On November 29-30, 2012, an international conference "The Crisis of Capitalism and the Future of Socialism" was held in Beijing, organized by the Center for World Socialism Studies and the Center for Modern World Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CAON). The conference was attended by scientists and representatives of the Communist Parties of China, Vietnam, Cuba, Russia, the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany and other countries. More than 30 reports were heard.

The goal of the conference, as its organizers emphasized, was to show that although there are now five socialist countries left in the world (China, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos and Cuba), socialism belongs to the future.

Opening the conference, Li Shenming, CAON Vice President and Director of the Center for World Socialism Studies, noted that since the collapse of the Soviet Union and changes in Eastern Europe, the US-led West has dominated economic globalization and promoted technological revolution to strengthen its financial, technological, cultural and military hegemony. In this regard, there are two points of view. According to the first theory, the Western world is considered powerful and the prospects for world socialism are negligible. Adherents of the other believe that the global financial crisis is escalating so much that we can expect a revival of socialism. We believe that both points of view are not entirely correct, Li Shenming said, and there are reasons to be pessimistic about world socialism in the short and medium term. However, as materialists, we recognize not only the objective conditions created by history, but also the role of the subjective factor. The revival of world socialist theories heralds the revival of world socialist movements.

Harpal Brar (Chairman of the Communist (Marxist-Leninist) Party of Great Britain) in his report "The Crisis of Imperialism" expressed the view that the strategies implemented by the governments of capitalist countries in an attempt to "outwit" the laws of capitalism discovered by Marx may temporarily seem successful, but in the end they are doomed to failure. According to the speaker, socialism, despite all the difficulties in its implementation , is the only possible way that will put an end to the deepening crisis with its inevitable consequence-war, solve the problem of dwindling resources and enter a new phase of development of a higher civilization.

Acad. Ru Qing (former Vice-president of CAON), in his report "The Decline of the financial Empire and prospects for the world Socialist movement", argued that the financial crisis that has been shaking the capitalist world since 2008 is not over yet and the prospects for economic development are full of uncertainty and risk. In his opinion, there are already signs of the decline of the financial empire. The people's choice of the socialist path depends not only on the wishes of the people and not only on economic factors. Rather, it is the result of the interaction of domestic and international economic, political, social, cultural factors, objective and subjective actions of various class forces.

Chen Enfu (President of the KAON Academy of Marxism), in his report "Alternative Views on Modern Capitalism: A Response to Francis Fukuyama's Criticism", recounted Fukuyama's main ideas and focused on his proposal to replace Marxism with postmodernism and multiculturalism. The speaker emphasized: "This criticism stems from Fukuyama's ignorance of relevant literature and facts. In fact, a large number of concepts have already emerged that try to replace neoliberalism and Keynesianism." The speaker named a number of scientific schools that came up with their own theories and plans to replace capitalism. He claimed that some of them managed to put these plans into practice.

V. I. Dobrenkoe (Dean of the Faculty of Sociology of Lomonosov Moscow State University) in his report "From the crisis of global capitalism to world socialism" noted that at the beginning of the XXI century, humanity is experiencing a dramatic moment, the peculiarity of which is the global crisis of capital, which is unprecedented in depth and scale. According to the speaker, this crisis of world capitalism was made unprecedented by its three features: the crisis of periodic overproduction, the crisis of capitalism as a social system, and the crisis of ame-

the Rikan hegemony. The speaker gave a deep and well-reasoned analysis of the peculiarities of the current crisis of capitalism. In conclusion, V. I. Dobrenkov noted that the task of scientists from all over the world, reflecting on the problems of socialism, is to study approaches and methods of transition from world capitalism to world socialism and determine the ways to implement socialist globalization and world socialism. At present, when global capitalism still occupies a leading position, this task seems unrealistic, but we must set ourselves this great goal. V. I. Dobrenkov referred to the opinion of the American sociologist Immanuel Wallerstein, who argued that the capitalist world system, which was born in the XIV century, will end in the XXI century.

Zhao Yaao (Intern. Institute of Strategic Research In his report "Profound Changes in the Global Situation after the Financial Crisis", the Central Bank of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee noted that in September 2008, the credit debt crisis in the United States initiated financial turbulence, which led to a global financial and economic crisis. In his opinion, this is the most severe financial and economic crisis since the economic crisis of 1929-1933. In a few years, the global situation has undergone profound changes. Among them, the speaker attributed: the economic downturn in the developed countries of America and Europe; the rise of new developing countries (Brazil, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, South Africa, Turkey, Argentina, etc.) and socialist China. China has carried out one of the most successful economic modernizations. The country's economic growth rate of 9.8% is the highest in the world. The PRC has moved from the 11th place in terms of GDP (before the reform) to the 2nd place in the world; there is a tendency to revive world socialism. Explaining this latest change in the global situation, the speaker stressed: "It will be a long process, and the 'Chinese factor' will play a key role in it. By 2021. When the CCP celebrates its 100th anniversary, China will complete the construction of a modern, prosperous society, and this will be a great boost to world socialism. By 2049, socialist modernization will be largely implemented, and world socialism will receive a powerful impetus for its development. In other words, China's role is to offer its own path to developing countries and demonstrate that socialism is an inevitable path that transcends capitalism. History has its own objective laws of development, which cannot be changed by anyone's will. We are historically optimistic and believe that socialism will inevitably replace capitalism at the end of a long journey."

