Brain-drains and Brain-gains: Widening the Gap between the West and East (Part II)

Wong Weng Hon

  If the east fails to check the outflow of  their home-made talents or human capitals at home, the economic gap  as well as religious  gap between the west and the east will be widened further and further. The long-term implication is that eastern nations (except the oceania) can never compete with the west in production of goods and services.  This is causal condition which creates the stark bipolarity between the west and the east in which the haves have become more affluent and the have nots have become more impoverished.

Weakening Impoverished Nations

A number of countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia are seriously impoverished. Annually, they are dependent upon western donor nations for humanitarian aids to feed their poorest, to  maintain their health, to educate them, to help them construct basic infrastructure and to mitigate eco-crises. Their elites have migrated to the west to seek the western golden dreams. Having migrated, they enrich themselves and further expand  western economies. The emigrations of the best and brightest brains have indirectly weakened the economies of their mother lands. This explicates why the western modern civilization is advancing more rapidly than that of the east.

Today, we can ascertain easily that the richest and the most powerful are found in the west because many oriental elites or intelligentsia have emigrated there. The GNP (Gross National Product) of the west far surpasses that of the east because a large number of eastern elites have emigrated to the west to seek the freedom of democracy, free enterprise, democratized education, freedom speeches, respect of human rights and the brighter future of their children. The happiness of freedom is more important than happiness of economic wealth.. What are lacking in the east can be found in the west. Consequently, the eastern elites or intelligentsia have been emigrating incessantly  to the west hitherto to flourish in free enterprise, free market, free trade, free education and so forth. The western freedom is significant spiritually: The freedom enjoyed permits an individual to develop, grow and consummate himself or herself. Process theistic put, the concrescence of God and the corresponding accomplishments of the emigrants  advance more rapidly  in western democratic culture of freedom than what they can accomplish in their countries of origin. Such freedom allows the Buddha-womb (Tathāgatagarbha) or the primordial potentialities of God to develop, grow and consummate so that one can succeed in any career or enterprise through his or her freewill and self-endeavour with less impediments or obstacles. Democratic system promotes and fosters the creative advance of God and correspondingly that of Man. Mundanely put, the creative advance of God means the worldly accomplishments of Man. Accomplishments are actual entities according to Whiteheadian philosophy.

 Conversely, the financial crisis and eco-crises are regression of God. To the westerners, democracy and freedom are sacred and dear to them. They are the balancing elements in a secular state alienated from Christianity and other religions. In fact, democracy, freedom and respect of human rights fill up the missing dimension of God in a secular state. The adherent to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)  is parallel to the religious precepts or divine commandments. This explains the creative advance of western civilization. UDHR is sacred and dear to the westerners. The westerners interferences  with human right issues in our countries are frown upon by the oriental governments . However, the western superpowers perceive them otherwise. They consider is to be their duties or responsibilities to help the politically depressed citizentry in an independent nation ruled by a tyrant. 

The difficult times caused by recent financial crisis, plummeting stocks, foreclosures, pinched budgets in the west have edified  and disillusioned the westerners that mere democracy, freedom and respect of human rights do not suffice to sustain their economic security and happiness.  What is lacking seriously among the general populace in the west is the knowledge of God or religion. In fact, the same spiritually deficient scenario is evident in the east too. The easterners have also been profoundly influenced by western icons of civilization. The majority of the eastern elites have obtained western education or have been instructed by western educated lecturers and professors in their local  eastern universities. God or religion educates Man in wisdom. Ethics constructed upon religious wisdom are unshakeable. Ethics restrained by regulations are relatively weak and unreliable.  

However, the rosy life of the hopeful western paradise cherished by the oriental people has recently been smashed by the 2008 financial woes erupted in the United States and Europe. Serious unemployment in the west has resulted in foreclosures. Foreclosures have  made the middle class U.S jobless citizentry homeless, carless and cashless. Their investments and saving deposits are swallowed up by the bankruptcies of  the doomed financial institutions. The only positive effect of western financial woes  is that it will check the rapid flow of braindrains from the east to the west. This is a positive news for the eastern nations the eastern best and brightest elites will think twice before they emigrate to the west.  The financial woes in the west are quite frightening.

 The financial meltdown occurred because there are far too many greedy, craving people who have spent excessive future money in the present time which they have not yet earned. Excessive foreclosures impede cashflows and choke some of the big financial institutions to death. Lax and irresponsible approval of credits or loans by executives and poor investment decisions of board members fuel the financial crisis further. Lack of administrative oversight has been identified as the culprit. The financial woes are obviously related to human moral flaws. The moral flaws are connected with the decline of Christianity in the west.

 The beleaguered western economy is rooted in a world wide problem of deficiency in the knowledge of God (Brahman, Tao, Buddha or Allah). Knowledge of God regulates one’s conscience and sincerity of heart. When economically powerful nations in the west can be beleaguered, economic woes can occur anyway in the world especially in the developing and underdeveloped nations that are more fallible and vulnerable. The fundamental cause of all human vexation and suffering is religious ignorance of the world-God relationship (phenomena-principle relationship). Only human beings can save their own world. No one single power can. Even God alone will not suffice. Should you pray wholeheartedly and fervently to God for great compassionate or divine assistance to pull us out from the pit, God will respond thus: Please play your deontological  roles (deontological ethics are duties and responsibilities) properly first before I step in.

If God is rightly discerned, the world is always unmanaced. The trouble with the people of the world is that they are alienating from God thinking that power, money, wealth, science and technology are saviors. In fact these five mesmerizing mundane powers can function effectively or constructively only if and only if they are sustained and invigorated by the knowledge of God. The knowledge of God is the knowledge of Unity. Ethics preserves Unity. Unethical practices break the mould of Unity. God is Unity of existence. The world has marginized the importance of God . God is the eternal  Truth sought by wise and ethical Man since time immemorial hitherto.

If we could not  trust the Word of Tathāgatas and Prophets, whom could we trust in ? Gotama Buddha hit the nail right on its head when he promulgates that ignorance of Truth (synonymous with God) is cause of human vexation or anguish. Financial crisis is suffering. Financial crisis is caused by the collapse of the unity mould of God. The Unity of God is weakened by the contigent conditions . The primary contigent conditions of the unity of God are human resources. Lack of deontological ethics  has weakened the human resources in the west . The current financial crisis will discourage the brain-drains from the east to the west.  This is favourable for the eastern economies  but adverse for the western economies  as the concrescence of God in the western economies becomes retarded according to Whiteheadian Process Philosophy. The weakening purchasing power of the west will affect the world economies. In an interconnected world in a borderless world, all global villagers are affected. When western villagers are economically weakened, the eastern villagers are also economically weakened . Gotama Buddha taught us that this is global village in which we are all interdependent and connected as brothers and sisters 2,500 years ago.