Gara-gara

"A wise word is not anyone's personal property. Words of wisdom are not merely uttered by only the wise or those who have titles before or after their names. Every man has his own way and fashion to express his feeling. Some give it straightforward, others use parables to convey their argument or message effectively and in a better way to the listeners," the Moon opened a case upon conveying Basmalah and Salaam.

"The Wayang Universe most often uses parables. Not surprising, because the image of wayang is very down to earth and unique, appealing to the audience.

So, it was once told, the whole world was in complete darkness, the sea was stirred, the waves were as high as mountains, rising over the land. The oceans became dry so that all fishes and all inhabitants of the oceans were stung by the heat of the sun; unable to endure the pain, lost of shelter. An all-powerful earthquake, seven times a day, non-stop, mountains erupt, spewing lava, causing landslides, like the earth breaking at once, because of the magnitude and severity of the earthquake.

Sea water penetrated the land as if it would drown the entire earth's surface. The ocean waves hit the shore, rolling and sweeping away what they found, destroying what was on land. Disasters and calamities raged, so that, both all the birds in the sky and the animals on land, all suffered greatly because they couldn't find some food to eat. Dead, crushed, melted, dry, arid, barren, extinct all flora. The land becomes arid, even gaping into places and hiding places for venomous animals. Wild animals that inhabit the forest, run helter-skelter into the villages, so that the villagers became anxious and sad, gripped by unspeakable fear.

As dawn approached, the world became increasingly haunted, black clouds hung over the horizon, pitch black, and there was a loud screech like the roar of a lion and the laughter of a savage dragon. Really, the atmosphere was eerie in the dark. Lightning strikes, hurricanes, tempests arise: storms, tangles incite. Lightning creaked, thunder rumbled, one after another, clashed and struck. Hurricane was getting more and more furious, frightening like a power that rolled up and melt the earth. All men shocked and confused, seeking refuge in this chaos, calamity and commotion, each one of them scrambling, fleeing for safety.

Rishis were helpless, unable to chant, unable to do meditation, all were affected by disasters, even the mind became confused, they cried out, 'This is a sign of a time changed, this is a change from pathet 6 to pathet 9, this is a result of a cause, this is Gara-gara!'

They then sought refuge with the king, but the king himself was deeply saddened by the calamity and all the disasters befell the country. Disease outbreaks were rampant, plant pests attacked more ferociously, almost no plants lived, so there was a danger of starvation due to lack of food. The king had lost hope, he immediately prayed to the gods for help to immediately freed the world from riots and were willing to eliminate Gara-gara.

The gods became confused. Even though death could not reach their heads, but confusion gripped their feelings, they could only said, 'Why do all these happen?' So, with sadness and compassion, they descended on the earth, trying to help honest and pious people. But because Gara-gara didn't want to stop, it even peaked. It was so great and the enormity of calamity was rampant, so that it was able to reach and destroyed Suralaya. Balai Marcukunda was shaken, Lembu Andini's horn cracked. Naga Anantaboga's tail won't stop waging.

Selamatangkep Gate broke and collapsed because of it. Candradimuka Crater stirred, boiled, spewed lava, a flood of hot lava mixed with mud hit and run into Kahyangan so that the whole heaven was shattered. Widadaras and widadaris [nymphs], dewas and dewis [gods and goddesses], in a commotion for protection, took refuge to Sang Hyang Rudrapati.

But something strange happened. In the midst of the riots and calamity, there were two young dwarfs, having fun playing without noticing the commotion going on. One carried a three-pit coconut shell, as a place for food, and curtly he acted as if he was brave and able to dry up the waters of the ocean. Another one, holding a stick broom, and with a vengeance he acted as if he was capable of driving the wind and sweeping away the whole world. For a moment, when the two faced each other, they fought for the truth, each seeking his own justification, in such a way as to add to the enormity of Gara-gara.

After peaking, Gara-gara subsided. Then, arised a ray of reddish violet, which was majestic and sacred. Parallel to the disappearance of light, then on the eastern horizon appeared Insan Kamil, a human god. He stood like a stone stele, sits like a dune by the sea. He didn't move an inch. O, who is he? He who looked like a nyiru [rice sieve], rounded emitting light like the full moon? It's all vague. Could't be called a man because he had curvaceous breasts like a woman. Nor can he be said to be a woman, because his hair was curled like a real man. It's very difficult to describe. That was Kyai Lurah Badranaya a.k.a Sang Hyang Asmarasanta a.k.a Kyai Semar a.k.a Sang Hyang Ismaya. He rose to cut down Evil and uphold Justice.

Batara Guru determined that on Earth, there was something extra-ordinary happening. So, what was really happened? From the reports and lawsuits, there was a young woman, meditating in the middle of the sea. Therefore, by riding Lembu Andini, Batara Guru descended to Earth to investigate the truth. Above the sea, Batara Guru saw the beautiful Dewi Uma, meditating solemnly; the Batara felt awkward, especially when glancing at the goddess's flawless calf, it's so tempting, but then, it's up to you. Well, this is where the origin of the occurrence, 'Kama Salah,' the seed of calamity, and the birth of the evil Kala."

The Moon ended the parable by saying, "Since then, the world has been gripped by 'fear, restlessness, uncertainty, doubt' or what it is called 'Kalatidha' or the Era of Confusion. And Allah knows best."

Citations & References:
- Ir. Sri Mulyono, Wayang dan Filsafat Nusantara, CV Haji Masagung

Bahasa

Eleven Women

"Marriage is a bond held together by mutual rights and responsibilities for each of the two spouses. It is a partnership between them, and they are both required to play an active role in that partnership. The man is appointed as the leader of the household, and the woman as the supportive helper whose expertise in many areas cannot be handled by the man.

Both the husband and wife have certain rights and duties. A happy and successful marriage is assured if both of them fulfill their duties and preserve each others’ rights. Violating those rights is a sure way to misery and failure," the Moon conveyed a topic after saying Basmalah and Salaam.

"In an Islamic perspective, " says she, "some responsibilities and obligations equally apply to the man and woman. For instance, the obligation of believing in Allah, Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, and following His commands is identical for both of them. Similarly, they are both responsible and accountable for their actions. They are both equally required to learn the correct religion, worship Allah, and call to His way. The moral standards are the same for both of them, as are many of the regulations for dealing with other human beings. The man and woman get similar rewards for obedience to Allah, and similar punishment for disobedience or sinning.

In comparing between women and men, we should realize that Islam does not equate those who are inherently different. There are matters in which men are given preference over women, and vice versa. These preferences stem from the difference in their ability of performing various tasks. Therefore, rather than equating those who can never be equal, our concern should be directed toward fairness in dealing with both. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says,

وَلَا تَتَمَنَّوْا مَا فَضَّلَ اللّٰهُ بِهٖ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلٰى بَعْضٍ ۗ لِلرِّجَالِ نَصِيْبٌ مِّمَّا اكْتَسَبُوْا ۗ وَلِلنِّسَاۤءِ نَصِيْبٌ مِّمَّا اكْتَسَبْنَ ۗوَسْـَٔلُوا اللّٰهَ مِنْ فَضْلِهٖ ۗ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ كَانَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيْمًا

'Do not wish for things in which Allah has preferred some of you over others. Men get a share (or reward) in what they have earned, and women get a share in what they have earned. And ask Allah of His favors. Indeed, Allah is ever Knowledgeable about all things.' [QS. Ani-Nisa' (4):32]

We conclude from the mentioned, that the Islamic regulations regarding human beings are equally applicable to men and women. But this does not mean that men and women are identical in everything. There are certain iegulations that strictly apply to women because of their feminine nature, and others that strictly apply to men because of their masculine nature.

