The Withering Spirit of Pancasila

Yudi Latif

· 5 minutes read

The outer appearance of a civilization is an emanation of its inner, cultural soul. Whenever we see that the life of our nation has become rife with disputes, cynicism, distrust, inequality, injustice, corruption and collective superficiality being n, these reflect huge changes in our cultural soul.

The cultural soul of Indonesia is the dream of the soul of Pancasila: a compassionate soul that exudes the spirit of musyawarah (consensual deliberation), gotong royong (mutual assistance) and cooperation. In the spirit of musyawarah, political decisions must be based on the principles of rationality and justice instead of particular subjectivity. They must be dedicated to the interest of the many, and not of individuals or groups. They must be oriented to long-term goals, not to short-term interests through destructive and transactional accommodation (negative tolerance). They must be impartial through inclusivity, involving and considering all opinions (even of the smallest of minorities), which can avert the dictatorial biddings of the majority and the tyranny of minority financiers.

In the spirit of mutual assistance, we bear all burdens together, whether light or heavy, so that the diverse interests of opposing groups can be reconciled. In Soekarno’s view, “Gotong royong is a dynamic concept. It is more dynamic than ‘kinship’.” The spirit of kinship is more static in nature and tends to be more about altruism for the members of one’s own family or group. On the other hand, gotong royong is more dynamic in its ability to direct altruism towards all citizens, even those from other groups.

Gotong royong is the highest form of humankind’s adaptation on its journey through natural selection. It has transformed human beings from individual beings with predispositions akin to the chimpanzee (selfish) into social beings with the predisposition of bees (hive mind). The spirit of gotong royong is one of collaboration: one for all and all for one; that we are all in the same boat and that one must never gain at the expense of others.

We develop mutual assistance and compassion for all through the spirit of cooperation, by sharing our physical needs equitably. This is what is called “social justice”. To achieve this, economic freedom (emancipation) must accompany political freedom (emancipation).

The foundation of all this is a socialist soul, combined with a spirit of kinship, that respects individual, creative freedoms. Indonesian socialism upholds the principles of equality and individual freedoms under the primary criteria of cooperation and altruism, and in prioritizing social unity and responsibility towards gaining collective wisdom. The system of Indonesian socialism relies on the concept of regulating profits to attain the highest possible collective benefits and to prevent crises caused by competition. In this regard, Sutan Sjahrir said, “The interests of the few rich must never contradict the interests of the many poor. The justice that we desire is a collective one that is founded on welfare and happiness.”

The waning practices of musyawarah, the positivity of gotong royong and efforts at cooperation in the expression of our nation’s (political-economic) civilization these days indicate that our Pancasila spirit is withering. To borrow from Oswald Spengler, culture (the soul) grows on a certain landscape and matures once it has reached optimum development through the absorption of all available nutrients. Like an organism, cultural development moves through the phases of spring (dawn), summer (midday), autumn (twilight) and winter (evening).

Metaphorically, the development of the Pancasila spirit is now entering the autumnal (twilight) era, as the land that supports its growth has become increasingly saturated. Thus far, we have relied only on the land our ancestors have cultivated and we have inherited to sustain life, without making any real effort to maintain or fertilize it.

During a session of the Indonesian Independence Preparation Investigative Assembly (BPUPKI), Wiranatakusuma warned of the threat of twilight in the culture of Pancasila. “In my opinion, this most grievous occurrence will be caused by men who lack spiritual training, training that gives rise to an internal drive (motive force) to discover truths and accept various responsibilities as active members of society. We must resolve this issue, as exercising the brain (the intellect), no matter how large, will never be sufficient on its own to transform men into good members of society.”

Thus, our Pancasila soul is exposed to attack from all directions, from both those who are openly hostile towards it and those who claim to support it.

Indiscriminately adopting economic and democratic models from foreign civilizations without considering their suitability for our Pancasila soul will not only poison our cultural soul, but also alienate our people from their culture. A life without roots is a life without strong footing, an unsteady life. In seeking new support, many children of the nation have turned to other cultures that may view Pancasila as something to be conquered. Thus, our Pancasila soul is exposed to attack from all directions, from both those who are openly hostile towards it and those who claim to support it.

We need to cease all attempts to undermine our culture by lighting lanterns to illuminate our path in the dark of the night. It is better to tread with a small light of our own culture rather than under the light of another’s full moon. We need to find our own way in the dark night. The farther we tread, the closer we are to the dawn.

Yudi Latif, Director, Pancasila School

Editor:

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