Mahatma Gandhi is known for being the leader of the Indian independence movement (Biography.com Editors). Throughout the years, Gandhi’s beliefs have been both admired and criticized (Plotkin). A bold statement that he made, which sparked controversy, was when he claimed that civilization is a disease (referring to Western civilization) because it causes people to be enslaved to money (Gandhi 31-4, 59, 60). He believed that the English, who at the time were the mother country of India, were “afflicted by [this disease]” and pitied them but believed that “their mode of thought [was] not inherently immoral” and that they would eventually come to their senses (Gandhi 34). The basis of Gandhi’s critique is economic and moral and he links this critique to an argument in favor of Indian people ruling themselves (known as home rule) because India has not changed like other Western civilizations (Gandhi 57, 60).
Gandhi’s critique of “Western Civilization” has an economic basis. He expends much time detailing how Europeans live in “better”-quality buildings than a hundred years earlier and have “better” clothes as well as having “more improved” transportation, attributing all of these accomplishments to “[the pressing] of a button” (Gandhi 31-2). However, what is considered “better” is relative; the English measured “betterness” on the basis of technological advancements, and Gandhi disagreed, but that does not mean that what is defined as either of their beliefs is what is objectively “better” for civilization (Gandhi 31-2). In addition to his earlier observations about Europe’s technological improvements, Gandhi also laments how “[men] are enslaved by temptation of money and the luxuries that money can buy”, shining a light on the economy’s effect on civilization (Gandhi 32). By implementing emphatic diction such as “enslaved”, Gandhi is undeniably showing his disdain for England’s capitalist society.
Gandhi’s criticism also has a moral basis. He criticizes that civilization purports to teach religion and morality, but in actuality does not (Gandhi 33). He even goes so far as to say that “…money is their God”, arguing that a vested interest in money means a lack of morality (Gandhi 37). His argument would be strengthened if he gave more concrete examples of how Western civilization was immoral when purporting to be moral and how capitalism plays a part in this immorality.
Although Gandhi has valid points in his criticism of Western civilization, he neglects to discuss social and political advancements that Western civilizations have made, except when saying “Parliaments are…emblems of slavery” (Gandhi 34). Along with the negative aspects of capitalism, Western civilizations have made positive advancements such as expanding the right to vote, with universal white male suffrage being implemented in many Western countries such as France and the United States by 1909 and expanded white male suffrage in Britain, when Gandhi wrote his book (Cole and Symes 698, Tikkanen, Tyler). However, since he was a person of color being marginalized while living in an English colony, it is understandable why he might not consider this expanded suffrage as a success or advancement. Nevertheless, it is something worth noting, even if critically. Furthermore, when the reader brought up how India is not devoid of immorality in that it had many child widows, married two-year olds, women who practiced polyandry, girls who dedicated themselves to prostitution, and sheep or goats that were killed in the name of religion, Gandhi said that those cases are simply defects (Gandhi 58). However, if they were mere defects, these displays of immorality would be not be prevalent enough in society for the reader to bring up as a counterargument (Gandhi 58). Perhaps both Western civilizations and Indian civilization are equally moral and immoral but such morality and immorality manifests itself in different ways, rather than one being more or less moral than the other.
