Anti-Imperialist manifestation in Antwerp (BE)

On the 29th of March some 30 comrades gathered in the heart of Antwerp (Belgium) to protest against imperialism. A delegation of the Vrije Nationalisten Noord-Brabant and the NSA/ANS collective attended the manifestation to make a firm statement against the warmongering of the US, EU and her NATO allies. Several hundreds of flyers where distributed among the people passing by.

STOP NATO-US-EU IMPERIALISM!

After the bloody aggression wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, a new imperialist intervention by the US, EU and their NATO allies threatens Syria. Again the so-called "Arab spring" is hijacked by Western imperialists to safeguard their Trans-Atlantic interests in the region. By inciting sectarian violence under local ethnic groups they try to break the anti imperialist resistance of the Ba'athist regime.

The imperialists learned from earlier experiences like for example in Libya how to justify their warmongering:

- Negotiations with the Syrian regime are marginalized and the opposition is by all means supported by the imperialists.

- Assad is systematically demonized with the help of the mass media.

- Sanctions against the Syrian people are increased and weaken the regime.

Meanwhile the "Syrian National Council”, which is hostile to Iran, is founded with the help of Western allies. By doing so they try to break the axis Iran-Syria-Hezbollah - the Eastern anti imperialist front and final stronghold against the American-Zionist occupier. By replacing the regime of Assad by an anti Iranian and pro Western regime the imperialists try to safeguard their geopolitical interests in the Persian Gulf as well as 40% of the worldwide oil production. The fall of Syria will lead to a further isolation of Iran. By this the interests of Israel are served. Because this will lead to the disappearance of the corridor to Palestine, which guarantees the Iranian supply of finance, weapons and humanitarian aid to the Palestine resistance against the Zionist occupational politics.

The mainstream leftwing and bourgeois Nationalists gaze at the opposition against the Syrian regime through the pink glasses of the Western spectacle and take the unsocialist stand that the "masses in the streets" automatically mean a revolutionary progress. With this they choose the side of imperialism and support the bloody interest politics of international capitalism. With the intervention in Syria, imperialism does not only try to gain a military victory again, but also to divide her political opposition even further.

The Vrije Nationalisten Noord-Brabant en the NSA/ANS collective support the liberation struggle against imperialism and international capitalism. We take a consequent position against each and every form of imperialism. Our solidarity goes out to all who battle for the right on self-determination and who commit militant resistance against the imperialism of foreign powers. Therefore peace for Syria and Iran, and freedom for Palestine!

"A day will come when the nationalists will find themselves the only defenders of Islam. They will have to give a special meaning to it if they want the Arab nation to have a good reason for survival."

Michel Aflaq

FOR THE NATIONAL LIBERATION STRUGGLE AGAINST IMPERIALISM!

RIGHT FOR NATIONAL SELFDETERMINATION AND SINGULARITY!

Die KPD und der Nationalismus

Sehr früh setzte sich in der Kommunistische Partei Deutschland (KPD) ein Kurs durch, den man als “nationalen Kommunismus” bezeichnen kann. Zum ersten Mal wurde dieser Kurs 1923 formuliert, besonders nachdrücklich fand er jedoch gegen Ende der Weimarer Republiek Anwendung und fand seine Fortsetzung in den K-Gruppen im Nachkriegsdeutschland. Die Antifa versucht heute gerne diese nationalen Forderungen der KPD als Einzelfälle und “politische Ausrutscher” hinzustellen. Der nachfolgende Artikel jedoch beweißt, dass in der KPD der nationale Wille fest verankert war.

Karl Radeks “Schlageter-Rede”

Karl Radek baute 1918 mit anderen die KPD in Deutschland auf und werde 1920 in Moskau Mitglied des Exekutivkomitees der Kommunistischen Internationale. Er galt auch als führender Vertreter des Nationalkommunismus in der KPD. Am 20. Juni 1923 hielt Karl Radek auf einer Sitzung der erweiterten Exekutive der Kommunistischen Internationale ein Referat, das später als 'Schlageter-Rede' in die Geschichte einging. In seiner Rede versuchte Radek, dem Leben des von einem französischen Kommando wegen Sabotage und Spionage erschossenen Freiheitskämpfer Albert Leo Schlageter einen Sinn zu geben.

