident that the successful building of the new society and the development of the economy in any of these countries (particularly small ones) is impossible without the international socialist division of labour and without developing the relations of comradely cooperation and mutual aid among these countries. The internationalization of production and social life throughout the socialist world is an important and ever more effective catalyst of close cooperation and unity among the fraternal countries.Socialist internationalism, just like proletarian internationalism, has two aspects: it is both an essential part of the Marxist world outlook and a principle governing action. Lenin noted that ``giving effect to united action on an international scale calls for both clarity of fundamental ideological views and a precise definiteness in all practical methods of action".^^1^^
Essentially socialist internationalism consists in the recognition of a community of basic interests and aims of all nations and peoples in the socialist _-_-_
~^^1^^ V. I. Lenin, ``To the International Socialist Committee (I.S.C.)'', Collected Works, Vol. 21, 1974, p. 372.
72 countries and also in the principle, that comes from this, of their joint action and solidarity, that is to say action which turns these countries into a single community acting in concord in which the internal and international potentials of the new system are optimized for the achievement of its objectives and the attainment of short-term and long-term aims.Since the countries that join the world socialist system at this or that stage are at various levels of socialist maturity, the objective tasks facing them cannot be identical. They also have a differing structure of their economies. And this makes for certain differences both in the national state interests of the socialist countries and between their national state and international interests and leads to the appearance of non-antagonistic contradictions or differences on specific questions.
The whole crux of socialist internationalism both as a philosophy and as a guiding principle for action consists in the fact that it is called upon to provide a scientific exposition of the relationship between the national and international under socialism, show the interconnection between national state interests and international interests, determine the structure of values and the order of priorities in internationalist relations between the fraternal countries and put forward a scheme of directives and standards to govern the practical activity of these countries with the result that the entire new social system is strengthened throughout.
The structure of socialist internationalism is determined by its content. Since it is both part of 73 Marxist philosophy and a guiding principle for action, it is important to study its structure on these two main planes.
As part of Marxist philosophy dealing with interethnic and international relations under socialism, socialist internationalism is an important part of the theory of the international position and role of the socialist countries and the whole world socialist system in the struggle for the liberation of the working people. It treats the relationship between the national and the international under socialism, the interconnection between state interests and international interests, the essence of socialist relations between nations, peoples and countries and the principles and norms which should govern these relations.
Considered as a guide to action, socialist internationalism is not just a single normative principle, but a totality of standards, directives and requirements that stem from an internationalist approach to the world and that are implemented in practical measures. Thus it contains a number of more specific normative principles such as the principle of solidarity, the principle of all-round cooperation, the principle of gratuitous aid, the principle of mutual support and fraternal assistance and the principle of the joint defence of socialist gains.
Just like the principle of proletarian internationalism, the principle of socialist internationalism is a consciously formulated and consciously exercised principle (a totality of standards and directives) that is designed to ensure unity among and 74 coordinated action between the socialist countries so that the world socialist system can optimally utilize its potential in the struggle to achieve its set goals. Socialist internationalism not only has objective foundations but is an objective necessity for mutual relations between the socialist countries. Only by accepting this principle can the working class successfully continue along the path of socialism in the various countries.
The totality of specific action, however, that is carried out on the basis of socialist internationalism may also vary. As existing socialism extends its positions, the sphere for the implementation of this principle becomes similarly widened and it manifests itself in qualitatively new forms. But for all these changes the principle remains a principle of coordinated action in the interests of the building of socialism and communism and a principle of solidarity in the struggle of the socialist nations, peoples and countries that is waged in order to strengthen the internal and international positions of socialism. And the performer of such action, as is carried out in accordance with the principle of socialist internationalism as distinct from proletarian internationalism, is the socialist nations, peoples and countries in the persons of their governments, state and party organs and public organizations.
With the establishment and expansion of existing socialism the principle of socialist internationalism has manifested itself in the mutual relations between the national contingents of the ruling working class, between the socialist nations and nationalities that 75 have been formed or are in the process of being formed and in the cooperation between the socialist countries. But it would be wrong to consider that internationalist cooperation is only designed to solve problems that specifically arise in the socialist countries.
