Speech by

ERICH HONECKER
General Secretary of the
SED Central Committee and
Chairman o f the GDR Council o f State
at the International
Theoretical Conference o f the
SED Central Committee on
“Karl Marx and Our Time:
The Struggle for Peace and
Social Progress”

Berlin, 11—16 April 1983

Speech by Erich Honecker
at the International
Theoretical Conference of the
SED Central Com mittee on
"K a rl Marx and O u r Time:
The Struggle for Peace and
Social Progress”
Comrades,
D istinguished guests,
A hundred years ago, when Karl Marx, the great thinker and
revolutionary, had closed his eyes for ever, Friedrich Engels, his
friend and com panion th rougho ut a lifetim e of struggle, declared
th a t his name and work would endure through the ages. These
prophetic words are proving true in our challen ging and turbulen t
age as the human condition undergoes a radical transform ation
on all continents and the human race summons all its energies to
banish the spectre of se lf-a n n ih ila tio n in a nuclear holocaust.
As we all know, events in honour of Karl M arx are taking place
everywhere. People have been swarming to exhibitions to find out
more a b o u t his work. Many publications are appea ring. Films,
newspapers and other media have awakened m illions upon m il­
lions to the personality and achievements of the greatest son of
the G erm an people.
Karl M arx dedicated his life to the task of not only interpreting
the world, but actually changing it. And the w orld has indeed
changed beyond recognition since his day. W e can see now th a t
this regeneration of all social phenomena has occurred in the spirit
of Karl Marx, along revolutionary lines, rather than in the spirit
of those who pursued him w ith hatred th rougho ut his life and
then, a fte r his death, sought in vain to extinguish the fire of his
teachings.
Marx enabled the working class in all lands to perceive its

5
 historical mission as the g ra ve-dig g er o f the old society and the
arch ite ct of a new society w hich is free from the exploita tion of man
by man. By abolish in g e xploita tion, the human race also rids itself
of other scourges w hich have a fflicte d it fo r centuries— national
oppression and racial d iscrim inatio n, and devastating wars. As all
o f us can observe, the w orking class has evolved into a decisive
force behind the wheel o f history. A fte r the 19th century w ith all its
struggles, a fte r the trium ph and bloody suppression of the Paris
Commune, a fte r the revolutionary upheavals which put an end to
the First W orld W ar early this century, after the Soviet U nion had
powered the A llie d coa litio n to victory over Germ an fascism, the
w orking class em erged in many countries as the ruling class,
establishing socialist society in a llia n c e with the peasantry and the
inte llig e ntsia.
It was the Russian pro le taria t, led by the Bolshevik Party and by
V la d im ir Ilyich Lenin, on whom had fa lle n the m antle of M arx
and Engels, w hich blazed this tra il w ith the G reat O cto b e r S ocial­
ist Revolution. In Moscow and Peking, in Berlin, Havana and Addis
A bab a, in Prague, H anoi and Aden, in W arsaw, Ulan Bator and
Pyongyang, in Budapest and V ientiane, in Sofia and Kabul, in
Bucharest and Luanda, in Belgrade and M a p u to — everywhere we
can see the contours of a w orld in w hich the people, in the words
of Engels, are stepping from the realm of necessity into the realm
of freedom .
The vast im pact w hich the G re a t O cto ber Socialist Revolution
has made on the developm ent of m ankind is very much apparent.
The 60th anniversary of the U nion o f Soviet Socialist Republics,
and the p a rticip a tio n of numerous communist, socialist and social
dem ocratic parties, of revolutionary-dem ocratic parties and lib e ra ­
tion movements in the celebrations in Moscow to mark the oc­
casion, underlin e the g re a t prestige which the Soviet Union enjoys
w orldw ide and the g re a t a ttra c tio n it holds for the in ternatio nal
lab o u r movement and for all peoples.
How could it be otherw ise! The G re a t O ctober Socialist Revolu­
tio n was no ordinary revolution. It differed radically from all
6 7
previous revolutions includin g the great French Revolution which
continues to command our respect. All preceding revolutions, it w ill
be recalled, had only led to an old exploitative system being re­
placed by a new one. The exploitation of man by man rem ained,
but the Red O ctober abolished it for the first time. The victory
brought the workers to power in allia n ce with the peasants. That is
the fundam ental distinction between, on the one hand, the G reat
O ctober Socialist Revolution and the revolutions in the other
socialist countries and, on the other, all the revolutions which
went before. And herein lies the significance of real socialism to ­
day in the history of the world.
Basically, the victory of the G reat O ctober Socialist Revolution
was a victory fo r the teachings of Marx, Engels and Lenin. Yuri A n ­
' dropov, G eneral Secretary of the C entral Com m ittee of the Com ­
m unist Party o f the Soviet Union, rightly pointed out recently in
his a rticle dealing w ith M arx’s theory and some aspects of so­
cialist construction in the USSR th a t Marxism in our day would be
inconceivable w ithout or alongside Leninism. Lenin and the Bol­
shevik Party w hich he founded, he writes, assumed the leading
role in the first victorious revolution which com pletely changed
the sociopolitical com plexion of our planet. This ushered in a new
era, one of w orldw ide transition from capitalism to socialism, of
striking successes and historic achievements by the workers and
the mass of the people. S cientific socialism, the theory propounded
by M arx and Engels, was thus made a living reality by m illions of
working people bu ild in g a new society.
