Take a metallic piece. In its virgin form, it won’t be of
much use. Absence of certain properties of interest, as well as the presence of
a few unnecessary ones, severely limits its usability. The properties of
interest need to be added to it by various processes and addition of certain
elements. Also, the material needs to undergo many and varied operations and procedures
to remove from it, the properties that are not necessary. Depending on our need, to get
the properties suitable to us, we need to alter the composition of the
material, may be involving addition of many other elements. The end is that the
original material is embedded with a host of other materials in various
quantities and shapes. In fact we can easily say, it is the presence of the
minority elements that gives the material, the necessary qualities, and makes
it suitable to our need. Moreover, another property of even greater
significance, the ability to counter deterioration, also is provided by none
other than these additional elements.
The above example clearly shows that the minority is a matter
of great significance, in the absence of which-
a)
The
material is of no use, and,
b)
The
material is of no life.
Can this be a universal law? What if we apply it in the above
manner to human society as well? Can we compare the transactions of human society and the world in
general with the behavior of material things?
Especially in view of many of the findings in the branch of
science that deals with matter at sub-atomic scale, namely, quantum theory, I
think it is worth an effort. In this case, let us compare the working of a
society with material, say, a piece of metal. In such a case, we can consider
the constituents of this metal as the atoms of the main element that make the
metal piece and, other atoms, some of which that are added with purpose, and
some others, merely are impurities.
When we compare our society to a piece of metal, the
constituents of the metal piece, atoms of different elements, take position as people.
And we need to compare people’s behavior to the behavior of atoms in a metal.
As clear from the above discussion on materials, we can say
that the overall quality and usability of the piece of metal is dependent on
the constituent atoms of different material in that metal. Which include the atoms
of added elements. Similarly, when we consider a society, people of differing
capacity, orientation, outlook, faith etc do play their part in the general
nature and reputation of the society. We can take a society to be a monolith,
constituted by many groups, each consisting of people having similar outlook. Each
such group is capable of making some addition or alteration to the overall
standing of the society. People who differ from the majority could therefore be
thought of as necessary additive atoms that change the property of the material
and bring it to the desired standard, thereby making it fit for its intended
use.
In short, the overall character of the society is that of the
people who form the majority. But the defining strength of a society is in its
reputation, how others look up to it. This is exemplified by such epithets as
receptive, progressive, violent, peaceful, loving etc. One or more of such
properties do get applied to it as a result of the interactions among various minority
groups and that within the whole populace. The majority thus gives society the
structure and the minority gives the reputation.
We can easily see, certain additives succeeded in making
iron, which would have deteriorated fully over time, into steel that can
withstand the ravages of time. Similarly I think it is the minority
constituents of a society, which is preventing it from natural disintegration.
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