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Winds of change are fortunately sweeping the world, blown faster than gale speed propelled by technology tools. George Orwell feared that technology will help the big brother dominate the world. As things are turning out, it is empowering the small sister across the world. Helping them find voice their voice against the big brother. The voices against injustice, social inequality and tyranny have always been there ever since man roamed the planet earth. Only they are not heard and remain largely confined to local pockets of dissatisfaction. The big brother who governs, uses the resources of the state to counter or suppress such voices both in democracies and dictatorships around the world. In democracies the opposing views are countered by at times mitigating the grievances and at times by manipulating public opinion while in dictatorships the problems not mitigated are suppressed with a firm hand.
Let us take the case of two forms of dictatorships first before digging into the patterns that are present in democracies. One form of leadership is communist China where the leaders have turned around a dormant economy and trouble prone nation of a billion people into the engine of global growth and prosperity. We must understand and appreciate that the rapid change and transformation in the society in China took place under dictators,and not under democratic rule. The Chinese still cannot protest, but is looked after by the State and provided opportunities to grow and be happy and also prosperous. Women are treated as equals and there is no issues of unfed mouths and unclothed bodies. So dictators cannot be all bad !
Having said that, it remains a fact that the people are largely voice less. They cannot choose their own leaders
nor decide what is good for them or bad for them. It is the communist party that decides all. It is merely fortunate that today Chinese leaders are doing their jobs diligently and improving the living conditions of a society that was the poorest in the world less than half a century ago. If the big brother is not benevolent but a tyrant things could change quickly. Unless technology intervenes and empowers and binds each individual with unfiltered information of what is happening across the society.
In the dictatorships across the Middle East, the once benevolent leaders have turned tyrant. Hosni Mubarak the ousted Egyptian ruler was the man who took over the state after President Anwar Sadat was assassinated during an army parade. He was very popular and a highly revered leader during the eighties and early nineties. A man who brokered peace and maintained good relations with neighbor Israel, Mubarak was once considered a sane and safe voice in the highly volatile Middle East.
The winds of change however caught Mubarak unprepared. It swept him off power due to incompetency and misrule coupled by a sharp price rise of food grains that caused large scale dissatisfaction amongst people. However let us not think that only Mubarak or Qaddafi will be hit by the winds of change. Fueled by price rise and food shortages it will hit London and New Delhi, Rome and Tokyo in the months to come. So leaders of democracies must also be prepared for the worst this year.
London has been rocked by protests on austerity drive where Bankers considered the prime culprits of the economic meltdown were targeted,stoned and fire bombed. Berlusconi's Bunga Bunga erotic parties have been targeted in Italy and 38 prostitutes who served him have been questioned during the trail. The Indian Government is under pressure both from the Government and the civil society for corrupt licencing scandals and land deals. The message from the small sister is loud and clear. The revolutions will not only take place in Egypt and Libya. The changes will also take place all over the world across societies and democracies wherever the small sister remains unheard. It does not matter whether you are a democracy or a dictatorship. Its shape up or ship out.
Winds of change are fortunately sweeping the world, blown faster than gale speed propelled by technology tools. George Orwell feared that technology will help the big brother dominate the world. As things are turning out, it is empowering the small sister across the world. Helping them find voice their voice against the big brother. The voices against injustice, social inequality and tyranny have always been there ever since man roamed the planet earth. Only they are not heard and remain largely confined to local pockets of dissatisfaction. The big brother who governs, uses the resources of the state to counter or suppress such voices both in democracies and dictatorships around the world. In democracies the opposing views are countered by at times mitigating the grievances and at times by manipulating public opinion while in dictatorships the problems not mitigated are suppressed with a firm hand.
Let us take the case of two forms of dictatorships first before digging into the patterns that are present in democracies. One form of leadership is communist China where the leaders have turned around a dormant economy and trouble prone nation of a billion people into the engine of global growth and prosperity. We must understand and appreciate that the rapid change and transformation in the society in China took place under dictators,and not under democratic rule. The Chinese still cannot protest, but is looked after by the State and provided opportunities to grow and be happy and also prosperous. Women are treated as equals and there is no issues of unfed mouths and unclothed bodies. So dictators cannot be all bad !
Having said that, it remains a fact that the people are largely voice less. They cannot choose their own leaders
nor decide what is good for them or bad for them. It is the communist party that decides all. It is merely fortunate that today Chinese leaders are doing their jobs diligently and improving the living conditions of a society that was the poorest in the world less than half a century ago. If the big brother is not benevolent but a tyrant things could change quickly. Unless technology intervenes and empowers and binds each individual with unfiltered information of what is happening across the society.
In the dictatorships across the Middle East, the once benevolent leaders have turned tyrant. Hosni Mubarak the ousted Egyptian ruler was the man who took over the state after President Anwar Sadat was assassinated during an army parade. He was very popular and a highly revered leader during the eighties and early nineties. A man who brokered peace and maintained good relations with neighbor Israel, Mubarak was once considered a sane and safe voice in the highly volatile Middle East.
The winds of change however caught Mubarak unprepared. It swept him off power due to incompetency and misrule coupled by a sharp price rise of food grains that caused large scale dissatisfaction amongst people. However let us not think that only Mubarak or Qaddafi will be hit by the winds of change. Fueled by price rise and food shortages it will hit London and New Delhi, Rome and Tokyo in the months to come. So leaders of democracies must also be prepared for the worst this year.
London has been rocked by protests on austerity drive where Bankers considered the prime culprits of the economic meltdown were targeted,stoned and fire bombed. Berlusconi's Bunga Bunga erotic parties have been targeted in Italy and 38 prostitutes who served him have been questioned during the trail. The Indian Government is under pressure both from the Government and the civil society for corrupt licencing scandals and land deals. The message from the small sister is loud and clear. The revolutions will not only take place in Egypt and Libya. The changes will also take place all over the world across societies and democracies wherever the small sister remains unheard. It does not matter whether you are a democracy or a dictatorship. Its shape up or ship out.
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