The gates of Ijtihaad

The 18th Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was held last week. It was reasonable to expect a certain amount of soul-searching to take place in respect of crucial issues such as the relationship between capital and labour in the 21st century and the role of the state in the economy.

Nothing of the sort happened. The party line smacked of the smugness associated with those whose minds are closed. It can't see change even when it is presented to it on a platter. It is only interested in the colour of the cat, not whether it catches any mice.

To a large extent, this is because of the old men who lead the party. Their views were formed in a different era, when economic relations had Dickensian connotations, and when manufacturing was seen as the highest point of economic evolution.

Indeed, classical Marxist theory holds that value-added in services is zero. Knowledge is not treated as a factor of production and entrepreneurial ability is mere rascality. Property, they believe, is theft and profits robbery.

Perhaps altogether the greatest tragedy of the Communists is that they have straitjacketed their ideology in a manner that resembles the mullahs of the 11th century, who had closed the gates of Ijtihaad (questioning) then; they are closed in the CPI(M) now.

It would be useful if, before the 19th Congress takes place, the party engages with the two issues mentioned above, namely, the relationship between capital and labour and the role of the state. The Communists really need to ask themselves if they are championing the cause of labour in a manner that benefits it.

They also need to ask themselves if an indefinite expansion of the list of public goods is sustainable economically. And they need to acknowledge that primitive accumulation, as Marx called exploitative wage levels, is the key to future growth. China has recognised this and allows labour no rights while keeping wages at levels that qualify as primitive accumulation""and labour doesn't seem to mind.

Likewise, as Amartya Sen has been pointing out, everything is charged at economic prices in China and the list of public goods is confined to the classical ones. For this to happen in India, the CPI(M) should consider re-inventing itself as a local version of New Left, or New Labour. But the odds are against it.