So far so good...

Heard about the guy who fell off a skyscraper? On his way down past each floor, he kept saying to reassure himself: So far so good…so far so good…so far so good. How you fall doesn’t matter. It’s how you land!

These lines from ‘La Haine’ pretty accurately describe the scenario of environmental disaster where man in his denial keeps asserting—so far so good…so far so good. The fall is pleasurable but for how long? How far? Where will he land? These are not bothering his conscience right now. Every now and then he needs some anaesthetic –in every epoch he needs new anaesthetic—to keep him distracted and distanced from the senselessness of his existence. He invented religion to keep himself busy with some meaningfulness and now his religion is consumption; a consumer of his own life as if he had to earn his own life back from mortgagee. I can hardly find a difference between those blatant priests of ancient religions who determined patterns of human life and the “corporate priests” of our time. They both produce a tamed, predictable, harmless, bootless and believing individual; ready to believe anything for the greater good, for magnificent future, for phantasmagoria of unimaginable, in fact a subject of ludicrousness. A little unbiased view can tell you what horrendous individuals these corporations produce although there is no decline in the amount of collective bovine pride that is boasted off.

By the time we begin to comprehend our environment, our existence and our objective, we are already entangled in the chains of consumerism. We are neck-deep in its water and it becomes our governing instinct in every endeavour. Each solution to a subtle problem is a new product, new base of consumers and new set of producers. This is the reason we see passive solutions to environmental crisis. Consumerism as a solution to consumerism! New consumerism to old consumerism! Use efficient light bulbs, plant a few trees—especially to break some record, recycle your paper, switch off lights for one hour on Earth’s day, recycle some more paper and fix your tap if it is leaking as if those were the causes of the climatic catastrophe. By all these “potent” methods of conservation, we can actually defeat the monster. The rape of nature is compensated by arranging a marriage: marriage to the raper. These useless methods will lead us nowhere but in the labyrinth of “so far so good”. What we need is a radical change of thought of how we evaluate our position with respect to our surroundings.

Two main reasons, as I see it, of why environmental crisis has reached a stage as dangerous as of now are wage slavery and private property. I would caution not to misinterpret private property with personal property. Every man and woman has the right to enjoy whatever he/she earns of his labour, i.e. personal property. And it is no better than stealing to reap where someone else has sowed i.e. private property. Private property is a product of social labour which, due to the laws of ownership, assigns products of labour to the one who owns means of production. Personal property is something you produce by your own labour. Now back to our discussion. The reason why we are facing such difficulties in handling of Nature is the borrowing of concept of ownership while transiting from Feudal ages to Capitalism. You see, when we bring individual ownership of lands, machines or any other means of production by the pretext of inheritance or capital, we are actually making the sense of having more privileged than any other intellectual sense. Now the one who owns has greater power in terms of laws than the one who really produces. Having sense master over all other senses!  It is this sense which led to the slavery by feudal lords and it is the same sense, with a little modification and a human face, which leads to wage slavery. To make this game seem fair, even a wage slave can climb up the ladders of slavery and become the one who can have wage slaves himself. This seems as something providing equality. You can be a wage slave today and you can have yourself many some other day contrary to those times where once a slave, always a slave. It makes people to compete to be either one who serves or the one who make others serve. In the process, few names change—sometimes swapping occurs and it is life.

Now one may ask what has wage slavery has to do with environmental crisis? It has to do a lot although we cannot suspect it because our stomach depends on it. And why our stomach is slave to wage? Because ownership of resources is decided by inheritance or capital and not by those who work on it. In fact we have developed quite sophisticated means of credit-debt system so that even if one is not benefitted by the fortunes of his predecessors, he can use the system to step up another web of wage slavery to amass huge wealth and then continue the pattern which has been followed since, seemingly, eternity. Who will suspect it as we are doing such a noble deed of providing jobs? Jobs for what? Jobs to consume and continue the worthless cycle of mindless consumption! Jobs to outrage the modesty of nature every single time we discover useless luxury to entertain ourselves with. It is not that I oppose materialistic view of life. It is not that I support an ascetic lifestyle of some sage in India who would go hungry to please God. It is not that I practise self-denial, self-destruction, perishing for some imaginary cause: I am no priest, I am no sage but one should do labour for what he wants. If you feel that your desire cannot be satisfied with what you have and it is too hard for you to take tough morsels of life as they come to you then go and work with your own bare hands for the item of luxury which fascinates you. Why do billions of people need to work as wage slaves for your fantasy, for your luxury? Why do billions of people need to think the way corporations, advertisements want them to think? That’s where the problem lays—Bovine mentality of people, herd instinct, millions mind thinking alike just like religion wanted them to. I am sure that atheism too is heading towards same bovine instinct. It will be disastrous if that happens. Man loses his contemplating power in herd and acquires the mind and idea of crowd. You see, if I make an item of luxury by my own hands, I have the full right to enjoy it and it produces no problem. Problem starts when people are dragged into the arena of mass production through wage slavery. It is not hard to imagine what deep dent billions of similar demands controlled through mass media produce on the face of Earth. Why same demands? Due to conditioning of human mind to consume, because of wage slavery to meet that false induced desire, because wage slaves working unaware of the catastrophe their slavery will warrant, because a tag of I own it. Why I own it? My parents left it for me, because I have capital from my wage slavery to buy the work of another wage slave whose wage is discriminated as his labour is physical and inferior compared to my intellectual labour and because I can measure that his labour requires less tiring of muscles and nerves than my own. Perhaps laughable assumptions and conclusions of history!

