This is a pamphlet about Communist ideology. It has been made necessary because of certain differences in interpretation in the world Communist movement of two important world Marxist documents, the Declaration of 1957 and the 81 Parties’ Statement of 1960. These valuable Marxist contributions were produced after lengthy consideration by the leadership of the Communist Parties of the world. They point the way forward in general to a world of secure peace and Socialism.
The Communist Party of New Zealand found them of great value and, with their further aid developed the Party’s programme – the programme that we take on the jobs, into industry and around the localities, the programme the Government prevented us from presenting on the air and T.V., the programme the capitalist daily press blacked out during the last General Election.
Why then have these differences in interpretation arisen? We have very definite opinions as to the cause of this, opinions arrived at on the basis of our own experiences, of our knowledge and understanding of Marxism-Leninism. They are opinions that have not been formed in haste but on the basis of a study of the ever-growing material now available about the whole issue.
Our endeavour at all times has been to remain objective and avoid those subjective tirades that some Communist leaders overseas have indulged in. We did hope that the differences could be solved within the family of Communist Parties without becoming a matter of public debate. If that had been achieved in the early stages, this pamphlet would not now be necessary. But for various reasons, which will be explained later, the solution that, we suggested to all concerned as early as February 1962 was not adopted. Capitalist propaganda has seized on the differences, distorted and enlarged them and used them as one means of turning back the growing march of the people of the world to peace and Socialism. They saw it as something that would help bolster their dying imperialist world.
You will have heard all this on the radio, seen it on T.V. and read about it in our capitalist daily papers, in Truth and in other such publications. The leadership of the Communist Party of New Zealand has been accused of being a tool of China and of being in favour of world nuclear war as a means to a socialist world.
All this makes it necessary that those who want to should be able to know the opinions of the Communist Party of New Zealand as presented by ourselves and not as stated by those who have always bitterly opposed not only Communists but all militants and progressives.
That is why this pamphlet was written.