Faysal Gondal
Politics is war without bloodshed, while war is politics with bloodshed.” -Mao Zedong Politics for the sake of politics seems an outdated and flawed idea of ancient times with the inception of modern forms of government and tools to carry out political activities in this e times of digital democracy. As man’s political acumen augmented, the Westminster system of England and the US system of democracy triumphed over all other forms of government and became the sole protector and guarantor of fundamental rights and checked all sorts of tyranny and despotism. However, the dream of an egalitarian world has gone soar despite having the best available systems. Everywhere politics has become a bloody business devoid of fundamental objectivity and public interest. Two cases, one of America and the other of Pakistan, present a glaring picture of the dismal situation in the case of democracy. At one point, the US was an epitome of democratic values and democracy, which vowed to import his form of liberal democracy worldwide. But unfortunately, amidst protracted conflicts, they somehow missed the point that at the core of democracy lies the idea of welfare of the masses, at which they badly failed. Unemployment skyrocketed; people found themselves living hand to mouth, practically making their life a hell. As a result, Trump rose to the corridors of power by having a mantra of redemption for the ills of all those who were oppressed people. People deemed him a messiah of all their hardships. What followed in the aftermath is a story of epic drama full of violence, racism, and ethnic fragmentation. An era of great reformations and countless steps would be required to heal the damage. The second case is an interesting one; the case of Pakistan. Pakistan and civil society have long clamored for true democracy and vociferously denounced the unlawful role of non-democratic forces in the state’s political affairs. However, when they were given a chance in 2008, they failed to live up to the expectations. Their agendas and political manifestos merely cared about the plight of poor men. No one knows what they did, how they did it, and for what. Resultingly, the young generation of this epoch is full of anger and not ready to accept any rhetoric proupnded by the prophets of the status quo, i.e., the N league and PPP. The rise of Imran khan amidst these chaotic circumstances stands as an example of how distressed the common masses are. The main point is that system doesn’t matter to the common masses until and unless it is fulfilling the needs of common people. The disparities between the haves and have-nots make a system a success or a failure. Hence, we see only that system sustainable that has mainstreamed human development and diverted excessive resources to uplift the downtrodden. Take the example of China; people have accepted the authoritarian regime without any question just because it is delivering and furnishing excellent results. So, the lesson is the criteria to gauge the system’s efficacy lies in the outcome it is yielding in the greater interest of people. The time here to deprioritize the personal agendas of a few selected and give precedence to the real issues of society due to unequal distribution of resources, gender disparity, and accumulation of excessive wealth in the pockets of elites. As Fukuyama, in his masterpiece, the origin and the decay of political order, aptly describes the rise and the fall of political order and makes an observation, “I think we have missed the whole point around politics is carried out; historically speaking, politics whenever done for the good of people by any means, by any systems whether it’s authoritarian or dictatorship, it has yielded extraordinarily it’s authoritarian or dictatorship, it has yielded extraordinary results thereby making common citizen more contended.” The eruption of political polarization and politics of vested interests have wreaked havoc on the fragile and nascent people of the system of Pakistan. The solution lies in the hands of political parties and their leader’s willingness to restore the true character of democracy and democratic norms in our society. Political parties must bring about democracy within their structure to reinforce the public’s trust as guardians and representer of people’s interests. Furthermore, the idea of building true democracy is habilitating the roots of democracy, which lie in strengthening the local government system to further devolve the essential amenities to the people at their doorstep. This will ensure the distribution of resources in an egalitarian way. unfortunately, the case in Pakistan is different. in every federating unit, local government is nonexistent. The gap between people and their chosen representative is unbridged, which makes the state of affairs more pathetic. The future of Pakistan is bleak, considering the ongoing developments and the current trajectory of Pakistani politics. An impoverished economy, flimsy institutions, and lack of consensus on matters of utmost importance have further aggravated the predicament of poor governance in Pakistan. Pakistan is slowly and gradually transcending into a banana republic where law and order have compromised in the interests of a few entities. The coming times are nothing less than a state of war in which everyone would be at war against everyone for their lures; politicians against politicians; poor against rich; Muslims against Muslims for being a believer of different sects-; Punjabi against all others, and likewise due to their varying approaches to fulfill their agendas. A famous line from the game of thrones, ‘winter is coming, ` aptly describes the forthcoming times for Pakistan. Until and unless Pakistan, in conjunction with all stakeholders, i.e., leaders, civil society, media, and institutions, doesn’t play a constructive role, the overall situation is going get worsen in the coming days. Above all, we must not lose faith in democracy because with all its faults it’s the best available option. We can’t uproot the system altogether, as Aristotle famously wrote; “why we have topo build an ideal state amidst the presence of institutions that are a product of accumulative wisdom of centuries; we must endeavor to reform them by using all available resources at hand.
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