The Response of the Western Left and the Development Trend of Socialism under the COVID-19 Pandemic

Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, a regional public health crisis has rapidly spread into a global political and economic crisis. Western leftist forces, represented by communist parties, workers' parties, and left-wing scholars from various countries, have actively responded, producing a profound impact. As epidemic prevention becomes the "new normal" of human life, where is the world headed in the post-pandemic era, and what is the development trend of the world socialist movement? This article will explain and analyze the above issues.

自新型冠状病毒爆发以来，区域性的公共卫生危机迅速扩散为全球性的政治经济危机。以各国共产党、工人党和左翼学者为代表的西方左翼力量积极应对，产生深刻的影响。当防疫成为人类生活的“新常态”，后疫情时代世界要向何处去，世界社会主义运动又是一个怎样的发展态势？本文将围绕上述问题进行阐释和分析。

I. The Response Strategies of the Western Left during the COVID-19 Pandemic

一、新冠肺炎疫情中西方左翼的应对之策

In the political spectrum of Western bourgeois states, the left-right balance is a stabilizer of class rule. However, since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Western governments have collectively "turned right" or even fascistized, disrupting the political ecological balance and channels for expressing social interests. Relying on rich experience in struggle and mass foundations, Western leftist organizations have launched actions in multiple fields of theory and practice, exploring new paths, new forms, and new strategies for the socialist movement under the pandemic context.

在西方资产阶级国家政治光谱上左右制衡是阶级统治的稳定器。但是新冠肺炎疫情爆发以来，西方各国政府集体“右转”甚至法西斯化，破坏了政治生态平衡和社会利益表达渠道。西方左翼组织依靠丰富的斗争经验和群众基础，在理论和实践的多个领域展开行动，探索了疫情背景下社会主义运动的新路径、新形式和新策略。

(I) In-depth Analysis of the Roots and Essence of the Pandemic

（一）深入分析疫情的根源与实质

The COVID-19 "pandemic" is by no means a superficial technical governance crisis or public health crisis, but a systemic crisis arising from the inherent contradictions of the capitalist mode of production. When the capitalist mode of production becomes a fetter on the development of productive forces, it utilizes the natural form of ecological crisis and the social form of economic crisis to massively destroy productive forces. Thirty-two left-wing political party organizations worldwide, united under the International Coordination of Revolutionary Parties and Organizations (ICOR), jointly declared that the pandemic is being used to cover up a new world economic crisis, and that capitalism itself is the real "epidemic."

新冠肺炎疫情“大流行”绝非表面的技术治理危机或是公共卫生危机，而是生发于资本主义生产方式内在矛盾的系统性危机。当资本主义生产方式成为生产力发展的桎梏，便利用生态危机的自然形式和经济危机的社会形式大规模的消灭生产力。全球32个左翼政党组织在革命政党和组织国际协调（ICOR）联合发声，认为疫情被用来掩盖新的世界经济危机，资本主义才是真正的“流行病”。

The systemic crisis of capitalism is concentratedly manifested in the ecological crisis that breeds the coronavirus and the governance crisis of ineffective epidemic response. American left-wing thinker Noam Chomsky believes that this pandemic is essentially a health crisis of capitalism, a serious consequence of the invasion of capital logic into the wildlife ecosystem. The ecological crisis is created by capital, the bourgeoisie, and developed capitalist countries, but its consequences are borne by all humanity, especially the proletariat and poor and backward countries. The ecological crises currently facing humanity include viruses, global warming, earthquakes, and tsunamis. Various disaster factors intersect and merge, mutually causing and effecting each other, forming a broader and deepening picture of ecological catastrophe. Capitalism has also experienced a governance crisis of ineffective, inefficient, or even futile epidemic response. First, it is concentrated in the privatization and commercialization of the medical and health system. This exacerbates the shortage of medical resources, turns medical facilities into privileged institutions for the rich, reduces the labor bargaining power of medical workers, forces them to work in environments lacking protection, and leads to the collapse of national public health systems. Second, it is prominently reflected in the division and confrontation between the propertied and the propertyless, whites and people of color. The pandemic has intensified class polarization between rich and poor, plunging the proletariat and middle class into survival difficulties of unemployment and bankruptcy, while the ruling class has become wealthier. The pandemic has also severely damaged people's right to health and right to survival. The proletariat, especially workers of color, are forced to labor on the brink of death, suffering dual oppression of capitalism and racism.

资本主义系统性危机集中表现为滋生冠状病毒的生态危机和低效应对疫情的治理危机。美国左翼思想家诺姆·乔姆斯基（Noam Chomsky）认为，此次疫情实质上是资本主义健康危机，是资本逻辑侵入野生动物生态系统的严重后果。生态危机是资本、资产阶级和发达资本主义国家一手造就的，但是其结果却由全人类，尤其是无产阶级和贫穷落后国家承担。目前人类面临的生态危机包括病毒、全球变暖、地震海啸等，各种灾难因子交叉融合、互为因果，构成了一个更加广泛并且不断向深发展的生态灾难图景。资本主义也出现了应对疫情低效、失效甚至是无效的治理危机。首先集中在医疗卫生系统的私有化、商业化运作。这助长了医疗资源的短缺，使医疗设施成为富人的特权机构，降低了医护人员的劳动议价能力，迫使他们在缺乏防护的环境中工作，并且导致国家公共卫生系统崩溃。其次突出反映为有产者与无产者、白人与有色人种的分化对抗。疫情加剧了阶级贫富分化，使无产阶级和中产阶级面临失业和破产的生存困境，而统治阶级却变得更加富有。疫情也严重损害人们的健康权和生存权，无产阶级尤其是有色人种工人被迫在死亡边缘劳动，遭受资本主义和种族主义双重压迫。

