Civic Power in China
One thing I'm coming to believe in fairly strongly, and I've no clue why, is in the power of competent organizational practices to foster democratic cultural and therefore political change. Tocqueville's points about civil associations fostering democratic political habits, creating public involvement in the public life. Elections, at the very least, require administrative competence, which is sorely lacking in most bureucracies in the world.
If these effective organizational cultures have to come from multinational corporations, so be it - near everyone in Egypt wants to work for Vodafone anyway, so who am I to criticize them based on some aesthetic nonsense about globalization? They just don' t want to waste their lives away sitting on their asses listening to bosses yelling about nonsense all day.
So here's an interesting article about a similar effect taking place in China:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/11/world/asia/11china.html
We've always wondered when economic growth would come to bite China's government in the ass. It's surprising, because China's government is one of the most effective administrations in the world today, but I suppose
In any case, this is the main appeal of democracy: Democracy means COMPETENCE.
Given that, all things considered, the Bush administration may have done more lasting damage to the cause of democracy promotion than any recent world trends or events.
If these effective organizational cultures have to come from multinational corporations, so be it - near everyone in Egypt wants to work for Vodafone anyway, so who am I to criticize them based on some aesthetic nonsense about globalization? They just don' t want to waste their lives away sitting on their asses listening to bosses yelling about nonsense all day.
So here's an interesting article about a similar effect taking place in China:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/11/world/asia/11china.html
We've always wondered when economic growth would come to bite China's government in the ass. It's surprising, because China's government is one of the most effective administrations in the world today, but I suppose
In any case, this is the main appeal of democracy: Democracy means COMPETENCE.
Given that, all things considered, the Bush administration may have done more lasting damage to the cause of democracy promotion than any recent world trends or events.
3 Comments:
I know that you are fascinated by the concept of competence right now, but I wish you would give more substance to why competence should lead to democracy. What's the link exactly?
Yes, competence and democracy do occur together. So? Maybe the causality is reversed. Perhaps the freedom to publically criticize and shame, coupled with free elections, is what leads to competence. Or, perhaps, it's simply a phenomenom of the Western culture.
Competence is often a good thing but not always. The biggest difference between Nazi Germany and Italy is that the former was largely competent and the latter was not. Because of that difference, Germany produced the scariest regime in history. Italy produced a joke.
haha boris that sounds like a peer review of a school paper or something. Anyways, Aatif I hope you're having a good time in Egypt! Your blog is fun to read :)
Aatif. how goes? I hope you have more than a bench to sleep on now. I just emailed with Osama and Karim...you still hang out with them? I'm about to graduate and have a job in NYC with a structural engineering firm...be well..keep in touch.
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