Draft Program of JRCL is the Manifesto of the Communist Party of today

(Zenshin organ paper of JRCL-NC, No.2412 October 19, 2009)

50 Years’ of Revolutionary Communist Movement

Time of a Great Leap Forward

Turn the global economic crisis into proletarian world revolution under the banner of Anti-imperialism, anti-Stalinism!

In September 1959, the editorial of the Zenshin (“Forwards”), organ paper of JRCL-National Committee, published a historical appeal, “Join us, National Committee of JRCL, under the banner of ‘Anti-Imperialism, anti-Stalinism’” by the name of late comrade HONDA Nobuyoshi, the founder of JRCL. In autumn 2009, 50 years after that, JRCL adopted the Draft Program at the 25th (Enlarged) National Committee Meeting and openly declared that the Revolutionary Communist movement has entered a new stage. With this Draft Program of JRCL in our hands, let’s march forward for the proletarian world revolution.

The Though of Workers’ Self-Emancipation

The Draft Program, adopted at the 25th NC Meeting, is an achievement gained through day-to-day practice of all the comrades of JRCL for the revival of class struggle labor movement. It is also a materialization of the endeavor of JRCL for half a century. Above all, what has finally enabled the formulation of the Draft Program is no doubt a tremendous advance of the efforts for the construction of a workers’ party, largely owing to the struggle of worker members of West Japan.

The Draft Program is a product of class-based practice and intense discussion of all the party members striving for proletarian world revolution in 21st century.

JRCL proudly present the Draft Program to the proletariat of the whole world as the Manifesto of Communist Party of today. JRCL calls upon the working class of the world to rise up in unity for the complete overthrowing of capitalist society and for the construction of communist society, a genuine community of human beings. JRCL declares to accomplish unity of revolutionary communists who are devoted in life and death struggle and makes it clear that it is ready to stand on the forefront of the struggle of constructing a single world revolutionary party. The Draft Program is composed of four chapters and 14 articles. In each of them, efforts are made to present fundamentally as well as precisely the essential problems: what is proletarian revolution, how is the self-emancipation of workers is achieved and what is needed for this.

All these issues are in fact the core problems of Marxism. But it is not a mechanical reproduction of 19th century thought. JRCL as a revolutionary party of the working class, helped by the class struggle labor movement practiced by Doro-Chiba in a square confrontation against capitalism=imperialism, has reached today’s attainment through re-examination of the experiences of the struggles and theoretical works of our predecessors. JRCL claims to be able to present to you “a living Marxism today” attained by its sweat and blood.

As for the content and detailed explanation and development of the Draft Program, we ask you to refer to the second report to the 25th National Committee Meeting published in the Communist, theoretical review of JRCL, No.162. The following are the essential points of the Draft Program, summarized into four points.

Firstly, the Draft Program thoroughly revived the thought of self-emancipation of the working class, the most fundamental thought of Marxism. It starts with a sentence, “The emancipation of the working class must be conquered by the workers themselves”. The power of overthrowing capitalist society is in the working class. When workers, who are isolated, divided and are pitted against each other by capitalist rule, get united, they attain a power to cut off chains of wage slavery. Emancipation of the working class means at the same time a universal emancipation of all humankind through abolishing class society and liberating people from all kinds of exploitation, discrimination and oppression. This is the essence of proletarian revolution.

Stalinism that brought about distortion of the Russian Revolution has long denied this thought of working class self-emancipation. As a result, despise and disbelief of working class has been prevailing and actual workers have been regarded as being powerless to change the society. Our Draft Program has made a decisive break with these false ideas and proclaimed that the working class is the only revolutionary class and has a great historical task.

Secondly, the Draft Program of JRCL has presented once again a strategy of “Proletarian World Revolution against Imperialism, against Stalinism” as only platform of today’s revolution.

JRCL started its struggle 50 years ago with a clear-cut slogan of “anti-Imperialism as well as anti-Stalinism” through attaining a perception of the counter-revolutionary essence of Stalinism that helped survive imperialism in abandoning world revolution and distorting Marxism. We made it clear that proletarian revolution is carried out as world revolution. At the same time, JRCL had to fight against dogmatized Trotskyism that claimed to “defend workers’ state unconditionally”. And we worked out a clear position against Stalinism that should be overthrown, in other words, the necessity of the second revolution in Stalinist or ex-Stalinist regimes. Thus we established a platform of proletarian world revolution against imperialism and against Stalinism.

Today, total and historical bankruptcy of Stalinism has been fully exposed by the collapse of the USSR and the East European Stalinist regimes followed by aggravating crisis of surviving Stalinist regimes like China, North Korea and others. But Stalinism has not yet vanished or defeated completely. In face of deepening global economic crisis, remnant Stalinists are making their desperate efforts, together with imperialist, to suppress workers’ rising in fear of revolutionary upsurge of working class. Its typical example is Japan Communist Party. Now it has become urgent to rush for proletarian world revolution on the firm position against Imperialism, against Stalinism.

Revolutionary Role of Labor Union

Thirdly, the Draft Program has made it clear that proletarian revolution is a violent revolution and that establishment of proletarian dictatorship is the core problem of the revolution. Working class has to overthrow bourgeois state power and establish its own political power to achieve its own emancipation. It can never be done by the change of the government through parliament. Uprising proletariat completely crushes the exiting state apparatus and replaces it with a totally new type of state, that is, proletarian dictatorship. Under proletarian dictatorship, the working class takes back all the social means of production that were possessed by capitalist class as its private property and organize the whole society anew for the construction of communist society.Outright hostilities against revolution are expressed by those political tendencies that are defending capitalism, such as Rengo, JCP, JSP, Shiokawa-group and etc. JRCL never tolerates Shiokawa-group that went so far as to claim that Leninism was responsible for the emergence of Stalinism. Contrary to these tendencies, our position is to succeed and achieve all the endeavors since the Paris Commune in 1871 and the Russian Revolution in 1917. We are determined to carry out to the end what Lenin and the Bolshevik Party challenged and were forced to stop in halfway. Fourthly, the Draft Program has elucidated once again the revolutionary role of labor unions in proletarian revolution and decisive significance of debate and struggle over labor union from the fundamental Marxist standpoint. The working class organizes itself into an independent political party to achieve proletarian revolution. Party is a part of the working class, the highest form of class unity and the most trained vanguard of the working class. A victory of revolution is achieved through gaining the whole working class to the side of the revolutionary party, promoting class unity and drawing forth potential power of each worker for its self-emancipation for explosive upsurge. To succeed this task, revolutionary party needs joining force with labor union.Labor union is a weapon of unity of workers to fight against capital. It is the most fundamental form of unity of the working class. Workers need labor union to carry out confrontation with capital day by day against its unrestricted exploitation and to defend themselves and their families. But labor union is necessary for workers not only for daily guerrilla warfare against capital but also for a struggle to overthrow wage slavery and capitalist rule as well. Most decisively, it serves as an organized power of the working class. Combined rule of imperialists and Stalinists has severely undermined the fundamental significance and task of labor unions. Labor unions have long been regarded as organizations to address economic demands of workers in reformist ways. Prevailing “common sense” in labor unions harshly rejected the idea that labor unions should have a link with revolutionary movement. Nowadays, majority of labor unions have ceased to be a weapon of workers to fight against capital and have ended up degrading into an instrument of a handful of labor aristocrats to control workers as agents of capitalists.The major strategic task of the 21st century world revolution is to revive worldwide labor unions as fighting organizations of working class through breaking down the existing situation of labor unions. Doro-Chiba stands at the forefront of this struggle of revitalization of labor unions and numerous militant labor unions of Japan and the rest of the world are joining this movement in participating November Workers’ Rally in Tokyo.As the global economic crisis is aggravating and aggressive war and world war are imminent, a decisive battle is developing now over the hegemony of labor unions and labor movement between revolutionary forces and counter-revolutionary forces. Victory of revolution depends upon this battle. JRCL has perceived the vital importance of this problem around labor unions for proletarian revolution today and formulated it in the Draft Program. We claim it as a historical achievement of our struggle.

Achievement of the Half-Century’s Struggle

The 25th NC Meeting and adoption of the Draft Program is an achievement of the struggle of JRCL for a half-century and is a starting point for a great leap forward.The fifty-years’ struggle of JRCL since its foundation was strenuously devoted to construct a revolutionary workers’ party in place of Socialist Party and Communist Party with the banner of proletarian world revolution against imperialism and against Stalinism. JRCL kept standing at the forefront of the Japanese class struggle highlighted by Ampo (Japan-US Security Treaty) Struggle in 1960, Ampo/Okinawa Struggle in 1970’s, university struggles and Sanrizuka Struggle etc. JRCL fought back political repression by the state power to liquidate revolutionary organizations through determined fight in and outside of the prison and won a definite victory over the white terrorist band Kakumaru in 20 years’ civil-war-like confrontation.

Through the considerable efforts of worker members, JRCL succeeded in overcoming mistakes and distortions within the organization and movement, produced in long-years’ party activities to confront difficulties and adversities. Now we are proud of sharing a common struggle to promote Japanese labor movement together with Doro-Chiba that has been carrying out an unflinching effort for revitalizing class struggle labor movement. Our party construction has entered a new stage with the formulation of the Draft Program coupled with the advance of the new trend of labor movement represented by Doro-Chiba.

JRCL has decided to put an end to the “transition period” of party construction and resolutely declare that it takes upon responsibility as a party of revolutionary communists and as a genuine workers’ party for the victory of proletarian world revolution. We are not afraid that struggle as responsible organizers at the point of production and every other spot will inevitably and mercilessly expose our immaturity and weakness. It gives us, however, a favorable opportunity to confront the reality and to make a great leap forward step by step.

Workers of Japan and the rest of the world, particularly young workers and students! W call upon you to join us under the banner of JRCL and to rise up together for a victory of 21st century revolution, an unprecedented great task! We are the last winner. Fight together!