Samyak Samudre
This essay is primarily written for Ambedkarites who either reject or completely embrace Marxism.
Karl Marx was a social scientist, economist, and philosopher who was born in 1818. His ideology is commonly referred to as communism. His extensive writings demonstrate his outstanding scholarship. Published in 1867, “Das Kapital” [1] is perhaps his most well-known writing. His theories are still studied by academics today.
Most of our people come into one of two categories: they totally identify as communists or Marxists, or they absolutely reject it. The objective of this article is to find out if there are any other answers to the question of whether we should totally accept or reject communism.
There are those among us who hate or oppose communism. They might say do not study communism. Our people may oppose communism for a variety of reasons. People may reject communism, but in my view, they are incorrect if they claim that communism is wrong and that you should not study it. Comparative study provides new insights into existing knowledge. Therefore, I believe that nobody is right if he prevents someone from studying something.
For an understanding of what is reasonable in Marxism, look at this passage from the book Buddha or Karl Marx:
“What remains of Karl Marx is a residue of fire, small but still very important. The residue in my view consists of four items :
(i) The function of philosophy is to reconstruct the world and not to waste its time in explaining the origin of the world.
(ii) That there is a conflict of interest between class and class.
(iii) That private ownership of property brings power to one class and sorrow to another through exploitation.
(iv) That it is necessary for the good of society that the sorrow be removed by the abolition of private property.” [2]
Those who reject Marxism must look at these four points before rejecting it completely.
Now talk about those who completely accepted Marxism. For a variety of reasons, they might accept it. It discusses economic equality in the same way as it discusses ending human exploitation. But simply because it says these things, should we call ourselves communists?
The answer to this question is given in the speech of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar given in Kathmandu.[3] In that speech, Babasaheb compared Marxism with the doctrine of the great teacher Buddha. Those who are attracted to Marxism should definitely study that speech.
Conclusion
The vast majority of our people either fully support or reject Marxism. However, I believe this is incorrect. because Marxism has many valid points. Furthermore, Marxism contains many invalid points. In my opinion, the question should not be whether or not to accept Marxism. Our question should be about how to sustain equality in a society where Liberty exists.
Notes:
1) Das Kapital Book by Karl Marx published in 1867
2) Ambedkar Babasaheb Writings and Speeches Vol 3, page: 444
3) Ambedkar Babasaheb Kathmandu speech published by Samyak Prakashan
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Samyak Samudre is a student from Maharashtra and pursuing his bachelor of science degree. He has keen interest in politics, philosophy, sociology and anthropology.
