After the collapse of pseudo-socialism in the Soviet Union and
its disintegration and the fall of the countries of Eastern
Europe there was a lot of euphoria about the "free market
economy," liberalization and privatization, etc. This euphoria
has already come to an end and is being replaced by another.
There is a new euphoria of electing this or that "left" party and
the development of "coalition politics." It is a euphoria to
divert the people from the creation of the human factor/social
consciousness as the decisive element in the defeat of the
anti-social offensive and the building of a new society on the
foundation of modern socialism. This new euphoria is a move
towards yet another period of deception of the people and the
preservation of the capitalist status quo.
The experience of the twentieth century has revealed that
modern capitalism, state monopoly capitalism, offers perpetual
crisis, fascism and inter-imperialist wars. It is a desperate
attempt to block the path of human progress from the stage of
capitalism to socialism. The election of this or that party and
"coalition politics" are also an impediment to the way forward
towards progress. Social democracy is offered as the most
preferred choice over everything else in order to block the path
to human progress. This is precisely what is being done at this
time with the collapse of pseudo-socialism and capitalism finding
itself in such a deep crisis. The illusion is created that
somehow a refurbished social democracy, that is social democracy
minus even its socialist words and dogmas, will perform better.
It may perform, but that performance is to close the door to
human progress. Workers, women, youth and students must take up the
struggle to change the situation. This is the politics of the pro-social
program and opposing the anti-social offensive; it is the
politics of developing the human factor/social consciousness.
Shawgi Tell
University at Buffalo
Graduate School of Education
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