So, there is a hadith is the outcome of a chatting that took place between the Prophet (ﷺ) and his wife—Mother of the Believers— ‘A’ishah, radhiyallahu 'anha. It is a good example of the private discussions that take place between a man and his wife. It tells about eleven women who got together, each of them briefly describing her husband’s character to the other women.

Most reports of this hadlth present the story of the eleven women as being narrated by ‘A’ishah and not by the Prophet (ﷺ). However, some reports explicitly indicate that it was the Prophet (ﷺ) who told it to her. Also, some scholars hold the position that the whole story is fictitious and was mentioned for the sake of the lessons that it carries. Others hold the more correct position that it is a true story that did take place during the time of Jahiliyyah. In Islamic Adaab and Ethics, indeed, a wise wife, is not recommended to tell other people about her household problems.

‘A’ishah, radhiyallahu 'anha, reported that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said to her, '0 ‘A’ishah! I am to you like Abu Zar‘ was to Umm Zar.‘ She inquired, 'And who is Umm Zar‘, O Allah’s Messenger?' He (ﷺ) replied, 'Eleven women got together during the times of Jahiliyyah. They promised to tell each other the truth, and not to hide anything about their husbands.'

It is clear that those women were living in the time of Jahiliyyah, and it is therefore not surprising that they would violate some of the well-known teachings of Islam, such as backbiting their husbands. Yet, their discussions bring to light many qualities that women like or dislike in their husbands.

The Prophet (ﷺ) continued the story,

'The first woman said, 'My husband is (like) a bony camel’s meat at the top of a rough mountain. Neither is it easy to reach, nor meaty to desire acquiring.'

The first woman described her husband as being worthless, stingy, and arrogant. Thus, he is as worthless and miserly as a bony camel with very little meat, hence of trivial value. Furthermore, he is haughty, unfriendly, and unapproachable, as though he is located at the top of a rough mountain. No one would be interested in going to him, nor bringing him for any kind of benefit.

Then the Prophet (ﷺ) continued the story,

The second woman said, 'As for my husband, I cannot expose his secrets [fearing divorce]. [If I start talking about him,] I fear that I will not be able to stop [because of his numerous shortcomings]. And if I were to talk about him, I would mention the swelling in his neck-veins [i.e., arrogance, unfriendliness, and other apparent defects] and the swelling in his stomach and navel [i.e., many hidden defects].'

The second woman indicated that her husband possessed numerous defects—both apparent and hidden problem. In addition to his numerous defects, this man did not like criticism, and was ready to divorce his wife would she utter anything about his problems.

The Prophet (ﷺ) then continued the story,

'The third woman said, 'My husband is the one who is unreasonably tall [i.e., unimpressive]. If I utter a word [about his defects, and he finds out], I will surely be divorced. And if I remain silent, I will be

suspended [i.e., he neither treats me like a wife nor like a divorcee].'

The third woman described her husband as being unimpressively out of proportion in his qualities [bodily, morally, or both], in short, it's all about excessiveness and unimpressiveness.

The Prophet (ﷺ) continued,

The fourth woman said, 'As for my husband, when he eats, he encompasses [i.e., devours everything]; when he drinks, he finishes even the last drops; and when he sleeps he coils up in the covers [i.e., not caring about me]. He does not extend his palm to investigate the grief [i.e., he does not have any concern about my situations of illness, sorrow, and so on].'

The fourth woman described her husband as being very greedy. He eats and drink, to the last bit, everything in front of him. He sleeps like a log, without caring about her, fulfilling his marital duty toward her, or investigating her situation and checking about her health. In short, it's all about selfishness, greed and negligence.

Then the Prophet (ﷺ) continued the story,

'The fifth woman said, 'My husband is axtremely helpless (i.e., incapable and impotent) and stupid. Every disease applies to him. He would either cut your head, break one of your limbs, or do both to you (i.e., he hits the women without mercy).'

The fifth woman’s husband lacks all of the important qualities that would make a woman admire her husband. He is helpless in conducting his and his family’s affairs, impotent and unable to please his wife, and stupid. All of the people’s defects are combined in him. And, as though that is not enough, he is very abusive towards his wife. He hits her without mercy, breaking her bones or wounding her head. In short, it's all about helplessness, stupidity, and abuse.

The first five women said about their husbands things indicating their dissatisfaction with them or about dislike qualities of their husbands. The next five women [the sixth to tenth women], had good things—commendable qualities—to say about their husbands.

The Prophet (ﷺ) continued the story,

'The sixth woman said, 'As for my husband, he is like the night of Tihamah [Makkah and its suburbs]—neither hot nor cold. [In his company] there is neither fear nor boredom.'

The sixth woman’s husband is like a cool night breeze. He is kind and moderate in his actions, and his company does not bring fear or boredom. Rather, it gives her a feeling of security and friendliness. So, it's about kindness, security and caring.

Then the Prophet (ﷺ) continued the story,

'The seventh woman said, 'As for my husband, when he enters, he acts like a (sleepy) leopard; and when he leaves, he acts like a lion. He does not ask about what he entrusted.'

The seventh woman’s husband is well mannered and loving at home, and courageous and powerful outside his home. Within the house, he is like a leopard: quiet, sleepy (i.e., forgiving), and loving. In dealing with the outside society, he is like a lion: courageous, powerful, and respected. When he entrusts his wife (or others) with something, he does not hold her strictly accountable for it; rather, he is generous and willing to overlook the mistakes. So, it's all about love, generosity, and courage.

The Prophet (ﷺ) then continued the story,

'The eighth woman said, 'As for my husband, his touch is like that of a rabbit, and his odor is like that of zarnab (aromatic plant). I overcome him, but he overcomes the other people.'

The eighth woman’s husband is very kind to her. At the same time, he is strong and assertive with other people. With his wife, he has the soft and kind touch of a rabbit, and he has a most pleasant odor. With other people, he has a good reputation (another meaning for the good odor), and his kindness and good attitude with his wife do not prevent him from being powerful and victorious with the other people. So, it's all about good reputation, respect and kindness.

The Prophet (ﷺ) continued,

'The ninth woman said, 'As for my husband, he has high house-pillars, longsword-suspenders, and large amounts of ashes. His house is near the clubhouse.'

The ninth woman’s husband is of a noble and wealthy family. He is a strong warrior and a generous host. The high house-pillars are an indication of his noble descent and wealth. The longsword-suspenders indicate that he is of large and impressive built and that he is a strong fighter. The ashes are an indication of his generosity and the many guests he feeds. Being in the vicinity of the clubhouse indicates that he is near the town-center where important people usually live and meet. In short, it's all about wealth, courage, generosity and stature.

Then the Prophet (ﷺ) continued the story,

'The tenth woman said, 'My husband is Malik [the owner]. And what would you know about Malik? Malik is better than that [which I describe). He owns camels that are numerous in their sitting places, and few in the grazing areas. When they hear the sound of the lute, they become certain of their death.'

The tenth woman’s husband has many excellent qualities that are beyond description. This means that she is never able to give her husband the praise that he truly deserves. His camels, numerous though they are, are not allowed to graze far away from his residence, because he wants them ever-ready for his guests. He often holds banquets in which he entertains his guests with the lute and feeds them camel-meat. So, it's all about wealth, generosity, and other distinguished qualities.

The last woman to speak was Umm Zar . She gave a fuller description of her two husbands: Abu Zar‘ and the man whom she married after Abu Zar' divorced her. Both of her husbands were good to her, but she was happier with the first, and gave a more detailed description of him and his family members.

