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11 December 2024, 14:00-15:30, Zoom

As part of the Critical Agrarian Studies seminar series, the Social Scientists’ Association (SSA) is pleased to invite you to its tenth seminar for 2024 titled ‘Agrarian Crisis in the Age of Inequality‘by Palagummi Sainath on Wednesday, 4th December 2024 from 5.00 pm – 6.30 pm at the SSA Office, No. 380/86, Sarana Road, Colombo 7.

Palagummi Sainath is the Founder Editor of the People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI). He was honoured in 2007 with the Ramon Magsaysay Award, “for his passionate commitment as a journalist to restore the rural poor to India’s consciousness, moving the nation to action”. He is the author of the celebrated Everyone Loves A Good Drought: Stories from India’s Poorest Districts (Penguin India 1996). 

4 November 2024 

The liberal order supposedly built since World War II and claims of international promotion of human rights now stand fully exposed with the West’s unconditional support for Israel’s wars and heinous crimes in the Middle East

Today, I mark my one hundred and fiftieth Red Notes column. As I started writing this column, I reflected on if and how I should continue on this twice-a-month weekend preoccupation. If it were cricket, at a century and a half, I would have to consider if the pitch is changing and the light is fading, and how long to continue batting before getting all out or retiring. But what about in writing? Am I steady with my strokes; how is the world changing, and is anybody even reading?

My first column in March 2017 was titled, ‘Global Turmoil: International Tutelage and Adherence in a Time of Crisis’. I began that column by paying homage to one of my mentors and comrades, Kethesh Loganathan, who also wrote a column in the Daily Mirror for many years. He was silenced by an LTTE assassin in August 2006, when he was a year younger than I am now. The broader world I described in my first column is eerily similar, and perhaps gotten worse today. 

International tutelage and pressure

This is what I wrote in my first column, over seven and a half years ago:

“The global economy has not recovered from the Great Recession of 2008. Brexit signalled last year the tremendous backlash against neoliberal globalisation and the rising tide of anti-immigrant and racist forces in Europe. With the election of Trump, the American mask has come off, and its naked exploitative interests are bound to undermine international treaties and laws, which for better or worse, maintained a certain global order and stability. Furthermore, even the emerging power China is in a deep economic crisis, as its debt driven construction boom has reached its limits… 

“If the political leadership in the West is too much to stomach, there is always the bureaucracy of the international organisations whether it be the UN, the IMF or the World Bank. The buck does not stop there, when these international agencies lose their legitimacy with repeated political and economic crises – as with the war in Iraq and the anarchic fallout in the Middle East or the global economic crisis of 2008 – there are the metropolitan academic centres for coaching, whether it be Harvard or Oxford. So, for countries like Sri Lanka, it is not a question of what advice is sought or given, rather how and through what institutions, the same imperial policies are pushed and received gratefully by our elite.

As the global order unravels, there will be more aggressive and lethal manoeuvres from the metropolis, and there will be further dispossession in the Global South

“The most far reaching international disciplining of Sri Lanka in recent years is the IMF Extended Fund Facility Agreement in June 2016. However, even as the IMF demanded liberalisation of capital markets to allow for the free flow of capital into Sri Lanka, that very month, three senior researchers of the IMF wrote an article titled, ‘Neoliberalism: Oversold?’, about the risks of such policies. They argued that the chances of financial crises and inequality increases with such capital inflows. The IMF researchers were forced to question such policies after the IMF’s failed interventions in Europe, particularly in Greece. But in practice, the IMF works with double standards, one for the West and another for the Global South… As Sri Lanka stumbles along on the knife edge of an economic crisis, the advice we receive pushes us towards a deeper crisis…

“With Sri Lanka at the crossroads in a time of global turmoil, it is high time we eschewed our colonial mind-set of looking for solutions in the West. Rather, we must learn from struggles in other countries like ours, against their neoliberal states enriching their elites and critiques of similar forms of Western tutelage. More importantly, we must listen carefully to the protests of our people for land and housing, for sustainable agriculture and fisheries, for free healthcare and education, and for permanent work and decent working conditions.” 

