Gandhi and Mandela This document summarizes and compares aspects of Gandhi and Mandela. It discusses Gandhi's vision for a nonviolent society based on principles like cosmic piety, equality, and pluralism. It also describes Gandhi's shy youth and how he found his voice leading protests in South Africa at age 30. The document then notes Mandela's charisma, social skills, and political understanding that made him an effective leader to end apartheid in South Africa despite being imprisoned for 27 years.

1. Gandhi and Mandela Danielle Barrington Professor Arguello History 5 8 August 2010

2. Gandhi’s Vision A was most interested by Gandhi’s vision of a nonviolent society. In Western culture, this is considered Utopian; Gandhi disagrees with Utopia, and instead argues that every society must achieve goodness in its own unique way. His beliefs about society were guided by five major principles: A good society should be informed by the cosmic piety. Since humans are simply guardians of the creation, they must accept life’s rhythm and balance. A good society should discourage exploitation, injustice, and inequality and institutionalize love, honesty, social service, cooperation, and solidarity. A good society should help humans develop moral and spiritual skills that build up swaraj(one’s autonomy). A good society should accept a pluralism of knowledge and beliefs. A creative interplay between these beliefs can only benefit society by expanding its knowledge. A good society lets its people make their own choices and exercise their freedom. By applying these principles to every aspect of his life, Gandhi was able to create a version of his own Utopia which, if followed, would allow society to flourish. I found his vision for society fascinating because I believe many of his ideas could be applied to today’s society and yield remarkable effects.

3. Gandhi’s Youth Another topic in the book that I found interesting was Gandhi’s slow start as a young man. As a child, he was shy and performed as an average student in school. When he went to law school, he found that he was too timid to argue in court. He didn’t really step out of his shell until his trip to South Africa for a job opportunity in 1893. In South Africa, he became discontent with the state of racism. He began putting together and leading protests. It was through this process, at the age of 30 years old, that he realized what he could become. He decided to study thought and logic and apply his theories on the topics to the world as he saw it. I’m fascinated by the unique process that Gandhi took to become the influential man that he is remembered as today.

4. Mandela’s Legacy Nelson Mandela made such an incredible impact on racism primarily because of his charisma. Everyone that meets him raves of his charm, height, and good looks. Combined with his incredible memory for faces and a quality indescribable but completely palpable, these qualities made him a difference maker with an incredible lasting legacy. His strong social skills and excellent understanding of politics made him a prime candidate to lead equality movements in the 1950s-60s as well as end the apartheid in the 1990s. Despite being unfairly imprisoned for 27 years, Mandela still recovered from his jailcell and successfully brought an end to the apartheid.