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COMMUNISM AND GANDHISM

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term scientific socialism to communism. They are, however, different concepts bearing different meanings and connotations. It is said that all communists are socialists, but all socialists are not communists. Hence, in a way, communism is a branch or form of socialism. Communism is a more radical, revolutionary and violent form of socialism.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary "Communism means a political theory advocating a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person is paid and works according to his or her needs and abilities."

Communism and Socialism share the same goal i.e., economic justice but differ in the means. Communist are revolutionary.

Communist often position themselves against the ruling government and seek to achieve their programme through political confrontation. Socialist seek to achieve their goals by co-operating with the government.

Meaning of Communism

1 2 3 4

It is reaction against

capitalism Acc to oxford

dictionary Difference between socialism and

communism

popularly known as Marsixm

Writings of Kari Marx in his book 'The Communist Manifesto' and Das-Capital popularly known as Marxism explained important principles of communism. These principles are as follows:-

(1) Dialectical Materialism.

(2) The Materialistic interpretation of history.

(3) Theory of Surplus value.

(4) Theory of class-war.

(5) The Dictatorship of the proletariat

(6) Classless and stateless society.

(1) Dialectical Materialism.

The word 'dialectic' literally means discussion or logical argument.

The theory of Dialectical Materialism is based on Hegel's theory of the dialectic which explains the progress of civilization through thesis, antithesis and synthesis. Hegel says that human society progresses through gradual evolution. This evolution occurs with the process of dialectic. i.e. logical discussion, the acceptance of newer and better ideas and the rejection of older and outdated ideas. The process of acceptance of what is good and rejection of what is bad occurs as follows:-

At any given point of time there exists one dominant idea in society, termed as thesis, over a period of time there emerges a new idea opposing the thesis, termed as antithesis. The thesis and antithesis clash, discussion and argument takes place and a new idea emerges. It is better than the thesis and antithesis known as synthesis. With the passage of time, the synthesis becomes the dominant idea in society and assumes the role of thesis. Again it goes through the process of dialectic i.e.

Thesis X Antithesis = Synthesis.

Kari Marx applied theory of dialectic to communism.

According to him Capitalism is the thesis, Proletariat class is the antithesis and communism is the synthesis.

Capitalism X Poletariat class = Communism. Thus Dialecties is a theory of development. It is soul of Marxism.

Kari Marx applied theory of dialectic to materialism.

Features of Dialectical Materialism -

(1) Dialectics regard nature as connected and integral whole.

(2) Nature is not stable. It is subject to change and change is continuous.

(3) There is constant conflict and contradictions between the Negative and positive forces. -

Thesis X Antithesis

(4) Changes in dialectics are rapid.

(5) Quatitutive change (rise in the number of property less proletariat class)

will bring qualitative change (communist society)

According to him, with the rapid growth of industrial capitalism wealth is accumulated in the hands of few. The number of property less proletariat begins to rise. This quantitative change gives rise to qualitative change?

In capitalist society there are two classes- bourgeoisie and proletariat. Their interest, objectives, attitudes are opposite. But

they exist side by side. Both the classes are dependent on each other. One day revolution will take place and will eliminate the class structure of society. A classless communist society is established.

Thus Marxian Method was dialectical and the object was materialism.

Dialectical Materialism

Meaning of Object was materialism

dialectic Principal

of dialectic Features of Dialectic

1 2 3 4 5

Nature is whole

Nature is not stable

Changes happen according to the principle of dialectic

Thesis X Anthesis =

synthesis

rapid changes

Quatitative changes will

being qualitative

changes

(2) The Materialistic interpretation of history -

Marx interpretation of history is based on materialism.

According to him economic structure of society decide the other structures of society. All the social, political, intellectual relations, legal systems, outlooks, which emerge in the course of history are derived from the material conditions of life.

A particular class which gets control on the means of production dominate the rest. It will use political power along with its economic might to oppress the others and thus create revolutionary situation. Thus the whole history of mankind is a history of class-struggle-slaves against masters, serfs against feudal lords, workers against capitalists.

Principles of historical materialism are as follows -

(1) Change and development of society take place according to the objective laws, not according to divine law, (objective laws relate to the material world)

(2) The progress and development is determined by the material conditions of social life.

