Capitalism Today

Anil Rajimwale

(The following are certain themes and suggestions for the Workshop on the Nature of Capitalism Today, to be held by the NRRR Centre and the CR Foundation, Hyderabad, December 2010. They are for discussion.)

Introduction

The world is undergoing rapid and deep-going changes in the post-second world war period, particularly in the last 3 to 4 decades. The changes are clearly visible in all the fields of society. politics, economy, theory and ideology. That leads us to an examination of the present phase of industrialism and capitalism. Visible transformations are taking place in the following areas: in the nature and expansion of market, the scientific and technological revolution, new technological bases of production, extraordinary expansion of the communications and services, growth of the productive forces, changes in the nature of the working class accompanied by the changes in the structure of the capitalist class, emergence of new social strata and fading away of certain older ones, increase in the domination of the MNCs, new features in the MNCs, increased role of the non-monopoly sectors particularly the smaller sections of producers and capitalists, attempts by the US imperialism to impose its version of globalization, important changes in the nature of imperialism necessitating a change or certain modifications in Lenin’s theory of imperialism, transformations in agriculture, growing urbanization all over the world, changes in the social composition, increase in challenges from the developing countries to imperialism becoming more serious and real along with the tendencies to compromise, new theories on imperialism and capitalism including on late capitalism, post-industrialism and so on, phenomenon of post- modernism, tendencies to over-emphasise this or that aspect of modern world such as monopolist or MNCs’ domination or the growth of small-scale production, and many others.

The recent world economic crisis has given rise to a fruitful discussion on the nature of finance capital and the potentials and limitations of the established Marxist concepts in this regard. They need to be carried further. Even certain Communist parties and socialist countries are trying to question the ‘traditional’ or the ‘existing’ theories e.g. on imperialism, as also on certain other questions. There are lot many other theories and opinions that need to be discussed without wishing them away. In brief, it would be fruitful to discuss and understand the new tendencies in socio-economic and political trends. Only then can we hope to set out tasks correctly. What is most important in the midst of all this is that there is urgent need to study the processes and in particular to discover what is new. Marxism, with its scientific and dialectical method, is most suited to do so. Keeping these developments in mind we may discuss the problems by dividing them into the following themes. These suggestions are only tentative, and may be modified according to needs.

1. A brief historical outline of the role and place of capitalism in history and economy.

2. Capitalism in the developed (imperialist) and the developing countries.

3.  Has capitalism become a fetter on the growth of the productive forces?

4.  STR and capitalism.

5.  Changing nature of the productive forces and the constituent capitalist and the working classes

6.  Social composition today.

7.  Nature of imperialism today. Is the ‘theory of imperialism’ valid any longer or does it need modifications? Role of finance capital: changes in the  nature of capitalist economic cycle. An examination of the various theories of imperialism and capitalism from objective point of view.

8. Market and capitalism today

9. Impact of Capitalism on modern state

10. In what way does the present capitalism impact the future socialism? The role and nature of democratic revolution, expansion of its front, economic measures in future socialism keeping in view in particular the past history of socialism.

11. Revolutions today. Role of democracy, in particular the parliamentary democracy, relation with mass movements, changing nature of mass movements, an examinations of the contemporary developments in Europe, Latin America and Asia etc as also among the developing countries as a whole. Role of the ‘fourth estate’ i.e. the media. What is the meaning of transition from capitalism to socialism today, for example, regarding the ownership of the means of production? A brief look at the economic developments in the existing socialist countries.

Developments outside the Traditional Capitalist Countries

The countries like China, Vietnam, Laos, Cuba, various countries in the Latin America, as also the economic developments in other countries have to be studied for their attempts to come out of the traditional path of development, implement certain basic reforms in the economy and to carry out transformations for the solutions of the basic problems of the people. There are a lot of lessons to be drawn, both from their negative and positive experiences. China has tried to enhance the growth of means of production and communications. Its growth rate is very high. Everybody expects that this growth helps the people, and no doubt there are certain positive achievements for the people. Yet, a number of problems have cropped up and are exacerbating the internal contradictions.

Questions like those of growing unemployment, price rise, rural migration, corruption and such other ones are sharpening. Problems related with foreign capital, MNCs, foreign collaboration etc have raised eyebrows in many circles. There are many misgivings and questions regarding the ‘path of development’ in China, and there are genuine concerns being expressed at the growing hold of foreign capital over the Chinese economy that cannot be wished away.

No doubt China needs to develop means of production and communications, and the successes achieved in these fields are welcome as far as they are taking place. At the same time, is it not a fact that in the course of it, the hold of monopoly, imperialist and finance capital is growing? Therefore the question arises: is this the only way to enhance the level of the productive forces, that too in a socialist country (the primary stage of socialism as the Communist Party of China says)? We can certainly develop productive forces without large scale help or domination of the MNCs, giant monopolies etc. It certainly does not mean ‘no help’ from the multinationals in technology and such other fields. But it is a question of a general trend of social development and economic course.