This pandemic is even more an inevitable result of neoliberalism deepening the systemic crisis of capitalism. The Anti-Imperialist and Anti-Fascist United Front (AIAFUF) believes that from industrial capitalism to monopoly capitalism to neoliberalism, the systemic and cyclical crises of capital accumulation have progressively deepened, and "the neoliberal policy system is more prone to collapse than ever before." First, neoliberalism has strengthened the logic of capital. After the SARS epidemic, large pharmaceutical companies and private hospitals, blindly pursuing high rates of return, withdrew from research and prevention projects for coronaviruses, transforming people's right to survival and medical care into commodities, making them new areas for capital profit-seeking. Second, neoliberalism has weakened government functions, causing governance failure. Due to the long-term weakening of government functions, public sectors cannot assume their due responsibilities. Meanwhile, private capital engages in brutal accumulation entirely according to market principles, ultimately turning the public sphere into a vacuum zone with no one in charge, leading to the incapacitation of modern state governance. Thus, neoliberalism has severely fettered the development of productive forces, and through the COVID-19 "pandemic," fully exposed the decay and backwardness of capitalism. As stated in the initiative of the European Communist and Workers' Parties: "This global pandemic has proven the barbarity of capitalism; it is a decadent, exploitative, and outdated system."

此次疫情更是新自由主义加深资本主义系统性危机的必然结果。反帝反法西斯统一战线（AIAFUF）认为从工业资本主义、垄断资本主义到新自由主义，资本积累的系统性和周期性危机渐次加深，“新自由主义政策体系比以往任何时候都更容易崩溃”。首先，新自由主义强化了资本逻辑。在SARS疫情之后，大型制药公司和私立医院盲目追求高收益率，退出了研究和防治冠状病毒的项目，将人民的生存权和医疗保健权转化为商品，使之成为资本谋利的新领域。其次，新自由主义削弱了政府职能，造成了治理失效。由于长期弱化政府职能，公共部门不能承担起应有的责任，同时私人资本完全按照市场原则进行野蛮增殖，使公共领域最终成为无人可管的真空领域，导致现代国家治理的失能。可见，新自由主义已经严重禁锢生产力的发展，并透过新冠肺炎疫情“大流行”充分暴露出资本主义的腐朽与落后。正如欧洲共产党和工人党倡议申明的：“这场全球性大流行病证明了资本主义的野蛮，它是一种腐朽的、剥削的、过时的制度。”

(II) Criticizing the Anti-People Policies of Bourgeois Governments

（二）批判资产阶级政府的反人民政策

Shifting the burden of the economic crisis. To maintain the continued operation of capitalism, Western governments launched large-scale plans to issue debt, bail out markets, and cut taxes. The pandemic also caused profits to surge for logistics, pharmaceutical, and internet companies. Even though large enterprises and multinational corporations received massive bailouts, this could not stop them from laying off employees, operating at overcapacity, and infringing on labor rights. At the same time, large numbers of unemployed people received only meager subsidies barely enough to survive, while illegal workers and temporary workers could only wait for death before the pandemic. The Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany stated: "We do not accept any attempt, under the pretext of defending against the novel coronavirus, to shift the consequences of the environmental crisis, world economic and financial crisis onto the broad masses and the working class."

转嫁经济危机负担。西方各国政府为了维持资本主义继续运转，开启了大规模的发债救市减税计划，疫情还使物流、医药、互联网企业利润暴涨。即便大型企业和跨国企业获得了巨额救助，也无法阻挡它们裁减员工、超负荷运转、侵害劳动权益。与此同时，大量的失业群体领取的零碎补贴仅够勉强糊口，而非法雇工和临时工只能在疫情前坐以待毙。德国马列主义党表示：“不接受任何打着防御新型冠状病毒的幌子，试图将环境危机、世界经济和金融危机的后果转移到广大人民和工人阶级身上的企图。”

Indulging chaos in pandemic governance. The chaos in pandemic response in capitalist countries stems from the class nature of the ruling group, as governments are accountable to financial capitalists and monopoly groups, not to ordinary people. The top priority of government policy is to maintain the stability of capital profitability, not to protect and save lives or curb the spread of the pandemic. In terms of governance performance, this manifests as insufficient national emergency response capacity, i.e., pandemic response dominated by the logic of capital, leading to anarchy in the public health field. The Communist Party of Belgium called on the people: "Do not trust government measures: whatever the measures, they are anti-people measures."

纵容疫情治理乱象。资本主义国家的抗“疫”乱象根源于统治集团的阶级性，由于政府向金融资本家和垄断集团，而非向普通民众负责。政府政策的当务之急是维护资本获利的稳定性，而不是保护和挽救生命，遏制疫情的蔓延扩散。在治理绩效上就表现为国家应急能力不足，即由资本逻辑主导抗“疫”行动，致使公共卫生领域陷入无政府状态。比利时共产党就呼吁民众：“不要轻信政府措施：无论什么措施，都是反人民的措施。”

(III) Activating Organizations at All Levels, Launching Self-Help and Mutual Aid Movements

（三）激活各级组织，开展自救互助运动

Solidarity and mutual aid are important socialist values and a touchstone for the ideals and beliefs of communist parties. In practice, the Western left has explored the new form of self-help and mutual aid movements to close Party-mass relations, enabling grassroots people to obtain scarce essential protective materials, disseminating scientific methods of virus protection, and enhancing their theoretical identification with, political trust in, and support for communist parties. The diverse forms of these movements also provide new models for expanding organizational scale and mobilizing the masses in the post-pandemic era.

团结互助是重要的社会主义价值，也是共产党理想信念的试金石。西方左翼在实践中探索了自救互助运动这种密切党群关系的新形式，使底层群众获得了紧缺的必要防护物资，并且传播了病毒防护的科学方法，增强了他们对共产党的理论认同、政治信任与支持。丰富多样的运动形式也为后疫情时代壮大组织规模和动员群众提供了新模式。

Disseminating epidemic prevention knowledge, distributing epidemic prevention materials. Foreign communist parties have fully mobilized Party organizations at all levels, activated the subjective initiative of grassroots Party organizations, and formed an integrated mobilization mechanism. Local organizations of the Communist Party of Turkey established mutual aid networks, providing masks and other materials to grassroots groups. Revolutionaries and anti-fascists in Austria organized "neighborhood mutual aid" activities, buying food for elderly neighbors. The Red Women's Committee provided protective masks to workers, helping them protect themselves from infection in harsh working environments.

