Socialism of the Future

A.K. Roy:

Former Member of the Lok Sabha and trade union Leader, A K Roy, stated that the destruction of the socialist world, which was being lamented, has further confirmed that socialism was a necessity for the construction of the future. “This is the first point that we must derive from the whole experience. A lot has been said about why socialism was destroyed and what type of socialism is needed in the world. But I would like to ask what type of world have we got? After destroying socialism, they could not build a better society in the Soviet Union. … So, after the destruction of the socialism and the failure of the capitalists to give a better world, socialism is necessary, even for morality and the very existence of the capitalist world,” he observed.

He said it was wrong to say that world has become small, instead man has become small. “A bush, not even a tree, is ruling the biggest country in the world. Roosevelt used to be a big tree, but now the whole world is full of bushes after the destruction of the socialist world.”

They say that there were a lot of ills in the Soviet Union; that Stalin was a terror. But when the entire West crashed in the Depression of the 1930s, the Soviet Union stood with more than 18 percent rate of progress. “Is this a failure? They eventually failed when democracy took the reins of power into its hands. Gorbachev and Yeltsin - both very fair people were introduced, initially, as the future of the globe. As soon as you find these democrats, these free people, failing, you feel that something is very wrong,” Comrade Roy said.

About globalisation, he said what people opposed about globalisation was the imperialist globalisation. “Not socialist globalisation, where the strong will look after the weak and the rich will look after the poor. Imperialist globalisation means that the strong will swallow the weak and the rich will destroy the poor. We are against this kind of globalisation. So, the concept of socialism is important.”

He said there was a time when everybody used the word socialism. When they were in power the Congress referred to the society as following the 'Congress Socialist Pattern.' Now even the communists and the socialist parties didn’t use the term socialism. Instead they have become democrats. “It is not that socialism has failed. But it is now time for experiments. Just like Liberty, Equality and Fraternity came with the French Revolution, it is privatisation, liberalisation and consumerism with the advent of globalisation with consumerism as the starting point.”

He pointed out that austerity was the starting point followed by self-reliance and then, socialism. Without even one of these we would not fight globalisation. “One cannot fight globalisation by using foreign things, sending our children to English medium schools and drinking Pepsi and bottled water,” the veteran leader asserted.