Thursday 21 February 2013

A PRESENTATION BY Shaun Pickford ON KIM JONG IL'S WORK "ABUSES OF SOCIALISM ARE INTOLERABLE" GIVEN IN LONDON ON FEBRUARY 16 2013 (JUCHE 102)

A PRESENTATION BY Shaun Pickford ON KIM JONG IL'S WORK "ABUSES OF SOCIALISM ARE INTOLERABLE" GIVEN IN LONDON ON FEBRUARY 16 2013 (JUCHE 102) PART ONE


If we recall the events of the late 1980s and early 1990s, it would have appeared that the cause of socialism was a lost one. Country after country in Eastern Europe had abandoned  socialism. The Soviet Union, the first workers' and peasants' state ih history, been dissolved on December 25th, 1991. In China on June 4th, 1989, there had an attempt to change the social system and this was halted by the action of the Chinese communists and people. Some of the socialist countries which had survived the counter-revolutionary onslaught adopted "Market Economics" and "Political and Cultural Opening".

The intellectual climate of the time was to view socialism and communism as obsolete  concepts. This was summed up in Francis Fukyama's statement "The End Of History". In other words, the only viable model for social development was for post-modernism in ideology, neo-conservatism in politics and liberalism in economics . It became an orthodoxy among political and academic circles that communism had become redundant and that the universalization of liberal democracy and economics was the end point of human evolution.

This position in regard to socialism, was reinforced by some quarters on the Left. Certain parties and individuals gave up their life long allegiance to communism and went over to bourgeois liberalism and sociology.It became a prevailing sentiment among those who had ditched Marxism "that the forward march of labour had been halted" and "we live in new times, where the old notions no longer apply".

Against this background of an avalanche of attacks upon the concept of socialism, Kim Jong IL published his "The Abuses of Socialism Are Intolerable" on March 1st, 1993 in the theoretical journal of the Workers' Party of Korea "Kulloja". Kim Jong IL in the March 1st, 1993 Discourse clearly goes on the offensive in defence of socialism.

In the opening passages of the work, Kim Jong IL demolishes the decades long slander against socialism. Kim Jong IL states the following: "The claim that socialism is "totalitarian", "barracks like" and "administrative and commanding" is not in essence different from pernicious anti-socialist propaganda which the imperialists have conducted since the first appearance of socialism in the world. The imperialists have always said that socialism is an inhuman society in which there is no freedom or democracy. The terms "totalitarian", "barracks-like" and "administrative and commanding" are a repetition of the imperialists' false propaganda against socialism that use new words.

The democratic idea which a long time ago advocated freedom, equality and human rights, in opposition to feudal despotism, was transformed by the capitalist class into bourgeois democracy, which imposed and defended exploitation and subordination by capital. The imperialists made every possible effort to embellish bourgeois democracy, calling it liberal democracy; however, they can not conceal its falsity and reactionary nature, nor could they remove from the minds of the popular masses their aspiration and longing for socialism which could provide them with genuine freedom".

As we can see from the above quotations, Kim Jong IL cuts through the bourgeois mythology concerning democracy and human rights. The imperialists distorted the democratic ideal, which was the standard bearer of the revolutionary bourgeoisie, in its struggle with feudalism. As most people in capitalist society empirically and theoretically know that parliamentary democracy is of a limited nature. Even the democracy we experience in capitalist countries is being eroded by security/anti-terrorist measures and by the influence of the multi-national corporations and by trans-national formations (such as the European Union and NATO). In essence, democracy under capitalism serves the elite and excludes the poor and oppressed. 

As well as the external threat the socialist countries faced from imperialism, like military intervention, blockade and sabotage, these countries encountered an internal danger.The collapse of the USSR and the socialist countries of Europe was bought about not by war or invasion, but by treachery and by ideological and bureaucratic degeneration. The Trojan Horse within the European Socialist Camp was modern revisionism. Revisionism arose in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union after its 20th Congress in 1956. Within a period of three decades, modern revisionism had evolved in the ranks of tthe CPSU and the ruling Communist and Workers' Parties in Eastern Europe. Imperialism and the opportunists embedded within the leaderships of the ruling parties, had a common agenda, that was to destroy socialism and the revolutionary heritage in those countries.

