Capitalism dangerous to Indonesia: Juwono

JAKARTA (JP): Communism is no longer the world's most dangerous ideology, according to Juwono Sudarsono, the deputy governor of the National Resilience Institute, the state military think tank.

Speaking to reporters after the launching of two books Kewaspadaan Nasional dan Bahaya Laten Komunis (On the Danger of Communism) and Dokumen Terpilih Sekitar 30-S PKI (A Collection of Selected Documents on the Sept. 30, 1965 Tragedy), Juwono said capitalism has turned out to be more dangerous than communism.

"We can clearly differentiate communism from other teachings, but can hardly identify the impact of capitalism as we nearly cannot feel that it has affected our lives," he said.

He said that it was capitalism that has created a wide gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots".

"Capitalism has created a wide economic disparity between the rich and the poor," he said.

He said: "As a result of capitalism, there are Indonesians whose monthly take-home pay is Rp 60 million (US$16,551), and there are also Indonesians whose salary is only Rp 60,000 ($16.5) per month."

Juwono, political science professor, said the economic disparity was one of the crucial factors for the emergence of dissatisfaction among the people, which could eventually lead to violent action.

"Economic disparity could create a condition in which people turn to radical ideologies," he said.

He denied speculation that capitalism has only affected Indonesia.

"Capitalism has become a global trend now. All countries in the world are also affected," he said.

He said that capitalism, which was profit-oriented, forced company owners in all parts of the world to lay off many of their unskilled workers and replace them with newly-invented industrial machines.

"Unemployment is another reason for people to go to the streets and strike or commit violence," he said.

Philosopher Franz Magnis-Suseno dismissed the possibility of a reemergence of communism in the country.

"Our people would automatically oppose the ideology if anybody wanted to reintroduce it into our political system," he said in the discussion.

He said that communism was not accepted in international affairs anymore.

"There have been a lot of riots in many parts of the world in the past 20 years. However, none of them were motivated by Marxism, the original theory of communism," he said.

He said that most of the riots were triggered by human exploitation and dissatisfaction.

Speaking about a number of revolutionary university students whose activities have been described as the triggering factor for the July 27, 1996 riots, Magnis-Suseno said they did not represent a new wave of communism.

"They only had radical thoughts. That's all," he said.

He was referring to 11 activists of the banned Democratic People's Party (PRD), who are now imprisoned for their role in the riots.

The government had earlier declared that their activities were similar to those of communists.

Jai Singh Yadav, a visiting political science professor at the Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University, shared both Juwono's and Magnis-Suseno's opinion.

"Communism does not exist in Indonesia anymore. It is globalization and capitalism which has affected the young generation and taken their attention," he said in a discussion earlier.

He said that the current young generation was more clever than their predecessors and was more worldly as a result of better education.

"They know that communism hasn't been reliable in most parts of the world up to now," he said. (imn)