E-Book - Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi's 'Theory of Trusteeship… 206away his life as well. Trusteeship allows him to retain thestewardship of his property as a trustee, 48 and thereby retain thesocial recognition of his special talent, perhaps even enhancedby the alchemy that renunciation has brought about in hispersonality. A new incentive, a new method of achieving socialrecognition is offered to him. There is every possibility that hemight be willing to trade the old social odium for the newsocial recognition, and pay the price by giving up the privilegesand prerogatives of the possessions that he did not need forself-preservation. He will be richer for his now reputation orsocial recognition.One who believes in non-violence cannot believe thatthe problem of exploitation can be solved by eliminating theexploiter! The individual exploiter can be educated and weanedaway from exploitation. Society then can continue to benefitfrom his talents. Violent elimination of the exploiter cannotbenefit society. Society will be the poorer, for it will lose thegifts of a man who knows how to accumulate wealth. 49 Nor canthe elimination of individuals guarantee the elimination of thesystem. 50 The Satyagrahi believes that the essence of changelies in eliminating the evil, and not the evil doer. The evil doermay be removed, but another may appear in his place if the evilitself is not eliminated. The way to eliminate evil is to desistfrom it oneself, and resist It when it comes from others.Gandhi's uncanny insight enabled him to see that every form ofexploitation depended on the cooperation or acquiescence ofthe exploited. "All exploitation is based on cooperation, willingor forced, of the exploited. However much we may detestadmitting it, the fact remains that there would be noexploitation if people refuse to obey the exploiter. But selfcomes, and we hug the chains that bind us.” 51 This was a bitterbut basic truth. It could not be wished away by looking theother way. In fact, violence is the outcome of our reluctance toadmit our own culpability, and our lack of confidence in our