Socialist internationalism as the practical implementation of proletarian internationalism in conditions of socialism preserves its common roots which are the struggle for the ultimate goals of the international revolutionary working-class movement. ``Socialist internationalism,'' Leonid Brezhnev stressed, ``means high responsibility for the destiny of socialism not only in one's own country, but throughout the world. It is the highest respect for the national and historical specifics in the development of each country and determination to render the widest possible assistance to one another. It is a deep understanding of the historic role of the socialist countries in the world revolutionary process, in the cause of supporting the liberation anti-- imperialist struggle of the peoples."^^1^^
_-_-_~^^1^^ L. I. Brezhnev, Following Lenin's Course. Speeches and Articles, Vol. 2, Moscow, 1970, p. 424 (in Russian).
76 __ALPHA_LVL2__ 3. Leninist Theory on the SolutionHistory has shown that only the revolutionary replacement of capitalism by socialism can create the necessary conditions for the elimination of the inter-ethnic and international antagonisms that have been caused by the exploiting classes and for a real solution to the national question and the convergence of nations, peoples and countries.
The national question involves such issues as understanding the place and role of nations and national relations in public life and knowing the paths available for national development. Bourgeois theory has not been able to give a correct interpretation of this question, while capitalism in principle cannot ensure its practical solution.
It is Marxism that has won the credit for a scientific analysis of the problem. The founders of scientific communism showed on the basis of a deep study the place and role of the national question in human society and in the revolutionary transformation of the world, and they demonstrated that it is subordinate to the class struggle of the proletariat and the interests of founding and developing a new society. On the basis of Marx' and Engels' ideas Lenin formulated an integral body of theory on the national question as it applied to the imperialist era, when problems of national liberation became urgent in the colonial system and the national question became a ``worldwide 77 phenomenon".^^1^^ In those days the overwhelming majority of the world's peoples were oppressed by imperialism and hundreds of millions lay under the harsh yoke of colonialism. It was under these conditions that Lenin gave theoretical grounding to the role and place of the national question throughout the world as part of the general question of the social liberation of the working people, the socialist revolution and the dictatorship of the proletariat. He showed the need to ``devote greater attention than before to the national question and to work out consistently Marxist decisions on this subject in the spirit of consistent internationalism and unity of proletarians of all nations".^^2^^
Marxism-Leninism proceeds from the assumption that the national question, that is the question of how to liberate the oppressed nations and nationalities of the world, how to ensure equality and development for all nations and nationalities, and the prospects for inter-ethnic and international relations, is part of the general social-class question of the liberation of the working class and the building of socialism and communism throughout the world. This subordination of the national to the class and the social is explained by Marxism-Leninism through the fact that without radical restructuring social relations, without the elimination of private _-_-_
~^^1^^ V. I. Lenin, ``Theses for a Lecture on the National Question'', Collected Works, Vol. 41, 1969, p. 313.
^^2^^ V. I. Lenin, ``Theses on the National Question'', Collected Works, Vol. 19, p. 250.
78 ownership and the exploitation of man by man and without full democratization of social life it would be impossible to achieve a just solution to the national question. ``It is impossible to abolish national (or any political) oppression under capitalism, since this requires the abolition of classes, i.e., the introduction of socialism. But while being based on economics, socialism cannot be reduced to economics alone. A foundation---socialist production---is essential for the abolition of national oppression, but this foundation must also carry a democratically organised state, a democratic army, etc. By transforming capitalism into socialism the proletariat creates the possibility of abolishing national oppression; the possibility becomes reality `only'---`only'!---with the establishment of full democracy in all spheres, including the delineation of state frontiers in accordance with the `sympathies' of the population, including complete freedom to secede. And this, in turn, will serve as a basis for developing the practical elimination of even the slightest national friction and the least national mistrust, for an accelerated drawing together and fusion of nations...''^^1^^The Great October Socialist Revolution was the beginning of the practical implementation of Lenin's theory on the ways and means to solve the national question according to the principles of socialist internationalism. The concrete historical conditions of _-_-_
~^^1^^ V. I. Lenin, ``The Discussion on Self-Determination Summed Up'', Collected Works, Vol. 22, 1964, p. 325.
