Radical Humanism: Political Philosophy of M.N. Roy Revisited

M.N. Roy may be best remembered as a philosopher of Radical Humanism. He propounded his new philosophy as a solution for political, cultural and moral crisis which confronted manking since 1945. His philosophy was in the nature of a ‘Third Force’, as he believed that Communism as it unfolded itself in Soviet Union in Stalinist era was the greatest menace to human civilization. He found Western Democracy also inadequate in developing human potentialities. He elaborated his schemes of ‘Radical Democracy’ and ‘Humanist Politics’ as integral parts of Radical Humanism to philosophically reconstruct a socially-cohesive state-structure. The edifice of his philosophy rested on four laudable pillars viz. Rationalism, Humanism, Freedom and Materialism. It provided a judicious mix of materialism and spiritualism and no longer regarded man as a mere ‘economic animal’. His philosophy asserted the supremacy of man in a socio-political system which transcended national boundaries. The Study attempts a critical appraisal of Radical Humanism avoiding the adulation of a disciple and the approach of an uncharitable critic. It is an updated study, based on author’s three research dissertations besides other relevant literature. The first six chapters unfold the story of evolution of Roy’s philosophy and the seventh is a critical evaluation of the basic postulates of Radical Humanism. The Study endeavours to get under the skin of real Roy, the visionary, who through his condemnation of orthodox Marxism as practiced in Soviet Union had almost predicted its impending failure that actually happened in 1989. The Study would be useful to the academics, research scholars, general readers and the post-graduate students of social science. The pro-Marxist and anti-Marxist intelligentsia should find the work objectively analytical.