Thursday, April 28, 2011

The Present Day Political Challenges

The Present Day Political Challenges

By Tomazinho Cardozo   


Mankind faces threat to its very existence. Life has become insecure. Terrorism is the greatest menace which goes uncontrolled. We have not succeeded in eliminating illiteracy and unemployment.
Thus poverty prevails and health problems increase in spite of modern medical advances. Population too grows at a fast pace. Environmental destruction continues unabated. All these factors have contributed to the existence of hunger and disease. Even the mightiest regimes – the super powers - are not in a position to tackle these issues successfully.

Most countries of the world today have a democratic system of governance. These are the governments which are elected by the people. Yet people’s troubles and tribulations have not come to an end. Has the democratic governance, which is considered the best form of governance, failed? What sort of political system would best meet the challenges of the present times? History is a witness to the fact that there were revolutions and bloodshed in order to wipe out dictatorial regimes and make way for democratic governances. It happened but expectations of the people have not been fulfilled.
If one analyses the issue in depth and observes what has been achieved during the last 50 years under the care of ‘democracy’, one thought that disturbs one’s mind is that the democratic form of governance has not been able to solve the problems of the people. On the contrary people’s miseries have increased many folds. The most important factor for such a state of affairs is that the democratic system of governance depend on continued industrial growth and when it comes to industrial growth one cannot avoid environmental destruction to some extent. Developed nations become important players of industrial growth particularly in the poor countries where there are a lot of resources along with extreme poverty and hunger. Many times, in the present set up, the voice of the poor and downtrodden is not at all heard in the corridors of power of this democratic system. And such acts of the powers-that-be have given rise to insurgency and terrorism. Unfortunate indeed! Democracy - a system of governance that is directly elected by the people - has failed to protect the interest of the people.
No one denies the fact that industrial growth is the backbone of a growing society. But at what cost? Industries are being set up throughout the world in large numbers. Environment is being destroyed day in and day out. Has all these so-called development helped in decreasing unemployment and poverty? Has the situation of hunger and disease among the weaker sections of the society shown any signs of improvement? Unfortunately, the answers to these questions are negative because it has led to severe destruction of the ecology of the area, increase of pollution, disease, global warming, etc. Thus is it advisable to expand industrial technology at the pace that is currently being done throughout the world? I am afraid, if it does, the human population might be the greatest looser.
Thus there is urgent need to limit industrial growth. It has to happen as soon as possible. Rich nations may not be able to maintain their economic supremacy in times to come. This is evident from the fact that many third world countries have started asserting in their dealings with the developed countries. It’s a good sign indeed.

On the other side, whenever and wherever the process of discussion and understanding has failed, the disadvantaged people have tried to assert themselves through blackmail and extortion. Hijackings, kidnappings and numerous dreaded acts of terrorism are concrete example of this attitude. There is good reason to expect a more serious form of blackmail – nuclear threats. As of now, many nations, including third world countries, have acquired nuclear weapons. When their people are starving it will not be surprising to see that they turn to nuclear black-mail and extract the required benefits to their suffering people.
The alternatives to these grim prospects are hardly more desirable. What kind of government would be able to force birth control on an unwilling population or put down the protests of hungry mobs? What kind of government would be in a position to pursue industrial growth in order to create employment opportunities without destroying the environment? What kind of government will be effective to curb hijacking, kidnappings and acts of terrorism so that the lives of citizens are secure? What kind of government will consider qualitative education to all citizens irrespective of caste, creed and religion as the foundation of the growth of the society? We need a government which is strong, determined and ready to act firmly not only in the interest of the rich and powerful but in the interest of the poor and downtrodden in the true sense of the word. Can a democratically elected government achieve this goal? Probably not! The problems that lie ahead may be so serious that the only government able to solve them, I am sorry to say, would be an oppressive regime. A benevolent dictator is the need of the hour.
This is an indeed an unhappy manner to end this article. But we must never forget that politics is never a happy topic because it deals with the domination of the majority of the poor people by the few mighty and powerful ones.

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