The Prophet (ﷺ) continued,

'The eleventh said, 'My husband was Abu Zar‘ [i.e., the one with vegetation]— and what would you know about Abu Zar ! He made my ears heavy with jewelry, filled my upper arms with flesh [i.e., fed me well after my previous state of hunger], and honored me until my soul was gratified. He took me from among a people with very few sheep and tight living, and placed me among a people who had horses, camels, cows [that step on the grains to peel them], and sieves [for sifting the grains]. In his house, I spoke without being rebuffed, slept until latemorning, and drank my fill.'

Abu Zar took Umm Zar from a life of poverty and hard work to a life of wealth and leisure.

The Prophet (ﷺ) kept on relating what Umm Zar said,

'[She continued], 'Abu Zar ’s mother—and what would you know about Abu Zar ’s mother! Her safes [of food and clothing] were plentiful, and her house was spacious.'

Abu Zar ’s mother was a wealthy woman with ample provisions and many servants. This carries an additional praise for her son, because he made sure that his mother’s needs were well met, and her living was no less than his.'

The Prophet (ﷺ) kept on relating what Umm Zar said,

'[She continued], “Abu Zar ’s son—and what would you know about Abu Zar ’s son! His sleep was (sharp) like a pointed palm stick [i.e., everalert], and a female goat’s arm satisfied his hunger [i.e., neither was he fat nor greedy].'

Despite his father’s wealth, Abu Zar ’s son was not a spoiled young man. To the contrary, he was lean, content, ate moderately, and was ever alert, even while sleeping.

Then the Prophet (ﷺ) continued relating what Umm Zar said,

'[She continued], “Abu Zar ’s daughter—and what would you know about Abu Zar ’s daughter! She was obedient to her father and obedient to her mother. She filled her garments [i.e., her body was full]. She caused her upper garment to curve [her body was well-proportioned]. She was the grace of her family, and the cause of envy to her co-wife.'

Aba Zar ’s daughter was a perfect young woman, obedient to both her parents, beautiful, and attractive. This graced her family, and brought envy to her co-wife.

The Prophet (ﷺ) continued relating what Umm Zar said,

'[She continued], “Abu Zar ’s maid—and what would you know about Abu Zar ’s maid! She did not disclose our secrets, nor give away our food [i.e., she was trustworthy], nor let our house fill with dirt like a bird’s nest [i.e., she was clean].' 

Even the maid played a role in painting an impressive picture of dignity and praise for Abu Zar‘! She was trustworthy, protective, and clean. 

After spending many years with her, Abu Zar‘ decided one day to give up his wife Umm Zar‘ for a younger woman who had two young boys. The Prophet (ﷺ) continued relating what Umm Zar‘ said,

'[She continued], 'Abu Zar went on a trip at the time when the milk jars were shaken to extract the cream [i.e., in the spring when there was plenty of milk]. He met a woman with two little sons as [active as] two leopard cubs. They were [jumping] under her waist and playing with two pomegranates [i.e., she was young and had small breasts]. He divorced me and married her.'

The Prophet (ﷺ) continued relating what Umm Zar‘ said,

'[She continued], 'I married after him a noble man. He rode a fast horse and grasped a spear [he was a fighter]. He brought to me in the evenings [after his battles] expensive cattle, and granted me a pair from every kind of it. He said to me, ‘Eat, O Umm Zar , and give your relatives as well.’ Yet, were I to gather all the things that he gave me, they would not fill the smallest of Abu Zar ’s containers.'

Umm Zar ’s second husband was also wealthy and very good to her. But her heart remained with her first husband. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) concluded by again telling 'A'ishah that he (ﷺ) was to her like Abu Zar was to Umm Zar, '0 ‘A’ishah! I am to you like Abu Zar' was to Umm Zar'—except that Abu Zar' divorced (her), and I will not divorce (you).'

This means that he (ﷺ) was bountiful towards her like Abu Zar' was towards Umm Zar'. However, the Prophet’s (ﷺ) favors on ‘A’ishah (or any other Muslim) are beyond measure, and they extend to the good and eternal bliss of the Hereafter. This is why ‘A’ishah, radhiyallahu 'anha, responded, 'O Allah’s Messenger! You are better to me than Abu Zar' was to Umm Zar.' [Recorded by at-Tabarani; there is also in Sahih Al-Bukhari]

The moon ended her story by singing,

Dengan kasihmu ya Robbi

[By Thy mercy o my Rabb]

Berkahi hidup ini

[Bless this life]

Dengan cintamu ya Robbi

[By Thy love o my Rabb]

Damaikan mati ini

[Pacify this death]

Saat salahku melangkah

[When I have stepped wrongly]

Gelap hati penuh dosa

[The hearbecomes dark, full of sins]

Beriku jalan berarah

[Give me a direction]

Temuimu di surga

[To meet Thee in paradise]

Terima sembah sujudku

[Accept my prostration]

Terimalah doaku

[Accept my du'aa]

Terima sembah sujudku

[Accept my prostration]

Izinkan ku bertaubat

[Allow me to repent]

Maulana ya Maulana

[My Protector o my Protector]

Ya sami' duana *)

[O please hear my du'aa]

Before her light dimmed, the Moon said, "Part of the great responsibility of both men and women is to exhibit and act with Adaab and Akhlaaq. These are the distinctive characteristics of the religion of Islam. In a nutshell, they are the reason behind the Prophet’s (ﷺ) mission. And Allah knows best."

Citations & References:
- Muhammad Mustafa al-Jibaly, The Fragile Vessels, Al-Kitaab & as-Sunnah Publishing
*) "Ya Maulana" written by Achmad Fairus

Bahasa

The Rector's Lecture (2)

"The Rector went on, 'Corruption can negatively affect political systems (e.g. democracies or autocracies) and regimes (the team running the system) in numerous ways. For example, it can unfairly increase the power and influence of individual legislators willing to privilege whoever is prepared to pay them bribes or enhance their prospects in future elections. The latter is seen around the world in the form of pork-barrelling—the utilization of government funds for projects designed to please voters or legislators and win votes, whereby legislators inappropriately allocate or promise funds to particular constituencies so as to increase voter support.

However, this point about inappropriate favouritism leads us to a particularly grey area in corruption studies, the issue of lobbying. In countries such as the USA, lobbying is legal and formally organized. But some see lobbying as a form of corruption, and have argued that it is essentially a functional equivalent in wealthy states of the more clearly corrupt attempts to influence politicians in poorer countries. But in deciding whether or not lobbying constitutes a form of corruption, it is necessary to examine the precise nature of specific cases; generalization can be misleading.

Many organizations lobby for causes that most people would consider perfectly legitimate, such as the World Wildlife Fund or other charity organizations, and such lobbying should be distinguished from that relating to more obviously vested interests. Moreover, if the funding of lobbying is of officially registered agencies rather than for paying bribes, and if—and this is an important caveat—the financial details of such agencies are fully transparent, then it would be inappropriate to label this corruption. Lobbying by some types of organization might seem unfair, giving those with sufficient resources better opportunities than are available to the average person to attempt to influence political decision-makers, but it is only another aspect of the political inequality that exists in even the most democratic systems. It is thus as much a problem for theorists of democracy as for analysts of corruption.

Another tricky issue for both theorists and practitioners of democracy is how best to fund political parties—in particular, whether or not this can be done in a corruption-proof way. In 1999, Germany witnessed the emergence of the so-called Kohlgate scandal, in which honorary chair of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Helmut Kohl was accused of being involved in the corrupt acceptance and distribution of illicit funds for his party during his term as Chancellor (prime minister) of Germany (1982–98). The CDU was eventually found guilty of corruption, and the President of the lower house of parliament sought to fine the party a total of just under 50 million marks (approximately 25 million Euros). Although this penalty was eventually quashed, German party financing rules were substantially amended—rendered more transparent and less dependent on business contributions—as a direct result of the Kohlgate affair. The particular significance of this case was less the fact that a leading Western politician had been accused of corruption—France’s Jacques Chirac and Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi have also faced charges of corruption in recent years—but that it happened in a country reputed to have one of the best party financing systems in the world.

