Chandigarh: BRICS, global inequality, capitalism in spotlight at lecture
Professor Alan Freeman critiqued the reactionary policies of US President-elect Donald Trump and said former President Joe Biden also held no qualms about the division of Yugoslavia
BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) should aim to come up as an alternative to the US-dominated viewpoint of the world, said professor Alan Freeman from the University of Manitoba, Canada, while speaking at the Prof Randhir Singh Memorial Lecture at the Institute for Development and Communication (IDC) in Sector 38 on Friday.

He acknowledged that while BRICS faced internal challenges, it could better represent the Global South and offer a counterpoint to Western powers like NATO.
“BRICS has a lot of issues that need to be dealt with internally but one can hope that it will emerge as an alternative to the American model. It doesn’t matter if right now these countries are capitalist models themselves. They will treat other countries from the Global South better,” he said.
Freeman also critiqued the reactionary policies of US President-elect Donald Trump and said former President Joe Biden also held no qualms about the division of Yugoslavia. While Trump has come out with rhetoric against the deep state, professor Freeman said the real problem was the ‘US state’ which Trump hasn’t acknowledged.
He discussed capitalism’s roots in slavery and colonial exploitation, while citing Karl Marx, noting the contradictions in the Republican Party’s history with slavery. “The Republicans were the first to speak out against slavery in the USA not because of any moral concerns but due to economic interest,” he noted.
He further criticised the “lack of true democracy” in the US, pointing to the influence of agencies like the FBI and CIA. He also attributed the phenomena of migration from India to Canada or the US as a measure of global inequality between the nations.
Professor Radhika Desai of University of Manitoba introduced the concept of “geopolitical economy” as a better framework to understand today’s multipolar world. She discussed how neoliberal policies had led to low growth, inequality and financialisation.
Professor Ronki Ram of Panjab University, who chaired the session, revisited professor Randhir Singh’s legacy, and highlighted his contributions in analysing the destructive impact of globalisation on traditional communities and its reinforcement of capitalist exploitation.
Professor Pramod Kumar, chairperson, IDC, lauded the speakers for quoting from Marx’s work in a propaganda-driven world. He lamented how electoral politics had shifted from addressing systemic inequalities to perpetuating them, creating mistrust in the formal governance system. He stressed the need for structural reforms to replace economic imperatives with democratic power, creating forums to foster a genuine democratic discourse and empower citizens.
