The Seeds of Destruction By T.S. Khanna,

Foundation for Better Government

(www.bettergovt.blogspot.com)

November 11, 2013

The Seeds of Destruction

By T.S. Khanna, November 11, 2013.

History informs us that every civilization carries the seeds of its own destruction.  Civilizations get ruined for ignoring to detect such seeds and weeding them out.  It is the euphoria of the civilization’s belief system as the “final truth” that projects an umbra under which the seeds of destruction are nurtured as non-questionable, axiomatic truths.  They do not permit us to consult our experience to test the currency of the long held beliefs.  Identification of the seeds of destruction runs counter to the prevailing culture and is resisted by the vested interests. 

Democratic civilizations are highly vulnerable to destruction for several reasons: a) lack of control on corruption in elections and in governmental affairs;  b) lack of uniform values to accommodate diversity;  c) emphasis on individual freedom without commensurate responsibility;  d) undue emphasis on equality leading to moral equivalency of the best of human culture with worst of human nature with the justification that “Justice is Blind”,  e) No centripetal force in place to hold the society together against the centrifugal forces generated by the constitutional freedom.

The destructive danger to democratic civilization is more from within than from outside.  Democratic governments have to be continuously self-correcting to protect themselves from becoming self-defeating. 

It is recommended that democratic governments re-examine their ideologies, identify the seeds of destruction, and streamline governmental operations to nurture democratic civilization. 

Some of the observed seeds of destruction seem to be:

1. Divided powers in government leads to divided government.  The intended checks/balances are replaced by logjams/ deadlocks in the decision making process.
2. Representative democracy, by its very nature is divisive.  Its effect is cumulative and the societal cleavages keep getting sharper and deeper with the passage of time.
3. A constitutional right without attendant obligations makes individuals more selfish and less connected with others.
4. Too much and too intense diversity without any common conviction of obligation for national loyalty or interests creates societal splits.
5. Lack of commonly proclaimed national purpose or pride causes absence of emotional unity among the citizenry of strangers.
6. Untested and unquestioned faith in the quality of collective judgment of voters does not allow the placement of most suited persons in the power positions.  It is a loss of big resource in democratic civilizations.
7. Lack of quality control on voters or candidates giving equal voting rights and candidacy rights to all adults does not permit the installation of honest and knowledgeable people in political positions.
8. Absence of constitutional control on budget deficit exceeding 20% of the revenue allows political economy to overrun sound economic principles.
9. A differential taxation rate creates a feeling of divisiveness among different economic classes.  Higher taxation rate for higher income also serves as disincentive for business expansion.  Only one flat rate income tax may be adopted to encourage expansion of businesses.  Property tax may be eliminated.
10. Out of control inflation is the biggest enemy of the poor people and those with fixed income.  Democratic governments must establish mechanism to control inflation between 4% and 5%, as necessary for economic growth.
11. Lack of constitutional or legal controls on election campaigns to maintain integrity and decency is eroding trust in the election process.
12. Lack of oversight and accountability of elected officials allows them take undue advantage of their power gradually lowering the prestige of elected positions.
13. Government takeover of public welfare functions of religious institutions makes more and more people dependent on government.  When government depends on its people, it flourishes.  When people depend on government, it diminishes.  Government must act only as facilitator, not as provider.
14. In the absence of the necessary safeguards, wealth producing Capitalistic Democracy keeps moving towards wealth consuming Socialistic Democracy.  It starts out distributing wealth and ends up distributing progressive poverty.
15. Growing public perception of intolerable corruption, waste of government funds, injustice and inefficiency in governmental operations is a great upsetting force in a democratic civilization.
16. Unions’ right to go on strike to demand non-competitive wages and elected official demand to fix non-competitive minimum wages to gain votes runs counter to sound economic principles and damages the economic progress.
17. Lack of effective controls on corporations to keep them from making non-competitive profits is a great economic set-back for the citizens.
18.  Insistence on toleration of unnatural and unreasonable equality of all men, women and values to accommodate all diverse groups turns the society into a value-free society, gradually destroying the very values that uphold and uplift the society.
19. Undue importance to euphemism and political correctness allows only decisions too compromised to protect and promote the public interest.
20. A raised aspiration with a belief in equality causes a growing discontent among the poor who believe they should be better off without effort.
21. Growing damage to public trust caused by public officials with powers to fix their own salaries and perks, disregarding the average income of their respective constituents.
22. Democracy claims to be the best form of government.  Yet there is no constitutional mechanism in place to restrict the elected power positions only to the people of proven sound character and best qualified for the job.  This practice has been causing progressive damage to democratic civilizations.
23. Undue emphasis on individual freedom at too young an age without any emphasis for societal obligations turns out the adults creating hedonistic culture destroying the family values.  Destruction of family leads to the destruction of civilization.
24. Out of control population growth in some countries and not enough growth in some others is likely to be very harmful to democratic civilizations.