DailyPost 1850
DEMOCRACTIC GOVERNMENTS – WHAT ARE THEY?
Are democratic governments one single organization? The way we refer to a government is that of being one entity. A monolith created out of the will of people, which can steamroll all fears and miseries and is destined to bring peace, prosperity and happiness in every way. Election after election we are administered the same old grapevine, which we happily or ignorantly lap. This hype of democracy has been created from theorists to politicians and the intelligentsia and whosoever has any axe to grind in the system. The pitfalls and failures are never discussed seriously to find a solution. It can certainly lead to one political slugfest after the other, finally yielding nothing for the people and a bounty of power with all its perks, for the politicians, political parties and their hangers on.
Sharing of power was certainly a guiding principle of democracy, which talks of the different pillars and how they should exist. Together they are to create seamless democracy with the checks and balances, taking care of each of these wings. Power in terms of authority and capability to deliver for the masses has got transformed into sharing, as per spoils concept. The electoral victory has provided the politicians and the political parties with a bounty for four or five years, they make the best out of it. The electors are generally nowhere in their thought process. In a two party system it is merrier, both the parties are very sure of the merry go round, and history has proven it. So life is made as a professional politician.
Democratic governments have developed the uncanny knack of deciding literally upon anything and everything with no responsibility falling on them. The electors and the world can keep facing that. The way governments wind up after elections gives us a feeling, as if they were never there. But their misdeeds come back to haunt for decades and generations. The process of decision making is known, right or wrong, but what impact will the decision make, is left for posterity to decide, as if they are not dealing with human beings. The US Presidential Election 2016 hack issue itself has not been sorted out, to date, leave aside other issues. The entry into and out of Afghanistan has its own story. Today, Afghanistan has been treated just as a tract of land, with nobody being bothered about the human misery. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was enacted in 1948.
Do governments fall under the definition of an organization? Does the government have an organizational culture in most cases? Do they have a blueprint or detailed project proposal for the nation? How are political dispensations able to change the complete color of governance during the time they hold the political power? Or are the governments a motley mix of organizations, departments and agencies created and grown depending on perceived requirements? Over all this is placed as a political dispensation with its own agenda. Who has the wherewithal to run such a variegated system, with no tangible end goals. As they say, democracy end to end is a system of hope and fear, fully exemplified during the election and continues to linger all throughout. Fear and hope of the political class defines our existence.
DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENTS NEED TO BE REDEFINED, TO DELIVER NEATLY DEFINED CONCRETE GOALS.
Sanjay Sahay