GEETHANJANA KUDALIGAMAGE

In the famous movie ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-GladiatorƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚, at the end of the victorious military campaign defeating northern Germanic tribes, Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius asks the commander of his Northern army Maximus the Spaniard, (the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Gladiator,ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚)ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-What is Rome, Maximus?ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Sire, IƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ve seen much of the rest of the world. ItƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s brutal, cruel and dark. But Rome is the light sire.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Yet you have never been there.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-No Sire, I havenƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-So you have not seen what it has become.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦

ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-No!ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It reveals that, although Maximus had never been to Rome or hadnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t seen it or lived there to feel it, still he thinks that Rome is the light. Widespread belief that has been constructed among us about Europe is no different to that of MaximusƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s belief. The information, education, and knowledge that Maximus came across in his life have taught him as such. For him Rome was the light, rest was in darkness. So he believed that he was carrying out a noble task of bringing barbaric people out of darkness into light. So he entertained the liberty of killing, as a part of this noble task, bringing misery upon peoples for this single objective of doing ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”goodƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ to his victims. Western commanders fighting in distant lands, even today perceive their task as such. They believe that Europe and entire west is the light for the rest of the world. Rest of the world is in chaos, brutal, cruel and dark; therefore they must take the massage of democracy, good governance, transparency, human rights, accountability to peoples who cannot represent themselves etc.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ This is the exact notion dominant among us in regard to Europe. Yes, we think Europe possesses something we do not. We believe that Europe have gone through necessary historical epochs that needed for a society to transcend from darkness to light, to the heights of human development that Europe has already reached into. We consider that all north Atlantic revolutions occurred as a result of an inner most superiority, an internal quality of Europe, possessed and developed through ages, which we do not possess in order to undergo such great revolutions. We think that Enlightenment, emancipation and French revolution are immediate outcomes of such inherent qualities of Europe. ThatƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s how we were being taught. But what we never being taught was the rock solid fact that, unless Europe discovered Amerindia, or had never built her colonial empire, and then had never exploited the rest of the world since 1492 to 1792 for solid three hundred pre French revolutionary years, a sufficient time frame for her pillage of entire global south for accumulation of riches and profiting out of free labor through slavery, she would have been left in the periphery of Asian center, like she always had been, in the western most end of Mediterranean even up until now. Then there wouldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t have been a solid ground reality, to create a socioeconomic and material condition for a historical epoch such as Enlightenment, reformation, and French revolution. So it is a solid historical fact that European success had intertwined with her colonial wealth acquired through the use of excessive violence in the non-European world.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Today, ever since the French demographer, anthropologist and historian Alfred Sauvy, coined the term Third World for the first time in 1952, they call our part of the world as third world. The term is not only insinuating underdevelopment in economic terms, but also it suggests the temporal difference between worlds, because western history already places Europe in the highest position in the history of evolution, in relation to that position, third world is situated behind the time line of evolution.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The essential characteristic of Eurocentric Developmentalist fallacy is that it believes this western notion of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”end of historyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢; history means, of course, as I said earlier, the history of manƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s evolution. Evolution means again, human progress from primitive state of production to modern complex, sophisticated system of production, and its ensuing culture and civilization. For that reason, undergoing this standard history making (when you say standard, it will be western standard of course) and progress has been considered as development. Even under such belief, contemporary societies tend to measure progress through various western indexes of economic development. Modern development of Europe has been narrated in such a way, providing it with a scientific interpretation of evolution. This scientific division of European history toward modernity has been considered as a deliberate deforming of the history, and the cause of unprecedented philosophical and ethical problems.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ On the other hand, this fallacy of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Eurocentric DevelopmentalismƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ believes in so-called ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”absolute truthƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of western philosophy and the scientific jargon of its anthropological narration of European development with its related ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”white mythologyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. In such belief, so-called ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”end of historyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ is the beginning of an era, in which Europe positions itself in the climax of manƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s evolution, and in the center of the world. Then capitalism emerges as its economic ideology, white European becomes the most evolved among human species elevated to the summit in global humanity, giving birth for too many ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”MaximusesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢, carrying pretentious moral responsibility of turning the rest of the world into more evolved, more civilized place full of westernized citizenry; because to this belief, civilization goes only one way, that is to the west (Hegel), therefore westernizing means, of course, becoming civilized. Christian cathedral and snow reconstructed in colonies symbolizes European civilized space or landscape in the third world. Turning black hair into blond hair symbolizes this so-called civilized mental trait turning into physical trait among black people in the third world. Colonial languages symbolize civilized knowledge exchange among third world citizenry.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Hegelian history thereafter creates the required ground situation for the dualities like center and periphery, civilized and uncivilized, and a dialectical relationship between self and the other; because all these notions become instrumental for global exploitation as they supply necessary structural apparatus for that end. So, this fallacy enforces a type of moral superiority for Europe upon the rest of the world in regard to development, as if Europe believes that they are the only part of global humanity know about it.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ This is the exact notion, as I said earlier in the series, which violently and notoriously demands our ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-ethical obligationƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ to Europe in every aspect of our social, political and economic affairs in this modern age. This is the exact notion that continuously distributing through both media and information, channeling our consciousness in daily basis. This idea of light of the empire that brings over the barbarians out of darkness, epidermises similar belief system about west in our class rooms, universities, work places, chat circles, talk shows, politics, and policy planning in economics, conditioning our thoughts and beliefs. We have been victimized by an ideology that has made us to design our own trap, and then get into it by our own will, and live entrapped in misery voluntarily.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Now, if the European manƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s growth was a result of the blood of the non-European, can someone explain exactly how and in what means a non-European can learn from the European about development? Can the chicken learn a lesson or two about prosperity and long life from the wolf? The other question is what is this light they are talking about? This notion of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”lightƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ has been constructed through ideology, knowledge, historicism, and historiography through distortion and overlooking facts. The Eurocentric development fallacy gravitates around the myth of the superiority of Europe and its history. The idea of western model development is the crown of this myth. Then it projects itself demanding our ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-ethical obligationƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ for our voluntary submission to this superiority to go on our knees to beg for European mercy in our effort to development. They will tell us, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-If you need GSP+,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  put your act together stupid to the standards we have set forth, or else, remain in poverty and uncivilized, because we are the ones who determine who is civilized and who is not, but not you.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