宣传防疫知识，发放防疫物资。国外共产党充分发动各级党组织，激活基层党组织的主体自觉性，形成联动一体的动员机制。土耳其共产党的地方组织建立互助网络，向底层群体提供口罩等物资。奥地利的革命者和反法西斯主义者组织了“邻里互助”活动，为年长的近邻购买食物。红色妇女委员会则为工人群众提供防护口罩，帮助他们在恶劣的劳动环境中保护自身免于感染。

Raising relief funds, providing rescue services. Due to corporate layoffs and salary cuts, hoarding activities increasing living costs, and the working class being a high-risk group for infection, many grassroots people found it difficult to sustain their lives. The Communist Party of Turkey and the Democratic Socialists of America both created relief funds to raise and distribute funds to impoverished members. The Communist Party of Bangladesh integrated the strengths of its members, innovating rescue projects tailored to local conditions, such as establishing 24-hour call centers, forming "special medical teams," and launching "free ambulance services" to transport patients to hospitals.

筹集救济资金，提供救援服务。由于企业部门裁员和削减薪资，囤积居奇活动增加生活成本，加之工人阶级是感染的高危群体，许多底层群众生活难以为继。土耳其共产党和美国民主社会主义者都创建了救助基金，为贫困成员筹集和发放资金。孟加拉国共产党则整合成员优势，因地制宜地创新救援项目，如建立24小时呼叫中心、组建“特殊医疗队”、发起将患者运送到医院的“免费救护车服务”。

(IV) Consolidating the United Front, Organizing Demonstrations and Protests

（四）巩固统一战线，组织示威游行抗争

The pandemic crisis has consolidated the practical impetus for forming a united front. The capitalist crisis has intensified class contradictions to an unprecedented degree. Due to the lack of safety protection and health security, workers in basic social industries have gradually launched "small-scale, short-lived, and local spontaneous strikes." Basic industries during the pandemic include not only traditional sectors such as food production, transportation, logistics and warehousing, marketing and retail, but also special groups in the pharmaceutical industry. On June 16, approximately 250,000 healthcare workers in France took to the streets, demanding the protection of the public healthcare system and the safeguarding of their own work rights and interests. On June 17, Greek healthcare workers held a strike movement, demanding increased investment in the health system and a ban on layoffs. It can be seen that frontline healthcare workers are becoming socialists, and their protests against medical policies should be incorporated into the perspective of opposing capitalism.

疫情危机凝聚了建立统一战线的现实动因。资本主义危机使劳资矛盾空前加剧，由于缺乏安全防护和健康保障，社会基本行业的工人逐渐开展“小规模的、短暂的和地方性的自发罢工”。疫情期间的基本行业不仅包括食品生产、交通运输、物流仓储、营销零售等传统部门，还包括医药行业的特殊群体。6月16日，法国约25万名医护工作者走上街头，要求保护公共医疗体系和维护自身工作权益。6月17日，希腊医护工作者举行罢工运动，要求增加卫生系统投资并禁止裁员。由此可见，一线医护人员正在成为社会主义者，他们反对医疗政策的抗议应当被纳入反对资本主义的视域。

At the same time, similar experiences of exploitation and struggle have laid a foundation of solidarity for cross-industry organization. Workers have aggregated their respective demands into a "direct struggle for protective equipment." They unanimously believe that the exploitation of the working class is the basic condition for maintaining the operation of capitalist society and the realization of capital appreciation and profit; capitalism without workers' labor would perish. This has given rise to the practical need for establishing a cross-industry united front and has formed flexible and diverse struggle organizations. For example, healthcare workers in New York City and Washington, D.C., have formed the "COVID-19 Frontline Workers Task Force," which not only speaks out for the struggles of employed laborers on the medical front but also fights for other workers' rights and interests. The struggles of the cross-industry united front ultimately converged into a powerful trade union movement. Colombia's major trade unions—the Unified Workers' Central (CUT), the Workers' Confederation (CTC), and the General Confederation of Labor (CGT)—held joint demonstrations demanding the protection of workers' welfare and rights, opposing corporate cuts in working hours and government reductions in pensions, healthcare, and safety spending.

与此同时，相似的被剥削和抗争经历为跨行业组织奠定了团结的基础，工人们把各自诉求集合为对“防护用品的直接争取上”。他们一致认为，工人阶级被剥削是维持资本主义社会运转和资本增值获利的基本条件，没有工人劳动的资本主义会走向灭亡。这就催生了建立跨行业统一战线的现实需要，并形成了灵活多样的斗争组织。例如，纽约市和华盛顿特区的医护人员组建了“新冠肺炎疫情一线工人工作队”，不仅为医疗战线的雇佣劳动者抗争发声，也为工人其他权益而斗争。跨行业统一战线的斗争最终汇聚为声势浩大的工会运动，哥伦比亚的主要工会——工人团结中央工会（CUT）、工人联盟（CTC）和劳工总联盟（CGT）举行了联合示威，要求保护工人福利和权利，反对企业削减工时和政府缩减养老、医疗和安全支出。

(5) Emphasizing Proletarian Internationalist Joint Action

（五）强调无产阶级国际主义联合行动

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global, systemic crisis of capitalism. Correspondingly, communist parties of various countries have taken the resistance against the capitalist pandemic crisis as a common mission of internationalism, speaking out in unison to the world through international organizations. This includes not only joint actions within regions, such as the "Meeting of European Communist Parties," the "Initiative of European Communist and Workers' Parties," and the "Joint Declaration of South American Communist Parties on COVID-19"; but also global international unity, such as the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), the "Joint Declaration of Communist and Workers' Parties of the World on the Novel Coronavirus," the "Joint Declaration of 54 Communist Youth Leagues Worldwide on the Novel Coronavirus," and the "Declaration of 32 Left-Wing Parties and Organizations Worldwide on the Coronavirus Pandemic." There also exist international platforms focused on specific functions, such as the "Anti-Imperialist and Anti-Fascist United Front (AIAFUF)," which emphasizes anti-war and anti-fascist struggles, and the "International Coordination of Revolutionary Parties and Organizations (ICOR)," which emphasizes international coordination.

