Inter-Civilizational Dialogue for Democracy
In December, 2021 several international leaders convened under a ‘Democracy Summit’ initiated by the American government. At the summit, Joe Biden declared that defending democracy against authoritarianism was the ‘defining challenge of our time’. The summit came off as a desperate attempt to form a fragile alliance to isolate nations that refuse to operate within, and offer an alternative to the western world order in this time. Democracy, in its most superficial definition, was used as a rallying point for this project to bring together developing nations from the third world with the developed West. This is an unnatural alliance that includes nations whose labor and natural wealth fuels the economies of the West, as well as those same neo-colonial powers. The two sides share little in the way of economic interests, culture, positive historical ties, and indeed even political systems. In the name of democracy the West acts to undermine humanity’s genuine and organic paths to democracy, sovereignty and self determination. Democracy is weaponized as a way to force western values upon non-western nations.
Recent events in Afghanistan and Ukraine have shown that the US led ‘rules based order’ has reached its breaking point. Nations are either reluctant or unwilling to follow norms set by international institutions that protect western economic interests such as NATO and the IMF, at the cost of their own security and national interests. Even as the US has tried to rally support to isolate and condemn Russia, nations outside of Europe have refused to follow American leadership blindly. The continuing use of illegal sanctions as a weapon by the West is only decoupling them from Russia and China and hence accelerating de-dollarization of the world economy. While the West claims the moral and democratic high ground and thus the right to unquestioned leadership, in reality it functions to disunite nations and peoples and to form hostile and competing blocs. A new multipolar world, however, is emerging with China, Russia, India, Iran among other nations, at its core.
The economic and political crisis within the West continues to intensify. The US remains polarized since the election of Donald Trump, and faces high levels of unemployment, violence, and economic inflation. The institutions of liberal democracy face a crisis of legitimacy. Competing interests have been emerging within the European Union since Brexit, and the events in Ukraine have made evident the deep divisions in NATO and the western alliance.
We are living through times which require a deep and substantive effort to understand and deepen an alternative and radical vision of democracy that can serve the masses of people of the world. We need a democracy that can allow states to end poverty and ensure participation from their citizens in the running of their institutions. The poor of the world are crying out for an end to rule by western ‘experts’ and a return to people’s democratic rule. It is a time to reassess the democratic project and explore ways to deepen people’s control of their own destinies.
Western imperialism has consistently attacked the project of widening democracy in Asia, whether it be Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan or the colonial plunder of Asia as a whole. It has furthermore asserted the superiority of western civilization over all other civilizations and forms of political and social organization. True democracy must include the right of nations and civilizations to reject western liberal democracy and determine the structures of their states on the basis of their own civilizational values and goals.
The Indian Freedom struggle and the Chinese revolution constituted world-historic steps in the forward movement of world democracy. They led to parallel but distinct attempts to establish a democratic state in light of the unique civilizational character of these two countries. In substance, these movements struggled for a democratic solution to imperialist exploitation and rejected narrow liberal democracy. As Gandhi said for example, “Western democracy is on its trial, if it has not already proved a failure. May it be reserved to India to evolve the true science of democracy”. Similarly, Mao had said “This new-democratic republic will be different from the old European-American form of capitalist republic under bourgeois dictatorship, which is the old democratic form and already out of date.”
The states that were set up after independence were civilization states responsible to the whole people and attempting to take into account particular civilizational characteristics. The working out of the characteristics of these states is an ongoing process. These two struggles contributed to the unfolding of the world spirit of democracy; their study and understanding becomes paramount as the world searches inevitably for a direction out of the political and economic crises that western institutions face.
These two revolutions against European imperialism were foundational for the great democratic struggles of the people of the world. We see them in parallel to the anticolonial movements of Africa, other Asian nations, as well as people’s struggles in Europe and the US. In particular, the Black freedom and civil rights movement from within the American empire is inseparable from these strivings of humanity.
Western civilization must no longer be permitted to dominate the world. In this inter-civilizational dialogue for democracy, we will discuss and include the progressive contributions of European enlightenment and western civilization, but reject any attempt to place them above other civilizations and downplay their contributions. We see this dialogue as a step in the renewal of the discussion of new forms of political, social and economic organization more suited to the realities of our time. We hope to contribute to an international situation defined by peaceful coexistence, in which the right of all peoples and nations to decide their paths to and forms of democracy is respected. We believe that such a dialogue, unmediated by the West and unmediated by intellectuals that assert the superiority of western civilization, could make a significant contribution to determining the path for humanity towards a new democracy, and a just multipolar world.
