[Video]
In der Publikumsdebatte und in der Schlussrunde des Podiums wurden weitere Argumente für und wider des kapitalistischen bzw. imperialistischen Charakters Chinas vorgebracht. Die gewichtigsten waren wohl jene, wo einerseits mit der Übernahme eines Teiles des griechischen Containerhafens von Piräus durch die chinesische Staatsfirma Cosco Pacific Ltd. der imperialistische Charakter Chinas untermauert wurde: Cosco Pacific gewährte keinerlei Gewerkschaftsrechte, sondern funktioniert durch und durch brutal neoliberal- kapitalistisch. Andere Meinungen waren mit solchen und ähnlichen Argumenten unzufrieden, dass China deswegen ein imperialistisches Land sei, weil es die Anleihen der USA oder Japans finanziere, Hauptinvestor in Afrika sei oder weil es eine Million Kapitalisten in China gebe. Sie forderten vielmehr ein, dass analysiert werden müsste, ob sich in China das Wertgesetz durchgesetzt habe in all seinen Ausformungen einer Warengesellschaft, der Konkurrenz von verschiedenen Kapitalien, der absoluten Priorität, die Profitmasse zu erhöhen, des Ausgleichs der Profiraten und deren unvermeidlichen Sinkens mit Folgen kapitalistischer Krisenzyklen. Brutalste Ausbeutung in Gulags, Fabriken und Landwirtschaften seien eben nicht nur Merkmale des Kapitalismus, sondern waren es eben auch des stalinistischen (nicht-kapitalistischen) Systems …
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Report on Debate on China at public meeting in Vienna/Austria on 28.9.
RKOB, 30.9.2012
The RKOB (Austrian section of the Revolutionary Communist International Tendency) organized a public debate on the “China question” on Friday, 28.9. The discussion focused on the question if China should be considered by Marxists as an imperialist state, a degenerated workers state of a socialist country. The present conflict between Chinese and Japanese imperialism on the Senkaku/Diaoyu-islands in the East China Sea shows the actuality of this subject. The RCIT has recently published a study which elaborated extensively the features of China as an emerging imperialist state. (The study “China’s transformation into an imperialist power” can be read online on www.thecommunists.net/theory/why-china-is-imperialist)
The platform consisted of three comrades:
* Hermann Dworczak, an activist from the Social Forum movement and a long-time leading member of the Fourth International (United Secretariat/Ernest Mandel current) in Austria.
* Gerhard Bruny, Secretary of the Communist Initiative (a left-Stalinist split from the Communist Party in Austria which is politically close to the Greek KKE).
* Michael Pröbsting, International Secretary of the RCIT and author of the study on Chinese imperialism.
The meeting, which took place in our newly refurbished party office, was chaired by Johannes Wiener, Secretary of the RKOB.
Comrade Bruny defended his organizations position that China is a country led by a Marxist-Leninist party which is driving the country towards socialism. He argued that China is an important factor for the support of revolutionary Cuba, Venezuela and North Korea.
Comrade Dworczak took the position that China is still a Degenerated Workers State albeit the elements of capitalism have already strongly advanced. He argued that in China an event which would show that the country has crossed the Rubicon towards capitalist restoration has not happened until now. (as it did in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union in 1989-91)
Comrade Pröbsting explained – based on a number of facts – that in China a significant capitalist class has emerged and that not only the private but also the state enterprises largely function according to the law of value and the production of capitalist profit. This was and is only possible due a huge process of (super-)exploitation of the Chinese working class. As a result China has become a Great Power which is an important exporter of commodities and capital and also as a political and military factor as the Senkaku/Diaoyu-islands in the East China Sea shows. (see the RCIT’s position in “No to chauvinist war-mongering by Japanese and Chinese imperialism!” at www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/asia/no-war-between-china-and-japan)
The fact that a number of people present came to a RKOB meeting for the first time showed that there exists wide interest in this subject.
Labournet Austria put the debate on video and excerpts of it should be published in the next days. We will put a link to this on our website www.thecommunists.net.