Remarks by Jose Maria Sison at the Cyber Launch of his book, Resist Neoliberalism, Fascism and Wars of Aggression
February 7, 2021
Dear Friends,
I wish to thank the International Information Office of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines for sponsoring and organizing the launch of my latest book, Resist Neoliberalism, Fascism and Wars of Aggression, today’s host Prof. Joi Barrios, the distinguished book reviewers, Profs. Peter Chua, Lisa Ito and Sarah Raymundo for agreeing to perform the most substantive role in launching the book and all the participants in this event from various countries.
The International Network for Philippine Studies remains the publisher of my books. But this time my book is made available in digital copies through such international e-publishing agents as Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Itunes, Vivlio, Scribd and Kobo, at prices much lower than those for hard copies printed in the traditional manner of publishing. Barnes & Noble and Amazon can print and sell hard copies upon demand.
I have been asked by the organizers of this book launch to foresee or imagine the prospects of the world and the Philippines in particular on the realistic basis of recent events and current trends. The crisis will become worse and conditions of oppression and exploitation will escalate but the struggle of the broad masses of the people for national liberation, democracy and socialism will intensify and reap greater victories than before.
My book reflects the severity of the crisis of the world capitalist system as well as the crisis of the semicolonial and semifeudal ruling system of the Philippines and the consequent upsurge of anti-imperialist and democratic struggles of the broad masses of the people as of 2019. The book tries to provide you with the insights on the root causes of the social discontent and turbulence that have continued in 2020 and will intensify in 2021 and the entire decade.
Neoliberalism has utterly failed to solve the crisis of the world capitalist system but has in fact aggravated it in the last more than four decades. It is the unbridled private greed of the monopoly bourgeoisie running against the social character of the forces of production, such as the proletariat and higher technology, and aggravating the crisis of overproduction by further impoverishing the broad masses of the people.
The inevitable consequence of escalating exploitation is the resistance of the people. But even before the people can fully unfold their resistance, the monopoly bourgeoisie uses the state to preempt it and whips up the ultra-reactionary currents, especially fascism as the alternative in case the facade and rituals of liberal or social democracy fail to keep the unjust social order. The ceaseless wars of aggression unleashed by US imperialism always remind us of how far monopoly capitalism can use violence to oppress and exploit the people.
Nevertheless, we saw in 2019 how the anti-imperialist and democratic struggles of the people spread throughout the world, in the heartlands and hinterlands of monopoly capitalism. Despite the restraining effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdowns, the mass struggles against imperialism continued in the streets as well through the electronic media in 2020. In fact, the pandemic has further exposed the anti-social and anti-environmental character of the capitalist system and at the same time aggravated the crisis of this system.
But even before the pandemic arose, the economic and financial crisis that struck the world capitalist system starting in 2007 and developing into what has been euphemistically called the Great Recession by the bourgeois economists has never been solved but has become worse. There is now a consensus among the bourgeois policy-makers and pundits that the Great Depression is now underway and is going to be far worse than its predecessor in the 1930s. This generated fascism, World War II and the rise of several socialist countries and national liberation movements on an unprecedented scale.
All basic contradictions in the world have worsened and will continue to worsen. The struggle between capital and labor in the traditional and new imperialist powers will intensify. The inter-imperialist contradictions, especially between the US and China, will sharpen. While they are becoming protectionist against each other, the imperialist powers will continue to use the neoliberal policy to shift the burden of crisis to the less developed and most underdeveloped countries and unleash sanctions and aggression against countries that are independent and have socialist aspirations.
The Great Depression that has already begun is escalating the conditions of oppression and exploitation and is therefore causing social discontent and people’s resistance throughout the world. The bright prospects of the world arise from the people’s struggles against the dark forces of imperialism and all kinds of reaction. The upsurge of anti-imperialist and democratic mass protests and the advances of national liberation movements signal the resurgence of the world proletarian-socialist revolution.
As the crisis of the world capitalist system worsens, the crisis of the Philippine ruling system will certainly worsen, especially because its economy is dependent on the export of raw materials, semimanufactures and workingmen and women, the import of finished products and foreign loans to cover the widening trade deficit. The Great Depression of this decade will certain cut down the demand for Philippine exports and the foreign exchange remittances of more than ten million overseas contract workers, many of whom have lost their jobs and are returning home.
The social and economic conditions have deteriorated rapidly under the brutal and corrupt Duterte regime. The gross domestic product has drastically fallen and the foreign debt burden is crushing the country. But this regime is hell-bent on using the pretext of anti-communism to use state terrorism, suppress the revolutionary movement of the people and all patriotic and democratic forces in order to impose a fascist dictatorship and dynastic rule on the Filipino people.
The basic problems of imperialism, feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism are being aggravated and deepened by the unbridled brutality, corruption and military overspending of the Duterte ruling clique and its military attack dogs in the National Task Force-ELCAC and Anti-Terrorism Council. The escalation of state terrorism and exploitation is inflicting terrible and intolerable suffering on the Filipino people but is at the same time driving them to fight back, rise in mass protests and join the armed revolution.
The domestic conditions are exceedingly favorable for the advance of the people’s democratic revolution through protracted people’s war. They are further made favorable by the worsening crisis of the world capitalist system and the rise of the people’s resistance throughout the world.
By waging the new democratic revolution with a socialist perspective, the Filipino proletariat and people can make a significant contribution to the resurgence of the world proletarian-socialist revolution.
