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What these so called Communists that oppose patriotic sentiments are suggesting is national-nihilism, which is anti-Communist and actually serves fascism. | What these so called Communists that oppose patriotic sentiments are suggesting is national-nihilism, which is anti-Communist and actually serves fascism. | ||
<blockquote>“''Mussolini does his utmost to make capital for himself out of the heroic figure of Garibaldi. The French fascists bring to the fore as their heroine Joan of Arc. The American fascists appeal to the traditions of the American War of Independence, the traditions of Washington and Lincoln. The Bulgarian fascists make use of the national-liberation movement of the seventies and its heroes beloved by the people, Vassil Levsky, Stephan Karaj and others. Communists who suppose that all this has nothing to do with the cause of the working class, who do nothing to enlighten the masses on the past of their people in a historically correct fashion, in a genuinely Marxist-Leninist spirit, who do nothing to link up the present struggle with the people’s revolutionary traditions and past - voluntarily hand over to the fascist falsifiers all that is valuable in the historical past of the nation, so that the fascists may fool the masses...'' ''We Communists are the irreconcilable opponents, in principle, of bourgeois nationalism in all its forms. But we are not supporters of national nihilism, and should never act as such. The task of educating the workers and all working people in the spirit of proletarian internationalism is one of the fundamental tasks of every Communist Party. But anyone who thinks that this permits him, or even compels him, to sneer at all the national sentiments of the broad masses of working people is far from being a genuine Bolshevik, and has understood nothing of the teaching of Lenin on the national question...'' ''Heroism presupposes ideological inspiration. The heroism of the commanders and the rank and file of the Red Army is supported and raised aloft on the wings of Soviet, socialist patriotism. This is patriotism of a special kind. It does not nourish or tolerate hatred of other peoples. On the contrary, it is bound up dissolubly with internationalism. | <blockquote>“''Mussolini does his utmost to make capital for himself out of the heroic figure of Garibaldi. The French fascists bring to the fore as their heroine Joan of Arc. The American fascists appeal to the traditions of the American War of Independence, the traditions of Washington and Lincoln. The Bulgarian fascists make use of the national-liberation movement of the seventies and its heroes beloved by the people, Vassil Levsky, Stephan Karaj and others. Communists who suppose that all this has nothing to do with the cause of the working class, who do nothing to enlighten the masses on the past of their people in a historically correct fashion, in a genuinely Marxist-Leninist spirit, who do nothing to link up the present struggle with the people’s revolutionary traditions and past - voluntarily hand over to the fascist falsifiers all that is valuable in the historical past of the nation, so that the fascists may fool the masses...'' ''We Communists are the irreconcilable opponents, in principle, of bourgeois nationalism in all its forms. But we are not supporters of national nihilism, and should never act as such. The task of educating the workers and all working people in the spirit of proletarian internationalism is one of the fundamental tasks of every Communist Party. But anyone who thinks that this permits him, or even compels him, to sneer at all the national sentiments of the broad masses of working people is far from being a genuine Bolshevik, and has understood nothing of the teaching of Lenin on the national question...'' ''Heroism presupposes ideological inspiration. The heroism of the commanders and the rank and file of the Red Army is supported and raised aloft on the wings of Soviet, socialist patriotism. This is patriotism of a special kind. It does not nourish or tolerate hatred of other peoples. On the contrary, it is bound up dissolubly with internationalism...'' ''It is necessary to develop a line of thought that combines wise nationalism, properly understood, with proletarian internationalism. Proletarian internationalism should be based on the nationalism of individual countries […], between that properly understood nationalism and proletarian internationalism there can be no contradiction. Nationless cosmopolitanism, which denies national sentiment and the idea of the nation, doesn’t have anything in common with proletarian internationalism"'' ''-'' ''Georgi M. Dimitrov, The Fascist Offensive and the Tasks of the Communist International, speech delievered at the Seventh World Congress of the Communist International, held in 1935''</blockquote> | ||
Ironically this cosmopolitanism, is actually the ideology of the bourgeoisie, as capital is tied to no land, while the workers actually are deeply rooted in the land over generations.<blockquote>“''The question here concerns the ideology encouraged by the imperialists, which propagates a sham ‘obsolescence’ of the principle of sovereignty, the ‘legitimacy’ of limiting state independence, an indifference to natural traditions and contempt for national culture. This ideology alleges that at the present time the idea of motherland is devoid of any meaning. For the financial oligarchy of the U.S.A., cosmopolitism has proved the best way of disguising its struggle for world supremacy and for the doing away with the independence of other states; The unions of monopolists are presented as the embodiment of ‘unity of the European peoples’ and as the way to overcome ‘national limitations’. Small wonder that such propaganda is openly supported and financed by the big monopolies; The favourite thesis of the ideologists of cosmopolitism, especially the Right-wing socialists among them, is the allegation that in the modern world the principle of sovereignty has become an obstacle to the development of the productive forces; The enemies of Marxism assert that by defending the principles of state sovereignty and independence Communists oppose the tendencies of