Searching Alternative

An Introduction
To Build
Viable Alternative

Gian Singh

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Publisher:
TEHRIK Publications
383/6 fatehpuri Colony
Rohtak-124001 (Haryana)
India
+919416358044, +919729961518

Circulation is the best value paid

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In Lieu of
Introduction
This is a study about the society, with its web of
relationships and its future. It is a society living in
twenty first century with all its attractions and absurdities. The study also intends to meet certain myths in
the present day world deliberately built up to keep
status quo working and the failures to meet them
squarely so far, where status quo is not worth living
for heavy majority of populations all over. The living
experiences gained till now, especially in the immediate past, make it essential to undertake this exercise in
the interest of social good.
There is no dearth of studies on society; it is an unending
stream. A lot has been written on communist movement
also; critical presentations are in heaps. The present
effort, however, is from a different perspective having
a different reference point and in one sense from a
partisan angle, differentiating peole from the state
structure/establishment and whom it serves like an
obedient kin.
The harsh experience of recent history teaches not to
take concepts on authority, state and political party as
have been accepted so far. The concept of capturing
state power for revolution has done a great harm to
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social science; every nasty manoeuvre for capturing or

holding authority stands legitimatised to disadvantage
of social good. To invest revol utionary character in
proletarian class was a wong based on false logic. So
has been a concept of dictatorship of proletariat damaging to the cause of social change from capitalist
juggernaut.
Conceptually, political party relates basically to the
interest of bourgeois class; it cannot work as an
instrument of working population with its sinister
principle of democratic centralism. Theory built
around these concepts and formulations have proved
disastrous to the science of social change.
Secondly, there is no case in denying valuable studies
in the past, point is to relate things for a changed
situation when balance of forces have gone for a shift
with much to learn from past mistakes. For study, it is
not intended to go by stereotype studies from teachers
of bye-gone era blindly. For this study, it is recognised
that none can do justice to it unless present condition
is taken into account without blinkers.
We as society are driven at present for over a period
by a capital based mode of production and distribution,
which designed contending self-interests as its
motivating force to move ahead, bringing its own
corresponding cultural mould to dominate social relations
delivering a death blow in consequence to harmonious
way of life with nature, prevalent in previous family
farming mode. This shift proved disastrous.
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In between, an effort was made by legions of well

meaning sociologists to correct course in early
twentiethcentury, though remaining attached
to capital centred mode intact, fought private ownership of means of production describing it as the only
evil in system and equating social ownership with
state ownership, to counter the contention that sanctifies private profit for progress. This did not prove a
sufficient course correction in the model. For one, the
State cannot be equated with Society, unless one is
determined to commit hara kari (suicide).
To sum up, we, the people at present are living
essentially in a savage world of strife and unfulfilled
wants but of possibilities too for a better future. (We
here means minus rulers, donning various colours). Man,
including woman, stands devalued, dehumanised and
alienated in midst of material gains for few today.
Human society has reached a stage where both these
aspects of present impasse and inherent possibilities to
break road blocks require careful inquiry lest it loose
self assurance for a better future. After collapse of Soviet
experiment in 1991, disturbing factor in the situation is
lack of self confidence in a large section of dispirited
mass to look beyond the abounding myths that go to
colour vision and enslave our thinking faculty to keep
status quo intact. When occasional upstarts exploit this
desperation of masses, it celebrates illusions unbound.
An honest exercise to break the stranglehold of such
deadening burden must go green.
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There is an irony of sorts: Those among us who aspire