79 the country in which there were more than one hundred nations, nationalities and ethnic groups, in which the most varied forms of class and national oppression were closely interwoven, in which there were enormous socio-economic disproportions in the development of the centre and the provinces, where for centuries the exploiter classes had instilled greatpower chauvinism and nationalism in the consciousness of the people, had made the national question into a colonial question. Furthermore it had been complicated by cultural backwardness, mediaeval prejudices and religious dissent. All this had put enormous difficulties in the way of a solution to the national question.The historical service performed by Lenin and the Bolshevik Party to the peoples of the former Russian Empire, the international revolutionary movement and the whole of progressive mankind consists in the fact that they were able not only to analyze the national question, but also to find the forms and methods for its practical solution, a solution which guaranteed the practical implementation of the tasks of restructuring national relations on new, socialist principles and gave the world the sort of practical experience that enabled other countries to take account of their specific conditions and to solve this question in their case on the principles of socialist internationalism.
A most important component of Lenin's programme and policy on the national question was not only the recognition of full equality for all nations and national groups and the impermissibility of any kind 80 of privileges for any of them, but also the actual exercise of this equality in practice. In the `` Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia'', which was one of the first legal acts to be passed by the Soviet government, the following principles were laid down to govern the national problem:
1) Equality and sovereignty of the peoples of Russia. = 2) The right of the peoples of Russia to free selfdetermination up to the secession and formation of an independent state. = 3) Abolition of all national and national-religious privileges or restrictions. = 4) Free development of national minorities and ethnic groups inhabiting the territory of Russia.^^1^^
But the existence of juridical equality between the nations and nationalities of the Soviet Union was not sufficient for a genuinely socialist solution to the national question. To achieve the real equality, friendship and cooperation between the peoples of Russia it was necessary to get rid of both economic and cultural inequality. Pointing the way to the achievement of this objective Lenin said that `` internationalism on the part of oppressor or `great' nations, as they are called (though they are great only in their violence, only great as bullies), must consist not only in the observance of the formal equality of nations but even in an inequality of the oppressor nation, the great nation, that must make up for the inequality which obtains in actual practice. Anybody who does not understand this has not _-_-_
~^^1^^ Documents of the USSR Foreign Policy, Vol. 1, Moscow, 1957, p. 15 (in Russian).
81 grasped the real proletarian attitude to the national question, he is still essentially petty-bourgeois in his point of view and is, therefore, sure to descend to the bourgeois point of view."^^1^^While organizing the practical implementation of these programme principles in the conditions that obtained in revolutionary Russia, Lenin showed in theory the necessity for the creation of a union of Soviet socialist republics and at the same time gave practical guidance to the achievement of this objective. He showed that such a union was essential for the joint defence of the gains of the revolution, for overcoming the economic dislocation and backwardness, for ensuring the rapid growth of productive forces and improving the workers' living standards and for bringing about the victory of socialism. Without the fraternal union of Soviet republics that arose after the victory of the Great October Socialist Revolution and without unified military, political, economic and diplomatic efforts it would be immeasurably more difficult to uphold the independence of the liberated peoples, surrounded as they were by capitalist powers. Lenin stressed that the victorious proletariat needed ``a close military and economic alliance . .. for otherwise the capitalists ... will crush and strangle us separately"^^2^^. At the same time the unity of the peoples building a new society was to _-_-_
~^^1^^ V. I. Lenin, ``The Question of Nationalities or ` Autonomisation'~'', Collected Works, Vol. 36, 1966, p. 608.
~^^2^^ V. I. Lenin, ``Letter to the Workers and Peasants of the Ukraine Apropos of the Victories Over Denikin'', Collected Works, Vol. 30, 1965, p. 296.
