Internal Democracy

A democratic rights movement/organization must be based on the principles of internal democracy, transparency and parity that is not a quantitative notion, but a qualitative concept. Everyone must be equal and no one should be "more equal", notwithstanding the technical division of labor according to one's ability for functional convenience. The 18th century French Philosopher, whom I credit to have laid down the foundation of socialism, though himself unaware of the term and concept, had said that everyone is endowed by some talent and therefore no one should be praised for having it or condemned for lacking it. What is important is how one uses it for the good of the society. Individualism and 'rational' ego are two of the key characteristics of bourgeois individual, who, in the ignorance of history, thinks himself to existing as individual and not in and through a society. Individualism is central to the bourgeois ideology that Marx called, in German Ideology (1845), 'the idea of the age' -- the epochal ideology and the ideology permeates the thought process of both, the perpetrator and the victim. Hence the need is unceasing internal struggle to continuously curb it. In collective projects, particularly those with social concerns, individual members do not contribute equally but equitably. As none joins such forum for self-aggrandizement, no one's intentions should be doubted despite differences in opinion and approach that get resolved in the process of working together. Self/organizational criticism and discontent with the work is not to demoralize/demotivate/alienate but to make efforts to reinvigorate. Mao, in a letter to commune leaders, had said that any program, howsoever pro-people, must not be imposed until people themselves comprehend it in their own interest. A leader and a teacher must lead and teach respectively by example. We all, standing against any injustice are companions in the service of humanity, we need to more and more integrate and not disintegrate.

18.04.2017