E-Book - Mahatma Gandhi

227 Contextualising Gandhian Thoughtlabour will be mutual trustees, and both will be trustees ofconsumers. The trusteeship theory is not unilateral, and doesnot in the least imply the superiority of the trustees. It is, as Ihave shown, a perfectly mutual affair and each believes that hisown interest is best safeguarded by safeguarding the interest ofthe other." 100This is not class collaboration for the protection orpreservation of the capitalist system or the exploitation that hasbecome the base of the capitalist system. Gandhi did notbelieve in collaboration with or within any exploitative system."I have, never said that there should be cooperation between theexploiter and the exploited so long as exploitation and the willto exploit persists.” 101 It is the duty of a believer in nonviolenceto fight the injustice even at the cost of one's life.Gandhi, therefore, did not advocate class collaboration toperpetuate exploitation or capitalism. His objective too was thecreation of a classless society and freedom from the thralldomof private property. But he had no faith in the ability ofviolence to achieve this objective, and so his means weredifferent.It bas already been stated that he did not believe in theinevitability of class conflict. He did believe that human naturecould be changed. But to take that to mean that he did notbelieve in bringing about changes in institutions and theenvironment—both to quicken change and to sanctify change,is to mistake the meaning of his faith in human nature. Humannature is made up of a complex of elements. Science hasproved that the appropriate stimuli bring appropriate responsesto the surface.The theory of inevitability of class conflict is built onmany assumptions: that the working class does not have thepower to paralyse and defeat capital by action within the