IDEAL SOCIETY, SOCIALIZATION & SOCIAL POLLUTION

Dr. Mirza Arshad Ali Beg

136 C Rafe Aam Housing Society
Karachi 75210

Discussion of the process of inducing social pollution into different strata of the society requires a
description of socialization, the formation of a society and of an ideal society. Accordingly this paper first
defines socialization, and ideal society and proceeds to describe the views of sociologists on society.
After giving a review of the physico-chemical explanation of socialization process by identifying a few
societal interactions, an outline of different philosophies has been presented to establish an ideal society
in which persons, male and female, rich and poor, of any race, class, or caste, are all equal and thus to
bring in harmony in the relation of one individual with another. Finally a brief physicochemical analysis
of the Islamic Welfare Society and a description of the deviations from an ideal society is presented to
explain the ways by which social pollution has been induced in the society.

The process of socialization has been described by Beg in physico-chemical terminology (Mirza Arshad Ali
Beg, New Dimensions in Sociology, (Karachi: Hamdard Foundation Press, 1987), p.70) as human interaction in a social
environment. Man being a social animal has to, by nature and necessity, socialize and live in a society.
Living in a society ensures him a place for his well-being, advancement and fullest expression of his
personality and faculties. Living in a society makes his life pleasant and worth living to his liking.

Ideal society has been described by the physicochemical approach as one which is similar to ideal
solutions with balanced positive and negative forces that may be considered forces of attraction and
repulsion respectively. While negative behaviour is departure from ideal deeds similar to polarization,
ideal behaviour has been defined as one where positive and negative forces are balanced. Forces of
polarization are, according to this approach, analogous to those causing differences between words and
deeds, dichotomy, mind-body split leading to hypocrisy or munafaqat, and are responsible for social
degradation of a society or for social pollution.

Society, according to the above definitions is a collection of individuals who, while interacting with one
another, develop some norms of behaviour in terms of association and dissociation. Sociologists have
thought of society in different ways. According to Gidding (In Mukhy’s R.H., Principles of Sociology,
(Delhi: SBD Publishers Distributors, ed. IV, pp.52) “Society is the union itself, the organization of some
of the formal relations in which associating individuals are bound together”. A.W. Green (as above)
considers a society as “a large group to which any individual belongs”. Mac Iver argues that “Society
exists among those who resemble one another in some degree, in body and in mind and who are near
enough and intelligent enough to appreciate the fact”.

Primitive societies, tribes and ethnic groups have blood relationship as the common denominator. The
individuals and tribes developed common liking and disliking during the course of time aand through a
series of interaction. Socialization of primitive societies led to formation of progressive civil societies,
which developed likeness along with differences. Mere likeness may otherwise have been close to society
of animals. Differences are there in societies in the form of their aptitude, capacity, interest and
polarization. These differences can be natural or may develop and grow with the process of socialization
and specialization.

Likeness brings families and partnerships into existence and subsequently into coherence that then makes
them sustain the continuation of interaction and hence likeness must precede differences. Man has to
depend on society for his protection, comfort, education, equipment, opportunity and many other services,
and hence it is coherence, which brings comfort to the individuals who form the society. Therefore
likeness may precede differences but the two of them do go together.

INDIVIDUALS & SOCIETY

An individual in sociological context is a unit of the society while individuality is an attribute, which
reveals the identity of the member of a group as more than a mere member. The more he depicts the
strength of character understood as independence of judgment, initiative and even power of
discrimination as an individual, the higher is the degree of possession of individuality.

The relation of an individual with his society is the subject of attention of economists, politicians as well
as sociologists. Economists belonging to the classic school of thought believe in the theory of “Laissez
faire” (Free Trade) and argue that for proper economic development and growth of a nation, the societal
intervention should be the least while provision of freedom to the individuals should be the maximum.
They believe that freedom of individuals will provide free competition and thus shall be conducive to
excessive economic production.

Political thinkers hold similar views. They lay stress on individualism and believe that society should not
intervene much in the affairs of individuals. Such political thinkers argue that an individual knows much
more about himself and about his welfare than what the society would know about his betterment. They
do not contribute to the idea that society should shadow the individuals everywhere.