The notion of totalitarianism was continually used by the imperialist information agencies to batter socialism in theory and practice, Bourgeois ideologists equated communism and fascism as similar totalitarian practices. Whereas "liberal democracy" supposedly avoids these "left"/"right" extremes. There have even been attempts by some academics and authors in the West to revise the history of the Second World War and make the conflict between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany as a battle of two totalitarian systems, and to assert that Soviet Russia was worse than the Third Reich. Whatever their subjective motives, "National Communists" give plausibility to capitalist propagandists in their drive to relate Communism with the theory and practice of Nazism.

It was the Austrian philosopher Karl Popper, who was the darling of bourgeois liberalism, with his theories on totalitarianism and the open society. Popper criticised Marxism and Historicism, rejected the existence of objective laws of social development and upheld liberalism. The ideology of Karl Popper, along with the theories of Leo Strauss and Milton Freeman became the bedrock of neo-conservative political and economic thought in the late 20th century. The expression totalitarianism was coined by the Italian thinker Giovanni in 1923. Amendola used the term "Totalitaro" to refer to the structure and goals of the state which had total representation and control of the nation and of the national interest. Kim Jong IL makes a devastating critique of the bourgeois theory of totalitarianism with the following:" Totalitarianism served as the political idea of fascist dictators. Notorious Hitler in Germany and Mussolini in Italy used totalitarianism as an ideological tool to justify their fascist dictatorship. The fascist dictators stamped out the most elementary democratic freedoms and rights of the working people and enforced tyrannical policies, behind the misleading name of national socialism, claiming that for the sake of the whole nation no working class movement and no class struggle could be permitted. What is meant by the whole in totalitarianism is not the whole of the popular masses but a tiny handful of privileged circles such monopoly capitalists, major landowners, reactionary bureaucrats and warlords. Calling socialism under which the popular masses are the masters of everything,  "totalitarianism" is ultimately a preposterous lie which identifies the most progressive idea that reflects the demands of the working masses with the reactionary idea of fascist rulers".

One of the main planks of the ideology of "Perestroika" (Restructuring) in the USSR was that the proceeding way of building of socialism had been commanding and administrative. Gorbachev and his associates launched in January 1987 at the CC CPSU plenary session launched an onslaught on "stagnation" and bureaucracy using the methods of restructuring  and openness. The standpoint of the Gorbachev leadership was to usher in so-called democratic socialism, to use the methods of "democracy" over "administrative and command ones. In the sphere of ideology, the modern revisionists employed the tactics of firstly disparaging figures like former Soviet Leaders, then Stalin and Lenin, and finally socialism itself. Glasnost gave free reign to different varieties of bourgeois ideologies. Within four years since Perestroika and Glasnost were announced and implemented, the Party and Country of Lenin and Stalin was no more.

The Gorbachevite strand of modern revisionism has clearly the theory and practice of the dictatorship of the proletariat in its sights. In reality since the 20th and 22nd Congress of the Soviet Communist Party, the dictatorship of the proletariat was weakened and then destroyed. In the wake of the 20th Congress of the CPSU , the Soviet theorists came up with the conceptions of the state of the whole people and the party of the entire people, and that class struggle had ceased during "advanced socialism". Internationally the theory of peaceful co-existence was promoted as a solution to all problems. These theories advanced by the Soviet Leadership from the late 1950s- early 1960s,laid the foundations for the openly counter-revolutionary "New Way of Thinking" two decades later. The theories about the state of the state of the whole people and the end of class struggle within socialism ignored the laws of the dialectical materialism.
PRESENTATION BY Shaun Pickford ON KIM JONG IL'S WORK "THE ABUSES OF SOCIALISM ARE INTOLERABLE" PART 2



Kim Jong IL tears to pieces the assertions made by the revisionists on the question that somehow socialism is administrative and commanding. Contrary to these assertions, socialist society is a social system where the masses of the people are the masters of everything and play the decisive role in social-political administration. In socialist society democracy and centralism are organically combined.

