E-Book - Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi's 'Theory of Trusteeship… 226had drawn for himself in South Africa, in Champaran, inBardoli, at Vykom and in what was British India. Theseachievements cannot be lightly brushed aside by any student ofsocial dynamics.Critics from one school of thought 98 have attacked thetheory as an apology for class collaboration. Gandhi did believein the existence of class struggle. But he did not believe that theevils that gave birth to class struggle could be eliminated byaccentuating class struggle, with the avowed purpose ofeliminating one class and establishing the dictatorship of theother. Nor did he believe in the inevitability of class conflict.He wanted to end capitalism and exploitation and evolve “atruer socialism and truer communism than the world has yetdreamed of.” 99His method was the method of non-violence. He did notbelieve that evil would disappear if the evil doer waseliminated. He did not believe that capital alone was power.Labour too was power, and if those who toiled combined withthe unshakable determination not to cooperate in their ownexploitation, they could bring capital to its knees. Behind andbeyond the apparent conflict in the interests of the 'moniedclasses' (capitalists) and labour, there is a mutualism or interdependenceof functions, and therefore interests. One cannotfructify without the other. A solution of the evils of capitalismthat lead to class conflict has therefore to be found withoutignoring, this inter-dependence. To achieve this objective,Gandhi would revolutionise the very concept of property, theattitude to property and profit (making profit a sociallyconditioned incentive), and use the powers of collective directaction, Satyagraha, to prevent deviations. Gandhi wouldtherefore ask the capitalist to hold his power in trust in thespirit and discipline of trusteeship. He would ask labour' too tohold its power in the spirit of trusteeship. "In fact, capital and