In Balochistan, the government sector is the only remaining source of economic attainment, which also remains inaccessible without political achievement.
A political paradigm shift has caused the end of political nationalism in the last five years. However, the newly shaped multi-political setup remains democratic. The reason for this is that democracy is the only system that can tolerate, accommodate and adjust to politics.
In this election, nationalism — with its apparently democratic nature — has been shifting into a new paradigm, one where its democratic nature would remain sustained and its nationalistic approach would remain in the previous paradigm as a botched lesson from history.
Thus, in recent elections, nationalism would be counted as an “unnecessary entity that should be removed”. As we know that the paradigm shift is a process of progress; therefore, politics is in the process of progressing in Balochistan, because the canvas of politics is getting larger than nationalism. Nevertheless, this is the second dimension of the paradigm shift.
The first dimension of paradigm shift is the structure of life in Balochistan. Here, collective authority is shifting into individualism. However, individualism converts the basic structure from politic, as a collective traditional authority, into the economy.
The public does not consider a political party the platform to develop the area of civil rights. Instead, political parties would be considered the only medium to attain an economic association
As Karl Marx presumes, the economy is the basic structure of a modern society, and modernity guarantees individual freedom. This individual freedom is based on individual civil rights, which come from economic attainment; thus, it has become the basic structure.
This political paradigm shift is a highly accepted approach for the public because the public counts it as a medium through which it can build its association with the basic structure. On one hand, it develops an open political corner; on the other hand, this political corner remains devoid of any ideology.
However, political parties would become interest-oriented clubs, because the public does not consider the political party a platform to develop the area of civil rights. Instead, political parties would be considered the only medium to attain an economic association. Consequently, this economic associational approach leads the public towards the civil rights.
The local Baloch society is perceived to be traditional, like a container. It accommodated collective traditional authority (politics). When it got full, then a new container replaced it. Some previous things, i.e. traditional politics with its collective nature remained in the previous one but its political approach shifted into a new paradigm. This shift not only occurs to convert collectivism into individualism, but basic into superstructure. This process is a progress in modernity and it would always remain progressive.
In this so-called adopted modernity or novelty, every young Baloch individual wants to develop his civil rights through the maximization of his individual freedom because of the basic structure; thus, he does not have another option to get a situational political affiliation.
In this case, our political membership became interest oriented in its nature that converts political parties into political clubs, where everyone is trying to get a political affiliation for making a medium to gain “civil rights” based on the maximization of individual freedom.
The writer can be contacted at [email protected]
Published in Daily Times, July 3rd 2018.