IS THERE ANY FUTURE FOR SOCIALISM?
While commemorating the glorious October Socialist Revolution
and the rich legacy of its stupendous achievements as also decrying the many
tragic and avoidable excesses occurring in its wake, one is constrained to put
the above question – to self as also to all humane and socially conscious
persons – and seek the right answers. Extreme critics, not just from vested
bourgeois circles, castigate the communist or state socialist experiments made
in the wake of October Revolution and treat them as veritable nightmares which only
left a trail of inhuman atrocities and economic chaos. These faultfinders gloat
on the developments leading to the collapse of the Soviet socialist systems in
the world and adoption of market capitalist economy by even the few existing state
socialist countries. But, surprisingly, there are several other scholars, even
from conservative circles, once again ruminating on the relatively stable past,
even with a cold war raging between the two superpowers – America and Soviet
Union –, and the contributions made by State Socialisms to the cause of world
peace and security. They even desire and appeal for a sort of rich blend of the
‘good’s in the rival systems and forging of a multi-polar, democratic, socially
beneficial world economy and polities. Not denying the horrible distortions that
occurred in the construction and development of state socialisms all over the
world, this editor feels their enormous positive features cannot be ignored; especially
their pioneering role in declaring and securing almost all the basic
fundamental rights for people now being urged by all socially concerned
organizations and political parties all over the world, save of course a few
fanatical sectional parties and interests, like the right to vote to all, rights
of women and trans-genders, free education, free public health, assured
shelter, speedy industrialization in public sector, etc. It is mainly the
happening and development of the Soviet and later Chinese, Cuban, Vietnamese
etc. socialist experiments and their successes that led to the success of national
liberation movements all over the world with a strong bulwark of the socialist
camp protecting and promoting their interests. Even now as Saral Sarkar says in
his detailed, analytical article published in this issue, a sort of
eco-socialism is a worthy ideal to be sought and fought for; and thoughtful
scholars, hailing from several countries and communities of the world, do
cherish and propagate a like ideal. Even in our country, despite the rapid
strides being made in and through the market capitalist economy with its
inevitable evils affecting the people, we still boast of a constitutionally
declared and assured secular, socialist democracy, and there is no doubt that
only a sort of humane, democratic, eco-friendly socialism can save the world. §§§
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