Constructive and destructive imagination and the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”DaffodilizationƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of our will to liberationƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

Imagination is the elemental and primordial condition for creativity, and is extremely vital for development, but ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”daffodility complexƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ is not. When we think about development, we can see that some people in the domain of development are suffering from daffodility complex. The symptom of this mental decease is that the infected sees ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”MaximusƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s lights of RomeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ all over the sphere of development, including policy planning. They even complain about not snowing in the Christmas time in Colombo, therefore they recreate snow through their imagination. They lecture us about the beauty of globalization and western model of development, like our English teachers trying to tell us about the beauty of daffodils while never even having seen them in their life. Colonial education plants and imprints certain perceptions of western ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”thingsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ in our minds even though they are completely alien to local setting and not fitting to our lives. So we carry such perceptions in way of imagination. Our idea of the western model development is like the symbolic impression we were given about daffodils through colonially inherited education system. Although most of us have never seeing them, touched them, or sensed the fragrance of them, we affectionately embrace the idea of daffodils through imagination while marginalizing our own ones.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is perfectly alright to embrace western development ideas and their wisdom in many areas, while being sensitive to other local ideas as well. But when you embrace western development idea, the idea itself automatically marginalizes other ideas. Western developmentalist idea is a HobsonƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s choice, take it in full or leave it in full, no alternatives in between. In this full version of it, demands marginalization of other development ideas. For that reason, these Daffodilized classes never satisfy just by learning from the west along. In most cases, they also desired to kick local ideas in the butt under the name of modernization, as if kicking everything non-western in the butt means modernism. In reality, yes that is what modernity always has done so far; kicking our butts. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ When we apply this daffodilization of our creative powers into real development, we must be able to realize the factual fraudulence of colonial education diverting our own creativity to deliver something contrary to our desired objectives, like making the chicken to lay a reptile egg, eventually the chicken to be hunted by the reptile at the end like current globalization does. In which we do everything willingly to end up in total submission for the benefit of somebody else, bringing ultimate disaster to our own lives.

