The parasites in our society suck people, systems and humaneness all the time, even during grave human distress. We need to trace and quarantine them fast, says Ram Krishna. An exclusive for Different Truths.
Our Planet Earth is inhabited by millions of species, at least! Because different species often inhabit the same spaces, share, or compete for the same resources, they interact in a variety of ways, known collectively as symbiosis. The five main symbiotic relationships are mutualism, commensalism, predation, competition, and parasitism.
In a mutualistic relationship, both species benefit. In commensalism, the host species neither benefits nor is harmed from the relationship. In predation, one species (the predator) hunts and kills another species (the prey). Though they hunt and eat numerous other organisms, predators themselves are not hunted by any other predator. This relationship, though harmful, forms part of our vital food chain. Competition is the struggle among organisms for the same limited resources in an ecosystem.
In a mutualistic relationship, both species benefit. In commensalism, the host species neither benefits nor is harmed from the relationship.
Parasitism is a relationship which is very harmful. This happens when one species (the parasite) lives with, on, or in a host species, at the expense of the host species. Unlike in predation, the host is not immediately killed by the parasite but can face sickness and death over time.
All viruses are parasites. And as of now, painfully, we are witness to the havoc created by a virus-Coronavirus- and the worldwide battle to tame it.
Talking of the serious harm of parasites, it would help to be aware of some parasites among us and their deleterious effects on our society. In fact, social parasitism is a pejorative that is levelled against such a group or class which is considered to be selfish, irresponsible, opportunistic, exploitative, manipulative, and thus detrimental to the society-a social offender. They are active round the clock, looking for opportunities to inflict injury on us and our systems. Therefore, there is a strong need to identify and isolate them.
Talking of the serious harm of parasites, it would help to be aware of some parasites among us and their deleterious effects on our society.
But how to identify such parasites among us? Here are some common types:
· Political Types: Political outfits thriving on identity politics, in the name of caste, religion, ethnicity, region etc. Politicians with criminal backgrounds.
· Social Types: Money lenders fleecing people through exorbitant interests; middlemen, fixers, mafias, corrupt and slothful officials.
· Intellectual Types: Plagiarism, piracy, IPR theft.
· Economic Types: Rent seekers, crony capitalists, money launderers, black marketers, on-line scammers, and fraudsters, wilful loan defaulters.
The parasites are always at work, without consideration, sympathy, and compassion. They do not stop even during times of human distress.
The parasites are always at work, without consideration, sympathy, and compassion. They do not stop even during times of human distress. It is revealing and painful, for instance, to see how even during the pandemic, when demand for humaneness is at its peak, parasites of the economic types are busy preying on the vulnerable, fleecing people in misery and exploiting patients and their families in agony. Be it testing, oxygen cylinders, life-saving drugs, ambulance services, or transport, these parasites are busy with their nefarious acts of overcharging, extortion, hoarding, black marketing etc.
Social parasites, feasting on human vulnerability and misery, not only suck hard-earned wealth of people and harm well-meaning systems and institutions, but also mock virtues of hard work, honesty, fairness, enterprise, and empathy. At some level, they are also reflective of serious dysfunctions in our society.
Let us be on guard, and trace and quarantine them as fast as possible.
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Ram Krishna Sinha is a former General Manager at Bank of India, and lives in Mumbai. After three and half decades of distinguished career in the Bank, he is presently invested in talent mapping, management education and writing for newspapers and magazines on contemporary issues. An author of the motivational book “X-Factor @Workplace” published by Tata McGraw Hill, he is an Opinion Columnist for the CEOWORLD magazine.
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