By Nicholas RAINER

Like so many Cassandra?s, pundits have been predicting, for what seems like eons now, a social explosion of disastrous proportions and ramifications. Worse yet, they are already naming communalism as its principal cause. So much so that it seems like no serious conversation would be complete without the word.

Well, have I got news for you! Don?t believe the soothsayers of doom and, especially, don?t believe the hype. ?You can?t love what you are, if you don?t hate what you are not.? Or so the saying goes. These types of maxims have become common currency for many intellectuals who believe that a nicely turned phrase is synonymous with truth. This cerebral laziness will eventually land the country in quite a pickle. And when the moment comes to choose between compromise and conflict, these very same patriots will very possibly opt for the latter. After all, imagine the loss of face they would suffer if ever their prophecies came to naught.

By looking at things a little more systemically, one comes to realize that the source of all this latent tension does not originate from ethnic and religious differences. Instead, we should be weary of much more mundane circumstances, such as the scarcity of resources. You see, even if the island was inhabited by a preternaturally homogenous race, it still wouldn?t change the fact that the available land mass is minuscule and that there are not always enough resources to go round. Martin Luther King, in particular, warned against the dangers of building a society in which a large number of people have nothing to lose.

Famous for its mysterious statues (moai), Easter Island was colonized around AD 800 by East Polynesian mariners. The island, also known as Rapa Nui, was divided into 11 or 12 districts, each of which was ruled by a different leader and each with its own unique asset. For example, one district had the best beach for landing canoes while another had the stone quarry needed for carving ?moais?. For centuries, districts coexisted peacefully and competed only by trying to build the biggest ?moai?. Until the island?s natural resources ? forests, bird and populations - began to dwindle. The people of Rapa Nui turned to infighting and cannibalism. Quasi-extinction followed shortly after.

Given the scarcity of our natural resources and the uneven distribution of wealth, the impending economic crisis could quickly lead to scapegoatism and, ultimately, civil unrest. The annals of history are studded with such episodes, of which 1930s Germany is but one. It will be incredibly facile and, indeed, tempting to jump on the bandwagon of intolerance and wanton destruction. Future generations will suffer the most from any unraveling of the social fabric.

So profound is our need to identify with our ilk, that we even associate modern scourges like HIV/AIDS and heroin addiction with certain ethnic groups. Not only is this ethically wrong, it is fallacious too. Only a collective effort of monumental proportions will get us out of this fix in one piece. So roll up your sleeves. Oh, and please don?t believe the hype.