Vijay Prashad

Vijay Prashad is a Marxist journalist and historian. An ardent supporter of communism, Prashad is the author of many books defending the ideology’s legacy and is a frequent contributor to a number of left-wing news sites and publications. 1 Prashad is a frequent guest at talks hosted by the New York-based socialist incubator The People’s Forum. 2

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At-A-Glance

Occupation: Journalist, Scholar
Issue Areas: Economic Policy
Born:

Kolkata, India

Residence:

Northampton, Massachusetts

Founder (2017):

The Tricontinental Institute for Social Research

Spouse:

Professor Elisabeth Armstrong

Contents

    Prashad founded a Marxist think tank, the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research, in 2017. 3 4

    Background

    Vijay Prashad was raised in Kolkata, India. 5 He lives in Northampton, Massachusetts, and is married to Women’s Studies academic Elisabeth Armstrong. 6 7 5 He is the nephew of Indian politician Brinda Karat, a former member of the Indian Parliament’s Council of States (known as Rajya Sabha) for the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M). 7

    Activities

    Vijay Prashad is the chief editor of LeftWord Books, a socialist publisher based in New Delhi, India. He is the chief correspondent for Globetrotter, a columnist for Frontline (India), and a frequent contributor to People’s World, Dissident Voice, CounterPunch, Asia Times, and many other radical-left publications. 8 9 Globetrotter is a project of Independent Media Project, a 501(c)(3) organization. 10

    Vijay Prashad has given speeches and participated in panel discussions at The People’s Forum, a prominent socialist organization and event space in New York City. On different occasions, Prashad has, using the forum’s platform, praised the Chinese Communist Party, discussed the alleged crimes of the United States and its democratic allies during the Cold War for fighting the totalitarian Soviet Union, and the history of socialist movements and what they can teach contemporary activists fighting “climate change,” “austerity,” and “the arms industry.” 11 12 13 Manolo De Los Santos, a co-executive director of The People’s Forum, is employed as a “researcher” at Prashad’s Tricontinental Institute for Social Research. 14 15

    Prashad has defended China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) against left-wing criticism in the past, specifically against the accusation that contemporary China is not “real” communism or socialism, by arguing that revolution is not an “event” but a “process” that takes a long time to “build.” In other words, for Prashad, Xi Jinping’s China and its imperialist, colonialist, and industrialist actions are legitimate and justified because it is allegedly working toward communism. Prashad does not explain how we will know if “communism” has been achieved and gives no indication as to when it will be achieved. 16 Prashad supports China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and expressed hope that China’s economy will prevail over the United States. 17 18

    Prashad is a senior nonresident fellow at Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies (RDCY), a think tank jointly created in 2013 by the Renmin University of China and Shanghai-based private equity firm Chongyang Investment, Ltd. 1 19 The mission of Chongyang Institute is to “offer policy recommendations” to the Chinese government, to “cultivate and provide a large batch of financial elites for China,” and to “construct a modern think-tank with Chinese characteristics,” a phrase taken from the sloganeering of former paramount leader of the People’s Republic of China Deng Xiaoping. 20

    Books

    Prashad has written over 20 books. 1 In 2014, Vijay Prashad had a book published with Verso Books, a Marxist publishing house based in London and New York, titled The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South. A follow-up to a previous book of his, The Darker Nations, the newer book attempts to portray the “global south” not merely as a geographical location but as a collective political force united against so-called neoliberalism and Western power. Former secretary-general of the United Nations Boutros Boutros-Ghali wrote a preface to the book and left-wing academic Noam Chomsky wrote a review for it. 21

    His 2020 book Washington Bullets: A History of the CIA, Coups, and Assassinations received an introduction by former socialist president of Bolivia Evo Morales. 1

    Funding

    In 2019, Prashad’s think tank Tricontinental Institute for Social Research had a total revenue of $13,255,564. 22 Tricontinental has received three substantive grants through the Goldman Sachs Philanthropy Fund: one for $40,000 in 2017, one for $860,000 in 2018, and another for $12,450,000 in 2019. 23 24 25 It also received $700,000 from the United Community Fund in 2018, the same year it gave $3,015,000 to The People’s Forum. 26

    Tricontinental Institute for Social Research

    In 2017, Vijay Prashad founded the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research, a Marxist think tank that derives its name from both a 1966 conference of nations held in Cuba and the Frankfurt Institute for Social Research, the home of the “Frankfurt School” of critical theory. 4 3

