From Unity, 22 September 2007

October 1917: What does it mean today?

by Hermann Glaser-Baur

As communists the world over honour and celebrate the ninetieth anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution, the question will be asked by many: Is it more than remembering a date in history? What do the October Revolution and the conclusions of it mean for the working-class movement of today?
     All communists of the present day are being guided by the lessons of the October Revolution; all reformists and others in the working-class movement who have more or less bowed to bourgeois politics will play down its historical importance and try to distance themselves for one or another reason. The historical truth is on our side.
     The October Revolution forced the capitalist system, for the first time in history, to accept an opposite pole in a world it had completely dominated prior to 1917. This new situation led to conditions under which the working class in capitalist countries was able to successfully fight for rights previously unknown.
     All aspects of the social system of today, such as a national health system, public education, a fixed retirement age, culture for the working class etc. were first realised in the socialist state, and the capitalists and their governments had to make concessions to the struggle of the working class.
     The October Revolution’s victory was the main ignition for the development of the communist movement in all parts of the world. Many communist parties were founded, and the Communist (Third) International was established in 1919. The Socialist (Second) International had betrayed working-class interests, and the Comintern soon developed into the centrepiece of worldwide revolutionary politics.
     The October Revolution proved that even the strongest and most established system can be overthrown by the working people if they are led by a revolutionary vanguard. It also rubbished the old (and recently “re-born”) reformist theory that socialism cannot be achieved in just one country at a time. Despite its weaknesses, the Soviet system survived the intervention by sixteen imperialist countries and the murderous attack by fascism in the Second World War.
     Ernst Thälmann, German communist leader and Hitler’s “most important prisoner” for eleven years, used a slightly simplified phrase when he appealed to the revolutionaries from his death cell: “Stalin is going to break Hitler’s neck.” Socialism is stronger than capitalism, even in its most aggressive form, was the meaning behind it; history proved him right.
     In the Soviet Union itself the victorious revolution led to the most radical changes in the economy and social system that any country in the world had ever experienced. Unemployment disappeared within a few years. The five-day working week, the seven-hour working day, pensions for all, pension age of sixty for men and fifty-five for women, equal rights for women—all those achievements, which are being destroyed by the capitalist system today, were results of working-class power after the Russian Revolution.
     The new working-class state tackled reactionary nationalism and racism. The Soviet Union accepted the right of every people to be sovereign, and supported respect and equality as the basic principles between the nations. The underlying basis of all its foreign policies was proletarian internationalism, “the only principle which can really guarantee respect for cultural, linguistic and ethnical differences between the peoples . . .” (quoted from the Greek Communist Party’s statement on the anniversary of the October Revolution, May 2007).
     The deviation from the path of proletarian internationalism in connection with increasing internal problems in the Soviet Union, and serious mistakes in trying to solve these, were used by the imperialists to undermine the socialist system. The fall of the socialist world was clearly a counter-revolution, because it led to a huge social step-back.
     Imperialist propaganda is trying to lay the blame for the disaster on the socialist system itself and its economy, using such terms as the “collapse of socialism,” which disguise the counter-revolutionary nature of the events and attempt to make them look like a necessary result of socialism’s failed politics.
     Communists all over the world are exposing these lies. Recognising that socialism was put into practice in the Soviet Union and the other socialist states means recognising that socialism is possible in practice, despite all the mistakes in the socialist countries: that it is “doable,” that it is far more than just an idea. This crucial knowledge is one of the most up-to-date lessons from the October Revolutions.
     Despite the counter-revolutionary overthrow between 1989 and 1991, we are living in the period of change-over from capitalism to socialism.
     No new system became dominant at once, neither capitalism itself nor feudalism before it.
     In the struggle for socialism today it is one of the major tasks of communists to spread the truth about socialism in the twentieth century: not painting a rosy picture, not overlooking its mistakes, but free of the lies of bourgeois propaganda.
     The working class and poor people will not remain tied to the past; they need a socialist-communist future. It is the only answer to mounting problems, and it is the only solution imperialism fears—as much today as in 1917.

The Communist Party of Ireland has put a huge effort into marking the ninetieth anniversary of the October Revolution. We have succeeded in committing one of the most sought-after speakers in the world on the subject at two public meetings.
     Prof. Hans Heinz Holz will be the principal speaker in Dublin and Belfast. The German philosopher who has spoken all over the world is on his first trip to Ireland and exclusively speaking for the CPI.
     At both meetings the Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Cuba, Noel Carrillo, will also address the audience, and the general secretary of the CPI, Eugene McCartan, is going to open the events with a speech.
     No communist or progressive-minded person can possibly miss these dates!
     Thursday 25 October, Belfast: CPI premises (8–10 Exchange Place), starting at 7 p.m. sharp.
     Friday 26 October, Dublin: Liberty Hall (Beresford Place), starting at 8 p.m. sharp.

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