Getting Ahead Of The World By Leaving It Behind: Megapolis And The Myth Of Progress
Image Courtesy “https://stevecutts.wordpress.com/2014/04/24/the-last-handshake/”
The question remains. For Srilanka, in terms of its list of priorities, is Megapolis an absolute necessity or just another luxury that we can’t afford? or worse, a luxury that will eventually drive us and the world over the precipice?
There is a popular proverb. Look before you leap. Nonetheless it has been our tradition in Srilanka to look only after we have leapt, but still we don’t seem to have learnt anything.
A generation that intends to make money out of everything is well capable of putting money over people. We are in that era. From tusks to justice everything is up for grabs. Man in the name of modern civilization and economic expansion is fiercely competing against his kind for the finite resources, ripping the earth apart and leaving no stone unturned in his greedy quest for everything that has a consumer value, and he continues to gamble his own existence. There is nothing, not even virtues but has a price tag on it. Driven by his lust for wealth, comfort and power he sells even Knowledge, Justice, Health, Welfare, Information and Morals. It is not in terms of benefitting mankind we think today but in terms of maximizing profits; profit over people, all in the name of development and progress.
No idea, however awesome it may sound, should be considered in terms of economic development alone. The Megapolis initiative should be considered with respect to its long term effects on human welfare and the natural world. Climate change is here and modern development is only escalating the problem. As a developing nation we should be more concerned about its dangers as we lack the competence and access to modern technology to counter the effects of climate change. As the traces of the toll modern development has taken on nature begins to surface in the form of intense heat waves and melting glaciers, and while the world is uniting to fight the evils of unrestrained progress, we in Srilanka are gearing up to resurrect the monster. As blind emulators of the developed world it is no wonder that we are equating the Megapolis idea with the good life. For once we need to stop following the rich and powerful and use our rationality instead to distinguish between good and evil.
