The Devil of Economic Fundamentalism

by Javed Jamil

that whatever little the West transfers to the developing nations would have to return huge profits for it. The globalisation has guaranteed that all the business activities occurring anywhere in the world would garner a substantial share for the Western industrialists. By continuously popularising the new technologies as indispensable for modernisa­tion and development, they have made sure that the goods continue to flow from the developed to the developing nations, and the money keeps transferring from the developing nations to the developed. The scientific organisations like the WHO are being misused to make the world believe that whatever is designed by the Western experts is the best possible option. The Amnesty and other human rights organisations are busy in convincing the world that only the West cares for the genuine rights of men, women and children. The World Population Fund, the UNESCO and the WHO--all are hell bent on de­stroying the social and family values. The N.G.Os are being funded to speak the language they want them to speak. Thus every possible effort is being made to present the West, particularly Ameri­ca, as the role model for the rest of the world. Almost all the world organisations are dominated by the Western countries and these are being used by them to adopt such policies, programmes and plans as give them the biggest possible share in the booty.

  The colonisation or neo-colonisation of the globe is thus com­plete. Whatever little has remained, given the present state of somnolence, will be achieved within the next few years, unless of course a catastrophe brings so much devastation that the somnolence evaporates.

  14.

  The Way Out

  Aristotle says: “Man, when perfected, is the best of animals, but, when separated from law and justice, he is the worst of all; since armed injus­tice is more dangerous, and he is equipped with arms, meant to be used by intelligence and virtue, which he may use for worst ends”.

  The extent to which economic fundamentalism has ruled every bit of life is pretty evident from what has been elaborated in the preceding pages. The world today is being, ruthlessly, ruled by economic tyrants. Their domination is too complete to allow any appreciable resistance to build. The media are in their control; the politicians drive political mileage out of their money-power; the bureaucrats, willingly or unwillingly, play into their hands pushing plans and policies of their choice; the technocrats serve their designs painting the picture in the colour of their liking; the economists float theories, criteria and data suiting their game-plan; the world organisations - political, scientific or financial, implement the programmes the way they deem fit; the judges are brain-washed to contemplate the way they want, and pronounce judgements accordingly; the religious scholars have become, either their slaves, or are bereft of any physical or moral authority; and the social activists have been successfully motivat­ed to engage in the “welfare” programmes sponsored by them. The majority of people do not have any inking as to what has been tran­spiring at different levels; the few who have some idea, do not possess the will, courage and resources to influence the public opinion; their hands are too strongly tied to cause any change in the course of events. What is happening in the world today is like a one-day cricket match, where the masses have nothing in their power except to pay to watch the proceedings of the match, and the players who seem to play the game are being made to play by the organisers, who remain behind the scene, and yet they control everything, from the selection of date, time and place to the selection of players and sponsors; as soon as a player fails to live up to the expectations, he is sacked; if he wants to continue in the team, he will have to perform according to the standards set by the organisers.

  The situation is undoubtedly gloomy, yet, the world has to change, and change for the better; what has been going on cannot be allowed to continue unchallenged. Despite the all-pervading influence of the big business, the one fact that stands out is the ultimate debauchedness of the economic fundamentalists on the money provided by the masses, and their inclinations. The masses still hold the key; if they decide to hit back, the few Multina­tional Companies cannot face their wrath.

  If the world is to be saved, the transformation has to be effec­tively brought about. But for any worthwhile change to occur, first the methods to bring it about are to be properly screened. The best method, of course, will be to undo whatever wrong the economic fundamentalists have done in estab­lishing their rude. Before that, however, it is imperative to clearly visualise the aims of the whole exercise. The first and foremost objective of any developmental -- economic, scientific or social activity must be to ensure a wholesome life for mankind. Though the ability to avail as many items of comfort as possible may be desirable, the ultimate goal must be to build a world where every individual is free from diseases, tensions and exter­nal threats to life, property and honour. To be free from diseas­es requires an environment that is pollution-free, surroundings that are dirt-fee and eatables and drinkables that are germ-free; in addition the eatables and drinkables must be nutritious, and must not be injurious to health. To be free from tensions re­quires peace of mind that comes from the ability to earn, at least, as much as is essential for one’s family, and proper relationship between parents, spouses and children, the three essential components of family. To be free from external threats to life, property and honour requires a society that is free of crime, oppression and exploitation. To be concise, individual health, family peace and social order must be the three basic aims; all the activities, whatever field they may be associated with, must be guided as well as limited by 'the trio'. Any good or action that seriously hampers any one of the three must not be permis­sible in a civilized society; if society permits them, it may be anything but civilized.

  Having categorically stated that, it automatically follows that there can be no place for absolute freedom or liberty in society. Those that campaign for this have ulterior motives; they, in fact, seek absolute freedom only for themselves, their employers or their patrons.

  The size of the earth is limited, the resources available to human beings are limited, and their desires and ambitions are mutually destructive. If every individual becomes absolutely free to act in whatever manner he chooses, all humans will consume one anoth­er. It also means that all humans are inter-dependent. Aristotle had commented: “No one would choose the whole world on condition of being alone since man is a potential creature and one whose nature is to live with others” (Ethics). If all human beings have to live together, and all the needs and ambitions of all of them cannot be realized, there is no alternative but to erect well-defined boundaries. The question remains: what should these boundaries be? There may be three kinds of system. System number one allows uninhibited liberty putting no restrictions whatsoever on human freedom except such (administrative laws, road traffic, etc.) as are essential for the very existence of that system. In this system individuals have the right to harm themselves, and even if they kill others, they still continue to have the right to live; they can engage in any business, even if it harms others, the only condition being that the people may only be lured, and not forced, to use the products of that business. This kind of system is bound to become bar­baric, because human beings are selfish by nature; the ensuing competition between individuals would, ultimately, result in sup­pression, exploitation, crimes, tensions and diseases. System number two allows individuals no action of their choice except what is permitted by the system and the authorities working in that system. Here, individuals do not remain humans but become machines in the hands of authorities; as human system is different from the mechanical systems, in spite of freedom from some, not all, diseases and reduced external threats to life, property and honour, humans cannot be free from psychological tensions; their ambitions always remain unfulfilled, and feeling of depri­vation causes several problems. Such a system is bound to fail as it does not have enough scope for individuals to fulfil even their rightful and healthy desires. In contrast to these two, system number three allows human beings a large number of activi­ties of their own choice except a
few that are, either dangerous for their own health and welfare, or for their family, or for society . There are, neither undue restrictions, nor undue liber­ties; the aim is to let the people achieve the highest goal of social life -- peaceful coexistence, contributing their best to it, and enjoying themselves the fruits of a peaceful society. Natu­rally, this system is the best, and a society having this kind of a system, can only claim itself to be a civilized society. It is this that has to be the system of the future, and all economic, social and cultural activities have to be planned aiming at the birth, survival and strengthening of this system.

  With these promises, let us now begin to unfold the ways that would emancipate the world from the slavery of the economic fundamentalists.

  1. Rejuvenation of the law

  The Law may be regarded as the most important faculty of social organization. Without an adequate and effective legal system, civilization cannot survive. The law is essential to ensure security of each law-abiding member of society, to provide him