Habermas

"Democratic governance rests on the capacity of and opportunity for citizens to engage in enlightened debate". Such engagement needs to happen in an open forum, i.e. a public sphere where the voices of everybody in a democracy can be heard. It is these voices that will ultimately determine how society is driven, how new leadership is elected and how democracy progresses.

I find this to be a fair, though somewhat utopian sentiment. If one observes general elections in India, I would conclude (as a lay person) that the debates about the direction of the country and the world's largest democracy are carried out in the popular (read, cable) media and newspapers, which are read by and participated in by the nation's educated classes. Somehow, the nation's largest section of population that largely lives in the villages and depends on farming for sustenance have not been huge participants of the debate, except perhaps at the regional level. Their needs are not typically addressed in or out of the media, perhaps the reason why India has historically been a developing, rather than a developed country. And yet, the most recent general election was decided based on these marginalized people who live in the villages and countryside, rather than the educated middle classes you strayed from their responsibility to vote.

Some places make progress because of the principles of democratic participation and debate. Others apparently progress in spite of them.

One Dimensional Man

Its only since I've moved to New York that I have heard the word NEED used in more places and by more people than it really should be. I mean, how many people really NEED and iPod versus WANT an iPod. Sure, there are those of us straphangers, for example, who could do with some personal entertainment on the train. But let's face it, all of us have lived in times when an iPod (or even a WalkMan) wasn't exactly commonplace. And yet, for years and generations, people have continued to commute to and from work and class without complaining so much. Yes, I know, I rant sometimes. Companies continue to sell us the things they tell us we should be aspiring for. And the more we buy, the bigger and better the things we dream of owning...and the bigger the crater in our wallets.

For several years now, I have dreamed of being debt free for at least a day in my life (and I expect that day to arrive in the next couple of years), where I would dance in the streets (hey, its NY, who would notice?). I expect it is the closest I would get to Nirvana before the circle of debt begins all over again and I become a slave to the economy and its many upheavals once again.