Destruction is Creation

Prakash Kale

During the last 9 months or so we have listened all the negative things about Covid-19 pandemic. That is, how it is harmful, how badly it has affected economy, how it is the worst time to live in and so on. And further how the future will be challenging for humanity in general and for next generation in particular, so on and so forth. But natural disaster like- earlier Tsunami (and so many before that) and now Covid-19 pandemic does two important positive function for progress of human civilisation. They step in where society/ human being, due to its own inertia, does not take risk to discard old and experiment new one. Their First function is-they filter whole processes of (be it of economy, industry politics and so on) society. Thus, post pandemic only those organisations/systems etc will pass through filter, that has still some relevance or special quality. Hang on or outdated organisations/systems will be/ being blocked by the filter and they will not be there post disaster to slow down the system. It is akin to computer cleaning. Second function is, it destroys old one, gives society a clean slate or new slate to create new order. Assuming filtering too is a form of destruction, henceforth I will dwell on a unified idea of “Destruction is a form of creation.”  

Perhaps the most obvious - and most troubling - example of contradiction in our universe is the constant tension between creation and destruction. Just as effortlessly as nature witnesses the dawn of every new day, birthing new life and bearing fresh buds, it simultaneously wreaks havoc, destruction, and decay. We integrate this contradiction in our daily lives. Composted waste, or manure, provides the soil for our crops, (animals and plants die so that others may be nourished), and hearts break so that individuals may mature and grow and make room for new love. Creation and destruction have their roots in the very essence of human existence. After all, every day the average adult human body creates over 200 billion cells, and an even larger number of cells die. It almost seems as if human behaviour is coded for by our internal biology.

It (“Destruction is a form of creation.”) is a hard reality to face, but one that nonetheless provides the balance for our existence. And it is reflected in many religious and spiritual traditions around the world, as well. There's the God of the Bible, who creates all of heaven and earth, but also occasionally sanctions floods and plagues. In ancient Greek mythology, Apollo was the god of light, knowledge and healing, but he also had a vengeful heart and could just as quickly bring illness and hardship. In Hinduism, the God Shiva is at once the kind benefactor and the fierce destroyer. Other way too, in Indian mythology the universe was created by Lord Brahma, preserved by Lord Vishnu, and destroyed for the next creation by Lord Shiva. Perhaps "holy" doesn't mean perfect or pure but instead complex, full of mystery and contradiction.

Thus, the presence of destruction is at the core of the creative process itself. Our most serious difficulties with being creative as human beings are not a result of deficiencies in imagination nor are, they principally due to apathy or indifference. While these are often central factors, the ultimate problem lies elsewhere—we don’t want to destroy, we don’t want to participate in destruction. Because we will not destroy, we are unable to create. Because we are unwilling to become destroyers, we cannot become creators. One could in fact say that we don’t dare to imagine new possibilities and realities as doing so inherently destroys our cherished but limiting actualities and current modes of being. Apathy and indifference may just be an insidiously clever disguise to escape the call to create through destroying.

However, creative destruction was first coined by Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter in 1942. Schumpeter describes creative destruction as innovations in the manufacturing process that increase productivity, but the term has been adopted for use in many other contexts. Every act of creation is also an act of destruction. The creation of something new and different, something that has not yet been, demands the destruction of the old and the typical, what is now and what has come before. Yet, destruction becomes an act of creation only for individuals and societies young and innovative enough to move forward and build something new out of the rubble. To repeat destruction is a key element of all creativity and progress. Nothing is created out of thin air, it is an upgrade on its predecessor or its parts, which means something has to be at least partially destroyed, in order for something new to be created. Thus, by destroying the old balance or status quo, Covid-19 has given us an opportunity to move forward.  