Wei Xinhua (China) in his report "Common property - the most essential requirement of socialism" tried to answer the questions: is common property the main requirement of Marxist scientific socialism? Is it a fundamental principle of socialism with Chinese characteristics? According to Wei Xinhua, the essence of socialism and the theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the rapid development of labor productivity, the importance of improving people's living conditions, and shared responsibility. The establishment of State ownership as the basis or main pillar provides an institutional guarantee for achieving common ownership. Therefore, socialism with Chinese characteristics must remain faithful to the establishment of state ownership as the main pillar.

Faustino Gobarrubia Gomez (Center for the Study of the World Economy, Cuba) made a presentation on "The global Crisis and the future of Socialism". According to him, this is a systemic crisis that cannot be reduced only to the crisis of the economic system of capitalism - the crisis of the capitalist system itself and at the same time economic, environmental, food, energy, water, social and civilizational. Global GDP growth declined from 5.1% in 2010 to 3.8% in 2011. In 2012, the IMF estimates that this figure will be only 3.3%, with developed countries accounting for only 1.3% and developing countries for 5.3%.

The speaker believes that the challenges faced by humanity have no precedents. Among them are the unequal distribution of wealth in the world, where more than one billion people live on less than $ 1.25 a day; the irrationality of the capitalist system, especially in its neoliberal version, in which maximum profits affect the level of wages, and the accumulation of private capital has accelerated, causing a repeat of economic crises. According to the speaker, only socialism will be able to withstand such challenges: to exercise control over its resources and their distribution, using the methods of a more developed democracy in the political, social, and economic spheres. Further, the speaker tried to substantiate the thesis that the struggle for socialist ideals is being waged today in a very peculiar international context. On the one hand, there is a structural, systemic and all-encompassing crisis of world capitalism, and on the other, he believes that

It is the deterioration of the international situation due to the growing aggressiveness of the United States and other imperialist powers. The contradictions between the development of productive forces and the system of capitalist production relations are inherent in neoliberal globalization, the speaker concluded.

Wade Halabi (Economic Committee of the Communist Party of the USA) in his report "Five diagrams and questions about capitalist crises, revolutions, and the future of humanity" presented five diagrams, which, according to the speaker, contain a synthesis of the Marxist vision of the development of the world economy since 1917, the stratification of capitalist states led by the United States, and the history of crises and revolutions since 1860 Two charts show the key factors of the collapse of the USSR and the survival of the Republic of Cuba. The most interesting diagram is that of the stratification of capitalist states. It shows that US GDP was relatively stable from 1945 to 2008. But the weaker states were not stable. Mexico, Argentina, most African countries, and a few Asian capitalist countries were suffering from severe crises. In the same period, the Soviet Union collapsed. Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, Russia, and Brazil experienced severe crises in 1997-1998. Even Japan's economy has stagnated significantly over the past two decades, with industrial output falling and debt soaring. Many Marxist theorists then concluded, based on the relative stability of US GDP, that capitalism may have learned to regulate or even overcome its contradictions by using the Keynesian mechanism for regulating banking processes. However, according to the speaker, there is nothing further from the truth.

By Ming Giang (Vietnamese nat. In his report "Social and Social-democratic trends as progressive movements among capitalist countries", he analyzed the history of social democracy. According to him, the social-democratic movement emerged at the end of the 19th century and developed out of the socialist movement. Unlike the revolutionary ideology based on Marx's theory, this trend did not advocate the elimination of capitalism, but sought reforms in order to gradually reduce injustice and strengthen democracy through parliamentary struggle. The speaker traced the evolution of social democracy at different stages of its development. According to him, unlike most of the ruling parties, the social Democratic parties in Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada, and Australia were forced to pursue a policy of combining the promotion of economic growth and a gradual increase in social benefits for the population.

