Globalisation : An Anti Text; A Local View

227 Pages·00.464 MB·English

by  Pranab Kanti Basu

GLOBALISATION : AN ANTI-TEXT
A Local View
GLOBALISATION :
AN ANTI-TEXT
A Local View
Pranab Kanti Basu
AAKAR
GLOBALISATION : AN ANTI-TEXT
A Local View
Pranab Kanti Basu
© Author
First Published, 2008
ISBN 978-81-89833-53-4 (Hb)
All rights reserved. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or
by any means, without prior permission
of the Publisher.
Published by
AAKAR BOOKS
28 E Pocket IV, Mayur Vihar Phase I, Delhi-110 091
Phone : [phone] Telefax : 011-2279 5641
[email protected]; www.aakarbooks.com
Printed at
Mudrak, 30 A Patparganj, Delhi-110 091
To
the victims of development
GLOBALISATION : AN ANTI-TEXT
A Local View
Pranab Kanti Basu
© Author
First Published, 2008
ISBN 978-81-89833-54-4 (Pb)
All rights reserved. No part of this book may
be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or
by any means, without prior permission
of the Publisher.
Published by
AAKAR BOOKS
28 E Pocket IV, Mayur Vihar Phase I, Delhi-110 091
Phone : [phone] Telefax : 011-2279 5641
[email protected]; www.aakarbooks.com
Printed at
Mudrak, 30 A Patparganj, Delhi-110 091
Contents
Preface 9
1. Introduction 13
2. Globalisation in a Different Sense 23
3. The International Monetary Fund: The Harsh Ethics
of Global Capital 37
4. The World Bank: The Humane Mask 64
5. Rent Appropriation and Capitalist Occupation 78
6. The World Trade Organisation: The Police of
Global Capital 103
7. The New Strategy of Global Capital 116
8. Another Globalisation 135
9. Tracing the Roots 159
10. Situating the Position 194
References 225
Index 229
Preface
Much of this book was written as a series of articles for a
vernacular bimonthly with which I was associated. To
understand the objective and scope of this book, it is helpful if
the reader has some idea of the purpose behind both the
bimonthly and the series of articles from which this book
emerged. The bimonthly, ekhon sanhathi, which translates
roughly into ‘unity now’, grew out of the need felt by a group
of individuals, democratic organisations and trade unions to
create a platform where diverse progressive views could be
articulated both in the sense of expression as well as interaction.
We all got together after the terrible Gujarat riots of 2002. It was
a coming together of minds, which were united in their sorrow,
shame and anger that these terrible acts of murder, rape, and
pillage were perpetrated in the very country we called our own;
that the state was a silent spectator, if not, as a lot of the media
stories suggested, an active accomplice. We were also united in
our faith in some kind of leftism, though we had differences
regarding what leftism meant.
We all agreed on another point. The need at this critical
juncture was to revive, refashion and spread a culture of some
kind of left humanism, call it Marxism if you will. The need
was for positive thought, not just condemnation.
A numbing culture of self-aggrandisement had permeated
all the capillaries of social and personal being. This was
10 Globalisation : An Anti-Text
sustaining and being sustained by various kinds of fanatical
groupings. You cut all your community moorings. You are left
to face economic, social and private crises all on your own. It
gets too much. You leave reality behind, take to drugs, commit
suicide. Or you fall into the waiting arms of fanatics who image
your community for you. You define yourself by your new
community alone. This is bound to be a definition in difference.
So you learn to attribute all your miseries to the others – the
other community. From there to fanaticism, to fanatical violence.
It was simply insufficient to condemn this culture of
individualism– which the mainstream economists applaud as
‘rational’. One had to positively think of a new culture. The
task was one of constructing a new ethos, a new community.
We are not suggesting that one relegate to oblivion, the task of
working towards a future in which those who toiled would no
longer be servants. But this too was contingent on the birth of a
new being for humankind. One could not just leave it to a master
plan conceived by the PARTY. Surely the denouement of this
simple project was there for all to see. So, while one had to
struggle against the tyranny of the existing order, against the
order itself, one had also to define the dream of the future, to
construct the future in the mind. And since we all believe in
materialism, this ethico-political task was inseparably linked
to material construction. Thus to the practice of ‘construction
and struggle’ – a particularly imaginative application of
materialism, which had been articulated by one of the unsung
heroes of peoples’ movements in India, Shankar Guha Neogi.1
We thought of various ways in which we could contribute
a tiny bit to this project. One of the ideas that emerged was the
publication of a paper, which would be a kind of news magazine