It is a fact that the novel coronavirus pandemic has upended the world as we know it, taking an unprecedented toll on health, human life and economy. But destruction (by disasters like Covid19) is a force of / for creation in that, as said in introduction, it creates a blank slate (or new slate) upon which new things – whether parking lots or political movements – can grow. For example, under Covid19 threat the healthcare ecosystem has quickly mobilized to mitigate the crisis – modifying care access points and modalities while producing financing mechanisms to sustain patient care amidst dire circumstances. It has given to tele-therapy and tele-medicine. As the scale of the pandemic grows and downstream impacts persist, healthcare organizations are recognizing they must shift from a reactive stance to a more proactive “new normal.” Operating in this environment will require new capabilities, forcing many organizations to look externally for innovative solutions to guide this transformation.

Outside healthcare system best example of this transformation is seen in Indian Railways. Railways exist in India for almost more than 170 years and so it has long history of operation, system and procedure. It served British India’s interest as well Independent India’s need. It was there when Air Travel was miniscule, private travel almost unknown to masses. It served passenger traffic (below cost) restricting freight traffic. Time and economy changed but railway could not change due to its own INERTIA created by historical baggage. No one dared to change it. Then came the Covid19 destruction. Passenger train’s operation completely stopped. Taking this opportunity railway finished many long pending projects, gauge conversion, gauge upgradation and maintenance works. Ultimately, when passenger trains partially restored, all concession in fares have been withdrawn. Further with the help of IIT Mumbai, new Time Table based on “Zero Budget” concept has been created which has eliminated many unwanted trains, stoppages and routes. This new Time table has taken in to account preference for   Air Travel (long journey) and Road Travel (short journey). Based on enhanced paying capacity and comfort demanded by passenger, train composition too is being changed towards more AC coaches. Similarly based on new advances in food preservation eatables will be collected from base kitchen only and “Pantry Cars” will be replaced by a 3^rd AC Coach. All New trains are being sanctioned based only on demand. Freight traffic is being given due weightage and its average speed is already increased from 25 km per hour to 50-60 km per hour. List of innovation is long one and these innovations would not have been possible in absence of Covid19 due to human being’s Inertia.

Likewise, even though technology was available for Virtual Meetings, due to inertia and old habits, physical meetings in the organisations and consequent travelling continued. Covid19 has stopped it. There are call centres like businesses in India catering to needs of USA and Europe corporates, but they are concentrated only in metros causing excessive growth and congestion of these Mega Cities. The same was possible from small cities too but no one cared. Pandemic has forced such businesses shift to small cities and organisations are realising that that with enhanced power of technology location of business (or human power) is becoming irrelevant and establishing business in small town is far better economic proposition. There is change of perception in social and labour relation too. Earlier blue collar (migrant) worker from backward states used to be looked down by locals in metros as encroaching in to their right and spaces. But once migrant labour went back to home land(due to covid19), locals of these mega cities and industrial establishment located there in realised the importance of their contribution and now being reemployed at better terms.

It is not that only when natural disaster, where we feared doom has ultimately proved to be a boon for society or country. Man-made problem too ultimately has proved beneficial to us. In fact, creative destruction was first coined by Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter in 1942. Schumpeter describes creative destruction as innovations in the manufacturing process that increase productivity, but the term has been adopted for use in many other contexts. Every act of creation is also an act of destruction. The creation of something new and different, something that has not yet been, demands the destruction of the old and the typical. That is what is now and what has come before. Yet destruction becomes an act of creation only for individuals and societies that are young and innovative enough to move forward and build something new out of the rubble. To repeat, destruction is a key element of all creativity and progress. Nothing is created out of thin air, it is an upgrade on its predecessor or its parts, which means something has to be at least partially destroyed, in order for something new to be created.

