The philosophy of democracy, theoretically, ensures this space for a human. But, only some states can secure a small portion of space.
by Swadesh Roy
In ‘Democracy,’ all types of spaces are most important. ‘Democracy’ is called a fragile flower; the reality is – it always needs cultivation. So, all sorts of societal areas are potential manure for this cultivation.
Nowadays, many democratic leaders are trying to narrow down the space of society. Their belief or thought is – more space for thinking in the state and culture makes a more argumentative society. They believe a more `argumentative society” is a barrier to economic development.
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| Denver, CO, USA [Photo Credit: Colin Lloyd/Unsplash] |
The new technology and modern comfort of life have raised a complex question – ‘What is sustainable economic development?’. The data show that technology and infrastructure development is sustainable economic development. Still, if we analyze human civilization, human development is the significant development of a society, country, or even human civilization.
Generally and philosophically, ‘Democracy’ is more acceptable for the progression of human civilization. In ‘Democracy,’ human beings are always treated as individual and creative creatures. ‘Democracy’ as a philosophy is a state policy that should help human beings to flourish as innovative individuals.
On the other hand, ‘Autocracy’ always treats human beings as a tool of any operation. So, in ‘Autocracy,’ the government and the system do many things for the people and the country, but all are material infrastructure. It may bring many comforts in day-to-day life. The method ‘Autocracy’ directly and indirectly treats human beings and machinery as the same. As a result, through these circumstances, human beings lose much of their free thinking and creativity; in the long run, if a group of human beings spends a long time under any ‘Autocratic’ or ‘Authoritarian’ rules, they gradually lose many of their human qualities. However, they are human. So, after losing a massive number of human attributes, they become a kind of regimented people. Most of the time, they only follow or think they must obey the state or their leaders’ orders; They never raise any argument. When human nature forgets to raise the dispute, even consider any other option. S/he loses the paramount human quality and the quality of the human to establish a knowledge-based civilization.
In simple sight, we can think that only a group of intellectual people create new knowledge for human civilization. But, if we go through human society and its rise and fall, we can see that civilization rises when all the people in all sectors can think freely and create new knowledge. And when it stops or buries any state or group, civilization falls.
Historically, the various types of ‘Autocratic’ or ‘Authoritarian’ rulers have ruined many civilizations and modern states. In history, sometimes they did it in the name of the great king, religion, so-called nationalism, superior race, and others. A new phenomenon has arisen in the world that many argumentative minds have to curtail or suppress for the greater interest of the economy and national security and make their territory great.
A prosperous economy and sustainable security are apparent in human civilization. If we go through all the ancient greatest civilizations to nowadays, we find that in all times, there is a common agenda of the people – prosperous economy and security. Despite that still, human civilization cannot find out a hundred percent thriving economy and security for the people. These two terms – economic development and security of the territory and the people have been thinking in many ways. It has a long history. Going through history, we can now tell there are three types of economic development: open-market capitalism, open-market capitalism with more social welfare, and Crony Capitalism. All the autocratic, authoritarian, and mafia states are under ‘crony capitalism.’ Because when some corrupted business group, the state machinery, the state executives, and politicians make an unholy nexus, then ‘crony capitalism’ is an obvious result. Everybody knows the effect of ‘crony capitalism’ is that a group of people will get a chance to loot the country’s wealth. When this ‘crony capitalism’ starts to grab a country’s economy, its people lose their space for free thinking and expressing their free thought. It is like one kind of unhealthy metabolism of a body. If a body locks the root to the cell for passing sugar and glucose, the body will automatically be fatty, and that sugar will have risen. The extra sugar will ruin your health if you cannot open the cell route for passing glucose. The same thing is here – if the country or the society does not extend the space of free thinking and free expression like- blood sugar if crony capitalism’ will reach a dangerous level, and it will ruin the country’s and the people’s economy.
Not only in terms of economy but also in terms of security worldwide, it always tries to squeeze the space of human thinking and expression. Unfortunately, the democratic and authoritarian worlds think the same, and their goal regarding security is territory security by military power is identical. However, free thinkers always emphasize human security from the early age of human civilization. That means the man will get all types of physical and mental security. The misfortune of the civilization is that this thinking is always on the sideline, and in reality, security means an unhealthy arms race. After adopting all types of philosophy as a state philosophy, they have changed many things, they tried to change many things, but only some could avoid arm-race.
Like the unhealthy economy, this arms race also curtails free thinking or space of thought and expression. From the era of Socrates to now, all types of states cannot tolerate a hundred percent honest thought and face, and they always try to grab the space of a man where s/he can fly as a free creature.
The philosophy of democracy, theoretically, ensures this space for a human. But, only some states can secure a small portion of space. If they try honestly, those who have guaranteed a small percentage of space may move forward gradually or slowly. But those who are, in the name of democracy, curtailing or trying to grab this space, those rulers ultimately, through the metamorphosis, will be ‘autocratic’ or ‘authoritarian’ rulers, and the states will be the type of territory where people have to live under the surveillance and feeding by the zoo master. So, to constantly cultivate the `fragile flower democracy,’ space is the principal manure and water, even sun rays.
Swadesh Roy, Senior Journalist, Dhaka, Bangladesh. He is the highest state award-winning journalist and can be reached at swadeshroy@gmail.com
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