to live by honest labour and with dignity are the hardest to suffer at present. Children, elderly and those
who stand deprived of gainful pursuits have gone
uncared and unloved. It is a world of full of contradictions, contradictions within contradiction, pulls
and counter pulls, unity ofopposites, negation of
negations, constant tussle between differing interests
and a constant urge for lasting peace with nature.
Still, it prides to call itself modern, civilised and democratic, signifying rule of rich over the people, claiming
it as an advance from past stage of slavery by feudal
autocracy and patriarchy.
It is a reckless world where rule of powerful ordains
cut-throat race for survival is made the norm, where
animal instinct is sanctified as a prime mover to
progress and become rich while aam aadmi is asked
to happily accept position of a sacrificial goat in race
of wild and development a word to mesmerise.
There is another facet: dark alleys keep rays of hope
within. Possibilities for a better future though are not
easy to have unless the present is shaken off shoulders.
This present had started its journey with industrial
revolution that changed relations and culture drastically
between men and men (women included) for centuries
to come and brought in new organs of governance,
most deadly of them is modern state coupled with its
power of coercion and control over thinking faculty of
masses at will. The built in structures of an intrusive
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state are working as agents of status quo, some with

deadly powers for hands-down obedience while
others busy in churning consent of the misled. Like
every other country, Indian situation is essentially the
same for people despite repeated claims, ad nauseam,
of a high democratic faith.
Now, in present .democratic. dispensation, man is
seemingly free but chained all around in a cob web of
laws/regulations ordained by the state apparently for
an orderly obedience to power-mad rich and disobedience is unlawful in a society that rests on
perennial disorder. The overarching law of disorder is
where inequality reins, which cannot leave society
orderly for a moment. Law is enacted to protect lawlessness and order is made to keep disorder intact,
while court is to provide legitimacy to illegitimate.
The nexus between profit oriented defence industry
and expansion oriented armed forces work upon each
other for mutual existence with Fight Against Terror
as an alibi freshly crafted by executive, when a
previous ghost in communism turned meaningless
after collapse of the Soviets. This is how present set
up is breathing heavy over shoulders of the people.
The reason for this duplicity remains that it is a rule of
minority over majority with help of an elaborate
system of deception and coercion, using varied tools it
has devised.
It is a world where myths are galore; built and rebuilt,
to keep status quo safe for plunderers. It is a world of
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lies and manufactured truths for the ruled to believe

in. Here legions of leaders and teachers are busy ever
who preach from past and present for future to keep
the flock in attendance, some spinning fancy stories at
times, working almost as soothsayers and living on
followers. The state regulates and administers an
elaborate system of inequalities, injustice, plunder. It
prepares this class of preachers to tune in with carrot/
rods. For the state, citizens are unruly urchins to
discipline, notwithstanding fancy theories about its
democratic faith.
If questions are asked about earlier setup well, society
has moved ahead dispensing patriarchal community!
The questions are summarily dodged or narrated with
malice and disdain, only to serve justification for
bourgeois take over as a progressive march of history.
Unfortunately, by implication in bargain, vested interest
of bourgeoisie (trader) was made co-terminus with
interest of masses when this take over was described
as progressive without describing the loss it heaped on
them. The lost past is to be accepted as a period alone
of retrograde feudal lords and patriarchy to despise in
favour of these new savages and brutes.
In between, there came an experiment spanning almost
seven decades of twentieth century to rid present
society of these ills that had plagued it, with full theory
of liberation covering all aspects of life. The logic was
captivating. By then unjust and unequal society was
tired of armed conflict and hunger. The experiment
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thus attracted much attention and support worldwide.

Later at a stage, it fell flat by 1991 mainly due to its
own faulty premises and follies in practice, not
confirming to social reality, on essentials to rebuild
society fresh. It failed to meet challenges thrown by a
capital-based industrial-commercial life and corresponding culture. Instead, the experiment helped to
grow capitalist mode of production and distribution
within its womb nurturing its ills beneath. When
experiment fell finally for all to see, society was no
better. The labour of almost seven decades went waste
with hopes for liberation dashed to ground for a while,
breeding despondency in its wake. The ranks were
unaware what so-called communist /socialist leadership has done to their biblical faith.
Everything was rotten in society before industrial
revolution, as per mythical script of these self-claimed
wise men. Industrial revolution abolished slavery and
ignorance, they say, bringing society to modern times.
And for progress some have to pay a price, dictum
goes in utter simplicity!! Obeying it, after a journey of
three centuries, 99 per cent are paying hard for benefit
of 1 per cent of population as in America (per-centage varying with countries: in India it is 80:20), experience so far testifies. It is increasingly becoming
difficult even for rulers to deny grim reality now.
Another disturbing aspect has emerged lately: the
unmistakable message of relevant social indicators is
that upward movemt of social forces worldwide has
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entered to a new low for over three decades. The first