This process signifies a peculiar type of a mouse trap, an idea of an engineer ended up in Angoda hospital due to our social deformities.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Double cheese mouse trap made in Angoda

This famous ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”double cheeseƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ mouse trap designed by an insane engineer at Angoda symbolizes the whole design of western developmentalist idea promoted by WB/IMF.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ According to the design of this mouse trap, the mouse has to go under a meaningful participation of the process of victimizing itself in the trap, like World Bank and IMF demanding us of our engagement/participation in our development, because WB/IMF development formula is also a trap. In this peculiar design, there is a plank with two nails in both ends. These two nails are holding a sharp steel wire tightly stretched across connecting nails with each other, from one end to the other end of the plank. On the other side of the wire, there are two pieces of cheese baits; one is ridiculously small and the other is notoriously big, placed in both ends of the plank. According to the design, the crazy engineer assumes that the mouse will religiously follow the rules of the designer to reach the bait. The trap desires a function under a strict discipline code like WB/IMF duo demanding from daffodilized third world economic development experts. According to this discipline code, mouse only can approach cheese (bait or development) via permitted route. He is not allowed to go other way around and reach the bait/development taking alternate routes, because it is considered a foul play, perhaps will cost for losses like GSP+, or to get branded as a failed state. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is expected that the disciplined mouse follows the approved route and reaches the sharp and tight wire and stops there. Although the cheese located on the other side of the wire, still this disciplined mouse never jump over the wire fence. He stretches his head across the wire and sees that one piece is unrealistically too big to handle and the other is too small therefore unproductive. Mouse ends up in, what we call ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”developmentalist dilemmaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. This is the moment anything is possible. The reason is that the mouse left home pledging to bring cheese for his clans, because they were starving for long time. He has to keep his promise because promising cheese always being highly political. But cheese has been located beyond his reach and proportionately un-realistic to handle. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Now he faces with two choices, one is crazy engineerƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s choice. According to which, the poor Daffodilized mouse begin to wonder of his limited choices, he will debate with himself to find solutions while resting his neck on the sharp wire. He will think about development strategies, looking at small piece of cheese at a time and the big one in the next time. Turning his head side ways to look either side, he will repeatedly ask himself the same questionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦Small cheese or the big cheese? Small cheese or the big cheese?? Big cheese or the small cheese??? Small cheese or the big cheese???? While doing this repeatedly turning his head sideways on the sharp wire, he will get his throat slit and will die on the spot.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The second choice is the HobsonƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s choice, in which mouse will have to accept the action plan of development solution in full or leave it in full. At this point, the hidden hand of the creation of the developmentalist dilemma will appear before the mouse stretching helping hand. They will lay out the conditions that demand a strict discipline code, and promise to deliver cheese in due course, and ask the mouse to be patient. Then they demand to accept policies like private ownership of water resources, structural adjustments, dollarization of domestic commodity prices, abandon paddy cultivation, letting the local currency to float in the currency market etc.

According to this choice of development, mouse fulfils all demands that has been placed as prerequisite to his development, but still made to remain on the opposite side of the fence. Under this condition mouse can see cheese but he cannot have it. In this spectacle of impassable ideological barrier, without having courage to cross the wire fence, this mouse will remain in poverty while making more and more concessions to the hidden hand. But besides his servility, there is no barrier in reality because this fence becomes impassable only because of the obedient characteristic of the mouse but not by the nature of the fence,. Gradually these concessions turn out to be outrageous like the one in privatization of water resources.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In developing countries, during the 1990s there has been pressure from international financial institutions such as the World Bank and IMF to introduce private ownership in water resources through the imposition of loan conditionalities. It is a public secret that our Daffodilized experts have agreed to these conditions. It is well known that some of third world experts have done more damage than development in developing countries.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ I personally know an incident, in which when questioned about the pathetic situation of paddy cultivation in Sri Lanka from one of highest level official of CBK administration responsible for the economic development, pretty bluntly he had said to one of my very close friends that paddy cultivation is something that Sri Lanka must have neglected long ago. Then when my friend had said that the entire paddy cultivation will be destroyed if the government does not take some immediate action, then the official had said that the out come is the policy of then administration. But general public had never being informed about this new policy of the government in regard to paddy cultivation. That is how our daffodilized officials think about development even though they wouldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t expose their true intentions to the general public. Our leadership must be very careful of these types of officials working with hidden agendas and strong allegiance to their outside masters.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ This is the moment we expect our Kossata Meeya to bring some hope, because he won the war and believed to be capable to handle our entire development plan as well. Unlike others, Kossata Meeya is clever enough to use leverages to retrieve the pieces of big cheese from the traps, like he did in regard to Hambantota. Hambantota was a gigantic piece of cheese that many thought Kossata Meeya wouldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t be able to handle. Even India thought as such. But Chinese leverage worked well. Many even thought Chinese levers are not reliable. But now we all know that Chinese levers are much reliable than the Sheffield ones.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Our house must be arranged in our wayƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