Has the world not changed much since I started writing my column? Am I just repetitious in my writing? Or is the global order in a downward cycle with wars raging around the world along with economic crises in countries like Sri Lanka?

Over the next two weeks, we will see the results of two important elections. The outcome of the Trump and Harris election in the United States, which this time has little to offer the world. The Democrats in power have been as naked as the previous Trump regime in pushing imperialist interests. The liberal order supposedly built since the Second World War and claims of international promotion of human rights now stand fully exposed with the West’s unconditional support for Israel’s horrible wars and heinous crimes in the Middle East. 

In this context, amidst our hopeful moment in Sri Lanka after regime change, the General Elections next week are under the shadow of tremendous pressure from the West to stick with the IMF road of deprivation. The economic depression devastating Sri Lanka requires considerable relief, but the new government is constrained by powerful global actors demanding repayment of defaulted loans to international creditors.

As the global order unravels, there will be more aggressive and lethal manoeuvres from the metropolis, and there will be further dispossession in the Global South. The debt crisis of the 2020s now affecting over half the developing countries is only being patched up to prolong the extraction of global finance capital. It is in these troubled global waters that the National People’s Power (NPP) government will have to swim.

Looking back from the future

In the impossible probability that I will be writing this column seven and a half years into the future, what would I be writing? 

That destructive wars and brutal extraction by global powers has morphed liberal democracies onto the path of authoritarian populism and fascism in many parts of the world. Alternatively, that a non-aligned world led by progressive leaders emerging in the Global South are building a post-neoliberal world favourable to working people.

Closer at home, Sri Lanka has gone into its 18th IMF Agreement and again in the middle of a debt restructuring process following its second default on high interest International Sovereign Bonds (ISBs). And that free education and healthcare have been completely dismantled with drastic cuts and privatisation. Furthermore, Sri Lanka’s only major sector is tourism that falters from year to year, even as public utilities – unaffordable to working people – are owned by multinational giants from India and China. Alternatively, Sri Lanka has become one of the first indebted countries to exit the IMF programme in the 2020s, and found avenues of development financing avoiding commercial borrowing with ISBs. That a self-sufficient economy reviving agriculture with a strong food system has reduced inequality, and the country has become a beacon of economic democracy. 

As Sri Lanka goes into a decisive parliamentary election to form a new government for the next five years, the great expectations of the citizenry cannot wait seven and a half years. They will want to see changes in the next year itself. Elections, we know, are only one form of democratic engagement, and in the absence of social and economic changes, working people’s protests will follow suit regardless of who is in power. The year ahead is bound to be eventful, with either major progressive changes or more dispossession and repression.

Antonio Gramsci’s concept of “passive revolution” refers to a process of social, political, or economic change that is driven from above—by the ruling classes or the state—rather than through active and direct popular movements or revolutionary uprisings. Unlike traditional revolutions where the masses take control and overthrow the existing power structure, passive revolutions are characterized by gradual transformations that maintain the basic structure of power while incorporating some changes to accommodate new social or political realities. Key features of Gramsci’s concept of passive revolution include:

Top-down Reform: Changes are initiated by elites or the state to prevent revolutionary upheaval from below. These changes are often implemented to stabilize the system and absorb potential opposition.

Transformism: Related to passive revolution is the concept of “transformism,” where leaders from subaltern (or lower) classes are co-opted into the ruling class to neutralize radical challenges. This tactic allows the ruling class to incorporate elements of popular demands without fundamentally altering the power structure.

Conservative Modernization: The ruling elites might introduce reforms that modernize society or the economy, but in ways that ultimately consolidate or preserve their dominance. This modernization is not meant to empower the people but to strengthen the existing order.

Preventing Hegemony from Below: In Gramsci’s theory, the ruling class implements passive revolution to prevent the emergence of a counter-hegemony—an alternative ideological framework—by the subaltern classes. By making some concessions, the ruling class avoids the possibility of a mass revolutionary uprising.