There are thinkers on the other hand, both in the political and economic fields, who believe that the
individuals should completely merge themselves in a society and lose their identity. Accordingly the
society has to regulate the conduct and behaviour of individuals. If the society does not exercise the
merger the result shall be crisis of identity owing to selfish nature of individuals who will quarrel with
each other and will disturb the whole social order.

Based on the above arguments, MacIver has suggested that the relationship between individuals and
society is, “our essential theoretical understanding of individuals and society, is then the understanding of
relationships involving those processes that operate between man and man and between man and group,
in the constantly changing pattern of social life (MacIver, Robert M., International Encyclopedia of the
Social Sciences, 1968).

SOCIALIZATION IN PHYSICOCHEMICAL TERMS

The book “New dimensions in sociology, a Physicochemical Approach to Human Behaviour” provides an
interpretation of human behaviour in terms of physicochemical principles (Beg 1987). It has picked up
similarities in the behaviour of molecules and particles on the one hand and of human beings on the other.
The following are a few among the many societal interactions explained by Beg’s hypothesis that
physicochemical laws hold for individuals in a society and the society just as much as for solutes,
solvents and the solutions i.e. in the system of the solutes having been dissolved by solvents to give
solutions.

An individual in a society is considered by the author like a drop in a glass of water or a molecule in a
drop. One molecule can not be identified from the other, yet there are scores of interacting forces on each
molecule, in this case the smallest particle of water, which is incapable of independent existence without
these forces. The interactive forces that bring about existence are a composite of both attractive and
repulsive or positive and negative forces.
The smallest unit of a society is an individual who is incapable of independent existence by virtue of his
being a social animal and there are a large number of interacting constraints on him. Some of these
constraints that govern the process of socialization include the positive and negative forces like desires
and fears. Societies have developed by interaction of individuals through physical and biological
processes and their present status is complicated by such constraints as interbreeding, distribution and
migration. The society grows with the number of likeminded persons all agreeing to live in the same
environment and to be governed by the same type of initiating and sustaining forces of behaviour.

The author while considering the case of water observes that the presence of interacting forces, which are cohesive
in nature, has completely changed its properties. In the absence of such cohesive forces water may not even be a
liquid it should have been a gas boiling at –90oC. The presence of cohesive forces makes the difference. Water
accordingly presents itself as a sociable liquid and a case analogous with the social constraints on an individual
which demand that he should be part of a society (Mirza Arshad Ali Beg, New Dimensions in Sociology, (Karachi: Hamdard
Foundation Press, 1987, p.3). The society being analogous to solution maintains the characteristics of solvent i.e. the
majority with variations caused by the presence of different components. Accordingly actions of individuals have to
be regulated to conform to the norms of the society otherwise the socialization forces will be non-coherent and the
selfish nature of individuals will corrupt the society and induce social pollution.

A disordered society is an example of departure from ideal behaviour of individuals comprising the
society. It has anti social elements in its midst, which induce social pollution. These anti social elements
or social pollutants have a large internal pressure that can be brought down by adequate external pressure
or regimentation. Gresham’s principle in economics that bad money chases good money out of the market
has been explained (Beg 1987) by applying the internal pressure concept. If there are two currencies of
unequal exchange value concurrently in circulation the one which is inferior is more volatile and may be
considered as exercising external pressure. The currency of higher value is usually less volatile and is
small in volume. It would succumb to external pressure as the flow of bad currency increases. A small
region of disorder would thus be created in the subsystem where it is first introduced and would spread
throughout the system as the flow of inferior currency continues on a regular basis. In order to reverse the
process the internal pressure of the good money will have to be increased to overcome the external
pressure of the inferiors. Inferior currency is, according to Beg’s hypothesis, analogous to the forces of
corruption which when predominant cause serious degradation of social environment.

