The New Nation - Internet Edition

Prof. Dr. Mokhdum Mushrafi

American election is as illusive as superficial. Over elitism has made American democracy as fictive as symbolic. The entire American political system is but a reactionary capital process that in essence denies human content of politics and democracy. Here people are but relatively passive audience with least participatory potential or prospect, and with no democratic assertive role. Here reference to people is apparently too obvious, but in essence, contain no vital significance. Propaganda, and tuning with that the media, makes this contradiction away from public understanding, knowledge and analysis.

The slogan of human rights and civil liberty are juxtaposed in the political party process in such a way that it apparently appears that American political system is political party based which means that people's involvement in politics here is thorough in the system. In fact this is not true. The America political party process does not go deep into the people as such, or people at large. It is a mechanism which processes the people and shapes their psyche but denies them in decision making. The reactionary capital dominant political dynamics rather defends itself from the people by fictive democratic structure and seriously fictive democratic slogans and propaganda manipulated by the capital media.

Though there is deep dichotomy between the UK and the US political systems in one dimension US system imitates the UK monarchy with modification for modern modality of such personal power that goes normally with a monarch. In the UK the personal power of the monarchy has been reshaped to suit with democracy making the monarch a titular head. But in the case of the US it has been revitalised under the garb of democracy. The post of presidency is a typology of monarchy modified for modern modality. De facto power of the president in the entire American political system makes him absolutely powerful. The total power process of the US revolves round him. The notion of congressional balancing of power is as theoretical as strategic. It tunes itself with reactionary capital interest setting the people aside. By the way, it must be mentioned in this context capitalism is neither good nor bad in itself. It becomes good or bad with the motive with which it is used. For contextual continuum it may also be mentioned that capitalism has been best used in Europe to ensure every man his relative material and socio-psychological due. Here every individual is secure in the polity and the political system. European present capitalism is humanised, civilised and creative at home. For incentive mobilisation and creative competition to explore the individual and the selves thereof there is no alternative to capitalism. The challenging self of the individual gets due way out for exploration and self fulfillment under humanised and socially fulfilled capitalism.

In the context of American polity and political system what is reactionary about capitalism is that it has sidetracked and denied the human self of the individual. It has deprived the individual from social, material and psychological security. It has made the human self of the individual subservient to the domination of exploitative capitalism. Here the political system has been so designed as to make it a hollow material mechanism which forces individual to move and move with constant uncertainty. With the most of the riches of the world it has the poorest people, nay, in essence every man is poor here as man in the context of economy, political system and socialisation. What is significant in this respect is that state here does not stand by its citizens like Europe though the citizens taxes effects functioning of the state. There is no medical security of the citizenry here. A single major disease can make a well earning individual down trodden overnight. The social dimension of the state demands that there be social approach in respect of medical care, food and shelter. Otherwise whatever the typology collective living proves to be absurd. Capitalism can afford a social approach with common network to accommodate citizens under a secure umbrella. Europe has proved that. But the US is nowhere near it. It is in antiquity in this respect proving it to be most anti-human and anti-people state of the present day world. There is no state in the world today where social content is so tragically denied. The meaning of modern state entity has been thrown into futility in America.

America is characterised by profiteering materialism. It lags behind in intellectualisation that synchronises economy, political system and state entity for a meaningful functionality attuned with human cause. Compared to Europe it lags behind in terms of one or two centuries. It has better statistics but those statistics could not generate wisdom and relevant vision. Economics-dominant and over-elitism-dominant intellectual exercise of America makes it anti-civilisation though it has the most investment in academic and scientific research. Over-material economics and its reactionary theories blur American vision. It does not command an inclusive philosophy that appreciates human essence and humanised institutions.

American election on the same account is not people-oriented. Rather it is personality oriented. Its personality-orientation contains feudation wherein people look into that personality tacit traits of monarch and hence become mere follower or audience with no consideration or command of political efficacy. As audience of the significant political drama they remain to be passive observers. It is a game of overelitistic hegemony over the people serving no interest of them. Whatever people avail here is their own personal labour at all levels and far less than their contribution to the state and the economy. Due to lack of traces of the conspiratorial content of political drama they take it as a matter of recreation to repeatedly rejuvenate their joy. Media plays with that as an agent of reactionary capitalism and over-elitism. America needs to look at itself with universal human eye. That is the greatest challenge of American people in the context of democracy and social security. Transcending the statistical riches America needs to attain due human intellectualisation and relevant wisdom. Otherwise it will remain to be a threat both to its own people and the people of the world at large.

Due to lack of wisdom America could not assume a role for social fulfillment of capitalism which Europe has done as mentioned earlier. On the contrary blind profiteering has promoted the cause of war economy here. The war economy has remained explosive and conflicting making war a day today affair and a tradition. The cowboy heritage of America constantly peeps into its intellect to prevent it from being sound and profound and to be at par with global democratic civilisation today. Out of experience of the two World Wars the world populace has gained profound enlightenment to be cautious against war and the positive attitude to the cause of mankind and democracy. To this no-war attitude of the global people American war economy is a catastrophic threat which needs to be positively reviewed by the American people in particular and the global people in general. America needs to be persuaded to understand the essence of Westphalia which proposed intellectual handling of the international cleavages. American people have to stand for a plural decision making body for national war declaration so that a single man's whim does not cause international holocaust. The declaration of war should not be left to the president alone. For, all presidents are not mature, responsible, wise and visionary. Flaw of the system often allows incompetent people to become president as the party process is not people-involved. Power without wisdom is the fountain of terrorism be that institutional or non-institutional? It will require people's understanding, demand and assertion and the amendment of the American constitution. But then again the issue remains with the necessity of nonfictive nature of election of America. The anti-democratic manipulative media will have to be resisted by the people who will require intellectual leadership of exceptional social personality committed to the cause of true democracy and peace. America needs a new Abraham Lincon who abolished slavery.

Where judicial review as a constitutional technique theoretically defined liberty of the individual from institutional terrorism president's absolute power to declare war makes liberty of all everywhere (from within and from without America) threatened to total extinction. Peace demands pacification of personal power, people-involved democracy and unillusive election.

(Prof. Dr Mokhdum Mushrafi is the Chairman, Department of Politics and Governance, Ganobiswabiddaloy, Savar, Dhaka.)