Red Flag. 1999.02.

26.05.
2020 Scandal as Power Struggle n the U
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Red Flag
FEB 1999 JOURNAL OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF AOTEAROA
New Wave of Occupat ons

The flags of Maor T no Rangat ratanga fly ng above the Treaty Grounds at Wa tang , and on success ve land occupat ons at
Paka tore, Matah na Dam, Huka Falls, Owh wa Harbour, and Wa karemoana last year, mark a renewed challenge to the US-
Sh pley reg me's attempts to spl t and co-opt the Maor nat onal st movement.
Wh le Sh pley, at the behest of Maor Affa rs M n ster Tau Henare, ga ned cons derable mana by front ng up to the protest
movement at Wa tang , the contemptuous s lence w th wh ch the Crown greeted the l tany of gr evances and the d sm ssal of
any d scuss on of const tut onal change, was a slap n the face.
Act v sts mmed ately scaled the Wa tang flag-pole tear ng down the symbols of Br t sh mper al sm and settler cap tal sm, and
the flag of Maor l berat on was the dom nant symbol of New Zealand's nat onal day.
In February Te Tatau Pounamu o Mataatua ra sed T no Rangat ratanga flags on the causeway to the Matah na Dam n protest
at the sale of the dam to Trust Power and the destruct on caused by dredg ng at Whakatane Heads.
On February 28, 100 act v sts mounted an occupat on of Paka tore ('Motua Gardens') n Wanganu , on the ann versary of the r
79 day encampment n 1995. The latest occupat on protests Just ce M n ster Doug Graham's pre-empt on of the Wa tang
Tr bunal's cons derat on of a cla m for the return of the Wanganu R ver. The government has ruled out any return of r vers or
lakes to Maor ownersh p. The country's waterways are of mmense econom c mportance to settler cap tal sm - both farm ng
and the hydro-electr c ndustr es rely ng cr t cally on these.
On March 5 200 Ngat Toa Rangat ra have moved on to occupy land adjacent Takapuwah a marae n Por r ua, after attempts
to negot ate ts return fa led. The land was a taken off a whanau under the rat ng act for a museum by the Por rua C ty
Counc l. It s no longer be ng used and be ng sold off for $500,000.
The arb trary l m ts to Maor cla ms set by the government, and the long delays n address ng ex st ng cla ms has
strengthened calls w th n even conservat ve sect ons of the Maor Nat onal st Movement for const tut onal change to l m t the
settle government's powers n th s respect. Both the conservat ve Maor Counc l and the Angl can Church have presented
concrete proposals for d rect Maor representat on through a second chamber together w th a separate legal system that can
enact trad t onal Maor legal approaches. A nat onal summ t n December, hosted by Ta nu and attended by tr bal leaders
nclud ng the Maor Queen Dame Te Ata rang aahu and Tuwharetoa paramount ch ef Tumu te Heuheu, endorsed the
proposals.
The repeated protests and the rad cal z ng of the Maor Nat onal st Movement s an nev table outcome of the US-Sh pley
reg me's strategy on land cla ms. The repeated stall ng on land cla ms, and the attempt to l m t such cla ms to a set 'f scal
envelope' s central to the US-Sh pley reg me's strategy for neocolon al explo tat on of the resources of Aotearoa.
The long settlement process of what are s mply bourgeo s property r ghts, long den ed to Maor to secure settler colon al sm,
s des gned to encourage tr bes to settle for the lowest poss ble cost to the Crown. The bourgeo s legal process encourages
power over the settlement process to rest w th n the bourgeo s-tra ned Maor legal and commerc al m ddle class. The
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26.05.2020 Scandal as Power Struggle n the U
settlements, such as the f sh ng settlement, are generally made w th ent t es structured on bourgeo s corporate l nes. These
mechan sms have encouraged the format on of a Maor cap tal st class, personally enr ched through adv sory and d rectors
fees, and w th an nterest n see ng the cap tal st development of these resources. In the neocolon al context of the New
Zealand economy, th s generally nvolves the new Maor owners enter ng nto deals w th fore gn cap tal for the further
explo tat on of these resources.
But, desp te the fanc ful cla ms of the apolog sts for th s mper al st plunder there s no 'tr ckle-down' benef t for the great
masses of Maor who cont nue to suffer far worse educat on, employment, hous ng, health and l fe expectancy than pakehas.
And wh le th s s tuat on cont nues, the movement for T no Rangat ratanga gathers pace. #
Year Maor Non-Maor
Early Ch ldhood educat on 1997 41% 64%
School Cert f cate 1997 64% 92%
UE 1997 24% 58%
Tert ary part c pat on at 19 1997 16% 40%
Unemployment 1998 17% 6%
Youth Unemployment 1998 32% 13%
Household ncome 1997 $37,000 $47,000
Home ownersh p 1996 50% 72%
L fe Expectancy M 1992 68 73
L fe Expectancy F 1992 73 79
Infant mortal ty 1994 1.5% 0.7%
Hosp tal sat on 1997 38% 16%
Youth Su c de M 1996 .06% .04%
Youth Su c de F 1996 .02% .01%
Source: M n stry of Maor Affa rs, Progress Towards Clos ng Soc al and Econom c Gaps Between Maor and Non-Maor ,1998
Grow ng Res stance to US-Sh pley Reg me

1998 was a turn ng po nt n the class struggle n Aotearoa. The v ctory of the Mar t me workers n Austral a k ndled a
sp r t of res stance amongst the work ng class here. Mass ve support rall ed around the f ref ghters, the teachers, and
reg onal hosp tals, and aga nst the ns p d attempt to claw back the mere three weeks hol days we have.
The campa gn aga nst Labour M n ster Max Bradford’s attempt to take our hol days saw a mass ve mob l sat on from
organ sed workers across the country.
The F ref ghters’ sp r ted two-pronged defence, rally ng support n the commun ty and challeng ng the terms of the F re
Comm ss on's own statements and agreements n the bourgeo s court stalled the job-cutt ng offens ve.
Tar ff cuts n text les and footwear were postponed by a broad campa gn
Reg onal hosp tal closures were stalled by mass ve commun ty res stance. The ntroduct on of a nat onal wa t ng l st,
however, has seen scores of pat ents den ed hosp tal treatment.
Bulk fund ng of secondary schools was stalled although nearly a th rd of schools have caved n to mmense
government pressure.
Tert ary students and staff generated w despread unease w th the government treatment of th s sector, part cularly the
scale of student debt, and have aga n defeated proposals of d rect government appo ntment of Counc ls and cap tal
charges.
In each of these campa gns the tact c of mass struggle has been the key to success. The tar ff and hosp tals
campa gns n prov nc al centres have been been part cularly successful where workers have un ted w th consumers
and small and med um bus ness nterests n prov nc al centres.
The campa gns aga nst the pr vat sat on of local government serv ces have been sp r ted but have been weakened by
the complex ty of the ssues and the l m ted mob l sat on of publ c sector un ons. The major trade un on n th s sector,
the PSA, has chosen a collaborat on st role, accept ng the concept of pr vat sat on n favour of deals to reta n
members. Res stance to pr vat sat on w ll be weak w thout strong l nks between commun ty groups and the smaller
m l tant publ c sector un ons such as those around TUF.
Wh le campa gns aga nst pr vat sat on and cuts to hosp tals and the un vers t es have a major base of res stance
among the workers and students, effect ve res stance n the ma n centres has been l m ted by the d ff culty n
mob l s ng the work ng class as a whole as has been poss ble n prov nc al centres.
On the whole, desp te repeated successful mass mob l sat ons and mprov ng un ty w th tert ary sector staff, the
student movement has fa led to bu ld s gn f cant l nks w th the emergent m l tant trade un on movement. S m larly, the
hosp tal un ons' campa gns n the major c t es have been hes tant, n part cr ppled by the collaborat on of the PSA, but
aga n fa l ng to bu ld effect ve un ty w th the m l tant un on movement.
The d ff cult es of the peoples campa gns n the c t es s not just a symptom of the weakness of the trade un on
movement, however, but as much the d ff culty n mob l s ng the m ddle class n the c t es and the nab l ty to force any
s gn f cant spl ts n the cap tal st class, as has been poss ble n the prov nc al centres. The oppos t on of the m ddle
class and small and med um cap tal sts n the prov nc al centres has been dec s ve n the mass mob l sat ons of the
major ty of the populat on of a number of towns.
Wh le the m ddle class n the c t es opposes the cuts to hosp tals and educat on n pr nc ple, they also benef t from the
resultant tax cuts, and freedom to pay for the health or educat on of the r cho ce. The cap tal st class s largely un ted
beh nd the concept of reduced soc al spend ng and tax cuts. The campa gns n the c t es have not effect vely mob l sed
the pockets of oppos t on among hosp tal users and parents of students, n the way that the PPTA have w th the
corporat sat on of secondary schools. #
Secur ty and Prosper ty for Whom?

The US-Sh pley reg me has cobbled together a plan to attempt to un te the cap tal st class and secure the government's re-
elect on at the end of the year.
The 'Secur ty and Prosper ty' strategy makes small concess ons to part cular aggr eved nterests wh le ma nta n ng an
underly ng comm tment to cutt ng effect ve wage levels and open ng resources to mper al st plunder through reduced soc al
spend ng and pr vat sat on.
Law and Order
Fam l ar rhetor c from the Nat onal Party n elect on year, str kes a chord w th much of the populat on. 85% of those polled l ke
the dea of gett ng tough on 'home nvas on' cr me.
Meanwh le the US-Sh pley reg me gets on w th ts own plans for the 'home nvas on' of act v sts and nterest groups opposed
to ts free market dr ve. New powers for the SIS to break nto homes s be ng rushed through parl ament ahead of the APEC
meet ng n September, w th full support of the Labour Party.
Educat on Pr vat sat on
In the educat on sector, the fam l ar steamroller of fund ng cuts, corporat sat on, deregulat on and pr vat sat on w ll be qu etly
accelerated at the hands of new neo-l beral m n sters N ck Sm th, Max Bradford, and Maur ce W ll amson. Pressure for bulk
fund ng of secondary schools and attacks on teacher un ons w ll ncrease, wh le the squeeze on tert ary educat on w ll
ntens fy, w th restr ct ons on student allowances and the l m ted ass stance v a loans, and the frontal attack on student
organ sat ons under the gu se of ‘voluntary membersh p’.
Subs d s ng Industry Research
The major pr ze n the wrest ng of tert ary educat on from the publ c sphere s the $600 m ll on research spend ng currently
accounted for by Un vers t es and assoc ated research nst tutes. Th s spend ng s lustfully eyed by manufactur ng nterests,
long-den ed government support, but now able to wrest concess ons from the s nk ng Sh pley crew. Str d ng the gulf between
the wanton manufacturers and the capr c ous sc ent sts stands the M n ster of Tert ary Educat on and Industry Technology,
Max Bradford; w th no concept of the publ c good he s ready to br be the manufacturers all the way to the ballot box.
Pr vat sat on of Local Serv ces
W th local counc ls forced, under the Local Government Amendment Act, to set user charges for serv ces, there s l ttle
ncent ve for counc ls to reta n ownersh p of these. Bus serv ces, l brar es, road ng, and water serv ces are all be ng
corporat sed, contracted out or pr vat sed n rap d success on. The electr c ty ‘reforms’ have opened electr c ty d str but on to
Canad an and US mult nat onals, and pave the way for mass ve pr ce ncreases.
No Secur ty or Prosper ty for the Work ng Class