Corruption can undermine electoral competition, increasing inequalities between political parties, and reducing party competitiveness. Electoral fraud and impropriety assumes many forms; two of the most common are ballot-rigging and vote-buying. There have been innumerable alleged and proven cases of both in most parts of the world in recent years. But, as with so many forms of corruption, neither is either a new phenomenon or unique to developing and transition states: an early example of vote-buying is the 1768 ‘spendthrift election’ in Northamptonshire (UK).

Citizen despair can increase the attractiveness to voters of extremist politicians, whether of the left or the right, who promise to eradicate corruption. Empirical research indicates that such extremists generally prove to be ineffectual at reducing corruption if elected; but there is a widespread belief in some countries that they have a magic bullet.

Accusations of corruption by one party or politician can attract counter-accusations. This can result in increased dissatisfaction among voters, with various undesirable outcomes. One is that citizens become cynical, and therefore alienated from the political system, albeit in a passive way. Another is that they become incensed, leading to active mass unrest that delegitimizes and destabilizes the system and can lead to the overthrow of the regime, or even the system itself. In his 2012 analysis of corruption, Frank Vogl focuses on the so-called Arab Spring of 2011, and sees public anger at corruption as a major factor in the collapse of the regimes and systems in Egypt and Tunisia.

Thus corruption can undermine system legitimacy—the perceived right of the rulers to rule. Too much corruption and its reporting can result in people losing faith in the market, democracy, and the rule of law. While this tends to be more destabilizing in transition states, the point applies even to developed Western states. In January 2013, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe argued that ‘Corruption is the biggest single threat to democracy in Europe today. More and more people on our continent are losing faith in the rule of law.’

If people lose faith in the rule of law in states where it has previously existed, the likelihood of arbitrary abuse of civil liberties and human rights increases. While this problem initially affects ordinary citizens, excessive arbitrariness can be dangerous to political elites too, as their rule is threatened by mass unrest. Like so many other aspects of corruption, this danger is nothing new; in East Asia’s traditional concept of the ‘mandate of heaven’, the people had the right to remove an emperor who was inept, tyrannical, or corrupt.

For a state to exercise its defence, law enforcement, and welfare functions properly it needs adequate funding; if corruption reduces government revenue, this has detrimental effects on the state’s overall capacity to protect the populace. There is a strong correlation between weak states and high levels of corruption.

During the 1990s, when security at military bases in many Soviet successor states was frighteningly lax, various Western government reports and academic analyses claimed that corrupt officials in Russia and Ukraine were illegally selling nuclear materials to whoever would pay them. While much of the evidence on this is circumstantial, there is irrefutable proof that corrupt officials in weak states have sold various kinds of weapons to organized crime gangs and terrorists.

But this point can apply to mature democracies too. In March 2014, as a result of an FBI sting operation, a Californian state senator was arrested and charged with colluding with US-based Chinese organized crime in trafficking weapons to an Islamic rebel group based in the Philippines: the senator’s pay-off, according to the FBI, was donations to his political campaign. He was allegedly planning to expand his trafficking operation into Africa, and was indifferent to the harm his trafficking might cause; the case was kept ongoing.

A final point about mature democracies and arms dealing is that a number of Western corporations have been accused of paying substantial bribes to overseas government officials to secure contracts for the purchase of military equipment; it is not only individuals and gangs that are corruptly involved in this potentially deadly business.

Some of the effects of corruption in one country on other countries are irritating rather than a real danger. For instance, car insurance premiums in Germany increased in the 1990s partly because so many cars were being stolen there and smuggled to Central and East European states; this racket often involved gangs bribing customs officials to look the other way while the cars were in transit.

But many international ramifications of corruption are far more serious. For instance, criminal organizations involved in international trafficking—including of drugs, weapons, humans, and human parts—would be far less effective were it not for the fact that they can often bribe customs officers, police officers, and other officials to turn a blind eye to their activities, or to warn them in advance of impending raids (e.g. of illegal brothels in which there are transnationally trafficked persons).

Unfortunately, pragmatism often dominates principle in international relations, and countries that appear to have relatively low levels of corruption may de facto tolerate high levels of corruption in a country that has nuclear weapons or commodities (e.g. oil) on which the less corrupt countries are highly dependent. But occasionally, the corruption in another country becomes so intolerable that other countries decide to do something about it. A prime example is the USA’s 2012 Magnitsky Act, which was designed to punish (through visa-bans and freezing bank accounts) Russian officials deemed to have played a role in the death of auditor Sergei Magnitsky. The relevance to corruption is that Magnitsky had been investigating fraud among Russian tax officials and police officers, and had then been arrested himself for alleged collusion with an investment advisory company that had reported alleged corruption to the Russian authorities and had in turn been accused by those authorities of tax evasion. Magnitsky’s death in custody was highly suspicious. Not unexpectedly, the act soured relations between Moscow and Washington; the Russians soon produced a list of Americans who would not be granted visas, and placed a ban on US families adopting Russian children.

Many readers who prefer a broad definition of corruption will be aware of the allegations made against various international sporting bodies, including the leading soccer organization, FIFA. In early 2014, the most widely reported example related to the bidding process for the 2022 World Cup. Such allegations, whether proven or not, undermine the international legitimacy of such bodies, as well as of the states accused of involvement in corrupt practices.

Corruption is what social scientists call a ‘wicked’ problem, meaning that it is so complex that it can only ever be partly solved; it can be controlled, but never completely eradicated.  The state is only one of many actors with a role to play in controlling corruption.

I will conclude this lecture with just one sentence, 'That one of the causes of Radicalism

—or Radicalized—is CORRUPTION!"

The audience clapped their hands, and all sang,

Kisah usang tikus-tikus kantor

[An old tale of office mice]

Yang suka berenang di sungai yang kotor

[Who likes to swim in dirty rivers]

Kisah usang tikus-tikus berdasi

[The old story of mice wearing ties]

Yang suka ingkar janji lalu sembunyi

[Who always break promises and then hide]

Di balik meja teman sekerja

[Behind the coworker's desk

Di dalam lemari dari baja *)

[Inside the steel cupboard]

Before she go, Laluna said, "Many analysts maintain that the ultimate success or otherwise of anti-corruption measures, depends on political will. Political leaderships must not only be genuinely committed, i.e. have the political will to combat corruption, but must also have the capacity to implement their will.

Many cultures and languages have the phrase ‘A FISH ROTS FROM THE HEAD’, meaning that corruption will be worse where the political elite sets a bad example. In this sense, it might seem that the will of the leadership is all-important. But while this is crucial, it is not the only will that matters. A leadership may be genuinely committed to fighting corruption, but nevertheless have insufficient control over its own bureaucracy to turn this commitment into reality. And Allah knows best."

Citations & References:
- Leslie Holmes, Corruption: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press
*) "Tikus-tikus Kantor" written by Iwan Fals

[Part 1]

Bahasa

The Rector's Lecture (1)

"Why corruption is a problem?" Laluna conveyed a topic after reciting Basmalah and Salaam. "Corruption impacts upon individuals, groups and organizations—including the state—in numerous ways, "she continued, "While many of its negative effects are obvious, others are less so. In the real world, the impact of particular acts of corruption is often on several areas simultaneously, among others: society, environmental, economic, politico-legal, security-related, and international implications."