__PRINTERS_P_81_COMMENT__ 6---573 82 become a reliable bulwark of the world revolutionary and liberation movement. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and its strengthening were according to V. I. Lenin ``necessary for the world communist proletariat in its struggle against the world bourgeoisie and its defence against bourgeois intrigues".^^1^^During the preparatory period that preceded the formation of the USSR Lenin frequently directed the attention of the Party to the dangers of greatpower chauvinism and local nationalism. He emphasized that an effective means of struggle against great-power chauvinism and national egoism and narrow-mindedness was the consistent implementation of the principles of internationalism and the voluntary international unification of those peoples that had liberated themselves from capitalism into a fraternal union for the joint struggle against imperialism arid for the triumph of socialism.
To eliminate the differences in socio-economic and cultural levels between the industrial centre and the provinces the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Soviet government adopted a policy for the rapid development of the formerly backward national border regions, whose economic and cultural growth rates over a long period were considerably higher than the national average. This was achieved by the all-round support that was given to the formerly _-_-_
~^^1^^ V. I. Lenin, ``The Question of Nationalities or ` Autonomisation'\thinspace", Collected Works, Vol. 36, p. 609.
83 oppressed nations and nationalities of Russia by the more developed regions of the country and particularly by the Russian people themselves. The Tenth Congress of the Russian Communist Party stressed that ``the task of the Party is to help the working masses of the non-Russian peoples to overtake the advanced Central Russia".^^1^^ In conformity with this directive the republics of Transcaucasia, Central Asia and Kazakhstan were provided with factories, while numerous qualified workers and specialists, scientists and teachers and cultural workers were sent there. For many years the expenditure of many of the Union republics was largely met by grants from the all-Union budget. The regions that were in the worst conditions materially were made fully or partially exempt from payment of agricultural or income tax. At the same time the purchase price of agricultural products was fixed at a level that would promote the development of the formerly backward regions. They were also given tremendous help in the raising of cultural and educational standards and the training of qualified personnel.Thanks to the implementation of this plan the former national border regions of Russia were turned into developed industrial areas in a comparatively short historical period. By the mid-1970s Central Asia and Kazakhstan with a total population of about 35 million were producing three times as much _-_-_
~^^1^^ The CPSU in Decisions and Resolutions of the Congresses, Conferences and Plenary Meetings of the Central Committee, Vol. 2, Moscow, p. 252 (in Russian). 6»
84 electricity as Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Egypt, Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan together, even though the population of the latter group of countries totalled 210 million. Considerable success was also achieved in cultural development. Almost half the population of Central Asia and Kazakhstan have either higher or secondary education.Industrialization and the collectivization of agriculture, the cultural revolution and the comprehensive development of the whole economy and culture on the basis of the high growth rates of social production radically altered the whole social structure of Soviet society and the class composition of the population. The common denominator of all these changes is the growing social homogeneity of Soviet society and the drawing together of all the nations and nationalities that make up the Soviet people today.
The Soviet people are an historically new social and political international community comprising unified classes and social groups, nations and nationalities, national and ethnic groups, a community that has been formed on the foundations of socialism and through the unity of the basic interests and aims of all the working people in the Soviet Union. The historical success of the Soviet people in building developed socialism has been enshrined in the 1977 Constitution of the USSR.
The main result of pursuing a Leninist national policy has been, as Leonid Brezhnev noted, that ``we have successfully dealt with those aspects of the problem of nationalities that we inherited from the 85 pre-revolutionary past".^^1^^ In other words the Soviet people have overcome everything that was caused by exploitative relations and that was connected with economic, political and cultural inequality between nations and nationalities, and largely solved the problem of levelling up development and ensuring actual equality.
But this does not mean that the Soviet Union no longer considers relevant such problems as controlling and managing the development of inter-ethnic and national relations, or improving the patriotic and internationalist education of the working people, or revealing and overcoming chauvinist and nationalist tendencies in the consciousness and conduct of the Soviet people. The ideological opponents of socialism never cease to stir up these negative tendencies in socialist society with their hostile propaganda and give them support, and this is a fact that should not be regarded too lightly.
