Thus Spoke Society By Shaikh Mainul Islam

Come my child, let me tell you the rules that you must follow if you want a life free from anxiety and loneliness. Let me tell you, clearly, that if you do not follow my instructions then I shall punish you with severe isolation and loneliness and laugh at you with contempt. And you will be lonely in the crowd- no one will greet you with a smile, no one would love you and you will be wiped away from the face of Earth because you would not be able to live in isolation without love and my appreciation.

What must you do, then, to acquire the love and appreciation of the people? Acquire an honorable way of earning your livelihood. And do you know what professions I call honorable? -Those which will bring you a handsome amount of money. Yes, nothing else do I need. Just acquire a lot of money and I will bestow you with my appreciation. After that whatever you do I do not care. You beat your wife, you acquire habits which old Arab moralists call vile, I do not mind.

Remember: it is only your mode of livelihood, i.e. profession that concerns me. Only after you have acquired an honorable profession will I value your other qualities such as honesty, truthfulness &etc. I yet value those qualities because in my

blood yet lingers the old Arab morality, which I am not yet able to deny totally. But it is of secondary importance.

If you have an honorable profession, then I will bestow you with the happiness and blessings of your parents, the love of your relatives, the sweet love of your wife and I will give you a lot of friends. But, if you do not do so, in an instant shall I turn them into your enemies, with the exception of your parents, of course.

But do not forget, I hold your parents as hostages, in case you refuse to follow my instructions. I f you are too strong to defy me, I shall subject your parents to isolation, to shame. I shall laugh at your parents for not being able to bring you up in accordance with my principles.

Now, you can easily understand what your identity should be based on. Your identity should be based on your profession.

My dear child, I am not as cruel as you think. If you are subjected to so many rules, then, of course, I have got rewards for you.

You see, I have something called market where you shall findwhat not. Do not be afraid; I change the products daily- you

shall never be bored- never my child. Although they are not free, yet I give something free with every costly product you buyprestige, the honor of your fellow mates, and the envy of your enemies. Aren't these ecstatic?

I hope, it has become clear to you by now what largely concerns me- your livelihood. I have a certain mode of production which has gradually evolved into its present form and to ensure the smooth functioning of this mode of production, I have created posts of livelihood which you must occupy- thus my mode of production will continue and you will be rewarded. It is on this very mode of production that my survival depends. That is why I emphasize your livelihood. And I encourage only those values and character traits that will not only make you work the way I want to but it will also give you a sense of happiness and ensure my mode of production. A whole hierarchy of value systems have I built up to enable you to maintain my mode of production. You must learn and follow the value systems.

Let me begin with honesty. Be honest at your workplace; if you are an employee. Come to the workplace on time and do your duty with full honesty that my mode of production may run smoothly. I have mentioned its rewards previously. But, your honesty with others outside your workplace- I do not care about it. You also do not need to but you do so because you like myths of morality. However that is not my concern.

My mode of production is one of mass production which in other words is called industrialization. Irrespective of whether as many buyers exist as much as I produce, I must continue producing on a massive scale. How I acquired this mode of production that, my child, I will tell you another day. But for now, let me tell you, to keep industries running, to keep producing on a massive scale, I need massive consumption by people all over the world. And to encourage massive consumption have I encouraged those professions as honorable that give you a lot of money. And hence I have made massive consumption prestigious as well. Who would not want honor and prestige, my child?

When you buy products other than the fundamental necessities, you buy honor and prestige's satisfaction. From the beginning of creation I have tried to maximize production. Now, with the advance of technology I have entered the golden age of mass production. And that is why I value science and technology and have made it an honorable subject of practice. For you to be fit to continue and improve massive production I have built huge institutions where you shall learn techniques to be applied later in the industry. To encourage people to attend these institutions, I have made it honorable as well. And I have made it such that you will be dishonored, isolated, and humiliated if you do not attend to these institutions. And you must note the rewards I grant you- iPods, MP3 players, latest fashion and infinite variety of other products for self indulgence. Apart from serving as your rewards they are being consumed by all and my mode of

production continues uninterrupted. It is a cycle, my child, a cycle.

My child, to encourage to encourage you to buy, so that my mode of production continues, I had to build in you the character of a buyer- a person who is psychologically prone to buy everything in the market. Therefore, my child, now you can hardly love a woman- rather you tend to buy her love- of course, I do not pronounce it openly. If you are content to name it marriage, according to old Arab tradition, I do not mind really. But to tell the truth, in most cases, marriage is just an act of buying with the approval of your relatives. And to encourage mass consumption, I had to change the definition of love. Love is now the mutual enjoyment obtained by consuming a product together or by obtaining the pleasures of honor and prestige together. I t may not apply to all classes of people but the aristocrats whom I have bestowed with honor due to their mass consumption love more or less in the above way. The couples chase markets all over the globe, go for a long drive, go on tour and through all possible forms of consumption strengthen their love for each other.

I have changed the definition of happiness as well. A sense of happiness is obtained, now, as you see in advertisements, by consuming. A whole industry of advertisement have I built to convey to you the sweetness of consumption of various products. And to encourage the advertising industry I have made the profession named "modeling" an honorable one. Not without

a reason are the models revered. It is I who has made it an honorable profession so that advertising industry booms and consumption rises. It is all part of a cycle, child.

What have I not done to encourage mass consumption? I have labeled it as the most successful way of life. And who would want to fail in life? - No one. Moreover, I have labeled that life as a failed one which does not aspire to mass consumption.

Therefore, my child, if you want an honorable, prestigious life, if you want the blessings of your parents, if you want the sweet, enchanting love of your wife, if you want friends and most important of all if you want the appreciation of your elders, in particular, and the public, in general, then follow what I said; consume a lot- starting from birth till death. Consume. Buy. And live and die with honor. Otherwise, you will know how painful the disapproval of the people is- you will be isolated and left to die alone, with a feeling of guilt and shame.

Consume, my child. Consume.

September, 2010.