The most rational path for humanity and the one most guaranteed to reduce distress (in the short-term as well as the long –term) as well as to increase welfare is the path based on justice, peace, protection of environment and biodiversity. While this was always true at all times of history, this is even clearer now due to new realities like extreme destructiveness of weapons and the life-threatening aspects of several environmental problems.
Despite this, the world and an overwhelming majority of its countries and societies are far from adopting such a path. Why is this so? Why is rational choice not possible for world at various levels? I’ll try to identify four causes here.
Firstly, there are very powerful interest groups that benefit from injustice and inequality, from the promotion of products or projects or technologies or life-styles that are destructive for environment and from the pursuit of wars, war-mongering and arms race. While the number of people who benefit from all this are relatively small, they are very powerful and resourceful and can use this power and resources to influence policy makers ( and at times even public opinion) strongly enough (and sometimes in very dangerous ways) to keep the world away from a path of justice, peace and environment protection.
Secondly, there is nothing to suggest that human beings are invariably more likely to either lead a life based on justice, peace and environment protection, or a life opposed to these precepts. A lot depends on the conditions in which people grow up and the ideas to which they are exposed particularly in the more formative periods of their life. Unfortunately very few sincere efforts are being made to provide such favorable conditions to significantly increase the prospects of high commitment of most people to justice, peace and environment protection.
Thirdly, those people who have a reasonably good understanding of a path based on a mutually consistent combination of these precepts in local and wider conditions and who are committed to taking forward this understanding sincerely in their own ways are unfortunately not many and what is more, they are generally not organized strongly enough and in democratic ways. Thus while these persons and groups are dong noble work of great value, they are unable to go far enough or have a wide enough reach and continuity of work.
Last but not the least is the extremely tragic fact that whenever such noble persons and groups are able to overcome various difficult and adverse situations to finally reach out to an adequate number of people and together they are making good progress on the path of justice, peace and environment protection, unfortunately their progress is hindered and sometimes disrupted in very cruel ways by those who are aligned with the powerful interest groups of injustice, environment destruction and wars. This can take the form of repression, even killings and assassinations, sabotage and many-sided harassment.
These four factors taken together have resulted in a situation where the most rational pursuit of a path based on justice, peace and environment protection has remained very difficult for most people and for most places.
Now coming to a more personal understanding of this situation, as a journalist visiting various villages and settlements at a very young age I used to try to re-imagine the situation of these places and people from the perspective of justice, peace and protection of environment. If I came across people and organizations who were engaged in such work, I made an effort to be close to them and to explore if as a writer I can be of some help to their cause and also I tried to absorb what I could learn from them. This led to some memorable experiences and inspiring friendships. However at the same time I could see with sadness that several such noble efforts did not end on a very happy note. While they contributed so much and there were some very inspiring times, there was also much sadness and regret at not achieving some highly desired objectives after long struggles.
Now at an elderly age I can only hope that proper lessons can be drawn from such scattered experiences and wider efforts for finding and walking the path based on justice, peace and protection of environment can emerge.
Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Planet in Peril, Protecting Earth for Children, Man over Machine—A Path to Peace, Earth without Borders and A Day in 2071.