The CPSU adheres strictly to Lenin's principles that national and national-state differences will remain even after the victory of the dictatorship of the proletariat throughout the world.
In its daily policy towards the nationalities the CPSU dialectically combines the general and the particular, the international and the national in the life of the Soviet people. It always takes account of the two trends in national relations, opposing both disregard for the real process of convergence of the _-_-_
~^^1^^ L. I. Brezhnev, Following Lenin's Course. Speeches and Articles (1972--1975), Progress Publishers, MOSCOW, 1975, p. 76,
86 nations and nationalities of the USSR and the artificial acceleration of this process. In this connection it should be noted that during the discussion of the draft of the new Constitution in 1977 a complete rejection was made of all suggestions to introduce into the Constitution the concept of a single Soviet nation, do away with the Union and autonomous republics or limit the sovereignty of the former by depriving them of the right of secession from the USSR and abolish the Soviet of Nationalities, thus making the Supreme Soviet a single chamber body. Characterizing the erroneousness of these suggestions in a report to the Extraordinary Seventh Session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Leonid Brezhnev emphasized that the social and political unity of the Soviet people did not in any way mean the disappearance of national differences. ``The friendship of the Soviet peoples,'' he said, ``is indissoluble, and in the process of building communism they are steadily drawing ever closer together and their spiritual life is being mutually enriched. But we would be taking a dangerous path if we were artificially to step up this objective process of national integration. That is something Lenin persistently warned against, and we shall not depart from his precepts."^^1^^But at the same time the CPSU and the Soviet _-_-_
~^^1^^ L. I. Brezhnev, On the Draft Constitution ( Fundamental Law) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Results of the Nationwide Discussion of the Draft, Novosti Press Agency Publishing House, Moscow, 1977, p. 15,
87 state consistently pursue a policy aimed at drawing the nations and nationalities of the USSR closer together. The material basis of this and of the friendship and cooperation between the peoples of the Soviet Union is the integral economic mechanism which operates throughout the multi-national state.The drawing of nations closer together and the internationalization of their life does not mean sacrificing the national in favour of the international, but, on the contrary, promoting the highest flourishing of the national and enriching it with new content.
The Soviet experience in solving the national question, which was the first practical experience of its kind, has now been acclaimed throughout the world and is an important point of orientation for all progressive forces and particularly for those peoples and countries that have entered the path of socialist construction. The communist and workers' parties of these countries, which are already armed with lifetested Marxist-Leninist theory, creatively apply and enrich with their own experience of national state construction those aspects of the Soviet solution to the national question which are considered by them most important from the point of view of the general and specific conditions obtaining in their countries, generally applicable principles as well as their own customs and traditions, the international situation and the current objectives of foreign and domestic policy.
Thus in the case of the German Democratic Republic, whose population is 99.2 per cent German, what is most important is the experience gained in 88 connection with the formation and development of a socialist nation. The defeat of fascism and the liberation mission of the Soviet Army, the democratic and later socialist transformations in the Eastern part of Germany, the liquidation of the exploiter classes and the formation of a socialist state on German soil have all gone to create the objective conditions for the formation of a socialist nation in the German Democratic Republic. ``In contrast to the FRG,'' said E. Honecker, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, ``where a bourgeois nation continues to exist and where the national question is determined by the irreconcilable class contradiction between the bourgeoisie and the toiling masses. . ., here in the GDR, in the socialist German state, we are developing a socialist nation."^^1^^
The economic basis for the formation and development of a socialist German nation in the GDR are social ownership of the means of production and planned economic development in the interests of the whole population. The nation in the GDR is guided by the working class through its Marxist-- Leninist party and the socialist state. The socialist nation in the GDR is a community of workers, peasants, intelligentsia, of all the working people held together by bonds of friendship. The ideological and theoretical foundations for the development of a socialist nation are a Marxist-Leninist world outlook _-_-_
~^^1^^ Erich Honecker, Die Rolle der -.Arbciterklasse und Ihrer Partei in der sozialislischen Gesellschaft, Dietz Verlag, Berlin, 1974, S. 68.
