Work is worship, time is money, these days - work is time and worship is money! But this ones not about changing attitudes, preferences and lifestyles, its about...well, read on!
Why is money so important? is it a physical attachment to the Gandhi or is it what it can do for us? To put it differently, is money about money itself or is it about something deeper?
Hmm, too many questions! Lets get cracking!!
Firstly, it is important to recognize that money is the means to an end. The end could be as simplistic as wanting to hoard money for its own intrinsic worth or it could be as the means to future purchasing power. Note that in both cases, it seems to have one thing in common - Power. Aha, my fave topic; back again;-)
More fundamentally, why then do we need to feel powerful? Is it about the recognition and related social perks that come with it? or is it about a personal sense of self-worth? or is it simply about "the survival of the fittest"??
More questions!! This is becoming a vicious circle! Dammit!!
But we shall persevere..
If you notice, social benefits as well as self-worth are feelings. And feelings derive from a more primal need - the need to survive. The sense of well-being, happiness or alternatively of apprehension, fear are linked to our immediate environment. If one feels secure and safe, at a fundamental level that can ensure some degree of happiness. So man seems to be fundamentally about survival and feelings seem to be some sort of internal mechanism (or intuition, or subconscious) to tell us how survivable is the current situation.. This is an interesting point and we shall delve into it, at length, later. But for the topic under discussion - Bingo! It all seems to boil down to survival!!
It is this primitive need to ensure survival that then governs ours actions..And "Power" or a show of power seems to be the means to do this! Often, we talk about crimes against women - to the bra-burning brigade, females are victims of the male ego..History has not helped this natural conclusion with religion, societal norms and customs all pitching in for the ultimate dominance of the "man" aka the male..However, per my understanding, this notion is a bit flawed. This is not to say that the feminists are wrong - of course women have been subjugated, and still are. This is only to say that their lens is narrow - all that is "weak" is subjugated. Its also children, the economically poor, even animals! Man will subjugate anyone and anything he can - to assert and establish his power. This then is about mass victimization, not just the 50% of the population that most intelligentsia limits its pro-women debates and discussion to. Pause. This is a very powerful idea - you can easily choose to not be the victim! If you are powerful enough, then you will not and cannot be subjugated! Unfortunately, its a bit Utopian! You see, the fundamental root may be power and unfixing the notion of power with physical or mental attributes may allow for some sanity to prevail over the long term, however, this need for power will always need a vehicle.. In the new age, this seems to be money..And the cycle will continue as long as mankind is power-hungry. Since the need for power stems from a primitive need for survival, unfortunately knowing this does not help since we will always end up finding a substitute to ensure subjugation - of someone, somewhere! After all, its an ingrained need..God save the aliens!!
Luckily, man has not yet perfected the means to ensure immortality and we are here for but a few years, max a few 100! Before chaos erupts, we will all hopefully be not around. After all, "in the long run we are all dead!"
cheers!;-)
2 comments:
Since "it's all about the money, honey" we can also say "money is the root of all evil"! Maybe that is being too cynical... I believe that there will always be a power struggle where any species are around, as the instinct for survival is linked to the fact that only the fittest will survive. What is important is that there be a level playing field and that those who are wronged have a platform for getting justice. After all, we are supposedly civilized, and live in a world of higher standards!!
Actually - tht's d conclusion i was wanting to avoid:-) Its not just about money or physical prowess - its about something deeper; the need for "survival"...Since its such a primal need, no amount of "civilization" is going to do away with this need...Infact, this need is what keeps us going and not get sedated or lulled into acceptance..So if not other like us, then another species it is! We will always find someone or something to subjugate..To the extent that all humans are equal, yes we should have a level playing field but this conclusion too is quite selfish since it assumes the "supremacy" of man..Aha! But hang on, you could always say that we should extend the platform for a level playing field to all "players" - whether they can articulate themselves in humanspeak or not..However, that my dear is the fundamental fallacy, if we do away with this need, the supposed "root" of all evil, we lose our drive to live...Bingo, end of any form of civilization!
I know i sound like a dommsdayer but unfortunately, as of now, that's how it is. Fortunately for us, we can happily debate and believe in equality coz during our lifetime, this simplistic view of the world will continue to hold:-)
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