Dr.Thomas (Special Correspondent)
Communism as a thought and ideology looks on paper. But in practice,it leads to a large-scale concentration of power and resources on a single person or a party, which greatly increases the chances of exploitation by the individual or the party.
This burgeoning inequality and the growing class system during the late 1800s influenced many great thinkers of the time, like Karl Max and others to envision an undivided society where everyone has an equal share of the profits, where there is no private property, rather everything belongs to the state and the people.
Though Karl Marx had noble intentions behind his philosophy of a socialist and communist nation.
However,it actually transpired into totalitarian regimes that wreaked havoc on its people.Mass famines,mass murders, total oppression, and subversion were the malpractices that communist leaders used to rule their states.
Communism & Kerala
This dark history of communism clearly explains why communism failed. And,why it will fail in Kerala.
With our communist leaders going to capitalist developed nations to study development, there is a lingering question in people’s minds.
“Why not go to countries that have successfully overthrown communism and are forging a path towards development? “
“Why not go to countries with communist histories and look for yourself how communism has destroyed a generation of its countrymen?”
Why not go to Poland which was a communist country?
In the year 1989,popular protests in Poland forced the communists to reluctantly accept the major breach in their power.
The downfall of communism in Poland was inevitable.Years of political corruption, managerial inefficiency and divisiveness, had weakened the stem and the communist control over the country.
It first happened in Poland, in June 1989 when any form of the communist government was forced by the public outcry to hold free and fair parliamentary elections.
It was also in Poland that the communists were first forced by public pressure to accept free parliamentary elections. And as expected, the communists lost.
This invariably led the way to a democratic government and ended years of poverty and corruption and led the way to development in the country.
Why not go to Russia which was a communist country?
Communism or socialism in Russia is best remembered as the vast tide of tyranny, oppression and mass murder that the communist regime regimes unleashed upon its people.
The two major factors: perverse incentives and inadequate knowledge,became the most significant causes of atrocities and ill activities inflicted by the communist regime in Russia at the time. The enormous concentration of power in the hands of the few was one of the major side effects of communism which led to mass famines, and poverty in many countries.
This invariably led to the failure of communism in Russia in 1991. Then, Mikhail Gorbachev, in 1991, removed the constitutional powers given to the Communist Party.
This was a historic move as it allowed non-communist parties to come into power and lead to prosperity and development in Russia.
Why not go to Romania, which was a communist country?
The Romanian revolution against the evil communist regime was one of the bloodiest revolutions in history to throw off the communist regime.This eventually led to the fall of the most brutal dictators in communist history.
Under Ceausescu’s regime, there was widespread violence being carried out by regime forces in various parts of Romania.
According to official statistics, approximately 1,132 people died, 3,035 were wounded, and 750 were arrested by the totalitarian regime forces. Ceaușescu’s regime left a bloody record.
It could be easily said that communism has often led to a totalitarian regime where the people are destined to suffer by the regime.
Why not go to the communist country China?
Communism is long dead in the hearts and minds of the people of china. Like the former communist countries in eastern Europe and Russia, people in China prefer the market riches against the Marxist Dogma.
Now, even the communist leaders of China have conceded to the fact that private enterprise is here to stay especially after years of mass murder and famine.
The fact is, The Communist Party of China is weaker than ever before. Its people have very little faith in the banks or industrial enterprises run by the state.
Government ownership invariably leads to party control which results in huge corruption and malpractices.
Its people are now preferring private enterprises and a market economy to boost development in the country.
The dismal condition of State Owned Enterprises, the deterioration of budgetary revenues of the state,and the fragile condition of the state banking sector,almost threaten the existence of the communist party.This is what is making China’s leaders nervous.
Going to capitalist countries like Finland and Norway, Why?
In contrast, capitalism or the capitalist economy has ushered growth and development in the Scandinavian region.
Almost all of the Nordic countries or countries in Northern Europe adopted democracy and controlled capitalism, which is why our leaders are going there to study actual development.
This reflects the fact that while communism philosophy is a noble thought, it has often led to tyranny, and confusion in a state.
It was the communist who protested against any form of capitalist development.And now they are at the forefront of accepting capitalist and private ownership practices.
It was they who fiercely protested against bringing computers into the country.They argued that computers will take away jobs and lead to large-scale unemployment.But now one cannot think of a life without computers.
It was the communists who protested against the digitisation of the payment system.Now,almost all communist leaders readily use digital payment interfaces in their day-to-day lives.
This kind of dual mentality is one of the main reasons for the fall of communism in the world, and it is doomed to happen in the state of Kerala.
People now want a more liberalised economy and development. With reverse migration at its peak, people want the administration to take new steps to relocate the people who have retired to the state from foreign lands.
Kerala today requires a radical shift in policy and ideology for long-term growth and development. This is only possible if we leave the communist agenda and follow actual developmental policies.
