05-26-2006, 04:13 AM
<!--emo&:argue--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/argue.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='argue.gif' /><!--endemo--> The communists have done well for themselves in coming to power in Bengal and Kerala and now have a strong presence in the UPA at the Centre. A quick look around will show that Karl Marxâs philosophy is relevant in the social turmoil that we are witnessing in our country today.
"The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles"
This is evident in the demands made by the anti reservationists. They demand that caste based reservations be replaced by economic based reservations. This implies class divisions as opposed to caste divisions. Either way the oppressed or the economically underprivileged will make their struggle felt through democratic means!
"The separate individuals form a class only in so far as they have to carry on a common battle against another class; otherwise they are on hostile terms with each other as competitors"
How true this is in the modern context too! Just replace the word âclassâ by âcasteâ in the above statement and we have visions of Hindus and Muslims warring against each other when the Dalits and non Dalit Hindus are not bickering about dominance.
"Religious distress is at the same time the expression of real distress and the protest against real distress. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of an unspiritual situation. It is the opium of the people"
The day of Godmen is here! We have Sri Sri Ravishankar being invited to address the European Parliament in Brussels. The God/Godmen channels are vying for eyeballs on the television. Every other day there are faith healing meetings held for the general public by various religion denominations, attended by hordes of âdevoteesâ.
"Religious alienation as such occurs only in the sphere of consciousness, in the inner life of man, but economic alienation is that of real life. . . . It therefore affects both aspects"
Touche!
"The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles"
This is evident in the demands made by the anti reservationists. They demand that caste based reservations be replaced by economic based reservations. This implies class divisions as opposed to caste divisions. Either way the oppressed or the economically underprivileged will make their struggle felt through democratic means!
"The separate individuals form a class only in so far as they have to carry on a common battle against another class; otherwise they are on hostile terms with each other as competitors"
How true this is in the modern context too! Just replace the word âclassâ by âcasteâ in the above statement and we have visions of Hindus and Muslims warring against each other when the Dalits and non Dalit Hindus are not bickering about dominance.
"Religious distress is at the same time the expression of real distress and the protest against real distress. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of an unspiritual situation. It is the opium of the people"
The day of Godmen is here! We have Sri Sri Ravishankar being invited to address the European Parliament in Brussels. The God/Godmen channels are vying for eyeballs on the television. Every other day there are faith healing meetings held for the general public by various religion denominations, attended by hordes of âdevoteesâ.
"Religious alienation as such occurs only in the sphere of consciousness, in the inner life of man, but economic alienation is that of real life. . . . It therefore affects both aspects"
Touche!