TKP launches new book with General Secretary Kemal Okuyan

A large audience followed their lively discussion on capitalism, politics and communism. Okuyan argued that capitalism has long reached an impasse and is now decaying, while growing social discontent can take destructive directions unless it meets an organized political alternative. His message was clear: communism is the only way forward for humanity.

The book, published by Kırmızı Kedi Publishing House, was the subject of a meeting organized around the question, "What will replace this outdated system?", where the problems of the contemporary world, the stagnation of capitalism, and the search for socialism were discussed.

The book can be reviewed and purchased [via this link] .

Referring to the historical source of the book's title, Terkoğlu stated that they were alluding to a quote attributed to the former Governor of Ankara, Nevzat Tandoğan, and continued his speech as follows:

"Years ago, the famous governor Nevzat Tandoğan, addressing the communists of that era, angrily said, 'If this country ever needs communism, we will bring it ourselves, what business is it of yours?' Taking that as an example, we decided to ask, 'What is the need for communism?' and that's how the book's title came about."

Stating that the book is the product of a collaborative effort, TKP General Secretary Kemal Okuyan made the following assessment regarding the structure of the journalism and interview book:

"A journalist is always essentially the person behind the scenes. If they're ahead of the event, they're not a journalist. But in these interview books, this is a collaborative effort. Because I'm the one answering the questions, but there's a narrative involved. Why were those questions formulated in one way and not another? It's a product of shared effort."

Okuyan acknowledged that politics, in its narrow sense, is a tiresome field, but stated that humanity has not yet reached the level of being freed from the relationship of governing and being governed. Okuyan emphasized that politics is an indispensable tool in the current conditions for changing the world and society with the following words:

"If we take politics in a narrow sense, it's very boring, but I never liked politics in that narrow sense anyway. I really didn't. But the claim to change the world... Actually, politics is present 24/7 in every aspect of life. It's not about liking or disliking politics, we are condemned to it. We have to do it. I hope that one day humanity will reach a level of maturity where politics is no longer necessary. Because politics is a bad thing. I mean, the subject of politics is bad. Ultimately, we're talking about people governing and being governed. I'm a bit of a freedom-loving person. Being governed is a very bad thing, and governing is also a bad thing. I don't want to govern or be governed, brother. Humanity should reach that point. But right now, we are forced to. Politics is the most important weapon we have to change the world. So we don't have the luxury of getting tired of it. But politics in a narrow sense is a very tiresome, wretched thing.”

Okuyan stated that the capitalist system has collapsed worldwide and explained why socialism is a necessity, citing the extent of impoverishment as an example:

“Regarding the current system, which we call capitalism; it is already blocked, it's long been blocked, it's decaying and collapsing. Right now, the world is absolutely and unequivocally calling for socialism. The Soviet Union collapsed in '91, and in those 35 years, capitalism hasn't offered humanity anything good. The total credit card debt of our citizens in Turkey is 3.5 trillion. You enslave people with this debt burden. But eventually, people will say 'enough is enough.' People say 'enough is enough' not through awareness, but when there is no other option left, they rebel. If this moment of social upheaval doesn't align with a specific program, it can lead to disaster. Hitler led Germany into darkness by falsely organizing the 'enough is enough' sentiment in society. Communists were left with the responsibility of saving humanity from fascism. Communism is necessary so that humanity never again faces such a fascist experience.”

Stating that the fundamental task of the left is to change the system, Okuyan summarized the principled stance of the TKP as follows:

“The left has abandoned its claim to change the system. The further you move away from the goal of changing the system, the more you become part of the existing politics. Remove the goal of changing the system, or the goal of establishing a new order worthy of humanity, and nothing should remain of the TKP. We do not consider entering parliament or filling halls as the sole criterion for success. Moreover, there is nothing that the left in Turkey cannot share. Let even larger processions than the Communist Party of Turkey emerge; we would see absolutely no problem with that. We are trying to stay away from internal left-wing polemics.”

Referring to the historical impact of communism, which has lasted for over 170 years, and giving examples from national independence struggles around the world, Okuyan shared an anecdote from a congress of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), recounting the confession of a right-wing politician who said, "If our flag is hanging in this hall, it is your work; you secured the independence of the country." 

Highlighting the indelible mark of communists on history, TKP General Secretary Kemal Okuyan concluded his speech by emphasizing that the future of humanity also lies in communism.

“Remove communism from this 170-year history, and what remains is something strange. Look at Turkish literature; there's Nazım Hikmet, Orhan Kemal, Sabahattin Ali. Remove communists from art and literature, and what's left is a barren picture. Wherever a country has faced hardship, communists have fought beyond their means. It's like that in France, like that in Bulgaria, like that in Greece... Communists have never harmed humanity or the people. We have made mistakes that need correcting, but you cannot remove communists from the history, present, and future of humanity. Communism was necessary 170 years ago, and it is necessary now. Nothing remains for humanity's future except socialism, except communism."