Democratic Problems

            Views and Words - Dr. K S Radhakrishnan

          As we have already seen, the system of Advaita propagates plurality and freedom. Plurality admits uniqueness and identity; uniqueness in the sense that every individual needs unity. But at the same time, there is something common between one and the other. When there is something common in between, then there can be communication.  A democratic system can be maintained only in a state of effective communication methods. For effective communication, the primary requirement is that there must be something common in between I and You. Wherever there is nothing common in between I and You, there cannot be any communication and wherever there is no communication there cannot be a democratic set up. Freedom depends highly on democracy in the sense that one of the preconditions for freedom is communication. This shows the fact that a free individual must be able to share something with the rest; he has to take something from the rest. This type of give and take relationship can be maintained only in a democratic set up.

In the capitalist set up especially in a market economy, there is no question of giving or taking but only grabbing. Everyone wants to grab the maximum at the maximum level. Maximum level means every individual leads a nomad like universe where he lives as a free individual who is totally cut off from the rest of the society. So he wants to maintain a world of his own. But in a democracy, no one maintains his or her own world. The world is his own but at the same time it has to be shared with the rest. So what I am telling is that the free individual has to admit that he is free to regulate himself. Such a self-regulated individual and the communion of such individuals form a society. Such a self-regulated individual and communion of individuals made society that also believes in self regulation can constitute a democratic set up.

            The present day market economy can never be able to give any sort of guarantee to democracy.  Any platform of privatization, liberalization or globalization also cannot be liberal because a person who believes in competition can never be liberal. A liberal person has to admit the right of the other individuals. The world that has already been liberalized for the market economy is to get it the maximum for each individual to get in his/her custody, not sharing anything with the rest. Such a state can never be treated as liberalized. A pluralistic society has to admit these and at the same time admit the identity between one and the other. Identical factor is a common factor; it is that common element that makes communication possible. Democracy can be maintained only in a society in which effective tools for communication also is maintained. Then the question arises is how is it possible to maintain democracy where there is no regulation at all. An unregulated society can never be treated as democratic; it is a chaotic society. So, at the ultimate stage, the state next to the present, there should be of utter chaos if we are not able to regulate the unfettered march of globalization. So, the possible form of government according to Advaita is the democracy. 

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