WE’VE all learned about Newton’s Third Law: every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
This law works well in a social setting, where actions trigger reactions.
Positive actions create positive reactions.
Wicked actions spread wickedness through society.
Societies fostering positive, thriving individuals equipped to curb surrounding evil ensure lasting peace.
Things crumble when people choose the opposite course of action.
Power-hungry individuals, lacking a sense of justice and social harmony, create exploitation and societal chaos.
This planet is home to two kinds of societies.
What makes the difference is how societies train their people.
It’s a multi-stage process.
Family upbringing involves parents raising their children.
The family environment is the source of a child’s values.
An environment of growth, positivity and tolerance encourages children to behave similarly.
Nevertheless, a hostile environment breeding hatred, envy and injustice can instill these same traits in children as they grow into adults.
To a great extent, a good education can convert a conservative mindset into a progressive one.
However, substandard education restricts advancement and reproduces inherited traits.
When societies are built on democratic values—justice, fairness and decentralized power—their citizens thrive and enjoy secure lives and property.
These societies create institutions dedicated to public service that are independent and unbiased.
Peaceful coexistence leads to the normalization of social, political and economic growth.
This societal structure fosters growth and prosperity for all, ensuring equal opportunities.
Alternatively, disruption of social evolution from the family unit to societal transformation leads to societal breakdown and conflict.
Society descends into chaos.
This is a consequence of inadequate parenting that fails to foster positivity in children.
Children lacking instruction in justice, respect for others, optimism, community benefit and collective good grow into adults with negative personality traits.
To make matters worse, the flawed education system cannot create equally competent people.
The system’s failure lies in not teaching kids that hatred, envy, jealousy and injustice are self-destructive.
A flawed education system breeds a mindset focused on achieving fame, power and wealth by any means necessary.
This results in their commission of crimes and offenses.
People, while rightfully seeking opportunities, face restricted prospects due to a societal structure shaped by radical and regressive mindsets.
This creates societal conflict, resulting in exploitation and reduced productivity for citizens.
The kind of society we have reflects the kind of people we are.
Society’s members create its political, social and economic systems.
The life path of many is altered by a progressive politician with a constructive upbringing.
Such a leader values justice, equality, parity, transparency and fairness in governance.
Leaders like that build institutions that serve the public, uphold the rule of law, prioritize citizen well-being and minimize loopholes in governance.
This leads to improvements in education, healthcare and infrastructure.
When people feel secure, the economy thrives.
Fair chances in these societies boost competition and attract global investment.
Decentralized power creates unity despite diversity.
The internal strength of such societies makes them virtually invincible.
Such societies, thriving on innovation and creativity, dominate the global economic, political and social landscapes.
In contrast, exploitative leaders, a product of broken families and societies, seize power at others’ expense, contradicting the principle of shared leadership.
This makes government departments regressive and exploitative institutions.
In exploitative societies, the struggle for power, wealth and resources is fuelled by a desire to exploit others.
In such a society, social justice is rejected and nepotism and favouritism become the norm.
The system allows incompetent individuals to lead social institutions due to the extreme opposition and victimization of capable people.
In such a society, freedom of speech is lost and discussions on human rights are censored.
Those in power subject people to lives of hardship and suffering.
Society is controlled by those uninterested in inclusivity, leaving the people subject to their rule.
Such societies use democracy to empower corrupt individuals.
Their economic, social and political systems fail, making them dependent on foreign nations.
Education, health and public welfare face deterioration, leading to widespread economic, social and political hardship.
In such societies, even the most talented and ambitious individuals are oppressed, forcing them to either emigrate or surrender their fight for change.
These two types of societies have contrasting destinies.
Progressive societies thrive while regressive ones decline.
This division of the world into developed and developing nations is the result of that.
Developed and developing nations have vastly different social structures.
Governmental roles and institutional capacities are opposed.
Thus, what factors shape societal change and its future?
It is the type of people societies cultivate and create.
Leaders, followers and the public must recognize that only a just and equitable system, ensuring equal opportunities for all, can create a sustainable society.
Systems benefiting only a few, while repressing and exploiting the many, are inherently unstable and destined to fail.
Nations rise or fall based on how families raise children and how social institutions nurture individuals.
The concept of a world with equal treatment for all is utopian only for this reason.
Even developed societies are threatened by the changes of the modern era.
Populism and intolerance toward different cultures and religions are growing in developed nations.
The viability of states and countries is linked to accepting our shared planet and its resources.
Our time here is brief; we’re all becoming history soon.
We must teach our children empathy and the humanistic values of community.
Omission will result in leaders, people and societies that are destructive to themselves and the world.
—The writer is an educationist and a Commoner from 44th Common, based in Sargodha. (waqarhassancsp@gmail.com)
