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Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Seth Ferris — India: The Revolution You Didn’t Hear About
The municipal elections in Delhi, capital of India, on February 7th raised interest in a few journals but not nearly as much as they should have done. There is a reason for this. Many countries are struggling to cope with non-traditional parties challenging the establishment and gaining popular support. What happened in India, one of the most important emerging powers, may have consequences neither governments nor compliant mainstream media anywhere wish to contemplate....
In India, one of the world’s new economic powerhouses, the voters of the nations capital’s put the Aam Admi Party (AAP), or “Common Man’s Party” into power. It wasn’t even close: the AAP won 67 out of the 70 seats, and unseated the local leaders of both the currently-ruling Janata Party, or BJP, and the traditionally ruling Congress Party, the CPI....
The AAP is advocating nothing new. It is seeking to introduce practices which are well established in the Western democracies India has always seen as models.
It wants an independent ombudsman who can impartially investigate complaints of government corruption and protect those who make them. It also wants to devolve power to local authorities and populations, change the law so that if the majority of voters choose the “None of the Above” option on the ballot paper no candidate is elected, and give citizens the right to recall their representatives, the process by which Arnold Schwarzenegger ended up as Governor of California....
There is less corruption in the developed world than the undeveloped and developing, where corruption is endemic throughout. The corruption in the developed world is mostly at the very top of the class and power structure. A lot of it has been legalized, and it is humungous.
The difference is that the emerging countries tend toward socialism where corruption is considered bad. The developed countries are all capitalism where corruption and cronyism are integrated into the system.
It doesn't sound like a revolution if their platform is "nothing new".
ReplyDeleteIt's new to India. Not new to the developed world.
ReplyDeleteRight now I'm having a hard time getting excited about India becoming more like the developed world. Talk me down.
ReplyDeleteP.S. The new captcha ("prove you're not a robot") is a nightware. Apparently, I don't know the difference between a sandwich and a hamburger.
Dan that's what you have to put up with when you educate eastern people about how western modern information systems are designed and operate....
ReplyDeleteThere is less corruption in the developed world than the undeveloped and developing, where corruption is endemic throughout. The corruption in the developed world is mostly at the very top of the class and power structure. A lot of it has been legalized, and it is humungous.
ReplyDeleteThe difference is that the emerging countries tend toward socialism where corruption is considered bad. The developed countries are all capitalism where corruption and cronyism are integrated into the system.
Thanks Tom.
ReplyDelete