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Communist Party of Sweden

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114-525: (Redirected from Swedish Communist Party ) The name Communist Party of Sweden (Swedish: Sveriges Kommunistiska Parti , abbreviated SKP) has been used by several political parties in Sweden: Left Party (Sweden) , known as the Communist Party of Sweden (SKP) from 1921 to 1967 Communist Party of Sweden (1924) , led by Zeth Höglund, split off from

228-444: A post-capitalist , post-statist world. Contrary to the depiction of Karl Marx by some environmentalists, social ecologists and fellow socialists as a productivist who favoured the domination of nature, eco-socialists have revisited Marx's writings and believe that he "was a main originator of the ecological world-view". Eco-socialist authors, like John Bellamy Foster and Paul Burkett , point to Marx's discussion of

342-487: A " metabolic rift " between man and nature, his statement that "private ownership of the globe by single individuals will appear quite absurd as private ownership of one man by another" and his observation that a society must "hand it [the planet] down to succeeding generations in an improved condition". Nonetheless, other eco-socialists feel that Marx overlooked a "recognition of nature in and for itself", ignoring its "receptivity" and treating nature as "subjected to labor from

456-406: A "second contradiction" of underproduction, to complement Marx's "first" contradiction of capital and labor. While the second contradiction is often considered a theory of environmental degradation, O'Connor's theory in fact goes much further. Building on the work of Karl Polanyi, along with Marx, O'Connor argues that capitalism necessarily undermines the "conditions of production" necessary to sustain

570-542: A change in the political direction of the party towards Eurocommunism and Nordic popular socialism . Ahead of the 1967 party congress, a heated debate took place. Several distinct tendencies were present. One section wanted to transform the party into a non-communist party, along the lines of the Danish Socialist People's Party (SF), and thus proposed that the party should change its name to Vänsterpartiet ("Left Party"). Another section, largely based amongst

684-423: A citizens income scheme, regulate against social and environmental malpractice and encourage environmental good practice through state procurement. At the same time, economic and political power should be devolved as far as is possible through co-operatives and increased local decision making. By putting political and economic power into the hands of the people most likely to be affected by environmental injustice, it

798-471: A clash over control of the party office. Effectively, the Kilbom-Flyg factions continued to operate their party under the name of Socialist Party , soon renamed Socialistiska partiet . Notably, they took with them the central media organ of the party, Folkets Dagblad Politiken . The SKP started new publications, including Ny Dag and Arbetar-Tidningen . Under Sillén's leadership, the party adhered to

912-484: A communist party. In 1993, Werner resigned. Gudrun Schyman was elected party chairman. In the 1994 parliamentary elections, the party received 6.2% of the vote. The prolonged electoral crisis of the party thus ended. The party's influence started to grow, especially amongst the youth. In the same year, the party was active in the "No"-campaign in the referendum on joining the European Union . Having passed through

1026-483: A concept in radical politics. In 1968, he founded another group that published the influential Anarchos magazine, which published that and other innovative essays on post-scarcity and on ecological technologies such as solar and wind energy, and on decentralization and miniaturization. Lecturing throughout the United States, he helped popularize the concept of ecology to the counterculture . Post-Scarcity Anarchism

1140-536: A decrease in sales that led to falling profits, which, due to stock market conditions, translated into a drop in share values. The depreciation of share value made many shareholders sell their stock, weakening the company and leading to cost-cutting measures that eroded the safety procedures and mechanisms at the Bhopal site. Though this did not, in Kovel's mind, make the Bhopal disaster inevitable, he believes that it illustrates

1254-428: A new and malignant variation of fascism ". They echo Rosa Luxemburg 's "stark choice" between "socialism or barbarism", which was believed to be a prediction of the coming of fascism and further forms of destructive capitalism at the beginning of the twentieth century (Luxemburg was in fact murdered by the proto-fascist Freikorps in the revolutionary atmosphere of Germany in 1919). With individuals now declaring

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1368-526: A period of severe crisis, the party began to regain public support during the mid-1990s. In retrospect, the main factor behind this shift was not the party itself, but the fact that the Social Democrats had moved considerably towards the right in the preceding years, which had alienated much of its traditional voter base. At the 1996 party congress, the Left Party declared itself to be feminist . In 1998,

1482-511: A pro-Albanian dissenter group formed in 1982 and dissolved in 1993 Communist Party of Sweden (1995) , a group previously known as The Workers' Party – The Communists (APK) Marxist–Leninist Struggle League for the Communist Party of Sweden (M–L) , formed in 1970 by Vänsterns Ungdomsförbund , the youth organization of the VPK Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with

1596-489: A separate ideology which incorporates what he saw as the most beneficial elements of Anarchism, Marxism, syndicalism, and radical ecology. Politically, Communalists advocate a network of directly democratic citizens' assemblies in individual communities/cities organized in a confederal fashion. This method used to achieve this is called libertarian municipalism which involves the establishment of face-to-face democratic institutions which are to grow and expand confederally with

1710-609: A sizeable contingent to fight in the International Brigades . 520 Swedes took part in the brigades and 164 of them died there. Simultaneously, extensive solidarity work for the Second Spanish Republic and the people of Spain was organized in Sweden. During the 1930s, the party was rebuilt; as the Kilbom-Flyg party crumbled, the party base was enhanced. By 1939, SKP had 19,116 members. The Second World War (1939–1945)

