“Marxists are always optimistic” – this sentence was quoted at the end of July at a rally in honour of the leading CWI comrade, Peter Taaffe, who died a few months ago. Over a hundred members of the CWI and guests from over twenty countries took part in the 14th World Congress of the Committee for a Workers’ International (CWI) in Berlin. Peter Taaffe’s life in the struggle for socialism informed the discussions at the 14th World Congress of the CWI, which analysed the world situation, outlined the programme and tasks of the various CWI sections, and took stock of the last four years.
CWI representatives from the United States, Chile, Northern and Southern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Austria, Norway, South Africa, Malaysia, Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka were present. Nigerian comrades were also present, including those facing arrests, imprisonment and trials, including one for “treason”. CWI members from Japan and Australia participated via Zoom. Guests from organisations and groups in Israel/Palestine, Sweden, Kazakhstan and Romania, which are currently in discussions with the CWI about cooperation or membership, were also present.
Participants from nine cities were present from Sol (German CWI), who contributed intensively to the debates. The congress adopted resolutions on the world situation, the situation in Europe and the building of CWI sections. Papers on Asia and Africa will be drafted after the congress in collaboration between the International Secretariat and the sections on those continents. The congress also began a discussion process on new programmatic documents for the CWI, the first drafts of which were presented and will be discussed and adopted in the sections and the International Executive Committee in the coming months.
Worldwide struggle
The worldwide struggle to spread a socialist programme against crisis and capitalism and for a society democratically planned according to the needs of people and the planet is not an easy one. However, given the enormous polarisation and instability in economic, social and political terms caused by the beginning death throes of capitalism, it is literally vital for our survival.
Increasing conflicts
The increasing competition between the imperialist powers is leading to more protectionism, nationalism, conflicts, trade wars and military conflicts.
Trump 2.0 is attempting to counter the economic crisis with measures such as import tariffs, which are leading to counter-tariffs and devastating consequences for many countries, especially in the neo-colonial world. In South Africa, for example, 100,000 jobs have already been destroyed. An unprecedented debt crisis will drive some countries into insolvency. But all economies are facing new crises, which will lead to further deterioration in living conditions.
Arms build-up and wars
Massive increases in some governments’ spending on arms and the military may boost the profits of arms companies, but they do not put a single penny more into the pockets of the masses. Instead, there is growing fear of war and nuclear weapons. Even if those in power want to avoid a world war, the 52 military conflicts currently raging around the world represent a shocking high point since 1945. The war in Ukraine and the daily massacres in Gaza and other conflicts in the Middle East have taken on international dimensions. The situation in the Middle East was discussed at the congress in a special agenda item, in which guests from the ‘Socialist Struggle Movement’ from Israel/Palestine participated. For many, these developments unmask the institutions of the ruling class, which once promised stability and peace, and are fuelling social uprisings and the search for lasting solutions.
Workers’ parties are missing
There are no mass socialist parties in any country that offer answers to the crisis of capitalism and represent a programme that will lead the working class and youth to a socialist revolution. The majority of the socialist left has capitulated ideologically. In several Latin American countries, a Chilean participant reported, left-wing forces won elections on the back of the ‘pink tide’ with promises that they then failed to deliver, enabling the populist and extreme right to seize power.
Worldwide, the populist right can exploit the weakness of the left to present itself as an anti-establishment force and win elections in a number of countries. Once in power, these forces take authoritarian measures. But traditional, bourgeois governments are also stepping up repression. Among the participants were those affected by this, such as a lecturer from the United States who was suspended for participating in a Palestine protest, and comrades from Nigeria who reported arrest and imprisonment. The CWI contributed to the withdrawal of the suspension and the release of those arrested through protests.
The situation and significance of trade unions as hugely important mass organisations of the working class was stressed at the congress. Among those present was the general secretary of Northern Ireland’s largest trade union (NIPSA) and her deputy, who were able to get agreed a socialist economic programme in the union and who, in recent months, have mobilised their union to protest against right-wing extremist attacks and marches. Participants from England and Wales, Scotland, France, South Africa, India and other countries also reported intense workplace and trade union activity.
Growing instability
Right-wing populist forces are unstable, as demonstrated by the disputes surrounding Trump himself within the MAGA bloc and Netanyahu’s coalition. Even though such forces have been strengthened internationally, we see polarisation in most countries, which is expressed in an increase in class struggles and also in the successes of some left-wing forces. Examples of this include the strike movements of recent years, the international protests in solidarity with the Palestinians, the rise of the Left Party in Germany, the enormous response to Jeremy Corbyn’s announcement of the formation in the near future of a new party in the United Kingdom, and the electoral success of Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral primary (even though the Democrats are a capitalist and not a left-wing party). Delegates from the Socialist Party of England and Wales (SP) reported on a Zoom meeting attended by over a thousand trade union activists, which had been organised by SP member Dave Nellist to discuss the role of trade unions in building a new party.
Africa and Asia
The congress discussed in separate sessions the situations in Africa and Asia with representatives from Nigeria, South Africa, Pakistan, India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Africa has seen a series of military coups that have given themselves an anti-imperialist image. However, the new rulers are generally oriented towards Russia and/or China and offer no perspective for the poor masses in their countries. Representatives from Sri Lanka reported that the new government is implementing pro-capitalist policies, even though it is considered left-wing.
Resistance
All the crises, wars and disasters will not go unanswered, as the participants confirmed with many reports of protests and strikes. A new generation of fighters will be forged in the coming years in mass class struggles and will draw the necessary conclusions for a socialist transformation of society. The formation of mass parties of the working class can be an important lever. The building of revolutionary socialist forces internationally will be crucial to arm workers’ movements worldwide with a programme that confronts capitalism, overthrows it, and paves the way to a socialist society.
The 14th World Congress of the CWI has set an important course for this and left all participants optimistic that international solidarity will ultimately triumph over capitalist chaos and destruction.