All these can be dealt with recycle of paper and turning off lights! People trained to consume without reason would obviously say so. People who value ”sense of having” more than the “sense of labour” would obviously say so. Biological inheritance transformed into property inheritance. All these laws framed, no matter they may seem trivial, by religious texts. Without the tag of ownership, one cannot have wage slavery. Without wage slavery there cannot be such ruthless exploitation of nature. In the name of fighting climatic battle we are plunged into another cyclone of consumption and this time with no guilt. In the words of Slavoj Žižek:

“This readiness to assume the guilt for the threats to our environment is deceptively reassuring: We like to be guilty since, if we are guilty, it all depends on us. We pull the strings of the catastrophe, so we can also save ourselves simply by changing our lives. What is really hard for us (at least in the West) to accept is that we are reduced to the role of a passive observer who sits and watches what our fate will be. To avoid this impotence, we engage in frantic, obsessive activities. We recycle old paper, we buy organic food, we install long-lasting light bulbs—whatever—just so we can be sure that we are doing something. We make our individual contribution like the soccer fan who supports his team in front of a TV screen at home, shouting and jumping from his seat, in the belief that this will somehow influence the game's outcome.” 

My dear GDP

Gross domestic Product (GDP) is a woman whom all oligarchic noble souls around the world thought to have understood in the most profound sense. But has there been anyone who can claim to have fully understood woman? These souls would gaze for hours, days, even years at this creation of awe-inspiring mystique and come out claiming to be triumphant but these claims are soon shrouded in another veil of mystery.

GDP of a nation is the market value of all final products and services produced in a specified amount of time. I will not engross in all sorts of formulas and different methods to evaluate since I am concerned with abstract belief of GDP as a measure of welfare. Well the generally held idea is – GDP serves as a measure of economic growth which subsequently could be assumed to be a measure of number of jobs, living conditions, health and all other. As GDP increases, the number of products and services consumed increases and to produce those products and services, human resource increases, consequently welfare of nation. This is what is believed.

Let us see some other views of GDP which I think are left out and will never be in common discourse or mass media. Before proceeding, we take account of three things – one is population increase, second is blind use of technology to increase profit i.e. to reduce the input cost for a product and third one I would disclose later. In fact I would discuss the last one primarily and then relate to the above two. You see, when we say the total number of products and services consumed, we do not take into consideration whether all products and services are equally distributed among all of a nation. Irrespective of high numbers, GDP can present strange figures. For example, let us consider a hypothetical condition where there are 100 persons in a closed boundary at a specific time. If these persons consume equally all products and services, say 1000 such entities, than the GDP calculated on this account would be same as when 20 people consume 80% of all entities and 80 people consume 20% of all entities. Or in simple words if 100 consume equally 1000 entities  and we say GDP comes out to be X, on the other hand, if 20 consumes 800 entities and 80 consumes 200 entities and we conclude GDP to  be Y, then by current standards, both are equally benefitted states and welfare of all citizens is counted to be same. Let us say the first case of equal distribution has GDP X and second case has Y, where number of consumed entities are now not the same as before but population is same, and X < Y then naturally second nation is the one with more welfare and more better standard of living. You can see a perfect example in a state of India where GDP of that state is in two digits, and is kind of most industrial and developed state, but its people and specifically children have undernourishment and malnutrition level comparable to that of Ethiopia. Let me make it clear that I have no intention of favouring equal distribution of all goods manufactured in a state to its people by the State. It is no better than what is currently in practice. This example is just to reflect the flaw of measuring things. I favour that we all should share the means of production, that is abolition of private property, and products of the labour should be distributed in the proportion one has done labour. Because if you assume that state should control the means of production and provide the redistribution or equal distribution of all products then it will again result in few controlling all things besides inappropriate distribution of products of labour. When there is state, there is no freedom. Now we can relate the first two causes as I discussed before and I will repeat what I have just said with those two causes.