新冠肺炎疫情“大流行”是资本主义全球性、系统性的危机，相应的，各国共产党将反抗资本主义疫情危机作为国际主义的共同使命，通过国际性组织向世界同频发声。这里不仅有区域范围内的联合行动，例如“欧洲共产党会议”“欧洲共产党和工人党倡议”“南美洲共产党针对新冠肺炎的联合声明”；也有全球性的国际联合，例如世界工会联合会（WFTU）、“世界各国共产党和工人党关于新型冠状病毒的联合声明”“全球54个共产主义青年团关于新冠病毒的联合声明”“全球32个左翼政党和组织关于冠状病毒大流行的宣言”。还存在专注于特定功能的国际平台，例如强调反战反法西斯的“反帝反法西斯统一战线（AIAFUF）”和强调国际统筹的“革命政党和组织国际协调”（ICOR）。

The unprecedented unity of the world socialist movement during the pandemic has primarily expressed the following demands: First, increase investment in medical resources and improve the welfare of healthcare workers. They demand that governments increase public health spending, fill the shortage of medical resources, nationalize strategic sectors, ensure universal access to high-quality healthcare, and provide stable labor protection for healthcare workers. Second, oppose shifting the burden of the crisis and safeguard the labor rights of the people. Communist parties of various countries oppose "making workers pay for the impact of the pandemic," insisting that workers' health is above profits. They demand that governments introduce relief policies, respect the survival rights of bottom-level laborers, protect workers' democratic rights and trade union freedoms, and oppose racism and fascism. Third, strengthen internationalist unity and take global revolutionary action. The pandemic crisis has proven that healthcare and prevention are a global right. Western left-wing organizations call on all countries to strengthen cooperation and jointly study the causes of the disease: "We are now fighting for immediate measures to protect health and safeguard the rights of all people in every corner of the planet."

世界社会主义运动在疫情期间的空前团结，主要表达了如下诉求：一是增加医疗资源投资，提高医护人员福利。他们要求各国政府增加公共卫生支出，填补医疗资源短缺，将战略部门收归国有，使全民享有高质量的医疗保障，并为医护人员提供稳定的劳动保障。二是反对转移危机负担，维护人民劳动权益。各国共产党反对“让工人为疫情的影响买单”，坚持工人的健康高于利润。他们要求政府出台救济政策，尊重底层劳动者的生存权利，保护劳动者的民主权利和工会自由，反对种族主义和法西斯主义。三是加强国际主义联合，采取全球革命行动。疫情危机证明医疗保健和预防是一项全球性权利。西方左翼组织呼吁各国加强合作，共同研究病因，“我们现在正在为立即采取措施保护健康和维护地球各个角落所有人民的权利而斗争。”

II. The Development of the Socialist Movement in the Post-Pandemic Era

二、后疫情时代社会主义运动的发展

The post-pandemic era is an era of global structural, deep-seated, and systemic transformation. The pandemic crisis is merely a prelude to the systemic crisis of capitalism. Neoliberal policies and the capitalist system are being re-examined. As the Communist Party of the United States has declared, this is a new era where "there is no going back to the past." When the crisis of capitalist relations of production transmits to various levels, including cultural psychology, political systems, and international order, the transformation of the post-pandemic era has only just begun. At that time, people will find that the COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected the rules and mechanisms of human social operation.

后疫情时代是全球结构性、深层次、系统化的变革时代。疫情危机只是资本主义系统性危机的前奏，新自由主义政策和资本主义制度正受到重新审视，正如美国共产党宣称的，这是“再也不能回到过去”的新时代。当资本主义生产关系危机传导至文化心理、政治制度、国际秩序等各个层面，后疫情时代的变革方才起步，届时人们会发现新冠肺炎疫情深刻影响了人类社会运行的规则和机制。

(1) Forming Favorable Conditions for the Socialist Movement

（一）形成社会主义运动的有利条件

The shift of the center of international power to the East is accelerating. Historically, the restructuring of the international order and geopolitics has often been demarcated by wars or revolutions. Goudinez believes that the significance of the novel coronavirus is even greater than that of the Peace of Westphalia, the French Revolution, and the 1956 Suez Crisis. This is manifested in the continuous weakening of Washington's authority, while China's leadership is constantly strengthening; the center of international power is shifting eastward. First, the image of Western countries has been damaged. Harvard professor Stephen M. Walt points out: "The COVID-19 pandemic will accelerate the shift of power and influence from the West to the East. The slow and misguided responses of Europe and the United States have further damaged the 'image' of the West." Second, the hegemonic status of the US dollar is facing strong challenges. US hegemonic rule is built upon the neoliberal world economic system based on the US dollar. The irresponsible economic stimulus policies of the United States have continuously narrowed the confidence of already-strained governments in the US dollar. Coupled with China's rich experience in using blockchain and other credit technologies and applying digital currencies, the power of the United States to shift crises through the US dollar to maintain the survival of financial capital is being gradually weakened. Finally, the international status of the United States is being seriously questioned. The choices of China and the United States regarding international policies are vastly different. China advocates a community with a shared future for mankind and

