itt brn a : —_ . is Anti-war rally, Wall St. N.Y.C., May 1970. The following is the first section of a report delivered to the recent National Committee meeting of the Communist Party USA. By Gus Hall General Secretary, Communist Party U.S.A. ~ A’ the last meeting or our National Committee, four months ago we said: ‘‘World capitalism has lost the source of its momentum. It cannot sustain periods of stability. Instability is now the more basic charac- teristic of world capitalism. It is a social system in a continuous crisis. Life is giving ever more dramatic evidence that this is indeed the last stage of capital- ist development.”’ About the present moment in history, we said: : “For U.S. imperialism this is a moment when the headwinds are threatening to take over. This is a period when the counter-forces have become an effective: counterbalance to U.S. imperialist policies. increasingly they are canceling out U.S. influences... setbacks. : In world relations, U.S. imperialism is forced to seek new options, because the old options have put the U.S. on a precarious limbo. . “The options that are open are either detours or retreats and increasingly the detours are turning into fiascos.<. : “The new element that now more and more forces itself into all U.S. imperialist operations is the element of of a forced retreat.” What we have said is correct. It is a guide to understanding the nature of the present historic mo- ment. But the dramatic events of the past months, and even days, force us to probe further and to consider even more far-raching conclusions. Needless to say, the contradictions, currents, rela- tionship of forces giving rise to this moment are ex-. tremely complex. There are currents and counter: =~.” currents. The ‘capitalist world is in an extremely un- settled state. : Events unfold with unusual impact and speed. The moment is complex because the basic post- war point of reference for the capitalist world has crumbled. It is not only the capitalist currencies’ that are ‘‘floating.”’ Political forces :\\ the capitalist world ~ are in a flux, each seeking for ...w relationships, for new points of reference. pS ‘What is the basic nature of “‘is critical. mo. _ Ment? What is it that has changed? Rr oe ee In a nutshell, the economic, political end.inilitary*” Se a mi "PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 1972—PAGE ey ce IC VSA AA YAGIAS=— ab World Magazine _ “Areas of past difficulties are turning into severe - edifice of the post-war capitalist world is now crum- bling. It can never be rebuilt on the old basis. The old relationships of forces cannot be reconstituted along past patterns. The capitalist world is trying to find a new world structure. U.S. imperialism is trying to do this on its own terms. The task of our people, and the anti-imperialist forces of the world, is to prevent the regrouping, to destroy the props of the old edifice. _. We need to dismantle the institutions of aggression within the country—the military-industrial complex, the Pentagon-CIA, the invisible government, the Na- tional Security Council, and the rest. This is the mo- ment to demand the dismantling of all US. military bases and alliances of aggression. The curbing of the post-war capitalist system is of great historic signifi- cance. With this collapse of the post-war economic, politi- cal and military capitalist edifice, the general crisis of world capitalism. is entering a new stage. The strategic U.S.-built imperialist cold war structure is in shambles. For U.S. imperialism this is the year of the ‘ boomerang. One cold war policy after another is boomeranging. The ‘‘roll back of Communism’ policy is turning into roll back for imperialism. The isolator has become isolated. The initiative in world affairs is more and more in the hands of the socialist countries. The trade blockers are at work trying to break through the trade walls they them- selves have built. : The U.S.-United Nations policy is boomeranging. Nixon is pleading, “Vote us down but please do not dance and sing in your victory.” With the China vote, the 25 years of U.S. domination of the UN came to an end. @ 7 The post-war world, capitalist economic structure of satellites and appendages that are bound to, and domi- nated by, U.S. imperialism, is floundering in chaos and _. confusion. The centrifugal force generated by the inner ‘contradictions of capitalism has brought to a breaking point the post-war ties fashioned under US. economic dominance. The post-war capitalist political structure of poli- tical and military alliances under U.S. control are be- coming skeletons of past relationships. This isreflected in the grab bag diplomacy of the Nixon Administra- tion. The traditional post-war allies of U.S. imperial- ism are often left “‘holding the bag.” With this new stage in the general crisis of world capitalism has come a new shift in the balance. of world forces. It is more than an ordinary shift. It is a new qualitative shift of great historic significance, What is the basic cause for this shift on the world scene? : The processes leading to this shift have been pres- ent for a long time. The contradictions were born with the post-war setup. The prime source for capital that has sustained the reconstruction of post-war world capitalism has been the accumulated loot, the riches of U.S. monopoly capitalism. This has been the re- servoir that has been the source of what stability there has been in the capitalist world. The U.S. has been the main source for the working capital for most of the capitalist countries. It has also been the instru- ment of U.S. imperialist domination. U.S. domination of world capitalism gave rise to a worldwide imperialist Strategy. The Strategy was to wield a joint imperialist front to roll back socialism and stop national liberation. The tactics have ranged from military aggressions, neo-colonialism, blockade, nuclear confrontation to ideological infiltra- tion. At all times a key element in these post-war plans has been the attempt to weaken the socialist forces by weakening and isolating the Soviet Union. ~The cold. war was a key element of these strategic -. plans. This has been the post-war point of reference for all capitalist countriés. ee _ The post-war U.S. economic, political and military ‘Structure was built and geared to carry out these plans of world conquest. This includes the full scale ., Militarization of all sectors of the imperialist world: | _ the Marshall Plan; the so-called “foreign-aid’”’ schemes: the military aggression -in Indochina; the attempts to _ isolate Peoples China; the blockade of Cuba; the eco- aa nomic barriers against most socialist countries; the » building: of ‘Military bases in every corner of the ee globe; the continued massive presence of U.S. armed ‘What imperialism failed to foresee: THE YEAR | economic — forces in Japan, West Germany, Great Britain and tanamo. As we know these U-.S.-led plans hav: ed in the unprecedented penetration of U.S. cap the industries of every corner of the capitalis U.S. imperialism became the financial, économlG tary and ideological center for these strategie” perialist plans.