I had to Wikipedia the ‘-isms’ and find its various meanings. What it threw at me was, “a distinctive practice, system, or philosophy, typically a political ideology or an artistic movement.”
So many different ways to use it, but once suffixed to an ideology, it becomes isolated and a walled school of thought. You have to subscribe to it and once you are admitted, you have to sing its anthem as if it’s a war cry against the invaders.
Photo by Francesco Paggiaro from Pexels
Now, I am obviously not an expert on political science, theology or economics, but I like to jog thoughts on Equality in Opportunities time and again. I too belonged(or maybe still) to one of these walled communities called Egalitarianism. Well, you got to start/belong somewhere. (Even God belongs to Omnipotentism, doesn’t He :) (ya, word play)
However, I wish to not wall my thoughts into an isms, will rather keep it open for adaptation.
Of all the Neo - isms, three of them interest me especially in today’s context in terms of political ideologies.
Neo - Capitalism is an economic ideology, which blends some elements of capitalism with other systems.
Neo - Liberalism is a modified form of liberalism tending to favor free-market capitalism.
Neo - Socialism like the socialism of the past, is strong as a thought and probably weak in implementation.
The ideology of politics is something that the start-up world has not yet disrupted. Tech companies who come up with scalable business models based on a fundamental question “What problem are you solving?” I have wondered, wouldn’t it be exciting to see politics being disrupted based on this fundamental question and not the whole jingoism of this is what we/our country stands for!
Imagine, mainstream politicians borrowing from all these *Neo-isms* while they problem solve challenges using technology. Let’s take the current COVID-19 scenario.
Covid-19 is a bigger threat than we ever in our wildest nightmares thought of (well, if you leave out ‘Contagion’). Over the last decade as an Investor & Advisor , I have seen many ‘Vision 2020’ slides (including mine), and none of them had ‘Pandemic, Massive Recession and Social isolation as forecasted and to be resolved issues in their business plan. We were focused on jobs, AI, green-house gases, climate change and a few others. Yet none of them united the world like COVID-19 has. Every country, every business, every stock market, every airline, every government and every economy is in it together and we probably do not know the full extent of the damage to any of these. Current challenges will not only redefine our healthcare systems, but also redefine who we are, the way we transact, the way we live and the future we will prepare for.
A few kms of indoor jogging and my thoughts are still jogging in alignment, is there then a single ideology that could lead the way? There is no need for Spontaneous Solidarity,( it’s a phrase I picked up while watching a nerve wracking dystopian movie on Netflix). Change never happens spontaneously.
The isms, need to be fluid
Today’s generation identify themselves as fluid. Their choices are fluid; they work from fluid spaces like co working & cafes. They adapt well to shifting priorities. There is no correct solution or (ism), there never might be the best one (Isn’t everything evolving?). But are we being fluid in our thoughts and processes to include these new generation young leaders who have solved problems with the use of technology? Whom did we reach out to in this crisis? All of us reached out to our governments and probably not equally to the private sector. Come to think of it, it is the private sector that could roll our testing kits, ventilators and other solutions in record time. It is the Elon Musks of the world who funded ventilators in record time and the Anand Mahindras who made them available at affordable rates!
Liberalisation, privatisation, de-regulation, free trade, austerity, and most importantly a balance between the role of the government & private sector in the economy & society, today’s world needs these. The world we are living in needs both the government & private sectors.
Then, what is it that I am suggesting?
Bringing in fluidity in thoughts, in ideologies, in ways we have traditionally operated; A will to being open and listening to all ideologies, aligning with its basic fundamentals (which are largely the same for all isms, like in religions) and then forming collective processes gives us a better shot at facing challenges, resolving issues and just making everyday brighter!
Let our thoughts be Fluid and actions Solid!
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