Political Bureau Statement on Relief in Europe¶
Core Argument¶
This statement from the Political Bureau of the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP) addresses the immediate crisis of mass starvation and threatened famine in post-war Europe, framing it as a political duty for international socialists. The core argument is that the organised labour movement must take the lead in demanding relief, forcing the Labour Government to charter ships and coordinate with trade unions to ship food, particularly to Germany. The statement insists that party members should constantly raise this question within trade unions and labour organisations, pushing resolutions that pledge concrete action and the establishment of special funds.
The key claim is that the existing ‘Save Europe Now Campaign’ is fundamentally utopian and petty-bourgeois, capable only of scratching the surface of the problem. However, the RCP does not reject it outright; participation is deemed a tactical question, not one of principle. Local organisations are permitted to support the campaign locally, with the aim of drawing closer to the best elements of the petty bourgeoisie. This is a notable polemic: the statement argues against both the complete silence of the organised labour movement and the limited, reformist nature of the Save Europe Now campaign, while simultaneously refusing to abstain from it.
The historical context is the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, with Europe facing severe food shortages. The statement draws on a Marxist understanding of capitalist waste and irrationality, citing the example that maize is being burnt in South America while wheat is fed to pigs in the United States—a direct illustration of how the capitalist system destroys food rather than distributing it to the starving. This example serves to expose the hypocrisy of the reaction, which uses the excuse of diverting food to famine areas to maintain rationing and cut food supplies for the British masses as part of British import policy.
The statement also contains a polemic against any attempt by the British government to use the famine as a pretext for further austerity. It insists that voluntary donations of food and clothing should be supported, but that party members must constantly explain the limited nature of the campaign: without the full support of the mass organisations of the working class, real succour cannot be brought. The RCP’s own policy of sending food and clothing is endorsed, but always with the political education that only working-class power can solve the crisis.