If there was a king then it was
Muhammad Ali. When we were kids he was the guy to watch out for. I recall my
favourite T-shirt used to be one with colourful picture of Muhammad Ali ‘I
am the King’ written over it, and I used to wear it almost every other day. Muhammad
Ali was beyond boxing, he transcended borders and barriers, race and religion. He
was a legend and will remain one for a very long time to come. It was truly sad
that he couldn’t articulate for last three decades, his thoughts would have
added to the enchantment that he was and to the increasingly bleak world we live
in.
When facts and
argument becomes irrelevant: The neo liberal disaster
Neoliberalism sees competition as the defining characteristic of human
relations. It redefines citizens as consumers, whose democratic choices are
best exercised by buying and selling, a process that rewards merit and punishes
inefficiency. It maintains that “the market” delivers benefits that could never
be achieved by planning. Attempts to limit competition are treated as inimical
to liberty. Tax and regulation should be minimised, public services should be
privatised. The organisation of labour and collective bargaining by trade
unions are portrayed as market distortions that impede the formation of a
natural hierarchy of winners and losers. Inequality is recast as virtuous: a
reward for utility and a generator of wealth, which trickles down to enrich
everyone. Efforts to create a more equal society are both counterproductive and
morally corrosive. The market ensures that everyone gets what they deserve.
We internalise and reproduce its creeds. The rich persuade themselves
that they acquired their wealth through merit, ignoring the advantages – such
as education, inheritance and class – that may have helped to secure it. The
poor begin to blame themselves for their failures, even when they can do little
to change their circumstances….
…Freedom from trade unions and collective bargaining means the freedom
to suppress wages. Freedom from regulation means the freedom to poison rivers,
endanger workers, charge iniquitous rates of interest and design exotic
financial instruments. Freedom from tax means freedom from the distribution of
wealth that lifts people out of poverty.
…”The words used by neoliberalism often conceal more than they
elucidate. “The market” sounds like a natural system that might bear upon us
equally, like gravity or atmospheric pressure. But it is fraught with power
relations. What “the market wants” tends to mean what corporations and their
bosses want. “Investment” … means two quite different things. One is the
funding of productive and socially useful activities, the other is the purchase
of existing assets to milk them for rent, interest, dividends and capital
gains. Using the same word for different activities “camouflages the sources of
wealth”, leading us to confuse wealth extraction with wealth creation.
A century ago, the nouveau riche were disparaged by those who had
inherited their money. Entrepreneurs sought social acceptance by passing
themselves off as rentiers. Today, the relationship has been reversed: the
rentiers and inheritors style themselves entre preneurs. They claim to have
earned their unearned income.
(George Monbiot’s How Did We Get into This Mess?)
It is this ecosystem of fake and
perceptions hinged on selling and consuming that has become the defining aspect
of human transactions and indeed the source of warped development. It has
enveloped all the mediums that we seek to understand and know the world. It acts
as arbitrators sourcing itself as model that insures prosperity. The crassness
spreads and we have role models emerging with products and brands. The society
that had dubious moral values to start with, ethics cleverly contextualised to
the situation and aggregated as values, really doesn’t have a chance. The
alarming degradations is but expected. There are people like Trump who become
billionaires in this nourishing ecosystem that has completely and effortlessly
acquired into Indian ways. Some even try Bhagavad Gita to feed the frenzy, like
any ‘holy book’ this one too has some amazing crap is now taken to fit modernity,
indeed brazenly suited to science too. The crudest and illogical claim to be
rational and scientific, it all is reduced to perceptions and subjective. The
crude ideas of success and market dexterous ways of life are now established as
meaning of better life. There are millions of minor Trumps in this part of world
who now guide us, and Indian society lacking ethical bearing and functioning on
moral vacuum gravitate effortlessly meanwhile the squatter camaraderie have
consensus on ‘great and ancient culture’. The worst of US is constantly pushed as aspirational frame in this part
of the world, and they supplicate to these as if of some great value. Trump’s obnoxious were regular fixture on Indian TV (indeed they even had dimwit Palin) and
part of entertainment that is fed by mediocre elite seeking to multiply money,
the lack of mind is amazing.
In this degrading milieu therefore
it wasn’t surprising that ‘learned’ judges -in consonance with elite sanctum, thought
defamation was a criminal offense hence should be dealt severely. Clearly only the
elites are meant to have reputation, it’s an entitlement, the purity of which
needs to be fiercely protected from any polluting influence. The garb of modern
ethos and well placed quotes (in itself a high art) is what makes this playact
compelling. Meanwhile on the other end of mainstream narration the crude progenies
aka demographic dividends are fiercely dredging freedom and expression. With
characteristic mediocrity and entitled impunity they crass the reputation of
well-respected people that is built on lifelong efforts. Not that these need to
be always put on pedestal they have grievous short coming and that is what was
to be focused and shredded. But in the crass competing fueled by market (‘bania’)
media these craps are now quick packaged as new era champions of freedom,
meanwhile very cleverly subverting real issues in the element of crude and
tasteless low calibre fun that is set to grow among the entitled progenies and
a new means of hedonism that market favours. As it is the muck will excite
muck, hence they are now threatened by extreme groups. And like always we have
the armchair view of low brow haggling as immense opportunities of democracy stunted and stuck in minimum denominator of possibilities. This is constant
Indian narration while champu (in market driven sickening good nature) give us
ways to whiten skin and gulp coke, all sacred part of development while India
languish at the bottom end of human indices. The unearned income that too by
the least of competent is what sustains the growth as also art. Hopefully racist Indians are taken to
task by African nations at international forums.
We had a brief respite of
‘vendetta’ politics but unfortunately it fizzled out. The elite coterie had momentary
breakdown and the dirty linens were being taken out but truce was called. The debauched
framework of sanctum is what instigates camaraderie, they also fashion these
cleverness as diplomacy (Mukherjeejis are known to be high on this art). There
was an indication of politicians misusing judiciary. Aren’t we aware of this?
Aren’t we aware that everything is misused, entitlement is always a blessing!
Months after retirement a CJ of SC was appointed as the Governor, ideally the
fellow should have turned it down, basic propriety, indeed decency, demands it
but not our fellow he saw it as divine blessing (and went all the way for
thanksgiving and gratitude –a characteristic that is precursor to humble ways. The
pic herein). The deal was sealed with debauched blessings of golden gods.
Incidentally the first citizen of the country dealing with gold inside the
sanctum in the presence of golden gods was a defining moment of this crass
society. It’s a deep pit, and thank the golden gods for small miracles of
modern gadgets and choices of market that showcase us as liberals. This fertile
space is where the elite section pupates for higher intentions.
Back with con couple: ZK was showing pics to assert their credentials
as icons “sab janthe hai humlog iconz log
hai” CrudeWoman nodded vigorously, “madamzee
isko godh me bita ke desi ghee ke laddu khilathi thi. Ekdam pure desi ke laddu”
It was clearly photo-shopped pictures this one had CrudeWoman face on a baby being
fed laddus by mother Theresa –whose face was replaced with that of ‘Madamzee’.
It was hilarious but con couple seriously held that they could pull this one. It
was their servant (not domestic help ‘we don’t need help. kissi ki himath nahi hai hamko help karne ki’) who pointed that it
was not laddu but golgappe. Clearly the shoddiness was beyond reason. ZK had
already slung back from the upset and tried his sanskrit that he has been
practising to influence the changing realities, the one that Senbabu tried so
very subtly, “madamanaam budiyanaam golgappeyam toosanthi”