Historical Examples: Gramsci used historical examples such as the Italian unification (Risorgimento) and the development of modern capitalist societies to illustrate passive revolution. In Italy, for instance, national unity was achieved through elite-driven processes rather than through a broad, popular movement. Similarly, many capitalist reforms were driven by elites to prevent radical upheaval.

In essence, passive revolution is a strategy of maintaining control through change, wherein the ruling class reshapes institutions, policies, or the economy in ways that absorb or deflect popular discontent without surrendering power. It contrasts with more direct, bottom-up revolutionary movements that seek to overturn the entire social and political system.

In recent history, there have been several examples of “passive revolutions” where significant social, political, or economic changes were initiated from above, often by elites or the state, rather than through mass popular movements. Here are some examples:

1. Economic Reforms in China (1978-present)

• After Mao Zedong’s death, China underwent major economic reforms under Deng Xiaoping. The ruling Communist Party introduced market reforms to modernize and transform China’s economy, moving from strict state control toward a more market-driven system.
• These reforms were introduced from above, by the Communist leadership, without a popular movement calling for such changes. The government retained tight political control while implementing capitalist practices within the socialist framework. This can be seen as a passive revolution because it prevented potential instability and dissatisfaction from below by modernizing the economy without losing control of the political system.

2. Perestroika and Glasnost in the Soviet Union (1980s)

• In the 1980s, Mikhail Gorbachev initiated Perestroika (economic restructuring) and Glasnost (political openness) in an effort to revitalize the Soviet Union. These were reforms that attempted to liberalize the economy and increase political transparency, but the Communist Party remained in control.
• The process was led from the top to avoid unrest and maintain the socialist state, even though it eventually led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. This could be considered a passive revolution because it involved significant reforms aimed at adapting the system to avoid a larger, potentially revolutionary upheaval.

3. Neoliberal Reforms in Latin America (1980s-1990s)

• In the 1980s and 1990s, many Latin American countries implemented neoliberal economic reforms under pressure from international institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. These reforms included privatization, deregulation, and reductions in social spending.
• Although these changes were often unpopular and led to significant social consequences, they were introduced by elites to modernize economies in response to financial crises. In some cases, these reforms helped avoid larger social upheavals, acting as a passive revolution by incorporating some changes that were necessary for survival while maintaining the overall political-economic order.

4. Post-Apartheid South Africa (1990s)

• The transition from apartheid to a democratic system in South Africa can be viewed through the lens of passive revolution. Although apartheid was brought down by a strong mass movement (led by the African National Congress and other organizations), the transition to democracy involved a negotiated settlement between the ruling white minority and the liberation movements.
• The settlement, which allowed for political freedom and enfranchisement for the Black majority, also preserved much of the economic power structure, with white elites retaining significant control of the economy. This could be seen as a passive revolution because, while significant political changes occurred, the economic transformation was gradual and did not completely overturn the status quo.

5. Post-Socialist Economic Transition in Eastern Europe (1990s)

• After the fall of the Soviet Union, many Eastern European countries transitioned from socialism to capitalism through a series of top-down reforms. These transitions involved privatization of state assets and the establishment of market economies.
• While the political systems in these countries changed from authoritarian socialism to democracy, much of the economic restructuring was controlled by elites. In many cases, the former communist elites became the new capitalist elites, maintaining their dominance through a process of transformation rather than revolution. This gradual, elite-driven transformation mirrors Gramsci’s idea of a passive revolution.

6. The Arab Monarchies’ Reforms (2010s)

• In response to the Arab Spring uprisings, several monarchies in the Middle East, such as Morocco, Jordan, and the Gulf states, introduced limited political and economic reforms. These changes were aimed at addressing popular demands without surrendering control of the state.
• In Morocco, for instance, King Mohammed VI introduced a new constitution in 2011, granting some political powers to the parliament while keeping key executive powers in the hands of the monarchy. This process represents a passive revolution, as it was intended to preempt a more radical, revolutionary change from below by introducing controlled reforms from above.

7. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 (2016-present)

• Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman introduced Vision 2030, a series of economic and social reforms aimed at diversifying the economy away from oil dependence and opening up certain aspects of Saudi society.
• While some of the reforms, such as allowing women to drive and opening up entertainment options, were socially significant, they were initiated and controlled by the state without mass popular demands. The monarchy remains firmly in power, and political dissent is tightly controlled. This can be seen as a passive revolution because the leadership is initiating these changes from the top to modernize society without fundamentally challenging the existing political order.

8. Rwandan Development Model (1994-present)

• After the genocide in 1994, Rwanda, under President Paul Kagame, embarked on a top-down process of modernization and economic development. The country implemented policies aimed at transforming its economy and society, but this process has been controlled by a highly centralized state with limited political freedom.
• The Rwandan government has maintained stability and growth through a model that integrates some aspects of neoliberal economic policies with strong state control. While the country has experienced significant changes, the process has been elite-driven, with little space for political dissent, reflecting characteristics of a passive revolution.

These examples demonstrate how ruling elites or state actors can initiate changes to adapt to new realities while maintaining overall control, which aligns with Gramsci’s concept of passive revolution. The goal in these cases is often to prevent a larger revolutionary threat or to co-opt potential sources of opposition.

The notion of passive revolution is one of Gramsci’s most important theoretical contributions. This concept is also used to analyse various historical phenomena or present concrete situations. For Gramsci, the contributions of this notion seem to be positioned on at least two levels, linked dialectically: to conceive a modality of historical change that cannot be reduced to revolutionary upheavals in the strict sense; and to critically highlight the dominant classes’ political strategies to advance the emancipation of subaltern autonomous activity.

Dear friends,

Greetings from the desk of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research.

On 1 October, US Representative Michael McCaul, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee issued a statement urging US President Joe Biden to ‘place maximum pressure on Iran and its proxies, rather than pressure Israel for a ceasefire. We need to expedite arms transfers to Israel that this administration has delayed for months, including 2,000-pound bombs, to ensure Israel has all the tools to deter these threats’. McCaul’s belligerent call came days after Israel used over eighty US-made 2,000-pound bombs and other munitions on 27 September, to strike a residential neighbourhood in Beirut and kill – amongst hundreds of civilians – Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah (1960–2024), the leader of Hezbollah. In this one bombing raid, Israel dropped more of these ‘bunker buster’ bombs than the United States military used in its 2003 invasion of Iraq.

A former US aviator, Commander Graham Scarbro of the US Navy, reviewed the evidence of the Israeli strikes for the US Naval Institute. In a very revealing article, Scarbro notes that Israel ‘seems to have taken a notably different approach to collateral damage than US forces over the past few decades’. While the US has never demonstrated any significant concern for civilian casualties or ‘collateral damage’, it is worth noting that even senior US military officials have raised their eyebrows at the degree of Israel’s disregard for human life. Israel’s military, Scarbro writes, ‘seems to have a higher threshold for collateral damage… meaning they strike even when chances are higher for civilian casualties’.

Bassim al-Shaker (Iraq), Symphony of Death 1, 2019.

Despite Washington’s knowledge that the Israelis have been bombing Gaza, and now Lebanon, with complete abandon – and even after the International Court of Justice ruled that it is ‘plausible’ that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza – the United States has continued to arm the Israelis with deadly weaponry. On 10 October 2023, Biden said, ‘We’re surging additional military assistance’, which has amounted to a record-level of at least $17.9 billion during the past year of genocide. In March 2024, The Washington Post reported that the US had ‘quietly approved and delivered more than 100 separate foreign military sales to Israel that amounted to ‘thousands of precision-guided munitions, small-diameter bombs, bunker busters, small arms and other lethal aid’. These ‘small’ sales fell below the minimum threshold under US law which requires the president to approach Congress for approval (which anyway would not have been denied). These sales amounted to the transfer of at least 14,000 of the 2,000 pound MK-84 bombs and 6,500 500-pound bombs that Israel has used in both Gaza and Lebanon.

