“Party unity is important but not as valuable as an open debate about how best to change course.” — Hillary Clinton.
On reading Joe’s post on Hillary Clinton: Democrats Do Not Blindly Follow Like Republicans, I am reminded of my Delhi University days where I was studying for my honours degree in political science in the mid-1960s…the days of Vietnam, flower children, the Beatles, the rise of ultra-communism in India (Naxalism)…
It was then that I read Karl Popper’s two-volume book The Open Society and Its Enemies (the book happened to be my textbook).
In Karl Popper’s definition an “Open Society” is one which ensures that political leaders can be overthrown without the need for bloodshed, as opposed to a “closed society”, in which a bloody revolution or coup d’état is needed to change the leaders.
The Popperian concept of the open society stems from his philosophy of science. Since no one has the perfect knowledge on the perfect government, the next best thing is a government that is ready to change the politics it runs.
An open society also has to be pluralistic and multicultural, in order to benefit from the maximum number of viewpoints possible to the given problems. Popper was a great advocate of liberal democracy.
Liberal democracy is a form of representative democracy (either a constitutional republic or a constitutional monarchy) where the ability of elected representatives to exercise decision-making power is subject to the rule of law, and usually moderated by a constitution which emphasizes the protection of the rights and freedoms of individuals and minorities, and which places constraints on the extent to which the will of the majority can be exercised.
Of course, these are basic things. But we need to remind ourselves about these because of the threats even the democracies are facing today as the “democratic” leaders themselves tend to adopt the strategies that could endanger “Open Societies”.
A major threat that we find today in democracies, including India, is the growing intoleration to “inner party democracy”. If democratic functioning is discouraged within a political party, then it is tempting for the top leaders to become dictatorial, and the policy decisions are left to a coterie surrounding a powerful leader.
Hence, Hillary Clinton’s exhortation for the need for open discussion on major policy issues within political parties, merits attention.
Incidentally, my cousin (a great friend/admirer of Hillary Clinton) has become a ‘pucca’ New Yorker. During her two decades of stay there, she has been informing me of Hillary’s views (and I take all political views with a pinch of salt – that’s me an old cynical journalist).
Meanwhile I share a photograph of Hillary Clinton with my cousin’s two kids – Riti and Vishal – sent to me only yesterday.
Finally, related to this post is another interesting article in New Scientist about “overconfident people are more likely to wage war but fare worse in the ensuing battles”.
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.