Intervention by the YCL-LJC to the international delegations participating in the 52nd KNE- “Odigitis” Festival

As part of the YCL-LJC’s participation in the 52nd KNE- “Odigitis” Festival as international delegates, representatives of the YCL-LJC participated in a seminar at the headquarters of Communist Party of Greece (KKE). Delegates were asked to address the following statement: “In conditions of war preparation, it is imperative for the Communist Youth Organizations to highlight the only way out of the barbaric capitalist system”. Below is the YCL-LJC’s contribution.

“Dear comrades,

We extend our thanks to our hosts, KNE, for organising this seminar. We congratulate the comrades of KNE for their efforts in realising the festival. We express our condolences to the comrades and family of comrade Spiros Halvatzis.

We thank WFDY, the anti-imperialist youth organisation, for their participation.

We express our solidarity with socialist Cuba and pledge our continued commitment to building opposition to the yankee blockade against the people of Cuba, a crime against humanity 

We recognise the significance of this seminar taking place here in Greece on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the formation of the Democratic Army of Greece, at a time when war preparations are increasingly evident, including through the Greek bourgeois state’s “Achilles Shield” agreement with Israel. Across the Mediterranean, war has been the reality for the peoples of Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Iran and the region. We extend our solidarity with all the peoples faced with imperialist war today. 

We thank all present organisations for their timely contributions. 

Dear comrades,

Around the world, we see the ruling class turning towards war preparations. Militarism is a built-in feature of state-monopoly capitalism. However, growing militarism demonstrates the desperation of the monopolies in the face of crisis and sharpening inter-imperialist contradictions.

The war economy can increase demand for equipment and consumer goods, but it cannot, in the long term, ensure steady growth of production. Arms-manufacturing monopolies sell their products to the state at prices that ensure the monopolies profits. States obtain funds for their militaries by raising taxes on workers and cutting social wage while employers increase exploitation. The militarisation of the global economy also lowers demand for civilian production, contributing to declining growth.

Armaments and war materials are not products designed to be stockpiled indefinitely, but to unleash death and destruction, as we continue to see in Ukraine, the Russian Federation, Sudan, Lebanon, Iran, and Palestine.

As Lenin stated in the context of the crisis of capitalism and growing inter-imperialist rivalry, alliances between capitalist states during the final stage of capitalism are inherently unstable; they are constantly breaking down and rebuilding.

Canadian and yankee corporate monopolies share a common agenda. We must not be confused by headlines coming out of Canada about a break with the United States. Prime Minister Carney’s vision does not mark a shift towards policies that will improve the lives of working people, nor does it signal a Canadian foreign policy of peace and respect for sovereignty. Until Canada is prepared to break with NATO, there will be no rupture with the united states. It is the organised power of the working class and its allies that can build the real alternative to imperialism and usher in an international order securing sovereignty, equality, and lasting peace.

The government’s plan is to increase military spending to more than $150 billion a year, with $20.4 billion over five years budgeted to recruit young people into the military, while hospitals and schools close, and workers are laid off.

We as the YCL-LJC of Canada must remain vigilant in fostering clarity in the political, ideological, and economic spheres of struggle. Opportunism and adventurism are constant dangers. Although adventurism and sectarian leftist tendencies can be prominent among youth and students, for us in a NATO and G7 member country, opportunism presents the more immediate danger.

Radical petty-bourgeois idealism is particularly dangerous amid economic crisis. Elements of the petty bourgeoisie and intermediate strata become conscious of their fading positions. The best elements will become progressive and join our ranks; others may become allies in anti-monopoly and anti-imperialist struggles. But others will radicalise and organise against class struggle and oppose proletarian internationalism, sometimes obscuring themselves as “leftist,” “revolutionary,” or even “communist.” We must expose their objectives.

Even more dangerous are those who openly line up as shock troops for big business. We have seen a growing rightist movement among youth, with young people organising around reaction. These elements pose a serious danger, and we must expose the threat to working people and democratic struggles.

At this time our focus is on recruitment and education in order to increase the quantity and quality of our interventions and campaigns. Our generation needs our class perspective in order to deliver real blows to our enemy. Our generation needs our anti-imperialist perspective to recognize the main enemy is at home. 

A stronger YCL-LJC means a stronger class struggle!

As Lenin reminded us, the task is to avoid two extremes: rejecting immediate democratic tasks as irrelevant to the proletariat, or allowing cooperation in those tasks to dim class consciousness and class distinctiveness.

We understand reality: socialism is not an unattainable goal or something to save for later. In an economically developed country like Canada, the productive forces required to build a planned economy exist, but the subjective conditions, by which we mean class consciousness, must be developed. 

Therefore, in conditions of war preparation, it is imperative for the Communist Youth Organizations to highlight the only way out of the barbaric capitalist system. As comrade Spriros wrote “trust in the working class and its historic mission,” trust in the labour movement, respect for workers, and, at the same time, constant ideological, political, and organizational vigilance, without complacency or self-satisfaction.

Thus we march forward on the path we have chosen collectively, highlighting to the young workers of our country that the youth are the future and the future is Socialism!”