Our revolution is in the stage of negotiation and our party sees compromise as another aspect of the class struggle. The question has not yet been finalised whether the revolution will be accomplished through compromise or it will be pushed towards counter-revolution. There is an incessant and fierce struggle between two different world outlooks that is attracting attention nationally and internationally.
Marxism accepts the possibility of making compromises; however, it considers impossible to accomplish a revolution through too many compromises. Compromise can be useful at a point in the revolution to obtain state power, but it is impossible to secure state power for the proletarian class only through compromise. On the contrary, opportunist and reformist tendencies not only consider compromise as necessary, but consider compromise as everything. They believe that society and state power can be changed and transformed through compromise rather than through revolution, through ‘negotiationism’. These two tendencies are gradually coming to a head in our country.
Our party, the CPN (Maoist), and the Nepali Congress (NC) are at logger heads over the issue of negotiation. From the point of view of class struggle, the NC doesn’t see or believe in the necessity of a revolution in Nepal. The NC, according to its viewpoint, wants negotiation with the CPN (M), the CPN (UML) and other parties by dividing the ministries. According to the NC’s outlook, it is enough to progress economically. Political revolution is not necessary.
According to the NC’s outlook, the logical debate and planning of revolution is an activity of extremists. They suggest that the CPN (Maoist) should not do the revolution and be satisfied with a share in the government. But the ultimate goal of the CPN (M) is Communism through a People’s Republic and through the stage of socialism. For that, the state must be under the leadership of a Communist party. Therefore, we, the Maoist, should oppose ‘negotiationism’, though we are not against making particular compromises per se.
Due to the impact of class struggle, different views on compromise and ‘negotiationism’ are surfacing within the party; this should not be a surprise. Frankly speaking, the tendency of ‘negotiationism’ is spreading like a viral disease within our party. This type of tendency developing within the party is hundred times more dangerous than the ‘negotiationism’ of the NC. This tendency, through the so-called economic ‘revolution’ and power sharing, seeks to end the political revolution here. We would consider that it is an extremity of ‘negotiationism’ to depend upon hostile elements by neglecting the compulsory foundations for securing state power.
The NC wants to push the country into counter-revolution. The NC desires that a scientific communist party and the proletarian revolution should sink down into status-quo establishment and into the stagnant pool of the old state. Therefore, it has put forward a seven-point demand that includes the dissolution of the YCL, the PLA and a rollback of all the gains made during the Peoples War.
If CPN (M) accepts these preconditions, it can be in the government, if it doesn’t, then it cannot. The purpose of these preconditions is to push the country towards counter-revolution. To accept these conditions is to end the revolution.
We, Maoists, desire to change this compromise into revolution and strengthen the revolution against the counter-revolution. For this, we should expand the means and the foundations of the revolution. Let us consolidate the party, the PLA and the United Front and take them to a new level. Let us establish a clear political and economic outlook and take state power.
We have already dissolved our local people’s power centres. We dissolved the people’s courts and the peoples’ militia. Our co-operatives, communes, health posts and educational institutions, established during the war, are now becoming weaker. In this situation, if we accept the seven-point demand of NC, directly or indirectly, we would declare that the revolution is over. A big debate has not taken place on it, but a tendency considers that it will make no difference if we accept the seven-point demand of the NC. The tendency to be liberal towards these demands is not a revolutionary tendency; it helps the interests of the NC.
Compromise is an unusual condition for revolution. Things seem peaceful in the period of agreement and negotiation but it is just an illusion. Two rival thoughts, tendencies and forces are fighting terribly behind a thin curtain. They both are trying to win under the cover of compromise. Each wants to destroy the other; one becomes bigger than the other, and a process of swallowing begins. When the one about to be swallowed isn’t safe, then it breaches the norms of accord and begins to protect itself through struggle. If protecting itself becomes impossible by defending itself, it is obliged to start the confrontation between revolution and counter-revolution. Then the compromise will end and the balance of two opposed forces breaks down. This has happened previously in our country.
Until now, the NC and the imperialists thought that they would be able to destroy the CPN (M) before the election. The masses and the fraternal parties and organisations of the world had thought that at some point the CPN (M) would be swallowed! But in the election, the people protected the CPN (M) like their own children, and the NC and the imperialists failed in their mission. As a result, the NC has now put forward its seven point demand. We have defeated the NC in the election, but if we cannot protect the revolution, we will be ruined in no time. This conflict, indeed, is related to the series of compromises we have made. Now, we should direct our attention towards the defence of the revolution by ending the situation of compromise.
The issue of compromise is a common issue related to the world revolution, if we accept that the Nepalese revolution is a part of the world revolution. If we want to learn the lessons from communist states of the past century, the issue of compromise must be a common topic for all the revolutionaries of the world. It means that we should think deeply and develop a new ideology and knowledge to solve the problems before us and for the protection of the Nepalese revolution. Even though it has not been enough to tackle the present necessities and possibilities to this date, we have been encouraged by the suggestions and participation of the RIM committee, the RCP and the CPI (Maoist).
In short, compromise is possible in a revolution, but revolution is not possible only through compromise. The imperialists and reactionaries want to push the revolution towards counter-revolution, but revolutionary communists want to change the compromise into revolution. The conspiracy to change compromise into counter-revolution is vigorously going on in Nepal. We should make this conspiracy fail by uniting the revolutionary forces of the world. Fighting against the reactionary forces, we should defeat them. Any revolution in any part of the world is a part of the world revolution. Likewise, any compromise is also a part of the world revolution. Therefore, the revolutionaries of the world should make a joint effort to change the compromise into revolution. Revolution is compulsory but the ‘negotiationism’ is impossible.
Biplap is a member of secretariat, Central Committee, CPN (Maoist). This article first appeared in The Red Star I.10 (19-30 June 2008). It is reproduced here for educational purposes. Read the rest of the issue, as well as back issues, at <www.krishnasenonline.org/theredstar/>.
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