In Gaza, the Israelis have routinely used the 2,000-pound bombs to strike areas populated by civilians – who had been told to take refuge at these locations by the Israeli authorities themselves. ‘In the first two weeks of the war’, The New York Times reported, ‘roughly 90 percent of the munitions Israel dropped in Gaza were satellite-guided bombs of 1,000 or 2,000 pounds’. In March 2024, US Senator Bernie Sanders tweeted, ‘The US cannot beg Netanyahu to stop bombing civilians one day and the next send him thousands more 2,000 lb. bombs that can level entire city blocks. This is obscene’. A 2016 report by Action on Armed Violence offered the following assessment of these weapons of mass destruction:

These are extremely powerful bombs, with a large destructive capacity when used in populated areas. They can blow apart buildings and kill and injure people hundreds of metres from the point of detonation. The fragmentation pattern and range of a 2,000lb MK 84 bomb are difficult to predict, but it is generally said that this weapon has a ‘lethal radius’ (i.e. the distance in which it is likely to kill people in the vicinity) of up to 360m. The blast waves of such a weapon can create a great concussive effect; a 2,000lb bomb can be expected to cause severe injury and damage as far as 800 metres from the point of impact.

Ismail Shammout (Palestine), Guardian of the Fire, 1988.

I have several times walked around the Beirut neighbourhood of Haret Hreik in Dahiyeh, which was struck by Israeli bombs in the attack on the Hezbollah leadership. This is a highly congested area, with barely a few metres between high-rise residential buildings. To strike a complex of these buildings with over eighty of these powerful bombs cannot be called ‘precise’. Israel’s bombing of Beirut mirrors its harsh attacks on Gaza and symbolises the disdain for human life that characterises both Israeli and US warfare. On 23 September, Israel bombarded Lebanon at a rate of more than one airstrike per minute. In days, Israel’s ‘intense airstrikes’ displaced over a million people, a fifth of the entire population of Lebanon.

The first bomb to ever fall from an aircraft was a Haasen hand grenade (Denmark) dropped by Lieutenant Giulio Cavotti of the Italian Air Force on 1 November 1911 onto the town of Tagiura, near Tripoli, Libya. A hundred years later, in a grotesque commemoration of sorts, French and US aircraft bombed Libya once more as part of their war to overthrow the government of Muammar Gaddafi. The ferocity of aerial bombing was understood from the very outset, as Sven Lindqvist documented in his book, A History of Bombing (2003). In March 1924, UK Squadron Leader Arthur ‘Bomber’ Harris authored a report (later expunged) about his bombings in Iraq and the ‘real’ meaning of aerial bombardment:

Where the Arab and Kurd had just begun to realise that if they could stand a little noise, they could stand bombing… they now know what real bombing means, in casualties and damage; they now know that within forty-five minutes a full-sized village … can be practically wiped out and a third of its inhabitants killed or injured by four or five machines which offer them no real target, no opportunity for glory as warriors, no effective means of escape.

A hundred years later, these words of ‘Bomber’ Harris aptly describe the kind of ruthlessness inflicted on both Palestine and Lebanon.

Andreì Masson (France), There Is No Finished World, 1942

You might ask: what about the rockets fired on Israel by Hezbollah and Iran? Are they not part of the brutality of war? Certainly, these are part of the ugliness of warfare, but an easy parallel cannot be drawn. Iran’s ballistic missiles followed Israel’s attack on an Iranian diplomatic facility in Syria (April 2024), the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran following the inauguration of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (July 2024), the assassination of Nasrallah in Beirut (September 2024), and the killing of several Iranian military officials. Significantly, whereas Israel has launched countless strikes targeting civilians, medical personnel, journalists, and aid workers, Iran’s missiles exclusively targeted Israeli military and intelligence facilities and not civilian areas. Hezbollah, meanwhile, targeted Israel’s Ramat David Airbase, east of Haifa, in September 2024. Neither Iran nor Hezbollah have fired their munitions into congested neighbourhoods of Israeli cities. Since 8 October 2023, Israeli airstrikes against Lebanon have far outnumbered Hezbollah’s strikes against Israel. Before the current wave of hostilities, by 10 September, Israel had killed 137 Lebanese civilians and displaced hundreds of thousands of Lebanese from their homes; meanwhile, Hezbollah rockets had by then killed 14 Israeli civilians, with their rockets leading to the evacuation of 63,000 Israeli civilians. There has been not only a quantitative difference in the number of strikes and death toll, but a qualitative difference in the use of violence. Violence that is directed largely at military targets, is permissible in certain conditions under international law; violence that is indiscriminate, such as when massive bombs are used against civilians, violates the laws of war.

