Geethanjana Kudaligamage

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Rajapakse, regional politics, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Eurocentric DevelopmentalismƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ and the western hegemony

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Despite the fact that the article, THE MYTH OF A NEW ASIAN CENTURY-WHY IT IS WESTERN NOT ASIAN by Dr. Janaka Goonetilleke has already been pushed into back pages, I thought the comment of Rhsuperfly that advised Asians to get over their ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”inferiority complexƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ certainly deserves a discussion. However the content of RhsuperflyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s and PrabasFlaccidHeadƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ comments had derivedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  from the same epistemological position, in this article, I tried to address issues related to the comments of both writers. With utmost respect to their intellectual capacities, I would humbly invite them to engage in this dialogue in order to share their views. The reason is that we must accept the fact that we all are pupils when it comes to the subject of third world development. There must be some concrete reasons behind this persistent failure in the third world. Let us see if there is any role of western knowledge, its roots, production, catering specific groups and types, structures, distribution and hierarchies have anything to do with this failure.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Mr. Rhsuperfly says that, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-I think Asians should just ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-get overƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ the Asian inferiority complex (many have) and then they can see the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-worldƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ or ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-lifeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ in more objective and historical terms, instead of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-us vs. themƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. The Asian inferiority complex (as with all the other non-Caucasian inferiority complexes) is tends to cause the victim of the complex to idealize their own cultureƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s past, and demonize Caucasians or WesternerƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦. Anyway, I am not going to recreate the history of the world here, I am only wanting to emphasize that thousand of clever individual efforts are required for any civilization to rise and keep rising so as to tame nature and make life easier and more comfortable.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ He advocates to be open minded to learn from west in order to achieve progress, because thousand of clever individual efforts are required for any civilization to rise and keep risingƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦be prepared to learn from the west without being alienated by self inflicting segregation; instead, make friendships across borders) That was the thesis of Mr. RhsuperflyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s argument in his critique.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ No doubt he must have said so in good faith and with utmost compassion toward Asians. As a Sri Lankan, I am writing this article in response, not for criticizing him for the sake of criticism, but to my view, his comment deserves a greater deal of ideological discussion. Under this circumstance, I also write this article in good faith like Mr. Rhsuperfly, hoping to see others also engaging in order to transcend into a better future of Asia. Therefore please take my article as an attempt to maintain this debate in our quest for a reasonable outcome for our development/liberation ideology.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ I think his observation is correct, but the question is how and by what means we can ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”get overƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ this inferiority complex. In over all, it is a good advice and becomes very sensible if his assessment is correct in regard to the existing trajectory between third world societies and the west. But to my mind, his representation of this trajectory is far from reality. At glance, this comment suggests unwillingness of Asians to learn from the west, in a situation where west standing piously with their virtuous knowledge willing to help a wretched, but the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”miserableƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ stubbornly resisting to it glorifying his own cultural past, yet his past is dead and gone. But it is not the actual scenario we are living in. Then what is the real one?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The real one is gruesome and bloody, in which there is no angelic west stretching helping hand with their virtuous knowledge to a wretched in good faith to get over his poverty. And on the other hand there is no a stubborn miserably resisting to knowledge and the progress that freely flowing toward him. Instead, there is a west with all their financial, political and military institutions working hard on daily basis to drag this wretched to a structure sealing him there for another five hundred years with a knowledge as the center piece aptly creating a ground situation for the said project.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Even under this circumstance I wouldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t say that Asia must be cutoff from the west by self inflicting segregation. Instead Asia must deal with this entire ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”gameƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ exploding this game within, and seek appropriate path to its liberation. But we wouldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t be able to do it by complete submission to western political economic structures well sustained through western knowledge. Therefore our passage to liberation located in the difficult path somewhere in the middle, requiring critical assessment and caution in her decision making. She must be independent of her policy planning, selecting what is good for her and discarding what is detrimental to her objectives; because western knowledge is not a sanctimonious entity as it claims to be. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Yes, I agree with him. We Asians are suffering from acute condition of inferiority-complex, so do the Africans and the Latin Americans. Rightfully he has identified the disease. Through a painful study, I also had identified the same disease as the cause of our persistent failure in our effort to progress. That is the reason why I criticized servility of the ruling class of Colombo in my earlier articles. Yes this inferiority-complex is the greatest impediment to our progress. But with utmost respect to his opinion, unfortunately still I will have to say that his suggested remedy for the disease, although this remedy has been suggested indirectly, eventually will kill the patient or if not, at least further paralyze him in this complex.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Why I say that? Because this is a deadly ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”killer diseaseƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ with a colonial poisonous germ required immediate ideological quarantine. But instead of quarantining the germ and its source of origin; he recommends cohabitation with the germ which eventually pave the way to grow this ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”killer diseaseƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ within the biological and pedagogical body of the Asiatic, resulting him to be entrenched deep and deeper in the existing quagmire of motionless position in the arid region of absence in creativity; in the intellectual dumbness, a location of the cultural void of colonial knowledge. That is the dominating knowledge that we think capable to deliver us progress. However widespread epidemic of this disease in the entire colonial world is something worth to pay our attention. Why this killer disease epitomizes only in colonial world? Why not out there in the west?…Because west overcame it through equally sickening superiority complex, the sister germ of the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”killer diseaseƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. (We will come to that later)