Schlageter war, so Radek, ein “deutscher Faschist, der zum Tode verurteilt und erschossen wurde von den Schergen des französischen Imperialismus. Die Geschicke dieses Märtyrers A.L. Schlageter des deutschen Nationalismus sollen nicht verschwiegen, nicht mit einer abwerfenden Phrase erledigt werden. Schlageter, der mutige Soldat der Kontrarevolution, verdient es, von uns Soldaten der Revolution männlich-ehrlich gewürdigt zu werden”. Und weiter: “Will Deutschland imstande sein, zu kämpfen, so muss es eine Einheitfront der Arbeitenden darstellen. Die sache des Volkes zur sache der Nation gemacht, macht die Sache der Nation zur Sache des Volkes. Wir glauben, dass die große Mehrheit der national empfindenden Massen nicht in das Lager des Kapitals, sondern in das Lager der Arbeit gehört. Wir werden alles tun, das Männer wie Schlageter, die bereit waren, für eine allgemeine Sache in den Tod zu gehen, nicht Wanderer ins Nichts, sondern Wanderer in eine bessere Zukunft der gesamten Menschheit werden”. Da in Deutschland alle Schichten der Bevölkerung von einer nationalistischen Welle erfasst seien, müsse auch die KPD dieser Stimmung Rechnung tragen, denn bislang habe die gesamte kommunistische Bewegung diesem Gesichtspunkt völlig vernachlässigt, doch die nationale Unterdrückung sei Schuld an der derzeitigen Lage, so Radek weiter.

Die historische Querfront

Der Aufruf der KPD zum Widerstand gegen die französische Besatzung und der Bekämpfung des Versailler Vertrages wies nicht wenige Forderungen auf, die auch völkische Nationalisten teilen konnten. Das Echo auf diese Kursänderung war groß. In der Folgezeit kam es zu zahlreichen Diskussionen und Veranstaltungen zwischen Vertretern der nationalen Rechten und Kommunisten. So sprach etwa der KPDReichstagabgeordnete Hermann Remmele am 2. August 1923 auf einer Versammlung der NSDAP. Und in einer Rede vor Völkischen Studenten erklärte Ruth Fische, Mitglied der Zentralkomitees der KPD: “Sie rufen auf gegen das Judenkapital, meine Herren? Wer gegen das Judenkapital aufruft, meine Herren ist schon Klassenkämpfer, auch wenn er es nicht weiß. ...Tretet die Judenkapitalisten neider, hänmgt sie an die Laterne, zertrampelt sie. Aber, meine Herren, wie stehen sie zu den Großkapitalisten?”. Kein “politscher Ausrutscher”: Während der bayerischen Landtagswahl im April 1924 beschlagnahmte die Polizei in einem Büro der KPD in Nürnberg Flügblatter mit der Aufschrift “Nieder mit der Judenrepubliek”. In der “Roten Fahne”, dem Zentralorgan der KPD, wurde nun offen mit Nationalisten wie den Schriftstellern Ernst Graf Reventlow und Arthur Möller van den Bruck diskutiert. Zunehmend kam es zur Annäherung der einstigen ideologischen Todfeinde.

Programmerklärung zur nationalen und sozialen Befreiung des deutschen Volkes Ein weiterer Meilenstein zur nationalen Frage in der KPD wurde die am 24. August 1930 vom Zentralkomitee verabschiedete “Programmerklärung zur nationalen und sozialen Befreiung des deutschen Volkes”. Sie war der erste programmatische Text der KPD seit dem Gründungsprogramm von 1919 und ging auf Vorschlag des KPD-Parteivorsitzenden Ernst Thälmann zurück.Das Programm stelle ein “ganz von nationalen Gefühlen durchtränktes Selbstbildnis” dar, so die Selbsteinschätzung der Parteiführung. Mit dieser Programmerklärung schlug die KPD nun auch offiziell einen nationalkommunistischen Kurs ein und begab sich damit in klarer Nähe zur NSDAP. Neben die sozialistischen Programmpunkte traten nun die nationalistischen Forderungen, nicht zuletzt diejenigen einer nationalen und socialsitischen Volksrevolution der ausgebeuteten klassen, welche die Fixierung auf das Industrieproletariaat ersetzte. Mit diesem Programm versuchte die KPD-Führung, sich an die Spitze des nationalen Widerstandes gegen die Folgen des Versailler Diktats zu setzen. So heißt es in der Programmerklärung: “Wir Kommunisten sind gegen die auf grund des Versailler Gewaltfriedens durchgeführte territoriale Zerreißung und Ausplünderung Deutschlands. ...Wir werden den räuberischen Versailler “Friedensvertrag” und den Youngplan, die Deutschland knechten, zerreißen, und werden alle internationalen Schulden und Reparationszahlungen, die den Werktätigen Deutschlands durch die Kapitalisten auferlegt sind, annullieren. Wir erklären feierlich vor allen Völkern der Erde, vor alleen Regierungen und Kapitalisten des Auslandes, dass wir im Falle unserer Machtergreifung alle sich aus dem Versailler Frieden ergebenden Verplichtungen für null und nichts erklären werden, das wir keinen Pfennig Zinszahlungen für die imperialistischen Anleihen, Kredite und Kapitalanlagen in Deutschland leisten werden. ...Wir Kommunisten sind die einzige partei, die sich an den sturz des Imperialismus und die Befreiung der Völker von der Macht des Finzanzkapitals zum Ziele setzt”.