"And one night," says Laluna, "My light was focused on a campus located in the southernmost part of Suvarnabhumi. All eyes were on a Rector who was giving his lecture. He said, "There are so many ways in which corruption can negatively impact on society. Corruption tends to create a greater sense of ‘us’ and ‘them’ in society, both vertically and horizontally. The gap between elites and the public is often wider than necessary because corrupt officials are perceived to be creaming off a country’s wealth at the expense of ordinary citizens—i.e. a vertical divide. At the same time, corruption can increase divisions between citizens themselves—horizontal divide, as those unwilling or unable to pay bribes to obtain what they need become resentful of those who can and do.

A related fact is that corruption can increase inequality. While many citizens will tolerate reasonably high levels of inequality if this appears to be based on merit, they will resent it if based more on personal connections and bribery to obtain prestigious jobs and promotions. The problem is exacerbated if growing inequality is accompanied by higher levels of poverty, which is often the case.

If corruption means increased distrust of the state and its officers, there can be a widespread ‘return to the family’ and increased attachment to kinship. A potentially negative effect of this is that enhanced identification with ‘kith and kin’ can result in reduced social capital and growing estrangement between groups in society, which can lead to ethnic conflict.

High levels of corruption and the consequent low levels of trust in the state can increase the sense of insecurity in society. For example, if citizens do not trust their law enforcement officers because of the latters’ corruption, they will be less willing to report crimes to the authorities and to cooperate with those authorities; this typically leads to higher crime rates, and hence a greater sense of insecurity among the general public.

Officials themselves can feel more insecure because of corruption. If the political elite decides to clamp down heavily on corruption, even honest officials may be concerned that actions not currently seen as corrupt may in the future be classified as such, with the concomitant penalties; this can lead them to hesitate in fulfilling their normal and proper duties, or even to refuse altogether to perform them. In an ideal rule-of-law state, in which no legislation is ever retrospective, this problem would not arise; but few states nowadays, even in the West, adhere strictly to the notion of no retroactive laws.

Corruption can also endanger lives. This assumes various forms, one of which relates to flooding. Among the many advantages trees have is that they can bind soil; but in some countries, corrupt officials have on occasions turned a blind eye to the logging of trees along riverbanks in return for bribes. This has sometimes resulted in riverbanks collapsing following heavy rains, with the destruction of thousands of properties built at the water’s edge, and many lives lost in the floods.

The reporting of corruption can also have a negative effect on the public, since it can increase a general sense of disappointment, even despair. Finding the optimal amount and type of reporting is difficult, however; to cite a truism, ‘bad news is good news’ for the media, and few can restrain themselves from reporting as many scandals as they can, whether or not allegations have been thoroughly investigated. Irresponsible reporting of corruption can make people suspicious of the ‘watchdog’ role of the media, which has negative implications for the development of civil society.

Arguably the greatest long-term issue facing humanity is the environment. Unfortunately, corruption generally compounds the already existing problems in this area.According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), environment-related corruption includes, 'Such practices (as) embezzlement during the implementation of environmental programmes, grand corruption in the issuance of permits and licenses for natural resources exploitation, and petty bribery of law enforcers.' The UNODC has also identified sectors most at risk: they include forestry, oil exploitation, the trafficking of endangered species, and hazardous waste management.

The most researched and reported aspect of the impact of corruption is the economic. In an oft-cited analysis published in the mid-1990s, economist Paolo Mauro argued against those who had in the 1960s claimed that corruption—for instance, in the form of facilitation payments or ‘speed money’ to state bureaucrats to accelerate the issuance of permits—could actually increase economic growth rates. On the basis of a considerable amount of data, he compared growth rates with subjective assessments of the level of corruption in various countries, and concluded that corruption discouraged investment, which in turn decreased growth rates. While some have challenged this argument, the majority view is that Mauro was basically correct. For instance, in an article published in 2000, Shang-Jin Wei argued that foreign direct investment (FDI) is lower in countries with higher rates of corruption, as potential investors are deterred by it.

Perceptions of high levels of corruption in a given country can render it either difficult or impossible for that country to be admitted to international ‘clubs’—notably the EU—that it is hoping to join precisely because it sees substantial potential economic benefits in such membership. Even once in such supra-national groupings, perceived high levels of corruption can have serious economic repercussions: Bulgaria, Romania, and Czechia are three relatively new members of the EU (the first two since 2007, the third since 2004) that have suffered major funding cuts from the EU since joining precisely because of the latter’s concerns about their corruption levels. In addition, both Bulgaria and Romania were blocked in their attempts to join the Schengen zone (an area comprising twenty-six European countries, between which there are no border controls) because some West European EU member-states—notably Germany and the Netherlands—were concerned that these South-East European countries had excessively porous frontiers with their non-EU neighbours, largely because of high levels of corruption among border guards and customs officers.

A serious economic problem the EU itself has experienced has been partly blamed on corruption. A 2012 TI report entitled Money, Politics, Power—Corruption Risks in Europe identified corruption in several EU states (with Greece being seen as a major culprit) as a significant factor in the emergence of the Eurozone crisis that erupted in 2010.

Corruption leads to decreased revenue to the state, as corrupt officials exempt citizens and firms from fines, taxes, etc. in return for bribes. In the EU’s first ever anti-corruption report, published in February 2014, it was claimed that corruption costs EU states collectively some 120 billion Euros a year. This was a rather similar amount to the sum (US$150 billion) the African Union estimated in 2002 was lost each year to corruption among its fifty-three member states—though the EU figure, while substantial, did not account for approximately one quarter of the total GDP of the region as the sub-Saharan African one did.

Several states, mostly transition ones, have in recent years introduced flat-rate income and corporate tax systems, often precisely to reduce the risk of lost state revenue. The rationale is that progressive tax systems involve more discretionary decision-making by tax officials, and hence provide more corruption opportunities, than flat-rate systems; both individuals and companies can declare lower income in progressive tax systems than they actually receive, so as to be taxed in a lower tax bracket (i.e. a form of tax evasion). Unfortunately, flat-rate systems are not watertight either, since individuals and firms can still collude with corrupt officials to report less taxable income than they should, thus depriving the state of legitimate revenue.

Corruption can result in reduced economic competition, as corrupt officials favour firms that pay them bribes—for example, to give them unfair preferential treatment in acquiring factories that a state is privatizing, or to secure contracts from the state. Reduced competition typically leads to higher prices and costs, as well as less choice, all of which are detrimental to both consumers and the state itself.

A factor with potentially serious negative economic ramifications for the development and well-being of a country is that social corruption (nepotism, cronyism, etc.) can discourage honest, well-qualified people, who become frustrated at not securing good positions or being promoted. Some simply stop working hard and using their initiative, while others emigrate to a less corrupt and more meritocratic country. Corruption can thus encourage a brain drain, depriving society of the people best suited to run the country and its economy. This phenomenon, sometimes called human capital flight, has been a particularly acute problem for countries such as Iran.

But conventional capital flight is also a corruption-related problem. Shortly after becoming President of Russia for the first time, in July 2000, Vladimir Putin convened a meeting of many of Russia’s wealthiest individuals, the so-called oligarchs, at which he informed them that he would not scrutinize the origins of their fortunes as long as they abided by four rules; one was that they repatriate the considerable sums they had sent overseas. While it is a moot point whether or not most oligarchs should be labelled corrupt, the meeting is noteworthy for clearly revealing the senior leadership’s concern about capital flight. This has been a problem for many other states in recent years, and corrupt officials at all levels, including the highest, are a major source of the problem.

It is not only the public and the state that can suffer economically from corruption. Corporations that bribe officials to secure contracts are sometimes exposed, with serious negative consequences. In 2013, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) deemed certain mining licences in the Hunter Valley to have been corruptly acquired. In light of this, the NSW government announced in January 2014 that the licences were being revoked.

[Part 2]

Bahasa

Spirit of the Age

"In an Islamic perspective, the emphasis has always been on Wisdom—and hence, Policy—because Wisdom arrives from the future. Then you'll argue, 'That's seemed from a mystical point of view, but, are there any philosophical ideas support it?'" The moon opened a theme after saying Basmalah and Salaam.

