The last thing that hapless masses can afford in the midst of this unprecedented crisis is violence that would make life near impossible for many.

It was a deliberate decision on the part of vested interests to dismiss progressive ideas articulated by many knowledgeable people in favor of self serving projects and state interventions. So, it was certainly not that there were no well articulated policy proposals.

They have an enlightened elite encompassing almost all sectors n we watered down public education to prevent the emergence of competent civil servants, diplomats, top ranking intellectuals, technocrats, independent professions, etc. so, they could embark upon d reforms mentioned

There are clear signs of deterioration of mental health of many people in SL today brought about by this debilitating economic n social crisis. I proposed that the authorities establish a community based monitoring system to keep an eye on and respond. Do these fellows care?

It is the greed of many people of all walks of life for wealth and power, unrestrained by law or religion, that brought Sri Lanka down to this miserable situation. But, justice and a sense of morality could have prevented this calamity .

Certain professions that many people are engaged in are not mere ways of making a living because they can make the lives of many others better or worse. Think about politics n how our political leaders in recent decades have used their privileged positions to solve our problems !

It is the balance between private interest and public welfare that determines the level of health of a society. We lost this balance several decades ago and failed to address it through public polices and rule of law. So, you have a society in shambles. How to put it together.

Many academics in d 60's talked about unequal exchange n unequal development when developing countries exported primary goods n imported industrial goods. Now we have production of symbolic goods as a major part of some developed economies. How does it affect a country like SL?

Just think about de-industrialization leading to the collapse of almost all primary industries after neoliberal reforms since 1977. Even textile industry collapsed when the only industry promoted was garments. Garments without textiles! What a country!

Where do we have welfare states that are also economically and socially developed? Think about the Nordic world.

When liberal policies worked in some other countries, why it did not work in SL?

But we had welfare policies before but disintegrated afterwards.

Education has largely become an instrumental activity, a means to a narrow end. Citizenship education, ethics, public morality, etc are missing. No time for reading anything other than what is needed. Teachers prepare them for exams and parents send them to tuition classes, etc.

It was great to catch up with so many long standing colleagues and some younger scholars face to face at the world congress after a long break #ISAWCS23. The key message, we have a big role to play and a great responsibility wherever we are in the world.

It was great to have been asked to conduct a professional development roundtable at the world congress of Sociology in Melbourne that brought so many sociologists from around the world, both long standing and very promising young sociologists. Learned a lot as always!

Pension n EPF cover 27% of d working ppl in SL. No effective measures taken in recent decades to extend SS to others. Inflation largely due to money printing has already slashed d value of SS funds. If debt restructuring reduces d value further, What will happen to affected ppl?

There are many signs of public disorder in Sri Lanka. One of these is uncontrolled noice pollution that any visitor to this country can easily notice. Just think about the noice coming from the loudspeakers.

First, undermine d intrinsic value of education and politics in a society. Then, you will see what happens to the intrinsic value of many other human pursuits. What is the outcome of all these? To find d answer, you only have to look what we are experiencing in SL today!

Sri Lanka could hardly afford d continuous n unchecked outflow of talent and skilled labour over many decades. Continuous weakening of our institutions including most of our universities has been d obvious result. Imagine what will happen now with d present unprecedented exodus!

හොරාගේ අම්මගෙන් පේන ඇහීම දැන් කොපමන කලක් කරාද? රට වැටුනේ ඇයිද යන්න දැන්වත් තේරුම් ගැනීමට බැරිනම්, හොදම වැඩේ කතා නොකර සිටීමයි.