Disorder in a society is caused by departure from norms of an ideal society and the ascendancy of social
pollution is explained by Beg by a consideration of non-availability of basic amenities in rural areas (Beg
1987). This leads to a break down of their social environment in similar manner as melting of solids. The
process of disruption caused in a society is comparable with that of solids towards their melting point.
The energy added for melting introduces small regions of disorder into the crystal and destroys its regular
arrangement. The irregularity so created rapidly spreads throughout the lattice. The amount of disorder
allowed in a crystal is in a very limited region and only when the limitation exceeds to cover the entire
lattice that melting occurs. Similar forces are operative in a society and induce social pollution in its folds.

The process of migration in the rural society may be considered to explain the operation of some of the
above forces. The rural population is induced by the polarization forces of the urban centers to migrate
there. The polarization forces constitute availability of employment and the attractions offered e.g. easy
availability of basic amenities like water and fuel, healthcare facilities, cinemas, freedom from obligations
to relatives and chiefs and other social constraints. The migrant to the urban centre remains in a fluid state
or becomes a part of the disorderly arrangement which is the only one available to him. He has no
permanent employment or housing and other amenities and there is a general atmosphere of misery and
unrest for such persons who do not get an employment but keep attached to the urban area, hoping for an
opportunity in the future. The internal pressure of the villages pushes the workers to a town to find work
as domestic servants, clerks, messengers etc, but if the conditions are equally bad in the towns, the worker
keeps moving and may settle in a city or may migrate to a neighbouring city or else to an advanced
country.

Order and disorder characterize the norms of a society. They can be regulated to reduce disorder and
attain ideality of the society. Regulation can be effected by application of force or pressure e.g. on gases,
which are typical of a disordered system. Pressure reduces their volume and also the distance between the
molecules which exert pressure on the walls of the vessel containing them. The intermolecular distance is
reduced due to pressure which transforms the gases into a close-packed system of a liquid, which
constitute a better ordered system than gases. The effect of pressure does not alter the intermolecular
distance but each layer of molecules transmits the pressure to the adjacent layer, thus distributing it
equally in all directions. When such a pressure is applied on solids, which comprise ordered systems, they
succumb to the pressure and on reaching the limit of compressibility there is a random breakdown of the
crystal structure, called lattice.

It is possible to see the effect analogously on the society. Individuals and/or their associations are likely to
be easily pressurized if they are not united, and are not coherent in thought and action as is the case with
gases. However, if they are closely packed or have a united stand, the pressure on one individual would
be transmitted to the other, as is the case with liquids where the applied pressure is transmitted in all
directions. On the other hand, if the pressure is on a highly ordered social structure e.g. clergy or a
military establishment there would be severe resistance and if it persists, there would be rupture in the
rank by way of killings and destruction. Thus pressure will induce disruption in the rank and files.

The physicochemical approach has also been addressed (Mirza Arshad Ali Beg, New Dimensions in
Sociology, Karachi: Hamdard Foundation Press, 1987, p. 14) to explain why it is difficult to overcome the
forces holding the species in an ordered system compared with a disordered system by considering the
melting of the entire solid. Further heating of its melt increases the kinetic energy of the particles and the
temperature of the liquid rises thereafter. The temperature goes on rising until the boiling point is reached.
At this point extra heat is needed to overcome the attractive forces between neighbouring particles in the
liquid state. Here again the potential of the particles increases and there is no change in the kinetic energy.
During this process the liquid is converted into gas. Extra heat viz. latent heat of vaporization is much
higher than that of fusion. The latent heat of vaporization of water is 11.31 kcal/mole while that of
sodium chloride is 183 Kcal/mole. These values indicate that the attractive forces between the less
ordered systems of water molecules are lower than those between the ordered system of a solid such as
sodium chloride.

Evaporation, according to the physicochemical approach to human behaviour (Beg 1987), is comparable
to migration e.g. flight of migratory birds as soon as the temperatures start lowering in the Arctics, or
rising in the tropics. People i.e. the humans start leaving their homes in case they are faced with hazards
such as fire, floods, drought, famine, epidemics, or other calamities like war. Exodus due to epidemics is
not so common these days but in the past, plague, cholera, small pox etc. used to take heavy toll of lives
and people used to stream out of towns towards less risky places. Drought and famine has been displacing
millions of peoples out of the villages and towns. The one that dislocated the Irish occurred in 1842-7
when 25% population of the country died and another 25% migrated to the USA. The Ethiopians
migrated to Sudan in late 1985 and this was followed by a wave of migrants from Chad and Eritrea. More
recently large population of Sindh, Balochistan and Cholistan had to migrate because of continuous
drought sine 1997-98.

