'Under 30 not liberal no heart, Over 30 still liberal, no brain'-I have no brains...
Last night I saw Edukators , a German movie that captures the quagmires of capitalism and market economy. Through the lives of three young Germans, the movie paints a somewhat comical but poignantly true canvas about the entrapment of unfettered capitalism. The narrative connects the victims and the victors of the economic systems through incidents where one is oblivious to the life of the other and inflicts cruelty without understanding its implications. Unfortunately, we all have been in this predicament at a certain time in our lives , just as the capitalist abductee in the movie proclaims 'Under 30 not liberal no heart, Over 30 still liberal, no brain'. It is important to compare the condition in developed Germany and understand how limited are the channels of protest or activism under a purely capitalist society. Fortunately , the human condition generally is programmed to do good things for others, but what is particularly interesting in the narrative is the idea that the goal of an individual married to immediate bonds, engulfed in a pursuit to prove his dominant alpha status to the society, can disregard ideals of compassion and regard for fellow human beings that he once espoused of. This predicament is also exacerbated by the remoteness of our lives from our victims in a system that pulls the havenots apart from the privileged. This is the awful truth that comes out in the movie. I found the narratives on the period of the 60s and the story of the hippie generation a mirror to my own life during my college and University years.
In India , we also had our period of angst but unfortunately it comes and leaves us too early. The aforesaid phrase takes a form of 'Under 20 no girlfriends no passion, above 20 no wife no life'. The pressure of "settling down" or buying into the capitalist system is tremendous among our peers and young generation. I find it fantastic to see how 23-28 year olds are finishing MBA schools and entering careers in the corporate echelons for six figures or at time seven figure salaries. It seems the young and our generation have completely accepted the capitalist model without any critique. The tide of people against this model have grown fewer and weaker by the day, as India changes rapidly from a sleepy socialist society of molly coddling parents to a society of young who are independently living, dreaming and chasing wealth. There is a lot of positive among in the idea of individualism, independence but unfortunately the victim of this socio-economic model is our families. The next time we lecture someone about Indian culture and values, especially from the west, we need to be cognizant of the fact that India now is riding the graph to a Himalayan spike in the number of divorces, parental abandonment, day care centers..surrogate parentage etc.
These are all effects of capitalism and it negates the false pride of our 'cultural quotient" we brag about across the world. Economic systems are as a force on cultural change if not more than political ones and India is about to get a good lesson in the next 20 years. The problem is that while the west had the ability and luxury to react more maturely through its period of cultural revolution of flower-girls and pot smoking generation, India does have any avenues of such a revolution. The only revolution that exists are of the extremes. The Maoist violence is the extreme reaction to disenfranchised polity, unrepresented poor and lack of justice. The model , we imported from the rich west and the development we have accepted as necessary for the path to the first world ,will continue to exacerbate the problem and increase the numbers of have nots. We cannot escape this reality and our youth unfortunately have not been able to think and react critically to this quagmire. Instead , the young have shut their eyes and looked away by accepting this path to development. I am still waiting for our pot smokers, dreamers, artists as Indian elites are saturated with dalal street bankers, business grads. Till then we have said with open arms....
Welcome to capitalist dictatorship!...
In India , we also had our period of angst but unfortunately it comes and leaves us too early. The aforesaid phrase takes a form of 'Under 20 no girlfriends no passion, above 20 no wife no life'. The pressure of "settling down" or buying into the capitalist system is tremendous among our peers and young generation. I find it fantastic to see how 23-28 year olds are finishing MBA schools and entering careers in the corporate echelons for six figures or at time seven figure salaries. It seems the young and our generation have completely accepted the capitalist model without any critique. The tide of people against this model have grown fewer and weaker by the day, as India changes rapidly from a sleepy socialist society of molly coddling parents to a society of young who are independently living, dreaming and chasing wealth. There is a lot of positive among in the idea of individualism, independence but unfortunately the victim of this socio-economic model is our families. The next time we lecture someone about Indian culture and values, especially from the west, we need to be cognizant of the fact that India now is riding the graph to a Himalayan spike in the number of divorces, parental abandonment, day care centers..surrogate parentage etc.
These are all effects of capitalism and it negates the false pride of our 'cultural quotient" we brag about across the world. Economic systems are as a force on cultural change if not more than political ones and India is about to get a good lesson in the next 20 years. The problem is that while the west had the ability and luxury to react more maturely through its period of cultural revolution of flower-girls and pot smoking generation, India does have any avenues of such a revolution. The only revolution that exists are of the extremes. The Maoist violence is the extreme reaction to disenfranchised polity, unrepresented poor and lack of justice. The model , we imported from the rich west and the development we have accepted as necessary for the path to the first world ,will continue to exacerbate the problem and increase the numbers of have nots. We cannot escape this reality and our youth unfortunately have not been able to think and react critically to this quagmire. Instead , the young have shut their eyes and looked away by accepting this path to development. I am still waiting for our pot smokers, dreamers, artists as Indian elites are saturated with dalal street bankers, business grads. Till then we have said with open arms....
Welcome to capitalist dictatorship!...
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Joan Stepsen
London Indian escort