Joe Shearer
INT'L MOD
- Apr 19, 2009
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That was a nice, thoughtful note, and I, ah, thought about it a bit before responding.
Yes, people do vote for things that matter to them. Where I differ from that general and wholly unexceptionable statement, however, is this: what people might think naturally, from their social and economic background, and what people might be induced to think are rather different propositions.
The broad difference is obvious, and built into the sentence itself; what is interesting is the idea that people might be induced to think. We are familiar with that, of course, and the chances are that most of us have used it as a shield or as a sword, as the occasion demanded. On the one hand, if people are induced to think in ways that we/I deprecate, obviously it will seem to me, and I will project it to the world, as a cynical manipulation of people's minds. On the other, if I get to do the inducing, it is then a natural education of people away from superstition, and towards a scientific temperament, meaning a discriminating temperament, that can only bring peace and harmony to a disturbed society.
Five more years, and some pessimists think it might even be ten more. What horrific crimes they will commit by then remains to be imagined.
This is something that we have actually discussed threadbare on a private discussion group, insaniyat, where two others who are members of PDF are also members, as I am. The final outcome was, not considering the others, merely the three of us with membership in both places, two is to one. Two of us were, on balance, supportive of Nehru; the third was, and continues to be, almost obsessively against Nehru.
Those who disagreed with the common imagery linked to Nehru had much to say about India in the 40s and 50s, even the 60s, and felt that in such a capital-deficit state, that was politically recovering from the rule of a colonial master, there was no question of setting up, or of encouraging native business. Ashok Mody's criticism of both the Congress under Nehru and the BJP under Modi is reasonable, but on the question of Nehru's resorting to communist and socialist methods, is far too richly embellished with wishful economic analysis.
There was not enough livestock for milk for all babies, and that continues even today.. not enough chicken to go around, grain was enough but fell short if the monsoon failed. We needed a foundation on which to built, and that is what Nehru gave us.
The facts are against them.
Calm down, buddy.
You have a point. When you start dissing the other guy, you distract attention.
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