War and war like situations also initiate flight of population to secure areas. Such situations have surfaced
up in Vietnam, Cambodia, Hungary and Afghanistan. Almost 2000 person per day on an average are in
flight from their homes. This can be termed as the evaporation rate of the concerned population. There are
a total of 11 million refugees or evaporates each year on a global basis. It is estimated that almost 50% of
the population was displaced or vaporized from Afghanistan in the 1980s and another 50% of whatever
had remained there after the September 11 episode, has migrated within a period of three weeks.

The migratory processes in the present context would comprise development of internal pressure and in
the above situations it constitutes the push forces from rural areas and pull forces from the urban areas.
The internal pressure having become much higher than external pressure, the traditional linkages with the
home are in the first stage shaken to give a disordered state comparable with fluids. The fluid society
vaporizes when its internal pressure builds up further and in the second stage there is exodus. Exodus
from ordered societies requires much higher input of energy as for crystal, compared with those which are
less ordered like the liquids. Advanced countries belong to the former category while the developing
countries belong to the latter. It is in the latter region that the rate of rural-urban migration is high and so
is the exodus to other countries.

The temperature of the liquid at the boiling point remains constant which is the same as that of vapours.
On further heating the kinetic energy of the particle of vapours is raised and the temperature of the system
starts rising thereafter. The particles get highly energized as the temperature is raised and there is
commotion and disorder of the highest degree. One might find such a process taking place during
commotions due to panic or disaster.

The reverse of the evaporation processes, according to Beg’s hypothesis (Beg 1987), takes place when the
gases are cooled or when the source of heat is removed. Heat is withdrawn during the cooling process and
the kinetic energy of the particles also decreases.

The motion of the particles slows down and so reduced that the attractive forces become predominant. At
this point the particles start coalescing and form a liquid. This process releases energy and there is
decrease of potential energy. Thus at the time of liquefaction the temperature does not fall, nor do the
particles slow down their commotion. The kinetic energy of the particles at this temperature is the same in
both phases. There is a decrease in kinetic energy when the liquid is cooled further. The thermal motion
of the particles is gradually reduced until the point of crystallization or solid formation is reached.

The particles start lining up in a definite pattern as a liquid starts solidifying and thus their freedom of
motion is substantially reduced. The potential energy of the particles drops as the particles take their
position in the crystal lattice. It is only when all the particles have crystallized that there is a further drop
of temperature and the cooling process of solid continues.

This phenomenon is comparable to the state of migrants who settle down at their destined points (Beg
1987). If the migrants have internal pressure comparable with that of the majority population there would
be very little tendency to deviate from their normal behaviour. Between the two communities there would
be positive deviation from non-acceptance by the majority and negative deviation in case of acceptance.

Karachi can be quoted as the best scenario for the examples of the above hypothesis. It was pointed out
earlier in the discussion that lack of basic amenities leads to break down of social environment of rural
areas and that leads to rural-urban migration. A great majority of the people from rural areas migrated to
mega cities like Karachi and Lahore. The segment of population that migrated to Karachi was much
higher than that of other cities. One of the main reasons for this preference was that in Karachi they found
a much higher rate of acceptance. Karachi is termed mini-Pakistan since it is home for people from all
over Pakistan. The migration of population in turn led to serious problems of urbanization and of resource
allocation. The inhabitants who had settled much earlier than the onset of migration were victimized by a
sense of deprivation. It also gave rise to a great disorder of the once highly ordered city. The government
did not take any initiative to solve the problem and no effort was made to settle the issue of unhealthy
urbanization. There was lack of planning at each stage and that is why Karachi has the largest population
that has settled in slums.