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Why I call this as a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”killer diseaseƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢? ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Because this disease places our creative urges contingent to western initiatives. The pedagogical traditions of colonial education have created this uncreative beast who only knows faithful imitation of the west. But as we all know, faithful imitation along cannot build civilizations.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The reason is clear. Civilizations are not built by heavenly orders of western metropolitan centers, IMF or WB, but by imagination, meticulous planning, creative ideation and decision making by peoples who work hard to build their civilization. That is the reason why animals working with sheer instinct like ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”batsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ cannot build civilizations, because they do not posses intellectual faculties for imagination and wonder. This killer disease not only hiding the fact that bat is a bat, but also makes the lemming to jump over the cliff as the only way to search its economic liberation without wondering; because wondering is the enemy of this killer disease. Now IMF and WB want us to do the lemming. Let us see how many weƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ve got. The sad fact is that the lemming will never live another day to tell the story to his next.

Faithful imitation is the symptom of the killer disease that kills critical investigation. When a man is lacking critical faculties, eventually his creative faculties will die. Then his learning will become limited. This is true even in regards to learning from the west. If the killer disease kills our critical capacities and creativity, and then it advocates only imitation, then we can realize that the cognitive structures of creative faculties will have nothing to do here.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The cat can make mistakes, because itƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s only toying its prey. But mouse cannot, because his quota of mistakes has been exhausted. That is the exact reason why he has been ended up in front of the cat now. If mouse lives by any chance, then it is because it is smarter than the cat. Our ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Kossata meeyaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ (tiny little mouse) of Asia has demonstrated that it was smarter than the cat by winning the battle of death through its spontaneous astuteness; not the educated or intellectual side of the mouse saved its life, but the one with natural wisdom. Now the sad fact is, although the mouse of natural wisdom managed to save its life, the so-called intellectual/educated part of the mouse is knocking the door of the cat again now in this post-war era, voluntarily wanting to get into the trap of the cat, from which once he escaped though battle. Why? Why mouse of natural intuition wins and educated mouse fails in defeat? That is the question we must ask. That means the education must have a specific problem. It must be defaulted to deliver failure. Western knowledge we are talking about here is the specific variety distributed in their colonies defaulted to end us in failure, submission, servility, despair and abasement.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Western knowledge is not only about mathematics and sciences, but is also about control and articulation of power serving a specific interest under a specific hierarchy. It is not about a problem of calculation, but about an economy of calculation, a problem of distribution in the calculation. Colonial knowledge gives us hope of a delightful message knowing very well that there is nothing in the mail to come to reach us. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Colonial knowledge is contingent to western initiative. Western initiatives are designed to marginalize indigenous creativity and to condition our thinking to live under western approval. While acknowledging the existence of a non-Caucasian inferiority complex, I must say that this complex is nothing but another Caucasian construction, largely due to European colonization. This construction was a complex project undertaken by Caucasian western colonialists in their colonies for last five hundred years. Now we know that this inferiority-complex has been the greatest impediment for our development. That has been our ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Killer diseaseƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚, murdering our entire creative powers without even letting them to set out of their labor-rooms.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Caucasians are maintaining this inferiority-complex through various forms of craftily formulated Eurocentric western knowledge and its representations, at times even using media and literature solely to serve western interests. Under such mechanism, colonial education is not only educating mathematics. Mathematics on the other hand not solely western either. Instead western knowledge creates this obedient servant. Hence, their pedagogical traditions become a tool of conditioning and funneling entire global knowledge to serve specific purposes set forth by global centers in the west. So high achievements of colonial education paves way for the west to demand highest level submission, faithfulness and most certainly, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-the ethical obligationƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ of the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”OtherƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ toward fulfilling western interests. This will make a larger part of the global humanity to be subservient to western narration of civilization/development/evolution trio. It mercilessly demands our obedience to these grand western narratives of universal history, universal knowledge, universal this universal that. But when we dig deep, we will realize that this universality has nothing to do with universe but a lot to do with the west.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Under this condition, it must be clear by now that, IN ORDER TO ASCERTAIN WESTERN GLOBAL DOMINANCE, OUR INFERIORITY-COMPLEX IS A NECESSARY CONDITION. Therefore, blaming victim while standing by the perpetrator of this entire project wouldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t be a productive pursuit for our progress. Such blame game only put one in par with people like Immanuel Kant and whose infamous blame game, in which once he said thatƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Enlightenment is the exit (exodus) of humanity by itself from a state of culpable immaturity….Laziness and cowardliness is the causes which bind the great part of humanity in this frivolous state of immaturity.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Here he blames the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”OtherƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ for being lazy and cowardice to be remained in ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”congenital idiocyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ denying the fact that this idiocy is another construction of his own peopleƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s global exploitative apparatus that spreads the above said ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Killer DiseaseƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ItƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s true that science and math, including their applied versions are not developed in the west along, but becomes universal by their universal involvement of inventions and development of concepts. The hegemonic aspect of western knowledge cannot be reduced to math formulas or chemical formulas in chemistry. It is all about praxis, a hierarchy, oligarchic hegemony of western knowledge centers that marginalize knowledge of the periphery; even the knowledge of the old world like South Asia. These hierarchies in tern demands our ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”ethical obligationƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ in every turn we take; because we are under their rule. Third world development is not an exception, and it remains under this power structure as far as we accept to be dominated.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The peculiarity of the western version of knowledge is that its tendency to marginalize other versions of knowledge and its denial to acknowledge the existence of other interpretations of knowledge while maintaining above said hegemonic, oligarchic apparatus. To create this oligarchic center-periphery duality in knowledge, Europe even went further to the extent of rewriting history, articulating a complete different story of European man. In which he demarcated the geography of European center, amalgamated it with some parts of traditional Asia, such as Greece for filling the blanks of the cooked up story of Europe. But they knew the actual Europe was located further north of Magna Graecia of Italy. (Reed DusselƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s The semantic slippage of the concept of “Europe”ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  and