The human toll of the neo-l beral dr ve n New Zealand bel es the US-Sh pley reg me’s prom ses of secur ty and prosper ty.
Real wages have fallen, and cont nued unemployment breeds nsecur ty and poverty for the masses of Aotearoa. One f fth of
the populat on and one th rd of the ch ldren of Aotearoa l ve beneath the poverty l ne. The number of poor ncreased 35%
1989-92 n the wake of the 1991 benef t cuts wh ch cut 20% off benef c ary ncomes. By 1994 the Auckland C ty M ss on was
d str but ng 800 food parcels a month. #
Educat on Pr vat sat on Cont nues

In the educat on sector, the fam l ar steamroller of fund ng cuts, corporat sat on, deregulat on and pr vat sat on w ll be qu etly
accelerated at the hands of new neo-l beral m n sters N ck Sm th, Max Bradford, and Maur ce W ll amson.
The educat on system has been chron cally under-funded s nce the late 1970s. Fund ng for tert ary educat on has now been
capped, so any ncrease n rolls results n a reduced government fund ng per student.
The un vers t es and polytechs were corporat sed n the late 1980s and are all effect vely state-owned enterpr ses. The
reduced fund ng has led to ncreased compet t on for students and thus government fund ng) between them. The f nanc ally
weakest nst tut ons and courses are collaps ng and clos ng, regardless of the r mer ts for the commun t es they serv ce.
Smaller polytechs are be ng taken over by larger ones and courses w th small enrolments wound up. Immense pressure s
be ng placed on secondary school boards to corporat se, v a 'bulk fund ng'. The government does not have suff c ent publ c
support to force th s on schools. Instead, nd v dual schools are be ng offered large f nanc al ncent ves to f n sh the process of
corporat sat on and adopt the 'bulk fund ng' model, but w th support from the PPTA, 70% have res sted the br be, know ng that
f all schools adopt th s all w ll then face reduced fund ng n the future.
The mpl cat ons of deregulat on are now fac ng the tert ary sector. The open ng of the tert ary fund ng to the pr vate sector
has w de mpl cat ons. The NZ government abandoned ts r ghts to restr ct fore gn ownersh p of the educat on sector when t
s gned the General Agreement on Trade n Serv ces. Fore gn un vers t es are free to set up n New Zealand and cla m
subs d es l ke any other body here. The Ir sh Un vers ty of L mer ck s nvest gat ng open ng a campus n Taupo, w th
enthus ast c support and ncent ves from the local Taupo bourgeo s e.
The ncreased compet t on n tert ary educat on s creat ng a 'race to the bottom' towards expens ve but low qual ty, low cost,
h gh volume courses. Un vers t es are be ng turned nto polytechs and all are mmensely vulnerable to the mass-marketed
courses exported from the greater econom es of scale of US tert ary nst tut ons. Local research and reflect on at the
un vers t es has dw ndled to a tr ckle and the rema nder s be ng syphoned off nto subs d sed research for ndustry.
W th the qual ty of the state educat onal nst tut ons be ng ser ously underm ned, as n health, publ c support s wan ng and t
s now a relat vely short step before the sale of these and the further reduct on of state subs d es. The tert ary educat on
system has been transformed from a repos tory of nat onal culture to a tra n ng programme for US mult nat onals. #
Scandal, L es and Corrupt on

The unparalleled ab l ty of the US-Sh pley reg me to repeatedly shoot tself n the foot, s test mony to the nstab l ty n rul ng
class c rcles. W thout a consol dated all ance of lead ng rul ng class fract ons, the solated US-Sh pley reg me ncreas ngly
rel es on personal n t at ves of government m n sters, that are part cularly vulnerable to m sjudgment and personal b as. Not
surpr s ngly then, n recent months the US-Sh pley reg me has been wracked by scandal and exposure of corrupt on.
Deputy speaker Ian Revell was forced to res gn after threaten ng the job of the North Shore Pol ce super ntendent
L ndsay Todd over a $40 park ng t cket.
Pr me M n ster Sh pley appo nted her s ster as Art adv ser to the APEC conference n September.
Nat onal Party campa gn strateg st M chelle Boag has been employed by the the Amer ca's Cup Task Force, funded by
the Tour sm Board. Boag, Publ c Relat ons Off cer for Fay R chwh te, res gned from the TVNZ Board after a scandal
dur ng the W nebox hear ngs when she secretly f lmed test mony g ven by W nston Peters.
Staff of the Inland Revenue Department and Department of Soc al Welfare have been found sell ng pr vate nformat on
about cl ents to debt collect on agenc es.
The b ggest scandal to date, wh ch threatens to pose an ongo ng thorn n the government’s s de, s the Tour sm Board
scandal.
Tour sm Board Scandal
Desp te strenuous den als, there s mass ve c rcumstant al ev dence that Sh pley, McCully and other M n sters nfluenced the
award ng of $30 m ll on Tour sm board advert s ng contract to Saatch and Saatch . Saatch ’s CEO, Kev n Roberts, s a

personal fr end of Sh pley, but more mportant are allegat ons that the government, and McCully n part cular, have sought to
shape the advert s ng to promote the Nat onal Party’s elect on campa gn.
Saatch and Saatch conducted the advert s ng campa gns for the Thatcher adm n strat on and a number of government PR
campa gns for the neo-l beral dr ve n New Zealand. Roberts s a former execut ve of L on Nathan Ltd, whose Cha rman,
Doug Myers, has been a prom nent Bus ness Roundtable leader.
In February a fourth Tour st Board d rector res gned, alleg ng that the Board's promot on plans had been h jacked by the
Government for ts elect on campa gn. A planned campa gn n Europe had been brought forward at government ns stence, to
feature Sh pley n London.
Desp te n t al den als, Sh pley was forced to adm t that she had consulted Roberts on Nat onal's elect on campa gn over
d nner n August, at the house of Jane Vestey, a Saatch employee. Sh pley n t ally den ed any knowledge of Vestey.
Weeks after the d nner, the government gave an extra $12.5 m ll on for the Tour sm Board to spend on ts global promot ons
contract that had been awarded to Saatch s. Roberts told board members that he had personally persuaded M n sters to
prov de the extra fund ng. Roberts later flew out from London n m d-February to addressed the Nat onal Party's elect on
strategy caucus.
In class c manner, the government has tr ed to bury the scandal by launch ng an aud t nvest gat on, whose terms of reference
exclude the major ssue. But the confl ct between the Tour sm Board and the government s bound to cont nue to fester.
The Errat c Act ons of an Isolated Reg me
The repeated m stakes, scandals, and ncreas ng corrupt on, are all symptoms of a reg me that has lost ts base of support
among the rul ng class. The US-Sh pley reg me has fa led to consol date a w de base of support even w th n rul ng c rcles.
Its most cons stent supporters are fore gn, part cularly US cap tal, and much of the r local comprador class. They are the
reason for the governments cont nued push for t ght monetary pol cy, government spend ng cuts, pr vat sat on and reduced
taxat on. The overwhelm ng a m s to reduce the costs of do ng bus ness n New Zealand, so as to rema n attract ve to fore gn
cap tal.
Some of these pol c es, l ke tax cuts, are crafted to appeal to other sect ons of bus ness and parts of the m ddle class,
but beyond th s there s l ttle support from domest c cap tal for the US-Sh pley reg me. There have been mass ve
demonstrat ons from Nat onal’s former heartland aga nst government attempts to d smantle farmers’ cooperat ves and
aga nst cuts to rural serv ces. But the US-Sh pley reg me s prepared to lose th s support because ts pr mary
attachment s to fore gn cap tal.Even the comprador cap tal sts, the lap-dogs of fore gn cap tal, are d v ded over the
US-Sh pley reg me. The f nanc ers, consultants, lawyers, adv sers, and local managers who ga n fees from broker ng
deals on behalf of the r fore gn masters are uncerta n about the l fe of the US-Sh pley reg me. They know t s w dely
unpopular, unstable, and subject to repeated errors. Important sect ons of th s class prov de the base of support for
ACT, w th the a m of prov d ng r ghtw ng backbone for the reg me. Others have moved to Labour, be ng prepared to
make some m nor concess ons to the neo-l beral programme so as more f rmly secure the place of the r fore gn
masters n th s country.The lack of rul ng class consensus leaves the government unable to ma nta n a coherent pol cy
l ne to attract a sol d core of supporters. Unable to check ts pol c es amongst the w der rul ng class, the reg me s
ncreas ngly rel ant on personal n t at ves, attempts at one-person char smat c ‘pres dent al’ leadersh p, and
consequently s fatally vulnerable to the personal wh ms and fa l ngs of that one-person, Jenny Sh pley.#
ry Worker
Scandal as Power Struggle n the U.S. Rul ng Class
Off c al Wash ngton was gr pped by ntense scandal. Overn ght, there was talk of pres dent al res gnat on.
Wh tewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr had used sexual allegat ons to start cr m nal nvest gat ons of the U.S. pres dent--based on the llegally taped telephone
conversat ons of a Wh te House ntern. Hour after hour, the med a sp ced the r coverage w th "d shy" rumors--feed ng a s ck Amer can blend of voyeur sm and
pur tan sm. Had Jerry Spr nger taken over the nat onal news?
Th s scandal showed ch ll ng pol ce powers n operat on. Teams of FBI agents and federal prosecutors stalked the cap tal l ke gray-su ted "sex pol ce." Starr had
FBI agents bug pr vate conversat ons w thout obta n ng a "st ng warrant" from a judge.
Ch ckens came home to roost for B ll Cl nton, who backed new laws g v ng pol ce and prosecutors more power for w retaps and st ng operat ons. The pres dent got
a taste of what he's done to thousands of people w th the "one str ke you're out," sn tch-network, pol ce-state bullsh t that he has backed all over the country.
Prosecutor Starr used a new grand jury to threaten the ntern, Mon ca Lew nsky, and other Wh te House employees w th pr son f they d d not d vulge what they
knew about B ll Cl nton's sexual act v t es.
People wonder: Even f Cl nton s a male chauv n st jerk, when d d allegat ons of consensual sexual relat ons become a bas s for setups, cr m nal charges,
apartment searches, w retaps, pr son threats and the toppl ng of h gh off c als? And f B g Brother s jack ng up B g Brother, what chance do the ord nary people
have?
Th s scandal s an ntense rul ng class power struggle break ng nto v ew. Many mot ves st ll rema n h dden, but the struggle clearly nvolves major ssues of nat onal
agenda and power. In her TV counter-attack, H llary Cl nton po nted th s out when she charged that a "vast r ght-w ng consp racy" was beh nd the scandal.
Jonathan Alter of Newsweek reports: "She feels t's l ke an attempted coup d'etat. They don't bel eve the results of the '92 and '96 elect ons and want to use
anyth ng they can to overturn t."