social development and want to preserve the division of the world into states and the disunion of the nations in the international arena; Nor can the danger of war be eliminated by a campaign against sovereignty. In our time wars do not arise as a result of adherence to state independence, as the ideologists of bourgeois cosmopolitism allege, but owing to socio-economic causes connected with the predatory nature of monopoly capital; the propagandists of cosmopolitism claim that the principle of sovereignty is antiquated because it hampers the development of general culture aand impedes the fusion of the peoples into one family; The fact that the proletariat defends the freedom of the nations, their independence and national traditions is an expression of the patriotism of the working class, which is the direct opposite of both the chauvinist and cosmpolitan ideology of the bourgeoisie. The patriotism of the working class springs primarily from the feeling of pride in the contribution that the people or nation concerned has made to the struggle of the oppressed and exploited masses for their liberation from exploitation and oppression. The patriotism of the working class is therefore profoundly progressive and revolutionary. Bourgeois propaganda tries to represent the capitalist class as the bearer of patriotic feelings. They want to slur over the fact that the patriotism of the bourgeoisie is always subordinate to its selfish, narrow class interests, and to disparage the patriotism of the working class and Communists. In this connection, bourgeois propagandists sometimes refer to the passage in the Communist Manifesto which says that ‘the working men have no country’. It is perfectly clear, however, that it is not a question of repudiating the fatherland, but of the fact that in a society ruled by capitalists the fatherland is actually usurped by exploiters and is not a good father but a vicious stepfather to the workers. By overthrowing the rule of the exploiting classes the working class creates the conditions for the fullest possible manifestation of its patriotism, for it itself is the true bearer of patriotism in our time; Developing the Marxist point of view regarding the fatherland, Lenin wrote in 1908: ‘The fatherland, i.e., the given political, cultural and social environment, is the most powerful factor in the class struggle of the proletariat… The proletariat cannot be indifferent to and unconcerned about the political, social and cultural conditions of its struggle and, consequently, cannot remain indifferent to the fate of its country. But the fate of the country interest it only to the extent that they affect its class struggle, and not in virtue of some bourgeois ‘patriotism’, quite indecent on the lips of a Social-Democrat; The whole spirit of Marxism, its entire system demands that each proposition should be considered α) only historically, β) only in connection with others and χ) only in connection with the concrete experience of history.’; In what historical situation the slogan of defence of the fatherland is proclaimed, what class proclaims it and for what purposes - these are the things that primarily interest the working class; The Bourgeois ideologists allege that by combating cosmopolitism Marxists disavow the international character of their doctrine and become nationalists. But the authors of such falsifications perpetrate a double forgery. Firstly, they put a sign of equality between the cosmopolitism of the bourgeoisie and the internationalism of the working class, and, secondly, they ascribe to Marxists the nationalist views which are characteristic precisely of bourgeois ideology. The internationalism of the working class is, as already stated, an expression of the community of interests of the workers of all countries in their struggle against their common enemy - capitalism, of the unity of their aim, the abolition of exploitation of man by man… and the unity of their ideology - the ideology of friendship and fraternity of the peoples. In this sense all workers belong to the same ‘nation’ - the world ‘nation’ of working people oppressed and exploited in all bourgeois countries by the same force - capital. This does not in any way mean, however, that while belonging to the single international army of working people, the worker ceases to be a Frenchman, Englishman, etc. Quite the contrary. True and not sham patriotism springs naturally from proletarian internationalism. In point of fact, does not faithfulness to the ultimate ideal of the working class imbue the workers with a fervent desire to see their own people free, prosperous, and achieving social progress? Seeking liberation from all forms of oppression and exploitation… The working class wants this not only for itself, but also for all the working people, for the whole nation. Only the achievement of the ultimate aims of the working class, i.e., the overthrow of the power of the exploiters, who impede the progress of the nation… and the building of socialism, can bring every nation real freedom, independence and national greatness. It follows that the most internationalist class - the working class - is at the same time the most patriotic class; The Communist Parties of the capitalist countries hold high the banner of national independence and freedom. Preservation of state sovereignty and realisation of an independent foreign policy are demands that form part of the programme of the Communist movements in France, Italy and other countries.” - Otto Wille Kuusinen, Fundamentals of Marxism-Leninism'' | Ironically this cosmopolitanism, is actually the ideology of the bourgeoisie, as capital is tied to no land, while the workers actually are deeply rooted in the land over generations.