Democracy Dialogues Lecture Series ( Webinar)
Organised by New Socialist Initiative
Eminent political economist and public intellectual, Prof Prabhat Patnaik, will be delivering the 7th Democracy Dialogues lecture on Tomorrow, Sunday, January 24th at 6 PM (India Time),organised by the New Socialist Initiative.
Details and the abstract below. You are cordially invited to join in. Also, feel free to spread the word.
Speaker:
Prof Prabhat Patnaik
Date
and Time: Sunday, January 24, 2021, 6 PM IST
Join
Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85979106661?pwd=SmlWMUpZdE14bkRxSUZYdkhHRlZKUT09
Meeting ID: 859 7910 6661
Passcode: 008863
There has of late been a sudden and rapid growth of
neo-fascism all over the world. The neo-fascists are not yet in a position to
capture power in many countries; and even where they do, they are not yet in a
position to make the transition to a fascist State. But they contribute
everywhere towards a fascification of the society and the polity. This
emergence of neo-fascism is the culmination of the global pursuit of the
neo-liberal trajectory, which greatly widened income and wealth inequalities in
every country and led even to an absolute immiserization of vast masses of the
working people in third world countries like India. For a while the hope was
entertained that the people would become better off in due course as rapid
growth continued. But with the onset of the global economic crisis, itself a
result of the widened economic inequalities, such hopes have been belied. The
corporate-financial oligarchy therefore has to find a new prop for itself and
forms an alliance with neo-fascist elements to shift the discourse away from
conditions of material life towards vilifying the “other”, typically a hapless
religious and ethnic minority.
About
the Democracy Dialogues Series :
The idea
behind this series - which we would like to call 'Democracy Dialogues' - is
basically to initiate as well as join in the on-going conversation around this
theme in academic as well as activist circles.
We feel that
the very idea of democracy which has taken deep roots across the world, has
come under scanner for various reasons. At the same time we have been witness
to the ascendance of right-wing forces and fascistic demagogues via the same
democratic route. There is this apparently anomalous situation in which the
spread and deepening of democracy have often led to generating mass support for
these reactionary and fascistic forces.
Coming to
India, there have been valid concerns about the rise of authoritarian streak
among Indians and how it has helped strengthen BJP's hard right turn. The
strong support for democracy here is accompanied by increasing fascination
towards majoritarian-authoritarian politics. In fact, we would like to state
that a vigorous electoral democracy here has become a vehicle for hindutva-ite
counterrevolution.
All videos of the Democracy Dialogues series lectures are available on New Socialist Initiative YouTube channel
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