    According to filings with the IRS, Prashad was a “clerk” in 2010 and in 2011 a member of the board of National Priorities Project (NPP). 27 27 NPP is a project of the Institute for Policy Studies, a left-wing think tank based in Washington, D.C., but it also operates as a standalone group with its own tax identification number; according to its IRS filings, it is located in Northampton, Massachusetts, which is also the home of Prashad’s Tricontinental think tank. 27 28

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    References

    1. “Vijay Prashad.” People’sWorld. Accessed 19 July 2022. https://www.peoplesworld.org/authors/vijay-prashad/.
    2. “Search Results: Vijay Prashad.” The People’s Forum. Accessed 22 July 2022. https://peoplesforum.org/?s=vijay+prashad.
    3. “About – Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research.” Tricontinental. Accessed 22 July 2022. https://thetricontinental.org/about/.
    4. “Determination Letter: Tricontinental.” Internal Revenue Service, 1 December 2017. Accessed 20 July 2022.
    5. Prashad, Vijay. “Columnist Vijay Prashad: Coronavirus and the virus of debt.” Daily Hampshire Gazette, 13 July 2020. Accessed 20 July 2022. https://www.gazettenet.com/Prashad-column-35198515.
    6. “Elisabeth Armstrong.” Smith.edu. Accessed 20 July 2022. https://www.smith.edu/academics/faculty/elisabeth-armstrong.
    7. “Vijay Prashad.” StopHinduHate. Accessed 21 July 2022. https://stophinduhate.org/hindu-haters-2/people/vijay-prashad/.
    8. “Vijay Prashad.” People’sWorld. Accessed 20 July 2022. https://www.peoplesworld.org/authors/vijay-prashad/.
    9. “Vijay Prashad.” Tricontinental. Accessed 20 July 2022. https://thetricontinental.org/institutes/.
    10. “Donate.” Globetrotter. Accessed 21 July 2022. https://globetrotter.media/donate/.
    11. “VIJAY PRASHAD – What’s the Left to Do in a World on Fire? | China and the Left.” The People’s Forum NYC – YouTube. Accessed 11 July 2022. https://youtu.be/vd8w3ONjv6Y.
    12. “In Conversation: Vincent Bevins and Vijay Prashad.” The People’s Forum, 29 May 2020. Accessed 11 July 2022. https://peoplesforum.org/events/in-conversation-vincent-bevins-and-vijay-prashad/.
    13. “Book Talk: Struggle Makes Us Human With Vijay Prashad and Andrew Hsiao.” The People’s Forum, 6 August 2022. Accessed 11 July 2022. https://peoplesforum.org/events/book-talk-struggle-makes-us-human-with-vijay-prashad-and-andrew-hsiao/.
    14. “Staff.” The People’s Forum. Accessed 11 July 2022. https://peoplesforum.org/about/staff/.
    15. “Institutes & Partners.” Tricontinental. Accessed 21 July 2022. https://thetricontinental.org/institutes/.
    16. Qiao Collective. “”Is China Capitalist?” Vijay Prashad on Chinese Socialism | QIAO COLLECTIVE.” YouTube, 17 May 2020. Accessed 20 July 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X7U2W6ryjE.
    17. Prashad, Vijay. “The United States contests the Chinese Belt and Road with a private corporation.” Peoples Dispatch, 1 July 2022. Accessed 20 July 2022. https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/07/01/the-united-states-contests-the-chinese-belt-and-road-with-a-private-corporation/.
    18. Katie Halper. “U.S. Left Has No Right To Judge China.” YouTube, 10 July 2022. Accessed 21 July 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpOunbwdeis.
    19. “Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China (RDCY).” Asia-Europe Foundation. Accessed 18 July 2022. https://asef.org/?partners=chongyang-institute-for-financial-studies-renmin-university-of-china-rdcy.
    20. [1] “Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China (RDCY).” Asia-Europe Foundation. Accessed 18 July 2022. https://asef.org/?partners=chongyang-institute-for-financial-studies-renmin-university-of-china-rdcy.
    21. “The Poorer Nations.” Versobooks.com. Accessed 20 July 2022. https://www.versobooks.com/books/1643-the-poorer-nations.
    22. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). The Tricontinental. 2019. Part I. Line 12.
    23. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). The Tricontinental. 2017. Part II.
    24. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). The Tricontinental. 2018. Part II.
    25. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). The Tricontinental. 2019. Part II.
    26. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). United Community Fund. 2018. Part II.
    27. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). National Priorities Project. 2010 Part VII, Section A.
    28. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). The Tricontinental. 2019.