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March 31 theme: Social Democracy (Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity)

I have released five podcasts on March 31. The primary theme of these podcasts are the legacy of the French Revolution, and more specifically, the Buddha. Whether it was the first law minister of India Babasaheb Ambedkar, France grassroots reform from the left Jacobins, President John Adams, President Barack Obama, or Malcolm X, all these individuals, through constitutional precedent and social reform sought to make society fall more in line with he principles of social democracy.

French Revolution’s relevance to India

The impact of the French Revolution was a culmination of scientific skepticism, reason, individual liberty, and rejection of the authority of the church and nobility that forever altered the fabric of European society through the abolition of the feudal system by the legislation of Article 1. Although it is uncertain what the ultimate impact of the French Revolution is as it is still characterized by the long chain of events since the storming of the Bastille and the ousting of the “right” Girondis or noble from the assembly, the changes instituted by the French Revolution mean that there is no turning back for European society. As the podcast I conduct is principally centered upon India, it is important to give an accounting of how the French Revolution is linked to Indian society. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, the illustrious first law minister of India, imbued in the Indian constitution the principles of the French Revolution and Buddha, that is, social democracy. This was done through the establishment of the reservation and quota system for the underclass and untouchables or Dalits as well as an abolishment of untouchability. However, the reality is that without public pressure, constitutional decisions don’t have the effective force or agency to put an end to a system of discrimination imbedded in the social and cultural norms of Indian society which has lasted the past 2000 years. 

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 Just like America served as an example to the world in 1776, America again must be a beacon of hope showing their ability to reform themselves in line with the greater visions of their society.

More importantly, we need an antiwar grassroots party and movement to counteract an ever increasingly dangerous world where war becomes more hazardous every day as nations are positioning themselves for a potential global conflict in line with what could only be characterized as a World War III. In all conflicts, it is the people especially the poor who are scapegoated and suffer. We must bear the torch to light the inner conscience of all Americans that says devastating conflicts that lead to massive destruction and death have no place in a progressive society. We have every means to debase all forms of tyranny whether they be totalitarian or that of a majority upon minority populations be they specific or religiously oriented. 

An globalized world requires an globalized conscious so Americans can understand in the words of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, "A threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice here." I urge American citizens, as well as people around the world, to surge forth with an antiwar campaign, to break them out of the complacency that says we must merely drift along with the tides of conflict until they reach our shores. We can't afford to wait for the escalation of conflict to the point of no return. If I may quote one of the luminaries of the 21st century that have lighted the way for political responsibility for millions across the globe, "We are the change we seek."

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In this podcast, we discuss what Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, the Dalit (untouchable), illustrious writer of the India Constitution in 1950, lawyer, anthropologist, economist, and political human rights defender, meant by radical social democracy which has its origins from first and foremost Buddhism and secondarily from the Enlightenment era specifically the French revolution (liberty, equality, and fraternity). Moreover, we highlight the institutional barriers to social democracy, progress, and liberation for all people in India especially the underclass.

In this podcast, we discuss the nature of the caste system and its inevitable destruction. We highlight, in the words of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, the importance of social democracy to complement political democracy especially for the subaltern (underclass and Dalits).

There is a drastic need for grassroots social reform to combat the evils of caste which are highlighted in the recent movie Origin released January 19, 2024. This movie is based on the book Caste: The Origin of our Discontents, a book that tries to draw parallels between the plight of untouchables (Dalits) in India with the plight of African Americans, and the genocide of Jews in Germany during the Holocaust. This podcast primarily focuses on the plight of untouchables in India and the need for public policy reform, societal maturation and awareness, and technology to put an end to the generational inequality that has plagued India since ancient times going all the way back to the book that codified caste in India the Manusmriti. 

As the most renowned intellectual in Indian history the former untouchables and Dalit Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar declared not only the Manusmriti must be burned, but also the constitution of India if the government fails to live up to its aspirational character. In the words of Dr. Ambedkar, "in any system of caste there will always be outcasts."

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Mahatma Gandhi was not just a peacemaker, he was a trouble maker. Initially, it was his talents as a social reformer through community organizing and law, not his occupation as a saint that built his career as one of the pillars of the Indian community in Natal, South Africa. He fought a paper war through petitions and new correspondence to highlight the inequities of Indians with the majority white South Africans. Gandhi was pivotal in reshaping the viewpoints and imagination of whites towards Indians concerning their place in the British Empire. In this podcast, I highlight the rise of Mahatma Gandhi along with some of the political, economic, social, and cultural tensions that arose on the side of white South Africans who wanted not only to segregate themselves from Indians and other groups , but also didn't want to compete with them economically or on the business front.

