The World Association of Political Economy (WAPE) has organized in cooperation with the Shanghai International Studies University (SISU) its 15th annual forum on December 18 and 19 in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China. The forum was titled this year “Rethinking economic analysis: Perspective of political economy”. Sessions were organized both online and in presence.
More than 300 hundred speakers from 40 countries attended the forum, including researchers from China, Cuba, Russia, Brazil, the U.S., India, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Greece and Turkey. The forum took place as a meeting of who’s who of global Marxist political economy.
In the forum, several participants from Turkey also made presentation, which were followed closely and with great interest as the country is currently witnessing a currency crisis. Among the Forum’s Turkish participants were also United World International experts.
As the Turkish economy is being closely followed worldwide, UWI will present in the coming days the speeches held by Turkish participants on the WAPE forum.
We start our series today with the presentation of Dr. Doğu Perinçek, Chairman of Turkey’s Vatan Party.
1. The Production Revolution is inevitable
In Turkey, the neoliberal economy policy has been applied since the 1980s under the label of “Merging with the Global Economy”. This program has consisted in summary of the following main points:
– Privatization of state-led-economic activities and State-Owned-Enterprises (SOE);
– Elimination of support and subsidies for agriculture and peasants;
– Lowering or eliminating customs tariffs;
– Elimination of all controls over entrance and exit of money and capital and
-“Downsizing the state”.
In order to make the society accept the neoliberal program, peasants and other producers were declared “hunchbacks” of the economy, i.e. unproductive and costly elements. The essence of the economic program was to demolish Turkey’s production structure, which the Kemalist Revolution had constructed.
This neoliberal program has resulted in drowning Turkey in a 450-billion-Dollar debt. Turgut Özal had advertised this program, saying “we will achieve the capacity to compete in international markets, we will achieve an explosion in the amount of exports”. What this program exploded in amount were imports, because even Turkey’s export products started containing import share of up to 60-70%.
Today, the system of “Merging with the Global Economy” has become unsustainable. In the global context of the Asian Civilization rising, has Turkey arrived to the eve of constructing an economy focused on saving-investment-employment-production. The system is changing, and the program of the Vatan Party is on the agenda.
In order to avoid drowning in the debt swap and being divided, Turkey had to leave control of the Atlantis System. This process first started in the security dimension, with the aim to ensure our territorial integrity and eliminate terror groups. Turkey’s economy has entered a process of merging with Eurasia. Today, our first, second and third most important trade partners are Russia, China and Germany.
Turkey can overcome the difficulties it faces only with a Production Revolution. Only a government that shares the difficulties with the whole of society equally can apply the economic solutions that include difficulties for the whole of society. The government that correlates with the Production Revolution is the National Government of the Producers.
2. The main aspects of the saving-investment-employment-production-focused economy
2.1. The National Government of the Producers
The task to establish the Economy of Production can be achieved with a Government of the Producers. The government of the producers is national and patriotic. Its main task is to lead the Production Revolution that will embrace all productive classes of the nation.
2.2. An independent and strong state that relies on the producers
The state needs to be strong in this period of difficulties. It will derive its strength from the Turkish nation. It will rely on the people. Thus, it will gain the society’s confidence and will be able to establish its authority over it.
2.3. Disciplined society
The unity between state and society can be achieved with a free and organized society and with discipline. Freedoms have their limit in Turkey’s independence, territorial integrity, the secular and revolutionary republic and in the need to protect the society from Western-induced cultural rotting. The goal of the discipline is to rapidly develop the national economy by mobilizing the people, to increase the country’s security and to strengthen the national revolutionary culture and traditions.
2.4. The crown belongs to the producer
Focusing on production is the solution for the times ahead. Producing is done with the producer. Humans are the biggest productive force. Therefore, the basic slogan for our times is clear: The crown belongs to the producer.
2.5. Protecting and developing the sources of income
Our factories shall not close down, our workplaces shall continue to operate, our production structure shall not crush down, and thus, we shall be able to construct a Production Economy upon them. We shall not be unemployed and continue to win our daily bread. New workplaces shall open and we shall provide employment to our unemployed.
Protecting the source of income is protecting the wheels of production.
2.6. Sharing the difficulties
The burden of the current, heavy economic crisis cannot be laid upon the shoulders of the working population. In order to fuel the workers’ will to work and produce, we will provide human living conditions. Difficulties of the crisis will be shared among all sectors of society.
2.7. Ending unemployment and mobilizing labor
Our Turkey has a young and dynamic population. The key task of the Production Revolution is to mobilize the labor force of Turkey for the production. The introduction of labor-intensive solutions additional to capital-intensive approaches is mandatory to end unemployment.
2.8. Public property, private property and social property serving production
Public resources will be provided to the public owned state-led-economic-initiatives, and thus, a comprehensive and productive investment mobilization will be pursued.
The producers’ private property will be supported and induced in order to develop production.
In production unites that face bankruptcy, mixed models of property combining public, workers’ and company owners’ ownership will be introduced to protect the workplace and keep the production continuing.
Cooperatives will be incentivized and developed especially in the agriculture in order to protect and develop the peasants’ private property, to make use of opportunities provided by companies of scale, to make a productive use of given forces of production and ensure that products achieve a just price on the market.
These forms of property also merge with the Production Revolution’s target to develop the productive forces of all sectors of society.
2.9. Market and competition as a factor of productivity
Market conditions and competition will be regulated according to the tasks of distributing resources according to productivity, increasing production, developing technology, raising quality and satisfying the people’s needs.
2.10. Plans of Development
Plans of Development will be made to serve the following targets: Increasing savings and investments, ending unemployment, using resources productively to satisfy the people’s needs, progressing development, providing qualified public services beginning with health, education and justice.