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The world dialogue between philosophical traditions )

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ http://www.scribd.com/doc/6513001/Europe-Modernity-and-Eurocentrism

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Not only Asians but also entire world has embraced the western knowledge. Western knowledge itself has become the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”prioriƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of larger part of colonized populations of post Columbus era to say the least. The pre programming of colonized classes begins from our nursery school that inaugurates this ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”prioriƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ under a specific colonial design. The sole objective of this programming is to keep the faithful obedience of the colonized to maintain western control over 80% of world population who are living outside the Caucasian domain of Europe. When it comes to development, although we can see the clash of interests between our priorities and that of Europeans, the problem will be resolved by our obedience governed by above said ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”prioriƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. Currently, although we consider Hambantota port project as a product of natural wisdom of ours, and our jewel in the entire development concept, west has been deeply upset about it. During last three or four decades above said obedience managed to keep us away from this development program. Then how can we glorify western knowledge as a practical instrument to follow blindly without critical assessment of such knowledge instrumental to our development?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Political and pedagogical exteriority of the Asian.

Rhsuperfly say that ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-A huge number of Asians have embraced so-called Western Knowledge, which is not Western, but universal, based on math used to model the physical world in order to tame it. Math is a firm sort of knowledge because every person has the basic understanding of it embedded in their psyches ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-a prioriƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚, which means the brain is pre-programmed to understand math, categories, etc. Math is a universal language.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ I agree with him, but how if this ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”prioriƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ has been the target of the killer disease from the day one? For an example, how can one explain Ranil WickramasingheƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s political decisions in relation to this ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”prioriƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢? His priori convinced him that the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”safety netƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ will save the nation even though a demilitarization of a nation at war had been conducted by him. That means, his ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”prioriƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ is lacking critical tools to asses the situation objectively, but his ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”prioriƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ demands him to be blindly faithful to the western formula of peace which had been made prerequisite to our development. This is the colonial legacy of western knowledge. Do you know why ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Kossata MeeyaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ defeated the cat and won the war?… because he was not a Harvard or Cambridge graduate, thatƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s why.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Let us start from a child. Child is a product of his/her parents and the society. The society is a pool of knowledge systems intersected with many other systems of internal and external knowledge.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  When it comes to Post-colonial societies like Sri Lanka, this natural meeting point of internal and external knowledge will be weakened and the entire knowledge system will be reduced to a receiving point of external knowledge of the center. This process was consciously conducted by British colonial administration on the sole purpose of creating above said intellectual obedience in future Sri Lanka. The alteration in the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”prioriƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ had to go under severe procedure of destruction of traditional knowledge centers like Pirivena education. That was the way how they sealed the natural growth of the knowledge in colonies. Gradually the passage for revisiting internal knowledge had been sealed off and marginalized. Centuries of such marginality eventually will make to disconnect societies from the cultural knowledge of their own. So it will pave the way to lose its natural connection of growth in knowledge accumulation.

