Eurocommunism?

[OneBrickOneVoice]

I was browsing through wikipedia's series on communism the other day and came across this. Eurocommunism. I'd never heard of it so I clicked on it and read about it. Here's the main passages.


Eurocommunism was an attempt in the 1970s by various Western European communist parties to develop a theory and practice of social transformation that was more relevant in a Western European democracy.

The main theoretical foundation of Eurocommunism was Antonio Gramsci's writings about Marxist theory which questioned the sectarianism of the Left and encouraged communist parties to develop social alliances to win hegemonic support for popular reforms. Eurocommunist parties expressed more clearly their fidelity to democratic institutions and attempted to widen their appeal by embracing public sector middle-class workers, new social movements such as feminism and gay liberation, more publicly questioning the Soviet Union.

Link Here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurocommunism#Theoretical_Foundations)

What do you guys think? Should it even be considered a branch of communism? Is it just a fancy term for social democracy? Or is it a good theory which balances good social policies with communist economics?

[OneBrickOneVoice]

I was browsing through wikipedia's series on communism the other day and came across this. Eurocommunism. I'd never heard of it so I clicked on it and read about it. Here's the main passages.


Eurocommunism was an attempt in the 1970s by various Western European communist parties to develop a theory and practice of social transformation that was more relevant in a Western European democracy.

The main theoretical foundation of Eurocommunism was Antonio Gramsci's writings about Marxist theory which questioned the sectarianism of the Left and encouraged communist parties to develop social alliances to win hegemonic support for popular reforms. Eurocommunist parties expressed more clearly their fidelity to democratic institutions and attempted to widen their appeal by embracing public sector middle-class workers, new social movements such as feminism and gay liberation, more publicly questioning the Soviet Union.

Link Here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurocommunism#Theoretical_Foundations)

What do you guys think? Should it even be considered a branch of communism? Is it just a fancy term for social democracy? Or is it a good theory which balances good social policies with communist economics?

[OneBrickOneVoice]

I was browsing through wikipedia's series on communism the other day and came across this. Eurocommunism. I'd never heard of it so I clicked on it and read about it. Here's the main passages.


Eurocommunism was an attempt in the 1970s by various Western European communist parties to develop a theory and practice of social transformation that was more relevant in a Western European democracy.

The main theoretical foundation of Eurocommunism was Antonio Gramsci's writings about Marxist theory which questioned the sectarianism of the Left and encouraged communist parties to develop social alliances to win hegemonic support for popular reforms. Eurocommunist parties expressed more clearly their fidelity to democratic institutions and attempted to widen their appeal by embracing public sector middle-class workers, new social movements such as feminism and gay liberation, more publicly questioning the Soviet Union.

Link Here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurocommunism#Theoretical_Foundations)

What do you guys think? Should it even be considered a branch of communism? Is it just a fancy term for social democracy? Or is it a good theory which balances good social policies with communist economics?

[CCCPneubauten]

One again, interesting questions. It seems that most of these parties are indeed 'social democrats', to me atleast. I think I've read someplace that Nikita Khrushchev had influence on the ideas of these parties,so take his ideas as their ideas.

Social democrats by far.

[CCCPneubauten]

One again, interesting questions. It seems that most of these parties are indeed 'social democrats', to me atleast. I think I've read someplace that Nikita Khrushchev had influence on the ideas of these parties,so take his ideas as their ideas.

Social democrats by far.

[CCCPneubauten]

One again, interesting questions. It seems that most of these parties are indeed 'social democrats', to me atleast. I think I've read someplace that Nikita Khrushchev had influence on the ideas of these parties,so take his ideas as their ideas.

Social democrats by far.

[Janus]

Is it just a fancy term for social democracy?
Seems so. "Popular reforms" and "fidelity to democratic institutions"? Just doesn't seem very revolutionary.

[Janus]

Is it just a fancy term for social democracy?
Seems so. "Popular reforms" and "fidelity to democratic institutions"? Just doesn't seem very revolutionary.

[Janus]

Is it just a fancy term for social democracy?
Seems so. "Popular reforms" and "fidelity to democratic institutions"? Just doesn't seem very revolutionary.

