Seminar reviews relations between state and society
Seminar reviews relations between state and society
JAKARTA (JP): Any society, no matter how dominated by the
state, always finds ways to survive and thrive, intellectuals
say.
In a discussion yesterday, a number of noted intellectuals
said that the mushrooming of non-governmental organizations
(NGOs), clandestine publications and of places where
intellectuals engage in free discourses is proof of society's
resilience.
Mochtar Pabottingi, Daniel Dhakidae, Franz Magnis Suseno and
Aswab Mahasin were speakers at a seminar on civil liberty, "a
social life which is free and autonomous of the state", and
interactions between the two within modern democracy.
In the discussion held by LP3ES, an NGO which actively studies
social political affairs, the scholars sought to find proof that
civil liberty exists in Indonesia. They came to the conclusion
that what really exists is traditional polarized relations
between a dominant state and a passive society.
The underlying theme of the discussion was that the dichotomy
between state and civil liberty provides legitimacy for the
establishment of checks and balances.
The scholars discussed the questions of whether and how civil
liberty exists in Indonesia, and what its impacts are on the
implementation of democracy.
Dhakidae pointed out that in the current situation, the
dynamic relations between the state and society have shifted so
much that people now believe that society should serve as a
watchdog against the absolute power of state.
"Society must not be obliterated ... and one of the ways to
ensure it is by increasing the importance of protecting and
renewing a pluralistic, self-organizing civil society independent
of the state," he said.
Under the first president, Sukarno, the state adopted a
Hegelian philosophy which considered public opinion as
"politically irrelevant, null and void".
Dhakidae compared the current situation with a long history of
conflicts between the state and society, and found proof that not
much change has occurred. He cited that before and during the
Dutch colonial rule, society showed resilience by forming free
thinking circles.
Today, a similar phenomenon has occurred, he said, pointing to
the growing number of NGOs and intellectual discourses as proof.
"When some newspapers and publications were banned, alternative
publications emerged ... the number of dramas and poetry readings
grew," he said.
The intellectual exchanges conducted after the government
banned three publications, including the major newsweekly Tempo,
indicates that free thinking circles are growing, he concluded.
Pabottingi pointed out at the "lack of mutual trust in both
political discourses and practice" which surfaced in the form of
"intrigue and deceit" occurred in domestic political life before
and after independence.
Prejudice
"The tradition of intrigue and deceit has not declined," he
said, adding that in the current situation, it takes the form of
rampant latent prejudice. "They are indications of how thin the
veneer of mutual trust among us is."
He blamed the condition on the people's lack of
"autocentricity" -- a willingness of the participants of a nation
state to put the welfare of the whole nation first, no matter how
major the disparities and economic and political competition.
He said there is no way civil liberty can be established
without the people first restoring mutual trust among themselves,
and cultivating the willingness to forego one's interests for the
public good.
"For that, we would have to increase our empowerment and
courage to strive for the democratic political system we want,"
he said. In order to achieve that, the people need to help one
another, he added.
"We cannot establish democracy without the presence of strong
fighters who have solid organizations and broad horizons," he
said. (swe)