Die Forderungen in diesem Programm wurden auch mit den berechten sozial- und wirtschaftspolitischen Interessen der durch die Weltwirtschaftskrise proletarisierten

Volksmassen verbunden: “Die Regierungsparteien und die Sozialdemokratie haben Gut, Leben und Existenz des wertätigen deutschen Volkes meistbietend an die Imperialisten des Auslands verkauft. Die sozialdemokratischen Führer sind nicht nur die Henkersknechte der deutschen Bourgeoisie, sondern gleichzeitig die freiwilligen Agenten des französischen und polnischen Imperialismus. Alle Handlungen der verräterischen, korrupten Sozialdemokratie sind fortgesetzter Hoch- und Landesverrat an den Lebensinteressen der arbeitenden Masse Deutschlands. ...Wir Kommunsiten bringen den Werktätigen das Programm ihrer sozialen Befreiung vom Joche des Kapitals. Wir werden die Begeisterung der Massen zum Siege über die Bourgeoisie, zur sozialen und zugleich zur nationalen Befreiung des werktätigen deutschen Volkes entfachen. Nur der Hammer der proletarischen Diktatur kann die Ketten des Youngplans und der nationalen Unterdrücking zerschlagen. Nur die soziale Revolution der Arbeiterklasse kann die nationale Frage Deutschlands lösen. ...Mit eisernen proletarischem Besen werden wir alle Schmarotzer, Großindustriellen, Bankiers, Junker, Großkaufleute, Generale, Bürgerliche Politiker, Arbeiterverräter, Spekulanten und Schieber aller Art hinwegfegen”.

Trotz Kritik aus den eigenen Reihen hielt die KPD-Führung an ihrem neuen nationalen und sozialistischen Kurs fest. Der eigentliche Aufstieg der KPD zur Massen- und Wahlpartei begannn schließlich auch erst mit der “Programmerklärung zur nationalen und sozialen Befreiung des deutschen Volkes”. Bestätigt sah sich die KPD-Führung in ihrem neuen Kurs, als im März 1931 der ehemalige Reichswehroffizier (Richard) Scheringer von der NSDAP zur KPD überlief. Viele NSDAP-Mitglieder folgten ihm. Durch die Kehrtwende der KPD in der nationalen Frage war der Wechsel von Mitgliedern in das jeweilige andere feindliche Lager keine Seltenheit mehr.

Von der SA in Berlin wurde eine Umfrage durchgeführt, der zufolge bei einzelnen SA-Stürmen sogar bis zu 55 Prozent der Mitglieder ehemalige Kommunisten waren. Bei einem Aufmarsch der Nationalsozialisten in Braunschweig trug eine Berliner Gruppe der SA sogar noch die Uniform des “Kampfbundes gegen den Faschismus” und war nur durch die Armbinden als SA zu erkennen. In viele Bezirkparlamenten und sogar auf Reichstagebene kam es zur Aktionseinheit beider antikapitalistischer Organisationen. Bei 241 namentlichen Abstimmungen im Reichstag und im preußischen Landtag stimmten zwischen 1929 und 1930 KPD und NSDAP in 410 Fällen gleich. In der fünften Wahlperiode waren sich die beiden Parteien sogar nur in acht von 102 Abstimmungen uneins. 1931 beteiligte sich die KPD gemeinsam mit Stahlhelm, Deutschnationalen und NSDAP am Volksentscheid zur Auflösung des sozialdemokratischen Landtages in Preußen.

Die KPD im Nachkriegsdeutschland

1933 wurde die KPD von der Hitlerregierung verboten. Während des Zweiten Weltkrieges baute die exil-KPD 1943 das “Nationalkomitee freies Deutschland” (NKFD) auf, das als Erkennungszeichen das Reichsbanner Schwarz-Weis-Rot hatte. Im Gründungsmanifest wurde gefordert: “Deutschland darf nicht sterben”. nötig sei eine “wahrhaft deutsche Regierung”, die sich entscheidend auf die “Volks- und vaterlandtreuen Kräfte in der Armee” stützen müsse.