国际权力重心东移趋势加速。历史上国际秩序和地缘政治的重构经常以战争或革命为分水岭，葛德尼兹认为，新冠病毒的意义更甚于《威斯特法利亚和约》、法国大革命和1956年苏伊士危机。这表现在华盛顿的权威在持续衰弱，而中国的领导力在不断增强，国际权力重心正在东移。首先是西方国家形象受损。哈佛大学斯蒂芬·沃尔特（Stephen M.Walt）教授指出：“新冠肺炎疫情将加速权力和影响力由西方向东方的转移。欧洲和美国反应迟缓、应对失策，这进一步损害了西方的‘形象’。”其次是美元霸权地位受到强力挑战。美国霸权统治建立在以美元为基础的新自由主义世界经济体系之上，美国不负责任的经济刺激政策使本就捉襟见肘的各国政府对美元信心持续收窄，加之中国运用区块链等信用技术和应用数字货币的丰富经验，美国通过美元转嫁危机维持金融资本生存的权力被逐步削弱。最后是美国的国际地位受到严重质疑。中美两国对国际政策的选择大相径庭，中国倡导人类命运共同体和建设健康丝绸之路，在国际抗“疫”行动中发挥着领导作用。美国违背人道主义加紧制裁伊朗、委内瑞拉、古巴等国家，宣布停止缴纳世界卫生组织运行经费，挑动地区紧张局势等，表明美国对国际组织和世界政局的控制力在下降。

Globalization stands at a crossroads of difficult choices. The COVID-19 "pandemic" has exposed the predicament of global governance, namely the irreconcilable tension between sovereign independent modern nation-states and global-scale human crises. Globalization is no longer merely the globalization of economy, politics, culture, and information, but is more manifest as the globalization of ecology, disasters, and destiny; the novel coronavirus is a representative example of a regional disaster expanding into a global one. The pandemic has also given rise to increasingly vocal calls for deglobalization, with epidemic prevention policies of closing borders and beggar-thy-neighbor approaches fueling currents of nationalism, racism, and xenophobia. This not only obscures the scientific rationality of eliminating the virus but also deposits fertile soil for the governance of right-wing extremism. The clash of interests between globalization and anti-globalization is more concentrated on the issue of whether to assist poor and backward countries in epidemic prevention and control; thus, the problem lies more in how to develop a new type of globalization. Western leftists believe that China's active promotion of anti-epidemic experience to the world through the "Health Silk Road" [4]4 "Health Silk Road" (健康丝绸之路) — a concept derived from the Belt and Road Initiative, referring to China's efforts to promote international cooperation in public health, including the sharing of medical expertise and supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic. is "highly commendable."

全球化处于艰难抉择的路口。新冠肺炎疫情“大流行”暴露出全球治理的困境，即主权独立的现代民族国家与全球范围的人类危机产生出不可弛缓的张力。全球化不再只是经济、政治、文化、信息的全球化，更表现为生态、灾难、命运的全球化，新冠病毒就是区域灾难扩展为全球灾难的代表。疫情也使逆全球化浪潮呼声渐高，关闭国门和以邻为壑的防疫政策激发了民族主义、种族主义、排外主义的思潮，这不仅遮蔽了消灭病毒的科学理性，也为右翼极端主义执政沉积了丰厚土壤。全球化和反全球化的利益激荡，更集中在是否帮助贫穷落后国家防控疫情的议题上，因此问题更在于如何发展新型全球化。西方左翼认为，中国积极以“健康丝绸之路”向世界推广抗“疫”经验，这种做法“值得高度赞扬”。

The relationship between the two systems has entered a period of deep adjustment. Since the drastic changes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, the world socialist movement has always operated at a low ebb, facing the real predicament of “capitalism being strong and socialism being weak.” The severe financial crisis of 2008 also failed to turn the tide for the socialist movement; communist parties in various countries found it difficult to effectively utilize the “window of opportunity” to make full preparations, only showing new changes and highlights in certain areas. However, this pandemic has provided a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the socialist movement. Socialism has a significant identity marker in the field of health, setting aside debates with many currents of thought such as liberalism and populism, and forcing people to contemplate their future destiny in the choice between socialism or capitalism. The high tide of the socialist movement is also real and tangible. Socialist countries such as China, Cuba, and Vietnam, through practices of scientific decision-making, public mobilization, putting life first, and internationalism, have provided people with a real reference system and a control group. Socialism is increasingly becoming a “fashionable” term. In the future, “black swan” events such as the “Sanders phenomenon” and the “Corbyn phenomenon” will frequently appear on the political stage. Chomsky judges that “the labor movement is reviving,” and the U.S. Democratic Party, influenced by public opinion, has had to adopt a left-leaning posture in its campaign platform.

两制关系进入深度调整时期。自苏东剧变之后，世界社会主义运动始终在低潮运行，面临着“资强社弱”的现实困境。2008年严重的金融危机也未能使社会主义运动扭转乾坤，各国共产党难以有效利用“机遇期”做出充分准备，仅在局部呈现新变化和新亮点。但是此次疫情为社会主义运动提供了千载难逢的契机，社会主义在卫生健康领域具有显著的身份标识，摒弃了与自由主义、民粹主义等诸多思潮的争论，让人们在社会主义还是资本主义的选项中思考未来命运。社会主义运动高潮更是现实的、可接触的，中国、古巴、越南等社会主义国家以科学决策、公共动员、生命至上、国际主义的实践，为人们提供了现实的参考系和对照组。社会主义也越来越成为“时髦”词汇，未来“桑德斯现象”“科尔宾现象”等“黑天鹅”将频繁登上政治舞台。乔姆斯基判断“劳工运动正在复兴”，被民意影响的美国民主党也不得不在竞选纲领中采取左倾的姿态。

(II) Giving Rise to Alternatives to Neoliberalism

（二）催生新自由主义的替代方案

The post-pandemic era has intensified the decline of neoliberalism. Many left-wing scholars believe that the 2008 financial crisis challenged the neoliberal order, while the COVID-19 pandemic has declared the end of neoliberalism. Revolutionary activist and left-wing historian Max Elbaum asserts: “Neoliberalism, which has dominated the global political and economic landscape for 40 years, has reached its final step.”

