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Gary Tejakusuma
Head of Investment at Manulife Indonesia (PT Asuransi Jiwa Manulife Indonesia)
Inequality strikes back. And it strikes harder than before. Should “Social Democratic Age – First Gilded Age (Belle Epoque)” pattern be regarded as the most extreme inequality period in the world, then our current world is not completely driven. We are going there and we are going at a faster pace. One consider this as a residual of capitalism yet another one claim it as a necessary mean towards natural selection of human nature. Composed by social, income, and wealth disparity, inequality would end at its peak on power disparity. Such issues are prominent enough to summon an event which levels out the platform into ground-zero; an event we all known as war.
Started as gender differences, it evolved into opportunity differences, then revolved into income disparity, yet transformed towards wealth inequality, and before we knew it altered to religion variances. The way to start a life is beyond the scope of any intervention, but shaping the evolution process by spreading out opportunities to highest number of lives should create chances to avoid disparity. Not one country or party be endorsed to have ruled another country or party; preventing one country or party to have absolute power is essential in clearing out differences. The other way around by strengthening weaker links should emerge another party to contest power status-quo; a contestation which is deemed necessary to spread the power around.
A larger scope can be revealed on the disparity between northern parts of the world with southern parts of the world. Different angle would produce a disparity between white Caucasian and colored non-Caucasian. Ones who employ Capitalism and those who against Capitalism; finding a balance between the two would produce another group (or party) that recreates another disparity. The prolific answer may yet be produced, however perspective on how should we embrace differences, disparities, and inequalities can always be formed. A perception of love, a ray of hope, and a perspective of faith.
It is a challenge as well in Indonesia, where wealth and income disparities are coupled with religion variances. A double edged sword which continuously sharpened from time-to-time, waiting its era to be propounded as an Excalibur of disparity; where it may as well be melted and molded into a strong shield to embrace any differences. This blacksmith role is the right form of role on how ones can pursue differences as strength and opportunity rather than as weakness and threat. Ways of forging negative differences into positive differential are best conveyed within learning period and learning environment. The creation of learning platform which forging any differences into a better structured foundation will be the essence of a country going forward. One may need to have it all (being a philosopher, an educator, and a policy-maker) to create such platform.
A different perspective on Aristotle quote, we cant have equal treatment for inequality, unequal efforts are necessary for inequality.