Auch im Nachkriegsdeutschland war die nationale Frage in der Kommunistischen Partei klar vertreten. In ihrem Wahlaufruf vom 11. Huni 1945 proklamierte die KPD im zeichen der Wiedervereinigungsbestrebungen den “nationalen Protest”, die “nationale Selbsthilfe” und den “nationale Befreidungskampf”. Sie forderte die”Schaffung einer nationalen Front, die alle ehrlichen deutschen umfasst, die ihr Volk und ihr Vaterland lieben” und nannte sich selbst die “einzig wahrhaft nationale Partei”. Im Programm der KPD zur nationalen Wiedervereinigung Deutschlands von 1949 heißt er außerdem: “Nach dem Krieg geriet Westdeutschland in die Sklaverei der amerikanischen, englischen unf französischen Imperialisten. Die westdeutsche Wirtschaft ist als folge der Imperialisten “Hilfe” von Grund auf “überfremdet und desorganisiert. Zugleich führt der amerikanische Imperialismus einen systematischen Kampf gegen die deutsche Nationalkultur. Er möchte den Deutschen vergessen machen, dass sie Deutsche sind und dass sie eine große Vergangenheit als selbstständige und begabte Nation besitzen”.

In einem weiteren KPD-Dokument heißt es unter anderem: “Wir wollen, dass unser großes Kulturerbe dem deutschen Volk erhalten bleibt und verlangen Schutz unseres

Kulturerbes gegen amerikanische Zerstörung. ...Kein Quadratmeter deutscher Heimaterde darf preisgegeben werden! Schütz den deutschen Bauern, seinen Hof und seine Scholl. Schützt unsere frauen und Mädchen vor dem Willkür der fremden Soldateska”.

Die KPD lehnte außerdem die Oder-Neiße-Grenze eben so ab, wie das BRDGrundgesetz (KPD-Vorsitzender Max Reimann: “Ich unterschreibe nicht die Spaltungsurkunde Deutschlands”.). 1956 wurde die KPD von der BRD-Justiz verboten, aber auch in den Nachfolgeorganisationen der KPD, den K-Gruppen, war die nationale Frage durchaus vertreten. So forderte die KPD/ML in eine Erklärung mit dem Titel “Deutschland dem deutschen Volk”: “Das Nationalbewusstsein des deutschen Volk entwickeln! Kühn entschlossen den Kampf aufnehmen für die Einheit der Nation! Vertreibt die Besatzungsmächte und ihre Lakeien von Deutschem Boden! Vereinigen wir uns im revolutionären kampf mit allem deutschen Patrioten!”. Und auch der “Arbeiterbund für den Wiederaufbau der KPD” (AB) stellte in seiner programmerklärung “Damit Deutschland den Deutschen gehört” ähnliche Forderungen auf.

Schlußfolgerung

Der allgemeine Glaube des Nationalen Widerstandes, die KPD sei eine anti-deutsche, ja volksfeindliche Partei gewesen, lässt sich nach diesem Artikel nicht mehr aufrechthalten. Der Grossteil der Forderungen der KPD sind heute problemlos auch mit unseren Ansichten und Forderungen vereinbar. Es empfiehlt sich also, auch in der Zukunft, gegenüber der revolutionäre Linke nicht so sehr negative Emotionen walten zu lässen, sondern sie nüchtern zu beobachten und zu analysieren, und somit auf einen gemeinsamen Nenner zu kommen.

Source: Nationale Socialistische Actie / Autonome Nationale Socialisten

Anarcho-Nationalism

One thesis suggests that fascism far from always being a "right wing" ideology is in fact a "left wing heresy", born of a synthesis of nationalism and anarcho-syndicalism. Fascism was potentially a dynamic revolutionary theory but its autonomous radical element was soon hijacked by the forces of reactionary conservatism and ultimately co-opted by capitalism. Classical fascism then became an ideology of Oppression, highly centralised statism, authoritarian, militaristic, whose whole ultimate vision was one of the totalitarian society personified in the cult of the charismatic leader or ruthless dictator. Starting from a dialectical approach to history similar to Marx and Proudhon, fascism had an initial worldview or thesis of left-wing syndicalism, which in turn generated its opposite antithesis: right-wing nationalism. This subsequently provided the philosophical inspiration for a synthesis: national syndicalism or socialism, envisaging ultimately to transcend the class war between capital and labour, the result being the corporatist state. Fascism then is essentially a particular style of government and a political and social theory that is the complete antithesis of what is being discussed in this article, for if fascist ideology always includes "nationalism" in its doctrine it does not follow therefore that all "nationalists" are "proto-fascist". Nationalism can be interpreted as essentially an anti-statist worldview and "patriotism" as a folk consciousness that values one's organic identity and ethnic autonomy over and against the national state.

