M B MEMORIAL LECTURE

‘Fight Against Imperialism And For Socialism’

  M Venugopala Rao

DELIVERING the memorial lecture on “The Future of Socialism” on the occasion of the 11th death anniversary of Comrade Makineni Basavapunnaiah, a former member of the CPI(M) Polit Bureau, at Sundarayya Vignana Kendram in Hyderabad on April 12,  Professor Jayati Ghosh of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, stressed the need for building a decentralised and accountable nation state which could become the locus in our fight against imperialism. 

P Sundarayya and M Basavapunnaiah were larger than life leaders and tremendous inspiration could be drawn from them in many important ways, she said. Firstly, the commitment and the ability to sacrifice which was evident in their lives, as well as in the historic Telengana armed struggle, represented all the things good about a communist movement.  Secondly, Comrade Basavapunnaiah combined political struggle with intellectual development, and never let one suffer because of engagement with the other. Thirdly, as member of the Polit Bureau and editor of People’s Democracy, he retained a penetrating and open mind, and was always eager for discussion and asking questions relating to issues which were crucial elements of socialism we wanted to achieve.

According to Professor Ghosh, this is not only a difficult time in the history of capitalism, as well as of the communist movement, but also a transitional time. There have been some important changes in the recent past. The mood of  triumphalist globalisation that had emerged a decade ago, when it seemed to many as though capitalism and the forces of the Right were so clearly in the ascendant, was definitely changing. For some time, the Left was in disarray internationally.  With the collapse of the erstwhile Soviet Union and the kind of anti-socialist propaganda that became widespread, a mood of pessimism had crept in.  But this has changed very dramatically during the past few years, asserted Professor Jayati Ghosh.  The optimism associated with the “brave new world” of capitalism, with its supposedly new expansionary tendency, had dissipated. There is a growing international movement against corporate globalisation. The anti-war demonstrations across the world are another form of protest against imperialism, and there is clear evidence that the two movements are coming together as more and more people realise the link between the forces of globalisation and the unashamed imperialist aggression of the United States administration.

This has been associated with a political and ideological shift in India and the world, as more people become aware of and react against the patently unjust and exploitative brutality of imperialist globalisation. There is much more talk about developing alternatives.  Even across India, such awareness is growing, and youth are joining the Left and progressive social movements. 

NEW PHENOMENON OF HYPER-IMPERIALISM

Earlier, capitalism guised itself under the welfare state. We now have naked, rapacious capitalism characterised by hyper-imperialism of one power which wants to dominate the political, economic, cultural and every other facet of life in the world.  The dominant elite class in the USA and its allies represent this hyper- imperialism, which is a historically new phenomenon. Never before in the past have we had a superpower with such unchallenged military supremacy, willing to utilise its greater strength solely to further its own strategic and economic interests, and its own large capital.

The specificity of this hyper-imperialism is that it also seems to be unwilling to share the spoils with others.  Led by a small group of large capitalist cronies of George Bush, the US administration is openly subverting all international institutions, including the United Nations and even the multilateral economic institutions, in order to reorient them to further its special goals. Ironically, these are the very institutions that have allowed international capitalism to survive in its current form.

Discussing the very severe implications of this dominance by hyper-imperialism, Professor Ghosh said the aggression against Iraq and the military take over was in the economic interest of the USA, as well as the long-term strategic interest of the US’ ally in the region, Israel.  Imperialism’s naked and deeper unconcern for the welfare of common people of Iraq who suffered for a decade because of the sanctions against that country was evident.  She said the war of aggression against Iraq was a costly attack on all of us, the developing world, as well as a crucial element in denying developing countries like India some kind of voice in multilateral institutions.

But this has also had a perverse effect, in that the very open nature of this imperialism and the appalling behaviour of the Bush administration and its cronies have served to remove many of the sources of political and ideological confusion.  The people now understand more clearly how imperialism behaves to capture resources and markets, and there is less possibility for ideological errors. “The current functioning of imperialism has driven away sources of confusion,” Professor Jayati Ghosh explained.

Similar processes are under way in India, even though in less extreme form. The economic limits of the liberalisation process are now apparent.  Poverty is increasing and employment stagnating.  Levels of basic consumption of people are stagnant or even declining. The strategy of liberalisation is increasingly being questioned by ordinary people.  As a counter to this growing resistance, the ruling powers are relying on diversionary tactics which distract the attention of people from their real problems. Thus, for example, divisive and communal elements are being encouraged and emphasised. These are extremely useful to the large corporates and the government, Professor Jayati Ghosh made it clear, because they confuse and divert the possibilities of progressive resistance.  Nevertheless, there is growing evidence of popular discontent. Even in Gujarat, already there is much popular discontent and disgust with the economic policies of the Modi government.

