Marxism failed in both theory and practice

published on July 13, 2008



By Jayapradeep Viswanath



SOURCE:



www.organiser.org





(This article is based on the book written by Marxist leader P. Kesavan Nair. He is frustrated with Marxism and his expose has become a bestseller in Malayalam.)

The theory of Communism is Marxism. Communism is no more in the world now. Former CITU district secretary and strong communist theoretician P. Kesavan Nair closely analyses the nihility and blunders of Marxism through his book Marxism Communism. Here is a study on that book, to be concluded in four parts. This is the first part.

Quilon (now Kollam) District is the heartland of left trade unionism in Kerala, where all those left trade unions burgeon in the lush soil of predominantly packed traditional and non-traditional poor workers. P. Kesavan Nair, a postgraduate from Raipur University, was the Kollam district secretary of CITU enduring for a very long period. On the basis of his long experience and honest study he wrote many books in Malayalam about the vainness of Marxism but the candor of nature. One among them is Is Marxism Scientific? The book is widely talked about and got national attention.

The book says, “Wherever Communists party came to power those governments were oppressive governments. They suppressed all the ideologies and opinions of those not of them. The enchanting beautiful promises given by Communism to the poor are mere frauds. Under the red flag, the farmers and the workers got only handcuffs. They never had a new world. Not by any external forces, but by their own people sojourned the tyranny of Communism in Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.”

Bertrand Russell, the great philosopher, mathematician and world pacifist, was a strong criticiser of Marxism. In his book The Theory and Practice of Bolshevism, written after his 1920 Russian visit, he observed that the theory and practice of Marxism has no correlation. In the world famous essay he opined that Marxism is not veritable. Kesavan Nair quotes Russell. It’s a philosophy of poverty, hatred and evil. The communist obliteration in Soviet Union and the Eastern Europe etc, proved the predictions of Russell true, Nair finds. The recent development in the present Communist countries also ratifies Russell’s predictions.

Marxism is not a science, it is a belief. It has no specialties of symptoms of science. If it is science it would have been subjected to change. If the last 50 years of history is examined, no basic change has been effected to its rule or concept. Nobody has changed its definitions. Marx’s theories are mechanical and incomplete. In the other words, it is only an ‘ism’. Since this being an ism, it could create a blind and mad belief in its supporters. Ism is a closed thought. Science is open thought, continuing thought. If thinking is mobile new thoughts formulate. If it is sluggish, it becomes old. Ism is motionless, just like stagnant water. No new thoughts formulate in ism. All new thoughts are better than old ones. Since Marxism being an ism, its political set-up named Communism failed miserably in Soviet Union and Eurasian countries, and still in crisis in other countries. It is unscientific and illogic to say that Marxism is totally right. Marxism was formulated on the physical conditions prevailed 180 years ago. It is only an infatuation of the build-up of a political system on the basis of Marxism as a conviction.

Dialectical materialism is the basis of Marxism. Dialectical principle was the medium of Marx to explain materialism. Marx’s dialectical principle’s roots goes deep into Greek dialectical principle. Dialecticalism is unscientific and a collection of erroneous imaginations/ illusions. Nature is not dialectical, the universal force of the universe is gravity. Everywhere in the universe is gravitational force. No repulsive force. The reality of gravity is only attraction discards dialectical principle. Sartre wrote: The concept that the ‘nature is dialective is beyond evidence’. The idea of dialective principle of agitation which is more important than unity is not seen anywhere in the living or non-living nature. The existence of human being and that of nature is one and the same. The very existence of human being depends on other living things.

Dialectical materialism and historical materialism of the Marxist textbooks are claimed scientific. Just like the 19th century philosophers, Marx also liked to mention his theories as science. He considered it an embodiment of eternal truths. Marx who declared that “the only one having no change is ‘change’ alone”, tried to wrap up his thoughts in the circumference of dialectical materialism, Nair finds. Consequently, Marxism becomes a fossilised conviction. Lenin declared Marxism is truth and eternal.

‘Suppressed people’ never became the part of power in those governments formulated by social revolutions. The working-class never won in the clashes between working class and capitalists. Working class did not get any benefit in those countries where Communists came to power. In all that places, on the nippy shade of power, drunk, intoxicated and mated are a new ‘class’. That new class consists of Communist party leaders, their best obedient intellectuals and bureaucrats. People democracy was not anywhere in those governments. A new tyranny of a new class came to power in the name of working class. That is all.

