http://theactivist.org/blog/a-second-look-at-slumdog-millionaire // Culture. Consciousness. Critical Thought. // Tue, 07 Feb 2012 06:43:24 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://theactivist.org/blog/a-second-look-at-slumdog-millionaire/comment-page-1#comment-74936 Ankur Patel Wed, 09 Jun 2010 01:55:35 +0000 http://theactivist.org/blog/a-second-look-at-slumdog-millionaire#comment-74936 I would say, as an anarchist, that many people in rural and poor urban India have turned to libertarian socialism because of their mistrust of "socialist" government (the central-planning Nehru monarchy) and nationalistic neo-liberalism (the BJP). They know that fighting against each other is simply not an option. Where my mom grew up, in a small rural village in the state of Gujarat, they were almost completely self-reliant, farmers helped each other during droughts and provided planting advice, and the men (yes, it was conservative) elected people they knew not only as friends, but as people who had the experience and education necessary to advise (not rule) them (my grandfather was one such man). There was no crime, no drugs, alcoholism etc. It certainly had problems like lack of technology (i visited in November, and people still do not have gas stoves or know about crop rotation, although farming is organic). They did this without reading Bakunin, Marx, Tolstoy etc. This style of living was (and in many rural villages, is) dominant in rural villages. The rural people have a great resourcefulness and will to survive. Slumdog accurately highlighted the poverty in urban India, but not how people overcome it (although it should be noted that cooperative behavior is not as powerful in urban India). I would say, as an anarchist, that many people in rural and poor urban India have turned to libertarian socialism because of their mistrust of “socialist” government (the central-planning Nehru monarchy) and nationalistic neo-liberalism (the BJP). They know that fighting against each other is simply not an option. Where my mom grew up, in a small rural village in the state of Gujarat, they were almost completely self-reliant, farmers helped each other during droughts and provided planting advice, and the men (yes, it was conservative) elected people they knew not only as friends, but as people who had the experience and education necessary to advise (not rule) them (my grandfather was one such man). There was no crime, no drugs, alcoholism etc. It certainly had problems like lack of technology (i visited in November, and people still do not have gas stoves or know about crop rotation, although farming is organic). They did this without reading Bakunin, Marx, Tolstoy etc. This style of living was (and in many rural villages, is) dominant in rural villages. The rural people have a great resourcefulness and will to survive. Slumdog accurately highlighted the poverty in urban India, but not how people overcome it (although it should be noted that cooperative behavior is not as powerful in urban India).

]]>