Yang Yousun: An Analytical Commentary on the Polish Communist Party's Understanding of the New Trends in Contemporary Capitalist Development
Although the Communist Party of Poland (CPP) is not a large party, its circumstances of existence, basic theories, ideology, and policy positions are highly representative of current trends in Central and Eastern European countries and, indeed, all countries where the Communist Party is not in power. The CPP maintains a certain level of innovation and progressivism in its ideology and policy positions, yet it also exhibits clear dogmatism and limitations, both of which are prominently reflected in its understanding of the developmental trends of contemporary capitalism. Although the right-wing led government has intensified restrictions against it in recent years, the CPP remains tenaciously active on both the domestic and international political stages.
I. The Historical Evolution of the Communist Party of Poland
Historically, there have been three successive parties named the "Communist Party of Poland." The first was a radical left-wing party formed in December 1918 through the merger of the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania (SDKPiL) and the Polish Socialist Party–Left (PPS-Left), with Rosa Luxemburg as the party’s ideological leader. It sought to establish a Polish Socialist Republic as a component of a pan-European socialist federation. However, it faced significant skepticism due to its opposition to Polish independence and its support for the Soviet Union led by Lenin during the Polish-Soviet War of 1920, rather than its own motherland. Furthermore, due to suppression by right-wing autocratic regimes, its strength in political life remained relatively weak. After Lenin’s death, its leaders came into conflict with Stalin due to differing views; in 1938, at Stalin's instigation, the Comintern dissolved the Communist Party of Poland.
The second "Communist Party of Poland" was founded in Albania in 1965 by Polish dissident Kazimierz Romuald Mijal. Also known as the "Mijal Party," it opposed any development of Marxism-Leninism and stood against Khrushchev’s revisionism and the reform measures of Władysław Gomułka. Due to its extremist leanings, its appeal was very limited. In 1978, Mijal abandoned his work with the party.
The focus of this analysis is the third "Communist Party of Poland," established in 2002. It has no direct succession from the first "Communist Party of Poland" or the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR)—the ruling party during the socialist period—though some intrinsic links exist. In 1948, the successor to the first CPP—the Polish Workers’ Party (PPR)—merged with the Polish Socialist Party to form the Polish United Workers' Party. After the dissolution of the United Workers' Party in 1990, it reorganized primarily into two parties: the Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland (SDRP), chaired by Aleksander Kwaśniewski, which was relatively conservative, inherited more communist ideology, and opposed reform; and the Polish Social Democratic Union (PUS), established in April 1990, which sought a total break from the United Workers' Party but collapsed in mid-1991 due to a lack of supporters for its radical stance, with most members joining the Labour Union (UP). A small group of ultra-left members of the United Workers' Party formed the dogmatic "Union of Polish Communists 'Proletariat'" (ZKP-P). This group joined the Democratic Left Alliance from 1991 to 1996, but its development was unsuccessful, and it was dissolved by the court in 2002. In October 2002, some members of the "Proletariat" founded the new "Communist Party of Poland." The third-generation Communist Party (hereafter referred to as the CPP) has, to a certain extent, retained the dogmatic tendencies of the first-generation CPP and the "Proletariat."
Despite being a small party, the CPP possesses a relatively complete organizational structure. At the national level, the CPP consists of a National Executive Committee, a National Arbitration Court, a National Congress, and an Audit Commission, along with several regional branches. At its peak, the CPP had over 1,000 members, though according to 2017 data, there were only 300 registered members. To date, the CPP has held five congresses (in December 2002, December 2006, December 2010, March 2015, and July 2019) and has issued documents such as the Party Constitution, the Party Program, and the "Communist Party of Poland Manifesto," through which its theory, goals, policies, and ideology have gradually taken shape.
From the historical evolution of the three generations of Polish Communist Parties, two basic patterns can be identified: First, all three generations generally belong to the radical left, with the second generation being the most radical. Second, excessive radicalism was a major reason for the rapid decline of the first and second generations; the third generation is relatively moderate and has abandoned some radical positions of its predecessors, leading to more stable development.