CAPITALISM AT CROSS-ROADS

The world economy and capitalism are at a crossroads today. There are two broad directions that could be taken. One possibility is that the US plan of complete world hegemony becomes realised, as it forces and bullies other countries to accept what it says and shape multilateral institutions as it directs. Alternatively, this could become a terrain of struggle and contestation, of growing questioning of hyper-imperialism and opposition to it, and of working out feasible alternative structures at local, national and global levels.

The second possibility is in fact the more likely one, given the overextension of US imperialism, and its likely attempt in future to control far more than it actually can. The US is not an ideal hyper-imperialist, if only because it does not want to do what is expected of a capitalist leader in the international capitalism. This has already led to stagnation and growing instability in the world economy, and it is likely to lead to accentuated inter-imperialist rivalry. In such a context, it is even welcome for the rest of the world that France, Germany and Russia, though themselves are potentially imperialist forces, are taking a stand rival to the US imperialism, said Professor Jayati Ghosh. The remarkable resistance by Iraqi people to the US aggression itself is an inspiration. This unequal war itself has spawned growing revulsion towards the US all over the world.

Stating that the present situation was still fragile, she asserted that socialist project was necessary and possible. We must work for socialism with much more inclusive understanding and change our vision of socialism in terms of how the world changed during the last 25 years, she said. Firstly, we have to acknowledge the change in nature of work.  More and more people work under insecure conditions, with much more emphasis being laid on casual contracts.  This calls for a change in our strategy of mobilisation as well, incorporating a wider range of people and using different locations for bringing people together.  Secondly, socialism cannot be built on a complete denial of markets.  There is need to control and direct markets with a very systematic regulation by the government. In socialism there would be acceptance of private markets in such areas and fields where there is no scope for oligopoly and concentration of capital. Thirdly, the issue of gender relations should become an integral part of the movement, rather than a supplementary feature. This is likely to transform some demands, bring in new demands, and also change the nature of specific struggles.  Fourthly, it is necessary to combat particular forms of social oppression and specific social issues like caste and religion head on, rather than take a defensive position. This is very much in the tradition of the communist movement in India, and should be strengthened.  When we are confronted with communal and casteist slogans, we have to face them with an alternative vision, with a positive agenda, rather than with defensive postures. Fifthly, we, in the Left, have tended to neglect environmental and ecological concerns to some extent, Professor Jayati Ghosh said. We have to address the issues of sustainability of cultivation practices, patterns of industrialisation and resource use associated with them, and so on, because these directly affect the condition of workers and peasants.  

NATION STATE AS LOCUS

Finally, and very significantly, we cannot leave or ignore the nation state.  In a developing country, the nation state becomes the locus in our fight against imperialism.  We cannot ignore or bypass the nation state, but of course it must be a progressive and anti-imperialist state that genuinely reflects the aspirations of common people. A decentralised and accountable government can be provided only by the Left. That is the kind of state we have to build to fight against imperialism. A democratic state can act as a bulwark against imperialist onslaught, explained Professor Jayati Ghosh.

Replying to questions from the audience, she elaborated that neo-liberalism is the economic weapon of imperialism to force developing countries to fall in line. It can create such high levels of dependence that governments also become unable to take any independent geo-political stance. She emphasised that the most important contradiction in the world is that of imperialism versus progressive forces in developing countries. The fight against imperialism is simultaneously a fight against large capital. India’s large capitalist classes, as well as sections of the upper middle classes, now have their interests on the side of imperialism.  Those sections are on the side of war on Iraq.  We have to fight against them, in order to install minimally progressive policies at home.  In addition, international monopoly capital tries to create divisions among people and between countries also.  We have to attack the source of such division. We have to fight against imperialism through a nation state by mobilising the people, she explained, and we have to do this with our own positive agenda That is why a socialist vision is much more necessary than ever before in the past. 

B V Raghavulu, member of the MB memorial trust, who presided over the meeting, said Comrade Basavapunnaiah was very sharp in his opposition to class enemies and stood on the side of the people.  MB was one of the top most leaders like P Sundarayya and C Rajeswara Rao  and an intellectual who applied Marxism to the specific conditions in our country and provided guidance to the movement. Raghavulu said the people were nostalgic about socialism and were asking whether the US could have attacked Iraq had there been the erstwhile Soviet Union in esistence.

M V Narasimha Reddy, managing trustee of MB memorial trust, garlanded the portrait of Comrade Basavapunnaiah and paid homage to him along with others amidst resounding slogans.  Narasimha Reddy  said MB was a hero who combined ideological understanding with practice courageously; he was a leader who took forward in practice what he believed in.  Whether in connection with the Telangana armed struggle or in the wake of the collapse of the erstwhile Soviet Union, the ideological issues articulated by Comrade Basavapunnaiah were sharp and helped in building confidence, Narasimha Reddy said.  P Madhu, secretary of the memorial trust, earlier welcomed the gathering.