Corporations boast of themselves as the greatest employer, as if, if they were not there whole earth would have starved to death. Well they control most of the means of production with weird laws and certainly we are doomed if these laws hold. With these laws in place, they call others to work on their means to produce and they proclaim it to be employment. Grandness of scale hides the stupidity of endeavour. I mean things are given values with no labour behind them but obviously a tag of title with the name of owner. An individual holds immense land area, does no labour on it, but yet the title gives him the privilege to enjoy the fruits of other's labour. While who works on it, due to lack of means of production, although he produces the real value, is not given the share of value which he produces, but only a meagre part, the rest contributes to the surplus value earned by owner. So did you get what is the real flaw in the laws we make? But this is almost ignored all together as if title is only measure of all that is genuine. Do titles exist in reality? It is human made to protect what was once acquired with force, not by our generation, but by some of our powerful ancestors. And this gives an insight into the birth of inheritance whose biological implementation was made a law in the material world, of course drawing analogy, which humans are so good at. Very peculiar type of categorization! Okay! Let’s get further.

With this systematic machinery in place they now seek to focus on profit or surplus value. Profit by any means! Their strategy is to develop new technologies, inventions claimed as miracles to help humankind, which could increase their profit in two ways. Let me make it clear that I am not against technology. I am only discussing how and why of capitalist's motive of discovering new technologies. In fact technology is the only tool by which humans can tackle Nature. One way is making an individual produce more value than it is paid back to him. In simple words, he now does the work which was done previously by more number of individuals but is paid little or no more than before. You can check the statistics for that. Now those capitalist would use that surplus profit, a major part to hoard and a necessary part to develop technology which would further decrease the workforce in comparison to proportion of population rise and increase the profit for further future endeavour. And yes how can I forget the tiny humanistic veil which they wear by doing the charity! So in a way they do two contradictory things. He, on one hand, wants the tremendous amount of products and services to be utilized in the market whereas on the other he does not provide that much of capital for the consumers to keep the cycle of consumption-production going. Ultimately he is marred by overproduction, with the problem of plenty, with profits declining, stagnation being the final result but his dearness for hoarding does not cease. If it cease how will he be called successful? How will he differentiate himself from the herd? How will he do charity which he assumes will magically solve all problems one day and secure his place in the eyes of God? How will he show his moral conscience in the midst of careful plundering by law? How can he challenge his own formula, a hard earned and firmly established, to eternal success?

In this seemingly glorious turmoil, the basic rule of making profit is further enhanced by branding one type of labour as inferior. I mean to say that one doing a physical labour of 16-18 hours a day is assumed to have spent no energy in making a useful combination of his nerves and muscles, whereas a company executive working the same number of hours is an extremely hard working individual. Consequently he get paid enormous, exorbitant sums of money based on his intellectual work whereas physical labour is rejected outright as of inferior quality as if it does not sucks energy of humans. You see, this also contributes to the greatness of few. I accept that intellectual level of an individual adds to his completeness but verily it does not mean labour can be weighed differently on the basis of its type. Both intellectual and physical labours involve complex work of nerves and muscles and therefore I firmly believe that means of production should be shared by all whereas products of labour should be distributed in proportion to an individual's labour. That is what Communism is and none of the silly beliefs you get to hear from half educated individuals, guessing souls and living in the imagination of their own and calling Communism as idealism.

Though I would like to write more but it has already passed my limits. So I would conclude my discourse with few observations of desperate efforts which are made to increase that highly respected figure called GDP. Oh I can see a message in my cell phone urging me to answer the capital of India. Two options for my convenience!

