Power to the People.
Independence from US imperialism
Programme of the Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist)
(Adopted by the 11th Congress in 2005)
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1. The Programme of the
Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist) aims to
examine Australian and world reality from the standpoint
of Marxism.
Marxist philosophy holds that the material
world – matter – is primary. Ideas – consciousness
– are the reflection of this objective reality.
Marxism is a guide to action, based on
practice. It recognises all things in nature and society
as constantly coming into being and passing away.
The Communist Party arises from the struggles
of the Australian people. It aims to embody the highest
ideals and hopes of the working class.
2. From this basic standpoint
the Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist) views
Australia as a capitalist society characterised by production
for profit. Profit is derived from unpaid labour time.
Workers' labour power is purchased on the
market by the owners of capital. Put to work in Australia
, on average in half the working week it produces value
sufficient to cover wages to maintain workers and their
families. The value produced in the remainder of the working
week constitutes surplus value, the source of profit.
The goods and services produced by workers'
socialised labour are privately appropriated by capitalists.
They will continue to be produced so long as they can be
sold for profit on the market.
The system of capitalist production leads
inevitably to the alternating cycle of boom and bust and
periodical crisis under capitalism.
3. It is inevitable that
sooner or later these social conditions will impel people
to organise to end the conflict between the socialised labour
process and the private ownership of the decisive means
of production, the big factories, mines and corporate farms,
by the establishment of socialism. With socialism, production
is planned and rational, and takes place for peoples' use.
To prevent the tiny minority of previous
exploiters destroying the newly-established socialist system,
the working class and its allies, who together can call
upon the support of the majority of the people, will set
up a new political state apparatus. Over time, this state
withers away as society becomes self-managing.
In the socialist era, the material and
moral conditions are laid to proceed to the higher epoch
of classless communist society in which the full potential
of all human beings is realised and the needs of all can
be met.
4. We live in the era
of imperialism, that stage of capitalism when monopolies
and finance capital (i.e. bank and industrial capital merged)
dominate; when the export of capital as against the export
of commodities assumes pronounced importance; when the world
has been divided among big banks, financial institutions
and multinational corporations and when there are no longer
any new territories to be seized without imperialist conflict.
The extraordinary advance of technology
over the recent period does not alter fundamental social
laws. On the contrary, it illustrates and sharpens those
fundamental laws.
5. The present stage in
the struggle to end capitalism in Australia is the battle
to win Australian independence from the foreign imperialist
interests and their local allies which constitute the core
of Australian capitalism. Though Australia has achieved
an important measure of independence, US imperialism holds
decisive political, economic, diplomatic, military and cultural
influence. The US has taken over from Britain as the dominant
imperialism in Australia. The key sectors of Australia 's
economy are owned or controlled by giant foreign multinationals
and a few big local monopolies which are bound up with them
through joint ventures, foreign borrowings, and trade.
6. The great cause which
unites the Australian people is the struggle for Australian
independence. The nation's wealth is concentrated in the
hands of a few foreign monopolies. As a result millions
of ordinary Australians suffer intensified exploitation,
growing debt and insecurity, increased repression and discrimination,
bankruptcy. Australia 's natural wealth and heritage are
looted for monopoly profit. The resulting struggles against
foreign imperialist domination at the heart of Australian
capitalism are objectively struggles for Australian independence,
although the participants in many cases may not make this
connection.
7. The working class is
the leading class in this struggle. While imperialism takes
a heavy toll on the lives of the majority of Australians;
workers, farmers, small and medium local business people,
self-employed, professionals, shopkeepers, black and white,
irrespective of ethnic origin, the centre of its attack
is aimed at the working class from whose labour it derives
maximum profit. Large-scale production forces the Australian
working class to be the most disciplined cohesive and politically-conscious
class. With the working class as the core, peoples' sentiment
for national independence will be transformed into a mighty
peoples' movement building up to eventually launch revolutionary
struggle against imperialist domination.
8. To maintain and protect
foreign imperialist domination of Australia , a powerful
state machine has emerged. It consists of the bureaucracy,
police, courts, gaols, armed forces, intelligence agencies.
It seems to stand independently over Australian society
but in fact it exists to enforce imperialist domination.
