Bhakti and Freedom, Democracy and Capitalism

[valaya 0]

I've started a spin-off from the `Bizarre` thread, because this subject appears worthy of separate discussion. valaya

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From jagat (on `Bizarre thread`):

 

I think it is time to put pressure on Islamic states to move toward democracy. It is the one of the only parts of the world where democracy has not taken hold. South America and Eastern Europe have taken great steps in this direction and only the Arabic world is led by despots who use anti-Israeli and anti-American propaganda to bolster their own militaristic states. The U.S. props up many of these regimes, or has in the past. The U.S. has always been for democracy in theory, but placed such considerations on the back burner when it came to strategic interests.

 

The British empire left democracies in most of the countries it left behind. The U.S. also implanted democracy in the Philippines and other places where it had direct imperial power.

 

Had the U.S. directly intervened in Iraq, perhaps they could have established a democratic system there. The people are fairly well-educated and somewhat secularized. (Of course there are many complications in a country like Iraq, so this may be something of a pipe dream.)

 

Is it time to talk of a "white man's burden" again?

IP: Logged

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valaya

Member

 

posted 09-21-2001 10:12 AM    

       

From jagat:

 

quote:

Is it time to talk of a "white man's burden" again?

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From valaya:

 

More the burden of democracies I would say, in this increasingly educated age. The two must go hand in hand. Democracies require an educated electorate to mature and other democracies to interact with. Thus the growth of capitalism is synonymous with democratic governments, bringing the many material advantages desired by all.

 

People remain oppressed and ignorant because they have been taught that it is their lot in life, for whatever reason. True emancipation for everyone must be our common goal as only then will the concept of spiritual freedom as devotional service become widely accepted.

 

Otherwise the proper motivation will usually not be present, because one cannot give up what one doesn't possess. Religion in that case is generally simply the desire for liberation from physical circumstances, rather than material conciousness itself.

As Suryaz prabhu has so clearly pointed out previously on this forum, real Bhakti requires the exercise of free will in every sense of the word.

 

HARIBOL! RR

 

[This message has been edited by valaya (edited 09-21-2001).]

[Janus 0]

The people require education, Start by refuting Lockes postulate for his social theory, that "God" is by definition unknowable, and that thus He can form no basis for social centrality and then you will have little trouble defeating Smiths economic theory. The second law of thermodynamics though with require actual development of the ability to upscale subatomic indetermanacies to corporeal manifestation. This is only a minor development od the sidhes and shouldn't be that hard for devotees to accomplish, at least not theorectically.

Hari bol