Transparency Cont...

Our recent article on "ICT, transparency and Censorship" was well receivedby a lot of people. We thank you for your honest feedbacks. It's always encouraging to see that our efforts are not gone wasted.

Mr. Ravi Madanayake - of University of Colombo, replied with a strong argument and analysis which is quite interesting. You can read his entire paper at www.lankahobbies.com/iePaper.html. Here's what we think of some of his opinions.

Ravi: Your article on the Sunday Observer of 2nd July was really encouraging. I think all our leaders of all institutions in Sri Lanka should take that advice.

CR Team: Thank you for your compliment. Leaders are not the only ones who should be advocating transparency. As with any other deed, transparency has to start at home. If we don't open ourselves to the ones we trust most, we can never be open to strangers at work.

People try to hide their shallowness and lack of depth by superficially creating a self image which is accepted by society (for example a constantly tempered father who doesn't show affection) or a self image that attracts sympathy (a good girl who has no time to play). Since they are not open they get so entangled in their own web of deceit that they fail to accept the fact that their values are created artificially.

Learning to communicate is learning to live. Because our day-to-day communications are not transparent, and are usually superficial, our lives turn out to be one big synthetic lie. This household culture is what provokes hierarchy in Sri Lanka. If we can't change ourselves, we can't change the country.

Ravi: I like to imagine, that human societies obey the Second Law of Thermodynamics. All systems tend towards disorder. Without the help of powerful (external) forces, the order in an isolated system would breakdown, and tend towards chaos. With respect to human society, this chaos is referred to as " Anarchy ".

CR Team: Quite true. But anarchy is not necessarily unhealthy as we have witnessed it in past human history. There can be forms of anarchy where everyone shares power and responsibility. In those kinds of societies people are free to express, and therefore able to self-actualize and creatively take part in constructing the environment they live in.

Why is this kind of society not seen? The problem is the very "external forces" you mention later in the paper. The "external forces" not only brings law and order to the system, but also brings an unhealthy yearning for self-esteem rather than self-actualization.

It also creates uncertainty, where people go to extreme ends to keep their job security, and social status. This can also provoke alienation, hatred towards one another, lack of moral values, and the lack of enthusiasm for life.

It is a proven scientific fact that human beings will put some effort into making society better if given the time and opportunity. But ironically we humans are corrupted by the very external factors that bind society together.

So chaos does have some order to it. But to walk towards a 'healthy anarchy' system we should be careful to remove the 'external forces' (the pillars of current society) with utmost precision. You cannot just let loose a caged beast that's been restricted all its life. It will just go wild, just like today's western chauvinistic females who live in a raunch culture due to the extreme shock of freedom they've gained.

Ravi: In the modern world, it is the Government which exercises power to prevent Anarchy, and so help keep the "Social Order" intact. Although Government is not always an "External force", it is usually the most powerful force in a particular society, and is capable of controlling or "Managing" all the other components of a society.

CR Team:That is correct for the Brahmin society of ancient India. But times are changing. The tides of power are shifting towards the Vaishya class or businessmen as you say. Take a look at the documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 and you will see who is controlling America. (Hint: It's not George W. Bush)

Outsourcing has already proven that fact. Multi-national companies are not worried about cast or creed. They just want to get the job done with minimum expenditure.

So as the boundaries of nations will continue to diminish and as globalization becomes a reality whether we like it or not - the question will remain; Are we competent enough to demolish a once important pillar of society without bringing down the whole structure?

Ravi: The behavior of us human beings, seem to show that we are nothing but a more technologically developed form of Animal. (Probably, some of us may only be a little flexible in our thinking and behaviour when compared with that of a Dog or a Cat.)

CR Team:Quite true. Sprague DeCamp said that "The story of civilization is, in a sense the story of engineering". In the present context human beings can be compared to a technologically developed animal, but our real potential lies hidden, constrained by the external forces that drive current society.

The flexibility of thinking can be related to the ability to breakaway from our habits and empathize with new ideas and paradigms. In fact, the absence of a new idea is what makes humans live life habitually like animals.

The lack of ideas is the result of the lack of transparency as well as the lack of a supportive environment to debate and appreciate the idea. So ultimately, we can continue to live as a technologically developed animal in this frame of society, or we can change it with the help of ICT to evolve into a far more intelligent living entity.

It's our choice.