Which way forward?

Along with rights are the responsibilities of the citizens: to follow the law, to care for the unfortunate, to make the most of one’s abilities

The values of the Enlightenment stand today:  Society should be governed by persons selected by the people.  There are fundamental rights of men and women including first the right to a good life (happiness) and second liberty.  Liberty means freedom to speak as onewishes, to worship a God of one’s choice or none, to write about and hold beliefs not dictated by a king, pope, or general.  One’s property cannot be seized by Government.  One cannot be imprisoned except though conviction under the law.  Choicesmade by citizens should be rational, based on some mixture of the good for the individual and the society.  While many choices are not made in this manner, we must push to increase rational behavior.  There must be competition both in politics and in economics; monopolies in either must be prevented.  The state’s role is limited.  Along with rights are the responsibilities of the citizens: to follow the law, to care for the unfortunate, to make the most of one’s abilities, to join in a family and to reproduce.  Society must encourage participation in the great search for knowledge established by observation and objective analysis.  Pursuit of these values have lifted mankind out of the brutal world before the Enlightenment.  The principles above plus the scientific and technological knowledge that emerges from freedom of thought are responsible for where we are today.  No human society is perfect, but some are better than others and the measure of progress is the extent of fulfillment of these Enlightenment values.
In contrast to the Enlightenment is the view that the strong should dominate and control.  The strong may be noble religious men, or greedy psychopaths, successful generals or persons who believe themselves to be touched by God to rule. Most of human history involves rule by such persons.  More than 50% of humanity is still governed by societies led by such persons who have no mandate from the people but continue as rulers through force or fraud.  When an autocrat rules a nation something comes with him— out of the ground come men and sometimes women who are evil.
 Persons who like to hurt and to kill.  Who take pleasure in raping women, who find it exciting to throw babies in the air and catch them on their bayonets, who delight in killing those who are weak and cannot fight back.In an autocracy these persons emerge to join the police and the security services; the autocrat gives them access to the regime’s enemies to work their will and then permits them to torment the weak.  They are all around us.  I do not need to name them, you know who they are.  I have seen this in Asia and Latin American countries:  When the military takes power these torturers soon emerge. When democratic government returns these evil persons vanish waiting for the next political environment in which their wishes could be fulfilled. 
 We talk about freedom of speech, of assembly, of the press and all those good things.  We regret their loss.  But what we do not mention is the evil creatures waiting in wings, waiting for the opportunity to torture, to kill, and to bring ruin.  They delight in forcing the father to watch his daughter abused; they find pleasure to cut people with saws and knives, to water-board prisoners, to maim and blind.  These are the Red Guards of the Chinese Cultural revolution, the members of the Klu Klux Khan, the guards of the Russian gulag or the Nazi concentration camps, the Pakistan army that killed and tortured Bangladeshis,   
In Myanmar we have a regime that is a fake democracy, propped up by the army, fooling the innocents at the UN.  But this regime sponsors evil persons who find pleasure in killing, in rape, in torturing children.  “Well it is not our business” say the learned leaders in Berlin, London and Washington.  “It is their country”.  It is a happy day for the evil torturers, rapists, and killers.  
In Syria the pilots load their planes and fly away to drop poison gas on people.  They particularly enjoy the screams of the women and children that die in agony or whose lungs suffer damage that will leave them in perpetual pain.  What goes on now in the cellars of the secret police in Moscow and Beijing?  Here livethe most experienced of torturers where decades of experience have taught exquisite techniques and methods for harming others.  
The United States makes its peace with Cuba.  Have the prisons and concentration camps been closed?  Have the evil doers gone back to their holes?  Certainly not, they prosper while the tourists frolic on the beach.
Would you enjoy ane-Sisi prison in Egypt? To be given electric shocks, hung upside down, beaten with sticks and barbed wired.  Is that your idea of doing good?  Was the Muslim Brotherhood any better?  No, both regimes were autocratic.  Evil doers have no ideology they will work for anyone who will allow them to torture and kill.
In the absence of democracy such evil grows.  Forget development and other justifications for maintaining autocracy.  The real impact of such regimes on ordinary persons is to let such evil creatures into your house.  Every autocratic regime brings such evil.  The only defense against themis democracy and freedom where such behavior is made criminal and can be contained by a fair legal system.  
Autocracy sustains evil. The evil is not only the politics of civil liberties.  Rather it is the emergence of evil persons who take over the police, the prison services, and the security services, using their positions to kill, destroy and torture.  Little of their activities become known as we are usually too busy discussing and arguing about high level politics.  But behind the wall is torture, rape, horrific treatments of human beings feeding the sick desires of those in the security services.  One has to be vigilant even in democratic, law abiding states.  If one looks the other way these persons will seize the opportunity to do what they are driven to do; witness the events in the United States after 9/11. Countries with one-sided political systems often move towards autocracy as we saw in the southern states in the United States after the Civil War.  Repression of the freed black slaves now enabled terrible creatures to take over the police and prison service leading to a shameful record of abuse.  Democracy must be competitive to prevent such evil.  
The tenure of any group in power must be limited or these evil men and women will grow like mushrooms in the dark rooms behind the gay banners. 
American Presidents as leaders of the world democracies have a clear responsibility to work against autocracy.  America has a responsibility to stand against autocratic regimes and the evil persons who bring such suffering to so many.  But one despairs.  The United States must continue its role to promote democracies and governments that will do better with human rights and the rule of law; support governments that will oppose and contain the evil doers.Who cares now?  The prospects for the evil doers have never been better.  Who will fight for the Enlightenment?
The United States Government must more beyond the sterile debate on an interest oriented foreign policy and pick up the burden of leading all towards happiness and liberty that can only be reached through representative government.

