z:\ ambedkar\vol 011\vol11 05.indd MK SJ+YS 5 10 2013/YS 18 11 2013 324
324 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
- The struggle is bitter. Nature is said to be red in claw and tooth.
IV
In this struggle which is bitter and bloody only the fittest survive.
Such is the original state of society.
In the course of ancient past someone must have raised the question, Is the fittest (the strongest) the best? Would not the weakest if protected be ultimately the best for advancing the ends and aims of society ?
The then prevailing state of society seems to have given an answer in the affirmative.
Then comes, the question what is the way to protect the weak ?
Nothing less than to impose some restraints upon the fittest.
In this lies the origin and necessity for morality.
This morality had to be sacred because it was imposed originally on the fittest, i.e., the strongest.
This has very serious consequences.
First, does morality in becoming social become anti-social ?
It is not that there is no morality among thieves. There is morality among businessmen. There is morality among fellow castemen and there is also morality among a gang of robbers.
But this morality is marked by isolation and exclusiveness. It is a morality to protect “group interest.” It is therefore anti-social.
It is the isolation and exclusiveness of this kind of morality which throws its anti-social spirit in relief.
The same is true where a group observes morality because it has interests of its own to protect.
The results of this group organization of society are far-reaching.
If society continues to consist of anti-social groups, society will remain a disorganized and a factional society.
The danger of a disorganized and factional