Sociology: The Indoctrination Machine

The Chairman of China, Xi Jin Ping once said that, to foreigners, there is not one China, but a thousand different slices of China.  What a profound phrase! There are indeed many ways to look at society. One sees society through one's lens which has been shaped by one's values and beliefs.

Sociology is the study of society. Hence, in sociology, one of the subjects which I have studied, social theories are taught. There are many ways to look at society, and this is no cliche. Sometimes, what others interpret as a lack of something, may not be seen as an issue by another because the latter believes the lack is not a lack at all.

 For example, people in Asia do not talk about rights. Instead, these people talk about communalistic obligations. People in the West may see this a dangerous because it leads to entrenched discrimination because people are not able to fight for what they see as rights. However, people from communalistic societies could argue that  allowing people to fight for rights leads to unacceptable selfish behaviour and does not stop discrimination. Different social groups have a different framework of thinking, and hence a different social structure.

Sociology courses in Western universities are based on humanistic, rights-based framework. It is not an objective ideology that all must submit to, but a subjective one. It is a perspective. The dangerous thing about sociology courses is that lecturers are in a position to indoctrinate students with ideologies that are dangerous - ones that incite hatred against certain groups who are against the liberal regime, in the guise of tolerance. Tolerance, in which one must support certain minorities and hate those who are against them. This is the hidden agenda that infiltrates modern universities - the intolerance of tolerance.

A Counter Revolution against the Norm

American cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead once said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

Indeed, it is. However, whether the change is good or not is another matter. In a world that is becoming increasing feminist, The Antigones has started, not a movement, but a gathering of people to counter the increasing feminisation of the Europe, and the world at large. Some have labelled it an extremist group. Some  have expressed admiration for its courage to stand up for real womanhood which has been destroyed by radical feminist groups. Some have applauded it as the leader of an antifeminist counter-revolution.

Feminism has destroyed womanhood by telling women that they need to become like men or that women do not need men. It is based on the idea that women do not need men in the family, community or social life. It has failed to recognise that men and women are inherently different and that both have different gifts. Everyone has gifts that are given to them to serve others, not harm or hurt others. Individualistic ideologies, including feminism has conditioned society to think that help others is a sign of oppression.

The Antigones embodies real womanhood and femininity. It makes it clear that real womanhood is not about disempowering men. It is about empowering men. Only when men and women help each other will there be community. One's sexuality is a unique gift, not a curse. Feminism uses the historical injustices faced by women as a pretext to disempower men, leading to the breakdown of families and hence, community.

Watch the video message from The Antigones to Femen, a radical feminist group. 

Communalism is not Utilitarianism

Many people in the West believe that communalism is based on a utilitarian framework. Some even  believe that a communalistic society is a mere ideal that cannot work. What is meant by 'cannot work' needs to be carefully defined.

Communalism seeks to care for the needs of the community as a whole, and that no one or no group should only be looking after their own needs. Thus, community-oriented societies such as Asian societies tend to be against individualistic pursuits of pleasure and comfort. Goals such as working to contribute to the community, instead of having a career as a status symbol, and looking after family rather than just having it all as a sign of accomplishment are worthy of pursuing.

This is in stark contrast to the West where people must have a career to show how independent one is, or where a person who is unmarried, particularly a woman who is unmarried lacks something.

Utilitarianism is the idea that worthy goals or achievements should be maximised for the greater good. This, in effect, endorses the harm caused to certain groups or individuals for the good of the public. It may seem that this is communalistic, but this is in fact, anti-communalist, because communalism is the idea that all people should be cared for because all the equal. Communalism does not endorse majority groups harming minority groups, not minority groups harming majority groups.

What Individualism Is

The ideology of individualism is dominant over communalism in the West. Individualism is the idea that the individual need to look after oneself before others. Looking after oneself before others means to serve oneself, rather than others. In other words, the needs of community and family are placed after the self - they are of a lower status than the self. The needs of others are not as important and do not deserve any care, unless, of course, they can benefit the self.

Individualism is selfish. Although people need to look after themselves, the needs of others need to be cared for in pursuing one's interests. I am skeptical of charities, particularly the ones that seek to help only certain group of people gain their self-interests, as opposed to helping the community as a whole, such a humanitarian groups. Such charities claim that they have to do so, in order to care for the community. I do not agree with this claim as the different sections of the communities depend on each other. 

A community is a whole body made up of different parts with different functions. It is a lie that there is no such thing as society because we all depend on others achieve our interests and obtain our needs. 

The term 'charities; has been abused, especially by interest groups that campaign for the rights of one's own groups. These groups often seek rights without responsibility. They seems to care for the whole community by claiming that groups that oppose their views and actions are oppressing them. 

It is not that focusing on helping a certain group of people is wrong. It is that it is selfish to pursue one's own rights without caring for the needs of others. 

What Communalism Is

Communalism comes from the term 'community'. It is essentially about caring for the needs of the community as a whole rather than placing a focus on the needs (or wants) of the individual. Community is society that is made up of people who are inherently dependent on each other.

Dependence, in this context means that people need other people to get what they need or want. For example, an employer provides jobs, the government needs its servants for government to function effectively. No one is independent of other like an island, that is, no man or woman is an island. Every person has talents to contribute to the community and every person has boundaries. How people use their talents and accept their boundaries is what many struggle with, especially in our modern society.

Modern values teach people that independence and self-sufficiency make one successful. There is no such thing as a self-made person because every successful person (whatever successful means) depends on others who have helped them get there. No person is ever redundant. A person made be made redundant by a company or goverment body, but no person is redundant in terms of his or her existence. That a person can become redundant as a human is a lie, so don't believe it. Don't make yourself feel you need to be independent of others, because you need others to help, just like how others need you.

Every person has a purpose in life - a purpose that involves serving others, not serving oneself.

Communalism vs Individualism: How it is viewed in the West

Many people in the liberal West cringe at the term communalism. Many become worried about the rights of valued minorities, not unvalued minorities, believing that communalism is about maximising happinness for the greater good. I argue that it is not communalism, but individualism that harms society more. Communalism is often associated with socialism and communism. This is partially true, but communalism can be understood, not only in the political sense, but the social, cultural and moral sense.

Most Asian and African cultures are communalistic. There is a strong emphasis placed on family and community values. To many in the West, this communalistic system would lead to the marginalisation of minorities. However, the marginalisation of minorities also occur in individualistic societies, if not treated worse in individualistic societies.