Western democracy is touted as the primary solution to the world's ills and that every race, colour and creed, in not adopting this paragon of virtue, is denying itself the tool with which to support a liberated and meaningful life.
In this 21st century this attempted "democratization of the world" has led to more unrest and violence than at any other time since the end of the last world war.
Why should this be the case, when it seems a laudable desire to empower the people, enabling them to have a say in how they would like to shape their own society? Sadly democracy has undergone a radical change in the West with the rise of a new style of government run by a new breed of "professional" politician - someone with limited experience of life outside of politics, and who's primary source of income comes with the political job.
In this new environment personal integrity can be challenged from two directions - firstly, from a need to hang on to the job for personal financial survival, and secondly from the need to find the wherewithal to mount an election campaign to continue to hold on to the fiercely sought after power that comes with the job.
What we are now witnessing, in the growing civil unrest and changes to the environment, is as a direct result of the movement of the democratic emphasis away from meeting the needs of the voter and increasingly towards meeting the needs of the sources of political sponsorship.
Some 500 years ago here in the UK "true" power was wrested away from the monarchy by parliament, and now it is being removed once again, but this time to the corporate sector.
Originally it made good sense to take the power away from a single individual and place it in the hands of elected representatives of the people, thus broadening the application and influence of that power for the greater benefit of all.
However we are now beginning to return to a restricted process again as we bow, not to the whims of a single monarch, but the demands of a single doctrine - profit.
Any application of power by a single source is never healthy by the very nature of the narrowness of the criteria that need to be satisfied - be that human ego or financial accountability.
Life is not about narrow confines, but balances and checks against a broad spectrum of aspects of the human condition, which also have to take into account our occupation of the natural world.
The unrest and violence we are now experiencing comes from those who can see what the West cannot - that we are touting capitalism in the guise of democracy and the resultant secular society created through the financial doctrines used to manage people.
By the very nature of the human condition there will always be abuses of power and true democracy provides the means with which to manage that abuse through proper accountability by those exercising the power.
"The will of the people" may sadly be sniggered at in this current environment but there is no other way of effectively managing society.
We have tried communism and dictatorship, both of which have failed the test of time.
It was ever thus, and unless we can find people to lead us who recognize who and what we are and how we truly function as a species, then the present environment will see the corporate sector eventually self destruct through the demands of endless high profit growth, carrying us all in its wake.
Copyright 2008 - John Coombes
In this 21st century this attempted "democratization of the world" has led to more unrest and violence than at any other time since the end of the last world war.
Why should this be the case, when it seems a laudable desire to empower the people, enabling them to have a say in how they would like to shape their own society? Sadly democracy has undergone a radical change in the West with the rise of a new style of government run by a new breed of "professional" politician - someone with limited experience of life outside of politics, and who's primary source of income comes with the political job.
In this new environment personal integrity can be challenged from two directions - firstly, from a need to hang on to the job for personal financial survival, and secondly from the need to find the wherewithal to mount an election campaign to continue to hold on to the fiercely sought after power that comes with the job.
What we are now witnessing, in the growing civil unrest and changes to the environment, is as a direct result of the movement of the democratic emphasis away from meeting the needs of the voter and increasingly towards meeting the needs of the sources of political sponsorship.
Some 500 years ago here in the UK "true" power was wrested away from the monarchy by parliament, and now it is being removed once again, but this time to the corporate sector.
Originally it made good sense to take the power away from a single individual and place it in the hands of elected representatives of the people, thus broadening the application and influence of that power for the greater benefit of all.
However we are now beginning to return to a restricted process again as we bow, not to the whims of a single monarch, but the demands of a single doctrine - profit.
Any application of power by a single source is never healthy by the very nature of the narrowness of the criteria that need to be satisfied - be that human ego or financial accountability.
Life is not about narrow confines, but balances and checks against a broad spectrum of aspects of the human condition, which also have to take into account our occupation of the natural world.
The unrest and violence we are now experiencing comes from those who can see what the West cannot - that we are touting capitalism in the guise of democracy and the resultant secular society created through the financial doctrines used to manage people.
By the very nature of the human condition there will always be abuses of power and true democracy provides the means with which to manage that abuse through proper accountability by those exercising the power.
"The will of the people" may sadly be sniggered at in this current environment but there is no other way of effectively managing society.
We have tried communism and dictatorship, both of which have failed the test of time.
It was ever thus, and unless we can find people to lead us who recognize who and what we are and how we truly function as a species, then the present environment will see the corporate sector eventually self destruct through the demands of endless high profit growth, carrying us all in its wake.
Copyright 2008 - John Coombes