The victorious G reat O cto b e r Socialist Revolution made it clear
th a t capitalism , which the bourgeoisie claim s is natural and
perm anent, can be replaced by a new socioeconom ic form ation.
At the same time, it proved how correct Marx was to point out
th a t capitalism would not disappear from the scene of its own
free w ill. O nly the working class and its revolutionary party can
overthrow it. This, it w ill be remembered, was one of the principal
lessons which M arx and Engels drew from the defeat of the Paris
Commune.
 outside our control. N or w ill it be governed by the wishful th inking
W hichever way one looks at the events of 1917, which marked
of all those "M a rx -is -d e a d " theorists who are clam ouring fo r a
a tu rn in g -p o in t in the history of m ankind, it is a fa ct th a t the
crusade a g ainst the Marxism of our era and who would prefer to
emergence of socialism as a living organism shook the ca p ita list
see communism proscribed by a latter-day Inquisition and to give
w orld to its roots and inspired hum anity w ith the hope of a happy
it a q u ie t burial so as to assure the ruling classes in th e ir respec­
future in peace and freedom. As M arx and Engels predicted, the
tive countries of th e ir profits. W hat really determ ines the develop­
onw ard march of the socialist w orld has been accom panied by
ment of a society is the level and mode of production, the stage
the advance of the p op u la r movement for liberatio n w hich dealt
of econom ic developm ent its people have attained . In our day,
the dea th-blow to the im perialist colonia l system. This has been
the existence of the USSR and of the w orld socialist system even
coupled w ith fierce co n flict in c a p ita lis t countries at various stages
makes it possible fo r the peoples of econom ically backward coun-
in th e ir developm ent. Even now, the ruling class in those lands
i tries to move towards laying the foundations fo r socialism w hile
can no longer exercise its power w ith o u t taking into account the
skipping the ca p ita list path of development.
influence of the w orld socialist system and the lab o u r movement
"A n d now as to myself,” M arx noted, “ no cre d it is due to me
w ithin th e ir own borders, which has already become the principal
fo r discovering the existence of classes in modern society or the
a gen t of dem ocratic progress and dem ocratic renewal. These
struggle between them. Long before me bourgeois historians had
countries w ill see socialism emerge, in w hatever colours, in a
described the historical developm ent of this class struggle and
way th a t reflects nationa l realities and class constellations and
bourgeois economists the econom ic anatom y of the classes. W hat
w ill witness the transfer of the means of production into public
I did th a t was new was to prove: (1) th a t the existence of classes
ownership, one of Marx's most im portant demands. In A frica, Asia
is only bound up w ith p a rtic u la r historical phases in the develop­
and Latin Am erica, those w ho still a w a it th e ir liberatio n are
ment of production, (2) th a t the class struggle necessarily leads
redoubling th e ir struggle fo r peace, freedom and justice.
to the dictatorship of the proletariat, (3) th a t this dictatorship
A gainst the backdrop of these changes it becomes apparen t
itself only constitutes the transition to the a b o litio n of all classes
w hat a prodigious fea t Karl M arx and Friedrich Engels accom ­
and to a classless society."*
plished by transform ing socialism from a utopian vision into a
A ccording to Friedrich Engels, the basic th o u g h t running
scientific doctrine. By infusing scientific socialism into the labour
through all M arx’s work, not least through the M anifesto of the
movement, they enabled the w orking class of all lands and the
Com m unist Party, is th a t econom ic production and the structure
oppressed of this world to recognize th e ir own strength and to
of society of every historical epoch necessarily arising therefrom
use it to throw off the shackles of capitalism .
constitutes the founda tion fo r the p o litical and intellectual history
Just as the ideas of Karl M arx influenced the actions of the
of th a t epoch. Consequently, ever since the dissolution of the
masses, they also had a lasting effect on the developm ent of
primeval com m unal ownership of land all history has been a
scientific and philosophical theory. No modern social science can
history of class struggles, of struggles between exploited and
escape the cogency of M arx’s reasoning. A dopting a position on
exploiting, between dom inated and dom inating classes a t various
M arx has become a crucial elem ent in intellectual and political
debate.
M arx must take everlasting credit fo r arousing hum anity to the * Marx to J. Weydemeyer in New York. Marx and Engels, Selected Works,
Moscow, 1969, vol. 1, p. 528.
realization th a t the future does not depend on obscure forces

8 9
stages of social developm ent. Finally, this struggle reaches a stage
where the exploited and oppressed class— the p ro le ta ria t— can no
longer em ancipate itself from the class w hich exploits and o p ­
presses it w ith ou t a t the same tim e forever freeing the whole of
society from e xploita tion and oppression.
This basic th o u g h t belongs solely and exclusively to Marx, and
the lab o u r movement has always borne it in mind, fo r there can
be no progressive developm ent in the present or future if it is
not a guide to action for all those who are endeavouring to lead
hum anity out of the realm o f necessity into the realm of freedom.
This awareness underlies the a llia n ce policy of the revolutionary
w orking-class parties, w hich varies in expression from one socialist
country to another, depending on n ationa l realities.
It was one facet of his greatness th a t Karl M arx never looked
upon his doctrine as som ething definitive and immune to any
change. He always regarded practice as the proving ground fo r
his theory. In fact, his own involvem ent in the revolutionary battles
of his day provided a source of new ideas. He generalized from
experience to influence the course of history yet a gain w ith fresh,
heightened, theoretica l insight. This is the clue to both the scien­
tific and the creative nature o f M a rx’s teachings, which are c a p a ­
ble of answering new questions as they arise. It was V ladim ir
Ilyich Lenin who then took on the historical role of defending
Marxism a g ainst all distortions and developing it to take account
of im perialism , the highest and fin a l stage of capitalism , and to
project a strategy for the new era of transition to socialism.