1824-426: A system that met human needs, in contrast to the capitalist system of created wants. A key development in the 1980s was the creation of the journal Capitalism, Nature, Socialism (CNS) with James O'Connor as founding editor and the first issue in 1988. The debates ensued led to a host of theoretical works by O'Connor, Carolyn Merchant , Paul Burkett and others. The Australian Democratic Socialist Party launched

1938-640: A system that satisfies their greed and personal desires. Instead, eco-socialists suggest that the very system itself is self-perpetuating, fuelled by "extra-human" or "impersonal" forces. Kovel uses the Bhopal industrial disaster as an example. Many anti-corporate observers would blame the avarice of those at the top of many multi-national corporations , such as the Union Carbide Corporation in Bhopal, for seemingly isolated industrial accidents . Conversely, Kovel suggests that Union Carbide were experiencing

2052-491: Is a collection of essays written by Murray Bookchin and first published in 1971 by Ramparts Press. It outlines the possible form anarchism might take under conditions of post-scarcity . It is one of Bookchin's major works, and its radical thesis provoked controversy for being utopian and messianic in its faith in the liberatory potential of technology . Bookchin argues that post-industrial societies are also post-scarcity societies, and can thus imagine "the fulfillment of

2166-452: Is an ideology merging aspects of socialism with that of green politics , ecology and alter-globalization or anti-globalization . Eco-socialists generally believe that the expansion of the capitalist system is the cause of social exclusion , poverty , war and environmental degradation through globalization and imperialism , under the supervision of repressive states and transnational structures. Eco-socialism asserts that

2280-491: Is capable of spreading out its economic supports so widely that it can afford to destroy one ecosystem before moving onto another, he and many other eco-socialists now fear that, with the onset of globalization, the system is running out of new ecosystems. Kovel adds that capitalist firms have to continue to extract profit through a combination of intensive or extensive exploitation and selling to new markets, meaning that capitalism must grow indefinitely to exist, which he thinks

2394-447: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Left Party (Sweden) The Left Party ( Swedish : Vänsterpartiet [ˈvɛ̂nːstɛrpaˌʈiːɛt] , V ) is a socialist political party in Sweden . On economic issues, the party opposes privatizations and advocates for increased public expenditures. In foreign policy,

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2508-507: Is impossible on a planet of finite resources. Capitalist expansion is seen by eco-socialists as being "hand in glove" with "corrupt and subservient client states" that repress dissent against the system, governed by international organisations "under the overall supervision of the western powers and the superpower United States", which subordinate peripheral nations economically and militarily. Kovel further claims that capitalism itself spurs conflict and, ultimately, war. Kovel states that

2622-427: Is known as globalization", which was "a deliberate response to a serious accumulation crisis (in the 1970s) that had convinced the leaders of the global economy to install what we know as neoliberalism." Furthermore, Ramachandra Guha and Joan Martinez Alier blame globalization for creating increased levels of waste and pollution , and then dumping the waste on the most vulnerable in society, particularly those in

2736-658: Is less likely that the injustice will take place. Eco-socialists criticise many within the Green movement for not being overtly anti-capitalist, for working within the existing capitalist, statist system, for voluntarism , or for reliance on technological fixes. The eco-socialist ideology is based on a critique of other forms of Green politics, including various forms of green economics , localism , deep ecology, bioregionalism and even some manifestations of radical green ideologies such as eco-feminism and social ecology . As Kovel puts it, eco-socialism differs from Green politics at

2850-693: The Green Left Weekly newspaper in 1991, following a period of working within Green Alliance and Green Party groups in formation. This ceased when the Australian Greens adopted a policy of proscription of other political groups in August 1991. The DSP also published a comprehensive policy resolution, "Socialism and Human Survival" in book form in 1990, with an expanded second edition in 1999 entitled "Environment, Capitalism & Socialism". The 1990s saw

2964-698: The Communist Party of Sweden in 1921. In 1967, the party was renamed to Left Party – the Communists ( Vänsterpartiet Kommunisterna [ˈvɛ̂nːstɛrpaˌʈiːɛt kɔmɵˈnɪ̌sːtɛɳa] ; abbr. VPK ); it adopted its current name in 1990. The Left Party is a member of the Nordic Green Left Alliance , and its sole MEP sits in The Left in the European Parliament (GUE/NGL) group. In 2018,

3078-559: The Communist Party of the Soviet Union . The "pre-revolutionary environmental movement", encouraged by the revolutionary scientist Aleksandr Bogdanov and the Proletkul't organisation, made efforts to "integrate production with natural laws and limits" in the first decade of Soviet rule, before Joseph Stalin attacked ecologists and the science of ecology and the Soviet Union fell into

3192-514: The Hungarian revolt broke out in 1956, internal party debate surged regarding the position the party should take. In the end, the party leadership chose to support the official Soviet line. In 1961, leading party members founded the travel agency Folkturist, which specialized in tours of Eastern Europe. In 1964, C.-H. Hermansson was elected party chairman. Hermansson came from an academic background, unlike previous party leaders. Hermansson initiated

3306-657: The Red-Green Alliance was formed as a coalition of numerous radical parties. Within the European Parliament , a number of far-left parties from Northern Europe have organized themselves into the Nordic Green Left Alliance . Red Greens feature heavily in the Green Party of Saskatchewan (in Canada but not necessarily affiliated to the Green Party of Canada ). In 2016, GPUS officially adopted eco-socialist ideology within