[Donnie]

Eurocommunism was an attempt in the 1970s by various Western European communist parties to develop a theory and practice of social transformation that was more relevant in a Western European democracy.

The main theoretical foundation of Eurocommunism was Antonio Gramsci's writings about Marxist theory which questioned the sectarianism of the Left and encouraged communist parties to develop social alliances to win hegemonic support for popular reforms. Eurocommunist parties expressed more clearly their fidelity to democratic institutions and attempted to widen their appeal by embracing public sector middle-class workers, new social movements such as feminism and gay liberation, more publicly questioning the Soviet Union.
I think this is the reason why there are so many British Communist Party's in Britain. For example Britain used to just have one Comunist Party called
Communist Party of Great Britain (which is still around) which was set up in 1926 as I recall. However there was a mass debate within CPGB adopting Eurocommunism and eventually did, but not without drastic problem, for example many members in the CPGB did not want to adopt Eurocommunism because it was fairly liberal and so members left and founded there own party's in Britain. Thats why we have the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain, Communist Party of Britain, New Communist Party, Communist Party of Great Britain.

CPGB is reformist party, bah.

But then again all the Communist Party's are dodgy as fuck, for example for the outright support of North Korea. Although CPGB does not suport North Korea.
RCPoB set up the Stalinist Society I think in Britain which is clearly great for attracting members, lol.

[Donnie]

Eurocommunism was an attempt in the 1970s by various Western European communist parties to develop a theory and practice of social transformation that was more relevant in a Western European democracy.

The main theoretical foundation of Eurocommunism was Antonio Gramsci's writings about Marxist theory which questioned the sectarianism of the Left and encouraged communist parties to develop social alliances to win hegemonic support for popular reforms. Eurocommunist parties expressed more clearly their fidelity to democratic institutions and attempted to widen their appeal by embracing public sector middle-class workers, new social movements such as feminism and gay liberation, more publicly questioning the Soviet Union.
I think this is the reason why there are so many British Communist Party's in Britain. For example Britain used to just have one Comunist Party called
Communist Party of Great Britain (which is still around) which was set up in 1926 as I recall. However there was a mass debate within CPGB adopting Eurocommunism and eventually did, but not without drastic problem, for example many members in the CPGB did not want to adopt Eurocommunism because it was fairly liberal and so members left and founded there own party's in Britain. Thats why we have the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain, Communist Party of Britain, New Communist Party, Communist Party of Great Britain.

CPGB is reformist party, bah.

But then again all the Communist Party's are dodgy as fuck, for example for the outright support of North Korea. Although CPGB does not suport North Korea.
RCPoB set up the Stalinist Society I think in Britain which is clearly great for attracting members, lol.

[Donnie]

Eurocommunism was an attempt in the 1970s by various Western European communist parties to develop a theory and practice of social transformation that was more relevant in a Western European democracy.

The main theoretical foundation of Eurocommunism was Antonio Gramsci's writings about Marxist theory which questioned the sectarianism of the Left and encouraged communist parties to develop social alliances to win hegemonic support for popular reforms. Eurocommunist parties expressed more clearly their fidelity to democratic institutions and attempted to widen their appeal by embracing public sector middle-class workers, new social movements such as feminism and gay liberation, more publicly questioning the Soviet Union.
I think this is the reason why there are so many British Communist Party's in Britain. For example Britain used to just have one Comunist Party called
Communist Party of Great Britain (which is still around) which was set up in 1926 as I recall. However there was a mass debate within CPGB adopting Eurocommunism and eventually did, but not without drastic problem, for example many members in the CPGB did not want to adopt Eurocommunism because it was fairly liberal and so members left and founded there own party's in Britain. Thats why we have the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain, Communist Party of Britain, New Communist Party, Communist Party of Great Britain.

CPGB is reformist party, bah.

But then again all the Communist Party's are dodgy as fuck, for example for the outright support of North Korea. Although CPGB does not suport North Korea.
RCPoB set up the Stalinist Society I think in Britain which is clearly great for attracting members, lol.