The doctrine of Karl M arx is om nipotent because it is true. No
one can deny its success, in spite of the d ifficultie s w hich arise,
for all kinds o f reasons, in the course of b u ildin g a new society.
Com pared w ith any exploitative society, real socialism is a com ­
paratively recent phenomenon. M ankind finds itself here on un­
charted territory never before explored in human history. The
founders o f scientific socialism did not offer any ca tch -a ll recipes
nor did they ever have the slightest intention of doing so. W hat
they did was to form ulate fundam ental truths and fundam ental
10
perceptions. The leading parties in the socialist countries are
working closely together, studying th e ir experience of b u ildin g the
new society and tackling new problem s jointly. In this way the
theory outlined by M arx is constantly being enriched and stand­
ing its test as a guide to action.
Like Lenin after him, M arx was above all a revolutionary. His
am bition was to contribute not just to the dow nfall of any govern­
ment which happened to be flo u tin g the interests and rights of
the people, but to the overthrow of ca p italist society and the in sti­
tutions of governm ent it had created. In many of his works, notably
in his C ritiq u e of the G otha Programme, he set out the view, first
propounded in the M anifesto of the Com m unist Party, th a t the
pro le ta ria t can do w ithout the bourgeoisie but not vice versa. The
bourgeoisie, he pointed out, cannot exist w ith o u t constantly
revolutionizing the instruments of production, the relations of
production. In this way it produces its own grave-diggers, the
proletariat, by the thousands.
The current situation in the ca p ita list industrial nations furnishes
striking evidence that the ruling class, even w ith the most a d ­
vanced productive forces a t its command, is unable to resolve the
problems of the modern w orld in the interests of the people. We
observe this in its attem pts to make the people shoulder the
burden of the crisis and thus keep profits high, in mass unem ploy­
ment, in its in a b ility to guarantee vocational^ tra in in g and secure
jo b prospects to all young people leaving school. In the lig h t of
these symptoms, especially mass unem ploym ent and the ravages
of in flation , leading trade unionists have come to share the con­
clusion th a t the negative effects of the p rofit-oriente d ca p italist
economy cannot be elim inated w ith o u t plucking out the roots.
I should like to put on record here th a t we have the highest regard
for the strenuous efforts being made by the com m unist and w ork­
ers’ parties, by the trade unions in the ca p ita list countries and by
the nationa l liberation movements to enforce social improvements
for the w orking people and to defend them.
Both in the socialist countries and in the ca p ita list countries
11
 we are constantly running across fresh proof th a t Marxism is a
vib ra nt theory w hich has lost nothing of its appeal. Serious
bourgeois philosophers and economists these days ca n n o t ignore
M arx when they expound th e ir views a b o ut the past, present and
future o f the hum an race. Even those politicians w ho dismiss his
ideas as irrelevant on the grounds th a t he lived and worked under
diffe re nt conditions have to a dm it th a t our own age raises a
num ber of questions w hich cannot be answered satisfactorily
w ith o u t some reference to Marx.
Take the question a b o u t the orig in o f politica l, econom ic and
cu ltu ra l crises, w hich it has become customary in the Western
w orld to describe as crises o f civilization. Take the sometimes
rather helpless question a b o u t the causes o f mass unemployment.
The answers given by Marx, Engels and Lenin are very precise.
The roots o f these ills are well em bedded in the ca p ita lis t system,
w ith its pursuit of maximum profit. Take the subject of peace
studies in the W estern countries. Marx, Engels and Lenin gave very
precise answers as to w here wars come from and how they can
be prevented.
Right from the outset, M arx considered the social em ancipation
of peoples and th e ir lib e ra tio n from the scourge o f w ar to be twin
tasks w hich the working class w ould have to accom plish in the
course o f fu lfillin g its historical mission. He was a sym pathetic and
fervent supporter o f the peoples fig h tin g a gainst nationa l and
colonia l oppression and striving fo r freedom and independence.
A t the same time, he was vigorously opposed to a ll wars which
stemmed from the acquisitive and expansionist drive of the bour­
geoisie.
In a w ell-know n dictum M arx said th a t socialism is the em bodi­
ment of a society "w hose in terna tio na l rule w ill be peace, because
its national ruler w ill be everywhere the same— la b o u r!” * Indeed,
th e re is no class or social g ro up in a socialist society w hich
* K. Marx, The Civil W ar in France, Selected Works, Moscow, 1969, vol. 2,
pp. 193-194.
12
stands to gain from arm am ent and w ar or which threatens other
nations. The w orking class does not need w ar to a tta in its goals.
Consequently, the revolutionary lab o u r movement always looked
upon preserving peace as one of its overriding concerns. It com ­
bined the struggle against bourgeois wars w ith the struggle fo r
social progress. Today, however, the w orld situation is such th a t
the d ange r of nuclear w ar overshadows the life of all nations,
threatening an inferno which would am ount to the s e lf-a n n ih ila ­
tion of the human race. To prevent this happening, to guarantee
a secure peace is the first im perative of our tim e. O nly thus w ill
it be possible to achieve fu rth e r social progress and to resolve
other social problems, indeed, to save human civilization.
