Anticipating social change in RI (2)

Anticipating social change in RI (2)

By Ignas Kleden

This is the second of two articles on development and the accompanying changes the people have to face.

JAKARTA (JP): It is quite obvious that more participation in political affairs will bring about more contributions, as well as problems. It is almost impossible to ask the people to do more, while expecting them to demand less. A sense of belonging, even in political affairs, entails both more engagement and more distancing. This is a psychological commonplace which can be observed everywhere: The closer you are to somebody, the more aware you will be of his or her strengths and weaknesses. In this connection there is no reason whatsoever why this psychological tendency should not hold true for those involved in politics.

In the mid-1960s it was easier to influence the people to restrain themselves from active political involvement. For one thing, everybody at that time was faced with the common crisis that the whole national economy was very likely to collapse. For another, there were real reasons for the people to tolerate the condition of limited participation, because relative political stability was still a necessary precondition in which to embark upon a new economic venture.

This logic lacks its validity nowadays because the reasons just mentioned above are more or less outdated. To a certain extent there are more people enjoying an improvement in living standards which was unprecedented in the previous decades. The pressure of economic problems has been considerably alleviated. Besides that, the general political condition seems to have been reversed from too little stability to too much stability. In that regard, the sort of concern we have has changed substantially. In the past it was legitimate to be concerned about too much participation, which could eventually engender political instability, but nowadays it is more logical to be concerned about too little participation, which could injure the continuation of our development project.

After the fall of oil prices, we were struck by the fact that our government, with all its funds and forces, could not afford to finance the entire development program by itself. The economic participation of the entire society as compared to the sole activity of the state has become a necessity. However, to enhance economic participation, while restraining, or regulating, political involvement, is not only very difficult but tends to be counterproductive. At this juncture we have to look into some cultural features which have been maintained in the political praxis, but which nevertheless should be reconsidered if we are determined to encourage active economic participation and more inventive initiatives. It is of course impossible to scrutinize all of the related cultural features which should be taken into account. Some of the most basic cultural propensities, however, are worth mentioning, albeit just in passing.

Political sensitivity seems to play such a big role in our cultural behavior. This is time and again emphasized when we are faced with criticism in general and political criticism in particular. However our habit of underscoring refinement in political articulation should be gradually replaced by the civil courage to look into the substance rather than to dwell eagerly upon the formal appearance.

This is a very necessary and urgent change, not only because of the reasons for cultural conversion, but rather because we have to find modes of behavior which are more compatible with the necessary economic efficiency and economic competitiveness which is based on cultural simplicity.

By cultural simplicity I mean the new capacity and tendency to emphasize culture rather than formal refinement for the sake of economic and technical profit. This means explicitness, which might be harsh and blunt sometimes, instead of the linguistically and socially costly roundabout before getting to the point.

Or more willingness to get hurt, if necessary, in order to come closer to the truth, as well as the readiness for simple clarity instead of being fond of running the unnecessary detour in order to secure the social elegance which makes for esthetic vagueness.

To make a long story short, we cannot rely further merely on our cultural values, while claiming that they are good simply because they are part of our legacy. What is badly needed is to recast those values in order that they do not contradict all the goals which have become the aims of the project of national development.

It seems to me, that a sort of cultural disenchantment is necessary if we do not want to get trapped into unnecessary contradiction between the changing material realities and our idealized cultural world. Changes are there, and they are there as a result of our political-economic interventions. Let us rediscover the truth of the old saying: It is much better to light a candle than to condemn darkness.

The writer has a masters degree in Philosophy from Hochschule fur Philosophie, Munich (1982) and a doctorate degree in Sociology from Bielefeld University, Germany (1995). He is now working with the Jakarta-based SPES research center.