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Another World Is
Possible—Thoughts about a Fourth World
By M.P. Parameswaran
Another World Is Possible: What
Is it? Towards the concept of a" Fourth World"
To the loud neoliberal propaganda
that 'There Is No Alternative' (TINA) initiated by the
'globalizers' after the fall of the socialist bloc, the
'resistors' all over the world have come up with the
slogan: 'Another World Is Possible' (AWIP). We had five
World Social Forums since 2001 with this as the central
slogan. This 'Another World' will not be neoliberal or
imperialistic. Neither will it be similar to the present
Third World. It will not be, also, a repetition the type
of socialism experimented with in the twentieth century.
All we can say is
that it will be a Post-Capitalist Society. It may not
yet be a truly socialist society. Having exhausted the
numerals 1, 2 and 3, we call it a 'Fourth World'. The
use of indefinite article is intentional. There could be
many variations. The nomenclature 'Fourth World' applies
to them all. One current such example could be China. It
is neither capitalistic nor socialist. It is
experimenting and claims to be moving towards socialism.
This claim may be contested. Even if agreed to, they too
feel that socialism is far, far away. Cuba, Vietnam and
North Korea too are experimenting. They too are striving
forwards a future socialism, quite different from that
of the 20th century one. This too may be contested.
It may be argued
that, objectively, they are moving towards capitalism
and that instead of joining the First World, they may
end up in the Third World. Hopefully they may end up in
a distinctly different situation, positively more
advanced than capitalism, but not yet achieving
socialism, a genuine Fourth World.
This Fourth World
may take different forms and contents in different
countries. This small book is an attempt to conceive one
such form suitable to, and realizable in, India. It is
based on the experiences of the 20th century India and,
in particular, of Kerala. The heroic struggle waged by
the people of India during the 20th century, its long
tradition of democracy , the deep political
consciousness of its people, all these form the basis
for such a hope.
Introduction
The word ‘Fourth
World’ has been used differently by many. It is natural
to think of a ‘Fourth World’ different from the first,
second and third. I used this expression for the first
time in a paper titled "Towards the Perspective of a
Fourth World" presented at the 6th All- India People’s
Science Congress held in 1998 at Nalanda, Bihar, India.
There, it was used with a specific meaning: a
post-capitalist pre-socialist social order. The
necessity and reality of such a transition formation is
now widely accepted. That paper remained an academic one
for nearly five years. Suddenly in the middle of 2003,
the term was resurrected by some pseudo-Marxist
journalists and a huge media blitz was mounted against
it. Several top leaders of the CPI(M) and the CPI
competed with one another in condemning the ‘Fourth
World’. There was practically no polemics, because there
was no critique on content but only blatant accusations.
Being a disciplined
member of the CPI(M) then, I did not openly join issue
with the senior Party leadership. For reasons
unconvincing not only to me but also to lay readers, I
was summarily ‘expelled’ from the Party in February
2004. There was no warning, no opportunity to explain my
position, no suspension and enquiry but straight
expulsion—a punishment meted out to extreme anti-Party
activities. One academic paper presented in a conference
and forgotten for almost five years was suddenly
interpreted as an extreme anti-Party activity.
Neither the public
nor the ordinary members of the Party had any clue as to
what this ‘Fourth World’ was. This book gives the
answer. The progressives and the Party members can judge
for themselves how much it is useful or harmful in the
fight against globalization and neo-liberal capitalism.
In this context, it has to be pointed out that I do not
believe that Marxism needs no more enrichment, that
everything that can be said has already been said, that
leaders’ interpretation—from the local committee level
to the central secretariat level—is to be accepted
without questioning—centralised democracy, indeed!)
All the 20th
century experiments to build socialism have failed. Why?
Are there common features? Was the weakness internal? Or
was the external enemy all too powerful? Why? Why? Why?
In 1997, while convalescing from a mild heart attack, I
had jotted down a number of issues which needed intense
discussion and wrote to several Polit Bureau Members of
the CPI(M), leaders of the CPI, other Marxists and even
friendly non-Marxists. It is sad, but it is a fact, that
I failed to kindle enough enthusiasm amongst the Party
leadership to initiate such a study. Later, in 2000 and
in 2002, small group discussions were organized. For
this, the original questions were re-organised and
categorised as given below.