Well-funded r ght-w ng operat ons have tr ed to make "d rt" st ck to Cl nton for years. There have been allegat ons of murder (V nce Foster and Ron Brown), drug-
runn ng (the so-called Mesa connect on n CIA coca ne trade) and accept ng money from fore gn governments (the Huang affa r). The Cl ntons were accused of
real estate corrupt on n Arkansas--wh ch got Kenneth Starr appo nted as ndependent prosecutor focus ng on "Wh tewater." Now suddenly, several of these ant -
Cl nton operat ons have converged to produce a ser ous cr s s of power. And wh le the outl ne of forces and ssues rema ns murky, other rul ng class forces seem to
have jumped n, too.
The Mak ng of a Scandal
Th s "sudden" scandal took long preparat on by powerful forces. Years ago, the extreme r ght-w ng Rutherford Foundat on took up the sexual harassment case of
Paula Jones as a way to embarrass B ll Cl nton. The r operat on got a boost when the Rehnqu st Supreme Court allowed the c v l case of Paula Jones to cont nue
wh le Cl nton was st ll n off ce. S tt ng pres dents are usually sh elded from legal cases--and the Supreme Court's dec s on took away that protect on.
Then came a second unusual rul ng--th s t me by Judge Susan Webber Wr ght, the conservat ve federal judge oversee ng the Paula Jones case. Wr ght allowed
Jones' attorneys to try to document n court a "pattern" of sexual m sconduct by B ll Cl nton. Paula Jones' lawyers could demand sworn statements from women
who had noth ng to do w th Paula Jones. They pa d pr vate nvest gators to canvas L ttle Rock and Wash ngton look ng for women w ll ng to accuse Cl nton. Mon ca
Lew nsky was brought to court where she swore, under oath n early January, that she had never had sex w th Cl nton.
Meanwh le, Mon ca Lew nsky was be ng set up. A former Wh te House secretary L nda Tr pp got Lew nsky to talk about Cl nton over the phone and llegally taped
the conversat ons. Tr pp got her d rect ons from Luc enne Goldberg, a former "d rty tr cks" operat ve for R chard N xon. Goldberg gathers scandalous rumors about
Cl nton--serv ng as "l terary agent" for Arkansas statetroopers, an alleged former lover of B ll Cl nton, and L nda Tr pp herself. Goldberg s also l terary agent for the
rac st cop Mark Fuhrman.
Tr pp took the Lew nsky tapes and other ev dence to Kenneth Starr--who then cla med the tapes showed that Lew nsky l ed and that someone connected to the
Wh te House had urged her to do t. Starr, whose n t al ass gnment was to nvest gate Arkansas real estate, now author zed an FBI st ng operat on. L nda Tr pp was
w red w th a m crophone and sent to get more revelat ons from Lew nsky. Federal agents later held Lew nsky n a hotel room for 10 hours w thout a lawyer,
demand ng that she part c pate n a st ng operat on a med at Cl nton.
Kenneth Starr s an act ve r ght-w nger. In 1989 as the Sol c tor General of the Bush adm n strat on, Starr argued that the Supreme Court should overturn Roe v.
Wade because, "There s s mply no cred ble foundat on for the propos t on that abort on s a fundamental r ght." Recently, Starr has worked for the "school cho ce"
movement aga nst publ c educat on, as a lawyer for the tobacco ndustry, and as a speaker at a Chr st an-fasc st law school assoc ated w th Pat Robertson.
Attorney General Reno gave Starr perm ss on to launch a full-scale nvest gat on nto the poss b l ty that someone n the Wh te House told Lew nsky to l e n court.
What Moral ty Is Now Be ng Served?
The l ves of powerful pol t cal f gures are f lled w th corrupt deeds and oppress ve personal relat ons. But n ord nary t mes, the system coats them n "teflon"--
protect ng them from exposure. Then somet mes the struggle ns de the rul ng class sharpens, the teflon fades, and scandals break out.
Those forces beh nd th s scandal have worked to fan moral outrage over the dea of a powerful man h tt ng on a young ntern. But--from ant -abort on po ntman
Starr to hangman Rehnqu st to the d rt-hunters of the Rutherford Foundat on--they are anyth ng but defenders of women's r ghts. These forces are com ng from a
"Prom se-keeper" agenda--subord nat ng women forcefully wh le ns st ng th s w ll "honor" women. And the r creepy moves--l ke the FBI ra d on a 24-year-old
woman's apartment to steal her cloth ng for ev dence of sex--f t r ght n w th the r program to enforce extreme conservat ve sexual mores as the off c al publ c
standards.
Meanwh le, the Wh te House, at the other s de of th s scandal, has proven how l ttle t cares about women's r ghts. Cyn cally, the defenders of B ll Cl nton have
prepared a med a offens ve called "nuts and sluts"--to cruc fy Mon ca Lew nsky as a l ar and sexual predator, f necessary.
Uncontrolled Appet tes n the Rul ng Class
Many people m ght wonder why anyone n the rul ng class would want to attack a Pres dent who has been both react onary and popular. Cl nton has carr ed out
ntense cuts n soc al serv ces, ncreased pol ce powers and reshaped the m l tary structure. He has m l tar zed the southern border and promoted NAFTA and
GATT to strengthen the U.S. control over oppressed countr es.
Aff rmat ve act on and welfare have been gutted ( n a way that even Reagan wouldn't have dared)--wh le prom ses of educat onal opportun ty and tolerant d vers ty
are made. Cl nton has weakened abort on r ghts w th h s pol c es of "legal but rare"--and helped create an atmosphere favorable to Chr st an-fasc st assaults on
cl n cs and doctors.
In all of th s, Cl nton has worked to ma nta n a rul ng class consensus that brought h m to power n 1992. St ll, all along, powerful forces n the rul ng class have
rema ned b tterly d ssat sf ed w th the pace and d rect on of th ngs.
A F ght Among Oppressors
Most major dec s ons of th s soc ety are taken beh nd the scenes, by act on of rul ng class representat ves, nclud ng closed-door conferences of corporate heads,
pol t c ans, and m l tary leaders. The system holds regular elect ons to tra n the people n bourgeo s pol t cs and as one of the r forms for p ck ng and promot ng
some of the r potent al leaders. But the system's power struggles are also fought n other ways-- n scandals and even assass nat ons--when qu eter channels can't
conta n the nf ght ng.
In all of th s, the masses of people are man pulated and kept far from any dec d ng role. The nterests of the masses are not represented n these power struggles.
The rul ng class f ghts over how best to ma nta n the r system--secure ts prof ts, defend the r emp re and explo t the people.
As the Cl nton scandal broke, prom nent r ght-w ng republ cans l ke Texas Senator Ph l Gramm stepped out to say that th s was a pol t cal open ng to defeat new
n t at ves Cl nton has proposed--l ke propp ng up publ c educat on, ra s ng the m n mum wage, expand ng day care, and mov ng more funds nto the ex st ng federal
systems of soc al secur ty and med care.
In the r ght-w ng of the Republ can Party such deas are hated--and t s common for them to demand a even more sweep ng pr vat zat on of educat on, pens ons
and med cal coverage, and a drast c reduct on of taxes and government regulat ons--even nclud ng the abol t on of the EPA, IRS and m n mum wage. There have
also been loud protests from conservat ve c rcles over nternat onal pol c es-- nclud ng Cl nton's recent pressure on the Israel government to w thdraw more forces
from the West Bank.
The spec f c ssues and class nterests that dr ve th s scandal have been ve led, even as they are fought out. It s clear th s cr s s s t ed to a larger struggle over the
nat onal agenda and d rect on. Powerful, well-f nanced, well-placed forces n the system are eager to see th s Pres dent paralyzed and they seem w ll ng to haul
nat onal pol t cs through the mud and make an nternat onal laugh ng stock of the U.S. Pres dent.
Wh le the med a's sleaze mach ne works overt me-- t s good to remember that pol t cs does not have to be l ke th s. After the revolut on, there w ll be lots of b g,
chaot c struggles over the d rect on of soc ety. But you won't have to go through sh t l ke th s.
Revolut ona#943, Feb 8, 1999
APEC – Imper al st Plunder

At the APEC Summ t n September and at the ser es of off c als meet ngs preced ng t, the US-Sh pley reg me w ll be beat ng the drum for the further reduct on of
protect on st measures to pave the way for the plunder of our reg on by US mult nat onals.Already n the 1990s a huge wave of US cap tal has entered Aotearoa,
buy ng up compan es l ke Telecom and Tranz Ra l, Carter Holt and other forest nterests, Wh tcoulls and Watt es, and s now po sed to takeover much of the

electr c ty generat on and d str but on n the country. New Zealand's largest company Fletcher Challenge, although nom nally based here, has most of ts operat ons
and most of ts ownersh p n North Amer ca. Only the b g farmer-owned da ry and meat cooperat ves and a handful of others have so far res sted the takeover.
The local management of these f rms and the gaggle of consultants, brokers, bankers, and adv sors that have arranged the deals and support these f rms today
have had a whole new world opened up to them of mass ve salar es and fees, overseas conferences and m x ng t w th the b g boys. The centre of power amongst
New Zealand bus ness has moved to these compradors of US mper al sm, most vocally represented by the Bus ness Roundtable, and success ve governments
have enthus ast cally jo ned them. The Sh pley government s just the latest of a ser es of sycophant c boot-l ckers of US mper al sm.
Watt es Manager Dav d Irv ng descr bed the new corporate culture he encountered after the He nz takeover. "I was ntroduced to a world I had not known before, of
f rst-class nternat onal travel, su tes at the best hotels, the f nest n food, dr nk, and enterta nment" (Dav d Irv ng, "It Must Be Watt es". Auckland: Dav d Bateman,
1998, p.150)
The neo-l beral apolog sts for mper al st penetrat on, l ke Reserve Bank governor Don Brash and Telecom Head Rod Deane, share a common v ewpo nt w th the
Trotsky sts on th s matter. "What does t matter who owns the largest f rms?" they cry, "They're all cap tal sts."
But as the extraord nary prof t dr ve of Telecom shows mper al sm s part cularly rapac ous. Telecom has dr ven up pr ces at every opportun ty and sacked
thousands of workers to allow ts US owners to wr ng as much out of the r nvestment as poss ble. 90% of Telecom's prof ts have been pa d as d v dends, an
unprecedented rate n New Zealand. Most of th s has been d rectly repatr ated to the US, putt ng pressure on the NZ cap tal sts' balance of payments, dr v ng down
the dollar and ncreas ng mport pr ces.
Accord ng to Irv ng aga n, "There was noth ng espec ally complex or subtle about He nz's bus ness ph losophy .. In essence ... 1. The shareholder/owner s the
most mportant of the stakeholders. 2. Operat ng Income (OI) s the key number ... No other number has the same bear ng on share pr ce" (p.151).
Other compan es l ke Carter Holt Harvey, owned by the US-g ant Internat onal Paper have been r pp ng out the product ve capac ty of the New Zealand forest
sector. By abandon ng prun ng, the forests are be ng turned nto low-qual ty log stocks, and thousands of sem -sk lled workers are los ng the r jobs. Related
ndustr es and research focussed on value-added processes w ll be soon to follow; a downsk ll ng of the product ve capac ty of the ndustry and the work ng class.
Thousands of workers' l ves are be ng d srupted by layoffs as the economy s restructured away from domest c cap tal st nterests towards those of f rms based n
other countr es.
As domest c cap tal weakens, the domest c economy as a whole s weaken ng. Where most product on and consumpt on was undertaken by local f rms for local
consumers, ncreas ngly product on s export or ented, and consumpt on s serv ced by mports.
As the economy s ncreas ngly skewed nto a cog n an nternat onal network, smaller centres are depopulated as workers dr ft towards the serv ce centres of
mper al sm - Auckland, Well ngton and Chr stchurch. Here full t me product ve jobs are ncreas ngly d splaced by part-t me lower pa d jobs n the serv ce sector,
weaken ng the organ sed strength of the work ng class and dr v ng down wages.
Cap tal st System n Cr s s

