In Pakistan, where people have been plunged into deep poverty, grief and uncertainty, a chunk of them has found refuge behind another ‘man of destiny’. Among active participants, a dominant majority belongs to the stratum that, in Marxian language, is apprehended as the lumpenproletariat, the one that helped Louis Bonaparte of France consolidate the interests of finance capital. The movement is deriving its strength and leadership from the impoverished middle class that readily introjects the charismatic leader as its hero. This is a mechanism of self-projection that finds its culmination when one’s narcissistic distortion ultimately falls prey to the idolatrous love of a person who, in the eyes of the beholder, has assumed the pedestal of a messiah. As Eric Fromm states: “This abstractified and alienated form of love serves as an opiate which alleviates the pain of reality.” Despite all cathartic attempts behind this façade, the class struggle keeps dictating terms. Even religious forces are compelled to reveal it by advancing the slogan of vulgar revolution based on property relations. In the list of messiahs, the first of its kind appeared some 40 years ago when the country was yearning for a change. At that turning moment, when history refused to turn the state’s infrastructure, albeit insufficient, it could have led Pakistan to a Russian-type situation of 1917, when state capitalism was firmly established in the Soviet Union. Nationalisation does not mean socialisation and, in the absence of altered relations of production, it is likely to become a mere tool for the domination of people, a terroristic conformity. At least in the case of Pakistan, it could have proved a single but gigantic step towards the new organisation of production. However, the weak bourgeoisie and, therefore, even weaker proletariat could not find their way out of this quagmire. The powerful feudal lobby with the help of the devastated but resurging army that was nursing its post-defeat wounds halted the process. The Caesar successfully steered the state onto the safe shores of feudal structure. The exuberant masses ended up in dejection looking at their dream, drenched in their own blood, turning into a nightmare. After outliving his utility, the first Caesar met the fate of Mussolini. The Caesar of today, besides the corruption, ineptness and impotence of the ruling elite, possesses no real weapon in his armoury. He is least pushed about the nature of the misery people are regressing to. To the pulverised people, he offers no socio-economic respite. Not even a vague promise is in the offing. National socialism at least had the reverberations of a class struggle, though according to A J P Taylor, “This socialism was for the gutter.” No wonder he commands little or no respect from the working class. For some, this ‘icon’ symbolises a heroic crusader of a weak native capitalist class/bourgeoisie that is striving to protect its interests not only against the feudal and the trader elite but from the onslaught of mighty international capital as well. If it is so, to its dismay, Pakistan does not dwell in isolation. The global hegemony of a few corporations is a tragic reality that no one can refute. Monopoly capitalism/imperialism is a global phenomenon; “it creates a new system of dependencies of most diverse kinds”. Whether it is a small enterprise, landed property or a large-scale industry, each is dependent on finance capital. By modifying the class relations within a class-based society, its globalisation harmonises chaos with class peace. From its wrath, no nation can escape, not even by the jugglery or valiantness of a Caesar who himself stands for capital’s ‘germinated unity’. Even if one were to postulate otherwise, history will narrate the story contrary to his assumption. Once in power, every Caesar has become the most effective tool in the hands of both native and international capital. The latter cannot effectively operate without the connivance of the state that, despite guaranteeing a modicum of equality and security for the whole society, remains the state of the ruling class, hence representing the interests of capital. A Caesar fettered by and accustomed to the chains of the IMF and various monetary associations cannot liberate a highly indebted state. For the people of Pakistan, none of the conflicting forces present any alternative. However, the real power and limit of containment possessed by these established societies and its paper tigers have been exposed to the people. They have dismally failed to maintain their hegemony through consent and hence coercion remains the only tool now in the offing, though it appears unconvincing. The legitimacy to rule has vanished into the thin air of resistance. Beyond these limits, people can see and hope to find space where a realm of freedom can be built. In this realm, liberation can be sought to construct the prerequisite of a free society — free from the exploitative order — where ideology can be accomplished as reality. (Concluded) The writer is based in Australia and has authored books on socialism and history. He can be reached at saulatnagi@hotmail.com. He blogs at saulatnagi.com