Historic—Contemporary Issues
1. How and why did all the
"socialist-working class" states in the world collapse?
Are there any common features/ causes for this?
2. Can
the economic policies followed by China (and also North
Korea, Viet Nam and Cuba) be reconciled with their
professed political objectives?
3. Why
have all the "workers’ states" (and their parties too)
become less or more corrupt? Has absence of real
democracy contributed to this?
4. " While in Rome do as Romans do." China apparently
follows an updated version of this proverb: While in a
capitalist world, be a stronger capitalist. There Is No
Alternative (TINA). Some counter this with TIAA, There
Is Another Alternative: What could that be? What
attempts have been made to outline this?
5. Was
the October Revolution a mistake? Was it an experiment
doomed to fail from the outset because of the poor
development of productive forces? Why did revolutions
not take place in England and Germany as Marx expected?
6. In 1905, Lenin wrote " Imperialism: Highest and Last
Stage of Capitalist." Since then, year after year,
communist literature wrote about the general crisis of
capitalism and its impending collapse. Where did they/we
go wrong?
7. Apparently capitalism has not exhausted its full
potential. If so, what could the remainder be? Is
exhaustion of potential a purely objective category?
Does the subjective element, the consciousness and
organization of the working class accelerate this
exhaustion? If so, what are the limitations?
8. What possibly, we can learn from Gramsci and other
later Marxists? How have the capitalists "manufactured
consent" among the rest? Is dissent possible "only
after" capitalism has exhausted its potential?
9. Why
was the question of nationalities never resolved in USSR
or in Yugoslavia? Why does it persist and continue to
grow?
Theoretical—Conceptual Issues
10. In
the Communist Manifesto Marx wrote:
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It has simplified the
class antagonisms. Society as a whole is
more and more splitting up into two great
hostile camps, into two great classes
directly facing each other—the bourgeoisie
and the proletariat." Is this true? Is it
that simple? What about castes in India?
Religion? Nationality? Gender? "It has
converted the physician, the lawyer, the
priest, the poet, the man of science, into
its paid wage labourers," continued Marx and
Engels. Does this mean that they all belong
to the same grand "working class," including
the factory worker, the agriculture labour,
the casual worker, etc.? Do they, or can
they ever, have the same class
consciousness? |
11.
The Manifesto ends with these words: " The
proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains." Is
this true now?
12. "Communism" is often epitomised through the phrase
"from each according to his ability, to each according
to his needs." Gandhiji said: "This world has enough to
satisfy everybody’s needs, but not their greed." Has
Marx ever tried to differentiate need from greed or
pseudo-need created by capitalism? If yes, how do one
differentiate the two? If no, is it possible to satisfy
the unlimited needs of all the human beings? Are there
enough physical resources on this earth for this?
13.
What do we understand by human progress? Is it more and
more consumption? Is it more choices? How do we quantify
it?
14.
Greed is a difficult category. It could be defined in
two contradictory ways: (1) Greed is a need which you
cannot presently satisfy. Anything that can be satisfied
by anybody is not greed. (2) Anything that everybody
cannot have is greed. Which is correct? Or are there
better definitions?
15. The concept of contradictions is central in Marxist
philosophy. What are the major contradictions impacting
upon the human society today? (1) Capitalism and
Socialism (2) Imperialism and Colonialism (3)
Imperialism and imperialism (4) Capital and Labour (5)
Ever expanding needs and limited natural resources (6)
Ever increasing pollutants and limited sink (7) Gender
inequity, (8) Caste/religion.
16. The contradiction between growing productive forces
and stagnant production relations is supposed to create
ultimate revolutionary conditions. Can we think of an
alternative scenario: nucleation and growth of local,
cooperative, economies, coalescing to assume larger and
larger proportions and leading to effective
confrontation with global capitalist economy? This has
both an objective (small made powerful through
appropriate science and technology) and a subjective
(wisdom to differentiate needs from greed) element in
it. Can quantitative growth of local economies lead to a
qualitative change in the global society?
