The Invisible Hand

Do you remember the infamous goal scored by the legendary Argentinian, Diego Maradona in the 1986 football world cup quarter finals against England? Lovers and followers of the game swear by it and for those who never heard of it, here is what happened. The game was six minutes into the second half and during the run towards the English goal keeper the ball looped into the penalty area towards Maradona. The player being 8 inches shorter than the English goal keeper reached it first with his outside left hand and had the ball bouncing into the goal post. The referee did not witness any foul play and awarded the goal to Argentina that helped them propel ahead of their nemesis in the tournament. Later Maradona remarked, “un poco con la cabeza de Maradona y otro poco con la mano de Dios” (translating into “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of GOD”). This provoked people world over to label the goal as the “Hand of GOD”.

Fast forward 33 years later to 2019. Had Maradona scored such a goal against a team today, the referee would 9 out of 10 times retract the goal and penalise the player or team for foul play. The simple reason being the advent of technology with powerful cameras, sensors and tracking systems would immediately call the goal been scored by the hand which is against the rule of the game. The invisible intervention of GOD then, would simply be proven as untrue with the robust surveillance system that is deployed in football or any other sport for that matter. Here is a footage of the Hand of GOD goal scored by Maradona and in an instant, you would ridicule the drab quality of the footage or the recording. To make matters worse, the referee had no one to refer but his own sight and judgement. Unlike the luxury available today of referring to the cameras on close calls or decision making that can swing the odds completely and be biased.

The hand of GOD may be a side remark passed by a legend that went on to become a piece of rich history in the annals of the sport. However, the comparison draws our attention to a compelling belief of our societies and worlds we live in. The case of technology over powering our religious or spiritual thoughts and doctrines. It also raises a point on age old arguments of Science vs Myth. When we hear folklore of our ancestors and laugh off or ridicule their beliefs, we tend to overlook a host of issues our ancestors encountered when we pass our judgement.

Importantly, we tend to overlook the penetration or the availability of technology at the disposal of our ancestors. We might ridicule the speed of which communication would traverse in ancient years overlooking that there weren’t any means of electronic communication at all back then. Hence, we would hear people losing lives to sicknesses back then that could be easily saved today by a doctor who would be at our disposal in seconds. We would know of wealth been dug and hidden in hideous spots around the house, until the advent of the banking system introduced people to the concept of trusting a third-party entity with their wealth.

These are straight through advancements where there were serious problems faced by our ancestors who kept looking for solutions until someone thought of it and finally gave it a form in the form of telecommunications or a banking system or medical services, etc. Yet, when science would amaze our ancestors and weave its wand over an issue for the good or bad and present a solution or problem likewise, the innocent clique had no option but to term this science wonder as the invisible hand of GOD, “It happened because GOD wanted it to be that way”. Utterly ruling out all possibilities of a scientific interference. The baton would pass on for generations in the guise of religious, spiritual or any other unknown beliefs. When one fine day in some corner of the earth a scientist, a revolutionary, a rebel or a corporation would unravel the mystery and rationally map the cause and effect of an event that would turn the invisible intervention of GOD into a logical doing of science.

Capitalism vs Socialism

Let us take the case of capitalist and socialist society formations post the second world war. A faction of the world turned into a capitalist structure embodying the dogma and benefits of living in a free market world. Likewise, there were societies that swore and held the socialist placards high above their heads demonising the idea of individuality and prioritising the society ahead of it. Off course as things stand, events have proved that capitalism has scored heavily on the socialist beliefs and the disparity in the economies of capitalist and socialist regimes accentuate this point. The success of capitalism would be attributed by many as the invisible hand or the hand of GOD that drove the free markets and catapulted the capitalist czars into dominions of power.

The invisible hand that drove the markets was later decoded that capitalism propelled not because it was “the good” but the essentials of capitalism allowed for decentralisation of resources, supply and power instead of handing it over to one group or a select few as in the case of socialism. This group would then run the show as per their whims and completely ignore the individual that is so celebrated in a capitalist mindset or economy.

Switching to science

The capitalist or socialist ideology is one such example and the same can be extended to the doctrines of ancient beliefs where compulsions on senseless activities are forced upon generations under the label of GOD or divinity. We cannot have people or societies validating us round the clock under the pretext of believing the essence of God. The idea and belief of GOD or supreme power should be a personal opinion to each one as the spirit of GOD is the force that lies within every individual. But when such ideologies are thrashed and a common creed is forced upon humanity is when we see discontent and imbalance in our societies. We need to give ample time and consideration for science to explain certain events even though the clarity might not be offered in the immediate.

History however has proven that when some individuals do offer that clarity, we isolate those souls and tag them as outcast or delusional. We may call them delusional, but what are the silhouettes of our believes that shape us? How rational are they? Do we envision a society that remains curios, demands answers on sporadic events or intend to build a community that attributes the unknown to the invisible hand? The essence of the Supreme Power must be harnessed effectively and positively within oneself than attributing it to random events around us. We are much better off then in keeping our heads on science and having the invisible hand blessed on us to successfully unravel the hidden mysteries of the world and its forces.