The Economics of Dogma

Every society, must be on the lookout for the benefeciaries of a dogma

As per the dictionary, dogma means ‘a set of established beliefs’. However in common Lingo, the term is often associated with a negative idea.

An idea travels a painful journey before being labelled as a dogma. To understand this, firstly one must appreciate the fact that all ideas, philosophy, religion; which have had significant popularity - begin with the proposition of betterment - weather in the form of equitable society, refrain from Evil, causing good aur even for attaining personal mental peace.

It is this noble proposition within the idea that resonates with the initial audience who become overwhelmed with their New Found treasure. Herein, they strive to share and propagate idea, out of a genuine altruistic sense to their fellow humans, in order to bring the same satisfaction to them, that they had initially.
The 'seminal idea' now starts to become a 'popular idea’. It is after a certain threshold of popularity, that economic motive enters into the picture and with it, begins the denigeration of the original idea.
Hereafter, invariably a beneficiary-benefactor relation is established out of this idea; the beneficiary doing all things possible to make this relationship more and more pronounced. By this time the essence of the original idea gets shrouded in ritualism introduced to further this economic relationship.

We find this painful journey in all major religious faiths today. In Christianity, Church became the sole benefactor of public faith and devotion by establishing themselves as the sole communicator with the divine. Thereafter a religion found with the basic tenet of peaceful coexistence became means of sacrifice - both human sacrifice and financial donation for the 'noble' cause of divine (read church) .

A similar fate met with Hinduism, wherein a class established itself as the communicator and dakshina acceptor behalf of the God from a class which could afford it. Other fellow hindus were kept in a class that suffered social exclusion. Thus, a religion, with the basic tenet of Salvation, came to be used for the financial and social benefit of one class at the expense of other classes made out of fellow humans.

In the Arabian Peninsula, the religion of Islam denigrated after Caliphate-e-Rashidun. After this initial religious leadership, as the Islamic terrotories expanded, the life of religious head - the caliphs, became more and more lavish in clear contradiction to self sacrifice - one of the five basic tenets of Islam.

We see, in all the above examples, how an altruistic idea, on garnering enough popularity tends to bring in authority and subservient class.

It is at this time the subservient class is made to 'unquestion' the authoratarian class - and thus the seminal idea earns the label of dogma.

Therefore, a society seeking harmony must always be on the lookout for the beneficiaries of the 'dogma' and strive to weed them out rather than discrediting the 'idea' itself.