IN Defense OF DEMOCRACY

IN Defense OF DEMOCRACY



I recently came across a rather startling statement that Hitler came through democracy. The statement would be akin to a statement that Nathu Ram Godse (Mahtama Gandhi’s assassin), Yazid (murderer of the family of prophet of Islam) and Judas came respectively through Hindu, Islam and Christian religions. If a building has rotten foundations, it collapses. Democracy minus the foundation of robust economy, high literacy, developed industry and vibrant Capital will collapse. Germany had been devastated during World War I. Hitler rose over its ashes and ruins. Godse belonged to the rabid fringe of Hindu fundamentalists. Yazid had tribal scores to settle. Judas sold his soul for thirty pieces of silver. Not one of these renegades had any legitimacy in the creed they professed.
Capitalism is an economic system through which entrepreneurs enhance capital by a) adding value of labor to investment b) not paying labor wages commensurate with their work c) by paying themselves all the surplus value d) re-investing what is left after paying for their lavish life-style e) paying labor just enough to keep them fit for work and stifling competition by 1), forcing them into bankruptcy 2), taking them over 3), becoming a partnership/corporation 4), capturing/ controlling overseas markets and resources ( oil, minerals, agriculture) by whatever it takes. The process includes colonization, installing client governments, bribing key individuals, subverting governments, organizing military coups and if nothing else works naked aggression.
The highest, to date, form of Capitalism is Global Monopoly Capital. Instead of developing national industries, Capital goes wherever the cheapest labor is. The idea is veneration of enhanced return. Idol may be in any temple; you go there to worship it.
Examples of each method are galore and should not be difficult to find with a discerning sight and mind.
I would like to mention one rather obscure and subtle method namely genetically modified seeds, which will give only one crop making farmers in India dependent upon International “Genetic Cartel”.
Capitalism needs democracy, as the latter provides control under the facade of people’s free will expressed through the ballot, at the same time taking away control of assets from feudal lords (most western countries are long past the feudal stage) who are by their very nature incapable of fully exploiting the resources.
Democracy/public opinion and elected leaders can be and are totally controlled, as all media are controlled by Capital. Labor unions and judiciary are easily suborned. One sees, hears, reads what capitalists want us to. Capitalists can hire/buy all skills/intellect/academics they want. One can, any day, hear some academic spouting absurdities. Selling ones soul and conscience is the oldest profession- if the seller is socially weak it is called prostitution.
Capitalists and their agents have all the levers of power in their hands, so if public opinion cannot be molded their way, it is ignored, as Tony Blair did by taking the UK into war on Iraq against the will of eighty percent of the British public. George Bush got away with it because media in mainstream media in the USA is owned lock stock and barrel by Capital and manages to misinform US public much better than the British media do. Kerry promised to do more of the same only more efficiently.
U.S.A managed to build a coalition of vassal states and wannabes (of the important status of being US Lap dogs like Britian). France and Germany want to be the favorite lap dogs too, a position jealousy guarded by Britain. They could not get it so they pouted and kept away. Japan like a lavishly kept courtesan sent token of support. Russians overwhelmed by schizophrenia of a recent grand past and present destitution, waited for crumbles to fall of the table. UNO a collective of Jackals, ruled over by the USA made pious noises. China bided its time.
Capitalist governments fight with each other for resources, markets and colonies. Democracy is a convenient and respectable flag.
Germany coveted the colonies Britain, France, Italy and even the lowly Holland, Spain and Portugal had. They couldn’t expand into Africa and Asia, so decided to have a go at Eastern Europe. Mafia Dons don’t like new rivals. They gang up on him. Other European and the U.S. government ganged up on Germany- ergo World War I. Germany was defeated, humiliated and restricted.
Next to Japanese, Germans are the most vigorous and disciplined people. It did not take very long for them to rise again and this time they sought salvation through fascism led by, the so far, most successful demagogue in history. Hitler united them, gave them hope and focus and unleashed their tremendous energy.
Germany easily defeated countries of continental Europe. Britain accepted humiliating terms. Russia signed a peace pact. Hitler did not bother to consult with capitalists. He won’t rest on his laurels, take a breather and then go on. And over extended himself.
A glance at capitalist societies will tell you that the public is given amenities in times of crisis, which are then gradually taken away. All west European countries had cradle to grave welfare systems- health, education, unemployment and disability benefits. Over the years since WWII the benefits have been gradually withdrawn by assuredly democratic means. Residual amenities are left only in Northern European countries. In the UK Margaret Thatcher dismantled socialist program. Tony Blair’s new labor is somewhere to the right of Margaret Thatcher’s conservative predecessor Edward Heath. In exactly the same fashion programs introduced by FDR and Lyndon Johnson are being whittled away by their successors, Democrats and republicans alike.
