Benazir is dead. We don't know who killed her. The man who ostensibly rules Pakistan, General Musharraf has asked Scotland Yard to help out with the investigation. Forget all this. Why is it that the subcontinent can never seem to digest democracy for more than a few years without a serious case of the hiccups?
This is probably a relevant question at a time when the catchphrase for a lot of powerful people appears to be 'spreading democracy'. Let me theorize for a moment. Good decisions of governance are made, or should be made on the basis of carefully weighed economic and statistical data. Hence, government should be run by technicians, just like a powerplant. Except that all decisions must be simultaneously moderated and supercharged by a person who has the twin capacities of compassion and vision. Such people are truly rare: they are the ones we call Statesmen. One such person was Bidhan Roy. Pandit Nehru was close to being one. Al Gore might well be one. But unfortunately, such people are hard to find.. it seems to be a paradox in that the people who are best qualified to govern are the least willing to do so.
Our only option appears to be to elect the people most willing to climb to power. And herein lies the second dilemma: it is wise to fear those for whom power itself is an end; it is better to pick those for whom power is a means to an end (hopefully a benign one).
Is there such a thing as a ruling class? Clearly, yes! It has been apparent that only those people who are immoral, amoral, or define their own morality are capable of leadership. Such people are bred and trained by the upper classes, or are thrown up from the lower classes. It is rare to see the moral and restrained middle class to produce leaders of strength. It has been the subcontinent's misfortune that the last few decades have not produced leaders of note.
to be continued..
This is probably a relevant question at a time when the catchphrase for a lot of powerful people appears to be 'spreading democracy'. Let me theorize for a moment. Good decisions of governance are made, or should be made on the basis of carefully weighed economic and statistical data. Hence, government should be run by technicians, just like a powerplant. Except that all decisions must be simultaneously moderated and supercharged by a person who has the twin capacities of compassion and vision. Such people are truly rare: they are the ones we call Statesmen. One such person was Bidhan Roy. Pandit Nehru was close to being one. Al Gore might well be one. But unfortunately, such people are hard to find.. it seems to be a paradox in that the people who are best qualified to govern are the least willing to do so.
Our only option appears to be to elect the people most willing to climb to power. And herein lies the second dilemma: it is wise to fear those for whom power itself is an end; it is better to pick those for whom power is a means to an end (hopefully a benign one).
Is there such a thing as a ruling class? Clearly, yes! It has been apparent that only those people who are immoral, amoral, or define their own morality are capable of leadership. Such people are bred and trained by the upper classes, or are thrown up from the lower classes. It is rare to see the moral and restrained middle class to produce leaders of strength. It has been the subcontinent's misfortune that the last few decades have not produced leaders of note.
to be continued..
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