Most, if not all, of the injustice done in this world is done at the hand of administrators - the so called 'cogs in the wheel'. Human beings, on the larger part, have a natural tendency to avoid hurting another being just for the whim. If one's actions evince clear discomfort in somebody, we take steps to make amends. However, the sheer scale of injustice around us shows that despite our best intentions, we have not been able to stop injustice as a species. May be the reason lies with the fact that we rely on administration.
Firstly, administration has the effect of separating the decision making from the execution. In bureaucratic organizations,with multiple levels of hierarchy, a vast chasm often exists between the person who signs the paper and the person who takes the action. When coupled with the fact that the person receiving the orders has to obey them completely, on the pain of severe disciplinary action if not anything else, it creates some interesting situations. There may be some error of grammar, or meaning in the orders, leading to absurd actions being taken at the ground level. There may be conflicting orders within the same letter, or between two letters from the same office. This can happen when the person signing the first letter is different from the second, because of a transfer. It may often happen that some order, framed and signed on whim by someone higher up ( or transcribed wrongly by someone middle up), who has long since been transferred,( or has retired, or has been dead and buried), is still in force, and is making life hell for all at the receiving end, simply because there is no concept of feedback, and no one has asked for the repeal. This can give rise to 'quaint' traditions - 'quaint' for those who are not at the receiving end. The machine rolls on, creaking and chattering, but the operator is in the soundproof cab. Sample this joke:
A new monk arrives at the monastery. He is assigned to help the other monks in copying the old texts by hand. He notices, however, that they are copying copies, and not the original books.
So, the new monk goes to the head monk to ask him about this. He points out that if there was an error in the first copy, that error would be continued in all of the other copies. The head monk says, "We have been copying from the copies for centuries, but you make a good point, my son."
So, he goes down into the cellar with one of the copies to check it against the original. Hours later, nobody has seen him. So, one of the monks goes downstairs to look for him. He hears sobbing coming from the back of the cellar and finds the old monk leaning over one of the original books crying. He asks what's wrong.
"The word is 'celebrate', not 'celibate'," says the old monk with tears in his eyes.
Secondly, their is a tendency of obedience of orders in us humans. When we receive the orders of someone socially expected to order us, we tend to obey. Often there are rules and strictures to enforce obedience, but as the famous Milgram experiments showed, they are largely unnecessary. Ordinary people drafted into the experiment were willing to give 440 volts of electric shock to helpless 'subjects', simply because they were ordered to do so. In our daily lives, we see normal, caring human beings carrying out all manners of torture, simply empowered by a phone call or a scrap of paper.
In the Nuremberg war crimes trails, most German officials cited 'following the orders' as a reason behind their unspeakable deeds. That did not cut the ice with the jury, and all were punished. However, if all the injustice is done mechanically by us, is it right to punish someone for actions which were not done out of their free will?
In my most recent 'prisoners and guards' scenario, I have noticed one thing - whenever torture and injustice is being carried out by the administration, there are two almost distinct group of ground level perpetrators - those who are apologetic and restless, but are constrained to do so, and those, who are doing it with relish. Nail the latter; find out the one who is adding his own inventiveness to the mix, who is doing more than required. Just nail that vermin.
Firstly, administration has the effect of separating the decision making from the execution. In bureaucratic organizations,with multiple levels of hierarchy, a vast chasm often exists between the person who signs the paper and the person who takes the action. When coupled with the fact that the person receiving the orders has to obey them completely, on the pain of severe disciplinary action if not anything else, it creates some interesting situations. There may be some error of grammar, or meaning in the orders, leading to absurd actions being taken at the ground level. There may be conflicting orders within the same letter, or between two letters from the same office. This can happen when the person signing the first letter is different from the second, because of a transfer. It may often happen that some order, framed and signed on whim by someone higher up ( or transcribed wrongly by someone middle up), who has long since been transferred,( or has retired, or has been dead and buried), is still in force, and is making life hell for all at the receiving end, simply because there is no concept of feedback, and no one has asked for the repeal. This can give rise to 'quaint' traditions - 'quaint' for those who are not at the receiving end. The machine rolls on, creaking and chattering, but the operator is in the soundproof cab. Sample this joke:
A new monk arrives at the monastery. He is assigned to help the other monks in copying the old texts by hand. He notices, however, that they are copying copies, and not the original books.
So, the new monk goes to the head monk to ask him about this. He points out that if there was an error in the first copy, that error would be continued in all of the other copies. The head monk says, "We have been copying from the copies for centuries, but you make a good point, my son."
So, he goes down into the cellar with one of the copies to check it against the original. Hours later, nobody has seen him. So, one of the monks goes downstairs to look for him. He hears sobbing coming from the back of the cellar and finds the old monk leaning over one of the original books crying. He asks what's wrong.
"The word is 'celebrate', not 'celibate'," says the old monk with tears in his eyes.
Secondly, their is a tendency of obedience of orders in us humans. When we receive the orders of someone socially expected to order us, we tend to obey. Often there are rules and strictures to enforce obedience, but as the famous Milgram experiments showed, they are largely unnecessary. Ordinary people drafted into the experiment were willing to give 440 volts of electric shock to helpless 'subjects', simply because they were ordered to do so. In our daily lives, we see normal, caring human beings carrying out all manners of torture, simply empowered by a phone call or a scrap of paper.
In the Nuremberg war crimes trails, most German officials cited 'following the orders' as a reason behind their unspeakable deeds. That did not cut the ice with the jury, and all were punished. However, if all the injustice is done mechanically by us, is it right to punish someone for actions which were not done out of their free will?
In my most recent 'prisoners and guards' scenario, I have noticed one thing - whenever torture and injustice is being carried out by the administration, there are two almost distinct group of ground level perpetrators - those who are apologetic and restless, but are constrained to do so, and those, who are doing it with relish. Nail the latter; find out the one who is adding his own inventiveness to the mix, who is doing more than required. Just nail that vermin.
1 comment:
hmmmmm
There have been a constant nature of few of the sub continental mindsets who have been trying to make the people suffer from myopia blurring their image of the long time goals.
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