CK KHKHANI :
I believe that simply labeling this phenomenon as modern slavery is not enough. We need to examine the basis of what we are calling slavery. If an educated person lives according to society's established standards, does that automatically prove that they are mentally enslaved? Or is it possible that they have understood, examined, and consciously accepted those standards because they serve their interests?
The real issue is that being part of an established system and being mentally enslaved by that system are two different things. A person can work, earn money, achieve social status, and still remain intellectually free in their beliefs, decisions, and values. Similarly, someone can rebel against the system and still remain its mental prisoner, because their entire identity is built around opposing it.
Furthermore, labeling highly educated people as mentally enslaved in general is a claim that requires evidence and reasoning. Simply observing that educated people pursue similar social goals does not prove that their thinking is slavish. Their decisions may be the result of social pressure, but it is also possible that they have reasonable justifications for pursuing those goals.
In my view, the real question is not whether a person lives within the system or outside it, but whether they have the ability to critically examine their own beliefs, desires, and goals. The measure of freedom is not merely what a person does, but also why they do it, and whether they are willing to change their reasoning in the light of evidence and rational argument.
Otherwise, one person may live within the modern system and still be intellectually free, while another may consider themselves rebellious, revolutionary, and independent-minded, yet remain enslaved by their own ego, fears, or another ideology.
2026-10-29 17:46:56