For example, most of the coal mining in China is now in the private hands. The state sector in general in the economy has been reduced to one-third only. How do these and other facts square up with the aims of transition to socialism? Collaboration with non-monopoly sector is another matter, but there too one has to be careful. There are a number of social, cultural, political and moral/ethical fallouts. Should the cultural standards be the same as those of the west? Why no attempts to beat back the degenerate moral influences of the western culture? And so on. It does not mean adoption of new positive aspects be prevented. Yet socialism has to be different in moral-cultural fields also.

Chinese path of economic development throws up more questions than answer them. Another question that crops up is that while we in the capitalist countries are fighting against liberalization and globalization etc, how can precisely those policies be justified in the socialist countries? Does this not weaken cur struggle here?

Vietnam also is following a more liberal path of development, a market orientation is being

followed, and job-oriented course has been adopted. It has had great successes in education and health. Therefore, the Vietnamese path of development, despite problems, has to be differentiated from the Chinese path. Besides, the Vietnamese path is more participatory for the people, while the Chinese is not.

At the same time Vietnam is collaborating with the world bank and such other international bodies.

Laos is another positive experience in terms of cleanliness, environmental protection, help to small scale production and avoidance of undue collaboration with the big foreign capital. Both Laos and Vietnam, it seems, have been able to avoid Mass peasant migration, a big and serious problem in China. Yet both of them badly need the growth of the productive forces, without which socialism cannot be built

The attitude of the socialist countries or the countries ruled by the Communist parties towards imperialism is very important. The socialist Countries are the biggest and the most important anti-imperialist forces in the world. They should be. There appears to be a rethinking among them on the concept of imperialism. This involves two crucial questions. One, has the concept of imperialism to be revised, keeping the new trends in the world? In what way? Obviously lots of changes have taken place and the concept and nature of imperialism cannot remain as it is. It has to change as everything else changes. This has not been made clear by the ruling Communist parties. But it would be a really healthy discussion and contribution. That would help update and enrich the concept of imperialism, and one need not be stuck up at Lenin but creatively develop his concept. Two, it appears some socialist countries are giving up the concept of imperialism altogether. If it is really so, then we need to know and understand why? In that case where do we place the anti-imperialist struggle of the people and what is its nature?

This question needs a detailed and deep study, and off-hand remarks cannot help. It involves the very fate of the millions of people all over the world, and concerns their struggle for future. And they still look to the socialist countries for help and guidance. Questions like that of Iraq remain unexplained. And there are any number of other questions and problems. An analysis of contemporary capitalism and its deep study is needed. Capitalism no doubt has helped the growth of the productive and communicative forces. At the same time its contradictions have to be explained and the policies of neo-liberalism and interpretations of globalization have to be looked into. Besides, the question of types of capitalism remains, such as non-monopoly capitalism. Both capitalism and imperialism have to be studied. Nature of finance capital has to be studied, for example, and strategy decided. How to isolate and then eliminate finance capital and imperialism remains to be answered, despite the growth of the productive forces.

In other words, a serious study of the present phase of imperialism and capitalism is badly needed, and this task cannot be avoided.

Nature of Capitalism and Imperialism Today

Contradictory processes are taking place in capitalism today, and it has reached new stage of development. Some of its new features can be identified as follows: Capitalism today is characterized by an unprecedented development of the productive forces, as never before. Examples are the electronics and computer revolution, the STR and the ICR, development of science as a productive force, genetic engineering, etc. Therefore, it cannot be said that capitalism at present is a hurdle to the development of the productive forces. It has lot of potentials for the present and future. The question is how utilize them in the interests of the people. There is an unprecedented growth of the market forces and the market. While the MNCs and the big business/monopolists are using them for their own purpose, there are all the possibilities of using them in the interests of the masses. Market cannot be eliminated; it need not be. It has to be used. Therefore, there is a battle market going on.

Democracy has become important and possible as never before this is mainly due to the nature of present technology, as also because of the growth of market. The orientation of the political, social and economic system is towards the people, even while being strongly in favour of the MNCs and imperialism. This is a new development, which should be used by people. Latin American events are its reflection. No state or Govt. or party can suppress the electronic communication. Therefore, democratic revolutions in new and varied forms become more important.  Consequently, revolutions cannot take place in old forms. Revolution today is not a sudden development; it is a process step by step in favour of the people.

State today is not made up of or represent only a particular, capitalist, class or section; it increasingly represents the mass of the people, as evidenced by Latin America and events in other areas. European Union is a great example that should not be wished away. The US cannot as it likes. It is facing more and more opposition. The entire social composition of the world society is changing. New sections and classes are emerging. Production sector has lost its primacy, and services and communications have become more important, fashioning the social development. There are signs that the world society is going beyond capitalism, at least in certain senses. Capitalism and imperialism are unable to use the new and extraordinary productive and communicative forces fully. Tendencies towards post-industrial as also post-capitalism societies can be seen. The movement towards socialism and communism is taking place differently. Among the new strata, the consumer and the knowledge worker are of growing importance.