89 and internationalism. And this philosophy is gradually becoming the common heritage of all citizens in the republic.The collapse of Hitler's Reich and the formation on German territory of two German states with different social systems, personifying, so to speak, the fundamental contradiction of our era, the contradiction between labour and capital, socialism and capitalism, and the absence of common features in their economies, politics and ideology make it impossible to speak today of the Germans as one nation, despite the fact that the peoples of the two German states have a common language. Even within the same social system, as for example in Great Britain, the United States and Australia, where English is the native language of the population, and Austria and Switzerland, where German is the medium of communication (as it is in the FRG and the GDR) we have independent states and different nations. This becomes particularly apparent when we consider fundamentally different social structures. And even a national culture cannot be integrated in character when class antagonisms are present. Lenin noted that ``there are two national cultures in every national culture".^^1^^ The development of a socialist German nation in the GDR is a new affirmation of the radical reconstruction of a nation and intra-national relations under socialism.
The socialist world also successfully copes with _-_-_
~^^1^^ V. I. Lenin, ``Critical Remarks on the National Question'', Collected Works, Vol. 20, p. 32.
90 other problems. Take, for example, Hungary. Here it was particularly important for socialism to overcome the country's alienation and help establish friendly and fraternal relations with the neighbouring socialist countries, and for this purpose creatively apply and concretize the Leninist theory and Soviet practical experience of solving the national question. ``The Hungarian people, who are not a part of the Slavic, Germanic or Latin races, have,'' declared Janos Kadar, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, ``always been told that they are alone in the world, a nation without friends or relations. In the past this was perhaps very probably the case. Today, however, the situation is quite different. Today the Hungarian people are no longer alone for they hold an internationalist position and are members of the great, powerful and invincible family of socialist nations."^^1^^The strengthening of the friendship and brotherhood between the Hungarian people and the peoples of the other socialist states and the successful development of the new system have been actively promoted by the Marxist-Leninist policy of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party on national construction, and particularly in the sphere of guaranteeing the rights of the national minorities. Inter-- governmental agreements on cultural exchange have given the Southern Slavs, Germans, Romanians and _-_-_
^^1^^ J. Kadar, Selected Articles and Speeches (October 1964-April 1970), Moscow, 1970, p. 145 (in Russian).
91 Slovaks that live in Hungary the possibility to maintain permanent contact with the people of the same national origin in the neighbouring socialist countries. There are regular contacts between the national minorities and their kinsmen abroad through a special cross-border link and the most varied forms of educational and cultural exchange are being developed among the national minorities.An important thing for Czechoslovakia has been Soviet experience in overcoming the actual inequality between the centre and the national border areas of the former Russian Empire and also in the formation and development of a federation of socialist republics. When it came to power in Czechoslovakia in 1948, the working class and its Marxist-Leninist vanguard pursued a policy of developing the nations and national minorities and drawing them closer together, providing all-round education for the working people in the spirit of socialist internationalism and patriotism and combatting bourgeois and pettybourgeois nationalist leanings. An integral part of the solution to the national question in Czechoslovakia has been the alignment of economic development levels between the Czech and Slovak nations and the industrialization of Slovakia. However, in the course of this development a certain one-sidedness appeared manifest in the fact that the whole national question was reduced to the elimination of actual economic, social and cultural inequality. Insufficient attention was given to the fact that under socialism relations continue to have a political character and that the form of state legal relations that 92 develops under the socialist transformation of society is of extreme importance. The result was that for two decades after the victory of the socialist revolution in Czechoslovakia these problems did not receive a consistent Marxist-Leninist solution. ``The long-term prospects for drawing the socialist peoples together,'' declared Gustav Husak, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, ``were perverted and they took on a form of bureaucratic centralism which naturally led to a deformation of equal relations between our peoples."^^1^^
Measures to correct this deformation were taken under the complicated circumstances that arose from the political crisis that took place in Czechoslovakia in 1968--1969, when enemies of the new system, opportunists, gambled on the mistakes that had been allowed in the past and tried to emasculate the federative state form of the republic of all its class socialist content. Marxist-Leninists delivered a decisive rebuff to these attempts: henceforth a federation was set up of two national states---the Czech Socialist Republic and the Slovak Socialist Republic---with the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia acting as a single guiding political force in the country. The CPCz expresses the class interests of all the working people irrespective of their nationality and exercises the principle of socialist internationalism both _-_-_
~^^1^^ 14th Congress of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. Prague, 25--29 May, 1971, Moscow, 1971, p. ,23 (in Russian).