Below is the vision statement for the series of events that took place in October, 2021 to commemorate the centenary of the Communist Party of China.
A shared destiny for humanity: The struggle for unity, self determination and the elimination of poverty in Asia
This year marks 100 years since the founding of the Communist Party of China. China is home to 1/5th of the world’s population and has declared the elimination of extreme poverty. We see this as a historic event that should be a subject of study and understanding for all peace loving and progressive people. The upliftment of humanity anywhere is a cause for celebration everywhere. Our time has seen the dramatic rise of the Chinese state and economy. China has established links with much of the world in Asia, Africa, Latin America and even Europe through trade and economic programs like the Belt and Road Initiative. This has profoundly shaken western dominance and control on the international scale.
In contrast to China’s rise, the foremost western political power, the United States is in a state of chaos and collapse. The US is seeing increasing poverty, rampant addiction and a political system in disarray. The country which became the single hegemon and declared the end of history now stands on the crossroads of its own history.
Further, the alliance that emerged to ensure Western military and economic dominance is falling apart. Many European nations are doubting their unquestioning partnership with the US and their place in the European Union. The role of NATO is being openly called into question. The status of the dollar as the world’s pre-eminent currency is under doubt. The past two decades of continued war in Asia from Afghanistan, Iraq to Syria have all ended in defeat for the West. The domestic turmoil of the west coincides with their international retreat. This has opened up the possibility of the emergence of a new world order, one based on equal trade relations and peaceful co-existence. This is a profound historical moment ripe with the possibility of change. For the first time since the fall of the Soviet Union and the consolidation of Western dominance, a different path has opened for the world. It also signifies the transition between epochs. At the center of this moment is the rise of China, an Asian country.
We in India must regard the rise of our Asian neighbour not with suspicion and hostility, but with understanding and friendship. We are two great civilizations with ancient relations based on peace and mutual exchange. Buddhism is the greatest symbol of the profound link between the two civilizations. There is a long tradition of travellers and visitors who have gone between these two nations. Such names as Kashyapa Matanga, Dharma Ratna, Kumarjiva, Hieun Tsang, Fa Hien are indicative of the arch of friendship between the two countries. Rabindranath Tagore revived these old memories of cultural exchange in his own visit to China and his interaction with Liang Qichao and Xu Zhimo, as did Dr. Kotnis with his heroic sacrifice for the Chinese struggle.
Until the end of the 18th century, Asia consisted of two of the world’s largest economies and the world’s largest producers specializing in textiles, cotton, silk, jewellery, ceramics and glass. The state would invest in science and technology, including in medicine, printing, metallurgy, transport and irrigation. The natural progress of both India and China was interrupted when they were de-industrialized by the West, colonized or made into a semi-colony and effectively ruled through a network of corrupt landlords and local ruling elite. Both had to face economic and cultural subjugation, domination and humiliation by Western powers. The opium that was flooded in China was being harvested by the British in plantations in India. The two peoples rose up almost simultaneously in the Taiping revolution in China and the 1857 first war of independence in India. Both uprisings were brutally crushed but ignited the hearts and minds of the Indian and Chinese people.
The two struggles were parallel but distinct struggles. They were exemplified by the two great leaders who led them, Mao and Gandhi. These were two unique figures in world history, unpredicted, who changed the its course. Their strategy and tactics were adapted to the different characteristics in India and China but there was much that united them. The first was a complete identification with the masses of people, and the working out of the united front against imperialism. Both found their roots in seemingly the most backward part of society -- the peasantry. In the villages both Gandhi and Mao saw the revolutionary potential that could take the whole society to freedom. Through the difficult terrain of the long march, the CPC and Mao built trust with the Chinese peasant who had been long suppressed by dynastic rule and the demonic suction tube of Western imperialism.The CPC carried out literary and political education campaigns wherever they were. They made it a principle to never claim any goods or services from the people that they did not pay for in full. Gandhi travelled the country and in the third class coaches of the railway, he studied man. Through experiences like Champaran he grew to know peasant life intimately. The Communist Party of China and Indian National Congress gained the trust of the masses through their cadres who were trained in the highest morals of sacrifice and service. Perhaps the parallel between the two struggles is captured by the heroic sacrifice of the Red Army at the Tatu river where the soldiers willingly climbed the iron bridge to their death just so others could make it forward to freedom. Their conscious life sacrifice echoes the bravery of the Congress workers of Gandhi’s Do or Die movement who walked chest forward and head high into British firing.
