It is a matter of great satisfaction that here and there some new voices have arisen in this very world of enamored production and consumption. They give rise to the hope that perhaps time has come for the deliverance of the man of our age from the shackles of this economic myth.
It is more gratifying that these voices pertain to the youth rather than the middle-aged or the aged people. For some time the youth throughout the whole world have been showing practical reaction and saying loudly that they find their life meaningless and vulgar in the magnificent palace which has been furnished for them.
They want to know: If people generally are happy in this magnificent palace. If the boat of their life filled with all sorts of comforts and travel equipment shall carry them to the shore of peace and content. Whether this splendid civilization attaches any importance to man himself. Whether all the gadgets invented to facilitate life really serve man, or they themselves have appropriated all his mental and physical capabilities.
Whether this splendid civilization which has so much reduced distance between various cities, continents and planets, and converted them into just a big house, has also brought the hearts of its inmates closer to each other, or in spite of reduction in distances their hearts have gone further apart, or even worse than that, they no longer possess any hearts, as man now has only brain and hands exclusively devoted to serve his stomach, to satisfy his lust and to help him seek pelf, position and similar other objects:
It is true that such voices strike only in the lands where people lead an economically prosperous life and are not preoccupied with the worry of obtaining such primary necessities as bread and butter. It is also true that in most parts of the world there are still large masses of people who are stricken with poverty and they themselves, their families, their dependents and their neighbors are leading a life below subsistence level. Their only hope now
is a bloody revolution that may put an end to their material and economic privation.
But the correct foresight makes it necessary that the efforts of these under-privileged people should be channeled in such a direction that they may not have to face such a fate. Anyhow, it is certain that the people have more or less awakened and have got rid of the charm of material and economic prosperity. Both the big camps of the modern world now see clearly that:
Though for centuries man has been making efforts to secure the best possible means of living a better life, at present in both the big camps of the East and the West men are being sacrificed ruthlessly in the grand industrial temples at the feet of the deity of industry. Except empty slogans there is nothing left of human dignity, human freedom and real choice in either of the two camps.
Both the systems have deprived man of his dignity on the pretext that that is the requirement of the speedy running of the wheels of the complex modern industry and economy. Anyway, the man of our age is no longer willing to be taught by means of industry and technology how to lead his life. He persistently insists that he should know what the aim of his life is.
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References
M. H. Baheshti, M. J. Bahoner, The Philosophy of Islam (1982). Publisher: Jamay Talemate Islami