As he seems, unlike other communist-turned-anti-communists, Nair is never emotional. His critical narration exposes Marxism. Cleverly he quotes Bertrand Russell.

“Russell was one of the greatest scholars of 20th century. Philosopher, mathematician, writer, etc., his battles for world peace are legendary. Russell disapproved and dissented Marxism till his end. The history gave flamboyant approval to Russell’s criticism on Marxism. His reservations against communist governments are harsher than against Marxism. Russell had been seeking answer to two questions:


1. Whether Marxism is truth.


2. The implementation of that gave human beings peace and happiness.


In the celebrated article ‘Why I am not Communist’, Russell quests for the answer. Marxism is not only not truth but also it supplies only chaos, were his findings. The history of socialist governments and Marxism justify the findings.”

“The concept of dialectical materialism and historical materialism of Marx do not merge with the philosophy originated from the modern science,” Nair’s theoretical analysis goes on. “Marx imagined that the dialective materialism is a law which rules the universe. He also considered it a universal force which rules the human history, independent of human ambitions. It is the same value that religion gives to God’s rules, that the Marx gives to the dialective materialism. The communists misunderstood the dialective materialism as the science of science. This history-discarded principle is still the basic principle of the strategy and swindle of the communists. The approach of the communists, snuggling the failed techniques, is highly conservative’, Kesavan Nair swears.

From the theory he comes to the epitomes. “The incidents in the socialist countries proved the theory and practice of Marxism has no correlation. The destruction of Soviet Union and Eastern Europe are examples. In regard to the Marxist theories, these incidents are very important. According to the Marxian view the theory is to be proved through practice. In that view, the devastation in Soviet Union and Eastern Europe proves that in practice the Marxian theory is a failure. In those countries and in China the practice of Marxism ended in the bullying of predominance of party leaders and their gourmet pursue. Communist party leaders rejoiced in luxury, extravagance, corruption, hedonism and wealth. Marxism was establishmentlised in socialist countries. In China so-called market-socialism is going on. Economy is capitalism while the political system is ‘socialism’ !

In capitalist countries the monopolists control the economical-political systems. But in Marxism the economy decides politics. But Chinese communist party says that the political system is decided by economic system. What an irony! In China the party leaders are the shareholders or veneer owners of the industrial-commercial establishments.”


“Imperialism is the apex state of capitalism, Leninism says. Theoretically and pragmatically the prime opponent of communism is imperialism. America is the main envoy of imperialism. But the most favoured nation of America is China. America’s enormous investments flows into China. Virtually now-a-days China is under the American boots. Red China spread red carpet to Henry Kissinger, Nixon, George Bush and Bill Clinton and now to the junior Bush. Under the leadership of Communist party, capitalism is bullying China. In normal capitalist countries ‘independent democracy’ is the camouflage of capitalism. In China the camouflage is ‘communism’.”

“It was not with the people’s involvement the 1917 October revolution cropped up in Russia. It was a planned, conspired sabotage against the Kerenski government by the Bolshevik party led by Lenin during the tail end of first World War. Lenin and those intellectuals around him depicted it as a labour-class revolution. Lenin who came to power in Russia became the unquestionable leader of international Communism through shortcuts. After Lenin, more autocratically than Tsar, annihilating all the old revolutionarists, Stalin established the ‘Commissar’ empire. The brutality of Stalin beneath the iron curtain is indescribable. It was Khrushchev who lifted the iron curtain a little through his confessing speech in the 20th party congress of CPSU. The artists and writers who pointed out the autocracy of communist rule were branded as the enemies of working-class.

The 75-year-long despotism of Communist rule ended up not due to any external force, but by the natives themselves.”


“The government led by Lenin in the post-revolutionary period also was an oppression machine. The governmental terrorism was at its zenith when it was ruled by Stalin. With the rule of Stalin the identity of individuals waned out. The emotion, likes and dislikes, independent personality, the value of life, etc, become taboos. In the working-class totalitarianism, an individual withers to a scapegoat to scarify in the revolution.”

