Friday, November 15, 2013


ON PEOPLE'S ROLE :
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In reality, as Trotsky explains, the essence of a revolution is the direct intervention of the masses in the life of society and politics. In "normal" periods, the majority of people are content to leave the running of society in the hands of the "experts" - the parliamentarians, Councillors, lawyers, journalists, trade union officials, university professors, and the rest of them.

Over a period, which may be a protracted period of years or even decades, society may acquire the appearance of a certain "equilibrium." This is particularly true in a prolonged period of capitalist economic upswing, like that which lasted for nearly four decades after the end of World War Two.

In such periods, the ideas of Marxism are not readily accepted or understood, because they appear to fly in the face of "the facts." On the contrary, the illusions of the reformists Labor leaders of a slow, gradual, evolutionary change - "today better than yesterday, and tomorrow better than today" - achieve a widespread audience.

However, beneath the apparently calm surface, powerful currents are building up. There is a gradual accumulation of discontent and frustration in the masses, and an increasing malaise among the middle layers of society. This is particularly felt by the intellectuals and students, who are a sensitive barometer reflecting the changing moods of society.

In a marvelously graphic phrase, Trotsky refers to the "molecular process of revolution", which goes on in uninterrupted fashion in the minds of the workers. However, since this process is a gradual one which does not affect the general political physiognomy of society, it goes unnoticed by everyone - except the Marxists.

In just the same way, the ground appears to be solid and firm under our feet ("as steady as a rock," as the saying goes). But geology teaches that rocks are by no means steady, and that the ground is constantly shifting beneath our feet. The continents are on the march, and in a state of perpetual "warfare," one colliding with another. Since geological change is not measured by years or even centuries, but aeons, the continental shifts remain unnoticed except for specialists. But fault-lines build up, subject to unimaginable pressures, which eventually erupt in earthquakes, wars and revolutions.

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IRONY:
======The irony is that in every elections we see that candidate of working class (left or other) is either the last or out of race.To sum up even the working class voters who take out rallies and observe Strikes and Dharnas on their call but , do not vote for them.Then they vote for the candidate of their caste,relative,friend etc.
That makes it even more important for Union Functionaries to work for raising the Political Quotient of members and non-members through periodic classes on the subject. Bipin Ghosh the task is difficult particularly when the member or non-member comes from a society ridden with all sorts of divisive elements. The slate is already filled by the time an innocent mind comes out of college or adolescence and before writing anything a fresh ; it needs to be cleaned-up.

               















                         WHY DEVELOPED COUNTRIES CONTINUE TO BE RICH ?
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One of the many things that the powerful nations (through the IMF, World Bank, etc.) prescribe is that the developing nation should open up to allow more imports in and export more of their commodities. However, this is precisely what contributes to poverty and dependency.

[I]f a society spends one hundred dollars to manufacture a product within its borders, the money that is used to pay for materials, labor and, other costs moves through the economy as each recipient spends it. Due to this multiplier effect, a hundred dollars worth of primary production can add several hundred dollars to the Gross National Product (GNP) of that country. If money is spent in another country, circulation of that money is within the exporting country. This is the reason an industrialized product-exporting/commodity-importing country is wealthy and an undeveloped product-importing/commodity-exporting country is poor. [Emphasis Added]

…Developed countries grow rich by selling capital-intensive (thus cheap) products for a high price and buying labor-intensive (thus expensive) products for a low price. This imbalance of trade expands the gap between rich and poor. The wealthy sell products to be consumed, not tools to produce. This maintains the monopolization of the tools of production, and assures a continued market for the product. [Such control of tools of production is a strategy of a mercantile process. That control often requires military might.]
                ON PEOPLE'S REVOLUTION
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Not long ago, we celebrated the 200th anniversary of the French revolution. Despite the fact that this was a bourgeois revolution, despite the fact that it occurred two centuries ago, nevertheless, the ruling class in France and elsewhere could not refrain from denigrating the memory of 1789-93. Even such a distant historical event was an uncomfortable reminder to the rich and powerful of what happens when a given socio-economic system reaches its limits. They even propose to change the terrible words of the "Marseillaise."!

Yet revolutions happen, and not by accident. A revolution becomes inevitable when a particular form of society enters into conflict with the development of the productive forces, which form the basis of all human progress.

One of the greatest books of the twentieth century is Leon Trotsky’s History of the Russian Revolution. This monumental study of the event of 1917 has never been equaled. It is an outstanding example of the use of the method of historical materialism to elucidate the processes at work in society. The events leading up to October are not merely recounted, but explained in a way which has a validity and an application far more extensive than the Russian Revolution itself.

In an effort to discredit the October Revolution, the ruling class, through the agency of its hired hacks in the Universities, has assiduously cultivated the myth that the Bolshevik Revolution was only a "coup -d’etat" pulled off by Lenin and a handful of conspirators.