The 165th anniversary of Marx’s birth
and centenary of his passing away have
given us clear evidence of the power of
Marxism in shaping and changing the
world. These 100 years have reinforced
the truth of the role of the working class
as the historical grave digger of capital-
ism. It has equally demonstrated the

A creative, dynamic, liberating!

- ore
2 RR he

Id in|

policeman against the national liberatio!
movement. In its limited and pro :
nuclear war strategy and drive for world
domination U.S. imperialism is p

to sacrifice the security of other coul
tries and peoples, not only in Wes |.
Europe but in other parts of the world 4 >
well. -

This is further underscored by thé t

truth that the task is not only to explain Sys if tthe Alas Pogissidancbad ne : Bs sete, Sees
the world but to change it. pe | 24, reporting on the Berlin meeting, “‘because‘it was directed to paying

This task of changing the world after | . 27#ute to Karl Marx and to his tremendous contribution to the working class
explaining modem day development was _ and revolutionary movement on‘a world scale... 2

left to Lenin. He creatively developed |

crass interference of U.S. imperialism |
the affairs of other countries, be #
Nicaragua, El Salvador, Grenada, |
Southem Africa, the Middle East, South j.,
East Asia. This interference in the affailS 9.
of other countries finds expression
Canada also where U.S. imperialist
threatens its sovereignty and

independence. “in

U.S. imperialism has undertaken ©

twist the arms of Canada in its drive to #€ }..
Canada to the U.S. nuclear arms strategy jj,
of first strike of limited and protracted nd
nuclear war. This is seen in the recetl |

umbrella agreement between the USA jy
and Canada which assigns Canada thé j,

; “The conference related at the same time to what was and is the most .
Marx’s teachings in the era of imperial- important problem and task facing the world —preservation of peace and -
ism which he characterized as the last Prevention of nuclear war."” Len yanaenyn CEO tag nee ia cae es
‘parasitic, moribund”’ stage of capital- Expressing satisfaction at the breadth of the conference, ‘Kashtan re-
ism. The Great October Socialist Rev- ported that 145 parties attended. Of these 90 were‘ Communist and Workers’ —
olution, and since, the formation of the pie? 25 were Social he socialist parties and 30 were na-
socialist c i oR tlonat democratic parties from developing states. ues eat 2 1S:
testimony Ay poe — = SR Another important feature, ‘Kashtan said, was the unity achieved around...»
Marxism. The world has changed along the central theme — safeguarding of world peace. ‘There is no doubt the
the lines and general direction indicated: conference will help strengthen the process of unity and coordination of ge
by the teachings and practical leadership effort in the struggle for peace,”’ he stressed. “‘It was agreed that the fight for

of Marx and Lenin. peace has priority, that ideological differences must not stand in the way of

History has vindicated Leninism, and uniting everyone in the fight to maintain peace.”

Leninism alone has proven Marx to be
correct. The policies of Marxism-Lenin-
ism have succeeded in overcoming the
most pressing problems of Mankind.
This is why Marxism has struck deep
roots in all continents, demonstrating its
universal validity within its varied forms
and transitional stages.

In celebrating the Centenary of Mar-
xism one cannot but note the reactions of
the “‘establishment’’ in the capitalist
world to that event.

The days when monopoly and its
spokesmen could ignore Marxism-
Leninism are past. Previously they re-
ferred to a crisis of Marxism, to its being
obsoléte, or to its having validity only in
backward countries.

Today, in conditions of a deepening of
the crisis of the capitalist system it is not
so easy to brush off Marxism-Leninism.

A Creative Science

Marx’s forecast that capitalism would
be unable to function in the interests of
the people has been borne out. The end
of the post-war boom, persistent mass
unemployment, the tendency to relative
and absolute impoverishment, the grow-
ing concentration and centralization of
production and power in fewer and fewer
hands, inequality, oppression, racism
and discrimination have all been cor-
roborated by life.

positions of all present.

The free exchange of views at the conference was reflected in the fact that A
all speeches were published in the press, giving a complete record of the —

The Communist Party of Canada was represented by William Kashtan ie
and Peter Boychuck, Central Education Director. Kashtan’s contribution to
the conference is reprinted here slightly abridged:

Marxism-Leninism remains as valid as
ever, a creative, dynamic and liberating
science that guides the working class to-
gether with its allies.

The efforts of monopoly and its
governments to smooth over class con-
tradictions are falling apart in face of the
irreconcilable contradictions ‘ between
the aims of the capitalist class and the
working class. Whereas the capitalist
state wants to integrate the working class
and subordinate it to the aims of state
monopoly capitalism, the working class
wants and is in fact asserting its right,
more and more, to.a voice and a say on all
questions of economic policy. Its role as
a remaker of society, as the historic
grave digger of capitalism brought to
light by Marx, remains as valid as ever.