17. To quote from Manifesto again: “The
proletariat will use its political supremacy to wrest,
by degrees, all capital from the bourgeoisie, to
centralise all elements of production in the hands of
the State; i.e., the proletariat organised as a ruling
class . . ." This is further elaborated: Abolition of
property in land; abolition of rights of inheritance,
centralization of credit, means of communication and
transport, etc., in the hands of the State. This is
exactly what happened in Russia and elsewhere. Was this
correct? Is this to be attempted again? Is State
ownership the same as People’s ownership?
18. Is the formulation "dictatorship of the proletariat"
still correct? Is dictatorship preferred to democracy?
Who forms the proletariat? If we say "proletarian
democracy," how is it different from bourgeois
democracy? Is democracy merely casting votes? Is not
participation an essential element in it? And does not
participation demand human scales of operation, both in
economics and in politics?
19. Finally, if the condition of abundance, as
characterised by "to each according to his needs" is not
possible theoretically and we have to operate always
under conditions of scarcity demanding regulation, can
the State "wither away"? Is the concept of absolutely
classless society valid?
20.
Revolutionary or transformatory process demands:
—ever
evolving, ever expanding and ever diversifying actions
of the people.
—an
evolving, flexible and yet coherent organization/
institution to focus these actions so that they have a
resultant force and resultant direction of movement.
21. It can so happen and had almost invariably happened,
that the organization or institution loses its dynamism,
ceases to evolve and in turn become impediment to the
growth of the movement.
22. Can we say that Communist/ Workers’ Party
organizations have shown this tendency of calcification
and inflexibility and thereby constricted the growth of
people’s movement?
23.
Can it be said that the party hierarchy and leadership
solidifies first and everything else become subsidiary
to it?
24.
May not this lead to a situation that the dynamic
people’s movements—economic, political and cultural
movements—undirected they may be—explode, breaking
asunder all organizational/ party structures?
25.
Can we say that what happened in the USSR and other
socialist countries in the world is something like this?
26. Communists are considered ‘leaders’ of the society
in which they live. They are supposed to have a powerful
influence on the society around. However, the outside
society can have influence, in turn, on the communists
too. There have been arguments within almost all
communist parties about the concept of an "Ideal
Communist" and of a "Pragmatic Communist.” In the
struggle, the ideal communists lose, perhaps not because
of their idealism, but because of its degeneration into
formalism and organizationalism and often
fundamentalism. The pragmatists survive, but in the
process become more and more "pragmatic" and in the end
become one with the public—not like fish in the water,
but water itself.
27. In
this context, does not a theory of constant revolution,
constant change within the party becomes important?
28. Can we assume that Mao was deeply conscious of the
"fish becoming water" and that his slogan "Storm the
Citadels" was a reaction towards it? The fact that it
had failed may not be due to its intrinsic fault, but
due to the extreme degeneration of the apparatus that
had already taken place?
Issues Related to India
29. What is the character of Indian State today? What do
we learn from international experience? Which are the
classes existing in India today? What are the roles of
caste, religion and nationality?
30. Have we failed to apply Marxism creatively to Indian
conditions? If so, what are the major features of that
failure? Will Marxian analysis alone suffice? Do we
require other tools too?
31. What is the path of Indian revolution? The classical
Russian? or Chinese? Or what else?
32. Does decentralization of power and resources,
people’s participation and strengthening of local
economies help the Indian revolution? How? Or does it
weaken? If so how? Is decentralised democracy
"antithetical" to democratic centralism?
33. Can India choose the path of Asian Tigers? If not,
why? What is the development perspective for India? The
Nehruvian model? The Gandhian Model or a New Model? What
are the features of a new model?
34. Is
it possible to resolve all our border problems with
Pakistan, China, Bangladesh,
Nepal, and also the Kashmir problem and reduce the
defense expenditure in the entire region? What would be
its impact on the arms trade economies? If this is not
possible, what are the objective and subjective
impediments?
