Giving the credit to the communists for being the originators of the labour movement in the world, one is inclined to discuss the state of communism and the communist philosophy in the present day world.
by N.S.Venkataraman
Rightly or wrongly, May Day has been associated with the communist philosophy and one cannot but think about the present state of the communist party and communist philosophy on 1st May.
No doubt, the cause of the labour was convincingly and effectively brought to the attention of the world by Karl Marx ,who eloquently said that “the workers of the world have nothing to lose except the chain”. One can say with certainty that communist philosophy was founded on the basis of sucha theme advocated by Karl Marx.
Today, not only the communist party but all the political parties claim that they represent the interests of the labour and May Day is celebrated all over the world by all political parties in one form or the other. In other words, it means that May Day celebration is no more the exclusive preserve of the communist party.
Giving the credit to the communists for being the originators of the labour movement in the world, one is inclined to discuss the state of communism and the communist philosophy in the present day world.
Has communist philosophy lost it’s relevance ?
A few years back, Nandini Voice for Deprived , a Chennai (India) based non profit organization sponsored a discussion on the topic “ Has communist philosophy lost it’s relevance?”
The meeting was presided over by Mr. D. Jayakanthan, a famous thinker and writer in Tamil and ardent admirer of communist philosophy. While speaking on the occasion , Mr. Jayakanthan said that “If one has to lose , then the other one has to win. If communist philosophy has lost it’s relevance , some other philosophy should have gained at it’s cost. This can never happen, as communist philosophy has relevance for all time to come , whatever may be the rise or fall in the behavior pattern of the cadres and leaders of communist movement. If communist leadership had failed to live up to the expectation of philosophers like Karl Marx, it would not mean that the concept of communism would lose it’s shine”.
State of communism in the world :
The ground reality today is that all over the world, the communist governments have collapsed . This has happened, mainly due to the fact that those who emerged as the leaders of the communist governments conducted themselves as dictators and benefited themselves and in the process suppressing the freedom of people and confusing the concept of totalitarianism as communism. Citizens of those countries rebelled and overthrew the communist regimes.
Finally, two countries are left in the world who claim themselves to be communist countries . One is Cuba and the other one is mainland China. In true terms, both these countries are no more communist countries in spirit. Fidel Castro’s successor in Cuba is only his family member. In China, the Chinese government claims itself to be a communist government, where labour movements are suppressed and only those who pledge their loyalty to the coterie of communist leaders can survive in politics. Karl Marx would be turning in his grave to see the pattern of governance in “communist China” today.
State of communism in India :
In India too , sadly , the communist party , which has split into several parties due to the ego centric leaders, has now become fringe party for all practical purposes. It has lost it’s lofty position in Tripura and West Bengal state and in Kerala state , it could survive only by compromising with communist principles and aligning itself with communal and other parties and in the process losing it’s image as a labour centric progressive party.
One of the main reasons for the decay in communist movement in India is that the communist parties gained an image for themselves as violent prone party with “gherao” being the main tool adopted by the communist parties to fight for the so called interest of the labour. Several violent attacks indulged by the cadres of communist parties during the labour strike have permanently damaged the image of communism as progressive movement that could build a healthy society.
Further, it’s image got seriously disturbed by it’s tendency to remain as a negative force rather than a positive force, exhibiting hatred for the investors and industrialists who are accused by the party of gaining richness by exploiting the market forces and by corrupt means .
But, people see that while communist parties have been in governance in West Bengal and Kerala, many communist leaders themselves were accused of corrupt practices and were suspected of having personal wealth far beyond their known sources of income. Further, the communist governments in West Bengal and Kerala have invited industrialists to invest in the state, whom they have been accusing earlier as exploiters.
There were days when towering leaders like E.M.S. Namboodiripad brought glory and respectability to the communist party in India. Unfortunately, such leadership quality appears to be conspicuous by absence in communist party today.
The statement issued by Mr. Sitaram Yachury, CPM leader which appeared in the media on 1st May that “Modi government must either deliver or quit” , at the present corona time has raised eyebrows amongst the discerning countrymen. People who read this statement inevitably wonder whether in the present corona conditions , is it the right time to ask the Modi government to qui?t. A responsible party, which the communists claim that they are, should provide positive criticism rather than destructive criticism.
Need to reevaluate priorities :
People like me who sincerely think that philosophy of communism , which implies protection for human dignity, is extremely relevant today in India and the movement should be strengthened , are disappointed.
However, any movement can be only as good as the quality of the leadership that the movement has.
It is the right time for the leadership of the communist parties to ponder over the future of the party.
In the next few years, it would be appropriate if the communists would build the movement as a progressive force, fine tuning the approach to emerge as a dignified and genuine movement, that fights for protecting human dignity and avoiding exploitation of the poor and downtrodden people. It should erase it’s image as a violent prone party or one that advocates hatred against one class or the other. A lofty and dignified movement that aims to achieve the glorious philosophy of communism should achieve the objectives not by force or hate spread but by lofty logic and healthy and responsible approach.
It should give up it’s political ambitions for the time being , as such ambition is leading the party nowhere and has forced it to become one of many parties that readily compromise and with many of them remaining as self centred family parties.
In all probability, by strengthening the base as a socially relevant and principled movement, the communist party will become a strong political force in the country sooner or later and perhaps, sooner than later.
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