Democratising Knowledge

Present times tell us to train our brains which was ever needed but past times were silent about this. People were supplied and they sourced to feed and work their brains. Present times tell people to autonomously process all feeds. Among others, social media has made present times to speak thus. It is about people talking among themselves.

Knowledge is a dedicated endeavour requiring resources and an ecology. Required is the diffusion of such pieces and their realisation and for that the bearers of specialised knowledge must make efforts to democratise knowledge.

Democratisation will begin when the bearers first test their pieces on the ground, amidst peoples' trials and tribulations, fears and expectations, despair and hopes. They must prioritise people over their theses.

N
Niraj Kumar Jha

Cooperative Capitalism and Associational Democracy

 Liberalism is democracy in the human domain of politics and capitalism in the domain of economics. It may appear ironic that liberalism, a humanism-based way of life, leads to the concentration of wealth in the economy and of power in the polity causing inequality, At the same time, it is the strength and beauty of liberalism that a person without a background can become wealthy and powerful. Secondly, those who own wealth and exercise power do so under a system of checks and balances and the rule of law based on fair play. Moreover, liberalism inheres more scope for the dispersal of these valuables, a fact often ignored. In capitalist economies, there exist big companies, which are owned by shareholders and they have no big promoters. Big corporations also require ancillary companies and there is always space for small businesses and production units.  More importantly, people can form cooperatives and stand well before megacorporations. Such cooperatives exist in India and have become more relevant in the age of digital economy. Thirdly, communities can take up business activities for their collective good and income. 

In the field of politics too, besides formal democratic mechanisms of separation, division, and decentralisation of powers, liberalism promotes the ecology allowing and encouraging associations. Associations may be purposed meaningfully for carrying out public functions too. Associations can work more effectively to promote health, sports, cultural and literary concerns. All these lead to the fair dispersal of power in society. 

People must recognise the unavoidable: liberalism is unavoidable as is the human drive for betterment. We need to work out only a suitable mechanism and ecology to allow it to work for us. 

Niraj Kumar Jha