Review
Information Bulletin 2/2005(13)
by Ray Jones
THIS BULLETIN is the second part of the contributions to the November 2005 conference of communist and workers’ parties hosted by the Communist Party of Greece (KKE).
Reports from communist parties in former soviet republics and socialist states show the and resilience of Marxism Leninism under immense pressure. Parties continue to fight despite of huge losses in membership, great hostility from the new state powers and worsening of economic conditions.
The Communist Party of Bulgaria points out that in the first 16 years of socialism the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Bulgaria increased three-fold while in the 16 years since the return of capitalism the GDP has decreased two-fold. While a small minority has gained, the great majority have lost and an unemployment rate of almost nil under socialism has now grown to 15 per cent.
In Estonia the population has decreased from 1,372,000 to 1,176,390; a large minority of the population have been stripped of their citizenship and the Communist Party of Estonia is so feared by the capitalists that it is barred by law from organising in companies or institutions.
Contributions to the discussion come from all over the world and inevitably, given the present world situation, there are a few that readers may not agree with. One comes from the Democratic Tribune, Bahrain, which under the banner of anti feudalism and pro modernism, ends up by, in effect, supporting US imperialism - a sad case, perhaps, of not seeing further than your own borders.
The conference sent out messages of solidarity around the world.
This edition and previous issues are available from NCP Lit. PO Box 73, London SW11 2PQ, for £5 inc. postage. Cheques to New Worker.