Thus, remember oil producing countries formed an organisation- OPEC in1970s- and jacked up oil prices. We feared it will deplete our foreign exchange reserve and we may not have sufficient foreign exchange to import crude oil. But their (country’s) new found wealth opened a new window for our man-power to serve in those countries’ development work. Ultimately by labour’s remittance, our foreign exchange reserve increased leaps and bounds. Next example is from our 1991 economic crisis, when we had to pledge sovereign gold to replenish foreign exchange reserve. Then, under crisis we completely dismantled 1956 industrial policy and ushered in new era of industrial liberalisation. Result is every one to see, post 1991, we moved away from Hindu rate of GDP growth of 3 % per annum to average 6-7 %   rate of GDP growth.

Coming back to fact that humans have willingness to be creator but not destroyer and so not able to be creator too. Surely it must extend beyond a merely academic or intellectual misunderstanding of the nature of the creative process or resistance to participating in the destructive dynamic. Indeed, it seems that these difficulties are most deeply rooted within our identities as human beings. In creating, I am doing more than merely performing a creative action. However, the identity of the destroyer terrifies and repulses us. We can’t bear to be and see ourselves as the destroyers of ideals and beliefs, values and dreams, structures and forms, complacencies, and false comforts. Even if we understand and acknowledge that such things need to be destroyed in order to create something higher or better, we often would rather someone else be responsible for their destruction because we do not want to be the destroyers. However, unconsciously we all do it all the time.   

Consider the creative movement of the will in the processes of choosing, deciding, valuing, and believing. Every choice for something is a choice against something else, and every decision for a particular direction or path in life is a decision not to explore other directions or take other paths. Actively identifying with certain values means not identifying with other values, and maintaining certain beliefs means that other beliefs must be sacrificed. The mere acts of willing and choosing, which are so essentially characteristic of our human existence, imply a simultaneous affirmation and negation. Therefore, every affirmation is a hidden negation, and every negation is a hidden affirmation. We want to affirm but find that to do so, we must also negate. We cannot affirm without negating, and at the core of affirmation lies the dynamic of negation. In simpler terms, we cannot say “yes” without also saying “no.” We cannot say “no” without also saying “yes.” As we affirm through negating, we create through destroying.

So, the nature of our existence as human beings demands that we accept and meaningfully integrate a dual, dynamic identity that is constituted by images of both the creator and the destroyer. “And, whoever must be a creator in good and evil, verily, he must first be an annihilator and break values. Thus, the highest evil belongs to the highest goodness: but this is creative.” Perhaps what we most need in helping us to embrace the dual identity of our nature is a deep and constant awareness of the critically vital “why” underlying the destructive dynamic within the creative process and the inseparable union of creator and destroyer. We don’t destroy for the mere sake of destruction itself and we must not remain destroyers only. Our responsibility is to participate in destruction that leads to productive creation. We will likely be better able to integrate the destroyer aspect of our identity if we can see ourselves as “creative destroyers,” those who destroy in the service of creation. In the end, this may be the secret key to unlocking and releasing the floodgates of our creative potential for growth and constructive transformation.

Now, to be clear, in speaking of “destruction” in this way, I of course do not mean destructive acts that result in harm toward self or others, emotionally/physically damaging behaviour, violence, etc. There is no argument here to justify such manifestations of destruction, which are certainly not creative, at least not in any positive or healthy sense. However, while there is tragically an excess of destructive incidents that are opposed and antithetical to the process of constructive creation, our experience of our existence as human beings provides a compelling argument for the dynamic of destruction at the heart of creation.

To conclude, as the Covid-19 pandemic rages on, it’s clear that the ramifications of the pandemic are likely to permanently reshape the humanity. But every disruption, (natural or otherwise) in human history has led to new ways of thinking. So, evolution around key areas of change will happen that will successfully navigate the world beyond Covid-19. As the industry and society begins this dynamic journey, I believe all early-stage companies have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shape the future ahead. In health care we will see the most adaptation in value-based care payment models, digitally integrated and tailored care delivery and automation. In education too pandemic will enhance the quality of education by combining the best of online with offline. Online education will act as a force multiplier (filling the gaps in physical infrastructure) for faster, deeper and more meaningful learning.