The Devil of Economic Fundamentalism Read online

women (polygamy) would be socially and medically disastrous; for it would not fix the identity of the parents and would result in a tremendous increase in sex-transmitted diseases.

  While polygamy continued to become rarer, promiscuity continued to become commoner. Arguments were advanced: if man can have several wives, why should women not be allowed to have several husbands? The facts were conveniently forgotten. Biologically speaking, man has the potential of impregnating as many women as he can engage with in physical relationship. He can father children from innumerable women at almost the same time. Woman cannot have more than a child at one time for at least a period of one year; if she actively breastfeeds her child the gap tends to be much longer, as long as three years. But what man can do in biological terms, he cannot justify in social terms if he has any obligations towards the women he is having sex with. Furthermore, the demographic composition does not allow such vagrancies as the number of men and women are almost equal in society. Women outnumber men only by an extremely thin margin, and this margin is slightly higher in terms of marriage seekers. Islamic position, which makes promiscuity punishable under law but allows a certain degree of polygamy, is consistent with the demographic, social and medical realties. This kind of system successfully acts as an insurmountable barrier between sex-transmitted infections and human bodies.

  Polygamy is normally not associated with the sexually transmitted diseases as is the case with promiscuity. The simple reason is that unlike in promiscuity where both men and women have several relationships, mostly casual, in polygamy, man has long-term relations with a few women, which in most cases is limited to two rarely reaching a maximum of four, none of whom has relations with any other man. It follows that whereas polygamy is self-limiting and minimally hazardous in medical terms, promiscuity is all-enveloping and enormously dangerous in terms of risks to health. Further, this is practically impossible for a significant minority to become polygamous, as the demography does not allow it, but it is a distinct possibility that the majority of the population becomes promiscuous. To be precise, polygamy is a self-limiting aberration; promiscuity is an all-enveloping monster. Only a few can practise polygamy because of the demographic unavailability of women if a sizeable percentage wants it; but promiscuity can go on entrapping almost everybody. This has in fact become the truth in a large number of societies that do not put any restrictions on free mixing of men and women. Wherever promiscuity is high, the incidence of sex transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS is significantly high. The safe sex measures have only a limited role in protection against these diseases. While promiscuity provides a natural habitat for these infections, polygamy, even if it becomes widespread, would play minimal role in the spread. The demographic and social realities however would almost always restrict the prevalence of polygamous relationships except when due to some reason the balance markedly tilts in favour of women. In such instances, polygamy would provide the majority of women an opportunity to enjoy their social, sexual and reproductive rights.

  The decreasing popularity of marriages and the increasing sexual liberty however posed certain intricate problems. There always hovered over the heads of women the threat of pregnancy. Unless this was nullified, women would resist sexual advances. The guidance was sought from the medical science, which came to their rescue with the idea of condoms. A number of other contraceptive devices were developed and became instantly popular. Women had practically no problem in lying with friends of their choice. But no contraceptive method was absolutely free from failure. Women would often conceive in spite of them. This necessitated legalisation of abortion that was promptly done-- in the name of yet another right, the productive right of Women. Abortion clinics boomed. Artificially induced miscarriages were not however medically advisable in every case; women might report late or might be physically too weak to withstand the associated risks. Occasionally, the mother inside woman would overwhelm her, and she would not let her child be slaughtered by the obstetrician. But it was not easy for a woman to introduce in society a child whose father was unknown. Woman would find herself facing a gruelling ordeal. Her plight was sought to be overcome by glorifying the unwed mothers. To have a baby without undergoing the “travails” of marriage was declared a historical advance in the reproductive rights of women. It hardly bothered them that women who used to share the onus of grooming their children with their husbands would now have to perform the onerous task all alone and that the children would be deprived, perhaps forever, of the affection of their fathers so essential for their normal healthy growth. But the economic fundamentalists had nothing to do with the children and old women because they were less amenable to their business prospects. All they could do for their welfare was the offer of geriatric asylums for the old and baby homes for the children--these too of course would fetch them some money.

  The fecundity of sex-market had another irritant that unexpected­ly hit it. The tempest of promiscuity and sexual aberrations like homosexuality resulted in the appearance of several serious ailments. The types of such diseases, the severity of their manifestations and the number of patients acquiring these infec­tions exhibited proportionate growth. While the diseases like Gonorrhoea, Chancroid, Lymphogranuloma venereum and Herpes simplex caused great physical discomforts, Syphilis proved to be a killer. Its complications like Neurosyphilis were severely inca­pacitating and the cardiovascular lesions, more often than not resulted in death. The unavailability of treatment threatened the survival of sex-industry. If it continued to kill or incapacitate people they would be compelled to change their sexual attitudes. The merchants had sleepless nights. The medical sci­ence once again came to their rescue. When penicillin was discov­ered and was found extremely effective against Treponeme palli­duim, the bacteria causing Syphilis, they heaved a sigh of relief. It transformed into jubilation at the prospects of an unprecedented success in the sex-market. The time was ideal to begin rejuvenated efforts in that direction. The outcome of these efforts was inception of pornography in Scandinavian coun­tries. Within a few years, it engulfed the whole West. Pornography had dual impact; it became a big business and it would also infuse the watchers with the sexual current who would then, in order to satiate their inflamed passions, throng the brothels or with their girl friends the hotels.

  To meet the never-ending demands, the merchants were always ready to offer novelties to the customers. In order to compete with one another and to further swell their coffers, they began to popu­larise sexual perversions. Oral sex, mass sex, sadism and masochism became common. The unavailability of women in sufficient numbers was a problem. In addition, they noticed homosexual tendencies in some persons. They realise its potential in becoming a big addictions and therefore the potential industry. Homosexuality was therefore introduced. It is not that sodomy did not exist before in his­tory. Several religious scriptures have given grim accounts of how the citizens of the twin cities of Gomorrah and Sodom had become addicts of rectal sex. So prevalent it had in fact become that there were “not even ten righteous persons left in the city” with straight inclinations. (Bible) The twin cities were ultimately 'stoned to death' by way of a tempestuous rain of Sulphur stones from the sky. It is a known fact that homosexuality is still very much there in most of the countries. According to some estimates, 5-10% of males may be having such inclinations. But there is a basic difference bet­ween homosexuality rampant in the West and the one in some other coun­tries. In the Islamic and majority of the Asian countries, homo­sexuality is considered a big sin, even by those who practise it. There is no question at all of glorifying or justifying it and the gays’ associations have only recently been making clandestine appearance in some metropolitan and cosmopolitan cities. In Western countries, on the other hand, it has turned commercial. It is to facilitate business that strong gay movements have been organised, and under their pressure, one government after the other has legalised it. The gay clubs and literature are now booming in almost every city of the Western world. Furthermore,
while in Asian countries homosexuality is not usually isolated with most homosexuals also having heterosexual liaisons, in the West, organised gay campaigns have led to exclusive homosexuality. Women too have not remained far behind and lesbianism is also on the increase. The other reasons for giving huge publicity to the gay movements are that it would help in controlling population that occupies a central place in the strategy of the economic fundamentalists and would also accelerate the disintegration of family system.

  The merchants of vices have developed a clear strategy to globalise the vices. The first step in the strategy is Normalization, the process by which they seek to make a habit or practice look normal and acceptable. They campaign that there is nothing abnormal about it as a sizeable section feels inclined to engage in them and they cannot be denied freedom of choice. They also try to make it appear as natural and congenital. Institutionalisation is the second step with the emergence of certain organisations campaigning