that would weigh current events and movements from a critical
outlook. Unlike similar ventures, which were generally run by
some monolithic organisation, which was either a party or
verging on it, ours would be a democratic forum with the
express purpose of exciting the mind of the reader to be critical.
In plain terms, we would not judge a written piece by the known
political antecedents of the writer. As long as we found the view
coherent and broadly left in inclination, it would be acceptable.
Preface 11
Further, we would actively try to gather together conflicting
opinions (or perspectives) on issues that we deemed to be
important.2 We felt that, apart from serving up news about
current events from a critical perspective, we had to make people
think about the chronic sores that our ‘progress’ was inflicting
on our material and psychic being. At the same time, we had to
be positive, bringing to light people’s efforts, however small, to
seek an alternative course of development.
One of the ‘long-term’ issues that had to be seriously
analysed was globalisation. Generally, one can categorise the
writings on such issues from a left perspective into three
compartments: there are the erudite or elite pieces, full of
impenetrable jargon, meant for the initiated; the pieces meant
for plebeian readers where the writer gives tantalising glimpses
of one’s own knowledge of the theoretical issues involved but
does not explicate the issues for the ‘ignorant’ reader; and then
there are the pieces commissioned by the Party, whichever it
may be. We felt that if the issue was one of building critical
awareness, one could not shy away from introducing the reader
to theoretical issues. At the same time, it was necessary to avoid
obfuscating jargon.
So emerged the series of articles that was ultimately to take
the shape of this present volume. While the series was appearing
in Bengali, some of us felt that if the event that had immediately
roused us from our complacent everyday slumber had occurred
outside our state, there was reason to break out of our insularity
and communicate with people outside our state. The best option
was to articulate our position in Hindi. But that was ruled out
by my linguistic limitations! Ultimately, we decided that it
would be appropriate to write the book in English. By then the
limitations of a democratic organisation had begun to surface
and by the time I had completed the work of writing, the
organisation had dissolved. However, I must acknowledge my
debt to all those who were part of the organisation for motivating
my effort.
Beyond this circle I am indebted to a lot of friends in Kolkata,
especially those associated with the Economics Department of
Calcutta University, who are actively baking new building
12 Globalisation : An Anti-Text
blocks for the political economy. Their work has helped in the
formation/articulation of my ideas even where I disagree with
their formulations. I have acknowledged my particular debts
to them in the appropriate places.
Some I have to mention separately because they have
contributed in a way that cannot be pinned down to some
particular ideas or concepts. Ajit Chowdhury has been a
philosopher and guide to me. Unfortunately, physical distance
has prevented a more active collaboration in this particular
project. Dipankar Das is an incisive, heartless critique and
imaginative support in all my recent academic ventures. I am
also grateful to him for doing a great job of editing most of the
chapters. Rajesh Bhattacharya has also been an active participant
for some of the journey.
I am always grateful to my daughter, Sreeja, for her
unflagging desire to see my work in print. That is a great
impetus. Finally, I am grateful to my wife, Nilanjana, for her
sustained cynicism about our tendency towards intellectualism.
This has spurred continuous self-criticism about the general
readability and relevance of the views expressed.
Santiniketan, 2007 Pranab Kanti Basu
NOTES
1. Neogi is a neglected figure in the Indian Marxist pantheon. His
innovative contributions both to the theory and practice of
Marxism are discussed in some detail in Chapter 8.
2. Democracy is so much easier demanded than practised!
Thousands of groups, like ours, have claimed to be different,
that is, more democratic than others. How do you run a news
magazine democratically? After all, you must have an editor.
The problem is always essentially the same – can you have an
organisation that is thoroughly democratic? Is there not a
contradiction in terms? All that we can claim in our favour is
that we were conscious of these issues. And, perhaps the best
proof of our democratic credentials is that the group simply
disintegrated when faced with internal disagreement over
perspectives to a contemporary struggle! It did not preserve itself
by expelling the minority. But then this is hardly a practicable
solution to the dilemma.