The folly of class struggle

Manu Kant

Manu Kant

I subscribe to Marxist ideology. Class struggle is the cornerstone of Marxism. Lenin, during his debate with the Mensheviks, repeatedly pointed out that Marxism without the concept of class struggle is hollow. So, years ago, for want of a better alternative, I started waging a class war on all my near and dear ones, including friends and neighbours.

I started segregating them into ‘friends of the people’ and ‘enemies of the people’. If Indians are famous for asking your caste at their first meeting, I would start off by asking people which class they belonged to and whether they were with me or against me.

The first to be consigned to the ‘enemy camp’ were a majority of my family members, followed by my relatives. All from the trading class. Then came the kulaks, of whom I had a bunch among my friends. Next to go were the liberals and those in khaki shorts, who comprise the bulk in my neighbourhood.

Among my friends in the Left circle, the job was a bit difficult. There was a lot of overlapping and confusion. Like Maoists are against Khrushchev but have a love-hate relationship with Stalin. Trotskyites swear by Lenin but are mortal enemies of Stalin and Mao. Khrushchevites, though Leninist in words, betray Lenin in deeds. The Titoites dislike Stalin but have a soft corner for Mao. Only Bhagat Singh and Che Guevara are universal favourites of everybody. Whom to disregard then and on what basis? All were ultimately in the Marxist camp!

Fortunately, I had diligently read Lenin and Enver Hoxha. Both had characterised these Marxist trends — Trotskyism, Titoism and Maoism — as petty bourgeois. As per Lenin, they were the ‘agents of the bourgeoisie’ in the working class! So, out they went from my friend list.

It was most difficult to part ways with my bureaucrat friend. Tall, dark and handsome. A follower of Plato. Suave, cultured and dignified. A great storyteller with a phenomenal memory, his English easily rivalled that of Bertrand Russell. In comparison to him, I was more like the Hindi-medium type.

Ludwig Feuerbach said: ‘Man thinks differently in a palace and in a hut.’ Interacting with the creme de la creme while serving in the government had turned him into an aristocrat. The intimacy of friendship, Jacques Derrida wrote, lies in the sensation of recognising oneself in the eyes of another. We simply no longer viewed the world through the same lens. His worldview was elitist, while mine was proletarian. In the end, I decided to make myself scarce.

Now, in the 53rd year of my life, I finally realise the pitfalls of waging a class war. My folly was driven home to me when recently I found myself on the wrong side of the law. I was forced to seek help from the very ‘liberals’ on whom I had cast a disapproving look till the other day. So much for my class struggle!