decade of twenty-first century saw a frenzied effort
to debunk gullible and brute armed repression of dissent.
Technology and money power have additionally given
them new teeth. The regressive forces are on offensive
at present. Those who once worked for progress are in
disarray. The saga of heroic struggle by Vietnamese
against US invaders was the last pitched battle of this
series against colonial possession, oppression and indignity that gave hope for a sustained struggle against
aggression. It itself stands betrayed by fighters them
selves after victory. A tragedy of sorts indeed!
Twentieth century had witnessed two events that
proved decisive in effect. The collapse of former
socialist camp and its structures formalised in 1991
proved as game changer as October Revolution of 1917
in Russia had shape to a course of history that had
attracted changes in balance of forces.The events of
1991 provided opportunity to dark forces for moving
unchecked. The capitalist-imperialist countries re-asserted their hegemony with much vigour and sought
by other means what they tried through two world
wars earlier. Alignment of forces has changed drastically in their favour, at least for time being.
The forces inimical to a just social-political-economic,
cultural-ethical, administrative and moral order are in
hurry to consolidate and prey. Wasting no time, they
have taken steps in favour of corporate capital to
dominate both by mi litary and non-mi litary
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means and secondly to de-steam commoners by making capital and technology charming and invincible,
by heavy dose of cosmetics. Human labour is at
discount, much less than even inert labour. Efforts are
afoot to portray human labour as inconsequential.
Machines with new technologies are posed as new
saviours. As a result, man stands devalued and money
is made central to relationships in a market dominated
world. This is a new world of manipulators.
Keeping thinking faculty tight to their design is on increase with active help of state, and political establishment, embedded academicians and media.
The ruling classes in every country feel confident to
overawe disinherited humanity with technological
refinement and subjugate them with regulatory
mechanism duly buttressed by sophisticated military
hardware. The so-called class parties of all hues were
toeing same line of corporate capital, to the dismay of
commoners all over world; many changing colours overnight to keep their shops going.
At this stage of capitalist growth by spurts and bouts
another disturbing feature has emerged: since the state
is most convenient with atomised individuals as its
citizens for easy control and to keep system immune
and safe from any potential challenge, crash individualism is made out as a liberating pill for an
unsuspecting mass of people, especially women and
youths, charmed to drugs and uninhibited sex so that
institutions of community and family are demolished
in bargain as evils.
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Family is posed as an inconvenient hurdle for a free

citizen to grow and its neighbourhood community as
relic of a past. Its social structures devised to provide
shelter at difficult times to the family and its community are told to vanish from scene as anti-development. There is no challenge to this scheming design
worth the name. Those who took pride once to champion for human labour and dignity as central to human
civilisation and progress have by and large gone mute.
One fact is unmistakable. The state as an institution
world over has transformed into its new avatar. It is a
monster growing day by day like an octopus with the
web of laws more stringent to control with one alibi or
the other in a stream. How to explain this in this world
of democracy and freedom?
And those betrayed faith of struggling masses were the
leaders of every conceivable colour with whom people
had reposed faith mistakenly. The institution of political
parties played game on the masses. The creative energy
of the people and their initiative stood expropriated
with their power emasculated by this tribe of political
class in human history. Democracy was debased as
representative democracy running through the the
institution of political parties has saved the day for
exploiters unchained.
For a while desperate people and those who believed
in human values of a just order had reposed faith in
communist/socialist parties to be different. The class
theory made these parties attractive to them. Millions
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joined ranks for a better world. The betrayal, however,

