Jonathan Frühling
Whether it’s the war in Ukraine, the genocide in Gaza or new trade wars – one crisis is following hard on the heels of another. Governments are driving through social cuts and attacks on workers and the oppressed, and the ecological catastrophe is advancing. But those in power are resorting to authoritarianism and militarism and pouring billions into armaments in order to come out on top in the struggle for the new division of power.
We must organise resistance – internationally. But resistance requires a perspective! That is why REVOLUTION, Arbeiter:innenmacht (Germany), Arbeiter;innenstandpunkt (Austria) and Marxistische Aktion (Switzerland) organised the Internationalism 2025 Summer Camp from 12 to 17 August. In over 60 workshops, we analysed the causes of war and crisis and their consequences for workers, women, LGBTIA+ people and the oppressed worldwide. More than 160 comrades discussed together subject like the United States under Trump, the crisis of the European Union, and developments in China, Argentina, India and Sudan.
Global situation and the tasks of revolutionaries
With the 2025 Summer Camp now behind us we can see that even more than last year’s event, it had a distinctly international character. In addition to comrades from other sections of the League in Europe, comrades from the International Socialist League (ISL) took part; from Spain, Italy, France, Turkey and Argentina.
There are two reasons for this. First, the class struggle itself, and therefore revolutionary politics, is international by its very nature. Second, our regroupment discussions with the LIS have developed very positively in the last period, and we are now confident that we will be able to unite on the basis of a common programme by the end of 2025 and join the LIS.
Accordingly, the questions of regroupment, the analysis of the world situation and the politics deriving from it both at a world level, but also in individual countries, were at the top of the agenda this year.
Revolutionary politics does not, of course, mean ‘only’ joint discussion and agreement on analysis and programme. Just as the local groups of an organisation need to exchange experiences, so too organisations from different traditions need share their lesson in order to grow together into an international fighting community. At the camp, everyone was able to refresh their foreign language skills, and we translated the workshops, but also the many conversations outside of them, for one another. Despite language barriers, we were able to gain important insights into the political ideas, experiences and realities of our comrades.
Camp
However, the camp would not have been called a summer school if it had not also included a leisure and cultural programme. The free time could be used for swimming in the nearby lake, while others passed the time practising martial arts in the shade at over 30 degrees. There was also a socialist forest trek, screen printing, a poetry workshop, outdoor games, a short film evening and, last but not least, a party on Saturday. The rap battle will certainly remain in our memories for a long time.
Of course, there were also caucus meetings for queer people and those oppressed by racism. At the same time, an anti-racist and anti-sexist reflection meeting and a consensus training session took place. In addition, we explored other feminist theories, the history of anti-racist struggles, important workers‘ struggles and transformative justice in the workshops.
It was especially nice to meet lots of new people. Most of the newcomers were very young comrades. This shows that we are dynamic and growing, despite the general shift to the right in society. Accordingly, some workshops focused on the theoretical foundations of our politics, such as ‘Historical Materialism’ or ‘What is Capitalism?’, the origins of LGBTIAQ oppression, etc.
At the camp, we discussed the current crisis of capitalism and the EU, the challenges of AI for the working class, the development of left-wing parties in Europe and our intervention. A series of other workshops dealt with the dramatic progression of the environmental catastrophe, the Marxist analysis of war and revolutionary tactics, and the theory of permanent revolution and its relevance today. Comrades from the MST, the Argentine section of the LIS, reported on the great strike of the Garrahan hospital in Buenos Aires and on the politics the comrades advocate inside to FIT-U to overcome the limitations of an electoral front.
We devoted an entire day to work in schools, universities and workplaces. Unfortunately, we cannot cover all the topics discussed here, but this should give an idea of how comprehensive the programme was. We would just like to mention that the latest issue of our theoretical journal ‘Revolutionary Marxism’ on the topic of ‘Russia, war and the national question’ was published immediately before the camp.
We organised our own panel discussion on the struggle against genocide in Palestine. Unfortunately, in Germany, simply stating what is happening in Gaza or the West Bank draws down state repression and is already a revolutionary act. But that is not enough, of course. That is why we focused specifically on the question of how we can stop the genocide.
A world to win
The camp was certainly a special highlight of the year for all of us. Not only did new comrades visit the camp, but a number of them also joined the organisation or intend to do so in the coming weeks. Everyone contributed to making the six days of the participatory camp a success. This time together strengthened our inner social cohesion and allowed the participating individuals and organisations to grow closer together politically.
Knowing that there are people around the world who share our views and are willing to take practical action to defend them is probably one of the most important insights gained from such a camp. We have thus taken another important step towards greater international revolutionary unity. All of these are important prerequisites for returning to our countries and cities and resuming the daily class struggle with renewed motivation. The camp has strengthened our confidence that we will be victorious in the battles to come. So let’s continue the struggle! There is – indeed -a world to win!