Nepal will be rid of its monarchy sooner than capitalist England, thanks to the communists.

The Cold War is over, but Communist revolutions are not.

On April 10, Nepal held elections to democratically elect a constituent assembly to form a constitution and establish a democratic government in place of the 240-year-old monarchy. Not surprisingly, the Maoists are leading the elections with a decisive majority since they are, after all, responsible for the country having elections in the first place.

The Maoists launched a 10 year long People’s War which ended in 2006 with a peace agreement creating a transitional government, which the Maoists entered the following year, avowing to give up guerilla tactics and join the democratic process. The Maoists, in good faith, even let the UN monitor their army’s weapons.

The U.S. government, for its part, supported the monarchy during Nepal’s Civil War with military training, weaponry and $12 million. After Sept. 11, the Maoists were predictably designated “terrorists.”

Bush might as well consider the Founding Fathers of our country terrorists for fighting the English monarchy. Nevertheless, Nepal will be rid of its monarchy sooner than capitalist England, thanks to the communists.

Revolutionary Leon Trotsky’s theory of Permanent Revolution best explains the historical rationale for the events unfolding in Nepal. In underdeveloped countries the national bourgeoisie, or capitalist class, is unable to fulfill its historical role of developing the means of production precisely because it’s so underdeveloped and will always be out-competed by the wealthy capitalist nations. Capital accumulation cannot occur and domestic industry remains anemic.

Just as the capitalist class is incapable of making strides in industry, it’s unequal to the task of carrying out a democratic revolution since it’s enslaved to the world market ruled by the dominant capitalist countries. The world market is profoundly undemocratic owing to the law of combined and uneven development. For example, the economic dictatorship of the capitalist class continually corrupts the political democracy Americans pride themselves on.

Because the Nepalese capitalist class could not overthrow the monarchy, it became the responsibility of the working class and peasantry, led by the Communist Party. Once in control of the state, the working class must not stop with the democratic revolution, but immediately thereafter wage the socialist revolution.

The socialist revolution furthers the democratic revolution in creating economic democracy through workers’ councils, a planned economy, and communal ownership of the means of production.

In spite of Uncle Sam and all reactionary forces, the Maoists won the majority of the votes, according to preliminary counting, although full election results will not be available for a few weeks. Maoist leader Prachanda, who won his seat in constituent assembly by landslide, stated “We are fully committed to the peace process and multiparty democracy and to rebuild this country.”

Monitoring the elections, Jimmy Carter observed, “From what I’ve seen so far… I would say [the election] has been free and fair with some minor discrepancies that did not interfere with the ability of the people to make their choices for leadership.”

The Nepalese Maoists have so far respected democracy and have worked with an increasingly class-conscious working class. In 2006, up to half a million people took to the streets of Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital, during the general strike.

However, Trotskyites rightly consider Maoism a bastardized version of Marxism, with Stalinist origins. Besides developing tactics and theory of guerilla warfare, Maoism has not contributed anything of importance to revolutionary Marxism, but has rather tarnished its name.

Stalin’s theory of the “bloc of four classes,” calling for class collaboration, has its Maoist counterpart in “New Democracy,” which ends up substituting the Communist Party for the people. What is correct about Maoism is not original to Maoism, but simply borrowed from Marxism-Leninism, such as the concept of the worker-peasant alliance.

The Nepalese Maoists will have a more favorable beginning to their rule compared to the Chinese Communist Party, which had the turbulent start of having to fight dictator Kai-sheck in the brutal Chinese Civil War and then the Imperial Japanese Army in World War Two.

Nepal’s extensive poverty is a material factor promoting bureaucratization, which is the most significant factor responsible for degenerating Communist revolutions. However, the Nepalese have the historical lessons and failures of China to learn from. The Nepalese Maoists rightly criticize the Chinese Communist Party for sanctioning capitalist inroads which have turned the country into the world’s sweatshop.

In conclusion, so far so good for the Maoists, but their socialist future hinges on replacing Maoism with unalloyed Marxism-Leninism and staying true to the working class.

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