October Revolution after nine decades

Professor Laksiri FERNANDO, University of Colombo

It was a constructive way to celebrate any event. The October Revolution Commemoration Committee 2007 had requested a group of academics and socialist leaders to contribute articles “to initiate a discourse in Sri Lanka to evaluate this historical phenomenon and its socio-political and cultural impact from a global and a national perspective” and the book was launched on November 20 at the National Library Auditorium, participated by an enthusiastic gathering.

The title of the present review in fact was borrowed from that book edited by Dr. Michael Fernando, Prof. Sinnathamby Thillainathan, Ranjana Devamitra Senasinghe (Assistant Editor, Sinhala Encyclopedia), and A.G. Jayasena. The book is published by the Progress Publishers (Pvt.) Ltd.

Contributions

Naturally, many of the contributors have opted to reflect upon how and why the Soviet Union, the main creation of the October Revolution, failed or disintegrated during 1989-91 period and many of the articles have reflected on the issues of the future of socialism as well.

Apart from three of the editors themselves contributing articles to the volume, the other authors include Dhamma Dissanayake (Senior Lecturer, University of Colombo), Dr. Lloyd Fernando, Prof. Carlo Fonseka, Constitutional Affairs and National Integration Minister DEW Gunasekera, Prof. Navarathna Bandara, Mohan Samaranayake (Journalist) and Prof. Karthigesu Sivathamby. The articles are written in Sinhala, Tamil and English.

The volume is undoubtedly a significant contribution to our knowledge on socialism, history of the former Soviet Union and the impact of the October Revolution on a variety of academic and social fields.

The contributions far away from being eulogies for communism or the former Soviet Union have expressed critical views on the subject from different angles and viewpoints while not hiding some sympathy or regard for socialism.

The volume is a unique embodiment of the freedom of discourse, highlighting different and contentious viewpoints. Disputing a popular accusation that communists or socialists are dogmatic and intolerant of different viewpoints, the volume has initiated a healthy open debate on the future of socialism and it’s relevance to the 21st century.

The volume begins with Dhamma Dissanayake, commenting on the sentiments of love and hate towards the October Revolution as expressions of different systems of values in our age.

According to his narration, the attraction towards the authentic socialist values of the October Revolution is now re-emerging in various parts of the world and primarily in Latin America. While being critical of some of the later outcomes of the October Revolution, hinting on party hegemony and state centrism, he aspires for a world based on socialist humanism.

Lloyd Fernando’s contribution is a critical overview of the Soviet history, particulary focusing on economic policies. “There is no doubt” in his opinion that “the Soviet experiment failed.” He seeks to answer the question, “why did it fail and does it man the end of socialism?”

He has offered some critical remarks on centralised planning and the blunders that the soviet policy-makers made in the sphere of economic management. On the question of the future of socialism he is however not that pessimistic.

On the one hand “it is inconceivable that capitalism will retain forever its uni-polar world,” he says. On the other hand, “China, Vietnam and Cuba have survived the demise of the Soviet bloc.”

According to Lloyd Fernando, “Socialism’s future in any country will depend on the fulfilment of a number of fundamental conditions.” Among which are the ‘inner party democracy, separation of party from the state apparatus, constant development and application of advanced technology and improvement of labour productivity.”

Different Assessments

Michael Fernando has traced the impact of the October Revolution on art, cinema and drama in his extremely refreshing article. While the impact of the revolution might have declined (at least temporarily) in the spheres of economics or politics, he assures us that its impact on drama or cinema still enriches the art world.

He has referred to various discourses and debates on art in detail during the post revolutionary period. He is of the view that the restrictions placed on art, culture and the media freedom in the subsequent periods of the Soviet history and the ensuing frustration and disillusionment were some reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Carlo Fonseka has contributed undoubtedly the most controversial article to the volume. He attempts an ‘authoritative judgment’ on the significance or the insignificance of the October Revolution in human history.

He quotes Eric Hobsbawm as an authority and maintains that ‘communism is now dead and the failure was built into this enterprise from the start.’ He has boldly announced his own “diagnosis concerning the cause of death of Communism”.

He argues that “in the October Revolution of 1917 in the name of Marxism, Leninism triumphed over Marxism.” He further says that “Lenin transformed the science of Marxism into the ideology of Leninism.” What might be controversial here is the supposed dichotomy between marxism and Leninism - one as a science and the other as an ideology - as described by Prof. Fonseka.

DEW Gunasekera has contributed two articles to the volume. The second article is in fact his commemoration speech at the International Conference to celebrate the October Revolution this year held in Minsk, Byelorussia, on November 3-5. He categorically denies the claim that the collapse of the Soviet Union marked the end of Marxism or socialism. He argues with facts and information that this claim has not been proven by the events.

