[Reader-list] communism not a successful political philosophy

[Pawan Durani]

http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~rallen/communism%20final.htm

Communism

In the texts *The Buddha of Suburbia*, *The God of Small Things*, and *In
the Castle of My Skin*, the idea of communism is portrayed as an alluring
alternative to the oppressive effects of colonization and a hierarchical
social structure. In these three texts communism fails to deliver and is an
abortive political philosophy. Communism does not fail simply because it is
an inherently failed idea. Rather, communism fails because of the
circumstances surrounding its spread as well as the innate shortcomings of
the idea itself.

             Communism fails to deliver its proposed benefits in George
Lamming's *In the Castle of My Skin* because of the timing and nature of its
spread. The idea of communism is propagated by Mr. Slime, an educated member
of the elite who fails to deliver on his promises yet garners the
unconditional devotion and hope of the villagers he leads, "Ever since we
get the news 'bout the schoolmaster Mr. Slime I feel a sort o' change
happen, an' though I ain't got the words to repeat what's in my mouth I feel
it all the same…look what he say he goin' to do" (Lamming 76-77). The
comparisons between the two men wielding power "who you think would be right
in the sight o' God, which of them, Mr. Slime or Mr. Creighton?" indicate
the extent to which the existing power structure remains in tact whether it
is led by a white man or a 'colored big-shot' (79). The lower class
continues to be oppressed by exorbitant land prices following the
implementation of Mr. Slime's version of communism. Mr. Slime continues this
oppression by in effect replacing the rich white land lord who is removed,
distant, and untouchable: Mr. Slime makes very few appearances throughout
the book. The ideas of communism are especially enticing for the workers,
yet when they revolt it quickly degenerates into violent chaos. Mr. Slime
rallies the townspeople behind the idea of communism with promises of
equality, autonomy, and rights. These are never realized because communism
fails to change the circumstances and structure which keep the townspeople
in a state of oppression, thus failing to deliver on its promises.

            The case of Trumper does make the failure of communism more
complex, as he is able to leave, learn a new philosophy, and return with a
different perspective on the situation in Barbados. Perhaps this offers a
possibility for new ideas to be implemented and actually meet success.
Trumper would in fact be an ideal leader for a communist uprising: a member
of the lower class who has gained a different perspective on the political
and economic situation in his hometown through his experience in America and
also has recognized the effects of colonial oppression. This raises an
interesting point, because it points again to the circumstances as
responsible for the demise of Mr. Slime's communism.

The atmosphere in Barbados at the time the story takes place is not
conducive to communism: the power at the top of the hierarchical social
structure is too enticing for the natives who took power following
decolonization. Communism is doomed from the start because it coincides with
decolonization. Those who suffer from the fracture of communism from its
promises are those at the bottom of the social structure- those who have
been oppressed and will continue to be oppressed. Any idea that held so much
promise for so many would have garnered the same amount of devotion, and
would have failed those with the most to gain so spectacularly because the
societal structure is basically feudal. Karl Marx did not envision the
success of communism in an underdeveloped country, like Barbados, without
the necessary population of industrialized workers who could support the
revolution. Therefore, the circumstances force communism to be abortive and
fail to deliver on its promises.

In Arundhati Roy's *The God of Small Things*, the spread of communism is
doomed to failure due to its being concurrent with decolonization. Like the
previous text, communism is spread largely from the elites on down, with the
exception of Comrade Pillai. Though Pillai is the local leader, he is not
responsible for effecting any change and only talks of organizing Chacko's
workers rather than actually doing so. Chacko, an elite educated in England,
uses communism to seduce his female employees and espouses views which as a
"true bourgeoisie" would not serve him if implemented (Roy 59). Chacko's
political hero is the "flamboyant Brahmin high priest of Marxism" (64). Of
those organizing the communist uprising in India, among the most prominent
of leaders is a member of the Brahmin class: the movement is spread from the
top down, utilizing the hierarchical social structure which remained
perfectly in tact following decolonization. The social structure is, like
the previous text, simply not ready for communism. The lower class is not
industrialized, and the movement is spread by elites. The conundrum which
occurs when a communist party of elites is elected is described as, "the
extraordinary-and some say absurd- position of having to govern a people and
forment a revolution simultaneously" (65). Those who stand to gain the most
are again the losers under a communist government; protests quickly escalate
to violence and leave dead landowners in their wake (66). Velutha becomes a
victim of this phenomenon when he is forsaken by his party in his time of
need "Velutha does not have the patronage of the Communist party" (248).
Because of the hierarchical social structure which was in place throughout
colonization, the top-down oppression continues; all that changes is the
face at the top of the ladder. Chacko uses communism to continue to
subjugate his female employees, the communist riots oppress Baby Kochamma by
humiliating her, and Velutha remains as untouchable as ever, especially by
the very party that should make him their poster child for the true working
class.