后疫情时代加剧了新自由主义的衰落。不少左翼学者认为，2008年的金融危机挑战了新自由主义秩序，而新冠肺炎疫情则宣告了新自由主义的终结。革命活动家和左翼历史学家马克斯·埃尔鲍姆（Max Elbaum）断言：“统治了全球政治经济格局40年的新自由主义已经走到最后一步。”

While ending neoliberalism, the pandemic has also activated the path to communism. The Communist Party of Turkey believes that post-pandemic neoliberal policies will continue to exacerbate inequality, strengthen monopoly groups, weaken the foundation of the ruling class, and reduce workers’ bargaining power, which will inevitably trigger workers’ resistance and a pursuit of alternatives that transcend the boundaries of the existing social order. Russian left-wing social thought critic Professor Aleksandr Buzgalin argues that the pandemic has made the communist ideas of solidarity, justice, internationalism, and freedom deeply rooted in people’s hearts, and the alternative of “either communism or barbarism” has been placed on the agenda. The cultural foundations of neoliberalism—individualism, consumerism, the supremacy of private interests, isolationism, etc.—are gradually being dissolved by people’s organized collective actions, discussions that place social interests above capital interests, and internationalist solidarity. [5]5 The original text cites a footnote number 19 here, which has been omitted as it refers to a source not provided in the translation request. The pandemic has proven to people that socialism is not an abstract theory or rigid dogma, but rather, starting from the realities of defending democratic rights and assuming social responsibilities, it meets people’s needs and pursues a possible, inherently good life.

疫情在结束新自由主义之时，也激活了通往共产主义之路。土耳其共产党认为，疫情后新自由主义政策将会继续加剧不平等,强化垄断集团,削弱统治阶级基础,降低工人谈判能力，这必然引发工人的反抗，并追求超越现存社会秩序边界的替代选项。俄罗斯左翼社会思想评论家亚历山大·布兹加林（Aleksandr Buzgalin）教授则认为，疫情使团结、正义、国际主义和自由的共产主义思想深入人心，“要么是共产主义，要么是野蛮主义”的替代方案被提上日程。新自由主义的文化基础——个人主义、消费主义、私有利益至上、孤立主义等，正在被人们有组织的集体行动,将社会利益凌驾于资本利益的讨论以及国际主义团结逐渐消解。19新冠肺炎疫情向人们证明，社会主义不是抽象的理论和僵化的说教，而是从捍卫民主权利、承担社会责任等现实情况出发，去满足人们的需求和追求可能的合乎本性的美好生活。

(III) Strengthening the Organizational Power of Radical Left Movements

（三）增强左翼激进运动的组织力量

The post-pandemic era consolidates the consensus on socialism and sets off a new wave of the world socialist movement. After personally experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic, people’s views on capitalism and socialism have completely changed. They realize that the struggle for socialism is closely related to their own vital interests, and that opposing capitalism means protecting everyone’s life. The younger generation, suffering under the oppression of neoliberalism, has higher sensitivity and receptivity to political issues. They are organizing radical socialist political parties, representing the future of socialism.

后疫情时代凝聚社会主义共识，掀起世界社会主义运动的新潮。在亲身经历新冠肺炎疫情之后，人们对资本主义和社会主义的看法彻底改变了，意识到社会主义的斗争与切身利益密切相关，而反对资本主义也就是保护每个人的生命。饱受新自由主义压迫的年轻世代在政治议题上具有更高的敏感度和接受度，他们组织起激进的社会主义政党，代表着社会主义的未来。

The popular foundation for transforming capitalism and achieving socialism is broadening. Young people are accelerating their transformation into socialists. Communist parties in many countries attract more and more young people by supporting and guiding, strengthening organizational and alliance building, and improving communication and dialogue. The U.S. website “Left Voice” states that research shows support for socialism and capitalism among Millennials and Generation Z (referring to those born between 1995 and 2009, also known as the internet generation) is roughly equal. The pandemic has also promoted a moderate leftward shift in social ideology. The French Communist Party, citing research from the “Political Confidence Barometer,” points out that reforming the capitalist system is becoming a political consensus among people after the pandemic. Japanese Marxist scholar Hiroshi Onishi believes that among intellectuals, there is also a call for capitalism to make way for socialism, with many feeling that thinking about the system itself is more important than specific epidemic prevention measures. From this perspective, the pandemic has driven public opinion to strive for the reform of the capitalist system and achieve a “left turn” toward socialism, providing popular support for the socialist movement.

变革资本主义、实现社会主义的民意基础在拓宽。青年人正在加快向社会主义者的转变。多国共产党通过支持和引导、加强组织和联盟建设、做好沟通和对话等方式，吸引越来越多的年轻人加入。美国“左翼之声”网站称，研究表明千禧一代和Z世代（意指在1995—2009年间出生的人，又称互联网世代）对社会主义和资本主义的支持基本相当。疫情也推动社会意识形态的温和左转。法国共产党援引“政治信心晴雨表”的研究指出，改革资本主义制度正在成为疫情后人们的政治共识。日本马克思主义学者大西广认为，知识分子中也形成了希望资本主义为社会主义让路的呼声，大家觉得思考制度本身比具体的防疫措施更为重要。由此观之，疫情推动民意争取资本主义制度改革，实现向社会主义“左转”，为社会主义运动提供了民意支持。

The forces that transcend the boundaries of the existing system and build revolutionary parties are increasing. First, the scale of Western left-wing organizations generally expanded during the pandemic. The Communist Party of Britain saw a 13% increase in membership, [6]6 The original text cites a footnote number 23 here, which has been omitted as it refers to a source not provided in the translation request. the Democratic Socialists of America added 10,000 new members, [7]7 The original text cites a footnote number 24 here, which has been omitted as it refers to a source not provided in the translation request. and the Communist Party USA stated that “the number of people applying for party membership is currently increasing significantly.” [8]8 The original text cites a footnote number 25 here, which has been omitted as it refers to a source not provided in the translation request. Second, the pandemic provided opportunities to promote alternatives to the existing system. The “Left Voice” website argues that one cannot “jump from one social movement to another,” as this is “treating the symptoms, not the root cause”; it is necessary to unite and challenge capitalism itself. The Communist Party USA called for the courage to “step into socialism” and immediately implement a “socialist democratic plan and expand public service operation models.” [9]9 The original text cites a footnote number 26 here, which has been omitted as it refers to a source not provided in the translation request. Finally, people realized the urgency of building a revolutionary party. Western radical left organizations call for the establishment of a “mass socialist party based on the working class and armed with a socialist program,” fully uniting workers, immigrants, people of color, sexual minorities, and other identities to accumulate strength and push for the final revolution. In summary, Western communist parties and left-wing organizations advanced the socialist movement significantly during the pandemic, elevating ideological critique, political protest, and economic struggle to the level of a socialist alternative, preparing for a high tide of the socialist movement from multiple aspects.

