PRAGOTI

your Russian namesake would have been deeply pained at your painstaking attempt to defend social democracy. Let us start with where you end: "I think the LF govt in WB and the right ideas in terms of reorienting their economic policies - but as it turns out, were done in by arrogance of leaders at the ground level. Lets get on with the task of poverty alleviation for now, lets keep the battle against imperialism for another day." There are two basic problems with this assertion; first your lack of ability to see the obvious connection between "right ideas" to "reorient economic policies" and the "arrogance of leaders at the ground level". Second, your unsubstantiated and off the cuff pitting of the "task of poverty alleviation" vis-a-vis the "battle against imperialism".
 
These arguments are not unique though; the first has been made ad nauseam by opportunistic party leaders who are quick to put the blame on the cadres/local leaders. This demonisation of CPM cadres - a favorite pastime of the corporate media - is very reprehensible at a time when hundreds of them have been butchered by the rightwing thugs of the Trinamul and Maoists. The higher leadership - busy as they were in "reorienting economic policies" have not found much time to even visit their families. "Arrogance" did not originate from the cadres/local leaders. The "arrogance" originated from the very top, with statements like "we are 235, they are 30 - how can they stop industrialisation"; "women will show their backside to Mamata Banerjee and Medha Patekar if they oppose land acquisition" etc. This "arrogance", or more precisely humbug, was a result of an erroneous political line and developmental perspective which wanted to childishly mimic the Chinese model in West Bengal. The results are there for all to see.
 
As for your second argument, which was famously made by Amartya Sen after the 2009 loksabha elections, it is classically social-democratic. The problem with such a perspective is its inherent hypocrisy. The Congress has been trying to "alleviate" poverty in India for the past 60 years! Yet the numbers of the poor and hungry has kept rising. Why do you think it is so? The Communists do not fight for "poverty alleviation" but to put an end to poverty. That is why it fights imperialism, as a system, which perpetuates poverty and inequality. If one stands for poverty "alleviation" but does not want to fight imperialism, why not join Sonia Gandhi's NAC rather than wasting time in the CPM?
 
As for your critique of Prabhat Patnaik is concerned, it stems out of monumental ignorance. You should know that he was a member of the LDF government in Kerala, which unlike in West Bengal, focussed on alternative policies and turned out to be more successful in vote-catching as well. The "Bengal" line, to which you seem to subscribe, is not only wrong for theoretical reasons but is also an electoral disaster. For the likes of you, whose foolhardy "arrogance" always come in the way of seeing ground realities, i will remind what my Chinese namesake had said long ago:"SEEK TRUTH FROM FACTS".