According to him, there is no single prescription in Marxism on how to build socialism. Marxism is a guide to action and building socialism is a collective human effort. There can always be errors in these efforts.

He prefers to call the demise of the Soviet Union more of a demolition by external capitalist forces than a natural internal collapse. He has explained the external and the internal as well as the short term and the long term reasons for the demise of the Soviet Union with an open mind and a critical perspective. According to him, the future efforts would be to avoid and correct those errors.

The volume also carries a translation by Navarathna Bandara of an article written by Jan Otto Anderson to the New Left Review in 1996 titled ‘Fundamental Values for a Third Left.’ Bandara has presented the article as the “Today’s Lesson of the October Revolution.”

According to him the main objective of the October Revolution - to build a society based on a fair distribution of wealth - is still valid today. However, the building of new or third left is required grasping the lessons of the past as well as the current prevailing conditions. He offers some critical comments on the old left in Sri Lanka and has inclined to argue for ‘new social movements.’

New Inspirations

“Aftermath of the Collapse of the October Revolution” is the title of a well written article by Mohan Samaranayake. He takes into task those who try to picture a temporary set back as the final defeat of communism or socialism.

The article is a biting attack on neo-liberalism and its advocates. The logically written article presents facts and figures to show that globalisation under capitalism has widened the gap between the poor and the rich, both within and between countries and thrown millions of people into new misery.

According to him, the world has already exhausted 60 per cent of its natural resources exploited under capitalism. The human survival is at stake under capitalism motivated purely by profits and exploitation.

As Marx advocated, socialism or barbarism are the two options before the human kind today. His arguments for socialism particularly in the face of environmental degradation and abject poverty are extremely powerful.

Kartigesu Sivathamby traces both strengths and weaknesses of the Soviet policies in building socialism in that country and supporting other socialist and liberation movements.

The October Revolution and the former Soviet Union were a particular inspiration to the progressive movements in Sri Lanka before and after independence. The demise of the Soviet Union has weakened the Non-Aligned Movement and the Third World resilience to resist undue US and other influences.

Ranjan Devamitra Senasinghe has offered a critical appraisal (perhaps more critical than an appraisal) of various Marxist positions on the national question particularly of Marx, Lenin and Stalin also referring to recent Russian writers on the subject. The article is a useful reading for those who study Marxist views on the national or the ethnic question.

He strongly feels that there was a clear mishandling of the national or the ethnic question in the Soviet Union, sometimes coercion being used, which in fact let to the disintegration of the union. He believes that Marxism could be salvaged as a creative science if and only if the recent academic knowledge on the ethnic question is properly incorporated into its theoretical fold.

Sinnathamby Thillainathan’s article to the volume is particularly inspirational. He argues that the October revolutionary slogan “Peace, Land and Bread” is still relevant to Sri Lanka.

To him, the October Revolution was an exemplary moral reawakening where ‘virtues were shattered and vices reigned.’ The revolution ascertained that it is the people who creates history and gave encouragement and hope to the humanity that was exploited and neglected.

He refers to the Tamil poet Subramaniya Bharati (1882-1921) who considered the revolution as the collapse of Kali Yuga and welcomed the dawn of Krita Yuga. According to the Hindu tradition, Kali Yuga is the Dark Age in which egoistic, devouring and reckless elements triumph and Krita Yuga is the golden age during which moral order, peace and happiness prevail.

Conclusion

I was fortunate to be the keynote speaker at the book launch of the commemoration volume for the October Revolution and could share the following concluding thoughts with the audience.

Irrespective of the victory or the defeat of the October Revolution or any other revolution, socialism is the society or dream we all aspire to eliminate the perennial ills of capitalism. Capitalism has failed to offer a solution to poverty, exploitation and discrimination on ethnicity, gender or other grounds. Capitalism endangers the planet earth with environmental catastrophe with global warming and ecological degradation.

The failure of the Soviet Union should not change our resolve. The failure of one effort does not mean that socialism is over. The Soviet Union had a natural disadvantage by trying to establish socialism in a backward country. It also could not develop properly personal freedoms and democracy. Although it survived for nearly 75 years with enormous difficulties and challenges, it could not compete with capitalism technologically.

Although the countries of the former Soviet Union have now reverted to capitalism, hence the opportunity to acquire advanced technology, the lessons of socialism, its advantages and disadvantages, are not completely forgotten or lost. Most of these countries and particularly Russia, are in a position to march toward their Second Socialist Revolution sooner or later.