2.11. The adequate technology
We need to make use of the whole productive capacity of Turkey. Capital which was left aside at those times, when producers were declared “hunchbacks”, will be reintroduced to the process of production, leading not only to increases of production but to savings for the later introduction of new technologies. Therefore, today it is needed to leave aside the fetishism of advanced technology and instead, provide conditions that enable to make use of all currently given forces of production, machinery and experience in production.
2.12. Cooperation with neighboring countries
Turkey’s energy security lies in the friendship with our neighbors, Iraq, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia and Qatar. The cooperation with Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Libya bears vital importance concerning our resources in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea as well as for the security of our homeland. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries have also entered a process of independence from the United States and cooperation with Asian countries. This process also offers new opportunities for Turkey concerning energy security and supply.
2.13. Joint investment and shared development in the context of Eurasia
A new world is being born. The Atlantic Era is being left behind. Humanity is entering the Asian Era. As our industrialists also frequently emphasize, is the world’s gravity center in terms of both economy and politics moving towards Asia. The production happens in Asia. Asia has today become the continent of technological development and innovation.
Our harbors in Istanbul, Izmir and Trabzon have become the Silk Road’s doors to the world via sea, land and air. The People’s Republic of China evaluates Turkey as a natural partner of the Belt and Road Initiative. Indeed, Turkey’s position in the Belt and Road Initiative is incomparable to other in terms of economy, transportation and security matters. The cooperation with China offers Turkey the opportunity to become a base of production. With joint investments reaching billions of dollars, we can provide employment to millions of our citizens, raise production and close our foreign trade deficit.
Besides of economic development, our cooperation and solidarity with Central Asian countries and all Eurasian countries will be strengthened to serve peace and security. Turkey’s security starts in Russia and China. China and Russia’s security starts in Turkey. Turkey will deepen its independency by taking its place within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. On that way, we will also establish conditions in relations with the US and the European Union that enable a normalization of relations and their pursuit on the ground of mutual benefit.
2.14. The shield of the Production Revolution: The Economy of National Resistance
The Economy of National Resistance is a kind of economy politics of war. The Coronavirus pandemic has made this economical program more urgent than ever. The Economy of National Resistance envisages ensuring 5 basic securities:
2.14.1. The security of security
In these circumstances, where economy and security have become intertwined, it is existential to provide the security of our armed forces and police organization. Especially in the context of given war threats in the Eastern Mediterranean and domestic and external threats of sabotage against the Production Revolution, a strong state, strong armed forces, strong security and a disciplined society are mandatory.
2.14.2. The security of energy supply
The world has entered a serious energy crisis. Energy prices are expected to explode. Energy is a vital resource to continue social life and achieve the Production Revolution. Problems in economy and health sectors will not be solved by giving up investments on energy but by assuring the security of energy supply. It is mandatory that the state itself organizes the distribution, import and export of energy.
2.14.3. The security of health
Within the Economy of National Resistance, the state itself is responsible to provide all health services for our citizens.
2.14.4. The security of education
The Production Revolution makes an education system necessary that serves the purpose of establishing a new, state-led economy. The state is responsible of both providing general education services as well as educating the human resources of the Production Revolution.
2.15. The Turkish nation’s heritage and experience in state-led economy
In the 1930’s, Turkey has applied 2 5-year plans and pursued a state-led economy. Thanks to these measures, we have been one of the two fastest developing countries in the world, the other being the Soviet Union. The Kemalist revolution’s statism has left us a great heritage concerning uniting the country and the nation, and in the spheres of economy, health politics, education and public moral.
2.16. Urgent solution: nationalization in the health sector
The nationalization of all private hospitals and health institutions is inevitable. Actually, nationalization in the health sector has already started.
2.17. Nationalizing bankrupt companies in order to protect employment and continue production
The number of companies that are facing bankruptcy or already have gone bankrupt is alarming. In these circumstances, keeping the wheels of production turning and protecting the workplaces is the priority in economy policy. Article 10 in the Vatan Party’s Production Revolution program concerning the “Nationalization of bankrupt companies in order to protect employment and continue production” has become the only viable solution today.
2.18. Nationalization in education is inevitable
The Coronavirus pandemic has once against demonstrated that it is only the public that can pursue national education successfully. Private schools, private universities, private dorms must be nationalized.
This is also necessary to provide cost-free education and ensure equality of opportunities.
2.19. A strong central bank and the nationalization of banks
Keeping the economy’s wheels turning, protecting and developing the workplace, growing the productive sectors, protecting and developing the production structure and employment, using resources productively…All this makes public banking focused on production and employment necessary.
Turkey has to reorganize its financial system and, above all, strengthen the Central Bank under state guidance.
The banking and credit system will used effectively and reorganized in order to enable the state to direct the economy towards society’s benefit, realize the national plan, end usury, provide income equality and control the transfer of profits to the international sphere.
Sector banks that focus on investment and production will be developed. The situation, where banks exercise a terror regime over the producers, will be ended and banks will become a solutions partner of the producers.
2.20. The grand solution is right ahead of us
Turkey faces big problems that can only be solved by revolutionary measures.
The solution is nationalist, popular, statist, enlightened and revolutionary.
Turkey is on the edge of a great leap to succeed in its Production Revolution, ensure its security and take its place among the leaders of the Eurasian context. Eurasia is the geography of the new world that is being born – a world where humanism, statism, the Production Revolution, solidarity and sharing prevails.
We have entered difficult, harsh circumstances.
Turkey will come out of this crisis with a new revolutionary leap towards the completion of the Kemalist Revolution. It is key to establish a National Government of the Producers that will share the burdens in order to overcome the difficulties.