Dec 7, 2022·edited Dec 7, 2022Liked by Rahul Deodhar
As a Westerner and an American, who has developed close relationships with people from non-Western cultures, what you say resonates deeply with me. If we were to stand back and objectively observe these cultures, I believe the similarities out weigh the differences. Ask people in power what they want, they want more of it. Even without saying so, it is clear that they view themselves as a member of the predator class. Ask the people who live quiet lives of work and care for their families what they want, they want to be free to pursue the opportunities that best support their families. In many respects, this group represents a class of the prey. The former will use culture to exploit. The latter will use culture to defend against the predator class. What is not discussed enough is how these two groups become institutionalized. I see that there are Two Global Forces operating. There is the global force of centralized institutions of governance and finance and there are decentralized networks of relationships. The former has been the dominant force in the world for millennia. The latter is coming into its prominence through agency of digital technology. The line that divides the world is no longer between left and right or socialist versus capitalist. The line is bending to be drawn between the global and the local. Local culture is represented by what I described as “a persistent, residual culture of values that persists because it resides in the relationships of the people.” I see this in local communities as well as businesses. So, your advocacy for a revitalized Indic culture will create the benefits you seek by rooting it in the communities where people live out their lives. The strength of culture is not in its uniformity, but its diversity as practiced by its people.
As a Westerner and an American, who has developed close relationships with people from non-Western cultures, what you say resonates deeply with me. If we were to stand back and objectively observe these cultures, I believe the similarities out weigh the differences. Ask people in power what they want, they want more of it. Even without saying so, it is clear that they view themselves as a member of the predator class. Ask the people who live quiet lives of work and care for their families what they want, they want to be free to pursue the opportunities that best support their families. In many respects, this group represents a class of the prey. The former will use culture to exploit. The latter will use culture to defend against the predator class. What is not discussed enough is how these two groups become institutionalized. I see that there are Two Global Forces operating. There is the global force of centralized institutions of governance and finance and there are decentralized networks of relationships. The former has been the dominant force in the world for millennia. The latter is coming into its prominence through agency of digital technology. The line that divides the world is no longer between left and right or socialist versus capitalist. The line is bending to be drawn between the global and the local. Local culture is represented by what I described as “a persistent, residual culture of values that persists because it resides in the relationships of the people.” I see this in local communities as well as businesses. So, your advocacy for a revitalized Indic culture will create the benefits you seek by rooting it in the communities where people live out their lives. The strength of culture is not in its uniformity, but its diversity as practiced by its people.