In physicochemical terminology slums may generally be described by a semi-solid or fluid state where a
desired crystal form analogous to a higher social status, has not emerged. Impurities reduce the melting
point and a disorderly environment is likely to have higher heat content. Anti-social elements or
impurities of the societies would, according to the hypothesis not allow orderly arrangements. Crystal
formation tendency would be lowered and a peaceful environment would be less likely. Negative forces
such as high incidence of robbery, murder and other evils may consequently dominate the slum. It
therefore takes a long time to crystallize, in the physicochemical sense, or civilize the individuals resident
in slums.

IDEAL SOCIETY: A society is said to be ideal if its components have complete harmony. It is one
in which each of its individuals is bound with the cohesive forces of likeness and interdependence. The
following may be considered as the prerequisites for the formation of an ideal society:

It should be abstract i.e. social relationship should be the basis for the culmination of a society but it has
to define social relationship in abstract terms since it can be felt and imagined but not seen. Social
relationship is a binding force, which gives the individuals a feeling of being together and governs the
living, working and behaviour according to certain norms evolved during the course of time in the
particular physical and social environment.

Individuals are interdependent on one another as well as the society as a whole. No one in the society is
independent. Every one depends in some way on the other member and the society. Problems of, and
arising in the society are solved only with the cooperation of individuals and society. In order to achieve
the best results a society is required to be well organized like a crystal. Division of work must be defined
and every individual should attend to the allotted work.

Likeness and differences are both characteristic of an ideal society. The differences can be on account of
physique, intelligence growth, habits etc. Without difference the very growth of the society may come to
a standstill. Likeness is of course, very essential because without that no society can come into existence.
However, mere likeness may not bring any social momentum. Conflict and co-operation must go hand in
hand in an ideal society. Cooperation as well as conflict can be both direct as well as indirect and it has
rightly been said that society is cooperation crossed by conflict.

Forming an ideal society is the basic good of human beings. However, there has been little success in
forming and much less in sustaining an ideal society. A careful study of the history of socialization and
formation of societies reveals that man had from ancient times started to frame an ideal society. His
efforts were basically from two dimensions: ideological and religious. Both of these efforts are in fact the
result of reaction of one on the other. Ideologies came in when religions were less effective in achieving
such a society and raised the slogan of equality, using it as the driving force. Basically, however, all the
religions and ideas emphasize on the issue of equality and equitable distribution of resources, particularly
wealth, and to establish a society on the principle of equality. The following is a brief examination of the
efforts and an attempt at finding as to why they failed in achieving their goal.

The earliest approach to an ideal society was that by Plato, who discussed the issue in his book: ‘The
Republic’. Plato visualized a society and divided it into three major elements viz. the ruler, soldier and the
worker. He considered it better that every person in the society does his allocated work and is interfered
by no one. For example, some people should be involved in agriculture and some in business. The
soldiers, according to Plato should be assigned to defend their country and they should be both tolerant
and aggressive; tolerant to friends and aggressive against enemies. There should be philosophers who
should guide them to distinguish between friends and enemies. The soldiers must be educated. He
considered primary education as of utmost importance. Plato was very much against fantasies. He did not
like stories which could bring people to live in fantasies. The writers of such stories should, according to
him, be banished. Only those books that contain the stories and examples of brave people should be there.
The music which is slothful/inactive, commiserative should be banned and only such music be allowed
which fires up the emotions of the soldiers.

The rulers, according to him can speak lies in the interest of public; but the latter is not allowed to do so.
Boss remains a boss and his subordinates have to obey him.

Plato wanted alcohol to be prohibited and sickness to be strongly forbidden and those who remain sick for
a long period should die or commit suicide. The citizens should do their work or die. Cross marriages
among soldiers, ruler and workers should not be allowed. They may, according to Plato only marry
among their own class and thus a pure generation of rulers, soldiers or workers can be obtained.

It may be seen from the above that Plato created differences among different classes, which itself is a
deviation from an ideal that envisages equality to be the driving force of all socialization processes.

The following is an example of a utopian (theoretical) society which may be considered an extreme case
of sociological interaction and of an ideal society. In the beginning of 16 th century Sir Thomas Moore
visualized an ideal society on an ideal island. The shape of half moon was given to this society which
consisted of 54 large cities. The area and life style of all these cities was the same. There were
towns/villages around every city. The houses of these towns were full of agricultural implements/tools.
Farmers were divided into the population of forty individuals. After 2 years 20 of the members were to be
replaced and those replacing had to spend 2 years there and thus no body was to own any piece of land
permanently.

