Duddocracy: Threat to Democracy

ISBN-13: 9781517219987 / Angielski / Miękka / 2015 / 66 str.

Ramaswamy Thanu

Opis

Over two centuries ago Dr.Samuel Johnson made a remarkable statement about politics. That was," politics is the last refuge of a scoundrel." At that time the description was adequate to explain the main characteristics of a politician. Now times have changed and civilization has advanced. In some cases it has changed to such an extent of becoming a disease which has affected politicians also. So a new breed of politicians has emerged. This breed is driven by the greed of power at any cost. This is seen in great magnitude with increasing variety in some democracies. They specialize in creating problems which erupt like volcanoes causing widespread damage, to life, property and administration apart from colossal wastage of time, effort and money. Democracy is government of the people by the people, for the people. It is a venerable, noble and desirable institution and form of government, one of the greatest and finest institutions of mankind. Many countries have achieved amazing progress and overcome challenges under political leaders of high degree of statesmanship in the government. Its success depends on the people who elect leaders and on their quality, values and dedication to the cause of good governance. Dedicated leaders place the country above their personal interests. History gives evidence of several such leaders who steered the nation through difficult times and attained a high degree of stability, prosperity and image even during wars. Twenty-five centuries ago the great Greek philosopher Plato expressed great apprehensions about the quality of democracy. He feared after seeing his Master Socrates being poisoned by a mob which administered a deadly poison called hemlock. He felt sad and this was reflected in his views on democracy, which read as follows. "Democracy dies of a surfeit of freedom. In a democracy the son refuses to obey the father, the student refuses to obey the teacher and the contagion spreads fast so that the horse begins to drive the wayfarer from the road." This trend if unchecked will lead to duddocracy which is the underlying theme of this book.