We all know that neither a door, nor a roof will make a house. After putting all these parts together we realize the concept of the house. But on the other hand, house is not only a physical structure, but an idea, a state of mind. After putting these physical and mental aspects together, we realize the entity of our house. Even among them, some houses are livable and some are not. In fact, as we enter into some houses, we feel like imprisoned like in animal farms. But for the people of such household, it could be the perfect house for them. So that tells us that the idea of home is not the same for everyone. In some houses we may get everything, all material facilities except the sense of true liberty and freedom. But when there are no other alternatives, people live in those houses although they are virtual prisoners.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ House is a very personal space, like the space of the cave for a primitive. Personal spaces are arranged by people who live in such spaces, but not outsiders. It is not acceptable if outsiders come and ask you to make your own house according to the way they want it to be. These outsiders desired to see all other houses arranged and looked like their own ones. They tend to enforce their model as the only model for all other houses.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In the proposed alteration, they want us to demolish our doors, and keep the entrance wide open. So then they can enter and mess with our lives as they wish. They want us to remove all security measures, so they can take our treasured things, our riches and wealth at their will. They want us to adjust our structures of the house, so they can weaken its foundations, and then they can tare it down when ever they want without our consent.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ But we love our personal space, because it is the only space that we can call as ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”our spaceƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. Since we do not bother otherƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s spaces, we also do not like to see outsiders trying to dominate our space.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ This personal space of a civilized man will reflect his way of life by way of its arrangement. The artifacts, objects and their related rituals will mirror his world view, his mythos and ethos, the culture. The book shelf will tell the type of knowledge, ideas and thoughts that this man appreciates; the ideology, philosophy. The type of music coming out of this house will reveal how he deemed about music, as if he believed that music is for physical therapy, a source that supply bodily chiropractic effects or mental appreciation and soothingƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚arts. Through the arrangement of living space harmonizing with that of the space of nature, this house will revel how this man admire and appreciates nature and its flora and fauna. In such houses one wouldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t see criminal signals like cotton filled deer heads above the doorway, or colonial guns crisscrossing each other on the wall. Dialogues, conversations and even criticism that take place in such spaces will tell us how happy and sensible the collective lives of those who live in such houses. ISNƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢T THIS A COMPLETE HOUSE? HOW FAR AWAY ARE WE FROM THIS HOUSE? PATCHING THESE GAPS AND EXPANDING THIS HOUSE TO FACE FUTURE CHALENGES IS THE TYPE OF DEVELOPMENT WE NEED.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Why must we put up our house according to the plan of someone else? With all required and appropriate Scientific and business knowledge, let us build our own house the way we want it. Yes we must find ways for our survival. And we must realize that the way to survival is not only the western way, but there are many other ways; may be a combination of wisdoms of the west and the east may bring a better answer for that. Just because of our failure to resist in the 16^th century, I think it is not right to throw away everything we have. Instead of throwing everything away, let us learn lessons from our history and then let us remedy our weaknesses.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Then, we can build our house to be stronger to face outside threats. So this symbolic house can be the mirror of a given nation. It will be arranged accordingly to the ethical and mythical traditions of such community. This proves that every house can never be the same like some globalists believed to have in global village. Difference between houses doesnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t mean that global interaction will be denied in a world full of different houses in different shapes, in different colors with different music. But ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”mental daffodilityƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ that attempt to further daffodilize our society by globalist whims and fancies wishes to paint whole world in single shade of allegorical European ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”whiteƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. It promotes homogeneity in oppose to the natural heterogeneous beauty of our world.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Deficit of the development ideology

Now let us come back to the concept of development. If I summarize the essence of what this historical spectacle of European duplicity suggests, I would say that ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”good thievesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ always adhered to cunningly formulated ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”philosophy of theftƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢, and then if the victim of this theft needs to advance into progress while surviving among these wolves of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”good thievesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢, then that one needs to have a counter ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”philosophy of survival,ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ and a new strategy of progress to overcome those new challenges.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The point what I am stressing here is, that the failure of the development in the third world is not only remaining in the deficit of capital and technology, but largely remaining in the deficit of ideology. The absence of a liberation ideology that takes us to economic freedom can never be substituted by the ideological structures of neo-colonialism that has been systematically taking away our creative powers out of our efforts in the development. Not only that, this void of a liberation philosophy in our perception of development can never be substituted with the above said ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”ideology of the very thiefƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ that plundered us in the past. Nowadays our development ideology is filled with IMF and World Bank dictates. But our development ideology must be located somewhere else out of those western structures. In other words, if the rabbitƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s path to liberation is fallen across the fox den, then the fox must be the last one to give guidance to the freedom of the rabbit. One does not need to know rocket science to understand that simple reality. In the past, the west monopolized the flow of capital, global finance and monetary regulations, but not anymore. If the third world can be organized a little more, they definitely can eschew away existing western dictates and their structures that control the flow of capital that meant for undermining third world development

