The Crisis of the "Left" in the Caribbean and the Way Forward

The Carribbean and Latin America is going through a period of unrest - the product of the popular masses disillusionment with the so-called free enterprise system and the liberal-democratic arrangement that has given so much to the few and little to the many. On the other hand, the "Left" alternative with its emphasis on 'vanguardism', 'statism', and 'class struggle', has shown clearly that it is unable to transform the wishes and aspirations of the people into concrete reality. Today, the forces of the 'Left' - Marxists and non-Marxists are in deep crisis - ideological, political and organizational. One of instant answers, political expedience and the tendency to know-it-all. 

The Grenadian revolution, the first of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbean was aborted by self-professed Marxist-Leninists and radical social-democrats over the 'primacy of theory' and 'leadership'. Inner conflict between marxists and revolutionary nationalists in Suriname contributed significantly to the derailing of the revolution and the break-up of the broad-based 'Standfast' movement in the country. From the conspirational and focoist tactics and strategy of the M-19 Movement of Colombia that isolated it from the popular masses, to the tailism of the 'left' organisations in Panama, and the self-defeat of the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. Along with the collapse of communist state capitalism in Eastern Europe, have all paved the way for the demise of the marxist 'left' in the Caribbean and Latin America. 

It is not our intention in this article to give an in-depth analysis of pseudo-scientific-socialist theory, 'left' social-democracy or left-nationalism (which in the Spanish speaking countries of Latin America, is a mixture of Bolivian Liberalism, romantic Guevarianism and the concept of 'prolonged war' borrowed from Maoism), but only to discuss them in relation to the concepts of popular democracy, popular revolution and mass action and initiative. 

In his book - 'Democracy: Between the Third Universal Theory and Contemporary Conceptions', Abdel Shahada noticed that "historically, after revolutions and offerings of sacrifices, the people will again return to their state before the revolution". He argues that "the reason for this is the non-existence of a scientific ideology which offers practical solutions for the problems from which man suffers, radical solutions whose aim is the authority of the people." This scientific ideology must examine the concept of revolution in totality - political, economic, social, cultural and spiritual, since revolution is a total event that not only deals with the problems of political power but incorporates all aspects of human existence. Such an ideology is the Third Universal Theory. A scientific study that is based on the acceptance of the universal and eternal laws of nature, and a potent tool in the hands of the popular masses to construct a truly democratic society based on the authority of the people. 

False notions like the 'leading role of the vanguard party,'; 'dictatorship of the proletariat'; 'class struggle as the moving force of history and human society', and other such marxist garbage can only lead to unscientific analyses and in the long run to party/state domination and counter-revolution under the guise of advancing the "people's" revolution. Wherever the elite principle of Leninism is put into practice it has always been an obstacle to the realisation of popular sovereignty. A good example of this is the Grenadian revolution, where a small group of 'enlightened' Jacobins constituted themselves as a vanguard party organised along marxist-leninist lines to 're-arrange' the society not through mass action and initiative, but through that of the 'elite' acting in the name of the popular masses. 

Vanguardism is based on the 'iron laws of oligarchy'. It is anti-democratic and leads to the alienation of the people from the political process and public affairs and eventually to marginalization. It sees the masses as mindless followers with no ideas of their own, indeed with no capacity for cognition. The'left' in the Caribbean and Latin America must assess their anti-liberation ideologies critically. 'Vanguardism' and 'statism' are two diseases that will continue to plague the 'left'. Marxism and social-democracy are not capable of creating organs of popular power for the diversification of economic power and decentralization of political power. In fact marxist revolutions like liberal revolutions and 'left' nationalists revolutions have led tot he strengthening of the state apparatus either in the name of a 'class' or the peoples, and the re-organisation of the economy along neo-capitalist lines by statization of the factors of production and bureaucratic central control. 

As revolutionaries we must educate, organize and incite the people to take political power. Our function is to serve as aides not as "vanguards" - nor weilders of state power. For Voline, "the "elite's" tole is to help the masses, teach them, give them necessary advice, impel them to take the initiative, provide them with an example, and to support them in their actions but not to direct them governmentally". One of the fundamental tenets of the popular revolution is to put power into the hands of people through popular assemblies and people's committees - effective mechanisms for popular decision-making and accountability. When the people control the institutions of decision-making there can be no such frustration of their expressed will by a minority of politicians (People's Declaration of Policy: N.J.A.C. of Trinidad). The transfer of authority from one group to another, or from one party to another makes a mockery of real popular democracy. "If authority is merely transferred from one group to another, or is imposed upon the majority, it degenerates into authoritarianism." (Paolo Freire: Pedagogy of the Oppressed). The solution to this problem was given by the great revolutionary thinker and fighter - Muammar Qathafi - in his address to the revolutionaries of Latin America. Touching on the revolutionary process in the countries of Honduras, Nicaragua, Grenada, El Salvador and Suriname, he said "a government should not be replaced by another government, be it revolutionary, is sufficient reason for an opposition to form. The only valid solution is to abolish all forms of government and to set up the power of the people, the power of the masses. When the people - all the people shall hold power, when the masses - as a whole shall wield authority, there shall be no reason for an opposition to manifest itself." Of course, "this was the big mistake the Sandinistas made. Instead of giving power to the masses, they entered the dialectics of elections and governments" (Muammar Qathafi). 

The way forward for the 'Left" in the Caribbean and Latin America is to first of all abandon absolute, Euro-centric ideologies of Marxism, social-democracy (Marxism without Leninist garb) and 'conspirational activities of equals', for a scientific theory that reinstates the natural values, rather than dogmas founded on materialistic considerations. Let us marshall our revolutionary forces and the popular masses, acting in unison to involve more and more people in the theoretical and practical aspects of the struggle for the realization of the 'authority of the people'.