W ith th e ir policy of confrontation and arm s-building , which they
also seek to foist on th e ir NATO allies, in flu e n tia l circles in the
U nited States are clearly pursuing im perial designs. Their p rin ­
cipal, a lb e it utterly unrealistic, aim is to gain m ilitary and strategic
superiority over the Soviet Union and the other countries of the
socialist com m unity in order to have a free hand in the w orld
arena. N ot surprisingly, therefore, hardly a day goes by w ithout
the US governm ent invoking the th ric e -fa m ilia r "th re a t from the
East” which is, o f course, a com plete myth.
There is no lack of historical examples illustrating im perialism 's
urge to extend the area under its control and to dom inate sources
of raw m aterials, markets and spheres of influence. O ne need only
th in k of G erm an fascism and its lu n a tic plans, w hich culm inated
in the Second W orld W a r w ith all its suffering and destruction.
Nowadays we fin d th a t US im perialism is claim ing vast portions
o f the w orld as its own spheres of interest, be they in Europe,
Africa, Asia or Latin Am erica.
This policy tram ples on the independence, sovereignty and
rights of peoples: witness the creation of the so-called Rapid
Deploym ent Force, which has the declared aim of suppressing
progressive developments in various parts of the w orld. S im ultane­
ously, NATO is extending its range beyond the confines of the
a llia n ce to include regions which im perialism is seeeking to sub­
13
 ordin ate to its glo ba l interests. The U nited States is buildin g up
its m ilitary bases, and it has set up a com m and centre fo r space
w arfare. The most recent plans devised by the U nited States,
which also envisage deploying missiles in space, would flin g open
the doors to a renewed escalation of the arms race and add to the
likelihood of a w ar on earth.
It is p art of the policy of co nfrontation to fan tensions in various
regions of the w orld and to create new flashpoints, thereby poison­
ing the in terna tio n al situation still fu rth e r and keeping the torch
of w ar glim m ering. This is very much a p p a re n t in the M iddle East,
where the U nited States in p a rtic u la r gives aid and com fort to"
Israel in its aggression a g ain st Lebanon, against the Palestinian
people, and against Syria. M ounting dangers are em anating from
the aggressive policies of the apa rthe id regime in South Africa,
the continued occupation o f N am ibia and the efforts of the racist
regim e to destabilize the progressive states in the region. In the
C aribbean, too, the US im perialists are resorting to a policy of
threats, pressure and blackm ail, w hich is chiefly designed to force
socialist Cuba to its knees but w hich is also directed against
N icaragua, G renada and the lib eratio n movements in El Salvador
and other countries in the region.
The most aggressive elements of im perialism have not even
tried to conceal th e ir speculations with a possible nuclear first
strike and the consequent risk of a nuclear world war. It is only
logical, given a policy like that, fo r them to force arm am ent to
reach astronom ical levels. Let me simply recall here th a t US arms
spending has gone up from $ 144 billio n in 1980 to $ 2 8 5 b illion
this year and th a t the fig u re is planned to exceed $ 400 b illion in
1987. The only ones who derive econom ic benefit from this are the
handful of g ia n t arms com panies, the m erchants of death whose
profits are soaring in spite of the crisis.
For the peoples of the world, however, every new round in the
arms race represents a heavy burden. Not least, it is the developing
nations who suffer. They find it much more d iffic u lt to carry out
their n ationa l programmes, to overcome the legacy of centuries
14
of colonia l rule. The grow ing arms exports of im perialist states,
especially the USA, coupled w ith th e ir high interest policies, tend
to increase the indebtedness of many developing countries, which
is bad enough as it is. A ccording to recent estimates, this burden
of debt exceeds $ 6 0 0 billio n . If the arms race is halted and
practical measures are taken to bring a b out disarm am ent, e n ­
ormous sums w ill become availab le fo r solving the urgent p ro b ­
lems facing m ankind.
The dangers to world peace are great today, but in our belief
it is not only necessary but also possible to remove them. Those
forces in the world which sincerely w ant peace justly draw e n ­
couragem ent from the fa ct th a t the Soviet Union and the soqialist
com m unity represent the strongest bastion in the battle fo r this
lofty aim. Socialism and peace are indivisible. As communists we
are guided by the ideal which the Germ an version of the old
w orkers’ song 'H old the Fort’ sums up in these w ords: "W ork,
bread and peace fo r all nations— th a t is our w o rld ."
It serves the interests of w orld peace th a t the awesome m ilitary
potential brought forth by modern science and technology is not
entirely concentrated in the hands of im perialism . Thanks to the
defence capacity of the socialist community, this trem endous power
to destroy has not yet been put to use. W ith the most aggressive
elements of im perialism stepping up th e ir policy of confrontation
and a rm s-building , we consider it our in te rn a tio n a list duty to
m aintain our defences a t w hatever level the situation requires.
At the same time, the USSR, the GDR and the other states of
the socialist com m unity are leaving no stone unturned and have
launched one initiative a fte r another to achieve ta n g ib le and
d u rable progress towards the safeguarding o f peace. It was in this
context th a t the Political C onsultative Com m ittee of the W arsaw
Treaty O rganizatio n, meeting in Prague, subm itted its w ell-known
program m e. It takes into account the interests of all parties, has
enlivened the internatio nal d ia lo g u e on p racticable ways towards
lim iting and reducing arm am ents and is proving to be a con­
structive fa cto r in fin d in g and im plem enting practicable solutions.
