Politics in transition: industrial to information age

(Paper for Workshop on India’s Path to Socialism, 27-30 December 2011, Hyderabad)

-Anil Rajimwale

We are living in an era of great transition. Every institution and every concept is undergoing transformation in this era of transition from production-based to information-based society. Therefore, no question can even be posed correctly without recognizing this change.  One can see changes in the nature of state, classes, parties and other political and social institutions. These changes can be seen in India also.

Information is a new factor that has entered as a fall-out of the technological revolution in the economy, society and politics, and is playing increasingly important and transformatory role. Political parties and theorists fail to see that information is not only technological but also a serious political factor. In fact, even economists are yet to determine the role of information in economy.

The technological revolution has invented such means and equipment which make it easier to produce information at a distance and in the quick time of waves and light. The wave-particle duality has become a productive and informative force.

Impact of information on state and politics

Information has become such a force which is affecting every facet of society. It has become a powerful democratic force that destabilizes states, governments, and political structures and even parties. Recent political developments show that the states are not able to prevent information reaching the masses and democratizing them. The STR and ICR have much to do with the collapse of the east European socialist regimes and the Soviet Union. Information revolution played a crucial role in the recent events of mass upsurge in the Arab and North African countries. Lot of events and crises are taking place in the US and the west.

Modern information penetrates and cuts through all the barriers put up by the state and governments. Thus, new means and force of democracy has reached the people. The same applies to the governments and parties.

The point is that these institutions, as well as the parties have to modify and change themselves in the conditions of growing importance of electronic information.

Certain post-industrial tendencies

One can already see certain changes in the approaches and nature of the parties. They are acting in many ways differently from the traditional manner. Parties have basically evolved during the industrial age. They are finding it difficult to adjust to the new age. There are many issues that bring them together or nearer.

Lately, it can be seen that excepting the extreme rightwing and extreme leftwing formations, they are taking similar positions. These positions are dictated by the new conditions of Indian and world market realities, world integration (sought to be misused by US imperialism), technological imperatives, economic policies of certain amount of liberal reforms, growing recognition of democracy etc.

It does not at all mean that the economic policies of the parties have become the same. But the parties cannot ignore certain objective processes going on in the Indian and world economy. One cannot ignore the realities, for example, of the need to adjust to world market. It is not the market as such we have to fight, but the domination of the market by the corporates and big business has to be opposed.

Experiences in China and other existing socialist oriented countries show that they are ready change and adjust to new realities. So, every kind of foreign investment may not be wrong, and  even be beneficial in certain areas. We need not of course agree with everything that these . countries are doing.

The left-oriented Latin American countries have not completely rejected the liberal economic approach; rather they are using them for own benefits, while at the same time trying to isolate US domination. .

Since information reaches people in no time today, the parties, particularly of the left and those claiming to be following scientific approach have to assimilate it in their thinking and practice. They have to give Stalinist mould of organization and mind. This aspect needs a separate discussion. Such types of organization of parties is obsolete.

Democracy in information society

Democracy has become an objective force. It is information which is driving it. We are making transition to an information society, even in India. So, our socialism will be of a different kind. When we are talking of electoral reforms, we have at the same time to democratize the party structure.

It is clear that henceforward, there can be no socialism without democracy on a mass scale with strong representative bodies. The existing bodies should be strengthened, and their network spread. Quick spread of information is an objective force, and the parties are having to change accordingly, not ignore them, and at the same time provide real scientific information. There is a danger that rightwing fascist forces would use the new information technologies in their favour, as happens with communal organizations etc.

Several issues are emerging, mainly due to the STR, which are beyond class confines and are holistic, such as technology, information, environment, certain economic issues etc. For example, the issue of building a new world economy cannot be left to the whims of the imperialist forces and have to be taken up by countries like India and others. BRICS and such other groupings are examples of a shift on world scale.

Here and in the paper on Political Theory, I have tried to raise the question whether we are witnessing the transition of the state political and party institutions to a post-industrial, postmodern condition. I would like to answer in the affirmative. We need to go into the question more deeply. Without such a presupposition, many of the country’s and world phenomena and processes are unexplained.

Political theory and the parties are in transition.