In the changing scenario, there is need for the Left to reinvent itself
The Left Front’s defeat in the Lok Sabha polls is only a temporary setback. I don’t believe this is the end of the road for the Left in Kerala. However, it’s time the Left reinvented itself to suit the changing social scenario. Communists should realise that things have changed a lot, that society has changed, people have changed, their outlook and aspirations have changed. And as per the changing people and scenario, the Left has to reinvent itself accordingly.
The kind of revolution the Left has been dreaming about holds no ground in the present scenario. The kind of class consciousness that the Left strives for, does not exist now. As a society, Kerala has witnessed a significant paradigm shift. Taking into consideration this changing reality, the Left should reinvent itself in a way that also sits well with its ideology.
Communists ought to now reframe the party programmes according to the changed context. For example, state-society relations have undergone a drastic change. State is no longer the benevolent provider of social services. So in the current socio-political society where the political man - an individual who is moved by political theories and developments - is dead or has almost disappeared, the approach adopted should also be different.
What we have now is the indebted man who bears the socio-financial burden of bank loans. Being indebted to the market, and also to religions, he no longer wants to take part in politics. He is only concerned about ‘bhakthi’ (devotion) and ‘japthi’ (revenue recovery). Man is no longer a social animal, but has instead become a market animal. He is neither a political animal nor is he interested in society as a whole. Religion, in fact, is no longer a social phenomenon. On the contrary, society has become a religious phenomenon. The order has been reversed. This is the world in which the Kerala middle class finds itself enmeshed. How effectively and how soon the Left will address this reality is the most important question. They will have to redefine themselves to suit this scenario. Comrades will have to sharpen their ideological tools accordingly.
The important question is what political alternative can they present before the masses. A political alternative that is able to carry the convictions of people. The Left should speak about new avenues and new possibilities in this new context: How are we going to address the changed society? What kind of innovative imagination can we bring in to address this reality? It’s in this changing context that Communists should reinvent themselves.
Prabhash J
Former Pro-Vice-Chancellor, University of Kerala, and a political analyst.
He is former head of the department of political science, University of Kerala