Hitler grew too big for his britches. Europe was impotent. Churchill, acknowledged war monger and wiliest of all connivers was brought in. He seduced the U.S.A., and arranged to have a U.S. plane downed off the coast of Spain and a U.S. boat torpedoed in Atlantic. FDR enamored of the seduction, helped along by ignoring intelligence reports of Japanese designs on Pearl Harbor (It won’t be surprising if it comes out in 30-40 years that intelligence reports on 9/11 attacks were similarly ignored-deliberately). Americans joined the war.
Japanese under fascist rule too, behaved as fascist do. Not satisfied with easy victories in Asia, they had to attack the U.S.A.
Hitler, ignoring history and good sense, attacked Russia.
World War II obliterated Germany and Japan. Italy escaped the worst by overthrowing Mussolini and joining victors just before the end. De Gaulle of France, exponent per excellence of “Me Tooism” bluffed his way into the ranks of victors. U.S.A. emerged as the number one super power. They obliterated two Japanese cities quite unnecessarily from Military standpoint. Japanese were already suing for peace. They wanted to prove the potency of the bomb on live subjects and impress Soviet Union. The second nuclear bomb was used actually to make scientifically sure that the first one was not a fluke. A democratic government was promoting science!
Post-World War II, Europeans were too weak to retain colonies. The concept of client states was developed and forcefully imposed. The list of such states is long- all Middle East, Africa (except for South Africa- then a fascist state- has since joined the ranks- Pakistan, far Eastern countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand. Japan was directly colonized and was allowed to join the Capitalist club on pledge of good behavior. India with a nationalist government took several decades to succumb.
To forestall free and genuine election and possibility of a national government emerging, military was installed in Pakistan. A million and more were killed by the army in Indonesia. A nationalist government was overthrown in Iran and a jackal re-installed on the throne. Iraq after overthrowing monarchy slid into fascism, was used to wage war on and debilitate a nationalist, though a theocratic, Government in Iran Nasserism gave way to Sadaat and worse- Mubarak, whom Tariq Ali called caddy to Bush. Tariq should not have been carried away by emotion and insulted caddies.
Wars are being waged, on a continuous basis, all in the name of democracy, liberty and human rights. Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, Gulf I, Gulf II, the list is endless. Israel is running a perpetual campaign of attrition on Palestinian and other Arabs. It is the only democratic state in Mid-East!
Covert wars are run simultaneously. Philippines, Thailand, Sudan, Congo, (remember Lumumba) Algeria, South Africa and many other countries, too many to enumerate all, have been violated in turn.
Aggression with overwhelming force spawns hate and helplessness. The vanquished are unable to fight pitched battles with forces of democracy. They use covert means and indulge in suicide bombings. They are terrorists as Palestinians are branded, never mind all the UN resolutions asking Israel to withdraw to pre -1967 borders. Sharon, deserving the rank of a war criminal by any measure and perpetrator of genocide was acclaimed and received with due honors in all (except in one country in Northern Europe which wants to try him as such) democracies.
Readers must wonder, why having castigated Capitalism, do I advocate it? The reason is simple. It is a necessary step to socialist dispensation. Of all the non-socialist systems, it is the least evil system evolved by human mind so far. It is the strongest. Pragmatism would ordain. “If you can’t fight them, join them”. Idealism would goad at your conscience to undermine the system from with in.
Feudalism, in this day and age, is an anachronism. Under the system a cabal of feudal lords- land, resources and the government holds all levers of power. There is no competition for efficient production, so there is little development. The lord owns the vassals body and soul. Brides unless they seem very unattractive and undesirable to the overlord, spend the first night with him. Yes in this day and age in Pakistani Baluchistan, where a feudal lord boasted to a foreign journalist that he killed his first man at the age of nine. Education is suppressed. Feudal lords threaten, abduct, rape and decapitate teachers. The more enlightened ones ask the teachers to go live in cities and visit only on payday. Some even send salaries to teacher’s homes permitting visits only when school is being inspected. They even obstruct road construction, not to speak of industries in their area.
