The current turmoil amongst the people of the Middle East,
with worse to come, is a stark reminder that copying European political
ideology needs time to realise if at all.
Even if Democracy was the aim it is not a catch all phrase nor is it an
ideology for all seasons. It is a
European body of ideas that developed in line with Freedom and individualism propagated
by organic growth. A culmination of
European intellectual minds, concentrating on Liberty and Rights of the individual
gradually, over two or three centuries, that eventually was to catapult Europe
into the modern era. For all its
shortcomings, democracy today is the best Constitution based ideology for
self-government.
If Democracy needs to be achieved in the East it is
essential to use the same Road map. A
jump to
modernity ex nihilo is impossible if we take Egypt today as a paradigm. We need to consider that Middle Eastern form
of mind is different than that of European in the sense of historical, cultural
and heritage influences that go a long way in evaluating ones priorities. After all some people need to be guided,
unlike the Europeans, they want their mind made up for them. Self-government may not be the solution but
tyrannical or despotic rule instead may be the most appropriate. They should choose to what suit best their
mentality and religion; learn if possible to contain it, finally to iron out
its contradictions and arbitrariness. That
is a tall order but so was the road to democracy.
Here is a long quotation, an extract from Arthur James
Balfour made in a speech in the House of Commons on June 13, 1910. “First of
all, look at the facts of the case.
Western nations as soon as they emerge into history show the beginnings
of those capacities for self-government…having merits of their own…You may look
through the whole history of the Orientals in what is called broadly speaking,
the East, and you never find traces of self-governments. All their great centuries – and they have
been great – have been passed under despotisms, under absolute government. All their great contributions to civilisation
– and they have been great – have been made under that form of government. Conqueror has succeeded conqueror; one
domination has followed another; but never in all the revolutions of fate and
fortune have you seen one of those nations of its own motion establish what we,
from Western point of view, call self-government.” This outlook maybe well worth thinking about
instead of trying to go against what is natural.
