Philosophy of the ‘Change’ : People, System and the Change
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Philosophy of the 'Change' : People, System and the Change
Author: Paramjeet Singh
Published by: Socialist Center
You can’t change people by trying to change people. But you can change people by changing the system. Well, What does it mean? One summer afternoon I was discussing something with friends at a café. They told me that they wanted to change the world. I asked them “How?” What they narrated to me the next put forth that they were intending to change the world by changing the people at an individual level. This brought a smile on my face followed by seriousness. Not that I was mocking them but I was seriously amused and concerned, at the same time, with their means to achieve the goal. I thought to myself “if only this could happen(!), the world would have been a better place by now- for, those good people like Dalai Lama have been striving, all their lives, to spread goodness and virtues to the mankind”. Human beings by their very inherent nature do not ‘like’ to change themselves, especially at the behest of some external factor/agency. However, they ‘do’ change themselves if the system which they are part of requires them to change. In some circumstances, they are ‘made’ to change themselves by the system. System change people! Look around! There are numerous individuals, non-governmental organisations, intellectuals, philosophers and scholars spending their lives trying hard to bring change into the world by ‘trying’ to change people. Their efforts are directed towards human beings as individual units with an ultimate aim of changing the system. Have they been able to change the world by trying to change the people? No. Not at all. Rather, things are getting worse. You know! For sure, this is neither because of the dearth of good people nor for the lack of trying on their part. This is because the system which we are a part of does not require us to change for the better. The system that exists today is built and run in such a way that it is ‘okay’ for the current state of affairs to continue for whatever reasons- reasons that, certainly, include use of the system to serve the selfish interests of only those who are in its control i.e. the neoliberalists and the crony capitalists. Rest of us i.e. the majority are facing the problems that are a blot on the face of the humanity and the mankind. Let us explain this a little bit- People are constituents of a system and, thus, subjected to it. If you control the system, the system will require/make people change in a manner as desired by you. It does what you want it to do and gives you the results that you are looking forward to because people who are subjects of the system could only act in a manner that is allowed by the system which is now under your control. If you as someone who controls the system are looking forward to serve your own interests by its functioning, the system will deliver. And the people who want to bring a change into this world for the welfare of all are not in the control of the system that governs the conduct of human beings- that makes people change; rather, they are subjected to the system that is controlled by those who are happy with the way it is contemporarily working. Therefore, it becomes imperative to make sure that change should be directed towards the system, even if it is sought to be brought through people. It is of vital significance that those people who want to bring a change into the world should strike the system. Striking the system alone would not be enough. You have to be a part of the system- a controlling part of the system, in any legitimate capacity- either a responsible elector/voter or as observer or as administrator. A responsible participation by you as someone controlling the system in any way is a pre-requisite for the change. You have to make sure that the people who control the system are the people who aspire to work for the welfare of all because it is the vision and the intents of those controlling the system that will reflect in what the system will deliver to its subjects. Putting in efforts merely to change the people is only a superficial approach, without any substance, that seeks to ‘make-up’ or heal the scars left by the existing system. Therefore, all the people, the intellectuals, the philosophers and the non-government organisations should strike the existing system, seek a change in it and put its control in the hands of those who lay a foundation of a new system- a system that works in the direction of making this world a better place for each and every one of us and not only for a few.Change the system to change the people for you will not be able to change the system by changing the people! Come forward and Participate!System: A social setup/state that is steered by a form of welfare government.
I see, so you are saying that "good" people need to win control of the government so as to change the social and economic system. Leaving aside for the moment the question of who the "good" people are, I can see the need to win control of political power but not with a view to reforming the present social system to try to make it work better (which can't be done anyway) but with a view to facilitating a rapid change to a new social system organised on a quite different basis, i.e common ownership, democratic control and production solely for use (instead of minority ownership and control and production for sale with a view to profit).But I can agree with you that do-gooders and reformists won't (and don't) get very far as long as political power is controlled by or in the interest of the minority who benefit from the profit system.
Dear ALB, Agreed! (Though the details of the system might vary.)
I thought bout a new thread but as this has a title about change i think this article has a few worthwhile observations about social activism and making a revolutionary movement.http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/26046-surviving-the-ups-and-downs-of-social-movements
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