Why should an overwhelming majority of humans remain fettered indefinitely, like Sisyphus, to the whims and wishes of a few powerful humans, the lords on Earth? Why must most humans surrender their individual freedoms to the lords? Why must the majority of the humanity suffer in relative discomfort and slavery for the sake of comfort and absolute freedom of a few masters?
The wise amongst us may say: ‘This is how the world has been and this is how it will continue to be. As per our individual karma, some of us are born to rule and most others are born to suffer and be enslaved.’
How long will the enslaved bulk of the humanity, comprising more than 8 billion humans, subserviently work for a few demigods?
Once again, the wise may say: ‘Perhaps forever. No one leaves the karmic cycle. Learn from Nature, only some are freer than others. Most of us are born to work for others, whether we like it or not. Similar to Sisyphus, without a pause, Moon goes around Earth and Earth revolves around the Sun. As per Natural laws, only the fittest survive.’
No matter what I say or do, you will keep coming back with grandmotherly statements and allegories, perhaps also some messages from religious mythologies, and mercilessly brush away my queries in search of a perfect world – a world of freedom and fearlessness, honour and dignity, empathy and compassion – where humans live an untethered life, yet mutually responsible and caring, and exercise freedom of thought and expressions, as well as action.
Am I the only one who has this quest? Absolutely, not; there must be many more of us around the globe, always have been, perhaps, our cumulative numbers are too insignificant to make any dent on the world order or awaken the majority from their reconciliatory slavish mentality. If the majority has irreversibly resigned to slavery, a quest for a perfect world may realistically not even take off, it may remain buried in the realm of a fanciful dream. The world will continue to remain unfairly segregated, with only a handful of the privileged amongst us shamelessly flaunting their power, wealth and resources, and able to lord over most of us — the expendables, the workers and slaves, who are thrown some breadcrumbs along the way to keep slaving.
Should we then give up on our (seemingly hopeless) quest for a perfect world? No, definitely not. Let us explore what can possibly be done to reach closer to that perfect state.
For a moment, therefore, just for a change and hypothetically, of course, let us imagine a new order of the world of humans where there are no masters and no servants, where all humans are equal — with no bosses or subordinates, all are colleagues — no employers or employees, all are co-workers — and no religions too to divide the humans and pit them against one another.
Imagine a world of free humans, where they live free of bondages and chains, without any silos or segregations, without biases or prejudices, or any subjugation or slavery, without any masters lording over their oppressed subjects.
Imagine a world of dignified humans where there are no privileged or underprivileged classes and all humans are masters of their lives and destinies.
Imagine a world that breaks completely free from its past fettered and hierarchical structures, where no one can claim superiority over fellow humans.
At present, such a new world order may threaten the privileged and the pampered ones amongst us. Some may even laugh and deride at this very thought; some may dismiss the very notion as bring impossible, as such a new world order would demand an extremely bloody and painful transition process, which won’t be deemed acceptable to anyone. In an unlikely scenario, if the world were to see such a free society of dignified humans, it will take many a French or Bolshevik Revolutions. not at one place or at one time, but across the world and at several times. Such a perfect, rather utopian world will make humans —all humans, from everywhere — to bleed and suffer, not for a moment but perpetually over decades.
For a moment, even if such a perfect world – of human freedom and dignity – emerged magically and without any transitionary disorder, how long will it sustain? Logically, not very long. After a day or a year or a decade or a century of its existence, humans will slowly commence the process of returning to the present world order. We are intrinsically apprehensive and fearful of one another and, therefore, power greedy. Some of us will soon assume the leadership (or lordship) of small groups, comprising vulnerable and gullible humans. With time, these leaders (lords) will make their followers (subjects) to work actively for them in exchange to receiving some form of protection from other neighbouring lords. Fear – genuine or created – against the unknown and other – will be reused as the most trusted tool of exploitation and subjugation. Quickly, most humans will willingly forfeit their individual freedoms to their new masters and the returning process will continue. Welcome back to 2022.