[Hit The North]

Eurocommunism was the final death-throws of a bankrupt Stalinist CPGB. It had believed in socialism from above for so long that it was finally captured by bourgeois intellectuals like Martin Jaques and Beatrix Campbell. Campbell opposed the Miners Strike of 1984 on the grounds that it was "macho". She was a class traitor of the first order.

Their main theoretical innovation was to completely bastardise Gramsci and use his work as an apologia for fantasist popular front strategies that would embrace liberals and small capitalists.

Not sure what the CPGB is doing these days apart from sniping from the sidelines at the much larger SWP.

[Hit The North]

Eurocommunism was the final death-throws of a bankrupt Stalinist CPGB. It had believed in socialism from above for so long that it was finally captured by bourgeois intellectuals like Martin Jaques and Beatrix Campbell. Campbell opposed the Miners Strike of 1984 on the grounds that it was "macho". She was a class traitor of the first order.

Their main theoretical innovation was to completely bastardise Gramsci and use his work as an apologia for fantasist popular front strategies that would embrace liberals and small capitalists.

Not sure what the CPGB is doing these days apart from sniping from the sidelines at the much larger SWP.

[Hit The North]

Eurocommunism was the final death-throws of a bankrupt Stalinist CPGB. It had believed in socialism from above for so long that it was finally captured by bourgeois intellectuals like Martin Jaques and Beatrix Campbell. Campbell opposed the Miners Strike of 1984 on the grounds that it was "macho". She was a class traitor of the first order.

Their main theoretical innovation was to completely bastardise Gramsci and use his work as an apologia for fantasist popular front strategies that would embrace liberals and small capitalists.

Not sure what the CPGB is doing these days apart from sniping from the sidelines at the much larger SWP.

[Amusing Scrotum]

A bit of a side note, but if memory serves me correctly, the paper Marxism Today could be defined as the theoretical journal of British Eurocommunism. Don&#39;t know if it&#39;s still around or if they have anything online, but from, once again, memory, I&#39;m pretty sure that they argued for the labour movement to adopt economically liberal policies....in a sense, Tony Blair could be said to be the ultimate representative of British Eurocommunism. And, if that doesn&#39;t indicate just how shitty it is, then nothing will. <_<

The CPGB though, was pretty decent back in the day. Essentially, some of the people involved in the British communist movement from around 1915 to 1925, could be said to be particularly relevant and important theoreticians. Certainly they&#39;re as relevant as both the Italian and German Schools, but, for some reason, they are often overlooked. Curious that.

[Amusing Scrotum]

A bit of a side note, but if memory serves me correctly, the paper Marxism Today could be defined as the theoretical journal of British Eurocommunism. Don&#39;t know if it&#39;s still around or if they have anything online, but from, once again, memory, I&#39;m pretty sure that they argued for the labour movement to adopt economically liberal policies....in a sense, Tony Blair could be said to be the ultimate representative of British Eurocommunism. And, if that doesn&#39;t indicate just how shitty it is, then nothing will. <_<

The CPGB though, was pretty decent back in the day. Essentially, some of the people involved in the British communist movement from around 1915 to 1925, could be said to be particularly relevant and important theoreticians. Certainly they&#39;re as relevant as both the Italian and German Schools, but, for some reason, they are often overlooked. Curious that.

[Amusing Scrotum]

A bit of a side note, but if memory serves me correctly, the paper Marxism Today could be defined as the theoretical journal of British Eurocommunism. Don&#39;t know if it&#39;s still around or if they have anything online, but from, once again, memory, I&#39;m pretty sure that they argued for the labour movement to adopt economically liberal policies....in a sense, Tony Blair could be said to be the ultimate representative of British Eurocommunism. And, if that doesn&#39;t indicate just how shitty it is, then nothing will. <_<

The CPGB though, was pretty decent back in the day. Essentially, some of the people involved in the British communist movement from around 1915 to 1925, could be said to be particularly relevant and important theoreticians. Certainly they&#39;re as relevant as both the Italian and German Schools, but, for some reason, they are often overlooked. Curious that.