In the past year and a half, a very ntense cr s s n product on, f nance and trade engulfed many countr es and ent re global reg ons one after the other. The storm
f rst h t As a and Japan n the f rst half of 1997; hammered Russ a next n the th rd quarter of 1998, and caught up later w th Lat n Amer ca, Eastern Europe and
South Afr ca.The US and European econom es, wh le reg ster ng pos t ve but very moderate growth rates, cont nue to slow down. Moreover, w th other parts of the
world e ther wallow ng n depress on and recess on or deep nto stagnat on, there preva ls, on the whole, a global recess on. Contract on of product on s most
severe n East As a - wh ch before 1997 was the fastest grow ng reg on - and Russ a wh ch nose-d ved nto a deeper p t. The US and European econom es are
themselves repeatedly convulsed by ntense stock market and f nanc al troubles and cont nue to be pulled down.
Th s s the most ser ous global econom c cr s s of the last 50 years. It s unprecedented n terms of scope and the rap d ty by wh ch t has spread, as well as by the
steep decl nes n l v ng standards of countr es and peoples. The breadth and depth of the damage t has wrought on countr es and peoples are bel eved to equal or
even surpass those of the Great Depress on of the 1930s.
In As a alone, the meltdown of tr ll ons of dollars of stock market and bond cap tal, as de from the more than US$260 b ll on n losses n corporate equ ty, occurred
n only a few months. Central bank reserves were depleted by the hundreds of b ll ons of dollars n a fut le attempt to defend currenc es under speculat ve attack.
Hard-earned sav ngs evaporated, ncomes drast cally deflated and m ll ons of people thrown out of work. The bas cally backward and sem feudal character of the
so-called "emerg ng markets" was brought to the fore.
The overwhelm ng major ty of countr es have not even benef ted from the temporary growth brought about by ncreas ng shares n the export of low- and med um-
valued-added manufactured goods and the mass ve nflow of fore gn portfol o nvestments. They have long been suffer ng from the almost two decade-old debt
cr s s and contract on of the global market for raw mater al exports. The present cr s s not only d ms the r hopes of recovery. It also bur es them deeper n poverty.
The cr s s pers sts desp te attempts by the nternat onal bourgeo s e and the r drumbeaters to bel ttle t and prematurely declare ts end. Storm-w nd cont nues to
gather for an even more v olent supertyphoon. The s gns forebode the further ntens f cat on of cr s s, d slocat on and devastat on.
The follow ng d scuss on focuses on the three most prom nent features of th s cr s s:
Overproduct on cr s s
In essence, the ma n d sease that s ravag ng the real economy of the global cap tal st system s the severe and worsen ng mbalance between excess capac ty n
product on and shr nk ng markets. Overconcentrat on of cap tal and overaccumulat on of product ve capac ty goes on at such a rap d and h gh rate wh le the base
of global mass consumpt on suffers from drast c and mass ve contract on. In var ous sectors of ndustry, agr culture and serv ces, there s a large and ncreas ng
d sproport on between supply and demand.
Another marked result of overproduct on s the emergence of the problem of deflat on: the general fall n pr ces due to slacken ng sales, together w th the sudden
fall n prof ts, trade and product on. Th s s s m lar to the deflat on that tr ggered the Great Depress on of the 1930s. Japan and As a are suffer ng from deflat on due
to the sudden contract on of the domest c and global markets for the r manufactures and the deplet on of ava lable loans and f nanc ng - espec ally for small and
med um-scale compan es n Japan, but also for the largest compan es n other parts of East As a. The ma n branches of ndustry n the US and Europe are also
troubled by weak sales, shr nk ng markets and fall ng rates of prof t.
From 1992 to 1995, the Japanese government spent $535 b ll on to pump-pr me the economy wh ch has been slugg sh s nce 1990. In 1998, another $120 b ll on
was poured n, ra s ng the budget def c t to 10% of total domest c product on. But pr vate consumpt on decelerated more rap dly, thus caus ng Japan’s full descent
to recess on. Product on s runn ng at 65% of capac ty, unemployment has, for the f rst t me reached 4%, and yet the nventory of compan es cont nues to r se,
reach ng 12% of sales, wh ch s tw ce the prev ous record h gh.
In the global car ndustry, the rate by wh ch product on has outstr pped the market s three t mes that wh ch preva led n the sevent es. It s expected that by the year
2000, global overproduct on of cars w ll reach 23 m ll on, greater than the overall sales n North Amer ca, the b ggest market of cars.
The econom c meltdown n East As a, the reg on reckoned to be respons ble for half of the expans on n global product on and two-th rds of the expans on n global
trade n the past years, s a crush ng blow to the nternat onal market. From m d-1997, the pr ce of all agr cultural and m neral commod t es fell by 30%- and
reached ts lowest levels n more than 25 years. The mpact of th s on backward countr es that rely on raw mater al exports w ll be extremely pa nful.
The annual growth rate n ndustr al cap tal st countr es n the present decade s just above 2%, far below the average rate of 5% n the ‘50s and ‘60s. To ra se the
rates of prof t n a per od of slow growth and shr nk ng markets, monopoly cap tal st has resorted to all-out cost-cutt ng, restructur ng and reeng neer ng. Th s
ncludes the extens ve use of computers and h gh-technology, mass ve reduct on n employment, and g gant c corporate mergers and acqu s t ons.

The dom nance of neol beral pol c es of deregulat on, pr vat zat on (eas ng controls over pr vate bus ness) and b as aga nst nflat on has enabled monopoly cap tal
and the f nanc al ol garchy to mplement such schemes. Wh le the concentrat on, operat on and expans on of monopoly cap tal are g ven free play and encouraged,
there have been relentless attacks aga nst so-called nflat onary wages and cost-cutt ng measures to "shave the fat" off government spend ng by reduc ng the
number of publ c employees and funds for publ c serv ce and soc al benef ts.
The result s job-k ll ng growth, the swell ng of unemployment up to 35 m ll on n ndustr al zed countr es, a drop n real wages and ncomes of common people, and
cont nu ng and rap d contract on of the base of mass consumpt on n cap tal st countr es. There s also further ntens f cat on of the concentrat on of cap tal and
monopol zat on of f nance, product on and markets by ever larger but ever fewer monopoly corporat ons: "W nner-takes-all" and "second placers are losers" are the
now the predom nant rules n b g bus ness. H gh technology has further ncreased the rate of concentrat on and central zat on of cap tal, as well as the turnover of
product on, trade and commerce and the obsolescence of otherw se perfectly runn ng factor es. F nanc al man pulat on and overborrow ng have also further
accelerated the aggress ve expans on as well as accumulat on of capac ty well beyond the capab l ty of the market.
The nventory of unsold goods has ncreased rap dly. Unprof table bu ld ngs and mach ner es are p l ng up. Desp te the scope and sever ty of destruct on already
wrought by the current cr s s, th s s just the start of a major upheaval n the cr s s-r dden cap tal st system. Runn ng down the overcapac ty w ll need more and
greater storms of cataclysm c proport ons.
F nanc al and currency cr s s
The sudden and steep devaluat on of currenc es n East As a and, later, n Russ a - followed by the destab l zat on and v rtual stoppage of ent re econom es,
character ze the current cr s s and result from the free flow of portfol o nvestments and f nance demanded by the global f nanc al ol garchs. S nce the cr s s erupted,
the value of the Indones an rup ah has fallen by 80% aga nst the dollar, and the Korean won and the Tha baht by 40%. Such devaluat on nvolves the deplet on of
loans and nvestments, sky-h gh nterest rates, w despread bankruptc es of compan es and bus nesses, sudden drops n product on and trade and stamped ng
hyper nflat on.
The l beral zat on and deregulat on of the nflow and outflow of fore gn nvestments and prof ts, and the pegg ng of local currenc es to the dollar are IMF-WB
prescr pt ons to neocolon al and dependent countr es to attract fore gn nvestments wh ch are expected to be the ma n source of f nanc ng for export-or ented
product on. On the other hand, the World Bank sold the concept of "emerg ng markets" (markets outs de establ shed f nanc al centers) to banks and Western
nvestors and prov ded the seed fund for expanded nvestments n bonds, real estate and the stock markets of such econom es.
Prof ts from such nvestments n East As a reached up to 42% n 1988 and 98% n 1989 and set the "emerg ng markets" on ts fl ght and created a mad rush
start ng n 1993 that suddenly nflated the stock, bond and real estate markets of East As a, reach ng a peak n 1996 when $93 b ll on flowed nto South Korea,
Indones a, Tha land, Malays a and the Ph l pp nes and g v ng "global zat on" a m raculous sh ne.
S nce 1994, however, exports have lost steam and trade and current-account def c ts have worsened result ng largely from the loss of the r pr ce advantage after
Ch na launched ts export offens ve and devalued ts currency and the Japanese yen fell n value. The stream of speculat ve and portfol o funds n the follow ng
years concealed the worsen ng def c t, overvalued the local currency and created a mass ve bubble of borrow ngs and f nanc al speculat on.
When George Soros and h s cabal of speculators attacked n 1997, currenc es n East As a were drast cally devalued n a few weeks and more than $100 b ll on n
the reg ons’ central bank reserves were squandered n a fa led attempt to defend the r currenc es. There was a net w thdrawal of fore gn funds reach ng $12 b ll on
from South Korea, Indones a, Tha land, Malays a and the Ph l pp nes. In a year, $105 b ll on flowed out ($12 b ll on net outflow n 1997 com ng after a $93 b ll on net
nflow n 1996), equ valent to 11% of total product on n these countr es. In the span of a few months, the overall value of stock markets n As a fell by 60%.
The plunge of currenc es and stocks, bonds and real estate markets n East As a destab l zed currenc es and stock markets around the world, rock ng even the US
and Europe and tear ng apart the myth of mper al st "global zat on". After a momentary calm n January and February of 1998, currenc es and stock markets fell
aga n n East As a. In September 1988, the stock market fell to ts lowest level n 12 years. Because the US and Europe were not drawn nto the second As an
meltdown, the not on that the cr s s was l m ted to As a was already mak ng the rounds, when Russ a un laterally devalued the ruble and defaulted on ts debt n
August 1998. Amer can and European banks and nvestors were h t by another and far b gger round of prof t losses runn ng to hundreds of b ll ons of dollars wh ch
was followed by stock market drops that melted $4 tr ll on n f nanc al global wealth.
The extreme volat l ty of the global f nanc al system s a result of excess ve f nanc al man pulat on, abuse and speculat on wh le overproduct on, shr nk ng markets
and fall ng rates of prof t underm ne the real economy. The bubble of borrow ngs and speculat on n the "emerg ng markets" s a small part of the bubble preva l ng
over the ent re cap tal st system. The value of stock market transact ons s 30 to 40 t mes more than the real value of global product on. The da ly transact ons n
the global currency market are worth almost $2 tr ll on, wh le the value of annual global exports s only $5 tr ll on. Due to the unprecedentedly large speculat ve
bubble preva l ng over the f nanc al market, f nanc al nstruments have acqu red a l fe of the r own as ev denced by the cont nued r se of Wall Street stock pr ces
even as prof ts and sales of l sted corporat ons are decl n ng. Th s bubble s kept afloat by susta n ng and cont nually ncreas ng the flow of funds that are wagered
at the g ant wheel of speculat on. And to susta n such a flow, var ous, nterrelated and overlapp ng levels of transact ons, nstruments of purchase and sale and
stat st cal sle ght-of-hand, est mates and forecasts are employed to s phon people’s sav ngs, and funds and reserves of governments and all other types of pr vate
and publ c nst tut ons n all parts of the world. As de from nst tut onal zed speculators that are based n g ant commerc al and nvestment banks, stock broker ng
f rms, nsurance compan es, etc. - the bourgeo s mass med a, pa d academ cs, off c als of mper al st governments and nternat onal nst tut ons such as the IMF-
WB are nvolved n conjur ng and bloat ng th s bubble. Th s s commonly called pyram d ng and sw ndl ng when done by humbler folks.
Soros s just a part cular k nd of speculator who s typ cal of f nanc al operators n the global centers of f nance. He operates together w th the largest banks and
other f nanc al g ants n New York, London and Tokyo, rak ng n prof ts as they move n or out, runn ng after b ll ons of dollars of superprof ts w th every fluctuat on n
market pr ces, w th every nflow and outflow of funds wagered n whatever market that s currently fly ng h gh or n free fall. In fact, dur ng the fall, t was st ll the
representat ves and personnel of these f nanc al ol garchs who cooked up the "ba l-out packages" and cont nued to earn huge fees and prof ts as partners of the
IMF n the mplementat on of "recovery programs".
Debt Cr s s
The ent re global cap tal st system s sw mm ng n an ocean of debt that progress vely deepens and w dens as the probab l ty of repayment becomes ncreas ngly
n l. Th s global cr s s result ng from the unsurpassed abuse of the cred t system s a major source of the f nanc al ol garchy’s b ll ons of dollars of superprof ts, and
has, at the same t me, been a major cause of the nstab l ty of the f nanc al system for the past two decades and resulted n the past two years n a debt deflat on
that severely h nders the flow of f nanc ng and further aggravates depress on n large parts of the world.
The debt cr s s of backward countr es erupted n the early ‘80s when Mex co threatened to stop serv c ng ts fore gn loans, send ng shockwaves throughout the
bank ng system of cap tal st countr es. Pr or to th s, global banks encouraged lend ng to governments of backward countr es because they were awash w th
un nvestable funds due to the stagflat on preva l ng n the West. A large port on of the loans was wasted n corrupt on, n the react onary rul ng classes’ luxury
spend ng, n fund ng m l tar zat on and counter-revolut onary wars and other unproduct ve expend tures such as projects and extravaganzas to enterta n tour sts.
When the global market for raw mater al exports began mplod ng n 1979, many of the countr es that borrowed large amounts lost the capac ty to cont nue
serv c ng the r debts.
It was at th s po nt that the IMF-WB started play ng the role of debt collector for g ant commerc al banks and Western governments, and mposer of cond t ons and
"structural adjustment" programs wh ch ruthlessly r pped apart the econom c, trade, f nanc al, tax and budgetary pol c es and structures of debt-r dden countr es.
Backward debt-burdened countr es were compelled to carry out belt-t ghten ng measures, sell the "fam ly jewels" at barga n pr ces, agree to the deter orat on of
already pr m t ve soc al serv ces, the sacr f ce of food product on and other bas c needs of the people, the t ghten ng control by fore gners of all mportant aspects of
the economy, and to follow all mpos t ons on deregulat on and l beral zat on n favor of fore gn cap tal - just so as to repay the r debts. Whatever wealth and
progress the debt-r dden countr es have mustered n the past decades have been sacr f ced, the r people dr ven nto greater pr vat on. Large parts of the world
were ravaged by fam ne, ep dem cs and ethn c and rel g ous str fe. Yet desp te all th s, nstead of fall ng, total debt has r sen further, and the debt cr s s has not
eased but worsened.
When the cr s s began, the total fore gn debt of backward countr es was almost $600 b ll on. Th s reached $1086 b ll on n 1986, $1419 b ll on n 1992 and $2000
b ll on by 1995 ( nclud ng the debt of the former Sov et bloc countr es). From 1980 to 1992, the overall payment made on the debt pr nc pal ($891 b ll on) and
nterests ($771 b ll on) was three t mes more than the or g nal debt n 1980. Yet n the end, the sum of unpa d debt s st ll one and a half t mes greater than the
or g nal amount. L ke a peasant under the yoke of a loan shark, these backward countr es are forced to borrow at h gher nterest so as to amort ze the old debt.
S nce 1984, governments of debt-r dden countr es have pa d more than they have rece ved n new loans and ass stance from the r ch nat ons’ governments and
commerc al banks and the IMF-WB. The net result of off c al transact ons has been an outflow, not an nflow, of funds.
Wh le the old debt cr s s of backward countr es cont nues to pester and further worsen, the cr s s n As a has exposed a new aspect of the nternat onal debt cr s s:
the mounta ns of debt of pr vate compan es that pose an even b gger threat to the whole global f nanc al system. Dur ng the t me of the bubble and the mad rush of