3420-580: The Riksdag by the Swedish Social Democratic Party . From 1998 to 2006, the Left Party was in a confidence and supply arrangement with the ruling Social Democrats and the Green Party . Between 2014 and 2018, it supported the minority government of Social Democrats and Greens in the Riksdag, extending this cooperation to many of Sweden's counties and municipalities ; and from 2018 to 2021, until

3534-630: The Victor Serge Library and opposing war in Chechnya , states that it believes "that capitalism has brought life on the planet near to the brink of catastrophe, and that a form of ecosocialism needs to emerge to replace capitalism before it is too late". Merging aspects of Marxism, socialism, environmentalism and ecology, eco-socialists generally believe that the capitalist system is the cause of social exclusion , inequality and environmental degradation through globalization and imperialism under

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3648-592: The capitalist economic system is fundamentally incompatible with the ecological and social requirements of sustainability. Thus, according to this analysis, giving economic priority to the fulfillment of human needs while staying within ecological limits, as sustainable development demands, is in conflict with the structural workings of capitalism. By this logic, market-based solutions to ecological crises (such as environmental economics and green economy ) are rejected as technical tweaks that do not confront capitalism's structural failures. Eco-socialists advocate for

3762-500: The commons . Eco-socialists are critical of many past and existing forms of both green politics and socialism . They are often described as " Red Greens" – adherents to Green politics with clear anti-capitalist views, often inspired by Marxism (red greens are in contrast to eco-capitalists and green anarchists ). The term "watermelon" is commonly applied, often pejoratively, to Greens who seem to put " social justice " goals above ecological ones, implying they are "green on

3876-421: The environment . He echoes much of eco-socialist thought, attacking international "environmental inequality", refusing to focus on technological fixes and arguing for the construction of "a harmonious, resource-saving and environmentally-friendly society". He also shows a knowledge of eco-socialist history, from the convergence of radical green politics and socialism and their political "red-green alliances" in

3990-597: The environmental policies of what can be called "existing socialist" regimes, notably the People's Republic of China. Pan Yue , deputy director of the PRC's State Environmental Protection Administration , has acknowledged the influence of eco-socialist theory on his championing of environmentalism within China, which has gained him international acclaim (including being nominated for the Person of

4104-479: The pseudo-science of the state biologist Trofim Lysenko , who "set about to rearrange the Russian map" in ignorance of environmental limits. Social ecology is closely related to the work and ideas of Murray Bookchin and influenced by anarchist Peter Kropotkin . Social ecologists assert that the present ecological crisis has its roots in human social problems, and that the domination of human-over-nature stems from

4218-500: The socialist feminists Mary Mellor and Ariel Salleh address environmental issues within an eco-socialist paradigm. With the rising profile of the anti-globalization movement in the Global South , an environmentalism of the poor , combining ecological awareness and social justice, has also become prominent. David Pepper also released his important work, Ecosocialism: From Deep Ecology to Social Justice , in 1994, which critiques

4332-474: The trade union movement . These changes met with some resistance in the party ranks. However, the onset of the Cold War became a difficult challenge to the party. The electoral gains of the post-war years would not last long. The prime minister Tage Erlander declared his intention to turn "every trade union into a battlefield against the communists". Communists were purged from the trade union movement. However,

4446-766: The "capitalization of nature". He labels the notion on voluntarism "ecopolitics without struggle". Technological fixes to ecological problems are also rejected by eco-socialists. Saral Sarkar has updated the thesis of 1970s ' limits to growth ' to exemplify the limits of new capitalist technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells , which require large amounts of energy to split molecules to obtain hydrogen. Furthermore, Kovel notes that "events in nature are reciprocal and multi-determined" and can therefore not be predictably "fixed"; socially, technologies cannot solve social problems because they are not "mechanical". He posits an eco-socialist analysis, developed from Marx, that patterns of production and social organisation are more important than

4560-409: The "class against class" line, denouncing any co-operation with the Social Democrats. Sven Linderot , a dynamic young leader, become the party chairman. The infamous Ådalen shootings of unarmed demonstrating workers took place in 1931. This development led to increased labour militancy and gave new life to the crisis-ridden SKP. The Spanish Civil War began in 1936. The SKP and its youth wing sent

4674-454: The "largest 'players' ... substantial control over the whole 'game ' ". In addition, Kovel criticises the "defeatism" of voluntarism in some local forms of environmentalism that do not connect: he suggests that they can be "drawn off into individualism " or co-opted to the demands of capitalism, as in the case of certain recycling projects, where citizens are "induced to provide free labor" to waste management industries who are involved in

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4788-449: The "paving over" of the "remainder of nature". In the modern world, Kovel considers the supposed efficiency of new post-industrial commodities is a "plain illusion", as miniaturized components involve many substances and are therefore non-recyclable (and, theoretically, only simple substances could be retrieved by burning out-of-date equipment, releasing more pollutants ). He is quick to warn "environmental liberals " against over-selling

4902-405: The ' War on Terror ', between Islamist extremists and the United States, is caused by "oil imperialism", whereby the capitalist nations require control over sources of energy , especially oil, which are necessary to continue intensive industrial growth - in the quest for control of such resources, Kovel argues that the capitalist nations, specifically the United States, have come into conflict with

