'Beyond Red' - An Apostate on Communism

We might hate Communism and Communists, abhor their ideology, scorn and mock them. But many of us have wondered how Communism captured the imagination of the world, what it meant to those who adhered to it in the initial days and what were its basic principles which endeared to people across many countries. Not everyone has read Marx and Engels in entirety or studied dialectical materialism, historical materialism or their roots. How much of the laws of Dialectics do we understand, and what does Cartesian dichotomy has to do with Reductionism which forms the basis for Marxist world view is something we have to ask ourselves as we critique Marx. 

P Kesavan Nair attempts to provide a overview of what entails Marxist thought, roots of Marxian concepts and has also criticized Marxism, Communism, Socialism  and their antecedents in this 'Apostate on Communism'. Having all these at one place is certainly handy and serves as a reference.

Bertrand Russell evaluated communism and disapproved Marx and foretold a scenario of 'absolutism' and hegemony of top leaders which came true years later. "Whether in China, Russia or East Europe, the practice of communism resulted in the absolutism of party leaders and their personal gains", writes Kesavan. This is true and is a trait of communist rule anywhere in the world. One great reference I found in the book of failed communist experiment in Russia was 'the apology tendered by CPSU at the collapse of the Soviet Union...'. The note (Google!) makes a interesting read and details how concept of 'all people' shrank into the proletariat as the Party became central committee and the committee was dwarfed into the politburo. Common people just adhered to whatever the politburo decided with no say in any affairs of the state whatsoever. The dictatorship of the politburo was so ghastly that:

- In 1918, within two months of the declaration of revolution, 15,000 people were condemned to death.

- During 1932, in the famine that followed the collective farming experiment failed and as a result 6 million people perished.

- 7.2 millions people lost their lives in the purgation process initiated by the Party. 7 million men were put into slavery through 'Gulags'.

- In China, cultural revolution resulted in the death of 10 million common people.

- Millions were killed under Pol Pot in Cambodia and Vietnam

- Scientists like Gregory Mendel were repudiated as his science of genetics did not conform to laws of Dialectics.

Each chapter focuses on subjects like science, dialectics, philosophy, history, economics, and analyses the various influences on Marxist view of each subject. For instance the author establishes how Historical Determinism was the outcome of the scientific determinism of Newtonian physics. Its interesting to read the critics who were present at the time of Marx and Lenin who had provided ample evidences of the failure and futility of determinism of Newtonian physics. Yet, the Marxists stuck to it and caused untold miseries. Writing of Marxist economy, author shows the influence of western classical philosophy, economics and political science on Marx when he came up with his model of economics based on 'Theory of Surplus Value'. Influence of Capitalist economists like Adam Smith, Ricardo and Robert Owen on Marx was complete. Both model of economics work on the surmise that nature is to be ravaged endlessly to satiate mans endless greed. No caveats and no checks.

Some sections of the chapter 'Is Marxism Scientific' is almost hilarious as the author shows how hard the Marxists tried to stick to their pet theories despite advances in quantum physics and genetics which demolished every pet theory they had on science. 'Marxism is not science but a belief system', writes Kesavan and says 'it can be seen that neither its principles not its categories have changed'. This is true and there has been no single successful model of a communist government. While China claims to be Communist, it follows market capitalism throwing Marxist economics out of the window. 

The crux is in the final chapter called ' The Red Religion' where the author questions that if Marxism is not science, what is it? "Marxism is a western though. It is a continuation of western classical thought. Though atheistic, Marxism is a branch of Judeo-Christian culture.", write Kesavan and dedicates the rest of the chapter to establish this. Intolerance towards other belief systems, adherence to determinism, absolutism, absence of self experimentation in Judeo-Christian beliefs are very much prevalent in Marxism too. Bible was a revelation. Marx wrote Das Capital in the comfort of the British Museum without even stepping out to interact with the workers, capitalists or the feudal lords. Paul Johnson had once said that Marx had not set his foot even once in a factory, mine or any production institutions. Its safe to conclude that result of Marx's mental faculty is nothing more than a revelation to those who adhere to his principles. 

Marxism at the most has created yet another class of elite intellectuals who have no clue about the ground realities but are well perched in government, media and institutions of repute which can influence the thought process of common people. Does it ring a bell? Yes, their successful Indian experiment! Author concludes as much and writes why stages of social revolution is bound to fail due to its inherent contradictions. 

The book is more of a initial reference but a much needed one. Text is replete with grammatical and spelling errors. Repetitions of sentences and ideas are a bane through the book which a reader must endure. Proof reading the material, if at all happened, has certainly failed. Nevertheless, the nitty-gritty's can be neglected in view of the gravity of the subject dealt by the author. The Bibliography section offers good reference material on Marxism and related topics. A wonderful effort overall. 

My earlier read critiquing Marxism was 'God that Failed' by various authors. The book was compilation of the authors personal journey into Communism and the reasons they forced themselves out of it. Authors included Louis Fischer, André Gide, Arthur Koestler, Ignazio Silone, Stephen Spender, and Richard Wright. As I read Kesavan's 'Beyond Red', I could recall and relate the reasons quoted by these authors on why they quit Communism or why it did not work as intended. 

IMO, a must read for those interested in Marxism, philosophy of communism, alternate world views and general politics, history & economics.