[ItalianCommie]

It&#39;s been a long time I haven&#39;t been here, so hello again, O fellow comrades.


Tony Blair could be said to be the ultimate representative of British Eurocommunism.

NO. :P
I&#39;ll explain below.

I am a member of an italian communist party which advocates Eurocommunism, the PRC(Wikipedia has a very well documented page about it).
The Party does not advocate Eurocommunism to the book, or simply cannot apply it to the book, for it has kind of a hybrid backbone. Trotzkyism, Leninism, Gramscism(as opposed to Bordigism), all quite clumsily stirred into a melting pot of a party. Only thing condemned explicitly is Stalinism. As that wikipedia page says, it probably doesn&#39;t have a defined identity of itself.

Saying that "Tony Blair could be said to be the ultimate representative of British Eurocommunism" is simply stupid and without no critical or constructive analysis. :P

Antonio Gramsci started the first offshoots of this now large political "ideology"(I&#39;ve read almost all his works). He starts analyzing and then questioning the sectarianism that pervaded the still small PCI, founded only two or three years earlier in 1921, in Livorno, after the communist minority inside the Italian Socialist Party(founded 1893,shortly after the italian translation of the Manifesto of the Communist Party) at the XVIIth Congress broke up from the rest of the party.
One of his most memorable quotes I can edit is:"The Revolution is not a thaumaturgical act, revolution is a dialectical process inside a historical development".
Check out this page in wikipedia for a treatment of his life: Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Gramsci)

[Amusing Scrotum]

Originally posted by ItalianCommie
Saying that "Tony Blair could be said to be the ultimate representative of British Eurocommunism" is simply stupid and without no critical or constructive analysis. :P

Well, I suppose I could have phrased it better....saying he was the logical extension of British Eurocommunism. But, aside from that, my point still stands....and I don&#39;t see how your refutation is even relevant here.

I mean, on the issue of relevance, whilst your membership of the Italian Communist Party and your knowledge of its ideological "melting pot" is all well and good, you will notice that I did not even bring up the Italian variant of Eurocommunism in my post. Instead, as a side note, I discussed the Eurocommuist British journal Marxism Today....and the views it promoted within its pages. If, as might be the case, I didn&#39;t represent their views properly and they didn&#39;t advocate that the British labour movement adopt liberal free-market policies, then you could dispute that....but as it stands, your opposition to my statement is, essentially, ungrounded.

So, basically, the ball is in your court now. Could Tony Blair be said to have a degree of ideological continuity with the ideas expressed in the journal I mentioned? Or do you have some factual evidence that would bring my contention into disrepute? Because, honestly, the PCI isn&#39;t at all relevant to my original point.

[EusebioScrib]

ItalianCommie, how can you justify the PCI as genuine Communists? The Italian working class split entirely with the party during the 50&#39;s and into the 60&#39;s The PCd&#39;I even allied with the state in repressing autonomist workers movemenets and groups like Potere Operaio and Brigate Rosse.

Che i tuoi pensieri di Negri, Panzieri, e il movimento autonomista?

Dov&#39;era la Partita durante L&#39;Autuno Caldo?

[Tickin&#39; TimebOmb John]

im slightly confused about the mentionin of the CPGB in this thread.
i know very litlle about the party specifically apart from my old politics/history & economics teacher being a member, bt he always described his politics as trotskyist/ lenninist, an not eurocommunist at all. he did mention the power struggle within the party that Donnie mentions, bt described it more as a sesure of power from the statlinists for trotskyites. wonderin if any cld help sort my confusion?

[rouchambeau]

Not at all. Modern democracy is a tool of capital and only serves to disorient working class revolutionaries. Remember what happend to the revolutionaries of post-WWI Spain, Germany, and Italy? All were subdued first by democracy, and then crushed by fascism.

[Rawthentic]

Acknowledging the eurocommunism is not revolutionary, it is a good topic to discuss so that people can understand that what is needed is workers to take control of their own lives , not to rely on an electoral system that will alienate them even more. What is needed is conscious organization without any kind of party or vanguard.