Eurocommunism as Current Events and Contemporary History

Only four years ago Eurocommunism was a major focus of Mam-ist political debate in the West. Western Europe's largest Communist parties-the French (PCF), Italian (PCI), and Spanish (PCE)-ap-peared on the verge of participating in coalition governments, with programs for structural reform and with a substantial base of popular support. In the hope of heading off a capitalist counter-offensive, leaders of the three parties met on several occasions to publicly declare their independence from the Soviet Union and to reaffirm their com-mitment to Western political institutions. More than a mere tactical maneuver, this "democratic road to socialism " was presented by the parties not only as a strategy ideally suited to the history and current crisis of their respective countries, but, more significantly, as a new model for the transition to socialism in the West, one suited to Western parliamentary traditions and surpassing both classical Leninism and socialdemocracy in its recognition of the complexity of the advanced capitalist state. To many observers these claims were evidence of a qualitative political renewal in the communist tradition. At least it seemed that the Eurocommunists ' mounting criticisms of the authoritarian character of the Soviet model of socialism would lead to another-perhaps the final-schism in the internatiohal communist movement. Further, many hoped that the parties would apply their critique internally and purge themselves of the last vestiges of Stalinism (e.g. bureaucratic centralism, distrust of social movements). In short, Eurocommunism was seen as a promising first step toward

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