The Non-Marxist Viewpoint

As for non-Marxist thinkers, these decide that man's capacity to conceive the fittest system grows with him from the many social experiences he lives.

Therefore, when social man puts to practise a specific social system, embodying it within his own living experience, he can notice from his experience of that system the faults and weak points hiding within the system, for these will be discovered event- ually, enabling man to conceive a more terse and informed social system. Thus, man will be enabled to conceive the fittest system, putting his answer to the essential question in the light of his experience and knowledge. The more complete and numerous his experiments or systems he tries, the more know- ledge and terseness he achieves, becoming more ca- pable of defining the fittest system and making its dimensions.

Our major question: "What is the fittest social system?" is but another way of asking: "What is the best method of home-heating?" This question faced man ever since he felt cold for the first time inside his cave or hideout; so, he engaged himself in thinking of an answer to it, until he was led, through his remarks and numerous experiences, to a way to make a fire. Then he persistently struggled to find a better answer to the question across his prolonged experiences, until he finally discovered electricity for heating.

So was the case with thousands of other prob- lems he faced throughout his life. He found the way to solve those problems through experience, and his perception increased in exactness as his experiments increased in number. Among such problems are: the problem of getting the best medicine for tuberculosis, the easiest method for oil-drilling, the fastest means for transporation and travelling, or the best method for wool-weaving ..., etc.

Just as man has been able to solve all of these problems, providing answers for all of those question through experience, so can man answer the question of "What is the fittest social system?" from his social experiences that disclose both advantages and disadvantages of the particular system scrutinized, pointing out the reactions to it on the social level.

Adopted from the book: "Contemporary Man and The Social Problem" by: "Ayatollah Muhammad Baqir Al-Sadr"