Evaluate the role of an individual in the development of any society

Ans.

Role of Individual in Development of Society

After reading this article you will learn about the role of individual in development of society
according to Marx and Engels.

It is to be emphasized here that Marx and Engels had no intention to undermine the importance and
role of individuals.

The role of individuals envisaged by Marx and Engels must be viewed in the proper perspective. They
have admitted the crucial role of individual having exceptional qualities in the making and remaking
of history and also moulding the process of development.

An outstanding individual like Oliver Cromwell or Napoleon Bonaparte or Marx himself has
tremendous influence upon the course of history. An exceptional individual has certain traits of
character which ensure his role in the progress of history.

To a very crucial point Marx and Engels have drawn our attention. Historical development took place
at different periods of time.

We also come to know that individuals gave leadership to these development processes or to this
development. But Marx and Engels have said that these individuals are not ordinary persons, they are
leaders to classes and movements/This are the key point to be properly treated.

Individuals direct the movement of history as leaders of classes, representatives of the mass.
Cornforth, in this connection, maintains “unless the individual bases his authority and his influence
upon the support of some class, whose interests and tendencies he represents, he is impotent and can
exert no decisive influence”.

As without the support of classes leaders cannot influence history, so without leaders the classes and
movements cannot achieve success. The good leaders accelerate the movement and bad leaders retard
it.

Marx regards individuals as a product of social being or product of materialistic situation. Individual
does not come from the vacuum. He draws his inspiration from the society. This does not, of course,
mean that a particular historical situation will produce identical individuals. Though the superstructure
is the reflection of basis, it is not devoid of varieties.

There are varieties of ideology, religion, art and literature. All these lead to the varieties of
individual’s character and attitude. Thus a capitalist base has various types of individuals. That is why
in capitalist society some people relentlessly fight against capitalism and vow to overthrow it.

In capitalist society the individual is simply a wage-earner and a machine of surplus value, i.e.,
surplus value-creating agency He sells his labour and in exchange of that gets an amount of wage
which just helps him to survive. The workers are forced to stay and comfort themselves at subsistence
level of wage.The greatest “achievement” of capitalism is that it has alienated and dehumanised
individual. On his labour the great citadel of wealth is built. He is destined to sacrifice.

Individual in capitalism is the victim of exploitation, misery suffering and degradation. He is put to all
sorts of subjection. He is supposed to have freedom, which is in fact, a false one. Economic slavery
makes freedom fully meaningless.

Absence of economic freedom abnegates the political freedom. The creative activity of the individual,
in capitalism, is retarded. So what is the way out? Socialism, Marx believes, is the only way of
emancipation.

It opens the floodgates of opportunities for the individual sufficient for the utilisation of creative
faculties which the individual possesses.

He gets back his worth Let us put the matter in the words of Kolakowski:

“Socialism was vastly to enlarge the sphere of creative activity outside the production process freeing
consciousness from mystification and social life from reified forces”.

Forces of production will be released from private control. The contradictions, characteristic features
of capitalist society, will cease to exist. Abolition of the antagonistic class society will radically
change the character of base and superstructure.

Man will no longer be subject of exploitation. Both alienation and dehumanisation will be buried in
oblivion. “Socialist production” observes Cliff Slaughter “will provide an entirely changed basis for
individual development. Social forces and cultural stimuli will come under individual’s control”.

From the above analysis of base and superstructure relation or interaction we conclude that Marx
makes a very important contribution to social philosophy. Many of the concepts or ideas of Marx may
be challenged or rejected but his in-depth analysis of base and superstructure has an everlasting value.

In every capitalist society base generally controls the superstructure and sometimes the superstructure
is found to influence the base. This view of Marx is found in many systems

Q1.b) Explain the major elements of social structure in Pakistani context

Major elements of the social structure of Pakistan

Major elements of the social structure of Pakistan center around family units. Berādarī is an important
element and refers to the organization of society along patrilineal lines. The eldest male in most
households holds the most influence. Women are usually kept in seclusion with exceptions among the
rural poor.

One the most notable features of Pakistan's social system is its inbuilt resistance to change. As
Pakistani society is based on a large profusion of tribes, each one steeped in patriarchal values, this
should come as no surprise. The fundamentally tribal nature of Pakistani society ensures that it
remains rigidly hierarchical, with considerable political, personal, and spiritual authority vested in
tribal chiefs, clan leaders, and religious leaders.
At the national political level, the ongoing existence of these social hierarchies and their deeply
entrenched power militate against the implementation of radical change, even in those areas such as
the tackling of corruption, in which there is a fair degree of consensus. Though Pakistan is formally a
democracy, the powerful influence of clans, tribes, and religious leaders acts to exclude the common
people and their democratically elected representatives from having any significant influence on the
operation of the political system.

In that sense, one could argue that Pakistan's is a traditional, conservative society with elements of a
modern political system grafted uncomfortably on top. These incompatible elements have generated
considerable tensions that show no signs of being addressed, let alone resolved, until and unless the
entrenched power of tribes, clans, and religious leaders is seriously challenged.

In Pakistan, society tends to be based on the patriarchal elements of extended family units and clans.
In many parts of the country, Pakistanis live in large, multigenerational familial households. The
eldest male of the household, be he grandfather, father, uncle, or the eldest brother, is usually in
charge and makes most of the significant decisions for the family as a whole.

Like in neighboring India, a social caste system exists in Pakistan. However, kinship and clan
membership take precedence over caste. Berādarī refers to this organization of society along
patrilineal lines and is extremely important in much of Pakistan. Many marriages occur within one's
own clan or berādarī.

The role of women in Pakistani society varies by social class. Among most wealthy and middle-class
families, adult women are kept in seclusion. This practice is known as purdah. Typically, these
women are only permitted outside of the home when chaperoned by a male relative and wearing face
coverings.

Poorer women in the agricultural sector actually tend to have more autonomy than their wealthier and
urban counterparts. These women do not practice purdah, as they are needed outside of the home
performing essential duties in the fields. Some wealthy and middle-class urban families have begun
adopting Western cultural elements and have relaxed elements of purdah.

ity and the adaptation of adult education to the needs of the target group.