pr vate banks and bus ness f rms for a larger share n the fantast c prof ts from the "emerg ng markets", there was a flood of cheap loans wh ch were taken
advantage of by compan es that borrowed heav ly to aggress vely expand the r market share. Th s further speeded up and ntens f ed the accumulat on of
overcapac ty and the cr s s of overproduct on. When the bubble burst, t left n ts wake a huge p le of bad loans.
In East As an countr es wh ch were worst h t by the cr s s, the loans of a typ cal company l sted n the stock market are est mated to be 400% to 600% of the r
cap tal. The amount of bad loans s equal to 50% to 100% of the overall produce of many countr es n the reg on. The bank ng system n the countr es ser ously h t
was cr ppled because a large part (20% or more) of the r loans to real estate, construct on and other pr vate f rms could not be pa d.
The extremely heavy debt burden cr pples not only the banks but ent re econom es as well. Th s burden s made heav er by the mounta n of bad loans; banks are
completely dependent on external fund ng for the hundreds of b ll ons of dollars requ red to recap tal ze and resume lend ng. But they can only borrow at rates three
t mes more than those preva l ng before the cr s s. It even rema ns uncerta n whether anyone s ready to prov de cred t because there s an ntens f cat on nstead of
an attenuat on n the overall decl ne of nvestments and loans. The overall nflow of d rect fore gn nvestments to "emerg ng markets" fell to $186 b ll on from $300 n
1996, and s expected to drop further to $119 b ll on n 1999. Moreover, the ent re cred t system has been overextended by efforts to put out the conflagrat on that
cont nues to grow and spread rap dly.
Japan s also saddled by an ntense debt cr s s. The bad loans of Japanese banks are est mated to reach $600 b ll on. They have lent more than $270 b ll on to
As a. Some bel eve that the Japanese bad debt problem can be tw ce as bad as what s reported. Fourteen of the 21 largest banks n Japan ( nclud ng some of the
largest n the world) have excess vely h gh rates of bad loans. The US government s push ng the Japanese government to qu ckly solve the bank ng cr s s
because th s s a major reason for the cont nued contract on of pr vate nvestments and loans n Japan. The danger goes beyond Japan s nce desp te the cr s s,
Japan rema ns the largest cred tor country.
The loans of European banks to As a are equ valent to 49% of the r total cap tal. Th s already has d re consequences, but ts mpact s less compared to the blow
nfl cted on them by Russ a’s debt default, the closure of ts pr nc pal banks and the result ng cap tal fl ght n w despread parts of the world. US banks wh ch thought
they had avo ded the ntense cred t cr s s n As a were jolted even more v olently by the Russ an cr s s and are threatened w th a d rect h t by the Lat n Amer can
storm. A large percentage of the loans of global banks have lost all chance of be ng repa d; th s w ll slash a large chunk of cap tal from the ent re bank ng system
and w ll cause the fall of even the largest banks. At the same t me, the debt cr s s w ll deepen and prolong further the d slocat ons n product on and sow even
greater terror the world over.
Commun que of the Internat onal Sem nar

on Mao and People’s War
We, the unders gned part c pants, hereby aff rm the successful hold ng of the Internat onal Sem nar on Mao and People’s War to celebrate the 105th b rth
ann versary of Comrade Mao Zedong convened n December 1998. The sem nar s convened by the Commun st Party of Ind a (ML) (People’s War), the
Commun st Party of the Ph l pp nes and the Commun st Party of Turkey / ML and ncludes as part c pants part es uphold ng Marx sm-Len n sm-Mao sm or Mao
Zedong Thought and wag ng people’s wars and other part es support ng people’s war. We are grat f ed by the enl ghten ng and nformat ve wr tten contr but ons,
oral presentat ons and exchange of v ews on the follow ng top cs: The cr s s of the world cap tal st system and the rul ng system n the part c pants’ respect ve
countr es and the mean ng of Mao’s teach ngs on people’s war today, and The status of revolut onary forces, exper ences and plans n the part c pants’ countr es.
The results of the sem nar are as follows:
The part c pants have been able to ra se the level of the r common understand ng of the cr s s of the world cap tal st system and of Mao and people’s war and have
pledged mutual support under the pr nc ple of proletar an nternat onal sm. Moreover, even w th recogn t on of some d fferences they pledge to carry out further
pol t cal and deolog cal d scuss ons and at the same t me carry out common pract cal tasks n struggle and n order to ach eve a h gher level of un ty. The part es
wag ng people’s war have formulated and ssued the General Declarat on on Mao and People’s War.Resolut ons have been passed on mportant ssues. We
agree on the follow ng po nts: We honour Mao Zedong as the great exponent of the theory and pract ce of people’s war n the new-democrat c revolut on n Ch na
aga nst mper al sm, feudal sm and bureaucrat cap tal sm. The h stor cal exper ence proves that Mao’s theory and pract ce of people’s war s n consonance w th the
teach ngs of Marx that the class struggle must lead to the d ctatorsh p of the proletar at. Mao’s proletar an revolut onary l ne cons stently runs from people’s war
and the new democrat c revolut on through soc al st revolut on and construct on to the theory and pract ce of cont nu ng revolut on under the proletar an d ctatorsh p
-wh ch s h s most outstand ng contr but on to the development of Marx sm-Len n sm. We acknowledge Mao as the master strateg st of people’s war.
H s development of the strategy and tact cs of people’s war rema ns unsurpassed to th s day. H s works on people’s war nvolve the appl cat on of mater al st
d alect cs and the revolut onary class l ne n the process of revolut onary war. Mao’s theory and pract ce of people’s war cons stently carr es forward the
fundamental pr nc ples of Marx sm-Len n sm. It s a further development of Len n’s theory and pract ce of the two-stage revolut on, n wh ch the soc al st revolut on
follows the bourgeo s-democrat c revolut on of a new type. The strateg c l ne of protracted people’s war, nvolv ng the enc rclement of the c t es from the
countrys de, s the revolut onary express on of the fundamental democrat c all ance of the proletar at and peasantry. It s appl cable n many countr es, l ke those
where the peasant masses are the major ty among the bas c producers and f ght for agrar an revolut on as the ma n component of the democrat c revolut on.
There are a number of Commun st part es successfully carry ng out the strateg c l ne of protracted people’s war n accordance w th the teach ngs of Comrade Mao.
They ava l themselves of the nexhaust ble part c pat on and support of the people. They have bu lt or are prepar ng to bu ld democrat c organs of pol t cal power.
They have consol dated and expanded the organ zed strength of the masses n the course of f erce revolut onary struggle. They have overcome all k nds of enemy
offens ves nclud ng the enemy’s use of the "low ntens ty confl ct’’ strategy, the ant commun st deolog cal and pol t cal offens ve related to the fall of the rev s on st
reg mes, the m srepresent-at on of armed revolut onary movements as terror sm and, n certa n cases, offers of peace negot at ons and the sham calls for "peace
and development’’. In ma nta n ng the r revolut onary pos t on, they have outlasted the armed movements prev ously enjoy ng the support of rev s on st-ruled
countr es as well as bourgeo s mass med a hype. Such movements have been betrayed by opportun st leaders and led astray to cap tulat on and neocolon al
comprom se. The people’s wars and the revolut onary upr s ngs const tute the most advanced detachment of the struggle aga nst the "New World Order".
Object vely, they are nfl ct ng severe blows aga nst mper al sm, are show ng that the people’s res stance cannot be suppressed, and are strengthen ng the self-
conf dence of the masses. They are g v ng the general s gnal for the advancement of the struggles aga nst contemporary mper al sm, and they are play ng a
cruc al role n the reconstruct on of the commun st movement. They answer the central quest on of revolut on, wh ch s the se zure of pol t cal power. We are
hopeful that the sem nar w ll nsp re the part es wag ng people’s war as well as the part es support ng t, to carry forward the r revolut onary struggles n all poss ble
and necessary forms n the r respect ve countr es. December 1998 SIGNATORIES:
Arranged n alphabet cal order of countr es *Revolut onary Commun st Party of Argent na
* Workers’ Party of Belg um
* Revolut onary Commun st Party of Braz l
* Act on Soc al ste-Canada
* Revolut onary Marx st-Len n st Party of Ch le
* A/Synech a (Greece)
* Commun st Party of Greece (Marx st-Len n st)
* Commun st Party of Ind a (ML) People’s War
* Mao st Commun st Centre (Ind a)
* Rossopera o (Italy)
# Commun st Party of Aotearoa
* Workers’ Party of New Zealand (w th reservat ons)
* Commun st Workers’ Party of Norway
* El D ar o Internac onal (Peru)
* Commun st Party of the Ph l pp nes
* Workers and Peasants Russ an Party
* Commun st Party of Turkey/Marx st-Len n st
* Commun st Party of Catalunya (Spa n)
* Ray O. L ght Group (USA) (except sentence 3, no.1 on the po nts of agreement)
# Subsequent s gnator es.