Gandhi links his critique of “Western Civilization” to his argument supporting Indian home rule by outlining how India’s history is different from other Western civilizations in that it has not changed in the same ways that Western civilizations have changed (Gandhi 56). He lists how Rome and Greece have either fallen or changed but India has stayed the same all this time, which he claims is advantageous (Gandhi 56). For example, although contemporary Indians’ ancestors knew how to build machinery, they refrained from doing so to ensure that people did not “become slaves and lose [their] moral fibre”, which is why India has stayed the same all these years and why it will ultimately stand against other societies, tying his economic critique of Western civilizations back to India (Gandhi 57-9). Essentially, Gandhi is arguing that because India has not changed by implementing machinery, there should be home rule. For the current situation, he partially blamed India itself for the British ruling over them because the Indians also benefit from their commerce (Gandhi 37). However, because the English forcibly conquered India, Indians were left with little choice but to accept this deal of colonialism (Marshall). Thus, the situation is not as simple as Gandhi makes it out to be. Gandhi asserts that if one were to live in the part of India with small villages, they “might… be patriotic and speak of Home Rule”, but because the English have been socialized to live in a capitalist society with big cities with many conveniences, it would be a culture shock and hard for them to adjust to this different lifestyle (Gandhi 58). As such, the English might not react in the way that Gandhi suggests (Gandhi 58). He should have proposed another solution in which the English could appreciate how India’s constant society should lead to home rule. Gandhi’s argument for Indians to take their country back from the English is plausible, but not easy (Gandhi 37). Because the British started to have an influential presence in India by 1757 with complete rule over India by 1857, the British had long been exerting their influence by 1909, which was when Gandhi published his book, meaning that taking back India would be a lot more complex than Gandhi made it out to be (Gandhi, Marshall). Despite its difficulty, Indian independence was possible, and ultimately, achieved, although not fully until 1947, partially because of World War II (History.com Editors). Gandhi links his economic and moral critique of Western civilization by saying that because India has not suffered the capitalist and immoral woes that Western civilizations have suffered, India should have home rule.
Gandhi’s endeavor for home rule was ultimately successful, as India gained independence from Britain in 1947 (History.com Editors). His thoughts about Western civilization is food for thought even in today’s world, as society is still driven by capitalism and there is still prejudice against people of color. His role in activism for Indian independence has made him an iconic figure in history and his nonviolent approach to protesting influenced many, including Martin Luther King, Jr., who himself was an instrumental historical figure and activist of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States (“Gandhi, Mohandas K.”).
Works Cited
Biography.com Editors. “Mahatma Gandhi Biography.” The Biography.com Website, A&E Networks Television, 9 Mar. 2018, www.biography.com/people/mahatma-gandhi-9305898.
Cole, Joshua, and Carol Symes. Western Civilizations: Their History and Their Culture. 19th ed., W.W. Norton & Company, 2017.
“Gandhi, Mohandas K.” Birmingham Campaign | The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305., kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/gandhi-mohandas-k.
Gandhi, M.K. “6. Civilization.” Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule, edited by Jitendra T. Desai, Navajivan Publishing House (from Mkgandhi.org), pp. 31–34.
Gandhi, M.K. “7. Why Was India Lost?” Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule, edited by Jitendra T. Desai, Navajivan Publishing House (from Mkgandhi.org), pp. 35–37.
Gandhi, M.K. “13. What is True Civilization?.” Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule, edited by Jitendra T. Desai, Navajivan Publishing House (from Mkgandhi.org), pp. 56-59.
Gandhi, M.K. “14. How Can India Become Free?” Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule, edited by Jitendra T. Desai, Navajivan Publishing House (from Mkgandhi.org), pp. 60-62.
History.com Editors. “India and Pakistan Win Independence.” HISTORY, A&E Television Networks, 21 Aug. 2018, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/india-and-pakistan-win-independence.
Marshall, Professor Peter. “The British Presence in India in the 18th Century.” BBC: History, BBC, 17 Feb. 2011, www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/east_india_01.shtml.
Plotkin, Michael F. “Resistance to the Soul : Gandhi and His Critics.” Mahatma Gandhi's Writings, Philosophy, Audio, Video & Photographs, www.mkgandhi.org/articles/soul.htm.
Tikkanen, Amy. “Voting in the U.S.A.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/story/voting-in-the-usa.
Tyler, Gloria. “1918 Centenary: Votes for Some Women and All Men.” House of Commons Library: Research and Analysis from Impartial Experts, House of Commons Library, 9 Feb. 2018, commonslibrary.parliament.uk/parliament-and-elections/elections-elections/1918-centenary-votes-for-some-women-and-all-men/.