15
 We regard the solemn pledge of the Soviet Union not to be the
first to use nuclear weapons as a move of world p o litica l im ­
portance and urge the other nuclear powers to undertake a
sim ilar pledge. The states of the W arsaw Treaty O rg anizatio n are
prepared to take the greatest possible steps tow ards disarm am ent
in accordance w ith the p rin cip le of equality and equal security.
As things stand now, more weapons do not mean more, but less
security. So it really is necessary to make peace w ith fewer and
fewer weapons. In order to ward off the threa t of a nuclear inferno,
it is extremely im po rta nt to prevent NATO from deploying new US
nuclear first-strike weapons in W estern Europe. W e advocate a
genuine “ zero o p tio n ” , w hich means a nuclear-free Europe th a t
can ensure our continent a peaceful future.
As you know, we therefore supported the Swedish proposal to
establish a zone in C entral Europe th a t w ould be free from b a ttle ­
field nuclear weapons, and declared our readiness to make the
entire territory of the GDR a vailab le fo r the purpose. The creation
of such a zone w ould be a valua ble con tributio n tow ards d im in ­
ishing the risk o f war, e nabling the process of detente to continue
and deepening in terna tio n al cooperation. It is and remains the
G DR’ s priority to play an active part in atta in in g these goals. We
set grea t store by the proposal subm itted in Prague to conclude
a treaty between the W arsaw Pact and NATO on m utual renuncia­
tion of the use of m ilitary force and on the m aintenance of peaceful
relations.
We fully endorse the a pproach adopted by the USSR in the
Geneva talks on the lim ita tio n and reduction of nuclear arm a ­
ments, which is aim ed at achieving concrete results. To this end,
Yuri A ndropov subm itted a num ber of proposals which met with
a wide, largely positive, response am ongst the general public, with
voices from many quarters dem anding to know when the United
States w ill drop the policy of obstruction it has pursued so fa r
and help to produce some constructive agreements.
Peoples and governments in many countries of Europe, Africa,
Asia and Latin Am erica are coming o u t in favour of establishing
16
nuclear-free zones in th e ir regions and dam pening hotbeds of
tension and conflict. W e heartily support the relevant initiatives
taken on this m atter by India, Mexico, Venezuela and N icaragua
as well as A rab and A frican countries.
We consider the N on-A lign ed Movement to be a mighty force
which can assert the common interest in secure peace on all
continents. Its influence is grow ing in the struggle for equitab le
internatio nal relations, both politica l and economic. The 7th Sum­
mit Conference which these states held in D elhi confirm ed this
most impressively. In our view, the movement is m aking an im ­
p o rta n t contributio n towards thw arting the im perialist strategy
of confrontation and defending peace and the rights o f the
peoples.
Experience all over the w orld indicates th a t communists are
reliable allies of the w orldw ide peace movement. They work
actively and w ith great in itia tive for the common goals. Since the
conditions fo r the struggle of com m unist and workers’ parties vary
from one country to another, it is not surprising th a t they sometimes
form ulate d iffe re n t ideas a b o u t the forms and methods which
should be adopted in the cam paign for peace and social progress.
But the overriding concern is always safeguarding and stabilizing
peace. W e consider this to be the priority ta rg e t fo r the entire
w orking-class movement, irrespective of any views which its parties
or organizations m ight hold on this or th a t issue of life in their
respective countries. All in all, the in ternatio nal working-class
movement has a considerable peace potential a t its disposal. O nce
again we reaffirm our readiness to offer our hand in a spirit of
com radeship to all national revolutionary parties and liberation
movements, all socialist and social dem ocratic parties, trade
unions and other organizations to bring this potential fully to bear.
Before this forum which has gathered to honour Karl Marx,
I w ould like to suggest th a t rig h t now all politica l and social
forces who sincerely w ant peace absolutely must work together,
irrespective of differing p o litica l programmes, ideological posi­
tions and religious confessions, across class barriers and everything
17
 th a t may separate us, in order to save the peoples from the
catastrophe of a nuclear war. The differences w ill not disappear
as a result. Rather, the defence o f peace as the most precious
possession of hum ankind is a m atter of priority, a common in ­
terest w hich unites us, a lthoug h a t the same tim e the com m itm ent
to peace presents much scope fo r m utually beneficial cooperation
in the most w ide -ran gin g fields.
The m aintenance of w orld peace is a m atter th a t concerns
everybody, including those who do not aspire to bring about
fundam ental social change. C ertainly, nobody has ever had a
monopoly on the desire for peace and the w illingness to fig h t
for it. Ever since there have been wars, with all th e ir suffering,
sacrifice and destruction, the best representatives of the peoples
and various classes and organizations have bravely resisted a g ­
gressive threats. But never before has the human race been con­
fronted by such a lethal d ange r as today, never was it so pressed
to fig h t fo r peace. N uclear w orld w ar w ould even turn the idea of
making p ro fit into an illusion. And thus an historical opportunity
is born fo r the most w ide -ran g in g forces to draw together in the
struggle fo r peace and fo r this struggle to grow broader than it
ever was in the past.
There is no reasonable alternative to the peaceful coexistence
of states w ith d iffe re nt social systems. Its principles, whose im ­
plem entation bore such positive fru it especially in the course of
the seventies, must become the norm fo r internatio nal relations.
We, too, believe th a t the policy of detente is the only way to
prevent a nuclear inferno, the only chance to achieve reliable
peace.
