Skip to main content

Evading capitalist crisis? Assault on peace, democracy, reason, multiculturalism

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak*

The pestilence of Covid-19 has not only revealed the failures of capitalism but also exuberated over all institutions of capitalism. The culture of crisis and conflicts are organic to capitalism. Capitalist systems are antithetical to the idea of peace, prosperity and stability. The coronavirus infused lockdown is a time to reflect on emanating crisis and conflicts across the world.
Some capitalist predicaments are temporary, but most of them are annihilating for people and the planet. The capitalist crisis is producing meaninglessness of life and alienating environment, which treats people and planet as orderly objects to consolidate and expand the empire of profit. The profit driven economy produces compliance culture of politics that destroys the idea of democracy and individual freedom to uphold the interests of the market forces.
The assaults on democracy, secularism, multiculturalism, reason, science, peace and stability have become everyday affairs within capitalism. The clients of Davos priests and capitalist powers led by Brussels, Westminster and Washington are on overdrive to reverse the trend, but they have failed to provide basic health, education, employment and food as fundamental rights.
The dignity of life and citizenship rights are in shatters under capitalism. Capitalism and all its institutions are trying to recover from the crisis by expanding its support for imperialist wars, neo-colonial modes of resource exploitation, authoritarian politics and reactionary religious forces in the society. These capitalist methods of survival put people and planet in danger. It diverts progressive nature of class conflicts with reactionary nationalist and religious forces. It obscures the future of humanity.
The world is facing major humanitarian crises today due to wars, global warming, pandemic and loss of sources of livelihoods for the survival of the masses. These crises owe its origin within capitalism as a result of over exploitation of nature and human beings.
Scarcity, famine, natural disasters are natural outcomes of profit fetishized capitalist system, which reproduces crises and accelerates hunger, homelessness, poverty, inequalities and exploitation in world scale. Capitalism survives by destroying the creative abilities of individuals and regenerative abilities of nature. Therefore, capitalism cannot offer any form of alternatives for sustainable future of humanity.
As advanced capitalist countries in Europe and America suffer under capitalism and the pandemic of coronavirus, the countries like China, Cuba and Vietnam show their commitments and abilities to contain Covid-19 and ensure public health, security and safety of human lives.
Socialist experiments with all its limitations show that people’s lives are more important than profit driven economic system. Therefore, it is time to revive alternative politics by expanding working class struggles by forming local, regional, national and international alliances with all democratic, liberal and progressive forces all over the world.
The sustainability of working-class struggle within a progressive path depends on the quality and size of the communist parties to guide them. History of working-class struggles reveal that only communist parties can transform class consciousness into class organisations and class struggles.
Davos priests and capitalist powers led by Brussels, Westminster, Washington have failed to provide basic health, education, employment, food as fundamental rights
The future of people and survival of the planet depends on our abilities to organise people and communities under the red flag to overthrow capitalism. Communism is the only alternative to celebrate democracy and individual freedom in real sense whereas capitalism promotes fictitious freedom and market democracy. 
Communists can overcome narrow silos and develop class unity of intersectionality to fight different layers of exploitation and inequalities based on gender, race, caste, religion and sexualities. The class unity and struggles acknowledge individual differences and uniqueness.
It is only communists who fight for a nuclear free world. Communists fight for a world free from war, exploitation and inequalities. There is no other party, group or ideology but communists who talks about humanism, peace, prosperity, people and planet without borders.
The current crisis is an opportunity to campaign for a bigger communist party based on mass struggles to ensure an alternative to capitalism. Peace within a communist society or perish within capitalism are two available paths. The choice is clear before us. There is no future within capitalism.
The 20th century experienced the sparks of alternatives to capitalism with the rise of anti-colonial, anti-capitalist, anti-fascists and anti-war working class struggles for peace and democracy. Each of these struggles were organised and led by the working classes in Asia, Africa, Americas, Europe and Oceania.
The 21st century is the time to demand and reclaim the ideological perspectives and historical legacies of working class struggles often led by the socialists and communists all over the world. The forward march of equality, liberty, fraternity and justice depends on our abilities to organise ourselves and fight against all forms of reactionary ideas and institutions established by capitalist system.
From the rice fields of Asia and Africa to the supermarket shop floors of America and Europe, it is only the working classes work and ensure all the pain within the bondages of capitalism. The working classes can also organise themselves for their own freedom from capitalism that exploits them.
The working class consciousness, courage, discipline, endurance, morality, and understandings are exceptional qualities in human history. Therefore, it is only the working classes, who can establish a just world free from exploitation and inequalities. A consistent, continuous and strong working-class struggle and a bigger communist party are twin necessities of our time. There is no other way but to fight locally, provincially and nationally to reclaim lost working-class glories of internationalism based on peace, solidarity and prosperity. 
---
*University of Glasgow, UK

Comments

TRENDING

King Corona and his descendents: How long will the Dynasty last?

By Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD*  “Corona ” is in the media once again, precipitating a déjà-vu feeling and some amount of panic among the people. Among viruses and microorganisms King Corona and its descendents enjoy Royalty Status. "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." This classic quote from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is well known. But does it hold well in current times? The events during the past five years challenge the Bard's view.

The WHO Pandemic Agreement: Why India should reconsider its stance

By Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD*  For more than the past three years, the WHO has been trying its best to push the Pandemic Treaty and amendments to the International Health Regulations in unholy haste, instead of conducting a proper appraisal of the impact of the measures taken during the Covid-19 pandemic—a routine exercise after any pandemic to guide future strategies.  This raises questions about whether the WHO, under China’s influence, is trying to conceal its acts of omission and commission during the pandemic, including obstructing investigations into the origins of SARS-CoV-2. The WHO recently faced a setback when the USA decided to cut all ties with the organization. 

Old bias, new excuses: How western media misrepresents India’s anti-terror strikes

By Gajanan Khergamker  The recent Indian military strikes on Pakistan, dubbed Operation Sindoor, have sparked a storm of international media coverage. Several prominent outlets have portrayed India as the aggressor in the escalating conflict, raising concerns over biased reporting. This commentary critiques coverage by foreign media outlets such as The New York Times , Reuters, BBC, and CNN, which have often been accused of framing India’s actions as escalatory while downplaying or omitting critical context regarding Pakistan’s role in fostering terrorism. By examining historical patterns and current geopolitical dynamics, this analysis highlights the recurring selective framing, omission of evidence, and a tendency to favor narratives aligned with Western geopolitical interests over factual nuance.

India’s 2021 excess deaths: was it the virus — or the containment frenzy?

By Bhaskaran Raman* Tyagu (name changed), a vegetable vendor recalls of his brother’s death in 2021. The victim had a normal fever, but was forcibly taken away to the hospital saying that it was Covid. He had been coerced into taking the Covid-19 “vaccines” by that time. After 10 days in hospital, he died. There was no proper information during his hospital stay, and no one was allowed to visit, saying that visitors could also get Covid.

Killed in Chhattisgarh encounter, this Maoist leader suffered from overreliance on military actions

By Harsh Thakor*  Namballa Keshava Rao, also known as Basav Raj, General Secretary of the banned CPI (Maoist), was killed in an encounter in which 27 Maoist cadre died during a security operation in the Abujhmad forest, Narayanpur district, Chhattisgarh, on the morning of May 21. This marks the first time in the history of the CPI (Maoist) that its General Secretary has been killed in an encounter. Rao is the second General Secretary after Charu Mazumdar to be killed by security forces.

Environmental report raises alarm: Sabarmati one of four rivers with nonylphenol contamination

By Rajiv Shah  A new report by  Toxics Link , an Indian environmental research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi, in collaboration with the  Environmental Defense Fund , a global non-profit headquartered in New York, has raised the alarm that Sabarmati is one of five rivers across India found to contain unacceptable levels of nonylphenol (NP), a chemical linked to "exposure to carcinogenic outcomes, including prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women."

Crying air, water, and earth: A call to conserve our dying natural resources

By Dr. Gurinder Kaur*  Air, water, and earth—these natural resources are essential for the survival of all living beings, including humans, animals, and plants. Life in any form is impossible without them. These are precious gifts of nature to humankind. However, in the pursuit of economic growth, modern humans have severely polluted these valuable resources in an attempt to satisfy their greed.

Ninety years of the socialist movement in India: What's the path head

By Dr. Sunilam*  We are all aware of what the leaders active in the socialist movement have accomplished over the past 90 years. We are also well-acquainted with the sacrifices made by leaders and workers during the freedom struggle and the socialist movement. For the past 45 years, since I became interested in joining the socialist movement as an activist, I have been keen on understanding and analyzing its history. Inspired by 101-year-old freedom fighter Dr. G.G. Parikh and in collaboration with comrades from the Socialist Samagam, I have actively participated in organizing events to mark the 82nd, 85th, and now the 90th anniversaries of the socialist movement.