by leadership of these so-called revolutionary formations world over during these seven decades of experiment in rebuilding society testified their basic characteristics of a reliable tool in hands of capitalist order.
These formations compounded the tragedy manifold
who virtually worked for capitalist growth every where
while mouthing slogans against exploitation and
expropriation for believers to be duped. It is a sad
story that these parties too were as effective as bourgeois parties were instrumental in destroying initiative
and creativity of masses that had gained wings after
overthrow of autocratic rulers in past with a liberating slogan of equality, liberty and fraternity.
With collapse of Soviet and Chinese model of socialism/
communism in making, with numerous variants in many
other countries like Albania, Romania, Vietnam, Cuba
etc. and role of left formations, certain important
questions of theory and practice are up for reasonable
answer. That collapse did not make dehumanising
capitalist set up any more pleasing. Neither it was the
end of history; collapse signified fatal errors in
judgement and opened a window afresh to relook
certain important postulates of liberation struggle that
started taking shape in nineteenth century in answer to
degrading capitalist order. The agenda is still on table.
In India, situation has gone worse, despite potentialities.
It is a rich country with poor people, deprived by
crafty forces in command, firstly a the colonial
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power and later by its native clone. The country had

gained freedom after a prolonged struggle against a
shameful chapter in its history, bearing humiliation of
degrading slavery and dehumanising expropriation.
The aroused aspirations of masses during freedom
struggle were an excellent force for execution. But it
was not to be. It did not suit new ruling masters. The
opportunity went squandered and people stood
cheated. The story of last seven decades of Independence is a grim tale of slavery to the rich accompan
ied with hunger, destitution and indignity for labouring
masses no less than the British rule had heaped. All
ills of capitalist imperialist regime are welcome
with glee to them now.
The current phase of globalised economy is being
utilised to transfer not only ownership of national
resources to corporate capital with vigour, including
land, water, forest and minerals through a web of dirty
machinations, brewing discontentment in disinherited
mass but also pass on all its costs of crisis to the bent
shoulders of the people. The Corresponding rise
in its armed strength during this period is to the rule
book of amatured capitalist mode that speaks same
tale of other imperialist countries in world, having
more relevance to internal discontentment than
external threats to its existence.
The globalised economy has brought sharp division in
ranks of working people. In Europe those who lost job
or opportunities for a batter wage are on streets fighting
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for preservation, while in countries where western

countries have shifted manufacturing units in search of
low labour costs workers have turned mute and obedient
to their masters for their benevolence to hire them
on relatively better wages and other benefits. The dream
of international solidarity among workers has gone sore
again like it had during world wars previously shattering
wild hopes of classical revolutions in advanced
industrialised countries as a vista of liberation.
While Government trembles in rage on any faint sign of
self management in exercise of direct democracy by
the people, it remains very accommodating to even
disgustingly depraved behaviour by any unruly section,
flaunting its democratic faith. Constitution is a
convenient book of reference at need but ruling
establishment looses no time to walk over it several
times a day to serve vested interests. It is ruling through
a legion of false gods and myths.
The ebb has set in, not because capitalist-imperialist
forces have grown younger or invincible. It is a haggard
entity of low morale. The present dispensation
has not gathered steam for a better future either.
It cannot. Capitalism is too dehumanising to retain
vitality. For this aspect alone it must be thrown away.
The present hiatus signifies a state of disintegration
and conceptual confusion among forces of struggling
mass desirous of change. The agenda of social change
for a just and peaceful order is order of the day.
This study is not intended to be a classic treatise of
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academic value or style. It concentrates on dealing

with current issues of at hand to release dialogue and
discussion on questions of social change in light of
experiences so that the movement is out of old rut. It
is a document for the movement.
Theory for us is not a subject of conventional wisdom
to adorn but a guide to action and practice, a habitual
performance of principles. In the present study theory
has come under radar for fresh evaluation and for
normal exercise in renewal in light of experiences
but never to decry teachers.The stinking garbage from
failed attempts to transform society for a better one
is too heavy a legacy. It has to be replaced with fresh
approach to things. The outdated postulates even
from teachers in past may not keep us stuck in tracks.
The practice on theory in the past is under study
for fidelity and never to decry ancestors on personal
level. If somewhere harsh words used in study have
hurt anybody, we feel sorry for unintentional pain.
We propose to look at things afresh. The present study
may at places relate to our experiences rooted in India,
but it must relate to universal relevance. The vision
retains focus on common application.
Let us proceed to learn from failures....

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