"Philosophers spend a good deal of time in reflection," she wnt on, "and hey produce ideas, at times strange ideas. Over time however, the ideas of Philosophers have changed the course of human events all over the planet: Philosophy is entirely identical with its time. So, if philosophy is identical with its time, is there a sense in which revolutionary philosophers bear the spirit of their own age in so far as they arrive from the future? Might it be the topos of exile of what mostly belongs to us, to our time; the distant within and the within in the distant. If the revolutionary thinker does indeed come from afar, his/her arriving must be the measure of our own distance from the future.

Plato is perhaps the paradigm case of the revolutionary philosopher in our sense of the philosopher arriving from the future. According to Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, a German philosopher, the idea of the just polis that Plato formulated in The Republic was the most philosophically thinkable in Plato’s time. Even though Plato’s ideal was so far from the then given state of affairs that it seemed hardly recognizable to his contemporaries, it was nevertheless out of its thinking that Plato was able to comprehend the rational moment embedded in the sophists’ polis in which he lived. Having elaborated his ideal city, a city powerful enough to accommodate the philosopher, Plato was then in a position to cross the abyss between the ideal and the real in order to re-visit and once again embrace his own city as a whole. His thinking showed the city of Athens to be part of the world of the thinkable and in doing so it brought together the ever-changing finite body of the city with its eternal idea.

For this reason, the city that condemned the philosopher to death, could nonetheless be thought as part of an ongoing becoming that oriented it toward a future. For Plato this future was thought in terms of the polis of justice in which Plato the philosopher dwells conceptually and from which he arrives, albeit invisibly, to be welcomed by those who are prepared to think in the embrace of his thinking. Having arrived from afar in a way that also made it possible for him to dwell in the world in a radically immanent manner, Plato didn’t lose himself, like a tourist, amongst the shiny trinkets and the trivialities of market life. Nor did he abandon himself to the shallow wisdom of the local. rather, as the bearer of the ideal and in so far as he found the strength to withstand the infinite schism between the real and the ideal, his thinking entirely embraced the historical moment of his world and thus allowed the spirit of the age to manifest itself with his thought. Herein lies the determination of Plato’s thought as revolutionary philosophy that arrives from the future in its own precise moment.

In this respect Plato the philosopher came to give effect to the conceptual transformative power of the revolutionary practice of his time, in a way that Socrates before him, was unable to conceive. Plato’s thinking grew out of Socrates’ failure to convince Athens to re-enact itself in accordance with the principle of radical self-knowing. Although we can say that in his capacity as a revolutionary, Socrates also comes from the future, only the philosopher succeeds in thinking what the revolutionary practice announces but fails to achieve. So the thinking of the philosopher takes place in the retreat of the future that the failed revolutionary practice announces. This was the fate of philosophical thinking in Plato’s time.

So, what about Hegel's own view? Hegel took history seriously. In contrast to Kant, who thought he could say on purely philosophical grounds what human nature is and always be, Hegel accepted Schiller’s suggestion that the very foundations of the human condition could change from one historical era to another. This notion of change, of development throughout history, is fundamental to Hegel’s view of the world.

Hegel’s Philosophy of History contains a good deal of historical information. One can find in it a kind of outline of world history, from the early civilizations of China, India, and Persia, through ancient Greece to Roman times, and then tracing the path of European history from feudalism to the Reformation and on to the Enlightenment and the French Revolution.

Hegel accepts the view that the French Revolution was the result of the criticisms of the existing order made by French philosophers. France before the Revolution had a nobility without real power, but with a confused mass of privileges which had no rational basis. Against this utterly irrational state of affairs the philosophers' conception of the Rights of Man asserted itself, and triumphed.

Yet, the immediate result of this ‘glorious mental dawn’ was the Revolutionary Terror, a form of tyranny which exercised its power without legal formalities and inflicted as its punishment the quick death of the guillotine. What had gone wrong? The mistake was to attempt to put into practice purely abstract philosophical principles, without regard to the disposition of the people. This attempt was based upon a misunderstanding of the role of reason, which must not be applied in isolation from the existing community and the people that make it up.

The French Revolution itself was thus a failure. Its world-historical significance, however, lies in the principles it passed on to other and particularly to Germany. The short-lives victories of Napoleon were sufficient to bring about within Germany a code rights, to establish freedom and freedom of property, to open the offices of the state to the most talented citizens and to abolish feudal obligations. The monarch remains as the apex of government and his personal decision is final; yet because of the firmly established laws and settled organization of the state,what is left to the personal decision of the monarch is, says Hegel, 'in point of substance, no great matter’.

But Hegel obviously did not think of his Philosophy of History as merely a historical outline. Hegel himself said that ‘the philosophy of history means nothing but the thoughtful consideration of it’. While this may be his own definition, however, it conveys a less than adequate idea of what Hegel is up to in his Philosophy of History. What Hegel’s definition leaves out is his intention that the ‘thoughtful consideration’ of history should seek to present its raw material as part of a rational process of development, thus revealing the meaning and significance of world history.

Hegel says that the whole object of the Philosophy of History is to become acquainted with Geist—the spirit of an individual or group—in its guiding role in history. Without some knowledge of this idea, therefore, one can have only a partial grasp of Hegel’s view of history. In the Philosophy of Right, too, the concept of Geist is never far away. Hegel refers to the state, for instance, as ‘objectified Geist’.

In German the word 'Geist' is common enough, but it has two distinct,though related meanings.It is the standard word used to mean ‘mind’, in the sense in which our mind is distinct from our body. For example, ‘mental illness’ is Geisteskrankheit literally, ‘mindsickness’. Geist can, however, also mean 'spirit’ in the varied senses of that English word. Thus ‘the spirit of the age’ is der Zeitgeist.

Philosophers are challenged to experience philosophy as such as the happening of Zeitgeist. Through its happening, Zeitgeist has explicitly become the age of key Hegelian concepts understood, not as themes, but as happenings of thinking itself, whether of history, the future, manifestation, alienation, recognition, otherness, reconciliation or philosophy. Zeitgeist is an invisible agent or force dominating the characteristics of a given epoch in world history. Zeitgeist can be interpreted as an atmosphere that exists or arises in every society, which seems to be a 'mysterious' consensus, which is characterized by being able to change relatively quickly or dynamically, not statically, characteristic of a certain historical time level, as a whole, in all areas of life.

Then, what are the implications of the Zeitgeist? Since 2001, Google has published the yearly Google Zeitgeist. Google Zeitgeist is a collection of talks by people who are changing the world. On the basis of a statistical analysis of its search queries, the company provides a number of interactive graphs depicting what people have been most interested in during the past year. In an explanatory note, the developers write how in their view, the zeitgeist—being 'the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era—becomes visible 'through the aggregation of millions of search queries Google receives every day.

Hegel believed that culture and art reflected its time. Fashion has become what art had wanted to be: the Zeitgeist expressing itself in visible form. Its stage is no longer the aristocratic salon or the gatherings of select society at the theater, opera or racecourse. Fashion is now made, worn and displayed, not by the bourgeoisie or the aristocracy, but on the street. The great cities–London, Berlin, New York, Paris, Tokyo, Rome–are the theatrum mundi on which it makes its entrance. Baudelaire’s irresistible passerby, carried by the crowd, with a flourish of seam and frill, past the spectator-poet, his red-haired beggar woman, craving cheap costume jewelry, are early symptoms of this change of scene. They indicate a new relation of beauty and ideal, one which continues to exercise a latent effect until the end of the following century.

