Reasoning about reason

If unrest and demonstrations are anything to go by, there is profound disaffection among citizens about the democracies they are part of. Failure of neo-liberalism to provide an alternative has created further distress among the public. Neither have institutions been able to read reason for public anguish nor have the state created space for public reason in influencing public policy. The dozen essays written over past two decades by Harvard University Professor Sheila Jasanoff conclude that acknowledging public reason can shed surprisingly clear light on a world in turmoil.

Without doubt, the essays put together in the volume are work in immense scholarship. Picking on scientific controversies from Germany, England, the US and India, ranging from mad cow scare to silicone gel breast transplant, Jasanoff creates a mosaic of scientific controversies wherein interplay between science and public reasoning had led to influencing state policies to some extent. Yet, the power of words to compel action has remained a subject for philosophical and political analysis from Plato down to modern times. It is no wonder, therefore, that in majority of instances reason is achieved, not attained.

One reason why reason is not treated as a practice has to do with its implications on re-visioning democracy. The entrenched notion with which democracies have been governed all across, reason viewed as a social practice only undermines powers that be. Not surprising, therefore, that in a functioning democracy there is lack of systematic correspondence between what is offered as public justification and what actually gets acknowledged by the citizens. To overcome this mistrust, Jasanoff offers public reason as a response to the problem of trust in a society that is besieged with technological uncertainty, information excess and proliferating expertise.

In an era when modern governments have come to be regarded as oppressive and intrusive, excluding knowledge and perspectives of the public has only added to their woes. It is now widely reasoned that increased participation and interactive knowledge-making alone can improve accountability and alleviate democracy's discontents....Link

Science and Public Reason
by Sheila Jasanoff
Routledge, London
290 pages, US $ 145

The idea of Wal-Mart

There is an idea of Walmart that we all have dreamt about and then there is Walmart that we seemingly dread. Between dream and reality there is swathe of controversies that reach people’s doorsteps much before the retail store opens in any locality. The world shares a love-hate relationship with the biggest retail chain, and yet it keeps on going and growing.

Ironically, the retail chain store has been opposed tooth and nail in the country of its origin. Across the US, communities have fought their way to resist the opening of Walmart store in their neighborhood. Citizens have opposed the sprawl of Walmart stores for two compelling reasons: its negative impact on local economy and its adverse influence on their quality of life. Al Norman, who has been on the forefront of anti-sprawl activism and is the founder of the organization Sprawl-Busters, has chronicled the vulnerability of the retail major to community backlash in several cities in the US.

In India, the government is hoping to bail out a stressed economy through foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail. Against available international evidence to the contrary, the government has made audacious claims that 'retail therapy' will fix the unemployment crises by generating over 100 million jobs. Hidden beneath such tall promises, Norman elucidates, are hidden costs that will eventually get borne by the communities only. With Walmart having announced its plan to fan across the country within a year’s time, it is for the communities to see the dark side of growth behind the gloss.

Stories of resistance in the book have clearly observed that educated and activated consumers remain a dispersed force to begin with. Simply put, they view themselves as 'beneficiaries' first. It is only when they view the flip side of growth that they realise that 'if you don't define growth, it will define you'. It is an inspiring book that details out how community interests must be kept safe with campaigns that can go the distance. The longer the anti-sprawl campaign lasts its message gets retained by the community that much longer. The Indian edition is a timely publication of Al Norman's work, a must read for those who are yet to make up their mind on the market-made calamity that, in the name of growth, will soon be upon the consumers and the communities alike....Link

Slam-dunking Walmart
by Al Norman
Banyan Tree, Indore
280 pages, Rs.400