So the story doesn't end
“A ghost travels through Europe: the ghost of communism.” This is how the Communist Manifesto that he wrote 174 years ago begins. Marx and Engels began exploring the path of scientific socialism. In March 1871, the revolt that he sowed with the first program of workers took place. Live the Commune! Behind the chorus, the cry of a new society was concealed and, beyond this cry, the idea had been transformed. One of the first experiences that articulated the power of the workers when they changed for the common state of the bourgeoisie was put on the table. The working class flourished in forms of program and structure that would defend its interests.
Capitalism had already reached its highest stage, the imperialist phase, and so came the First World War, the inter-bourgeois war between the great powers of the world. When capitalism is booming, war is the only chance it has to get out of the crisis.
"The history of socialism is a story that is about to be built, about to be built. The lived experiences show us that society can be organized in other ways"
In the meantime, discussions were intensified within social democracy. Factors such as European parliamentarism, irresponsibility in the face of colonial massacres or the rise of nationalism opened the door to reformism in most European parties. Theoretical and practical debates; effective and tragic. Millions of workers lost their lives in the Great War by leaving the working class in the hands of the national bourgeoisie, although the foundations were laid for the revolution of 1917, and from the class war the slogan was put into practice.
In fact, the 20th century was the century of socialist revolutions in Europe. After the Soviet Revolution, in the first half of the century, revolutionary attempts multiplied in most European countries. It was the decades of cooperativism, concatenism and revolutionary attempts, but also the reaction to them. The rise of fascism and the betrayal of reformism once again triggered the war in the 1930s in Europe and a bloody battle against various fascisms had to be fought. But the resistance was great: international brigades, machines, partisans, red army... And in the victory of 9 May 1945, the revolutionary epic materialized, which gave way to the popular republics of the east. It accelerated decolonization processes and was an impetus for national liberation processes. This experience allowed experimentation in many areas, both cultural and economic, as well as in interpersonal relations.
The oil crisis, the idea of Margaret Thatcher's There is no alternative, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the construction of the European Union began the current historical phase. As a result of all this, the capitalist economic, political, military and cultural offensive hit the working class harder than ever before and was destroyed by the working organization. Is it the end of the story?
But reality shows over and over again what the powerful want to hide: in the system of capitalist domination, life is not guaranteed in any way. Wars, pandemics, hunger, ecological disaster... They are the consequences of this system. It is therefore essential to build a system that exceeds capitalism if we want to survive as a species; and the history of socialism still remains to be built. Experience has shown that society can organize itself in other ways and allows us to correct the mistakes that have been made before.
It is therefore up to us today to learn from failure and to join in the historical construction of socialism. Make possible a model of society which, like previous generations, lowers the bourgeoisie to the interests of workers under the red flag. From Euskal Herria, until the workers’ project materializes along with other oppressed nations. So that history doesn't end, let's keep fighting.
Xabier Lasa Arrizabalaga is a member of Askapena
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