II. The CPP’s Basic Understanding of New Developmental Trends in Contemporary Capitalism
Since the Second World War, and especially since the end of the Cold War, the capitalist world has undergone immense changes, which can be categorized into two types. The first consists of changes within capitalism itself, primarily reflected in the productive forces and relations of production, particularly the latter. In the Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels profoundly noted: "The bourgeoisie cannot exist without constantly revolutionizing the instruments of production, and thereby the relations of production, and with them the whole relations of society... Constant revolutionizing of production, uninterrupted disturbance of all social conditions, everlasting uncertainty and agitation distinguish the bourgeois epoch from all earlier ones." Regarding post-WWII changes in capitalism, some scholars have summarized them as "four trends": globalization, intellectualization [1], welfare-ization, and financialization. Since the end of the Cold War, apart from a partial reversal of "welfare-ization," the other three trends have become more pronounced. Capitalist means of economic development, social control, operational innovation, and technological innovation have undergone significant changes. For example, high technology has been comprehensively applied across all fields of production, operation, sales, corporate management, and social governance; the proportion of mental laborers and high-tech talent has increased significantly, raising the society’s level of intellectualization and intelligence; and the financialization and virtualization of capital have risen markedly. The ways in which social strata, including both capitalists and workers, participate in production and the channels through which they obtain income have become more diverse and varied, moving further away from the front lines of production.
The second type of change concerns the capitalist world as a whole—namely, the deepening development of international alliances adopted by capitalist states to strengthen global hegemony, triggered by the first set of changes. In this regard, Chinese scholars such as He Bingmeng, Wang Xiaodi, and Huang Lin argue that a striking feature of contemporary capitalism is the further evolution of state monopoly capitalism into international monopoly capitalism. Li Shenming, Zhang Yu, and Cai Wanhuan have more explicitly pointed out that contemporary capitalist development has entered a new stage of "international financial monopoly capitalism," the core change being the formation of financial monopoly capital and its evolution into international financial monopoly capital. Although the capitalist world is riddled with contradictions, economic and political cooperation continues to deepen, resulting in new international cooperative monopoly mechanisms such as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The CPP has conducted specific analyses of these two aspects in light of Poland's concrete conditions.
(1) Understanding and Attitudes toward the Drastic Changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and the Establishment of the Capitalist System in Poland
The CPP holds an explicitly critical stance toward the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe [2] between 1989 and 1991, arguing that they caused Poland, like other Eastern European nations, to rapidly restore capitalist relations of production. The essence of this was that new owners swiftly took over industrialized factories, state-owned farms, and other enterprises, thereby depriving ordinary laborers of the right and opportunity to participate in factory management. Enterprise production serves the maximization of the owners' interests, and the state has become a tool for owners to increase private property, open markets, and expand the capitalist economy.
Following the changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, a general trend of criticizing and "settling scores" [3] with the history of the socialist period emerged in Eastern European countries, which the CPP has criticized. The "Communist Party of Poland Manifesto" explicitly opposes this historical liquidation, arguing that after 1989, the majority of the public, spurred by promises of "democratization," supported the systemic transition without realizing its true essence. Later, when people experienced the adverse effects of the transition, they were unable to halt or reverse the process.
In January 2006, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe passed a resolution on the "need for international condemnation of crimes of totalitarian Communist regimes." In response, the CPP joined several foreign communist parties to call for resistance and criticism, publishing articles stating that the resolution failed to condemn those responsible for repression but instead wrongly accused the entire communist movement and its ideology of using violence and violating human rights. The parties argued that the total negation of the developmental achievements of the socialist period is an extremely erroneous practice that smears the struggle of Communist parties for social justice. They claimed that certain forces in Europe seek to create a hostile atmosphere toward communists to prepare for imperialist military aggression, posing a threat to existing socialist states. Furthermore, they argued that the historical achievements of communism, especially the decisive role of the Soviet Union in defeating fascism, cannot be ignored.
