On Building up the Anti-Imperialist and
Anti-Fascist International United Front
P J James
(Short paper presented by Com P J James on behalf of CPI (ML) Red Star at the ICOR International Webinar on Building Anti-Imperialist and Anti-Fascist United Front, held on 11th December 2022)
Today the international situation is marked by irreversible crisis of world imperialism on the one hand, and as its manifestation, all-out offensive on the part of ruling classes everywhere to shift the burden of imperialist crisis to the shoulders of working class and the oppressed at a global level. The general trend towards neo-fascism is to be seen in this context. Even as world economic growth rate is going down, the number of global billionaires and concentration of wealth with them have reached horrific levels. As a corollary of this, super-exploitation of the working class and corporate plunder of nature together with inequality, unemployment, poverty and ecological crisis have become unprecedented. Sharpening inter-imperialist contradictions are also the outcome of this overall imperialist political-economic crisis.
The prolonged war which started imperialist Russia’s attack on Ukraine has now assumed the character of an inter-imperialist war between Russia on the one hand and US-led NATO on the other in which Ukraine has become a proxy. However, while facilitating more wealth flows in to the coffers of world’s leading arms manufacturers, it has been another opportunity for crisis-ridden corporate- neo-fascism backed by xenophobic, religious fundamentalist, racial and obscurantist ideologies to shift the burden of the crisis of accumulation to the shoulders of world’s toiling and oppressed people, through rise in the prices of fuel, food and other essential items of sustenance.
The sharpening of inter-imperialist contradictions between US and its allies on the one hand and China and Russia on the other following Ukraine war have added new dimensions to geopolitical tensions leading to increased US focus in the Asia-Pacific directed against China, through the formation of AUKUS, growing US attention on Taiwan, followed by China’s military exercises encircling Taiwan and heightened Sino-US tensions. As US is spreading its tentacles towards the East, China through its BRI and together with its allies particularly Russia, is moving towards the West encroaching spheres in Africa and Latin America formerly monopolised by the US and its allies, leading to a “new cold war”.
Meanwhile, in recent times, Latin America has witnessed the rise of a “second pink tide” marked by the advance of left-wing and progressive movements in many countries. This progressive political shift in Latin America has been mainly attributed to the people’s simmering discontent and resistance against Covid mismanagement and consequent aggravation in economic crisis on account of IMF-World Bank backed neoliberal policies, corruption, extreme poverty, unemployment and ecological devastation across Latin America during the past two years.
In the Middle East, in view of the advance of China and the trend towards decline of the dollar-empire and consequent impact on petro-dollar, US imperialism is planning to have a reconfiguration of the geopolitics there. This was manifested in the Abraham Accords signed in December 2020 that claimed to normalise relations between Zionist Israel and a grouping of Arab countries led by UAE and further developments. Under the cover of it, Zionist attacks on Palestine and human rights violations are mounting. In spite of advancing people’s struggles in Iran, the religious fundamentalist, neo-fascist Iranian regime is continuing with its repression. Similarly, the neo-fascist Turkish attack on Rojava and that on the people of Iraqi Kurdistan are mounting.
In the same vein, neo-Nazi forces are on the offensive in many European countries. The unprecedented economic collapse, and socio-political crisis of Sri Lanka as a consequence of its debt liabilities to imperialist China and Western neocolonial institutions, the move on the part of neo-fascist ruling classes to manage the situation backed by the ideology of Buddhism, etc. are all well-known. In the case of India, the RSS, the longest-running and biggest fascist organization using its political tool BJP has established neo-fascist regime directed against the religious minorities and the oppressed Dalits.
As is obvious, while the exploited and oppressed peoples are rising up in different forms in many parts of the world against the ruling system, in the absence of communist parties capable to lead these struggles and movements, the ruling classes in neocolonially dependent countries and their imperialist masters are diverting people’s fury to safe channels.
As CPI (ML) Red Star has pointed out in its Political Resolution adopted at the recently concluded 12th Party Congress, while the objective international situation is favourable for revolutionary transformation, the subjective factor essential for social change is weak. What is required today is coordinated action among Communist parties and revolutionary organisations against imperialism and neo-fascism. To be precise, as the reactionary essence of imperialism is becoming more and more catastrophic, a worldwide anti-imperialist movement that can effectively challenge the threat of aggression, resist corporatisation and fascistisation and all forms of reaction and moving towards democracy and socialism has become an urgent necessity.
Therefore, it is high time on the part of ICOR to take up the task of building up an Anti-Imperialist and Anti-Fascist United Front at the international level. While taking up this task, ideological clarity on imperialism and on neoliberal corporatisation both at the global level and in the concrete conditions of particular countries is also of utmost significance. This Ideological-theoretical debate in ICOR and among Marxist–Leninist forces in general to arrive at clarity on the basic understanding of imperialism today and related issues will certainly strengthen our practical work.
