Marxist Love for Capitalism

By Dr. Babu Suseelan

West Bengal Chief Minister Budha Dev Bhattacharya and former Chief Minister Jyothi Basu have openly declared that socialism is an impossible dream and Marxists have to embrace capitalism. In Kerala, Marxist Party General Secretary Pinaroy Vijayan has reiterated Marxist love for capitalism in his article published in Deshabhimani, the mouth piece of the Marxist party. In his article he severally criticized Kerala Chief Minister V.S.Achuthanandan who has criticized Marxist leader’s new found affair with capitalism.

Marxist realignment and readjustment from class war to capitalism is nothing new. In fact, Marxist leaders have been leading a capitalist luxury life style for a long time. Jyothi Basu’s love affairs with capitalists in London and his frequent trip to London and Paris for expensive capitalist goods and Pinaroy Vijayan’s private affairs with money and land mafia are known to the public for a long time. Marxist leaders, of course, utilize capitalist handouts from the Middle East and Europe for their own purposes as thoroughly as they can. Marxist leaders typically lead a capitalist life style with aspirations of upper and middle class and social elite.

Marxist leaders have been preaching socialist illusion and deceptive class war only for the masses and enjoying five star hotels for themselves. To mark Marxist leaders’ sudden open embrace of capitalism as pathological and all “bad” would not help us to understand their rationale or psychic-logic.
The new love for capitalism by the Marxist leaders with totalitarian propensity shows their extreme amount of personal insecurity resulting in a pressing need to hold on to some new capitalist ideas supposedly have all the answers. Frequent outburst of Marxist leaders indicates strong disruptive influence in social life such as high degree of recurrent economic instability in Marxist ruled states.
Both the Marxist and the capitalist brands of ideology contain certain principles of program for economic reform. Program of industrialization, expropriation of certain groups or types of property, redistribution of land, tax reforms, barriers to trade; all have been regular features of Marxist programs; though these measures have been an invention of the capitalists. But this new political fact should not be allowed to obscure the different roots and characteristics of Marxism and capitalism.

While the socio-economic roots of Marxism and capitalism are different, however, the psychological disposition of the individuals afflicted is very similar. Actually, interchange of ideas, methods, and allegiances between these twin movements is by no means infrequent despite the blood thirsty language they like to use against each other.

The sudden Marxist shift include inferiority feelings based on perceived humiliation (in the wake of Nandigram massacre), disgruntled Marxist intellectuals, aimless or cynical youth in search of goals, strong concentration of economic power of multinational corporations, failure of the economic system under the Marxist rule, actual or imagined threat from BJP, cultural and national characteristics that favor Integral Humanism, and, last but not least, any factors that foster a high incidence and intensity of personal insecurities of Marxist leaders.

Economic reforms, national/cultural integration, poverty eradication, efficient, corruption free administration, and national security are not often rank high in the official programs of the Marxist government. Their economic reform serves to distribute poverty equally among the masses. Employment policy, land reforms, trade union movement, and housing programs are entirely subservient to the emotional urge to find outlets for the mass fears found or aroused.

Marxism cannot be genuinely interested in economic reforms because of its consciously anti-intellectual, anti-nationalist character. Marxists endeavor to arouse strong and blind emotions in Marxist ideology and its hostile attitude and group prejudice toward Indian culture and heritage.

The new found Marxist love for capitalism is not really rooted in any interest in economic reform, but because of the anxiety and confusion and fear from socio-economic instability created by the Marxists. Marxist leaders are setting out to broaden the scale of social distance from the followers by its renewed receptiveness of capitalist slogans.

At any rate, the real direction for India lies today between the capitalist ideology of all brands on the one hand, and productive orientation of the majority. The task is to channel the prevailing energy, commitment for the nation into genuine reform attitudes instead of unrealistic images or destructive hatreds disguised as programs for economic reform under Marxism or Capitalism. In order to be realistic, genuine economic reform in India must involve in reaffirming our commitment, attitude and emotions for our Dharma and spiritual values.

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