The CPP believes that the capitalist system implemented in Poland after the transition is a failure. Representative capitalist democracy has proven to be a manipulated system, influencing election results through "electoral laws" and mass media, while the social democratic camp erroneously supported the new system. Under the new political system, expressing dissatisfaction with the government is ineffective outside of participating in elections; strikes and protests are quickly isolated and suppressed. Compared to the period of the People's Republic of Poland, the economic pressure on workers has increased, and the material condition of society has continuously deteriorated. The Polish ruling clique has submitted to the EU and international financial institutions, destroying Poland’s economy and plunging the majority of people into poverty, forcing them to emigrate or delay marriage due to a lack of hope. All of this is attributed to the erroneous policies of the government controlled by the big bourgeoisie since the transition.
The CPP also actively opposes the right-wing government’s attempts to suppress and outlaw the party. For instance, in mid-2010, the CPP organized and participated in a demonstration in central Warsaw to oppose government policies aimed at banning the Communist Party. It actively supported demonstrations held in front of Polish embassies in Athens, Budapest, Dublin, London, Madrid, Mexico City, and Moscow. Since 2015, the CPP magazine Brzask [4] (The Dawn) has faced multiple prosecutions by the government. The CPP has engaged in a long-term struggle, organizing and participating in demonstrations in Warsaw and various cities abroad, and sending letters protesting the Polish government's actions to the government itself and various foreign missions.
Although the CPP does not recognize the legitimacy of the newly established capitalist representative government, it has adopted a strategy of de facto recognition and moderate participation, actively following and engaging in parliamentary and presidential election activities. In parliamentary elections, the CPP frequently cooperates with the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) [5] to strive for entry into parliament and the expansion of its influence. During the 2005 parliamentary elections, the CPP actively supported the campaign activities of the Polish Labour Party (PPP); in 2011, certain CPP members entered parliament through the electoral lists of the Democratic Left Alliance and the Polish Labour Party; in the 2019 parliamentary elections, the CPP joined the "Left" (Lewica) party coalition and secured a seat in parliament. The CPP also actively supports presidential candidates from the democratic camp. In the 2005 presidential election, the CPP supported the Polish Labour Party candidate Daniel Podrzycki; in 2010, the CPP supported the Democratic Left Alliance candidate Grzegorz Napieralski; and in 2020, the CPP supported the Labour Union (UP) candidate Waldemar Witkowski, opposing the re-election of incumbent President Andrzej Duda, who represents right-wing interests.
(2) Understanding of Domestic Issues Brought by Capitalism The CPP believes that after Poland implemented the capitalist system, it gradually strengthened its links and integration with international capital, leading to the emergence of numerous political, economic, and social problems within Poland.
First, the bourgeois government has induced corruption and institutional bloat. The CPP argues that since the establishment of the capitalist system, government power has increased immensely and institutions have rapidly expanded. A general problem of bloated public administrative structures exists across Polish departments, with numerous unnecessary foundations, agencies, and law firms established, becoming a burden on the public budget. The CPP emphasizes that the following institutions should be abolished: the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) [6], chaplaincy positions, the Office for War Veterans and Victims of Oppression, and privatization foundations. Similar agencies—such as the Agricultural Property Agency, the Agricultural Market Agency, and the Agency for Restructuring and Modernisation of Agriculture—should be merged. All central and local government bodies should be produced through democratic elections, with a two-term limit imposed on provincial and municipal councilors, mayors, village heads, and state legislators. The Senate should be abolished in favor of a unicameral parliament. The state should also limit the emergence of small coalitions and blocs to prevent the development of factions and cliques. The CPP is particularly opposed to the current government led by the far-right Law and Justice (PiS) party [7], viewing it as a combination of reactionary nationalism and populist slogans; under its leadership, numerous economic scandals and cases of corruption have emerged, leading the country further into a capitalist crisis while the situation of the working class has deteriorated further.
