SILENCE OF THE STRESSED CITIZEN

|
  • 0

SILENCE OF THE STRESSED CITIZEN

Monday, 02 May 2022 | BALAKRISHNAN SATYAM

SILENCE OF THE STRESSED CITIZEN

When freedom is the exercise of voice - one’s own or the collective’s

Day before yesterday, I heard a mynah on the kitchen window sill - its tone rang clear. There was conviction, energy and a deep declaration in the chirp.  It struck me that fewer people speak like that, and a discreet quietude is more in vogue. Is there a decline in the number of questions or beliefs we ought to express ourselves on? A friend recently remarked that there are more - isms than before but far fewer believers. If we consider an - ism to be a set of strongly held beliefs, a few come immediately to mind. Progressivism and conservatism. Activism and fatalism. Skepticism and utopianism. Science has fostered an abandonment of intense beliefs because it shows us that our schematic understanding necessarily changes perhaps 2-3 times in a century. We have to stay open to a change of paradigm. This seems to leave us with pragmatism and opportunism! There may be deterrents to an open exchange of views or to an exploration of possible positions. For a few, it could be a lack of access and opportunity, but there are many more who opt to not have a say or to be disengaged. A popular phrase that came up in US politics is ‘silent majority’. But what might it mean - is it to be understood as a tacit assent, an apathy, or as a muted protest. Many tell us that our vote is our main opportunity but they forget that it is voice that is actually participation. A vote is once in a few years. Many of our freedoms, in order to be exercised, could call for the exercise of voice. A citizen of a State isn’t like a subject in a monarchy - hers is a participatory role. Will the State reflect mainly its powerful, affluent and privileged while it promotes the welfare of the disadvantaged? The modern conservative feels this to be right - proper for economic prosperity, offering reward and opportunity while being considerate to weaker sections as they are sometimes termed in India. Subscribers to various shades of reformism want more visibility, role and even dominance of large communities in the populace, who have been only toilers and troops in earlier centuries. Conservatives and reformists differ on how to use incentives and concessions to spur development. Their priorities don’t match. The reformists or progressives are doubtful about the efficacy of the trickle-down model of prosperity and want to guarantee essentials that the bottom rungs cannot afford on their own.

The simple challenge before humanity is to see if it is feasible to adequately reward doctors, teachers and researchers. Somehow a market-dependent, commercialised way of delivering healthcare and education, while providing ready funding on a large scale, also brings them down to the level of wall enamels or mango varieties. Defence personnel serve with a special code and dedication, different from civilians. Similarly, medicare, education and lab research too are fundamentals. There ought to be enough prestige and common perks to keep these specialists out of the market scramble. That’s the hurly-burly where mammon takes precedence over man.  Unaffordability is as much or a steeper barrier as untouchability, and thus a modern-day casteism has resulted: some term it as ‘capitalism’. In the last 300 years or so, since many formal tracts in economics started to get published, concepts like use value and exchange value have been unrestrictedly applied across all types of services. Prior to this era, it’s not like there wasn’t efficiency, standard of service, and continuous upgradation in capacity in medicine, scientific research and education. Market principles maybe, but the struggle for these basics silences the potential mynahs.

(The writer is a creative director, advertising faculty, and an amateur epistemologist. The views expressed are personal.)

Sunday Edition

CAA PASSPORT TO FREEDOM

24 March 2024 | Kumar Chellappan | Agenda

CHENNAI EXPRESS IN GURUGRAM

24 March 2024 | Pawan Soni | Agenda

The Way of Bengal

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

The Pizza Philosopher

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

Astroturf | Lord Shiva calls for all-inclusiveness

24 March 2024 | Bharat Bhushan Padmadeo | Agenda

Interconnected narrative l Forest conservation l Agriculture l Food security

24 March 2024 | BKP Sinha/ Arvind K jha | Agenda