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Anekânta & Building a New Society
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Spiritual people like Mahatma Gandhi kept dreaming of building a non-violent society and people like Karl Marx kept nursing a vision of a communist society. Neither of the two visions has been fulfilled. Neither could a non-violent society come into being, nor could communist society gain vigour. The reason is an absolutist viewpoint. If we do not make the two visions absolutistic, we can enter in a new society. By nature an individual is inclined towards selfishness and personal comfort. The effort to forcibly make him exclusively corporatist cannot succeed. According to the Anekānta viewpoint it is possible to make communism dynamic by balancing the claims of individualism and collectivism. No two individuals share the same emotions. Some people have subdued emotions; others have intensive emotions. Therefore a non-violent society cannot be built merely on the basis of a change of heart. Dwelling exclusively on a change of heart denotes an absolutistic view. The Anekānta or nonabsolutistic view is that a non-violent society can be built on the basis of balanced amalgam of punishment and change of heart. Anekānta and Democracy Variedness is a part of human nature. Even tastes and ideas differ from person to person. Nor is ordinary behavior identical. There are a number of languages and sects. To keep them all united democracy follows the principle of equality of fundamental rights. Democracy does not divide people on the basis of inequality. On the other hand, it seeks to forge unity among diverse groups on the basis of equality.
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