5016-670: The 1917 Bolshevik revolution in Russia, whereas the SSV did support the Bolsheviks. Another reason for the split was the opposition to Social Democratic cooperation with the Liberals and increasing militarism. The SSV brought with them 15 of the 87 Social Democratic members of parliament and the party's youth wing. Many of the breakaways were inspired by Lenin's revolutionary Bolsheviks, others by libertarian socialism. Almost all SSV leaders eventually returned to

5130-646: The Global South. Others have also noted that capitalism disproportionately affects the poorest in the Global North as well, leading to examples of resistance such as the environmental justice movement in the United States, consisting of working-class people and ethnic minorities who highlight the tendency for waste dumps, major road projects and incinerators to be constructed around socially excluded areas. However, as Wall highlights, such campaigns are often ignored or persecuted precisely because they originate among

5244-642: The SKP organized a trade union conference with delegates representing 80,000 organized workers. This was followed in 1927 by a conference of the National Association of the Unemployed, where the party called for the abolition of the Unemployment Commission (AK). In 1929, a major split, the largest in the history of the party, took place. Nils Flyg , Karl Kilbom , Ture Nerman , all MPs, and the majority of

5358-698: The SKP took a neutral stance. In an article in Ny Dag, the German takeover in Norway was described as a "setback for British imperialism". Following orders by the German delegation in Stockholm , the Swedish government took several repressive measures against the party. The main publications were effectively proscribed (they were banned from transportation, meaning it was illegal to carry SKP newspapers in any form of vehicle). Key cadres of

5472-494: The Social Democrats (SAP), but the foundation was laid for a party on the left wing of the labor movement. In 1921, in accordance with the 21 theses of the Comintern , the party name was changed to Communist Party of Sweden (Swedish: Sveriges kommunistiska parti [ˈsvæ̌rjɛs kɔmɵˈnɪ̌sːtɪska paˈʈiː] ; SKP [ɛskoːˈpeː] ). Liberal and non-revolutionary elements were purged, later regrouping under

5586-546: The Soviet Union to effectively crush the plans of the warmongers. They have supported the Poland's refusal to accept Soviet help. The Soviet Union has thus, in clear accordance with its consequent policy of peace, through a non-aggression pact with Germany, sought to defend the 170 million people of the first socialist state against Fascist attacks and the bottomless misery of a world war." When Nazi Germany invaded Norway in April 1940,

5700-586: The United States" and elected a steering committee featuring representatives from Britain, the United States, Canada, France, Greece, Argentina, Brazil and Australia, including Joel Kovel, Michael Löwy, Derek Wall, Ian Angus (editor of Climate and Capitalism in Canada) and Ariel Salleh. The Committee states that it wants "to incorporate members from China, India, Africa, Oceania and Eastern Europe". EIN held its second international conference in January 2009, in association with

5814-572: The VPK received 3,8% of the votes, the party's worst electoral result in the post-war era. Lacking a functioning youth and student wing, the party was unable to capitalize on the international surge of youth radicalism. At the onset of protests against the U.S. war in Vietnam , the VPK launched the Swedish Vietnam Committee. The Committee demanded 'Peace in Vietnam' and appealed for all-party unity on

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5928-498: The Year Award 2006 by The New Statesman , a British current affairs magazine). Yue stated in an interview that, while he often finds eco-socialist theory "too idealistic" and lacking "ways of solving actual problems", he believes that it provides "political reference for China's scientific view of development", "gives socialist ideology room to expand" and offers "a theoretical basis for the establishment of fair international rules" on

6042-412: The capitalist system innovates new technologies that overcome existing problems but introduce new ones. O'Connor cites nuclear power as an example, which he sees as a form of producing energy that is advertised as an alternative to carbon-intensive , non-renewable fossil fuels , but creates long-term radioactive waste and other dangers to health and security. While O'Connor believes that capitalism

6156-527: The choice is "ecosocialism or ecofascism ". Reflecting tensions within the environmental and socialist movements, there is some conflict of ideas. However, in practice a synthesis is emerging which calls for democratic regulation of industry in the interests of people and the environment, nationalisation of some key environmental industries, local democracy and an extension of co-ops and the library principle. For example, Scottish Green Peter McColl argues that elected governments should abolish poverty through

6270-521: The country. However, the raids failed to produce any evidence of any criminal activity by the party. The party actively supported resistance struggles in Norway and Denmark . In northern Sweden, party-affiliated workers stole dynamite from mines and smuggled them to the Norwegian resistance. In other parts, the party gave shelter to anti-fascist refugees. As the military fortunes of the Third Reich waned,

6384-531: The current approach of many within Green politics, particularly deep ecologists. In 2001, Joel Kovel , a social scientist , psychiatrist and former candidate for the Green Party of the United States (GPUS) presidential nomination in 2000, and Michael Löwy , an anthropologist and member of the Reunified Fourth International , released "An Ecosocialist Manifesto", which has been adopted by some organisations and suggests possible routes for

6498-513: The domination of human-over-human. In 1958, Murray Bookchin defined himself as an anarchist , seeing parallels between anarchism and ecology. His first book, Our Synthetic Environment , was published under the pseudonym Lewis Herber in 1962, a few months before Rachel Carson 's Silent Spring . The book described a broad range of environmental ills but received little attention because of its political radicalism. His groundbreaking essay "Ecology and Revolutionary Thought" introduced ecology as

