MAJOR POLITICAL THEORIES

 MAJOR POLITICAL THEORIES

Q: What type of state Gandhiji had advised?

Answer: Gandhiji had advised Ramrajya.

Q: What Strategy did Gandhiji suggest for the employer-employee cordial relationship?

Answer: Gandhiji suggested 'Trusteeship' for an employer-employee cordial relationship.

Q: With what name did Gandhiji address the people of the scheduled castes?

Answer: Gandhiji addressed the people of scheduled castes as Harijans.

Q: Which of the two ends and means, Gandhism advocated?

Answer: Gandhism advocated means.

Q: What did Gandhiji call the greatest good of all the individuals, especially of the poor, the poorest of the poor?

Answer: Sarvodya.

Q: What is meant by liberalism?

Answer: Liberalism is too dynamic and too flexible a concept to give it a precise meaning. Encyclopaedia Britannica defines liberalism, 'as an idea committed to freedom, as a method and policy in government, as an organizing principle in society and as a way of life for the individual and the community.'

Liberalism is a theory of reforms, for it has stood for reforms in economic, social and political fields. It is the theory of liberty, individual liberty, individual autonomy, for it has argued in favour of the development of human personality. It is a theory of democracy, for it has favoured a constitutional government.

Q: What do you mean by 'withering away' of the state?

Answer: 'Withering away' of the state, according to the Marxists, means disappearing of the state, i.e., slowly and gradually the state apparatus would go the whole way.

Q: Discuss dialectical materialism as a feature of Marxism.

Answer: Dialectical materialism is the sum-total of the general principles which explain as why and how social changes take place. The social changes take place because of material factors. and through the dialectical materialistic method. The dialectical materialistic method is a triple method. In every society, there have been and are two opposite classes whose struggle brings evolution and change in the society. These opposite forces' struggle against one another, are influenced by their material or economic conditions. Marx says. "It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence but on the contrary, it is their social existence that determines their consciousness." 

Q: Is Marxism relevant today? Explain.

Answer: Marxism, both as philosophy and also as a practice, has attained a position unparalleled in social and political thought. And yet its shortcomings are obvious.

Changes do not occur simply because of the clashes between the opposing classes. Marxism has underestimated the worth and strength of national/patriotic sentiments. marxism also underestimated the importance of the state. To say that the state is a class institution and therefore, an oppressive and exploitative one is to oversimplify things. The Marxism formulations, in practice, have been really disappointing. Marxism, as a practice, has failed, whatever be the reasons. One chief reason has been its centralizing tendency: the dictatorship of the proletariat becomes the dictatorship of the communist party, the party's dictatorship becomes, ultimately, the dictatorship of one man: be that a Stalin or Mao. In the modern world, Communist China has introduced numerous liberalization measures in its economy and polity. The relevance of Marxism as an alternative ideology before the world is no more unquestioned.

Q: Do you agree with the view that Gandhism is a critique of western civilisation?

Answer: Yes, I agree with the view. Gandhiji was a critic of western civilisation. His complaint against western materialism is that it destroys the very essence of spiritualism. he regarded the western type of man as an automatic individual, with all flesh and no soul. As against the state that existed in the west, Gandhiji advocated what he called, the Ramrajya; as against the western style of managing things through the centralizing forces, he stood for the decentralized polity. As against materialism, industrialization and capitalism, he made a strong plea for swadeshi, cottage industries and the theory of Trusteeship.

Q: What was Gandhiji's concept of Ramrajya?

Answer: The spirit of Gandhian democracy is the spirit of decentralization. Decentralization means the devolution of power at each level beginning from individual/local unit and reaching the apex. The essence of decentralization, according to Gandhi, is that all powers flow from below and go up, in ascending order.

So considered, political power, in the Gandhian scheme, is vested in the individuals: the centre of all activity, the repository of Swaraj; fro individual, power is transferred to the village; from the village, the power goes to the higher unit, and ultimately, ends up with the central/national government which, practically performs only the coordinating functions. The spirit of Gandhian Ramrajya is that it is a self-regulating system where everyone is one's own ruler and not a hindrance to one's neighbour.