76 SOCIAL SCIENTIST Fie makes another of his characteristic vulgarisations of Marxist theory by stating that Lenin had hoped to spread communism by flooding the system. He piously states that in India, during the period of food shortage and hunger the communists made no political gains whatsoever : ^from this classical and text book case of economic determinism, in which they believe, and the soil out of which communist revolutions are supposed to grow" (p256). This is the archetypal cretinism which the book abounds in and can only bs credited to the author's poor understanding of the basic tenets and philosophy of Marxism. Given this superficial understanding, it is not surprising that the book continually harps on the possibilities of communist success (i.e, capture of State Power) through caste/communal manipulations, electoral alliances and united front tactics within parliament. This understanding sets the tone for the detailed descriptions of the developments that led to the United Fronts in Kerala and West Bengal and the various electoral alliances involving the CPI and CPI (M) in other states. Fie cannot but credit the CPI(M) for its superb performance in the 1967 elections, but he does it for the wrong reasons. Fascinated, as he is, by the intricacies of coalitional politics, he credits Namboodiripad and the CPI(M) organisational machine for its superior tactics and efficiency when compared to the Congress. He totally, once again, sidetracks the economic crisis and the mass discontent that marked the 1964-67 period, which he himself briefly describes in earlier pages. The deepening economic crisis and the consequent political crisis of the ruling party were foreseen by the CPI (M) in its resolutions of this period. The call for a broad united front of all democratic parties f-esulted from this socio-economic situation and the potential of dealing a decisive below, to the ruling party since independence. But all the major economic and political factors are obscured. If one goes by Fie, history advances through electoral alliances ! As for the results of the 1967 elections in Kerala, it is worthwhile quoting him : "Thus the elections were not fought over two imaginative programmes of alternative courses of action— the campaign was uninspiring and dull—but over the spoils of power and in brutal Hobbesian terms. In this contaxt, the power machine, built by Namboodiripad specially for the purpose, had not only a better but, in fact, an unprecedented chance to make a short work of the divided forces opposing it59 (p 395). Such an approach reduces the whole complex development of a radical democratic movement to an absurdity : a product of Machiavellian politics of a mastermind, i.e, Namboodiripad, and the cynical manipulation of political groups and alliances. There are many dubious statements made in the book which can not all be questioned or refuted in this review. The last pages of the book are devoted to the rise of the Naxalite movement and the splintering from the CPI(M) of small groups advocating the ultra-left line. As far as Kerala is concerned, the Naxalite defections estimated are highly