India has been disconnected so far, so that it has been very difficult to revisit and reclaim their traditional knowledge systems again. Arab world is the other example, although they were the pioneers in mathematics and astronomy. Now the west identifies them as dead civilizations although they were murdered ones. Our intellectuals must undertake research into this area of investigations.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Although peripheral nations in Asia have been reduced to remain in the exteriority of the reigning system of the western center, the Asian cultures have their own values and their validity which have never been understood by or incorporated into the hegemonic school of western thought dominant in the society of this above said child of Asia, because they are scorned as none-culture, barbarism, illiteracy, witchcraft by this hegemonic school. They are interpreted by the reigning of the rationalistic, so called representation ofƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ universal knowledgeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of European knowledge system branding the knowledge of others as nothing, non-being, chaos, irrationality. So the above said child, as a product of such society, remains in this pedagogical system, and such pedagogy shapes his ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”priori.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ Under such condition, even his experience, may it be physical or mental, still wonƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t make him to rationally analyze his surround due to his preconditioned mind set of his colonial inheritance. We meet millions of them in Asia in daily basis. RanilƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s inability to understand the heartbeat of Sri Lanka is the best example.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ So this child will be programmed to perceive the world through the key hole of the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”imperialist cultureƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of the center.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ That is the culture dominates in the present order. It is the refined culture of European and North American elites. This is the culture that all other cultures are measured against. The Mona Lisa and Picasso or American X or European Y critiques all other paintings. They set standards and will then measure others. In regard to Beethoven, not only Japanese will love Beethoven. His fifth symphony will measure all other compositions in India or China. But the point is when Indians invented the concept of music, European man even had not come out of Lascaux and Altamira caves. This oligarchic culture of dominant groups of the center will exert their power through their subordinate groups in dominated cultures of the periphery. This culture will constitute the system to admire and imitate west; marginalize what is indigenous, they will be fascinated by the artistic, scientific, technological progress of the center. These elite groups will alienate native creativity in their own nations. So the development will be something completely alien to the native masses ruled by these elite groups of the periphery. Under such version of development, the concept becomes suicidal to the local masses, an act of voluntarily alienation.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In bureaucratic professions, or the profession of politics, especially positions as lucrative as economic policy planning, these alienated ones will be positioned to exercise institutional power and their policies in the periphery. These elitist groups who habitually hold these positions have become progressively corrupt and lethargic to development of their countries. The failure of these groups on the other hand will be marked by their faithful beliefs in western grand ideas alien and impractical to their own societies and communities. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Going back to the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Asian tendencies of becoming victims of the (inferiority) complex and to idealize their own cultureƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s past, and demonizing Caucasians or WesternersƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ are concerned, my answer is this. We must take account of our successes and failures through the reassessment of our present. This reassessment will be constituted in revisiting, remembrance and recollection of our ideological fundamentals of Asian cultural wisdom in par with their current western ones. This process never denies the learning from others. But it widens that learning process by opening a doorway, a passage that had been sealed for centuries without letting access for the Asians by rigid controlling traditions of colonial education. In that way this new vision becomes universal in oppose to the existing monolithic-Occidentalized version.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ As far as demonizing westerners and Caucasians are concerned, I must say that Asians can add nothing new to demonize the westerners since they have demonized themselves to the maximum extent, without leaving room for us to add anything new to it; and they still are doing so. In this regard, Arundathi Roy, an Indian writer who considers herself as an enemy of Sri Lanka saysƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Exposing western hypocrisyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚how much more exposed can they be? Which decent human being on earth harbuors any illusions about it? These are people whose histories are spongy with the blood of others. Colonialism, apartheid, slavery, ethnic cleansing, germ warfare, chemical weapons, they virtually invented it all. They have plundered nations, snuffed out civilizations, exterminated entire populations. They stand on the world stage stark naked but entirely unembarrassedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦.personally, I would say it is arrogance more than hypocrisyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

(To be continued)