(Courtesy: Mr. Bhisma Karki)
Far from retreating before the scary ghosts and often dark sky of our time, you have been able, inspired by a profound and burning idealism, to perceive, behind the veils that hide it, the strife that burns at the heart of this world. You, my fatherly friend, have always been for me the living proof that idealism is no illusion but the true reality.
- Karl Marx in a letter to his father, Heinrich Marx
Who is not stirred to the core by these lines? They are excerpt from the notes I took on Marxian thoughts about 23 years ago, which have luckily survived. To the great majority of ardent supporter of communism, Marx’s idealism was more moving than the nitty-gritty details of his thoughts. His was a life devoted to study and the cause of world communism. The chronic poverty that Marx had to go through in his life of exile did not deter him from championing the cause of downtrodden people of the world and authoring several books of quality of world classics. Throughout his life, Marx set an example of philosopher scaling the highest peak in thought and the encyclopedic sweep of scholarship. It is no wonder that Marxism inspired great struggle for the establishment of society based on equality and the continual progress. In the dissemination of communism, Marx’s heroic life also played important role.
I do not wish to offer a learned critique of Marxism, which may take years of study. I find the Marxian thought fascinating. To that extent I discuss them here presenting the flavor when they are put in practice. After teenage exposure to Marx, my youthful dream was to read and seek to acquire, if possible, deeper understanding of the complete works of Marx and Engels. I wanted to read and study Marx in order to comprehend the mystery of the world and how it changes.
When you read Marx, it is difficult not to be dazzled by his unrivalled genius and idealism. Although I hero–worshiped Marx, I never associated myself with the communist organizations in Nepal. They are too crude for any person of sensibility. Moreover, when one acquires some acquaintance with diverse thoughts propounded by other philosophers and thinkers, one begins to find that other competing thoughts and philosophy are also equally fascinating and admirable.
As opposed to the noble idealism of Marx is the development and practice of his thought in the destructive direction in most of the communist regimes. The practice of communism in Russia following the Bolshevik triumph was very bloody; out of the womb of Marxism came into being a hideous regime responsible for the destruction and death of millions of people. The Bolshevik thirst for blood was never satiated. The flower of Russian humanity perished at the altar of the dialectical machine of a communist regime which demanded more and more blood. The chilling description of the cruel purges and terror under Stalin is given vividly by Arthur Koestler in his book, Darkness at Noon.
When Lenin died, there was a collective leadership for some years and finally it ended up with Stalin outfoxing all the other rivals one by one. After Stalin consolidated his grip on power, many of the old guards of the 1917 revolution met very violent and often humiliating end. The rise of Stalin was the greatest misfortune to afflict Russia in those unhappy times. Why did the majority of Bolshevik old guards, in spite of their lifelong service and devotion to the communist cause, perish at the hand of Stalin? Their destruction was logical necessity because they were found to be in opposition, even small, to the stand of communist party which was looked upon both as supreme and infallible. The possibility of dissidence around them made them centre of subversion. Any possibility of future subversion was to be ruthlessly suppressed because in a future conflict or war, it would lead to the defeat or overthrow of the soviet communist bastion.
In the dialectical twist of the logic, their life would only weaken the Soviet communist bastion. The self-elimination was the supreme sacrifice that they could make for the communist party. Hence people like Kamenev, Zinoviev and Bukharin went through drama of macabre self-condemnation before they were liquidated. The great hero of Russian revolution, Trotsky also died a most tragic death when Stalin’s agent smashed Trotsky’s head with a hatchet.
All these people in the leadership of communist revolution shared hardships and sufferings to further the cause of communism. Even when confronting the most unjust death, they remained loyal to the communist regime. They confessed to the imaginary crimes; they did not swerve from the party line because they hoped party would, once the challenge to communist regime is met, rehabilitate them either now or in future. The trial of dissident or opponent in communist regime was mockery of justice.
How can Stalin order the execution of his former politburo friends and other people with whom he shared the difficulties and tribulations for building up communism? What happened to the idea of camaraderie and friendship in Communist Russia? The notion of friendship is beautiful. Was it only a Bourgeois affectation? Why was Stalin not willing to work with former Bolshevik colleagues and instead engendered their fall in the most cold-blooded way? The famous author, Solzhenitsyn says Lenin was uncommonly evil. He calls Stalin a man of vilest soul.