Theocratic states stifle freedom of expression/action/organization in the name of religion – Iran is the best example. There is a supreme religious council which can disqualify candidates for the parliament, declare an election void, over rule the duly elected president, overturn any judicial decision, order arrests without due process, keep people in jail without trial, and reject budget passed by a parliament. It is answerable only to the supreme religious loader who is answerable to the “vanished” Imam, who not being around, can’t over rule his deputy. The deputy in effect becomes spiritual and lay dictator. If one wants to entertain liberal thought, be open minded and inquisitive, tolerant of other religions and view, this kind of state will not be very comfortable.
Under fascism, a cult of personality is built around the leader. Everyone is subservient to him; all the systems Judiciary, Education, armed forces, civil service, business, commerce, industry, and all organs of the state do his bidding. A stratified ruling class executes his orders. All dissidence is clamped down; any defiance is at the pain of severe penalties. The leader- some of the kind have declared themselves redeemer- may declare war and lead the country to oblivion. An underclass is developed for manual, labor intensive and other less “worthy” work. Undesirables can be sent to concentration camps, made to do hazardous work, substitute guinea pigs for biological experiments or be simply exterminated. Unless one manages to get born in the ruling class and to remain on the right side of powers that be, most if not all the time, difference of opinion can be injurious to personal health and welfare. Pakistan enjoyed a mini fascist in Zulfiqar Bhutto.
Let us look at communism. On paper it looks very good. It certainly has a future. But it has a past too.
All the workers, academicians and scientists are empowered. Hard work, sincerity, honesty and integrity are rewarded. Family background (unless capitalist and noble in which case you have to work at declassing yourself as Zhou en Lai successfully did) is irrelevant, one can aspire to top rank in any field and get it with persistence.
But in practice things are very different. Communists took over in Russia, ditched their democratic partners and were assailed by democracies of the world. They successfully thwarted Capitalist attempts by appealing to Russian nationalist. WWII of course exhausted Russia and their new enemies; otherwise white (non communist) Russians with the help of capitalists may have been able to run over communists. It was an idealistic period of Lenin. People believed in the ideology and gave their all in saving the state. Lenin’s death was followed by a power struggle in which Stalin Trotsky.
Stalin was beset by saboteurs from with in and unabated hostility from with out. He had to sideline revisionists in high places. He managed to consolidate party rule. But he suffered from a historic handicap. His people were technologically very backward. He worked hard and exhorted others to do the same. The country made tremendous progress.
He bluffed his way through in diplomatic parleys. He even agreed to a compact with the devil and signed a non-aggression pact with Hitler. In a brilliant tactical move, Russians let German Panzer divisions advance over scorched earth to inevitable attrition. Hezbullah had planned the same fate for Israelis. The latter got wise to the idea and decided to accept humiliation at the hands of a much weaker adversary. A common enemy leads to strange bed fellowship. Democracies pitched in with help-enough to keep Russia from going under, but not adequate to truly empower them. But the vitality of the system was such that Russian armies over ran half of Europe. The country matched the Capitalist combine in military and scientific prowess. It managed to break American monopoly over nuclear power soon enough. It sent the first man into space.
But Stalin had obviously not been able to do enough. He was, after a short pause, followed by that bumpkin Khruschev. He inflicted a lot of damage. The party recovered, slid into ossified mind set, let itself be led into adventurism and was taken over by Gorbachev who did not lose much time in letting the gains of six decades slip through his hands.
Apologists tend to blame fifth columnists for the debacle. They hold Capitalist intrigues for the downfall of USSR. That may be all true. But that forcefully indicates the need for complete re-evaluation of strategy. Are socialist states viable in isolation? Can they expect any quarter from Capitalist states? Can they escape unscathed from diligent machinations of their mortal enemies? Is peaceful co-existence a mirage? Answer to these questions will decide the future of socialism.
That leaves us with capitalist democracy, which for all its fault has certain positive points. If you stay with in the law of the land, you have freedom of expression. State does provide, though grudgingly certain basic services to the poorest and the indigent (welfare and Medicare in USA). If you join the system, work hard and have average intelligence you can be successful. Law enforcement and judicial system is generally fair (except in national emergencies like war). Though difficult to access and nearly overwhelmed by capitalist controlled media, dissident opinion is allowed. (Link and FSTV, Pacifica Radio etc). NGOs like Human rights organization do exist (ACLU, Human Rights Watch). Tariq Ali calls them WGOS-Western government organizations. You can practice your religion, as long as you don’t preach hatred for other creeds. Non-capitalist political parties are allowed to exist, though admittedly they have little impact. Trade union activity is allowed, though subverted by dirty tricks and harassed by the new strategy of out sourcing, sweat shops, local and international.
It will come down on you like a load of bricks if you try to change the basic structure. If you cannot accept the boundaries, be prepared to lose all.