CPI(M) Politburo member and prominent Marxist ideologue Sitaram Yechury, who was recently elected to the Rajya Sabha from West Bengal, gave hardline party colleagues a rude shock today by publicly questioning their reservations on globalisation and its economic consequences.
Addressing the Naren Sen Memorial Lecture organised by the CPI(M)’s Kolkata District Committee, he called the theory that globalisation is an ‘‘imperialist conspiracy’’ — usually propagated by hardcore communists — ‘‘only a half truth’’.
‘‘Our comrades, who have defined globalisation as an imperialist conspiracy, have spoken only a half truth,’’ Yechury said in a candid admission of the scope and impact of globalisation in India.
In an argument remarkably similar to that of laissez-faire ideologues, who contend that India can achieve economic wonders through appropriate adjustment to the globalisation process, he said, ‘‘The volume of capital floating in the world’s economies has increased incredibly. The total global transactions in a single year now exceed $400 trillion. Should we just sit back and watch this capital move away?’’
He, however, added a word of caution. ‘‘Before bringing in foreign capital, we must set certain conditions to ensure that our economic sovereignty is protected.’’