Second, the Polish Catholic Church has degenerated. The CPP believes that after the establishment of the capitalist system, state support for the church strengthened, turning the church into an appendage of capitalism. The Polish Catholic Church, especially the high-ranking clergy, has gone to great lengths to support and defend the capitalist system in order to strengthen its own position and gain government favor. It provides a moral defense for capitalism and uses its religious authority to distract society from the nature of the "Great Transformation" [8] and the capitalist system, leaving the broad wage-earning class—long influenced by the church—in a state of confusion. The CPP emphasizes that Poland is a modern secular state and should strictly implement the separation of church and state; the state must not fund any church and should withdraw religious education from public schools. All religions and their activities should be respected, public administration should show no favoritism toward the Catholic Church, and the state should ensure the equality of all religious groups. Clerical privileges should be abolished, and the financing of religious groups from state and local budgets should be prohibited. Religious education should be entirely voluntary and should not receive public funding; forcing anyone to profess a religion should be banned, and everyone has the right not to declare their religious or national affiliation. Regarding church-state relations and religious policy, the "Manifesto of the Communist Party of Poland" particularly emphasizes that the government should sign a fairer bilateral agreement with the Vatican; liquidate all clerical privileges; treat all religious associations and churches as ordinary associations and social organizations with equal rights; and levy special taxes on all church buildings and the income of all religious associations and churches.
Third, the situation of the Polish working people has become more difficult. The CPP points out that after Poland implemented capitalism, it became closely linked with foreign capitalist markets. The collusion between domestic and foreign capital has made life harder for working people: wages have decreased, employee rights are universally violated, and some staff are dismissed arbitrarily. New technologies in communication and transport are being used to better implement exploitation. A "Third World" development model based on granting privileges and dictatorship to big business has not brought universal prosperity as politicians promised. Poland's foreign debt has increased: at the end of 1989, it was approximately $40 billion, but by 2015, it reached $350 billion. Besides workers, peasants are also exploited; they have no property income and can only survive by selling their labor.
(3) Understanding of the Current Stage of World Capitalist Development The CPP believes that after a long period of large-scale monopoly, contemporary capitalism has moved toward a stage of "globalized imperialism," which opens and controls global markets and carries out political and military domination and economic plunder worldwide. In this context, humanity's immense technical achievements in information technology, telecommunications, and other fields do not serve all residents; instead, they are increasingly used for military and economic blackmail, deepening unfair relations of dependence and the exploitation of labor income. Meanwhile, the authorities deliberately avoid the word "capitalism," replacing it with "free market" to tout capitalism as a democratic institutional model for achieving freedom and universal welfare. The essence of the matter, however, is that globalized imperialism intensifies inequality between individuals and between nations. The purpose of the capitalist system is no longer to satisfy human needs, but to achieve ever-growing profits regardless of the social cost. To this end, capitalist ownership of enterprises must be implemented, with private rather than social control over the most important economic sectors; the bourgeoisie organizes the production of the entire society under a veneer of democracy, seizing natural resources, technology, media, and political power.
The CPP believes that in the "stage of globalized imperialism," the predatory and cruel nature of capitalism has greatly increased. Although foreign capital played a huge role in the privatization processes of Poland and Central and Eastern Europe, large enterprises from Western Europe and the United States took over most Polish firms; production was restricted, and vast amounts of machinery and equipment were dismantled and taken away. Foreign investment peaked in the first decade of the 21st century; foreign firms obtained numerous privileges and cheap labor in Poland. All positive elements of work disappeared, taking on a nature of servitude; work lost all its charm, and workers became captives of capital. The bourgeoisie ignores the severity of poverty: every day, thousands die of hunger and disease, and three-quarters of humanity suffers from poverty and chronic malnutrition. Although today's productive forces make it possible to produce sufficient food and medicine for all inhabitants of the planet, "globalized imperialism" is clearly not so benevolent. Furthermore, wars caused by imperialist powers cause heavy casualties every year; the use of weapons of mass destruction causes more and more people to die from bombs, mines, and missiles—all results brought about by the capitalist system itself.
(4) Opposing Hegemonism and Membership in Imperialist International Organizations The CPP supports equal and peaceful cooperation between countries and the right to self-determination for all nations. It opposes the attempts of imperialism to establish an international dictatorship, particularly the United States' promotion of hegemonism worldwide. Regarding the war in Afghanistan launched by the U.S. in 2001, the CPP believes its goal was to expand U.S. political and military influence in Central Asia; it considers Polish President Lech Kaczyński's support for U.S. aggression to please the White House a shameful act. Moreover, the cost of Polish soldiers participating in wars in remote regions is estimated at 300 million PLN, which is fully paid from the state budget.
