Maoism in the Developed World

With the signing of a supposed “peace agreement” in Vietnam in 1973, the Maoists began to alter the nature of the anti-war movement. The DFFGs “declared that it intends to transform itself into a ‘front against the superpowers’ since the ‘main contradiction has shifted’ and Vietnam can no longer be said to represent ‘a flashpoint.’”[425]

In 1973 the KFML changed its name, taking the title of the traditional Communist Party, Swedish Communist Party (SKP).[426] At that time, its membership was estimated at about 2,000 and it claimed to have 100 local organizations.[427]

The party continued to be of some consequence in the Swedish far Left. This was indicated by the observation of Gerry Foley in Intercontinental Press, in reporting on a splitaway of pro-Moscow elements from the VpK in 1977. “Before the split, the Swedish CP was just big enough to be a significant minority in the working class. In such conditions, a sectarian binge by the splitters could quickly take them far out into the sectarian wilderness, where they would have to compete with Maoists scarcely less numerous than they.”[428]

The SKP continued to be loyal to the Chinese, even after the changes in China following the death of Mao Tse-tung. In January 1977 the party sent a message to Hua Kuo-feng on the first anniversary of Chou En-lai’s death. Four months later, a delegation of the SKP, headed by its Chairman Toland Pettersson visited China and were given a banquet by Hua Kuo-feng, where the Chinese leader “lauded the party for its progress in recent years and for its opposition to monopoly capital and the two hegemonic powers, the Soviet Union and the United States, especially Soviet social imperialism.”[429]

In September 1978, the SKP joined its Norwegian counterpart in issuing a communique declaring that “The Soviet Union is the latecomer superpower, the primary source of war, and the most dangerous enemy of the world’s people. … Therefore the front against the superpowers should first of all direct its spearhead at Soviet social-imperialism. … The Soviet Union is using Cuban mercenaries to serve its social-imperialist expansion and backs Vietnam against Kampuchea.”[430]

In September 1979 the SKP tried its luck at the polls in parliamentary elections. However, it only received 10,862 votes throughout the country.[431]

By 1980, the SKP, in conformity with its pro-Chinese and anti-Soviet position, had become a supporter of “a strong Swedish defense,” arguing the possibility of attack on the country by the USSR. The SKP also supported the appearance of Solidarity in Poland, and a journalist of the SKP’s newspaper visited Poland and was received by Lech Walesa.[432]

Other Swedish Maoist Groups

The KFML-SKP was frequently the scene of internal controversies. One of the earliest of these took place in 1970, when a faction broke away in October of that year to form the Communist League (Marxist-Leninist Revolutionary), or KFML (r). It began to publish a periodical Proletaren (The Proletarian).[433] Like the group from which it broke, the KFML (r) was very active in the anti-Vietnam War movement, centering most its attention on that activity in the early 1970s.[434]

In late December 1977, the KFML (r) held a Congress at which it changed its name to Communist Party of Marxist-Leninist Revolutionaries KPLM (r). Its chairman was Frank Raude. It was reported at this time that “The main strength of the party is in Sweden’s second largest city, Goteborg. The party is active in almost 90 localities. … Membership is believed to be around 1,500, and the party does not seem to lack financial support (It owns a large administrative building in the center of Goteborg).”[435]

By 1990, the KPML (r) had taken Albania’s side in their split with the Chinese.[436]

There were other subsequent schisms within the original Maoist party after the one that gave rise to the KFML (r). Thus, in 1978, a former chairman of the party, Gunnar Vylin, and another leader, Ulf Martensson, were suspended, and in May 1977, the KFML’s first chairman, Bo Gustafssen, as well as Skold Peter Matthis, were expelled from the organization.[437]

We do not know whether any of these people sought to establish a dissident Maoist party. However, in December 1976 the Peking Review carried a report that Thomas Lindh, General Secretary of the Marxist-Leninist Union of Struggle of Sweden, had sent a letter to the Chinese Central Committee (CC), congratulating it on appointing Hua Kuo-feng as Chairman of the CC and of the Military Commission of the Party. It also applauded the purge of the Gang of Four.[438]

By 1987, the Swedish Maoists were not considered significant enough to be mentioned in the Yearbook on International Communist Affairs.

Finnish Maoism