Equality, Marx, Democracy, Reservations et al.
Equality is a misnomer. Socialism is a farce.
I believe Socialism is based on a fallacious premise. It has long been used by demagogues to lure the masses into dreams of a utopian socio-economic system where property and the distribution of wealth would be under social control, where the state or the collective will have the ownership of the means of production. Well, these dreams were just that, dreams!
Marx’s ideas were noble, for his times. He really cared for the working class. During the early days of the industrial revolution, the bourgeoisie did exploit the proletariat. But Marx’s idealistic ideas died with him. And, as it has happened in the past, the concept of socialism was picked up and exploited by dictators and tyrants alike. It’s so easy to sell an idea which captures the imagination of people.
An idea (like most of the things) can’t be a static. Ideas need to evolve too and reflect the realities of the times. And one that doesn’t will sooner or later meet its Darwinian fate.
Socialism/Communism failed because it was based on a proposition that all people are equal and they should be treated equally. Well, that sounds pretty nice in theory, but if that were to be true then humans would still be living in caves.
No two people are equal and they should not be treated as equals, period!
A differentiation in a society which is based on one’s knowledge, skill, ability and function is only natural and logical.
People come in different shapes and sizes, moral values, intellectual abilities, sensitivity & compassion for others etc. We have differing capacities to experience pleasure and pain, to communicate effectively. In short, if equality were to be based on the actual equality of all human beings, we would have to stop demanding equality. It would be untenable.
Some would ask, what’s wrong in treating everyone as equal? Aren’t we all the children of the same god? Then what is the need for differentiation? The answer is, if we treat ‘unequal’ people equally, we are denying people the incentive to innovate. It will stall the progress of human civilization.
Man’s struggle with status-quo is the basis of all human development.
Why would someone want to do things differently/better if his efforts are not being recognized and he’s treated better than others? Ultimately man is driven by self-interest (though it is not always the best way….yeah, Adam Smith was wrong!). It’s a primitive evolutionary necessity. Even altruists follow their interests (which is to help others).
That’s the reason why I admire the Russian people so much more. They competed (successfully) with the might and prowess of America just out of fierce nationalism and love for the motherland. But, after few decades they too became disillusioned and understood the futility of it all.
Redefining Equality
The greatest form of inequality is trying to make unequal things equal - Aristotle
Equality = Equality of Opportunity + Equality of Labor
Equality should be based on of ‘equality-of-opportunity’. Everyone should have access to the means to reach his potential. No one should be denied this fundamental right. But at the end of the day, everyone should be treated as per his achievements/capabilities. That’s the only way of going forward.
We all are just cogs in the giant wheel of this world and everyone has to play his part so that the wheel keeps moving on. In our day to day life we take many things for granted and forget our dependency on them. As someone has said, we only appreciate the value of things when they are gone.
From the doctor to the janitor, we are reliant on every member of the society, directly or indirectly. So, essentially all forms of labor are of equal importance and hence should be treated as equal.
In fact, it was on this very premise that the ancient caste system of India was envisaged (at least in theory). The Caste system was quite an interesting system in concept. It was an ancient form of division of labor. People were divided on the basis of their abilities (core-competence) and not by their birth. A person with strong build and physical abilities became a kshatriya (warrior), while someone with mercantile skills became a vaishya etc. This meant that even the son of a vaishya could have become a priest or vice versa (interestingly, thanks to the High-Court ruling, anyone can be a priest now). So this whole system was quite useful in concept where people were best utilized and resource utilization was optimal.
Of course, as it has happened throughout human history, once people have got power they have abused it ('rational' self-interest?...though morally indefensible), and therefore the caste-system was hijacked by the priestly class and distorted into a system which determined your social standing by birth, not by your competencies.
And so started the oppression, exploitation & the denial of opportunity to the ‘lower’ castes. People from differing castes were barred from marrying into other castes. The society became ethnically segregated.
In fact, I believe that this was the largest Eugenics program carried out in the human history!!
(Recently I was having a discussion with someone when he said something really profound….”Whatever happens, there will always be two classes, the haves & the have-nots”……think about it !!)
The Pandora’s Box
And now the latest stunt from the politicians has come in the form of Reservations. They want to correct the wrongs of thousands of years in one stroke (at least they claim so). I won’t delve into their political motives because it is all too obvious and much has already been said on this matter.
But by opening this Pandora’s Box, they have sparked a nationwide debate on the effectiveness of reservations. We have to ask how effective the reservations have been over the past 50 years.
If the aim of reservations was to bring the downtrodden parts of society into the mainstream, it has failed miserably. On the contrary, it has created a new class of people, a ‘creamy-layer’ within the non-creamy layer, a minuscule percentage of the backward classes which actually benefit from the reservations, for generations.
Hence, it is quite obvious that this ‘experiment’ did not achieve it purported goal.
What is most surprising and deplorable is the fact that there exists a hierarchy in the ‘backward’ castes too. They have created sub-classes and discriminate among themselves! So people who are demanding reservations as a way of social emancipation don’t believe in ‘equality’ themselves. It is quite sad that they are using it as a political tool.
The flaw seems to be more with our political system which encourages this kind of behavior. We elect our leaders. But are they worthy / righteous enough to lead us??
Once they are in power they make sure that they are there for eternity (‘rational’ self-interest again). So they start plotting evil schemes (like the present one) so that people bring them back in power.
It’s the same old policy of ‘Divide and Rule’, in a new disguise. We thought that we could drive out the enemy (the British) and rest in peace but what we forget is that the real enemy is within us.
The actual problem is that democracy has been quite a failure as a concept. What a pity that it is still the best system of governance known to man. It is the least of all evils.
The apparent irrationality of voters in choosing incompetent representatives tells us something very important about democracy: that the majority is not always right!
The Solution
So, what is the solution?
One thing is for sure that two wrongs don’t make a right. But there must be a way. There is always a way. Only thing is that we have to discover it. But the proposed solution is not the way forward for sure.
Einstein said that we cannot solve a problem with the same mindset that created it.
You cannot divide on the basis of caste to undo the discrimination on the basis of caste!
That’s the sad and the ironical part, these so called reservations will end up creating fissures/divisions in the society and lead to the very thing they are supposed to eradicate.
One way forward is to provide free education till the 10th standard to everyone. As a taxpayer, I am ready to take the burden. At least, it will make a far lesser dent in my pocket than reservations will do to the society. To make it a success, make the teachers accountable so that they turn up in schools and produce results.
I have always believed that economic upliftment is a necessary precursor to social upliftment. So, if the children of lower castes educate themselves, earn a decent living, they will eventually move up the social ladder. I have a firm belief that xenophobic attitudes will change.
We must provide every opportunity and incentives to the weaker sections of the society so that they come out of their socio-economic misery. Ultimately, it is in our (the so called upper classes) self-interest only. As game theory has shown us, that the best result comes when everyone in the group (society) does what’s best for himself and the group as a whole. That’s the real ‘rational self-interest’.
It’s time to redefine the rules. It’s time to change our mindsets. It’s time for a paradigm-shift!
Note: The term ‘his’ has been used in this blog for denoting the general populace. The author should not be misconstrued as a sexist/chauvinist based on the same.