The Bell Curve
In terms of their material and natural developments, humans, like many other animate or inanimate objects, may be seen to fall along a Normal Distribution Curve, also called the Gaussian curve or Bell curve. On the curve, the bell or the middle portion may comprise the bulk (around 90 to 95 percent) of the humanity. The extremes (the outliers) — comprising around 5 to 10 percent of the humans — are the influencers, the powerful people, who decide the direction in which the humanity moves – progressively ahead or regressively backward?
An overwhelming majority of the humans in the middle section of the curve may be called the ‘complaint’ bulk of the humanity — the followers or consumers, the working or the expendable cattle class – which works as commodities for the ‘non-compliant’ influencers of the humanity. It is this compliant middle that comprises the bulk of consumers — pharmaceuticals, arms and ammunition, electronic gadgets and mechanical appliances, fashion items and cosmetics, foods and beverages, and the whole range of everyday consumables. It is this middle complaint bulk that runs our economies and the way the world moves.
The ‘Train’ Allegory
The humanity curve may be likened to a long train, with two engines – one at each end. The two extremes of the curve may be likened to the two engines — one pulling the train forward and the other dragging it backward. Engines derive energy from power – positive and negative. The forward engine is run by the brain trust of the humanity, spearheaded by visionaries, those who can see ahead and know what they should be doing to move the train into the future. The rear engine is run based by regressive social stigmas, jingoistic ideologies and religions.
The net direction of the train is decided by the engine that attracts more political and material power. In scenarios where the political and wealth power shifts to the rear engine, the train rolls uncontrollably backward, potentially into an unhappy abyss where nothing but pain and suffering plague the train.
What then about the perfect world of my imaginings?
There is hope.
Historically, as the current human race has undoubtedly covered holistically a significant distance from their distant ancestors 200,000 years ago, it can be concluded beyond doubt that the forward engine has succeeded in powering the train forward despite a continual negative drag caused by the rear engine. Of course, there have been painful periods in history where the rear engine prevailed and pulled the train backwards towards a miserable world.
How to move ahead?
The forward engine, which comprises visionaries and wise thinkers, needs unconditional blessings and active support of wealthy materialists and powerful politicians. It needs to carry not only its own weight forward with a determined vigour but also be able to pull with it the middle, long section of the train, whilst overcoming the backward drag caused actively by the rear engine. The onus is well and truly on the forward engine to carry the entire train, without leaving any wagon behind, separated or worn out.
Where wealthy materialists and political power shift to the rear engine and then actively pull back the middle bulk — the most disadvantaged, gullible and precariously susceptible section of the train — the backward drag is exacerbated, which not only carries the potential to derail the forward engine but also the entire train into a perilous state.
For the world to have some hope of reaching that supposedly utopian perfect state, as a pathway ahead, one would wish Goddesses Laxmi and Durga follow Goddess Saraswati and not the other way round. Materialism must surrender to responsible holistic living. One would wish that the powerful and the wealthy don’t continue to fleece the goose – the hardworking middle and lower middle-class – that can keep laying the golden eggs if not killed or exploited endlessly.
Admittedly, therefore, and beyond doubt, the onus lies on the wealthy materialists and the political influencers to pull the humanity in a forward direction — towards a more sustainable state. For this, they must support the forward engine. Only then, they may be able to ensure the very sustainability of their own political power and material wealth, otherwise they risk losing it all. Their casual or serious flirtations – for political power or material wealth – with the rear engine not only catastrophically derails the entire train but potentially dooms them too, permanently. Also, the entire train risks derailment if the middle section – comprising the working-class of the humanity – derails.
The world needs serious investment in wisdom, true knowledge and holistic education. Let us not muffle or blind the visionary. Let us not bite the hands that feed us. Let us not challenge Nature or flout Natural laws. Let us instill and rekindle hope in ourselves that, one day, we will see the daylight at the end of a seemingly slippery dark tunnel.
© Bill K Koul [6 December 2022, Perth, Western Australia]
Copyright © Bill K Koul