[lbo-talk] Poll rout leaves India's communists a spent force

[Bhaskar Sunkara]

Indians have accepted a path to development, albeit one with promises of a
more inclusive growth.  That means an embraceable of relatively liberal
economy capable of building productive forces.  The CPI-M was riddled with
corruption and other problems, their iron-fisted brutality was beaten back
at the polls, but that being said for a developing country like India the
question is how inclusive the growth will be and how much capital is going
to be controlled to meet human needs and limit environmental damage, its not
whether or not capitalism will be cultivated.

India has their time playing around with state-accumulation during the Nehru
era, its no match for capital.  And capital will lead to development and
modernity, I don't see any of the far left parties--- the CPI-ML, Naxalites,
etc, as being anything other than a reactionary force responding to the
historically progressive role of the bourgeois in India and no amount of
dependency theory or Leninist dicta can persuade me otherwise.


>From this standpoint I welcomed the election results on a level due to the
defeat of the Indian far right and its communalist policies, but I do regret
the fact that left-forces will not be able to pressure Congress like they
did with their minimal programme last election cycle.

The expropriation of the expropriators isn't on the agenda in India and for
good reason.