Etel Adnan (Lebanon), Untitled, 2017.

Etel Adnan (1925–2021), a Lebanese poet and artist, grew up in Beirut after her parents fled the collapsing Ottoman Empire that became modern day Turkey. She dug deep into the soil of conflict and pain, the ingredients for her poetry. Her voice resonated from the balcony of her apartment in Ashrafieh, the ‘little mountain’, from where she could see the ships come in and out of the port. When Etel Adnan died, the novelist Elias Khoury (1948–2024), who himself died just before Beirut was again bombarded, wrote that he mourned a woman who would not die, but he feared for his city which was suffering alone. Here are a few extracts from Etel’s poem, ‘Beirut, 1982’, to remind us that we are as angry as a storm.

I never believed
that vengeance
would be a tree
growing in my garden

*

      Trees grow in all directions
So do Palestinians:

uprooted
and unlike butterflies
wingless,
earthbound,
heavy with love
for their borders and their
misery,

no people can go forever behind
bars
or under the rain.

…

We shall never cry with tears
but with blood.

…

It is not on cemeteries that we shall
plant grain
nor in the palm of my hand
We are as angry as a storm.

Warmly,

The Forty-First Newsletter (2024) by Vijay Prashad

In recent election rallies in the South, AKD (Anura Kumara Disanayaka) has taken a commendable stance, repeatedly telling his supporters that those working for his opponents or voting for them should not be harmed, as it’s their democratic right to vote for their political parties. This message of tolerance and respect for political freedom is crucial to a healthy democracy.

However, his tone took a stark turn during a rally in Jaffna. Speaking to the largely Tamil audience, Anura implied that not supporting the ‘change’ the people (largely Sinhala) were expecting may have negative consequences. A few days later, when questioned in a Neth FM interview he stood by his words uttered in Jaffna and repeated, ‘…I appeal and ask you to be part of this change, if you do not partake in this change what attitude will be created in society towards you?’ This raises important questions about consistency. Why is the right to political choice upheld for the Sinhala voters in the South, but not equally extended to Tamil voters in the North? His comments in Jaffna suggest chauvinistic and coercive undertones, implying that Tamil voters may face social alienation if they don’t align with the wishes of the people in the South. All citizens, regardless of ethnicity, can vote freely for the candidate of their choice.

It is Sinhala ethnocentric politics to coerce the minority Tamil community to conform while advocating for tolerance within the majority Sinhala community. Isn’t this kind of Sinhala ethnocentric politics risk deepening ethnic divisions?

What needs to be done: AKD should change his Sinhala ethnocentric attitude towards minority communities, respect their political autonomies and uphold them too in his campaigns in the South. This will, certainly, contribute to bringing real change to the polity of the country, thus paving the way for real democracy in Sri Lanka.

Redley Silva

1. What force will overthrow the repressive and corrupt regimes in Sri Lanka? And
2. If it is possible, what kind of political economy will emerge in the future?

Unfortunately, it is completely irrational to think that, there will be such a change from the upcoming presidential election to be held in Sri Lanka on 21st September 2024.

Therefore, we request the workers, farmers, ethnic minorities and all other oppressed people of Sri Lanka to take steps to build a new mass movement from the grass root level based on “People’s Commune” at the villages and workplaces etc. as an alternative. 

This article aims to initiate a discussion on how people can be mobilized to bring about real democratic change that will bring relief to the people of Sri Lanka.

