When Crises like Covid19 pandemic threatens ecological catastrophe, Significance of the struggle for system change with people oriented alternate development perspective.
( Note: What is given below is, in the main, is the draft I prepared beforehand, and based on which I presented the subject. Based on the discussion in the Webinar on 14th June, with the above subject in which scientist Soumya Dutta and environmentalist Nityanand Jayaraman participated along with comrades Sanjay Singhvi, Arun Velaskar and Vijaykumar, I have developed the draft. This is published for discussion – KN)
1. When whole humanity is in the grip of Covid19 pandemic, the warnings of Stephen Hawking like scientists that ecological destruction intensified by the arrogant ruling political class shall lead to a catastrophe, to possible destruction of this species itself sounds very relevant. Still the capitalist-ruling system wants to push forward with its re-creation of the world in its own image under neoliberal globalization. Not satisfied even with the accumulation of 73%of the wealth of the society already with the top 1% of the corporates, developing nuclear weapons capable of destroying the earth a hundred times, building great cities with glittering malls, highways, fly-overs and techno parks, bringing most of the people under th sway of consumerist lust, they want more and more of them. They laugh at suggestions that climate change, global warming like phenomena are due to the ecological destruction caused by their brand of development; that if not curbed it shall cause devastation, that it shall lead to global environmental catastrophe. So, Trump walked out of Kyoto Protocol, or all of them assembled at Madrid during last year’s climate conference dumped all talks about environmental dangers as rubbish!
2. But Covid19 has surprised the globalized world; it has frozen the world for weeks. Is nature reacting in its own ways through SARS in 2003, MERS in 2012 and now more dangerous novel corona virus, Covid19 apart from more frequent super cyclones, forest fires etc? Scientists have recently warned also about old viruses getting mutated, and appearance of more dangerous viruses, dormant for many millennia, now coming out with the breaking of huge glaziers at both poles under global warming.
3. In spite of these warnings, what happened? China, soon after its partial recovery from Covid19, rushed to its old ways! In all other countries also, after initial panic, once the lockdowns are being unlocked, they are hurrying back to business as usual, even when millions are newly affected and tens of thousands are still dying daily due to fast increasing infection of Covid19. They are seeking ways to loot the human labor and nature more voraciously, to recover the losses! They are intensifying the use of new intelligence machines and digitization at unprecedented scale for it. At the same time, they are shifting the whole burden of the pandemic to the backs of the workers and oppressed people once again with tragic consequences as we are witnessing around us.
4. It is based on our studies on how the intensifying capitalist loot during the phase of neoliberal corporatization has taken the ecological destruction to by the imperialist powers and their junior partners in power in the dependent countries to unprecedented levels and how all the proposals of the scientists and environmentalists are rejected in practice by them, the CPI(ML) Red Star in its Program adopted by its 9th Party Congress in 2011, pointed out that, along with the plunder of labor and world people, the plunder of nature is also intensifying from the time of emergence of the capitalist system. In The Capital and other studies, Marx and Engel pointed out that from the time of emergence of the class divided society and beginning of exploitation of humans by humans, the interference in nature by man also had started. But, this interference started taking an antagonistic form, a quantitative leap, with the beginning of industrial revolution, and the advent of the capitalism. As it led to colonization of the whole world, the was further intensification of the loot of the oppressed peoples and the natural resources there. After, Second World War, transforming colonial forms of plunder to neocolonial forms characterized by the ever increasing export of finance capital, market system and technology, the capitalist imperialist system along with the junior partners to whom they had transferred power in former colonies, further intensification of the exploitation of labor, massive entry of capital and technology in to agricultural sector under the banner of Green Revolution, and looting of nature. From 1970s, to surmount another bout of serious crisis inherent to capitalist system, they adopted neoliberal globalization and corporatization, taking imperialist plunder to a still higher phase
5. History teaches that, just because its barbarous character is exposed, just because the vast masses of people are facing more brutal plunder and oppression, the ruling system is not going to change on its own will, or it can be transformed from within through reforms. The latest example for this is its present mad rush for returning to Business as usual, even when the pandemic is spreading fast. For further accumulation of wealth, they are intensifying uncontrolled plunder of labor and nature, unconcerned about the threats of ecological catastrophe and extinction of human species, as they do not show any concern even after already damaging the eco system and bio-diversity. So, if we want to protect what is left of nature, and the human species, the one and only way out is to throw out the capitalist system with the perspective of putting in to practice a sustainable alternate development outlook.