Every individual had to try to produce a size of crops that was more than his needs and the excess
production was to be supplied to other towns. All the members of the society were expected to participate
in the harvesting to finish the work in time or as soon as possible. The wealth was to be kept across the
ocean.

The society was to have the best sewerage system for the houses that were to be built in an organized
manner and to be kept completely clean. The houses were to be side by side like town houses and along
the streets which were to be 30 ft in width. The doors were to remain open since no body was to own any
property or treasure or wealth. No body was to own a house permanently but was to be shifted at regular
intervals (after 20 years) through an appropriate system of rotation. All the male and female members of
this society were bound to learn some art. Every family had to prepare its dress itself. The dresses were to
be the same in the whole society and were to change seasonally and with respect to age, sex or marital
status.

All the citizens were bound to acquire the profession of their forefathers. They had to work six hours
daily; three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon. The interval was to be of two hours.
They were to sleep at 8 O’clock for eight hours.

They, according to Sir Thomas Moore had to use leather uniform during their work, which would remain
in use for seven years. Six hundred families were to be there in every city. Every family was to consist of
10 to 16 members and the oldest one was to be the guardian/leader of the family. The families were to be
responsible for keeping the number of members constant. If however, it exceeded the required number,
the extra members were to be shifted to another family of lower number of members. A large house was
to provide shelter to every 30 households and the members had to eat food there. Although, the members
could eat food at home, yet to prepare food was considered a waste of time. The citizens of ideal state
could wander in the city only by the permission of the Government. (Sir Thomas Moore’s: Utopia transo
Paul Turner).

On careful examination of the ideal states proposed by Plato and Moore, it may be found that both are an
effort to limit the unlimited internal world of man. While it may be thought that in the ideal state human
beings are dehumanized to the extent that they do not have any sense of consciousness and perception and
may not have any moral or human problems, the public may only perform the assigned duties and not
even live its life since it does not have liberty or freedom. Good and bad are meaningless to the members
of such a society. Careful analysis of ideal state reveals that none of the ideal society including scientific
communism has anything to do with morality.

Marx considers communism as the last chapter of human history. According to him there should be
enough material and production for a person and he must live a prosperous life. To Hegel, history means
liberty. To Materialistic philosophers, it is communism if physical laws are implemented on man and
society. To them, persistent peace means nothing but to establish a classless society and this is the climax
of development. (Islam Between East and West, Izzat Begovech, pg. 204-206)

There are a few commonalities between our modern societies and an ideal society. One may for example,
find limitations to freedom in the interest of society, tribes and families and their guidance/leadership,
lack of relation with family and parents, art and artist to serve the government, social education instead of
family education, general acceptance for technical development, equality of gender in respect of works,
equal share in property, collective acceptance for hard work, collective competition, uniformity and
censorship etc.

An ideal society cannot be free from the concept of good and bad since it is a society of living humans
and it is inappropriate to consider them dehumanized. The ideal society has to have members who
socialize in an ideal manner and has to carry the concept of good and bad as an integral part of its living.

DEVIATIONS FROM IDEALITY &

STRUGGLE BETWEEN RULERS AND PUBLIC
An ideal society has been able to form only occasionally, if at all. Deviations from ideal behaviour have
been the norms. One of the main reasons for the departure from ideality is that the gap between the haves
and have-nots has invariably been wide and the latter have, since the ancient past been struggling to
reduce the gap and bridge it. Moses had his difficulties with Pharaohs, Jesus had difficulties with the
Romans and Prophet Mohammad SAWS had his difficulties in shaping an ideal society among the
Quraish. Prophet Mohammad SAWS was able to shape an ideal society during the early years of the Hijra
calendar but as will be seen later, the forces of social pollution gradually permeated into the realms of the
Islamic society and the latter deviated from ideality.