<blockquote>“''The question here concerns the ideology encouraged by the imperialists, which propagates a sham ‘obsolescence’ of the principle of sovereignty, the ‘legitimacy’ of limiting state independence, an indifference to natural traditions and contempt for national culture. This ideology alleges that at the present time the idea of motherland is devoid of any meaning. For the financial oligarchy of the U.S.A., cosmopolitism has proved the best way of disguising its struggle for world supremacy and for the doing away with the independence of other states; The unions of monopolists are presented as the embodiment of ‘unity of the European peoples’ and as the way to overcome ‘national limitations’. Small wonder that such propaganda is openly supported and financed by the big monopolies; The favourite thesis of the ideologists of cosmopolitism, especially the Right-wing socialists among them, is the allegation that in the modern world the principle of sovereignty has become an obstacle to the development of the productive forces; The enemies of Marxism assert that by defending the principles of state sovereignty and independence Communists oppose the tendencies of social development and want to preserve the division of the world into states and the disunion of the nations in the international arena; Nor can the danger of war be eliminated by a campaign against sovereignty. In our time wars do not arise as a result of adherence to state independence, as the ideologists of bourgeois cosmopolitism allege, but owing to socio-economic causes connected with the predatory nature of monopoly capital; the propagandists of cosmopolitism claim that the principle of sovereignty is antiquated because it hampers the development of general culture aand impedes the fusion of the peoples into one family; The fact that the proletariat defends the freedom of the nations, their independence and national traditions is an expression of the patriotism of the working class, which is the direct opposite of both the chauvinist and cosmpolitan ideology of the bourgeoisie. The patriotism of the working class springs primarily from the feeling of pride in the contribution that the people or nation concerned has made to the struggle of the oppressed and exploited masses for their liberation from exploitation and oppression. The patriotism of the working class is therefore profoundly progressive and revolutionary. Bourgeois propaganda tries to represent the capitalist class as the bearer of patriotic feelings. They want to slur over the fact that the patriotism of the bourgeoisie is always subordinate to its selfish, narrow class interests, and to disparage the patriotism of the working class and Communists. In this connection, bourgeois propagandists sometimes refer to the passage in the Communist Manifesto which says that ‘the working men have no country’. It is perfectly clear, however, that it is not a question of repudiating the fatherland, but of the fact that in a society ruled by capitalists the fatherland is actually usurped by exploiters and is not a good father but a vicious stepfather to the workers. By overthrowing the rule of the exploiting classes the working class creates the conditions for the fullest possible manifestation of its patriotism, for it itself is the true bearer of patriotism in our time; Developing the Marxist point of view regarding the fatherland, Lenin wrote in 1908: ‘The fatherland, i.e., the given political, cultural and social environment, is the most powerful factor in the class struggle of the proletariat… The proletariat cannot be indifferent to and unconcerned about the political, social and cultural conditions of its struggle and, consequently, cannot remain indifferent to the fate of its country. But the fate of the country interest it only to the extent that they affect its class struggle, and not in virtue of some bourgeois ‘patriotism’, quite indecent on the lips of a Social-Democrat; The whole spirit of Marxism, its entire system demands that each proposition should be considered α) only historically, β) only in connection with others and χ) only in connection with the concrete experience of history.’; In what historical situation the slogan of defence of the fatherland is proclaimed, what class proclaims it and for what purposes - these are the things that primarily interest the working class; The Bourgeois ideologists allege that by combating cosmopolitism Marxists disavow the international character of their doctrine and become nationalists. But the authors of such falsifications perpetrate a double forgery. Firstly, they put a sign of equality between the cosmopolitism of the bourgeoisie and the internationalism of the working class, and, secondly, they ascribe to Marxists the nationalist views which are characteristic precisely of bourgeois ideology. The internationalism of the working class is, as already stated, an expression of the community of interests of the workers of all countries in their struggle against their common enemy - capitalism, of the unity of their aim, the abolition of exploitation of man by man… and the unity of their ideology - the ideology of friendship and fraternity of the peoples. In this sense all workers belong to the same ‘nation’ - the world ‘nation’ of working people oppressed and exploited in all bourgeois countries by the same force - capital. This does not in any way mean, however, that while belonging to the single international army of working people, the worker ceases to be a Frenchman, Englishman, etc. Quite the contrary. True and not sham patriotism springs naturally from proletarian internationalism. In point of fact, does not faithfulness to the ultimate ideal of the working class imbue the workers with a fervent desire to see their own people free, prosperous, and achieving social progress? Seeking liberation from all forms of oppression and exploitation… The working class wants this not only for itself, but also for all the working people, for the whole nation. Only the achievement of the ultimate aims of the working class, i.e., the overthrow of the power of the exploiters, who impede the progress of the nation… and the building of socialism, can bring every nation real freedom, independence and national greatness. It follows that the most internationalist class - the working class - is at the same time the most patriotic class; The Communist Parties of the capitalist countries hold high the banner of national independence and freedom. Preservation of state sovereignty and realisation of an independent foreign policy are demands that form part of the programme of the Communist movements in France, Italy and other countries.” - Otto Wille Kuusinen, Fundamentals of Marxism-Leninism'' | ||