On Thursday, February 18, 2021, the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS) held a roundtable discussion on "The Fall and Rise of Left Ideas and Movements" and launching ceremony for the book "Karl Marx and the Process of Reversing Real Life” authored by Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta. Atiq Arvand, history researcher; Habib Hamidzada, journalist; and Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta were the speakers of the program. The event was moderated by Dr. Omar Sadr, university lecturer.
Habib Hamidzada said that the goal and ideal of the first generation was to fight against authoritarian monarchies. The main subject of the socialist and leftist revolutions in the second and third generations of the left was dictatorship, private property, and other issues. But the first generation of the leftists demanded political freedom in society. Hamidzada added that citizenship, social, and especially working-class rights became a demand in the second generation of leftists. According to Hamidzada, the central thought and ideal of the left currents has been equality and justice in the history of two hundred years.
Atiq Arvand said that when one speaks of a thinker like Karl Marx, one should refer to all its works, otherwise its knowledge will be incomplete. Those interested in Afghanistan also went a little astray in their knowledge of Karl Marx. Regarding the history of left movements in Afghanistan, Arvand said that various rulers used Marx's works based on their ideologies and perceptions and used them to advance their goals. For example, national democracy was written in the ‘”Khalq and Parcham” magazines, but their understanding of democracy was quite different from that of today.
Karl Marx is one of the greatest thinkers in human history, said Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta. He said that the works and subjects of this scientist are as up-to-date as if they were written by modern scientists. He stated that one of Marx's most important theories was the "theory of alienation" and he believed that the day would come when man would be isolated by his own achievements; and today we suffer the same fate. Dr. Spanta added that one of Marx's mistakes was to revolutionize the working class.