National populism not a solution for neoliberalism

| by Dr Vickramabahu Karunaratne

( August 12, 2012, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Despite certain quarters claiming it is over, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has admitted that the world economic crisis is serious and far from over. Even global capitalist leaders have warned that it could develop into a general depression. Many looked back at the great depression of 1929 in an attempt to understand the unfolding events.

The threat of collapse of the US financial system and with it an unprecedented financial crisis in the capitalist world, was a frightful scenario for the ordinary masses as finance is at the helm of the modern capitalist system. We were told by the pundits of neoliberalism that the lesser the intervention of the state the better it would be for economic growth. Furthermore, it was emphasized that with new knowledge in microeconomics, the market could be made fair, free and progressive. But having preached all that, during the acute crisis period, the same pundits of neoliberalism supported state interventions to rescue capitalist production. It was proved again that the modern state, with all its democratic strappings, remains an instrument of class struggle. Just as much as capitalism advocates the leaders of small nations to privatize both industry and agriculture, when it is necessary, it will compel big business to move towards state capitalism as a way out of an economic crisis. Thus global capitalism used state power as an instrument in hand to both control and supervise.

A reincarnation

After the Second World War the developed world was dominated by social democracy along with a welfare state. Workers were happy with the gains in social welfare. In fact many believed that state intervention and social welfare will gradually lead to socialism. It was a reincarnation of the Bernstein vision of gradual transfer. What Keynes proposed for the survival of capitalism was reinterpreted as a way forward for socialism. There was a parallel political change in the South among the developing counties. There was a wave of populism led by liberal nationalist leaders. Nikroma, Nasser, Nehru, Benbela, Bandaranaike, etc., dominated the Non Aligned Movement. They all claimed to be socialists of one kind or the other. Castro, with the support of Soviet block, was at the extreme end. But the crisis of capitalism changed all this and we were made to realize that exploitation and plunder remains the main theme of capitalism.

Neoliberalism displaced social democracy and the welfare state in the developed world. In the developing world the change was much more painful. Populist politics produced the worst kind of humbugs and corrupt leaders. People were left leaderless as left parties began defending the collapsing populism. Terrorist politics was a by-product of this political crisis. Both the JVP and the LTTE have a common origin in this political scenario.

Corruption and fraud

People are still searching for populist leaders of the kind that existed in the time of capitalist expansion. In this country names such as the SLFP and the TULF are attractive as they were associated with the politics of the common man. However the changes within these parties become evident only when they come to power. We can see the quality of leadership of the SLFP in the Mahinda regime. Instead of populist politics we witness unprecedented corruption and fraud.

Those who are looking for nationalism, social welfare and humanism within this decaying populist party, are in for a great surprise. Not only in this country but also in the entire developing world, the masses are being pushed into misery by decadent populist parties. What is clear from this observation is that national populism is not an answer to the ills of neoliberalism. The reality is that populism was a by-product of capitalist expansion when social democracy dominated the developed world. With the demise of capitalist expansion in the developed world, old populist parties have become agents of corruption and plunder. The left has to device new tactics and new slogans to give leadership to the suffering masses. The Virodaya Viyaparaya - the protest of the opposition - arose to cater to the needs of this new

situation.