The Indian freedom struggle and the Chinese revolution were both expressions of the striving of darker humanity to be free from Western economic and political domination and the factions of the native elite who lived off the suffering of the masses. These struggles led to the establishment of a people’s state in China and India. Though they chose different political paths, both the Indian and Chinese revolutionaries were clear that it was in capturing the state and using it as an instrument of the upliftment of the people that the revolutionary process would be continued. Today the state itself is under attack both from imperialist and neo-colonialist forces as well as from collaborative elements in the local elite. The state has been won through great sacrifice and struggle of the people and is our only instrument of self determination. The continued struggle for the elimination of poverty and all forms of exploitation must be conducted in the framework of the state established by these two revolutionary struggles. The battle of ideas takes foremost place in such a situation as we struggle for a state of the whole people.
This struggle needs peace and friendship between the two nations. This was enshrined in the Panchsheel agreement which still stands as a framework under which to conduct our relations. The 1962 war was a big set-back and retreat but, with China’s changing leadership and changing role in the world, it is time that we put past bitterness behind us. We in India must study the Chinese project and draw lessons for our own struggle to lift our people out of poverty. India and China together with the rest of Asia and Africa represent the future of humankind. One third of the human population lives in these two nations and both populations are primarily young. The weight of this must be understood in full. The potential of the youth in China has been developed and unleashed through poverty alleviation and education and this must be the primary task for us in India. The young in these nations represent a huge reservoir of human potential that has the ability to transform and further science, art and the human search for the truth. The potential of each individual is limitless and complex and it is the moral imperative of our times to be able to harness that for the uplift of humanity. Great artists, scientists, musicians and writers remain submerged under poverty till we accomplish this. Further, it is not just the young, but the young basing themselves on the old and creatively building on it: it is the synthesis with the ancient that holds the key to the future. These two old and mighty civilizations, if united, can guide the direction of humankind towards peace and progress with youthful vigor and energy.
We congratulate our brothers in China on their historic accomplishments through the Communist Party of China in the past century. We call on all peace loving Indians to join us in celebrating this centenary and in studying the experience of the Chinese struggle for freedom and our own freedom struggle. We call on the youth to take up the task of building peace in Asia, and working toward a new Asia free from poverty and illiteracy.
Committee for Friendship of Indian and Chinese People
In contrast to China’s rise, the foremost western political power, the United States is in a state of chaos and collapse. The US is seeing increasing poverty, rampant addiction and a political system in disarray. The country which became the single hegemon and declared the end of history now stands on the crossroads of its own history.
Further, the alliance that emerged to ensure Western military and economic dominance is falling apart. Many European nations are doubting their unquestioning partnership with the US and their place in the European Union. The role of NATO is being openly called into question. The status of the dollar as the world’s pre-eminent currency is under doubt. The past two decades of continued war in Asia from Afghanistan, Iraq to Syria have all ended in defeat for the West. The domestic turmoil of the west coincides with their international retreat. This has opened up the possibility of the emergence of a new world order, one based on equal trade relations and peaceful co-existence. This is a profound historical moment ripe with the possibility of change. For the first time since the fall of the Soviet Union and the consolidation of Western dominance, a different path has opened for the world. It also signifies the transition between epochs. At the center of this moment is the rise of China, an Asian country.
We in India must regard the rise of our Asian neighbour not with suspicion and hostility, but with understanding and friendship. We are two great civilizations with ancient relations based on peace and mutual exchange. Buddhism is the greatest symbol of the profound link between the two civilizations. There is a long tradition of travellers and visitors who have gone between these two nations. Such names as Kashyapa Matanga, Dharma Ratna, Kumarjiva, Hieun Tsang, Fa Hien are indicative of the arch of friendship between the two countries. Rabindranath Tagore revived these old memories of cultural exchange in his own visit to China and his interaction with Liang Qichao and Xu Zhimo, as did Dr. Kotnis with his heroic sacrifice for the Chinese struggle.
