" The general strike will work against this finale expected by most of the population and if as a result of the general strike the UNP were to come to power the clock will be turned backwards and what the armed forces have done during the last two years would come to naught. The JVP today is doing what the UNP, TNA, LTTE and the west would want them to do, in spite of its rhetoric against the vijathika balavegaya."
_________________
by Prof. Nalin de Silva
(June 25, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The JVP unions have threatened to go on strike on 10th July. It is not known whether it is going to be a continuous strike or only a rehearsal for a general strike. However, it is reasonable to assume that even if the strike would be confined to a day initially the unions are thinking of a prolonged strike in the near future.
It is true that there are issues such as a reasonable salary in view of the rising cost of living, corruption and wastage, for trade unions to resort to trade union action. During the last year the cost of living has risen so much that all wage earners are finding it difficult to make the ends meet. It is especially so in the case of low wage earners and the trade unions are justified in asking for a salary increase.
It is also true that the government is in the middle of a "war" with one of the most brutal terrorist groups in the world, and the humanitarian operations against the terrorists take the foremost place in the agenda of the government. The people have to make some sacrifice to finish the operations and make sure that the terrorist outfit is annihilated.
One of the reasons for the rising cost of living is the price of oil that is spiralling upwards almost on a daily basis. The western world may find an alternate solution in the form of utilizing other energy resource, but not immediately, and the people will have to suffer for some time. However, the long term solution is to turn away from the western development paradigm that was initiated in the fifteenth century with individualism and driving for sensory pleasure taking the centre seat together with abstract thinking.
In this regard there is no point in dropping words such as Buddhist Economics, National Economy, Buddhist Socialism without trying to understand how economies are based on cultures and Chinthanayas and without even working out the rudiments of alternate models of development based on non western paradigms. A national economy is certainly not a so called mixed economy and at the end of the day nothing would have been gained by talking of a few capitalists enjoying the luxuries of life. Though there were no capitalists as such during the time of Buddha, there were many Shravakas (disciples) who could be counted among the "ten richest Baharat Putras". Those who talk of national economies and Buddhist economies should first work out the postulates of the relevant Chinthanaya without dropping catch phrases that would only serve to boost their egos.
It is impossible to go on satisfying unlimited needs with limited resources, a process through which we have lost the initial meaning of the word resource. A resource after all is source that can be used again but the so called resources in the western economy are only sources. The oil will not regenerate itself and once the so called oil resources are over there is no way that we can go back to crude oil even with the most sophisticated technology of the western culture.
Modern day westerners who rely on linear thinking use words such as resource without realising that the concept is rooted in cyclic thinking. The Sinhala equivalent of resource, though not the direct translation is sampatha, as in the case of jala sampatha, vana sampatha and even daru sampatha. A national economy should be based on cyclic chinthanaya and not on slogans such as "kolombata kiri apata kekiri" which means that the village should be exposed to the western economy and not to any other economy.
Whether in the long term or the short term the government does not appear to have any strategy or a solution to the present economic problem. However, that does not mean that the other political parties from the UNP to TNA through JVP have any solution other than criticizing the government. All these political parties think in the paradigms of the west that are based in either the Greek Judaic Chinthanaya or the Catholic Chinthanaya.
The JVP may be thinking according to the theories, paradigms that have been worked out more than a century ago in Europe, that they would capture power in the near future. Perhaps the general strike according to them is an indication that the working class is moving towards the expected goal of capturing power. However, what they do not realize is that even if the government falls as a result of the "proletariat taking to streets", there is no crown for the "proletariat" to pick up, and as a result it is the UNP that would come to power and not the JVP. The JVP in today’s context has been reduced to a mere protest party and not a so called revolutionary party. In fact there are no revolutionary parties of the proletariat as such that are capable of capturing power in the entire world.
The JVP can decide to play into the hands of the UNP and the west whom they do not like to say the least or evolve some other strategy to become a national party that is based on the Jathika Chinthanaya. However, Jathika Chinthanaya is also despised by them and as a result they will have to remain as a mere protest party may be with some muscle power unlike in the case of some other Marxist parties that have been reduced to three wheeler parties.
The government has not set an example by reducing the money spent by the ministers and their supporters and there is no reduction in corruption and waste. In spite of all that the government has brought the LTTE to its kneels and it is only a matter of time before Prabhakaran is captured.
The general strike will work against this finale expected by most of the population and if as a result of the general strike the UNP were to come to power the clock will be turned backwards and what the armed forces have done during the last two years would come to naught. The JVP today is doing what the UNP, TNA, LTTE and the west would want them to do, in spite of its rhetoric against the vijathika balavegaya.
On the other hand if the government is thinking of teaching a lesson to the JVP that too will not succeed as again the UNP and the TNA will get an opportunity to campaign against the government successfully with the help of the NGOs, INGOs and the west. The government will have to cushion the burden of the public while reducing the huge cost of government and setting an example for the people to follow. The government has to think of some remedial measures while the JVP at least for their survival if not for the expected victory of the armed forces will have to think of other measures to serve the "working class".