Proudhon and Tolkien

Nationalism then, of which historically there can be said to have been two classical manifestations, the "Cultural" and the "Statist", can be re-invented as "folk autonomy" and "nationalist" as "folk autonomist". Thus from the anarchist tradition the liberation Socialist Gustav Landaver can say: "national differentiation is a thing of prime significance for the coming realisation of humanity, for those who separate the beautiful, thriving, peaceful fact of the nation from the ugly violence of the state."

What we have here then is a vision of anarchism, that is based in an indigenous folkism and a rooted radicalism in opposition to the cosmopolitanism and abstract inter-nationalism of the traditional left. All nations have the right to their sovereignty and self-determination and this can have profound liberation implications that don't have to mean falling into the arms of whole fascist organisations and individuals, who advocate a reactionary package of chauvinistic nationalism and right wing authoritarianism. This is "anarcho-nationalism", the liberating socialist "third" position - anti-statist, popularist, green and decentralist.

It's time for the broad anarchist movement to leave leftism and workerism behind and go back to the father of anarchism, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon who attempted in his political and social theory to forge a creative synthesis between left and right. Proudhon laid great stress on the regionalist and ethical reality rather than the artificial borders of the great national states; his economics attempted to reconcile both of the competitive and co-operative aspirations of humanity in a natural society based on free association and popularism. He totally rejected the liberal concept of parliamentary democracy as a sham and "universal suffrage as the counter revolution". Philosophically speaking anarchism has a strong anti-democratic tradition - far from seeing anarchism as being democracy carried to its logical conclusion, it can be seen as "aristocracy universalised".

In fact even "monarchy" as a concept can be re-claimed and reinvented to serve anarchist ends if one can see in the monarch a symbol of sovereignty reflected in the absolute sovereignty of the free individual. J. R. Tolkien, author of "Lord of the Rings", once spoke of his political viewpoint as being a synthesis of anarchism and "unconstitutional monarchy." This anarcho-monarchism can also be expressed in the distinctively English tradition of the "Albion mythos" and the return of King Arthur as portrayed in the brilliant book "Camelot and the Vision of Albion" by the British mythologist Geoffrey Ashe.

Revolt against the mono-culture

In a world that is appearing to celebrate the new millennium as "the end of history", a new voice of opposition is needed that is anti-ideological in the sense of rejecting political fundamentalism and party line dogmatism but is rooted in an ethnic spirit, an historical identity in complete revolt against the one world monoculture of globalisation, and the liberal-capitalist free market. In a world of no borders, of anarcho-monetarism where only money as commodity is free (where money should be merely a means of exchange not a means of speculation or usury) then even the traditional conservative nation state is made redundant by the trans-national corporations and the deregulated schemes of international bankerdom. The new world order is not going to be challenged by the traditional left but by a decentralist nationalism, for it is only nationalism that can provide an identity that can challenge the collective identity of the mass consumer society - the consumer tribes and brand loyalties of various pre-packaged "identities" such as those provided by football teams, rock bands, fashion and sex etc.

It is tragic in this context that the "Wandervögel" German youth movement was soon hijacked and perverted into the Hitler Youth and made a focus for party recruitment and indoctrination. The Wandervögel in their original purity were an attempt at providing a sense of "communal individuality" against the extremes of social alienation as expressed through both extreme individualism and collectivism.

Also, an awareness of one's "blood and soil" does not have to carry fascistic overtones of racism and ethnic supremacy and separatism. "Culture" in this context and "identity" isn't totally a static thing but a dynamic force in social relationships capable of being open and enriched by the contributions of other and different ethnic cultures and identities - although it must be said that mass immigration and multi-culturalism is a by-product of an internationalist capitalist economics, that causes the poor periphery to chase the wealth at the affluent core. This does not mean advocating "repatriation" and falling into the hands of racists and fascists with a purist view of English identity and culture, but it does mean offering a critique of the liberal melting pot theory of society.

Maybe it's time for the black flag of anarchy to march alongside the flags of the European peoples, to fight the European federal superstate with the poetical vision of a decentralised Europe of a hundred flags - in opposition to globalisation and the trend towards one world government. Maybe it's time for a vision of "Britain" as a family of free nations: England, Scotland, Wales, Eire, Isle of Man, Ulster, Cornwall etc; a Britain of independent regions in contrast to the centralised Westminster unionism that has its historical origin in the Norman yoke.

