Can I make a difference?

One of the most fundamental questions that bogs the mind down when you look at the current situation of India is "Can I make a difference?" Most people are convinced at the outset that no difference can be made. I went through a similar mind block for several years despite best intentions of doing good for India. In this post I propose to present my perspective and rationalization on this topic.

If I were an inspiring leader with great oratorial (or journalistic) skills, I'd probably be able to convince you that every person can make a difference by sheer emotions and influence. I could take you back in time and remind you of the history of India's freedom struggle and how if every one had waited for somebody else to do something, then we'd still be under British rule. Of course, we had visionary leaders then you say. We do even today. There are millions of brilliant, visionary people who are tirelessly doing the right thing not with the help of but inspite of the non-functional systems we have in place. You need to look no further than the fact that we have had a (nominally?) functional democracy for 50+ years and we are on the verge of becoming a top global economy in the world. How many developing countries can claim that? All it takes is the tribe of the brilliant and the visionary to increase and we'd soon be doing much better ....

But I'm not about to presume that I have what it takes to lead and influence my listeners (or readers) let alone the millions of people that will need to be motivated to make progress. Instead I'm going to rely on what I know best from my background and training. Logic and reasoning. Ever wonder how in a system a few bad influences (bad apples!) breed more and more bad influences until it seems like a pervasive, unassailable force? What are the cause and the effects? Can we even distinguish between the cause and effects after some time? Likely not. Where does this huge non-linearity enter the system - rendering it several orders of magnitude different than where it started from? I have thought long and hard about this. Are there any models that can be studied? I found some answers in modern mathematical and computational theories. There is a lot of research work available on the web for the academically inclined on complexity theory, chaos theory, complex adaptive systems - especially some pioneering work by the Santa Fe Institute. If you are really short on time, I'd recommend at least reading up Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) on:

http://www.trojanmice.com/articles/complexadaptivesystems.htm

What does this have to do with improving India? I am convinced that if we understand clearly that our whole nation (as any nation really) is also a CAS, understand its properties fully and then create the right influences one step at a time, we will be able to radically transform ourselves to a level that I dare not imagine. I'll be the first person to point out that I'm sure this idea is not novel - far more brilliant people out there than I. But this model helps me understand and gives me confidence that:

1. Whatever little I do will impact the grand scheme of things.
2. We need only simple rules. The rest will follow.
3. We don't need any de facto or de jure leader of phenomenal qualities to "lead" us.
4. We don't need to find and influence every last person in the country. The key is critical mass.
5. We need not be perfect.

I derive my motivation from my conviction in the tenets above. Understanding them removes the biggest impediments that stop me from making a beginning. The changes may happen in my lifetime or maybe not. But I'm sure they will happen. And I am content in that knowledge. I fully intend to do my part - be the butterfly that will eventually change the weather. What about you?

Next: A model to categorize and focus our energies in development of India.