超越现存体制边界、建设革命性政党的力量在增加。首先，疫情期间西方左翼组织的规模普遍扩大。英国共产党党员人数增加了13%23，美国民主社会主义者新增了10 000名成员24，美国共产党表示“申请入党的人数目前在大幅度增加”。其次，疫情为宣传现存制度的替代方案提供机遇。“左翼之声”网站认为不能“从一个社会运动跳到另一个社会运动”，这是“治标不治本”，必须联合起来向资本主义本身发起挑战。美国共产党号召要勇于“踏入社会主义”，立刻实施“社会主义民主计划、扩大公共运营服务模式”。最后，人们意识到建设革命性政党的迫切性。西方激进左翼组织呼吁建立“以工人阶级为基础，以社会主义纲领武装起来的群众社会主义政党”，充分团结工人、移民、有色人种、性少数群体等多种身份，来积攒力量推动最后的革命。总之，西方共产党和左翼组织在疫情中将社会主义运动向前推进了一大步，把思想批判、政治抗议和经济斗争提高到社会主义替代方案的高度，从多方面为社会主义运动高潮做准备。

III. Difficulties and Challenges Still Facing the Socialist Movement

三、社会主义运动仍面对的困难与挑战

The pandemic has also brought some challenges to the world socialist movement, particularly manifested in the fact that the overall pattern of “capitalism being strong and socialism being weak” has not yet changed, the internal divisions among left-wing factions, and the insufficient capacity of radical left-wing political parties.

疫情同样也给世界社会主义运动带来一些挑战，尤其表现在当今“资强社弱”的总体格局尚未改变、左翼阵营内部流派分立和激进左翼政党能力不足等方面。

First, the overall pattern of “capitalism being strong and socialism being weak” has not changed. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the decline of neoliberalism, further highlighting the structural contradictions and institutional dilemmas of capitalism, and world left-wing forces and the socialist movement have been greatly tempered during the pandemic, overall, the global pattern of “capitalism being strong and socialism being weak” has not changed. The world today remains an era of imperialism where developed capitalist countries dominate, with the United States and other Western countries still pursuing hegemonism and power politics. The influence of most communist parties and workers’ organizations is very limited, and their strength is far from sufficient to shake the existing political systems of the West.

其一，“资强社弱”总体格局并未改变。尽管新冠肺炎疫情加剧了新自由主义的衰落，使资本主义的结构性矛盾和制度性困境进一步凸显，世界左翼力量和社会主义运动在疫情中得到极大锻炼，但是，从总体上看，当今世界“资强社弱”的总体格局并未发生改变。当今的世界，仍然是发达资本主义国家占据主导地位的帝国主义时代，以美国为首的西方国家仍在推行霸权主义和强权政治。大多数共产党和工人组织的影响十分有限，其力量远不足以撼动西方现有的政治体制。

Second, Western left-wing forces are fragmented, with internal friction outweighing cooperation. The Western left is a mixture of various ideologies, schools, and viewpoints, including radical left-wing forces guided by Marxism-Leninism, social democracy that advocates reconciling classes within the capitalist system and gradually realizing socialist values, and left-wing liberalism that mildly criticizes capitalism through abstract and speculative methods.

其二，西方左翼力量分散，内耗大于合作。西方左翼是多种思潮、流派和观点的混杂物，其中既有以马克思列宁主义为指导的激进左翼力量，也有主张在资本主义体制内调和阶级，继而逐步实现社会主义价值的社会民主主义，还有以抽象的和思辨的方法温和批判资本主义的左翼自由主义等。

Faced with the social upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Western leftist camp is united in opposing the passive anti-epidemic measures of incumbent governments, advocating for the dignity of life and the value of equality, and mobilizing spontaneous social forces. However, it is divided on the steps, forms, and directions of implementation, especially on the fundamental question of whether the existing system can be transcended and replaced. Within the leftist camp, there is mutual friction on the issues of revolution and reform; social democrats and communists often part ways on whether to support progressive bourgeois parties in carrying out moderate reforms within the existing institutional framework. For example, American democratic socialists and Noam Chomsky generally supported Joe Biden as the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, but leftist groups such as the Communist Party USA, the Workers World Party, and Left Voice demanded radical change and opposed maintaining the existing system. These disputes over line not only involve trade-offs in real material interests but also implicate differences in cultural traditions and ideological inheritance, making the already weak leftist forces even more vulnerable to the challenges of alienation, fragmentation, and dissolution.

面对新冠肺炎疫情造成的社会动荡，西方左翼阵营在反对当权政府消极抗“疫”、倡导生命尊严和平等价值、动员社会自发力量等方面立场一致，但是在实现的步骤、形式和方向上皆有差异，尤其是对能否超越和替代现有制度的根本问题上存在分裂。其中左翼阵营在革命和改革的议题上更是相互磨损，对于是否支持进步资产阶级政党在现有制度框架内进行温和改良的问题上，社会民主主义者和共产主义者常常分道扬镳。例如，美国民主社会主义者和乔姆斯基普遍支持乔治·拜登代表民主党参选总统，但是美国共产党、美国工人世界党、左翼之声等左翼群体则要求实行激进变革、反对维护现有体制。这些路线之争不仅涉及到现实物质利益的权衡取舍，更牵连到文化传统和思想的传承差异，使本就单薄力微的左翼力量更加面临着被疏离、分散和消解的挑战。

Third, the strength of most Western radical leftist parties needs to be enhanced. Individual parties are relatively weak, and substantive unity has made little progress—this is the real predicament currently faced by Western radical leftist forces.

