Eurocommunism is anti-communism

"Eurocommunism: New Form of Reformism" is a pamphlet published by the U.S. Workers' World Party, a group with Trotskyist origins which has developed in a "Stalinist" direction. The pamphlet contains articles by WWP leader and chief theoretician Sam Marcy, dealing with so-called Eurocommunism, a development within several West European Communist parties during the 1970's, emphasizing independence of Moscow. Eurocommunism was principally associated with the Italian and Spanish CPs. The French CP had a Eurocommunist phase during the 1970's. At the time, the Italian CP was one of the largest political parties in Italy, and hoped to negotiate a "historical compromise" and broad coalition with the Christian Democrats, the governing Italian party. The Spanish and French Communists were also relatively strong. (Eurocommunism also existed in Sweden, in the form of the VPK, a minor political party in the Swedish Parliament.)

Marcy doesn't like Eurocommunism, but he is astute enough to point out that its roots goes further back than the 1970's. Moscow's direct control of the Communist parties outside the Soviet bloc ended with Stalin's death. The Italian, Spanish and French parties were allowed to pursue a "reformist" course of "historical compromise" already during Stalin's lifetime. In the Spanish case, Marcy is referring to the Civil War. In the Italian and French cases, Marcy points out that the Communists entered broad coalition governments immediately after World War II, presumably at Stalin's orders. Indeed, Marcy seems opposed to the People's Front strategy in general.

So what's *really* new about Eurocommunism? Marcy believes that the new factor is anti-Sovietism. The Eurocommunists are opposed to the Soviet Union, and are supposedly willing to jump onto the US-NATO bandwagon. He also accuses them of abandoning national liberation struggles in the "Third World", which Marcy believes is the epicentre of world revolution. For these reasons, Eurocommunism is a step to the right, and must be opposed. On this point, the WWP leader clearly sides with the Soviets. Marcy also predicts that Eurocommunism will ultimately fail. The West European (and American) establishment will never permit a Communist party to share government office, even if the party is very moderate, since the Communist electoral base might be less inclined to moderation, and start making radical demands on any government which allows the Communists ministerial portfolios. On this point, Marcy was probably right. Apart from a short-lived coalition between Socialists and Communists in France, the Communists weren't allowed to share power in any Western European country I'm aware of during the Cold War (except San Marino, but that doesn't count).

The pamphlet ends with Marcy bemoaning the "revisionist" turn in China. It seems this writer is always hoping for some kind of "ex oriente lux"! While supporting the Soviets against the nefarious Eurocommunists, Marcy nevertheless regards Soviet policy as flawed since at least the mid-1930's, perhaps earlier (as a closet "Trotskyist", Marcy isn't always that informative). However, he obviously likes Chairman Mao's China. By 1978, when this pamphlet was published, the Chairman was dead and the East wasn't as red as it used to be, making Marcy more pessimistic about any real leadership coming out of Peking. Instead, the pamphlet contains photos of Vietnamese and Ethiopian revolutionaries.

Not sure how to close this, so I just close.