O u r Party bases all its endeavours on the responsibility it feels
fo r the survival and prosperity not only of people today, but also
of future generations. W e are especially aw are of this responsi­
bility because our country is situated directly a t the dividing line
between socialism and capitalism , between the W arsaw Treaty
O rga nizatio n and NATO. Besides, our sense of responsibility is
im bued w ith the lessons of history, w ith the fa ct th a t two devastat­
18
ing w orld wars em anated from Germ an soil. Peace, and peace
again, is the supreme maxim underlying our policies.
Comrades,
Distinguished guests,
On G erm an soil, in the land of his birth, in the Germ an D em o­
cratic Republic, the ideas w hich Karl Marx gave to the working
class are becom ing reality, ideas which enabled it to organize
social conditions th a t w ould be worthy of hum an beings. It was
here th a t a new, a socialist Germ any came into being under the
leadership of the united w orking class and its party, the SED.
Everything it has achieved so fa r and everything it is striving for
illustrates the potential which real socialism offers. During your
stay in our country you w ill be able to see all this for yourselves
and form your own opinions.
In 1945, a fte r a long road riddled with struggles, which brought
hard-w on victories but also b itte r defeats, the revolutionary G e r­
man w orking-class movement was able to set about radically
changing people's very existence. This great opportunity had been
opened up when the glorious Soviet army and the armies of the
other states a llied against H itle r succeeded in smashing Nazism.
The G erm an Dem ocratic Republic put it to effective use, and the
proof lies in the results achieved over more than th re e -a n d -a -h a lf
decades of a developm ent th a t has taken place in perm anent
harsh co n flict with im perialism and reaction.
From the very beginning, this developm ent has been linked
with the internatio nal transform ations th a t took place afte r the
Second W orld W ar, in the course of which the world socialist
system emerged. As cooperation w ith the Soviet Union and the
other fra te rn a l socialist countries grew closer, it became easier
to solve internal tasks and problems. That awareness came to
pervade socialist construction on every front, and we have been
guided by it a t all times. The establishm ent of a new order had
been tried out in the land of Lenin with due regard fo r the objective
laws of social developm ent. Thus the USSR gathered a w ealth of
19
experience w hich is of immense value to all progressive m ankind,
a treasure trove on w hich all revolutionary parties can draw in
leading th e ir peoples to socialism.
O u r Party did this, too, when it a p plie d the general laws of
socialist construction to our specific national circumstances.
Given the chaotic m aterial and cultural legacy of im perialism it
would have been in a p p ro p ria te to declare socialism the order of
the day. The antifascist dem ocratic transform ation ushered in an
organic revolutionary process during w hich socialist construction
eventually took place. A positive fa c to r in the process was th a t
under c a p ita list conditions our country had already attained a
relatively advanced level of industrial developm ent.
By setting up the first socialist state o f workers and farm ers on
G erm an soil, the G erm an D em ocratic Republic, the w orking class
decided the issue of power, the fundam en tal issue of any revolu­
tion, in its favour. This brought confirm ation of the M arxist-Leninist
perception th a t the Party’s role as the leading force is indispen­
sable to the liberatio n of the w orking class and the successful
construction of socialism. In the sp irit of Marx, Engels and Lenin,
the SED has, by m a in tain ing close and trustful relations w ith the
w orking people, lived up to its duty. In its work it has always been
able to learn from the fra te rn a l parties, and, in turn, it has con­
tribu te d insights of its own to the in ternatio nal store of revolution­
ary experience.
O n Germ an soil, too, freedom and democracy, those great
ideals o f the w orking-class movement, are genuine achievements
which socialism has given the w orking people for the first tim e in
th e ir history. As Karl M arx dem onstrated, these ideals are depend­
ent on the character of the econom ic and p o litical power wielded
by the ruling class, whichever it may be at the time. In a state of
workers and farmers, the to ilin g masses are the masters of th e ir
destiny, running th e ir own social affairs. O therw ise it would not
be possible to build socialism successfully.
The SED’s policy of a llia n ce has become very much a part of
socialist democracy, brin ging the working class, the peasantry,
20
the intellectuals and the rest of the working popula tion closer and
closer togethe r and thereby releasing m ajor creative potentials.
This is borne out characteristically by the cooperation between the
SED and the other parties and mass organizations in the N ational
Front of the GDR, which is carried out in a com radely spirit. Their
p o litica l representatives share responsibility a t all governm ent
levels. The D em ocratic Farmers’ Party of Germany, the Christian
D em ocratic Union o f Germany, the Liberal D em ocratic Party of
G erm any and the N ational D em ocratic Party of G erm any make
th e ir own contribution tow ards shaping advanced socialist society,
and we rate this very highly. Today’s society in the GDR only knows
classes and strata which live from their own work, and so they
have the same basic interests. In our republic a large-scale p ro ­
cess is under way in which the various classes and strata are
moving closer together, producing an increasingly pronounced
p o litica l and moral unity am ong the people.
In the early seventies our Party found itself fo r the first tim e in
a position to lay down a com plete spectrum of tasks fo r building
advanced socialist society in the GDR. We regard them as the key
to an historic process of profound political, economic, social, in ­
tellectua l and cultural changes. In order to press ahead it is
necessary to a d opt a planned approach towards developing at
a high level all the advantages and driving forces of socialism,
every aspect and sphere of social life, the forces and relations
of production, social and p o litica l relations, science and e duca­
tion, socialist ideology and culture, the w hole complex of working
and living conditions and also national defence. As our experience
has shown, the m ultitude of individu al problems arising from
socialist construction can be solved successfully if one adopts a
p rincipled M arxist-Leninist position.