The ideas of Marxism-Leninism,
rather than diminishing are gathering
support in face of the bankruptcy of the
various theories of bourgeois reformism,
neo-conservatism, social reformism and
revisionism. Rather than becoming obso-
lete Marxism is very much alive today.

Thus the question before Mankind is
not the relevance of Marxism-Leninism
but the irrelevance of imperialism in face
of its ever deepening crises. Socialism
continues to march forward despite the
obstacles imperialism, particularly U.S.
imperialism, puts in its way through the
arms race, economic sanctions and trade
wars.

The Centenary of Marx has corrobor-
ated Marx’s creative theories on the rev-
olutionary role of the working class as
the builder of a classless society free
from exploitation, on the need for the
working class to win political power in
alliance with all working people and on
socialization of the means of production
as a basis for the socialist transformation
of society. Life has fully corroborated
the fundamental conclusion of Marx that
the working class needs a revolutionary
party.

He * he

The building of socialism in the USSR
and in other countries reached a qualita-
tively new stage in line with Marx’s
teachings and in the social progress
achieved. Marx’s ideas are being trans-
lated into reality in these countries of

~

socialism where a new society is being
built.

While it is understandable that the
apologists of monopoly-capitalism
would undertake this smear campaign
against. existing real socialism, less
understandable are the views of those
claiming to be Marxists, who throw
stones at existing socialism and advance
views that veer to a so-called non-Marx-
ist socialism. But what kind of socialism
is that? Can socialism be achieved, de-
fended and built on that basis?

These individuals say they are sever-
ing relations with the Soviet Union.
They want to turn their backs on real
socialism. But in doing so they commit a
grave error. It is precisely. the socialist
states, and above all the Soviet Union,
which are the main force in the fight for
peace and social progress.-It is the force
that has achieved a strategic military ba-
lance with capitalism, an event of major
importance for preserving peace. To turn
one’s back on that vital force today is in
fact to turn one’s back on the fight for
peace and social progress in one’s own
country. This is not a winning strategy; it
is a defeatist strategy.

While there is no single model for all
countries in working to achieve social-
ism, there are basic principles that are
universal in their scope in achieving, de-
fending and building socialism.

These remain as valid as ever. There is
in the real world no non-Marxist social-
ism. Only the invincible theories of
Marxism-Leninism, creatively de-
veloped, are the guarantees for victory in
one’s own country.

* * a

The present international situation is
complicated and dangerous, due to the
provocative, adventurist policies of im-
perialism, primarily U.S. imperialism
which strives to return to cold war and
confrontationist policies and undermine
detente. Everywhere one turns one can
see the hand of the reactionary forces of
U.S. imperialism, hell-bent to halt social
progress and achieve world domination
through nuclear blackmail, including
threats of nuclear war.

U.S. imperialism threatens the Soviet
Union. It has undertaken a crusade
against socialism. It acts as world

task of testing ground for new U.S. mis:
sile systems, as well as becoming thé
territory for testing Cruise missiles.

Opposition to Cruise missile testing 0°
Canada soil has merged with growiN8 jj
opposition to the production of wa! yj
material in Canada for the U.S. military
machine, with demands that Canada be- i
come a nuclear weapons-free zone, and it
against the deployment of the Cruise and Ki
Pershing-II missiles in western Europe: jp
Mass protest actions are shaping up
over the country. And they will continue
to grow.

Growing opposition to U.S. interfer
ence in the sovereignty and in
dependence of Canada, and to its
dangerous nuclear war aims merges
more and more with the struggle for
Canadian independence.

‘The latest manoeuvres of President
Reagan around a variation of his ‘‘zero
option’’ have not taken many people in.
More and more the conclusion is being
drawn that U.S. imperialism does not
want disarmament, that its aim is thé
achievement of nuclear and military
superiority-as part of its drive to world
domination. It is U.S. imperialism which
provokes the danger of a nuclear world
war. Se.

Despite the U.S. and NATO accele!-
ated arms race there are views expres
in some quarters that both NATO and |
the Warsaw Treaty countries are respon: —
sible for the present tense internationa! —
situation. To place equal responsibility 7
on these two groupings, one a capitalist 7
bloc and the other, a socialist bloc, is like ©
blaming the working class for the capital- ©
ist crisis and for wars of aggression. It is 2
classless concept which should find no |
place in the revolutionary movement.

Our party is conscious of its respon- ©
sibilities in the fight for peace, detente
and disarmament, and works indefatiga- —
bly for the creation of a Canada-wide
coalition of all peace forces to include the ~
great majority of the Canadian people. ©
Our party, while working to strengthen’
its own political identity, opposes every
vestige of sectarianism which stands in
the way of uniting all the forces of peace 7
in Canada today. These peace forces, {
combined with the forces of the working —
class and democratic movement, if un- —
ited, could make a powerful impact on
political developments in Canada, and to
the achievement of a fully independent
foreign policy for our country.

* *e &

Marx was a convinced international-
ist. He embodied this in the imperishable

_

—
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