Communism is doomed from the start because the only existing social
structure through which it could spread was that of inherent oppression and
extreme power for those at the top. The experiences of the failure of
communism in India following British withdrawal indicate that communism is
best effective when spread in much different circumstances. A revolution for
the people must be spread by the people; not by a Brahmins and factory
owners. It must be spread among the people and then elected by those people;
the structure of society, as Marx envisioned, must change. Communism simply
will not succeed if implemented in the same way as colonization. Communism
fails because of the societal structure surrounding its spread and
implementation forces it to fail.

In Hanif Kureishi's *The Buddha of Suburbia, *communism fails as a political
philosophy but succeeds as a personal philosophy. Karim is drawn into
working for the party by his friend Terry who initially entices Karim with
implications of racial equality, "as an active Trotskyite he encouraged me
to speak of the prejudice and abuse I'd faced being the son of an Indian"
(Kureishi 147). The initial magnetism and promise of communism fails to
benefit Karim, who is later used by the party and told that "they are not a
party for black people" (238). It is clear that communism failed Karim, but
it is not equally clear as to why. Unlike the characters in other texts,
Karim never wholeheartedly bought into communism and only pandered to
Terry's political beliefs because he was attracted to him, "I said I would
sign up with pleasure on one condition. He had to kiss me." (149). Because
Karim never fully believed that communism would bring about a world free of
prejudices, the sense of abortiveness and disappointment which pervades the
other texts is not present here. Also unlike the previous texts, communism
is spread among those at the bottom and is more subversive, perhaps because
it is not in a colonized country. The communists hope to take power, yet it
is clear that their movement in England is more feasible as a social
philosophy than a political one. Communism does not fail Changez in this
respect, as he is happier than ever living in a commune. Karim and Changez
do not hang their hopes on what communism claims to deliver and there is not
an enormous let-down as a result. Terry, an Englishman, does expect great
things of communism and attempts to lure in Karim with rhetoric and promise
of equality. Karim never believes in the political feasibility of communism
and simply uses and is used by the party for personal gains; therefore he is
not failed by communism, rather communism is viewed with failure from the
beginning. As a personal philosophy, communism benefits Changez and allows
him to function happily in an accepting and loving setting.

In *The Buddha of Suburbia*, communism cannot be treated in the same fashion
as the previous texts, because the story takes place in Marx's ideal
society. What is shown is that the Party, at least in England, only pays lip
service to equality for those oppressed, as it fails to actually benefit
Karim. Instead of helping the hybrid child who has suffered as a result of
prejudices, Terry uses him to gain financial support. Communism has no
feasibility as a political philosophy here, yet for different reasons. It is
spread at the bottom through the industrialized working class; yet it
flounders and is treated as a passing fad by those it purports to help. As
the circumstances did not force the failure of communism, the blame must lie
upon the inherent failure of communism as an idea. The circumstances and
societal structure are ripe for a communist uprising, yet the idea fails to
take hold or follow through on its promises. Communism does not fail as
spectacularly in *The Buddha of Suburbia* because it is not given a chance
to: it falters as a political philosophy yet not as a personal philosophy.

When the nature of communism in these three texts is examined, it initially
appears only to denote the inherent failure of the idea of communism itself.
This may be, yet when the circumstances surrounding the rise of communism
are explored; it becomes apparent that there are more complex factors
dictating its failure. Communism purports to help the proletariat, the
industrialized workers who have supposedly been oppressed by the
bourgeoisie's capitalist greed. In *The God of Small Things* and *In the
Castle of My Skin*, communism is spread through the hierarchical social
structure in a highly traditional and non-industrialized society which does
not lend itself to anything but a system of top-down oppression. Communism
has no option but to fail because it was not designed to be implemented in
such a way. It is as doomed as a driver in a car without wheels; communism
has no feasibility as a political philosophy in highly traditional societies
so recently independent of colonization. The failure of communism as an idea
is hinted at in *The Buddha of Suburbia*, yet it does not fail completely.
As a personal philosophy it does bring with it its initial promises.
However, Changez's gains from communism are solely the gain of one man; it
cannot be said that when implemented as a personal philosophy it will
benefit all. The personal and the political are too closely intertwined to
draw a distinction between the two when talking about a philosophy.
Communism as an idea does not always fail, as Changez's case shows, however
it can be said that given the three texts, communism is not a feasible or
successful political philosophy.

Works Cited

1.      Kureishi, Hanif. *The Buddha of Suburbia*. Penguin Books; New York,
New

 York. 1990.

*2.      *Lamming, George. *In the Castle of My Skin.* The University of
Michigan **

* *Press; Ann Arbor, Michigan. 1970. **

3.      Roy, Arundhati. *The God of Small Things*. HarperPerennial; New
York, New

 York. 1997.