Considering the case of Europe, it is found that the struggle between the rulers and public or the
governing hierarchy and the governed began there from the 5 th century AD, when the continent was
divided into numerous small fidelities after the fall of Roman Empire. The people were very upset by the
highly degraded social environment resulting from the difference between them and the ruling class and
also from the worst law and order situation, which made the downtrodden people welcome the philosophy
of Christianity and thus a clean sweep for it.
The 10th century was again witness to an attempt at rebuilding the Roman Empire but the exclusive
influence of feudal lords and nobles made it unsuccessful. The Church and Fathers had a tremendous
influence on the government towards the end of the Roman Empire. During the 11 th and 12th century the
Church also became unchallengeable as a result of the firm hold of the feudal lords. There was a time
when King and Father challenged the authority of one another, but the church succeeded at last. This was
followed by the downfall of feudal lords and the influence of the Church also started losing its grip. The
feudal lords were replaced by national monarchies. The privileged classes along with common man tried
to stop them and thus in 1215 AD, the public got partial freedom in Britain in the form of Magna Carta.

The situation became favourable for the trading class which ultimately became so strong that it was
impossible to neglect it. At this moment the Church again became the ally of national monarchies and the
stage for the operation of forces of social pollution was restored. The public was exploited to the extent
that the church itself created a movement known as Protestant Reformation. The movement fought
against the Church. Their slogan was “equality of human kind”. The immediate result was the
establishment of states and Church but later on it transformed into the movement for democracy and
liberty. The stage was set for a clash between the king and public.

Teutonic nations who defeated the Romans laid great emphasis on liberty and equality of individuals as a
whole and allowed no interference from any quarter in this regard. Later events merged Christianity into
the system and thereafter the attitude towards these issues did not remain of any concern. History of
Europe hereafter is the history of operation of the forces of social pollution by the Kingdom and Christian
hierarchy and as such there are no traces of equality and/or liberty. The society is found divided into two
distinct groups; the feudal lords, king and church on the one hand and the subjugated public on the other.
The public was at the mercy of this hierarchy and had no right to raise any objection. Their success in this
world as well as the hereafter was conditional to remaining subjugated and to obeying the hierarchy. This
situation seems to have persisted till the 16th and 17th century when the system was replaced by
democracy, liberty and equality.

There was a class of people till the end of 18th century, which favoured the king, holding the opinion that
“Kings ruled by divine right” and for public there is only “passive obedience”. However, the movement
of equality left this class of people far behind. To them the public had some natural rights and rulers were
not the masters of people. The relation between them was a social contract and every one had some rights
and responsibilities.

An outline of this philosophy was current during the 14th and 15th century AD. Its exponents were Joh
Wyclif 1320-1384, John Huss 1369-1415 and Nicholos of Cues 1401-1464. From the 16 th to the 18th
century the movement gained immense strength. Thinkers like Thomas Hobbes 1588-1679, Jhon Lock
1632-1704, Bendic T Spinoza 1632-1677, Jean Jacques Rousseav 1712-1787, Clande Helvetius 1715-
1771, and French Diderot 1713-1784 made important contributions. The highlights of this idea can
partially be seen in Britain after Magna Carta, 1215; the passing of, for example, the Petition of rights
1628, Habeas corpus Act of 1679 and Bill of Rights in 168920.

The above ideas were firmed up subsequently and emerged as the American Declaration of Independence
in1776 and the Declaration of Rights of Man and of Citizens in 1789 during the French Revolution. The
last chapter of this movement was the universal Declaration of Human Rights in December 1948, which
was adopted by 58 countries of the world through the efforts of the United Nations. The very first article
of this declaration is: “All human beings are equal and free. Their rights and respect are the same. They
have equal perception and consciousness. They should live with brotherhood and kindness 21”.

2020
Islahi. A.Sultan, Islam Ka Tasawer i Musawaat, (Islamic Publications Ltd.,1986, p.16-17
2121
J.S. Sehapiro, Liberalism Its Meaning and History, (Trade pb., Van Nostrand, Princeton, N.J., 1958), p.139
The slogan of equality, which originated in Europe, was neither complete nor universal since it lacked the
desired strong base to give a universal and standard ideology for a society. It was the product of a specific
environment of Europe and took off from the struggle between the rulers and public. Christianity of
course tried to give it a universal character but did not succeed. Unfortunately parallel ideas were
developing along with it. These were Fascism, Racism and Bolshevism movements that were in fact anti-
equality and were lethal tools of social pollution. The individual was buried in the state and that was the
final outcome. The state was sovereign and human rights were positional to it. It became clear that the
concept of equality and liberty would meet the same fate as human rights. Their exploitation was certainly
like the concept of equality in Europe.