(3) Change in production- relations call forth the change in the whole social system and political-order eg. Master and slaves, Fedual lords and serfs, capitalist and workers.

(3) Theory of Surplus value :-

Marx was of the opinion that it is the labourer and his work that gives a commodity its value, For instance it is the carpenter who turns a piece of wood into a chair and enhanced the value of chair a piece of wood costing- Rs 300/- Carpenters get Rs 200/- a piece of wood turns into chair- Rs 2000/-

Theory of surplus value is an extension of his theory of value. The difference between the value of goods produced by the workers and the actual wages paid to them means our surplus value. Value to the commodity is created by the worker but profit (surplus value) is pockted by capitalist. (Profit in the above case Rs 1500/-) Capitalist keep the maximum share of profit (Rs 1500/-) and give the carpenter a much smaller share (Rs 200/-) This difference between the selling price of the commodity and the amount paid to the labourer is termed as 'surplus value'

The capitalist can exploit the workers because they own the means of production and the workers are forced to sell their labour to them. While employing them, they pay them the minimum wages, get more work done by them.

To expose the injustice and exploitation under the capitalist system Marx explained the theory of surplus value.

According to Marx labour is the real productive factor but the worker does not receive a just share of the value. This exploitation will serve as one of the reasons that motivates the proletariat to revolt against the Bourg eoisie, leading to a class war.

(4) Theory of class war:-

The Communist Manifesto, the Bible of the working class, starts with the statement "The history of all existing society is the history of the class struggles". The struggle between the two opposing classes the class of oppressors and the class of the oppressed. At every stage of social development a particular class got control on the means of production and exploited the rest.

Dominant class alone enjoyed freedom and used the state also as an instrument to preserve its economic power.

Causes of class struggle: In Capitalist system workers class are subjected to exploitation. They will feel capitalism is the source of their misery and suffering. In the capitalist order the interest of the capitalist class is to maximise the profit, whereas the interest of the working class lies in the enhancement of wage.

Thus Marx believed that the class struggle and destruction of capitalism is inevitable because capitalism contains the seeds of its own destruction when the proletariat will take class consciousness, the class struggle will take the form of revolution. In this struggle on the one side is the labour, poor class and on the other the capitalist class who are few in number, When the struggle is mounted between the two, middle class will give leadership to the labour class. Marx calls upon the working class to unite and overthrow the capitalist order. The proletarians have nothing to loose but their chains. The establishment of a classless society will be the end of this revolution Forms of class struggle- (1) economic form (2) political form (3) ideological from.

(1) Economic form- In this workers start a struggle against the capitalists to get some economic concessions eg. workers will fight for higher wages, to reduce working hour, improvement of working conditions. To fight for the economic benefits the workers at first formed organisations eg. Trade Unions, Method of struggle will be strikes.

It will improve their economic conditions and will make them economically conscious. But economic struggle will never be their sole objective. To stop economic exploitation they should do political struggle.

(2) Political struggle- It means participation in the elections objective of this struggle will be to overthrow the bourgeois government from power and establish the authority of the working class. In this whole political structure undergoes in radical changes.

(3) Ideological class struggle- People must be mentally prepared.

Workers must realise the extent of exploitation. Marxist ideology will bring consciousness among the workers.

The purpose of all forms of class struggle will be destruction of capitalism and establishment of classless society.

(5) The Dictatorship of the Proletariat: -

Marx believed that when the class war takes place, the proletariat will emerge victorious. Although the purpose of the class war is to establish a stateless and classless society, this objective cannot be achieved until all state institutions such as the bureaucracy; judiciary, legislature, executive etc are abolished.

Hence before the abolition of the state, society would have to

undergo a transitional period. in which the proletariat assumed control on all aspects of state.

Proletariat dictatorship means power in the hands of the working people for building up a communist society.

(1) In this period proletariat will gradually take over all natural resources and means of production under its control.

(2) The proletariat will discard all institutions that were associated with the capitalist state and set up a new legislature, a new judiciary, a new code of law and a new police force.

(3) The workers will set up their own centralized apparatus and force the total defeat of the capitalist class.