6612-511: The effect market forces can have on increasing the likelihood of ecological and social problems. Eco-socialism focuses closely on Marx's theories about the contradiction between use values and exchange values. Kovel posits that, within a market , goods are not produced to meet needs but are produced to be exchanged for money that we then use to acquire other goods; as we have to keep selling in order to keep buying, we must persuade others to buy our goods just to ensure our survival, which leads to

6726-430: The endless accumulation of capital. These conditions of production include soil, water, energy, and so forth. But they also include an adequate public education system, transportation infrastructures, and other services that are not produced directly by capital, but which capital needs in order accumulate effectively. As the conditions of production are exhausted, the costs of production for capital increase. For this reason,

6840-406: The forms of technology used within a given configuration of society. Under capitalism, he suggests that technology "has been the sine qua non of growth"; thus he believes that even in a world with hypothetical "free energy" the effect would be to lower the cost of automobile production, leading to the massive overproduction of vehicles, "collapsing infrastructure", chronic resource depletion and

6954-459: The goal of eventually replacing the nation-state. In the 1970s, Barry Commoner , suggesting a left-wing response to The Limits to Growth model that predicted catastrophic resource depletion and spurred environmentalism, postulated that capitalist technologies were chiefly responsible for environmental degradation , as opposed to population pressures . East German dissident writer and activist Rudolf Bahro published two books addressing

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7068-873: The growth of eco-socialist consciousness. Kovel's 2002 work, The Enemy of Nature: The End of Capitalism or the End of the World? , is considered by many to be the most up-to-date exposition of eco-socialist thought. In October 2007, the International Ecosocialist Network was founded in Paris. Currently, many Green Parties around the world, such as the Dutch Green Left Party ( GroenLinks ), contain strong eco-socialist elements. Radical Red-green alliances have been formed in many countries by eco-socialists, radical Greens and other radical left groups. In Denmark,

7182-399: The hands of the Social Democrats. In March 1951, Hilding Hagberg became party chairman. The intra-party polemic reached its peak at the 1953 party congress. Persson fiercely expressed his criticism, particularly towards the new party chairman Hagberg, whom he branded as an opportunist. Persson was in turn accused of being an egoist, and of wanting to divide and damage the party. Criticism

7296-620: The help of the great socialist worker's state." Moreover, the party supported the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact . The Central Committee adopted a declaration in September 1939, which read: "The ruling cliques in England and France have, in fear of Bolshevism, in their badly hidden sympathy for Fascism, in fear of workers' power in Europe, refused to enter into an agreement with conditions acceptable to

7410-516: The inside", while also citing "socialist political leanings", reflecting the use of the term "liberal" to describe the political left in many English-speaking countries. Red Greens are often considered " fundies " or "fundamentalist greens", a term usually associated with deep ecology even though the German Green Party "fundi" faction included eco-socialists, and eco-socialists in other Green Parties , like Derek Wall , have been described in

7524-677: The issue. The committee was rapidly out-manoeuvered by the United NLF Groups (DFFG), an organization led by the KFML that was actively supporting the armed struggle of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam . Soon, the VPK left the Swedish Vietnam Committee and many members became active in the DFFG. In 1970, the youth wing was refounded as Kommunistisk Ungdom ( pronounced [kɔmɵˈnɪ̌sːtɪsk ˈɵ̂ŋdʊm] ; KU). In 1972,

7638-556: The likelihood of famine ; furthermore, forests are increasingly cleared and enclosed to produce cash crops that separate people from their local means of production and aggravate poverty . Wall shows that many of the world's poor have access to the means of production through "non-monetised communal means of production", such as subsistence farming, but, despite providing for need and a level of prosperity, these are not included in conventional economics measures, like GNP . Wall therefore views neo-liberal globalization as "part of

7752-402: The line of the party leadership. In a highly emotional conclusion to the debate, Persson declared his resignation from the SKP in a speech to the congress. After his departure a purge was carried out against Persson's followers within the party, of whom several were expelled. When Joseph Stalin died the same year, the party organized a memorial, which was addressed by C.-H. Hermansson . When

7866-476: The long struggle of the state and commercial interests to steal from those who subsist" by removing "access to the resources that sustain ordinary people across the globe". Furthermore, Kovel sees neoliberalism as "a return to the pure logic of capital" that "has effectively swept away measures which had inhibited capital's aggressivity, replacing them with naked exploitation of humanity and nature." For Kovel, this "tearing down of boundaries and limits to accumulation

7980-686: The main SKP in 1924 and later merged with the Social Democrats in 1926 Socialist Party (Sweden, 1929) ( Kilbohmarna ), split off from the main SKP in 1929 and was expelled from the Communist International the same year, dissolved in 1948 Communist Party of Sweden (1967) (KFML), a Maoist party called the Communist Party of Sweden between 1973 and 1987 Communist Party (Sweden) ( Kommunistiska Partiet ), an anti-revisionist party founded in 1970 Communist Workers' Party of Sweden (SKA), an anti-Deng Xiaoping party formed in 1980 and dissolved in 1993 Communist Party in Sweden (KPS),

8094-646: The means of production by "freely associated producers" with all forms of domination eclipsed, especially gender inequality and racism . This often includes the restoration of commons land in opposition to private property , in which local control of resources valorizes the Marxist concept of use value above exchange value . Practically, eco-socialists have generated various strategies to mobilise action on an internationalist basis, developing networks of grassroots individuals and groups that can radically transform society through nonviolent "prefigurative projects" for