The writer is an economist

Which way forward?

Along with rights are the responsibilities of the citizens: to follow the law, to care for the unfortunate, to make the most of ones abilities

The values of the Enlightenment stand today: Society should be governed by persons selected by the people. There are fundamental rights of men and women including first the right to a good life (happiness) and second liberty. Liberty means freedom to speak as onewishes, to worship a God of ones choice or none, to write about and hold beliefs not dictated by a king, pope, or general. Ones property cannot be seized by Government. One cannot be imprisoned except though conviction under the law. Choicesmade by citizens should be rational, based on some mixture of the good for the individual and the society. While many choices are not made in this manner, we must push to increase rational behavior. There must be competition both in politics and in economics; monopolies in either must be prevented. The states role is limited. Along with rights are the responsibilities of the citizens: to follow the law, to care for the unfortunate, to make the most of ones abilities, to join in a family and to reproduce. Society must encourage participation in the great search for knowledge established by observation and objective analysis. Pursuit of these values have lifted mankind out of the brutal world before the Enlightenment. The principles above plus the scientific and technological knowledge that emerges from freedom of thought are responsible for where we are today. No human society is perfect, but some are better than others and the measure of progress is the extent of fulfillment of these Enlightenment values. In contrast to the Enlightenment is the view that the strong should dominate and control. The strong may be noble religious men, or greedy psychopaths, successful generals or persons who believe themselves to be touched by God to rule. Most of human history involves rule by such persons. More than 50% of humanity is still governed by societies led by such persons who have no mandate from the people but continue as rulers through force or fraud. When an autocrat rules a nation something comes with him out of the ground come men and sometimes women who are evil. Persons who like to hurt and to kill. Who take pleasure in raping women, who find it exciting to throw babies in the air and catch them on their bayonets, who delight in killing those who are weak and cannot fight back.In an autocracy these persons emerge to join the police and the security services; the autocrat gives them access to the regimes enemies to work their will and then permits them to torment the weak. They are all around us. I do not need to name them, you know who they are. I have seen this in Asia and Latin American countries: When the military takes power these torturers soon emerge. When democratic government returns these evil persons vanish waiting for the next political environment in which their wishes could be fulfilled. We talk about freedom of speech, of assembly, of the press and all those good things. We regret their loss. But what we do not mention is the evil creatures waiting in wings, waiting for the opportunity to torture, to kill, and to bring ruin. They delight in forcing the father to watch his daughter abused; they find pleasure to cut people with saws and knives, to water-board prisoners, to maim and blind. These are the Red Guards of the Chinese Cultural revolution, the members of the Klu Klux Khan, the guards of the Russian gulag or the Nazi concentration camps, the Pakistan army that killed and tortured Bangladeshis, In Myanmar we have a regime that is a fake democracy, propped up by the army, fooling the innocents at the UN. But this regime sponsors evil persons who find pleasure in killing, in rape, in torturing children. Well it is not our business say the learned leaders in Berlin, London and Washington. It is their country. It is a happy day for the evil torturers, rapists, and killers. In Syria the pilots load their planes and fly away to drop poison gas on people. They particularly enjoy the screams of the women and children that die in agony or whose lungs suffer damage that will leave them in perpetual pain. What goes on now in the cellars of the secret police in Moscow and Beijing? Here livethe most experienced of torturers where decades of experience have taught exquisite techniques and methods for harming others. The United States makes its peace with Cuba. Have the prisons and concentration camps been closed? Have the evil doers gone back to their holes? Certainly not, they prosper while the tourists frolic on the beach. Would you enjoy ane-Sisi prison in Egypt? To be given electric shocks, hung upside down, beaten with sticks and barbed wired. Is that your idea of doing good? Was the Muslim Brotherhood any better? No, both regimes were autocratic. Evil doers have no ideology they will work for anyone who will allow them to torture and kill. In the absence of democracy such evil grows. Forget development and other justifications for maintaining autocracy. The real impact of such regimes on ordinary persons is to let such evil creatures into your house. Every autocratic regime brings such evil. The only defense against themis democracy and freedom where such behavior is made criminal and can be contained by a fair legal system. Autocracy sustains evil. The evil is not only the politics of civil liberties. Rather it is the emergence of evil persons who take over the police, the prison services, and the security services, using their positions to kill, destroy and torture. Little of their activities become known as we are usually too busy discussing and arguing about high level politics. But behind the wall is torture, rape, horrific treatments of human beings feeding the sick desires of those in the security services. One has to be vigilant even in democratic, law abiding states. If one looks the other way these persons will seize the opportunity to do what they are driven to do; witness the events in the United States after 9/11. Countries with one-sided political systems often move towards autocracy as we saw in the southern states in the United States after the Civil War. Repression of the freed black slaves now enabled terrible creatures to take over the police and prison service leading to a shameful record of abuse. Democracy must be competitive to prevent such evil. The tenure of any group in power must be limited or these evil men and women will grow like mushrooms in the dark rooms behind the gay banners. American Presidents as leaders of the world democracies have a clear responsibility to work against autocracy. America has a responsibility to stand against autocratic regimes and the evil persons who bring such suffering to so many. But one despairs. The United States must continue its role to promote democracies and governments that will do better with human rights and the rule of law; support governments that will oppose and contain the evil doers.Who cares now? The prospects for the evil doers have never been better. Who will fight for the Enlightenment? The United States Government must more beyond the sterile debate on an interest oriented foreign policy and pick up the burden of leading all towards happiness and liberty that can only be reached through representative government. The writer is an economist