Britain was due to leave
the European Union (EU) on the 29th March 2019 because the British
people voted in a referendum to exit the EU. However, this departure has now
been postponed and article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty (providing for member states
to secede) will not be invoked until June 2019 or possibly later. The purpose
of this paper is not to debate a no-deal Brexit versus different variants of
Brexit deals, nor is there any point in discussing a second referendum as the
British people clearly voted to leave the EU. The purpose of this article is to
examine how the Juche Idea can be applied to a post-Brexit Britain and if there
are lessons from the DPRK's experience in building an independent national
economy that can be applied to the UK after Brexit. Some opponents of the Juche
Idea in the UK argue that it is irrelevant to Britain or that it is merely an
abstract thought that cannot be applied to Britain because it is an imperialist
country. We aim to show that Juche would actually fit in very well to the
realities of a post-Brexit Britain.
Firstly, it is our view
that to apply Juche in Britain would involve having to leave the EU. The EU
denies independence to its member states and it is really a vehicle for
globalisation and neo-liberalism, despite some believing that the EU is a “socialist”
and “internationalist” project. In fact, it was created as the economic and
political counterpart of NATO in Western Europe.
The Greek case made it
evident that it is impossible to negotiate a different policy inside the
framework of the EU, other than fully adhering to its embedded neo-liberalism.
The ability of the EU to impose its will upon anyone who attempts to choose a
different course inside the EU was fully expressed in the Greek case. The EU
showed its true colours in deliberately bringing down the left wing government
of Tsipras in Greece and it managed to reinstate a government who aligned with
its ideological goals. At every turn, the EU has favoured protectionism for big
business and the wealthy, and tougher regulation for everyone else.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the
Left in Britain strongly opposed the UK’s membership of the EU. For example,
the old Communist Party of Great Britain and Labour Left figures like Tony Benn
were implacable opponents of the EU. In the 1975 referendum on Britain’s membership
of the Common Market, continued membership was supported by the majority of the
Conservative Party, Liberal Party and the dominant right wing of the Labour Party.
Those advocating to leave the Common Market came from the left of the Labour
and the Communist Party. At the 1979 general election, Labour supported
remaining in the European Economic Community (EEC). However, after their defeat
and with Michael Foot becoming leader, Labour turned decisively against the
EEC. The 1983 Labour manifesto stated: “We will also open immediate
negotiations with our EEC partners, and introduce the necessary legislation, to
prepare for Britain’s withdrawal from the EEC, to be completed well within the
lifetime of the Labour government.”
The mainstream Left and
so-called progressives argue for continued membership of the EU because they believe
that this union can be reformed, which will lead to the creation of a “People’s
Europe”. However, the deeply embedded neoliberalism and authoritarianism of the
EU as a class project means that we have to move beyond thinking in terms of
“another EU” and reform of the EU.
In November 2018, French
president Emmanuel Macron warned that Europeans cannot be protected without a
“true, European army” to defend the EU from China, Russia and even the US. Many
EU leaders, including German chancellor Angela Merkel, have expressed support
for a “real, true” European army. This increased level of military co-operation
will increase the power of Franco-German imperialism. An independent Britain
must avoid all imperialist alliances.
The EU far from pursuing a
progressive or just foreign policy has been very keen to impose harsh,
draconian sanctions on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The EU has
also imposed sanctions on Venezuela, while at the same time recognising the
reactionary puppet imposter Juan Guaidó as “president “. Therefore, the EU is
not on the side of progress anywhere in the world.
EU trade policies are
having a detrimental impact on developing countries. The EU is trying to impose
favourable trade agreements to bolster their economic hegemony on the world
stage at the expense of the developing nations. An example of this is the Raw
Material Initiative. The EU is basically a bloc of imperialist countries, so
Brexit is a good opportunity for Britain to cut ties to the reactionary EU.
Historically, the leaders
of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea were critical both of the EU and
its ideological foundations. The great leader President KIM IL SUNG in his
seminal work "Let Us Embody More Thoroughly the Revolutionary Spirit of Independence,
Self-Sustenance and Self-Defence in All Fields of State Activity'
(1967) recognised the deeply reactionary nature of the EU pointing out that
"The European
Common Market”, the “integration of the world economy” and the like, loudly
advertised by the imperialist powers today, all pursue the heinous, aggressive
aims of strangling the economic independence of the newly independent states
and subordinating these countries to their rule"
The
great leader Comrade KIM JONG IL wrote in his classic work On Preserving the Juche character and
national character of the revolution and construction " wrote that "We must" must smash up the vicious and cunning policy of the imperialists
who seek to obliterate nations and the reactionary doctrines which try to
justify this policy.
The imperialists’ reactionary policy of suppressing the Juche
character of nations and obliterating national traits is now taking on a new
form in the guise of gangster-like fuss about the trend towards a “monolithic”
world. In the situation where each country and nation shape their destiny with
their own ideas and systems, there can be no “monolithic” world which covers
all spheres of politics, economy and culture. With social development and ties
and interchange among different nations becoming closer, common features
increase in the lives of nations. However, this process always presupposes the
independent and individualistic development of nations and takes place on the
basis of such development"
Establishing Juche in Britain would inevitably clash with
membership of the EU because the EU project is about limiting the sovereignty
of its member states and trying to integrate them into a “unified Europe” with
a single free market. The EU aims to
destroy independent and sovereign nations in Europe and create a single
European super-state run by an undemocratic bureaucracy. Decision making in the
EU is dominated by the unelected European Commission and the European Central
Bank. The EU is part of the globalisation project of the imperialists, so
leaving the EU is striking a blow for independence.
