Crisis in Global Politics?

Across the world, there is talk of a global crisis in leadership. Can all major economies of the world have a leadership crisis at the same time?

The 'Free World' has more prisoners and spies than any other 'World'. | Cartoon by Rex May; Source & courtesy - cartoonresource.com | Click for source image.

The last 30 years

The last thirty years has been a difficult period for Indian polity.

No Indian political party has been able to win an absolute majority on merit for 30 years after Indira Gandhi’s win in 1980. Rajiv Gandhi’s electoral victory after 1984 assassination of Indira Gandhi was ‘tainted’ with a sympathy vote for Congress.

Thirty years without a positive mandate for any political party is a tough commentary on Indian polity – and its inability to connect to the Indian Voter.

A recent article in nytimes.com reveals a similar situation the USA.

During Franklin Roosevelt’s era, Democrats were the Sun Party. During Ronald Reagan’s, Republicans were. Then, between 1996 and 2004, the two parties were tied. We lived in a 50-50 nation in which the overall party vote totals barely budged five elections in a row. It seemed then that we were in a moment of transition, waiting for the next Sun Party to emerge.

But something strange happened. No party took the lead. According to data today, both parties have become minority parties simultaneously. We are living in the era of two moons and no sun.

It used to be that the parties were on a seesaw: If the ratings of one dropped, then the ratings of the other rose. But now the two parties have record-low approval ratings together. Neither party has been able to rally the country behind its vision of government.

Ronald Brownstein summarized the underlying topography recently in The National Journal: “In Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor polls over the past two years, up to 40 percent of Americans have consistently expressed support for the conservative view that government is more the problem than the solution for the nation’s challenges; about another 30 percent have backed the Democratic view that government must take an active role in the economy; and the remaining 30 percent are agnostic. They are open to government activism in theory but skeptical it will help them in practice.”

In these circumstances, both parties have developed minority mentalities. The Republicans feel oppressed by the cultural establishment, and Democrats feel oppressed by the corporate establishment. They embrace the mental habits that have always been adopted by those who feel themselves resisting the onslaught of a dominant culture. (via The Two Moons – NYTimes.com).

We have the satisfaction of 'leaders' hearing us, but not listening to us | Cartoon by Joel Pett; on June 17, 2010; image source and courtesy - kaiserhealthnews.org | Click for source image.

The world faces common problems, because the world is moving towards one common system – socialism.Desert Bloc political systems are now a global phenomenon. In the post-globalized world, political ideology, lack of leadership, economic crisis are all global problems – respecting no boundaries or territories.

Communism has failed, Capitalism died with end of African slavery – and in a world made of  socialist flavours, it may be worthwhile to understand what works – and for how long.

From New York to New Delhi, the rage against Desert Bloc polity and the resultant problems is being ‘used’ in a new form. Organizers are ‘behaving’ differently.

What crisis?

Yes.

There is a crisis of leadership. It is because we have invested to much power in the hands of polity. We have moved in a linear direction – with Desert Bloc systems that progressively need more laws, more powers that limit freedom.

No.

What we need is less political power – and more intellectual leaders. The Indic model, has the solution. One Vighneswara, sitting in a small town in Karnataka, wrote a legal text. Later, the Vighneswara’s Mitakshara became the law of the land of Bharat-ah.

For the next 700 years.

Seeing the short term 'success' of Desert Bloc entities, we forget that Desert Bloc has suicidal instinct. | Cartoon By Mike Keefe, The Denver Post on 3/16/2007; source and courtesy - media.caglecartoons.com | Click for source image.

Now …

In this style of governance, power is concentrated with the less than 5,000 politicians who control the Government.

And 50,000 businessmen who control the 2,500 biggest corporations, the 25,000 academics who control national thought streams – and then the enormity of the model becomes numbing.

And the Maya माया of it all takes over.

Ghor maya – घोर माया.

Global disease

A bloated State, over-sized bureaucracy that controls every aspect of our life. On one side, these States speak of freedom,  liberty, human rights. The reality is increasing prison populations and an expanding police State.

Fundamentally, the country model of the West  has failed – and the time for भारत-तंत्र Bharat-tantra draws near. In the last 200 years,भारत-तंत्र Bharat-tantra has gone into regression. But, in this period, the world has also learnt more about the limitations of the Desert Bloc ideology.

People get ready!

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• American politics: two moons, no sun (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
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• How Muscular Is India’s Foreign Policy (2ndlook.wordpress.com)
• India Pays Tribute to Indira Gandhi on her 94th Birth Anniversary (ibtimes.com)
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• Oct. 31, 1984 | Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi Assassinated (learning.blogs.nytimes.com)
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