8208-595: The most fundamental level because the ' Four Pillars ' of Green politics (and the 'Ten Key Values' of the US Green Party ) do not include the demand for the emancipation of labour and the end of the separation between producers and the means of production. Many eco-socialists also oppose Malthusianism and are alarmed by the gulf between Green politics in the Global North and the Global South. Eco-socialists are highly critical of those Greens who favour "working within

8322-468: The most marginalized in society: the African-American radical green religious group MOVE , campaigning for ecological revolution and animal rights from Philadelphia , had many members imprisoned or even killed by US authorities from the 1970s onwards. Eco-socialism disagrees with the elite theories of capitalism, which tend to label a specific class or social group as conspirators who construct

8436-541: The name SSV . In total, 6,000 out of 17,000 party members were expelled. Zeth Höglund , the main leader of the party during the split from the Social Democrats, himself left the party in 1924. Höglund was displeased with developments in Moscow after the death of Vladimir Lenin , and thus he founded his own Communist Party , independent from the Comintern. Around 5,000 party members followed Höglund. On 23 and 24 January 1926,

8550-542: The necessity to build a transnational ecosocialist movement as one of the critical challenges facing ecosocialists. Later in 2007, it was announced that attempts to form an Ecosocialist International Network (EIN) would be made and an inaugural meeting of the International occurred on 7 October 2007 in Paris. The meeting attracted "more than 60 activists from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and

8664-594: The next World Social Forum in Brazil. The conference released The Belem Ecosocialist Declaration. International networking by eco-socialists has already been seen in the Praxis Research and Education Center , a group on international researchers and activists. Based in Moscow and established in 1997, Praxis, as well as publishing books "by libertarian socialists , Marxist humanists , anarchists, [and] syndicalists ", running

8778-723: The outset of the 2021 Swedish government crisis , it offered passive support to the Löfven II cabinet formed under the January Agreement, though disagreeing with some of the policies mandated by the Agreement. The party originates from the split of the Social Democrats in 1917, into the Swedish Social Democratic Left Party ( Sveriges socialdemokratiska vänsterparti [ˈsvæ̌rjɛs sʊsɪˈɑ̂ːldɛmʊˌkrɑːtɪska ˈvɛ̂nːstɛrpaˌʈiː] ; abbr. SSV ), becoming

8892-461: The outside but red on the inside". The term is common in Australia and New Zealand, and usually attributed to either Petr Beckmann or, more frequently, Warren T. Brookes , both critics of environmentalism . The term is also found in non-English speaking political discourse. The Watermelon , a New Zealand website, uses the term proudly, stating that it is "green on the outside and liberal on

9006-496: The party and youth league were detained in camps, officially as a part of their military service. In total, 3500 people were interned at ten different camps, the great majority of them communists. Many party activists went underground, including the chairman. A complete ban on the party was discussed in government circles, but never came into effect. In 1940, the office of the regional party organ in Norrbotten , Norrskensflamman ,

9120-493: The party continued its development of the united front strategy. In the 1952 parliamentary by-elections in Jämtland and Kristianstad , the party decided to withdraw its lists, in order to ensure that the Social Democrats would not lose the elections. The party leadership argued that communists had to make an effort to "ensure a labour majority in the Riksdag ". Moreover, the two concerned counties were electoral districts where it

9234-589: The party is Eurosceptic , being critical of the European Union and opposing Sweden’s entry into the eurozone . It attempted to get Sweden to join the Non-Aligned Movement in 1980, but did not succeed. The party is eco-socialist , and supports republicanism . It stands on the left-wing of the political spectrum. The party has never been part of a government at the national level; however, it has lent parliamentary support to governments led in

9348-581: The party joined ” Now the People ;! ”. It is also part of the European Left Alliance for the People and the Planet ; a pan-European party that supports an alternative to capitalism. Revolutionary fervour engulfed Sweden in 1917. Riots took place in many cities. In Västervik , a workers' council took control of day-to-day affairs. In Stockholm , soldiers marched together with workers on May Day . In

9462-579: The party membership, were expelled by the Comintern. The expelled were called Kilbommare , and those loyal to the Comintern were called Sillenare (after their leader Hugo Sillén ). Out of 17,300 party members, 4,000 sided with Sillén and the Comintern. Conflicts erupted locally over control of party offices and property. In Stockholm, the office of the central organ, held by the Kilbommare, was besieged by Comintern loyalists. Fist-fights erupted in Gothenburg in

9576-552: The party obtained its best-ever result in a parliamentary election, winning 12% of the votes nationwide. Following the elections, the party entered into an arrangement with the social democrats , and started to support the government from outside. In the 2002 Swedish general election , the voteshare of the party dropped by 3% to a total of 8.3%. Simultaneously, the Social Democrats regained 3%. Eco-socialism Eco-socialism (also known as green socialism , socialist ecology , ecological materialism , or revolutionary ecology )

9690-448: The party regained a strong position in Swedish politics. In the parliamentary elections of 1944, SKP got 10.3% of the vote. In 1945, there was a nationwide metal workers' strike, led by SKP. In the 1946 municipal elections, the SKP received 11.2% of the vote. Party membership reached its historical peak, at 51,000. These developments, along with developments in the international arena and new Soviet policies of peaceful co-existence , led

