Status

Chief Editor
Dr. Yvette Claire Rosser
(See press release.)

Summary

The project's objective is to publish a Vedic critique of Marxism. The publication will be an anthology of essays written by experts in various fields of Vedic knowledge, and the essays will address Marxist thought and practice in four sections:

1. Pre-Marxism: ideas that contributed to Marxism from philosophers like Hegel and Feuerbach;
2. Classical Marxism: ideas as formulated by Marx and Engels;
3. 20th Century Marxism: the ideas of neo-Marxist thinkers like Gramsci and Althusser;
4. Maoism.

The book may also have a fifth section that offers a more hands-on, prescriptive response to political Marxism in the world today. Works in the anthology will be written for both experts and non-experts.

Each essay submitted is expected to be between 4000 - 8000 words in length. And an honorarium will be given to all whose essays are selected for the book. Essays not selected may be printed in another volume or published online.

Parties interested in submitting essays should review the suggested topics list (see downloadable files below) and submit an intended topic and CV by email with the subject line "DSP" to secretary@samprajna.org.

The Need

In the 20th century, Marxism has inspired violence and oppression unequaled by any other political ideology in recorded history, yet it has nevertheless remained widespread and influential. There is an urgent need to challenge Marxism, and the Vedic tradition—the world’s oldest living spiritual tradition— is well placed to challenge it.

Politics:

• 100 million people were killed by Communist regimes in the 20th century.
• One in five people in the world today still live in a Marxist-Leninist nation-state.
• Communist regimes and political parties are today concentrated in Asia, including India and Nepal.

Humanities:

• “So very much of modern social science has been a frequently unacknowledged debate with the work of Marx and a reflection, as well of the challenge of the socialist movements and communist parties” C. Wright Mills.
• “The majority of Indian political scientists and sociologists are Marxist oriented. They try to find emerging ‘classes’ in India as the major political agents and class struggle (of sorts) as the key to political dynamics” Klaus Klostermaier, A Survey of Hinduism.

Research Assistance

A major hurdle to be overcome in producing these essays is that scholars who have specialized in one ore more areas of Vedic knowledge are unlikely to be familiar with the thought and history of Marxism.Therefore research will be divided into three teams of experts that will focus their expertise on Marxism (Red Team), Dharma (Saffron Team), and editorial affairs (White Team).

The Red team will answer all queries about Marxism from the Saffron and White team and assist the White team in any editorial tasks relevant to the Red team's expertise. The Saffron team will specialize in a wide array of areas of Vedic knowledge and other related fields; Saffron team members will be writing articles The White team will oversee editorial affairs up to and including the final production of the book. The White team will also coordinate the Red and Saffron teams as well as arrange for other research support, such as translators for Saffron team members.

Pundits and scholars selected to write essays will also be eligible to receive research assistance. People interested in joining either the Red or White teams are encouraged to submit inquiries and a CV by email with the subject line "DSP Red Team" or "DSP White Team" to secretary@samprajna.org.

Publishing

The final book will be 6"x9", hard-bound with color dust-jacket and approximately 400 pages.

Project Cost

Donate

This project depends on you. Without your help, the goal of producing a Vedic critique of Marxism and making it available to the public cannot be reached. In order to make this a reality, we encourage you to contribute generously. Your donation to the Samprajña Institute is also tax deductible under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code.

$2000.00 $1000.00 $500.00 $250.00

Alternatively, checks in the name of the Samprajna Institute can be mailed to the following address: