Communist Daily

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Communist Daily, the Thai People's Front (TPF) political group's official newsletter, debuted around mid-May of 2006, as the 2007 Thai General Election campaign cycle was underway. Communist Daily is the Central Committee of the TPF's signature production and debuts at the same time on conventional paper and computer-based mediums. Communist Daily is a party group organ newspaper, unlike the state-owned broadcasting corporation NBT, which is a mass general public relations machinery. It is intended to express the political agenda of the TPF, mobilize its gigantic popular constituency, and propagate the vision of the party to the Thai masses and to friendly ears overseas who sympathize with the socialist cause.

The Socialist Participatory Democracy principles and broad schema of Libertarian Marxism that constitute the TPF are the foundation of Communist Daily, the organ of an electoral organization infused with the underlying philosophy of the Socialist Republic. The paper is nonetheless solicitously open and gives a platform to the varying theoretical and practical standpoints of its member parties, a reflection of the coalition's internal ideological heterogeneity.

These consist of upholding the Thai Rak Thai Party's Council Communist principles, amplifying the Eco-Socialist Alliance's proper ecological emphasis, experimenting with decentralized Libertarian Municipalism structures preferred by trends of the Libertarian Socialist Front, and combining the Feminist Socialist Coalition's Intersectional Socialism's critical critique and freedom objectives. In return, the paper is a critical arena for party internal discussion within the TPF, ideological synthesis, and providing the masses with a synthesized but plural vision of socialism.

As the de facto primary institution of the TPF's most significant mechanism of communication, the Communist Daily has a vital function in structuring political dialogue throughout Thailand's monolithic structure. It legitimates the TPF's success, provides policy advice emanating from participatory rounds of planning, and maintains the underlying assumptions of equity, collective ownership, and the Thai people's democratic participation. Communist Daily provides a committed and authoritative voice in tandem with the political leadership that led the 1998 Revolution and continues to lead Thailand toward a communist nation, spreading the TPF message to ring out across the confederation and worldwide.​

 

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Political Development
Building Democracy in Türkiye: The Historical Task
1 September 2006 — Ankara

Contrary to mainstream belief, the Turkish War of Independence never brought about the rule of the people in Türkiye. Despite the nationalistic fervor leading toward the end of the Ottoman Empire, the Turkish people have never once experienced actual self-determination. Such a predicament is a predicament as the bourgeoisie led the former Republic of Türkiye’s nation-building. When you allow the privileged class to lead politically, they would naturally ignore the working masses’ grievances and sufferings. In line with classical Marxism, the 2006 proletarian revolution was a direct continuation of the first revolutionary wave conducted by the bourgeoisie from 1919 to 1923. The peak of Turkish capitalist contradiction brought about its obsolescence, prompting the Confederation of the Turkish Trade Unions to overthrow its oppressors.

The Turkish Workers’ Party now governs Türkiye after winning a democratic landslide, serving as the first people’s political organization to preside over the country’s highest office. However, a revolution is a continuous dialectical process filled with internal contradiction. As long as Türkiye builds socialism domestically, it must consistently solve the contradiction left by capitalism. This period is a transition stage where the Turkish state, in accountability toward and servitude of the proletariat, must build up productive capacity while being mindful of ecological destruction. Capitalism’s remnants must be utilized toward a socialist end temporarily until the new economic base is robust enough to deliver the task.

Under the current popular Turkish government, Thailand enters a new partnership with its socialist comrades from the Middle East. The principle of proletarian internationalism must guide both nations to empower their working class and implement a robust social security system to protect the vulnerable. The Turkish transitional state rightly purges the counter-revolutionary forces. However, the Turkish proletariat must define the term ‘counter-revolutionary act,’ not the elite vanguard. As seen during the degenerated workers’ state of the Soviet Union, a new class will rise through the process of substitutionalism if vigilance is not maintained. Bureaucratic collectivism is an internal threat that must be cleared out through an anti-corruption campaign and transparent governance.

The problem, however, is that the Turkish state continues to consolidate power at the expense of genuine empowerment. Socialism is merely state capitalism without workers’ democracy. How could a capitalist system be dismantled if the laborers cannot own the means of production? Could socialism be constructed if the state bureaucrats dictate the lives of its citizens? The task of the post-revolutionary state is always the phasing out all authoritarian tendencies of the previous regime. Power should be increasingly put in the hands of the workers who have been historically exploited. The Turkish Workers’ Party cannot call itself a communist party if all it seeks is the empowerment of its party members who uncritically accept all political agendas.

The first step toward communism is to consolidate socialist democracy. The state must ban pro-market activities and political organizations, opting for an electoral landscape where only socialist or communist parties compete for their specific ideological strand's popularity. V.I. Lenin aptly articulated in the past that “without revolutionary theories, there can be no revolutionary movements.” Indeed, the current Turkish leadership favors centralization and will benefit greatly from studying the scientific principles of Marxism. If the new society under the Turkish Workers’ Party is where past revolutionaries like Rosa Luxemburg and Peter Kropotkin are guilty because of their beliefs, what is the purpose of the Turkish revolution? Our historical task is to build a society free from class, state, and oppression. Authoritarianism is not compatible with socialism.

Thailand’s involvement in Türkiye should be considered an act of solidarity and fraternal guidance. Socialist construction is a messy product prone to contradictions and failures. There can't be a stable progression toward workers’ democracy without proper guidance from those informed by Marxism and dialectical analysis. The focus must not be on dictating the terms of engagement or the domestic trajectory of a foreign nation. However, Thailand must encourage Türkiye to adhere to its stated values of freedom, equality, and solidarity among the working class. There is no anarchist, communist, syndicalist, or municipalist during a revolutionary transition. We are united by our revolutionary goal of establishing a society where the people reign supreme and capital has no power to dictate our democratic lives.

This special edition article was produced by the Communist Daily Editorial Board, bringing you in-depth Libertarian Marxist perspective aiming for global working-class self-emancipation.​