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Three Cs of Political Choice

 

Explanations > Politics > Three Cs of Political Choice

Control | Corruption | Discussion | Culture | See also

 

The realistic truth of many political systems is that two C's dominate with some combination of control and corruption. There is also a third component that can lead to a much fairer system.

Control

Before 2001, Kabul in Afghanistan was run by the Taliban using a system of strong control, with religious police enforcing a strict zero tolerance policy. Women in particular had a raw deal, held in a subservient, uneducated, covered-up role. Yet everyone was equal in their poverty and crime was low.

Central control by an autocratic state or ruler can be seen in many other countries in the world. It existed in European monarchies until their barons, parliament or the general population forced a change.

Corruption

After the Western intervention in Afghanistan, the Taliban fled and a local government wad set up with as much support for true democracy as possible. And yet corruption set in, big time, even in hopefully incorrupt organizations such as the army. For example, there were many 'ghost' soldiers who did not exist, yet their salaries were still drawn (and kept by those in the chain of command).

Corruption is common across the world and may be a bedfellow of a central control system. Dictators often hold sway by leaning on politicians and buying senior military officers in a way that sustains their hold on power.

Corruption is an uneven system, leading to a few very rich and many poor and fearful people. Corruption begets corruption and a common saying is 'the fish rots from the head' - in other words, corruption starts at the top and works its way down. Its methods include bribery, blackmail and violence. It sucks you in and never lets you leave.

Culture

A powerful force for moderation is a culture that mandates fairness, in which the unfairness of corruption or absolute rule would lead to outcry and popular revolt. Culture is rooted in belief and is hard to shift, which is one reason why regime change is so fraught. You can change leaders quickly, but widespread belief in how the world works and what is right is much harder.

Culture is the third way. It is a major determinant of how we behave. It shapes whether we are corrupt or not and can override selfish tendencies. It transfers control from government to society as the system of social approval and punishment acts as a powerful distributed control system.

Culture is spread through actions, symbols and everyday talk. It can be seen in the stories we tell, about others and ourselves. It embodies trust and what this means to people. It is the most powerful and yet least understood force for political change.

Discussion

In many countries the choice seems to be either a strict system of control or unfettered corruption, or some combination of these. Even in those places we call free are not perfect, with moderate levels of corruption within a democratic system that acts as a brake on the worst kinds of control.

Perhaps it is an indictment of the human condition. Unfettered, our deceptive skills come to the fore as we major on selfish mores and protecting our gene pool. Yet suppressed, we are so much less than we could be. Is there no hope for us?

Building a balanced nation is a difficult task, as other post-liberation experiences have shown. You can't just set up elections and hope for the best. We need uncorruptible governmental bodies, or at least ones where corruption is low enough to sustain sufficiently fair control. One way this happens is with separation of powers, for example between law-making and law-bringing bodies. No one person, nor a small elite, can have that ultimate power which ultimately corrupts.

See also

Culture

 

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Site Menu

| Home | Top | Quick Links | Settings |

Main sections: | Disciplines | Techniques | Principles | Explanations | Theories |

Other sections: | Blog! | Quotes | Guest articles | Analysis | Books | Help |

More pages: | Contact | Caveat | About | Students | Webmasters | Awards | Guestbook | Feedback | Sitemap | Changes |

Settings: | Computer layout | Mobile layout | Small font | Medium font | Large font | Translate |

 

 

Please help and share:

 

Quick links

Disciplines

* Argument
* Brand management
* Change Management
* Coaching
* Communication
* Counseling
* Game Design
* Human Resources
* Job-finding
* Leadership
* Marketing
* Politics
* Propaganda
* Rhetoric
* Negotiation
* Psychoanalysis
* Sales
* Sociology
* Storytelling
* Teaching
* Warfare
* Workplace design

Techniques

* Assertiveness
* Body language
* Change techniques
* Closing techniques
* Conversation
* Confidence tricks
* Conversion
* Creative techniques
* General techniques
* Happiness
* Hypnotism
* Interrogation
* Language
* Listening
* Negotiation tactics
* Objection handling
* Propaganda
* Problem-solving
* Public speaking
* Questioning
* Using repetition
* Resisting persuasion
* Self-development
* Sequential requests
* Storytelling
* Stress Management
* Tipping
* Using humor
* Willpower

Principles

+ Principles

Explanations

* Behaviors
* Beliefs
* Brain stuff
* Conditioning
* Coping Mechanisms
* Critical Theory
* Culture
* Decisions
* Emotions
* Evolution
* Gender
* Games
* Groups
* Habit
* Identity
* Learning
* Meaning
* Memory
* Motivation
* Models
* Needs
* Personality
* Power
* Preferences
* Research
* Relationships
* SIFT Model
* Social Research
* Stress
* Trust
* Values

Theories

* Alphabetic list
* Theory types

And

About
Guest Articles
Blog!
Books
Changes
Contact
Guestbook
Quotes
Students
Webmasters

 

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© Changing Works 2002-
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