The island newspaper has reported recently on its front page that the Prime Minister’s predecessor, Mr. Wickremanayake awaits an appointment to discuss post election violence. At other times, a delay to respond to a simple request to meet would have been discourteous. It is not done among the simplest of people. Considering, however, that over 3000 people have been hurt as a result of political violence in the past few weeks, the mildest reprimand which can be offered is that Prime Minister Ranil is that he is not playing by the rules even in the game being played among the classes in this country.

Not that the PA are much better. After 6 years of rule they still have no medium of communication with their millions of supporters. No newspapers, no radio nor television. In politics, incompetence of this nature is as much a betrayal of society as the breaking of any rule. The PA is as unfit to rule as their opposition who are now in government. One does not have to expand on this. The common people understood this and elected them out of office and showed a remarkable increase in their preference for a Party arising from among their own.

Where does it leave all of us? A million or more have left the island in recent years to live and work with better people. Many others have taken out foreign passports to prepare themselves for a bolt hole. But what of those impoverished masses, still eking out a sparse living in the midst of our affluence.

The JVP party is all they have to look to. True they are untried. But they have virtues which balance inexperience. They have none from the classes of ease many of whom feed their dogs better than the hungry who come for alms or assistance. The JVP have , in their manner sacrificed their lives and limbs to the guns and torture chambers of those who now revel in their power. They are still uncorrupted either intellectually or financially. They have a vision of how they could improve our lot, the rich and poor included.

As for the affluent class to which I belong, we cannot yet begin to understand the good they can bring us, mired as we are in our exceptional houses, hotels, night clubs, day clubs, supermarkets, to be served wherever we go by abject individuals of both sexes.

Even the best of us must necessarily degenerate, living as we do in the circumstances where most people around us have not enough to eat, nor money with which to buy books, go to decent schools or acquire any self esteem which is a human necessity.

Any political party which tries to give us back a conscience, long lost, must have unusual merit. But can they, unless we are brought out of our complacency as aliens among our own. I would be called a "commie" and all manner of names, if I continue to say that we need to share our material good fortune in a manner to be devised rationally. I am none of these. I am certainly no evangelist. I would rather chose selfishness any day in the short term. But I would be denying my humanity, if I were not to agree to abolish inheritance, to introduce managerial ownership, to be deprived of surplus living room to accommodate the homeless and to more of such reforms.

Our children would grow to be of better stock, if they were to be denied privilege and were required to earn their way, sharing and caring equitably. If they are endowed with talent they would enhance the social wealth. If they are not, a compassionate society would sustain them.

That’s us. But it is really mind boggling to contemplate the benefits of a society of equals to the poor in this country. Readers of our English language newspapers rarely encounter the poor except to be served. Their attitudes therefore remain indifferent. A closer look reveals that among the poor who make up the majority of people in this country, a slice or two of plain bread and tea without milk is their daily breakfast. Lunch and dinner are the same food shared through the day by the hours that the children and the breadwinner keep. The menu consists of just a vegetable or two and a piece of dried fish curried with a minimum of ingredients bought just for day. If they are fortunate enough to have a few village poultry around, the eggs most often are sold, not consumed.

Such conditions leave them no time nor inclination nor resources to read, think or act on their own to improve their conditions. Hence, the need for a party from among them which can do all these things for them and transform our society without violence and undue disruption in our common interest.