Ultimately of course human identities go beyond merely reductionist considerations of nation and race. From the individual to the family, to the community to the region, to the nation and the race to the whole of humanity and creation - each of these identities, autonomies and entities must be treated as an integral and necessary part of a fully human and healthy society - that is national freedom and social justice, that is world peace, that is anarcho-nationalism!

Wayne John Sturgeon, 1/7/1999

Capitalism: a catastrophic system

The economic system of Capitalism knows a "borderless" principle. It subordinates the rights of people, animals and nations to the market. Capitalism considers the people to be nothing else than a localized accumulation of human resources. If there is a shortage of human labour in a particular country, region or continent, the Capitalist system tries to remedy this by getting a workforce from abroad and by placing them between the indigenous people. As a consequence this leads to a brain drain in the region where the workers come from. It also causes a degradation of the independence and demographics of the indigenous people that live in the country the workers migrate to. By placing foreign populations in regions where originally another people lives, Capitalism creates cultural tensions and unsustainable situations.

The Market

The Capitalist market destroys small companies and crafts. Regional products and local dishes are replaced by cheap, unhealthy mass production and fast food. The middle class that is also afflicted by Capitalism forms a more stable economic factor than a Multinational, which will simply delocate its production to low-wage countries. The small company is also a more stable employer then a Multinational, because they have smaller differences in profit and profit forecast than the big companies which depend on huge orders.

Globalism

Globalism, the by-product of Capitalism, aims to create "mondial values" that are not bound to specific regions, their slogan is "one world, one culture". It subordinates regional and national governments to international organisations and institutes such as the NATO, IMF, G8 and the EU. Regional and national customs and traditions are being destroyed if they don't serve the international interests.

Economic Liberalism

Capitalism is the product of the political ideology of Liberalism. Liberalism also claims to be "universal". Liberalism as well as Capitalism replaces the right of peoples and nations for self determination by individualist rights that lead to licentiousness and egoism. Because Liberalism and Capitalism are basically the same, any Nationalist ideology that claims to be one of both is a contradiction.

The most important characteristics are:

The role of the market - the "liberation" of all restraints on private enterprises, no matter how many social injustice and misery this causes. More international trade and international investments, thus more globalism. The decrease of wages by taking away the power and rights of the working class. No set prices, and unrestricted freedom of movement for capital, goods and services. The working class becomes the victim of the enriching practices of the small elite; the Capitalist class.

Deregulation - the abolishment of government intervention on all spheres that affect the Capitalist profits. Including if it comes to the protection of the environment and the safeguarding of jobs. On the other hand for the normal civilian more repressive laws are introduced in favour of international Capitalism.

Privatisation - the sale of government agencies, goods and services to the private sector. This applies to banks, strategic industrial companies, railways, utility companies, schools, hospitals and even drinking water. It erodes the peoples self determination and excludes them.

Conclusion

All over the world Capitalism is imposed by mighty financial institutions such as the IMF and the Worldbank. A small minority of the populations wins by Capitalism, but for the vast majority this means more misery than before and a severe deterioration of their living standard.

Therefore we fight for an honest and just system that is not imposed by the interests of several parasitic Capitalists, but a system that is the representation of the people and the nation, and which exists in favour of all the workers who help to produce the Capital.

Source: Vrije Nationalisten Noord-Brabant / Netwerk Nationale Socialisten

Call for Action - European Day of Action against Capitalism

Europe is in a continuous state of upheaval. For months now, its credit- and sovereign debt crises have been escalating. A number of hectic European Union (EU) summits have introduced emergency measures to rescue capitalism. Should the­se measures fail, governments and the media assure us, collapse, recession and mass poverty would be the result. This apocalyptic rhetoric paves the way for even more neoliberal reforms whose social impact will be felt for decades to come – if we don‘t resist. Throughout the crisis, we were told that capitalism needed to be reined in, and that banks and corporations would have to carry some of the burden they, too, had created. What is happening now is the exact opposite: The EU, its member states and other European countries are intensifying competition and introducing devastating public austerity programmes to secure private profits. In doing so, however, they are reproducing the destructive logic of capitalism. The existence of crises, widespread powerlessness and poverty, contrasted by private, i.e. exclusive wealth, are inherent elements of capitalism. Let’s get organized for a better society!

It‘s the system!

