“International Conference of revolutionary Marxism” in Korea

In October 2006, the Korean group "Socialist Political Alliance" called a conference in the towns of Seoul and Ulsan under the title "International Conference of revolutionary Marxism" , with the explicit purpose of reinforcing the presence of Left Communist positions within the Korean working class and its political minorities.

The conference in Korea was the first of its kind in the history of the workers' movement of that country and indeed in the whole of East Asia. That such a conference should be called today, in a country still divided by the consequences of the imperialist war launched more than 50 years ago, is an event of the greatest importance. It opens a perspective for the development of the international unity of the workers' movement between East and West for the first time since the brief experience of the Third International. However modestly, it heralds the appearance on the historical stage of the proletariat of the East.

Recognising this, the ICC did its utmost to contribute to the conference, presenting texts and taking an active part in the discussions. We are publishing below several documents, including the ICC's presentations on the subjects under debate, the declaration (presented jointly by the ICC and SPA) against the threat of war posed by the explosion of a North Korean nuclear test, and the ICC's report on the conference and the discussions that took place there. This latter has been discussed in the SPA, and the comrades have expressed their overall agreement with it.

There is nothing specifically Korean, nor even Asian, about the subjects under debate: the decadence of capitalism, the perspectives for the class struggle and for revolutionary organisation. The documents we are publishing below are part of an international debate in a new, emerging revolutionary movement. In this sense, we submit them for comment and discussion to comrades around the world.