Monday, October 18, 2010

Not quite capitalistic

I was looking at the night sky, the pleasant winter wind (late late night), and I wasn’t looking for no answers. Then it struck me, something which i had been brooding on sometime back; Its called an epiphany I guess, but this one struck when least expected.
This is a generalization in all respects. But I hope you get the context (that’s most important).
Our present state of affairs is such that we are a pure performance oriented civilization (and civilization nowadays comes to mean one humanity with the efforts of true globalization)
Performance means results, we are a results or end game oriented race. Our education system and our colleges as well each and everyone of our past/current/future jobs are such. This is capitalism, which honours only results. This is what struck me, the path or the means to the results is least respected (as has been the case – corruption, hypocrisy, not practicing what you preach—time over). This also is not a hypothesis, You and I both know that most times a ‘smart way’ of doing things- which could include any array of means, is better than a sincere or hard long way. (though its rightly quoted as a better way of doing anything time over by religion/spirituality/moralism etc- almost a indian middle class culture bound way of looking at things lol)
So this comes to mean that, whoever gets the grades, or the marks or has the intelligence or cruelty to do what it takes to get those results is respected. I partially appreciate this philosophy, what struck me was that it should be the effort or passion (as the greek say) which one has for the work which should matter and not just the results.
In the gita, time over krishna proclaims that the true way to live is by doing work (karma yoga), no end dedication for the result, there is dispassion in this regard. I am not jargoning any book or quotation but what strikes me as the balance between capitalistic (nihilistic almost way to life to me) and the impractical Marxist or socialistic way of life is that;
if we as a civilization start honouring and respecting the effort which is put by individuals towards a goal and not just the result of that effort; then we would be actually moving towards rewarding those who most deserve it.
Think about it, We currently only look at intelligence as the key factor, to be respected, in our education systems, if this was to be replaced by how much effort, sincerity or dedication is put by the student; the true worthy would be rewarded for their efforts.
This scheme has worked in many European countries and is even started trends in India, where other aspects of the individual personality are evaluated and tests and exams don’t have to be mandatory.
Now I propose the same in evaluating the worth of the individual holding jobs across the world in companies and establishments. If the individual is actually putting in effort for the organization’s good, though it might be not yielding very productive results, such an individual currently would not be rewarded adequately than such a person who would be intelligent or dishonest enough to get ahead in the system any which way to his own benefit. Such a person who could persuade, be dishonest, be competent or skillful as a result of intelligence or smartness, would be at an unfair advantage.
The thought which goes into me elaborating this, is that what is the source of happiness for humanity, currently following a capitalism model; we are trying to maximize every aspect of our lives, the corporations and organizations across the world are doing the very same thing. This un thought-of of greed for more is destroying the glorious chance for every one of us to live a life; dedicated to living and working passionately at what we would want to work for or at/
If each one of us would be rewarded according to a test of the dedication and hard work we put into the work we choose; the world would be a lot more peaceful and better place to live.
Check it out; a student who works hard for learning though he might not be very intelligent or adept at it still would be given encouragement to go for more as compared to a very high IQ student who would be marginally interested in theory yet currently would end up scoring or getting better grades or jobs than a sincere one.
A person working in a service more dedicatedly; longer; more passionately would earn more than a person who could just deliver results or be smart enough to get results.
I understand that to many delivering results might seem to logically flow from working hard or more passionately. Unfortunately reality is a bitch, and people more often than not get better for not being sincere in true ‘karma’ ways.
Work is life and truly life is work. There is no escape, you cannot work half your life to one day not work. It simply does not happen, if you think that work is a means to an end, then you are mistaken. Work is the means to the end and the end itself for every one who lives.
So when we work for profit or maximization of it, as I see it; many a time we just work to destroy everything around us, so that we get more. The obsession for more equalling better is a myth. More cars or houses or women or money all come with equalling baffling problems centered around them. Hence i say that you can never work to get to a situation where your work will cease. Your work will continue till the day you die.
A new paradigm shift in thinking is required for us humans, we have to reward the sincerely dispassionate; the strong and not the cruel. The brave and the sincere. The humble and the truthful- This is the way to enter a new millennium (at least that's what I feel fit to see for a beautiful race like us human beings)
So your suggestions are also welcome; I honestly say, how to change us beings and creatures of comfort and inertia into powerful sincere and loving organisms promoting life and not just the slavery for more (and please do ask once in a while --- from within--- what does this more get you – a temporary euphoria—a drug to get you high--- does it last? of course not, thats why you want more of this more….. )

Peace

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