The Grand Retreat of Both Faced with such tragic consequences, the Communist countries, too, are having second thoughts about their system of absolute governmentalisation. They have begun to realise that the destruction of individual freedom kills the creative urge and incentive for work in the individual. They are, therefore, gradually moving towards individual freedom. They are being compelled, as in some East European countries and even in Russia, to allow the individual to own a few things and a little freedom to enjoy his property. Chester Bowles of America has stated: Russia is now allowing, what are called, ‘kitchen farms’ to be personally cultivated by farmers to the tune of 34% of the total land they cultivate. But the production from these 34% personal holdings (which do not have the benefit of heavy farm-machinery which is all monopolised by the State) has been 60% of the total produce, whereas 66% of the State-owned farms has yielded but 40%. That has once again proved that the promise of total governmentalisation, i.e., absolute collectivism, with which they started, is beating a hasty retreat in the land of its own birth. On the other hand, those countries where Democracy was born with the promise of ‘absolute individualism’ have also gone back upon their original stand. Having seen the tragic results of the unrestrained ‘equality of opportunity’ and of ‘freedom of the individual’, they were forced to undertake drastic measures to curtail in practice those theoretical concepts in the interest of the common social good. In fact, that is how they were able to avoid revolution and maintain their democratic structure. We thus find that both the above theories, Democracy and Communism, have two things in common, i.e., both were born as reactions to the previous order and both have had to resile from their original stand and forced to move towards each other – Democracy from its individualism towards collectivism and Communism from its collectivism towards individualism. In respect of both their birth and growth there is a remarkable similarity though, of course, their starting points were diametrical opposites because of historical reasons.
Posted on: Mon, 16 Dec 2013 05:13:33 +0000
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