Maoism in the Developed World

The new party prospered at its inception. Mennes and Bark reported that the membership had doubled in its first year, reaching a total of 250. After its First Congress in October 1972, the party took the name Socialist Party (SP). Three reasons for the change in name were given by the party leaders, according to Mennes and Bark. “The old name caused confusion with the CPN and led to discussions on the Sino-Soviet conflict at the expense of party emphasis on achieving socialism in the Netherlands; anti-communist propaganda has successfully given the old party a poor reputation; and the old name gave the party the image of a small sectarian group, which was no longer suitable in view of the party’s fast-growing influence on the masses in districts and factories.’”

The Socialist Party gained control of the old KEN-ML front group, the Union of Tenants and Those in Search of Housing, which had “successful” results. They also mounted a unique anti-Vietnam war campaign—sending out 250,000 postcards protesting the war to U.S. residents chosen from telephone books.[332]

By 1974, the Socialist Party was establishing a monthly, De Tribune.[333]

In May 1974, the Socialist Party participated in municipal elections for the first time. It received 15,000 votes in twelve municipalities. It was reported that by that time the SP was “mainly concerned with problems of housing shortage and environmental protection.”[334]

Unlike the other Dutch parties of Maoist origin, the Socialist Party totally abandoned the pro-Chinese Communist camp. It was reported in 1978 that “The SP does not maintain relations with China or with foreign pro-Chinese parties. It mainly works through front groups in the fields of public health, environment, and housing.”[335]

The Marxist-Leninist Party Of The Netherlands

The Marxist-Leninist Party of the Netherlands (MLPN) was founded under the leadership of Chris Petersen in 1969. It does not appear to have been established as the result of a split in any other party. In 1971 it was reported that The party’s correspondence with the Chinese Communist Party and the Albanian Workers Party is regularly published in its monthly organ, De Kommunist.” In 1970, the MLPN began issuing another periodical, Central Paper for Industrial Workers, to try to gain influence among organized labor.[336]

In 1971 the party proclaimed its purpose to be “capture of political power” through the class struggle. It proclaimed that everything else, “including the individual interests of all who may be considered to belong to the working classes,” was subordinate to this drive for power.[337]

As became apparent soon after it was founded, the Marxist-Leninist Party of the Netherlands put special emphasis on establishing and maintaining as close contact as possible with Maoist parties in other countries. Mennes and Bark said in 1973 that such contacts “determine to a great extent the importance of this organization.”[338]

By the late 1970s, the MLPN was still one of the three most significant parties of Maoist origin in the Netherlands—along with the KEN-ML and the Socialist Party.[339]

There are indications that the Marxist-Leninist Party of the Netherlands was one of the three Maoist parties that merged in 1978 to establish the Communist Workers Organization-Marxist-Leninist.[340]

The Red Youth

In the early 1970s, there existed a Maoist youth group, Rode Jeugd. It was led by Henk Wubben, Van der Valk and A. Meurs, and had what it called “action groups” in Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Ljnuiden, The Hague and Kampen. It published two papers, Voowarts and Rode Jeugd, and for the most part was active in various protest marches and demonstrations. For instance, in 1970 it centered particularly on protests again a visit of President Suharto of Indonesia to the Netherlands.

However, in 1971 there was a split in the Red Youth, when a terrorist-oriented element in Eindhoven attempted to assassinate the mayor and several police officers. The Amsterdam affiliate of the organization denounced those actions.[341]

The Red Youth sent a letter of greeting to the Chinese Party in July 1971, when it celebrated its fiftieth anniversary.[342]

Little information is available about the Red Youth after 1972.

Conclusion

As was true in many countries, Maoism in the Netherlands was characterized by several quarreling groups. It is not clear that the Chinese gave their exclusive “franchise” to any of these groups, although at least three of them had at least some direct contact with the Chinese Party. The various Maoist groups in the Netherlands were apparently not alienated by the internecine quarrels among the Chinese or by the defection of the Albanians from the ranks of International Maoism. However, one group of Maoist origin—the Socialist Party—abandoned Communism altogether.

Portuguese Maoism