35. How are we going to stop and reverse the growing
strength of religious fundamentalism and of the
underworld and also of the increasing stranglehold of
the WTO, the World Bank and the IMF?
This book, of course, is not a contribution towards
answering these questions. No single person shall dare
to attempt it. This book is intended only to inform
fellow citizens what I meant by this mysterious ‘Fourth
World’, which seems to have become the main enemy of
Indian Revolution.
Source:
Geocities
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* *
Dr. M. P.
Parameswaran, author of
Empowering People: Insights from a Local Experiment in
Participatory Planning, received a Bachelor's
degree in Engineering from the College of Engineering, Kerala,
India in 1956, and a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from the
Moscow Power Institute in 1965. He was a scientist with the
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Bombay, from 1957 to 1975. Since
1975 he has been a full-time activist with the
Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad
(KSSP). Dr. Parameswaran also currently serves as the Vice-Chair
of the Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti (BGVS) and as the Chair of the
Total Health and Sanitation Mission, Kerala.
The
Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad
(which literally means the Science Writers' Forum of Kerala) has
earned wide acclaim for activities related to generating
environmental consciousness, literacy campaigns, and
decentralized, micro-level planning. The KSSP is a recipient of
the Right Livelihood Award (dubbed the alternate Nobel Prize) in
1996, the UNESCO Literacy Award (King Sejong Prize) in 1990, the
UNEP's Global 500, and the Vriksha Mitra award.—IndiaTogether
M. P.
Parameswaran is an
Indian
nuclear engineer and eminent science
contributor. He is an atomic scientist and
educationist of India. He played an important role
in Indian Nuclear program. He was born on January
18, 1935 in
Kerala. In 1956, he received
Bachelor’s degree in
Engineering from the College of Engineering,
Kerala. He then joined
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre,
Bombay in 1956 as a scientist and continued
there up to 1975. From 1969 to 1973 he also worked
as the assistant director of the State Institute of
Languages in Kerala, on a deputation from BARC. He
got PhD in
Nuclear Engineering from
Moscow Power Engineering Institute in 1965. . .
.
MP is also a
prolific writer. He has written 29
popular science books in
Malayalam and two in
English. His books give a panoramic view of
science.
Radioactivity, atomic science,
Astronomy,
Mathematics,
political science,
social science,
ecology—these
are some of the varied subjects he has dealt with in
his books. A vision of "A New World—A
New India" guides his thoughts and actions. He was
the recipient of two national awards, one for
science popularisation and another for literacy.
Articles written by him in various
periodicals run to more than 300. He has
received
Government of India awards for Books for
Neoliterates (1962) and Basic and Cultural
Literature (1964). He also received an Award for
Children's Literature in 1982.
He was also an
active member of Communist Party of India (Marxist)
for 33 years, before being expelled for writing an
ideological book 'Fourth World' which envisions a
world based on decentralised democracy and an
economic production that is detached from
consumerism, but the party views it as a rejection
of Marxist principles. In 2007, he also acted in a
Malayalam movie named 'AKG' about the Communist
leader A K Gopalan in which M. P. Parameswaran
donned the role of Kerala's first Chief Minister E M
Sankaran Namboodiripad (EMS).—Wikipedia
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* *
Social ideas of an n-scientist
While suggesting alternatives to globalisation, he said direct
action, both defensive and offensive, was required and we have
to clearly declare it a war-like situation. "Let us declare a
people's war against sell-out policies, against fundamentalism,
against cultural degradation, against consumerism and against
mafias of all form. This is a war to save the human species from
self-destruction, to free human beings from animal limitations,
to realise the true human potential," says Dr. Parameswaran, the
spirit behind the formation of the All India People's Science
Network
Dr. Parameswaran, who has
blended Gandhism with Marxism and his own type of Socialism, has
devised new forms of offensive defence against the aggression by
the so called corporate world, which he calls ``corporate
mafia''. He suggests an extensive and intensive boycott of goods
produced by the trans-national corporations. He preferred
developing smaller technologies for producing quality goods for
all and organising a mega network of consumers and cooperative
societies involving millions of households.