Hegel believed that culture and art reflected its time. Fashion has become what art had wanted to be: the Zeitgeist expressing itself in visible form. Its stage is no longer the aristocratic salon or the gatherings of select society at the theater, opera or racecourse. Fashion is now made, worn and displayed, not by the bourgeoisie or the aristocracy, but on the street. The great cities–London, Berlin, New York, Paris, Tokyo, Rome–are the theatrum mundi on which it makes its entrance. Baudelaire’s irresistible passerby, carried by the crowd, with a flourish of seam and frill, past the spectator-poet, his red-haired beggar woman, craving cheap costume jewelry, are early symptoms of this change of scene. They indicate a new relation of beauty and ideal, one which continues to exercise a latent effect until the end of the following century.

In June 2020, barely six months since the pandemic started, the world is in a different place. Within this short time frame, COVID-19 has both triggered momentous changes and magnified the fault lines that already beset our economies and societies. Rising inequalities, a widespread sense of unfairness, deepening geopolitical divides, political polarization, rising public deficits and high levels of debt, ineffective or non-existent global governance, excessive financialization, environmental degradation: these are some of the major challenges that existed before the pandemic. The corona crisis has exacerbated them all. Could the COVID-19 debacle be the lightning before the thunder? Could it have the force to ignite a series of profound changes? We cannot know what the world will be like in 10 months’ time, even less what it will resemble in 10 years from now, but what we do know is, we do something to reset today’s world."

Laluna closed the topic by singing,

Roda jaman menggilas kita

[The wheel of time is crushing us]

Terseret, tertatih-tatih

[Dragged, limping along]

Sungguh hidup terus diburu

[Truly life continues to be hunted]

Berpacu dengan waktu

[Race against time]

Tak ada yang dapat menolong

[No one can rescue]

Selain Yang di sana

[Other than the One out there]

Tak ada yang dapat membantu

[[No one can assist]

Selain Yang di sana *)

[Other than the One out there]

Afterwards, she said, "The Age continues to revolve beyond human control. Indeed, every man should use their hearts and minds to be able to answer the call of the age—Zeitgeist, otherwise they will be crushed by the wheels of time. And Allah knows best."

Citations & References:
- Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, The Phenomenology of Spirit, Cambridge University Press
- Paul Ashton, Toula Nicolacopoulos and George Vassilacopoulos (Ed.), The Spirit of the Age, re.press
- Alexandre Kojeve, Introduction to the Reading of Hegel, Cornell University Press
- Peter Singer, Hegel - A Very Short Intoduction, Oxford University Press
- Barbara Vinken, Fashion Zeitgeist, Translated by Mark Hewson, Berg

*) "Menjaring Matahari" written by Ebiet G. Ade

Bahasa

A Husband and his Expectant Wife

"The statement 'The Moon is made of green cheese' is referring to a fanciful belief that the Moon is composed of cheese,' Laluna set up a talk, when previously she utterred Basmalah and Salam. "Vera Nazarian put this way, 'A long time ago people believed that the world is flat and the moon is made of green cheese. Some still do, to this day. The man on the moon is looking down and laughing.'

But, there was never an actual historical popular belief that the Moon is made of green cheese. In its original formulation as a proverb and metaphor for credulity with roots in fable, this refers to the perception of a simpleton who sees a reflection of the Moon in water and mistakes it for a round cheese wheel. The phrase 'green cheese' in the common version of this proverb [sometimes 'cream cheese' is used], may refer to a young, unripe cheese or to cheese with a greenish tint.

John Maynard Keynes, wrote in 'The General Theory,'

'Unemployment develops, that is to say, because people want the moon;—men cannot be employed when the object of desire (i.e. money) is something which cannot be produced and the demand for which cannot be readily choked off. There is no remedy but to persuade the public that green cheese is practically the same thing and to have a green cheese factory (i.e. a central bank) under public control.

It is interesting to notice that, the characteristic which has been traditionally supposed to render gold, especially suitable for use as the standard,of value, namely, its inelasticity of supply, turns out to be precisely the,characteristic which is at the bottom of the trouble.'

It is almost universally believed that Keynes wrote his magnum opus, The General Theory, to save capitalism from the socialist, communist, and fascist forces that were rising up during the Great Depression era. Keynes argued that governments should solve problems in the short run rather than wait for market forces to fix things over the long run, because, as he wrote in 'A Tract on Monetary Reform',

'... But this long run is a misleading guide to current affairs. In the long run, we are all dead. Economists set themselves too easy, too useless a task if in tempestuous seasons they can only tell us that when the storm is long past the ocean is flat again.'

The theories of Keynes, known as Keynesian economics, center around the idea that governments should play an active role in their countries' economies, instead of just letting the free market reign. Keynes’s fundamental insight was that we do not know–cannot calculate – what the future will bring. In such a world, money offers psychological security against uncertainty. When savers become pessimistic about future prospects they can decide to hoard their savings rather than invest them in businesses. Thus there is no guarantee that all income earned will be spent. This amounts to saying that there is no natural tendency for all available resources to be employed."

The moon was silent for a moment, then said, "I'm not going to take you to the green-cheese realm or to the Keynesian world, but I'm going to take you to observe a man, a new father-to-be who was expecting his first child, a man who was just starting his business, and also, a post graduate student. One night, my light was on him, he was listening to a lecture from one of his lecturers, in a long distance lecture. The lecturer said, ''Where there is a right, there is a remedy' is a classical legal maxim. Individuals enjoy rights, in a legal as opposed to a moral sense, only if the wrongs they suffer are fairly and predictably redressed by their government. This simple point goes a long way toward disclosing the inadequacy of the negative rights/positive rights distinction. What it shows is that all legally enforced rights are necessarily positive rights.

Rights are costly because remedies are costly. Enforcement is expensive, especially uniform and fair enforcement; and legal rights are hollow to the extent that they remain unenforced.

Formulated differently, almost every right implies a correlative duty, and duties are taken seriously only when dereliction is punished by the public power drawing on the public purse. There are no legally enforceable rights in the absence of legally enforceable duties, which is why law can be permissive only by being simultaneously obligatory. That is to say, personal liberty cannot be secured merely by limiting government interference with freedom of action and association. No right is simply a right to be left alone by public officials. All rights are claims to an affirmative governmental response. All rights, descriptively speaking, amount to entitlements defined and safeguarded by law. A cease-and-desist order handed down by a judge whose injunctions are regularly obeyed is a good example of government “intrusion” for the sake of individual liberty. But government is involved at an even more fundamental level when legislatures and courts define the rights that such judges protect. Every thou-shalt-not, to whomever it is addressed, implies both an affirmative grant of right by the state and a legitimate request for assistance addressed to an agent of the state.

If rights were merely immunities from public interference, the highest virtue of government (so far as the exercise of rights was concerned) would be paralysis or disability. But a disabled state cannot protect personal liberties, even those that seem wholly “negative,” such as the right against being tortured by police officers and prison guards. A state that cannot arrange prompt visits to jails and prisons by taxpayer-salaried doctors, prepared to submit credible evidence at trial, cannot effectively protect the incarcerated against tortures and beatings. All rights are costly because all rights presuppose taxpayer funding of effective supervisory machinery for monitoring and enforcement.

Like law in general, rights are institutional inventions by which liberal societies attempt to create and maintain the preconditions for individual self-development and to solve common problems, including settling conflicts and facilitating intelligently coordinated responses to shared challenges, disasters, and crises. As a means of collective self-organization and a precondition for personal self-development, rights are naturally costly to enforce and protect. As government-provided services aimed at enhancing individual and collective welfare, all legal rights, including constitutional ones, presuppose political decisions (which could have been different) about how to channel scarce resources most effectively given the shifting problems and opportunities at hand.