1. New Delhi

2. New York

And it gives me a grand chance to win 2 ounces of gold. What should I do? Should I try my luck, my fate? That same merciful fate of which I talked in my post "My revelation not by God but by myself- Part 2". Same fate which arises out of the truth of God and the latter has its origin in error as I proved in that post. But what will happen if I apply my intellect in answering that question which regularly pops up on my cell phone screen? Nothing but I will consume a service which contributes to GDP, a measure of welfare. Oh I am doing welfare of so many! Don't stop me! Whatever resources I use to do this welfare is less. See how beautifully we do welfare by consuming products which are deliberately made of substandard quality so that they die well before their natural life to keep up the GDP figure. How much benevolent we become when we throw a reusable and working product to do the welfare of others by the way of GDP. Really, how much intelligent we are when we buy things we don't need to nourish GDP. And I can see those so called leaders, working relentlessly, day and night, just for our benefit, to raise those GDP figures, for our well being. Truly speaking, it brings tears to my eyes hearing of their sacrifices. How shall I repay them? This question strikes me constantly and each time with renewed vigour.              

Mass-media and Consumerism

It may not be apparent to a naked eye but the genesis of an idea or a topic of a discourse can always be traced back to its source. And if the source is present for a considerable amount of time then its genuineness is generally considered to be beyond doubt, originator of truth, giver of truth, source of facts. In simple words this is what mass media is! A source of information for masses, to make them know, to get their consent and at the same time instigating them to act in a desired way, organized way or peeling one more layer we can say- not exactly organized way but as organizations want them too.

If one desires to know the truth of any action, one must search for its economic process, a process which is subliminal to majority, even non-existent for many but directly or indirectly serves as a basic condition for any action in a capitalist society. No matter how many layers of relations you create, at the base there is only one relation- producers and consumers, not a radical dichotomy but a blur one where each one can behave the other way. This cycle of consumption and production makes the wheel of this economy to move which otherwise would stagnate. So you need a steady, reliable and doubtless medium to keep the need for consumption alive. And at all cost. And here is the hero of capitalist economy- Mass media, whose role is to convince, instigate and make the masses feel that things cannot be done in a better way than it is done currently and there are some extraordinary ones to think on their behalf what is good in general.

To have an understanding of how this destructively creative genius works to serve as a master propagandist for all that you consume, believe or regard as truth, you need to know how your mind works. Humans are made to desire and desire is made for them. But since the day they are born they are not sure of their desires. In fact they desire from the infused desire, not a desire to satisfy their need, to live as they like, not their own desire, not their own need but one induced in them, giving them a feeling of their own desire. What does this induced desire do? It solves two purposes, at least temporarily. One is the fulfillment of false desires, other is the moving of the wheel as I said above. But desire is a strange thing. At least false desire is very strange. To make this economy crawl somehow, at the expense of all other things- personal relations, health, health of earth, natural resources, you need a rhythmic, one having a definite pattern kind of false desire. This is the major work of mass media. As I said before, the basis is always producer and consumer. Every other relation is just a mask to promote the bottom layer, in fact to make it creep.

Keep shopping to save yourself

You see, right from your birth, an instinct develops in you to possess more and more, irrespective of utility. You are no longer bothered by use but by title. Where does this come from? Is it your real nature? No! Not at all! Your real nature is to desire utility and not possession. Where does the possession come from? Yes! You can trace the genesis of the idea? What does it lead to? It leads to mass media- your God of all knowledge. It leads to television, radio, newspapers, etc. or in an indirect way to people who themselves are influenced by this fetish medium. Unshaped mind watching hundreds of commercials a day, these strange false desires constantly thrust upon him, ultimately he accepts them as reality. Here you get your definite pattern of desire to sustain the economy, growth. A growth which no body has seen but in decay of Earth and ourselves being reduced to wage-labourers and consumers just living to produce and consume as if the world ends on consumption and production and there is no taste in it. You see a national hero urging you to buy a two wheeler to express your pride and love for your nation. How inspiring! I will just show my love right now! Do I need to talk about the bottom layer of this producer-consumer web? Next I can see God telling me to buy a pizza. Oh how can I disobey God! You do not love if you do not gift. How shameless you are! My favourite player wears that undergarment, why shouldn’t I? You don’t have an iphone then forget girls! You don’t remember to gift your mother on Mother’s Day, what type of son are you? Oh you travel by public transport and not by cars, your status does not match ours! No branded clothes mean you are unable to dress properly. And how many should I mention!

A peculiar type of imaginative categorization on the basis of commodity and consumer is the root of this staggering economy. Even the most basic of relationships have at its bottom- purchase and selling support. All this just a careful plan to somehow maintain a false, imaginative, disastrous and cancerous growth!