He suggested that a massive
citizen education programme of more than one year's duration be
envisaged to educate all about the ill-effects of forced
globalisation and the benefits of local self-reliance. A
cultural offensive to be used against cultural imperialism by
organising scientists, artists and writers. The natural
resources available in various States, he said, should belong to
the people and shall not be allowed to be sold over to private
profiteers. Luxury, conspicuous and extravagant consumption
should be considered as unethical and anti-social. It is immoral
to have a star or stylish living in a country with so much of
poverty, ill health and illiteracy, he said.
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* *
A Fourth World outlook
To know the world does not
mean knowing only the word. One has to learn from interactions
with the world. The literacy campaign was initiated in 1989. At
a discussion in Delhi, where the UNESCO director general and
many important people from the Government of India were present,
it was argued that it is not possible to mount a campaign for
literacy in India. This is because, elsewhere where there was
such a campaign—Cuba, China , Tanzania, Burma or Russia—there
had also been a major social upheaval. So a literacy campaign
could only succeed either with or after a social revolution, but
not before it. Since there was no semblance of any revolution in
India, such campaigns could not succeed. Our own experience has
been that on the basis of science we have been able to mobilize
people for campaigns, ranging from the silent valley movement to
lectures on astronomy. In fact, in 1987 we mobilized tens of
thousands of people for a major science campaign, the Jan Vigyan
Jatha. So we argued that it is not necessary for literacy to
follow social revolution. Rather, literacy could accelerate
social revolution. They said there was no precedence for that. I
said that anything which is first cannot have precedence. So,
let us try it first.
However the initial trial
should be in a place where it is easiest to achieve success,
viz. Kerala. This is because in Kerala, the literacy level was
higher than in other places. In addition, the KSSP was a very
large organization with 40,000 members and units everywhere. It
had a lot of credibility, and the Ernakulam district collector
at that time was a former vice president of the KSSP. He said
that he would be game to such an experiment which would help
make Ernakulam 100% literate. So, we joined forces and the
government of India gave about Rs. 1 crore. We then had to
mobilize about 15,000 volunteers to educate approximately
170,000 people. These volunteers conducted saturation propaganda
through face to face discussions, multimedia and street theater.
They visited every household. Ultimately 160,000 people
enrolled, and of these, 130,000 became literate. This meant that
they could read and understand around 35 words per minute, write
7 or 8 words per minute without mistakes, and perform numerical
calculations with two digit numbers. Beyond this, we took each
of them on 3-4 visits to the police station, post office, bus
stand, collector's office etc. Most of the villagers were afraid
to go to these places. So this exercise helped to increase their
confidence level, and reduce their fear of the bureaucracy.
This achievement in
Ernakulam caught the imagination of people all over the country.
Similar campaigns were started in Pondicherry (Tamil Nadu),
Bijapur (Karnataka), Midnapore (West Bengal), and Durg (Madhya
Pradesh). The following year, it spread nationwide.
However, the term 100%
literacy is used figuratively. In reality, nothing is 100% -
about 70-80% of people may be functionally literate, while the
other 20% may be marginally literate. So anything above 90%
should be known as total literacy and not 100% literacy. But
even that term is a misnomer when expanded to the rest of India,
and should instead be referred to as a mass literacy campaign.
Nevertheless, total
literacy became a fashion and about 400 districts in India took
it up. Every collector and minister took it up as a prestige
issue. The result is that about 120 million people participated
in the literacy campaign. Of these, about 20% became totally
literate, while the rest could only sign their name. But even
this was a massive process which required a volunteer force of
more than 10 million. Each volunteer committed about 400 hours
per year. During the process, the outlook of the volunteers
changed by discussing with and learning from groups of people
who had enrolled in the campaign. Many of the learners were more
knowledgeable than the volunteers. The volunteers knew only the
alphabet. So, an interesting relationship started. As a result,
the demand for primary education shot up since these people
wanted their children to be literate. Initially there was
extreme cynicism, and to break that we needed plenty of
optimism.