General Declarat on on Mao and People’s War

We, Marx st-Len n st-Mao st part es wag ng people’s war, have taken the n t at ve to convene the Internat onal Sem nar on Mao and People’s War n celebrat on of
the 105th b rth ann versary of Comrade Mao Zedong. On th s occas on, we propose th s declarat on for adopt on by the sem nar part c pants and other part es that
are unable to attend the sem nar. The object ve of the sem nar s to pay tr bute to Comrade Mao Zedong for h s teach ngs on people’s war and to uphold the
s gn f cance and necess ty of these n advanc ng the nat onal l berat on movements, the broad ant - mper al st movement and the world proletar an revolut on.
The part c pants of the sem nar nclude delegat ons of part es that wage people’s war, that prepare for t or that recogn ze ts h gh mportance and support ts
wag ng. All part c pants stand on the common ground that people’s war, espec ally the strateg c l ne of protracted people’s war, plays a cruc al role n carry ng out
new-democrat c revolut ons as the prelude to soc al st revolut on n most countr es of the world.
The part c pants recogn ze and espouse people’s war as a pol t cal necess ty n relat on to current and foreseeable c rcumstances n the cr s s of the world cap tal st
system and the revolut onary struggles of the people of the world aga nst mper al sm and for soc al sm.
All the part es represented n the sem nar express adherence to the sc ence of Marx sm-Len n sm and the necess ty of ntegrat ng t w th the concrete cond t ons n
the r respect ve countr es.
Wh le respect ng the r ght of ndependence and equal ty of all Part es, the overr d ng purpose of th s sem nar s to ra se the r level of common understand ng,
mutual support and cooperat on among them n wag ng people’s war and other forms of revolut onary struggle, under the pr nc ple of proletar an nternat onal sm
and thereby strengthen the struggle aga nst mper al sm on a world scale.
We, n part cular the Marx st-Len n st-Mao st part es wag ng people’s war, reaff rm the General Declarat on on Mao Zedong Thought adopted to commemorate
Comrade Mao’s 100th b rth ann versary. We regard Comrade Mao as one among the greatest th nkers and teachers of the nternat onal proletar at for h s
s gn f cant contr but ons related to ph losophy, pol t cal economy, soc al sc ence, Party bu ld ng, new-democrat c revolut on through people’s war, soc al st revolut on
and construct on, and proletar an cultural revolut on.
We uphold that Mao Zedong Thought or Mao sm represents a h gher stage n the development of Marx sm-Len n sm n wh ch the theory and pract ce of cont nu ng
revolut on under proletar an d ctatorsh p s ava lable n order to consol date soc al sm, combat rev s on sm and prevent the restorat on of cap tal sm. We adhere to
the pol t cal l ne that all forces and all people must un te under the leadersh p of the proletar at aga nst mper al sm and all react on n the course of new-democrat c
and soc al st revolut ons.
Wherever and whenever necessary to carry out the new-democrat c revolut on under the leadersh p of the advanced detachment of the proletar at, people’s war
must be carr ed out n accordance w th the revolut onary essence of Marx sm-Len n sm. In such c rcumstances, the outr ght den al of the need for people’s war s
rev s on st. It s l kew se rev s on st to delay ndef n tely the commencement of people’s war.
Contrary to the v ew of the rev s on sts and reform sts, there s no peaceful road to soc al sm. It s necessary and advantageous for the revolut onary proletar at to
wage armed revolut on and carry out n qu ck success on the bourgeo s-democrat c and soc al st stages of the revolut on at the weakest l nks of the mper al st
cha n, n accordance w th Len n’s teach ngs on uneven development under mper al sm. The wag ng of people’s war n the sem colon al and sem feudal countr es
s favorable to the class struggle n the mper al st countr es and to the eventual overthrow of the monopoly bourgeo s e by the proletar at.
The level of econom c and technolog cal development n mper al st countr es s des rable for soc al sm but t s n these countr es that the monopoly bourgeo s e
have the most developed means for suppress ng proletar an armed revolut on. Therefore when the proletar at and the people n the sem colon al and sem feudal
countr es wage people’s war t br ngs closer the day that the proletar at r ses up to overthrow the monopoly bourgeo s e n the mper al st countr es.
Comrade Mao po nted out that protracted people’s war was poss ble n a country l ke Ch na because of ts uneven development, turbulent pol t cal s tuat on, ts
backward economy, and ts decentral zed system of commun cat ons. He contrasted these cond t ons w th those n advanced cap tal st countr es, wh ch requ re
protracted legal struggle to precede the armed revolut on.
Under the present c rcumstances, the Marx st-Len n st-Mao st part es wag ng people’s war play a cruc al role n uphold ng the Marx st-Len n st theory of state and
revolut on and carry ng the world proletar an revolut on forward through armed revolut on. If there were no people’s war n the sem colon al and sem feudal
countr es, the proletar at n the mper al st countr es could be further weakened pol t cally w th a greater poss b l ty to be further led astray towards reform sm and
rev s on sm.
S gn f cance and Necess ty of People’s War
We honor Mao Zedong as the great exponent of the theory and pract ce of people’s war n the new-democrat c revolut on n Ch na aga nst mper al sm, feudal sm
and bureaucrat cap tal sm. It s necessary to study Mao’s teach ngs on people’s war n connect on w th the past, current and future c rcumstances n order to wage
t. Carr ed out correctly and g ven full play under the leadersh p of the revolut onary party of the proletar at, people’s war s an nv nc ble weapon n new-democrat c
revolut ons.
Mao’s theory and pract ce of people’s war s n consonance w th the teach ngs of Marx that the class struggle must lead to the class d ctatorsh p of the proletar at.
It s also a further development of Len n’s theory and pract ce of the two-stage revolut on, n wh ch the soc al st revolut on follows the bourgeo s-democrat c
revolut on of a new type.
We acknowledge Mao as the master strateg st of people’s war. H s development of the strategy and tact cs of people’s war rema ns unsurpassed to th s day. H s
works on people’s war nvolve the appl cat on of mater al st d alect cs and the revolut onary class l ne n the process of revolut onary war. Mao’s theory and pract ce
of people’s war cons stently carr es forward the fundamental pr nc ples of Marx sm-Len n sm. It const tutes a component n the development of Mao sm and lays
the bas s for the advances made by Mao n soc al st revolut on and construct on, up to the Great Proletar an Cultural Revolut on.
Mao’s teach ngs on people’s war cont nue to be a r ch and powerful source of knowledge on the relat onsh p of soc al and pol t cal analys s w th var ous forms of
warfare (guerr lla, regular mob le, pos t onal and upr s ngs) under var ous cond t ons and the development of these forms of warfare through stages and phases n
the course of c v l war or nat onal war aga nst fore gn aggress on.
The strateg c l ne of protracted people’s war, nvolv ng the enc rclement of the c t es from the countrys de, s the revolut onary express on of the fundamental
democrat c all ance of the proletar at and peasantry. It s appl cable n most countr es of the world, where the peasant masses are n the major ty among the bas c
producers and f ght for agrar an revolut on as the ma n component of the democrat c revolut on.
The strateg c l ne of protracted people’s war allows the revolut onary forces to bu ld a people’s army and accumulate strength n the countrys de unt l t becomes
poss ble to se ze pol t cal power n the c t es. The countrys de prov des the revolut onary forces the room for maneuver to grow from small to b g and from weak to
strong n the course of self-rel ant revolut onary struggle. By rely ng on the masses as the nexhaust ble source of strength and launch ng successful tact cal
offens ves, the people’s army can advance from the strateg c defens ve to the strateg c stalemate and then f nally to the strateg c offens ve to se ze power n the
c t es on a nat onw de scale.
In some countr es, where there s a certa n amount of ndustr al cap tal st development but where the proport on of poor peasants and farm workers s st ll
s gn f cant, t s also necessary to take nto account and g ve full play to the r revolut onary role n comb nat on w th that of the work ng class. Even after the se zure
of pol t cal power through c ty upr s ngs n Russ a, the Bolshev ks had to undergo the test of revolut onary armed struggle n the countrys de dur ng the c v l war and
the war aga nst fore gn ntervent on.
The overwhelm ng major ty of the countr es of the world are st ll m red n feudal and sem feudal backwardness. In these countr es, the worst forms of oppress on
and explo tat on are carr ed out by the mper al sts and local explo t ng classes aga nst the work ng class and peasantry. It s clear and urgent that n these parts of
the world the revolut onary party of the proletar at must lead the broad masses of the people to wage armed struggle as the pr nc pal form of revolut onary struggle
and to pursue the strateg c l ne of protracted people’s war.
Revolut onary armed struggle s the pr nc pal form of struggle because t responds to the central quest on of revolut on, wh ch s the se zure of pol t cal power. In
l ne w th the Marx st-Len n st theory of state and revolut on, Cha rman Mao teaches us that pol t cal power grows out of the barrel of a gun. He also teaches that,