At the special meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties from the Southeast Mediterranean, the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf held in Athens on August 19–20, 2006, Poland—alongside other attending Communist and Workers' Parties—condemned Israel’s attacks on Lebanon and denounced the support of the U.S. and other imperialist powers for Israel, as well as their use of the UN to legitimize intervention. The meeting emphasized the need to strengthen the union of Communist and Workers' Parties to form a broad united front against imperialism, class exploitation, and oppression; only then can the people's struggle achieve positive results at national, regional, and international levels.
The CPP opposes the expansion of the EU and NATO in Europe, particularly Poland's membership in these two international organizations. The CPP believes that since the "Great Transformation," a new imperialist offensive has begun with the goal of achieving global dominance. To this end, an alliance of imperialist powers has been formed—namely NATO, the EU, the IMF, and the World Bank led by countries like the U.S., Germany, and Japan—becoming tools for imperialist expansion and world control. In 2017, the CPP actively participated in and voiced support for the anti-NATO actions in Brussels, initiated by the World Peace Council (WPC), which involved organizations and citizens from over ten countries including Belgium, Brazil, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Turkey, Ireland, Nepal, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Italy, Iran, Poland, the U.S., and Ukraine. The CPP also opposes free trade systems established or dominated by capitalist countries—such as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)—viewing free trade agreements as tools for bourgeois and imperialist control over the world.
The CPP calls for Poland to withdraw from the EU and NATO because the EU serves neither the working class of new member states nor that of Western European countries; instead, it imposes numerous absurd norms, standards, and laws on members. Only by leaving the EU can Poland implement independent economic, customs, and fiscal policies. Meanwhile, NATO is the armed force of Western imperialism, responsible for a series of bloody armed conflicts, cruel aggressions, and violations of human and national rights. NATO's interventions in the wars in the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria were all carried out under the pretext of defending human rights or preventing terrorism, using lies and propaganda to achieve its goal of world domination. The CPP accuses the government of violating democratic principles by joining NATO without holding a referendum, provoking strong opposition from various sectors. The participation of Polish troops in NATO military operations in recent years has also exposed Poland to economic burdens and moral losses. Therefore, NATO membership is shameful and contrary to the national interest; Poland should withdraw immediately.
The CPP also strongly opposes the deployment of U.S. ballistic missile defense systems in Poland. It emphasizes that the U.S. is the world's largest producer of weapons of mass destruction and a threat to world peace, and that fears of missile attacks on Poland by countries like Iran or Syria are exaggerated. Furthermore, this move will intensify the conflict between Poland and Russia and increase the likelihood of Poland being attacked in the future due to these anti-missile facilities.
(5) Understanding of and Attitude toward Labor Rights under the New Trends of Capitalist Development
The Communist Party of Poland (CPP) argues that under the current capitalist system, trade unions have increasingly become tools for controlling employees rather than a force for improving workers' conditions, as union leaders have become dependent on new bourgeois technocratic political cliques. The struggle for labor rights should be carried out through the self-organization of labor rather than through bourgeois trade union organizations. The CPP believes that focus should currently be placed on securing the following labor rights: realizing the right to universal education—namely, the right of all people to free education, where public education is funded directly by the state budget and the state unifies curriculum management; the right to comprehensive and free healthcare regardless of employment status or place of residence; an end to the commercialization of healthcare and the abolition of medical financing systems based on officially established service prices and benefit limits; and ensuring that health services are not guided by economic indicators or balanced at the expense of patients' interests, with the provision and financing of medical services being the responsibility of the state.
The state should act against intimidation, incitement to violence, or hate speech and racist rhetoric. It is unacceptable for the state to ban or restrict Communist Party activities on ideological grounds. The CPP opposes the restriction of workers' freedoms of assembly and association, as well as the illegal forcing of workers to work overtime or the unreasonable reduction of wages. The government should guarantee a minimum wage at 60% of the national average wage level. Social and family allowances should be provided in the state budget. The party supports progressive tax reform, the rights of the "LGBT community," the right of women to free abortion, and gender equality and women's liberation.