The reason of becoming of Communist leaders as autocrats, is to be sought in the concept of Marx about revolution. Marxism opened up a vast vista for autocracy. ‘Labour-class-totalitarianism’ was brought about by removing the existing governments, and those who criticise such labour-class governments were, without any mercy, annihilated or wiped off. That were the basic lessons taught by Marx and Angels. In Communist countries, all those reign on the saddle of power become autocrats. Workmen and farmers have no role in the Governments. The ruling Communist leaders themselves become a ‘Ruling class’.

‘The Communists give an impression that, the working-class-totalitarianism is a rule of the majority. Not at least one example is available to show that the Communist Government is the equipment of the majority. During the devastation period of the Soviet Union, the apology of CPSU is worth notable. ‘All country men’ narrowed to ‘working-class’. ‘Party’ constricted to its central committee, central committee to Politburo, Politburo to the General Secretary. Working-class totalitarianism and democratic-centralisation is the foundation. Democratic-centralisation transformed to the power-centralisation of the Secretary. In democratic-centralisation the difference between ‘upper’ and ‘lower’ become severe.

The directions from ‘up’s are strict orders. Those who are in the lower committees are the slaves of upper committees.



‘Between 1825 and 1917, under the rule of Tsar, the total slay was 6321. But, after the 1917 revolution, within the two months of 1918, the ‘red terrorism’ declared officially by Lenin did 15,000 killings
. In the famine occurred due to the implementation of collective farming in 1932-33, the total carnage was 60 lakhs. In the cleaning process done by the party bumped off 7,20,000 people. Between 1934 and 1941, 70 lakhs innocent people were jailed in the notorious ‘Gulags’. Of them the majority found their end within that camps. When Stalin expires 27.5 lakhs prisoners were in the Gulags.

For vindictiveness towards their own people, the Communist leaders are more cruel than those of capitalists countries. In the famous book ‘Gulag Archipelago’, the celebrated writer Solzhenitsyn imparts that,


6 crores people were put to sleep in the Communist experiment in Russia due to the cruelty of the governments.’


‘During the era of Tsar, the Russia was the granary of Europe. 1/6th land of the earth, with plentiful natural resources and minimal populace were the blessings of Soviet Union. Though they were ahead in Astronomy, Nuclear physics and Armoury, Soviet Union was trailing behind in agriculture and industry. Under Communists’ rule the agony of Soviet people was relentless.


Everything was in dearth. From bread to butter people queued up for hours. The Russian breadlines were notorious. Two crores of people involved in black marketing. Meanwhile curious voices for food and clothing were muffled like anything. During the rule of Communists’,

the workers and farmers of Soviet Union got only chains but no new world.’




‘The turmoil is similar in China, Cambodia, North Korea and Eastern Europe. In China, the cultural revolution bestowed mass slaughter. Including Liu Shaoqi, the No.2 in the party leadership, with other top leaders ( the foes of Mao), one crore pretty ‘comrades’ were numbed in the name of cultural revolutions.A section of the world still believe that the toll is three crores. It is pity to find that those who killed and kill are Communists.

In the ‘‘Great Leap Forward’’, lead by Mao, due to famine, another four crores of people dead. Nobody knows that, how many people were killed in Tiananmen square.



‘The Pol Pot, the leader of Cambodian Communist party rejoiced by heaping skulls and bones in the ‘killing fields’.
During his regime, 30 million people were slaughtered. The red terrorism ran riot in north Korea and Eastern Europe.’ ‘The ideas and opinions of not of them were suppressed by Communism. Talented writers and scientists were forced to flee from those countries.

‘Though the pre-streams are there, Marxism did not expounded in Western Europe. Though the political set up were based on Capitalism, Communism could not mature there. In the capitalist countries also, they could not mellowed. The poverty in the undeveloped & under developed countries welcome Communism, says Russell.

Communism is the philosophy of poverty. It is the philosophy of insurgence and hatred. Poverty and starvation usher the Communist devil and its proliferation can be stopped only by poverty eradication.’


‘The Marxism exported by the Communist totalitarianism-Government of Soviet Union to the countries like India, turned up like a bad penny as opium to the so called left intellectuals. They betrayed their poor brothers and sisters with its intoxication’.

(The author is a practising lawyer in Kerala High Court and Editor of ‘Neethi’ Magazine.)

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