w thout a people’s army, the people have noth ng. The people can hope for and lay the bas s for soc al revolut on only when they have a people’s army.
The strateg c l ne of protracted people’s war s not appl cable n ndustr al cap tal st countr es. But the general theory of people’s war s unden ably of un versal
s gn f cance. It s l kew se of un versal s gn f cance that the class struggle n the mper al st countr es and the protracted people’s war n sem colon al and
sem feudal countr es are d alect cally nterconnected.
It s always a requ rement for the revolut onary party of the proletar at to rely on and trust the masses and to arouse, organ ze and mob l ze them n overthrow ng
the enemy n a protracted people’s war under agrar an cond t ons or n workers’ upr s ngs n the ndustr al cap tal st countr es. Mass organ zat ons and organs of
pol t cal power must be bu lt as the sol d core of the broad masses of the people. Tact cs of the un ted front are employed to arouse, organ ze and mob l ze the
broad masses of the people n the r m ll ons. All poss ble forms of revolut onary struggle are carr ed out w th the strateg c a m of se zure of power by armed force.
There are a number of commun st part es successfully carry ng out the strateg c l ne of protracted people’s war n accordance w th the teach ngs of Comrade Mao.
They ava l themselves of the nexhaust ble part c pat on and support of the people. They have bu lt democrat c organs of pol t cal power. They have consol dated
and expanded the organ zed strength of the masses n the course of f erce revolut onary struggle.
The people’s war be ng waged under the leadersh p of the revolut onary part es of the proletar at stand out n preserv ng and expand ng revolut onary strength n
the course of f ght ng aga nst the mper al sts and the local react onar es. They are h ghly s gn f cant for hold ng aloft the great red banner of armed revolut on, for
grasp ng the essence of revolut on and respond ng to the central quest on of revolut on.
Marx st-Len n st part es wag ng people’s war are tr ed, tested and tempered n f erce revolut onary struggle aga nst the enemy. They sum up the r exper ence, learn
from pos t ve and negat ve lessons, take stock of the r strengths and accompl shments, rect fy errors and weaknesses, set the tasks for ra s ng the revolut onary
struggle to a new and h gher level and march forward from v ctory to v ctory. They pursue the mass l ne n wag ng people’s war. They arouse, organ ze and
mob l ze the masses. They trust and rely on them.
They have overcome all k nds of enemy offens ves, nclud ng the enemy’s use of "low- ntens ty confl ct" strategy, the ant commun st deolog cal and pol t cal
offens ve related to the fall of the rev s on st reg mes, the m srepresentat on of armed revolut onary movements as terror sm and, n certa n cases, offers of peace
negot at ons and the sham calls for "peace and development". In ma nta n ng the revolut onary pos t on, they have outlasted the armed movements prev ously
enjoy ng the support of rev s on st-ruled countr es as well as bourgeo s mass med a hype. Such movements have been betrayed by opportun st leaders and led
astray to cap tulat on and neocolon al comprom se.
The Marx st-Len n st-Mao st part es, now wag ng protracted people’s war, play a cruc al role n the trans t on of the revolut onary proletar at and people from a
per od of rev s on st betrayal and temporary setbacks, follow ng the great v ctor es of soc al sm and nat onal l berat on movements, n the second half of the 20th
century to a new per od of great struggles and great advances n the world proletar an-soc al st revolut on of the 21st century.
They hold h gh the torch of armed revolut on. They l ght up the road of revolut on and nsp re the proletar at and people of the world, n both mper al st and
oppressed countr es, to wage ever more resolute and m l tant revolut onary struggles aga nst the mper al sts and the react onary forces of darkness. The current
v ctor es of people’s war are the v ctor es of the proletar at and people of the world.
It s therefore the nternat onal st duty of all commun st part es, all revolut onary forces and people to g ve all poss ble forms of support to part es and peoples that
wage protracted people’s war now and n the future. The v ctor es of people’s war strengthen and support all other forms of revolut onary struggle n the world.
He ghtened S gn f cance and Necess ty of People’s War
The object ve cond t ons for wag ng people’s war are excellent more than ever before. The grav ty of the cr s s of the world cap tal st system s unprecedented
s nce the Great Depress on. The new world d sorder s da ly becom ng worse. The current cr s s exposes once more the paras t c, destruct ve and mor bund
character of monopoly cap tal sm. We are n the era of mper al sm and proletar an revolut on.
In th s era of mper al sm and proletar an revolut on, the mper al st powers use structures of states and bus ness corporat ons to oppress and explo t the people,
aggrand ze nat onal and ultranat onal nterests, form nternat onal comb nes aga nst the people and yet compete w th each other. L kew se, n th s era of proletar an
revolut on, the proletar at and ts revolut onary part es lead the broad masses of the people n the struggle for soc al sm aga nst mper al sm n spec f c countr es and
on an nternat onal scale.
The rap dly r s ng soc al character of product on through the adopt on of h gher technology s n sharp contrad ct on w th the monopoly cap tal st character of cap tal
accumulat on. Th s has resulted n the rap d concentrat on and central zat on of cap tal n the hands of the monopoly bourgeo s e n the mper al st countr es.
The accelerated accumulat on of cap tal under the mper al st pol cy of "free market" global zat on nvolves not only the concentrat on of product ve cap tal but more
mportantly also the unregulated growth of f nance cap tal, wh ch ncludes among others the overvaluat on of assets, speculat ve mergers and the flagrant use of
nternat onal usury at the expense of the oppressed peoples.
The overaccumulat on of cap tal and unbr dled superprof t-tak ng by the monopoly bourgeo s e at the expense of the proletar at and people n both mper al st and
oppressed countr es enta l chron cally r s ng levels of mass unemployment, worsen ng wage and l v ng cond t ons and unbr dled attacks on the democrat c r ghts
and soc al ga ns of the work ng people. These have constr cted the global market and have resulted n an ever-worsen ng cr s s of overproduct on n all types of
goods.
The cr s s of the world cap tal st system falls most heav ly on the oppressed peoples n As a, Afr ca and Lat n Amer ca. They suffer the worst forms of oppress on
and explo tat on n the hands of the mper al sts and the r react onary stooges. A number of oppressed peoples are wag ng people’s war and they are bound to
ncrease. Thus, the storm centers n the present-day world cont nue to be the backward countr es of the world. The cr s s n Russ a, East Europe and other former
Sov et republ cs has further deepened, dr v ng the vast major ty of the people of these countr es to the mercy of monopoly cap tal’s rapac ous greed. The
mper al sts’ cha n w ll break at ts weakest l nks, where both the object ve factors and subject ve forces have matured for the se zure of pol t cal power.
The overwhelm ng major ty of the countr es dom nated by mper al sm have been depressed by the cr s s of overproduct on n raw mater als s nce the late ’70s.
They have been subjected to deter orat ng terms of trade, crush ng debt burdens and a ser es of structural adjustment and auster ty programs mposed by the
Internat onal Monetary Fund, World Bank and World Trade Organ zat on.
In the current aggravat on of the world cap tal st cr s s, the so-called emerg ng markets (countr es whose export spec alt es have been promoted by mper al sm)
have plummeted econom cally and soc ally due to the global oversupply of the r exports and the r ncapac ty to pay for colossal fore gn debts. Russ a and the East
European countr es have also plunged from one level of econom c and soc al degradat on to another due to the rapac ty of the rul ng classes, the fall ng pr ces of
the r few exports and the mount ng fore gn debt.
The number of countr es, where nat onal ndustr al development s be ng prevented, stunted or destroyed and where the oppressed peoples suffer the severest
forms of explo tat on, have ncreased. Chron c mass unemployment ranges from 30 to 60 percent. Poverty affl cts the overwhelm ng major ty of the people.
The contrad ct on between the monopoly bourgeo s e and the proletar at has also ntens f ed n mper al st countr es. The proletar at and the people are launch ng
legal forms of struggle to make protests and demands. Under these c rcumstances, revolut onary part es of the proletar at can be bu lt and can grow n strength n
order to advance the revolut onary cause of soc al sm.
Under the great red banner of proletar an nternat onal sm, the class struggle of the proletar at n mper al st countr es can make further advances n concert w th the
ant - mper al st and class struggles n the sem colon al and sem feudal countr es. The res stance of the oppressed peoples to the pol cy and efforts of the
mper al sts to sh ft to them the burden of the mper al st cr s s conjo ns w th and supports the class struggle for soc al sm n the mper al st countr es.
The mper al st powers collude n oppress ng and explo t ng the people of the world. But the worsen ng cr s s of the world cap tal st system leads to cutthroat
compet t on, further cr ses, fasc st currents and wars on a w der scale. These are nherent to mper al sm.
At the moment, the mper al sts, espec ally the US, and the r local stooges are unleash ng counterrevolut onary v olence aga nst the people. They are also busy
expand ng and re nforc ng the r m l tary all ances and nst gat ng reg onal and local wars.
However, w th more Marx st-Len n st part es wag ng people’s war on a w de scale, the people of the world can e ther avert a world war, or f any war breaks out
upon the nst gat on of the mper al sts, convert the war nto a revolut onary war aga nst the mper al sts and the r react onary stooges. The worsen ng new world
d sorder s the prelude to soc al revolut on on a global scale.

Background, Actual ty and Potent al of People’s War
It s urgent to reaff rm the study and pract ce of Mao’s teach ngs on people’s war aga nst the "low- ntens ty confl ct" strategy of US mper al sm as well as aga nst the
rev s on st and petty-bourgeo s obfuscat on of these teach ngs s nce the m d-’70s.
These teach ngs resounded from the great v ctor es of the Ch nese and Indoch nese peoples n people’s war. But from the late ‘70s onward, the Ch nese
rev s on sts sought to l qu date the people’s wars n Southeast As a under the slogan of "reg onal stab l ty, peace and development". They maneuvered from an
ant -Sov et and ant -V etnam pos t on to a pro-US pos t on and ult mately compelled the Khmer Rouge to subm t to a "peace settlement" under UN ausp ces.
On the r part, the Sov et rev s on sts boasted of the r strateg c m l tary par ty w th the US and spread the not on that Sov et m l tary ass stance s the dec s ve factor
for nat onal l berat on movements to w n v ctory. Thus, rev s on st and petty-bourgeo s deas of qu ck m l tary v ctory, that depend on fore gn ass stance, ga ned
ground n these movements.
The Carter and Reagan reg mes took up the Kennedy dea of "counterguerr lla warfare" and pushed the "low- ntens ty confl ct" strategy. Thus, they armed
counterrevolut onar es n Angola, Mozamb que and N caragua to counter and f ght the patr ot c and democrat c asp rat ons of the people.
But several Marx st-Len n st part es lead ng people’s war have persevered and grown n strength n the wake of the further degenerat on or d s ntegrat on of
movements and reg mes under rev s on st leadersh p or nfluence. They have preserved and strengthened themselves aga nst all sorts of "counter nsurgency"
campa gns, nclud ng the most brutal forms of m l tary campa gns and populat on control and aga nst the psywar tact cs of "low- ntens ty confl ct" or "low- ntens ty
democracy".
Hav ng n m nd the v ctor es of people’s war aga nst the m l tar ly and technolog cally super or enemy, they hold strateg c hatred and contempt for the mper al st
d splay of h gh-tech weapons n the pos t onal war n the Gulf. They always remember how US mper al sm used h gh-tech weapons n ts war of aggress on n
V etnam and Indoch na but was roundly defeated by the people. They take the f rm pos t on that the most dec s ve force s people and not weapons.
Marx st-Len n st part es can cont nue to wage people’s war and cannot be defeated by any k nd or level of confl ct unleashed by the mper al sts and react onar es
because they do pa nstak ng mass work among the peasant masses, mob l ze them for agrar an revolut on and thereby strengthen the worker-peasant all ance
along the general l ne of new-democrat c revolut on, w th a soc al st perspect ve.
The revolut onary part es of the proletar at are duty-bound to wage all forms of revolut onary struggle n the face of escalat ng oppress on and explo tat on under the
worsen ng cr s s of the world cap tal st system. Under the present c rcumstances, t s poss ble to ntens fy the ongo ng people’s war and to n t ate them n many
more countr es.
The collapse of the so-called emerg ng markets of East As a renders fert le the ground for people’s war, espec ally n Southeast As a. The Commun st Party of the
Ph l pp nes has proven n the last 30 years that t s poss ble for revolut onary forces to preserve themselves and grow n strength by wag ng people’s war n a
country that s h stor cally and currently a major foothold of US mper al sm.
Indones a s now wracked by unprecedented soc al and pol t cal turmo l and cond t ons are r fe for people’s war. The blood of more than one m ll on martyrs cry out
for just ce and revolut on. Suharto and h s react onary successors cannot be totally overthrown, w thout people’s war be ng waged successfully by the Commun st
Party of Indones a.
Cond t ons for wag ng people’s war are also favorable n other Southeast As an countr es, such as Cambod a, Tha land, Burma and Malays a.
In South As a, the newly reconst tuted Commun st Party of Ind a (Marx st-Len n st) People’s War now compr sed of the erstwh le CPI (ML) PW and the erstwh le
CPI (ML) (People’s Un ty), the Mao st Commun st Centre, the Commun st Party of Nepal (Mao st) and other Marx st-Len n st part es are wag ng people’s war.
Other armed movements are also wag ng wars of nat onal self-determ nat on, wh ch serve to weaken the react onary states. The revolut onar es of Ind a cont nue
to take the road of Naxalbar . Ind a s a vast stage for the great drama of people’s war, comparable to Ch na.
The Commun st Party of Turkey/Marx st-Len n st s lead ng people’s war n a country that s at the crossroads of several global reg ons. It plays a s gnal role n the
Balkans, Central As a and the M ddle East. In these reg ons are armed revolut onary movements for nat onal determ nat on aga nst oppress on (espec ally the one
led by the Workers Party of Kurd stan) as well as fratr c dal confl cts nst gated by the mper al sts and the local react onar es. The people’s war n Turkey adheres
to the l ne of new-democrat c revolut on wh ch has a soc al st perspect ve.
In Lat n Amer ca, the Commun st Party of Peru plays an exemplary role n wag ng people’s war am dst the long-runn ng nfluences of foco smo, petty-bourgeo s
urban nsurrect on sm, urban guerr lla warfare, and deas that m n m ze the ex stence and revolut onary role of the peasant masses. There are also part es
prepar ng to wage people’s war n several more countr es, as n Braz l.
Moreover, there are armed revolut onary movements, such as those n Colomb a and Mex co, wh ch n pract ce ava l of the room for maneuver n the countrys de
but do not cons der themselves Mao st even as some of the r cadres read and study Mao. In certa n countr es, some part es lead m l tant mass movements of the
workers and the rest of the people and seek to comb ne workers’ upr s ngs and armed peasants’ upr s ngs.
In Afr ca, fratr c dal confl cts nst gated by the mper al sts and local react onar es are rampant. Th s s true n northern Afr ca, as n Alger a, as well as n central and
southern Afr ca. There s also a degenerat on of reg mes that once before declared themselves as new-democrat c or even soc al st. In recent t mes, there s an
ant despot c armed movement aga nst the long-runn ng Mobutu reg me n the Congo. But there s st ll a need for a new-democrat c revolut on, through people’s
war n the ent re Afr can cont nent.
In Russ a and the former Sov et bloc countr es, there s rap d econom c and soc al degradat on because of the destruct on of ndustr es. There s once more an
ncreas ng ground for people’s war as well as for workers’ upr s ngs. In fact, there have been w descale armed upr s ngs n the h nterlands, as n the Caucasus and
Central As a. But these are st ll character zed by confl cts of react onary nterests, such as those between great Russ an chauv n sm and local nat onal sm.
Marx st-Len n st-Mao st part es must ar se and must wage people’s war for a new-democrat c revolut on and subsequently soc al st revolut on, wherever the rul ng
classes of b g compradors and landlords can no longer rule n the old way and the people demand armed revolut on and wherever there s need for armed
res stance aga nst despot sm and nat onal oppress on.
Calls for People’s War and Internat onal Support
We, the Marx st-Len n st-Mao st part es now wag ng people’s war, hereby express the determ nat on to persevere n and ra se the level of revolut onary struggle n
order to carry out the new-democrat c revolut on and proceed to the soc al st revolut on.
We call upon all other revolut onary part es and oppressed peoples n countr es where people’s war s poss ble and necessary, to prepare for and proceed promptly
to wage people’s war.
We call upon all other armed revolut onary movements among the oppressed peoples to ra se the level of the r revolut onary struggle and to un te w th Marx st-
Len n st part es wag ng people’s war on the common ground of ant - mper al st and democrat c sol dar ty.
We call upon all the part es, mass organ zat ons, movements, other ent t es and ent re peoples, n all countr es, to carry out and carry forward all poss ble and
necessary forms of revolut onary struggle and support the forces wag ng revolut onary armed struggles for nat onal l berat on, people’s democracy and soc al sm.
We call upon all part es to s gn th s declarat on by way of man fest ng the r agreement therew th as well as the r comm tment to perform what s w th n the r
capab l ty, e ther to carry out or to support the wag ng of people’s war for nat onal l berat on, people’s democracy and soc al sm anywhere n the world.
S gnator es
Part es Wag ng People’s War:

* Commun st Party of Ind a (Marx st-Len n st) People’s War
* Mao st Commun st Centre (Ind a)
* Commun st Party of the Ph l pp nes
* Commun st Party of Turkey/Marx st-Len n st

* Other S gnatures Expected Part es Support ng People’s War:
* Marx st-Len n st Organ zat on of Afghan stan
# Commun st Party of Aotearoa
* Workers' Party of Belg um (except paragraph 8)
* Commun st Party of Braz l (Marx st-Len n st)
* Commun st Party of Catalunya (Marx st-Len n st)
* Commun st Party of Greece (Marx st-Len n st)
* Workers' Commun st Party of Norway
* El D ar o Internac onal (Peru)
* Russ an Workers’ and Peasants’ Party
# Subsequent S gnator es
Commun sts Ga n n German Elect ons

The defeat of the Kohl government n the German nat onal elect ons was a d rect result of the grow ng 'new oppos t on'. German monopoly cap tal sts lost the r
favoured party of government, n the f rst defeat of a s tt ng government n the h story of the Federal Republ c. The government suffered most heav ly n areas
targeted by the new oppos t on. Demonstrat ons were w despread desp te bourgeo s attempts to conta n the campa gn w th n 'respectable' channels. 12,000
demonstrated n Düsseldorf aga nst the SPD/Green government's educat on cuts there. A large ant -fasc st demonstrat on was held n Rostock n the week of the
elect on, generat ng a b g electoral defeat for the neo-fasc sts n the area.
The new oppos t on n Germany centres on the upsurge n work ng class m l tancy that has emerged s nce the cuts to soc al welfare n 1996. Am dst chron c
unemployment, grow ng numbers were unconv nced by prom ses of a forthcom ng econom c upsw ng. At least 14 ndependent str kes and m l tant act ons have
been staged s nce February. Oppos t on organ sers exper enced unprecedented nterest n the r explanat ons of cap tal st cr s s n the course of the elect on
campa gn.
Commun sts Elect on Campa gn
A lead ng force n the new oppos t on, the Marx st Len n st Party of Germany (MLPD), scored cons derable success n the elect on campa gn. The MLPD's vote
ncreased n most of the 41 const tuenc es targeted, doubl ng n 17, and ga n ng 5% of the vote n some wards of the ndustr al c ty Gelsenk rchen. Wh le the
bourgeo s med a effect vely censored coverage of part es such as the MLPD, even n the r strongest areas, well organ sed street campa gn ng proved very
effect ve. 1200 people attended the party's ma n elect on meet ng n Hans-Sachs-House. In the course of the campa gn new party groups were set up and the
MLPD expects to obta n ts goal of a 25% ncrease n membersh p by the year's end.
The MLPD and ts youth organ zat on Rebell are represented n more than 200 c t es, towns and reg ons, and n Germany's new federal states, too. Work n
factor es and un ons const tutes the Party's f rm bas s. S xty-f ve per cent of the membersh p are blue-collar workers and s mple wh te-collar workers. Work n
factor es and un ons const tutes the Party's f rm bas s. Forty per cent of the members are work ng n factory Party groups n large ndustr al f rms. Members from the
ntell gents a see the r future n the all ance for struggle under the leadersh p of the work ng class. Party groups are also act ve at un vers t es and n rural areas.
The German Federal Bureau for the Protect on of the Const tut on l sts the MLPD as the th rd largest commun st party n Germany.
MLPD Central Comm ttee member Mon ka Gärtner sa d the party rose to the challenge of med a censorsh p. "The offens ve street elect on campa gn has proven
that a real and nsp r ng mpact on the masses can be ach eved n complete self-rel ance and based on the masses. We can say w thout exaggerat on that we
conducted the most pol t cal, most mag nat ve and most m l tant elect on campa gn of all part es."
The MLPD's electoral campa gn was organ sed around voter act on groups, w th a total of 3,500 nvolved. These groups organ sed around 350 stalls, rall es, and
process ons at market places, n commerc al centers, n front of factor es, and through res dent al areas w th speeches, mus c, and d scuss ons through res dent al
areas. Nearly 13,000 people attended over 100 publ c meet ngs and the party est mates they talked to 50,000 people n the course of the campa gn. 16,000
posters were pasted up, 150,000 party programmes and 170,000 cand dates' letters were d str buted. The campa gn was totally ndependently f nanced.
The MLPD character sed the r campa gn as 'proletar an parl amentar an sm', d st ngu shed from the dom nant 'petty-bourgeo s parl amentary mode'. Sa d Gärtner,
'The bourgeo s part es conduct elect on campa gns employ ng large amounts of mater als for the man pulat on of publ c op n on … The system of the petty-
bourgeo s mode of th nk ng n soc ety makes people … bel eve that they know noth ng about pol t cs. They have often no conf dence n themselves to play an
act ve part, and they are accustomed to vot ng for some representat ves act ng on the r behalf… In our offens ve street elect on campa gn we succeeded n
break ng up these fetters of the petty-bourgeo s mode of th nk ng on a general background of the awaken ng of class consc ousness on a broad front".
The MLPD's elect on campa gn was not pursued for ts own ends but as part of the general pol t cal offens ve. Accord ng to Gärtner, "The voter act on groups w ll
evaluate the r work and w ll d ssolve afterwards. Everybody who has begun pol t cal work needs a personal perspect ve of further organ zed act v ty n the new
oppos t on. Th s ranges from the pos t ve work n trade un ons, the m l tant women's movement, … to the membersh p n the MLPD and REBELL … Therefore one
cl max of the pol t cal offens ve s not the elect on day, but the consultat on of automob le workers w th nternat onal part c pat on wh ch w ll take place next weekend.
Other m lestones w ll be the consultat on on women's ssues on November 21/22, 1998, the nat onal delegates' congress of the youth league REBELL n
November, the Internat onal Women's Day on March 8, 1999 and espec ally the 9th Internat onal Wh tsun Youth Meet ng n 1999 n Gelsenk rchen."
SPD/Green Government Ant -Labour
The pol t cal tasks fac ng the new oppos t on rema n large. Wh le the change of government was not the preferred opt on of the monopoly cap tal sts, they rema n
f rmly n control and w ll work eas ly w th the new SPD/All ance 90-Green-government. Accord ng to MLPD Internat onal Secretary Peter Brogwardt, "From the po nt
of v ew of the monopol es [the Greens] have passed the test n the federal state of North Rh ne Westphal a. There, they smoothly f tted n w th the runn ng of the
government."
Sa d Brogwardt, "At the core of the program of a Schröder/F scher government s an ant -labour pol cy of the monopol es, ts ma n method s the negat vely or ented
pol cy of class collaborat on wh ch has already been pursued unt l now by the r ght st leadersh p of the SPD and the trade un ons. The ntended "all ance for work"
s n real ty an all ance for cheapen ng the cost of labour, that means, for an ntens f ed explo tat on n the enterpr ses, for further reduct ons n real wages, for
exempt ng the monopol es from soc al contr but ons and for a further r se n the r prof ts. In the last years alone th s has resulted n the shedd ng of 2.5 m ll on jobs
n the ndustry alone. As before th s s true for the future: new jobs can only be created by struggle, at the expense of the prof ts … A resolute struggle aga nst mass
unemployment, aga nst the d smantl ng of soc al serv ces and depr v ng people of the r pol t cal r ghts can only be waged by the new oppos t on w th the m l tant
work ng-class movement as ts core."
Source: Rote Fahne October 1, 1998
Publ shed by the Commun st Party of Aotearoa, PO Box 2751, Auckland, Aotearoa (NZ)
Subscr pt ons $10 pa. Web: http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/cpa Ema l: cpa@xtra.co.nz

Red Flag. 1999.02.

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Red Flag. 1999.02.

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26.05.

2020 Scandal as Power Struggle n the U

Web Host ng by Netf rms | Free Doma n Names by Netf rms

New Wave of Occupat ons

https://web.arch ve.org/web/20060504181539/http://cpa2.netf rms.com/redflag/Feb99.htm 1/13

Year Maor Non-Maor

Early Ch ldhood educat on 1997 41% 64%

School Cert f cate 1997 64% 92%

UE 1997 24% 58%

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Hosp tal sat on 1997 38% 16%

Youth Su c de M 1996 .06% .04%

Youth Su c de F 1996 .02% .01%

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Scandal, L es and Corrupt on

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The Mak ng of a Scandal

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Revolut ona#943, Feb 8, 1999

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General Declarat on on Mao and People’s War

S gn f cance and Necess ty of People’s War

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Calls for People’s War and Internat onal Support

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Commun sts Ga n n German Elect ons

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Source: Rote Fahne October 1, 1998

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