It is surprising to see that Politicians/Academicians in West Bengal are striving to reduce/remove Marx and Engels from History. We can ignore the Economics part as hardly anywhere in world is Marxian economics taught. A News channel debate today explained that the 34 years rule of Communists in West Bengal resulted in a lot of Marxism being taught. It didn't explain than that why didn't a Communist revolution occured in WB in last 34 years? Why was Social democracy so closely knit into the political fabric of Bengal for these many years and not pure Communism? Why was there 'State Capitalism' in WB and not Communism as envisaged by Marxist ideas?{1} Many more questions remain unanswered though.
This is yet another instance why Marx is being suppressed and neglected as much as possible. These bourgeois personas of West Bengal's ruling party think they can suppress Karl Marx. Even if that's done, it makes no difference to Marxist methodology at all! As such, who needs mainstream syllabus to teach anything relevant today?
Today's case of Bengal clarifies how much afraid the dominant politicians and their bourgeois compatriots are of Marx{2}. Schools, Colleges and Universities are centers of brainwashing young population so that they can obey the dominant ideology and safely skip what they must actually know.
No doubt then, that most of the syllabus in India is filled with ideological biases of the ruling class. If they feel threatened by Marx's ideas, they can indeed reduce/remove him. Still, these ideas will return, with far more strength and endurance. Sad that History is being politicized. And sad that hardly anyone understand's Marx's ideas except that he was a Communist{3}.
Can there be a balanced approach?
The fallacy of balanced approach is very clearly visible in mainstream History and Economics curricula. Every new political party in power wishes to introduce its own ideological standpoint so as to bring changes it wants. That's not bad per se{4}. What is bad is that Marx's ideas are hardly taught in their correct, real form. What is presented in the name of Marxism is a critical analysis of his ideas by some other ideologues who have completely different ideological standpoints. This is dangerous. Such a trend will destroy the very future of our young generations. If we wish to have a better India, we need to allow "bias-free" flow of ideas.
Balanced approach in Economics and History is a fallacy, and a dangerous one. It is to fool people that the committees framing curriculum is a bias-free, neutral set of humans. That's not possible. Every human has an ideology, whether she knows it or not. In the name of balanced approach, a different ideology is presented. The brainwashing still continues.
Agreed. Marxist ideas may have been overdosed in Bengal due to the Communist party's rule there for many years. But that is not a good reason to say that the now-ruling party is a balanced party. Far from it. A newer ideology will be put. Pro-Capitalism, Pro-markets and Pro-capitalist ideas will be fostered, maybe to create a well-obeying, pro-capitalism youth that turns out to be a 'productive' labour force{5}.
Is Marx really understood today?
Talking in terms of India, Marx is hardly even known to majority of the people. A nation where a large chunk of population resides in poverty/sub-poverty/near-poverty levels, its hard to expect them to read Marx and forget about their stomachs. That's not possible for now. But even the well-off sections of society do not understand Marx except the experts in various related subjects. Common populace must understand Marx's ideas in its originality rather than learning it in schools and colleges from ideological tutors- who nevertheless will promote their own ideologies.
Today, we have a growing number of Austrians in Government colleges. They're able to help people understand their ideas well by engaging in productive teaching which is a healthy sign. Same must be done by Marxians. Just like Marx's ideas, even Austrian Economics is hardly taught or even understood in India. Dare you find a book by Ludwig von Mises or Murray Rothbard in school, college libraries{6}. You might find Marx though- but that's the only good thing.
This boils down to one simple point: There's nothing like a balanced approach in History and Economics. Both are the pillars of Politic's justification in its present form. Common people must disapprove such a move. The brouhaha about introducing Indian point of view of History is equally fallacious. It is being talked as if only Marx was taught in Bengal's curricula till now, and Indian history was kept aside. There too, comfortable ideas will be put, challenging ones reduced/removed. People must resist such political manoeuvres. Let us focus more on solving nations's immediate problems
rather than politicizing academic subjects which can be best left
to academicians to sort out.
In the end, we can say that there's not too much of Marx in Bengal's schools, but a lot of politics to justify the society in its
current form and skip the ideas people now really need to understand.
Notes:
1. State undertaking decisions that private competing firms must be taking is merely capitalism replaced by political executives taking those decisions. That's far more harmful.
2. This might be the case in face of the recent crisis in Capitalism that has engulfed most of the capitalist countries- E.U., U.S., etc. Justification for the American model of Capitalism is possible when it is justified and taught as if it were the best way to achieve human freedom.
3. The common people in India hardly understand Marx other than the mainstream ramblings against his ideas. Former USSR, Eastern countries, &c. are publicized as failure of Marxism- as if they had anything to do with Marx.
4. Healthy spreading of one's ideology is always good. World needs different ideologies. But replacing something to introduce another while calling it a balanced approach is very mediocre.
5. Indeed, if wage-labour system is justified in the minds of young people, they'll end up accepting it as the sine qua non of modernity. That's dangerous too. It keeps radically different viewpoints about History, Economics and Future deliberately away from them. We can't afford that.
6. There is a lack of awareness about Austrian Economics in India. Moreover, one will hardly find the literature by this school of thought in Economics- except a few. At least this blog's author has experienced so. That's unfair. Such radically different ideas, diverging from mainstream perspective must be fostered and promoted. Combustion of ideas is the key to prevalence of truth.
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