The issue of bureaucracy is one that has plagued socialist societies. Bureaucracy is a mentality left over from feudalism and capitalism. A socialist society is a transitional one between capitalism and communism, so there are many remnants of the old social system within the new. In Eastern Europe and the USSR, a sort of chasm grew between, on the one hand, the Party and State Leadership and the civil society on the other. Kim Jong IL points out about the nature of bureaucracy;"The abuse of power and bureaucracy are products of the anti-socialist idea and expressions of anti-socialist methods. If the mass line is implemented thoroughly under the correct leadership of the working party in socialist society so that the popular masses occupy the position of masters of state and society and play their role as such to the full, it is possible to eliminate the abuse of power and bureaucracy. 

If the abuse of power and bureaucracy are allowed to grow in socialist society they will alienate the popular masses from the party and state, and the enemies of socialism will exploit it. The situation in those countries in which socialism has collapsed shows this. In every country the people demanded socialism free from the abuse of power and bureaucracy; they did not demand capitalism. What people have got as a result of the collapse of socialism is not " humane and democratic socialism" but capitalism under which exploitation, oppression and social inequality are dominant and every type of crime and social evil prevails. In those countries where socialism collapsed and capitalism was revived the abuses of power and bureaucracy have not disappeared but become institutionalized and legitimized and are socially prevalent."

Social wealth and productive relations are the bedrock of all social systems and nations. In the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, from the mid-1960s, social ownership was undermined and then during the perestroika era it was privatized. Economic reforms carried out in the USSR known as the "Liberman Reforms" on enterprises having autonomy from the centre and primary having material incentives as the key criteria of production. This generated a sort of capitalist outlook among the enterprise managers and led to the wholesale privatization of the means of production during the late 1980s-early 1990s in the USSR and then in the Russian Federation.In certain remaining socialist countries, economic activity has become dependent on joint ventures with Western big business and on capitalist methodology. 

Kim Jong IL makes the strong case in his work, that socialism cannot built by material incentives alone, but with ideological incentives as well. Material incentives are very important in socialist society, as socialism is a transitional society, Merely putting the emphasis on material incentives will have the effect of reducing the people to the frame of mind of being egoists. In those countries, which abandoned the ideological struggle and encouraged egoism, the building of the socialist economy floundered and capitalist economics was introduced. 

It is the basic task for the party and state to provide centralized and systematic guidance of the economy under socialism. An economy without guidance from the peoples states is not a socialist economy, and the society which is not based upon a socialized economy cannot be called socialist. Socialist ownership consists of state and all people ownership. Socialist relations of production enable the working people to exercise their rights as the masters of the state and society, that is to use the social wealth in their interests. If socialist ownership is dissolved and converted back into private property, social wealth and relations will be consequently held by a few,ie the bourgeoisie .

Progressive ideology must as a necessity keep abreast with contemporary events, or else it becomes irrelevant to its surroundings.Philosophy has been constantly advanced from the era of the ancient scholars and writers. It was Karl Marx who put Hegel's dialectics on a materialist basis. Marxism became the ideology of the International Working Class after the 1840s. Leninism in its turn, was the scientific socialist thought during the period of the emergence of imperialism and of proletarian revolutions and of worker & peasant states. Kim IL Sung and Kim Jong IL craved out the ideological reflection of the role and position of the working masses in the age of independence. KimILSungism-KimJongILism has been fashioned as a theory which is an expression of humanity's increasing desire for independence at the beginning of the 21st century.

In many ways dogmatism is the mirror image of modern revisionism. It is because those parties and states in the socialist camp could not find adequate answers to the questions posed by further developments in society, that these socialist countries fell into modern revisionism and counter-revolution. As a response to revisionism, some communist parties adopted dogmatism, ultra-leftism and a "class against class" position.

Kim Jong IL puts the forward the point about advancing socialist ideology "If the socialist cause is to be defended and completed, the socialist idea should be developed and perfected constantly and the popular masses should be equipped with it, so that they accept socialism as their unshakable conviction. They will keep in socialism only when they are convinced of the justness of the socialist cause. As experience shows, if we are to defend the cause of socialism and bring glory to it, the socialist idea should be perfected and the working masses armed with it so that becomes their firm conviction".

