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VI. "HOW I LOOK AT MYSELF!" (2)
Without utility, without need, an individual would stand isolated. Each man is bound by need to another, thus giving birth to society. Without union with another, without relationship, an individual would stand alone. But one individual unites with another; he is capable of relating himself to another and this capacity for relationship creates society. Utility and capacity for union become factors of mutual cooperation. The third factor is influence. If one individual were not influenced by another, there would be no society. Society has thus come into being on the basis of utility, mutual dependence and cooperation. The individual is no more isolated; he lives in society, in relationship with others. Utilities are various since needs are many. One requires food, drink, shelter, clothing and what not. There are many needs. Alonc, in isolation, an individual would never be able to provide for these. But utility and need are linked together.
The other day we were talking about self-reliance, which is characteristic of an individual. However, if probed in some depth, self-reliance also turns out to be a relative term. Man's need makes him self-reliant. But in the context of the totality of needs, no man can be completely self-reliant. What holds greater validity here is the principle of interdependence which means that men arc mutually dependent upon one another; they rely on each other. It is mutual dependence that forms the basis of society. One man ploughs the fields, the other is engaged in business, a third moulds implements, a fourth provides other farm equipment. Through cooperation of them all. wheat flows into the market. The farmer farms the land, but he cannot do it without implements - he uses tractors to plough the fields; without tractors he would be idle. The farmer also needs other equipment. Where does he procure them from? The craftsman makes ploughs. But if there is no iron or wood available, how will he create them? For iron you need the orc, and labourers who would extract the ore from the minc. Everything is connected with everything else. All are interdependent. A particular individual strolls alone by himself. It seems as if he lives alone. But he is not alone. There are others who are walking along with him. Shades of a thousand individuals are accompanying him. His belly is full, and so he walks. If his wife had not served him food, he would find it difficult to walk. His fect would grow cold, his knees would sink; deprived of food, he would not have the
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