Free people are not equal and equal people are not free
Free people are those who have the right to speak, write act and express freely. They have the right to question, to choose, earn livelihood and also spend the way they want. They are free to be an individual in a true sense. It is too good to be true, since it is accompanied by the evil of selfishness. Darwin’s ‘Theory of Evolution’ talks of the bitter phenomenon of ‘survival of the fittest’. On top of the survivor’s list is Man, who has evolved to become the fittest of all creatures, and this process also the most dangerous. If the thought of a wild forest, inhabited by wilder animals is intimidating; then the world of absolutely free men is even worse. In such a place only the most evolved would survive and with the passage of time, weak links would disappear. The state of initial utopia would eventually lead to subservience of the weak to the powerful.
Assessing the free world, we realize that not every one is born with same qualities to be a leader or a pioneer. Several factors determine a person’s success, e.g. his genes, upbringing, education, IQ, finances, status in the society, age and gender. Now, if hypothetically two such people, where one having the best of the qualities listed above and the other with few or none of those, are given absolute freedom; the latter would be easily decimated by the stronger. The situation would be worse if the powerful is also selfish, greedy and immoral. He would then certainly fulfill his desires by either hook or crook. Freedom for him would become a tool to control others. Whereas, the equally free and virtuous, but weak person would again be a victim. Therefore one can say that though freedom gives us chances to express ourselves, it is also responsible for polarizing the society.
Now, considering the world of equal people, we learn that one looses his individuality and freedom. The great advocate of social equality, Karl Marx, triggered a revolution in the feudal world. By annihilating the old system, poor were raised to a better living. Extra comforts and luxuries were cut from rich man’s pocket. The aim was to bring about social and economic equality. It became the theory of ‘Social Human’, characterizing the well being of one, in the well being of all. Ceilings were put on landholdings; heavy taxes were levied on high incomes; the rich were stripped off their privileges and their capital assets were distributed among the public. Hence, equality was restored by force, but all at the cost of freedom.
Ironically, Man who is not a machine strives to be free. Being equal is unnatural for him. He wants to excel and evolve, and for this purpose freedom is must. The inevitable truth is that, in the bliss of freedom lies inequality. And, in the heart of every equal man burns the desire to be free.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Blood on the Rocks
For decades there has been a tenet, that no wedding is completewithout a diamond bejeweled ring. Women worshippers of the De Beers evocative tagline 'A diamond is forever', dream of owning the precious rock all their lives.For some, it is meant to render eternity to the conjugal bond, and for others it simply adds to the amusement of bride's mother and friends. Diamond companies have gone to the extent of labelling the stone as ' a girl's best friend'. Such persuasive marketing has also created a hype about the rarity of the diamonds. Whereas, infact they are found in abundance at their mining regions. By controlling the supply of diamonds, the industry has adeptly managed to create a situation of excessive demand in the market. This has lead to the sharp rise in their prices and a manifold profit to the industry. Clever marketing and the 'priceless' propoganda has convinced the consumer to pay an exorbitant amount for a stone with nearly no re-sale value.
Under the veil of a diamond's 4C's - namely cut, color, clarity and carat weight; the fifth C -denoting 'conflict' has been overshadowed. Unfortunately, they share an inverse relationship. The better the 4Cs, the bigger is the conflict behind them. This introduces us to the tale of 'Conflict Diamonds', also called as 'Blood diamonds' or 'War diamonds'. These terms are used to refer to diamonds mined in the war zones. Such stones are smuggled and sold to finance an insurgency, warlord's activities etc, usually in Africa.Trade of these illicit stones has fuelled decades of devastation in conflict contries like Angola, Sierra Leonne, Liberia, Democratic Republic of Congo, The Republic of Congo etc. It has consequently lead to the rise of human rights violations,war crimes and the problem of child soldiers in these areas.
Although UN had identified 'conflict diamond' issue in 1998, the Diamond industry came forward to design the ' Kimberley Process Certification Scheme'. This process imposses extensive requirements on it's member nations to enable them to certify shipments of rough diamonds as ' conflict free'. Inspite of inducing certain degree of transperancy in trade, the achilles heel of the process lies in the fact that it merely depends on administrative controls and mutual agreements of trust to certify diamonds. No scientific procedure has been deviced yet to identify the origin of the diamonds. Hence, 'conflict diamonds' worth millions of dollars continue to flood the world market. By inducing a nominal reduction in the prices, customers are often lured to buy uncertified rough diamonds in a bulk. Today, of all the diamonds that appear in the world market, not all can be labelled as 'conflict free' with certainty.
The problem of 'blood diamonds' will continue to persist until a fool proof tracking sysytem and certification process is developed. Realizing this, thousands of people around the globe have pledged to boycott the purchase of diamonds untila concrete solution is found. People are now opting for alternate gem stones or synthetically produced diamonds.
Ultimately, it is a choice that the consumer has to make. One can either choose to care, to be a human and to live beyond material attractions; or one can choose not to care altogether. But, the truth is that even though for some, a diamond may be 'Bling!Bling!', for others it still continues to be 'Bang!Bang!'.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)