Today, the stance of all candidates and the parties running for the presidential election is to develop along the path followed and continuing in the capitalist countries. At least, they are not ready to “ask for debt cancellation” as a relief to Sri Lanka. We have emphasized that it is not possible to find solutions to the present problems of the people of Sri Lanka through their promises. 

We emphasize this because of the following historical facts.

1. The political elites of Sri Lanka are not able to compete in the global market, or at least make a deal with them that will provide relief to the people of Sri Lanka, due to the enormous influence and power of the imperialist countries and the multinational cooperations. On the other hand, capitalist countries and financial institutions do not want to establish industries and create industrialization in Sri Lanka in a way that threatens the economic power of capitalist countries.
2.  The second important reason is the historical political weakness of the capitalist elites who represent Sri Lanka’s national capitalist class. They have failed to wage a decisive struggle against imperialism externally and capitalist elites failed to sweep away the remnants of the local feudalism or wage a decisive struggle in the past, and they will continue to fail in the future also. The best example of this is the fact that even after seventy-five years of so-called independence and thirty years of war, it is still not possible to build a national state in Sri Lanka by accepting the right of self-determination of the Tamil-speaking people in the North and East.

We need a clear understanding of the nature of the present epoch. 

Clearly, we are not living in a pre-revolutionary situation at the present time. There is no immediate prospect of a radical change in the system of property ownership.  We have to take important and radical steps to reduce poverty and inequality, while we are still functioning within the framework of the capitalist system. That means we must have a long view of history. 

Our role today is to struggle with an internationalist vision of revolutionary politics. At least in South Asia, we should try to build and work in solidarity with a United People’s Movement of the working class, the peasantry and the remaining oppressed people.  That will end the pressing problems of the people, namely oppression, corruption and exploitation. 

Without that, there is no possibility of a real transformation through the magic of the presidential election.

 In order to shoulder this task,

we have to join hands with the workers, farmers and students who are engaged in the struggle of the people’s organizations, in the streets, in the workplaces and in the educational institutions. We must act as multiracial, multi sexual and multicultural people.

We cannot be trusted of Capitalist markets and technology to solve the current crisis facing humanity. The main problem lies in the entire system based on the accumulation of capital, its endless growth and its limitless waste.

 The entire global system has been destroyed, making it no longer suitable for human habitation due to the unlimited accumulation of capital. Therefore, we must end capitalism. Today we have only two choices; That is “destruction” or “revolution”.

We firmly state that no matter which person or party comes to power through the presidential election to be held in Sri Lanka, none of the issues or problems of the people mentioned above will be resolved. We appeal to all the oppressed people to mobilize themselves through the People’s Commune, which represents the oppressed farmers, workers, unemployed and students of all ethnic and religious groups, without waiting for this presidential election!

In this context, we request all the oppressed people to join hands to face the more difficult and repressive situation that is to come near future. And we request to build a new mass movement that focuses on the matters affecting the oppressed workers, peasants as well as national and international issues. Through such grassroots level organizations, oppressed people of all layers are required to be involved actively not only political matters but also socio-economic and cultural affairs affecting the people’s lives.

Also, such a struggle can not be sustained by the oppressed people of Sri Lanka alone. For that reason, the international support and solidarity of the global movement of the oppressed people is needed. At the very least, we should work to build a regional solidarity movement with workers, peasants and student movements in the South Asian region such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal etc.

To achieve this goal;

• We should build a mass movement for the right of nations to self-determination, as well as against the caste system and the racism in South Asia.
•  We should try to build a new International of the socialist organizations of the world.
•  Furthermore, we should work to build a society with sustainable and equality through building “People’s Commune” in every village and every workplace to find solutions to the problems faced by the people today. 

We believe that the survival of humankind and the survival of the planet depend only on building such a sustainable socialist society.

 ° Our aims and roles are to remain independent of all forms of imperialist, capitalist and class collaborationist politics and political parties.

° The goal before us is uncompromising, and its purpose is to build a new world that is constructive for all living things and the environment, including humans.

By Wilfred Silva