Understanding Şevket Süreyya Aydemir or Red Letters

Şevket Süreyya Aydemir is a writer who is better known in the public eye for his works examining personalities who played significant roles in Turkish history. Beyond his autobiographical work "The Man Who Sought Water" (Suyu Arayan Adam), he penned biographical books such as "The Only Man" (Tek Adam), "The Second Man" (İkinci Adam), "Menderes's Drama" (Menderes'in Dramı), and "Enver Pasha" (Enver Paşa).

However, it is not sufficiently known that he was also a thinker.

In his books "The Man Who Sought Water" and "Red Letters and Last Writings" (Kırmızı Mektuplar ve Son Yazılar), Aydemir's assessments that "the 21st century could be a Chinese century" reflect his quality as a visionary thinker.

It would be appropriate to provide brief information about his life first.

THE MAN WHO SOUGHT WATER ON THE LINE STRETCHING FROM TURANISM TO KEMALISM AND SOCIALISM

Aydemir graduated from the Edirne Teachers' School. Like the vast majority of his generation, he was an ardent supporter of the Turanist movement. He spent the years 1919-20 in Azerbaijan, having been appointed as a teacher to the government established there. However, upon seeing the multi-ethnic structure of the Caucasus, he began to question whether his Turanist thoughts were correct. He joined the Secret Communist Party of Turkey established in Baku and subsequently entered the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP). He went to Moscow and enrolled in the Communist University of the Toilers of the East (KUTV). After studying economics, he returned to Turkey in 1923.

After returning to Turkey, Aydemir wrote articles in the magazine 'Aydınlık' attempting to spread communist ideas and was arrested. He was released from prison in 1927 by benefiting from the general amnesty.

Although he began to advocate a kind of 'nationalist communism' understanding thereafter, he accepted the view that the valid ideology for Turkey was 'Kemalism'.

As a result of this change in view, he left the TKP together with Vedat Nedim Tör.

Aydemir began working as a bureaucrat in Ankara in 1928. In 1932, at the request of Atatürk, he published the magazine 'Kadro' together with Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu.

As mentioned, in addition to his biographical and autobiographical books, Aydemir also wrote the novels "If the Soil Awakens" (Toprak Uyanırsa) and "Heroes Should Have Been Born" (Kahramanlar Doğmalıydı).

As a thinker, he penned numerous works such as "Revolution and Cadre" (İnkılap ve Kadro), "Lenin and Leninism" (co-authored), "Turkey in the World Economy" (research/study), "The Village Teacher in the Economic Struggle" (article), "Economic Knowledge for the People" (article), "Turkey's Economy" (research/study textbook), "The Logic of Revolution and the May 27 Revolution" (research), "Leader and Demagogue" (research), and "Red Letters and Last Writings" (letters/articles).

WHAT WERE HIS FORECASTS IN ''RED LETTERS AND LAST WRITINGS''?

"Red Letters and Last Writings" is Aydemir's final book, published five years after his death in 1979. The book contains his private correspondence with his friends from KUTV, the Russian Pavel and the Chinese Liu Shaoqi, as well as the last articles he wrote before he died.

The book also contains his forecasts regarding China. Aydemir says: "But it is understood that there is another China in the world now. In fact, the coming century might perhaps be a Chinese century. But even today, the great weight on the world's scales is in the Far East. One-third of the world's population is Chinese. One out of every four children born in the world is born in China. And at the end of our century, that is, in the year 2000, China will place its one-billion population on the world's scales."

This forecast was confirmed by China's economic growth.

Today's experts also point out that China's economic success is largely based on stable governments, patient strategic planning, high savings and investment rates, dynamic (state-supported) trade, investment and industrial policies, macroeconomic policies that emphasize the control of inflation and public deficits, and a disciplined work and moral understanding based on family ties.

And they report that in this state, it could be a source of inspiration as a development model for developing countries that want to escape the grip of Western imperialism.

However, it is also stated that one should not be content with economic growth alone, and that pure economic growth deepens the gap between rich and poor, leads to tensions in society, and brings heavy costs to China due to energy security and ecological destruction.

In summary, it is stated that the continuation of the Chinese miracle can only be achieved by increasing "balanced development" and "improving the quality of growth".

Actually, the main theme I am trying to express in my article is, of course, not to examine the reasons for the Chinese Miracle.

THE ARTICLE ''UNDERSTANDING ŞEVKET SÜREYYA AYDEMİR OR RED LETTERS'' HAS TWO PURPOSES

First; taking into account Aydemir's foresight like the Chinese Miracle, to open for discussion his views extending to Kemalism and socialism that he put forward in his book "Revolution and Cadre".

Second is this; while Turkey is planning its future from the economy to foreign policy, should it see the reasons for the Chinese Miracle?

However, the point that must absolutely and definitely be taken into account is that the approach of "not transitioning from American emulation to Chinese emulation" must be considered.

Because in one respect, China has integrated into its capitalism.

Although it appears as a soft power for now, it is possible to predict that it will also show its imperial face.

Wasn't Atatürk's anti-imperialist economic policy against neoliberal policies?

In fact, it is known that the Turkish National Struggle and revolutions led by Atatürk were an example for the national awakening movement in China, just as they were an example for many eastern societies that were under the captivity of imperialism and could not become nations in the early 20th century.

As in the case of Turkey, while planning the future of the world, it has emerged that one must first grasp that the unchangeable approach of the neoliberal system can be changed, and that there is no other choice but to implement a planned economy-policy under public leadership.

A PROPOSAL ON ORGANIZING A ''SYMPOSIUM ON THE THOUGHT WORLD OF ŞEVKET SÜREYYA AYDEMİR''

In line with the realization of the purpose I stated in my article, I believe that some of the views Aydemir put forward, especially in his book "Revolution and Cadre", are approaches that should be discussed for Turkey's future.

In this context, it would be beneficial to organize a "Symposium on the Thought World of Şevket Süreyya Aydemir".

The articles written by Yıldırım Koç based on documents about Şevket Süreyya Aydemir and the Cadre Movement, of which he was a member, gain value for this reason.