All of our legal rights—in constitutional law as well as private law—originally arose as practical responses to concrete problems. This is one reason why they vary over time and across jurisdictions. As instruments forged to serve evolving human interests and moral views, they are repeatedly recast, or respecified, by new legislation and adjudication. Rights also mutate because obstacles to human welfare—the problems that rights are designed to mitigate or overcome—change, along with technology, the economy, demography, occupational roles, styles of life, and many other factors.

The cost of rights raises not only questions of democratic accountability and transparency in the process of allocating resources; it also brings us unexpectedly into the heart of moral theory, to problems of distributional equity and distributive justice. To describe rights as public investments is to encourage rights theorists to pay attention to the question of whether rights enforcement is not merely valuable and prudent, but also fairly allocated. The question here is whether, as currently designed and implemented, disbursements for the protection of rights benefit society as a whole, or at least most of its members, or only those groups with special political influence. Do our national priorities, in the area of rights enforcement, merely reflect the influence of powerful groups, or do they promote the general welfare? To study costs is not to shortchange politics and morality, but rather to compel consideration of such questions. The subject is so important precisely because it draws attention to the relation between rights on the one hand and democracy, equality, and distributive justice on the other.

Public deliberation should therefore be focused on the following issues. (1) How much do we want to spend on each right? (2) What is the optimal package of rights, given that the resources that go to protect one right will no longer be available to protect another right? (3) What are the best formats for delivering maximum rights protection at the lowest cost? (4) Do rights, as currently defined and enforced, redistribute wealth in a publicly justifiable way? These questions have important empirical dimensions, and it is important to bring them to the fore. But their resolution depends on judgments of value as well. The empirical dimensions should be identified as such; the judgments of value should be made openly and be subjected to criticism, review, and public debate. I will end today's lecture by concluding with a short sentence, 'RIGHTS ARE COSTLY'.'

The next few nights, after going through Lamaze—method of childbirth focuses on labor and delivery as a natural event, Leboyer—a method of childbirth designed to reduce trauma for the newborn especially by avoiding the use of forceps and bright lights in the delivery room and by giving the newborn a warm bath—and La Leche—a voluntary organization formed in 1957 that encourages breastfeeding and offers support and guidance to nursing mothers—classes with his expectant wife, the proud new father remained by his wife's bedside throughout labor and delivery. His wife's struggle was not in vain, she gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. Wanting to be as sympathetic as possible, he took his wife's hand afterward and said emotionally, 'Tell me how it was, darling, how it actually felt to give birth?'

'Okay, honey,' his wife replied. 'Smile as hard as you can.'

Beaming down beatifically at his wife and newborn child, the man commented, 'That's not so hard.'

She continued, 'Now stick a finger in each corner of your mouth.' He obeyed, smiling broadly.

'Now stretch your lips as far as they'll go,' she went on.

'Still not too tough,' he remarked.

'Right,' she snapped. 'Now pull them over your head.'

Hearing this, the husband couldn't help but smile mischievously, and while holding the two babies, he sang,

Cepatlah besar, matahariku

[Grow up, my sun]

Menangis yang keras, janganlah ragu

[Cry out loud, don't be hesitated]

Tinjulah congkaknya dunia, buah-hatiku

[Punch the arrogant of the world, my baby]

Doa kami di nadimu

[Our prayers are in your veins]

Cepatlah besar, matahariku

[Grow up, my sun]

Menangis yang keras, janganlah ragu

[Cry out loud, don't be hesitated]

Hantamlah sombongnya dunia, buah-hatiku

[Hit the proud of the world, my baby]

Doa kami di nadimu *)

[Our prayers are in your veins]

Before leaving, Laluna said, "Rights and Liberty are priceless, that's why the cost of its enforcement and maintenance is expensive and tends to increase. There is no 'cheap' word for Rights and Liberty. Hopefully, policy makers realize this, and not complaining about the cost of energy subsidies they had budgeted in the Government Spending. And Allah knows best."

Citations & References:
- Stephen Holmes and Cass R. Sunstein, The Cost of Rights, W. W. Norton & Companies
- John Maynard Keynes, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, Palgrave
- Professor Austin Robinson and Professor Donald Moggridge (Ed.), The Collected Writing of John Maynard Keynes, Cambridge University Press
*) "Galang Rambu Anarki" written by Iwan Fals

Bahasa

The Astrological Doctor

"Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus—often Anglicized as Galen or Galen of Pergamon—(ad 129–c. AD 216), was the most influential physician in the second Century, whose work was to influence medical theory and practice for more than 1,500 years. He was a prolific writer on anatomy, physiology, diagnosis and prognosis, pulse-doctrine, pharmacology, therapeutics and the theory of medicine; but he also wrote extensively on philosophical topics, making original contributions to logic and the philosophy of science, and outlining a scientific epistemology which married a deep respect for empirical adequacy with a commitment to rigorous rational exposition and demonstration. He developed his own tripartite soul model following the examples of Plato; some scholars refer to him as a Platonist. Galen developed a theory of personality based on his understanding of fluid circulation in humans, and he believed that there was a physiological basis for mental disorders. Galen connected many of his theories to the pneuma and he opposed the Stoics' definition of and use of the pneuma.

The Stoics, according to Galen, failed to give a credible answer for the localization of functions of the psyche, or the mind. Through his use of medicine, he was convinced that he came up with a better answer, the brain. The Stoics only recognized the soul as having one part, which was the rational soul and they claimed it would be found in the heart. Galen, following Plato's idea, came up with two more parts to the soul.

Galen also rejected Stoic propositional logic and instead embraced a hypothetical syllogistic which was strongly influenced by the Peripatetics and based on elements of Aristotelian logic.

He was also a vigorous polemicist, deeply involved in the doctrinal disputes among the medical schools of his day," Laluna opened a topic after saying Basmalah and Salaam.

"So, apart from Galen, there was a physician who was—and that is worse—an Astrologer, who cast the nativity of Colin his servant—a brisk, fresh, vigorous, young Fellow—and according to his scheme, found plainly, that he and his man should both die in one Day.

He calculated it a hundred times, and tumbled over many a learned folio, and still, their destiny was the same; he scarce should live an hour after his Colin. Now judge you, if Colin's health was not dear to the doctor. He was a;ways with him, and never let him stir a step out of his sight. How is it child ? How fares thy health? May Heaven long continue it to you. Nay, he would see him eat, and filled out his wine for him, and if he slept ill, he was sure to give him betimes in the morning an anodyne clyster—to take of either linseed-tea, or new milk, from half a pint to three quarters of a pint, and add from 40 to 60 drops of laudanum.

By this exact regimen, the learned doctor did so much to poor Colin, that partly by diet, partly through vexation, the flower of his youth and vigour, withered away. At last the poor meagre Boy was attacked by a slight cholick, the doctor opens the a vein, a fever ensues, then he must be vomited; his malady redoubles on a sudden, and he grows light headed, and through too much care, poor Colin is in grave.

The Doctor is alarmed, his blood freezes in his veins, he has but one hour longer to breathe, he sends for the Attorney and makes his Will; in short, the fatal hour passes away, then a whole day and night, nay, a whole week, and still the doctor lives. Experience, at last, opens his eyes, and he abjures the doctrine both of Gerolamo Cardano—a phisician that ran mad with astrology, tough his prediction very often deceived him—and Hippocrates of Kos—commonly called the Prince of Physicians—being convinced that both axs are founded of error and folly."

Laluna took her leave as saying, "Happy for him to be cured at once both of Physick and Astrology. And Allah knows best."

Citations & References:
- R.J. Hankinson (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Galen, Cambridge University Press
- George Sarton, Galen of Pergamon, University of Kansas Press
- Sieur De La Motte, One Hundred New Court Fables, Peter-Nofter-Row

Bahasa