其三，多数西方激进左翼政党的实力有待提升。单个政党力量较弱，实质性的联合难有大的进展，这是目前西方激进左翼力量面临的现实困境。

Although radical leftist parties have grown in strength during the pandemic, they remain on the margins of the political space compared to most mainstream Western parties. This relatively disadvantaged political situation is not only the result of the bourgeoisie’s constant restraint, restriction, and stigmatization of the communist movement, but also the combined effect of long-standing constraints such as insufficient funding for activities, poor stability of political participation, and limited influence over political decision-making. Moreover, social distancing policies have made their already precarious conditions even worse. Therefore, how to make full use of the legal conditions of party politics and find a balance between parliamentary struggle and street protest remains an issue that radical leftist parties must continue to explore.

激进左翼政党虽然在疫情中实力不断增长，但是相较于西方多数主流政党，依然处于政治空间的边缘地带。这种相对劣势的政治局面不仅是资产阶级始终约束、限制和污名化共产主义运动导致的，更是激进左翼政党长期面临活动经费不足、政治参与稳定性差、对政治决策影响力小等制约条件共同作用的结果，并且社会隔离政策更使原本紧张的生存条件雪上加霜。因此，如何充分利用政党政治的合法条件，在议会斗争和街头抗争之间求得平衡点，仍然是激进左翼政党需要继续探索的问题。

IV. Conclusion

四、结语

Looking at the global anti-epidemic efforts, from the perspective of the Western left, China’s successful experience highlights the superiority of the socialist system, underscores the people-centered value, and shapes a model for promoting a community with a shared future for mankind and the Health Silk Road. Meanwhile, Cuba’s value of “revolutionary people’s humanitarianism” and Vietnam’s sense of mission that “fighting the epidemic is like fighting the enemy” also demonstrate the strong vitality and great appeal of socialism. The COVID-19 pandemic has once again proven that the capitalist crisis has never gone away, and the times call for a socialist alternative. In the post-pandemic era, where humanity will coexist with viral disasters for a long time, where will the world socialist movement go? From the above analysis, it can be found that real existing socialist countries and the Western leftist movement are a “community” sharing honor and disgrace. They have always adhered to a people-centered approach, putting people’s life and health first, and have explained from different angles the questions of “why socialism exists,” “how it is possible,” and “why it is necessary” in the 21st century, becoming a highlight during the pandemic.

放眼全球抗“疫”行动，在西方左翼看来，中国的成功经验昭彰出社会主义制度优势，突显了以人为本的价值，塑造着推动人类命运共同体和健康丝绸之路的典范，而古巴“革命的人民的人道主义”价值观，越南“抗击流行病就像抗击敌人”的使命意识，也无不展现出社会主义的强大生命力和巨大魅力。新冠肺炎疫情再度证明资本主义危机从未远去，时代呼唤社会主义替代方案。在人类与病毒灾难长期共处的后疫情时代，世界社会主义运动将何去何从？通过上文分析可以发现，现实社会主义国家和西方左翼运动是荣辱与共的“共同体”，它们始终坚持以人为本，把人民生命健康放在第一位，从不同侧面阐释了21世纪社会主义“何以存在”“何以可能”与“何以必要”的问题，成为此次疫情期间的亮点。

Socialism is the product of the internal crisis of capitalism. The capitalist system is neither the end of history nor a condition of peace, but a decaying thing that constantly generates opposing forces to overcome itself. Capitalism not only produces a virus that infects tens of millions of people, breeds economic crises that undermine progressive productive forces, but also differentiates its own “gravedigger”—the proletariat. Socialism is a realistically possible option, and the communist party represents the future of the movement. During the pandemic, the Western left has supported and defended the most radical positions, guided the workers’ movement to transcend the boundaries of trade unionism, condensed the identity and class consciousness of the working class, and coordinated scattered struggles through organizations such as “workers’ councils,” promoting the socialist movement to develop in depth and breadth. Socialism is also an inevitable option for protecting life and health. The profit-seeking nature of capitalism has been fully exposed during the pandemic, while real existing socialist countries and leftist organizations have always been people-centered, respected science and knowledge, achieved solidarity and mutual assistance, carried forward the spirit of internationalism, and defended the right to survival and health of the grassroots masses. These practices justify the identity of socialism at the level of values and public health, namely people-centeredness, public healthcare, and internationalism. Taking this as a mirror, the socialist movement in the post-pandemic era will build confidence on this basis, blaze new trails, and explore development paths more suited to national conditions, social conditions, and Party conditions under the banner of internationalism.

社会主义是资本主义内部危机的产物，资本主义制度既不是历史的终结也不是和平的条件，而是不断生成反对力量来克服自身的腐朽事物。资本主义不仅制造感染数千万人的病毒，滋生破坏进步生产力的经济危机，更分化出其“掘墓人”——无产阶级。社会主义是现实的可能的选项，共产党代表着运动的未来。西方左翼在疫情中支持和捍卫最激进的立场，引导工人运动超越工会主义的边界，凝练工人阶级的身份认同和阶级意识，并通过“工人委员会”等组织协调分散的抗争，推动社会主义运动向深向广发展。社会主义更是保卫生命健康的必然选项，资本主义的逐利本性在疫情中暴露无遗，而现实社会主义国家与左翼组织始终以人民为中心，尊重科学与知识，实现团结与互助，发扬国际主义精神，捍卫了底层群众的生存权和健康权。这些实践从价值和公共卫生的层面证成社会主义的身份特征，即以人为本、公共医疗和国际主义。以之为镜，后疫情时代的社会主义运动将在此基础上坚定信心，开拓创新，在国际主义旗帜下探索更加适合国情社情党情的发展道路。

Online editor: Zhang Jian

网络编辑：张剑