The Russian people endured the cruelties and violence of the brutal Stalinist regime in the hope that they were making the sacrifices for the advancement of communism. It was the fondest belief in which the ends justified the harsh suffering of present. But how can one find peace with the communism when the outcome is the death of millions of people as in Stalinist Russia, Cambodia and Mao’s China, and now in Nepal? The list of infamy goes on. This is not the idealism of Marx with which millions of people found resonance. The grim hardship and suffering was demanded by communist regime but it did not lead to the rosy future. In fact, the future was and is even grimmer for the communist country .Not to forget, there was not only hardship and suffering but also limitless enthusiasm for communism and unwavering faith in its triumph in building a new world in the early days of communist struggle, which turned out to be a chimera.
The communist experiment of 20th century was in one sense the worst disaster and in other sense the worst crime against humanity; and, moreover it was the path chosen in the case of Soviet regime under Stalin with the cold calculation. From the communism in practice emerges not an ideal society, but a totalitarian state which, in the absence of naked force and terror, disintegrates rapidly. The only bond that binds communist society is the ruthless repression of the police state, certainly not a bond of universal brotherhood. So, without a complete control and repression along totalitarian line, communist regime cannot survive. The power concentrated in the hand of elite politburo without accompanying check and balance leads to dangerous consequences, as seen in the Soviet Union and elsewhere.
No matter how grand Marx’s theory is, it has been a failure as far as its usefulness to serve the welfare of man is concerned. There are many critics of Marx and Marxism, who discovered the folly and fault in the Marx’s thought. According to English philosopher Bertrand Russell both Marx and Hegel were muddle headed. “In relation to any political doctrine there are two questions to be asked: (1) Are its theoretical tenet true? (2) Is its practical policy likely to increase human happiness?” says Russell. On both counts, the answer is disappointing, in spite of power of the early communist movement in creating giant global upheaval. “Communism is,” says Russell, “doctrine bred of poverty, hatred and strife.”
There were many important Marxist theoreticians in Russia who contributed to the further development of Marxism. Some of the prominent names are Lenin, Trotsky, Plekhanov, Bukharin, etc. Later on, Stalin also claimed to be a theoretician by proposing the consolidation of socialism in one country rather than stirring a world revolution as propounded by Trotsky. In one of the prewar underground meeting, Stalin tried to present a theoretical paper. Someone in the audience quipped, “ Koba, don’t make a fool of yourself. This is not your field.” The variant of Marxism called Maoism is at the focal point of Nepal’s current turmoil. Mao was not a man of intellectual turn of mind. He developed his guerrilla strategy from experience. His red book is full of mundane observations. His boast that power comes from the barrel of gun is just a stupid remark. In the decaying and disintegrating China, Mao was able to win the people by offering the hope of order and progress. It was not in the power of the nationalists under Chiang-Kai-Sek to beat the Mao’s guerilla; it was the age of communism.
In Nepal, the Marxian thought continues to attract a large following. But this mass, for lack of stimulation of the intellectual curiosity, remains unfortunately in the mental prison of degrading version of Marxism. The Nepali communist’s understanding of Marxism is confined to some simple insurrectionary shibboleths and clichés.
For the future of Nepal, we must defy the Maoism which has been nothing but ritual of violence, terror and inhumanity. Nepal’s post 1990 democracy was full of promises, if not robust; Maoist terrorists smothered its soul by the most inhuman insurrection. By means of the violent campaign, one may mobilize the backward people into frenzy and even seize power, as is obvious from the success of the Maoist terrorist in Nepal’s recent election. Behind the success of the Maoist lies a propaganda machine, converting acts of terrorism and crime into the deeds of justice and valor. But, to paraphrase Petrarch, all the wickedness and filth run together in a Nepali sewer called Maoist party. The triumph of Maoist terrorism is paved with evil.
The salvation of our bleeding motherland Nepal can come through the service of man of excellence in character and mind. In no way is the sweat and toil of common man is to belittled. To make that a reality, Nepali brothers and sisters let us follow Mahatma Gandhi. He was one of the greatest human beings of all time. Mao’s magic is temporary, but Gandhi’s message of nonviolence and love are eternal truth. Let the Gandhian love and nonviolence shine brightly upon our cursed country.
(For comments, please write to bhkarki@gmail.com)
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