A discussion of these movements which are all different forms of social pollution forces, may reveal as to
why history has records of operation of the forces of social pollution with full vigour but only scant
examples of either ideal or a universal society.

CAPITALISM AND FEUDALISM

One may, while tracing the origin of equality in Europe, find that development of the feudal society on
that land was the beginning of permeation of social pollution into the society. It was also the benchmark
for exploitation of labour by the rich and the feudal landlords and unchecked operation of the forces of
social pollution. The feudal society used to appropriate surplus labour through political means i.e. by a
system of laws, backed up by force, and sanctioned by the authority of the Church (which itself formed
part of the ruling class). The peasant or serf had to render a definite amount of labour, directly or
indirectly in the form of produce, to the landlord.

Feudal society, however, did not just involve itself in a series of obligations to the landowners and the
Church; the exploited classes i.e. the peasants also acquired a certain area of common land for planting
their own crops and for grazing animals, besides owning the means of production that sustained them.

Operation of the forces of social pollution did not proceed only by extraction of surplus labour in
capitalist society through political means, but also by inducing social and economic pressure. There were
innumerable laws in feudal society, which delineated the obligations of the peasant, there were no such
laws under capitalism. There were no statutes to compel the worker to sell his or her labour power to the
owner of capital. He or she was forced to do so by the pressure of economic necessity. This compulsion
originated from the fact that, while the worker in capitalist society was completely separated from the
means of production, the peasant or small producer was part of feudal society.

The crucial issue to be examined in the transition from capitalism to feudalism was the mechanism by
which this transformation took place. History shows that it did not result from some innate human nature,
but was the outcome of new forms of social organization based on market forces. It may have links with
the emergence of a class of free wage labourers that was free from both feudal obligations and the means
of production with nothing to sell but its labour power. Since the transformation took place between the
16th and 18th centuries, it is untenable to maintain that the emergence of capitalism is the result of some
inherent drive to own private property. It may not be a question of human nature since it neither occurred
earlier, nor later.

One of the most important battles in the development of capitalism was the establishment of exclusive
property rights above all in land, over the common property rights which had played a central role in the
lives of the peasantry under feudalism. Far from expressing some inherent human characteristics,
manifesting itself at a very young age, this new form of property had to establish itself against the concept
that land should be held in common and its fruits made available to all.
John Locke forged the necessary ideological weapons for the emergence of a new capitalist society. In the
words of the Canadian political theorist C. B. MacPherson: “Locke began by accepting, as the dictate
both of natural reason and of Scripture, that the earth and its fruits were originally given to mankind in
common. This was of course the traditional view, found alike in Medieval and in seventeenth-century
Puritan theory. But Locke accepts this position only to refute the conclusions previously drawn from it,
which had made property something less than a natural individual right”. 22
Marx, in considering communism as the last chapter of human history proposed that there should be
enough material and production for a person and he must live a prosperous life. It is communism for
materialistic philosophers, if physical laws are implemented on man and society, since to them, persistent
peace means nothing but to establish a classless society and this is the climax of development.

“Capital” according to Marx “is a collective product, and only by the united action of many members,
nay, in the last resort, only by the united action of all members of society, can it be set in motion.” The
distinguishing feature of Communism, according to what Marx wrote in the Communist Manifesto, “is not
the abolition of property generally, but the abolition of bourgeois property.” This implies the abolition of
private ownership of the means of production. These remarks by Marx made in 1848 are borne out by the
ownership of transnational companies through the accumulation of resources on a global scale and not by
individuals. Establishment of a socialist society may not see the instant resolution of all the problems
confronting mankind, but it may be able to establish the social framework through which they can be
tackled.

2222
C. B. MacPherson, The Political Theory of Possessive Individualism (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1962), pp. 199-
200,