Subtlety is of the essence!

Social equilibrium is a subject which has its roots in various fields, economics,mathematics even psychology among many others.The best way to define social equilibrium is by deducing an analogy from the famous Nash equilibrium in Game theory.In this light ,social equilibrium can be defined as the state of a society along with the set of characteristics of its elements such that, if any of the element(s) choses to change its characteristic(s) the state of the society deteriorates.That is, the best strategy for every element with respect to the society as a whole is to retain its characteristic.

The most delicate and interesting feature of social equilibrium is its dynamic nature i.e. it is changing constantly over time and so is the best strategy for every element .This is sheer common sense,considering that it is the reason why our society as we see now is different from what it was 100 years back in all senses, be it standard of living, prices, social prejudices, customs,even fashion and technology.Study of this dynamic nature as you can imagine, can be a very complex problem.

But a reasonable assumption that we can make about this dynamic nature is that it is continuous.Which means that the "best strategy" for every element as a function of time is a continuous function.Thus "drastic" changes in characteristic(s) by any element(s) disturbs the equilibrium and hence is hazardous for the society. The reasonability of this assumption can be justified by some practical examples.We all believe piracy is ethically wrong but most of us (not all:)) still prefer to buy pirated products because of the sheer reason that they are so cheap!Imagine the sudden impact on the entire trade and economy if a complete piracy ban is enforced (that is a big if)!It goes even deeper.The people robbed of their livelihood because of this ban will resort to other means,some may resort to other crimes while the others who dont will increase the pressure on the already rampant issue of unemployment in the country.Same reasoning goes for the black markets and the underworld :) in Mumbai.These things wont or cannot happen since in all these cases the society resists the sudden jerks induced upon its equilibrium.Piracy,black market,crime just cannot be stopped suddenly because the society wont allow it.However bad ,immoral,ethically wrong it may be ,currently it is the "Best strategy".If it is going to stop, it will happen in god's good time,when the society wants it to.Even Galileo who dared to say that the sun is the center of the solar system was imprisoned for his ideas which were considered maniacal and hazardous to the influence of the church.It was much later that the society finally accepted its truth.Remember the society is not "perfect", its in "equilibrium".People are still discontented ,things are still bad , but what we fail to see that if we force any drastic changes,the things will go even worse,perhaps not for individuals but for the society as a whole.Yes, society changes, but the change is continuous, slow, always mantaining the equilibrium.

Now, having given these examples it seems the reasonability of our assumption is fairly justified.Now in this light ,lets take a look at some current social issues.Is it really a good idea to suddenly start reservations for OBCs in Government institutions?Would'nt society resist such a drastic change?Yes it will , and we have already started seeing how.Consider even some issues like, for eg.mahila mukti marches or any sort of protests in villages etc. inspite of their fierce nature ,they hardly bring in any improvements.

But, isnt it a bit discouraging?Does it mean that our efforts are towards betterment are a waste?Not at all, because as stated earlier the social equilibrium is dynamic, the changes will occur, but they wont be drastic.By our efforts we are just guiding the changes,giving them directions.Throughout this write-up, I have mentioned society in the third person.But what is the society ?It is us! The elements!It seems to be alienated from each of us since it represents the thought processes, the behaviour of all the elements as a whole.We are collectively responsible for its behaviour, its decisions, its dynamics and its control.

Hence it is very important for all of us to understand these issues before we act rashly.Drastic measures dont cause anything but harm.Society is like an egoist and stubborn son with a lot of vices.He doesnt like it if you scold him and force him to change.The matter has to be handled delicately.As Jeeves would say "Subtlety is of the essence"!

-Vijay Kamble