A period of new, dynam ic advances has begun in the GDR.
O u r guests from abroad w ill doubtless understand th a t our people
are proud of th e ir socialist hom eland, of all they have created"
with th e ir hard work. As things stand now, the GDR is a modern
socialist industrial nation with a highly productive agricu ltu ra l
21
 sector, an e fficie nt education system and a strong scientific
potential. The w orking class was left all those years ago with
the harsh legacy of the w ar and w hat can only be called a tru n c a t­
ed economy, severed from its historical context. All the efficient
productive forces w hich the GDR now possesses, em bracing a l­
most every branch of modern industry, have grown under socialism
as social property.
W hile the national incom e of our republic was 24,100 m illion
Marks in 1949, it had risen to over 200,000 m illion Marks, or a l­
most sevenfold, by 1982. That was a gloomy, crisis-ridden year for
all the m ajor c a p ita lis t industrial countries, but the GDR attained
a 4.3 per cent grow th in production over the previous year, at the
same tim e reducing unit consum ption of energy and raw materials
by six per cent. The driving forces o f socialism proved th e ir vigour
even under d iffic u lt circumstances. This is also reflected in our
agriculture , which is organized on a cooperative basis with sub­
sidiary farm ing having played a specific part from the very be­
ginning. The Association of A llotm ent G ardeners and Small Stock
Breeders with its 1.2 m illion members makes a considerable con­
trib u tio n towards feeding the people.
In im plem enting its econom ic and social policies as a complex
whole, our Party is responding to objective requirements. Since
higher o u tp u t is used in substantial measure to improve the w ork­
ing and living conditions of working people, a better life remains
no d ista nt promise. Good work pays off now. This knowledge
releases a great deal of social energy, m obilizing above all the
skills of the people. The total work force in this country is 8,368,000,
of which more than 6,860,000, or 82 per cent, have com pleted some
course of tra in in g . This is a gre at achievem ent and a t the same
tim e a trem endous econom ic opportunity.
The econom ic strategy adopted fo r the eighties by our 10th Party
Congress is based on M arx’s theory of reproduction. An interest­
ing fa cto r is th a t many of his find in g s are proving to be of grow ­
ing relevance as the G D R ’s economy strides along the road of
intensively extended reproduction. The law form ulated by Marx
22
on the economy of time, his profound analyses of lab o u r p ro ­
ductivity as an econom ic and social phenomenon and of the
economy of production conditions in general again and again
provide us with answers to practical questions.
M arx was fully convinced th a t the productive force of human
labour w ould rapidly unfold fo r the good of the people in a
society which was free from exploitation, once the working people
were arm ed w ith an understanding of the laws of social develop­
ment and had taken the enormous project of construction into
their own hands. Socialist com petition, which is organized by
the C onfederation of Free G erm an Trade Unions w ith its m em ber­
ship of over nine m illion, is a powerful motor in the- process.
Typically, the mass cam paign by the GDR's working people to pay
trib u te to Karl Marx by producing particularly good econom ic re­
sults is culm inatin g in a pledge by m illions to increase labour
productivity by over one per cent more than was planned for
1983, thus enabling the o u tp u t of goods worth an extra 3,800 m il­
lion Marks. This is an initiative which w ill bring many positive re­
percussions fo r all our people.
To a tta in the required pace of econom ic progress in our country,
we must com bine the advantages of socialism more closely with
the scientific and technological revolution. Karl M arx described
science as the soundest form of wealth, attaching gre a t value to it
for the developm ent of the productive forces. The status it enjoys
in our society does full justice to this. W e earm ark a considerable
portion of our national income fo r research and developm ent, and
by in te rn a tio n a l standards we com pare well. However, we make
no secret of the fa ct th a t socialism, in our view, offers greater
opportunities fo r putting science to good use than we have taken
advantage of so far, and we are m aking considerable efforts in
this field.
The emergence of new econom ic structures goes hand in glove
w ith scientific and technolo gical progress, and a t the same time
new challenges arise for the individual. There is indeed no lack
of problems. However, the solutions turn out to be quite different
23
when science and technology are instrum ents for im proving the
lives of the working people, instead of being abused to reinforce
the exploita tion o f man by man. In the GDR, econom ic ra tio n a liza ­
tion is carried out together w ith the working people. Scientific
and social progress are two sides of the same coin.
As we know, the developm ent of the productive forces under
capitalism comes into ever sharper co nflict with the relations of
production, causing deep crises in the economy and w ithin society.
Socialism, by contrast, offers the opportun ity of perfecting the re la ­
tions of production along planned lines, paving the way to devel­
opm ent of the productive forces. Here, too, there is an objective
interrelationship.
In the GDR industrial and construction capacity has been
organized in the form o f combines, w hich pool our huge m aterial
and intellectual resources and make it possible to organize pro­
duction efficiently from the research stage to sale. These combines
are firm ly integrated into the overall pattern of m anagem ent and
planning set up on the p rinciple of dem ocratic centralism . The
general m anagers of these com bines are working as proxies of the
workers’ and farm ers’ state, w ith considerable powers to ensure
th a t plan targets can be fu lfille d . The form ation of combines, a
profound change in the structure o f industrial m anagem ent which
took place some tim e ago, has proved successful and became the
stepping-stone to many further improvements.
The crux of the m atter is to harm onize the interests of the com ­
bines, factories and individu al work teams more and more cohe­
sively with social requirem ents, th a t is to gear them to highly e ffi­
cient m anagem ent. N aturally, it is not possible to copy capitalist
m ethods; approaches can only be found by perfecting the socialist
planned economy itself.
