A POSTCAPITALIST PARADIGM: THE COMMON GOOD OF ...

The term ‘people’s science’ signifies many things. Cognizant of the fact
that science has become an exalted domain of knowledge, concentrated
only amongst the professionals who work in elite universities, institutions
and companies, the term ‘people’ signifies a democratization
process whereby ordinary people must also understand science so that
science policies, products and information that by now determines their
life is also understandable to them so, that they can participate rather
than be controlled by technocrats and science establishments. It also
signifies that science is not only what the university or research scientist
does, that the knowledge and practicing system of the ordinary people,
namely the farmer, the handicraft worker, the indigenous (adivasi) people,
the housewife working in the kitchen also have elements of science
in them and it is the combination of the people’s knowledge and the academic
knowledge that can lead to more sustainable paths; or that the
common good of humanity demands that the knowledge of the people
be recognized and given due prominence, rather than being marginalized
and replaced by knowledge produced and reproduced in universities and
research institutions. And finally, ‘people’ also signifies that developmental
policies must be worked out with peoples participation and not
by the rulers alone.
Though the AIPSN is decidedly left oriented, many of its practices follow
the Gandhian path, in particular the work in strengthening rural technologies
for rural production. In order to reduce the dependence of rural populations
on products flowing in from urban centers, as also to create
avenues for earning livelihoods in areas where they live so that they do
not need to migrate to find work, AIPSN units identify and work with a
variety of rural populations, partnering them in upgrading rural production
systems to create products at the local level for local consumption. The
areas of work include leather manufacture, pottery, food and fruit processing,
textiles and handicrafts, indigenous medicines, agro products,
milk and dairying, wood and bamboo products, local watershed methods
for irrigation, tree plantations, use and revival of indigenous seeds and
so on. Combining the best of local knowledge and institutional science,
AIPSN workers partner in working out the most suitable skills and pro-
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