Over the past decades, capitalist globalisation has intensified competition between private corporations and national economies alike. All leading industrial nations have thoroughly deregulated their markets, and have imposed that model on others. They have cut benefits, privatised public goods, cut labour rights, and increased social control – all in the interest of unimpeded capitalist growth. In Europe, supposedly on the sunny side of world capitalism, our lives are becoming ever more precarious, and social divisions increase. The so called “emerging markets” find themselves in a state of constant social crisis, with rigid expropriation and ruthless exploitation, backed by governments in the interest of a national growth that only serves the privileged few. In an obsessive hunt for competitive advantages, neoliberal policies have brought financial markets to a boiling point. Be it the dotcom boom, the bonanza of real-estate-funds and derivatives – those bubbles have burst one after the other. This is not the result of individual “greed” or the “corruption” of a tiny elite, as many claim, but of the trivial systemic imperatives of capitalism as a social order. That’s why the system needs to be changed.

Overcoming the EU Regime

In 2011, the european debt- and monetary crisis has escalated. A number of EU member states are facing bankruptcy, which is endangering the Euro as a common currency. According to superficial and populist assessments, these states have “lived beyond their means”. In reality, they have only tried to generate economic growth through loans. They adopted the same practices as all other countries, only with less success. As a condition of the financial backing dispensed by the European Central Bank (ECB) and the newly established Euro bailout funds, these governments are now forced to introduce a new round of austerity measures. A European debt limit is supposed to restore the “confidence of the markets”, obviously on the backs of workers, students and the unemployed. At the same time, private profits are not affected. In much the same way, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the EU and other international institutions are pressuring emerging and transitional economies to make all sorts of cuts and to privatize much of the public sector. All this is geared towards a restoration of the crisis-ridden and exploitative EU regime, serving the interests of its dominant economies. Despite certain disagreements among themselves, France and Germany have succeeded in asserting their policies without much opposition. There has of course been widespread protest. Grassroots initiatives have sprung up all over the continent, trying to overcome civic disempowerment. But up to now, even mass demonstrations and general strikes haven’t achieved much. Natio­nal unions generally bow to the demands and constraints of domestic capitalism. There is no effective transnational solidarity between unions. If we want this to change, we’ll have to do it ourselves.

We can do better

Current policies in the EU and in Europe as a whole are as speculative as capitalism has ever been. That’s because austerity measures are jeopardising economic stability just as much as debt-inflated growth. There can never be salvation in capitalism, only endlessly recurring crises. So why continue wasting our lives for this? Let’s fight neoliberal ideology, let’s get organised on a European level. Our Day of Action on March 31st 2012 will be a first step. Simultaneous demonstrations in many European countries are more than just a signal of solidarity. They’re already sparking transnational discussion and cooperation. We invite all emancipatory initiatives to join this process. We strive to grow independent of official institutions, and are prepared for a persistent struggle. The crisis may manifest in varying ways in different countries, but we all share a common goal: We don’t want to save capitalism, we want to overcome it. It is crucial to fight against the continued erosion of social standards, but we need to aim higher. We want to get rid of the fatal constraints of capitalism and its political institutions. That’s the only way the widespread demand for “real democracy” can be fulfilled.

Ethic Socialism - Revisionism towards Revolutionary Nationalism

In the beginning of the 20th century Socialism contended with the multiple difficulties that the struggle against Capitalism had to offer. Several Revisionist movements arose from this ideological crisis. One of these Revisionist movements advocated a radical change of orthodox Marxism. This to break the standoff and to realize a political change. Socialist thinkers such as Georges Eugene Sorel and Hendrik de Man became convinced revisionists because of their practical experiences within the labour movement and they formed the intellectual basis for early revolutionary Nationalism. One of their most important critiques was aimed against the schematic character of the Marxist interpretation of social and cultural phenomena and the denial of the human nature as the most important factor within this. The theoretical works of the persons, who represented this movement, reflected a complete revision of the philosophic principles of Marxism.

World War 1 (1914-1918) led to new insights among these revisionists. The most important lesson learned by the world war was the fact that orthodox Socialism was not able to change the world. It didn’t contain the truths people were willing to die for. On the other hand they had to acknowledge that millions of people in this war were not only prepared to risk their lives and die for their nation, but also to die for less important reasons. The working masses in Europe were prepared to give their lives for the autonomy and sanctity of their nations and for the self-government of people instead of materialist class interests. This led to the conclusion that economical circumstances alone were not enough to explain each historical development. They no longer believed that Socialism could only be reached by acknowledging the class interests of the industrial proletariat. Socialism could only be reached by the contribution of interests and ideas that were shared by the entire nation. This revisionism meant the end of the Socialist utopia, or the end of the revolutionary myth as Sorel put it. Instead of "dead Marx" they began aiming themselves towards a living Socialism.