The remain lobby is spreading scare stories about shortages and
price increases in a post-Brexit Britain, but this ignores the fact that it was
the EU that ended cheap food in the UK. On the leave side, there is talk of
getting free trade deals with various other countries around the world. Some
right-wing Brexiters also want to turn Britain into a tax haven and a super
exploitative economy, which would turn the UK into a sweatshop like south Korea
or Singapore. However, we
Juche Idea followers reject such reactionary and anti-people ideas. Moreover,
the question of Brexit should not be seen in terms of making trade deals etc,
but as an opportunity to build an independent national economy.
The
Juche idea with its emphasis on self-reliance could be applied to a post-Brexit
Britain. The UK can also learn from the DPRK's vast experience in building an
independent national economy. President KIM IL SUNG taught us that "building
an independent national economy means building a diversified economy equipping
it with up-to date technology and creating our solid bases of raw materials
,thereby building up an all embracing economic system in which every branch is
structurally interrelated so as to provide domestically most of the products of
heavy and light industry and the agricultural produce needed to make the
country wealthy and powerful and to improve the people's living
condition".
The
DPRK has a diversified economy that produces a wide range of products from
cosmetics to rockets. Despite facing sanctions and blockades over many years,
the DPRK’s economy has thrived and enjoyed a high rate of growth with
industrial output value growing at 19.1 per cent per annum during the period
1957 to 1970. Furthermore, from 1946 to 1984, industrial output increased by
431 times and national income increased by 65 times. The south Korean 'Bank of
Korea ' in 2016 estimated the DPRK's economic growth at 3.9 per cent per annum.
These figures prompted Reuters (no friend of the DPRK) to write “North Korea
2016 economic growth at 17-year high despite sanctions: South Korea”. It should also be pointed out that
the DPRK's dependence on foreign trade is minimal, as the percentage of foreign
trade in the gross national product was estimated to be 4.8 per cent.
A
post-Brexit Britain should take inspiration from the DPRK by first securing
economic
independence and then building an economy that is diversified and able to meet
people's needs. In the past few decades, industries in the UK have disappeared
and there has been the rise of the retail sector, the finance sector and other
non-productive sectors. In the UK, only 12 per cent of GDP comes from
manufacturing industry, as compared to 30 per cent in 1970, which is a decline
of over 50 per cent. Although the UK is amongst the wealthy countries of the world,
its economy is dangerously unbalanced because it lacks a strong base of productive
and extractive industries. However, these problems are not entirely the EU's fault
as the longer term decline of British capitalism and the general crisis of
capitalism have also been a big contributing factor. Nevertheless, the EU has
greatly accelerated deindustrialisation.
Arthur
Scargill, former leader of the National Union of Mine workers and President of
the Socialist Labour Party, called for coal mines and cotton mills to be reopened.
We would support this and believe that such an action would make a positive and
practical contribution towards an independent national economy. Britain could
easily produce many products that are now imported and greater agricultural
self-sufficiency could be achieved.
Throughout
the period of Britain's membership of the EU, unemployment has never been below
1 million. Many EU member countries have high levels of unemployment. A post-Brexit
Britain based on Juche and self-reliance would strive to have a diversified
economic structure, with all sectors serving the needs of the people and
providing full employment.
A
post-Brexit Britain should not become more dependent on other countries,
neither should it try to compete with other capitalist countries by lowering
wages and cutting social benefits. We should instead become self-reliant by
relying on own resources. We must move away from dependence on foreign trade by
expanding the internal market.
A
truly independent Britain can only be achieved by leaving NATO, IMF, the world
bank and other capitalist organisations. It would also be necessary to close
all US bases and expel all US military and intelligence personnel from British
soil.
Only Juche can create a sovereign Britain. We
all know the problems associated with the notion of sovereignty, especially its
association with nationalism, racism, and colonialism. However, this progressive
form of sovereignty is based upon a social relationship that is different from
that of bourgeois “sovereignty.” The “people” of this reclaimed popular
sovereignty would be all working class people who are struggling against the
policies of European capitalist classes.
There is an anxiety caused by people’s sense of
a lack of control over their own lives, anger against a cynical political class
and disbelief against the undemocratic framework of the EU. Thus, there is a desire
for democracy as emancipation, independence, and justice. This discontent has
also led the rise of right-wing parties, but only a Juche based party would
achieve independence and true freedom. Therefore, Juche is the answer to the
rise of the right-wing following the EU referendum.
Juche can help us to achieve a genuine “People’s
Brexit” that would allow the people to take control of their country and
destinies. Let’s build an independent and self-reliant People’s Britain under
the banner of Juche!
Written by Dermot Hudson and Shaun Pickford
Juche Idea Study Group of England March 2019.
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