To support labor rights, the CPP has carried out work on many fronts. For example, facing the sharp increase in unemployment and the deterioration of working conditions and declining incomes brought by the financial crisis since 2008, the CPP strongly supported shortening working hours to ensure full employment. The CPP proposed ensuring that the legal 8-hour workday is not exceeded and gradually shortening working hours to 30 hours per week (6 hours per day) without reducing wages, which accords with historical trends and means more time for rest and education. Regarding the new 2012 Polish pension law, which raised the retirement age from 65 for men and 60 for women to a uniform 67, the CPP also voiced its opposition and participated in protest marches. It was precisely due to these multifaceted protests that the Polish Parliament passed a law in December 2016 to lower the retirement age, returning the uniform age of 67 to 65 for men and 60 for women.
Every May 1st, the CPP organizes members and supporters to participate in marches in Warsaw and other cities. During the May Day march in 2017, the CPP displayed slogans such as "Struggle for Workers' Rights, Oppose the Siege of Workers," demanding the defense of labor rights that have been trampled upon in the 27 years since the "Great Change" [9] in Poland, the restoration of dignity to laborers, the elimination of exploitative work, and the realization of social justice. On May 1, 2020, as COVID-19 raged, the CPP pointed out that the pandemic exposed all the weaknesses of the capitalist system, while the government bowed to capital and gave the working class empty promises. During the pandemic, the bourgeoisie's exploitation and offensive against the working class intensified; many workers lost jobs and income, and most did not receive unemployment benefits. If low-income groups followed government orders to stay home, they would lose their source of livelihood, as they lacked basic security for life, health, and safety. The CPP called for the working class to take action to fight for its rights.
(6) Concepts for Rebuilding the Socialist System under the Backdrop of Contemporary Capitalist Development
According to the CPP program, its goal is to realize socialism, so that every laborer fully enjoys the fruits of their labor and to ensure that humanity's great technical achievements are used for the collective interest of humanity. To this end, the Polish capitalist system must be changed; the proletariat must take charge of political and economic power, rebuild socialism, and lay the foundation for building communism in the future. To rebuild the socialist system and a classless democratic society in the face of powerful domestic and foreign capitalist forces, efforts and transformations are needed in the economic and social spheres. Therefore, the CPP supports a planned economy capable of achieving full employment and better management of resources, as well as policies such as the nationalization of enterprises, trade, and natural resources, emphasizing two aspects in particular:
First, support for nationalization. Regarding land, resources, and cultural heritage, the party opposes the system of private land ownership supported by the bourgeoisie and the Church. It supports the social ownership of Polish land and the socialization of national natural resources, cultural/national heritage assets, and the means of production. The state should take over ownership of industrial plants, mines, means of public and freight transport, and means of communication. It advocates developing modern industry (energy, telecommunications, IT) and supporting renewable energy; developing public transport, especially urban and rail transport, and nationalizing and merging transport companies; implementing full control over enterprises by trade unions and establishing democratic workplace management systems to ensure production efficiency and development; nationalizing all standards in electronics and computer science, as well as computer operating systems; nationalizing natural resources (water, forests, raw materials); and nationalizing banks, financial, and insurance institutions with state control over the banking system. It seeks to prohibit private trade between producers and retailers, place foreign trade under state control, stop repayment of external debt interest exceeding the original loan value, and terminate all loan guarantees for foreign investors. The state should take over all monuments and permanent cultural property (palaces, castles, parks, monuments) to ensure they are used for public purposes.
Second, the implementation of a planned economic system to guide industrial development toward meeting the needs of laborers, ensuring full employment and the optimal use of resources. This includes implementing uniform prices for agricultural means of production and services and establishing an effective system for the contracting, transportation, and storage of agricultural products; restricting land transactions and state brokerage; having the state execute housing policy so citizens can obtain housing; providing free education at all levels and developing vocational and higher education; ensuring universal access to free state healthcare; implementing a full employment policy; establishing a single social security system managed by the state; and creating favorable conditions for writers, supporting associations of artists and creators, and rebuilding national cultural and artistic institutions.