Parliamentary democracy with its limited formal democratic
rights operates within this context.
While such rights have positive aspects,
imperialist domination, capitalism and the state machine's
repressive, violent character are still the central feature
of the capitalist state. Australia 's ruling class uses
the mass media, education system, culture, etc., to push
a whole system of ideas which disguises imperialist domination
and monopoly exploitation and presents them as inevitable.
Capitalism's “natural” tendency is towards erosion
of democratic rights and more open repression, particularly
in periods of deep economic or social difficulties for the
imperialists. There is always the danger that Australia
's imperialist overlords will discard the democratic façade
and rule through systematic, open, ruthless violence –
fascism.
9. Imperialism gives rise
to constant international instability and wars of aggression.
The root cause of instability and war is imperialist expansionism
and rivalry of and between the United States of America
and the European Union and to a lesser extent, Japan . This
expansionism and rivalry overshadows world events, carries
with it the danger of world war and greatly influences the
situation within Australia . Nor has US imperialism given
up its dreams of destroying the Peoples Republic of China
or once again attacking socialist Cuba or the Democratic
Peoples Republic of Korea. People in the underdeveloped
countries and former colonies continue to struggle against
the cruel debts imposed by unfair trade pacts, and the political
interference, economic blackmail, and military threats of
the imperialist powers. Ordinary people everywhere demand
the right to live in peace. They are actively fighting to
force their governments to abandon all aggressive policies
and action. They want an end to all nuclear weapons, chemical
and other means of mass destruction starting with the US
, holders of the largest stock of weapons. The Australian
people want an end to US military bases and involvement
in imperialist wars.
10. The struggle for national
independence embraces all people's action to improve their
lives. The Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist)
supports all demands which arise out of people's struggle
against imperialism.
In the course of that struggle people will
conclude that parliament and the main political parties
operate to administer the system on imperialism's behalf.
As an alternative to foreign imperialist
domination, the Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist)
supports demands to nationalise the key industries and financial
institutions, to vigorously tax the large multinationals
and the super-rich, and to expropriate and redistribute
foreign-owned corporate farms. With the establishment of
people's democratic institutions at national and regional
level, and people's ownership of press, radio, TV and electronic
media, the mass of Australian working people can be informed
and consulted as they participate in the building of a new
life. With this energy it will be really possible to wipe
out poverty, provide high-quality health, education and
social services for all the Australian people, and repair
the damage done to the natural environment.
An essential task is to support the indigenous
people who were violently dispossessed by British imperialism,
to end their dispossession, oppression and exploitation.
11. The foreign imperialists
will fight all moves towards real Australian independence.
In the face of likely ruthless and violent suppression by
the capitalist state machine which serves foreign imperialism,
and with the necessity of defending people's democracy against
aggression, interference and subversion, the people must
be prepared for all means of struggle. Their hopes for a
better life demand that they take power into their own hands.
12. The Party must be
able to function under any circumstances and be able to
maintain its work through rapid changes of conditions. In
particular, full attention must be paid to the hostile activities
of the state machine.
13. The strategic policy
of the Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist) is
revolution by stages. The Party organises to assist the
current stage of winning Australian independence and, through
that, laying the foundations for Australian socialism.
14. The Communist Party
arises from the struggles of the Australian people. It aims
to embody the highest ideals and hopes of the working class.
It endeavours, from the scientific standpoint of Marxism,
to examine Australian and world reality and participate
in changing Australian society in accordance with the process
of development which Marxism shows is actually going on.
It strives for the most intimate possible knowledge of Australia
, its history and its present situation.
The Party acts with complete confidence
in the Australian people. Its organisation is among the
people. It strives to work in accordance with the degree
of understanding of the people at a given time and with
the objective of step-by-step raising that understanding
towards an understanding of the overall social process.
The Party seeks to inspire the working
class to lead the way in building a massive people's movement
against US imperialist domination, involving all progressive
Australian forces, winning over the middle forces, and isolating
the handful of reactionary enemies of the people.
15. Members of the Communist
Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist) accept a lifetime
commitment to the welfare of the working class and the great
cause of Communism.
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Related Information:
Fighting Programme of the Communist
Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist)