The revisionist philosophies didn’t doubt the importance of Marx within social sciences or his analyses of Capitalism. Their criticism was mostly aimed towards the Marxist conclusions, the economic determinism and the scientific rationalism of Marxist thought. The revisionists disputed the Marxist notion that all human actions are mainly led by economic interests. The economic hedonism that sets the foundation for Marx’s conception of class, class interest and class struggle, and his determinism ignores the psychological process by which economic necessities are transformed into human goals. This gives Marxism an unethical character. Marx suggests that Socialism originates from class struggle - as a necessary consequence of Capitalism - and therefore it represents no judgment of value. Marxism stated that Socialism didn’t arise because it was just, but because it was inevitable. Therefore no moral arguments are needed to justify Socialism, only causes and consequences. The revisionists put the idea that Socialism can only be the product of moral decisions against this. They rejected the "mechanic" and "automatic" character of Marxism and opposed it with an "organic" Socialism. The Socialist movement grew into a mass movement that was led by a class of professionals and was fragmented in small parties that all took care of the interests of their own members. The revisionists stated that it was the spirit of opportunism that led to the fact that the Socialist battle to conquer the institutions, became the battle of the institutions to conquer Socialism. Marxism was seen as the pioneer of opportunist reformism and the adoption of the bourgeois culture, which only served the interests of the bureaucratic conservatism.

The conclusion they formed out of this, was that the modern world didn’t need a reformed version of Socialism, but an entirely new Socialism. A Socialism that emancipated man away from its dependence on technical and economical means of existence. A Socialism which was more than just anti-Capitalist. A Socialism that represented an eternal urge for an impartial social order. This struggle for an organic, eternal and ethical Socialism wasn’t just a struggle against Marxism, but a struggle for a completely new Socialism. This led to a Socialism that was independent of each class consideration and embodied an aspiration for a better and more just society. The essential motivation for the labour movement was no longer materialistic, it was formed by an instinct for self respect. The revisionists stated that not just ideas by itself are the result of colliding forces, but that these ideas are created by mankind in an unending variation of intellectual, ethical, aesthetical and emotional reactions. It incorporates a faith, a passion. The fundamental notions of "scientific" Socialism - social revolution, dictatorship of the proletariat - were only myths and symbols of faith, that laid the foundations for politics; the masses had to believe. Socialism would survive as long as it believed in its future.

Within the European labour movements (above all the revolutionary Syndicalist movements) where these critiques - on determinism, opportunism, reformism, bureaucratization, bourgeois values and utopic verbalism - were shared, this new Socialism found an increasing support. Nothing was despised more within these rebel movements then the politicians, party politics, electorate and parliamentary debates. Georges Eugene Sorel was one of the first who tried to get rid of Socialism its mechanical, materialist, hedonist and determinist character, by claiming that humanity was not only led by social forces, it also moved in the light of myths and images. The root of all our action is our instinct, and moral conscience is an impulse of our instinct. Others complemented this with a psychological aspect. The chronic dissatisfaction of the working class was just one part of the reasons for a social inferiority complex. Therefore the essential motivation for the working class was not just a case of materialistic interests, but also one of self respect. These developments had a great impact on the crystallisation of the early revolutionary Nationalist movement, which had the "doctrine of the will" and "cultus of movement" as her foundation. They recognized the principle of emotion as the motivating power and considered the process of identification with an ideal as natural. The same principle was applied on the necessary difference between the natural status of the leader and that of the masses. Every society or organization needs leaders. This is no different within a Socialist system; it also knows a hierarchy, powerful figures and natural inequalities. The desire for equality and the necessity of inequality - none can be exclusive - condition each other. The aspirations of the lower classes to realize social equality is the essential motivating power behind Socialism, but at the same time each society needs a superior class, which can provide an example for a desirable State.

With this elitarism became an important aspect of the revisionism of the interbellum. Combined with the aversion of parliamentarism and the bourgeois society these formed the foundations of a new conception of Socialism. The more Socialism began to represent the idea of the State, the more this represented the idea of the nation that was embodied by the State. There was a shared solidarity between employees and employers, both were dependant on each other and on the nation. The pluralism of interests in the modern world could no longer be expressed in terms of the traditional Marxist dichotomy. This revision of Socialism laid the foundation for the revolutionary Nationalism that developed during the interbellum.

Source: Vrije Nationalisten Noord-Brabant / Netwerk Nationale Socialisten

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