III. The Scientific Nature and Limitations of the Communist Party of Poland's Understanding of Capitalism
Luke March categorizes "far-left parties" into "radical left parties" and "extreme left parties." The former hope to promote comprehensive change in capitalism to achieve democracy and strengthen the protection of vulnerable and excluded groups; they oppose neoliberalism and globalized capitalism but do not advocate for a planned economy, no longer believe that bourgeois parliaments are merely tools for deceiving workers, and are willing to enter parliament or even participate in coalition governments. The latter are more hostile toward liberal democracy, condemn all bourgeois political forces including social democracy, do not accept parliamentary democracy, and emphasize extra-parliamentary struggle against capitalism. Aside from parties like the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), the Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS), the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), and the Socialist Party of Latvia (LSP) which belong to the extreme left, the vast majority of non-ruling Communist Parties, including the CPP, belong to the radical left. They have undergone varying degrees of innovation and de-radicalization, identifying with or participating in parliamentary elections; some, while retaining their original names and identities, have become relatively moderated. However, based on the CPP’s understanding of capitalism and socialism, it belongs to the more conservative wing of the radical left.
Luke March also categorizes Communist Parties based on ideology into "conservative parties" and "reformist parties." The former uphold Cold War thinking, the Soviet model of socialism, Marxism-Leninism, and democratic centralism. The latter have not only abandoned Cold War thinking and the Soviet model but have even abandoned Marxism-Leninism and democratic centralism, accommodating new agendas of the "New Left" since 1968, such as feminism, environmentalism, and grassroots democracy. From the CPP's program, constitution, and policy tendencies, it generally belongs to the reformist category, yet it retains certain "conservative" vestiges.
The CPP's understanding of new trends in contemporary capitalist development is clearly scientific and progressive, while simultaneously possessing obvious limitations. Most of the CPP’s propositions are positive and align with the direction of historical development—for example, its emphasis on strengthening labor rights, protecting the weak, advocating for the separation of church and state, emphasizing social equity, streamlining public administration, opposing corruption and hegemonism, advocating for gender equality, and supporting universal free education—all of which possess historical progressiveness. Its support for LGBT rights and women's right to free abortion reflects its strong quality of advancing with the times and its humanistic concern. Furthermore, although it does not identify with or even opposes the representative system, under current conditions where capitalist representation is powerful and pervasive, it has temporarily set aside the demand for the violent overthrow of the capitalist system, instead actively uniting with other parties to participate in presidential and parliamentary elections. This demonstrates the party's character of seeking truth from facts and acting pragmatically. Compared to the Communist Party of Belarus, the Party of Labor of Serbia, the Socialist People's Front of Lithuania, the Socialist Party of Latvia, and the Party of Bulgarian Communists, it is relatively more moderate and pragmatic.
However, the CPP’s understanding of capitalism and the Polish capitalist system also has clear limitations. For instance, it unconditionally opposes all types of free trade alliances, globalization, the Catholic Church, and the market economy, while emphasizing a strictly nationalized planned economy. To a certain extent, this undifferentiated opposition to economic and political organizations associated with so-called "imperialism"—especially its opposition to joining the EU and the Polish Catholic Church—will undoubtedly cause it to run counter to the direction of the times and the aspirations of Poland’s younger generation, thereby affecting its own influence and development potential. According to a "Eurobarometer" survey of 27 EU member states in early 2018, the majority of citizens in 20 member states expressed a willingness to be "close" to the EU, with the top ranks being: Luxembourg (79%), Poland (71%), Latvia (71%), and Germany (69%). In Poland, this was a 5-point increase compared to 2017, and citizens under 40 expressed a higher desire for closeness (73.5%) than those over 40 (70%). The CPP’s anti-EU stance clearly does not align with Poland's national interests and runs counter to the wishes of the Polish people—especially the youth. Regarding religion, Poland is a Catholic country with a long history; the proportion of the population practicing Catholicism exceeds 90%, and along with Ireland and Italy, it is known as one of the "three great bastions" of European Catholicism. The CPP’s simple assertion that the Catholic Church has been alienated into a vassal of the bourgeois government is difficult for the majority of the Catholic Polish public to accept.