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In this video I expound upon some insights and quotes from the book Gandhi before India by Ramachandra Guha from Chapter 2: Among the Vegetarians. I discuss why Gandhi carried the ethos of India, was so radical even in his twenties, and was such a radically intelligent social reformer as seen through his early community organizing, job as lawyer, and being a dedicated student of principles of world religion and compassion in London, South Africa, and subsequently India.

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John Stuart Mill had a mental crisis in his 20s in which he began to question his lifestyle and unique utilitarian education that was predicated on his father's teachings. The ideas of Reason, logic, and efficiency divorced him from the ideas of beauty, aesthetics, and poetry. He came to the conclusion that the pleasure pain principle of utilitarianism had to be subjugated under the principle of individuality, society must foster free thinking persons and individualism.

In this podcast, I describe my change in thinking during my 20s and draw parallels with John Stuart Mill's transformation. We must end the careless corrupt conformity of student debt and much of our education system in order to allow students to be exceptional, in the words of President Barack Obama, to internalize excellence. We must give students a way to contextualize their education with self exploration on topics they relate too while also pushing students out of their comfort zone. 

 All together, I wished I took calculated risk out of a quantitative education into a liberal arts education earlier in my life. I certainly had wonderful teachers throughout my life, but it wasn't until I stepped in the direction of my choice hat I began to see the flourishing of my creative output. Moreover, to save students from debt, we must create a Economic Bill of Rights, inject our politics with morality in the process, and imbue students with the values John Stuart Mill wanted to foster for individuality including freedom of thought, conscience, and assembly. 

In order to reevaluate our education system, we must bring the margins to the center so that our education system better reflects the diversity of our society and doesn't merely reflect a Eurocentric model of education. We must form better narratives in line with the globalized world in which we live in so students of all backgrounds feel empowered. So much of our education system is built off of conformity that breaking down the conditioning of children could take years. One example is that our notion of rights have made many people forget agency and responsibility in society to the point of mass scale complacency in our political process.

 A capitalist society is predicated on having choices, yet we see the opposite in our political process. James Madison, the 4th president of the United States, understood that differing factions would cancel each other out. In the two party system we have today, both parties are corrupt and don't reflect the diversity of opinions, perspectives, ideas, and choices that is the US today. That is the primary reason, along with general disillusionment towards our leadership, that so few people are involved in our political process today. 

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The immigration system has become so entangled with the criminal justice justice system to the point that detainment of families is leading to separation of children from parents. We have a long legacy of our systems of legality and enforcement evolving into greater and more extensive systems of control that no single individual could have predicted. Today that system is the Immigration Customs and Enforcement agency, an organization that has introduced wide scale electronic surveillance to accompany the incarceration and legal system. 

We must ask ourselves, do we want to live in a system of fear or hope. Enlightenment men such as William Penn of Pennsylvania and James Oglethorpe of Georgia, sought to create ideal societies where people no matter their status and ethnic background could leave freely and prosper. Unfortunately, greed, war, and propaganda led to the failure of these experiments in egalitarian liberty. 

We must reimagine our immigration system to match our ideals as a nation.

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Plea for Liberty was published in 1944 during World War II. In this book, Bernanos makes a scathing criticism of the French bourgeoisie and hopes that free man and women will save Europe and open the door to childhood as he had done throughout his life. Bernanos famously said, "The modern state only recognizes rights, it no longer recognizes duty."

Bernanos felt in his heart that the power of heroism, faith, and childhood once consecrated by the church would once again come about and defeat the evils of materialism and profit that so many citizens, writers, and social reformers rallied against in history and the 20th century. He also believed the elites failed the French people as they disguised themselves as men of wisdom and doctors of Christian ethics. Bernanos never loses faith that the people would smash the pedestal on which profit lays and would find real principles to stand upon which most people fake.

What does it really mean to give power to the people? How have the elites failed Europe and how can this be remedied?

Which country will become the inheritor of Liberty, Fraternity, and Equality?

Bernanos always believed that spiritual forces would take precedent to social, political, and cultural ones. So, as a monarchist, he envisioned a spirited young prince and king reviving the spiritual principles of Europe and bringing about a restoration of the honor of honor.

Final ideas on the saints and heroes in Letter to the Europeans:

1. "We must become unconditioned by materiality to recognize our true divinity as free men, of men of love."

2. "We must also understand the legitimacy on which our rights are based."

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Georges Bernanos voice represented the conscience and spirit of France's coinciding spirit of liberty. As demonstrated by his Christian fiction and political thoughts, Bernanos is certainly one of the greatest writers in human history. He was not just a man of rights, but more importantly was a man of responsibility, duty, and love. Bernanos questioned all complacent ways of thinking making one to questions whether he fits anywhere ideologically. Truly he was a Catholic man against all systems and blind reliance on constitutions and laws. He was first and foremost a man of the people who through his own individual agency and voice rallied against the evils which were all too apparent to a handful of people which few people could articulate. He was one of those chosen few individuals of the 20th century who could articulate the despotism of our society.