F. Bocarra (economist, member of the Central Committee of the French Communist Party) in his report "The current global crisis of capitalism: diagnosis, new rates for new proposals" noted that the world is experiencing a technical, social and information revolution. "We have," he continued, " a monetary, environmental and demographic revolution. But we do not have a revolution in the basic structures of society, such as the power of capital and its monopolization of the use of money for its own purposes - profit and accumulation. However, the growth of new technologies creates the potential for a new world." F. Bocarra analyzed three main aspects: the dominance of TNCs; the need for a deep reform of the IMF, a new world currency as an alternative to the dominance of the US dollar; the growth of the public services sector in all countries to meet the social needs of the population and increase production efficiency.

Zhu Zhidong (publisher of Xinhua News Agency), in his report "Why the CCP Insists on common Ownership", showed that since its founding in 1921, the CCP has been fighting for the creation of a socialist state based on common ownership. Deng Xiaoping, developing these ideas of Mao Zedong, proposed a theory and policy according to which"first you need to let the residents of certain areas get rich, and then help other regions in order to gradually realize common property." The 18th CPC National Congress set the goal of doubling GDP per capita by 2020 compared to 2010. According to the speaker, this goal can be achieved only on the basis of shared ownership.

Zhao Changkin (CAON Center for the Study of World Socialism) in his report "Characteristics and trends in the development of new imperialism" analyzed the changes that have occurred since the end of the Cold War. According to the speaker, a new imperialism emerged during this period. The world at the beginning of the XXI century has undergone tremendous changes. The international structure has changed. International relations are no longer relations planned by the mother countries for the colonial countries. The coexistence of multiple civilizations and systems has led to a more complex world system. The development of the global economy is characterized by

an imbalance. Western powers monopolized strategic resources and the right to issue the world's currency. This situation is beneficial for the United States and extremely disadvantageous for developing countries. The polarization between rich and poor is becoming more pronounced. The confrontation between civilizations is intensifying, international relations are becoming increasingly tense, and the international community is splitting apart. Western powers are increasingly moving from a policy of "soft power" to a policy of "hard power". Zhao Changkin concluded: "Imperialism is in decline, but it is not dying yet. It will be a long time before it is completely replaced by socialism. Imperialist states - the United States and others-are strong in economic, military, educational, media, and other ways. At the same time, the world of socialism is still weak. However, the existence of socialism in China preserves the hope of world socialism."

Qian Shuxian (China) in his report "Two types of civilizational values affecting the world" sharply criticized the value system of Western civilization. Qian Shuxian said, " Nowadays, the international situation is complex and changeable. Some Western scholars propose the concept of a" no-polar world " and explain the turbulent international situation not so much by hegemony and power politics as by conflicts between different powers. However, he noted, " scientific analysis shows that the main trends are peace and development. Global multipolarization and economic globalization are deepening, the balance of power in international relations is shifting in a direction favorable to the preservation of world peace, and efforts aimed at maintaining stability in international relations are now based on more favorable conditions. We must be confident that we can facilitate the progress of human civilization."

Su Haiyan (CAON Institute of Political Science) in his report "The world situation in the context of the financial crisis and China's response" highlighted several important aspects of the global crisis that began in August 2007. According to him, the harsh reality of the growing gap between the poor and the rich, the decline in social security, the aggravation of social problems caused by neoliberalism, led to a crisis of public confidence in the financial and then political system of capitalism. Mass unemployment has convinced many people that the current rules of the game cannot fix the situation. All this has turned the realization of the middle-class dream into an illusion. Feelings of frustration and anger in Europe and the United States have become a threat to stability. According to the speaker, not only ordinary people, but also Western elites began to think about the viability of capitalism after the financial crisis. The most convincing proof of this is the 42nd annual Davos World Economic Forum in Switzerland. However, although the debate on capitalism at this forum attracted considerable media attention, the political and economic circles involved in this debate did not offer an alternative. The speaker suggested that many countries of the world are now learning the lessons of the crisis, as well as China's successful experience in overcoming its consequences.

In this regard, the socialist system with Chinese characteristics naturally became the focus of attention of the whole world. While still a driving force in the global economy, China's success has led many to question its causes and won the recognition and respect of the international community. At the same time, the speaker said, there is no denying that China is facing problems of economic structural contradictions, distribution regulation and severe unemployment. More precisely, he was faced with questions: How to solve the problems of structural imbalance of the economy in the process of economic growth? How to ensure a fair distribution of resources? How to deal with unemployment? The speaker concluded that a successful policy of socialism with Chinese characteristics marks a significant strengthening of socialism in the world and creates great opportunities to overcome the ebb that the world communist movement is experiencing.

Summing up the conference, Li Shenming noted its great scientific, theoretical and political significance. The conference will contribute to a deeper understanding of the nature and characteristics of the current crisis of capitalism. At the same time, it showed that socialism, despite all the difficulties in its implementation, has good prospects for its revival. This is the only possible way to overcome the contradictions associated with the deepening global crisis of capitalism.

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