The Arab Left ….. How to Answer the Question
By Salim al-Beik, A Palestinian Refugee

 The Arab leftist parties appeared, like the leftist parties of the world, as an objective necessity for the suppressed and marginalized classes. They chose either the reformation or revolution route. Since the appearance of the Arab communist parties in the 20s of the last century, the adaptation of Marxism by some parties after the 1967 defeat, till the moment, all of these parties faced various crises some of which they shared with the leftist parties of the world, other crises stemmed from the peculiarity of the Arab societies, the struggle against the Zionist state was, and still, the main of its characteristics. Due to the remarkable fallback of the Arab left, nowadays, genuine criticism should focus on it, hopefully, to rise like the phoenix from the ashes to live again in the lap of the people. It is time to understand Castro's words "it is not a great honour to fight for the revolution in the flux time but in the reflux." In the time of the greed cruelty of Globalization and Imperialism, its (coquette) Zionism, its guards of Arab reactionary regimes, and the spontaneous flux of the religious fundamental gloomy current, in this time, we must consciously reaffirm the national leftist revolutionary choice, which represent the alternative political, economical and social vision.
     The collapse of the Soviet Union was the main objective factor of the crises we all ,as leftist, face. During the Cold War, the belief that Marxism and its legitimacy must be taken from Moscow spread among some Arab leftist parties. They used to say (amen!) to all analysis and resolutions that come from there. This adaptation was at the expense of constructing a critical independent mind that recognizes peculiarities.
When we get closer to the subjective factors, we see that the weak and impotent reality of the Arab world which lies under the mercy of a handful of rulers who practice as a profession dictatorship, totalitarianism and tribalism, in addition to the openness policies and shameful treatments with (Israel). All that had a narcotizing effect on some of the Arab leftist parties. The respond of these parties to the Arab dirty regimes was either through calling for reformation and democracy, discarding all the revolutionary routes and neglecting the national liberation struggle, however, they spent time in (begging) the ruling comprador classes for (donations). On the other hand, the American Imperialist hegemony was, either directly through military or indirectly through economy, increasing the class contradictions, thus, invigorating the revolutionary leftist parties' choice. These parties are well aware that the situation, specialized by the existential contradiction with (Israel) and other contradictions with the ruling bourgeoisi classes necessitate a revolutionary work. They also believe in the dialectical relation between the democratic social struggle and the national liberation one, which is, in turn, dialectically related to the international struggle. Thus, they deal with the contradictions of the world in a more consciously comprehensive way. The widespread social diseases like patriarchism,  fundamentalism and others helped hindering the revolutionary enlightening role of the Arab Left.
    There is a factor which lies deep in the parties themselves, it is the state of ideological, political and organizational disorder. Concerning the ideological question, there are titles which all translations of Marxism share, like supporting the national liberation revolutions and the Proletariat and all the oppressed peoples around the world, as well as being guided by the dialectical materialism in analyzing and practicing, but, what some leftist parties were not aware of is the necessity of reproducing a revolutionary thought to deal with the local cases. They enshrined the Marxist text and, thus, divested it of its dialectical renewing nature, the thing which made them unable to face the demand of the situation and offer projects for a revolutionary change. Politically, they did not have a unified initial stand towards (Israel) as an occupying racial power, and the Arab reactionary regimes. The unity of the party, organizationally, is a principal condition for the Arab leftist parties to occupy their real place in society. It is not expected that a party which suffers religious or regional coalitions within it, to be in the front for any change.
    "we have to concentrate strongly on reality as it is, if we really want to change it.", Gramsci's words assert the necessity of the scientific dialectical analysis to change the dominant circumstances. To be guided by Marxism and to believe in its humanistic revolutionary message, does not mean to enshrine it but to criticize it in order to vitalize it. It is also necessary to be guided by all that is progressive and democratic in the Arab and Human traditions. We need to read and think of the words of the (wise- man of the Palestinian revolution), George Habash, "we should not be ashamed of our faults, because when pointing to them clearly, we will be on the straight way to get ahead of them." We also need to evoke the most insistent question and try to answer it in a straight way. We know that the Left is an objective necessity for the Arab and all peoples of the world, we also know that it contains faults, but, how can we get ahead of them and (keep left)?......................www.sanabel.5u.com