- Sri Lanka Guardian
by Prof. Nalin de Silva
(June 25, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The JVP unions have threatened to go on strike on 10th July. It is not known whether it is going to be a continuous strike or only a rehearsal for a general strike. However, it is reasonable to assume that even if the strike would be confined to a day initially the unions are thinking of a prolonged strike in the near future.
It is true that there are issues such as a reasonable salary in view of the rising cost of living, corruption and wastage, for trade unions to resort to trade union action. During the last year the cost of living has risen so much that all wage earners are finding it difficult to make the ends meet. It is especially so in the case of low wage earners and the trade unions are justified in asking for a salary increase.
It is also true that the government is in the middle of a "war" with one of the most brutal terrorist groups in the world, and the humanitarian operations against the terrorists take the foremost place in the agenda of the government. The people have to make some sacrifice to finish the operations and make sure that the terrorist outfit is annihilated.
One of the reasons for the rising cost of living is the price of oil that is spiralling upwards almost on a daily basis. The western world may find an alternate solution in the form of utilizing other energy resource, but not immediately, and the people will have to suffer for some time. However, the long term solution is to turn away from the western development paradigm that was initiated in the fifteenth century with individualism and driving for sensory pleasure taking the centre seat together with abstract thinking.
In this regard there is no point in dropping words such as Buddhist Economics, National Economy, Buddhist Socialism without trying to understand how economies are based on cultures and Chinthanayas and without even working out the rudiments of alternate models of development based on non western paradigms. A national economy is certainly not a so called mixed economy and at the end of the day nothing would have been gained by talking of a few capitalists enjoying the luxuries of life. Though there were no capitalists as such during the time of Buddha, there were many Shravakas (disciples) who could be counted among the "ten richest Baharat Putras". Those who talk of national economies and Buddhist economies should first work out the postulates of the relevant Chinthanaya without dropping catch phrases that would only serve to boost their egos.
It is impossible to go on satisfying unlimited needs with limited resources, a process through which we have lost the initial meaning of the word resource. A resource after all is source that can be used again but the so called resources in the western economy are only sources. The oil will not regenerate itself and once the so called oil resources are over there is no way that we can go back to crude oil even with the most sophisticated technology of the western culture.
Modern day westerners who rely on linear thinking use words such as resource without realising that the concept is rooted in cyclic thinking. The Sinhala equivalent of resource, though not the direct translation is sampatha, as in the case of jala sampatha, vana sampatha and even daru sampatha. A national economy should be based on cyclic chinthanaya and not on slogans such as "kolombata kiri apata kekiri" which means that the village should be exposed to the western economy and not to any other economy.
Whether in the long term or the short term the government does not appear to have any strategy or a solution to the present economic problem. However, that does not mean that the other political parties from the UNP to TNA through JVP have any solution other than criticizing the government. All these political parties think in the paradigms of the west that are based in either the Greek Judaic Chinthanaya or the Catholic Chinthanaya.
The JVP may be thinking according to the theories, paradigms that have been worked out more than a century ago in Europe, that they would capture power in the near future. Perhaps the general strike according to them is an indication that the working class is moving towards the expected goal of capturing power. However, what they do not realize is that even if the government falls as a result of the "proletariat taking to streets", there is no crown for the "proletariat" to pick up, and as a result it is the UNP that would come to power and not the JVP. The JVP in today’s context has been reduced to a mere protest party and not a so called revolutionary party. In fact there are no revolutionary parties of the proletariat as such that are capable of capturing power in the entire world.
The JVP can decide to play into the hands of the UNP and the west whom they do not like to say the least or evolve some other strategy to become a national party that is based on the Jathika Chinthanaya. However, Jathika Chinthanaya is also despised by them and as a result they will have to remain as a mere protest party may be with some muscle power unlike in the case of some other Marxist parties that have been reduced to three wheeler parties.
The government has not set an example by reducing the money spent by the ministers and their supporters and there is no reduction in corruption and waste. In spite of all that the government has brought the LTTE to its kneels and it is only a matter of time before Prabhakaran is captured.
The general strike will work against this finale expected by most of the population and if as a result of the general strike the UNP were to come to power the clock will be turned backwards and what the armed forces have done during the last two years would come to naught. The JVP today is doing what the UNP, TNA, LTTE and the west would want them to do, in spite of its rhetoric against the vijathika balavegaya.
On the other hand if the government is thinking of teaching a lesson to the JVP that too will not succeed as again the UNP and the TNA will get an opportunity to campaign against the government successfully with the help of the NGOs, INGOs and the west. The government will have to cushion the burden of the public while reducing the huge cost of government and setting an example for the people to follow. The government has to think of some remedial measures while the JVP at least for their survival if not for the expected victory of the armed forces will have to think of other measures to serve the "working class".
- Sri Lanka Guardian
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