Obituarists lack Far-sight

SKM

Karl Heinrich Marx (1818- 1883) is immortal and so is his socio-political philosophy Marxism—a science, a social philosophy and an ideological discourse on politics. It is alive and vibrant. Obituarists of Marxism lack far-sight, excited with short-term ups and downs but totally incapable of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Marxism is not dead. It has become deep-rooted in the psyche of people—not the have-nots alone but all socially conscious people—Wall Street movement, demonstrations (G-8, G-20 Summits) at far away places. Today, it is not the have-nots alone who are on the streets but people of all affected classes—upper-middle-lower middle classes. The movement is continuing unabated.

The socialist world of course tried to apply Marxian economic ideas, in some way it seemed to be mechanical. It was not the end of the world. It was of course a temporary set-back due to lack of necessary ground work. Now relevant to time and space, new forms, new methods will evolve and the march will continue. 'Subsidy-ism' and Marxian Socialism are two different things.

The fundamental ingredient of socio-economic transformation was not discovered, hence the temporary set-back.

The basic spiritual base of social consciousness was lacking—"From each according to his ability to each according to his needs" (Critique of the Gotha Programme 1875). The core theme of humanistic Marxism was not understood. It is the people's feeling and connection to one another—a sense of oneness of human existence has not yet been established. It was the guiding force in the primitive society to bind people together—with material development the main thing was obliterated. This feeling of oneness and equality among people should be ingrained in people's minds—this will be the driving force to establish genuine Marxian socialism. The selfishness is the beast in man, which has hindered the egalitarian process of social transformation. It is very spiritual. It is very difficult. It will take time.

Frontier
Vol. 48, No. 2, July 19 - 25, 2015