imperialist front. But can
revolutions be completed by
relying only on them? No, because
they are not the main force in the
revolutionary struggle. Why not?
Why can’t they give leadership in
the revolutionary struggle? They
know so much, they have learnt so
much! The reasons can be divided
into three categories.
First, the most progressive
section in a capitalist society is the
working class. They are related to
the most advanced productive
system. This class is the most
organised, the most united. This
class is the most selfless because
they have nothing to lose but
chains. Therefore, they can throw
their selves in the struggle without
any hesitation and suffer any
amount of sacrifice. At the same
time, they are modest, unlike the
intelligentsia who are proud of their
learning. For this reason, the
working class alone can give
revolutionary leadership. The
intelligentsia and the student
community lack these distinctions
of the working class. Therefore,
they cannot be leaders in the
revolutionary struggle.
Secondly, the intelligentsia
mainly belongs to the petty-
bourgeoisie.The petty-bourgeoisie
are parasites. Even when they do
not directly exploit they partake the
fruits of exploitation. They are
exploiters and the exploited at the
same time. Society advances on
the basis of the development of
productive forces, when a particular
productive relation becomes an
impediment in the development of
productive forces, the advance-
ment of society is hampered unless
that relation is altered. When feudal
productive relations had been
hampering the growth of productive
forces, the new capitalist
productive relations were created.
Its driving power was the new born
bourgeoisie. Feudalism was
replaced by capitalism. To-day,
capitalist relations cannot carry
May - 2018
society forward. New relations have
to be brought in. The new relations
will be socialistic and its driving
force will be the working class. This
new society will be built on the basis
of friendship with broad peasant
masses. In the place of capitalism
there will be socialism, the petty-
bourgeoisie, partners in the old
rotten productive system of
capitalism cannot be the main force
behind this social change, cannot
give leadership in this process.
Thirdly, many people think that
the members of the intelligentsia
are well-read and they know
everything. But it is not true.
Whatever they may learn, their
knowledge is partial, incomplete,
because it is derived from bookish
study. Real knowledge can be had
only through work, through
application of knowledge to social
practice. Unless one participates in
the productive-processes, and join
the class struggle, no knowledge
can be complete. If anyone wants
to acquire correct knowledge about
any subject, he must get in direct
touch with it. He must get his hands
into it. Otherwise his knowledge will
remain imperfect.
Therefore it is important to take
part in social practice, in any
productive process. It is because
of this that despite lack of formal
knowledge, a worker and a peasant
knows more than a member of the
intelligentsia. Being a participant in
the production process, being
instrumental in social change, he
carries forward the task of
revolution and hence historical
development. A member of the
intelligentsia, in the absence of this
experience, can have only a partial
understanding. Therefore, he can
not belong to the leadership of
revolutionary struggle.
The educational system in
India was created by the colonial
power in the interest of having a
comprador class in this country.
The system today supplies the
manpower needed to preserve the
imperialist mode of exploitation and
feudal pattern of relations. Its use
is to produce robot-like men to aid
exploitation. The neo-liberal
policies being implemented at the
behest of imperialist financial
institutions are shaping the
education system into a profit
making sector. At the same time, it
is being designed to turn the Indian
youth into tools who apply
technology, but never able to gain
the scientific knowledge needed to
develop our own appropriate
technologies. This perpetuates our
dependency on the imperialist
countries. Those who cannot give
up illusions about this system
meant only to help exploiter class,
are unable grasp the working class
politics.
Exploited Petty-bourgeoisie
The petty-bourgeois intelli-
gentsia is also the exploited. How?
Most of them are employees
dependent on salaries. Their
emoluments do not increase
corresponding to the price rise of
commodities. As a result, their
condition is getting worse day by
day, particularly so since they have
to preserve the trappings of
gentlemanliness. Unemployment,
the inevitable outcome of an all
round crisis, has assumed
monstrous proportions, students
cannot look forward any more to
getting jobs. At this stage of
economic crisis, these sections
cannot keep their identity and are
bound to get declassed. They are
ground by the giant exploitative
machine, the common victims of
capitalism.
The much-trumpeted free
enterprise is a cover to hide the
hideous fight of big fish gobbling
small fry!
The petty bourgeois have no
roots. To belong to the bourgeoisie
is beyond their power, but they feel
humili ated at the same time to be
one with the proletariat. Of course,
in the end in their own interest, they
will join the PDF. The liberation of
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