9804-404: The party shifted towards a more leftist position with the adaptation of a new programme. The neo-Leninist tendency emerged as an important section of the party. In 1975, Lars Werner was elected party chairman. The runner-up candidate was Rolf Hagel of the pro-Soviet group. Werner was elected with 162 votes at the party congress. Hagel got 74 votes. In February 1977, the pro-Soviet minority left

9918-413: The party to initiate a re-adjustment of its role in Swedish politics. The electoral gains strengthened the perception that the party would be able to come to power within the parliamentary framework. Likewise, the idea of a "united front" with the Social Democrats gained ground in intra-party debates. The party's trade union policy was changed to adopt a less combative position towards social democracy within

10032-502: The party, and founded the Workers' Party – Communists (APK). The founders of the APK took with them the newspaper Norrskensflamman and two MPs (Hagel and Alf Löwenborg). Between 1,500 and 2,000 VPK members joined the APK. In 1980, the VPK was active in the "No"-campaign in the referendum on nuclear power . In 1990, the VPK changed its name to Vänsterpartiet ((v), Left Party) and ceased to be

10146-577: The party. The Green Party of England and Wales has an eco-socialist group, Green Left , founded in June 2006. Members of the Green Party holding a number of influential positions, including former Principal Speakers Siân Berry and Derek Wall, as well as prominent Green Party candidate and human rights activist Peter Tatchell have been associated with the grouping. Many Marxist organisations also contain eco-socialists, as evidenced by Löwy's involvement in

10260-493: The post-Soviet era. This focus on eco-socialism has informed in the essay On Socialist Ecological Civilisation , published in September 2006, which according to China Dialogue "sparked debate" in China. The current Constitution of Bolivia , promulgated in 2009, is the first both ecologic and pro-socialist Constitution in the world, making the Bolivian state officially ecosocialist. In 2007 biologist David Schwartzman identified

10374-647: The predominantly Muslim nations where oil is often found. Eco-socialists believe that state or self- regulation of markets does not solve the crisis "because to do so requires setting limits upon accumulation", which is "unacceptable" for a growth-orientated system; they believe that terrorism and revolutionary impulses cannot be tackled properly "because to do so would mean abandoning the logic of empire ". Instead, eco-socialists feel that increasing repressive counter-terrorism increases alienation and causes further terrorism and believe that state counter-terrorist methods are, in Kovel and Löwy's words, "evolving into

10488-406: The press as fundies. Eco-socialists also criticise bureaucratic and elite theories of self-described socialism such as Maoism , Stalinism and what other critics have termed bureaucratic collectivism or state capitalism . Instead, eco-socialists focus on imbuing socialism with ecology while keeping the emancipatory goals of "first-epoch" socialism. Eco-socialists aim for communal ownership of

10602-536: The production of goods with no previous use that can be sold to sustain our ability to buy other goods. Such goods, in an eco-socialist analysis, produce exchange values but have no use value. Eco-socialists like Kovel stress that this contradiction has reached a destructive extent, where certain essential activities such as caring for relatives full-time and basic subsistence are unrewarded, while unnecessary commodities earn individuals huge fortunes and fuel consumerism and resource depletion. James O'Connor argues for

10716-481: The relationship between socialism and ecology – The Alternative in Eastern Europe and Socialism and Survival – which promoted a 'new party' and led to his arrest, for which he gained international notoriety. At around the same time, Alan Roberts , an Australian Marxist, posited that people's unfulfilled needs fuelled consumerism . Fellow Australian Ted Trainer further called upon socialists to develop

10830-436: The reunified Fourth International and Socialist Resistance , a British Marxist newspaper that reports on eco-socialist issues and has published two collections of essays on eco-socialist thought: Ecosocialism or Barbarism? , edited by Jane Kelly and Sheila Malone , and The Global Fight for Climate Justice , edited by Ian Angus with a foreword by Derek Wall. Eco-socialism has had a minor influence over developments in

10944-408: The second contradiction generates an underproduction crisis tendency, with the rising cost of inputs and labor, to complement the overproduction tendency of too many commodities for too few customers. Like Marx's contradiction of capital and labor, the second contradiction therefore threatens the system's existence. In addition, O'Connor believes that, in order to remedy environmental contradictions,

11058-499: The sensuous vitality of nature to the cold exchangeability required for the accumulation of capital ", while submerging "the majority of the world's people to a mere reservoir of labor power" as it penetrates communities through "consumerism and depoliticization". Other eco-socialists like Derek Wall highlight how in the Global South free-market capitalist structures economies to produce export-geared crops that take water from traditional subsistence farms , increasing hunger and

11172-431: The social and cultural potentialities latent in a technology of abundance". The self-administration of society is now made possible by technological advancement and, when technology is used in an ecologically sensitive manner, the revolutionary potential of society will be much changed. In 1982, his book The Ecology of Freedom had a profound impact on the emerging ecology movement, both in the United States and abroad. He

11286-791: The start" in an "essentially active relationship". William Morris , the English novelist, poet and designer, is largely credited with developing key principles of what was later called eco-socialism. During the 1880s and 1890s, Morris promoted his eco-socialist ideas within the Social Democratic Federation and the Socialist League . Following the Russian Revolution , some environmentalists and environmental scientists attempted to integrate ecological consciousness into Bolshevism , although many such people were later purged from

