Deepthi Kumara Gunaratne is a postmodern thinker, organic disruptor, and political and social analyst whose forthright and unique views on politics and the arts have gained significant traction in Sri Lanka. As the founder of the Samabima Party, he is preparing to contest the upcoming general election for the first time across five electoral divisions in the country. In an interview with the Sunday Observer, Deepthi shared insights into his purpose and mission in politics.
In this general election campaign Deepthi is poised to lead a new vision for Sri Lankan politics, one that seeks to engage the youth and rekindle critical thinking in a landscape defined by commodification and superficial engagement. His mission reflects a commitment to confronting the deeply rooted challenges of our time while nurturing a more informed and ethically engaged society.
He articulated that the Sri Lankan left has struggled to define capitalism in the 21st century, and he has developed a narrative known as postmodernism that has influenced intersections of art, culture, and university education within the country. Although historically, leftist politics revolved around class struggle, protests, and myths surrounding the working-class revolution, the political landscape has evolved differently.
Postmodernism
“Postmodernism, in simple terms, refers to the structural changes that have taken place in media and culture,” Deepthi said. “The shift in media has moved from communicating truth to seduction or overcommunication. The commodification of culture represents a significant structural change. As a result, culture cannot be contextualised within critical thinking any longer, as its commodification has led it to enter the market economy.” He emphasized that these three aspects are central to understanding postmodernism.
According to Deepthi, Sri Lankan society is now fully postmodernised, a concept he introduced two decades ago that has since become a reality. “We are witnessing the effects of this postmodern condition within political parties, private media institutions, and particularly with the rise of social media, which has made the postmedia condition evident,” he said.
The formation of the X group in the early 1990’s, which later became the Samabima Party was a conscious effort to create a new social movement. “Engaging in elections, organising social forces, and campaigning are not the main priorities in our mandate because the structure of political parties in the 21st century differs significantly from traditional politics, it is no longer based solely on class dynamics,” he said. “The political battle of this century is an ideological struggle that has become detached from reality. We have resigned ourselves to subjective realities rather than objective truths.”
Deepthi referenced philosopher Peter Sloterdijk who describes postmodern society with the metaphor of soap foam, comprising numerous interconnected bubbles that shift and change. “As one bubble connects to another, others may disappear, resulting in the absence of totality. Consequently, there are no fixed identities; they are always fluctuating and fluid,” he said. Deepthi believes that the ability to interpret these fluctuations accurately defines the essence of postmodern politics in the 21st century.
Change in political reality
Deepthi said that the political reality in Sri Lanka has significantly changed, adding that this transformation is evident in the decline of the strong political parties that once dominated the landscape over the past few decades. “We knew this change was going to take place,” he said, “and we predicted that not only would the giant political parties disappear from reality, but also the political culture we once knew—characterised by massive poster campaigns, cutouts, and rallies — has expired. These elements have shifted to the internet, invading the public domain, thereby eliminating the possibility for them to exist in the physical world.”
Deepthi said that today’s youth seem largely disengaged from political discourse, with a notable absence of counter-culture. “Instead, we are confronted with a commercial culture,” he said. “This contrast becomes especially clear when comparing today’s youth to those who participated in the student movements of the 1960s.” He highlighted the necessity of acknowledging that we live within a narrow historical horizon. For the current generation aged 25 to 35, their understanding of history is increasingly shaped by market changes rather than by significant historical events. “This generation can be described as neo-anarchists. Unlike traditional anarchists who oppose the state and seek to engage in politics without seizing state power, neo-anarchists aim to deconstruct existing politics while addressing social issues. They have known only capitalist realism, seeing capitalism as a natural state of being. For them, politics is synonymous with participation, reflecting the culture of platforms like Facebook, which facilitate engagement without fostering critical thinking.”
Moral dilemma
In discussing the global context, Deepthi identified a moral dilemma facing the world today. “As we rationally comprehend the world through cause and effect, we inch closer to freedom,” he said. Citing Jean-François Lyotard, French philosopher, he outlined how knowledge has transitioned from libraries and universities into digital storage, which leads to the commodification of knowledge. “Once knowledge becomes data that can be traded and converted into capital, it transforms from a social construct to a private commodity,” he said, adding that traditional knowledge no longer fulfills or civilises human being as it once did. He highlighted ChatGPT as an example, adding that it does not impart true knowledge but rather provides mere correlations.
Deepthi referenced Yuval Harari’s insights that reflect this situation stating that our cognitive faculties have become entwined in marketing algorithms, often beyond our conscious awareness. “This reflects the post-human condition we are experiencing,” he said, describing it as a dark age. He said that when the market economy begins to recognise human desires as artificial, a sense of anxiety emerges within us. “Before the digital era, we were largely oblivious to the artificial nature of our desires,” he added.
In this context, Deepthi asserted that Sri Lankans are grappling with a dark age that is part and parcel of the global capitalist condition. “This is not merely a local phenomenon but a global issue,” he emphasized, insisting that the challenges we face cannot be attributed solely to a few politicians who have mismanaged the country. “Our political philosophy is to cultivate cognitive abilities among the general public to better understand these phenomena.”
Revisiting Kant
To further explore this complex landscape, Deepthi suggested revisiting the philosophy of Immanuel Kant. He quoted Kant, saying, “Dare to know! Have the courage to use your own reason.” Deepthi outlined three critical faculties within humans: knowledge, ethics, and morality. “This framework shapes how reality is constructed. We must be willing to question the knowledge imparted by social media and various sources, striving to elevate our understanding from the empirical to a purer state. We need a solid ethical foundation for our actions — to take responsibility for both our conscious and unconscious decisions. Finally, we must cultivate a critical judgment of our reality,” he said.
Deepthi said that while discussions about happiness are common, it is essential to critique our underlying unhappiness as a means to escape the darkness that envelops modern society. “In this postmodern, social media-driven era, our primary task is to reintroduce meaningful knowledge into our country,” he asserted. “This endeavour represents the politics of the 21st century.” he added.