IV. Conclusion
After nearly 20 years of development, the scale of the CPP's membership remains limited. Like other European far-left parties, it will take time for the CPP to truly achieve a revival; the journey from the periphery to the center remains a long and arduous one. However, the CPP’s organization, regulations, and ideology have gradually matured. Since the 2008 financial crisis, and especially since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the development of capitalism has, to some extent, coincided with the CPP’s views and understanding. Meanwhile, the current international situation is also favorable for the CPP's development. Although the right-wing government led by the Law and Justice Party (PiS) has made great efforts to suppress the CPP in recent years, and the party will face certain pressures in the short term, in the long run, it still possesses strong vitality.
First, the basic contradiction of capitalism has not disappeared. Capitalism is incapable of resolving its basic contradiction—that between socialized production and the private ownership of the means of production. Globalized capitalism has led to a widening gap between the rich and the poor both between nations and between different social strata within the same nation. Certain major capitalist powers have already progressed to the stage of imperialism, practicing hegemonism and power politics externally, which will inevitably deepen the general crisis of capitalism. Generally speaking, far-left parties tend to develop more successfully when economic conditions decline, when there are fewer competing parties, and when there is a convergence between the left and the right. While there is currently no obvious trend of convergence between the left and right in Poland, there are no competing parties with an ideology similar to that of the Communist Party of Poland (KPP). Furthermore, the overall economic situation in the European Union is dire, and Poland is deeply affected; coupled with the Increasingly strong right-wing populist and nationalist tendencies shown by the ruling Law and Justice Party [10], as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the bourgeoisie's exploitation of the working class has intensified. Worker unemployment has led to a decline in labor costs and conditions, resulting in a decline in the status of the working class and a deterioration of their circumstances. The KPP's ideology is more closely aligned with the reality of the working class, and the probability of increased working-class support for the KPP is high.
Second, the class basis of the Communist Party remains. According to the "freezing hypothesis" of political parties proposed by American political scientist Seymour Martin Lipset and Stein Rokkan, European political parties are all established based on four cleavages—that is, they are "frozen" upon four major divisions: Center–Periphery (regional), Land–Industry (rural–urban), State–Church, and Owner–Worker. Every political party must take one of these camps as its foothold and popular base. Although the "freezing hypothesis" was proposed in the 1960s to examine European parties of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, this thesis has demonstrated considerable explanatory power in the decades since. Furthermore, research by Ian McAllister and Stephen White reveals that in Central and Eastern European countries, the cleavages with the greatest impact on political parties are "State–Religion" and "Owner–Worker." As the representative of the "working class," the KPP is situated within the "Owner–Worker" cleavage, which exerts the greatest influence. It defends the interests of workers and possesses a strong social or popular base. Combined with the massive class of wage laborers that emerged after the implementation of the market economy, the activities initiated by the Communist Party are receiving increasing attention.
Finally, Communist Parties in Europe and throughout the world are exhibiting a trend toward unity and self-strengthening. Since the beginning of the new century, international consolidation among Communist Parties has accelerated, leading to the emergence of various cooperation and exchange platforms such as the World Peace Council meetings, the Initiative of Communist and Workers' Parties, the International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties (IMCWP), the European Communist Meetings, and the Party of the European Left meetings. For example, after the Communist Youth Union (KSM) in the Czech Republic was banned by authorities on October 12, 2006, the KPP participated in European activities opposing the Czech government and supporting the KSM, calling on people of all countries to take action and denounce the anti-democratic activities of the Czech authorities in their respective national media. On March 3, 2020, the Communist Party of Poland and the Portuguese Communist Party held a joint protest in front of the Polish Embassy in Lisbon against the Polish government’s renewed prosecution of the magazine Brzask [11] and the amendment to Article 256 of the Polish Penal Code on June 13, 2019 [12]. This trend of unity and self-strengthening among Communist Parties provides a stage for the KPP to strengthen international alliances and participate in European and international communist practice.
(The author is a Professor at the School of Government Management, Shanghai University of Political Science and Law) Web Editor: Tongxin Source: Socialist Studies, No. 4, 2021