11400-459: The succession of capitalism by eco-socialism—an egalitarian economic/political/social structure designed to harmonize human society with non-human ecology and to fulfill human needs—as the only sufficient solution to the present-day ecological crisis, and hence the only path towards sustainability. Eco-socialists advocate dismantling capitalism, focusing on social ownership of the means of production by freely associated producers, and restoring

11514-468: The supervision of repressive states and transnational structures. In the "Ecosocialist Manifesto" (2001), Joel Kovel and Michael Löwy suggest that capitalist expansion causes "crises of ecology" through the "rampant industrialization" and "societal breakdown" that springs "from the form of imperialism known as globalization". They believe that capitalism's expansion "exposes ecosystems " to pollutants , habitat destruction and resource depletion , "reducing

11628-433: The system". While eco-socialists like Kovel recognise the ability of within-system approaches to raise awareness, and believe that "the struggle for an ecologically rational world must include a struggle for the state", he believes that the mainstream Green movement is too easily co-opted by the current powerful socio-political forces as it "passes from citizen-based activism to ponderous bureaucracies scuffling for 'a seat at

11742-453: The table ' ". For Kovel, capitalism is "happy to enlist" the Green movement for "convenience", "control over popular dissent" and "rationalization". He further attacks within-system green initiatives like carbon trading , which he sees as a "capitalist shell game" that turns pollution "into a fresh source of profit". Brian Tokar has further criticised carbon trading in this way, suggesting that it augments existing class inequality and gives

11856-448: The title Communist Party of Sweden . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Communist_Party_of_Sweden&oldid=1254255719 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Political party disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Articles containing Swedish-language text Short description

11970-449: The trade union cadre of the party, wanted to maintain the SKP's communist character and the fraternal bond with the CPSU . Former party leader Hagberg, who was associated with the pro-Soviet group, tried to launch the name Arbetets Parti ( pronounced [ˈârːbeːtɛts paˈʈiː] ; "Party of Labour"), as a compromise. The party leadership came up with another compromise, and the name

12084-547: The upper-class neighbourhood of Stockholm, Östermalm , residents formed paramilitary structures to defend themselves from a possible armed revolution. The party originated as a split from the Swedish Social Democratic Party in 1917, as the Swedish Social Democratic Left Party ( Sveriges socialdemokratiska vänsterparti , SSV). The split occurred when the Social Democratic Party did not support

12198-483: Was a difficult time for the SKP. The party was the sole political force in Sweden supporting the Soviet Union in the Winter War , which was frequently used as a pretext for the repression against the party. The SKP also supported Soviet military expansion along its Western border. Ny Dag , the main party organ, wrote on 26 July: "The border states have been liberated from their dependence on imperialist superpowers through

12312-512: Was a principal figure in the Burlington Greens in 1986–1990, an ecology group that ran candidates for city council on a program to create neighborhood democracy. Bookchin later developed a political philosophy to complement social ecology which he called " Communalism " (spelled with a capital "C" to differentiate it from other forms of communalism). While originally conceived as a form of social anarchism , he later developed Communalism into

12426-579: Was bombed. Five people, including two children, were killed. This constitutes the deadliest terrorist act committed in Sweden in the 1900s. One of the financial supporters of the group behind the attack, Paul Wretlind, was a regional leader of the Liberal Party in Stockholm. During the war, the largest co-ordinated police action in Swedish history took place against the party. 3,000 policemen took part in raids on party offices and homes of party members all over

12540-555: Was changed to Left Party – the Communists (VPK). VPK continued on the Eurocommunist course, but with a loud pro-Soviet minority grouped around Norrskensflamman . Moreover, there was a small pro-Chinese group led by Bo Gustafsson and Nils Holmberg, that left the party to form Communist Party of Sweden ( Kommunistiska Förbundet Marxist-Leninisterna ; KFML) at the time of the congress. The youth wing broke away, eventually forming Marxist-Leninistiska Kampförbundet (MLK). In 1968, VPK

12654-489: Was directed towards Persson by Knut Senander and Nils Holmberg , who said that Persson had to be held accountable for lack of political orientation and anti-party actions. Both Senander and Holmberg were considered as being part of the leftist faction of the party, but on this occasion they appeared as the most firebrand defenders of the party line. Only a handful of delegates defended Persson, and those who did clearly highlighted that they did not fully share Persson's critique of

12768-410: Was founded as a broad youth movement, parallel to the existing Young Communist League of Sweden. The hard-liners saw this as diluting the political character of the movement. An issue of high symbolic importance was the party's decision to promote joint May Day rallies with the Social Democrats. Yet another issue was the decision to give financial support to the "labour press", which was essentially in

12882-459: Was highly unlikely that any communist MP would be elected. However, the leftist minority within the party (led by Set Persson ) saw the new line as a capitulation to the Social Democrats. Another issue concerned the youth league. The party took the initiative to create a broad-based youth movement, looking at similar developments in countries like Finland . In 1952, Democratic Youth ( Demokratisk Ungdom [dɛmʊˈkrɑ̌ːtɪsk ˈɵ̂ŋdʊm] )

12996-606: Was the first Swedish party to publicly condemn the Soviet intervention in Czechoslovakia . The party organized a demonstration outside the Soviet embassy in Stockholm, which was addressed by Hermansson. This disapproval of Soviet aggression was exceptional among the Western communist parties. The party line on Czechoslovakia irritated the pro-Soviet minority. In the municipal elections of 1968,

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