Until the end of the 18th century, Asia consisted of two of the world’s largest economies and the world’s largest producers specializing in textiles, cotton, silk, jewellery, ceramics and glass. The state would invest in science and technology, including in medicine, printing, metallurgy, transport and irrigation. The natural progress of both India and China was interrupted when they were de-industrialized by the West, colonized or made into a semi-colony and effectively ruled through a network of corrupt landlords and local ruling elite. Both had to face economic and cultural subjugation, domination and humiliation by Western powers. The opium that was flooded in China was being harvested by the British in plantations in India. The two peoples rose up almost simultaneously in the Taiping revolution in China and the 1857 first war of independence in India. Both uprisings were brutally crushed but ignited the hearts and minds of the Indian and Chinese people.
The two struggles were parallel but distinct struggles. They were exemplified by the two great leaders who led them, Mao and Gandhi. These were two unique figures in world history, unpredicted, who changed the its course. Their strategy and tactics were adapted to the different characteristics in India and China but there was much that united them. The first was a complete identification with the masses of people, and the working out of the united front against imperialism. Both found their roots in seemingly the most backward part of society -- the peasantry. In the villages both Gandhi and Mao saw the revolutionary potential that could take the whole society to freedom. Through the difficult terrain of the long march, the CPC and Mao built trust with the Chinese peasant who had been long suppressed by dynastic rule and the demonic suction tube of Western imperialism.The CPC carried out literary and political education campaigns wherever they were. They made it a principle to never claim any goods or services from the people that they did not pay for in full. Gandhi travelled the country and in the third class coaches of the railway, he studied man. Through experiences like Champaran he grew to know peasant life intimately. The Communist Party of China and Indian National Congress gained the trust of the masses through their cadres who were trained in the highest morals of sacrifice and service. Perhaps the parallel between the two struggles is captured by the heroic sacrifice of the Red Army at the Tatu river where the soldiers willingly climbed the iron bridge to their death just so others could make it forward to freedom. Their conscious life sacrifice echoes the bravery of the Congress workers of Gandhi’s Do or Die movement who walked chest forward and head high into British firing.
The Indian freedom struggle and the Chinese revolution were both expressions of the striving of darker humanity to be free from Western economic and political domination and the factions of the native elite who lived off the suffering of the masses. These struggles led to the establishment of a people’s state in China and India. Though they chose different political paths, both the Indian and Chinese revolutionaries were clear that it was in capturing the state and using it as an instrument of the upliftment of the people that the revolutionary process would be continued. Today the state itself is under attack both from imperialist and neo-colonialist forces as well as from collaborative elements in the local elite. The state has been won through great sacrifice and struggle of the people and is our only instrument of self determination. The continued struggle for the elimination of poverty and all forms of exploitation must be conducted in the framework of the state established by these two revolutionary struggles. The battle of ideas takes foremost place in such a situation as we struggle for a state of the whole people.
This struggle needs peace and friendship between the two nations. This was enshrined in the Panchsheel agreement which still stands as a framework under which to conduct our relations. The 1962 war was a big set-back and retreat but, with China’s changing leadership and changing role in the world, it is time that we put past bitterness behind us. We in India must study the Chinese project and draw lessons for our own struggle to lift our people out of poverty. India and China together with the rest of Asia and Africa represent the future of humankind. One third of the human population lives in these two nations and both populations are primarily young. The weight of this must be understood in full. The potential of the youth in China has been developed and unleashed through poverty alleviation and education and this must be the primary task for us in India. The young in these nations represent a huge reservoir of human potential that has the ability to transform and further science, art and the human search for the truth. The potential of each individual is limitless and complex and it is the moral imperative of our times to be able to harness that for the uplift of humanity. Great artists, scientists, musicians and writers remain submerged under poverty till we accomplish this. Further, it is not just the young, but the young basing themselves on the old and creatively building on it: it is the synthesis with the ancient that holds the key to the future. These two old and mighty civilizations, if united, can guide the direction of humankind towards peace and progress with youthful vigor and energy.
We congratulate our brothers in China on their historic accomplishments through the Communist Party of China in the past century. We call on all peace loving Indians to join us in celebrating this centenary and in studying the experience of the Chinese struggle for freedom and our own freedom struggle. We call on the youth to take up the task of building peace in Asia, and working toward a new Asia free from poverty and illiteracy.
Committee for Friendship of Indian and Chinese People