This achievement may not be called literacy per se. Rather it
could be referred to as an increased level of awareness because
of the increased demand for education and active involvement.
For instance, movements like the Nellore anti arrack and the
quarry workers' women's movement developed as a result of this
campaign
* * * * *
Fourth World Essays
Afro-America
& The Fourth World
The
Black Middle Class & a Political Party of the Poor (essay)
Dark
Child of the Fourth World
The
Fourth World and the Marxists
The
Fourth World: In the Belly of the Beast
New
Orleans: The American Nightmare
On
the Fourth World: Black Power, Black Panthers,
and White Allies
Why I Support
the Latino Demonstrators
Other Fourth World Essays
African
America –
A Fourth World (Waldron H. Giles)
Dark Child of the Fourth World Reaches Out
(Dennis Leroy Moore)
Fourth World Introduction (M.P. Parameswaran)
Fourth
World: Marxist, Gandhian, Environmentalist
(M.P. Parameswaran)
The Fourth World Multiculturalism (Rose Ure Mezu)
Fourth World Programme
M.P. Parameswaran)
Neo-Liberalism Dictatorship of the Market
M.P. Parameswaran)
The Rise and Fall of the Socialist World
M.P. Parameswaran)
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Sex at the Margins
Migration, Labour Markets and the Rescue Industry
By Laura María Agustín
This book explodes several myths: that selling sex is completely different from any other kind of work, that migrants who sell sex are passive victims and that the multitude of people out to save them are without self-interest. Laura Agustín makes a passionate case against these stereotypes, arguing that the label 'trafficked' does not accurately describe migrants' lives and that the 'rescue industry' serves to disempower them. Based on extensive research amongst both migrants who sell sex and social helpers, Sex at the Margins provides a radically different analysis. Frequently, says Agustin, migrants make rational choices to travel and work in the sex industry, and although they are treated like a marginalised group they form part of the dynamic global economy. Both powerful and controversial, this book is essential reading for all those who want to understand the increasingly important relationship between sex markets, migration and the desire for social justice. "Sex at the Margins rips apart distinctions between migrants, service work and sexual labour and reveals the utter complexity of the contemporary sex industry. This book is set to be a trailblazer in the study of sexuality."—Lisa Adkins, University of London |
*
* * * *
|
Greenback Planet: How the Dollar Conquered
the World and Threatened Civilization as We Know It
By H. W. Brands
In Greenback Planet, acclaimed historian H. W. Brands charts the dollar's astonishing rise to become the world's principal currency. Telling the story with the verve of a novelist, he recounts key episodes in U.S. monetary history, from the Civil War debate over fiat money (greenbacks) to the recent worldwide financial crisis. Brands explores the dollar's changing relations to gold and silver and to other currencies and cogently explains how America's economic might made the dollar the fundamental standard of value in world finance. He vividly describes the 1869 Black Friday attempt to corner the gold market, banker J. P. Morgan's bailout of the U.S. treasury, the creation of the Federal Reserve, and President Franklin Roosevelt's handling of the bank panic of 1933. Brands shows how lessons learned (and not learned) in the Great Depression have influenced subsequent U.S. monetary policy, and how the dollar's dominance helped transform economies in countries ranging from Germany and Japan after World War II to Russia and China today. He concludes with a sobering dissection of the 2008 world financial debacle, which exposed the power--and the enormous risks--of the dollar's worldwide reign. The Economy |
 |
* * * * *
The White Masters of the
World
From
The World and Africa, 1965
By W. E. B. Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois’
Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization
(Fletcher)
* *
* * *
Ancient African Nations
* * * * *
If you like this page consider making a donation
* * * * *
Negro Digest /
Black World
Browse all issues
1950
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
____ 2005
Enjoy!
* * * * *
The Death of Emmett Till by Bob Dylan
/
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
/
Only a Pawn in Their Game
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Thanks America for
Slavery /
George Jackson /
Hurricane Carter
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The Journal of Negro History issues at Project Gutenberg
The
Haitian Declaration of Independence 1804
/
January 1, 1804 -- The Founding of
Haiti
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posted 26 November 2011
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