Hungarian Workers’ Party: We Need New and Modern Forms of Cooperation Among Socialists and Communists
Chinese Socialism and the Inoovation of European Socialism
Author: Thürmer Gyula, Chairman of the Hungarian Workers’ Party; This article is a speech by Thürmer Gyula at the 13th World Socialist Forum, published in World Socialism Studies, Issue 2, 2024.
The world today faces multiple risks and challenges. The capitalist system is in deep crisis, and Hungary is suffering deeply from it. The EU is losing competitiveness, Europe’s security architecture has collapsed, Cold War mentality lingers, and humanity is facing the threat of world war.
Capitalism cannot solve the myriad problems facing humanity, and people are searching for new, effective solutions. To paraphrase Marxist thinking, we can say: The revolutionary situation has not yet arrived, but it can arrive! We don’t know when it will happen, but we know, and we should know, that it is possible.
It is up to us, the socialist and communist parties and organizations, to provide answers and find a viable and sustainable way out of this crisis. The future of European socialist parties hangs in the balance, but if we can achieve this, we will have a place in the new world order. Europe is the cradle of Marxism, witnessing the first socialist revolution and the birth of the first socialist state: Soviet Uniun. Now, the European socialist-communist movement is struggling to find its place. It is divided within the movement, with differing opinions on nearly every important issue. Despite this, socialism in Europe is surviving and developing.
Europe’s socialist parties need to be revitalized, restructured, and modernized. We need to develop practices that reflect our national and ethnic identities and defend our sovereignty and traditions.
We must point out that capitalism cannot revitalize Europe; this is the task and mission of our socialist parties. We cannot destroy what capitalism has brought to Europe, but we must transform Europe’s governance system, replacing the profit-based capitalist system with a socialist system based on the interests of our people.
Socialism with Chinese characteristics has strengthened our socialist convictions and inspired us to continue our struggle. For decades, the development of socialist thought in Europe and China was separated, even isolated from each other. We should now acknowledge our past mistakes and take advantage of the parallel development of socialist thought in both China and Europe. This represents a vast treasure trove of knowledge and theory.
We need a theoretical renaissance. The collapse of socialism in Eastern Europe not only meant the downfall of the ruling socialist parties but also led to ideological chaos and even theoretical disaster. The theoretical level of the European socialist movement has declined, with some parties turning to revisionism and others believing that dogmatism can save them. Political thinking has become confined to the confines of continental Europe, with few opening their horizons to new developments and achievements in socialist theory outside of Europe. The good news is that we can now see some parties beginning to conduct in-depth analysis of their own history. We see active exploration of practical challenges, starting with understanding modern approaches to Marxism. We should continue to courageously seek, reveal, and apply truth.
As Marxists, we need to conduct a concrete analysis of specific realities. Marxism is a living, evolving theory. Marxism is the common heritage of the world socialist movement, but every party has the right and responsibility to apply Marxism according to its specific national conditions. The practice of socialism in China has proven this. It is the responsibility of our European socialist parties to integrate Marxism with the specific realities of Europe. We must pursue theoretical innovation, be open to the outside world, be independent, and adhere to the national path. Therefore, we can uphold and develop Marxism, which is what we truly need.We understand that some Communist parties may not fully accept the CPC’s new explorations and developments in Marxism. We should continue to discuss this with them. We need to follow a similar approach in Europe, similar to Chinese Communists integrating Marxism with the rich cultural and civilizational heritage of European countries.
We need to move beyond the “end of history” theory. Following the collapse of European socialist states, socialism’s influence within the European workers’ movement reached its lowest point. However, we should believe that the future belongs to us. We must have the courage and ability to continue the fight. China’s successful poverty alleviation efforts demonstrate that even the most challenging problems can be solved.We need new, modern forms of cooperation among socialists and socialists. In these turbulent times, creating the potential for revolutionary change requires effective coordination rather than frequent meetings, and more action rather than paperwork.
This means we need comprehensive modernization. The series of conferences organized by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has also made important contributions to this process.
We need a clear direction in international affairs. We should do our utmost to avoid world war and propose a new plan for a multipolar world. We hope to build a multipolar world where countries with different social systems can coexist and cooperate. China adheres to the path of peaceful development, and the ultimate goal of China’s development is to improve people’s lives. Our international program as world socialists and socialists should be to safeguard world peace, promote human progress, and advance the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
We, the European socialist parties, should do our utmost to revive socialism, regain lost ground, and perhaps even gain new ground.