The World Today And The Significance of Lenin
Abdul Rahman
We are celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of comrade Lenin in a year that has seen unprecedented revolutionary moments since the second World War. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced global shutdowns and dented the capitalist system in many ways, similar to the World Wars. It has highlighted the inherent contradictions of imperialism, breaking some of the most fundamental myths. However, as true Leninists, we need to assess the condition with great caution to avoid all kinds of adventurism.
Concrete Analysis of Concrete Conditions
According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), out of the total of 3.3 billion workers in the world, more than half has lost their jobs due to lockdowns imposed worldwide to prevent the spread of the pandemic. Though most of these job losses are temporary, it should be noted that most of these workers were engaged in informal sectors or daily wage work and lack savings, social security net and/or access to credit. In other words, even if the lockdown is imposed for a few months, most of these daily wage earners in the third world will be at the mercy of their States or individual charity for their survival. Their States, unlike the States in the first world, may not come forward to help them – the workers who are adversely hit by the lockdowns. It is not because their ruling classes are evil and conspire to kill their workers. Instead, it is merely because they are governed by the logic of neoliberal globalisation, promoted by finance capital for decades, as the panacea of all economic problems. This also explains why the impact on economies and workers has been unequal.
Globalisation, as a means for greater exploitation of cheap labour resources in the Global South, had made sure that all forms of unions were dismantled and that States, whatever the nature of political formation ruling be, refrained from interfering on behalf of the workers. Subsequently, the States and pundits of neoliberal economics in the Global South have internalised the logic of keeping fiscal deficits under control, even if it means destruction and greater misery to the working class.
Imperialist Logic
It is well-known that States in the Global South can easily be manipulated or forced to bend their policies according to the wishes and interests of the Global North. Thanks to imperialism, sovereignty of the State has become a thing of the past. A mere threat of punitive act was enough for a country like India to change its decision to not export hydroxychloroquine last month. Most countries in the Global South (around 80, according to the data sources last month) are seeking financial aid from agencies such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, knowing very well that such “aids” will come with further restrictions on the rights of States in decision making. Even after more than three decades of adopting a growth led development model imposed by the same agencies, in these times, countries are further forced to depend on them for financial aid under humiliating conditions.
Whatever Happened to Advanced, Democratic Global North and its Human Rights
Industrial and scientific advancements should mean better living conditions for all. However, the flow of the finance capital does not believe that at all. In order to seek profit, science and technology has been majorly deployed to invent the means to its creation, as Lenin has said. This has never been as starkly visible as it is now. Despite having access to all the technology and money required, the world’s sole super power is not equipped with adequate healthcare infrastructure – insufficient ventilators, lack of capacity to produce adequate number of malaria tablets, masks, and Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE). It is ironic that Americans can have access to the latest iPhones and even the most sophisticated weapons, but not enough masks. Even with a per capita income of more than USD 600000, the state has been seen indulging in attempts to steal from or force other countries to send essential medical supplies. The US plots coups against Venezuela when hundreds of its own citizens were dying on a daily basis due to its failure to take preventive measures on time. It does not seem content with the ruling dispensations in Iran or Venezuela, which explains the attempt at arm twisting the IMF to not consider their loan applications. The champion of free trade, imposed restrictions and ordered the outright stoppage of commodity export, citing shortage for home consumption. The US even blocked essential medical supplies and financial help to Iran.
If the treatment meted out to Iranian or Venezuelan States is not a good example for the ruling classes in the other third world countries, they should look at how the US is treating China. Violating the norms it has championed for decades, the US has indulged in a trade war with China. It has even looked down upon the World Health Organisation (WHO) for not indicting the Chinese and praising them instead. By now the way in which the US indulges in a blame game against either China or the WHO to hide its dereliction has become a pattern.
Countries like Italy and Spain need active medical staff from Cuba, a “poor and backward” economy. Today, this small country, with a per capita income of less than USD 9000, is providing 28000 doctors to countries across the world, some of them even with four times the per capita income of Cuba. This number is more than the combined strength of doctors from imperialist leaders in the group of seven or G7 countries. China too is providing PPEs and other medical supplies to a large number of these so-called advanced economies in the Global North.
Imperialism Globalisation Under Stress
The global economic crisis that started in 2007-08 prolonged despite high growth in the Chinese economy and partial improvements during Donald Trump’s initial three years. It has been made explicit that the rate of growth in this phase is suggestive of rising economic disparities and failures to fulfil the promises of globalisation. The centre of the imperialist world itself is facing unprecedented economic challenges. With 16% today, the US is facing the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression in 1929-33.
The shift of production from the Global North to the Global South to exploit cheap labour has created immense unrest among the working classes in the North itself. The COVID-19 outbreak has brought greater possibility for such unrest to intensify. This would mean two things – (i) labour in the South would be kept cheap at any cost so that, (ii) a part of the extra profits can be shared with their own working classes.
According to the IMF, with the onset of the pandemic, in just three weeks, the month of March 2020 witnessed the “largest capital outflow from the poorer countries ever”. This means the rate of profit for global finance capital will go down and it can force them to extract as much benefit from their respective States as possible. It can also mean a peculiar attempt to delink its own markets from the global market to keep the prices from falling due to oversupply; oil production is the case in point. This may further increase the reliance on force and increased internal rift with other imperialist powers. The break between the EU and Britain could have come at the worst time for the European Union, as it weakens its claims vis-à-vis the US. The pandemic may potentially increase the pace of intra-imperialist rivalry which was gaining speed since the presidency of Trump. We already bear witness to how the WTO has collapsed, giving way to the so-called ironic trade wars waged by the US.
We have seen how several countries in the world have seen increased popular mobilisations against their ruling classes. These protests are not limited to the poor countries in the South; France has seen a prolonged protest. In many countries, the absence of the Left has given right-wing a chance to mobilise and re-energise itself. The rise of the Right, the need to keep working classes in the Global North happy, and the overall logic of profit at any costs may mean a greater reliance on force, particularly in these circumstances when the logic of growth-led development has been exposed like never before. Since most imperialist countries cannot further impose exploitative measures on their own working classes, they will force their counterparts in the Global South to do so. The increase in working hours from 8 to 12 in many states of India needs to be read in this context.
The Revolutionary Moment
The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has exposed capitalism in more than one way and to an extent to which it would have been rendered difficult even for the Left movements in such a short period of time. Like the first World War in 1917, it has not only broken the myths of capitalism, it has also exposed the internal contradictions of imperialism. Though it will be foolish to argue that this means the end of capitalism, it will be no exaggeration to say that this provides a true moment for all revolutionary forces to re-energise anti-capitalist movements and push capitalism out of power like Lenin did in 1917.
Will there be mobilisation of the working classes against the ruling elites and whether this would create a situation similar to the one in 1917, when Lenin could push for a revolutionary government, is something we are yet to witness.
Abdul Rahman works with Peoples Dispatch, and is based in New Delhi. He can be reached at abduljnu@gmail.com.
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