(4) The goods and services will be distributed according to the principle "Each according to his need and ability”.

(6) Classless and Stateless society:-

Marx says that during the phase of dictatorship of the proletariat, the labour class would control the state's institutions and use them to destroy capitalism. The proletariat would then use the state institutions to establish a society based on economic and social justice.

Once this is achieved, the proletariat would renounce its dictatorship and all institutions of state would gradually cease to exist. This would eventually lead to the withering away of the state itself.

According to Marx state is a machine for the oppression of one class by another. State is used as a weapon by the bourgeoisie to exploit the proletarians. Hence in the classless society there will be no need of state. It will wither away.

Communist society:- Higher form of socialism is called communism.

It will work on the basis of following principles:-

(1) 'From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs'.

(2) Emancipation of individual from all sorts of slavery is the primary and sole objective of communism.

(3) Discrimination is the first thing to be banished by communism. Differences of culture, language, race and religion will exist in communist society, but they will assume ugly shapes and hinder the growth of society.

(4) Work is compulsory. Every individual must perform his duties according to his ability. Communist society wants to abolish the leisure class and the system of unearned income.

Evaluation and Relevance of Marxism:-

Demerits or Flaws of Communism:-

(1) Ignored non-economic factors-

Marx has ignored non-economic factors when formulating his theories, For instance, his belief that only materialistic considerations shape history has been proved to be false, there are numerous non-economic factors such as political, religious, social which have shaped the individual's action and the history.

(2) Labour alone does not create value-

Labour is not the only factor that adds value to the commodity, Besides labour other things like land, capital, administrative organisation, electricity charges, machinery also determine the value of commodity.

(3) Excessively revolutionary -

The theory of class war is dangerous to mankind, It preaches violence, hatred

(4) Wrong conception of state-

Marxism insists that the state is a hurdle that prevents the proletariat from securing their rights, State serve as tool in the hands of capitalists to exploit the working class. This is not always true. In contemporary welfare states, state is committed to securing the interests of the public.

(5) Concept of withering away the state is utopian -

The modern communist states like China and other East European communist states had shown no inclination at all to wither away.

(6) Anti- religious -

Marxism is anti-religious. According to Marx "Religion is an opium of the people an ally of capitalism", therefore, it must be eliminated. Communism cares only for materialism.

Relevance:-

(1) The Marxist form of communism has set millions of minds around the globe on fire. Communist ideology is strongly followed by many countries. eg. Eastern Europe, china. As an ideological movement, communism was one of the most powerful political force of the 20th century. In practice 20th century communism was largely a vehicle for modernisation that was most successful in economically backward societies where its success was judged in forms of its capacity to deliver social development.

(2) It created a proletarian consciousness and gave encouragement to unite-

At a time when the Industrial Revolution had made the lives of workers hellish, when the worker could see no way out of his penury, Marx emerged with his ideology that offered hope to the downtrodden.

(3) Capitalist adopted more labour-friendly measures in their factories.

(4) In the age of privatization, liberalization and free market economy, capitalism has made a comeback and exploitative practices by industrialists are resurfacing. Consequently, the communist ideology and anti-capitalist movements are gaining strength and relevance.

(5) Contemporary communism differs from Marxist communism and more relevant in todays period :- Lenin interpreted and adapted Marx‟s ideology to suit the Russian conditions and staged a successful revolution in 1917. With his reinterpretation the ideology of communism took its definite form.

Contemporary communism or neo-communism-

Contemporary communism is different from what Marx, Lenin stalin had propounded. Contemporary communists take into account modern day realities before formulating their goals and plan of action. (1) It accepts that the state is a necessary institution without which human society would fall back to anarchy. Hence what must be achieved has to be achieve within the state. (2) It accepts that class war and revolution are not the only means to social and economic betterment. Constitutional method, political awareness, education are better paths towards this goal. (3) It accepts that cooperating with the legitimate government can also be a way to secure communist goals.

Table on Communism

1 2 3 4 5

Reaction against capitalism

Meaning of communism 1. dictionary

meaning 2. difference

between socialism and communi sm

Evaluation

Demerits Relevance

Neo-communism

Principal of Communism

1 2 3 4 5 6

Dialectical

materialism The materialistic interpretation

of history

Theory of surplus

values

Theory of

class-war The dictatorship

of the proletariat

Class less and stateless

society Check your progress:-

1) Discuss briefly the main tenets of Marxism.

