BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) should aim to emerge as an alternative to the US-led worldview, Alan Freeman, a professor at the University of Manitoba in Canada, said in a lecture given by Professor Randhir Singh. Ta. A commemorative lecture was held at the Institute of Development Communication (IDC) in Sector 38 on Friday.
He acknowledged that although BRICS faces domestic challenges, it could be more representative of the Global South and provide a counterweight to Western powers such as NATO.
“BRICS has many problems to deal with internally, but we can expect them to emerge as an alternative model to the American model. It doesn’t matter now whether these countries themselves are capitalist models or not. It will treat other countries in the Global South better,” he said.
Freeman also criticized US President-elect Donald Trump’s reactionary policies and said former US President Joe Biden had no qualms about breaking up Yugoslavia. Despite President Trump’s rhetoric against the deep state, Professor Freeman said the real problem lies with the “American state,” which President Trump does not recognize.
Citing Karl Marx, he discussed the roots of capitalism in slavery and colonial exploitation, noting the contradictions with slavery in the history of the Republican Party. “Republicans first spoke out against slavery in the United States not out of moral concerns but because of economic interests,” he noted.
He also criticized the “lack of true democracy” in the United States, pointing to the influence of agencies such as the FBI and CIA. He also considered the phenomenon of immigration from India to Canada or the United States to be a measure of global inequality between nations.
Professor Radhika Desai of the University of Manitoba introduced the concept of “geopolitical economics” as a better framework for understanding today’s multipolar world. She discussed how neoliberal policies have led to low growth, inequality, and financialization.
Professor Ronki Ram of Punjab University, who chaired the session, reviewed the work of Professor Randhir Singh and his work in analyzing the destructive impact of globalization on traditional communities and the intensification of capitalist exploitation. He emphasized his contribution.
IDC Chairman Professor Pramod Kumar praised the speakers for quoting Marx’s work in a propaganda-driven world. He lamented that electoral politics has shifted from addressing systemic inequalities to perpetuating them, creating distrust in formal systems of governance. He emphasized the need for structural reforms that foster genuine democratic debate, create forums to empower citizens, and replace economic imperatives with democratic power.
