The Island of Dr Marx

The Island of Dr Marx Ashok K Upadhyaya SUMANTA BANERJEE's article (January 23) is a welcome indictment of the 'theory' and 'practice' of orthodox marxism and the 'socialist' countries embodying them. Too long has the task been monopolised by 'western' Marxism; that a vocie from the Third World, and specifically India has opened the political cupboard, is only to be appreciated, all the more so since the 'revolutions' have occurred principally in backward countries. We fully concur in the need "to challenge the accepted shibboleths of the Communist movement and seek alternative strategies and tactics to achieve the goal of a classless society. . ." but Banerjee falls to challenge the shibboleths because of his fundamentally ambivalent perspective of the history of revolutions.