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Role of political parties in history:

The institution of political parties that enters to advance the cause of the state merits seriousexamination. It affects man now at the core. Moreover, political parties have confounded the

man most in recent history.

History testifies that the concept of present day democracy arose to be a political creed of the

new rising class of bourgeoisie at a particular juncture to serve a definite role. It had its own

material conditions to grow.The rising moneyed class needed fair play for its different financial groups contending

against each other, while keeping the working masses content with their fate in spite of

expropriation they are subject to under the new paradigm. It brought in the concept of

democracy as its political creed with representative medium through political parties to

operate. The creed later provided social legitimacy to the rule of this minority.

In consonance with the requirement of a free and independent worker for peddling its

production cycle, capital-based industrial culture centuries back brought in the concept of

democracy as its political creed with liberty and equality as its core slogan, reflected in

adult franchise to prop up representative medium to function.

This stratagem of representative medium obviously helped to offset the danger arisingfrom any released energy of the masses at large in democracy with equality as its core

slogan, while adult franchise in turn strengthened the individual as a force, with

individualism as his or her philosophy to consolidate.

In this industrial dispensation, while the state assumed a highly centralized structure day by

day in conformity with the inherent law of its political economy, this creed of democracy

gave birth necessarily, as an unwanted corollary, to release energy of the masses and awaken

them afresh to their own strength. It sounded alarm for the ruling class.

This undesired by-product, however, is a writ doom for the whole system of expropriation, if

such an eventuality is allowed to materialise unhindered. Here the stratagem of

representative democracy obviously helped to offset the danger from any released energy of

the masses at large.

This insulates the capitalist system from such a collapse, with an elaborate system of

political parties as a fresh interpretation of democracy to serve it as a necessary appendage

by keeping the masses in check within a specified frame with no one to cross. The result is

there to see. The initiative of the masses got shifted to a handful of political leaders heading

these institutions of political action, when it is a known historical fact that power of the

people is the main force of change in history against the organised forces of status quo.

Slowly the initiative for social action slipped into the hands of a few leaders that the system

is capable to handle easily bringing the alienation of the people in the political arena

complete. That insulated the system well from collapse. In essence this is the crux of the

political frame it devised.

And, the political parties of all hues did the job commendably well so given to them in

history. They have proved their worth by wresting the energy of common mass and keeping

their initiative and activism within their own hold. And save the system of any challenge

from unruly crowd!

Gandhis example during freedom struggle is a classical case to illustrate when every mass

movement was capped within his own specified frame! After independence, the functioning

of political parties during last fifty-seven years met the same yardstick. Both ways, it served

the industrial-commercial-financial interests best - in economy and political management.As an institution in practice, the political parties every where have served virtually these

interests of the trinity as its faithful product, in spite of claims to the contrary by some. So

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far there has been no exception, if the basic interest of toiling masses is kept in place as the

context.

The political party as an institution proved to be faithful defenders of capitalist growth

everywhere. In India, it is no less true. In the experiment to build socialism in erstwhile

Soviet Union, with a sole communist party at its helm, the initiative of people had gone

extinguished and their activism flushed out. Simultaneously, capital with a lot of capital

owners grew easily underneath its wings and flowered to take over. It is now crystal clear.

With concentration of authority in the hands of a centralised leadership, initiative and

activism of even its own rank and file in a communist party is extinguished like-wise.

Initiative of the people then is a far cry to expect.

Profitably it may be recalled that all rulers in human history fear energies of the masses

most. Soviet rulers fared no better than bourgeois rulers did. Neither Chinese, nor the

Vietnamese faired better. The same is true of other countries.

We have grown watching basically two types of political parties. One was bourgeois

parliamentary type. These are reformatory in nature. Within the system, they plead for

changes to give it a human face, not substances! The other was of those who were

claimants to being communists and socialists, vouching for a fundamental change inproduction relations affecting all social forms in chain replacing capital-centred values with

labour-based ones. Another streak of socialists, popularly called social democrats worldwide

were basically reformists in approach and had compromised with ruling bourgeoisie at

crucial moments for the workingmen loosing credibility in bargain to gain confidence of the

working people.

