A non-binary worldview
Business Standard|March 06, 2024
The Western paradigm of 'my way or the highway' is no longer workable. It is time to accept complexity and contradictions as the norm
R JAGANNATHAN
A non-binary worldview

The world is entering a dystopian era where nothing that we took for granted even a few decades ago seems to work. Democracy appears to be in trouble everywhere, and its definition is not based on commonsense but is decided by an elite consensus. The state is supposed to have a monopoly on power and violence, but non-state actors, single-issue campaigners, and special interests seem to be exercising power out of proportion to their actual share in the population. The rule of law, supposed to be sacrosanct, is violated in spirit in many countries. It is now about "show me the man and I will show you the rule". Free speech is no longer about freedom to express your thoughts and opinions fearlessly. The Ayatollahs of academia and narrow interest groups use cancel culture to decide who will be allowed to speak and who will not.

Evidence supporting the above statements is available in plenty, both in India and abroad. A small section of farmers forced the Indian government to repeal laws to reform agriculture. In another instance, a religious community prevented the government from implementing a law to fast-forward citizenship to persecuted minorities in three neighbouring countries. Denmark, once the bastion of free speech, has just legislated an anti-blasphemy law under pressure from Islamists. The military-industrial complex, aided by compromised academics, has pushed the US into supporting two wars, one in Ukraine and another in West Asia, wars that now involve more countries indirectly than at any time since World War II. It only needs a political miscalculation to bring on World War III. The world's foremost superpower is no longer in control of its borders, with thousands of illegal migrants rushing in The term "illegal immigrant" itself is going out of fashion, and illegals are called "newcomers".

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