The 10th Congress o f the Socialist Unity Party of Germ any
characterized the economy as the area in which the most im por­
ta n t social policy decisions are taken. At the same tim e it under­
lined the grow ing im portance of interaction between developm ent
processes in the various d iffe re n t spheres. A flourishing
24
economy must provide the means to perm it healthy progress in
many other spheres w ithin the fram ework of our fa r-reaching goals.
This includes measures to protect the natural environment. Then,
of course, the GDR is actively com mitted to a n ti-im p e ria list so li­
darity and assists numerous developing countries as best it can in
b u ildin g up th e ir economies and education systems. Under social­
ism, the economy is a to p -p rio rity state concern and the business
of every individual.
The attitudes of working people towards econom ic issues are
governed decisively by the fa ct th a t the rig h t to work is fully
guaranteed and th a t a ll-ro u n d living standards are secure and
continually being improved by rising productivity. People think
and act as the owners of the means of pro d u ctio n ; they feel an
increasing sense of responsibility fo r every item of the econom ic
account.
If we take a long-term view, econom ic growth and o utput lead
to something more than individu al improvements in the life of the
people. Placed in the service of a consistent policy fo r the good
of the people, they make it possible to tackle social problems, to
foster those q u a lita tive changes in the conditions of life which
b u ildin g advanced socialist society requires. A characteristic
example is the housing construction programme, the linchpin of
our social policy. More than 1.8 m illion flats have been com pleted
since 1971 alone. The housing improvements th a t this has brought
put us well along the road to achieving our Party’s ta rg e t of solving
the social problems of housing by 1990. This means providing be­
tween 2.8 and 3 m illion dw ellings. Rents, however, w ill remain at
th e ir current low level.
It is a basic principle in our country to gra n t all children the
opportunity to enjoy a good education. We can see th a t in c a p ita l­
ist society, where the educatio nal privileges of the w e ll-to -d o have
never been abolished, a right like this would be unthinkable. The
single-class school, fo r example, was once a w idespread institution
in this country, too, especially in rural areas, but the GDR closed
down the last one in 1959, The backbone of our present-day so­
25
cia list education system is the ten-year general polytechnical
school. All our children have the same opportunities fo r general
education and vocational tra in in g . G re a t value is attached in the
GDR to im plem enting com m unist education ideals, im parting a
high level of knowledge, conveying the best of w hat the human
race has created in terms of in tellectu a l w ealth. Not only has the
num ber of university and college students m ultiplied since the
ca p ita lis t era, but th e ir social com position has changed in favour
of the working class and women, testifying to the developments
th a t have taken place in our socialist system of higher and te ch ­
nical education.
Young people are not only certain of a sound vocational tra in ­
ing but also of a job . But furtherm ore great trust is placed in them
in all walks of life, and they are a b le to take on considerable
responsibilities. They have grown up to play an im portant role
w ithin society, and, under the leadership of the Free German
Youth, th e ir socialist youth organization, they have proved th a t
they deserve it.
Very much is being done in the GDR to enable women to make
better practical use o f th e ir equal rights w ithin society. C om prehen­
sive support is given to fam ilies, especially to children. It is a
m atter of course in our country th a t all citizens can avail them ­
selves of the righ t to recreation and m edical care. The services of
our socialist health system, w hich are free of charge to the patient,
not only benefit the w orking people, but are also noteworthy by
in te rn atio na l standards.
The same can doubtless be said of our flourishin g socialist
culture, the broad p a rticip a tio n in mass sports, the evolution of
socialist m orality and ethics. And thus a socialist mode of life is
taking shape am ongst ou r people.
As can be seen, social progress calls for hard work and the
resolution o f m ultiple problem s w hich are not always predictable.
Despite all the positive achievem ents o f socialism, one should not
forge t th a t it is being b u ilt in a w orld full of contradictions and
fu ll of turbulence. The safegua rd ing of peace and the all-ro u n d
26
developm ent of socialist society condition one a n othe r and must
be achieved a t one and the same time. G reat things have already
been accom plished, greater challenges are still in store fo r us. By
further fashioning advanced socialist society in the GDR, we are
laying the groundw ork fo r the gradual transition to communism.
The GDR is in the fortunate position of follow ing this path in
fraternal allia n ce with the Soviet Union and the other countries
of our community. This indestructible a llia n ce has been a t the
root of its success and remains the basis fo r its secure prospects.
W hatever we do fo r the good of our own people w ill also strength­
en the gre a t fam ily of socialist countries. The one cannot be
separated from the other.
Comrades,
D istinguished guests,
Karl M arx was, as Friedrich Engels aptly remarked, one of those
outstanding men who are only born a few to a century. But it has
not always befallen even these to set such a stamp on posterity.
O ne hundred years after his death, the historical changes inspired
by his g re a t ideas which have taken place in the lives of hum an­
kind are the most enduring monum ent to the great theoretician
and revolutionary. The cause of socialism, national liberation and
the struggle fo r a peaceful future for all peoples w ill trium ph.
Thank you.
Speech by

ERICH HONECKER
General Secretary of the
SED Central Committee and
Chairman of the GDR Council
of State

at the International
Theoretical Conference of the
SED Central Committee on
"Karl Marx and O ur Time:
The Struggle for Peace and
Social Progress' 1

Berlin, 1 1 -1 6 A pril 1983