On the face of it, a political party is another voluntary organisation of men and women in

society, like so many other social organisations that members of society tend to combine

voluntarily for some particular object or objects to achieve. However, it is not as simple as

that. Political parties are not political parties if these do not chase state-power relentlessly.

To keep the logic on rail a premise is hammered constantly that genuine people may holdpower and effect social change in the interest of people! With this claim parties charm

common men in the street. The premise, however, hides one important facet.

The state may benefit some individual or individuals if one happens to be on its right side

regularly, keeping away the question of dignity out. So, if a political party climbs to power

what to the people who are destined to be ruled any way till the state lasts? The prospect is

more obnoxious when parties in power do work for capital to grow at the cost of

workingmen in general and oppress them.

In recent times political parties in fact have attained a much deeper meaning in social life of

a country. The octopus like growth of these parties in importance virtually threatens today

the freedom of choice of men who combine, more so if one happens to withdraw this choice.

Another dimension to the role of a political party has of late been assigned to it by the

communist ideologues. In the early part of twentieth century Lenin in Russia started this

campaign and made it sine qua non of any organised effort to change the direction how the

society should work. This proved non-workable but charming, nonetheless disastrous in

consequence.

Let us now examine for whom political parties work as an institution.

Political parties without exception, as institutions of practice, are faithful defenders of

capitalist growth. This is history now. It is true for the western world that nobody doubts.

Expectations to the contrary soared high when Soviet Union charted a path with communistparty at the head claiming its fight against capitalist growth. This case also proved the

premise correct that all political parties have worked for capitalist growth including in the

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countries of so-called socialist camp without exception. By 1991 the result of this

experiment confirmed the worst fears in this connection.

The innovators there were found doing the same things in spite of claim to build a new

society free from stranglehold of capital. The ruling communist party there achieved the

opposite what it has been claiming: capitalism grew in its womb faithfully and with ease.

The initiative of the people had gone extinguished and their activism flushed out completely

within a few decades after their commendable example exhibited during Second World War.

In addition, the communist party of Soviet Union (CPSU) as a sole arbiter of initiative and

activism on behalf of the masses turned out to be more dangerous than beneficial in their

contest against the state. The masses there totally depended on wishes of the party machinery

in their contest to resolve the firstprincipal contradictionbetween the people and the state.

It proved a historical tragedy of massive magnitude to the aspiring working population for a

new life. With such a devastating experience in hand the society world over have to devise

ways and means to obviate the dander. The problem has to be met adequately in order to

release the initiative and activism of the masses again, if the society is to bloom with

youthful energy and fragrance with no one to suppress it.

One more question here comes up. In the event when political parties of every hue andcolour have written off the masses of their care to serve capital, expectation of mass support

- financial or otherwise is truly naive. People have started disbelieving political leadership.

They have stopped even to contribute or subscribe to their kitty, and rightly too.

This explains why these political formations are now increasingly dependent on support

from industrial and commercial concerns overtly or covertly, by fair or foul means. Of late,

they have started justifying it. There is hardly any exception. This amply testifies to their

isolation from the people at large and bankruptcy of their policies and conduct.

For some parties, typically, trade unions and their struggles specifically are convenient tools

for striking bargains - communists included. In this game all of them are practical. State

apparatus knows it, plan strategies and manipulate it. Industrial workers know it for certain.

Though these workers find communists as their valiant fighters on economic issues, they

have scant respect for their political ventures. In fact, the episode in Haryana cited earlier

raises a pertinent question on the basic character of a political party that is out to grab state

power by any means. The tragedy lies with such a party that claims to work for change in

society and moulding a new man out of the fouling one.