EDITORIALS & ARTICLES
Is humanity at the mercy of Nature, Science and Technology? Comment in the light of pandemic situation. (UPSC CSE Mains 2020 - Sociology, Paper 1)
- Humanity has to develop from natural resources. Not from material resources. The global pandemic reminds us of our old culture and civilization. Nature has been worshipped in Indian culture. Nature gives life. Human beings should not play with things provided by nature.
- If there can be any enduring takeaway from the social and economic cost imposed by COVID-19, it must be that our much-vaunted modern and technologically sophisticated society can be humbled by nature operating at its most microscopic scale. At this scale, the speed of replication and proliferation is astounding and, within a few weeks from its first manifestation, the virus has brought a globally connected economy to a standstill, and endangered the lives of total strangers across all continents.
- There is no doubt progress in science and technology has served humanity well over centuries and they will continue to be called upon to serve society for centuries to come. What we will need, however, is an outlook that seeks to harness our knowledge of science to work in harmony with nature, rather than attempt to bulldoze it.
- Nature seems to expect of us a certain economy of consumption and gentleness of impact. A human society that is sympathetic to and in harmony with our environment, and where human beings listen to and nurture their selves, may be an enduring recipe for a safer future. India has a long heritage of nurturing one’s inner self — yoga and meditation have been adopted globally as secular exercises for a more robust constitution. India also has a long tradition of dealing with frugality as a virtue and can easily relate to what in ancient Greece was revered as gaia — dealing with the earth as our mother. These can be timeless lessons as human society seeks closer harmony with nature, to take us on to a safer trajectory in a post COVID-19 world.
- Living sustainably in harmony with nature also requires the active participation and engagement of various stakeholders, including Government, NGO''s, Industry and the community.
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