To some people, to say that to have faith in the revolutionary cause, may sound strange, but having a firm brief in socialism during the good and bad times, is extremely essential. Socialism and Communism are social systems that are constructed by the consciousness and enthusiasm of the working masses, who by the essence of those societies are the owners of everything within them. So if the leaders, ruling party and indeed the popular masses in a socialist society have little or a superficial faith in the revolution, then when they encounter difficulties and setbacks, these societies with a weak conviction in socialism will fall. A sign of how vital the conviction in socialism is, to uphold the communist cause, was when the leaderships of the USSR and Eastern Europe became hostile to the concept of socialism itself, and led counter-revolutions in the late 80s. In a small Balkan Socialist country, known for opposition to modern revisionism, the successor to the founder of the Party and State proclaimed his absolute loyalty to his predecessor's cause, at the latter's funeral. In under five years of being the party leader, this successor rejected his forerunner's legacy and bought in capitalism into that Balkan nation, all because the successor's faith and will were feeble.

Kim Jong IL puts the question of revolutionary faith into perspective with this passage"Moreover, we should see to it that the people have unshakable faith in socialism and regard it as their moral duty to defend it. The political and ethical cohesion of the popular masses can only be lasting when socialist ethics is fully prevalent. Socialism strikes deep root in actual life when socialist ethics based on revolutionary comradeship and obligation is established and becomes widespread. Only when this happens can the popular masses fully discharge their responsibilities and role as the masters of socialist society, build socialism successfully, firmly defend the cause of socialism and promote it, whatever the adversity."

On the social-political map today, there exists the Juche-type socialism in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. The red flag still flies in the land of Songun. The secret of the success of the durability of Korean style socialism lies in its consolidation. This strengthening of the positions of socialism was achieved by having the ideological, technical and cultural revolutions. Another important ingredient in the flourishing of socialism in the DPRK was prominence given to ideological work. Socialist society demands by its nature, a much higher level of consciousness with the ranks of the masses, the masters of socialism.  

A genuine socialist society is a collectivist one, by its very make up. For socialism to be triumphant, collectivism must become prevalent throughout all spheres of society. An intense level of collectivism has been gained in the DPRK. Peoples Korea is like one big family; with the Leader, Party, Army and People united as one socialist collective. All working people in the DPRK enjoy all the social and material benefits of socialism, such as full employment, universal health care and education at all stages, and free housing. Even at the time of the Arduous March ( a period shortages caused by the imperialist's blockage and by natural disasters in the mid-1990s), not one hospital, day care centre or school closed down. If socialist society is to reach its true potential, then the creativity and consciousness of the popular masses must be unleashed. Workplace and residential democracy in the DPRK is expressed through the Chongsong-ri method and the Taean Management system, giving the working masses a say into every decision made. Juche Korea is country which achieved a degree of social harmony and has a level of egalitarianism, unknown elsewhere in the world.

The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea is here twenty years after this work was published and the DPRK will be here when imperialism disappears from the surface of the Earth. Peoples Korea has withstood many challenges, including the sudden passing away of Chairman Kim Jong IL on December 17th, 2011. Rallied around the Songun Revolutionary Leadership of Kim Jong Un, the Korean people will complete the cause of socialism and communism, and achieve national reunification and global independence. The imperialists, their puppets and mercenary hegemonists have intensified their campaign to stifle and destroy Korean style socialism over the "Satellite" and "Nuclear Test" issues. Socialist Korea will once again demonstrate to friend and foe alike, its might and strength in the coming years and decades.

The Great Leader Comrade Kim Jong IL made the following statement "Our socialism is unshakable, whatever the storm. This is because the single-hearted unity of the leader, the Party and the people has been realized and the people are building a new life in conformity with their independent demands under the guidance of the Party and the Leader".

Many authors, academics and politicians, whether they be reactionary or progressive, have wrestled with the questions concerning the future of socialism. Only Kim Jong IL's work "The Abuses of Socialism Are Intolerable" offers a concise and comprehensive analysis of socialism's prospects and destiny. I can recommend that all progressives and anti-imperialists read and study this work in its entirety .




A talk delivered on the work "The Abuses of Socialism Are Intolerable" by Shaun Pickford, the Secretary-General of the Juche Idea Study Group of Britain, on February 16th 2013 (Juche 102). Shaun Pickford has travelled to the DPRK five times and has authored many articles on the DPRK & the Juche Idea.

( All quotations used in the talks were from "The Abuses of Socialism Are Intolerable" carried in the anthology "For The Victory of the Socialist Cause", published Pyongyang, Korea 1999 Juche 88.

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