"The measure of a man is what he does with power."
—Plato (Greek, 427-347BC)
Word
for the day
Campanology (n)
The principles or art of making bells, bell ringing, etc.
Malice
towards none
I knew this ultra Hindu
Rashtra chauvinist from my college days. He later turned coat and became ultra
secular and self-proclaimed Rahul Gandhi enthusiast.
Insiders tell me that for
past many weeks he is sitting at back door of BJP office, waiting for
permission to enter.
First random
thought this morning
A number of experts have already started to rehearse the obituaries
of globalization. From their writings I find that seemingly they have nothing
against the globalization per se. They just want to be recognized as someone
who first saw the end of it. The gratification of telling the common public
"I said so" with a mean grim on your face, is so special.
Almost all of these experts see the Italy vote against proposed
reforms as the second step towards the end of the project Europe, after Brexit.
To them, inauguration of president trump; German, French, Italian elections;
and beginning of the Brexit project next week will tick all the boxes
pre-requisite for de-globalization of the global economy.
I beg to strongly disagree. I believe, we will just see a change
in the format. The euphoria over the success of new format will provide the
necessary escape velocity to take the world out of the current stalemate.
In search of solutions - 5
As suggested yesterday (see here),
my solution to the political problems being faced by our country is predicated
on our ability to build a political structure based on strong communities that
live in harmony with nature and each other. Mutual trust, equality and
sustainability are naturally at the core of my utopia.
I may now present the broader contours of my utopian
socio-political structure. Some may want to draw prima facie similarities with
the Communist State. But trust me it has nothing to do with a Leninist, Maoist
or even Marxist state. My utopian structure does allow equal opportunity to
all, but through "democratic election" and not by "arbitrary
nomination". Moreover, commitment to community (communalism), culture
(religion & traditions), and reverence to the Mother Nature
(sustainability) are the core and non-negotiable elements for me, whereas in a
communist state these are mostly redundant.
The primary governance unit — Local Council
(a) The primary unit of the
country should be a democratic assembly of people in a town or village (Town or
village council).
(b) Each town or village
should directly elect a suitable number of representatives on a periodic basis.
The winning candidate must win at least 51% of the eligible votes (not just the
votes cast).
(c) Every adult citizen
domiciled in that town/village for at least 10years, should have an equal
opportunity to get elected for a term of 3years. No person shall
be elected for more than 3 terms.
(d) Election expense of all
candidates who could show support of at least 10% of eligible voters should be
funded by the state. Other candidates may be required to fund their own
expense. The spending limit may be fixed, say Rs10, per eligible voter in the
constituency. All expenses should be paid through the designated State office
only.
(e) The performance of
each Local Council member should be evaluated on annual basis by an independent
agency. A member failing to score the passing grade should be barred from
politics for a period of 6yrs.
(f) The chairman of the
Local Council should be elected by the members elected by the public, through a
transparent secret ballot. The winning candidate must have a minimum of 51% of
elected Council members supporting him/her. Each such Chairman should
constitute an advisory board of local experts to advise him on governance
matters. Members of the advisory board should not be paid any remuneration.
(g) Primary health,
education, scientific research, art, culture, law & order are governed
exclusively by the Local Council. All local civil disputes must be first
resolved through mediation at the Council level only.
(h) All citizens are
accorded a right to uniform education and primary health services, to be
implemented by the Local Councils. Private, for profit, investment is allowed
only in technical education, and specialized health services.
The secondary governance unit — District Council
(a) Town and villages with
largely homogeneous demographic characteristics should be grouped in various
Districts. Each District should have an independent governing council. All such
District Councils should be empowered to impose & collect direct taxes;
frame rules for engagement with other District Councils in the country,
including exploitation & sharing of natural resources; movement of labor
& capital etc.
(b) Local Councils falling
within a District should elect from amongst their present and past members, who
have served at least 2 complete terms, to the District Council.
(c) The number of members
representing each Local Council should be in proportion to the population, area
and social indicators of each such Local Council. Areas with stronger social
indicators get to elect few extra members. This should promote healthy
competition amongst Local Council to improve the social indicators.
(d) The district council
should have a fixed term of 6years, with half the members retiring by rotation
every 3years. No member should be elected to the District Council more than
once.
(e) The performance of
each district council member should be evaluated on annual basis by an
independent agency. A member failing to score the passing grade should be
barred from politics for a minimum period of 10yrs.
(f) The chairman of the
District Council should be elected by the representatives elected by Local
Councils, through a transparent secret ballot. The winning candidate must
secure a minimum of 51% elected representatives members supporting him/her.
(g) Each such Chairman
should constitute an advisory board of experts to advise him on governance
matters. Members of the advisory board should not be paid any remuneration.
The third tier — National Council
(a) Each District Council
should elect members to the National Council, in proportion to population, area
and social indicators.
(b) Districts Councils
should elect from their best performing past and present members who have
served at least one complete term on the District Council.
(c) The Chairman of the
National Council should be elected through a transparent secret ballot. The
winning candidate must secure a minimum of 51% elected representatives members
supporting him/her.
(d) Each such Chairman
should constitute an advisory board of experts to advise him on governance
matters. Members of the advisory board should not be paid any remuneration.
(e) The National Council
shall deal only with common matters of national interests, such as foreign
relations, national defense, etc.
Next I shall present outline of an economic model to go with this.
No comments:
Post a Comment