Capitalist world economy today is being increasingly dominated and affected by rapid growth of finance capital. It has become the main problem of the people and the economies of the world today. But it does not mean that capitalism as such has become a reactionary force. Voices are being raised all over the world, including in the capitalist circles against such a domination, and of course by the left also. Leaders of India, China, Brazil, and other developing countries have strongly condemned the finance capitalist domination.

In the midst of the world economic crisis, trends are gathering strength that emphasise productive capital as against the speculative and finance capital. The developing countries in particular (e.g. China, India etc) point out that the roots of the crisis are in the uncalled for domination of finance over productive capital. Therefore they have called for a correction of this one-sided growth or emphasis. This is a constructive approach, and show that capitalism in the developing countries, as also in many developed countries, play a progressive role against finance capital and imperialist system. Therefore, any theory of the bourgeoisie of these countries today having gone over to imperialism would be a wrong one. At the same time a consistent struggle against the capitalist policies have to be continued, in particular those going to the reactionary and anti-people direction.

Today, it is more possible than ever before to fight successfully for a better distributive system. This is because the STR has created conditions of very high productivity and at the same time for a better distribution. A real possibility has arisen to press for more equitable social and economic structures as part of the people's struggle. We are today dealing with a capitalism in the conditions of rapid global transformation and new industrial and post-industrial revolution.

Developments in Latin America

There is no doubt that the Latin American continent and its countries are displaying new features of capitalism and imperialism. The new regimes, which are generally left oriented, are facing difficult economic choices. We should not take them for granted. They are facing very complicated problems of combining development with people's well being. There is no one fixed formula for them. Some of the regimes are following public sector oriented policies while some others are implementing what we may call liberal policies. This also means that there features in the objective situation that necessitate certain mixed kind or 'new' economic measures, which just can't be ignored or ruled out. The economic policies of some of them makes one uncomfortable, as in Brazil. But that needs proper study. All market-orientation and liberalization may not always be wrong. That depends upon situation and aims. But certainly, the overall basis of the Latin American policies are anti-American imperialism. Still too much should not be read in the left oriented regimes as far as the economic policies are concerned. Yet they have tremendous potentials for the future economic order.

In the midst of all this, the growing role and increasing potentials of the developing countries has to be noted. They are no more just passive victims of imperialist exploitation; they are today playing a positive anti-imperialist economic role. As pointed by Michel Lebowitz new ways are being found in countries like Venezuela to increase people’s participation in social and economic affairs and in distribution. A lot in future depends on the success of such efforts. The balance of power in the world is gradually changing in favour of the developing countries and against the US in particular and the west in general. (More details to be worked out) Capitalism in India (to be dealt with in detail separately).

The development of capitalism in India began in a backward colonial country. It discharged many anti-colonial and anti-imperialist functions. At the same time contradictions of capitalism sharpened. Monopolies and IY1NCs grew and strengthened their hold. But, simultaneously, the non-monopoly small scale and medium scale sectors also grew. It is the growth of capitalism as a whole. 1990s, tendencies of liberalism, privatization and globalization have increased. India cannot be isolated from the world capitalist economy. At the same time it has to measures to protect itself. Progressive restriction of the monopoly and financial hold has to be carried out to strengthen the democratic tendencies in the economy.

India presents a case of strong capitalism in a developing country with robust economy, but with serious problems of capital accumulation and destruction labour potentials. It can play a positive role in the world economy, and thus help solve the internal problem as well. It has all the potentials against world capitalist and imperialist system so as to democratize the world economy, thus contributing to its own internal democratization. Public sector based mixed economy with serious restrictions on monopoly and finance capital and imperialism is the way forward for India. He left and democratic have to set and example in practice in this direction. Today India, along with China and Brazil, has come to position to compete with and challenge the west, the US in particular. This is a new positive development. President Obama's now famous statement to the effect that the US will have to follow China and India in future and learn from them is very significant, and indicates the shape of things to come.

Capitalism in India.

1. Nature and structure of capitalism in India.

2. Contradictions of capitalism in India.

3. Anti-feudal and anti-imperialist role

4. Growth of monopolies and big business.

5. MNCs and imperialist influence.

6. Historic role of the public sector, a unique feature.

7. Potentials and their conversion in democratic direction.

8. Carrying out democratic revolution in economy. Struggle to turn the high growth rate in

people's favour.

9. Struggle against SEZ, neo-liberal policies and for the strengthening of the public sector based

development.

10. Democratise the economy by restricting the big business.

11. Growth not only of the big business and monopolies but also of the non-monopoly small and

medium sector and electronics and services.

12. Big expansion of the middle class.

13. India becoming an effective factor in the world economy and in the world. in general (Use or the STR to solve people's problems) etc.

14. What must the left and the progressive forces do?