  Marx and Bush on 'freedom' -- Akahata 'Current' column, February 5U.S. President Bush in his State of the Union address used the word "freedom" a number of times. This is a reminder of the Japanese Communist Party 23rd Congress. In the"Concluding Remarks on the Discussion on the Revision of the JCP Program," JCP Central Committee Chair Fuwa Tetsuzo stated: "In depicting such a society, our great predecessors, Marx and Engels, used the term 'freedom' again and again." By "such a society" Fuwa meant a future society. Marx and Engels called it a "kingdom of freedom" or an "association of free men". The JCP is also aiming for a society which is "freedom, the emancipation of humankind." The JCP Program defines it as "an association of equal and free human relationships. It is about a society in which humans will strive to achieve advances of society and human beings in cooperation with each other free of subservience to any outside power, exploitation, oppression, or discrimination." Bush said that "the road of the Providence" will lead to freedom. What does "freedom" mean when it is uttered by the government which has invaded Iraq and killed many innocent people? What is the "freedom" that the United States wants to impose on the world? Is "freedom" in the United States the ideal? A comparative reading of the JCP Program and the Bush address will give you food for thought. The JCP Program has a perspective beyond the deadend of superpower domination and capitalism. (end) |