93 within the country and in relation to other socialist countries.Inter-ethnic relations in other countries are also being reconstructed on the new basis.
Lenin's ideas on the ways to solve the national question in a multi-national state and on the methods to practise the principles of internationalism in the building of socialism have been creatively implemented in the new type of inter-state relations that exist between the socialist countries. Here we refer naturally to those principles that are related to the general principles of solving the national question under socialism: sovereignty and equality, mutual trust and national freedom and mutual aid and fraternal cooperation between peoples, all of which are also applied in the sphere of inter-state socialist relations. But at the same time it is obvious that the standards, methods and practice that are adopted in intra-state relations in the USSR or other socialist countries are not fully applicable to the inter-state relations between these countries, for inter-ethnic relations within the framework of a multi-national state are relations which imply the presence of a governing body in the form of central state power, whereas internadonal relations within the framework of the world socialist system are the relations that exist between sovereign, independent states.
But despite the difference in form of inter-ethnic relations on the plane of intra-state and inter-state relations a fundamental similarity between these two types of relations does exist. In the first place, in both cases we have the practical implementation of 94 Marxist-Leninist principles on national policy and the practical exercise of socialist internationalism, i.e. a correct solution to the national question which organically combines national sovereignty and equality between nations and nationalities with their fraternal cooperation in the achievement of a common goal. Secondly, both intra-state and inter-state forms of national relations under socialism correspond to the demands of the internationalization of the economy and social life as a whole and the gradual development of mankind. Thirdly, experience in inter-ethnic and inter-state relations under socialism shows that the all-round free development of the socialist countries and nations is the precondition for their successful friendly cooperation, and thanks to this each country and each nation strengthens and multiplies its own achievements and contributes to the cause of the political, economic and ideological cohesion of all the countries in the world socialist system. As was emphasized in the Declaration of the Bucharest Conference of the Political Consultative Committee of Warsaw Treaty Member States, ``solidarity among all the socialist countries is in the interests of each of them and of the world socialist system as a whole. It is also in the interests of universal peace and progress."^^1^^
The development of relations of a new type between the socialist nations, nationalities and states is a complex process and one that requires the _-_-_
~^^1^^ Conference of the Political Consultative Committee of Warsaw Treaty Member States. Bucharest, 25--26 November, 1976, Moscow, 1976, p. 20 (in Russian).
95 overcoming of the heavy legacy that has been left by many centuries of domination by the exploiter classes, hostility, discord, distrust and national seclusion. The differences in economic and social development levels and in historical and cultural traditions that were inherited from the past give rise to objective contradictions in the organization of all-round cooperation between the peoples and states that make up the world socialist system. This cooperation is also hindered by such factors as the presence in the socialist countries of vestiges of the exploiter classes and petty-bourgeois elements long since the overthrow of the bourgeoisie, and the existence of the capitalist world with its attempts to weaken the unity among the peoples of the socialist states, set them against each other and capitalize on the fact that some national communities turned to be divided and live separately in different socialist countries.The vestiges of nationalism and the set-backs and mistakes that have been made in the solution of the national question all combine to put real difficulties in the way of national and state building and in the relations between nations and nationalities, and require consistent application of the principles of Marxism-Leninism and socialist internationalism.
The negative consequences that can result through ignoring the principles of Marxism-Leninism in solving the national question, or disregarding the experience of the socialist states or rejecting the creative utilization of this experience can be seen from the national and state building in China. The Maoist 96 leadership of the Communist Party of China has for many years now pursued a great-power chauvinist line both in their domestic and foreign policy. Despite the fact that more than fifty different nations and nationalities live in China, the Maoists have refused to grant them the right to self-determination. The 1954 constitution stated that China was a unitary state and only the Chinese nation had the right to national statehood. This was once more affirmed in the 1975 Constitution. As for the national minorities, the already purely formal ``autonomy'' of such areas as Inner Mongolia and Xin Jiang was made totally fictitious through re-drawing the map of these areas and resettling there vast numbers of Chinese. And in the case of the non-Han peoples a policy of forced assimilation has been pursued by Peking under which the national cadres of these peoples have been subjected to repressions and persecutions, while their national language and culture have been suppressed.
In the sphere of foreign policy the great-Han chauvinism of the Maoists makes its appearance in the expansionist line they pursue in world politics, in crude intervention in the affairs of neighbouring states, in territorial claims on them, and in support for any kind of dissenting and separatist groups that oppose legally elected governments, in using Chinese living abroad as a fifth column for subversive activity in some countries and in provoking border conflicts. The indignation of all progressive mankind was aroused when Peking unleashed an aggressive war against Vietnam in 1979. The Chinese 97 leadership lay claims to play a leading role in world politics and it is this in particular that explains their anti-Sovietism, for they see the Soviet Union as the main obstacle in the way of their hegemonistic and chauvinistic plans.
The example of China shows convincingly that ignoring the general laws and internationalist principles of solving the national question or being tolerant of nationalism can lead to a state of affairs in which nationalist inclinations are allowed to develop into a political line that is founded on nationalism and chauvinism and a complete break with internationalism.
The CPSU and the other Marxist-Leninist parties in the socialist states and the world communist movement are conducting a principled and relentless struggle against all manifestations of chauvinism, nationalism and separatism. And success in this campaign is one of the fundamental conditions for strengthening the unity of the world socialist system.
__PRINTERS_P_97_COMMENT__ 7---573 [98] __NUMERIC_LVL1__ CHAPTER II __ALPHA_LVL1__ THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE NATIONALThe objective foundations for the development and strengthening of socialist internationalism are the real interests of the socialist states. There is no political issue at all, and particularly the question of internationalism, in which Marxist policies can be built on subjective desires without taking into account the real factors that govern the activity of the various social groups. And only by so doing is it possible to determine and pursue a principled policy that excludes subjectivism. ``People always have been the foolish victims of deception and self-- deception in politics,'' Lenin said, ``and they always will be until they have learnt to seek out the interests of some class or other behind all moral, religious, political and social phrases, declarations and promises."^^1^^
Interest as a social category expresses the totality of the basic objective requirements of a given historical subject (i.e. social group, class or nation). _-_-_
~^^1^^ V. I. Lenin, ``The Three Sources and Three Component Parts of Marxism'', Collected Works, Vol. 19, p. 28.
99 In other words interest is objectively determined by the nature and position of a given historical subject, by the nature of its requirements, while the fulfilment of interest depends on the conditions for the satisfaction of these requirements.A study of national and international interests must focus attention on an analysis of the objective conditions determining the origins and development of nations, the correlation between the national and the international in social development and the nature of the real demands engendered by social progress in this area. However, the objective conditions and real demands that determine the place, role and correlation of the national and the international in social progress are not eternal and unalterable, but are historically formed and in a continued state of flux and development. Thus there can be no suprahistorical national or international interests.
From their very beginnings under capitalism both national and international interests have borne a clearly expressed class character. Thus the bourgeoisie, as the dominating class, tries to pass off its interests as the interests of the whole nation. Of course, at first, when the bourgeoisie entered the historical arena as a progressive and revolutionary force in the struggle with feudalism, its interests did indeed coincide to a large extent with those of the overwhelming majority of the nation. But, once it has achieved class domination, it inevitably became reactionary with the result that a class split took place not only within the nation (the working class and the progressive forces of society, on the one hand, and 7*
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