58
WORLD   MARXIST  REVIEW
CURRENT PROBLEMS
Working Class Unity in the Developed
Capitalist Countries
The main obstacle with which the working-
class movement has to contend in the developed capitalist countries is the fact that the movement is divided. The Communists, as the 1960
Moscow meeting of the Communist and Workers' parties stressed, are working to overcome
this division. They know that only united action
can guarantee the successful solution of the
problems confronting the working-class movement in the West, can further the struggle for
peace, democracy and socialism.
The international situation as well as the internal trends in the imperialist countries are
now more favorable for the growth of working-
class unity. Indeed, progress in this respect has
been a feature of all the big mass movements
of recent years in Italy, France, Japan, Belgium,
West Germany, Spain, Finland and elsewhere.
And the success of these actions corresponded
to the degree of cooperation achieved between
the various detachments of the working class
in the course of the struggle.
The Communist parties in the developed capitalist countries have gained much experience
in working for unity, experience which reflects
the specific features of the working-class movement in their countries. The editors of World
Marxist Review have received a number of contributions concerning this experience, stressing
the need for an interchange of information on
the progress made and the difficulties encountered, and raising questions of fundamental importance in building unity. The points raised
concern the new openings for uniting the working class and the search for ways and means
of surmounting the obstacles still standing in
the way.
Needless to say, for the discussion of these
questions to be even more fruitful, representatives of the other trends in the working-class
movement, including the Social Democrats,
should take part. As pointed out in the 1960
Statement, the Communists "are ready to hold
discussions with Social Democrats, for they
are certain that this is the best way to compare views, ideas and experience with the aim
of removing deep-rooted prejudices and the
division among the working people, and of establishing cooperation." Below we publish, in
abridged form, contributions from West Germany and Finland. The editors invite readers,
Party and trade union functionaries, Communists and non-Communists, to express their
views on the points raised. This, we trust, will
stimulate further discussion and thereby contribute to promoting unity in the working-class
movement.
THE POSITION OF THE WEST GERMAN  COMMUNISTS
1. New Possibilities
The time when class-consciousness among
West German workers was dulled largely by
violent anti-communism and by chauvinistic
and revanchist campaigns has been followed by
a new period when, under the impact of the
changed balance of forces in the world and the
aggravation of class contradictions, the economic, social and democratic interests of the
working class conflict more and more with the
state-monopoly system. Workers are evincing a
growing interest in the basic problems of their
movement. Thanks to the existence of the
Democratic Republic in the eastern part of
the country, the fight for socialism is becoming a political issue.
The conditions in which the class struggle is
developing in Federal Germany derive, on the
one hand, from the rule of the giant monopolies
and the handful of reactionary militarists and,
on the other, from the popular striving for
peace, democracy and social security. The incompatibility of the two makes joint action
between the different classes and sections of
the   population   increasingly  possible.
The metalworkers' strike in the spring of
1963 ushered in a new stage in the West German
working-class movement. The ruling circles,
stepping up the arms drive and militarization
in general and seeking to strengthen their positions in the competitive struggle on the world
market, are out to make the working class foot
the bill by imposing a wage freeze. The metalworkers' strike showed, however, that although
the time has passed when economic gain could
be won without undue effort, the workers' determination to uphold their interests is growing. The strike was distinguished for the unity