2) Critically evaluate Marxian ideology, bringing out its strengths and weaknesses

3) What is meant by communism?

4) Discuss the principles of communism.

5) What is Neo-communism.

Gandhism

Meaning and Nature of Gandhism :- The body of ideas and ideals that Mahatma Gandhi practiced and preached is called Gandhism.

(1) It is a holistic ideology. It covers all aspects of human life i.e.

Political, economic, social, educational, spiritual, nutritional and ecological. etc (2) In all Gandhian ideas one finds unity of theme. It means all ideas and ideals of Gandhism is based on moral and

ethical principles such as truth, non-violence and purity of Ends and Means. (3) Gandhiji studied the text of all religions. Common ethical principle of religion be interpreted in context of present situation and applied it and practiced them to solve the various types of problems in his unique way. He gave shape to his ideas through experience.

As such Gandhi was not a thinker, he was a practioner who applied abstract religious philosophies to real life situations logically and scientifically. In that sense Gandhism is a combination of religion and science.

It is a mixture of spiritualism and materialism.

Table:-

Meaning and Nature of Gandhism

Meaning Nature

Holistic Unity of a mixture of ideology theme spiritualism and

materialism

Principles of Gandhism :-

1) A decentralized form of governance i.e., idea of self-governing villages

2) Decentralize Economy

3) Simple life and minimum needs.

4) Trusteeship

5) Value-based Politics 6) Sarvodaya

7) Swadeshi

8) Ahimsa and truth 9) Satyagraha

(1) A decentralized form of governance:- Gandhism was against centralization. Gandhiji believed that centralization of authority would lead to misuse of authority and exploitation of the people. Hence Gandhism was against monarchical form of government or parliamentary form of government and strong central government.

Self governing villages :- Gandhism advocates a decentralized form of governance, in which independent and sufficient governing villages will work. Village communities would be self-sufficient. It means village will be able to take care of their needs without depending on any other village. Independent village means the village will be able to take their own decisions without having the interference of any other authority. Gandhi says India would be

a land comprising not cities, but villages that would be individual and independent political units, these villages would all coexist in harmony.

In this structure composed of many villages - life will not be pyramid with the apex sustained by the bottom. But it will be an oceanic circle whose centre will be the individual always ready to perish for the circle. villages, till at last the whole becomes one life composed of individuals.... The outermost circumference will not wield power to crush the inner circle but will give strength to all within and derive its own strength from it.

Thus Gandhism stressed on the establishment of a federation of self sufficient, autonomous village community. In each village, there will be a General village council, composed of representatives of each family. This council will elect an executive committee which will look after the affairs of the village.

(2) Decentralize Economy - It means village based economy. i.e.

production and distribution must be decentralized. Gandhism is against large-scale Industrialization and capitalism. Gandhism says that the economy of autonomous villages should be based on cottage industries such as pottery. cloth weaving, carpentry etc.

The production as well as consumption of the commodities produced by these cottage industries would occur in the same locality.

(3) Gandhism and property- Simple life and minimum needs :- Gandhism emphasises the importance of a simple living and limited needs. On one hand, the ideology recognises that moral development is not possible if basic needs are not met; on the other hand, the ideology is against the accumulation of unnecessary wealth and luxuries. Gandhism believes that poverty leads to crime, similarly, possessing excessive money also hinders moral and spiritual development.

(4) Trusteeship :- an individual must possess that amount of wealth that is essential to him. Excess property must be sacrificed for the society. Gandhi promoted the concept of trusteeship of property to meet the economic challenge. According to Gandhi, wealth is a social product. It is the contribution from many. The entire society has claims on it. The owners of property (eg.

capitalist,landlords) must recognise this claim. They must hold property as a trusty on behalf of the many. They must utilise property to bring the best returns for the society and not to simply maximise profits. Social needs are to be identified as one would easily identify the needs within a family. Application of trusteeship is based on individual's sense of fairness and responsibility. It is voluntary. Man must rise to his best self and manage society without the need of the state to dictate.