Cultural Exploitation through Pseudo-Culture

Now, there is another aspect: culture. As you know, the subtler andsweeter expressions of human life are generally termed "culture".Suppose someone offers you food: you may eat without washing your handsand feet, or you may eat after washing thoroughly. The refined mannerof eating in a hygienic way is called the "culture of eating", whilethose activities expressing the subtler and sweeter aspects of life arecalled "culture" in a general sense.

Human culture is one, though there are some local variations in itsexpression. But a particular group which is motivated bysocio-sentiment to exploit others, tries to destroy the local culturalexpressions of other groups. It forcibly imposes its language, dressand ideas on other groups, and thus paves the way for exploitation byparalysing those people psychologically. This is how people guided bysocio-sentiment perpetuate exploitation in cultural life.

This is occurring throughout the world. Is it not your noble duty tosave these simple and persecuted people from exploitation? Certainly itis. Those of you who did not understand this before, now do understandit clearly; or you will come to understand it later from others. Humanbeings must be saved. Why should innocent people be forced to live likesacrificial lambs? This must not be tolerated.

Suppose a particular group has a high standard of arts (theatre,cinema, etc.), but the number of rich people in that group iscomparatively few. The culture of another group, on the other hand, isvery undeveloped, but among them there is a greater number of wealthypeople. Now, the latter group wants to maintain its exploitation overthe group that has a more developed cultural heritage, because one waythat psycho-economic exploitation can paralyse people in the psychicsphere is cultural exploitation -- to impose vulgar cinemas and dramasupon those good people.

As you know, the mind has a natural tendency to degrade itself; itflows more easily downwards than upwards. So if some people, by virtueof their wealth, impose vulgar cinemas and dramas on others, this willbreak the latters' spines and they will become paralysed. And thoseparalysed, spineless people will thenceforth never be able to standunitedly against cultural or any other kind of exploitation. They willnever be able to do so, because mentally they will be completely dead-- their capacity to raise their heads in protest will have beencrushed forever. How can they raise their heads again?

This exploitation in the cultural sphere is accomplished by thepropagation of pseudo-culture. Every honest, virtuous, rational personmust fight against this pseudo-culture, and inspire others to do thesame. If this is not done, the future of humanity will be sealed. It isproper for human beings to struggle for political freedom, for socialemancipation; but if their cultural backbone is broken, then all theirstruggles will end in nothing -- like offering ghee into a fire thathas died out.

If one's spine is shattered, it is impossible to hold one's head erect.Can those whose necks and backs are crushed under the weight of

pseudo-culture, be expected to hold their heads high in any sphere oflife? Hence it is the bounden duty of every rational person to saveinnocent people from pseudo-culture.

P R Sarkar21 March 1982, CalcuttaTHE LIBERATION OF INTELLECTDISCOURSE 7EXPLOITATION AND PSEUDO-CULTURE