6. Celebrating the severe setbacks suffered by the socialist countries and their degeneration to capitalist path, the global capitalist system and its junior partners, launched the neoliberal corporate offensive based on globalization-liberalization-privatization in the 1970s , repeating ‘there is no alternative to neoliberal policies,’ asserting their world outlook. It is against this world outlook which has taken the humankind to verge of disaster, starting with Marx, the revolutionary forces are consistently fighting in spite of many ups and downs, taking lessons from their past experiences, for another world, by overthrowing the capitalist system at global level and initiating socialist transformation under people’s democracy , towards an exploitation free egalitarian society, progressively bringing all means of production under co-operative, social control..
7. What you mean by this alternative is the central question asked by all? Our answer, of course, is: based on past experiences, and our socio- political –theoretical orientation it has to be evolved, and developed through practice. From what capitalist imperialist system has done, we have the clarity that if further attacks on the boundaries of nature should be ended forthwith, we have to drastically do away with the ‘parameters’ of development assiduously cultivated by the capitalist system, like the uncontrolled use of energy and consumerist lust. An alternative to capitalism can never be another mere economic model. A new socio-cultural-political outlook is to be developed, redefining human needs, and democracy as a way of life with the perspective of internatonalism, a world without war, with co-operative, social ownership in all fields.
It means planning everything from the grass root level, with democratic institutions which ensure all power to the people. It calls for outright replacement of the bureaucratic-corporate-fascist model of governance with a people’s democratic model starting from the neighborhood committees under Gram Panchayats, as a pyramid, with the power vested maximum at the panchayat level, then at bloc/taluk, district and state levels progressively diminishing as you go up, with very little power at the centre. It shall be built up as part of an international system, totally de-militarized, with open borders, where every country ensures food, clothing, housing, healthcare, education and employment to all as primary needs to begin with. Towards such a people’s model, many lessons can be drawn from the positive contributions of the models initiated in Paris Commune, Soviets in Soviet Union, People’s Communes in China and other countries during their socialist days; the attempts made by various progressive governments in Latin America, Asia and Africa, and what is done by the Scandinavian countries in Europe. Though presented from different political outlooks, there are alternate perspectives put forward by many including the concept of Gram swaraj of Gandhiji. According to concrete conditions in each country, and based on a critical study of all these, a new alternative can be developed.
Alternative development model means a society where democratic way of life and sustainable egalitarian path of development are integrally linked. In order to advance to such a development paradigm, the pre-condition is that the capitalist imperialist system is thrown out; and secondly, the recognition that people’s democracy means a direct rule of the people, people’s politicl power starting with the grass root level neighborhood committees, which promotes progressive relation between humans and nature, put an end to all forms of exploitation of humans by humans, replacing present family system with a progressive partnership, putting an end to Manuvadi caste system, racism like revanchist systems, customs and habits and patriarch, where gender inequality and all other social and economic inequalities will be ended, with scientific temper and humanism guiding the world outlook Mobilization of the toiling masses and the oppressed classes and sections of people calls for a great cultural revolutionary approach, in short a vigorous fight for transforming the thinking among humankind cultivated by the oppressor classes during last many millennia. An evaluation of the experience of the former socialist countries show that at a critical time during the socialist transition, the leaks from the roof, the capitalist, consumerist influences which started influencing the super structure, started corroding the economic base, speeding up the degeneration of the former socialist countries. This can happen to the communist parties, groups and individuals also, if they do not engage in class struggle without a comprehensive approach, and do not pursue a cultural revolutionary perspective.
8. To conclude, human society has reached a critical stage when either the capitalist imperialist system shall lead it towards ecological catastrophe and its own extinction, or the toiling and oppressed masses and the revolutionary intelligentsia shall come together, create public opinion and overthrow the capitalist system, and march towards a new socialist future, where humans, as a part of the nature shall co-exist with it friendly, giving birth to new blossoms of democracy and an alternate development paradigm.