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Capital and the stateƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Capitalism triumphs when it becomes identified with the state, when it is the stateƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ (Fernand Braudel) ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

Another aspect that has a huge contrast between west and Sri Lanka is the relationship between the citizenry and the state. Government is the largest of all means of social organization to our understanding. In Asia, state means the organization of people that responsible to carry out the will of people. Downsizing the state means, downsizing social organization to leave populations under the mercy of capital.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In the west as I said, capitalism identifies itself with the state posing as if it is the state. It wages wars for the enhancement of capital accumulation in distant lands under the pretext of national interests and national security. Capitalism controls the lives of citizens to fulfill its conditions of accumulation, all in the name of citizenry obligation and social contract between the state and the citizen. But actually a larger part of this citizenry obligation is overloaded with obligations to the capital. Capital has forced larger populations to live their lives for the advancement of capital; and the citizenry on the other hand reduced to an indentured life. Between the administrations of the state and the citizens almost donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t have any meaningful relationship in the west other than elections and taxation. A government cannot even take a decision for the benefit of poor masses like healthcare. In other words, the entire political system functions behalf of capitalist norms controlled by influential minority for its production, distribution, consumption, and the surplus value (profit) of the capital where its accumulative culture calls the shots, thus dominating lives of entire life world.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In such a society, citizenry obligation and the social contract between citizen and the state has been colluded and made to be confused with that of the dealings between capital and the citizen. In result, citizenry obligation and social contract of the citizen has made to be emerged as ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”theƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ fulfillment of the duty for the state, but in reality this fulfillment is nothing but the fulfillment of the contract between capital and the citizen.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In Sri Lanka, capitalism has not been identified itself fully with the state to the extent that it identifies itself with the state in the west. At least not yet. So there is no any such concocting or hidden agenda under the names of social contract, citizenry obligation and relationship between the state and the citizen in Sri Lanka. Instead, in Sri Lanka, social contract between citizen and the state is more direct and open that has nothing to do with the personal contract that usually establish between capital and individuals or groups of individuals. In other words there is no collusion between these two entities. Rajapaksas never went to war to satisfy specific inner circle capitalist interests to fulfill their specific profitable economic aspirations or agendas like the administrations in the west who declares such fraudulence of capital as national interests and patriotism to wage wars. Actually in Sri Lanka this was happened in other way around. The Colombo business class was against the war, and they were really for the Oslo consensus. So Rajapaksas had to go against the will of the business community of Colombo to defeat terrorism in Sri Lanka. For our standards, state submitting to capitalist for profiting out of human suffering is a gross violation of human rights of entire populations. Are we there yet? Fortunately not yet. Is this collusion of capital and the state the type of development we want? I do not think none of us desired to have such model of development in Sri Lanka.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ That doesnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t mean that we need to discard capitalism at all. What I really meant was that complete submission of entire human society under capitalist mercy might be complete opposite of our notion of liberty.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Yes, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”good thievesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ have adhered to a cunning ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”philosophy of theftƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. Besides, I do not believe that a thief can help to build an economy of the self same victim of his very theft.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  According to this theory, as I said, our development has been prerequisite to demolishing all our walls, change our music, change our ethical, mythical traditions and substitute them with that of theirs. Change our security measures; adjust our structures, alter our ways of management of the house, creating more and more gaps to sneak through to intervene into our house affairs. Then this space can never be called ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-our personal spaceƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ anymore. IsnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t this a crime? Yes it is. Stealing oneƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s natural habitat is amount to murder. Fundamental question here to ask is what expectations does the man have of his development? Now again, in regard to development we must ask, what is the meaning of human life? What does man really want? Does our development really need to have some relationship to our lives or can it be alien to us? What does man expect out of life? Where is the true relationship between him and the rest of the life world, rest of the human society and nature?

What does man really want from development? This question will create a lot of problems. I rather like to pose this question to Lanka Web writers and the readers.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ If I use the symbolism in proper, daffodils never grow on Sri Lankan soil and in its climate. So we must find our own model something like ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Nil-ManelƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ that is indigenous to our soil. I think expanding Mahinda Chintanaya to a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Nil ManelƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ model is the motto of our development.

(To be continued)ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